Fic: Expiration Date (Part 3)
Dec. 16th, 2012 07:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geeklover80Title: Expiration Date
Author/Artist:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
geekslave
Pairing(s): Arthur/Merlin, Ganieda (OFC)/Gwaine, Lancelot/Gwen
Characters: Merlin, Arthur, Gwaine, Ganieda (OFC), Gwen, Lancelot, Gaius, Uther, Kilgarrah
Word Count: 35,554
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Just before receiving vital treatment for cancer, Arthur meets Merlin and his life is turned upside down when one night with Merlin results in an unforeseen pregnancy. To protect the baby, Arthur refuses the treatment.
Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings: Mpreg, angst, lots of talk of cancer, fluff.
Notes: Written for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
merlinmpreg fest. Special thanks to my beta dustfinger223. I'm not a doctor just play one while writing fic. :) I did a lot of research, but I'm sure I didn't get everything right.
Part 2
Merlin and Arthur continued to work on his bucket list as well. Arthur had started reading every book in his collection, determined to finish all 50 of them. As Arthur neared the end of his first trimester, Merlin decided to start teaching Arthur how to cook. He decided to start with something that was light and fairly simple, but not as easy as making a sandwich. He decided to show Arthur how to make Welsh cakes.
They gathered all the ingredients in the kitchen and Merlin tied Gwaine’s “Kiss the Cock” apron around Arthur. He lingered behind Arthur, with his hands on Arthur’s hips. He could feel Arthur stiffen slightly. It wasn’t exactly the reaction he was hoping for. Arthur and Merlin hadn’t had sex since the first time, despite some hot make-out sessions. But ever since Arthur got pregnant, even the make-out sessions were dwindling. Arthur assured Merlin he was still attracted to him, and wanted to continue seeing him, but not only was his libido right now extremely low, he also told Merlin he wanted to take things slow and make sure they weren’t starting a relationship just because Arthur was pregnant.
Arthur cleared his throat and moved towards the island in the kitchen. “So are you going to do everything and I just watch or are we going to do this together?”
“Neither. You wanted to learn to cook, so you need to get your hands dirty. You cook and I’ll show you what to do.” Arthur nodded. “Start by mixing the baking soda, flour, sugar, and salt in the large bowl.”
Arthur got started. He looked over at Merlin. “You don’t need a recipe?”
“No, I’ve made these a hundred times.” Merlin explained. “My mum showed Gan and I how to make them when were six. We’d always make them on Christmas Eve and have them on Christmas.” Merlin continued to instruct Arthur, “Cut the shortening and place it in the mixture.”
Arthur followed all of Merlin’s instructions and was proving to be a bit obsessive compulsive, constantly cleaning up after himself, even though it was just going to get messy again. As Arthur greased the griddle, he looked over at Merlin. He had a huge grin on his face. “Bringing back memories?”
Merlin smiled at him. “Yeah. My mum was exactly, always cleaning up after us even though it was guaranteed to turn into a disaster area two seconds later. I think it was Gan’s mission to get flour on every single surface of the kitchen. After everything was done, Ganieda’s hair looked as if she had been sweeping the chimney with her head. And I was constantly breaking things. It was a mess, but mum didn’t care. She loved being in the kitchen and she loved being able to share it with us.” Merlin smiled sadly, running a hand slowly through his hair, looking off into space.
“You miss her.”
Merlin nodded.
Arthur placed the scones on the griddle. “Ganieda said that you moved away after your mum died to “find yourself.”
“I made my mum a promise before she died that I would get myself together and figure out what I wanted and do it. I didn’t think I could do that in Ealdor. I hated having to leave Gan, but I knew she’d be ok. She’s known who she is and what’s she wanted since she was ten. And I think I did what my mum wanted. I don’t have it all figured out but I know who I am and I’m happy.” He touched Arthur’s stomach. “I was meant to come back here when I did.”
Arthur grinned. “You’re such a girl, Merlin.”
“You’re pregnant and you have breasts, I think you’re the girl.” Merlin laughed as Arthur shoved him on the shoulder.
~*~
The Welsh cakes turned out wonderfully. A little overdone, but delicious. After all the cleaning he did while he was making the cakes, Arthur didn’t know whether to be happy or annoyed when after they were done Merlin waved a hand and everything was cleaned and put away, without either of them touching a thing.(Merlin just grinned at him, “I told you I was handy in the kitchen.”) They made some tea and sat down in the living room. “So now you at least know how to make one thing. You’re on your way to becoming a master chef.” Merlin replied, rubbing Arthur’s feet.
“Perhaps.” Arthur sighed and rested his head against the sofa cushion. “Do you think you’re going to make these cakes with our child?”
“I hope so. I hope we can do it together.” Arthur practically purred in contentment as Merlin massaged his feet.
~*~
As his second trimester started, Merlin found Arthur standing in front of the mirror stroking his stomach. He had just barely started to show, it looked like he had a slight beer belly. Arthur turned his head to the side and looked at his stomach thoughtfully. Merlin smiled as he walked up to him. “Are you already worried about stretch marks? You’re barely showing.”
Arthur laughed. “I’m not worried. I actually sort of like this.”
Merlin blinked at him. “You like it?”
Arthur nodded. “Yes When I started secondary school, I decided to start working out because I wanted to be on every sports team I could I got quite fit, if I do say so myself.”
“I’ve learned to not expect a lot of modesty from you.” Merlin teased.
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Anyway it was great fun. I loved being on a team and loved the way I felt. And then - then I got cancer and I couldn’t be on any teams anymore and I was always so, so skinny. It was one of the things I hated most. It’s not really fun when you could literally be a skeleton for Halloween. So I kind of like being able to put on a little weight and be a little normal. I’m sure I’ll be singing a different tune in a few months.”
Merlin put his arms around Arthur from behind and looked at him in the mirror. “I think you’ll look very sexy with a huge belly. Kind of like Santa Claus.”
Arthur wrinkled his nose. “Please tell me you don’t have some weird Santa Claus fetish.”
Merlin pinched his arm lightly. “No.”
Arthur turned in Merlin’s arms and kissed his lips lightly. “I feel really good. The morning sickness has stopped. I’m still tired, but it’s not as bad as before. “
“Dr. Emerson says you’re doing well. The drugs are really working.”
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps?” Merlin raised his eyebrow.
“I just think that it’s not the drugs keeping me alive. I think it’s the baby.” Arthur whispered. “Do you think it’s possible the baby could have magic already? Will it have magic?”
Merlin looked taken aback. “I - I have no idea. I’ve never really thought about it.”
“Have you ever learned anything about your magic?”
“Not really,” Merlin answered. “I always had questions when I was a kid, but I didn’t have anyone to ask. When I got older, I never really thought about it.” Merlin wondered if he should try and find some answers, especially for Arthur’s sake.
~*~
“Gannie, can we talk?” Merlin found Ganieda in the middle of a yoga workout doing some pose, sleeping day or flying lotus, or weird name Merlin could never remember.
