Title: Dodging Calls
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Arthur, Ethan
Summary: Arthur and Ethan talk on the phone.
Warnings: Angst. Modern!AU
Word Count: 500
Prompt: "Competition" for
camelot_drabbleAuthor's Notes: Unbetaed. Part 19 of the "divorce!fic"
Catch up:
1. All too familiar 2. Leaving the past in the past 3. That Familiar Feeling 4. We laugh and we cry (And we break) 5. Busy was always better. 6. The need to stop the hurt 7. Despite our estrangement 8. And you would smile, and that would be enough 9. We Have To Win 10. The Calm Before The Storm 11. A Glimpse 12. The First Time 13. Risking It All 14. Comfort 15. Decisions 16. More Than This 17. The Patience Game 18. Part of the truth
"Let me get this straight…" Ethan said into the phone after Arthur recounted his last conversation with Merlin.
It'd been a week since that incident and Arthur had his mobile off for days. Only a handful of his closest friends knew his number for the landline and Ethan had been one of them.
"You didn't actually let him finish what he was trying to tell you and you stormed out?"
Arthur scowled, even though he knew Ethan wasn't able to see him. "I'd heard enough."
"What if there was more? What if he was going to tell you it was the biggest mistake of his life? What if—"
"It doesn't matter."
"It doesn't MATTER?" Ethan shouted and Arthur had to take his phone away from his ear. "You can't possibly be this stupid."
"Okay, so I reacted," said Arthur.
"Badly."
"Fine," Arthur said, sighing. "I reacted badly but you would have done the same thing as me if you'd been there. Don't act like you're completely calm and collected when someone pisses you off."
"Are you going to call him? Has he been calling you?"
"Yeah. I saw a few missed calls and a couple of text messages. He doesn't know where I live, and hopefully, Percy or anyone else won't tell him." Arthur thought about Gwen. She could easily find out where Arthur lived and give Merlin the address.
"If he calls me, I'll tell him," Ethan said.
"God, you're fucking infuriating, you know that?"
Ethan laughed into the phone. "You need to let him finish telling you what he had to say. I bet it's something that'll make you feel better."
"It won't," Arthur said, annoyed.
"Of course. You're right. God forbid you have your ex-husband that you're still in love with come back to you and tell you he'd made a huge mistake. Of course, it won't make you feel better. Because you like living in misery."
"Why are you so annoying?"
"I don't know. Why is everything such a suffering competition with you?"
"Ethan…"
"Listen, mate. I'm coming back to Camelot next weekend, you best be back together with Merlin, I'm going to drag you to his gallery myself and make him tell you whatever he had to tell you in front of everyone."
"I'm not going to call him."
"Okay, but if he calls you again, you should pick up," Ethan said. "Now, I've got to run, and if I call you on your mobile. Pick up. You need to stop turning it off, mate. What if there had been an emergency?"
"You have my home number."
"I bet Merlin's mobile number is still the same. I still have it, you know. Maybe I'll just text him your home number and he'll keep calling you there or better yet, do the reverse-look up on the internet and find your home address."
"I hate you."
"There's always room for improvement," replied Ethan. "You could loathe me by the time you get back together with your ex."
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