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awritinglilypeaTitle: Broken Down
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Valiant, Merlin/? eventual
Rating: NC-17 for domestic abuse overall.
Complete: No.
Genre: Angst, h/c
Prompt: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
kinkme_merlin prompt here
Summary: Drastic times call for drastic measures and Arthur will do ANYTHING to protect Merlin.
Warnings: Contains domestic abuse, violence and possibly triggering materials
Beta'd by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ibonekoen who is a lovely human being.
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Arthur stepped back from the ambulance as the doors closed and the lights began flashing, his heart in his throat even as it beat more rapidly than ever before. He sucked in a deep breath and shoved his hands in his pockets in an attempt to maintain any semblance of control that he could manage.
He turned, and froze, spotting Valiant just down the road. He headed for his apartment, well aware of the taller man following him, the two of them met at the door.
“What’s happened? Is it Merlin?” Valiant asked, a panicked note in his voice that made Arthur want to do nothing more than punch him as hard as he could. “I heard he was staying here, since I was away on business...”
Arthur bit the inside of his lip, turning to Valiant he looked up at him, “he’s dead. I’m sorry Valiant, I know you cared for him.”
Valiant paled and stumbled backward, if he had been anyone else Arthur might have actually felt sorry for him.
“I’ve got to go,” Valiant managed to choke out, turning he practically ran in the opposite direction of Arthur’s apartment.
Arthur raised his hand to his mouth, “if you need anything please don’t hesitate to call,” he yelled after him, turning to unlock the door he opened it and smiled at Gwaine, Lance and Gwen who were all lurking in the entryway.
“Did it work?” Gwaine asked, rocking on his heels.
“Yes, it worked,” Arthur said, grin spreading across his face as he did so.
“Excellent,” Gwaine practically cackled with happiness, hugging all of his friends. “Off to Cornwall!”
“No,” Arthur told him, not even giving an indication of feeling remorse when Gwaine’s face dropped. “Merlin is going to be looked over by the best doctors in the country and then we are going to Cornwall to my father’s estate where he can recuperate without having to worry about anything except for a beautiful view.”
“But...but your father’s estate is huge,” Gwaine gesticulated.
“Arthur is right,” Lance stated, “if we want this to all seem normal...we have to act as though we have suffered a loss, and therefore need to be visible, until the police have sorted themselves and what they are going to do about Valiant.”
“Just like witness protection,” Gwen nodded her head, squeezing Gwaine’s shoulder.
“Now if you all don’t mind leaving, I’m going to go up to my flat and pack,” Arthur gestured, “the neighbours will be peaking out their doors any moment now.”
Gwaine continued to grumble, putting on a proper sad face as he headed for the door and left first, followed soon enough by Lance.
“Take good care of him alright Arthur?” Gwen asked in a soft voice. “He’s going to need lots of support.”
“I know Guinevere,” Arthur said in an exasperated voice. “I’m not that thick, I will take care of him,” he told her firmly and hugged her when she offered it to him.
Arthur went up into his flat, and picked up his phone, dialling an old school mate of his he dialed his friend. “Hello Percy.”
“Arthur,” Percy greeted, his voice filled with warmth. “Did he fall for it?” he asked.
“He did, now how long can we keep him from going to the police or hospital himself?” Arthur asked in reply.
“Oh don’t worry,” Percy told him, “I can stop him from going for a little while.”
“Good,” Arthur grinned, glad to have friends who were loyal and a bit higher up. “So you’ll question him then?”
“I’ll question him,” Percy confirmed. “Now you get back to taking care of Merlin, and I’ll get back to doing what i do best.”
“Excellent,” Arthur smiled to himself, hanging up the phone soon after. He headed to the hospital and within the week he and Merlin were on their way to Cornwall.
In the week that followed Arthur found himself more and more frustrated with the situation. While he didn’t mind being in Cornwall, waiting for answers from Percy or anyone who might be able to help put Valiant away.
It was with this desperation that he found himself putting a little more money and effort into the situation until Valiant was found with more than a little bit of contraband and arrested. The funniest thing about the whole situation had ended up being that Arthur hadn’t had to provide even an ounce of the drugs found in Merlin’s old apartment, as Valiant himself seemed to be quite the addict.