“Pull up a mat.” Ganieda replied looking at him from upside down.
“You know yoga’s not my cup of tea.”
“I’ve still got twenty minutes to go, so either do it with me or you can wait.”
Merlin rolled his eyes and sigh. “Fine. But please don’t ever ask me to ‘do it with you’ again.”
Ganieda laughed, moving into another position laying on the ground and bending her torso back. Merlin mimicked her position. “What’s going on with the two daddies?”
“We’re doing all right, all things considered.” He looked at his sister warily. “Have you ever talked to anyone about your magic? I mean, where it comes from, what are the possibilities?” Ganieda just looked at him without saying anything. “Arthur said that he thought the baby was keeping him alive and asked me if I knew if that was possible. I don’t know, do you?
“No.”
“I need to know. I need to know if there’s a way that I can-
“Save him?” Ganieda asked, popping up quickly.
It took Merlin a little longer to get up. “Yes. Of course I want to save him. If the baby’s keeping him alive, what happens when it’s born?”
Ganieda took a sip of water. “Aren’t you always telling Arthur to be positive? What happened to that?”
“I still believe that. But if I can do something, I have to try. I can’t …” He took a deep breath.
Ganieda came over and hugged him. She went back into the living room and took out a pad and pen. She wrote something down and handed it to Merlin. “That is the number of an old professor of mine. He might have some of the answers you need.”
~*~
“So when do you want to do this?” Gwaine asked out of the blue during Arthur’s five month of pregnancy.
“When do I want to do what?”
“Going on the helicopter ride, flying it.” Gwaine plopped down next to him on the sofa.
“I can’t do that anymore.” Arthur said, putting down his triple decker peanut butter, pickle, and ham sandwich (which Merlin thought was the weirdest combination ever.)
“Why not?” Gwaine pouted.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pregnant. You’re not supposed to fly late in your pregnancy.”
“That’s not true. The books say you can’t fly in your third trimester, which you’re not in yet.”
Arthur grinned at Gwaine. “Have you been reading baby books?”
“No.” Gwaine said quickly. “Gan has been reading them. I’ve picked a few things up.” Arthur smiled. “So I know that you can still fly. I’ll be there with you the whole time.” Arthur still seemed hesitant. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, or that little peanut inside.”
After thinking it over another minute, Arthur nodded.
“Yes!” Gwaine whooped. He got up and turned to Arthur. “Just don’t puke in my ride, ok.”
~*~
Merlin clutched Arthur’s jacket. “Are you sure about this? If the plane starts to fall I don’t know if I can use my magic to stop it. What if -
Arthur kissed him solidly on the mouth. “For the hundredth time, I’m going to be alright Merlin. Gwaine’s going to do the take-off and landing, I’ll just be flying for a little bit. It’ll be safe, I promise.”
“Ok, just go and get this over with. I’ll be filming what I can down here and I placed a camera in the plane.”
“Alright baby brother; it’s time to let him go.” Ganieda dragged him away so Arthur could join an already seated Gwaine on the helicopter.
“I hate it when you call me baby brother. You’re two minutes older.”
Arthur put on his headset. He thought he would be feeling a little more panicked, but he was actually doing well. He was certainly more anxious when he was learning to swim. Gwaine walked him through the procedure again and gave him another overview of the controls. Arthur gripped the cyclic control which looked like a handlebar and allowed either Gwaine or Arthur to command the helicopter.
“If you’re not ready for take-off, now’s the time to jump.” Gwaine half-joked. Arthur just gave him thumbs up. So Gwaine prepared for take-off. Arthur closed his eyes as the helicopter ascended. After about ten minutes Gwaine turned to him. “How are you doing?”
“I’m alright.”
“Good. Because it’s your turn now.”
Arthur gaped at him. “Are you sure?” Gwaine nodded. Arthur took a deep breath and grabbed his end of the controller.
“Gently.” Gwaine advised. “You don’t want to over-control it.”
Arthur kept a mental list of everything he was taught during his helicopter lessons as he worked the controls and rudder. “I’m flying this, aren’t I?” Arthur asked incredulously. A huge smile was starting to form on his face.
“You are. And you’re doing a hell of a job.”
“I wish Merlin were here.” The thought just popped into his head suddenly.
“Thanks.” Gwaine said.
“Sorry. It’s just this is amazing. He would love it up here. I just wanted to....”
“Share this with him. I know. I get it. I feel the same way about Ganieda. That’s what it’s like when you’re in love.”
Arthur looked startled. His grip on the cyclic control veered slightly and the helicopter jerked to the side sharply.
“Blimey! Watch the controls, watch the controls!” Gwaine crossed himself. “I’ll remember not to mention the L word again while we’re up here.” After about 20 minutes Arthur was ready to let go of the control as they needed to prepare for landing. Gwaine turned to him with a mischievous smirk on his face. “How would you like to land this thing?”
Arthur’s eyes bulged. “Have you gone barmy, mate? I can’t handle a landing my first time out?”
“You can do it. I told you I’ll take over if anything bad happens. When are you ever going to get a chance to do this again?”
Arthur shakily nodded. As he approached the landing area, he made sure to maintain visual contact. He slowed the plane down and started to slowly descend. Gwaine talked him through everything. He slowed down even more and brought the noise of the helicopter up. He eased off the controls, and as the wheels touched the ground. He applied the parking brake. And exhaled a long breath.
Gwaine grabbed him and kissed the top of his head. “Are you sure you’ve never flown before?”
“Pretty good for a first timer?” Arthur smirked. Gwaine laughed. As Arthur stepped out of the helicopter, he could see Merlin running toward him. He met him halfway. Merlin practically threw the camera at his sister and hugged Arthur so tight he was breathless.
“How do you feel?” Merlin asked after finally releasing Arthur.
“Like I’ve just had the best sex of my life.”
“You’ve only had sex once so I’ll let that comment pass.”
Arthur chuckled. “It was indescribable, Merlin. I think you would have loved it.”
Merlin smiled. “I think I prefer the view from down here. I think I almost had a heart attack when the plane veered to the side suddenly. What happened?”
Arthur shrugged. “Nothing. Just a small mistake. I may be amazing, but I’m still an amateur.” Arthur grabbed Merlin’s hand and continued to tell him every little detail of the flight.
~*~
“Can’t sleep?”
Arthur looked up at Merlin sharply. He took a deep breath.” Don’t sneak up on me like that?”
“I never sneak. You were too lost in thought to notice anything.” Merlin explained as he sat down next to him. “What are you doing up?”
“I’m a bit restless. Besides, I keep getting up to pee every five minutes. It’s hard to sleep with your arse tied to the toilet.”
Merlin laughed. “What were you thinking about?”
“I was trying to picture what our baby will look like.”
“If it’s lucky, it’ll look like you. And it pains me to say that, since your ego is far too big as it is.” Merlin replied.
“Why would you say that?”
“Oh, come on, Arthur. Look at these ears,” he tugged at the offending feature in question. “Would you really want to saddle a child with these?”
