Merlin was having a better day than he had in ages. It was a Friday, his shift had ended at a reasonable time (Nine o'clock), and he had managed to grab a seat on the subway ride home. The only thing lacking was that he didn't have anyone to spend the weekend with.
How are you? He scrawled on his arm, the notes of music he had put on his phone swirling in his head. His earphones were quite old, and the wire was stripped in a few places, but they still worked perfectly.
It was a few minutes before he received a reply. You seem happy today. What's the occasion?
Merlin grinned. One person he could always depend on to reply was his soulmate, and he had never been disappointed. I got off my shift early today!! No shifts on the weekend either! I am going to sleep the whole time.
Lucky you. And while we are at it, lucky me too! A three-hour meeting that I was supposed to attend got cancelled. Early night for me too! It was followed by a smiley face.
Are you fine? You don't seem yourself today. Merlin frowned. His soulmate was uncharacteristically happy today.
*Growls* Fuck you. Is this better?
Merlin chuckled. Yes.
The song ended, and a new one started. He was aware that he was receiving a few odd looks, with the way he was writing on his hand and giggling. The looks had lessened as he sat there, but he still got one or two, mostly by the people who had just entered the train.
He sat chatting with his soulmate for a few more minutes, during which he got to know that he (yes, his soulmate was a he, it was one of the first facts he had got to know) was currently walking to the tube station and was going to catch it home. He went off soon after that, saying that he was at the station now and would talk to him later. Merlin wondered briefly if he would board the same train he was on, but discarded the idea quickly. There were dozens of trains in London, and his soulmate hadn't told him where he would be getting on.
Honestly, the only concrete thing he knew about his soulmate's appearance was that he was blond, and had blue eyes. All other times he had tried to elaborate happened in a vague language that didn't leave Merlin any more informed than he was before.
The song began to slow down, as did the train. It ended just as the train stopped, and the doors opened just as another one started. It was a rock number by a band he had never heard before, and he felt his adrenaline spike as he watched half a dozen people walk in. Three men, a couple, and another woman. None were pretty memorable or good looking, so Merlin went back on his phone to read the study on genetics he had started in the afternoon that day.
He fully expected the train to start moving again, but then half a minute passed and it didn't. Brow furrowed, he looked up, just to see someone that hadn't entered before when he had looked up unravel a purple knitted scarf from his neck. It was definitely a man, Merlin deduced from the figure, broad shouldered and strong. He had a beanie over his head that obscured his hair (except for a few wisps of blond hair), but the thick black overcoat was opened at the front to reveal a business suit underneath. It was all in all a very odd outfit, but understandable. It had been a particularly cloudy and cold day today, even by London's standards.
The man was facing away from him, so Merlin could not see much, but what he could see painted a picture that was something from his wet fantasies from college. Granite-hewn jaw, roman nose; all in all a very fantastic picture. He could have stared at him all day (or until one of them got off the train), and was fully prepared to do so. Unfortunately for him, the seat beside him on the right was emptied just as the train began to slow, and somehow the blond managed to take it. How he managed to get here from the opposite side of the train in such a short time, Merlin did not know, but was incredibly disheartened by the fact he would not be able to ogle him.
At least, he would be in close contact with him. He thought, as the blond sat down beside him. Maybe they could talk?
That idea was squashed as the man pulled out his earphones and plugged them in his phone. Settling back against the wall of the train, he went out of Merlin's peripheral vision.
Merlin sighed, mildly disappointed. Sure, he had a soulmate, but it wasn't like he just had to be with him. Sure, the universe had decided that they were made for each other, but Merlin honestly liked a challenge. Maybe he could date a few people before he met him? He had thought.
Apparently the universe did not accept his philosophy, because everyone he dated (and that was a very short list) quickly backed out the relationship when they learnt he had a soulmate. Honestly, humans had no qualms about breaking the law or ruining the earth, but when they learnt that their boyfriend had a predestined significant other, suddenly they developed a conscience.
Merlin sighed. This was not the time to be bitter about his life. (Or his soulmate. Very few people had the chance of not having to hunt for their other half, he had been reminded often, mostly by people who were soulmate-less, so he couldn't take them seriously) He clicked the ballpoint pen in his hand, fully intending to carry on the conversation with his soulmate, when the lights went out.
And the train slowed and eventually stopped.
Merlin had never thought about the subway itself very much, but in the total darkness, he could not help but think about the hundreds of tons of soil on top of him and how it could collapse at any moment and crush him. (No matter that it hadn't for a good quarter of a century since the tunnels had been made. Weren't earthquakes unpredictable?)
