Heartquake

Heartquake 3

“Can’t it wait? I’d rather make a good impression in front of her,” Arthur says.

“It’s quite important, actually,” Merlin protests. But before he can tell him, the door is open with an apologetic-looking Gaius.

“Sorry, she was impatient,” he says.

“Yes, she gets that way when she’s hungry,” Merlin gives a weak smile.

Then Arthur sees her. It isn’t some middle-aged aunt or uncle, it’s a small girl. He can see the family resemblance, though, the eyes, the cheekbones and lips, traces of the same smile.

“Arthur, meet Emeline,” Merlin brings her closer to his side.

“Hi, are you my daddy’s boss?” Emeline asks.

“No, I’m Merlin’s boss,” Arthur shakes his head.

“Ah, yes, about that,” Merlin says. “This is my daughter. I’m a father. Ta-da!”

Arthur casts his eyes from Em to Merlin and finally says, “Ta-da? Gods, you’re an imbecile!”

Merlin frowns at him and looks down at his daughter, “Go wait outside, Em. I’ll be right there.” Em grudgingly leaves her father’s side and goes with Gaius outside of Arthur’s chambers.

“You really don’t have any experience with kids, do you?” Merlin asks his master.
“I’ve seen quite a fair bit of them, actually, kissed some heads of some babies,” he shrugs and says it like it’s enough.

“You don’t yell in the presence of a four-year-old, Arthur! Especially not little girls, they’ll cry and think it’s all their fault,” he crosses his arms.

“I’m sorry,” the prince says genuinely. “So, you’re a father.”

“I’m a father,” he says, still a bit mad.

“You never told me.”

“It never came up.” Arthur looks at him. “What? It hasn’t! It’s not like you ever asked me ‘hey, Merlin, do you have any kids?’ If you did, I would’ve told you.”

“I suppose I never really ask about you.”

“Don’t feel bad about it. Honestly, I’ve gotten used to it,” Merlin’s lips curl up in a small smile.

Arthur genuinely looks like he’s sorry that he hasn’t asked more of Merlin but supposes he shouldn’t, after all. Merlin’s just a servant, surely Arthur would not bother himself with questions of his manservant’s personal life and the queries of whether or not he’s bedded a woman enough to procreate a child.

Still, it brings up some sort of odd feeling at the pit of his stomach when he sees Arthur like this. Must be the shock again.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to spend the afternoon with my daughter,” Merlin says.

“Yes, yes, go ahead,” Arthur smiles a little. As Merlin opens the door, Arthur stops him by saying, “I’d like to meet her again, under better circumstances. I won’t yell next time, I give you my word.”

“It’s up to her, but, I suppose, yeah, you could,” he nods, leaving the room and wondering why it matters so much to Arthur to make a good impression on Merlin’s daughter.

Em is on a high after they’ve eaten. She tells him about Gaius’ patients and the people she’s met, and notes about how nice all of them are.

“And I met the Lady Morgana. She’s pretty,” she says.

“Yes, she is,” he nods.

“All the people here are pretty, Daddy, just like you. Arthur’s pretty, too. He’s a bit mean, though,” she pouts.

“Yes, well, I did warn you. But he’s nice once you get to know him and he wants to see you again. Maybe you could give him another chance,” he picks her up in his arms.

“Okay,” she nods and leans her head on his shoulder. “But he better not be so mean to you.”

“Don’t worry, Em,” he kisses the top of her head.