Ok everyone, this short story is dedicated to ruby890. Thank you for your suggestion, as soon as I read it I thought of the "Lady of the lake" episode, near the end and this is what I came up with. I wanted to write it down before I forgot about it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, but i still want to meet Colin Morgan and Bradley (sp?) James...

"Ah, Merlin. I've been looking for you."

Great… I'm really not in the mood for more chores…

"Right… you're going to ask me to polish your armor… and to um, wash your cloths and clean your room.."

I looked back down and continued my work, hoping just to be left alone. Instead of confirming what I had said, Arthur came over and sat down next to me. I held back a groan, I really did not feel like any playful banter or pointless arguments right now… He looked over at me;

"Something's been upsetting you hasn't it."

Ok… that wasn't what I was expecting.

"Maybe…"

I continued my work, waiting to hear what he wanted to say. He paused for a minute; the look on his face made it obvious that he was thinking. Arthur continued;

"Was it when I threw water at you?"

I glanced at him, and let out more of a huff than a laugh. I can't really tell him the real reason I'm upset, so I'll just go along with it.

I paused for a moment and then glanced back up at Arthur;

"That wasn't very nice."

"It was a bit unfair…"

He paused, and I continued polishing the boot.

"Like when you called me fat."

I stopped again and looked up at him.

"Why was that unfair?"

"Because I am not f-"

He stops when he sees the playful grin on my face, and looks away with a grin of his own. I resume my work. Then all of the sudden he puts his arm around my neck and pulls me closer and gives me a noogie! A noogie! Of all the things I would expect Arthur to do in a situation like this, a noogie was not one of them.

I struggled to get out of his hold while he continued the weird gesture.

"Still gonna need to get in shape."

"Ow, no! No no no no no." A small laugh escapes my lips, and he stops and pushes me away.

As I struggled to figure out what that was all about, I look over to see a smile plastered across his face. Still trying to figure things out, I give him a big smile of my own.

"That's better."

"Thanks..."

He nods his head in a 'you're welcome' gesture.

"You are right though. You need to polish my armor, wash my cloths and clean my room."

He pats me on the back, gets up, and walks away. As I watch him leave, I realize that he just wanted to see me smile.

I let another smile cross my face. Arthur may never admit it, but were friends; and friends look after each other. It's just nice to know… that he cares.

I seem to like writing things based on episodes... hmm, anywho. Please let me know what you think! Also, please take a look at Ch2 of my "Guardian Angel story". Its just a note from me asking for suggestions. Thank you for reading and remember to R&R!

Cooking-ninja