Hi, it's like 3am and this is filled with errors so like tell me where lmao.
Okay bye enjoy!

~~~~
"Hey, it's going to be alright," reassured Merlin, a calming hand on Arthur's shoulder.

The blond was fidgeting with his fingers, tapping his foot on the floor, biting his lips while staring at the phone laying on the table.

To you, it might seem like an ordinary object. It might be useful, entertaining or life-saving.
But to Arthur, it was the devil's child.

He dreaded the phone call he had to make more than anything in his life.
Well, that's not true.
The blond had been more nervous when proposing to Merlin.

Luckily, their wedding was next summer.
Merlin had taken care of announcing it to their closest friend and family.

Except Arthur's father.
Uther was another cup of tea; a dark, cold, bitter cup of tea.

"What if he doesn't answer?," asked Arthur, his eyes still stuck on the phone.

"Then you'll leave a message. If you want, we can write everything on paper," proposed Merlin, handing the perilous object to his fiancé.

The blond shook his head.
He stared own at the screen for a few moments, then his thumb brushed the call button.

He heard a ringtone and waited.
I could hang up right now, Arthur thought.
He could hang up and call back later if he wanted.

But too late, a familiar click and a familiar voice greeted him.
"Arthur! How are you doing?," Uther asked, gleeful.

The blond shallowed back something stuck in his throat.
"I'm good, thank you. Actually, I have something to tell you. It's uh... very important,

"Go on..."

"I know it's sounds bad, but I promise it's not. Well, it depends..."

Arthur sighed, Merlin's hand softly resting on his shoulder, like a loyal pet.

"Listen, Arthur. You sound very preoccupied. I think we should discuss this whatever you want face-to-face. What about you come here, we sit and talk with a cup of coffee," interrupted the father, obviously concerned.

"Of course. I'll be here in two hours. See you," and with that, Arthur hung up.

Once he was sure the line was cut, the man let out a breath he didn't knew he was holding.

"How did it go?," asked Merlin, a soft smile on his delicate features.

"Not as planned. He want to talk face-to-face about it... Couldn't been more worse. Now I'll get to see his disappointed and angry face," he groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

Merlin stroked his back, each stroke filled with love and caring.

"Don't say that. Your father can be... a bit traditional, but he loves you too much to be mad. He'll be shocked, that's certain, but he'll get around... someday," he said, trying to help.

His boyfriend was right, Arthur knew. He knew his father would not hate him, nor would he hate Merlin.
Uther would be sceptic, ask a lot of question, nod silently and sip his coffee.

But the blond was afraid his father would burst in anger, browns furrowed.
He would yell at Arthur, tell him how much of a disgrace he was.
He would tell him how his mother's sacrifice had been useless.
Tell him he wished Arthur's wasn't his son.

So as clumsy Merlin's words were, they did help.
Arthur was always impressed by how his fiancé was able to say the right things at the right time, while also always screwing things up in a way or another.

You could tie up Merlin to a chair, in an empty room filled with mattress and pillows; that he'd still find a way to hurt himself or burn the building down.

And Arthur wasn't making things up!
Merlin once started a fire in their apartment because he wanted a candle bath, knocked the candle over, setting the dry towels ablaze.
Fortunately, Arthur had been close enough to hear his boyfriend's panicking and ran to the rescue.
No casualties, just a couple of burned towels.

And that was one of the many reasons why he loved the clumsy man.
The blond was determined to show the world how much he loved Merlin...

My father included, thought the Pendragon, sitting in front of his father, a cup of coffee pressured under his sweaty palms.

"What is it you wish to talk about, my son?," the old man asked, a curious look his face.

Uther waited a moment. Arthur felt like his father's eyes were piercing through his skin.
He felt exposed, insecure.

Gulping with apprehension, Arthur raised his hand up, showing off the silver ring on his finger.

Uther eyes instantly widen, nearly comically. His skin smelled to glow suddenly, his eyebrows going up.

