Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Arthur didn’t really know what to say when his sister invited him to her son’s holiday party at school. Well, he did know what to say: thanks but no thanks. 

“You keep telling me that you want to spend more time with Mordred,” Morgana said over the phone. “And us parent volunteers can always use more help.”

Arthur sighed. He loved his nephew, and he always wanted to spend more time with him, but…a holiday party…at school? With twenty other screaming five year-olds?

“I could meet you two for dinner afterwards,” Arthur suggested. 

Morgana clucked her tongue. “That won’t work, I’m afraid. See, I’ve already put your name down on the volunteer sheet, Arthur.”

“So I actually have zero choice in the matter?”

“Now you’re getting it. Oi—Mordred!—Put those down, no, they’re for dessert—”

There was shuffling over the line, muffled speech, Mordred’s high pitched voice asking for a cookie; Arthur smiled. One thing’s for sure: he wouldn’t be bored at a children’s holiday party. It actually might be kind of fun. 

“Hey, Arthur, I’ve got to let you go, but, you’ll come, right? You have to.”

“Of course I will,” he said. “Do I need to bring anything? You didn’t sign me up to bring 50 rolls of wrapping paper, did you?”

“No, brother dear. Just bring yourself in a festive sweater. Toodles.”

***

Arthur got home late from the office. He kicked off his shoes and untied his tie before heading to his bedroom to change into his warm flannel pajamas. His flat wasn’t too big, but it had everything he needed. Well, it didn’t have a Christmas tree, or any decorations, but it had a kitchen and hot water and a bed. He had photos and some knick-knacks around his small living room with dark wood and leather furniture. The place felt homey enough for him. 

He nearly bumped his wine glass off the side table when he landed on the couch with his dinner. “Shoot,” he hissed, steadying the glass and trying to ensure that his chicken noodle soup didn’t spill. That’s when the phone rang.

He settled into the couch, balancing his soup on one leg and his phone on the other. “Hi,” he said.

“Brother dear,” Morgana said. “Is all well?”

“Yep, just having dinner. I got out of work late. The company has been so hectic since December started.”

“Well, I hope you’re ready for your day off tomorrow. You remembered about Mordred’s class’ party, right?”

“How could I forget? That’s the only thing I’ve been looking forward to this week.”

“That’s good to hear. Be prepared, though. You might want to take some paracetamol beforehand to ward off the noisy-kid headache.”

“Noted.” Arthur chuckled. 

“I can also introduce you to the parents of some of Mordred’s classmates.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Will I get to meet…what’s his name? Daegal’s parents?”

“Daegal’s not in his class this year. But,” Morgana paused suspiciously, “Now that I think of it, you’ll probably get the chance to meet Merlin.”

“Merlin?” Merlin?

“He’s really quite lovely, not that the other parents would know it.”

There was a pause. 

“Am I supposed to know what that means?” Arthur asked. 

“No, no, I suppose not. Look, I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah? Leon just got home and I’m about to put Mordred to bed.”

“Okay, bye, ‘Gana.” Arthur hung up. He took a sip of wine, turned on the telly, and tried not to think of how silly the name “Merlin” was.

***

The next day at noon, Arthur walked into Mordred’s school, signing in at the front desk and getting a bright orange “Visitor” sticker. He met Morgana in the lobby and they walked to Mordred’s classroom together. 

“That’s not a very festive sweater, Arthur,” Morgana commented. She was wearing black jeans and a dark green sweater with tufts of red tinsel glued on. Arthur looked down at his sweater.

It was a plain, dark red knit sweater; the most festive one he owned. “It is to festive,” he said, bumping her shoulder. “Red is a Christmas color.” 

“Yeah, bright red, not gloomy merlot.”

Arthur laughed. “Gloomy merlot? You’ll be gloomy merlot pretty soon.”

“God,” Morgana laughed, “you’re just as bad as Mordred.”

“He’s got to have someone to look up to, doesn’t he?”

“Oh, here it is,” Morgana said, opening the classroom door. 

Arthur’s ears were bombarded with the various sounds of noisy children. Good thing he took paracetamol. 

“Are we late?” he asked Morgana. It already looked like the kids were well into their party. 

“No, they’re just getting started, I think. Come here, you’ll want to meet the teacher.”

Arthur met a lovely woman called Ms. Alice, who seemed to be a wonderful teacher with a great big heart. Then, he was set with the task of weaving throughout the clusters of small desks, handing out paper plates to all of the kids for cookie decorating. He placed containers of white frosting between the desks, along with spoons and sprinkles. 

“Thank you,” one of the little girls said, looking up at him. She had big brown eyes and brown hair. Arthur noted the adorable purple sweater she was wearing, with a sequined unicorn on it.

Arthur grinned. “You’re very welcome.”

“Uncle Arthur!” Mordred called over the noise of the students. He got up from his seat and ran right into Arthur’s leg, wrapping his arms around his hips. 

“Hey, there, big man!” Arthur bent down to hug him. “How’s my favorite nephew?”

Mordred let go, looking at him with a confused frown. “I thought—thought I was your only nephew.”

Arthur ruffled his dark brown curls. “My only and my favorite. Now go on, decorate your cookie, I’ll be around.”

With that, Mordred rushed off back to his desk. 

“He absolutely loves you,” Morgana said, coming to his side. 

“I’m probably his favorite uncle.”

Morgana rolled her eyes. “Favorite? Or only?”

“What’s the difference?” Arthur asked innocently.

***

The party was getting on swimmingly. More parent volunteers showed up, and the kids had settled a bit, fully engaged in a puzzle-piece wreath craft. Ms. Alice had Christmas music playing softly in the background. 

That left the parents (and Arthur) on the perimeter of the classroom, talking about this and that, drinking tiny cups of lemonade and eating cookies. (Arthur had budged in next to Mordred and insisted that he had to decorate his cookie). 

Now, however, cookie long gone, he stood next to Morgana, half-engaged in a conversation with her and another parent. He looked around. There were lots of moms, all much older than he was, or at least the same age as Morgana, and they were all in various groups, talking all about their little rays of sunshine. He looked to the other side of the room.

That’s when he noticed him. 

A young man, who couldn’t have been any older than Arthur, standing all alone against the wall. He wore a dark blue sweater that wasn’t much different from Arthur’s, hands resting on his hips as he watched the kids make their craft. 

The man glanced up briefly, looking at the parents, and then his eyes were back to the kids. He looked a bit awkward, standing on that side of the classroom by himself. 

“He’s really quite lovely, not that the other parents would know it.”

Hang on. Was that…what’s his name? Merlin? 

He was a proper fit bloke, if Arthur was being honest. Dark hair, lean frame, sweet little smile. 

Arthur was about to excuse himself from the current conversation to go speak with the supposed Merlin when suddenly there was a yelp. 

It was a small yelp, followed by, “Daddy!” and then suddenly that little girl from before—with the good manners and the unicorn sweater—was out of her desk and in front of Merlin, who had crouched down to be level with—his daughter?

The little girl held up her index finger and Merlin examined it carefully. He said something to her softly and she nodded. Then, he reached into his pocket for his wallet, pulling something out. 

