Work Text:
‘Yeah, that’s a cool place, I have been there with Freya once...’
And that was the point of no return.
Actually, nobody knew how it became the point of no return, given that Merlin mentioned his ex-girlfriend several times during the last six months. Or more like six months, two weeks, three days, four hours and thirteen minutes. Since Merlin and Arthur started dating.
They tiptoed and danced around each other for years, driving all their friends up the wall, until they finally decided to realise their mutual affection. Both of them had girlfriends and boyfriends in the past and they agreed to be open about it – they were grown-up men after all, with absolutely no reason to feel jealousy about the exes.
Except that Merlin mentioned Freya a lot. Like, a lot lot. She was his girlfriend before Arthur, and his longest relationship so far. (Though Arthur aimed to outdo her.) They stayed good friends, her memory fresh on Merlin’s mind, her name often coming up in his conversations, remembering foods they shared, places they went to, books they read together, movies they watched together... all that time they spent together.
So when one night Arthur suggested that next time they could go and try Old Halig’s Pub, and Merlin casually answered, ‘Yeah, that’s a cool place, I have been there with Freya once...’, Arthur suddenly got up from the couch, ‘Okay, I am going to bed,’ heading for his bedroom, leaving a gaping and confused Merlin behind.
‘What, now?’
‘Mhm,’ came the nonchalant reply. Arthur did even try to fake a yawn.
Merlin rose from the couch to follow but he barely stepped over the threshold of the bedroom, when Arthur stopped him.
‘No, Merlin. You shall not pass.’
Merlin stared at Arthur.
Arthur stared back.
Merlin blinked. ‘Beg your pardon?’
‘You aren’t sleeping in this bed tonight.’
’Wait, what? Are you kicking me out?’
’Yes, I am, so get out of my room, please. Like right now. You are sleeping on the couch tonight,’ Arthur said (more like grunted), and shoved a blanket and a pillow into Merlin’s arms. ‘Here, take these and good night.’
‘Bullshit. You know that I could just go home and spend the night in my own flat, right?’
Arthur quirked an eyebrow, as if the answer was quite obvious. ‘Yeah, but I need you near to me. Not in your stupid flat which is insufficiently far away from me.’
‘You’re stupid! You don’t mean to say that I can’t go home because you need me here, but I can’t sleep with you either?’
‘Sleep tight, Merlin!’ That was Arthur’s only answer, muffled by the bedroom’s door.
The whole situation was stupid. Like, words-cannot-describe-it stupid. And also, Arthur was stupid – and by ‘stupid’ Merlin meant utter and insufferable clotpole and drama queen.
To tell the truth, Merlin proved himself to be stupid since he gathered the cerulean blue pillow and blanket Arthur gave him (the same cerulean blue pillow and blanket he always used when he slept at Arthur’s), and made his bed on the couch. It was a nice, deep red couch, actually quite comfortable for one man to sleep on it. After deciding at which end his head should be and some manoeuvring and grumbling about Arthur’s caprices, Merlin was starting to feel his eyelids getting heavier, his body slowly reaching a sweet state of numbness... but he was barely asleep when someone poked his shoulder.
‘Merlin! Hey, Merlin!’
‘Mhm?’ Curiously, in his sleep-fogged mind, it sounded like the voice of Arthur. And even more curiously, it felt like Arthur was pushing at his shoulder…
‘Give me some room!’
‘You have your room.’
‘Very funny. Come on, Merlin, work with me a little,’ and with that he promptly showed Merlin face first into the back of the couch, so he could spoon up behind him.
Oh, great, Merlin thought ironically.
We could go into a deep analysis of his train of thoughts upon the irony of dating someone who mastered in stupidity, but also the greatness of that certain stupid someone’s affections, not to mention the fact that this very stupid guy was also great enough to occupy most of the couch... but it was half past midnight and the two boys just wanted to sleep.
‘Okay, Arthur, wait a bit...’ and then started the squirming, manoeuvring, jostling and bumping, until finally Arthur was laying on his back, with Merlin sprawled on top of him.
‘Is this because I mentioned...?’
‘Don’t say the name. Just don’t.’
‘Maybe I should call her You Know Who.’
‘Merlin.’
Merlin smiled into Arthur’s chest, feeling simply and solely warm and comfortable, and ready to fall asleep again. ‘You know that you have no reason to be jealous, right?’
‘Keep this up and we’re sleeping on the balcony tomorrow.’
‘I love you, too, prat.’