"Arthur! You are engaged?," Arthur nodded, throat tight, " I don't know why you were so nervous, this is wonderful!"

The blond shyly smiled.
Well, at least the old man was happy for him, that was it.
Arthur always knew his father had a bit of an obsession with lineage and wedding. But he never pushed Arthur to marry young, or ever tried to set him up with someone.

Uther respected Arthur's choice and would never pressure him to settle down. And the blond was grateful for it, oh so grateful.

But his father was too enchanted, stunned by happiness to notice Arthur's stiff shoulders and tight lips.

He then opened his mouth again, to ask what Arthur feared most;
"Who's the lucky lady? I don't recall you telling me about someone lately. Be sure you're not rushing into anything, like I did," added Uther, obviously referencing his disastrous attempt to re-marry with Catrina, who happened to have a beautiful face but an ugly heart.

Arthur stammered. How could he announce it was not a lady?
Maybe like Morgana did: "Bold of you to assume I'm dating a man, Arthur", she had said, a mocking smile on her face.
How like Merlin did:"Hey, Gaius. Remember Arthur, Uther's son? Well, we're engaged," he told the old doctor, in a full sentence, without hesitation.

How was Arthur suppose to tell his father he would not have blood related grandchildren?
How was he suppose to say there would not be a stunning white dress but a beautiful black tuxedo instead?

Arthur had not told his father he liked both men and woman, he had kept it a secret for 26 years, and Merlin hidden for four, so Uther could not possibly consider it to be a man.

Surely, Arthur could've stayed with Gwen. But he didn't wanted to marry her because it was expected.
Gwen was amazing, of course! She was beautiful, kind of heart, passionate and so more many things.
But, she wasn't what Arthur wanted.

However, when Merlin had first arrived in his life, a few years back, he was still dating Gwen.
He was undoubtedly attracted to the boy, despise his calm and ongoing relationship.

Then, Lancelot came in the picture.
After that, it was history.
Lancelot had found himself to be all what Arthur wasn't.

So much that he wasn't even mad when Gwen broke up with him.
He could remember it very well;

"Arthur, you are an amazing man. Our relationship is peaceful, calm and easy to be in. But... I don't think this is what we both want. For the past weeks, I've noticed we don't even see each other that much.
I've seen how you look at Merlin.
And I'm happy you found him, for he can give you more than I," she said, eyes watery.

The blond had listened in silence, his hand covering his mouth.
This was expected, it had to be.
He also saw the passion, love and devotion his Lancelot's eyes every time they landed on Gwen, full of unsaid promises.
Of course, the man had kept himself in check, out of respect for Arthur.

He was mad, or maybe jealous.
He was mad because he wouldn't be able to give those eyes to Gwen, but rather Merlin.
But of course, those would go unnoticed for a while, because Lancelot had Merlin's eyes stuck on him every time he walked into the room.

At first, it was unnerving, making Arthur want to punch Lancelot's dreamy face.
But after a while, Merlin's eyes strayed away, coming back to him.

So he felt no shame in asking out Merlin a couple of months after Gwen and Lancelot

So when he heard those now-said promises out loud a few days after, he smiled.
It was a sad smile, because Arthur knew he could never say all those things to Gwen with such a loving gaze.

But at the same time, a happy smile, because Gwen had finally found someone worth of her love.

In plus of being genuinely a fantastic guy, Lancelot was extremely handsome.
He would rival the beauty of Aphrodite, or anyone really.
But he wouldn't be a prat about it, modest.

Arthur did surprise himself nearly tripping on a garbage bin, totally focused on the way Lancelot had bitten his bottom lip in frustration.
This was probably the hottest thing he had ever witnessed.
Then of course, he dated Merlin, and now Lancelot was kinda "heh".
Still hot, just not as attractive as Merlin's high cheeks, morning hair, brewing coffee with humming, wearing tracks pants and loose t-shirt Arthur could swear was his.

So fast forward a couple of years, cold sweat running down the blond's neck.

"Do you remember Gaius' assistant; Merlin...?," he nearly whispered.

