Kiss and (Don't) Tell Title: Kiss and (Don't) Tell Pairings: Merlin/Arthur Rating: NC-17 (It's PORN) Disclaimer: I made it all up. Summary: Arthur and Merlin go to boarding school, and they hate each other. A lot. Modern AU. Author Notes: This is kind of dumb, but WHATEVER. And a MILLION THANKS to [info]eunen for the amazing beta, and for the title suggestion:D You rock, bb<3 Merlin loosens his tie, following a group of students out of the classroom. Arthur pushes him out of the way, yelling at a group of boys down the hall. Merlin rolls his eyes, shifting his bag as he walks towards Gwen, who is leaning against the hallway wall. She smiles at him as he walks towards her, her hair down and curled around her face. He bumps her arm in greeting and leans against the wall next to her. "He's such an arse." Gwen nods her head towards Arthur and a group of boys torturing an underclassman. One of them is holding the boy's books in their hand, while Arthur pushes the kid around. "I think it's genetic," Merlin says, crossing his arms across his chest. Gwen laughs. They can see Morgana making her way down the hallway towards Arthur and his friends. She pushes Arthur, and grabs the boy's books. "God Arthur, are you ever going to grow up?" She hands the boy his books and he scurries down the hallway. "Oh c'mon Morgana, lighten up." She spins around and glares at Arthur, and he backs off, his hands raising in surrender. She glares at him for a full thirty seconds before turning around. She sees Merlin and Gwen leaning against the wall and walks towards them, face furious. "Some people will never grow up, I swear," Morgana says, hands on her hips. "I can't believe you two grew up together," Gwen replies, as they start making their way down the hallway, towards the common room. "Well, that makes two of us." They make their way past a group of students as they enter. Morgana and Gwen flop down on the couch in the middle of the common room. Merlin sits on the floor in front of them, stretching his legs out and leaning back on his elbows. Gwen slides her shoes off and pulls her feet underneath her. Arthur and his friends walk into the common room a few minutes later, barely glancing in their direction as they pass by, heading towards a corner of the room. Merlin rolls his eyes as they walk by, but watches them as they sit, laughing loudly and gaining the attention of nearly everyone in the room. Merlin tries to pay as little attention to Arthur as is possible; they've hated each other since the moment they set eyes on each other. Merlin took one look at Arthur and took him for what he was; a spoiled, selfish brat with too much money and too many expectations on his shoulders. Arthur took one look at Merlin's bedraggled clothes, sloppy hair and well worn books and hated him right back. Merlin had no use for Arthur, and the feeling was completely mutual. Which was why, when they were younger, they were prone to fistfights in the dinning hall, Merlin fighting with pure rage, not caring if Arthur was bigger and stronger. Their fighting eventually turned to pranks, when Merlin woke up one morning with half his head shaved off, before a higher authority stepped in and stopped them. After phone calls to both their parents, the boys promised to stop fighting and simply avoided each other from there onwards. Nowadays, they're much more mature. Arthur just gives Merlin snide looks, and Merlin pretends Arthur doesn't exist. It's much easier. "Merlin? Merlin?" Morgana nudges his foot with her own, trying to get his attention. "Sorry, what?" "I said, what are you writing your essay on?" "American politics and the..." *** Merlin is holed up in the library, researching for his essay, pen lodged between his teeth. He's off in a corner, in the back with the books no one ever uses. He found this place his first year and studies there whenever he needs peace and quiet. Or whenever he needs to get away from Gwen and Morgana. He's leaning back on his chair, feet propped up on the table rungs as he reads, stopping to scribble notes every few minutes. He almost doesn't hear it at all, but when he's halfway through his essay, he hears a soft feminine giggle nearby. He inwardly groans, and tries to finish writing down his last thought. He hears a soft thump, like someone was pushed against a bookshelf. Someone makes a shushing noise before he hears a feminine giggle, and a not so feminine soft laugh. Merlin leans back in his chair a little, curious. No one ever comes back here. A girl with dark hair is pushing a boy with much lighter hair against the bookshelf, her hands pressing against his chest. She looks vaguely familiar, some girl from his class that Merlin really doesn't know all that well. He recognises the boy though. The boy is Arthur, grinning mischievously down at the girl, dimples out in action, his hands resting on her