Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/4406618.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Merlin_(TV)
  Relationship:
      Merlin/Mordred_(Merlin), Merlin/Arthur_Pendragon
  Character:
      Merlin_(Merlin), Mordred_(Merlin), Arthur_Pendragon_(Merlin), Morgana_
      (Merlin), Percival_(Merlin), Gwaine_(Merlin)
  Additional Tags:
      Underage_-_Freeform, Underage_Sex, Infidelity
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-07-23 Chapters: 1/? Words: 1446
****** Infidelity II ******
by Shackles1978
Summary
     Mordred was content to pine over his crush from afar, and never make
     contact, but life had other plans.
Notes
     I kept trying to delete the first chapter and put the new one up but
     it didn't work so I'm just making this a "sequel". Enjoy the edited
     version!
See the end of the work for more notes
Chapter One
Mordred stared at his reflection in the mirror. A dark bruise was forming under
his right eye and a finger came up to poke at it. He winced as pain sparked and
withdrew the finger. Mordred looked at himself one more time before sighing in
exasperation and heading towards the kitchen. He opened the freezer roughly,
the door swinging open and grabbed a bag of frozen peas.
Kicking a chair back from the table, he sat down heavily. He hissed at the
first touch of the peas to his eyes before the cold started to numb the pain.
The morning had started off so well, he had hoped the rest of his day would
follow suit. Mordred's jaw clenched as he remembered his classmates. The slurs
they shouted, shortly followed by fists. His breathing quickened and Mordred
quickly changed his thought to those of that morning.
Every morning before school he got coffee and breakfast at a little cafe before
school. And every morning so did Merlin. Mordred had never met him, but there
was something about the older man. He had first seen Merlin on his first day of
school. He was behind the older man. Merlin had ordered a black coffee with
cream and a sugared cinnamon bagel.
At first, Mordred had been enraptured with his voice. Merlin had been on the
phone, speaking in a thick, British accent. The huskiness of it had caught of
Mordred's attention, and without meaning to he listened in. But the talk of
work bored him and he had soon got lost in Merlin's mellow tones.
But none of that had prepared him for when Merlin had turned around. He had
been frozen, and looked like a total asshole. A blinding white smile, and
crinkles that only emphasized his deep blue eyes more made Mordred's brain
short circuit. The man had given him an uncertain smile and Mordred had
stuttered. Thankfully, the cashier had called next and had saved him from
further embarrassment.
The moment was seared into his brain. Anytime he thought about approaching
Merlin, the room felt hot and it got harder to breath. But he was working on
it. He would get the courage. One day.
A door slamming startled him out of his daydream. Lights turned on in the
kitchen and Mordred groaned, covering his good eye.
"What are you doing sitting in the dark?" Morgana asked. Before he could
answer, she let out a shriek. "What in the world happened to your eye?"
Mordred removed his hand and glared at her. "Could you keep it down? My head
hurts."
Morgana raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, waiting for an answer. He
sighed and picked at a loose string on his jeans. "I ran into a locker. Total
klutz, right?" He shrugged a shoulder and looked down.
She pursed her lips. "We have company tonight. When they're gone, I expect you
to tell me the truth."
Mordred squawked. "What? What company?"
"I told you! My half-brother and some friends. You remember Arthur? Well, he
has a boyfriend and he wants us to meet him. I thought it would be good for you
to meet everyone else, too. We discussed this last week!"
"We did not!" Mordred huffed. The day was just getting worse. He had hoped he
would be able to do his homework and go to bed early, but now he would have to
socialize.
Morgana's eyes softened. She sat down next to him and put a hand on his
shoulder, rubbing gently. "You've had a rough day. I can cancel. What do you
say we order pizza and have a movie marathon? Just the two of us?" She smiled
gently. Mordred wanted nothing more than to agree, but he couldn't. This dinner
meant something to his aunt.
He shook his head. "Why don't we rain check for this weekend?" Her smile
widened.
"Deal. Now, go shower."