Arthur was sitting in the kitchen of the vacation home when Merlin walked in, his face darkened with anger that surprised him.
“Hi,” Arthur greeted him in a soft voice, cautious of angering Merlin further.
“Hello,” Merlin responded stiffly. “Why did you do it?”
“Do what?” Arthur asked, genuinely confused.
“Have you seen the paper today?” Merlin snapped at him, before he turned and tossed the entire newspaper at Arthur, pages fluttering to the floor soon after.
Arthur gaped, unsure where the anger was coming from. “I’ve been busy.”
“I noticed! You had him arrested?” Merlin practically flailed as his voice rose.
It was the only time Arthur had seen him angry in the two week following the attack and something loosened in him, but anger burned as well because clearly Merlin still cared for the bastard when he didn’t need to.
“He got himself arrested,” Arthur replied, picking up the papers. He looked at the front page, the image of Valiant in handcuffs, a disgraced man, and couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips.
“Right,” Merlin spat sarcastically, angered. “I can take care of myself, Arthur. I don’t need you to fucking baby me.”
“Hey, I’m not babying you, he deserved it,” Arthur argued back, blue eyes sharp.
“No one deserves this.” Merlin gestured to the paper. “He was my boyfriend!” The words tore themselves from his throat.
“He was your abuser, why the fuck can’t you see that? Everyone else could,” Arthur yelled back before he could stop himself and froze at the look on Merlin’s face. “Merlin, oh God...I’m sorry, you don’t deserve that, let’s just...sit okay and we’ll talk this all out,” he reached out just briefly then let his hand drop, apologies written in his eyes.
Merlin visibly seemed to deflate, gaping at Arthur as he did so. They hadn’t discussed it, of course. It made sense, Arthur was doing this out of pity. It was all one big cosmic joke. He reached for his coat and pulled it on with shaking hands.
“Right then, I see,” he told Arthur. “I’ll leave.” He smiled weakly.
“I never said you had to,” Arthur told him, desperate to have him stay, to have him near.
Merlin shook his head. “It’s okay, I mean, he’s gone, you had him arrested. You did your job Arthur, behaved appropriately, protected the sad sack.” He left the house and closed the door behind him.
“Well shit,” Arthur said to the empty kitchen, warring with himself he turned toward the door intending to follow then stopped. “You shouldn’t...” He groaned. “You jealous prat, Pendragon, what the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you talk to him about the plan before putting it into action?” he cursed himself, then slumped into one of the dining chairs.
“Maybe he’ll come back,” he offered himself, the words loud in the silence of his the room.
~
Merlin practically stumbled away from the house, feeling like every muscle, every bone in his body ached. Everyone knew. Everyone knew he’d been abused, according to Arthur.
It was humiliating. More humiliating in some ways than anything Valiant had ever said to him before and it hurt quite a bit more.
He felt angry with them too; they had known. They had known, and done nothing? It had occurred to him they might know, but to hear that all his friends had known for sure and nothing happened...they didn’t do anything until it got to this point.
As he walked, he swiped at his cheeks, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat which choked him and tugged the hood of his borrowed sweater up so no one could see him face as he hurried away from the house
He didn’t even know where to go, didn’t know where he could go. He couldn’t face any of his other friends, not if they all knew and was certain Arthur would have called them by now.
Merlin set out, stopping when he was hungry. He found a crumbled up bill in his pocket and grabbed a kebab, eating it quickly before he set out again.
“Oh, look who it is,” a voice said from behind him once he’d turned a corner which made him freeze. “I thought you were dead, Valiant will be so interested to know you’re not, seeing as he thinks he’s the one who offed you.”
Merlin swung around, “Cenred,” he took a step back immediately.
“We know what your little boyfriend did,” Cenred growled, stepping forward. “You can bet we’re not happy about it either.”
“I don’t know what you’re taking about,” Merlin feigned ignorance. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, forgot Valiant so easily did you? All because of that blond whore,” Cenred smirked. “Valiant hasn’t forgotten about you. He’ll be so happy to know you’re okay.”
