"Merlin, you complete imbecile."

"It's not my fault!"

"How did you start a fire, sending a fax?"

"As if I am responsible for your horrible office equipment!" Merlin protested.

It had been an entire month since Arthur had a chance encounter meeting the man named after a magical man in his favorite coffee shop. Merlin turned out to be the best of best friends but the worst personal assistant that he has ever had. It wasn't that he couldn't follow orders or completes the tasks; it was just sometimes it was as if the man was cursed. Also clumsy, that boy served coffee before this and now he was getting it all over Arthur's nice shirts.

Arthur would have fired him by now if he wasn't so damn entertaining though. Merlin did get things done when it came to the important things, so really it was worth keeping him around. Besides, there was just something about Merlin that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Just forget it, Merlin." Arthur sighed; he too tired to deal with this right now. He would kill for a cup of decent coffee, the office coffee was brewed from dirt he just knew it.

Merlin looked at him concerned, sure they were friends, but Arthur could fire him any second. He was really trying, he liked this job! It wasn't too terrible and his boss wasn't a prat all of the time. Just sometimes, when he didn't have enough caffeine for example.

Oh.

Merlin grabbed his jacket quickly, slipping it on and was out the door before Arthur finished a yawn.

"Merlin! Where are you going?" Arthur called after him, but the other man didn't stop or act like he heard. "Get back here!" But it was too late, he was gone.

"What the hell." Arthur muttered to himself.

He wasn't too harsh on him was he? Merlin knew him better than that by now right? He wasn't actually that mad, it was just all these back to back meetings and having to deal with that slimy Cenred. Playing nice with a creep who thought it was alright to undress his staff with his eyes and making horrid passes at a certain assistant. It was driving him up the wall and the coffee was shit. Did he mention?

Arthur plopped down in his chair, rubbing his face as he sighed. This was working out so well with Merlin; he never had someone who it was so easy to talk to. Someone that would call him out on his shit, give him proper honest opinion and praise. He was something else, never tip toed around him. Arthur found it refreshing, felt like a human being for the first time. Not the son of the CEO, not his title, around Merlin he was Arthur. The prat.

Slowly his hands fell from his face as a strange feeling settled at the bottom of his stomach. Merlin couldn't be mad enough to just have up and quit right? Merlin was very vocal about things; surely he'd scream about quitting and make a scene.

Just around the corner from the office building, though, at the local mom and pop coffee shop, Merlin was up to something completely different. His boss had been stretch thin and he couldn't believe he didn't notice earlier. To be fair Merlin had been keeping a certain rival company president from putting his hands down his pants. That Cenred was such a creep.

"Merlin! What a surprise seeing you here so late. Where's Arthur?" Gwen greeted him.

Even after Merlin stopped working the few shifts he got at the coffee shop to work with Arthur, they saw each other all the time. Arthur always brought Merlin with him on his usual coffee breaks. A few times Merlin caused there visits to be different times than Arthur was accustomed to going, it drove the blond bonkers but Merlin thought it was the greatest thing to watch.

"He's still back at the office. He needs a major pick me up." Merlin told her, explaining how mood his boss has been and all the crap he's been dealing with.

"Merlin…how did you manage to set fire when sending a fax?" The barista asked, finishing up their order.

"How is it my fault that the office equipment is faulty?!" He defended, really, it was the dumb fax's fault and no one was looking into that angle.

Gwen laughed as she put the coffees into their traveler tray. "Of course, Merlin." He stuck his tongue out at her and took his order, thanking her for the extra espresso shot. He should have thought of that.

"You know Merlin~ If you really want to give Arthur a pick me up~" Merlin used his free hand to cover her mouth, shushing her.

"Gwen, darling Gwen, shhh, no. None of those silly things again." He cooed at her. "You need to calm yourself, honestly." She giggled against his hand till he pulled away.

"You will see it like the rest of us soon enough Merlin, just you watch. And you'll owe me twenty bucks."

"Psh! When did we make that agreement?" He argued. Lately Gwen and even Lance! Of all people. Started getting the wrong idea of what kind of relationship Merlin and his boss had. They were friends that worked together. And went to dinner after work, it was just convenient. They might also hang out on weekends, go to bars and such; they were more friends than boss and employee. That was totally normal. Right?

"Oh please, like you had a choice. Now off you go before he gets even crankier." She shooed at him, with one more tongue out gesture he went on his way.

Merlin was sure Arthur would really enjoy this surprise; he loved this coffee way more than the piss they brewed in the office. Come to think of it, did Merlin even say he was going out?

Merlin stopped in his tracks. Oh god. He just ran out of the office after they had a dumb argument with no reason. He slapped his forehead with his free hand, he was so stupid, and no wonder Arthur always called him an idiot. Who know what Arthur thought he was doing! He was going to get fired for sure now!

With that in mind, Merlin rushed the rest of the way back to the office.