~
At a quarter to six, Mordred sat on the couch next to Morgana. She was dressed
beautifully in a dark blue sweater and jeans. Her black hair was curled and her
make up was light, with just a touch of pink lip gloss.
Mordred looked horrible. He couldn't find anything that looked good on him, and
even though Morgana assured him the light blue t-shirt and black jeans suited
him well, he disagreed. If the guests weren't going to arrive soon, he would
have continued trying to find an outfit. As it was, he was on the couch and
freaking out. His fingers shook as he grabbed his glass. The water sloshed and
threatened to spill and he brought it to his lips. A little bit dribbled out
and he groaned internally. Oh god, what if he made a mess at dinner? Everyone
would look at him. They would know, know how much of an idiot he is. How much
of a child he is.
Taking deep breaths, he concentrated on relaxing his body. He tightened and
then relaxed his feet before moving onto his calves. Next his thighs, then onto
his abdomen and all way up to his shoulders before going back down. He took
another deep breath and a sip of his water.
Tonight would be fine. He just had to believe it.
A hand landed on his arm, causing him to jump. Morgana's concerned eyes locked
into his and he gave her a weary smile. The doorbell rang before she could ask
any questions. Shooting him one last concerned look, she got up to let the
guests in.
Voices filtered in from the entryway and five people walked into the living
room, voices getting louder. Mordred's eyes widened. It was Merlin. Holy shit,
it was Merlin!
He became aware of the absence of silence and looked around to see everyone
staring at him. He gulped. Tentatively, Morgana asked, "Mordred, you alright?"
He gave a short nod.
"Well, you remember Arthur. This is his boyfriend, Merlin." Mordred felt his
heart stop before thumping hard and starting again. "And these are my friends,
Gwen and Lance." His gaze traveled down to Gwen and Lance's intertwined
fingers. Evidently, they were also a couple.
Mordred waved awkwardly and murmured hello. The group replied and sat down
around him. Morgan sat next to on the couch while Arthur and Merlin took the
loveseat next to them and Gwen and Lance sat in chairs Morgana had pulled in
before their arrival.
There was a moment of silence. Merlin smiled at him and Mordred felt the air go
out of him. He was acting like a teenage girl. Merlin gives him a seconds worth
of attention and he swoons.
"So Mordred," Merlin started, "Morgana said you were in school? What grade?"
"Yeah," he said quietly before clearing his throat and speaking louder. "Uh,
yeah. I'm a senior. I turn eighteen in a few months."
"Oh, so you're seventeen." A look passed through Merlin's eyes that Mordred
couldn't decipher. His mouth twisted nervously for a second before returning to
its brightened state.
"Remember how much fun we had when we were seventeen?," Arthur whispered in
Merlin's direction. The rest of the adults groaned and the couple blushed as
the
realized everyone had heard.
"Come on, now. We have a child in our midsts!" Lance joked. Mordred swallowed
down a retort, knowing it would just confirm Lance's statement.
Something beeped in the kitchen and Morgana excused herself. The group stared
at each other and Mordred wondered if it was because of him. Arthur and Merlin
started whispering to each other. Merlin laughed and gazed at Arthur with open
adoration.
Mordred's heart clench and just as he was wondering how much of this he could
take, a voice caught his attention. It was Gwen. "Hey, where'd you go to?"
"Oh, sorry." He winced apologetically. "I just space out sometimes. Did you ask
me something."
"Yeah. Morgana said you liked poetry. Well, Lance and I go to this really cool
Poetry reading every Tuesday. We were wondering if you would like to go with
us? It'll be fun!" Her face was open, honest. There was no reason to believe
she was lying. And Morgana would be upset if he declined.
He fidgeted, his fingers playing with each other. "Sure. I'd love to." Her
stature relaxed and she looked relieved. He wondered what about him made
everyone so tense.
"Dinner's ready," Morgana stood in the doorway, smiling brightly. Everyone
stood up and headed towards the dining room. They chatted amicably and made
comments about how good the food smelled. They all had smiles and looked
genuinely happy to be there. Mordred wondered why it felt like he was walking
to his death.
End Notes
     Thank you guys so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!