Arthur
Gwaine had already been waiting for me as I joined him behind the stables. The horse that Clearwater was going to purchase was already tied to the fence. Her name was Ciara, and she was a beautiful piebald Mustang breed.
I caressed her forehead and muzzle for a moment. We've had her for 5 years now, and I had to admit I was a little sentimental. I'd seen her grow up, and she had become a wonderful horse.
Gwaine had been training her for the last year and a half, and by looking at his face, I knew that he had a hard time giving her away.
But that was the circle of life. And I knew that Clearwater's daughter was gonna take great care of her.
That's when I heard the sound of a car approaching and stopping in front of the gate. It must be him.
I left Gwaine with Ciara, well aware that he would need this moment to say goodbye. He shot me a short, but very thankful look, and I left to open the gate for our client.
As soon as I walked around the edge of the barn, I saw the black truck with the huge trailer behind it.
Clearwater took off his sunglasses as he saw me and waved with a friendly grin. I'd known him since basically forever, our dads were close friends.
I'd always seen him as a very friendly man, a little rough around the edges and sometimes a little too loud, but overall I really like him.
He shook my hand and I painfully noticed that his handshake was as firm and strong as ever.
"Howdy, young fellow. How's ya old man?"
I chuckled, as I immediately thought of Merlin. Some people did indeed say Howdy. But I was never gonna tell him that.
"Good good, hard working as ever!", I replied, earning myself a warm laughter from Clearwater.
"Well, as ya probably know, I'm here to pick up my new prize-winning mare. Is she prepared already?"
"Of course, sir. She's waiting right behind the barn."
A movement of my arm indicated him to follow me, and that's what he did. After a few seconds of small talk we stood next to Gwaine and Ciara.
"Ah what a beautiful horse. Amy will not believe her eyes!"
Amy was Clearwater's daughter, the typical perfect blonde horse girl. Ciara would probably be gifted to her.
"Is she gonna bring her to nationals?", Gwaine asked Clearwater, a sublte worry in his voice.
"That's her plan, yes. She's surely gonna bring that thing home!"
I was about to reply with a smile, but Gwaine didn't seem happy at all.
"Mh. Please tell Amy not to overpower her too much. She's still very young and an injury would be very fatal for her. Also, as you know, she hasn't fully completed her training, so if you would please not be to harsh on her."
I nodded. Gwaine was right. And as I thought about it for a little longer, horses participating in big competitions from a very young age on often suffered severe consequences afterwards. In general, prize winning horses often weren't taken care of in the right way.
Clearwater simply laughed: "Amy knows what she's doing, Ciara will be in good hands and I will make sure of that."
Now Gwaine and I both answered with a smile.
"So, are we bringing her into the trailer then? We'll fill out the business contracts afterwards if it's alright for ya Pendragon?"
I nodded.
Gwaine and Clearwater were still going through a quick medical check to make sure Ciara was fit for transport, as I saw Merlin coming out of the stables with a full wheelbarrow.
He was so concentrated not to drop it, that he didn't even notice me and the others.
I watched him get rid of the dirty straw and the horse droppings and chuckled as I saw the slightly disgusted expression on his face.
Then, he suddenly turned around and looked right at me. I immediately looked at the ground.
How embarassing.
He probably thought I'd been staring, which was absolutely not the case.
When I looked back up, he was strolling towards me, a cheeky smile on his face.
I blushed. I had NOT been staring.
"Merlin, finished already?"
"Yes sire, of course sire, what shall I do next sire?", he replied, and his smile turned into a wide grin.
Clearwater and Gwaine, who had been busy talking about Ciara and checking up on her, both turned around at the sound of Merlin's voice.
Gwaine waved enthusiastically. But when Merlin saw Mr. Clearwater, the cheekiness in his face disappeared all at once. He instantly became quiet, serious and a little shy.
"Who is this young lad?", Clearwater asked, reaching out his hand to greet Merlin.
Merlin decided to reply for himself:
"I'm Merlin. I'm helping out on the farm for a few weeks. And you must be Sir Clearwater, if I understand correctly?"
"Ya got it right boy! 'S a good thing that ya're helpin' out Arthur. He's got three things in his head: Nonsense, beer and girls. So he can use someone who gets him back on track. Ain't it right Arthur?"
Merlin and Gwaine started laughing slightly uncomfortably . I didn't and simply knocked my elbow into Merlin's side.
That's when Gwaine joined the conversation: "Girls? I haven't seen you with a lot of girls recently, Arthur."
I didn't know what to respond.
But Gwaine didn't leave me any time to think.
"Although, you and Merlin seem to spend every free minute together. Am I missing something, or?"
Merlin next to me turned a bright shade of red and looked to the ground instantly, trying to hide from the world.
I shot Gwaine and angry look and rolled my eyes. That idiot always had to make jokes.
It remained quiet for a short time. And the moment I wanted to open my mouth, I was cut by Clearwater's sharp words:
"Gwaine y'are a funny dude, but my man Arthur here could never decide to be gay. And I'm sure Merlin wouldn't either. They're such fine looking young men, you would notice if they were dirty f*gs. Seriously y'all, I don't even understand why these sick people exist."
The reaction to this was silence. Conplete silence.
It felt like my body was in shock and couldn't react.
And the only thing I could think about was Merlin.
Merlin had to listen to this. Merlin was probably very upset. Because Merlin was gay.
And before I knew what I was doing, I simply laughed. I didn't know why, and I didn't know how, but I was laughing. And so was Clearwater.
Gwaine and Merlin were both standing there, Gwaine's mouth wide open, Merlin's face pale as a drape.
And that's when I tried to put out all of the emotions boiling in me: Anger, disappointment, shock, disgust and an ounce of sadness.
It all became a big blur fading into black.
The only thing I thought about was bringing Ciara into the trailer and finishing the transaction, so that Clearwater would leave this farm.
So I turned around, untied Ciara from the fence and started walking.
"Come on, let's get this horse into the trailer.", were the only words coming out of my mouth.
And so, I walked away from Merlin and Gwaine, and I tried to think about Ciara only. But the image of Merlin's facial ecpression after hearing Clearwater's words didn't leave my mind, not even for a singke second.
