TITLE: Upside Down
CATEGORY: Gen, Humour (Canon) CHARACTERS: Merlin, Arthur, Gaius
RATING: K
SYNOPSIS: Merlin really wants to be a fly on Arthur's wall
AUTHOR'S NOTES: After all my darker drabbles and fic I wanted to write something "light." This is just a bit of silliness. A thank you goes to my Beta reader Jo, for her quick edit and her insight and ideas.

Sometimes Merlin wished he was a fly on the wall, making it possible to listen in on Council meetings only meant for the King's ears. His eagerness to give advice and help to Arthur, to always be around, at least in the shadows, was becoming a pressing need. Merlin, of course, knew that Arthur could handle things very well on his own, but it was Merlin's task and his alone, to make sure Camelot and the King were safe. The burden of destiny that pushed heavily on his shoulders made him do irrational things at times, stupid or silly things with more or less painful consequences.

There was another Council meeting tonight to which he had not been invited. He knew Arthur was holding a private meeting in his chamber afterwards with his trusty financial advisor, Lord Telwin. Merlin didn't like or trust that fat man with the bloated cheeks of a toad. Tonight would be a good night to try and listen in on what was being said.

While Merlin thought it over for a while, the 'fly on the wall' phrase got stuck in his mind. A weird phrase it was, as he had never heard it before, but it went very well with his idea of being very small, sitting on a wall unnoticed and able to overhear everything.

He wondered if there was a spell to make him that tiny, but he knew meddling with those things were dangerous and the way his luck was running, he probably wouldn't be able to reverse the spell properly. The risk of being trampled or swatted by people was also far too great. A tiny, crushed Merlin... No, there had to be another option.

He had done an invisibility spell before, but that one was risky because his shadow could be seen in candle light. Arthur was no fool, and using magic like that in front of the King would cost him dearly. It wasn't the right time to tell Arthur about that part of him yet. And definitely not when Lord Telwin was in the room. If there was anyone with a deep paranoia against magic, it was him.

After a hasty dinner with Gaius and retreating to his room to rush through some more options and spells from his magical book, he came across a relatively safe spell... Even better, this enchantment didn't need a reverse spell, but a reverse potion.

Merlin wasn't adept at potion making, but Gaius was...

"You want to do what?" Gaius blinked in confusion a couple of times, probably wondering if he'd really lost it this time. Or maybe he'd actually lost it already coming to Camelot all those years ago?

"Please, Gaius, I need your help. I really need to find out what will be said when Arthur meets with Lord Telwin. I have a bad feeling about that man. I need to protect Arthur."

"Don't you feel you are taking this a bit too far, Merlin?"

"No, well yes, maybe..." Merlin answered and tried giving Gaius his most earnest glance.

"If you do not take a potion to lift a spell like that in time, you might get stuck."

"They won't speak to each other for that long."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"And how do you get out of the room with Arthur still being there?"

"I'll wait until he falls asleep."

"That can take a very long time in itself."

"Not after a meeting and some spiced wine it won't, trust me."

Gaius let out a deep sigh, making clear he wasn't happy with the plan, but would go along anyway. Not that Merlin would have been talked out of it in the first place, but he still really valued Gaius' opinion. It actually mattered a lot to him.

"All right, I'll make the potion." Gaius lifted a finger, waving it in front of his face. "But don't get into trouble, although maybe that is too much to ask?"

"I will be very careful, Gaius. I swear."

There was no one in Arthur's room yet, so Merlin quickly did his evening chores and was finally ready to try out the new spell. He checked the small bottle of yellow potion in his jacket pocket and then allowed the warmth of magic to flow through his body and soul, closing his eyes he mumbled the words. When he opened them again he was ready. At least he hoped he was. He definitely felt full of anticipation.

