Work Text:
1.
Eyes closed, Arthur pressed his hands over his face and groaned. Because of course, of course, this would happen on his first bloody day in London. Of course a bloody dragon would just walk into his flat while he's moving in!
Arthur looked down at the small, grey dragon playing with his shoelaces. He huffed. At least it wasn't breathing fire.
So far, it had mainly chewed on his boxes and furniture.
Two hard knocks at the door, and a voice called out, "Magic Tamers Department!"
His shoulders relaxed. While he had hoped he wouldn't need it so soon, Arthur was glad he’d saved the number for the local Tamers Department before the move. "Door’s open!”
A man with the most gorgeous dark curls, poking out from under a red baseball cap peeked his head through the door. He paused before walking in. It seemed his jacket had somehow got caught on the door.
He wore the standard dark, magic-resistant trousers and a fire-resistant, leather jacket. The man was about his height with a slim frame but carrying himself in the way that most tamers did, with a calm certainty. While the red cap clashed with the rest of his uniform, Arthur couldn’t help finding the man gorgeous.
The man looked over and burst out laughing.
Well, there goes any chance I had, Arthur thought bitterly to himself. He crossed his arms as he said, “Yes, yes, this is all very hilarious. Now, if you could calm down and do your job, that would be bloody fantastic.”
The man wiped at his eyes, still chuckling. “Sorry, it’s just when they told me someone called about a baby dragon, this wasn’t what I expected.”
“And I wasn’t expecting to have to call MTD on my first day in the city, but here we are.”
The man quirked his eyebrow. “You have to call tamers often?”
“I grew up in the countryside in Avalon; it wasn’t uncommon to run into the occasional magical creature,” he said with a shrug. It wasn’t a complete lie.
The truth was that magical creatures had always liked Arthur. They would seek him out whether he was in the woods, hiking or at the local shop. They just came on their own.
The tamer crouched down and made a clicking sound with his mouth.
The dragon raised his head and blinked.
“Hey, little one. Come here.” He reached out his arm and made a beaconing gesture with his fingers.
The dragon stared at the tamer momentarily before looking up at Arthur.
Arthur chuckled. “Go on.”
Satisfied, the little dragon strutted over, chirping when the tamer started scratching his head. “Good boy.” Then he conjured a tamer bubble and slid the dragon into it. It looked put out at first, but quickly curled up into a little ball.
“I thought dragons didn’t live in the city.”
“That’s actually a misnomer. Dragons are everywhere. While cities aren’t their natural habitats, it’s not unusual for them to be in them, especially with the way cities have grown over the past few decades. Some people even buy them on the black market, or find them and try to make them pets.”
The man stood and gave Arthur a curious look. “You were smart to call. With this little guy being so friendly most people would have tried to keep him, and then realized later why you need a special permit to keep one.”
He shrugged. “I wanted one as a kid. My father explained, thoroughly, why that wasn’t possible.”
He knew very well why only those with dragonlord blood or powerful magic were allowed access to dragons. While he had never had an issue with them, taking care of one would be different. There was a reason they lived in the wild or in dragon sanctuaries. They were animals capable of mass destruction, not pets.
The man pointed to the little dragon and said, “Well, better get this little guy back to the station so we can get him to a dragon reservation. It was nice meeting you…”
“Arthur. And you?” He almost reached out his hand but realised Merlin probably needed his hand to keep the bubble working.
He smiled. It was wide, and had a playfulness to it that was almost mischievous, as he said, “Merlin.”
2.
Arthur made it nearly a whole week before he had to call the Tamers Department again.
Within two days of him arriving at his new flat, gremlins had appeared, and refused to leave. He had spent the week trying to get them out on his own, but nothing had worked! If anything, they seemed more determined than ever to stay. He was starting his new job tomorrow and needed at least one night without them waking him with their pranks, so he called.
Arthur sighed with relief as he heard a knock at the door and a shout of, “Magic Tamers Department!”
Arthur stepped towards the door only to fall. He looked down. The gremlins had literally pulled the rug from under him! He swore before shouting, “Door’s open!”
He looked up in surprise to see the same hot bloke as before. This time, he was carrying a large duffle bag. He hadn’t expected to see him again. He couldn’t decide if it was good or bad luck. “Er. It was Merlin, right?”