Merlin swallowed heavily; feeling sick, he took another step back and jerked out of Cenred’s way when the other man reached for him. Turning and running away, he ignored the threats that followed and the ache in his ribs.
He didn’t stop running until he was certain Cenred was gone and leaned into a wall, gasping for air. He leaned down, hands on his knees and could feel panic welling in him, choking him and leaving him without air at all, his vision becoming gray and his breathing ragged.
He dug his hand into the pocket of the hoody and pulled out the cell phone Arthur had forced upon him earlier in the week; pressing one, he held the phone to his ear.
“Merlin, are you okay?” Arthur asked the minute he’d picked up the phone.
“No,” Merlin replied, catching his breath a bit as every muscle in his body seemed to tremble and he had a hard time holding himself upright. “Cendred...”
“Did he hurt you?” Arthur practically shouted. “Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”
Merlin looked around and managed to stammer out the area he was in, mentioning the alley way before his tremours forced him to a crouching position, his aching back pressed up against the wall. “Hurry please,” he said before hanging up and hunkered in on himself, ignoring the pain it caused as he fought to calm himself.
~
Arthur rushed out of the house and hurried to the car, getting in he practically ran over an old lady in his haste to get to Merlin. He skidded to a stop at the curb near the address Merlin had listed and hurried to find him. “Merlin,” he called softly, and sighed when he found his friend.
Merlin looked up at him, looking as pale as ever and a bit shocked. “Arthur,” he looked relieved.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Arthur helped him up and guided him to to the car. Closing the door behind him, he took a moment to breathe, unable to believe how thankful he was that Merlin was okay as his hands shook momentarily and he got in. “I think we need to talk.”
“I do too,” Merlin admitted reluctantly. “Later, please.”
Arthur glanced over, and was stunned at how small Merlin seemed to be. There were moments since they’d met three years ago that Merlin seemed to be larger than life, and now to see him like this...
It was heartbreaking, to say the least.
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Valiant, Merlin/? eventual
Rating: NC-17 for domestic abuse overall.
Complete: No.
Genre: Angst, h/c
Prompt: Written for
kinkme_merlin prompt hereSummary: Drastic times call for drastic measures and Arthur will do ANYTHING to protect Merlin.
Warnings: Contains domestic abuse, violence and possibly triggering materials
Beta'd by
ibonekoen who is a lovely human being.Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Arthur stepped back from the ambulance as the doors closed and the lights began flashing, his heart in his throat even as it beat more rapidly than ever before. He sucked in a deep breath and shoved his hands in his pockets in an attempt to maintain any semblance of control that he could manage.
He turned, and froze, spotting Valiant just down the road. He headed for his apartment, well aware of the taller man following him, the two of them met at the door.
“What’s happened? Is it Merlin?” Valiant asked, a panicked note in his voice that made Arthur want to do nothing more than punch him as hard as he could. “I heard he was staying here, since I was away on business...”
Arthur bit the inside of his lip, turning to Valiant he looked up at him, “he’s dead. I’m sorry Valiant, I know you cared for him.”
Valiant paled and stumbled backward, if he had been anyone else Arthur might have actually felt sorry for him.
“I’ve got to go,” Valiant managed to choke out, turning he practically ran in the opposite direction of Arthur’s apartment.
Arthur raised his hand to his mouth, “if you need anything please don’t hesitate to call,” he yelled after him, turning to unlock the door he opened it and smiled at Gwaine, Lance and Gwen who were all lurking in the entryway.
“Did it work?” Gwaine asked, rocking on his heels.
“Yes, it worked,” Arthur said, grin spreading across his face as he did so.
“Excellent,” Gwaine practically cackled with happiness, hugging all of his friends. “Off to Cornwall!”
“No,” Arthur told him, not even giving an indication of feeling remorse when Gwaine’s face dropped. “Merlin is going to be looked over by the best doctors in the country and then we are going to Cornwall to my father’s estate where he can recuperate without having to worry about anything except for a beautiful view.”