hips. She leans up on her tiptoes, pressing her lips against his, as his arms wrap around her waist. His hands splay across her back, pushing her shirt up to reveal her belly. Merlin leans back a little further as the girl lets out another giggle, before wrapping her arms around Arthur's neck and deepening the kiss. Merlin can see Arthur grinning, before spinning them around and pushing the girl against the shelf. She lets out an "oomph", before kissing him again. He sees her tongue sweep into Arthur's mouth, as his hands work up her shirt towards her bra. Merlin can't see what Arthur's hand is doing, but he has a pretty good idea. The girl squeals a little bit, and pushes up against Arthur. Merlin cries out as the chair gives out from underneath him. He falls backwards, legs flailing before hitting the ground. "Oh fuck." His head is pounding, and his teeth ache from the impact of hitting the floor. "What the fuck are you doing back here?" He opens his eyes. Arthur is standing over him, looking furious. Merlin lets out a low moan, and Arthur reaches one hand to press against Merlin's head. "Merlin, you sodding idiot." Merlin can see blood on Arthur's hand. Arthur pulls off his shirt to press it against Merlin's head, leaving him shirtless from the waist up. Merlin's mouth suddenly feels dry. "Ow, that hurts. Fuuuck." Merlin moans as he reaches his hands back to his head. Arthur bats his hand away with his free hand. Merlin can vaguely hear the girl freaking out behind him. "Well of course it bloody hurts, you've got a massive head wound." Arthur rolls his eyes, but he actually looks a little worried. He pushes his shirt harder against Merlin's head for a few seconds before pulling it away. Merlin goes to push Arthur's hand away, but Arthur just rolls his eyes and helps Merlin up to sit. "You've already ruined my shirt, so just shut up and let me help you." Merlin just nods and hisses a little as his hair catches between Arthur's fingers. Arthur helps him up off the floor, still pressing the shirt against Merlin's head. "You don't have to..." "Oh would you just shut the fuck up, Merlin? Christ, even when you're bleeding to death you're annoying." Arthur grabs his arm with his free hand, and Merlin can see the blood on his finger tips. Arthur helps him towards the door, and the girl he was with rushes to open it for them. "Is he going to be okay?" Her eyes are wide and a little red as they walk through the doorway. People stop to watch them as they walk by. Merlin can't figure out if it's the head wound or the fact that they're together and not trying to kill each other. They make it to the nurse's office without incident. "What were you boys doing this time?" She pulls the shirt away from Merlin's head, tsking as she throws it onto a nearby table. "It was my fault," Merlin says, wincing as she begins cleaning the blood out of his hair, inspecting the damage. Arthur is standing next to him, arms crossed against his chest. He's biting at his bottom lip, staring at Merlin's face. "Well, you might have to get stitches, I'm not sure." She frowns at him, and turns to Arthur. "Where you fighting again? You know what your father is going to say if he hears you've been fighting again, Arthur." Arthur opens his mouth to reply, but Merlin interrupts. "No, I was...I fell." She raises an eyebrow at Merlin, who blushes. "Really, I was leaning back in a chair and I fell over." She turns back to look at Arthur, who nods. "Alright." She presses a cloth to Merlin's head, instructing him to hold it there, and walks over to the sink to wash her hands. Merlin glances over at Arthur, who's rubbing at his bottom lip, staring at Merlin's feet. "I'm going to go call a doctor, see if you need stitches. Don't you boys get into another fight while I'm gone." She pauses for a second, like she's not sure if she wants to leave them alone, before walking out the door towards her desk. "Thanks. For helping," Merlin says. Arthur looks up at Merlin's face, before nodding. *** Arthur is oddly silent after Merlin's accident. He watches Merlin in class, like he's trying to figure something out. Merlin tries not to meet his eyes; after all, what do you say to someone you were spying on while they were trying to get laid, and instead of them getting some, they end up helping you to the nurse's office with a gushing head wound. Merlin is unsettled by Arthur's peculiar silence. Even though they haven't had a physical fight in at least a year, Arthur always has some snide comment about Merlin, whether it's about his upbringing or his mother, or his lack of money. Arthur has a never ending spiel of put downs for Merlin, but he's been quiet all week. Even Morgana and Gwen have noticed. After a few days of Arthur not picking on the first years in the hallway, Morgana walks up to Arth...
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