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Merlin - Mates
This is the second story completed during the whole two-week vacation thing. It's, er, far less serious than the first...
Title: Mates
Genre: Pre-Slash, Merlin/Arthur
Length: ~ 920 words
Rating: PG
Synopsis: Either the matchmaker knows something they don’t, or she truly is a fraud. Guess which way Merlin is leaning...
Author’s Notes: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
cliche_bingo entry “soulbonded”. Possible warning for my sense of humour.
Disclaimer: I do not own this particular interpretation of the myths or characters. I am just borrowing them to play and making no profit from this.
~~~~~~~~~~
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?” Arthur asked.
“I mean no. As in the opposite of yes. As in no,” Merlin declared, crossing his arms in front of him.
Arthur sighed. “You cannot simply say no,” he tried.
Merlin pretended to think about it for a moment. “No, actually, I can. No.”
Arthur began to pace. “The matchmaker has spoken and so it must be. She has never been wrong and no one has ever turned down one of her matches.”
Merlin raised a dubious eyebrow. “Isn’t this the same woman who declared Ferrilus’ best match was a goat?”
Arthur’s determination wavered slightly. “Well, yes,” he admitted. “But Ferrilus has never been happier and, really, one must take that into consideration.”
“But... us?” Merlin asked. “She really thinks we belong together? As in you and me, Prince Prat and loyal servant?”
“She has never been wrong,” Arthur repeated.
Merlin uncrossed his arms and leaned back a bit against the table, eyeing the traitorous parchment with open malice. “Let me ask you this,” he tried with a sigh. A glance up showed he had Arthur’s full attention. “Prior to the matchmaker declaring us soulmates, did you ever, even once, think of the two of us together in any way?” He saw Arthur open his mouth to respond, smirk firmly in place, and quickly added, “In any means other than master and servant?”
Dejectedly, Arthur slumped beside him. “Well, no,” he admitted. “There was the rare time, very rare, actually, in which, perhaps, I thought of you as more than a servant, and she must have seen past that to the truth,” he declared, nodding as if to convince himself.
“Do you even know what to do with another man?” Merlin asked. “We would be expected to consummate this relationship and, quite frankly, I do not think either of us would have the foggiest notion of how to do so.”
Arthur jumped up at that, reaching for a second set of parchment. “She left us instructions!” he declared proudly. He eyed her second gift, in a small pot beside the texts. “And a great deal of oil,” he added with a bit of confusion. He shook his head. “No matter. Let’s see what these say, shall we?”
He unrolled the parchment and the two of them stared at it for a moment. After a bit, Merlin flipped it upside down, then to the side, eyes widening with each action. “I really do not see how that is even possible, let alone comfortable,” he admitted, rotating the text once more.
Arthur nodded in agreement and eyed the oil once more. He picked up her final gift to them, a set of matching torcs, and twisted them in his hands. “She said that these were made only for soulmates, those who complete each other and are each other’s other half. She said even the most reluctant would understand once the bond with their other half is solidified.” He offered one of the two ornately carved pieces to Merlin. “Do you wish to try?”
“Fine,” Merlin sighed, taking the piece of jewellery from his hands. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Either we discover the renowned matchmaker is, in fact, a fraud, or we try out some of those awkward positions,” Arthur offered with a hint of his usual humour.
“Very well,” Merlin nodded. He held the torc up to Arthur, finding he was forced to nearly wrap his arms around the other man’s neck to fit the damned thing on. So close, Merlin could feel his breath warm against his skin, little tingles like the hints of magic dancing across his cheek. He leaned closer to loop the torc around Arthur, pressed chest to chest he felt a heartbeat so similar to his own, yet different. As the jewellery slid into place, he swore he felt his own beat change to match the other, a quick stutter before beginning anew.
Arthur swallowed heavily and quickly placed the heavy gold around Merlin’s own neck, blinking as if he too felt something shift, something change between them.
A warmth began in the centre of Merlin’s chest, spreading outwards to the tips of the fingers still tracing the inscriptions on Arthur’s torc. He could not help but notice that they were still standing incredibly close, arms still linked about each other in a way he could only describe as intimate.
He moved to lower his arms, to take a step backward and comment on how silly this all was. Arthur stopped him, held him in place and drew him closer. That same warm breath now ghosted over his ear as Arthur whispered, “Still think she was wrong?”
Merlin swallowed, feeling the gold across the back of his neck move slightly with the motion. “I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt,” he said hoarsely. Clearer now, he added, “For the time being.”
Arthur smiled and lowered his forehead to press against Merlin’s, their bodies pressed together fully now and neither making any move to pull apart. “Merlin?” he asked, rubbing his nose slightly against his so-called soulmate’s.
“Yes?” Merlin breathed, warm air skittering across them both.
“What do you say we try out some of that text?” Arthur asked, and Merlin could feel his blush as much as see it.
Merlin smiled, lips ever so close to Arthur’s. “I say it’s worth a try.”
With a laugh, Arthur closed the final miniscule distance between them and the two set off to find out just how compatible they truly were.
End.
~~~~~~~~~~
Feedback is always welcomed.
Title: Mates
Genre: Pre-Slash, Merlin/Arthur
Length: ~ 920 words
Rating: PG
Synopsis: Either the matchmaker knows something they don’t, or she truly is a fraud. Guess which way Merlin is leaning...