Merlin walked towards a wall, put his hands flat against the surface and concentrated. He carefully pulled back one hand and could feel it clearly. He could move his hand easily but it felt heavier the closer it was to the cold, stone wall. When he pulled his hand back towards him, it moved, but once close to the wall it was pulled flat against it once more.

With a giant smile he put his hands as high as he could and jumped up, his boots sticking to the wall as well. And there he was, stuck to the wall like a fly, slowly climbing upwards without needing any actual physical strength. He just pulled back his hands and feet in turn and made the next step.

Within a moment, his head bumped against the high ceiling where he came into contact with lots of dust, making him sneeze loudly. No one ever really cleaned up here, and he made a mental note that someone should, preferably not himself.

Carefully moving his hands and feet up on the ceiling, he ended up hanging on all fours near the right side of Arthur's bed. It wasn't comfortable, but it didn't take much effort to keep hanging like this either. He wondered if he could somehow press his back against the ceiling as well. That would be a lot more comfortable, while he could still look down to see what was going on.

Extending his body, first sliding two hands and arms forward over the ceiling, followed by his legs, Merlin wasn't ready for the consequence of the movement. The pull on his body intensified, and with a loud pop it fell flat against the surface of the ceiling, his left cheek plastered in some cobwebs. Great, just great.

Merlin tried to gain his breath, but it wasn't easy. The dust and the cobwebs were tickling his nose, and he let out a loud sneeze once more. The force of it made his chest come free from the ceiling. With some effort he finally managed to turn around on his back, his hands next to his body, the back of his head supported by the surface. It actually felt like lying on the floor. Good thing he didn't have a problem with heights.

He just hoped he wouldn't start sneezing while Arthur had his meeting. He would probably end up in the dungeons if he was discovered. Some things were worth taking a risk for, he told himself firmly, and this was one of them...

His time was nearly up; every small movement he made was becoming harder and harder to do. This meeting between Arthur and Lord Telwin had taken longer than he'd thought, and if he didn't take the potion soon, he would be stuck right here, next to Arthur's bed.

Lord toad had finally left, but Arthur hadn't moved from his desk to go to bed yet. Merlin knew that he was going to be in so much trouble. If he took the potion now, the spell would wear off immediately, and he would probably fall down flat on his face, scaring the crap out of Arthur. If he didn't, he would be stuck. But if he moved quickly to get down, Arthur would see him. There were no good options left, he decided with a sigh... He should have listened to Gaius.

The things he did for Arthur. And this time it hadn't done him any good either, as the conversation with Lord Telwin had only been about the levy transports. Nothing major and certainly nothing very threatening. Merlin cursed himself for being so stupid at times, blindly wanting to protect Arthur, no matter what the cost. He should know better, he was an adult. Well, almost at least.

He carefully released one hand from the ceiling and reached inside his pocket for the bottle with the potion. He didn't dare move around, afraid that Arthur would hear him. But if he took the potion, the King would hear him falling down anyway. He felt like an idiot for real this time. No time to move down though, he needed to take that potion, now. He would deal with the consequences later. Maybe Arthur wouldn't see him fall after all? Maybe he could come up with an excuse?

But before he could grab a really firm hold on it, the bottle slipped out of his fingers. In a reflex he reached at it with both hands. This resulted in his hands and upper body coming loose from the ceiling, and the sensation of falling flashed through Merlin's body and mind.

Abruptly the movement stopped, a gasp leaving Merlin's lips as he tried to gather his senses. To his relief he was still stuck to the ceiling, but this time only with his feet. Hanging upside down he could see the bottle land on the soft carpet near Arthur's bed, rolling under it and out of sight.

Merlin silently cursed his clumsiness.

Maybe he could try and move back up again, but what if Arthur saw his movement? He couldn't actually see what the King was doing at the moment. Merlin decided it was worth the risk. He'd lost the potion and would be stuck anyway until Gaius came to find him in the morning. Better to be stuck in a more comfortable way.