Merlin smiled, a wide cheeky kind of smile that caused a slight flutter in Arthur’s stomach. “Yeah. And it was Arthur, right? Why are you on the floor?”
Arthur turned onto his back with a groan. “Because of the bloody gremlins! Honestly, what is wrong with them here? In Avalon, they’d play a few tricks, you’d tell them they’d got you, give them a treat, and they’d bugger off! The whole exchange took half a day at most! It’s been a week, and they still won’t bloody leave!”
“They like you,” Merlin said, reaching out a hand to help him up.
He took Merlin’s hand and stood up. “Yeah, well, they have a funny way of showing it.”
“People in the city don’t know the old tricks anymore, so the moment they see them, they tend to get violent. They chase them out with brooms, fly swatters, and even pans. Whatever they can hit them with, really. So when they meet someone who laughs along with their pranks and gives them treats? They probably think this is paradise.”
Well, now Arthur felt bad for snapping at them when they messed with the tele this morning. “What should I do differently next time?”
Merlin pressed his lips firmly together, a slight grimace on his face as he said, “Right now, it’s best to call us. We’ve been teaching the ones we take in a code phrase, but it’s still pretty new, so we haven’t put out a PSA about it yet. It’ll probably take years before it will work with most gremlins.”
“What’s the phrase?”
Merlin stared at him as if he was measuring him up before nodding. “Normally, I wouldn’t tell someone this while it’s still in the development phase, but you put up with them for a whole week without losing it, so I’m guessing you won’t file a complaint if it doesn’t work.”
Merlin approached the door and called out, “Alright, little, green friends. You’ve had your fun. Now it’s time to go.”
Arthur watched as a few came down from their hiding places and flew over to Merlin, dropping nuts and bolts before leaving out the front door.
Merlin closed his eyes. “There’s still quite a few more. Hang on.”
Arthur watched as Merlin whispered a spell, his eyes turning gold. Little blue bubbles popped up all over the flat, drifting towards Merlin. One by one, the bubbles went into the duffle bag.
“Will they be alright in there?”
Merlin nodded his head as he zipped it close. “Of course. It’s bigger on the inside and spelled to keep them safe inside.”
Arthur nodded. They had been annoying, but they hadn’t been so bad; like a little kid messing with their older sibling.
Merlin hooked the straps of the bag through his arm and flashed him another one of his charming smiles. “It was nice to see you again.”
Arthur bit his lip to stop his smile from being too big. “You, too.”
3.
Arthur glared as Merlin laughed his head off. Because of course it was him, with his smouldering eyes and ridiculously sexy smile, who always saw Arthur in these ridiculous situations! No, never anyone else. He was starting to wonder if the Tamers Department had any other employees.
After two months of living in London, he had got Merlin every time he’d called.
Which is why he had been really hoping, since he was in the woods an hour out from his flat, that someone else, anyone else, might show up.
Of course, the gods couldn’t give him even that.
“Done laughing yet?” Arthur snipped.
Merlin nodded, moving to stand up properly. He looked over and immediately started wheezing with laughter again.
“This is terribly unprofessional,” Arthur said. He turned and glared at the unicorn as it once again tried to nibble on the lapel of his coat. “ Stop trying to eat my clothes.”
She ignored him until he gently pushed her snout away.
After what felt like a lifetime, Merlin’s laughter turned into a slight chuckle. He pulled out his phone and snapped a picture.
“Hey!”
“Don’t worry. I won’t put it on social media; I'm just getting proof that this wasn’t a prank call.”
Arthur sighed but nodded. “It must be pretty rare to see them this close to the city.”
The few unicorns Arthur had seen had all been deep within much larger forests, far from any towns.
“Rare! It’s nearly unheard of! In the past fifty years, there have been only two sightings. Two! Across the world! Some experts are questioning if they are going extinct.”
Arthur huffed. “They must not be looking hard enough because this is my fourth time seeing one.”
Merlin’s mouth opened and closed several times like a fish before he said, “Arthur, have you ever met anyone else who has met a unicorn, even once?”
He nodded. “Yeah, my sister.”