“Well, perhaps not your ears. But everything else Merlin is gorgeous. Your lips, your skin, your nose, and especially your eyes. I think are baby would be lucky to get your looks.”
Merlin was blushing all over. “Uh,” he cleared his throat. “Do you want to find out the sex of the baby tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. Part of me wants to be surprised. Having that anticipation on the day. But on the other hand, I’ve had more than my share of surprises. Plus, I think it could help us better prepare.”
Merlin nodded. “I agree. I think we should find out.”
“Ok. That was easy. I hope all the decisions are like this.”
Merlin laughed. “I highly doubt it.” Arthur just grinned. “Do you think you’ll be able to go back to bed now?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good.”
“Why is that good?”
“We can cross something else off your list. You said you’d never had an all-nighter.” Merlin explained.
Arthur nodded. ‘Right. The only time I’ve stayed up all night is when I’ve been too sick to sleep. It always looks kind of fun in the movies when people stay up all night talking.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Merlin asked, getting more comfortable on the couch.
Arthur thought for a moment. “When did you first start using magic?”
“I’ve been able to use it before I could talk.” Merlin grinned. “Mum said I used to change my own nappies.”
Arthur laughed loudly. “Let’s hope our baby inherits that.” He rubbed his small belly. “What exactly can you do?”
“Primarily, I can move things with my mind.”
“Have you always been open about it?” Arthur asked.
“Not really. I never really talked about it at school. My mum was really worried about people either picking on my or trying to take advantage. Gan, always told people, but they just thought she was strange.”
“Did you guys have any special twin powers?”
Merlin snickered. “Not really. People always think we must have had our own special language, but we never did. I think the one unusual thing about us-
“There was only one unusual thing about you two?” Arthur laughed.
Merlin pinched him lightly. “Quiet, you. Anyway, when we were kids, I used to drive Ganieda crazy by taking her power.”
“You would take her power? How did you do that?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose...not the first time anyway. I grabbed her hand one day while she was having a vision and it just happened. I didn’t even know it had happened until I got this blinding headache one day and had a vision.”
“What did you see?”
“I couldn’t really figure it out. It’s really hard to decipher what you see. Ganieda’s always been better at that than me. You would think having visions might be easy and cool. But it can be really painful and confusing.” Merlin smiled. “But it didn’t stop me from doing it, whenever Gan got on my nerves.”
Arthur chuckled. “Did she take your powers, too?”
Merlin shook his head. “For some reason she couldn’t do it. Only I could, which made her even more annoyed. She was such a nuisance.” Merlin said fondly.
Arthur pursed his lips. “I always wanted that. To have a sibling I could annoy and boss around.” Merlin laughed loudly. “It got really lonely, with father and me...and the servants.”
“What happened to your mum?” Merlin asked softly.
“She died giving birth to me.” Arthur bit his lip. “She never saw me. I’ve only seen a few pictures of her. Father doesn’t like to talk about her.” Arthur swallowed heavily. “I look a lot like her. I think it’s hard for him to be around me because of that. I really can’t blame him, but...” He looked at Merlin. “I know you’re nothing like my father, but I need you to promise me that if I die-
“Arthur.”
“Just listen, please? If I die, you have to promise that you won’t treat our child like he’s a horrible reminder of someone you’ve lost.”
Merlin touched Arthur’s stomach. “If you were to die soon, I would never think of this baby as a horrible reminder. I’ll love it no matter what, but knowing there was still a piece of you around would make me love it more.”
Arthur slowly crawled into Merlin’s lap. “Am I too heavy?” Merlin chuckled and shook his head. Arthur kissed him tenderly, running his fingers through Arthur’s hair. He softly kissed Merlin’s top lip, and then his bottom lip before running his tongue gently across his Merlin’s mouth. Merlin opened his mouth and they deepened the kiss. Merlin squeezed Arthur’s waist and stuck his hand in Arthur’s shirt, rubbing it up and down his back.
Arthur broke the kiss and looked at Merlin apologetically. “I hate to break the mood, but I have to pee.”
Merlin trailed kisses down Arthur’s neck. “Do you have to go?”
Arthur moaned. “I think I do, unless being peed on is a kink of yours.”
Merlin pulled away instantly. “Up you go.” Arthur laughed and got up. “If you hear any funny noises out here, I’m just...exercising.” Merlin said.
Arthur nodded knowingly. “Do you exercise with your left or right hand?”
Merlin threw a pillow at him. When Arthur came back they kept snogging sessions to a minimum and stuck to lighter topics of conversation.
~*~
“For cripes’ sake!” Arthur flinched violently as Dr. Emerson squeezed blue goo on his stomach.
“You know it’s cold, Arthur.” Gaius explained.
“Icebergs are cold, Gaius. This was something else.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Must you be a drama queen about this every time?” He focused on the monitor, anticipating getting a better shot of the baby then the last time Arthur had an ultrasound.
“When you’re the one who’s pregnant and having freezing goo put on your stomach, then you get to talk.” Arthur retorted.
Merlin’s response was cut off when the sound of the baby’s heartbeat filled the room. Merlin smiled and grabbed Arthur’s hand.
Arthur stared at the monitor. The thought of having children was something he never pondered before he got pregnant. With the cancer, he was never too sure if he would even survive long enough for it to be an option. Finding out he was pregnant was not exactly thrilling news. But hearing the baby’s heartbeat again, made him realize this was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Gaius pointed out the baby to them and identified and described how the baby was growing. He finally turned to them and asked if they wanted to know the sex of the baby. They answered yes at the same time. Gaius pointed to the screen. “You see that there?”
Arthur and Merlin looked carefully, but saw nothing. “No.”
Gaius smiled. “No penis.”
“So, it’s a girl?” Arthur asked haltingly.
“Either that or the baby has a really, really small kn-
“Yes, it’s a girl.” Gaius interrupted. His eyebrow was so arched it could cut glass.
Merlin and Arthur looked at each other and beamed at each other, before looking back at the monitor unable to stop gazing at their daughter.
~*~
Ganieda was beyond thrilled when they told her the baby was a girl. Her exact words were, “finally another person without a penis in this family.” She decided to throw an impromptu get together and invited Lance and Gwen. It was the first time Arthur had been together with all his friends since New Year’s and he had missed it. Though he missed it a little less when his Gwen and Lance kept fussing over him and quoting baby books. “You should let me take you shopping for new clothes, Arthur. You are getting a little bit...” Gwen stopped and made a circular motion in front of her stomach. “....Rounder in your mid-section.”
Arthur unbuttoned the grey suit jacket that had been stretched tightly across his belly and looked down. “It probably is about time. Do you think pants and jeans two sizes bigger will work?”
Gwen shrugged. “It’d probably be best to go with sweatpants.”
Arthur laughed. “I don’t think so. I’m a Pendragon, we don’t wear sweatpants.”
“Pendragon’s don’t have sex with magical beings either.” Gwaine chimed in. “Things change.” Everyone but Arthur laughed.
