Work Text:
There was a cruel chill in the air and a fog which hung so densely that Merlin couldn’t see a metre in front of himself when it happened. He was walking along, earphones in and eyes squinting ahead, when he caught a glimpse of something approaching him rapidly. Very rapidly.
He had no time to move as the something crashed into him at full speed, lifting him off his feet. He hurtled through the air, time slowing down and shuddering to a halt just before impact. As he hit the ground, it sped up again. Merlin made a quick initial damage assessment: his side was throbbing; his body didn’t feel real and neither did his head, which he realised had taken the brunt of his landing on the hard ground.
Next, Merlin tried to determine where he had landed. It wasn’t good news. He was in the middle of the road, splayed across its surface, and he had no idea how he was going to get up. He didn’t even know if he could get up. A car could suddenly emerge from the fog at any minute, and then he’d get hit again. It was hardly an ideal situation.
Merlin’s ears were ringing, but he was vaguely aware that someone was shouting at him. “You absolute idiot!” the someone exclaimed. “You’ve broken my bike!”
“E-excuse me?” Merlin stammered.
The someone pulled the remains of the something towards him. Merlin noticed was that the something was indeed a bike, and that it was indeed broken. The front wheel was bent out of shape.
The someone came into view: a tall, blonde man looming over him, his face contorting in anger. “Of course you’ve got earphones in! You should look where you’re going, idiot!”
“Excuse me?” Merlin repeated, more confidently this time. “Have you not noticed how foggy it is? Why on earth were you cycling so fast?”
“Perhaps because I expected people to look where they’re going! You’ve wrecked my bike!”
“Yeah, well, you’ve wrecked my body! Are you not even going to ask if I’m okay? I’ve hit my head, you know. Shouldn’t you be asking me how many fingers you’re holding up or something?”
The man raised his middle finger up at Merlin. “What, like this?”
“There’s no need to be such a…dollophead,” Merlin muttered. “You could at least help me up. What if a car comes?”
“Fine,” the man sighed, holding out his hand and hauling Merlin to his feet. “Are you okay?”
“My side hurts where you crashed into it, and my head feels weird because I hit it when you hit me.”
“Well, I’d offer you a lift home on my bike if you hadn’t broken it.”
“I live about a forty minute walk away from here. It’d take a fair bit of strength for you to cycle that far with me on your handlebars.”
“I would manage – if my bike hadn’t been destroyed. I work out.” the man bragged.
“Well, it’s a shame you couldn’t work out that you should’ve cycled slower with visibility being this low,” Merlin retorted. “Anyway, thanks for helping me up. I’d better get home.”
“Not so fast! You still owe me for my bike.”
“You crashed into me,” Merlin pointed out. “I don’t owe you anything.” He went to walk off, but the man put a restraining hand on his arm.
“You can’t walk forty minutes on your own after hitting your head. You could have a concussion.”
“Are you offering to escort me home?” Merlin asked him.
“There’s no way I’m walking that far in this fog. Come back with me to mine. It’s only five minutes away.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Arthur,” the man told him. “And yours is?”
“Merlin,” The man was waiting for an answer, so Merlin relented. “Fine, I’ll go round yours. The least you can do is make me a cup of tea.”
“And the least you can do is pay for the damage you did to my bike.” Arthur persisted.
“Don’t push your luck,” Merlin replied. “I was just starting to like you.”
Arthur smiled. “Okay, I’ll drop it. For now.”
****
Arthur’s place turned out to be a smart, spacious flat in a converted mansion.
“This is an impressive place,” Merlin said, as Arthur held the front door open for him. “Why are you so bothered about me paying you for the bike when you live here?”
“My father owns it. Actually, he owns this whole thing.”
“This whole what?”
“My father is a property developer. He bought the mansion and developed it a few years ago.” Arthur revealed.
“Wait…your name is Arthur.” Merlin said slowly.
“Yes, it is. Just how hard did you hit your head? Go and sit down on the sofa.”
Merlin sat down, frowning as he put the pieces together. “What’s your surname?”
Arthur looked uncomfortable. “Why?”