Merlin stared at him with an odd look. “And was she with you when she saw it?”
“…Maybe.”
“Then that doesn’t count, you weirdo,” Merlin scoffed. “Right. What do you usually do when unicorns approach you?”
“I usually give them some mint or clover, and they move on, but I can’t find any.”
Merlin frowned, pulled his backpack to his front and looked inside. “I’ve got a carrot.”
Arthur shrugged. He’d never tried it, but unicorns were a lot like horses.
Merlin pulled the carrot out of his backpack and slowly walked over to the unicorn, ensuring she could see him before lifting the back of his hand for her to smell.
After a long sniff, she lowered her head and took the carrot right out of Merlin’s hand, then walked off.
Merlin shook his head and chuckled. He turned towards Arthur and grinned. “You know I’m starting to notice a pattern.”
“Oh?”
“Your solutions always seem to be food-related.”
He frowned. “That’s not true.”
Merlin started counting off on his fingers. “Let’s see, so far I’ve come to you, and you’ve tried giving gremlins, pixies, brownies and gnomes food. The only one you didn’t feed was the baby dragon.”
Arthur rolled his eyes as he started walking up the path. “It’s not my fault that’s usually what they want.”
Merlin chuckled. They walked in comfortable silence for several minutes before Merlin asked, “Do you have magic?”
Arthur shook his head. He had been expecting this question for a while now. “I know an affinity with magical creatures is usually a sign of potential magic, but I don’t even have a drop. My dad got me tested when I was five. He said magical creatures always came into the house trying to play with me. For some odd reason, they’ve always liked me.” He gave Merlin a teasing smile as he said, “No earthly clue why.”
Merlin gently kicked a rock on the path, a soft look on his face as he said, “Magical creatures can sense magic. They can feel it in ways most people can’t. You might not have any magic, but it’s gathered around you like a warm blanket. It likes you.”
Arthur frowned. His sister once said that he had an odd aura for a non-magical. Had that been what she meant?
“You can see it?”
Merlin nodded, “Yeah, I’m a warlock.”
Arthur had heard that warlocks and druids could do things most sorcerers couldn’t, but he had never met one before.
“My sister’s a sorceress, supposedly a pretty powerful seer, too. She’s the reason I moved up here, actually. She had a vision of me living in London. The vision was nothing special, just me walking on a random street with a bag of takeaway in my hand, but she said she’d never seen me look so happy.” Arthur stepped over a log, then shrugged at Merlin. “Made me curious what was so special about living here.”
Merlin chuckled as he followed him over the log. “So basically, your standard, self-fulfilling prophecy?”
“Looks like it, yeah.” He looked over and saw the car park. He stopped, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Well, guess this is where we part ways.”
“Yeah, looks like it.” He turned around so that he was walking backwards as he said, “Looking forward to seeing what magical creature you’ll call about next. Cerebus? A griffin? A kelpie? I’m sure it will be interesting.”
Arthur rolled his eyes. “You laugh, but if it’s a kelpie, I’m taking you down with me.”
A warm feeling filled his stomach as Merlin laughed.
4.
With a loud groan, Merlin said, “I knew it would be you. Who else would run into a bloody nathair during a beach day?”
Arthur sighed as Merlin carefully crouched over his leg, where the serpent was curled around his calf. He couldn’t exactly disagree.
It’d been two weeks since the unicorn incident, so of course when he accepted his work friend, Leon’s, invitation to the beach, it had resulted in some kind of magical creature mess.
“At least it hasn’t bitten me.”
Merlin glared. “Yet. It hasn’t bitten you yet.”
“Will he be alright?” Leon asked, leaning over them with a grave face.
“I’ll be fine,” Arthur said, waving Merlin off before he could speak. “Merlin knows what he’s doing.”
“Just because you have an affinity with magic creatures doesn’t mean they won’t hurt you accidentally,” Merlin said, as he kept his eyes focused on the nathair. Arthur was sure that if Merlin wasn’t focused on the snake, he would be glaring at Arthur right now. Merlin’s head was tilted back as if trying to figure out the best way to pull it off Arthur’s leg.
“True, but it hardly ever happens.”
