Arthur

Arthur rolled over and threw out an arm in order to stop the blaring of his alarm clock. It was his final year at the University of Camelot, and his father had roped him into sitting in on some Physics class that occurred unreasonably early. Arthur was getting his Master of Business Administration and shouldn't even be allowed to take some convoluted Physics class, which frankly, had nothing to do with his area of study.

His father had spouted off some bullshit about being well rounded and expanding his horizons, but Arthur knew it likely had to do with the new Professor that had been hired. Fresh blood in the teaching department was a rarity, and there was no telling how the new guy would adapt to the situation. Arthur was being placed in the class in order to evaluate him, because his father was endlessly paranoid and had ridiculous standards that only Arthur knew the full extent of. Ergo he'd be the only one capable of giving the kind of assessment his father wanted. All he knew was that his father must have used up a lot of favors in order to get the extra class overlooked.

He didn't know why bloody Morgan couldn't go, but his father had said that she was close to getting her Doctorate in Philosophy and couldn't be bothered with a Physics class. Arthur was partially proud of the fact that his father trusted him with so much responsibility, but a great deal more annoyed at the fact that he had to take a class he had no interest in just so his father could satisfy his curiosity.

Arthur didn't know anything beyond the teacher's name, Merlin Emrys, which seemed oddly familiar, but not enough that Arthur could recall what was so special about it. He was half hoping for some old codger who wouldn't care if Arthur slept in class. However, tempting as the thought was, a sense of familial duty outweighed it. He would go to class, he'd learn an entirely new branch of study, and he would succeed, because he was Arthur Pendragon and his GPA had to remain high. His father held out hopes that someday Arthur would manage to obtain the Chancellor position after having a very successful career as some CEO of one company or another.

Arthur didn't know if he wanted to follow in his father's legacy. He didn't agree with some of the policies he'd placed on the school, and he was really more interested in fencing than paperwork, but he thought he should at least get his degree before he made any decisions on the matter.

So with a long-suffering sigh, he dragged himself out of bed and pulled on a shirt so he could head to the gym. With the change in his schedule he would have to start practicing in the mornings before class rather than the afternoon, since his business class had been shifted. It was an inconvenience, but one he would just have to get used to.

Luckily fencing would always remain the same; the easy motions of the foil soothed his irritation and after an hour of practicing his stances and having a few bouts with the other unlucky buggers who had to get up at the same time had passed, he felt ready to go to class. A quick shower and a couple pieces of toast later, he was walking across campus, not having to look at the map. He knew Camelot better than he knew the layout of his mostly vacant flat, and at least despite the unfamiliar class, he'd have much beloved surroundings to fall back on.

Along the way, he was waylaid a few times by fellow students wanting to catch up, and with an ease that bespoke of inherent charm, he swiftly ended the conversations to be on his way, leaving the other person thinking it had been their idea.

He managed to get to class five minutes early and carefully considered the desks, of which there were twelve, before choosing one near the front. If he was going to do this, he would give it his all. From the position at the front of the room he'd be able to observe every nuance of the teacher's behavior, and hopefully it would help keep him awake, knowing he was in full view of the professor.

Once he had settled, he noticed there was another person in the room, who was standing off to the side looking out the windows onto the grounds. He was a tall fellow with messy black hair and a day's worth of stubble dotting his jaw. Arthur saw he had on ragged trainers, scuffed jeans, and a loose fitting shirt with a ridiculous red neckerchief tied around his neck. He looked a bit young, a few years younger than Arthur, and was rather scrawny. Deciding it'd be best to make nice, he got up from his desk and went to lean on the wall beside the window. He waited a minute, and his annoyance was increasing as he noticed the bloke never even glanced at him, eyes trained on the forest in the distance. After clearing his throat a few times to no avail, he rolled his eyes and nudged him.

The ridiculous-neckerchief man startled and jumped, whirling around to face Arthur with wide eyes that were absurdly blue and ears that were rather funny looking, but fit his overall appearance.

Arthur, though, would not let his very pleasing appearance influence his opinion, and the man seemed a bit daft and Arthur had no idea how he could've gotten into an advanced Physics course. He stated as much:

"Are you in the right class?"

The man, boy, really, he couldn't be more than twenty, looked around the room before returning his gaze to Arthur, head tilted to the side. It was not endearing, not in the least.

"I do believe I am; are you?"

Arthur stared at him for a moment before snorting, "Of course I am. You seem to be a bit of an idiot though, and I just want to make sure you weren't lost."