Merlin's train of thought of his impending doom (pun very much intended) screeched to a halt (another pun that was very much intended) when he realised that his seat neighbour (the cute blond one) had stiffened. Normally Merlin wouldn't be bothered, but his doctor instincts decided to kick in at that moment. Maybe it had something to do with the fact Merlin wouldn't mind very much if he had to comfort him.
With that thought in mind, Merlin pulled out his phone to switch off the music that was still blaring in his battered earphones. The bright light assaulted him like a sledgehammer, so he quickly paused the music and shut it off. Pulling out one of his earphones, he quietly whispered "Are you okay?" To the man beside him. Merlin made a split second decision and touched the man's arm, his touch feather-light because he wasn't sure if it would be welcomed. It was quite dark, but there was enough illumination from other people's phones for him to see that the man had turned towards him and that his eyes were wide in shock.
A few seconds passed and the man didn't move away, so Merlin properly placed his hand on his arm and repeated his question. Receiving no reply, his brow furrowed, and then he realised the man couldn't hear him. The bloody earphones were still in. Merlin plucked one out of his ears and asked if he was okay for the third time. This apparently jerked him up as he quickly shook himself and chuckled nervously.
"Uh.. Yeah. I don't do well in small cramped places, really."
Merlin snorted, moving his hand away. "Well then mate, the tube isn't the best place for you to be. As you have probably realised by now, it is underground. And pretty cramped."
The man chuckled again, and shook his head. "I don't usually. It was always too late when I get off work for me to catch the tube, they don't run that late into the night. I take a cab in the morning."
Merlin nodded, and quietly debated going back to his music. But when again would he be able to talk to this man? Never again, probably. He should make the most of it now, even if he couldn't see his face properly. His doctor instinct also told him that the man would be comfortable if someone was talking to him.
Who was he to argue with that?
Merlin smiled, even if the man could not see it, and continued. "Sounds like a tough life."
"Well, that's a corporate job for you."
Both of them chatted for a few more minutes, until the train started moving again. To Merlin's dismay, the lights did not come back on. An announcement informed them that the train had suffered through some technical errors and the lights had malfunctioned. The train would need to be emptied at the next station.
Merlin sighed. Looks like his perfect day wasn't going to be that perfect anymore.
****
The first message came when Arthur was walking down the street in front of his office building. It said How are you?
The messy scrawl would be a challenge for anyone to read, but luckily Arthur had had a lot of practice. A plus point about that was that no one one would understand what was written if they ever glanced at his arm.
Arthur grinned, and pulled out a marker from his pocket where he always kept one for this particular occasion. You seem happy today. What's the occasion? He wrote back. It wasn't often his soulmate wrote to see how he was, he normally just delved into stories of how his day was and his dickish patients and coworkers. Arthur was secretly glad that his soulmate was a doctor, so he would know whenever Arthur was hurt and how to fix him. One of the perks of the soulmate bond.
It took a second for the answer to come. I got off my shift early today!! No shifts on the weekend either! I am going to sleep the whole time.
Arthur chuckled to himself. At first the overuse of exclamation marks used to annoy him, but that was when he didn't understand his gift or his soulmate. Now he found them indescribably endearing.
Lucky you. And while we are at it, lucky me too! A three-hour meeting that I was supposed to attend got cancelled. Early night for me too! Arthur wrote back, grinning. He had a night off, something he hadn't gotten for months. He wasn't going to work at the weekend either. Father could stick his complaints where the sun didn't shine.
Are you fine? You don't seem yourself today. At first glance, the words could be mistaken for concern, but Arthur had been dealing with this man for over a decade. It was almost certainly a taunt. And he knew what exactly. He seemed a little too happy too.
*Growls* Fuck you. Is this better? He wrote back. An answer in the affirmative came just a second later, and Arthur could just feel the cheeky smirk that would be in his soulmate's face.
Arthur shook his head at his arm, just as the lights to the tube station loomed in front of him. He quickly scribbled a note saying that he was at the station now and would talk to him later, and left it at that, not waiting for a reply.
It had been quite some time since he had travelled by the subway, and he hoped that his card still worked. To his delight, he realised that it did. It didn't take him long to get to the platform, but when he did, he realised with a sinking feeling that there was a train already there, and the doors were about to close. For a second Arthur debated waiting for the next train, but the display board told him that it would be another ten minutes before it arrived. He didn't want to wait that long. So he quickly waved to the people in the train and shouted at them to stop the train. A man noticed just as the doors were closing, and stuck a foot between the doors. They opened again, and Arthur deftly stepped in, throwing a grateful look and a thank you at the man. He smiled back before turning to his girlfriend.