From where Arthur stood, it looked like Merlin wiped her finger with a small alcohol wipe. Then, he unwrapped a little purple bandage and put it around her finger. He held up her hand and pecked two kisses to her boo-boo, then one to her forehead. The girl giggled at something he said and she wrapped her arms around Merlin’s neck in a hug.

Merlin released her from the hug, giving her another kiss on the cheek. He said something, and she nodded again, then went back to her desk to finish her craft. Merlin was smiling as he watched her walk away. 

Arthur’s heart had melted.

“Excuse me,” he muttered to Morgana and the other woman, deciding he had had enough. It was time to go introduce himself.

“Hi,” Arthur said, approaching the young man. 

Merlin turned his head, looking a bit surprised. “Hello.”

“I’m Arthur.” He held out his hand and Merlin shook it firmly. “Pendragon, that is. Though, I guess that means nothing to you given that Morgana’s last name is Le Fay.” Arthur cursed himself. 

“What?” Merlin asked with a small smile. “Do you know Morgana?”

“I’m her brother, yeah. I’m Mordred’s uncle—right over there.” Arthur pointed Mordred out. 

“Ohh, you’re Arthur. I think Morgana’s mentioned you before to me and I completely forgot. Sorry, dad brain.” He paused. “I’m Merlin. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Arthur smiled. “So,” he began, “which one is yours?”

“She’s just over there, in the purple sweater?” 

Arthur nodded. 

“That’s Penelope. Penny.”

“Wow, you know what? She’s the only one who thanked me for handing out the supplies earlier.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She’s got very good manners.” Arthur looked at Merlin, who’s eyes were focused on his daughter, sparkling with pride.

“Thank you,” Merlin said, looking back at Arthur. “That’s good to hear.”

They stood in silence for a bit, attention focused on the kids. Mordred had glued popsicle sticks to each of his fingers on one hand and was pretending to claw at all of the students in his desk group. Then he heard Morgana’s voice, and then she was over there, taking them all off against Mordred’s whiny protests.

Penny, on the other hand, was quiet, intensely coloring. She had the most adorable concentrated little frown on her face. 

Merlin huffed softly beside Arthur. “Looks like Morgana’s taking all of Mordred’s fun away.”

“Just being her usual self, then,” Arthur said, unable to resist the small sibling-roast.

Arthur spoke again a minute later. “So, what are you doing all alone on this side of the classroom, then?”

“Oh,” Merlin said, bashful. “Well, it’s just…none of the parents really…like me.”

“Why?”

“I look sort of young, yeah? And I am, I guess. I suppose the parents don’t really support that.”

“Why not? Can I ask how old you are?”

Merlin chuckled. “Yeah. Twenty-three. Which is apparently too young to have a five year-old, according to them.”

“You’re kidding. They don’t speak to you because they’re a bunch of conservative arseholes who think you have to be thirty-five to have your first kid?”

“Basically,” Merlin laughed. “They were out partying and getting drunk at the age that I was when Penny was born, so I’m obviously a horrible father.”

“That’s rubbish. I can’t believe they actually think like that. It’s the twenty-first century for pete’s sake!”

“I’m glad to know someone’s on my side.” Merlin looked into Arthur’s eyes, a smile on each of their faces. The eye contact felt like too intimate a moment to have with someone Arthur’s just met, yet he savored the moment too.

“Morgana usually talks to me, at least,” Merlin said, breaking his eyes away. “And now you.”

“Arthur!” Mordred ran up to the two of them, one hand clutching popsicle sticks, the other a bottle of glue. “Can you help me with something?”

“I don’t know, I think your mother would have my head if I helped you with that.”

“No she won’t. She’ll wanna buy you an ice cream!”

Arthur laughed. He glanced at Merlin, only to catch that Merlin was already looking at him. Arthur’s eyes flicked back down to Mordred. 

“What exactly is going on here?” Morgana asked, eyeing Mordred and Arthur.

“Nothing,” Mordred said. 

“Nothing,” Arthur said. 

Morgana shared a “can-you-believe-these-two?” look with Merlin. “Hi, Merlin. I see you’ve met my idiot brother already?” she said.

“Oi,” Arthur protested.

“Oh—um, yeah,” Merlin said, cheeks turning pink. Arthur was hoping even more that Merlin was into guys. “We’ve just been chatting.”

“Can’t I just do one finger, Mum?” Mordred asked. A few popsicle sticks slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor. 

“You’ve already done five, Mordred, that’s enough.”

Merlin turned his head suddenly. Arthur followed his line of sight to see Penelope standing warily outside of their group. Merlin stepped towards her. 

“You okay?” he heard him ask.

“Mm-hmm.”

Arthur couldn’t hear much else of their conversation, not that it was for him to hear anyways, but he saw Penny give him a piece of paper which he dutifully folded and put away in his wallet, giving her a hug and a kiss before she went back to her desk. 

Morgana and Mordred were still talking about popsicle sticks when Merlin came back. 

“Come on, Mumm,” Mordred was saying, grabbing Morgana’s hand and leading her away.

“Okay, honey. Uh—Merlin, sorry we weren’t able to talk much, I’ve got to, you know—”

“You’re fine,” Merlin said. “It was good to see you again.”

Morgana nodded, then turned away to go with Mordred. 

Merlin took a deep breath and let it out, smiling at Arthur. 

“Was she okay?” Arthur asked. 

“Oh, yeah, Penny’s fine. She can just be shy. Doesn’t like butting into groups of adults.”

That idea was sort of a shock to Arthur. He’s only ever been around Mordred, who’s loud and energetic and always wanting something. It was interesting to see and hear about Penny, who seemed to be Mordred’s opposite, all quiet, shy, and extremely polite.

***

The party wrapped up not long after that, with Ms. Alice stopping her Christmas music to instead play “The Clean Up Song.” 

Cleaning up was more chaotic than any other part of the party; before Arthur knew it, as he was zipping up Mordred’s coat he looked around the room to find that Merlin and Penny were gone. 

He hadn’t gotten to say goodbye.

***

“Morgana, you don’t happen to have Merlin’s number, do you?” Arthur asked her over the phone a few nights later.

“I knew it! You like him, don’t you?”

“What do you want me to say? He’s a very…nice bloke.”

“He’s pretty handsome too.”

“Morgana,” Arthur groaned. “Do you have it or not?”

“Yeah, yeah. I think he’s in my contacts somewhere, hold on.”

Arthur waited.

“Okay. I just sent it to you. Good luck, yeah?”

“Yeah. Wait!”

“What?” 

“Well, he’s not married, right? Or…in a relationship?”

“No. He told me at the Halloween party; he’s a single dad. Another reason why he’s shunned by those horrible parents in Mordred and Penny’s class.”

“Geez.”

“I know.”

“Do you suppose he might be bi?”

“Look. I don’t know, Arthur. We don’t talk very often. But it doesn’t hurt to try, yeah? Just text him and see what he says. And let me know what he says. Obviously.”

“Obviously. Okay. Thanks, ‘Gana.”