“It’s Pendragon, isn’t it?”
“It might be,” Arthur conceded, then tried to change the subject. “Do you want tea or coffee?”
“Tea please,” Merlin answered, dropping his enquiry whilst Arthur disappeared to make the drinks. When Arthur returned, he continued it. “Is your father Uther Pendragon?”
Arthur took a sip of his tea before replying. “Yes.”
“Your father bought the library my friend Gaius used for research and developed it into flats. Gaius made a fair cash offer for the library books, but your father had them thrown into a fire and destroyed.”
“I can only apologise for my father’s actions.” Arthur said, in a manner which made Merlin suspect he had said this many times. “I am sure he never intended to upset anyone.”
Merlin wasn’t finished yet. “He also bought the village school at Ealdor and bribed the governors to let him shut it down and convert it into even more flats. Now all the children in the village have to get on the bus for two hours to go to school here in Camelot.”
“From what my father told me, the school wasn’t viable because there were only twelve students.”
“Everyone matters, Arthur. There may have only been twelve students, but that school had been there for two hundred years, and it was doing fine until your father had it shut down.”
“I am sorry, Merlin,” Arthur said earnestly. “My father has made many mistakes, but I believe that he is a good man.”
“Yeah, well, you would say that.”
“You’ve only just met me. Don’t be so quick to judge. I am not my father.”
“Prove it,” Merlin challenged him. “Don’t charge me for your bike.”
“Nice try!” Arthur laughed, shoving Merlin.
Merlin winced. “That’s my bad side. You know, the one you hit with your bike.”
“Your bad side’s a lot different to mine.” Arthur said so softly that Merlin wasn’t sure he was meant to hear it.
“It really hurts, you know, having a bike plough into you at full speed.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Drama Queen. Let me get you some frozen peas.”
Arthur returned with the frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel, tenderly holding it over Merlin’s side. Merlin flinched.
“Are you okay?” Arthur asked.
“Yeah, it’s just cold.”
“Well I never, ice is cold! You’re a genius, Merlin!”
“Leave off,” Merlin grinned. “I was just starting to like you again.”
Arthur smirked. “Well, I’ll do my best to keep it that way.”
****
Arthur would not let Merlin go home, insisting that he should monitor him for concussion. Merlin said that if he was going to stay, then Arthur should at least feed him. Arthur proved to be fairly inept in the kitchen, managing to set the bacon intended for their bacon sandwiches on fire in the frying pan. Merlin rushed over to put the fire out, Arthur tried to hide his embarrassment and they agreed to order a pizza.
Soon they found themselves lying horizontal on the sofa, in a food coma, with That ‘70s Show playing in the background.
“You are so Kelso.” Merlin teased Arthur.
“I am not!” Arthur protested. “You’re Fez.”
“No, I’m not! I’m Donna. If you’re not Kelso, then you’re Jackie.”
“I can own that. I am fabulous.”
“And you love yourself.”
“Don’t push your luck,” Arthur grinned, punching Merlin’s arm playfully.
“Ow! Haven’t you done me enough damage today!” Merlin exclaimed, shoving Arthur.
It was a move that started a play fight, and ended with them rolling around on the floor, Arthur pinning Merlin down.
“Do you surrender?” Arthur asked him.
“Never!” Merlin laughed.
“Well, in that case,” Arthur said softly. “Is it alright if I kiss you?”
Merlin pretended to think. “Hmm, I did always think that Donna and Jackie would make a good couple.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes, that is a yes,” Merlin smiled. “I’m starting to like you a lot.”
“Good,” Arthur smiled back. “I’m starting to tolerate you.”
Before Merlin could come up with a good retort, Arthur kissed him, and time slowed down once again.
****
Merlin stayed over Arthur’s that night. Arthur insisted on waking him up every two hours in case he was concussed, but Merlin didn’t mind. This wasn’t exactly the worst scenario to happen after getting hit by a bike. Not an expected one, either, but that only made it better.