Arthur looked around at the inside of the train, remembering the last time he was here. It was over a year ago, and it was the last train of the night, and he was travelling back home with Morgana when she announced her engagement with Leon. Arthur had nearly toppled off the seat in surprise.
Smiling at the memory, Arthur unravelled his scarf from his neck. It was pretty cold today, so he had taken an extra scarf and cap along with his coat when he had left his home that morning. It was quite warm in the carriage, so he decided to remove it. The cap stayed on, however. It wasn't uncomfortable.
He felt a few stares on him, but decided to ignore them. They were mostly appreciative anyway. He wondered what they would think if they realised that he was gay and taken. (Had a soulmate, actually, but what's the difference?)
Arthur pulled out his phone to occupy him, but kept an eye if any seat would be getting empty anytime soon. His eye fell on someone on the other side of the carriage. A middle aged man was closing his book and placing it inside his briefcase, a tell-tale sign that he was going to get off at the next stop. Quite a few people were eyeing the man (Or rather, the seat).
Oh hell no.
Arthur quickly moved across the carriage, and almost lunged at the seat when it was vacated. Almost being the key word. He landed quite gracefully, if he said so himself.
So engrossed was he in his task that he didn't realise he had a neighbour until he jostled into him. Arthur quickly snuck a glance. Black hair, chiselled face, and holy hell cheekbones. He felt as he had seen them before, but when a moment's contemplation did not yield any results, he went back to pulling his earphones out of his backpack. Plugging them in his phone, he leant back, fully intent on letting the music wash the stress of the week away.
It worked for a minute. Arthur didn't have anything to do, he didn't have a book to read, and didn't want to stare at his phone screen after all the time he spent on his laptop, so he decided to watch the passengers instead. It wasn't particularly interesting, most of the people were either engrossed in their phones or were having whispered conversations with someone else. A movement to his left dragged his attention to the black-haired man again. He had just sighed. A quick analysis showed him wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a sapphire-coloured button down. Casual yet formal, to some extent. His long pale fingers were fiddling with the wire of his old earphones, and his body was swaying almost imperceptibly to the music he was listening to.
As Arthur watched, the man seemingly came to a decision, as he clicked a pen he had not previously noticed. There was no kind of paper in sight, so the only logical conclusion was that he was going to write on his arm. Probably a soulmate. As expected, he started pulling up his left sleeve, but before Arthur could see anything else, the lights went out, and the train screeched to a halt barely a minute later.
It was at that moment Arthur realised why he hated the tube so much. He was claustrophobic, and being stuck in small places was honestly the worst thing that could happen to him. Add a bunch of people, and it was a recipe for disaster. Arthur could not help stiffen, though he narrowly missed having a panic attack.
He didn't know what to do, and was starting to have trouble breathing when something touched his left arm. It was feather-light, and Arthur wasn't sure if it had been there at all, if he had imagined it. Nevertheless, he whipped his head to his left, where, to his shock, he saw the black haired man looking right at him. A second later, the touch returned, and Arthur realised that it was the man putting a hand on his arm.
Through the haze of shock and dim illumination, he saw the man's brow furrow. A second later, an earphone was plucked from one of his ears, letting him hear what he was saying.
"Are you okay?" He said. Arthur shook himself a little, the fog clearing a bit at the sound. He chuckled nervously at being caught at such a position. "Uh.. Yeah. I don't do well in small cramped places, really."
The man snorted, moving his hand away. Arthur lowkey missed the comforting touch, even though he refused to admit it. "Well then mate, the tube isn't the best place for you to be. As you have probably realised by now, it is underground. And pretty cramped."
Arthur would have expected to end the conversation there with a nod, but apparently his mind decided that to keep talking was the best way to keep his mind off his predicament. "I don't usually. It was always too late when I get off work for me to catch the tube, they don't run that late into the night. I take a cab in the morning."
There was a moment before there was an answer, and Arthur panicked. Oh God! He should have cut the conversation before!
"Sounds like a tough life."
Arthur chuckled. "Well, that's a corporate job for you."
They talked for a few minutes more, and then the train started again. An announcement came over the intercom, which said that the lights had malfunctioned and that the train would be emptied at the next station. Arthur was a little disheartened, as he wanted to know what his interlocutor looked like. His side profile had looked quite promising. Perhaps at the station?
But his hopes were crushed when the man moved away from his seat before the lights from the station lit up the inside of the carriage. He told him that it was nice talking to him, and Arthur said it back, but when the doors opened, the man disappeared before Arthur had a chance to look at his face.