“And you don’t have to worry about paying for it, because it’ll be my treat. What are godmothers for?” Gwen chirped happily.
Ganieda coughed and scratched her head. “Uh...when was that decided? The whole godmother thing.”
Gwen opened and closed her mouth and looked around the group. “I’m sorry. I just assumed. Who else would it be?”
Ganieda raised her hand. “What about me?”
“But you’re already the baby’s aunt.”
“Gwen, I’m sure you and Lance would make lovely godparents. You’re very sweet and responsible, but Merlin doesn’t really know you. It would probably be better if it was someone both Merlin and Arthur trusted.” Ganieda reasoned.
“Well, you and Arthur trust Gwen and Lance, which would be good enough for me.” Merlin volunteered. Ganieda shot him a death glare. Merlin looked down. “But, I think it’s only fair that Arthur makes the final decision.”
Arthur crossed his arms and looked at Merlin. “How is that fair?”
“Because I don’t want to.” Merlin said in a small voice.
Gwen shook her head. “Have you guys really never considered this before? It’s really important, especially considering Arthur’s condition.” Gwen stopped abruptly and looked at Arthur with such shame and regret. “I’m so sorry, Arthur. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Arthur put his arm around Gwen to cut off her guilty rambling. “It’s ok, Gwen. You’re right.” He looked over at Merlin. “It is something we need to discuss.”
~*~
After the somewhat awkward godparent discussion, the party died down and Gwen and Lancelot went home. Gwaine and Ganieda retired to their room. Merlin and Arthur went outside and took the bright green patio chairs into the yard sat and did some star gazing. Merlin took Arthur’s hand in his, twining their fingers together. “I know I was teasing earlier, but if you want Gwen and Lance as the godparents, I’m fine with that.”
Arthur cocked his head and looked at Merlin skeptically. “Are you sure? Ganieda had a point. You don’t know them very well.”
“I’m sure I’ll get to know them. They’re both very nice and good people. I like the idea of their sanity balancing out my sister and Gwaine’s insanity.”
Arthur laughed. “Alright, that’s good. Another decision down with minimal bloodshed. I’ll leave it to you to tell your sister.”
Merlin shook his head. “Of course.” It started to drizzle lightly, but soon fat drops of rain were pelting down on them. “Let’s get you inside.” Merlin stood up to leave.
Before Merlin could drag him inside, Arthur pulled Merlin farther out into the backyard. “Wait.”
“What are you doing, Arthur? I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Merlin ran his hands up and down Arthur’s arms.
“I’ll be ok for a couple of minutes.” Arthur assured him.
“Is this another thing on your list?”
“Sort of.” Arthur blinked water from his eyelashes. He looked at Merlin and stroked his cheek. Merlin looked perfect. Arthur didn’t know exactly what it was. His hair looked great, wet and slicked back. Merlin kept running his hand through it to keep water out of his eyes, and there was one stubborn strand that refused to stay back. His eyelashes were beautiful and there was something exquisite about the way water droplets clung to his lashes. And his wet lips...Arthur wanted to suck them dry. “Kiss me.”
Merlin looked surprised, but laughed. “Are you serious? You want to have some big movie cliché kissing in the rain moment?”
Arthur nodded. “Yes!”
Merlin shook his head, but was beaming at Arthur. He gently cupped his face and brushed his soft, wet lips against Arthur. Arthur ran his hands through Merlin’s hair, then ran his hands down Merlin’s body and cupped his arse. Merlin opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, squeezing Arthur body against him. Merlin slowly pulled away. Arthur’s eyes were still closed. “How was that?”
“Brilliant.” Arthur’s eyes opened suddenly. “Wow, I think the baby agrees.” He crinkled his nose, smiling while looking bemused. “The baby just kicked.” He grabbed Merlin’s hand and placed it on his belly.
Merlin waited expectantly. “Oh!” He felt the strange flutter against Arthur’s belly. “Oh my God. That’s amazing.” They smiled at each other. “Alright, I think it’s time to get you and the future footie player back inside.” He led Arthur back inside, keeping his hand on his belly the whole time. When they got to Arthur‘s room, Merlin went to the bathroom and got a towel to dry Arthur off. He shook his head and still looked awestruck. “You’ve got this actual human person moving and growing in there.”
“I hope it’s human. I would have hated to go to all this trouble for some alien being.”
Merlin grinned. “I know it sounds stupid, with all of the ultrasounds and your belly and whatnot, but feeling it kick... it just feels really weird now...and strange.”
“You’re telling me. This is completely surreal. It’s the most peculiar feeling, but it feels perfect. I already love this baby so much.”
Merlin smiled widely and cupped Arthur’s cheek. “I do, too.”
Merlin started toweling Arthur’s hair dry and Arthur thought back to the first day they met and after Merlin taught him how to swim. At the time, he’d never felt so close to someone before and that feeling was ten times stronger now. He grabbed Merlin’s hand, stopping his movement. He cupped Merlin’s face in his hands. “I love you, Merlin.”
Merlin froze, blinking slowly at Arthur. “You...”
“I love you. I think I’ve known for a long time now. But I’ve been really scared that this wasn’t real and that it wouldn’t last. But I know,” he touched his stomach, “that we’re a family now. And I should start acting like it. I don’t want you in a room across the hall. I want you here with me. I want you with me, always.” Arthur couldn’t tell if he was shivering from still being wet and cold or it was the nervous energy he was feeling. Now that he had admitted to what he was feeling, he couldn’t stop talking. “You drive me crazy. You’re stubborn and weird and funny and beautiful. You make me laugh. You make me feel... truly alive for the first time in my life. I told you that I thought the baby was keeping me alive, but it’s both of you. You and the baby.” He looked down at his belly and placed Merlin’s hand there. “This was meant to be, Merlin. I need you in my life. And I need to know that you love me too, that I haven’t just been prattling on like a stupid prat.” He exhaled.
Merlin had tears welling in his eyes. He looked down briefly and when he looked up, tears were falling down his face and he had the most radiant smile on his face. “You have to know that you will always be a prat.” He laughed. “But you’re my prat. I have known that I was in love with you since that very first day I met you. I will never love anyone as much as I love you.” He grabbed Arthur’s face and kissed him, hoping Arthur could feel everything he felt. Arthur clung to him as he kissed Arthur all over his face.
Arthur pulled back and just looked at Merlin’s face, running his hands through his hair.
Merlin put his arms around Arthur’s waist. He pulled back slightly. “We need to get you out of these wet clothes.”
Arthur smirked. “That’s the worst come on line I’ve ever heard.”
Merlin laughed. “I don’t need come on lines. I already know you’re a sure thing.”
Arthur stepped closer, inches from Merlin’s face. “Oh, really?”
“Really.” Merlin slowly closed the distance between the two and kissed Arthur. Merlin opened his mouth and practically devoured Arthur, sweeping his tongue inside, making Arthur’s toes curl.
They made love for the second time that night. And then for a third time and a fourth...Merlin moved his things into Arthur’s room the next day.