Arthur often stated what he thought; he believed it cleared the air.

The neckerchief-man stared at Arthur, as if he was something curious on the bottom of his trainer, and Arthur was irritated that his insults seemed not to bother him at all.

"You're a bit of a prat, aren't you?"

He didn't say it like an insult, like Arthur had, but instead more as a mere observation, something he had noticed and had no particular feelings about. This only served to irritate Arthur further.

With a glare he said, "Oh, what do you know, you wanker," and stormed off to his desk, pointedly not looking at the man.

Or his neckerchief, nonsensical thing that it was.

Soon other students trickled in, and Arthur observed them casually out of the corner of his eye. He did not notice that the other man never sat down at a desk, not that there were any left, so he'd have to sit on the floor or something. Served him right.

Once all the students had found their places, and the class was supposed to start, Arthur was already composing a message in his head. "Father, this Emrys fellow was clearly unprepared, showing up late, and not having enough desks, so the quality of this-" his thoughts were cut off when the decidedly not attractive fellow walked up to the front of the room and leaned on the Professor's desk.

He flashed them all a blinding grin and began speaking.

"Hullo, I'm Professor Emrys, although I'd prefer if you called me Merlin. Now I'm going to-"

Arthur cut him off. "What? You're not Professor Emrys, you can't be, I mean, how old are you, twelve?"

There were a few titters from his classmates who also looked a bit nervous. But Arthur was most satisfied when he could see the beginnings of annoyance on the imposter's face.

"Yes, I am Professor Emrys, though as I said, Merlin is fine thanks, and I'm not twelve, I'm nineteen, thank you very much, Mister?"

Arthur snorted. "Arthur Pendragon. My father is the chancellor, if you didn't know, and this kind of thing will get you in a lot of trouble."

The man finally looked irritated, as if Arthur's arrogance pushed him over the edge more than any of his other insults.

"Well, Arthur, kindly shut up, would you, I have a lecture to give. If you think I'm not who I say I am, well then you can take that up with your father after class. "

He then launched into some complicated description talking about theoretical knowledge that Arthur didn't have a hope to follow.

He was still in some sort of shock the sheer audacity of the not-Professor Emrys and with a vindictive pleasure, pulled his laptop out of his bag, entering a search engine in order to find a picture of the real Merlin Emrys.

The first item to turn up was an article, that did indeed have a picture, but of the very person in the front of the class, only he must have been much younger at the time, though his ears were even more ridiculous looking, and thankfully that silly neckerchief had not yet found its way onto his neck. Arthur read through a few more articles, and sussed out all the public knew about the child prodigy that those in the Physics circles reverently called Emrys.

Oh, oh bugger.

His father really should've told him about this. He'd made a fool of himself in front of his Professor! That had never happened before. He'd always treated them with respect, and gotten the same in return. Arthur hoped that it was mostly due to his coursework and test scores rather than who his father was, but he was still never quite sure.

Obviously he didn't have to worry about this idiot making a big deal about his father. He hadn't even seemed that surprised to know who Arthur was, and more so, he continued to disregard him.

To be fair, Arthur hadn't been very accommodating, but how was he to know Merlin wasn't as daft as he seemed! Quite the opposite in fact. As he sat slouched in his seat, he could acknowledge that Merlin obviously knew what he was talking about. Arthur couldn't follow any of it, and he was especially glad that he'd brought his tape recorder so he could go over it later and try and puzzle it out.

And the way Merlin clearly enjoyed the topic and used animated gestures, grins, and various anecdotes in order to explain some of theories did not make him look even more striking. No, not at all.

And so the next few weeks passed much the same. On the days when Arthur had his Physics course, he would get up early to fence, and on the days he didn't, he'd go out with his mates to the pub, win a few bouts at the fencing club, and lounge around doing what he really enjoyed, business. He knew he really should be studying Physics instead, but Arthur was begrudged to admit that it really wasn't his forte, and given the upcoming tests it was really quite worrying.

It all came to a head on the day of a particularly dense lecture when he found that he couldn't even understand what Merlin was saying, let alone follow the equations on the board.

Given that there was an exam next week, Arthur knew he had to admit defeat and ask for help, something he did not have much practice in. While Arthur wasn't a genius, he was far from stupid, and school had always come easily enough for him.

He'd gone to all the best private schools in the country, won all his fencing matches while very deliberately not looking at the stands where no one besides his mates were cheering for him.

