Behind Closed Doors (Merthur AU)

Chapter 7

The very next day, Merlin's alarm went off and he yawned as he sat up. He forced himself out of bed and to the bathroom to shower and freshen up for the day. Merlin took his time this morning, picking out a more form fitting outfit with darker colors and his high-top sneakers. Once he was satisfied with how he looked overall, he folded up Arthur's sweatshirt he had slept in and grabbed one of his own jackets. As he made his way to school, he was quite curious to how class would go and how Arthur would act around him.

Meanwhile, Arthur was up already and got ready for the day. He had breakfast and coffee, finding himself to be in a tremendous mood. He had on some blacks slacks and a grey button down shirt. When Arthur caught a glimpse of himself in his mirror, he realized the bruise was no longer evident on his face, bringing a small smile to his lips. He grabbed all he needed for the day, doing a simple double-check, before he stepped out the door.

He arrived at school fairly early, but he needed that time to make sure he had everything set up for the day's lessons. Arthur stepped into his classroom and started to unpack his things, including the quizzes that were already graded. He glanced down at them for a moment. Most of them had done well on the quiz, but there was one that concerned him.

Merlin had also arrived at the school early, but surprisingly, he was used to that. He walked to his locker and got the few things he would need for Arthur's class and casually walked to his classroom. When Merlin stepped into the room, his eyes immediately landed on Arthur, a smile touching his lips.

Arthur was writing some things on the board that he needed to go over in class. He glanced at the door as he heard someone walk into the room, smiling when he realized who it was.

"Morning, Mr. Reynolds," Arthur said as he set everything down to face Merlin properly. "Unfortunately, we need to talk."

"Am I in trouble already, Mr. James?" Merlin let out a chuckle to help conceal his nerves. He was hoping it wasn't about their fantastic weekend they shared. Shaking the thoughts away, he walked over to Arthur. He managed his distance but his eyes showed no shame in slowly raking over the man before him. He brought his gaze back to meet his and grinned.

Arthur smiled gently and pulled out Merlin's quiz, handing it over to him. "You failed the quiz."

Merlin took the paper and glanced at it, nodding. "It appears I did." His eyes traveled back to Arthur, arching his eyebrows. "To be fair, I was in a bad mood."

Arthur nodded a bit as he watched Merlin. "That's understandable. I can give you half credit, but just this once. I need you to try harder, please," he found himself begging for Merlin to participate in his class. He could give him all the free credit he wanted, but in the end it wouldn't do Merlin much good.

Merlin looked at Arthur and smiled slightly. "Maybe I will, but only because you asked so nicely." He folded up his quiz and set it down on his desk.

"Don't go acting like you're special now," Arthur responded, though he knew Merlin was and he couldn't really deny that.

Merlin turned to gaze at Arthur, letting his eyes linger for a long moment. Thoughts played throughout his mind, but he knew he couldn't act on any of them. Merlin took a seat on top of his desk, swinging his legs a bit.

Arthur watched Merlin with a smile. "Although," he paused for a minute before continuing, "I will have to call on you in class, still. Especially with how you've been acting here recently. And I'm assuming you didn't do your homework?"

Merlin let out a bit of a hum in response to Arthur as he nodded. "I'll try not to take it too personally. As for my homework," he gave a slight smirk, "no. I was a little distracted this weekend, so I didn't have the chance to do it, sir." He watched Arthur as he put emphasis on the word "sir". Merlin licked his lips gently as memories of the weekend flooded his mind.