Behind Closed Doors (Merthur AU)

Chapter 2

After their uncomfortable day of school, the two ended up sleeping through the night the best they could. Four AM came around and Arthur's alarm went off to wake him up while Merlin seemed to sleep peacefully on through.

It wasn't until Merlin's mother, in an alcohol-induced sleep walk, came in that Merlin was awoken. He groaned when he heard her mindless babble from sleep and he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to fully wake up.

"Mom, go back to bed. You're sleep walking again," Merlin's voice came out gravelly and quiet, but his mother didn't move. He sighed as he sat up. Merlin kept his eyes on his mother for a moment before he stood up and took her arm gently, "Let's go, mom."

Merlin guided his mother out of his room and down the stairs, as carefully as he could. He took her back to her own bedroom, tucking her into bed. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead and she sank further into sleep. Merlin walked out of the room, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He shook his head and decided to shower and get ready for school early. The shower was cold, but he was expecting that, since they had no power. His morning routine went quick as normal and he made his way out the door.

There was a place he always enjoyed going to watch the sunrise. He normally only went there when his sleep was disturbed, like today. Merlin walked to the park that was by his house and found a small bench near a clearing. He sat criss-cross on the bench, gazing up at the dark sky. He knew the sun wouldn't rise for a couple more hours but he was okay with that.

Arthur, on the other hand, was getting ready for his morning run. He grabbed a bottle of water to take with him and left the house. It just so happened that Arthur's run routine had him go through the park. Arthur had his headphones in as he listened to music and he looked around as he ran. It was dark, but he could see just fine. His eyes finally landed on a figure in the park, sitting on a bench.

'Is that Merlin? Why is he out here alone at this hour?' Arthur's thoughts swam through his head as his jog slowed a bit. He shook his head and then ran past. He figured if he tried to talk to the kid, Merlin would just cause more drama. He pushed all other thoughts to the back of his mind and just allowed himself to enjoy his run. Deep down, he genuinely did want to help Merlin and he felt a tad guilty just leaving him there; but he didn't know how to go about it at all. Maybe he would bring it up at school, if it felt he needed to.

Merlin was so entranced in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Arthur. He took a deep breath as he let the calming sunrise relax him. By the time he did end up looking up, Arthur was already long gone and back home. Merlin then got up and decided it was time to officially head back home, himself.

Once he got home, he grabbed his bag and finished getting ready for the impending school day. He let out a loud yawn. He knew today was going to be a long and tiring day. He just hoped Arthur would let him go and not try and argue with him. Merlin dragged his feet as he headed towards the school. His disturbed night was really starting to weigh on him.

Arthur had gotten to the school early to set his class up, writing assignments and what they were going to discuss today on the board. Arthur, then, pulled out his checklist of students that asked to borrow a copy of the book he had assigned for the class and made sure the books had their proper numbers so he wouldn't end up losing a copy. He proceeded to set a copy down on each desk of each student who needed one; Arthur left one for Merlin as well. His gaze stayed on Merlin's desk for a long moment, before he shook his head and walked back to his desk. He looked up as he heard someone walk in.

Merlin walked into Arthur's classroom and he looked to Arthur, but didn't say anything as he headed to his desk.

Arthur kept his gaze on Merlin, before he spoke. "'Morning," he kept his voice quiet. "You have a habit of being one of the first ones here."