SUMMARY: When Arthur finds out that his one-night stand is only 17 years old, he does everything in his power to forget about it. But unfortunately, Merlin has other ideas, and just will not leave him alone.

WARNINGS: Slash, underage depending on where you're from (Merlin's 17), sexitimes, language

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Puppy-Dog Persistence

PART 3/3

Before Arthur could quite figure out what happened, one week later, he found himself in an Italian restaurant, gazing at Merlin over the top of his menu, definitely not on a date.

"And I can order whatever I want?" Merlin seemed to be saying, smacking his lips and scanning the choices with something akin to excitement. He'd even brushed his hair, worn a tidy shirt, and was looking far more delicious than anything on the menu. Not that Arthur would ever admit as much out loud - ever.

"Yeah," he replied, already somewhat regretting his decision to bring Merlin out. It wasn't a particularly fancy place, but it was dinner! With Merlin. Very...date-like.

"I'm going to have pizza and chips," the dark-haired man announced, grinning his usual gormless grin.

Arthur sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I wasn't aware I was going out with a ten year old?"

"Oh, hush," Merlin muttered, waving him off with a smile. "Can't beat the classics."

As the waiter took their orders and flounced off, Arthur leant his head on his hand and looked up to meet Merlin's eyes, startled by the intensity of the other man's expression. Merlin was staring at him with thinly-veiled adoration, so bright and radiant, Arthur felt uncomfortable under the force of it. All the dark-haired man felt for him was puppy-love - nothing more! It would pass eventually, and Merlin would find someone far more appropriate to be in a relationship with.

"What are you thinking about?" the boy asked curiously, cocking his head and looking genuinely interested, as though the answer really mattered to him.

Arthur shrugged, but answered, "You," in total honesty.

"Me?" Merlin repeated, looking alarmingly pleased that Arthur suddenly wanted to backtrack. He reached across the table and grasped at Arthur's hand, stroking his knuckles with a wide smile, face flushing. "Well, I think about you all the time too."

Arthur raised his eyebrows, unsure of how to respond. "Really?" he asked, sounding more satisfied than he actually intended - he knew he shouldn't be encouraging the kid!

"Of course," Merlin replied, "Who doesn't think about their boyfriend?"

Arthur was saved from responding, however, when the waiter that appeared with their food, interrupting them before the blond could say something that he'd probably regret. He'd have to remember to give the man a tip - his timing was impeccable!

They ate in a strangely comfortable silence, only occasionally making casual conversation, as Arthur mashed his food round and round his plate, and repeated the word 'BOYFRIEND!' over and over in his mind. He was so, so screwed.

"You know, I'm glad my work experience is over now," Merlin said a few minutes later, as Arthur glared off into the distance. He licked tomato sauce off his fingers and grinned sheepishly, attempting to disguise the mess he'd managed to make all over the table with only a pizza and a couple of chips. "Not that I won't miss you, but it isn't good to be around each other 24/7 in a relationship."

Arthur blinked. A relationship? Good god!

"Or at least that's what Gwen said," Merlin continued, as oblivious as usual to Arthur's internal panic. "I don't think I'd mind being in your company 24/7, but Cosmo can't be wrong."

FUCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK. Arthur was in a relationship with someone that took dating advice from Cosmo magazine. He was utterly doomed.

But before he could form any sort of response other than gaping like a fish, a voice called "Merlin!" from the other side of the restaurant. Feeling grateful to whoever the person was, and silently thanking God, Arthur turned in his seat to identify the owner of the voice, coming almost face-to-face with a pimply teenage boy. He was short and slender with dark hair and dark eyes - nothing extraordinary - but he seemed to be familiar with Merlin, his expression curious but welcoming.

"Will!" the dark-haired man greeted, sounding surprised. Arthur dimly recalled hearing Merlin talk about a Will, who was apparently one of his best friends, but they'd never actually met. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been dragged out for 'Family Night' with my parents," Will explained, making sarcastic quotation marks and looking none too pleased. His eyes flicked over Arthur before widening, blinking in transparent astonishment. "This is the guy you're always on about then? Arthur?"

"That's me," the blond confirmed, giving the guy a small strained smile. What had Merlin been saying about him? He hoped he hadn't told his friends that Arthur was his boyfriend.

Will stared at him. "You're very - " he paused, a little bit bemused "- blond."

Arthur raised his eyebrows; he had a feeling that was not what the guy had intended to say.