“Anytime, little brother.”

***

Arthur curled his fingers into Merlin’s hair, kissing him harder. They were in the men’s bathroom at a Starbucks on a late Saturday afternoon. 

Merlin’s fingers were around Arthur’s waist, trying to pull him closer and closer. Their kisses were getting more desperate.

“I had a—really good time today—at the Christmas concert with you and Penny,” Arthur said in between their breathy kisses.

“Me too,” Merlin said. His hands came up to cup Arthur’s jaw. Arthur held him closer, nipping at his bottom lip. 

“Do you—want to come back to mine?” Arthur asked.

“God yes. I don’t want to get caught in here.”

“Come on,” Arthur said. He forced himself to pull away from Merlin, whose lips were swollen and pink, black hair a complete mess. He took Merlin’s hand and led them outside. 

“What about my car?” Merlin asked. 

Arthur groaned. 

They had had to meet each other here. After the community Christmas concert, Merlin dropped Penny off at his mum’s house and then drove over.

“Can you leave it here tonight?” Arthur suggested.

“I really shouldn’t…”

“Okay. Well, let’s just meet at my flat then.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” He squeezed Merlin’s hand. “Just follow behind me.”

***

They walked up together and as soon as they got inside, Arthur had Merlin against the door. The door hadn’t quite shut yet, though, and when Merlin’s back hit it, he went farther back than either of them expected. Their faces were inches apart, and when it happened Merlin burst out laughing. His head tilted back, he met Arthur’s eyes, who promptly burst out laughing too.

“Oh my god,” Merlin cackled. 

“Whoops,” Arthur said. Merlin laughed even harder.

They calmed down eventually. Arthur leaned his forehead against Merlin’s. “Do you want to go to my bedroom?”

“Yes.” Merlin pecked Arthur’s lips. God, Arthur loved those lips. “But…Arthur…”

“Yeah?”

“Is this a one night stand?”

“What? What do you mean?”

Merlin adjusted the collar of Arthur’s jacket, not meeting his eyes. “Are we going to do this and then never speak to each other again? Or…”

“I don’t know. I would like to talk to you again. I like you, Merlin.”

Merlin smiled. “Yeah? I like you too.”

Arthur couldn’t help it; he kissed him again.

***

A few nights later, Merlin lay in bed, trying to read his book, though he wasn't doing a very good job of it. 

He couldn’t believe that he had…that he had actually slept with Arthur. With a guy he’d only known for a few days! 

He seemed to be a great guy, though. And once Penny had warmed up to him a bit, they’d had a great time at the Christmas concert. Penny was mesmerized by the orchestra, especially the violins, and she asked what every single instrument was called. 

“What’s that one, Daddy?” she whispered, pointing one out. 

“That’s a violin, pumpkin,” Merlin replied.

“No, it’s bigger. See? That one’s a violin. What’s that one? And what’s that one too?”

“I don’t know, honey.”

“That one’s a viola,” Arthur whispered. “It’s sort of like a violin, only bigger. And that one’s an upright bass. It plays really low ,” Arthur said, bringing his voice down as deeply as he could.

Penny giggled. “Really low,” she tried to mimic. 

“Really low,” Arthur said again deeply, and Penny was sent into a fit of quiet giggles.

Merlin’s heart melted, watching the two of them joke around. 

The thing was, Penny didn’t have a whole lot of people in her life. Merlin tried to make up for it as best he could, but he was always sort of worried that he wouldn’t be able to be everything that she needed him to be. She had Merlin, and Nan, and her best friend Margot, but that was about it. 

So after he saw his shy little girl interact with and have fun with Arthur, then Merlin thought it was valid if his heart turned into a puddle.

“What?” Arthur had asked, seeing Merlin stare at him above Penny’s head, who was sitting between them. “My sister was in orchestra. Played the viola.”

“Oh.” Merlin nodded, turning his head back to the stage.

On their way out to their cars after the concert, Penny walked in between them, holding each of their hands. She tried to swing between them. Merlin and Arthur chuckled, raising their arms up and swinging Penny into the air. 

“Weee!” she said, going up again. “I can’t believe I’ll be this tall one day!”

“You’ll grow up big and strong,” Arthur said.

Merlin could only savor the moment. Penny didn’t often get to do this. She didn’t often have a second hand to hold.

And then Merlin had dropped her off at Nan’s, met Arthur for coffee, had a really great time, kissed Arthur, got kissed by Arthur, fell into bed with him…and yeah. Merlin hasn’t lived so recklessly since before Penny was born.

He flinched at the sudden figure at his door. 

“Daddy?” Penny asked, coming farther in.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Merlin set his book down and sat up properly. He held his arms out and she walked into them, crawling up onto the bed.

“Bad dream.”

“Awh, I’m sorry, love. Do you want to tell me what it was about?”

Penny shook her head against Merlin’s chest. He tightened his arms around her, rubbing her back. 

“Do you want some milk?”

“Mm, no.”

“Do you want to sleep with me tonight?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Okay. Come on, let’s get you under the covers.” 

He got Penny under them, on the other side of the bed. And as soon as he got settled in himself, she was curled up against his side, hand over his belly.

“G’night, Daddy,” she said.

“Goodnight. I love you, Penny.”

“I love you too.”

Chapter Text

Things went on for a while in a new routine that both Merlin and Arthur adopted easily. They went out for lunch once a week, getting to know each other; their likes and dislikes; their past, and their future dreams. They didn’t start calling these lunches a “date” until a month went by (even though every single one ended with a kiss).

Arthur learned that Merlin worked at the same company as Leon, Bayard Corporation, analyzing market research and organizing and presenting the data to others in the department. 

“You don’t sound too thrilled about it,” Arthur remarked on their first lunch together.

“I’m not,” Merlin said. “It’s a good job—don’t get me wrong—it pays the bills and I’m lucky to have it…but, I’d rather do something else.”

“How’d you get the job? You said you didn’t go to university, right?”

“Right. Yeah, my friend Lance from grammar school got me the job. He set me up with it once…um, once I told him that Penny’s mum was pregnant.”

“Oh,” Arthur said. He tried to conceal his surprise; Merlin hadn’t yet spoken of Penny’s mum.

“Which—I did love her, and we’d been together since we were fifteen, but…”

“But?”

“Sorry,” Merlin said. “You don’t want to hear this. No, um, Lance got me the job, but if I had a choice—I don’t know, I think I’d wanna be a school guidance counselor.”

Arthur nodded. He wasn’t going to push Merlin to tell him about Penny’s mum, even though he had some questions. “A guidance counselor. I could see you doing that.”

“Really?” Merlin smiled. “No one’s ever said that before.”

“Well, it’s true. It would suit you. Do you think you’ll do that one day?”

“I don’t know. Only if I were able to go back to school, which isn’t in the cards right now. But you haven’t really told me what exactly you do, so go on. What company did you say?”

“Um—I didn’t say. I work for a tech company. It—”

“Which one?”

“It’s…” Arthur looked down at his water glass. “Pendragon Corp., actually.”