“But...but your father’s estate is huge,” Gwaine gesticulated.
“Arthur is right,” Lance stated, “if we want this to all seem normal...we have to act as though we have suffered a loss, and therefore need to be visible, until the police have sorted themselves and what they are going to do about Valiant.”
“Just like witness protection,” Gwen nodded her head, squeezing Gwaine’s shoulder.
“Now if you all don’t mind leaving, I’m going to go up to my flat and pack,” Arthur gestured, “the neighbours will be peaking out their doors any moment now.”
Gwaine continued to grumble, putting on a proper sad face as he headed for the door and left first, followed soon enough by Lance.
“Take good care of him alright Arthur?” Gwen asked in a soft voice. “He’s going to need lots of support.”
“I know Guinevere,” Arthur said in an exasperated voice. “I’m not that thick, I will take care of him,” he told her firmly and hugged her when she offered it to him.
Arthur went up into his flat, and picked up his phone, dialling an old school mate of his he dialed his friend. “Hello Percy.”
“Arthur,” Percy greeted, his voice filled with warmth. “Did he fall for it?” he asked.
“He did, now how long can we keep him from going to the police or hospital himself?” Arthur asked in reply.
“Oh don’t worry,” Percy told him, “I can stop him from going for a little while.”
“Good,” Arthur grinned, glad to have friends who were loyal and a bit higher up. “So you’ll question him then?”
“I’ll question him,” Percy confirmed. “Now you get back to taking care of Merlin, and I’ll get back to doing what i do best.”
“Excellent,” Arthur smiled to himself, hanging up the phone soon after. He headed to the hospital and within the week he and Merlin were on their way to Cornwall.
In the week that followed Arthur found himself more and more frustrated with the situation. While he didn’t mind being in Cornwall, waiting for answers from Percy or anyone who might be able to help put Valiant away.
It was with this desperation that he found himself putting a little more money and effort into the situation until Valiant was found with more than a little bit of contraband and arrested. The funniest thing about the whole situation had ended up being that Arthur hadn’t had to provide even an ounce of the drugs found in Merlin’s old apartment, as Valiant himself seemed to be quite the addict.
Arthur was sitting in the kitchen of the vacation home when Merlin walked in, his face darkened with anger that surprised him.
“Hi,” Arthur greeted him in a soft voice, cautious of angering Merlin further.
“Hello,” Merlin responded stiffly. “Why did you do it?”
“Do what?” Arthur asked, genuinely confused.
“Have you seen the paper today?” Merlin snapped at him, before he turned and tossed the entire newspaper at Arthur, pages fluttering to the floor soon after.
Arthur gaped, unsure where the anger was coming from. “I’ve been busy.”
“I noticed! You had him arrested?” Merlin practically flailed as his voice rose.
It was the only time Arthur had seen him angry in the two week following the attack and something loosened in him, but anger burned as well because clearly Merlin still cared for the bastard when he didn’t need to.
“He got himself arrested,” Arthur replied, picking up the papers. He looked at the front page, the image of Valiant in handcuffs, a disgraced man, and couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips.
“Right,” Merlin spat sarcastically, angered. “I can take care of myself, Arthur. I don’t need you to fucking baby me.”
“Hey, I’m not babying you, he deserved it,” Arthur argued back, blue eyes sharp.
“No one deserves this.” Merlin gestured to the paper. “He was my boyfriend!” The words tore themselves from his throat.
“He was your abuser, why the fuck can’t you see that? Everyone else could,” Arthur yelled back before he could stop himself and froze at the look on Merlin’s face. “Merlin, oh God...I’m sorry, you don’t deserve that, let’s just...sit okay and we’ll talk this all out,” he reached out just briefly then let his hand drop, apologies written in his eyes.
Merlin visibly seemed to deflate, gaping at Arthur as he did so. They hadn’t discussed it, of course. It made sense, Arthur was doing this out of pity. It was all one big cosmic joke. He reached for his coat and pulled it on with shaking hands.
“Right then, I see,” he told Arthur. “I’ll leave.” He smiled weakly.
“I never said you had to,” Arthur told him, desperate to have him stay, to have him near.