"It's just, you're older right?" Will continued, obviously struggling to explain himself. He looked between Arthur and Merlin with a funny expression on his face, visibly bewildered. Arthur couldn't understand why - he wasn't that old! "And rich apparently." He frowned in confusion, and added questioningly, "What are you dating Merlin for?"

"Will!" Merlin cried, evidently insulted. His skin was flaming in embarrassment and he was staring at his friend with wide, hurt eyes.

"It's just that we're still in school," Will said hastily, obviously realising he'd stepped on a mine, gesturing to Arthur. "He's not!"

Frowning, Arthur ground his teeth loudly, knowing he could get arrested if he dared assault a minor. But honestly, couldn't the stupid little kid keep his mouth shut? He was digging his own grave. "I'm with Merlin because I like him," he explained, sounding sharp. "Obviously."

Merlin and Will both blinked at him, before his 'boyfriend' beamed, looking proud and almost painfully cheerful. Arthur mentally kicked himself.

"Oh," Will mouthed, obviously uncomfortable, and still decidedly confused. "I didn't mean to offend - I'm just surprised."

Arthur gave him a short shift nod before the boy moved away, giving Merlin a friendly pat on the back and an apologetic smile. The table instantly descended into silence at his departure, as Merlin stared at him across their dessert, while the blond gazed steadfastly in the opposite direction.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," the dark-haired man said in a small voice, as Arthur summoned the bill. He licked his lips and looked up from the blond from beneath his eyelashes, both shy and coy. "Can I stay at your place tonight?"

Arthur paid for the dinner, attempting to buy himself time, before he got to his feet and said, "Don't you need to be getting home?"

Merlin wriggled into his coat, joined Arthur round his side of the table, and looped their arms together. "I already told my mum I was staying round Will's," he informed him, smiling widely, totally unashamed.

Arthur rolled his eyes and nudged Merlin out of the restaurant, unable to stop his lips quirking in amusement. "I bit presumptuous, don't you think?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at his 'boyfriend' challengingly. "What if I don't want you to stay?"

"You do," Merlin responded instantly, sounding pretty happy with himself. He glanced at the blond out of the corner of his eye and gave him a cheeky grin. "You can't resist me."

Arthur opened his mouth to argue, as he always did, before Merlin entwined their hands together and practically skipped to Arthur's car, arms swinging wildly between them. He looked up at the sky, face shining, looking so bright and innocent that the blond felt his heart swell in his chest.

Maybe Merlin was right. Maybe Arthur couldn't resist him.

Arthur was sat in his bed two weeks later, laptop poised, definitely not falling asleep in front of his work, when there was a loud knock on his door. He blinked in surprise, glanced at his clock which read 12:30, and frowned, wondering who on earth would decide to visit him at such an hour.

He slipped out his bed and padded to his front door, hoping whoever it was would leave soon so he could get on with what he was supposed to be doing; he really didn't want to stay up much longer, but he still had a lot of work that needed to be finished.

But as soon as he saw who was stood on the other side of the threshold, Arthur's words of contempt died in his mouth. It was Merlin, looking tear-stained and sad, sniffling into the sleeve of his jumper.

"Hi," he croaked, eyes watering. "Can I come in?"

Arthur blinked for a moment, feeling a bit bemused, before Merlin's heart-broken face finally caught up with him. "Oh, of course!" he muttered, standing aside and allowing his lover to shuffle past him, trampling the dirt from his shoes all over Arthur's new carpet. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Merlin turned to face him, tear-tracks drying on his cheeks and nose florescent red, looking completely pathetic and utterly adorable at the same time. "It's - it's Will," he muttered, rubbing his eyes with a shaking pale hand.

Arthur shook his head. Will? The one he'd met at the restaurant? "That's your best friend, right?" he asked, for clarification.

Merlin nodded sadly, before he froze, his face shuttering, and shook his head violently. "No, n-not anymore!"

"Why not?" Arthur questioned, concerned despite himself. He took a step closer, rubbed a soothing hand up Merlin's arm, and staggered back as the dark-haired man immediately flew into his embrace, shoulders shaking.

"He - to-old my mum about us," Merlin wailed, voice muffled against Arthur's chest. "H-he told her that I've been staying with you instead of round his house like I said. And my mum was so upset! She couldn't believe that I'd been lying to her!"

Arthur cringed. God, now Merlin's mum knew about them! That only meant one thing: he was officially Merlin's boyfriend. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!

Attempting to keep his own internal panic under control, he patted Merlin's back uncomfortably, giving his temple an automatically soft kiss. "What did Will do that for?" he asked, making a mental note to go and pound Merlin's supposed 'best-friend' into the ground. What a dickhead.