Merlin’s eyes went wide. “You —Pendragon, oh, how did I not put that together? Wow!”

Arthur chuckled. “Yeah. It’s my father’s company. I'm vice president right now.”

“That’s so cool, Arthur.” Merlin smiled.

***

“What is this?” Merlin asked, opening the front door of his small house.

Arthur was there with a grin, holding a big pink gift bag. 

“Don’t tell me…” Merlin said.

“I couldn’t help myself!” Arthur said, stepping inside. He pecked Merlin on the lips just as Penny ran down the hall towards them. “I just keep finding things at the store that I know she would love. ”

“Arthur!” Penny gave him a hug. “Ooh, what’s this?” She asked, running her finger along a line of glitter on the bag.

“Call it an early Christmas present, yeah? Here you are, Penelope.” 

Penny took the bag. “Thank you!” She ran to the living room and plopped down on the floor, opening it. Merlin and Arthur followed, sitting on the couch.

“What did you get her this time?” Merlin asked softly.

Arthur took his hand and brought it on top of his leg. “Just watch.”

Penny unwrapped the gift, pulling out sheet upon sheet of tissue paper. Then, she screamed. “A violin! It’s a violin!” She pulled out a small quarter-scale violin in a clear plastic box. “I get to learn violin!”

Merlin’s jaw had dropped. Arthur caught his eye. “You shouldn’t have,” Merlin said. “Arthur, that’s too much.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Look at her. I bet she’ll be a great musician one day. Morgana even tuned it for her and I rosined the bow. It’s all ready to go. And there’s some beginner music books in there.”

Merlin spoke up to Penny. “What do you say, love?”

“Thank you! Thank you Arthur!” She climbed up onto the couch and gave him a hug. “It’s the best present ever,” she whispered into his ear. 

“You’re welcome, Penny.” Arthur smiled. “What?” he said when he caught Merlin staring.

“Nothing,” Merlin said, smiling. “You ready for dinner?”

***

By Christmas, Merlin and Arthur were definitely a romantic couple, but they hadn’t actually talked about it or put any labels to it. They still hadn’t, even well after new year’s. They still had plenty to learn about each other too. Specifically, Merlin had a few things that he probably should have told Arthur if they were both seeking a committed relationship. The first thing Arthur found out about didn’t occur until January twelfth. 

They didn’t spend Christmas together, but with their respective families. Merlin and Penny went to Nan’s for a lovely, small, cozy Christmas; Arthur, Morgana, Leon, and Mordred went to Arthur and Morgana’s father’s manor house for a somewhat loud, slightly uncomfortable Christmas. Uther never had been the best of hosts, after all.

But it was January twelfth when the first secret came out. Not that it was a secret, necessarily, but Merlin never liked to tell people about it—about personal matters like this.

It was seven o’clock when Arthur knocked on Merlin’s door. Penny was having a girls’ night at his mum’s house and Merlin had just checked on the food in the oven; it was cooking perfectly. 

When he opened the door, Arthur’s face was flushed from the cold, his nose and cheeks an adorable pink. 

“Hi,” Merlin greeted.

Arthur smiled. “Hey.”

A sudden gust of freezing wind blew into the house and Merlin ushered Arthur in. 

“Gosh, come in, it’s freezing. Why don’t you wear a thicker coat? Don’t you have a hat? And gloves?” 

Arthur just stared at Merlin with an amused look on his face. He waited.

“Dad brain,” they both said at the same time. 

“Prat,” Merlin said.

Arthur guffawed. “How dare you.” He leaned in and kissed Merlin. “I brought something,” he said as they pulled apart. He held up a bottle of wine. “I hope you like red. It’s from this amazing vineyard in Italy, aged perfectly. We can have it with dinner. You do like red, don’t you?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah. Red’s good. Um—thanks. Here, I’ll take that and you get your coat off; just put it over the banister here.”

“You know, my father and I actually went to Italy one summer. We visited the vineyard. Even just their grapes were great. And the wine is fantastic. This is one of the few bottles I have left from that trip.”

“Wow,” Merlin said, walking to the kitchen with Arthur in tow. “So how did you like Italy? I’ve never been.” 

They settled on two stools in the kitchen, side by side. Arthur went on about his trip to Italy and Merlin did his best to listen. He couldn’t stop staring at the wine bottle in front of them. 

It’s been five years since he last drank. Five years of sobriety, about to be flushed down the toilet because of one date. How would he even handle it? Would it bring him back to how he was six, seven years ago? Would he have to go out and buy more? How was his body going to react? 

God, he couldn’t start again. He never planned on drinking again. He couldn’t ruin that. Not tonight, not ever. Alcohol had played too big a role in Merlin’s life before Penny was born. He couldn’t let it get that way again. 

Even one sip—just one sip—Merlin worried if the taste would bring him back to the same headspace he was in all those years ago. He worried that if he started, he wouldn’t be able to stop. 

And Arthur is expecting him to drink with him.

“What about you?” Arthur suddenly asked.

“What about me?”

Arthur chuckled. “Where have you been?”

“Oh. Um, pretty much nowhere. My dad took us to France when I was really young, but I don’t remember it. I went to Glasgow on a school trip once. And…Wales.”

“Wales? Wales? That doesn’t count!” 

“It does when I haven’t been anywhere, dollophead!” Merlin elbowed him.

“Hey!” Arthur elbowed him back. “It still doesn’t count.”

“Yes it does!” Merlin laughed.

***

Not much later, dinner was ready. The two of them sat across from each other at Merlin’s small dining table. Arthur had opened the wine bottle and a full glass now sat in front of each of them. 

“Merlin,” Arthur said, “this chicken is so good. How did you learn to cook?”

“Thanks. I think I’ve just learned from my mum. She’s a great cook.”

“And so are you.” Arthur took a sip of his wine. “Hmm, this wine goes perfectly, don’t you think?”

Merlin looked at his untouched glass. “Yeah. Perfectly.”

Arthur huffed softly, amused. “Have you even tried it yet?”

Merlin huffed too. “No…”

“Well come on, just try some.” 

Merlin thought about just drinking it. The glass was right in front of him, and he should just pick it up and take a sip, if only to shut Arthur up about the matter. 

But that would also mean putting an end to five years of sobriety. Merlin couldn’t just ruin all of that hard work with one sip. He couldn’t do it. He didn’t even know how his body, or his mind, would react to the wine. Would he want to down the whole glass once he tried it?

No. He couldn’t risk it. He had to stay strong. For himself. For his family.

“I…I think I’ll just wait.”

“I want to know if you like it, Merlin, it’s really good.” Arthur smiled, picking Merlin’s wine glass off the table and holding it out to him. “Just try it.”

Merlin quickly took a bite of chicken to keep his mouth full. “It’s okay, I—”

“I think this could be our new wine, you know? Just for the two of us.”

Merlin swallowed and Arthur brought his wine glass even closer. 

“Arthur, wait—”

“You’ll love it, Merlin.”

“I can’t!” Merlin snapped. “Just—get it out of my face, please.”

