So we meet again... (a merthur au)

The Sleeping Babysitter

Arthur was nearly knocked over in the doorway when he stepped across the threshold of his front door. Wade jumped on him, causing him to bump Emrys into the door jamb- who steadied Arthur for long enough that the dog jumped down and returned to laying on the floor in the corner by the TV.

"I'll need to pull out the couch," Arthur thought aloud. "Need to let Wade out first and feed him."

"Sure, I'll get the couch. Take care of him... I got it. " Emrys said with hesitation. He took his time with the task. Emrys was so focused entirely, that when Arthur awkwardly cleared his throat for the third time, Emrys turned to see Arthur standing with a bundle of pillows and sheets in his arms with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"You didn't hear me, I guess. Got you some sheets and pillows." Arthur muttered, his feet shifting in place. His jaw was tensed, having trouble making eye contact. "Want to watch TV or something?"

"Yeah," Emrys nodded, distracted, "Sounds good. Can we finish another in the series?"

Arthur's eyes shined a little, excited, "Absolutely. I'll put it in. I'm glad you like it."

Arthur didn't need much more to talk about, he was enthralled with the movie. However, after an hour he started to feel the hip where he bruised start to hurt. He paused the film and stood to go take an ibuprofen, to which Emrys seemed to drag out of his funk and get a worried look on his face, grabbing Arthur's arm.

"What's wrong, are you getting a headache? Dizziness? Tinnitus? Should I check your pupil dilation?" Emrys fired off at an alarmed pace, looking Arthur up and down with concern.

"Uh, no." Arthur pulled his wrist free gently, a tad confused by Emrys's sudden change in tune. "Just the bruise on my hip. Just getting some ibuprofen, no big deal."

"I'll get it," Emrys stood, scrambling towards the kitchen.

"I keep it in the bathroom, I'll get it. I'm not incapacitated, Emrys." Arthur blew him off, going off to search through his untidy bathroom medicine cabinet for the pain killer.

"You just got hit by a car, Arthur. You could have died, I am only trying to help." Emrys hissed loudly, defensively, before sitting back on the couch. Arthur took the pill with a glass of water, and took a breath.

Arthur felt disgusted at the sudden sight of Emrys's anger, Emrys didn't seem the type before. Now, Arthur felt as though Emrys was overstepping his bounds. He nearly was going to tear into him until when he walked back in the living room, he was hugging Wade around the neck with his eyes closed, looking extremely troubled, rubbing his face into Wade's fur as he whispered inaudibly.

Arthur felt bad for wanting to yell at him in that moment, remembering that Emrys had no family left and-- based on the lack of photos or anything truly personal besides the books in his home-- no friends, or personal life to speak of. His life seemed to consist of his job, his routine, and many feral cats. It seemed sad, even lonely to Arthur...

It reflected his own life fairly well, actually. Only difference was he had friends to make it more bearable. Perhaps he should look at it that way and be a little more forgiving towards Emrys.

"I'm sorry," he said as he sat down, Emrys's eyes flying open upon realizing he was seen. He flushed in embarassment. "I know you're only trying to help, but I'm not a child. I'm self-sufficient, you know."

"I just... I worry. You were extremely lucky, but you could have died. Humans are very weak creatures, we break easily. Very easily... The doctor still isn't totally sure you are in the clear yet, that's why I'm here. Just let me take care of things, okay? It will give me some peace of mind." Emrys wrung his hands, his knuckles white from tension.

Arthur exhaled slowly before giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "Sure. On one condition, I pay you for the time you spend here. I'm sure you're losing money not doing your work, and it will make me feel less babied. Alright?"

"In return I can cook, clean, drive you, or anything you need. Do not hesitate to ask. I just... I want to repay you, for everything... " Emrys seemed relieved somewhat. "Anyway, Morri and Finn gave me their numbers, I promised to keep them updated on how you're doing. They said you aren't very good at keeping tabs on yourself."

"That's probably true." Arthur admitted. "I need to go to the grocery tomorrow, out of almost everything but peanut butter."

"Why peanut butter?" Emrys asked, eyes glancing back once to the kitchen.

"Had it on sale, got two big tubs. I don't eat it often. Each one is larger than my head." Arthur felt his face redden in embarassment when Emrys started laughing uproariously.

"Didn't know they make them that big." Emrys howled, burying his face in his hands.

"You're so weird. You laugh at the dumbest things." Arthur smiled, glad to see Emrys in a better mood. "Wait a second, I do not have a big head."

Emrys smiled, quiet, before making an excuse to stand and go make lunch for the two of them. He came back with a few sandwiches and a bag of crisps, setting the bag between them.

...

The rest of the movie was pleasant, Arthur taking care of the dishes after Emrys nodded off.

Arthur texted his friends a photo of Emrys sleeping with his head lolled back on the couch, crossed at the arms and ankles. Once he took the photo, he captioned it: babysitter sleeping on the job. The boys got a kick out of it, Finn following the message with a phone call.

Arthur quietly stepped out to pick it up, exhaling sharply upon hitting the cold, midday air.

"How is he?" Finn asked, "He was pretty shaken when he called me to tell me what happened."

"Aren't you supposed to ask how I am?" Arthur asked in mock offense.

"I know you're fine, you have the ironclad constitution of a mother-in-law." Finn retorted, "Besides, this whole thing came up kind of fast dinn'it? I mean, he's staying at your house now-"

"Only for a few days!" Arthur defended, suddenly embarassed.

"How long have you known him? Seriously? He could be a child murderer and you would never even know because you barely know him!"

"I just," Arthur hissed, impatient, before clearing his throat and lowering his voice. "I have this crazy feeling I know him, Finn. Maybe he was someone I knew from my summers at the lake with my parents or something, I just feel like I already know him. It's driving me mad to be quite frank with you. I've been wracking my brain but nothing fits."

"All I'm saying is keep a close watch. He seemed nice from when I met him but he could be anyone. Look at those American serial killers, he could be one of those guys and you wouldn't even know." Finn defended, ending his tirade on the matter. "Regardless of my mistrust, I like him. There's something about him. He's... magnetic. I find myself very trusting of him, despite my nature warning me otherwise."

"Magnetic, eh? I doubt your girlfriend would appreciate the harem you sound as though you're planning." Arthur joked, glancing in the window to see Wade laying comfortably next to Emrys's feet.

"That's the thing. When I told her that, she agreed with me. Morri too. They said it was like I took the words right out of their mouth, Arthur."

Arthur still stared inside the window, distracted but verbally agreeing half-heartedly before joking, "Guess Emrys is the one starting the harem, huh?"

"I guess so..." Finn whispered, "Keep me updated. Any changes and I can be right over. The doctor trusted him to take care of you, just let him do it, I guess."

Arthur reluctantly agreed, hanging up the phone before stepping back inside and cleaning up the mess. Stacking the plates together woke Emrys up who sprang to his feet to take the dishes from Arthur to wash them in the sink.

Arthur sat back down, half asleep as he turned on a sit-com and watched absently. Emrys joining him within a few minutes, they watched tv until they both fell asleep.