Chapter Text
Sodding weather, Arthur thought bitterly as he wiped sweat from his upper lip. Can’t pick a season, can it? Has to be winter one day and summer the next. I knew I should have worn the black cotton top.
It didn’t help that the Underground had been crammed full of people as usual and Arthur had felt more than a little claustrophobic. He’d been sweating through his shirt since he stepped into the carriage, and walking the last few streets to his office building in the blazing sun wasn’t much better.
It wasn’t that the temperature had got any higher than normal for a London summer, but rather that there was hardly a breeze, and not a cloud in the sky to provide the least bit of relief. Arthur would be subconsciously worrying about armpit stains the entire day.
Maybe there’ll be a meeting, he hoped as he neared the building. The conference room was always the same temperature as Antarctica, which was unbearable on any other day, but would be a blessing today.
He was just about to the pull open the glass door when another hand reached out to do the same. Arthur paused, looking at the owner of the hand, and found him to be a dark-haired bloke with deep blue eyes and sharp, angular features. Despite the hard lines of his jaw, cheekbones, and nose, his lips and smooth complexion made him appear rather gentle. Arthur felt for a moment as though he’d frightened some gaunt forest creature, especially given the way the man’s eyes looked wild and taken off-guard.
The pause had dragged on much too long, both of them awkwardly wondering who would grab hold of the door handle first, so Arthur took it upon himself, reaching out once again and pulling the door open.
“After you,” he said with a polite smile. The man’s lips did an odd twitching dance as he stepped into the building, like they were caught between a frown and a smile.
Arthur fully expected their encounter to end there, because he suspected the young man was there for an interview and consequently extremely nervous. He did not expect the young man to suddenly spin around and speak to him in a voice that trembled as much as his plump, twitchy lips.
“D-Do you know how many st-storeys this building is?” he asked.
Arthur furrowed his brow slightly. “Sixteen, I believe.” He quirked his mouth up into a wry smile. “Why, are you thinking of working here? I can tell you right now it’s not very rewarding.”
The man simply blinked stupidly a few seconds, as though Arthur hadn’t spoken at all. Arthur was beginning to wonder if this man was timid and daft, in which case he really oughtn’t to work there. The longer the man went without replying, the more Arthur’s half-smile faded, until it wasn’t there at all, replaced with an expression of curiosity and a bit of annoyance.
At last, the man seemed to come back to his senses, forcing his eyes upward to meet Arthur’s. “Sixteen,” he echoed. “Sixteen. Okay. No, thank you, I’ll just—”
He reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out an envelope, shoving it into Arthur’s chest with so much sudden force that Arthur was pushed back a step. Arthur raised a hand to keep the envelope in place instinctively, looking down at it in confusion.
Before Arthur could ask what the hell it was for, the man took off towards the lifts. Arthur stared dumbly a few seconds, then did the only reasonable thing he could think to do next—open the envelope.
Inside was a key and, Arthur was surprised to note, a cheque. He glanced at the amount, gaped, and gaped even more when he saw the payee line left blank. The man—Merlin Emrys, according to the cheque—was just giving him all of this? Who even did that? Just because he’d told him how many storeys the building had?
But there was another paper inside as well, which presumably held some sort of explanation. Arthur took the folded paper out, leaving the key and cheque inside, and put the envelope deep into his trouser pocket before reading the letter.
You are the very lucky recipient of everything I own because you are the first person to smile at me. The key is to my flat, which is located at the address written on the back of this letter. Thank you for being a wonderful human.
Arthur thought it was a joke at first, maybe some sort of scam. He read the three sentences three times over, not understanding why or how anyone could do something so selfless. Unless…unless this was some kind of…
Arthur bolted for the lift, hoping it wasn’t true, that this wasn’t really happening to him. But it made too much sense. The timidness, the trembling fingers and twitching lips, the uneven speech and wild look in his eyes…It made sense no matter how badly Arthur didn’t want it to. The man had asked how many storeys the building was for Christ’s sake. Because he wanted to…Oh God, because he was going to…
Arthur shoved his way past people to get onto the lift, not caring one whit about the odd looks he received. But too many people were stopping at too many floors, and it was going so slow. Arthur got out on the eleventh floor and ran for the stairs, hoping he wasn’t too late.
Maybe the door to the roof would be locked. There had to be safety precautions or protocols for that kind of thing, right? You couldn’t just go up to the roof if you weren’t part of the maintenance staff or anything, could you?
Arthur didn’t know, because he’d honestly never tried. Who would? It was just an office building, somewhere people dragged themselves to day in and day out to work. There was no reason to go to the roof. And if he thought that way, chances were the people in charge of maintaining the building thought that way, too.
Finally, his lungs and legs about to give out from the climb, Arthur reached the door marked “Roof Access.” It was unlocked.
Please don’t let me be too late, please don’t let me be too late. Arthur wouldn’t be able to live with himself if this man died and he could have stopped it.
The man hadn’t jumped yet. He was still standing on the edge, not looking down, but rather straight ahead, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists. Arthur forced his aching legs to propel him forward, feeling a bit like he was in a dream where no matter how quickly he tried to run, it was never quick enough.
Arthur was so focused on just getting to the man that he forgot he could use his voice as well. But by the time Arthur shouted “Stop!”, the man had already rose to the tips of his toes and started falling forward.
“No!”
Arthur dove without a second thought, springing up off his right foot and extending his arms out to reach for the man just centimetres within his grasp. His extra push sent him over the edge, and Arthur curled his fingers to grip the man’s jacket as soon as he was able. He used his hold to wrap his arms around him, clutching him to his chest and somehow managing to roll their bodies midair. He’d done it!
And then he realised ohshitwe’restillfalling.
Fuck, I really didn’t think this through.
As Arthur squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in the man’s hair, waiting for the inevitable impact, he thought, At least the breeze feels nice.