Chapter Text
When Morgan stepped into the living room, his eyes immediately fell on a dark-haired guy with distinctive cheekbones and a brilliant smile. The sight made Morgan freeze in the archway.
If his memory served him well, this was the same guy his brother hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of last week. Arthur had watched this guy laugh and drink from across the room, and when the guy left, Arthur's mood had turned melancholy to the point where he no longer even tried to feign interest in the two good-looking girls they were double-dating. It had soured the mood and the girls hadn't been happy with either of them.
“Arthur,” a feminine voice pulled him from his thoughts as a hand rested on his forearm. Morgan turned back to the girl, taking a moment to remember the name of Arthur’s friend. Gwen. "What is it?" she asked, worried.
Up until now, Gwen was the only reason Morgan wasn’t completely upset at his brother for begging him to come to the party in his stead. Her attraction to Arthur was obvious to him by the way she stared and smiled and found excuses to touch him, but Arthur had never really shown or spoken of an interest in her besides friendship. So Morgan had spent most of the night peppering in compliments about himself and had convinced Gwen to take his number from ‘Arthur’.
But now Morgan had another reason to enjoy the party.
“Sorry, Gwen,” he said, giving her a wide smile. “I just realized where I recognize that bloke from. I’m going to go say hi, so I’ll catch up with you later, okay?”
“Okay.” She gave his arm a squeeze before letting go and turning back to her group of friends.
When Morgan turned back to the guy, he was disappointed to see him now conversing with another man with longer hair and an obscenely low-cut shirt. The cheekbone guy leaned forward to better hear what the other man was saying to him, and whatever it was made him throw his head back and laugh. It was a genuine laugh that rang out through the room, catching the attention of everyone around them. The laughter even reached the man's eyes as they crinkled at the corners, his entire face engaged in expressing his mirth.
Still laughing, he said something back and the long-haired man joined in the laughter. Morgan had a moment of panic when the long-haired man threw his arm around cheekbone guy’s shoulders and pulled him into a half hug and kissed his cheek, making the cheekbone guy smile widely, pleased with himself.
Then that man’s eye fell on a group of girls that had just walked into the room. The man practically leered, brushed his hair out of his face, pat cheekbone guy on the shoulder, and sauntered over to greet the girls with touching affection as well. Cheekbone guy shook his head in amusement and turned away with a smile, eyes moving through the crowd as if looking for someone.
Their eyes met.
The guy's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed, averting his eyes and continuing his search of the room, deliberately not looking Morgan’s way again and taking a deep drink from his cup.
Morgan put on his best smile and walked straight up to him, watching the poor bloke fidget as he seemed to want the ground to swallow him up.
“Hey,” Morgan said.
The guy startled and looked up at Morgan as if surprised to be adressed by him directly. “Um… hi.”
"How do you know him?" Morgan asked, nodding towards the long-haired man who now had his arms around the shoulders of two women who were both looking very pleased with the situation.
"Who? Gwaine?" he asked, his eyes following to land on the man in question. "We had a class together my first year here and then he ended up crashing on my couch for a few months. He hasn't forgiven me yet for the kindness and insists on paying me back by encouraging me to socialize more. So here I am," he said, gesturing around them with the drink in his hand. When the liquid nearly sloshed over the side of the cup, he muttered a curse and nearly turned red with embarrassment. "I swear this is my first one."
"No judgement," Morgan said raising his own cup, aiming for a smile that was more friendly than amused so it didn't look like he was making fun of him. And Morgan was grateful Gwaine - who he'd heard Arthur mention countless times as the shameless flirt on his team - had managed to persuade this guy to come out tonight.
"Umm... how do you know Gwaine?" the guy asked, ready to move the conversation away from his clumsiness.
Morgan was happy to oblige. "I'm on his footie team. Captain, actually."
"The Knights?"
"That's us," Morgan said, delighted that the guy was familiar with Arthur's team. "Have you watched us play?" Had this guy also been eyeing Arthur?
Merlin shook his head. "I never did make it out to watch a game, but maybe I should make more of an effort to catch the next one," he said tentatively, meeting Morgan's eyes.
"Are you a fan?"
"I do watch on occasion," the man hedged.
“Did I happen to see you at the pub during the football match last week?”
The guy’s blue eyes widened even further and he scrubbed his hand through his hair, embarrassed. “Yeah, you could have. I was there with a couple of mates.”
Morgan was relieved to have been right. “I thought I recognized you.”
“You… you did?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t forget those blue eyes of yours easily.” He knew he was laying it on thick, but he wanted to be sure that this man knew he was being flirted with.
It must have worked because he flushed and ducked his head to hide a pleased grin. “Were you there to watch the match?” cheekbone guy asked, adjusting his grip on his drink.
“I was.”
“Were you there with anyone?”
Morgan assumed the man had seen him and his brother with their dates. Was he trying to figure out his availability?
“My brother and I were actually on a double date.” The man nodded, probably remembering the gorgeous women they had been with. That Arthur hadn’t paid near enough attention to. “I’m sorry to say they noticed that my attention was focused elsewhere for most of the night,” Morgan said while pointedly staring at Merlin.
The man’s blush deepened, which emboldened Morgan because it seemed the flirting was being well-received. Morgan assumed that meant the man was gay or at least bi. Either way, he seemed interested.
“So unsurprisingly, the date didn’t go so well for me, though I wasn’t too disappointed about that.”
“That’s… good?”
Morgan flashed him another smile. “Did you enjoy the game?” Morgan asked.
“Oh, I didn’t get to watch much of the match because I was at work. I just met up with my friends once I had a chance and got to see the end.”
“Where do you work?”
“The pharmacy downtown. My uncle runs it and lets me work part time around my classes.”
So not a spoiled rich boy. Not someone Father ever would have paired them with, had he been so inclined to set his sons up with males. But the man’s personality struck Morgan as genuine, which was a refreshing change from most. Definitely good boyfriend material.
"You know, if you don't want to wait until our next game, we practice every Monday afternoon. The big field on the north side of campus."
The guy smiled and nodded. "I could make my way over after class. See if all the bragging I've heard from Gwaine is deserved."
"Perfect."
“I’m Merlin, by the way,” the guy said, extending his hand.
Morgan smiled and gripped the offered hand. “Nice to meet you, Merlin. I’m Arthur.”