Uther's smile went away quicker than it came.
"Yes...?," he answered, hesitant.

Arthur knew what his father was thinking of.
"Oh, maybe he'll say;" Well, he introduced me to his sister", "He wanted to make me meet his lady friend", or something like that."
He was aware that his father would think about those first, then realized.

But after what seemed like a thousand years, Uther did not realize.
That's how it's going to be, huh?, he thought.

"Father," he started, his eyes darting to anywhere except Uther's face," Merlin and I... we... we're... I don't know how to say this... I," but before he could continue, realization dawned on the man's face.

His eyebrows softly lowered, his smile coming back so slightly, maybe even cringing.
Arthur was waiting for it, the disappointment, the hurt and painful words.

Instead, Uther spoke in a soft voice after drinking some of his coffee and clearing his throat.

"When we learned that your mother couldn't have children, we were devastated. For a long time, I thought this was it, that we could never have a family.
Then, my doctor told me about ways of having a baby that was ours, even in the particular condition we were," he took a moment, drinking more of his coffee.

He didn't appeared mad, or shocked. In fact, he didn't appeared anything.
That was the worst part; not being able to know how his father was feeling.

"When I saw your mother holding you in her arms, I melted. You were so tiny, barely holding onto life. But yet, you persisted and lived another day after the day... Your mother did not. As you know, she fell sick, and passed away.
I was heartbroken. I thought my world was never going to be the same without her. I gave up on trying to pull myself together, I neglected you for a few years..."

Arthur's eyes were watery.

"But everything changed when one day you brought me a daisy, you picked up yourself from the garden and you handed it to me and said: "Dad, I give you this flower, to make you happy. Morgana is always happy when other boys gives her flowers, so maybe it'll make you happy too".

That day, I realized my world was not over, because I had you and Morgana, whose father had been drafted and sadly died. She had lost a loved one, yet she kept smiling and taking care of you like her own brother.
If she was able too, why couldn't I?
That day I realized how much you meant to me, no matter what..."

Uther put his hand on Arthur, who was listening very closely. He still didn't know what to expect.

"I promised myself to love you no matter what. I am proud to call you my son, no matter what.
I love you, no matter who you love, Arthur. I'll always love you and be proud of you," he said, in a loving tone.

The blond raised his head, looking into his father's eyes.
"And if Merlin has to be a part of your life, I welcome him with open arms. I know he will make you happy and take good care of you. Your happiness matter more to me than anything, and I am glad you told me about him," he added, a loving smile on his lips.

Arthur broke in tears he had been holding. Tears of fear, relief, happiness and whatnot.
But he was happy.
Happy to know his father would welcome Merlin, that he would still love Arthur not matter what.

And it's with a smile and red puffy eyes that Arthur went back to his house, Merlin awaiting.
It was suck a relief to know his father would be at the wedding. Uther also offered to paid the wedding entirely, since Merlin's mother had not the means to.

But Arthur declined, saying Merlin and him would pay it most. After a long period of argument, Uther agreed to pay no more than 40%.

But of course, the man could not stop himself and payed the whole menu behind the newly wedded's back and gave one of the most expensive gifts, accompanied with small purple pastel onesie with a green dinosaur on it at the bottom of the box.

"I think your father may want grandchildren, and fast," snickered Merlin, putting all the expensive cutlery on the coffee table.

"What makes you think that, love?," asked Arthur, kissing the side of his head, rolling his eyes at the sight of that baby pyjama.

"Oh, you know, just a hunch," Merlin answered, leaning on Arthur.
"Well, at least he had the decency to pay the whole menu behind our backs. We kinda owe him for that."

"You're right, I wouldn't mind a few children running down the stairs in the morning while we make breakfast. But that's only because my father wants," he played along, kissing Merlin's neck, holding him close.

"Of course, only for Uther," he replied, a smile on his face, quickly covered by Arthur's own lips.

After a moment, they broke out for air and to clean up all the gifts.

"I love you, Merlin."

A kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too, Arthur..."