"I think he likes me," Merlin explained, wiping his tears in Arthur's £300 shirt. Lord.

"Likes you, likes you?" the blond guessed, an uneasy feeling settling in his gut. Will liked Merlin? He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Will would certainly make a far more suitable boyfriend for Merlin than he did, and that thought made him decidedly uncomfortable.

"Yeah," the dark-haired breathed, nuzzling his nose into Arthur's neck like an affectionate little kitten and calming slightly. "But he knows I'm with you and I-I think he got jealous."

Arthur stroked the soft hair at the back of his head. "What did your mum say?"

Merlin sniffed again. "She couldn't believe I'd been staying out at a guy's house without telling her. She thinks I'm too young to be going out and…doing that," he explained, sounding soft and strained. He panted against Arthur's collarbone for a long moment, clutching at his shirt, before he spoke again. "She wasn't angry - she was disappointed."

Arthur winced. Disappointed parents were always the worst. He should know - his father was Uther!

"Come on," the blond muttered, shuffling Merlin into his bedroom. "Go to sleep - you'll feel better in the morning."

Merlin nodded dumbly, slipped his hands up Arthur's shirt and looped them round his waist, clinging like a limpet. The blond sighed and lowered them both down onto the covers of his bed, patting Merlin's back with an absent tenderness.

He guessed work would just have to wait.

After Merlin's involuntary coming out to his mother, things had quickly descended into his own personal hell. No longer could Arthur fool himself into thinking he and Merlin were nothing but a fling, because Hunith - kind and clueless soul that she was - had immediately extended him an invitation to dinner.

Arthur was officially meeting the bloody parents, and he could not be more terrified! If that wasn't a sign of a serious relationship, he didn't know what was, and honestly, he wasn't an agreeable person at the best of times. Hunith was going to hate him.

The blond had attempted to wriggle out of it, explaining his reluctance to Merlin, but the other man had merely beamed and gotten all excited, obviously not above using emotional blackmail. And like some sort of sucker, Arthur fell for it.

He grumbled all the way up to Merlin's front doorstep, silently cursing Leon for ever pointing the dark-haired man out in the first place, and tried to ignore how much his hands were sweating. He didn't understand why he was so anxious - it wasn't as though he actually cared what Hunith thought, but Merlin did, and Arthur cared what Merlin thought. Sort of.

It was all a vicious circle.

He knocked on the door softly, hoping that they wouldn't hear him and he'd have an excuse to run, before Merlin opened it a second later, looking excited, bubbly and just about as jittery as Arthur felt. "Hi!" he exclaimed, cheeks flushed. "Thanks for coming."

Arthur refrained from pointing out Merlin had left him little choice. He followed his boyfriend into the house, strangely anxious, and shrugged off his coat. What if Hunith didn't like him? Would Merlin dump him because of it? Not that Arthur cared, of course - he just didn't want to get dumped by a seventeen year old. That was all sorts of embarassing.

"My mum's in the living room," Merlin whispered, so loudly she could probably hear. "She can't wait to meet you."

Arthur raised his eyebrows disbelievingly. "I find that hard to believe."

"Not every parent is as scary as your father, Arthur," Merlin pointed out, shaking his head and giving him a smile. "Come on." He clasped Arthur's hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing them tightly before tugging him forward, shuffling them both into the living room.

A small brown-haired woman was waiting for them, hands clasped in front of her and a hesitant smile on his face, her eyes warm and kind. She greeted Arthur with a nod of her head and brief wave, looking almost as uncomfortable as he felt. "You must be Arthur," she said. "I'm Hunith. Nice to meet you."

The blond attempted to smile back, just hoping it didn't come out as a grimace. "Hi, nice to meet you too."

They stood in an awkward silence before Merlin decided to speak, feigning cheer. "Let's go sit down for dinner, shall we?"

Arthur nodded. It was going to be a long night.

Dinner was finally over - full of stilted conversation and awkward questions - and Arthur had offered to help Hunith clear the plates, a gesture he was now coming to sincerely regret. He was stood in the kitchen, washing the cutlery, and trying not to look to his left, where he could see Merlin's mother staring at him unblinkingly out the corner of his eye, brow furrowed.

"I don't mean to be rude," she said at last, voice soft and curious, "but I'm just trying to understand."

Thrown by the words that made little sense to him, Arthur blinked, but carried on washing automatically, dunking the plates in the water. "Understand what?" he asked, attempting to sound casual.

