Arthur fought the urge to bite his lip as he approached the dining hall. His friends guffawed on either side of him, flicking a football between them as they stalked through the soft grass. The hum of conversation emanating from the hall ahead was much more muted than usual, and Arthur's shoulders became more and more tense as he stepped closer.

"Arthur, relax," came a quiet voice from beside him. A hand settled on his shoulder and squeezed in reassurance.

Arthur gave a slightly wan smile. "I'm completely relaxed, Lance. Can't you tell?"

Lance chuckled. "Nothing's gonna happen, you know. He'll give his speech, raise an eyebrow at us, we'll eat and he'll leave. No fuss, same as always."

"Yeah," said Arthur, breathing through tense lips. "I know."

It wasn't something Lance could understand. He had parents who supported him, through hell or high water. It was different with Uther Pendragon. Everything was a test, a display, an opportunity to show the world just how much better you were than them. It was an act they could not escape, even in their most intimate moments, and with Uther's annual visit to the school he funded almost single-handedly, Arthur's body had begun to thrum with anxiety.

Sometimes he really envied Lance.

A weight slammed Arthur to the side, knocking him into Lance with an undignified wooph!

"Watch it, Pendragon!"

Arthur glared at the newcomer with indignant fury, pushing himself away from his friend.

"Oh, shove it, Emrys," he spat at the boy.

"I believe I just did," said Emrys, happily flipping him off with a lightly manic grin.

Arthur shot him a two-fingered salute and watched as the boy bolted towards the door.

"What's with Merlin?" asked Lance, frowning at the retreating back.

"Beats me," said Arthur.

"Wants to be the first one from Jameson Hall to get there," said a tall boy from behind him. "Guess he wanted to steal your big entrance."

Arthur glared, whacking the boy on the shoulder.

"Shove off, Percy. I don't get a big entrance."

Percy rubbed his shoulder, wincing. "Please," he said, rolling his eyes. "We're the only hall using that door and everyone knows you get here crazy early whenever your father visits. You may as well have trumpets bellowing when you turn up."

Arthur cringed at the unfortunate (and very accurate) picture, choosing not to acknowledge his irritating friend.

The doors ahead creaked as Merlin pushed them open, disappearing inside. Barely a second later, a loud squelching and splashing sound erupted from within and the dining hall exploded in laughter. Arthur shot his friends a confused glance and jogged forward to investigate.

The doors slid open again and a figure tumbled out, drenched in an unidentifiable mess of brown and green that slid down his body in wet clumps. What could be seen of his face was bright red, his expression taught with fury.

"Christ, Emrys," said Percy. "You look worse than usual."

"Go suck a monkey's hairy ballsack," spat Merlin, pushing past them.

"Not one of your best lines," said Arthur, doing nothing to hide his grin.

"Fuck you, Pendragon," Merlin threw over his shoulder, stalking away.

Arthur watched after him, curious.

"Did you set that up, Arthur?" asked a dark-skinned boy, smirking.

"With my father in there? Of course I fucking didn't," Arthur said, shaking his head.

Lance cocked his head at him. "Did someone else get involved in your little war?"

Arthur shrugged. "Not that I know of. Maybe the idiot found someone else to piss off to high hell."

Lance looked back at him. "I guess. Good thing he was so keen to get to dinner tonight, eh. Hate to see what your dad would be like if it was you."

Arthur paused, looking at his friend. Lance kept walking, not noticing Arthur's hesitance.

Arthur's eyes narrowed as a suspicion began to take root, and he swivelled back to the direction in which Merlin had disappeared.

"You guys go on ahead," he found himself saying. "I left something back at the dorms."

"Really, Arthur?" said Percy. "You sure you have to go back?"

"Yeah," said Arthur. "Meet you at our table, okay?"

