Work Text:
Merlin looked up from his meeting notes. Something about the new art teacher kept drawing his eyes to her. Ms. Lake was pretty, not like Morgana, but like a rare flower known for its inside beauty. She smiled shyly at him before he forced his eyes away yet again.
The principal called everyone's attention to the next item on the agenda, which was Ms. Lake. Merlin only knew her name because Morgana and Leon had been gossiping when he came in.
Mrs. Caradoc, the tenured art teacher, was now on maternity leave. She'd looked ready to pop, so this was a good thing, but she'd be gone for the rest of the year. Ms. Lake- Freya -would be taking her place. Privately, Merlin thought she was a great improvement; Mrs. Caradoc wasn't known as a battle-axe for nothing.
Freya gave a little speech about herself. She'd been teaching for five years, the same as Merlin. Before that, she had traveled all over the world with her father, who was still in the military. Merlin's dad had been in the military before he died. As she told her story, he found a few more things they had in common. Almost too good to be true.
After the meeting ended, most of the teachers rushed off to their classrooms. Merlin didn't have anything the first hour, and neither did Freya, apparently. He swallowed his nervousness and walked over to her. “Hi, I'm Merlin Emrys, history department. It's good to have you here.” He stuck out his hand for her to take.
Her hand went up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear then came down to meet his. “Hi, Freya Lake.” They shook hands.
“So, I couldn't help but notice we have a few things in common.” She looked a little confused. “From your intro.” Her face cleared and he went on to tell her what he'd noticed. He ended up walking her to her classroom and they made plans to meet after school to celebrate her first day there. He knew a great coffee shop that served the most delicious gourmet hot chocolate.
After the last class period, Merlin hurriedly put himself, his things and his room to rights. He tried not to look too anxious as he walked down to the art rooms, waving at students and other teachers. When he reached her room, he poked his head inside. She was getting her things together and smiled at him. He took that as his cue to come inside. He helped her put a few things in order before they left.
While they walked to the coffee shop, they discussed things they didn't have in common—universities, favorite sports, books, etc. She smiled again and again as they sipped their drinks inside the warm shop. They watched snow fall and chatted about their favorite holidays. By the time they split up to go home, he had her phone number. Later, at home, he knew one thing for sure—he wanted to see her outside of school again.
A couple days later, he popped by her classroom again. It looked a lot different. “I wanted to showcase more student art alongside some of my own,” she explained.
He devoured all of it with his eyes. Hers were among the most beautiful he'd ever seen, and most were Arthurian-themed—he had a special affinity for everything Arthurian. She stood by him as he looked at every new painting. When he got to one depicting King Arthur, he couldn't help but raise his hand to touch. Her hand caught his and a shock seemed to travel between their hands. He turned to look at her, suddenly feeling like he'd known her much longer than he had.
She smiled and chastised him gently. He smiled back and took her hand to squeeze it. “Would you go to dinner with me?”
“Tonight?”
“Yes. Unless—”
“Tonight is perfect.”
He met her at her place. When she opened her door, his mouth fell open. She wore a beautiful knee-length blue dress with a sheer purple wrap. She was gorgeous! He closed his mouth as she smiled, beautiful brown eyes twinkling. How in the world had he captured the interest of this enchanting creature?
Their romance progressed fairly quickly after that. On their third date, she let him hold her hand. On their fourth, he kissed her sweet lips at her front door. For their seventh date, she cooked him dinner and they made out to a rom-com on T.V. On their tenth date, they went ring-shopping. And on their twelfth, in front of a fountain in the city's park, he proposed. She accepted.
Sometimes you just know.