Merlin didn’t see Arthur’s reaction. He looked down, elbows on the table, palm to his forehead. He was briefly aware of Arthur finally setting the glass down.

“Um—” Arthur started to say, “Are you okay? I thought—that we were just, you know, flirting-bantering like usual.”

“I’m fine. I just didn’t know you’d be bringing wine tonight.” Merlin sighed, looking up at Arthur.

“Oh my God.” Arthur raked a hand through his hair. “Are you—?”

“Five years sober.”

“Oh my God. Merlin,” Arthur reached across the table for his hand. “I’m so sorry.”

Merlin squeezed his hand.

“I shouldn’t have just assumed that you—I should’ve asked first, and I definitely shouldn’t have pressured you into it like that. Oh my God,” Arthur said.

“It’s okay, Arthur. It’s fine. Sorry I didn’t just tell you in the first place. It could’ve all been avoided.”

Arthur reached for Merlin’s other hand across the table, squeezing both.

“I’ve just…” Merlin continued, “I’ve never actually told anyone about it. Only my mum knows, but she found out when she caught me drinking in my room when I was sixteen. Lance knows,” Merlin added.

“I’m glad you told me.” Arthur rubbed the backs of Merlin’s hands with his thumbs.

Merlin snorted. “Really?”

“Of course. This is the important stuff we need to know about each other if we’re going to be together.”

“So, should we label it, then?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are we…like, official? Boyfriends?”

A laugh barked out of Arthur. “I thought we already were!”

“Well we never actually talked about it—”

“Yes,” Arthur said with a grin. “Yes, we’re boyfriends. Now come here and let me kiss you.”

“Okay. But, your breath is gonna taste like wine.”

“Shit. Got any gum?” Arthur asked.

Chapter Text

“What’s your favorite animal?” Penny asked Merlin, holding his hand as they crossed the parking lot into the pet store. 

“Hmm, that’s a good question,” Merlin said, “I think penguins are my favorite.”

“Like the ones that flop on their bellies and slip all over the snow?”

“Those are the ones. What’s your favorite animal?”

“Cats! And unicorns. And dragons. But I know those ones aren’t real. Can we go see the cats first?”

“We sure can,” Merlin said, smiling. A few times every month Penny would want to go to the local pet store and look at all the animals, and Merlin was in no position to say no. He loved taking her out and seeing her face light up at all the different animals.

On the far right of the pet store was a small windowed room with cages of cats available for adoption. The cages were lined from the floor to about six feet up.

“Where are they?” Penny whined as they stepped inside. 

“Up here, love.” Merlin swiftly lifted her up to his hip and turned to the side to let her see.

“Awhhh, kitties!” Penny stuck her fingers through the bars of the cage and a small calico nudged against them. “Hi, kitty-cat.”

Merlin looked down at her wonder-filled face, the sight filling his heart with joy. He moved her along to say hello to the other cats as she pet each one.

“Where did all the other cats go down there?” she asked.

“I think those ones must have found good homes to live in.”

“Oh. So if there’s less cats it means there’s more that have a home?”

“Exactly.”

“Can we take one home?”

“I don’t know about that, darling. Not today, at least.”

“Then when?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It might have to be a few years from now.” Merlin was in no position to be able to take care of a cat right now—or pay for one, for that matter.

“But that’s so far away!”

“It’ll come sooner than you think,” he said. “Come on now,” Merlin set Penny down. “Do you want to look at the fish next?”

Penny nodded, took Merlin’s hand, and led them out of the room.

They had been looking at all of the various fish for nearly ten minutes, Penny high on Merlin’s hip so she could get a look at the clownfish, when someone called Merlin’s name.

“Hmm?” He turned around to see Morgana walking towards them, dressed in a fancy pantsuit and pushing a cart overflowing with pet supplies. “Hey, Morgana. How are you?”

“It’s good to see you, Merlin. Hello there, Penny!” 

Penny, who had done her best to turn around in Merlin’s hold to keep looking at the fish, turned back around. She briefly looked at Morgana before looking down. “Hello.”

Merlin smiled. “So, what’s going on?”

“Oh, I’m just here to pick up some dog supplies because apparently Leon thought it’d be a ‘nice idea’ to adopt one of his coworker’s puppies without telling us.”

“Uh oh.”

“I know. But, we’re hoping it’ll at least teach Mordred some responsibility. And it’d be good for him to have a companion like that to grow up with.”

“That’s sweet. Arthur told me he’s always wanted a dog, so I bet he’ll be excited to help out.” 

“Daddy, can I look more at the fish?” Penny whispered to him. 

“Sure.” Merlin set her down. “Go on, love.”

“Arthur is very excited about the new puppy. He was over for dinner last night and I could barely get Mordred to bed because the two of them were off playing with her.” 

A grin split Merlin’s face at the image of Arthur and Mordred sitting on the floor together, playing with a puppy. 

“But,” Morgana continued, “I don’t think little Killi is the reason why Arthur’s been so happy lately.” She smirked.

Merlin blushed. “Has he said something to you?”

“Well, he tells me all about you and Penny. I’ve never seen him like this before.”

Merlin took a deep breath, his heart filling with something he didn’t want to name. “Really?”

“Yeah. I knew it was a good idea to bring him along to the holiday party,” she said. 

Merlin nodded. “I think it was your best idea yet.”

*******

On Wednesday, Merlin met Arthur at his place for their usual lunch date. They had already eaten and now lay on the couch, Merlin against Arthur’s chest, legs entwined together. Arthur’s arm hung down over Merlin’s shoulder, who was fiddling with Arthur’s hand. Just as Merlin pressed a kiss to Arthur’s palm, Arthur spoke. 

“Can I ask you something?” he said. 

“Of course.”

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. I kind of hoped you’d bring it up yourself but I don’t know if it’s something I should ask or—”

“Arthur,” Merlin said, surprised at Arthur’s sudden insecurity. He ran his fingers along Arthur’s knuckles and then intertwined their fingers. “You can ask me.” He felt Arthur’s chest sink in a large exhale. 

“It’s just…Penny’s mum. I’ve kind of been wondering about her and…well, if she’s in the picture or not, I guess.”

Oh. Merlin had kind of forgotten about that. Of course Arthur would want to know about Penny’s mum, it was only natural. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” Arthur said again.

“No, it’s fine, darling. I—sorry. Sometimes I forget to tell you things because I just don’t have that many people in my life. So I’ve never really had to share all these things before and I’m just not used to it, I think.”

“Mmm. I may have sensed that from you, Merlin.” Arthur tilted his head down and pressed his nose to Merlin’s hair. 

“Mithian.” 

“Hmm?”

“Penny’s mum. Her name is Mithian Rodor. Mith.”

Merlin could feel Arthur nod against him. He continued. “I met her when I was thirteen. She was in my class and I had gotten the biggest crush on her. But it was only when my dad died later that year that we really started hanging out.”

Arthur curled his arms around Merlin at the mention of his father. Merlin smiled softly. 

“She’d caught me drinking under the bleachers and she said to either let her join in or she’d tell the teacher. So I passed her my bottle.”

“Merlin,” Arthur said.