Author’s Notes: For
cliche_bingo entry “soulbonded”. Possible warning for my sense of humour.Disclaimer: I do not own this particular interpretation of the myths or characters. I am just borrowing them to play and making no profit from this.
~~~~~~~~~~
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?” Arthur asked.
“I mean no. As in the opposite of yes. As in no,” Merlin declared, crossing his arms in front of him.
Arthur sighed. “You cannot simply say no,” he tried.
Merlin pretended to think about it for a moment. “No, actually, I can. No.”
Arthur began to pace. “The matchmaker has spoken and so it must be. She has never been wrong and no one has ever turned down one of her matches.”
Merlin raised a dubious eyebrow. “Isn’t this the same woman who declared Ferrilus’ best match was a goat?”
Arthur’s determination wavered slightly. “Well, yes,” he admitted. “But Ferrilus has never been happier and, really, one must take that into consideration.”
“But... us?” Merlin asked. “She really thinks we belong together? As in you and me, Prince Prat and loyal servant?”
“She has never been wrong,” Arthur repeated.
Merlin uncrossed his arms and leaned back a bit against the table, eyeing the traitorous parchment with open malice. “Let me ask you this,” he tried with a sigh. A glance up showed he had Arthur’s full attention. “Prior to the matchmaker declaring us soulmates, did you ever, even once, think of the two of us together in any way?” He saw Arthur open his mouth to respond, smirk firmly in place, and quickly added, “In any means other than master and servant?”
Dejectedly, Arthur slumped beside him. “Well, no,” he admitted. “There was the rare time, very rare, actually, in which, perhaps, I thought of you as more than a servant, and she must have seen past that to the truth,” he declared, nodding as if to convince himself.
“Do you even know what to do with another man?” Merlin asked. “We would be expected to consummate this relationship and, quite frankly, I do not think either of us would have the foggiest notion of how to do so.”
Arthur jumped up at that, reaching for a second set of parchment. “She left us instructions!” he declared proudly. He eyed her second gift, in a small pot beside the texts. “And a great deal of oil,” he added with a bit of confusion. He shook his head. “No matter. Let’s see what these say, shall we?”
He unrolled the parchment and the two of them stared at it for a moment. After a bit, Merlin flipped it upside down, then to the side, eyes widening with each action. “I really do not see how that is even possible, let alone comfortable,” he admitted, rotating the text once more.
Arthur nodded in agreement and eyed the oil once more. He picked up her final gift to them, a set of matching torcs, and twisted them in his hands. “She said that these were made only for soulmates, those who complete each other and are each other’s other half. She said even the most reluctant would understand once the bond with their other half is solidified.” He offered one of the two ornately carved pieces to Merlin. “Do you wish to try?”
“Fine,” Merlin sighed, taking the piece of jewellery from his hands. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“Either we discover the renowned matchmaker is, in fact, a fraud, or we try out some of those awkward positions,” Arthur offered with a hint of his usual humour.
“Very well,” Merlin nodded. He held the torc up to Arthur, finding he was forced to nearly wrap his arms around the other man’s neck to fit the damned thing on. So close, Merlin could feel his breath warm against his skin, little tingles like the hints of magic dancing across his cheek. He leaned closer to loop the torc around Arthur, pressed chest to chest he felt a heartbeat so similar to his own, yet different. As the jewellery slid into place, he swore he felt his own beat change to match the other, a quick stutter before beginning anew.
Arthur swallowed heavily and quickly placed the heavy gold around Merlin’s own neck, blinking as if he too felt something shift, something change between them.
A warmth began in the centre of Merlin’s chest, spreading outwards to the tips of the fingers still tracing the inscriptions on Arthur’s torc. He could not help but notice that they were still standing incredibly close, arms still linked about each other in a way he could only describe as intimate.
He moved to lower his arms, to take a step backward and comment on how silly this all was. Arthur stopped him, held him in place and drew him closer. That same warm breath now ghosted over his ear as Arthur whispered, “Still think she was wrong?”
Merlin swallowed, feeling the gold across the back of his neck move slightly with the motion. “I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt,” he said hoarsely. Clearer now, he added, “For the time being.”
Arthur smiled and lowered his forehead to press against Merlin’s, their bodies pressed together fully now and neither making any move to pull apart. “Merlin?” he asked, rubbing his nose slightly against his so-called soulmate’s.
“Yes?” Merlin breathed, warm air skittering across them both.
“What do you say we try out some of that text?” Arthur asked, and Merlin could feel his blush as much as see it.
Merlin smiled, lips ever so close to Arthur’s. “I say it’s worth a try.”
With a laugh, Arthur closed the final miniscule distance between them and the two set off to find out just how compatible they truly were.
End.
~~~~~~~~~~
Feedback is always welcomed.
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I'd give a lot to see what's on that second parchment. *g*
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At which point I just cracked the fuck up. LOVE IT. You're awesome.
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I love Merlin! It's one of my new favorite shows.
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HA! I love it. I'm sure they will be as happy as Ferrilus and his goat are. Aww. Thanks for sharing!
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And um, I had to look up 'torc', which I'm glad I did because though I've seen those things before, I didn't know they were called that. So thanks ;) (also, the whole torc-exchange thing was understatedly sexy... yum!)
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I have no idea why, but the image of them both with intricately carved and twisted torcs came to mind instead of some other symbol of handfasting or being bonded, and I ran with it. Glad you liked it!
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