Merlin had to leave early the next morning to go to work, but Arthur was sleeping so peacefully that he didn’t wake him up to say goodbye. Instead, he left a hasty note on a leaflet he found on Arthur’s bedside table. Hopefully Arthur would call him. After all, he almost definitely owed Merlin a drink after hitting him with his bike.
Merlin did not hear a word from Arthur for weeks. He was kept busy by his job at the Citizens Advice Bureau, where he worked with Gaius. He often helped Gaius with the science experiments he did in his spare time, but Gaius noticed that he was distracted and kept him away from the more potent chemicals. Merlin had almost convinced himself that he had never actually been round Arthur’s flat, and the whole thing had been a concussed delusion.
Then, three weeks later, Arthur came to see Merlin at work. He sheepishly approached his desk, then asked him: “What advice would you give someone who has accidentally ghosted someone they really like for three weeks?”
“Well,” Merlin said curtly. “I would advise them to tell that someone what the hell they were doing during those three weeks, and to make sure they had a good excuse for not calling them.”
“I’ve spent those three weeks setting up campaigns to build a new school for Ealdor, and a new library to replace the one my father destroyed,” Arthur revealed. “I convinced my father that it would mend the damage done to both his own and his company’s reputation to support the rebuilding schemes for both. With the money raised from online donations, and my father agreeing to match them, we’ve already raised more than enough to make it happen.”
Merlin was stunned. “Really?”
“Really,” Arthur replied. “I don’t know how you don’t know this already. The campaigns both have quite a big internet following.”
“I don’t really use the internet.”
“That would explain why I couldn’t find you on social media, then.”
“You were looking for me?”
“Yes, I was,” Arthur revealed. “That leaflet you wrote on was for my father’s company. I was angry at him for shutting the school and library down, so I threw it out. When I couldn’t find you online, I was desperate to find you. I even got hold of a phone book.”
“I don’t have a landline.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Of course you don’t! Anyway, I wondered why you hadn’t even left a note, when I remembered that the leaflet was on my bedside table the night you…stayed over. So I fished it out of the bin –”
“–How romantic!” Merlin said sarcastically.
“And I found the note you wrote beneath your number, saying that I should 'be a good citizen and take your advice' by not charging you for the bike, and, well, here I am.”
“How often do you take your bins out?!”
“I’m trying to make a big romantic apology here, and you’re asking me about my bins?!” Arthur exclaimed.
Merlin smiled slyly. “I’m only winding you up…dollophead.”
“What on earth is a dollophead?”
“You,” Merlin leaned across his desk and kissed Arthur. “Romantic apology accepted.”
“Oh, it’s not finished yet,” Arthur smirked. “Come outside.”
“Arthur, I’m working!” Merlin protested.
Gaius, who was at a desk across the room, called out: “Take the afternoon off!”
“You heard the man,” Arthur said. “Come with me.” He held out his hand, and Merlin took it.
Arthur led Merlin outside, where a tandem bicycle was chained to the bike racks by the Citizens Advice Bureau.
“You owe me six hundred pounds for the new bike, by the way.”
Merlin shook his head. “No way. You did not buy this!”
“No, I didn’t,” Arthur admitted. “I just rented it. So you only owe me forty pounds.”
Merlin raised his eyebrows. “No way.”
“Twenty pounds if we split the bill. It is our second date, after all.”
Merlin frowned. “When was our first date, then?”
“Oh, you know, that time some idiot was cycling way too fast in the fog, hit you with his bike, tried to get you to pay for the damage done to it because of his stupidity, then took you back to his to look after you because he felt guilty for hurting you.”
“Well, when you put it like that,” Merlin beamed. “I think I like you more than ever.”
Arthur beamed back and kissed him. Then they rode off into the sunset together. Until they hit a pothole and ended up in A and E, that was.
****
“I think we’re equal now,” Merlin said that night, as he woke Arthur up at another two hour interval in case he was concussed. “Since it was my fault we went down that road and hit that pothole.”
Arthur flashed him a tired smile. “Yes, I think maybe we are. Let’s agree to never involve bikes in our dates again.”
“Deal.” Merlin said, kissing Arthur gently on the forehead.