He'd dated the prettiest girls, and managed to ignore the most attractive boys, all the while maintaining a straight A average with relative ease that was the subject of envy among all his mates.

He'd gotten his A Levels in Business Studies, Economics, Accounting, and Classical Greek, because he liked to mix things up a bit. He'd passed them all with very nice scores, which earned him a handshake from his father, and a hug from his sister, who for once did not make any cracks about him or his father.

He'd gone straight to University, Camelot, of course, as if he could've chosen anything else, and he'd quite enjoyed his time there. He lived in the dorms for the first year, but then his father had given him a private flat half a mile from campus. It was rather minimalistic, others would call it barren, and Arthur didn't like to spend any more time there than he had to. Overall, his life had been relatively easy. There were only a few lingering issues that caused some turmoil.

His mother was the most prominent. She'd died giving birth to him, and while he never knew her, he'd always felt her loss sharply. In his darkest hours, he thought his father blamed him for her death.

His father being the second most troubling thing in his life was only a natural progression. He'd always had very high expectations placed on his shoulders, with very little hope of praise. Going to Camelot did not make this any easier, as it gave Arthur constant worry that he was not being judged as Arthur Pendragon, but as the Chancellor's son. He'd overcompensated by acting with an arrogance he didn't really feel, a bravado that owned up and reveled in being Uther's son, while truthfully, he'd really like to just be himself.

The third issue wasn't really an issue at all. He had no trouble with the thought that he appreciated the male gender more than any of his mates did. If he were gay, he wouldn't bother hiding it or acting ashamed. But as he could like girls just as well, he found it easier to stick to that. With so many responsibilities and worries, it was much simpler to let everyone continue believing what they automatically assumed anyways. Arthur thought that if he found a man who he liked above all the rest, then he would give it a chance, because he still had some of his mother in him, and he hoped for love someday. No one would believe he was a closet romantic, and he was quite happy to keep it that way.

But the one thing that he'd never had to worry about was academics. Arthur couldn't help but be angry at his father for putting him into a class he obviously wasn't prepared for, just so he could get brief reports at the end of the week that went much like this:

"How's that Emrys boy doing? "

"Fine. His lectures are satisfactory and the tests are up to snuff, he shows no favoritism and he offers help to those who need it."

"Very good."

And so on. With the thought that this was his last year, and he'd really prefer not to fail a class, which, while it would not stop him from graduation, would certainly be reflected on his GPA in a negative light, he waited after class.

Though he hadn't often stuck around, he noticed Merlin tended to stay late in order to help anyone who had questions, and luckily, it seemed like everyone else in the class found this lecture easy enough, given that they were actual physical students, the gits.

Arthur tried waiting around by the door after everyone had rushed out, hoping that for once Merlin would drag his head out of whatever cloud it was in and call him over, initiate contact. But no such luck was to be found, and Arthur resigned himself to walking over to the desk, leaning his hip on it and crossing his arms in a way he knew threw his shoulders out. Although Emrys was taller than him, much to his chagrin, Arthur was much broader, and he took some comfort in that- he wasn't used to someone younger than him being in a position of authority, and it threw him off.

Instead of being intimidated, Arthur saw Merlin give him a once over, lingering on his arms before dragging up to his eyes. Interesting.

It seemed like Merlin was waiting for him to speak, and seeing as he really did need the help, Arthur was willing to extend the olive branch so to say.

"I'm having a bit of trouble with the class."

Merlin merely looked at him, eyebrows raising just a hair. "Which part of it?"

At that, Arthur grinned, bringing up a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Uh, all of it really."

Merlin returned his smile, blinding and wide and something that momentarily stunned Arthur.

"I noticed that you aren't majoring in Physics. It's beyond me why you're in this class. But I'm available if you need some sort of tutoring."

If anyone but Merlin had said that, it would've been rather insulting, but he softened the blunt words with his expression which seemed to say that he would be genuinely happy to help. So Arthur sucked up his pride and said, "How's this Thursday sound?"

And he couldn't find it in him to regret that decision.

Their meeting on Thursday prepared Arthur for the test in a way he just couldn't have managed on his own, not that he'd ever admit it, and he found that even after the test, he wanted to keep the sessions going. Having someone to explain exactly what he found confusing in simple terms put a whole new perspective on the class.

While he'd never excel at Physics, with Merlin's help, he managed to do a passable job.

