Chapter Text
The whole crew were in Gwaine’s dorm room, drunk and then some, giggling their way through yet another round of Truth or Dare. Percy had ruined one of Gwaine’s shirts by putting it on and flexing, to the amazement and glee of the rest. Freya had admitted to having a crush on her Neurology prof. Several people had already made Lance and Gwen kiss on Dares, and they were both blushing and pleased. If they weren’t official by the end of the night, Gwaine was going to lock them in a closet and let nature take its course. And now it was Merlin’s turn.
“Truth or Dare,” Gwaine demanded.
Merlin, sprawled on his back on the floor, groaned. “Truth, I’m too drunk to move.”
“Best kiss you ever had,” Gwaine said at once. Merlin was notoriously shy about his love life, and Gwaine was going to get something out of him if it killed, well, either of them at this point.
Case in point, Merlin groaned again and scrubbed his hands over his face. “You’re so nosy!”
“That’s the point of the game!”
“You shouldn’t have said Truth then!”
“You can’t just keep drinking to get out of it, mate, your liver will fall out.”
“Alright, alright!” Laughing at his friends’ scolding, Merlin began. “This isn’t the most like, technically skillful kiss I’ve ever had or whatever, and maybe it’s stupid that it was… well, I’ll just tell.” And he did.
“So, my mum was the landscape gardener for this property of holiday cabins that a firm ran near our house, and she’d take me along sometimes, especially since I could help out as I got older. So the summer that I was eleven, I was round with her a lot because she’d hurt her wrist, and there was this one family in one of the houses, and this boy… He was my age, or a year or two older maybe, and we just… We got in a huge argument the first time we met, and then somehow after that we were inseparable. Like, truly best friends, in a way I’d never had before, or since if I’m honest. It was just this sort of intense, consuming… attachment between us. So yeah, we kissed, and it wasn’t that either of us knew what we were doing. It was my first one, and I think his too, but… it felt like a connection, you know? No kiss has ever felt like that since then.”
There was silence in the dorm.
“Then what happened?” Freya asked breathlessly.
“His family left. No warning or anything. Mum heard something about an emergency with the dad’s job, but I don’t know. I always wanted to find a way to get in touch again somehow, but I never got his phone number or even his surname, and that’s a pretty unlikely Missed Connection, you know?”
“It could go viral,” Lance said encouragingly. “Really sweet ones like that often do.”
“What’s his first name? Where are these holiday homes?” Gwen asked. “We could help you write it.”
“Arthur,” Merlin said softly. But then, less dreamily, “We’re not writing a Missed Connection though—”
“I know an Arthur,” Gwaine cut in.
“Oh yeah?” Merlin said after a beat. “I’m sure it must be the same one.”
Gwaine was immune to sarcasm. “Could be! He studies Poly Sci here. Was yours blond? Blue eyes?”
Merlin paused, blinking at him from the floor. “….Yes? But that doesn’t mean—”
“Let’s call him and see.” Gwaine’s impulse control was inversely proportional to his blood alcohol content, and was not very high to begin with. He dug his phone out of his pocket and clumsily thumbed around til he found Arthur’s contact and FaceTimed him.
“Wait—Gwaine, what are you doing? No, are you mad? It’s nearly two in the morning!” Merlin cried, scrambling off the floor (and proving he was not too drunk to move, but had only needed the proper motivation). “Don’t be stupid, of course it’s not the same Arthur!” The rest of their friends were laughing and calling encouragement to one or the other of them, and Gwaine happily held Merlin at bay with one hand, phone held at arm’s length in the other.
Arthur picked up on the fifth ring, looking bleary and washed out in the light from his phone screen. “This had better be bloody important, Gwaine, I have practice at seven—”
“It is, don’t get your pants in a twist. I have one question for you.”
“I’m so sorry about this!” Merlin called, and Gwaine pushed him so hard he tripped backwards over Percy’s legs and landed on his arse with a thump.
“I’m doing this for you!” he scolded.
“I didn’t ask you to!” Merlin hollered.
“Gwaine…”
Even drunk as a skunk, Gwaine knew better than to ignore that tone of voice. “Right. When you were eleven or twelve, did your family rent a holiday cabin for the summer somewhere in Wales?”
The seemed to catch Arthur so completely off guard that he didn’t immediately hang up. The entire room was silent, waiting for his answer, even Merlin.
“How did you know that?” he asked slowly.
Mouths fell open in disbelief around the room. Gwaine shot Merlin a triumphant look, though privately he was just as shocked as the rest. Poor Merlin’s eyes were round as pound coins.
“Okay, it turns out I have another question,” Gwaine said jovially. “While you were there, you had a friend, right? Another boy you got very close with?”
“Gwaine,” Merlin hissed, looking queasy.
“I…” Arthur said. He’d switched his lamp on and no longer looked like a floating death’s head. But he did look uncertain, verging on cross. “Yes, there was a friend, I mean a boy, I mean we were friends, yes. He was… We were…” He pulled himself together. “What is this about? Where did you hear any of this? Have you been talking to Morgana?”
“Nothing of the sort,” Gwaine said, putting on a wounded affect. Across the circle, Gwen and Freya were clinging together in silent rapture, and Lance and Percy were taking turns shooting gobsmacked looks between Merlin, Gwaine, the phone, and each other. And Merlin looked like he was about to keel straight over. “One last question, mate, then I’ll let you get back to your beauty sleep.” Merlin make a small, choked sound. Gwaine grinned. “Was Merlin the best kiss you ever had? Cause he says you were his.” And he turned the phone around so Arthur would see Merlin, half-sitting-half-kneeling, looking for all the world like he was seriously considering killing Gwaine on the spot. But then his gaze shifted to the screen and everything except astonishment fell away.
“Oh my god, it’s really you,” he said weakly.
“Merlin?” Arthur’s voice was thick with shock.
“Oh my god,” Merlin repeated.
“I can’t believe I get to see this,” Gwen whispered.
“We’re going to tell this story at their wedding,” Freya whispered back.
Gwaine didn’t bother whispering. “I’m going to be best man for both of them.”
“You are NOT!” Merlin and Arthur shouted at the same time.