“With you, that could literally mean anything,” Merlin said, disapprovingly. “Alright, I’m going to do a spell to relax it. Hopefully, that will help with the removal process.”
Merlin’s eyes glowed once again as he spoke the spell, his gloved hands reaching out towards the nathair’s head. Slowly he pulled the nathair off Arthur and then used the bubble spell on it.
Leon sighed loudly. “Fuck I need a drink. Want anything?”
“Yeah, grab me a beer, would you?”
“You need to go to A&E for a medical check first.”
Arthur groaned. He did not want to spend the rest of his day off in A&E when he was perfectly fine. He poked Merlin with his toe. “Or you can do it. I know all tamers get basic med training. I’m sure a powerful warlock like yourself could heal me, if needed.”
Merlin laughed. “Hate to tell you this, but I’m shit at healing magic.”
Arthur shrugged. “You could still give me an exam while Leon grabs the drinks.”
Merlin chewed on his lip, with a mock annoyed face, before he said, “Oh, alright.”
Leon clapped Arthur on the shoulder and headed off to the promenade.
“Alright, keep your head still and follow my finger with your eyes.” Merlin raised his right-hand index finger and moved it from side to side.
Merlin smiled. “Good. Now I’m going to examine your leg.”
Arthur nodded his permission.
He gasped as Merlin’s long fingers gently rubbed against his foot.
“Sorry, too hard?” he asked, looking up at Arthur.
Arthur shook his head and swallowed before he lied, “No, just a bit cold.”
“Whoops, sorry.” He pulled his hands away and blew on them before touching Arthur’s ankle. “Better?”
Arthur nodded, unable to speak with Merlin’s firm hands on him. He knew his face must be red. He hoped Merlin would chalk it up to sunburn.
Another minute and Merlin had made his way up to his knee. Arthur was disappointed when Merlin took his hands away.
“You’re all good,” Merlin said, as he stood up. Not looking at him, he added, “Well, I’d better get going. Sorry for interrupting your date.”
Arthur spluttered for a moment before choking out, “No, not a date. Leon’s just a friend.”
Merlin snapped his head up. “Really?”
“Yeah, no. Leon’s great but not really my type.” Adding quickly, “Not that I don’t like men. I do, I’m bisexual. Leon’s just a friend, though.”
Merlin smiled. “Huh. Good to know.”
5.
When Arthur was twelve he got lost, deep in the forest, and saw a chimera. That was the only time he could remember being scared for his life around a magical creature. That was until now.
He had gone outside to chuck his rubbish into the bin, when a jaguar-like animal, as big as a car, with giant wings, entered the alley and trapped him in.
It crept forward, watching Arthur, its tail twitching playfully. Slowly, so as not to give it a reason to attack, Arthur pulled his mobile out of his pocket and brought it to his ear. “Call, Tamers Department.”
A tense five minutes later, Merlin arrived. “Bloody hell, Arthur,” he hissed. The jaguar-like, magical creature stayed where it was but observed Merlin warily.
Arthur could only grimace in acknowledgement. He still wasn’t entirely sure what this creature was, but after watching it creep around for the last five minutes, he was sure it was trying to play with him, occasionally play-jumping, like cats do, with its paws out. It acted much like a typical cat, except if Arthur got hit by one of these claws, he’d probably have to go to the hospital.
“What should I do?”
“Stay where you are for now,” Merlin said quietly. He tilted his head as he stared at it, mumbling to himself.
Merlin straightened his shoulders and called out a shield spell to protect Arthur. He waved his hand at the magical creature and called out, reveal. The giant jaguar turned towards Merlin. As it turned, just for a moment, Arthur thought he saw a pale, dark-haired woman. Her head turned in tandem with the jaguar’s head.
Arthur’s head jerked towards Merlin as he heard him swear.
Merlin grimaced at the winged cat as he said, “Sorry, this might hurt.” Then he shouted a spell, his eyes going that glittering gold again, as the magical creature tried to jump away, but its hind legs were caught in magical ropes. It stumbled against his side, and its front legs were also quickly tied by magic.
Merlin walked forward and crouched down. He pressed his hand on the winged jaguar’s neck. It tried to bite him, but it couldn’t get close enough. Merlin quietly said another spell, and the jaguar slumped over.