“I know. But we were both kind of lost at the time, you know? I was grieving my dad, and her mum was sick, not to mention her parents were trying to get a divorce before her mum was even diagnosed.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. And then we just started hanging out from then on. Not long after, we kissed at a party, went on a few dates…and then we were kind of inseparable.”

“So what happened?”

“Well, we dated up until we were eighteen. And we both drank and partied, just kind of ignoring all of our problems and real life. But by the time we were older, we had just grown apart, you know? I think we were finally starting to realize that we couldn’t live like that forever. And—the whole thing—it just seemed a bit, I don’t know…”

“Unhealthy?” 

“Yeah. Exactly. And in the end it was mutual; we both felt that way. When I was about to actually talk to her about it, though—she was coming over to my house—and when I opened the door she grabbed my arm and ran into my room and told me she was pregnant.”

Arthur was quiet for a moment. Then, a soft, “Oh my God.”

“She was thinking about, you know, um—terminating it. She didn’t want to have a baby.”

Arthur hugged Merlin tighter. 

Merlin began to choke up as he spoke. “But she said that if I want her, like, full custody and everything, then she’ll have the baby for me and I—I just couldn’t imagine an abor—” Merlin cut himself off, burying his hands in his face. 

Arthur sat up from the end of the couch and maneuvered Merlin around so they were facing each other. He pulled Merlin’s hands off his face and pulled him into a tight hug. “It’s okay, Merlin,” he said, again and again in a whisper. “It’s all right.” 

“I just want to be the parent she deserves,” Merlin croaked into Arthur’s neck. 

“You are,” Arthur assured him. “You’re an amazing father.”

“I’m not.”

“You are, Merlin. You’re amazing. It’s so obvious how much you love her.”

“She’s my whole world. She—when Mith told me she was pregnant I was so scared; I wasn’t ready and I—I had no idea how to be a dad. And then she was born and she was so tiny and perfect…best thing that ever happened to me.”

“You take such good care of her,” Arthur said. 

“I send Mith a Christmas card every year with Penny’s picture in it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, but she never reaches out.”

“You want her to?”

Merlin shrugged a bit in Arthur’s arms. “I want her to know that if she wants to be involved, she can be, in any way. Even if we just tell Penny that she’s an old friend of mine. But I also wouldn’t want to lie to my baby…”

“I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, if Mithian ever does reach out.”

Merlin paused for a moment. “...We?”

Arthur nodded. “I want to be here for it. For all of it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And I know I’m young—we both are—but I’ve never felt as sure about anything as I have about us.” He pulled away slightly, no doubt able to see the blush rise in Merlin’s cheeks. “Does that scare you?” Arthur asked softly. 

Merlin smiled sadly. “A little.”

Arthur kissed his forehead. A silent promise: It’s okay. We’ll be all right. 

“I’m younger than you,” Merlin mumbled into Arthur’s shoulder.

“What?”

“You said we’re both young. But you’ve got two years on me.” Merlin looked up at him with a cheeky grin.

Arthur laughed, rolling his eyes back. “God help me,” he said. 

“You’re a quarter of a century old. And I, on the other hand, am not.”

“Shut up, Merlin,” Arthur chuckled.

*******

5 years earlier

Merlin gripped Mithian’s sweaty hand fiercely, trying to give her all the strength she needed.

Mithian groaned, her head falling back onto the pillows of the hospital bed in a large exhale. 

“I see the baby’s head,” the doctor spoke. “Just one last push.”

Merlin held onto her arm now too. “You can do it, Mith,” he said. “I know you can.”

Mithian pushed, her eyes shut tight, and then she let out a breath, falling back into the bed again. 

It was silent. Merlin was frozen, staring at the doctor. 

And then high-pitched cries filled the room. 

Merlin sighed in relief, a watery grin breaking through him. He only saw a small glimpse of the baby, of pink skin, before a nurse took her to wrap her up, but when the nurse turned around, he saw her. His baby. His daughter.

Her cries had quieted to only a few disgruntled coos as the nurse walked over to them. She held the baby out for Mithian, who was wiping her eyes. “Would you like to meet your daughter?” the nurse asked. 

“Oh, no, please,” Mith said, “Let Merlin meet her first.”

Moments later, Merlin found himself sat down on a hard plastic chair, his baby being placed into his arms. His lips parted in a silent gasp, a smile growing with each second he stared at his baby. His baby. 

She was fidgeting around, cooing, and then her big brown eyes looked right up at Merlin. 

“Hi,” he whispered. “I’m your dad. I promise I’ll look after you.” Tears fell fast as he blinked. “I love you, baby girl.” Merlin rocked her a bit, stroking her face with his finger. 

“Look at that,” he said to Mith, “she’s already got some hair.” He ran his fingers along the sparse brown hairs on her head. “Oh, she’s lovely.”

“Do we have a name yet?” the nurse asked.

Merlin looked to Mith. 

“It’s up to you, Merlin. Whatever you want.”

He nodded, stood, and kissed Mith’s forehead. He had picked out a name months ago. Now, looking down at his daughter, it suited her perfectly. 

“Penelope,” he told the nurse. “Penelope Hunith Emrys. Penny for short.”

“That’s wonderful,” the nurse said. “I’ll have the paperwork drawn up.” She said something to the doctor and the both of them left, leaving the small little family on their own. 

Merlin stared down at his baby, rocking her softly. “Hi there, Penelope.”

Almost as if she understood him, she reached out and grabbed the tip of Merlin’s index finger with her whole hand. A watery laugh escaped Merlin. “Yeah,” Merlin whispered, “We’ll be all right, won’t we?”

*******

Merlin was on his way out of the office on Friday night, heading out to his mum’s house to meet her and Penny for dinner when Lance stopped by his desk. 

“Hey, Merlin?”

“What’s up, Lance? It’s good to see you.”

“You too. Unfortunately I can’t stay; I just wanted to let you know that there’s a delivery downstairs for you.”

“Oh, really?”

Lance nodded. “And it’s quite the spectacle. I’ll see you around, Merlin.” Lance winked at him. Then, he started down the hall to the elevator. 

Merlin gathered up his things, swung his jacket on, and made his way downstairs to the front desk. Behind reception, there’s a large shelf for all of the various packages that get sent to the company. The receptionist was gone for the evening so Merlin approached the shelf; there were a few boxes on it, organized by last name, but there was one thing in particular that caught his eye. 

A glass vase, filled with at least two dozen roses, with ranging shades of red, pink, and white. There was a note attached:

For Merlin-

Thank you for sharing your life with me. Telling me things. I know it’s soppy and you’ll call me a dollophead for this, but really, I’m grateful. 

-A.P.

Merlin read the note over and over, taking in each word, imagining Arthur writing this out or saying it to him. Butterflies erupted in Merlin’s stomach, thinking that Arthur cared about him enough to send him flowers. God, he hasn’t felt anything like this before—not even with Mithian. Back then, they’d been too young to understand the amount of work and communication that must go into a relationship; it’s no wonder they drifted apart. 