"You're rich, successful, good-looking," Hunith muttered, face creased into a frown, "and yet you're dating a seventeen year old." She shrugged her shoulders slightly and stepped closer. "Merlin's besotted with you, and I can see why - how often does a high-school kid get to date someone like you?"

Arthur put down his sponge and turned to face her, realising that he was going to have to confront her if he ever expected her to understand. "I know this must be hard for you," he began, eyes wide and earnest, "but I do genuinely have feelings for Merlin. I didn't know how old he was at first, and he - he was very persistent."

Hunith smiled - a small quirk of her lips - and nodded her head. "I know you have feelings for him, you wouldn't be here if you didn't," she pointed out, something that had evaded Arthur entirely; he really did care for Merlin, perhaps more than he'd realised. "I just - I hope you know what you're doing."

Arthur stared. "I - I don't know what you mean?" he admitted slowly.

"Just look after him," she muttered, reaching up and patting Arthur on the cheek in a way that was so motherly he almost choked in surprise. It had been a long time, since someone had touched him like that. "I don't want him hurt, and you mean an awful lot to him."

Arthur pictured Merlin's face, devastated and blotchy, and nodded empathically, a feeling tight in his chest. "I won't hurt him," he announced, voice firm and calm.

He remembered Merlin all upset when Will had grassed on him, and very much hoped never to see it again, especially if he was the cause. He hated seeing Merlin teary and distresse - he was so bright, and happy, and eager, and innocent all the time, that he just didn't deserve it. He was too goddamn nice.

Hunith watched the blond carefully, taking in his expression, before she whispered, "You love him?" in a way that wasn't much of a question.

Arthur froze, heart suddenly thundering, and found himself nodding, his body replying without any consent from his mind. "I suppose I do," he admitted, quiet and breathless, more to himself than a smiling Hunith. "In my way."

Fuck.

"So," Merlin breathed, a month later, on the eve of his 18th birthday, "are you finally going to admit you're my boyfriend now I'm legally an adult?"

Arthur rolled his eyes up at the ceiling, sweaty and moist, before shrugging nonchalantly. "I've never said you weren't my boyfriend," he pointed out, watching Merlin bring up a hand and trace patterns on his chest. He was feeling warm and fuzzy, and so curled into the other man's embrace, looping an arm around a skinny waist.

"But you never said that you were," the dark-haired man argued, raising an amused eyebrow. "You always changed the subject."

Arthur supposed that was true, but didn't want to admit it. "I don't know what you're talking about," he replied innocently, stroking a hand through the damp hair on Merlin's nape and curling it around his fingers. "Stop talking nonsense."

Merlin let out a breathy laugh. "You are such a prat," he said fondly, placing a kiss on naked skin of Arthur's chest. "Just admit that you're my boyfriend! It's almost my birthday - it can be my present!"

Arthur smiled and shook his head. He'd got Merlin a proper present of course, booking a nice meal and buying him his stupid DVD's that he liked, but wanted to keep it as a surprise. So instead he sighed loudly, attempting to look longsuffering, and admitted, "Yes, Merlin, you are my boyfriend."

The dark-haired man grinned. "Your exclusive boyfriend…?" he prompted.

Arthur glared at him out the corner of his eye but said, "Yes, your exclusive boyfriend."

"Who you love with all your heart…?"

The blond froze, turned his head to look at his boyfriend, who was smiling softly, although his eyes were hooded with something expectant and intense. He looked every inch the love-sick teenager, full of romantic notions of love and forever, which Arthur had never intended to believe in; he was too old, too sensible - but was feeling it nevertheless.

"Come on, it's my birthday," Merlin prompted, only a slight quiver of fear creeping into his voice, as though he was half expecting Arthur to turn and run. "Who you love with all your heart…?"

The blond licked his lips, heart thumping, already cursing his own stupidity, and admitted, "Who I love with all my heart."

Merlin instantly beamed, eyes crinkling, and let out a disbelievingly laugh. "Wow, you admitted it," he whispered, nuzzling against Arthur's ear. He paused for a moment, breath hot down his boyfriend's neck, before he spoke again, sounding happy and triumphant. "I love you too," he muttered. "But of course, you already knew that."

The blond grinned. Merlin had hardly been subtle in his affections, even from the beginning.

"See, Arthur, that wasn't so hard, was it?" the dark-haired man continued, flicking his ear. "I knew you'd come to like me eventually."

Arthur couldn't even bring himself to disagree with him.

-END-

A/N My first Merlin series complete! YAY! Please R&R and let me know what you think!