contentTitle: Falling
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Arthur/Merlin
Character/s: Arthur, Merlin
Summary: He wasn't there yet. But it wouldn't be long.
Word Count: 1000
Prompt: love
Author's Notes: One whole post of sheer and utter fluff!! Is a carry on from the prompt for ball, found here.
He’s sitting in your office chair, a dazed look on his face even as you card your fingers through his sweaty hair. For a fortnight this had gone on for now. Stolen kisses in the lunch break, him turning up in your office whenever the normal working day had finished and you are the only one left slogging through the pile of work that you never seem to be able to get on top of. He never pushes you, just sits on the sofa occupying one wall and wait until you sigh in frustration over a document.
Then he moves.
He stands silently, tugging the piece of paper out of your hand and tugging on the knot of your tie until it has loosened. Then he kisses you, slowly and leisurely, exploring your mouth like it is unknown territory rather than something he had done only a few hours before. You yield, you relinquish all control as he teases open the buttons on your shirt, one hand slipping inside and stroking your chest. He tweakes a nipple, and you are sure that you might have groaned. Something certainly put that glint back in his eye as he undoes your trousers, never once looking away from your eyes.
You’re the one who breaks the contact, your head thudding back against the back of your chair as he kneels, looking up at your through thick eyelashes and swallows you down. Your hand is against his cheek, your thumb tracing the bone and he hums happily. That certainly teases another moan from you, but you pull him before he can go too far. You strip him with none of the same eloquence he did for you, only needing to be inside him. He helps, spreading himself over the desk and looking back at you with a glint in his eye that is nothing like the innocent one the rest of the world see.
You take him hard and fast over the desk, you let him ride you lovingly and gently while you are sprawled over the couch. It doesn’t matter how you do it, the result is always the same. You took him over the desk today, frustrated with how the day had gone and needing to release your frustration. It wasn’t your choice though, he seemed to know what it was that you needed. He kissed you again when you were done, but then he just collapsed into your chair and looks up at you with those big blue eyes.
“Why do you keep coming back?” You find yourself asking, seeing the corners of his mouth twitch in a small smile. It’s almost a private one, as if he knows something you don’t.
“Don’t you know?”
You do know. You do know but you don’t want to admit it out loud. Admitting it turns this into something far more complicated, and you don’t want to lose the bond you have with him. You aren’t yet sure if you feel the same way. How can you when you hadn’t truly noticed him until his eyes held your heart hostage that night. You know that he still hasn’t given it back, and that you are falling. But you’re not there yet, and you don’t want him to get the wrong idea.
“I…”
“You don’t feel the same way?”
“I almost do.” You admit quietly, knowing your heart is pounding with more intensity now than it did when you were deep inside his body. He smiles at that, properly this time. It’s radiant this time, lighting up the whole office and you find yourself falling just that little bit more. It won’t be long now, you know that. How can it take any more time to give yourself over to the being in front of you when every day you are finding you are selecting which suit to where more carefully just because you are going to see him again.
“Then I’ll wait.”
You don’t want him to have to wait, you want to get past the boundaries that are holding you back from surrendering completely. But you know it won’t feel right, and you can see by the look in his eyes that he understands. He means what he said, he will wait for you.
“I promise I won’t make you wait long.”
“I know.” You lean forward, offering a small kiss as a sign of your promise. His hand snakes around the back of your neck, almost pulling you off the desk as he deepens it and you find yourself smiling.
Definitely won’t take long at all.
It really doesn’t.
Exactly one week later, he collapses against your chest, running his finger through the sweat and laughing softly at the way you are almost falling off your couch. You have to be quiet, you know there is a cleaner around. His laugh makes you laugh, something increased when you realise that he still has his socks on despite everything. Your papers are nearly all on the floor from where you both couldn’t stop yourself from kissing passionately when he walked through the door. You had missed him that lunchtime, and the ache in your heart made you realise that you were no longer falling.
You had fallen.
“I love you.” He murmured almost silently into your chest, and you gently stroke your fingers through his hair and kiss his temple.
“I love you too.”
He sat up swiftly at your words, eyes searching your face for some sort of sign that you might be toying with him. When he sees only honesty there, his smile set a flame alight in your chest and the warmth spreads all the way through your body. He leans forward, kissing you gently. You feel his tongue slide forward and you give into it, allowing him access to your body, heart and soul.
“Sorry it took me so long.” You murmur around the kiss and he pulls back, one finger resting against your lips.
“Shh.”
So you do.