Behind Closed Doors (Merthur AU)

Chapter 14

**Content warning: BDSM heavy as well as light DDLB**

Arthur held onto Merlin's hand the entire way back to his place; it was like they were inseparable. Merlin couldn't help but squeeze Arthur's hand. He really didn't want to leave, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He let his thumb gently circle the back of Arthur's hand as they finally pulled up to his house.

Arthur let out a soft sigh as he put the car in park. "I'll see you later." He leaned over and kissed Merlin gently.

Merlin kissed back, keeping it slow and gentle, before he broke the kiss. "Bye, daddy." He slipped out of the car with a grin on his lips, heading into his house so he could get ready for the school day. He walked into the bathroom, looking into the mirror and his eyes were drawn to the dark purple marks on his skin. He smiled as he thought about the night prior before scouring for his mother's makeup. He did his best to cover up the marks; some of the darker ones still peeked through. He got into some normal clothing and he fixed up his hair. Once he was satisfied with how he looked, he grabbed his bag and headed off towards school.

The day went by quickly, just as Arthur had said, and Merlin even managed to get some of his homework done when he was tutoring with Arthur. After they finished up, Merlin made his way back home. He prepared himself something to eat in the kitchen before walking to his bedroom. As he picked at the sandwich he had made, he looked over seeing Arthur's shirt lying across his chair. He smiled as the memories flooded his mind again and an idea struck him, a wide grin spreading across his lips.

Merlin pulled off his clothing and grabbed the shirt, slipping it on. He looked over himself in his full length mirror and he smiled as the shirt fell to his mid-thigh, hiding just enough of him. He grabbed his phone and started to take pictures of himself, slowly growing more provocative with each photo. He looked over the photos, editing them to his liking before saving them all. Tomorrow was going to be quite interesting for them both. He plugged his phone in and doom scrolled until he fell asleep.

Arthur on the other hand, couldn't get Merlin off of his mind. Even as he was prepping for an exam he had planned for the next day, his mind would wander to a certain bratty boyfriend of his. It was a bit late as he finally got himself to bed and by morning, he woke up a tad later than usual. He decided to do just a small work out instead of a full run to save some time. After he showered, he ate a small breakfast and made some coffee to go; with everything accounted for he finally made his way to work. He was excited to see Merlin again, though he hoped Merlin would take the exam well and with few distractions.

Merlin was rather excited to see Arthur as well - though maybe not for such wholesome reasons. He took a look at himself in the mirror and noticed that the worse of the marks had started to fade, so he just grabbed one of his hoodies to help hide the marks fully. He left his house and made it to the school, heading straight for Arthur's classroom. He knew Arthur was planning a test, but he had already prepared for it with a bunch of notes written on his desk. He scribbled them out when Arthur wasn't looking during tutoring.

Arthur did his rounds and checked the desks individually to make sure they were clean and no one was attempting to cheat. When he stopped by Merlin's desk he raised his eyebrows reading over the messily scribbled notes to help him remember key events in the book they had read. Arthur couldn't help but smile at Merlin's attempt. Of course, Merlin thought he would get away with it and Arthur had no intentions of punishing him for it. He knew Merlin was often distracted lately and he felt some guilt about that.

Merlin stepped into the classroom and saw Arthur standing by his desk. He walked over to his desk to take his seat. "Good morning, Mr. James," he said quietly looking up at him with a sheepish smile.