Merthur Oneshots

Chain Me To Your Heart's Desire (Part 4)

Merlin wasn't sure if Freya moving to a new house was a good idea or not.

On the positive side, Merlin had an excuse to go to the flea market with her, but on the negative side, he was sacrificing his weekend for it. (Half a weekend, really. He had a late night shift on Sunday)

"That looks pretty," Merlin quipped, pausing in front of a kiosk that sold hand-embroidered cushion covers and pointed to a multicoloured set which would go perfectly with the dark purple couch she had.

Freya turned towards him from where she was looking at bamboo furniture, and looking at where he was pointing, a frown took over her face. "They're multicoloured," She deadpanned.

"They're not multicoloured, they're unique! And besides, didn't you want your house to have a homey look to it? That it should look lived-in?"

"That's not homey, that's straight up fucking hideous. No offence," She added to the kiosk owner, who had frowned at her words. "I am sure they are beautiful, but just not for me."

The owner turned away with a nod, but her brow was furrowed. Merlin sighed and joined Freya at the next stall, where she was perusing for an armchair.

"Are you sure you want bamboo furniture?" Merlin asked. It had been a good few hours since they had arrived, and they still didn't have anything concrete to show for it. Just a few decorative pieces that were essentially trash and had been picked and bought on a whim.

"What do you mean?" Freya asked, crouching to check the price of a table.

"You just don't seem like a bamboo kind of girl. I think dark wood's more of your thing."

"And where would I get money for that? I don't earn that much. Besides, I finally have a decent sized balcony! What do you expect me to keep there?"

Merlin shrugged. "Plants? Like a normal person?"

"I never said I was normal. Besides, where would Bastard sleep? On the plants?"

"I still think that Bastard is a horrible nickname for a cat."

"It's not his real name anyways. Bastard suits him better than Bast."

Merlin rolled his eyes and sank into a nearby seat, leaving Freya to do the shopping. His feet were aching, and the sun was bearing down on him (or as harsh as English sunlight could be). It was high afternoon, and they had arrived at eight. Groaning, he flipped his head back, wishing desperately for a glass of lemonade. Or soda. Or water.

Remembering that he had a bottle of water in his backpack, he leaned over the side of the chair to grab it from where he had dropped it earlier.

Just as he did so, his head crashed against someone's hip. A very strong hip, might I add.

Wincing, Merlin leaned back, bringing his left hand up to massage the abused area. He looked up, squinting slightly, trying to figure out who it was he had crashed into.

He was met by a round-ish face framed by a mop of reddish-blond hair and stubble dotting their jaw. It was a man (That explained the hardness of the hips. Not saying that women can't have hard hips), and quite a good-looking one at that. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Merlin was currently looking up and the sun was framing the guy's head in a halo.

Merlin blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the sunlight. As he did so, the man's face came into focus. His eyes were wide. "Oh my God! I am so sorry! I was just admiring a coffee table behind and didn't see you and you also leaned over so suddenly I am so sorry-"

"Leon?" A female voice cut through and interrupted the man's nervous rambling. Both of them turned to see a woman stalking towards them. Long black hair, and piercing eyes somewhere between blue and green. She was extremely intimidating, or would have been, if she wasn't dripping wet. "Give me your extra shirt."