I don't own any of the characters of Merlin.
The knights and Arthur get to know Merlin
Merlin was at the sideline of the fighting area. The knights were training with each other. Merlin wasn't on the field for today. Arthur had banned him of training with the knights because he always got bruises after that. Arthur called Merlin but Merlin didn't notice him. The king then proceeds to walk up to him but Merlin is still in his own world. Arthur comes near Merlin's ear and screams: 'Idiot! Are you deaf or something!' Merlin wasn't expecting that and falls to the ground or so he thinks. The king stops him from falling down. He does it by grabbing his waist but stumbles over a rock on the ground. Merlin hasn't had good luck today and falls into a puddle. Arthur gets up and helps Merlin up. Merlin's shirt drenched and sticks to his body.
Gwain looks to see what happened. He sees Merlin and whistles. Arthur looks confused and asks what for that whistle was. 'Have you not noticed that Merlin has a good body? You're so blind.', says Gwain. Arthur turns and gets what he means. Merlin's body isn't weak or too muscled. It's just in between. He has the body figure of the standard Roman men. Merlin blushes and tries to get to his room but the king stops him. He says: 'You can get some shirt of the knight. You don't need to go all the way or I'm not going to find you later.' Lancelot throws one of his shirts at Merlin and walks back to the battlefield. Everyone goes back to fighting with each other. Gwain falls to the ground and Mordred rolls his eyes. Mordred gets irritated by Gwain. He hasn't been concentrated the moment he walked into and has been looking somewhere else. Mordred turns his head around and sees Merlin getting changed. He rolls his eyes and he wacks Gwains head. Gwains moans of the pain and asks why he hit him. Arthur notices this and shouts to them to go back to training.
A few hours later, Merlin is getting the horses ready for everyone. Elyan and Lancelot come inside the stable and help Merlin with carrying the saddles. They them on the horses and ask Merlin how they have to set it steady. Merlin says that they don't have to help him and they can wait until the others arrive. Elyan tries to protest but Merlin declines his help. Lancelot walks out without protest because he knows that Merlin wouldn't accept the help.
The two knights talk about the hunt a little when Arthur and the other knights arrive. Everybody gets ready to go and Merlin sets the bags the bags steady against the saddles. Arthur is on the front and Merlin is the at the back of the group. The weather is cold and his shirt isn't keeping him warm but he doesn't say anything. He's used to not having the best clothing since his childhood. His father had died of an illness when his mother was pregnant with him. The town was neglected by the kingdom too. The wind is blowing stronger and he shivers. Arthur says that they're almost by the location to camp and turns to see if their bored. He notices that Merlin's nose and face are red of the cold and is shivering but acts as if nothing is wrong. Lancelot sees the look on the king and notices it too. He comes to the right of Merlin and asks if he wants his cape. Merlin looks confused to him and Lancelot says if he's cold he can lend his cape to him. As expected, Merlin says that it isn't so bad and that their almost by the camping place. Lancelot leaves him alone after that.
Merlin sets the camp up while the others are hunting for some food. They come back and Merlin has the fire and pot ready to cook the food. Mordred sets the animal near the pot. So, that Merlin has it easier. Merlin sets the plates ready and calls the others. They come and have a delicious meal. Except Merlin doesn't eat that much. Lancelot jokes about Merlin eating really little like a little boy. The group laughs at that and talk about other topics. The reason why Merlin ate so little of the meat is because he eats a normal amount and eats a lot of fruits and vegetables. He has been on a healthy diet, thanks to Gaius. He was very skinny when he arrived at Camelot. He has gained some muscle and has been healthier. He also been looking better.
Gwen and some of her friend once caught him without his shirt. They began to spread around that he had muscle. Came out that one of the girls that Gwen was befriend with, was a painter. She asked him to model for a painting. He was shocked at first and thought that it was a joke. But she was serious. She said that he was talked a lot by the women and that they would love to paint him. He couldn't say no because she was really excited for this. He came to the location and saw Gwen there. She greeted him and brought him to a room. She gave him a toga. He changed and got in the position that was asked. A few girls and guys made comments about his body. After everyone was done with painting him, a guy, named Jackson asked him to a date. He didn't know what to say but Gwen said that I already liked someone else. He said: 'Okey, I didn't know that. Still if it doesn't go as planned. You can always go out with me.' Jackson was really polite and understanding. They became friends after that.
The next morning, the weather is really warm and Arthur and the knights decide to go into the lake near the camp. Gwain forces Merlin to go with them because Merlin never says yes to such things. Everyone goes into the lake and Merlin, the person who arrived as last, takes his shirt of and goes in with hesitation. The others are joking and playing around with each other. Lancelot swims to Merlin and takes him into a bridal hug and throws him into the water. Merlin panics because he doesn't know how to swim. He only goes into water when his feet touch the bottom. He goes back to his height level and spits the water. Lancelot knows that Merlin panicked and helps him get the water out by patting his back. Arthur and the others come by and ask what happened. Merlin is still coughing some water and Arthur comes closer to him and waves the others away. 'You should have told me that you couldn't swim! What would have happened if you accidentally fell somewhere deep!', says Arthur concerned. Merlin looks up and says that he just accidentally just swallowed some water. Arthur isn't listening at this point and lifts Merlin in his arms. Merlin tries to protest but Arthur doesn't let him go. He goes back to the land and sets him into sitting position. Arthur orders him to stay where he is. Merlin stays and Arthur lays a towel over his shoulders. Arthur also has a second towel and dries his hair with it. Merlin stops him and asks what he's doing. Arthur waves his hand away and proceeds to dry his hair. The knights are looking at the scene and smiling. Arthur has liked Merlin for a very long time but hasn't understood what he's feeling. Merlin feels embarrassed with his situation. Arthur tells Merlin to wait a little under the sun. He's happy that he doesn't to go into the water but now they know that he doesn't know how to swim. Everybody gets out of the lake and Lancelot comes sitting with Merlin because he doesn't want Merlin to sit there alone. He says: 'Hey, are you okay? Sorry, I threw you without thinking about it.' Merlin answers back: 'It's nothing. I should have told you guys. I just didn't want to tell that.' Lancelot understands him and tells him that they have to get changed.