Merlin shook his head. “It’s okay, I mean, he’s gone, you had him arrested. You did your job Arthur, behaved appropriately, protected the sad sack.” He left the house and closed the door behind him.
“Well shit,” Arthur said to the empty kitchen, warring with himself he turned toward the door intending to follow then stopped. “You shouldn’t...” He groaned. “You jealous prat, Pendragon, what the hell were you thinking? Why didn’t you talk to him about the plan before putting it into action?” he cursed himself, then slumped into one of the dining chairs.
“Maybe he’ll come back,” he offered himself, the words loud in the silence of his the room.
~
Merlin practically stumbled away from the house, feeling like every muscle, every bone in his body ached. Everyone knew. Everyone knew he’d been abused, according to Arthur.
It was humiliating. More humiliating in some ways than anything Valiant had ever said to him before and it hurt quite a bit more.
He felt angry with them too; they had known. They had known, and done nothing? It had occurred to him they might know, but to hear that all his friends had known for sure and nothing happened...they didn’t do anything until it got to this point.
As he walked, he swiped at his cheeks, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat which choked him and tugged the hood of his borrowed sweater up so no one could see him face as he hurried away from the house
He didn’t even know where to go, didn’t know where he could go. He couldn’t face any of his other friends, not if they all knew and was certain Arthur would have called them by now.
Merlin set out, stopping when he was hungry. He found a crumbled up bill in his pocket and grabbed a kebab, eating it quickly before he set out again.
“Oh, look who it is,” a voice said from behind him once he’d turned a corner which made him freeze. “I thought you were dead, Valiant will be so interested to know you’re not, seeing as he thinks he’s the one who offed you.”
Merlin swung around, “Cenred,” he took a step back immediately.
“We know what your little boyfriend did,” Cenred growled, stepping forward. “You can bet we’re not happy about it either.”
“I don’t know what you’re taking about,” Merlin feigned ignorance. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, forgot Valiant so easily did you? All because of that blond whore,” Cenred smirked. “Valiant hasn’t forgotten about you. He’ll be so happy to know you’re okay.”
Merlin swallowed heavily; feeling sick, he took another step back and jerked out of Cenred’s way when the other man reached for him. Turning and running away, he ignored the threats that followed and the ache in his ribs.
He didn’t stop running until he was certain Cenred was gone and leaned into a wall, gasping for air. He leaned down, hands on his knees and could feel panic welling in him, choking him and leaving him without air at all, his vision becoming gray and his breathing ragged.
He dug his hand into the pocket of the hoody and pulled out the cell phone Arthur had forced upon him earlier in the week; pressing one, he held the phone to his ear.
“Merlin, are you okay?” Arthur asked the minute he’d picked up the phone.
“No,” Merlin replied, catching his breath a bit as every muscle in his body seemed to tremble and he had a hard time holding himself upright. “Cendred...”
“Did he hurt you?” Arthur practically shouted. “Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”
Merlin looked around and managed to stammer out the area he was in, mentioning the alley way before his tremours forced him to a crouching position, his aching back pressed up against the wall. “Hurry please,” he said before hanging up and hunkered in on himself, ignoring the pain it caused as he fought to calm himself.
~
Arthur rushed out of the house and hurried to the car, getting in he practically ran over an old lady in his haste to get to Merlin. He skidded to a stop at the curb near the address Merlin had listed and hurried to find him. “Merlin,” he called softly, and sighed when he found his friend.
Merlin looked up at him, looking as pale as ever and a bit shocked. “Arthur,” he looked relieved.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” Arthur helped him up and guided him to to the car. Closing the door behind him, he took a moment to breathe, unable to believe how thankful he was that Merlin was okay as his hands shook momentarily and he got in. “I think we need to talk.”
“I do too,” Merlin admitted reluctantly. “Later, please.”
Arthur glanced over, and was stunned at how small Merlin seemed to be. There were moments since they’d met three years ago that Merlin seemed to be larger than life, and now to see him like this...
It was heartbreaking, to say the least.
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no subject
Date: 2011-09-28 11:35 pm (UTC)