But Arthur. Merlin never imagined Arthur was the type for these romantic gestures, though he’s not complaining. This was exactly what he’d always wanted. 

*******

Merlin arrived at his mum’s house and dutifully unbuckled the flowers in the passenger seat beside him. How else was he going to make sure they stayed upright during the drive?

Merlin would have to bring the flowers inside to give them fresh water, though he knew his mum would ask questions. Especially since he hasn’t told her about Arthur yet. Mainly it was because he knew she would overreact and think that he shouldn’t be dating when he has a daughter so young. But if he removed Arthur’s note from the flowers, he could tell Hunith himself, on his own time. Merlin stared at his beautiful roses and walked with them to the front door. The truth was, he didn’t really care what Hunith would think. He was floating on air. Whatever his mum had to say about his relationship with Arthur simply didn’t matter, because Merlin cared about Arthur and Arthur cared about Merlin. And Penny. And really, that was all he could ever ask for. 

So, Merlin, strengthened by the flowers in his arms, knocked on his mum’s door, and knew that whatever questions she had for him, he could answer them.

“Daddy!” Penny opened the door. She hugged his side. “Oooh, pretty flowers.”

“Hi there, sweetheart. Did you have a good day at school today?” Merlin closed the door as he entered.

“Mm-hmm.”

Hunith came down the hall to greet him then. “There you are,” she said. “Oh, those are gorgeous, Merlin. Did you get them for us?” She gave him a hug, mindful of the roses.

“Not really, uh, someone gave them to me. They need fresh water.”

In the kitchen, Hunith took the vase and switched out the water, telling Merlin that dinner was almost ready and for them to have a seat at the table. Penny climbed into his lap as soon as he sat down, leaning against his front.

And then Merlin remembered he forgot to remove Arthur’s note from the flowers. His heart dropped. “Uh—” he tried to stand, but he didn’t want to move Penny, and when he looked at Hunith in the kitchen, the note was already in her hand, eyes glued to it. “That’s—” Merlin started, only to be interrupted by his mum.

“Who is A.P.?” she asked.

“Um—” he began, trying to think through how this could go. In the end, he decided to rip the band-aid off. “He’s my boyfriend.”

She set the note down. “What?”

“Yeah. We’re dating. We met at Penny’s class’ holiday party a few months ago. He’s the uncle of a boy in her class, Mordred.”

“So how long has this been going on?” Hunith demanded.

“A couple of months. It’s not that big of a deal, Mum.”

Hunith scoffed. “‘Not that big of a deal,’ yeah, sure, Merlin. Thank you for telling me.” The oven timer dinged and she removed the casserole. She let the glass dish smack on top of the stove and Penny flinched as she looked to where the ugly sound came from.

Merlin rubbed her wrist, trying to tell her it was okay.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Hunith said, bringing the dish to the table and scooping a serving onto each of their plates. “Why don’t you sit over here to eat, honey,” she said to Penny, who got down and moved to sit across from Merlin, while Hunith sat at one of the ends.

“It’s not what I expected either, Mum. But Arthur’s amazing. We get on really well and—”

“Arthur? Is that his name?”

“Yeah, Arthur Pendragon.”

“Is that—wait…” Hunith paused, uncertain. 

“What is it?”

“Penny’s told me about her new friend, Arthur. I don’t suppose we’re talking about the same one here?”

“Well, yeah. Penny, do you remember when you first told Nan about Arthur?”

Penny looked up at him, in the middle of chewing a bite. “I don’t know,” she said worriedly. 

“It must have been three months ago, now,” Hunith said. “Though I assumed that Arthur was a boy in her class. She didn’t tell me he was an adult.”

“And he’s a really great adult too, mum—” 

“No, Merlin, I don’t want to hear it. This isn’t a good idea. Especially with—” Hunith whispered the next word to Merlin, “her already so involved. You’re both going to get hurt.”

Merlin tried to keep himself calm, but he was fed up with all of this negativity about him and Arthur. He knew that it was still early in their relationship, but by god he felt so confident in it too. Okay, and yes, he’ll admit that he didn’t think he’d start dating again until Penny was at least ten, or thirteen, or sixteen, or however old you have to be to fully understand all of this dating and relationship stuff. But then Arthur had approached him at the holiday party, so cute and charming, with that dazzling smile of his. And then Arthur had texted him, saying that he got his number from Morgana and if maybe Merlin fancied going out for coffee sometime?

Coffee had turned into the orchestra Christmas concert and then a starbucks makeout session, followed by a thorough shagging. Lunch dates every week turned into lunch dates two or three times a week, and then when they finally had a night alone, things were made official; boyfriends. Suffice it to say that no, Merlin didn’t think he’d be dating when Penny was still so young until Arthur came along and swept him off his feet. But he can’t remember a time when he and Penny had been happier.

“You don’t know him, mum. I mean, look at those bloody flowers! They probably cost at least fifty quid. He’s sweet and kind, and I trust him—”

“And what happens when you break up?” Hunith’s voice was stern.

Merlin groaned. “You don’t have to assume that we’re going to break up—”

Her voice grew louder. “But what if you do? Have you thought about that? How it’s going to affect not only you, but Penny? Do you realize that?” 

“Of course I do!” Merlin snapped. 

Suddenly Penny’s soft, wobbly voice filled the room. “I’m sorry,” she said.

That snapped Merlin out of it. Across the table, she bit her lip, staring at the fork she twirled on her plate. “Why are you sorry, sweetie?”

When she looked up, her eyes were filled with tears. “I—I—I didn’t say Arthur was a grown-up. I…didn’t know I have to say…” 

“You don’t, darling. You don’t have to say that. It’s not your fault.” 

“Yeah, we’re not upset with you, Penny,” Hunith said, covering Penny’s hand with hers. “Merlin and I will just have to finish our discussion after dinner, yes?” she asked, looking at Merlin with an eyebrow raised. 

“Yes,” he said. “After dinner.”

“Okay,” Penny said, wiping her eyes. “Not in trouble?” she mumbled. 

“No, love,” Merlin said. “Not at all.”

The rest of dinner was rather silent, only the odd comment about Hunith or Merlin’s day filling in the silence for a moment or two. Merlin noticed that Penny had only been picking at her food ever since the (admittedly) heated discussion she’d witnessed. 

This became cause for concern when, after dinner had been cleared away and Penny sat on the ground playing with some of her stuffed animals, she declared that her stomach hurt. 

She stood and put her hand on his knee where he sat on the sofa, Hunith beside him. 

“Is it like you’re hungry?” he asked. 

She shook her head. 

“Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

“No,” she said. 

“Does it hurt on the outside of your stomach? Where all your big strong muscles are?”

“No, it’s like—I don’t know…it just hurts.” She hugged her stomach, her eyebrows pinching together in a way that Merlin immediately recognized as her being incredibly uncomfortable and on the verge of a meltdown. 

“Okay,” he said, scooping her up as he stood, carrying them to the kitchen. He set Penny down on the counter and started rummaging through the cabinets. 

“It’s behind the measuring cups,” Hunith called.

“Got it.” 