His friends acquiesced with a few confused grumbles and Arthur jogged back through the dark, trying to keep quiet. After a moment he spotted a dejected figure trudging towards the residential hall, and he slowed his steps, watching from a distance. As he crept closer, Merlin's resigned posture came into sharp focus, and he watched as the boy diverted from the main path and into the trees, bending down to pick something up. Arthur leaned closer, and the flashing light emanating from the object showed it to be a mobile phone.

Grumbling, Merlin picked his way back onto the main path.

"Drop your phone?" asked Arthur, Merlin-inspired haughtiness well in tact.

Merlin jumped, whirling around.

"What the hell, Pendragon?" he yelled, green gunk slipping from his hair as he spoke. "Are you following me?"

Arthur shrugged. "Why was your phone in there?" he asked, gesturing to the trees. Merlin stared at him.

"Dropped it. And why the hell do you care?"

Arthur cocked his head at it. "Because you found it pretty damn quickly. Even though it's way off the path."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

"I'm good at finding things. Now will you bugger off?"

"Good thing you dropped it, really," continued Arthur, blithely ignoring Merlin's answer. "Bet that crap you're swimming in would've ruined it, even if it is a two-dollar piece of crap."

Merlin narrowed his eyes. "We can't all afford fifteen-hundred dollar 007 gadgets."

Arthur waved away his interruption. "In fact, it's almost like you left it there on purpose, so it wouldn't get busted."

Merlin pursed his lips, supremely unamused.

"Whatever you're implying, Pendragon, you're wrong. Now fuck off."

"You knew," said Arthur. He was staring now, in unabashed curiosity. "You knew that crap was behind the door."

Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Of course I didn't," he dismissed, turning away. "Why the fuck would I let this happen on purpose?" He ran a hand through his rancid hair, flicking the gunge over his shoulder at Arthur.

"Because it was meant for me," Arthur said, the pieces falling into place. Merlin stilled. "Everyone knows I come early on important visits. They were trying to get me."

Merlin sighed, staring into the darkness.

"They should have more class," he replied, finally.

Arthur watched him, brows furrowed. "Did they tell you? What they were planning, I mean."

"Of course they did," snapped Merlin. "If there was anyone they could trust to back them up on this, it'd be me."

Arthur paused.

"But you didn't."

"No."

Arthur waited for more, but Merlin simply continued his angry trudge back to the dorms. Arthur ran after him, grabbing him by the bicep and then snatching his hand away as he felt the warm ooze.

"Why?" he demanded, flicking the grot off his hand.

"Because I'm not that fucking cruel!" said Merlin. Arthur stared at him, and his shoulders slumped.

"He's your dad," Merlin said, simply. "I mean, he's Uther fucking Pendragon. And he's your dad."

Arthur said nothing, swallowing carefully and forcing down the well of gratitude that should never have been directed at sodding Merlin Emrys.

"Thank you," said Arthur. Merlin glared.

"You're still a dick," he said, though his usual venom was absent. "I'm just not a total douchebag."

"Couldn't you have just taken down the buckets?"

"No time," said Merlin, his face a picture of distaste. "And I sure as fuck didn't want you to know about it."

Arthur nodded, stepping back carefully.

"This doesn't change anything, you know."

Merlin scowled. "It had better fucking not."

"Because you're still a tool."

"And you're a complete twat."

The two paused, looking at each other, uncertain.

Then Merlin adopted a smirk.

"Besides," he said, silkily. "With everything I've got planned for you, I'm gonna feel really bad if you don't try to fight back."

Arthur's eyes narrowed.

"Bring it, Emrys."

Merlin sneered, then twisted on his heal, disappearing into the dorms. Arthur turned, making his way back to the dining hall. As the lights came back into view, he found himself feeling strangely lighter, and decidedly less nervous about seeing his father. With a soft smile on his face that he couldn't quite explain, he ducked into the hall.

A/N: This was something I kind of had to get out last night. I'm actually 10 000 words into a much larger piece, but this scene wouldn't leave me alone, so I whipped it out at about 1am. I hope you like it, even if it is very rough.

Tell me what you think!