Room 325, Sunday Afternoon

[bitchprince]

Bored. Bored bored bored. A morning spent in the salle had not alleviated Arthur's enormous helping of boredom. He needed to distract himself. With no weapons allowed in the dorms, it had been a bit difficult (if not impossible, but he'd put it aside after a while) to work on Merlin's not-really-a-Christmas-present-anymore, so that was out, too.

He had already put Francine's sweater away as far as he could (it wasn't that he didn't appreciate the gesture. It was just that it wasn't... well, you know. He was trying to be nice, and it was decent craftsmanship, but it kept reminding him of Merlin's absurd obsession with items of clothing his mother had made), poked around the room, tried the Teevee (still not pleasant, especially without the distraction of someone in the room) and gone through the first chapter of Salammbo.

Nothing.

Which was why, by the time the middle of the afternoon rolled around, there was a dog sitting on Arthur's floor.

"Stay. Just-- no. Stay."

[[ open post, half-open door ]]

Comments

[bitchprince]

"That's likely for the best," Arthur said, setting the bloody thing down on his endtable. "We need to talk."

... Arthur didn't watch nearly the amount of romantic comedies that Merlin did, so he should be forgiven for using such an omnious phrase.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"...Um." Merlin watched enough. Oh. He watched enough. "Alright."

[bitchprince]

"I spoke to Leto the other day," Arthur said, "He finally admitted to having powers." He glanced up at Merlin. "He also implied you'd known for quite some time. Is that true?"

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin glanced away. "Yes, it's true."

[bitchprince]

Arthur nodded once, slowly. "How long?" he asked.

There was a markable absence of anger in his voice.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Nearly the beginning. I knew more once I started working with Lady Ghanima."

[bitchprince]

"Why didn't you say anything?"

They were going to keep this short if the swan was still to be enjoyed; he just needed to know.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin stepped around the dog to sit on Arthur's bed. "Because it wasn't mine to tell. And he wasn't a danger to you as far as I knew."

[bitchprince]

"For the last time," Arthur said, lightly, "I really don't need you to guard me."

Funnily enough, two out of three people mentioned or present in this conversation would disagree, but Arthur would say they were full of it.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin just shot him a look. "What do you think it is I did before we came here?"

[bitchprince]

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I can take care of myself," he pointed out. "But while this is clearly food fit for a prince, it's too much not to share if we don't want it to get cold."

He gave Merlin a look in turn. "Tell me next time?"

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"It's not that simple, Arthur. They're not my things to tell."

There was a pause before, "There's a carving knife on the platter."

[bitchprince]

"He was my roommate," Arthur muttered, rubbing at his forehead. "But not a friend, apparently."

So maybe he did feel a little betrayed on that end; at least Merlin had actually chosen to tell him. "Sure. I'll do all the hard work."

He reached for the knife.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Things aren't as simple as we might wish," Merlin said, moving a bit closer to Arthur at that.

[bitchprince]

Arthur snorted. "You trusted me well enough, in the end," he said, "At least I can rely on you." He cut off a piece, slowly.

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Yeah." Merlin reached out to touch his arm for a quick moment.

[bitchprince]

Arthur flashed him a quick smile. Maybe a little more vulnerable than he'd be willing to admit, there.

"Suppose I'll have to stuff you with this," he said, after a moment or two. "You might actually gain weight."

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

Merlin rolled his eyes. "You want me to be fat."

[bitchprince]

"You'd rather be that much of a twig?"

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"I'm not a twig!" Merlin said, waving his twig-like arms.

[bitchprince]

"Oh, please," Arthur retorted. "If you were any thinner, I'd be able to look straight through you."

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Not everyone is built like you." And, you know, now that he had clothing that fit, the difference wasn't so extreme.

[bitchprince]

Nevermind doing kind things for Merlin's backside.

Not that Arthur would admit to looking.

"And not everyone is built like a twig," Arthur said, shoving a plate with a slice on it. "It's the best you'll ever eat, so enjoy it."

[bigdamndestiny.livejournal.com]

"Which is why I got it for you."

[bitchprince]

"I'm not going to eat the whole swan on my own," Arthur retorted, "Although really it's much too good for you. Sit here and eat."

He got up off the bed, and wandered towards a cupboard.