Once he had gotten the medicine down her, he carried her to her bedroom. (As Hunith had a few extra bedrooms in her home, she’d excitedly turned one of them into Penny’s room when she was born, decorating it in pinks and purples and blues.)

A half hour later, Merlin returned to the living room, sighing loudly as he sat down. 

“Is she okay?” Hunith asked.

“I think so. Hopefully just a little stomach ache that sleep will cure.”

“I hope so.” 

Merlin nodded, leaving a weighted silence in the room, smothering them. 

Any moment now, Merlin thought. 

Hunith cleared her throat. God, here we go. “So Penny’s already ‘best friends’ with your boyfriend, I hear?”

“Mum. You don’t have to say it like that. Arthur’s a good man.”

“I’m just worried about her.”

“I know. Look, I never thought I’d start dating so early either, but things can change. Do you know the violin that she’s trying to learn? It was a gift from Arthur.”

“No. I don’t think you’re understanding me, Merlin. Just because you feel good about him now, doesn’t mean that you won’t later. Penny is young and she needs people in her life to support her. Stable people, who will always be there for her. I know you think Arthur could be one of those people, but things never work out how you think. And if you keep going down this path, I think you’re going to do more harm than good.”

“It’s just that—”

“I’m not done, Merlin. The truth is that you’re biased to Arthur. And if you’ve started dating now, there’s a good chance you’ll keep on doing it with others and then soon enough Penny will be a mess because the people she thought she could count on in life abandoned her. I can’t believe that you introduced him to her so quickly. What were you thinking?”

Merlin breathed in and out, trying not to get into another near screaming match. He knew where his mum was coming from, of course he did, but he just had a feeling about Arthur; one that if he communicated to Hunith, he knew she’d stomp all over it. 

“I know, mum,” Merlin began, and he decided to tackle this from a different angle, in the hope that it might appease her. “But what about me? I’m in my early twenties, for gods’ sake, can’t I just chat to a guy and enjoy myself and you don’t have to think it’s the end of the fucking world?”

“Don’t talk to me like that, Merlin,” Hunith said, voice stern; a warning. The calm before the storm. 

That was probably the wrong tactic, then. 

“You lost those privileges when your daughter was born. I know when you were born, I gave up all those privileges too. Going out, partying, doing things for yourself. Because when you have a child, everything you do is for them.”

“So I can’t do anything for myself? Nothing at all? What kind of shit is that?”

“That’s being a parent, Merlin!” Hunith snapped. “Honestly, I thought you’d realized this already! I don’t know what that Arthur is doing to you, but if you expect me to let you give up your daughter so that you can go out and party with him, you’re not the son I knew.”

“I’m not asking for that, mum! You don’t even know him! I’m going to keep dating him; Penny is going to keep hanging out with him, with all of us, and we’re going to be happy together. I’m sorry you have such little faith in my love life, but I trust Arthur, mum! I trust him.”

Hunith scoffed. “Fine. Don’t take my advice and we’ll see how you get on. I’m just terribly sorry for Penny.”

“Don’t be. She’s my entire world; I’d never choose anyone over her. I promise.”

Hunith gave him a sort of half-smile that wasn’t quite a smile, but that he supposed was a sign that she was glad to hear it. 

“But I don’t support this,” she said. Merlin’s heart splintered. She stood and handed Merlin his coat. “You better be careful. Remember I’m going out of town in a few weeks so you’ll have to get off work early and pick Penny up from school then.”

“I remember.” Merlin swung his coat on and headed down the hall to Penny’s room. 

“Where are you going?”

“To get Penny.”

“She can stay here for the night. I can bring her to school in the morning.”

“She’s not feeling well. I need to look after her, Mum.”

“I can look after her. There’s no need to wake her up.”

Merlin entered Penny’s room and stopped, taking a breath as he stared at her peaceful sleeping figure. 

He perched gently on the edge of her bed and began to stroke her hair. Hunith appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame. 

Penny stirred, turning closer to him. 

“It’s time to go home, love,” Merlin whispered. “Do you want to stay with Nan tonight or go home with me?”

Penny let out a sleepy hum. Merlin prayed that she would choose him, or else it’d be an even worse end to an already crappy night. 

“Go home,” Penny mumbled. Relief flooded through Merlin. 

“Okay, love. Let’s go home.”

Merlin carried Penny in one arm to the car, his flowers in the other. Hunith gave him a kiss on the cheek and a stern warning to “be careful,” instead of a happy goodbye. 

*******

Once Penny was in her bed at home, Merlin settled on the couch, half-watching some raunchy sitcom and half-thinking about everything that happened. Or, maybe 30% sitcom and 70% thinking. 

He felt so stupid—so childish—for wanting to pursue a relationship with Arthur. Was his mum right? Should he just end things now to protect himself from potential future heartbreak? End things now so that Penny won’t grow any closer to him? 

But then, hadn’t Arthur bought him flowers? And he makes Penny laugh, (Merlin too) and he’s got a great big heart, as hidden as it is by his pratishness. He’s kind and sweet and Merlin might be a bit besotted with him, especially since he hasn’t scared him off yet. 

Merlin picked up his phone. 

“Hello?” Arthur said. 

“Thank you for the flowers,” Merlin said. 

He could hear Arthur’s smile. “You’re welcome. I meant what I said on the note.”

“That’s good to hear. And I’m—I’m here for you too, you know?”

“I know. Thanks, Merlin.”

“But, um—I don’t know that my mum is.”

“What? What do you mean?”

And then Merlin explained everything. How unhappy his mum was, how she doesn’t support their relationship, how she doesn’t think it’s good for Penny. All of it. He also explained how he wasn’t going to listen to her. That Merlin had faith in them, and he didn’t want to give them up. 

“I don’t either,” Arthur had agreed. “Maybe…do you think if she met me? If that would help?”

“I think it might,” Merlin said. “I mean, you’re great, so hopefully she’d see that too, but it’s...” 

Merlin paused. The line stayed silent. 

“Merlin?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you not think I should meet her yet?”

“...Well, maybe not. It might be good to just let things cool off for a bit. I don’t want to make her even more upset by shoving you in her face.” 

Arthur chuckled lightly. “That’s okay. We can wait.”

“Hey, will I get to meet your father soon?”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Father’s a bit—well, he’s like the complete opposite of you. I don’t know if you’ll get along. Plus, you’d be the first boyfriend that I’d introduce him to. I don’t really know how he’ll react.”

“So I guess we’ll just never meet each other’s parents. Sound like a plan?”

“Mer lin. Look, if you really want to, you can meet him. But don’t blame me if the universe explodes when you do. Actually, Morgana’s having a house party next week. She wants everyone to meet the new puppy. Or, that’s more Leon, probably. But if you want to come along, I think Father will be there, and you can meet some of my mates too.”

“That sounds great. Can Penny come?”

“Yeah, of course. Maybe she and Mordred can play together. It’d be great if they became friends.”

Merlin agreed, and then Arthur bounded off explaining something that happened at work today involving his mate Gwaine which had Merlin nearly rolling on the floor in laughter, his face covered in happy tears.