So by unspoken rule, every Thursday after class, Arthur would stay in his seat while Merlin dealt with any of the other students who had questions, then he'd settle in the chair next to him and begin going over the concepts Arthur had had trouble with. As the class progressed and the lectures and labs became even more complex, they started meeting on Tuesdays as well, when Arthur had motioned that they both stay. If Merlin had shown any sign that this was taxing on him, or tried to get some sort of thanks from Arthur, he would've stopped the discussions altogether. But Merlin was very close to Arthur's age, and for how intelligent he was, he had an easy way of talking that made Arthur feel like a peer, rather than a subordinate. It's what made it so easy to wait after class one Wednesday, and, instead of asking for Physics help, he asked plainly and with a confidence he didn't quite have,

"Would you care for a cup of coffee?"

Merlin had smiled at him and grabbed his coat, adjusted his still ridiculous and not at all charming neckerchief, blue today, and nodded his agreement.

Arthur cleared his throat, for some reason not expecting it to go quite that easily, but then he'd quickly gained his ground.

On the way out the classroom, he carefully put his hand on the low of Merlin's back as he guided him out the door. Apart from a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, Merlin seemed to pay no notice of it apart from a small smile.

After that, instead of waiting in the classroom, they'd leave immediately for the local coffeehouse located just off of campus. Their discussions turned into a mix of theoretical physics and personal anecdotes that blended until neither really knew which held more weight in the conversation.

Arthur learnt about Will, Merlin's best friend, who he spoke about with fondness. Arthur thought the bloke sounded a bit like a nutter, but in an unusual display of tact, he chose not to mention it. He was surprised to hear that Merlin was quite close with Gaius, as Arthur had known him ever since he could remember. His father had a very strong dislike of hospitals, and had always had Gaius look after Arthur, and later Morgana whenever they fell ill.

He felt a sort of wistfulness about Hunith, who seemed like a good mum, although Arthur couldn't say that her methods were very good ones for raising a child, education wise. Nonetheless Merlin seemed to hold great fondness for her.

In return he talked about growing up with the great Uther Pendragon, who'd completely reformed Camelot. He didn't speak much about the subject, as all he could remember were strong guiding words and a firm hand on his shoulder pointing him in certain directions. There was never any of the warmth and affection that Merlin spoke of his mother with.

He made brief mentions of his own mother, enough to say that she had died, and then swiftly moved on to Morgana, who annoyed the living daylights out of him, the worst of it being her area of study which allowed her to never really answer Arthur's accusations or questions. There was simply no winning with her.

They still discussed the class, but Arthur found that along with this easy banter came a sense of better understanding. He started recognizing the nuances in Merlin's voice, and the meanings in his sometimes vague descriptions.

With Merlin, Arthur could be himself, and not in the way he was with his mates. He wasn't the Chancellor's son, nor was he just an acquaintance. Despite Merlin's rather innocuous appearance and manner, he was sometimes disturbingly intuitive, and Arthur couldn't hide from him with blustering words and boasting stories.

Arthur was using insults he'd never had to think of before in an attempt to outwit Merlin, something that was almost impossible. One day, he found himself inviting Merlin to a fencing tournament, and he eagerly accepted.

It was only after, when he was laying in bed, that he thought it was more than a bit odd that Merlin wasn't really his Professor anymore, nor was he a friend, not quite. He seemed to be something more than that. Arthur felt like he was on the edge of a precipice, and he didn't quite know whether or not he wanted to fall.

Still, despite the complications, seeing Merlin in the stands as he got ready for another bout sent a wave of warmth through him, and he felt nerves in his stomach that had nothing to do with the upcoming fight.

Afterwards, they went out for curry, which Arthur had found out Merlin loved in one of their numerous conversations.

Neither made mention of how Arthur's hand did not remove itself from Merlin's back even after he had followed him out the door of the restaurant, nor the charge that filled the air as Arthur said goodnight.

He saw Merlin's gaze drop to his lips, and before he could think about what he was doing, Arthur gave him a chaste kiss, noting how soft his mouth was, and how his breath hitched.

Pulling back, he gave Merlin an affectionate grin, as he knew that had been his first kiss, and then before they could say anything or regret the moment, he retreated into his flat.

After that, nothing really changed between them. They still met for coffee and alternated between discussing their lives and the recent lecture, and Arthur still guided Merlin out the door, but he made sure to bring his hand back to his side before too long.

It was an unspoken writ that they were not to do anything while on school grounds, nor while Arthur was still a student. He found himself eagerly awaiting the day when he would graduate, only a month away now, but for entirely different reasons than before.

