username dhampir1508Title: Perfect fit for perfect ears (Perfectly Imperfect Part 10)
Rating: PG13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur
Summary: Merlin's ears are always cold in winter so Arthur makes him something to keep them warm
Warnings: none
Word Count: 622
Prompt: #342 - Cold
Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay, LJ seems to hate me
Merlin’s ears were always cold in winter. One of the disadvantages of wearing hearing aids was it was rather uncomfortable and sometimes even completely impossible to wear any form of hats or anything else to cover his ears and protect them from the harsh winter weather. Merlin had accepted his fate long ago; plus wearing hooded jackets helped a lot.
Merlin knew he had had a knitted hat that didn’t press against his ears too badly when he had been younger but in recent years it had become harder and harder to find something similar. Which didn’t mean he hadn’t tried. Just last weekend he had gone christmas shopping with Morgana, Gwen and Arthur, or rather Morgana and Arthur had gone christmas shopping while Merlin and Gwen had laughed at all the ridiculous stuff those fancy shops sold. Sometimes Merlin really wondered why rich people would even buy some of those stuff but like his mom always said, money can buy a lot but love and taste aren’t among those things.
So Merlin’s ears were cold again when he arrived in school on Friday morning. It had been cold all week but overnight it had dropped a few more degrees and the wind howling outside had made it nearly impossible for his hood to stay on. Merlin was pretty sure his ears had turned into icicles by the time he walked through the front door and over to his locker.
Arthur was already waiting there for him, his jacket already undressed and locked away. It was unusual for Arthur to be in school so early, most of the time he arrived after Merlin. Merlin was about to ask him about it but Arthur greeted him with a long and sweet kiss before Merlin could even open his mouth or move his hands to sign.
“Good morning,” Arthur smiled when he pulled away. “I have something for you.”
Merlin looked down and saw a small wrapped package in Arthur’s hands.
“For me?” he asked as he took it. “Why? It’s not christmas yet and not my birthday either.”
“Does a guy need a reason to get something for his boyfriend? Open it, before the bells start ringing.”
Merlin opened it. Whatever was inside of it was soft to the touch and made of wool. It took Merlin a second to recognize the shape.
“A beanie!” Merlin laughed delighted as he realised it had a similar shape to the one he wore as a child. Only now it was bigger and the colour was a dark midnight blue.
“Where did you get it?” he asked as he tried it on, his voice probably too loud with excitement but he didn’t care.
“I made it,” Arthur smiled as Merlin put it on, the flaps on the side fitted tightly against Merlin’s ears but not too tight to squish his hearing aids.
“You made it? But how?” Merlin was full of wonder as he realised Arthur, who had never shown any interest in knitting or anything like that, must have taught himself to do so in order to keep Merlin’s ears warm.
“Looked it up on youtube. It’s not as pretty as I wanted but it should keep your ears warm anyway. I hope you like it.”
“Like it? I love it! It's a perfect fit for my ears,” Merlin nearly jumped into Arthur’s arms, pressing a big thank you kiss against his boyfriend’s lips.
"A perfect fit for perfect ears," Arthur replied.
“I love you,” Merlin signed, too happy and overcome with emotions for any spoken words.
“I love you too,” Arthur signed back and kissed Merlin once more. “Ok, let’s quickly take a selfie before the bells ring. Morgana didn’t believe I could actually make it.”