Part 4
Author/Artist:
geekslavePairing(s): Arthur/Merlin, Ganieda (OFC)/Gwaine, Lancelot/Gwen
Characters: Merlin, Arthur, Gwaine, Ganieda (OFC), Gwen, Lancelot, Gaius, Uther, Kilgarrah
Word Count: 35,554
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Just before receiving vital treatment for cancer, Arthur meets Merlin and his life is turned upside down when one night with Merlin results in an unforeseen pregnancy. To protect the baby, Arthur refuses the treatment.
Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings: Mpreg, angst, lots of talk of cancer, fluff.
Notes: Written for the
merlinmpreg fest. Special thanks to my beta dustfinger223. I'm not a doctor just play one while writing fic. :) I did a lot of research, but I'm sure I didn't get everything right.Part 2
Merlin and Arthur continued to work on his bucket list as well. Arthur had started reading every book in his collection, determined to finish all 50 of them. As Arthur neared the end of his first trimester, Merlin decided to start teaching Arthur how to cook. He decided to start with something that was light and fairly simple, but not as easy as making a sandwich. He decided to show Arthur how to make Welsh cakes.
They gathered all the ingredients in the kitchen and Merlin tied Gwaine’s “Kiss the Cock” apron around Arthur. He lingered behind Arthur, with his hands on Arthur’s hips. He could feel Arthur stiffen slightly. It wasn’t exactly the reaction he was hoping for. Arthur and Merlin hadn’t had sex since the first time, despite some hot make-out sessions. But ever since Arthur got pregnant, even the make-out sessions were dwindling. Arthur assured Merlin he was still attracted to him, and wanted to continue seeing him, but not only was his libido right now extremely low, he also told Merlin he wanted to take things slow and make sure they weren’t starting a relationship just because Arthur was pregnant.
Arthur cleared his throat and moved towards the island in the kitchen. “So are you going to do everything and I just watch or are we going to do this together?”
“Neither. You wanted to learn to cook, so you need to get your hands dirty. You cook and I’ll show you what to do.” Arthur nodded. “Start by mixing the baking soda, flour, sugar, and salt in the large bowl.”
Arthur got started. He looked over at Merlin. “You don’t need a recipe?”
“No, I’ve made these a hundred times.” Merlin explained. “My mum showed Gan and I how to make them when were six. We’d always make them on Christmas Eve and have them on Christmas.” Merlin continued to instruct Arthur, “Cut the shortening and place it in the mixture.”
Arthur followed all of Merlin’s instructions and was proving to be a bit obsessive compulsive, constantly cleaning up after himself, even though it was just going to get messy again. As Arthur greased the griddle, he looked over at Merlin. He had a huge grin on his face. “Bringing back memories?”
Merlin smiled at him. “Yeah. My mum was exactly, always cleaning up after us even though it was guaranteed to turn into a disaster area two seconds later. I think it was Gan’s mission to get flour on every single surface of the kitchen. After everything was done, Ganieda’s hair looked as if she had been sweeping the chimney with her head. And I was constantly breaking things. It was a mess, but mum didn’t care. She loved being in the kitchen and she loved being able to share it with us.” Merlin smiled sadly, running a hand slowly through his hair, looking off into space.
“You miss her.”
Merlin nodded.
Arthur placed the scones on the griddle. “Ganieda said that you moved away after your mum died to “find yourself.”
“I made my mum a promise before she died that I would get myself together and figure out what I wanted and do it. I didn’t think I could do that in Ealdor. I hated having to leave Gan, but I knew she’d be ok. She’s known who she is and what’s she wanted since she was ten. And I think I did what my mum wanted. I don’t have it all figured out but I know who I am and I’m happy.” He touched Arthur’s stomach. “I was meant to come back here when I did.”
Arthur grinned. “You’re such a girl, Merlin.”
“You’re pregnant and you have breasts, I think you’re the girl.” Merlin laughed as Arthur shoved him on the shoulder.
~*~
The Welsh cakes turned out wonderfully. A little overdone, but delicious. After all the cleaning he did while he was making the cakes, Arthur didn’t know whether to be happy or annoyed when after they were done Merlin waved a hand and everything was cleaned and put away, without either of them touching a thing.(Merlin just grinned at him, “I told you I was handy in the kitchen.”) They made some tea and sat down in the living room. “So now you at least know how to make one thing. You’re on your way to becoming a master chef.” Merlin replied, rubbing Arthur’s feet.
“Perhaps.” Arthur sighed and rested his head against the sofa cushion. “Do you think you’re going to make these cakes with our child?”
“I hope so. I hope we can do it together.” Arthur practically purred in contentment as Merlin massaged his feet.
~*~
As his second trimester started, Merlin found Arthur standing in front of the mirror stroking his stomach. He had just barely started to show, it looked like he had a slight beer belly. Arthur turned his head to the side and looked at his stomach thoughtfully. Merlin smiled as he walked up to him. “Are you already worried about stretch marks? You’re barely showing.”
Arthur laughed. “I’m not worried. I actually sort of like this.”
Merlin blinked at him. “You like it?”
Arthur nodded. “Yes When I started secondary school, I decided to start working out because I wanted to be on every sports team I could I got quite fit, if I do say so myself.”
“I’ve learned to not expect a lot of modesty from you.” Merlin teased.
Arthur rolled his eyes. “Anyway it was great fun. I loved being on a team and loved the way I felt. And then - then I got cancer and I couldn’t be on any teams anymore and I was always so, so skinny. It was one of the things I hated most. It’s not really fun when you could literally be a skeleton for Halloween. So I kind of like being able to put on a little weight and be a little normal. I’m sure I’ll be singing a different tune in a few months.”
Merlin put his arms around Arthur from behind and looked at him in the mirror. “I think you’ll look very sexy with a huge belly. Kind of like Santa Claus.”
Arthur wrinkled his nose. “Please tell me you don’t have some weird Santa Claus fetish.”
Merlin pinched his arm lightly. “No.”
Arthur turned in Merlin’s arms and kissed his lips lightly. “I feel really good. The morning sickness has stopped. I’m still tired, but it’s not as bad as before. “
“Dr. Emerson says you’re doing well. The drugs are really working.”
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps?” Merlin raised his eyebrow.
“I just think that it’s not the drugs keeping me alive. I think it’s the baby.” Arthur whispered. “Do you think it’s possible the baby could have magic already? Will it have magic?”
Merlin looked taken aback. “I - I have no idea. I’ve never really thought about it.”
“Have you ever learned anything about your magic?”
“Not really,” Merlin answered. “I always had questions when I was a kid, but I didn’t have anyone to ask. When I got older, I never really thought about it.” Merlin wondered if he should try and find some answers, especially for Arthur’s sake.
~*~
“Gannie, can we talk?” Merlin found Ganieda in the middle of a yoga workout doing some pose, sleeping day or flying lotus, or weird name Merlin could never remember.
“Pull up a mat.” Ganieda replied looking at him from upside down.