Arthur had found that with the appropriate subject, his romanticism knew no bounds. Normally he hid this quite well, but then one day he went out with his mates to a pub and after more than one pint too many, Arthur was three sheets to the wind.

Arguably his closest mate was Leon, both in proximity and in terms of friendship. They'd known each other since they were seven, much like Merlin and his Will, and they had a rule about being a sappy drunk. You just don't do it.

But having never really experienced this feeling before with any of the girls he'd dated, Arthur was unprepared for the influx of feelings that hit him once his inhibitions had lowered.

This was how his mates found out he was bisexual.

"I jus', I jus' love'im, you know?"

Gwaine, the blighter, put his ale down and raised his eyebrow; Arthur thought this was rather funny and pointed at him.

"Gaius! S'makes you look like 'im."

Gwaine nodded sagely, well versed in dealing with drunken prats, which Arthur knew from a logical standpoint he was being right now.

"Who're you in love with mate?"

Arthur laughed because it was obvious, it was so bloody obvious.

"Ridiculous-neckerchief man! He has two, y'see, one, one is red, and the other is blue, and they're both beautiful, just smashing."

"Uh-huh."

"And he has these, these ears, they're just, they're so wonderful. I bet he can hear everything, like, everything, he's s'nice, and smart. "

"I bet he is mate."

"And, and one day, m'going to marry 'im and we're going to buy'im a pair of trousers that fit. His shoes are all scuffy, s'not proper."

Leon and Gwaine looked at each other, and if Arthur could see them at the moment, and not just two mate-shaped blurs, he'd see the surprise on their faces. Arthur never really spoke about the people he dated. He'd just show up one day with a new bird on his arm and then sometime later she'd be gone and he'd say, oh, she tried to kill me, or, oh she was really this escaped con artist, crazy, eh?

They thought, as long as this neckerchief bloke with the wonderful ears wasn't a murderer or insane, he couldn't be too bad. So they shrugged and raised their glasses.

Leon leaned into Arthur for a moment, a friendly nudge as he smirked at Gwaine over his head.

"Cheers mate, tell us about those ears."

The next morning when he woke up with a ghastly hangover and patchy memories, he could only be thankful that he had never mentioned Merlin by name, and that neither of his friends had anything to do with Physics and so it was unlikely they had run into Merlin, who really didn't get out much.

If for the next two meetings, Arthur blushed whenever he looked at Merlin's ears, which it was really quite hard not to, Merlin was kind enough not to mention it.

Then the day finally came when it was time to take the final, and Arthur was rather taken aback that a part of him was going to miss the class and hearing Merlin talk about incomprehensible things. He lit up when he was talking about his studies, and Arthur found that he had come to appreciate how clearly intelligent Merlin was. He had never really thought about it, as it was something beyond what he could imagine. And most times, he didn't have to think about it, as Merlin acted just as gormless as always. But in class, the side of him that Arthur didn't often see when they were talking about other things came out, and most the time, Arthur would just sit and watch Merlin lecture and see the joy in his eyes. He always made sure to bring his recorder and listen to it before he would talk with Merlin. And if he ever played to it not just to hear the lecture, and maybe just so he could close his eyes and remember back to the classroom and Merlin's enthusiastic gestures, well, that was no one's business but his own.

He realized suddenly that he was planning on Merlin being around for long after the class had ended, and maybe, since Merlin would likely still be teaching after Arthur left Camelot, as he was really the type of bloke to settle, Arthur could come around and sit in on his lectures once in awhile. He was quite pleased with that idea.

With that notion firmly affixed in his mind, he carefully pushed aside the other thoughts that were struggling for dominance about how after this, he could take Merlin out for dinner without any other pretenses, and perhaps give him more than a chaste kiss goodnight. Those were not very cooperative with physics theory.

After the test, which Arthur thought he'd done quite well on, thank you very much, he watched Merlin go to each of the students and shake their hands and exchange pleasantries, saving Arthur for last.

When he reached out a hand, Arthur took it, and when he saw the last student leave, the door closing behind them, he gave it a strong tug and pulled Merlin into his arms and grinned at him.

"So, Professor Emrys, how do you think I did?"

Merlin tilted his head to the side, which Arthur could finally admit was indeed very endearing, and seemed to contemplate that, his mouth forming a wide smile.

"Well, you're still a pillock, but I think you have greatness in you yet, Mister Pendragon."

Arthur scoffed.

"Idiot."

"Prat."

Arthur kissed him.

Merlin was very satisfied with that.