Arthur on the other hand, had tried calling his missing assistant, but Merlin had seemed to have forgotten his phone. Which left him with little else to do but sit there and wonder what to do next. He couldn't just go to Merlin's apartment to see if that's where he went and tell him not to quit. How pathetic would that look?

Deep in his thoughts, Arthur jumped startled in his seat when a travel tray full of coffee was plonked on his desk in front of him. That all familiar laugh ringing in his ears as his eyes darted up to see the missing Merlin had returned.

"You went to get coffee?" Arthur stared at him dazed.

"Of course I did, I told you that, clotpole." Merlin lied, avoiding his eyes as he picked up his own coffee to take a sip and walk over to his own desk.

"You most certainly did not. You set fire to the fax machine and then fled without a word." Arthur argued, getting up, grabbing his coffee on his way to Merlin's desk.

Merlin was in full protest swing till he watched Arthur take his first sip of coffee, eyes shut in completely rapture. He always thought it was amusing and cute the way Arthur took simple pleasures like that. When Arthur opened his eyes again, Merlin had his mouth hung open in mid-speech and staring at him.

"What?" Arthur asked, putting his coffee down on Merlin's desk.

"What?" Merlin parroted as he blinked, realizing he didn't say what he had meant to. "I said! I didn't start that fire, faulty faxer! And secondly, I did say, you just weren't listening." He huffed, picking up some random papers to busy himself, feeling heat rising up his neck.

"You are by far the worst lair I have ever met in my whole life, Merlin." Arthur chuckled, shaking his head before he went back to enjoying his caffeine fix.

Merlin huffed again, taking down a few notes and adding some things on his to do list. He had a few meetings to schedule, though he was going to make a few calls to see if he could push them back so Arthur could get a breather. Merlin was getting so busy in his planner that he checked out enough to not notice Arthur watching him.

"Thank you." Merlin dropped his pen startled, looking up at Arthur, who was still on his desk; prat was all on his papers.

"What?" Merlin must be having a stroke and hearing things, no way Arthur Pendragon had just randomly thanked him.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You heard me, idiot."

"Prat." Merlin shot back, grinning. "You are very welcome." He said, adding a few more things to his list. "I know you've been working hard the last two weeks and needed a pick me up."

A soft smile slipped on the blond's face, he was actually touched by that, even if it was just a simple gesture. Without realizing it, he had started reaching out for Merlin, the urge to just touch him or cup his face nearly overwhelmed him. Arthur caught himself and pulled himself off the desk, clearing his throat awkwardly before moving to his desk.

"Yes, well, again, you know…yea." He mumbled, swiveling around in chair when Merlin looked up at him confused, catching that amused twitch before he faced the window.

"What was that? Were you trying to use words there, Arthur?" Merlin teased.

"Shut up, Merlin."

"Whatever you say, sire~" Merlin teased again, a nickname he liked to use when Arthur got a bit haughty with him. It had been their inside joke since they met.

A comfortable quiet settled over the office space, only Merlin's pen scratches or Arthur tapping on his laptop making any noise. This happened often between them when they actually get down to work or planning, it was nice. Which is saying something; Arthur loathed silence and could never stand it being so quiet before Merlin. He usual had some music playing real low or opened the door to hear the rest of the office floor making the little noises every office made.

Merlin stretched in his seat, checking the time. Past clock out was nothing new, but he knew for a fact Arthur has only eaten a bagel for lunch and who knows if he had anything more for breakfast. Sometimes Merlin wondered if he was more of Arthur's wife than his personal assistant. At least a wife gets to…well, it's better not to finish that thought.

He got up and threw away his now empty coffee cup and the tray, straightened up his papers for tomorrow and slipped a page of his list to make a few calls on the way into work into his pocket. He did a little bit of cleaning up, which finally got Arthur's attention. Merlin was pretty used to him watching him as he moved around the office; Arthur had this thing about looking at movement.

Merlin had to take Arthur's coffee from his hand, the blond trying to savor the last drops at the bottom of the cup, making that annoying sucking noise with his straw before it was taken from him. He certainly did not pout when Merlin threw it out, especially since he missed and had to bend over to pick it up. Curse those tight fitted Dickie's pants.

Arthur cleared his throat and tried to refocus on the memo he was reading over that Merlin typed out to be sent out first thing tomorrow. Well he tried, but Merlin pushed it shut.

"Hey!"

"Hello yourself." Merlin countered. "It's pasted eight and you need to eat."

"Merlin, you are not my mother.

"No, I'm your wife." Merlin muttered, rolling his eyes.

"What?"

"What?" Merlin sputtered, turning bright red, not believing he just said that out loud.

"Would you stop doing that? Did you just say-

"So anyway we should go grab something to eat!" Merlin cut him off, pulling the blond out of his chair to his feet. "Do you feel like fast food or a sit down? I could care less at this point, I am starving, and you just had to rush through lunch." He rattled on to change the subject.