“You know yoga’s not my cup of tea.”
“I’ve still got twenty minutes to go, so either do it with me or you can wait.”
Merlin rolled his eyes and sigh. “Fine. But please don’t ever ask me to ‘do it with you’ again.”
Ganieda laughed, moving into another position laying on the ground and bending her torso back. Merlin mimicked her position. “What’s going on with the two daddies?”
“We’re doing all right, all things considered.” He looked at his sister warily. “Have you ever talked to anyone about your magic? I mean, where it comes from, what are the possibilities?” Ganieda just looked at him without saying anything. “Arthur said that he thought the baby was keeping him alive and asked me if I knew if that was possible. I don’t know, do you?
“No.”
“I need to know. I need to know if there’s a way that I can-
“Save him?” Ganieda asked, popping up quickly.
It took Merlin a little longer to get up. “Yes. Of course I want to save him. If the baby’s keeping him alive, what happens when it’s born?”
Ganieda took a sip of water. “Aren’t you always telling Arthur to be positive? What happened to that?”
“I still believe that. But if I can do something, I have to try. I can’t …” He took a deep breath.
Ganieda came over and hugged him. She went back into the living room and took out a pad and pen. She wrote something down and handed it to Merlin. “That is the number of an old professor of mine. He might have some of the answers you need.”
~*~
“So when do you want to do this?” Gwaine asked out of the blue during Arthur’s five month of pregnancy.
“When do I want to do what?”
“Going on the helicopter ride, flying it.” Gwaine plopped down next to him on the sofa.
“I can’t do that anymore.” Arthur said, putting down his triple decker peanut butter, pickle, and ham sandwich (which Merlin thought was the weirdest combination ever.)
“Why not?” Gwaine pouted.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pregnant. You’re not supposed to fly late in your pregnancy.”
“That’s not true. The books say you can’t fly in your third trimester, which you’re not in yet.”
Arthur grinned at Gwaine. “Have you been reading baby books?”
“No.” Gwaine said quickly. “Gan has been reading them. I’ve picked a few things up.” Arthur smiled. “So I know that you can still fly. I’ll be there with you the whole time.” Arthur still seemed hesitant. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, or that little peanut inside.”
After thinking it over another minute, Arthur nodded.
“Yes!” Gwaine whooped. He got up and turned to Arthur. “Just don’t puke in my ride, ok.”
~*~
Merlin clutched Arthur’s jacket. “Are you sure about this? If the plane starts to fall I don’t know if I can use my magic to stop it. What if -
Arthur kissed him solidly on the mouth. “For the hundredth time, I’m going to be alright Merlin. Gwaine’s going to do the take-off and landing, I’ll just be flying for a little bit. It’ll be safe, I promise.”
“Ok, just go and get this over with. I’ll be filming what I can down here and I placed a camera in the plane.”
“Alright baby brother; it’s time to let him go.” Ganieda dragged him away so Arthur could join an already seated Gwaine on the helicopter.
“I hate it when you call me baby brother. You’re two minutes older.”
Arthur put on his headset. He thought he would be feeling a little more panicked, but he was actually doing well. He was certainly more anxious when he was learning to swim. Gwaine walked him through the procedure again and gave him another overview of the controls. Arthur gripped the cyclic control which looked like a handlebar and allowed either Gwaine or Arthur to command the helicopter.
“If you’re not ready for take-off, now’s the time to jump.” Gwaine half-joked. Arthur just gave him thumbs up. So Gwaine prepared for take-off. Arthur closed his eyes as the helicopter ascended. After about ten minutes Gwaine turned to him. “How are you doing?”
“I’m alright.”
“Good. Because it’s your turn now.”
Arthur gaped at him. “Are you sure?” Gwaine nodded. Arthur took a deep breath and grabbed his end of the controller.
“Gently.” Gwaine advised. “You don’t want to over-control it.”
Arthur kept a mental list of everything he was taught during his helicopter lessons as he worked the controls and rudder. “I’m flying this, aren’t I?” Arthur asked incredulously. A huge smile was starting to form on his face.
“You are. And you’re doing a hell of a job.”
“I wish Merlin were here.” The thought just popped into his head suddenly.
“Thanks.” Gwaine said.
“Sorry. It’s just this is amazing. He would love it up here. I just wanted to....”
“Share this with him. I know. I get it. I feel the same way about Ganieda. That’s what it’s like when you’re in love.”
Arthur looked startled. His grip on the cyclic control veered slightly and the helicopter jerked to the side sharply.
“Blimey! Watch the controls, watch the controls!” Gwaine crossed himself. “I’ll remember not to mention the L word again while we’re up here.” After about 20 minutes Arthur was ready to let go of the control as they needed to prepare for landing. Gwaine turned to him with a mischievous smirk on his face. “How would you like to land this thing?”
Arthur’s eyes bulged. “Have you gone barmy, mate? I can’t handle a landing my first time out?”
“You can do it. I told you I’ll take over if anything bad happens. When are you ever going to get a chance to do this again?”
Arthur shakily nodded. As he approached the landing area, he made sure to maintain visual contact. He slowed the plane down and started to slowly descend. Gwaine talked him through everything. He slowed down even more and brought the noise of the helicopter up. He eased off the controls, and as the wheels touched the ground. He applied the parking brake. And exhaled a long breath.
Gwaine grabbed him and kissed the top of his head. “Are you sure you’ve never flown before?”
“Pretty good for a first timer?” Arthur smirked. Gwaine laughed. As Arthur stepped out of the helicopter, he could see Merlin running toward him. He met him halfway. Merlin practically threw the camera at his sister and hugged Arthur so tight he was breathless.
“How do you feel?” Merlin asked after finally releasing Arthur.
“Like I’ve just had the best sex of my life.”
“You’ve only had sex once so I’ll let that comment pass.”
Arthur chuckled. “It was indescribable, Merlin. I think you would have loved it.”
Merlin smiled. “I think I prefer the view from down here. I think I almost had a heart attack when the plane veered to the side suddenly. What happened?”
Arthur shrugged. “Nothing. Just a small mistake. I may be amazing, but I’m still an amateur.” Arthur grabbed Merlin’s hand and continued to tell him every little detail of the flight.
~*~
“Can’t sleep?”
Arthur looked up at Merlin sharply. He took a deep breath.” Don’t sneak up on me like that?”
“I never sneak. You were too lost in thought to notice anything.” Merlin explained as he sat down next to him. “What are you doing up?”
“I’m a bit restless. Besides, I keep getting up to pee every five minutes. It’s hard to sleep with your arse tied to the toilet.”
Merlin laughed. “What were you thinking about?”
“I was trying to picture what our baby will look like.”
“If it’s lucky, it’ll look like you. And it pains me to say that, since your ego is far too big as it is.” Merlin replied.
“Why would you say that?”
“Oh, come on, Arthur. Look at these ears,” he tugged at the offending feature in question. “Would you really want to saddle a child with these?”