Their on their horses and going back to Camelot. Arthur asks to Merlin to ride near him. 'Merlin, why don't you know how to swim?', Arthur asks. Merlin says: 'I'm not sure if I want to.' Lancelot says that they've known him and that their like family. The other knights nod and tell him the same. Merlin takes a deep breath and says: 'Me and my best friend were bullied. I was bullied the most. He still had some friends but they bullied me when he wasn't around. I couldn't go into the water because they would to harsh that I would swallow water. I almost drowned too.' Everybody is shocked, especially Arthur. He always made jokes about him. Maybe he hurt his feeling many times. Arthur thinks that he should be careful, when he makes jokes.
They arrive at the gates, round noon. Gwen and Jackson are talking when they get of their horse. Gwen greets them and asks a few questions about the hunt. While Jackson goes to talk with Merlin. Jackson notices that Merlin's hair is damp and asks if he got a bucket turned over his head. Merlin tells him that he had gone into the lake. Jackson is confused because Merlin had told him that he's scared of deep waters and that he can't swim. Jackson asks if something happened. Merlin can't lie to him and tells the truth. Jackson overreacts and begins to talk fastly. He tells him that he shouldn't do such things and that he just has to be more open about his past with the guys. Percival walks up to them and asks who Merlin is talking to. Jackson and Percival talk for a little bit and Percival asks how they met. They tell the story about the painting project. Percival laughs asks if they're together. Merlin is flustered and Jackson winks to Merlin. Jackson says: 'I'm dating someone else. He likes someone else at the moment too.'
Lancelot was walking to them when he heard that. He asked Merlin who he liked and raised his eyebrow. The others walk up to their direction too because Gwen had returned to do her chores. Arthur asks rudely who he is. Merlin glares at Arthur. Merlin can't believe that Arthur would act such a way to one of his people. Merlin apologises and Jackson says that he doesn't have a problem. Jackson recognises that look in Arthur's. It's jealousy. Jackson can see that Arthur is overprotective over Merlin. He doesn't have a problem with that.
He walks away and Gwen's friends go up to the boys. The princess from a different kingdom begins talking to Merlin and Arthur and she begins to flirt with Merlin. Arthur being the brat that he is, asks why she's flirting with Merlin. She tells him that Merlin is her type. He says: 'Sorry but I have to excuse Merlin. All the guys have to rest.' The girl asks if Merlin wants to visit her house tonight. Merlin feels uncomfortable and tries to get her hands of her shoulders. Arthur's anger begins to boil because the girl is beginning to irritate him. She then kisses him almost but Arthur stops her and takes Merlin in his embrace. Everyone is looking at them and Merlin tries to get out of Arthur's arms. But Arthur tells her to leave Merlin alone. That she should flirt with some other prince. She gets screams angrily : 'How dare you to speak in that way to a lady. Especially me, a princess. He's just a servant or are you a faggot.' Merlin is panics because he can feel Arthur trembling from anger. 'Maybe we should go away.', says merlin and then whispers, 'Let's go back to the castle and calm down.' Arthur calms down and tells her to go away and not to disturb Merlin and him. She stomps angrily away and the folk goes back to what they were doing. Arthur drags Merlin into his room and pushes Merlin against the wall. Merlin is confused and doesn't understand why Arthur is acting this way. He tries to say that he should calm but doesn't get the chance. Arthur kisses him and sits on his bed. He then orders for Merlin to go to his room and to avoid the princess.
Merlin wants to know why he kissed him. He walks up to him and crouches down so he can see his face. He says: 'Listen, I just want to know why you kissed me. I'll stay away from her. Just tell me what you're thinking and feeling.' Arthur says: 'I love you. I was jealous when she touched you. Please, don't go away. I know that you're gay too and I'm not a guy you would like.' Merlin smiles and kisses Arthur. Arthur takes that as a yes and gets on top of Merlin. Merlin feels Arthur's tong asking for permission. He opens his mouth and Arthur's tong goes into his mouth. Out of the blue, they hear the door open. The knights are in shock, except Lancelot and Gwain. Lancelot says: 'I told you that we should let them alone.' Merlin blushes and tries to get up but Arthur stops him. 'I want all knights away right now. Close the door and don't wait in the hall.', says Arthur. Gwain and Lancelot are grinning and the others look embarrassed. They close the door and Merlin and Arthur don't come out of the room for two ours.
The End