Arthur rolled his eyes, grabbing Merlin by the shoulders and giving him gentle shake. "Merlin, you're doing that thing again." Merlin blinked, confused. "That thing where your mouth is open and all this noise starts coming out."

"Prat!" Merlin frowned.

Arthur chuckled. "Cute." He murmured, pausing, blinking.

"What?" Merlin squeaked.

"What?"

"Oh come off it Arthur!" Merlin quipped. "Did you just call me cute?"

"I…might have…" Arthur said slowly, looking very cautious like Merlin might go off on him any second.

"You think I'm…cute?"

"I…uh…" He cleared his throat, again, letting him go, as if the moment wasn't awkward enough. "I need more coffee; I'm obviously not talking any sense right now."

So much for that, Merlin thought, not that he should have expected much else. Arthur wasn't very good at this whole expressing things, when it came to anything remotely emotional, he just shut down.

"Right…" Merlin muttered, not sure why it disappointed him so much. Arthur was his boss, he should not even be thinking of him that way.

Arthur frowned, sensing Merlin's displeasure at this answer, but certain he couldn't possibly…I mean, not the way they got along most of the time. What a time to find your insecurities, Pendragon, he chastised himself.

"I may have." Arthur quickly amended.

Merlin looked up at him confused. "What?"

"Imayhavesaidyouwerecute" Arthur rushed, feeling heat rise to his cheeks, how embarrassing, why was he doing this? Oh right, cause right now Merlin was smiling that blinding smile he does when he's genuinely pleased and amused. That was worth anything really.

"Mind saying that in something closer to English?" Merlin was definitely enjoying this more than he should be.

"I said, I may have said you were cute." Arthur said through gritted teeth, he was no longer able to look Merlin in the eyes. He could still tell the dark haired man was grinning it up anyway.

"You don't look too bad yourself, even if you can be a prat sometimes."

Arthur looked back at him, was…was Merlin flirting with him? Impossible. Wasn't it?

Oh, but the look in those dark blue eyes, they were sparkling. It was so easy to lose yourself in them and that is exactly what Arthur was doing like some teenager with their first crush noticing them.

The gleam changed to something absolutely playful in an instant, those full lips tilting up in a smirk.

"Arthur? If you are gonna stare like that, I might get the wrong idea." He teased, Merlin had always been a tease.

"Wha.." Arthur snapped out of it, realizing he was leaning towards the other, way to be professional. With a small clear of the throat and awkward step back. "I'm sorry, that was completely-"

"Arthur, if you back out, you will not be getting another chance later."

He couldn't believe he just heard that, Merlin was definitely flirting now and if that wasn't the most flat out invitation he has ever heard.

"Are you serious?" Arthur blurted, he was startled, and he couldn't help it.

Merlin shifted his weight from one side to the other nervously, his cheeks quickly turning bright red; it was even creeping up to his ears. Adorable.

Well, what he was supposed to do with that? Sure it was an open invitation, but he couldn't find brain function to even move let alone come up with an action plan.

Merlin grinned. "Adorable." He muttered, before leaning forward and giving Arthur a quick peck on the cheek, looking away shyly after.

Arthur's brain kicked into gear after that, he gently took a hold of Merlin and pulled him closer. Their eyes connected and just like the first time they met, there was just this spark, this something that happened between them. The moment felt unreal, like they left the world as they shared the air before their mouths slid together like they found their other halves.

Fingers grasped, gathering fabric and bodies pressed together. They were no teenagers, but those fireworks in their heads had to be real, it was unreal and almost too ridiculous.

When the kiss ended, they started at each other what felt like for ages, but only seconds in reality. It settled in that it had actually happened and they both cracked smiles as they laughed under their breath.

"Well!" Merlin mused. "This is not the kind of assistant I thought I was going to be." He joked nervously.

"Me either." Arthur agreed. "I'm not complaining."

Merlin bit his bottom lip, looking like he was thinking but all Arthur was thinking was he would like to do that as well. Merlin's lips were just as plush as he had imagined and biting them would just be so enjoyable.

"Down boy." Merlin laughed, snapping Arthur out of it. "How about you buy me dinner before you start letting your mind wander off like that?"

"Are you proposing a date?" Merlin went even redder. "Because that actually sounds delightful." Arthur smiled, even more when Merlin lit up.

"Well now that you've talked me into it~" Merlin grinned playfully, pressing a short kiss to Arthur's lips. "Shall we?"

"Mm, yes."

After they actually found the will to pull away from each other and gather their things for the night, they headed out into the cool night air. Now it was nearly nine at night and they would have to find a diner, but they didn't mind at all. It took only half a block before their fingers were interlocked and they were smiling bashfully like children at each other. Arthur held the door open for Merlin, which was nothing new, but he made a show of it this time. Merlin laughed as he walked in, shaking his head.

"It really must have been destiny." He mused as they headed to their seats.

"Must have been." Arthur replied, kissing Merlin's cheek before they sat down.