“Well, perhaps not your ears. But everything else Merlin is gorgeous. Your lips, your skin, your nose, and especially your eyes. I think are baby would be lucky to get your looks.”
Merlin was blushing all over. “Uh,” he cleared his throat. “Do you want to find out the sex of the baby tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. Part of me wants to be surprised. Having that anticipation on the day. But on the other hand, I’ve had more than my share of surprises. Plus, I think it could help us better prepare.”
Merlin nodded. “I agree. I think we should find out.”
“Ok. That was easy. I hope all the decisions are like this.”
Merlin laughed. “I highly doubt it.” Arthur just grinned. “Do you think you’ll be able to go back to bed now?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good.”
“Why is that good?”
“We can cross something else off your list. You said you’d never had an all-nighter.” Merlin explained.
Arthur nodded. ‘Right. The only time I’ve stayed up all night is when I’ve been too sick to sleep. It always looks kind of fun in the movies when people stay up all night talking.”
“So, what do you want to talk about?” Merlin asked, getting more comfortable on the couch.
Arthur thought for a moment. “When did you first start using magic?”
“I’ve been able to use it before I could talk.” Merlin grinned. “Mum said I used to change my own nappies.”
Arthur laughed loudly. “Let’s hope our baby inherits that.” He rubbed his small belly. “What exactly can you do?”
“Primarily, I can move things with my mind.”
“Have you always been open about it?” Arthur asked.
“Not really. I never really talked about it at school. My mum was really worried about people either picking on my or trying to take advantage. Gan, always told people, but they just thought she was strange.”
“Did you guys have any special twin powers?”
Merlin snickered. “Not really. People always think we must have had our own special language, but we never did. I think the one unusual thing about us-
“There was only one unusual thing about you two?” Arthur laughed.
Merlin pinched him lightly. “Quiet, you. Anyway, when we were kids, I used to drive Ganieda crazy by taking her power.”
“You would take her power? How did you do that?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose...not the first time anyway. I grabbed her hand one day while she was having a vision and it just happened. I didn’t even know it had happened until I got this blinding headache one day and had a vision.”
“What did you see?”
“I couldn’t really figure it out. It’s really hard to decipher what you see. Ganieda’s always been better at that than me. You would think having visions might be easy and cool. But it can be really painful and confusing.” Merlin smiled. “But it didn’t stop me from doing it, whenever Gan got on my nerves.”
Arthur chuckled. “Did she take your powers, too?”
Merlin shook his head. “For some reason she couldn’t do it. Only I could, which made her even more annoyed. She was such a nuisance.” Merlin said fondly.
Arthur pursed his lips. “I always wanted that. To have a sibling I could annoy and boss around.” Merlin laughed loudly. “It got really lonely, with father and me...and the servants.”
“What happened to your mum?” Merlin asked softly.
“She died giving birth to me.” Arthur bit his lip. “She never saw me. I’ve only seen a few pictures of her. Father doesn’t like to talk about her.” Arthur swallowed heavily. “I look a lot like her. I think it’s hard for him to be around me because of that. I really can’t blame him, but...” He looked at Merlin. “I know you’re nothing like my father, but I need you to promise me that if I die-
“Arthur.”
“Just listen, please? If I die, you have to promise that you won’t treat our child like he’s a horrible reminder of someone you’ve lost.”
Merlin touched Arthur’s stomach. “If you were to die soon, I would never think of this baby as a horrible reminder. I’ll love it no matter what, but knowing there was still a piece of you around would make me love it more.”
Arthur slowly crawled into Merlin’s lap. “Am I too heavy?” Merlin chuckled and shook his head. Arthur kissed him tenderly, running his fingers through Arthur’s hair. He softly kissed Merlin’s top lip, and then his bottom lip before running his tongue gently across his Merlin’s mouth. Merlin opened his mouth and they deepened the kiss. Merlin squeezed Arthur’s waist and stuck his hand in Arthur’s shirt, rubbing it up and down his back.
Arthur broke the kiss and looked at Merlin apologetically. “I hate to break the mood, but I have to pee.”
Merlin trailed kisses down Arthur’s neck. “Do you have to go?”
Arthur moaned. “I think I do, unless being peed on is a kink of yours.”
Merlin pulled away instantly. “Up you go.” Arthur laughed and got up. “If you hear any funny noises out here, I’m just...exercising.” Merlin said.
Arthur nodded knowingly. “Do you exercise with your left or right hand?”
Merlin threw a pillow at him. When Arthur came back they kept snogging sessions to a minimum and stuck to lighter topics of conversation.
~*~
“For cripes’ sake!” Arthur flinched violently as Dr. Emerson squeezed blue goo on his stomach.
“You know it’s cold, Arthur.” Gaius explained.
“Icebergs are cold, Gaius. This was something else.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Must you be a drama queen about this every time?” He focused on the monitor, anticipating getting a better shot of the baby then the last time Arthur had an ultrasound.
“When you’re the one who’s pregnant and having freezing goo put on your stomach, then you get to talk.” Arthur retorted.
Merlin’s response was cut off when the sound of the baby’s heartbeat filled the room. Merlin smiled and grabbed Arthur’s hand.
Arthur stared at the monitor. The thought of having children was something he never pondered before he got pregnant. With the cancer, he was never too sure if he would even survive long enough for it to be an option. Finding out he was pregnant was not exactly thrilling news. But hearing the baby’s heartbeat again, made him realize this was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Gaius pointed out the baby to them and identified and described how the baby was growing. He finally turned to them and asked if they wanted to know the sex of the baby. They answered yes at the same time. Gaius pointed to the screen. “You see that there?”
Arthur and Merlin looked carefully, but saw nothing. “No.”
Gaius smiled. “No penis.”
“So, it’s a girl?” Arthur asked haltingly.
“Either that or the baby has a really, really small kn-
“Yes, it’s a girl.” Gaius interrupted. His eyebrow was so arched it could cut glass.
Merlin and Arthur looked at each other and beamed at each other, before looking back at the monitor unable to stop gazing at their daughter.
~*~
Ganieda was beyond thrilled when they told her the baby was a girl. Her exact words were, “finally another person without a penis in this family.” She decided to throw an impromptu get together and invited Lance and Gwen. It was the first time Arthur had been together with all his friends since New Year’s and he had missed it. Though he missed it a little less when his Gwen and Lance kept fussing over him and quoting baby books. “You should let me take you shopping for new clothes, Arthur. You are getting a little bit...” Gwen stopped and made a circular motion in front of her stomach. “....Rounder in your mid-section.”
Arthur unbuttoned the grey suit jacket that had been stretched tightly across his belly and looked down. “It probably is about time. Do you think pants and jeans two sizes bigger will work?”
Gwen shrugged. “It’d probably be best to go with sweatpants.”
Arthur laughed. “I don’t think so. I’m a Pendragon, we don’t wear sweatpants.”
“Pendragon’s don’t have sex with magical beings either.” Gwaine chimed in. “Things change.” Everyone but Arthur laughed.
“And you don’t have to worry about paying for it, because it’ll be my treat. What are godmothers for?” Gwen chirped happily.
