For @merthurmicrofic more specifically @bakerharrystyles | Prompt: Shatter | Word Count: 796 | read on ao3
Arthur heard the crash before Merlin did. It echoed through the house at nearly eleven at night.
"What was that?" Arthur muttered, already sitting up.
Merlin blinked sleepily. "Please tell me the cat knocked something over."
Another sound followed. A soft curse.
By the time they reached the hallway, fourteen-year-old Mordred was frozen halfway to the back door.
The kitchen window stood open.
A flowerpot lay in glittering pieces across the tile floor.
One hand was on the doorknob.
"...Hi?" Mordred offered weakly.
Merlin pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I would love to hear it," Arthur replied.
Mordred looked between them.
"...I was going for a walk?"
"...Night walks are healthy?"
"You climbed out the kitchen window."
"...I thought you'd hear it."
"You thought correctly," Arthur said.
Mordred sighed dramatically.
Merlin's attention immediately shifted to the blood.
Merlin had already disappeared to fetch the first-aid kit.
Arthur stayed where he was, expression firmly planted in Dad Mode.
"You tried to sneak out."
"You broke the flowerpot your grandmother gave Merlin."
"You climbed through a window."
"...The plan sounded smarter in my head."
"That wasn't a compliment."
Merlin returned carrying antiseptic, bandages, and approximately seventeen years of parental concern.
Arthur swept the broken glass into a pile while Merlin carefully cleaned the cut.
"That's because antiseptic exists to make teenagers regret their choices."
"I thought that was dads."
Once the bandage was wrapped neatly around Mordred's hand, Merlin looked at him.
Mordred looked at the floor.
"My friends were meeting at the park."
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"You asked if you could go?"
"We absolutely would have."
"I just..." Mordred admitted quietly. "I wanted to prove I wasn't a little kid."
Arthur's expression softened despite himself.
"You know what proving you're growing up doesn't involve?"
"You didn't break the window."
"Especially sneaking out."
Merlin rested a hand on Mordred's shoulder.
"We're not saying no because we don't trust you."
"We say no because we worry."
"The punishment," Arthur announced.
"I knew this part was coming."
"No going out with friends except school."
"You'll also help clean up the kitchen tomorrow."
"I already was going to."
"And," Merlin added gently, "you'll replace the flowerpot with us."
"And if you want to go somewhere?"
"I...don't climb through windows...?"
A quiet silence settled over them.
Then Merlin noticed Mordred shiver.
"You didn't even take a jacket."
Arthur stared for a full five seconds.
"You planned the world's worst escape."
Arthur held out for another two seconds before giving up and laughing too.
Arthur gestured toward the shattered flowerpot.
"It was a really long six feet."
Merlin ruffled Mordred's hair.
"But it's still hot chocolate before bed."
Arthur looked almost scandalized.
"Being grounded doesn't mean you stop getting hot chocolate."
Arthur wrapped an arm around Mordred's shoulders as they walked back toward the kitchen.
"If you ever feel trapped or want more independence..."
"Instead of becoming an amateur burglar."
"I wasn't burglarizing our house."
"You climbed out a window."
Merlin smiled as the two of them bickered all the way to the kitchen.
The flowerpot could be replaced.
The glass would be cleaned up.
Mordred had learned his lesson.
And despite the grounding, the lectures, and Arthur's very dramatic disappointment, he still ended the night wedged comfortably between his dads on the sofa, nursing a mug of hot chocolate while Merlin absentmindedly played with his hair and Arthur quietly complained that next time Mordred was at least to use the front door if he insisted on making terrible decisions.
"Arthur," Merlin laughed.
"I'm just saying," Arthur said, taking a sip of his own hot chocolate. "The front door is much cheaper than replacing flowerpots."
"I am never living this down."
"No," both of his dads answered in perfect unison.