The shield disappeared.
“You can move now. I’ve put her under a sleeping spell.”
Arthur walked over to where Merlin was standing. “What kind of magical creature is she?”
“Human.” Merlin gave him a bitter smile. “Someone cursed her. Looks like a pretty strong one, too.”
Arthur swore. Curses like these were outlawed and sealed away to prevent someone from getting hurt. “Poor girl. Can you undo it?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll certainly try,” he said, gently patting her head. Merlin stood up. “But first, I need to call backup to help bring her back to headquarters and get you checked for injuries.”
“No need. She never touched me.”
“Humour me then. This might eventually become a case for the police, so getting a statement while it’s fresh in your mind might be a good idea.”
Arthur nodded, and Merlin pulled out his mobile and made the call.
Finished with his med check, Arthur walked into the office and looked around for Merlin. It only took a moment to find him at his desk, off towards the end.
Arthur walked around the other desks until he reached Merlin’s. “Do you think your desk-mate will mind?” he said, as he pointed to the chair at the desk, one over.
Merlin shook his head. “It’s Elyan’s day off, so he’ll never know.”
Arthur chuckled. He pulled the swivel chair next to Merlin’s desk. “Right, you said you wanted a statement after my med che-” It was then that Arthur’s stomach growled so loud it cut off his question.
Sheepishly, Arthur said, “Never did pick up that takeaway I ordered.”
Merlin smirked. “There’s a decent sandwich shop with great chips. I never ate lunch. Why don’t I grab us some, real quick, and then we’ll do the statement?”
Arthur reached into his pocket for his wallet. “How much do I owe you?”
He shook his head. “My treat.”
“What, no-”
“I insist, Arthur,” Merlin said, looking at him fondly.
Arthur bit his lip and looked at Merlin thoughtfully—the good to know still ringing around in his head, two weeks later. The words had to mean something, right?
Taking a deep breath, Arthur said, “Alright, but only if you let me buy you dinner tomorrow night.”
“Arthur Pendragon, are you asking me out?” Merlin teased.
He shrugged. “Only if you say yes.”
Merlin grinned. “Well, as luck would have it.”
+1
Merlin rolled his eyes as he listened to his boss over the phone. “No, it’s definitely a kappa. Yes, I know that kappas are indigenous to Japan, but I’m telling you, I’m looking straight at it, and it’s a kappa.” He grinned as he watched his boyfriend of two months, Arthur, cover his mouth in an attempt to silence his laugh.
The kappa made an unsettling sound that was somehow a cross between a ribbit, a human scream, and a purr.
They had decided to go out for dinner to celebrate Arthur’s first time as project manager going off without a hitch. They decided to walk back next to the river, after stuffing themselves with so much pasta that they had to take their desserts to go.
Over his mobile, Gaius was muttering to himself as he went through their files, trying to figure out how to deal with a kappa. Merlin noticed the kappa hop closer to Arthur or, more importantly, to his left hand, where Arthur held their dessert.
He tilted his mobile away from his mouth. “Arthur, I think it wants our cake.”
Arthur glared down at the kappa. “Absolutely not, this is tiramisu!”
The kappa made the unsettling sound again.
“I’m sorry, but no.”
“Merlin? You still there?” Gaius spoke into the phone.
“Yeah, still here,” he said, trying not to laugh as his boyfriend argued with a kappa.
“To get it to leave peacefully, bow to it.”
“Bow?”
“Yes, if you bow, it must bow back, and then it’ll leave.”
“Huh, thanks, Gaius.” Merlin hung up the call. “Arthur, give it a bow, and it will leave.”
Arthur frowned but did as he was told. The kappa looked rather put out but bowed, before hopping back to the river.
Merlin smiled as he felt Arthur take his hand.
Arthur’s handsome face brimmed with happiness, as he asked Merlin, “Ready?”
His mind went back to the first time he met Arthur, his bright blue eyes, his golden blond hair shining from the sun through the windows, and his ridiculously pouty lips pulled up in a frown. And cheesily, he thought, I’ve been ready since the moment I met you.
He squeezed Arthur’s hand. “Yeah, let’s go home.”