Ganieda coughed and scratched her head. “Uh...when was that decided? The whole godmother thing.”
Gwen opened and closed her mouth and looked around the group. “I’m sorry. I just assumed. Who else would it be?”
Ganieda raised her hand. “What about me?”
“But you’re already the baby’s aunt.”
“Gwen, I’m sure you and Lance would make lovely godparents. You’re very sweet and responsible, but Merlin doesn’t really know you. It would probably be better if it was someone both Merlin and Arthur trusted.” Ganieda reasoned.
“Well, you and Arthur trust Gwen and Lance, which would be good enough for me.” Merlin volunteered. Ganieda shot him a death glare. Merlin looked down. “But, I think it’s only fair that Arthur makes the final decision.”
Arthur crossed his arms and looked at Merlin. “How is that fair?”
“Because I don’t want to.” Merlin said in a small voice.
Gwen shook her head. “Have you guys really never considered this before? It’s really important, especially considering Arthur’s condition.” Gwen stopped abruptly and looked at Arthur with such shame and regret. “I’m so sorry, Arthur. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Arthur put his arm around Gwen to cut off her guilty rambling. “It’s ok, Gwen. You’re right.” He looked over at Merlin. “It is something we need to discuss.”
~*~
After the somewhat awkward godparent discussion, the party died down and Gwen and Lancelot went home. Gwaine and Ganieda retired to their room. Merlin and Arthur went outside and took the bright green patio chairs into the yard sat and did some star gazing. Merlin took Arthur’s hand in his, twining their fingers together. “I know I was teasing earlier, but if you want Gwen and Lance as the godparents, I’m fine with that.”
Arthur cocked his head and looked at Merlin skeptically. “Are you sure? Ganieda had a point. You don’t know them very well.”
“I’m sure I’ll get to know them. They’re both very nice and good people. I like the idea of their sanity balancing out my sister and Gwaine’s insanity.”
Arthur laughed. “Alright, that’s good. Another decision down with minimal bloodshed. I’ll leave it to you to tell your sister.”
Merlin shook his head. “Of course.” It started to drizzle lightly, but soon fat drops of rain were pelting down on them. “Let’s get you inside.” Merlin stood up to leave.
Before Merlin could drag him inside, Arthur pulled Merlin farther out into the backyard. “Wait.”
“What are you doing, Arthur? I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Merlin ran his hands up and down Arthur’s arms.
“I’ll be ok for a couple of minutes.” Arthur assured him.
“Is this another thing on your list?”
“Sort of.” Arthur blinked water from his eyelashes. He looked at Merlin and stroked his cheek. Merlin looked perfect. Arthur didn’t know exactly what it was. His hair looked great, wet and slicked back. Merlin kept running his hand through it to keep water out of his eyes, and there was one stubborn strand that refused to stay back. His eyelashes were beautiful and there was something exquisite about the way water droplets clung to his lashes. And his wet lips...Arthur wanted to suck them dry. “Kiss me.”
Merlin looked surprised, but laughed. “Are you serious? You want to have some big movie cliché kissing in the rain moment?”
Arthur nodded. “Yes!”
Merlin shook his head, but was beaming at Arthur. He gently cupped his face and brushed his soft, wet lips against Arthur. Arthur ran his hands through Merlin’s hair, then ran his hands down Merlin’s body and cupped his arse. Merlin opened his mouth and deepened the kiss, squeezing Arthur body against him. Merlin slowly pulled away. Arthur’s eyes were still closed. “How was that?”
“Brilliant.” Arthur’s eyes opened suddenly. “Wow, I think the baby agrees.” He crinkled his nose, smiling while looking bemused. “The baby just kicked.” He grabbed Merlin’s hand and placed it on his belly.
Merlin waited expectantly. “Oh!” He felt the strange flutter against Arthur’s belly. “Oh my God. That’s amazing.” They smiled at each other. “Alright, I think it’s time to get you and the future footie player back inside.” He led Arthur back inside, keeping his hand on his belly the whole time. When they got to Arthur‘s room, Merlin went to the bathroom and got a towel to dry Arthur off. He shook his head and still looked awestruck. “You’ve got this actual human person moving and growing in there.”
“I hope it’s human. I would have hated to go to all this trouble for some alien being.”
Merlin grinned. “I know it sounds stupid, with all of the ultrasounds and your belly and whatnot, but feeling it kick... it just feels really weird now...and strange.”
“You’re telling me. This is completely surreal. It’s the most peculiar feeling, but it feels perfect. I already love this baby so much.”
Merlin smiled widely and cupped Arthur’s cheek. “I do, too.”
Merlin started toweling Arthur’s hair dry and Arthur thought back to the first day they met and after Merlin taught him how to swim. At the time, he’d never felt so close to someone before and that feeling was ten times stronger now. He grabbed Merlin’s hand, stopping his movement. He cupped Merlin’s face in his hands. “I love you, Merlin.”
Merlin froze, blinking slowly at Arthur. “You...”
“I love you. I think I’ve known for a long time now. But I’ve been really scared that this wasn’t real and that it wouldn’t last. But I know,” he touched his stomach, “that we’re a family now. And I should start acting like it. I don’t want you in a room across the hall. I want you here with me. I want you with me, always.” Arthur couldn’t tell if he was shivering from still being wet and cold or it was the nervous energy he was feeling. Now that he had admitted to what he was feeling, he couldn’t stop talking. “You drive me crazy. You’re stubborn and weird and funny and beautiful. You make me laugh. You make me feel... truly alive for the first time in my life. I told you that I thought the baby was keeping me alive, but it’s both of you. You and the baby.” He looked down at his belly and placed Merlin’s hand there. “This was meant to be, Merlin. I need you in my life. And I need to know that you love me too, that I haven’t just been prattling on like a stupid prat.” He exhaled.
Merlin had tears welling in his eyes. He looked down briefly and when he looked up, tears were falling down his face and he had the most radiant smile on his face. “You have to know that you will always be a prat.” He laughed. “But you’re my prat. I have known that I was in love with you since that very first day I met you. I will never love anyone as much as I love you.” He grabbed Arthur’s face and kissed him, hoping Arthur could feel everything he felt. Arthur clung to him as he kissed Arthur all over his face.
Arthur pulled back and just looked at Merlin’s face, running his hands through his hair.
Merlin put his arms around Arthur’s waist. He pulled back slightly. “We need to get you out of these wet clothes.”
Arthur smirked. “That’s the worst come on line I’ve ever heard.”
Merlin laughed. “I don’t need come on lines. I already know you’re a sure thing.”
Arthur stepped closer, inches from Merlin’s face. “Oh, really?”
“Really.” Merlin slowly closed the distance between the two and kissed Arthur. Merlin opened his mouth and practically devoured Arthur, sweeping his tongue inside, making Arthur’s toes curl.
They made love for the second time that night. And then for a third time and a fourth...Merlin moved his things into Arthur’s room the next day.
Part 4
