Merthur Oneshots

Chain Me To Your Heart's Desire (Part 2)

Part 2

Arthur had been disappointed many times in his life. But nothing came close to learning that his flight had been delayed by three hours, especially when he had to wake up at four to catch it. He sighed, sipping his coffee. It was a hazelnut butterscotch cappuccino, a drink he had seen a man order in a shop about a month ago and decided to try. It was safe to say that he was addicted to it now.

Arthur turned the page of the book in his lap, pushing his glasses back up his nose. It was a stereotypical crime thriller, but that didn't stop Arthur from being engrossed in it. Technically he could be spending his time more productively by responding to emails from work, but the voice that suggested it sounded suspiciously like his father, so he ignored it in favour of reading the book. It was new, arrived from Amazon just the day before, and Arthur had decided he would only open it when he was on the flight. His earlier decision had been overruled when he learnt that his flight had been delayed.

All around him, the general hustle and bustle of an airport was going on. He had always felt that reality in airports was always a little altered, as they were always busy, even in the middle of the night.

A wail of a child cut through the air. He was sitting in the waiting area next to the gate he was supposed to go through, rather than one of those specialised lounge areas. He was just about to go back to his book when a pair of voices reached him.

"For God's sake Lance! Do you remember where you kept the tickets?!" The voice was oddly familiar, which was the reason Arthur looked up.

The speaker was a one of a pair, both of whom were carrying two backpacks and a rolling suitcase each.

"I don't have the tickets! You were responsible for them!" The taller of the two said, running a hand through his hair and glaring at his companion, who was currently in the process of digging through one of his backpacks. He also looked familiar, Arthur thought.

"I distinctly remember Gaius giving you the tickets," He mumbled, just as he was crashed into by a group of people hurrying along. He stumbled, and a pile of books and files spilled onto the floor. "F**k!"

Arthur was out of his seat crouching beside the mess before he knew it. Both the men were still bickering, though they crouched and were picking up the books. A lot of papers had also spilled, but Arthur did not know which ones went where, so he just crammed them into different folders. He was just about to pick up a book when he saw what had dropped out of them.

Two airplane tickets.

Probably the ones the men were fighting over right now. Dimly, Arthur wondered if they were together.

That thought went out of the window as one of the men caught sight of the tickets in his hand. Lance, he thought.

He plucked the tickets from his hand and thwacked his companion over the head with them. "See Merlin! They were with you all along!"

"Ow! I am sure you never hit Gwen! Why am I any different?"

"Because you are an idiot, and she is not."

At that moment, Arthur realised two things. The shorter of the two men was the same guy he had met in the coffee shop a month ago, and the taller one was his PA's fiance. He didn't know how he didn't recognise them.

"You're Lancelot?" He asked, and both the men looked up at him. Noticing him for the first time, apparently.

Lancelot's face scrunched up in confusion, but cleared when a spark of recognition went through his eyes. "You're Arthur?"

He was just about to reply when a voice came over the speakers informing of boarding ending on gate fifteen. Which was apparently Lancelot's and Merlin's flight, as they exchanged wide-eyed looks and quickly hurried away after throwing apologies and thank yous over their shoulders. As they jogged away, Merlin glanced at him over his shoulder, and smiled as he saw Arthur looking at him.

*****

Merlin wasn't sure what the worst part of the day was. The part in which he had overslept his alarm, or when he realised that he had missed his usual train to the hospital, or when he was informed that Percival, who was supposed to be going for a doctor's conference in Israel had to go back home and Merlin was expected to take his place.

At least he would be travelling with Lancelot, so that was a small consolation.

The tell tale tingle of a message from his soulmate had appeared early in the morning, but he didn't have time to reply until he was in the subway to the airport. It was a generic Good Morning, but it didn't fail to bring a smile on his face. He replied with a good morning of his own, and left it at that.

Then of course, it all went to hell. He had lost the tickets, and they were already running late for their flight. He was sure that Gaius had given them to Lancelot, but he said that they had been given to him.

Normally he would have argued, but there could be some truth to Lancelot's words. Merlin could be quite forgetful at times, and it was wholly possible that the tickets were given to him.

So that was why Merlin decided to search in his backpack if they were in there. This one contained his laptop and files, while the other one had clothes he hadn't managed to fit in his suitcase. It was difficult, and the papers were all crammed (he didn't have much time to pack properly) and nothing was discernible. To top it all off, Lancelot was really annoyed. It was uncharacteristic of him, but he had just learnt that there would be a last minute change in the trip just that morning and was running late, it was enough to make anyone stressed. So Merlin forgave him.

For the cherry on the top the cake that was his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, he was bumped into by someone, causing him to spill all the contents on the floor. Lancelot let out a long-suffering sigh. Merlin resisted the urge to snap at him, instead crouching to pick them up. Dimly, he noticed a stranger coming to help them, but didn't pay them a lot of attention.

That is, until Lancelot hit him over the head with something. Merlin looked up, to see that they were the airplane tickets. "See Merlin! They were with you all along!"

Merlin frowned at him. "Ow! I am sure you never hit Gwen! Why am I any different?"

"Because you are an idiot, and she is not."

Merlin was just about to say something back when he was interrupted. "You're Lancelot?" The stranger was looking up at his partner in surprise. He looked familiar, though Merlin couldn't place from where. He looked at Lance if he recognised the stranger. Apparently, he did, as a second later his eyebrows shot up. "You're Arthur?"

Merlin's frown turned deeper. Arthur? The name sounded familiar, but he still couldn't place him.

Arthur grinned, the corners of his eyes scrunching up. Merlin just managed to not stare, a difficult feat, seeing how cute he looked in those glasses.

Arthur was just about to answer when an ethereal voice interrupted him. It was an announcement, informing people that boarding on gate fifteen was about to end. Merlin's heart caught in his throat. If he missed his flight, then Gaius would have his head, that is if Lancelot didn't kill him first.

Both exchanged a panicked look, and throwing apologies to Arthur, they quickly jogged away.

Merlin couldn't help but look at him over his shoulder as he went away, smiling as he noticed him staring after him, a half-scrunched up confused expression on his face which was completely adorable.