Chapter 4- Arthur Versus Modern Technology

(A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back. I know it has literally been ages, and I have no excuse, but here I am, at least right? Thank you all so much for reading, you guys really help me be a better writer!)

Arthur woke up in the middle of his first night on Merlin's rather small bed, with the skinny boy's back pressed against his stomach, and his elbow poking Arthur's bladder. He had needed to pee pretty much since their dinner of that stuff that Merlin had called pizza, but after looking for a little while, he realized in this new era, he had no idea where you were supposed to go when nature called. He hadn't seen any outhouses around, nor had he seen a chamber pot in Merlin's flat. He quietly slipped out of bed and started looking around the flat, looking for anywhere. He was beginning to get a little desperate.

He walked back into the bedroom, smiling a bit when he saw Merlin asleep in the bed, his pale skin against the green of the sheets and hair ruffled from their previous evening activities. He ducked under the bed and looked for the chamber pot underneath it. Surely even a thousand years later they would still have chamber pots? What else would you do if you woke up in the middle of the night having to pee? There had to be something. The call of nature couldn't just go away after a thousand years.

He continued to grope around under the bed, but only found some old chainmail and an old cloak left over from Camelot. He made a mental note to ask Merlin what they were doing hiding under the bed. All of his rustling must have woken Merlin up, because the next thing he knew was Merlin's head dangling off the side of the bed. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked. Well. This was embarrassing. The king of Camelot had just been caught looking for the chamber pot. "I, um, I have to pee," he muttered.

Merlin giggled. "You won't find anything under there. Chamber pots haven't been used for a while now. We use these things called toilets. I'll show you," he said, leading Arthur to a door that Arthur had assumed just lead to a closet or something. He opened the door and flicked that switch that allowed light to come flooding into the room. Arthur still didn't understand how it worked, but Merlin seemed fine with it. He would just have to stay close to Merlin whenever he was anywhere near these things. He guessed that would mean all the time.

Merlin took him over to a strange looking white throne that had a hole cut in it, and the hole had water in it. They passed by a tub and some strange looking things that Arthur couldn't even begin to explain. Merlin pointed to the throne and said, "You pee in here, and then you push on this thing here," he pointed at a strange looking silvery thing, "and it all goes away. Then you come over here and you turn the water on like this," he flipped some switch thing, "and you use this soap to clean your hands. Try not to make a huge mess." Merlin left him in this strange room to relieve himself.

After finishing everything Merlin told him to do, Arthur went back into the bedroom. He saw his lover on that mobile thing, the lights making his face glow. Merlin looked up at him and his face broke out into a large grin. Arthur smiled back sheepishly as Merlin got out of bed again and wrapped his arms around him. "See, that wasn't so hard. I'm so proud of you," he whispered into Arthur's ear, and kissed him again.

Arthur sighed. His boyfriend shouldn't be proud of him because he was able to pee without making a mess. He was the king of Camelot, but he sure didn't feel like it. He felt like a simpleton who couldn't do anything by himself. Merlin noticed his distress and asked him what was wrong as they laid back down on the bed together. Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur and the two fell asleep together.

The next morning, Arthur awoke and Merlin wasn't by his side. When the two of them had shared a bed back in Camelot, Merlin had to leave the bed before anyone else in the castle was awake in fear of being found out. Here though, Merlin was the only one who lived in the house. There was no need for him to leave before Arthur was awak. Arthur sighed, wishing that he could have awoken with the warlock in his arms.

He dragged himself out of bed and walked off to go find Merlin. He went into the room with the only fireplace in the house and found Merlin, but his boyfriend had strings coming out of his ears. Arthur couldn't begin to imagine what the strings were or what they were there for. Merlin's eyes were closed and he hadn't noticed that Arthur had come in. Arthur tried calling his boyfriend's name, but there was no response. "Merlin?" he called again, this time a little louder.

Still no response. Arthur began to feel uneasy. What were these things that caused Merlin to not even notice that Arthur had approached? "Merlin!" he yelled as if he was calling for him back in Camelot.

Still no response. Arthur didn't know what to do. Why was Merlin being so evasive? What was this strange contraption that caused Merlin to not realize he existed? Arthur smacked Merlin, gently, of course. As gentle as a medieval king could be.

Even with Arthur's kingly gentleness, Merlin's eyes shot open and he jumped at least a foot in the air. Arthur almost laughed at the reaction, but he was still terrified of the strings. "Arthur!" Merlin yelled as he pressed their lips together.

As much as he loved kissing Merlin, Arthur had to understand what was going on. Instead of wrapping his arms around him, he pulled back. "What were you doing that made you not notice me?" Arthur asked, the pain and confusion he felt showing in his eyes.

Merlin took the strings out of his ears and chuckled. "You remember my mobile, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," Arthur responded. "It's what you used to call the Italians last night, right?"

"Not exactly, but you're getting there. See, here it is," He responded, taking the mobile out of his pocket. "These," he said pointing to the strings, "are earbuds. They take music from the mobile and play them into your ears. I didn't think you would like modern music that much so I decided to use them. I'm sorry I didn't notice you."

"Why did you leave the bed?" Arthur asked.

Merlin took a deep breath before responding. "Arthur, you can't even begin to imagine how happy I am that you are back. Actually, I'm ecstatic. I'm overjoyed. But it's all still so surreal to me. I woke up and thought I was going insane, seeing you there. I just needed to leave for a little while to wrap my head around everything that has happened. I'm sorry if I worried you."

Arthur nodded, wrapping his arms around Merlin and holding him tight. He was scared. What kind of world could this possibly be for a medieval king? He didn't belong here. He belonged in Camelot, and Merlin did, too. But Camelot was long gone. They would have to make do here now. Thankfully, Arthur was better at adapting to things than his father.