Just about ready to move his body upwards, a sound from Arthur's desk made him stop. Was he finally going to bed now? Merlin froze, listening for footsteps. He was already getting very light headed and warm, his cheeks burning. Sweat was forming on his forehead and he didn't dare wipe it away, afraid Arthur would hear. He didn't dare breathing too loud either.

Arthur always had impeccable timing, and this time there was no difference. His footsteps were heading for the bed, and there would be no chance Merlin could move up again until the King was fast asleep. This was just getting better and better. Grumbling silently under his breath, he could see Arthur lie down from the corner of his eyes.

Sometimes it felt like his destiny enjoyed playing tricks on Merlin. Like it wanted to see him sweat, and laugh in his face for being such a stupid fool. Fly on the wall, what had he been thinking?

Arthur let out a deep sigh, turned and suddenly gazed upwards. There was total silence for a moment, and then Merlin saw a frown appear on the King's face, even from where he hung. As if Arthur thought he was already dreaming, but not quite sure of it. Yes, he'd definitely been spotted.

"Merlin?" Arthur's voice went up a notch while he could see the King gaze up at him, in shock now. "What the hell are you doing up there?" Getting his wits back, Arthur sat up straight. "Or a better question might be, how the hell did you get up there?"

With all the blood that had flooded down to his head, Merlin struggled to come up with an idea. He shrugged and tried to move his head a bit so he could see Arthur in the eye. "Gaius," he muttered. "You won't believe it, Sire, but there was a mess on your ceiling. Cobwebs everywhere, and I tried to clean it but couldn't reach them all. So Gaius invented super sticky paste, but it dried up too quickly and I'm stuck..."

Arthur had jumped out of bed now, squinting at him. The King stretched his arms, but didn't even reach Merlin's finger tips. "And how long have you been up there, Merlin?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"Well?"

"You were still in the Council meeting."

"That long?"

"Yes."

"So, you were up there the entire time while I was having my meeting with Lord Telwin?" Arthur tried a stern voice but Merlin could hear that he was in awe, which made him grin goofily.

"Uh, yes. Sorry about that."

Merlin was ready for Arthur to burst out in anger. He let out a deep sigh, closed his eyes for a second and waited for it. At the burst of laughter, he squinted down again at the young King who was holding his stomach as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"Sometimes I worry about you, Merlin." Arthur tried to catch his breath, but was still grinning widely, his brows raised in amusement while he shook his head, looking up.

"Gaius can get me down," Merlin offered, far too quickly, of course, judging from the look of glee in Arthur's eyes.

"Oh, I don't know. I kind of like the view." The King let himself fall down on the bed, a definite smirk on his face.

"Arthur!"

"Maybe this will teach you a lesson to think before acting like an idiot."

"Prat."

"Goodnight, Merlin."

"No, Arthur, no..." Merlin felt desperate, but he hated to admit he was helpless and Arthur was his only hope. He hated that, period. The King was not going to win this one. Merlin was embarrassed enough as it was. "If you leave me here, I will keep talking to you all night, you won't be able to sleep."

"I'll use some of the ear plugs that Gaius made for me."

Merlin wished that he could use his magic and throw something at Arthur's head. But he knew when he was beaten and bit his lip. "Please, Arthur. I'll do anything for you if you get Gaius."

"Anything?" That smirk on Arthur's face was maddening. He would probably have to listen to this for a very long time to come. "Well, Merlin?"

"Almost anything," he offered.

"Not good enough."

"Just get Gaius, you cabbage head." Merlin cursed himself for letting Arthur see how irritated this situation made him feel. And of course, Arthur took the bait without fail.

"I'm your King, Merlin. And as your King I'd say you might like to hang upside down for a while to come if you don't give me a good reason for getting Gaius this late in the evening. The poor man is probably already in bed, I don't want to disturb his rest."

"All right, all right, I'll do anything."

"Clean my boots, serve me a gigantic breakfast, clean the stables, polish my armour, wash my clothes, sweep the floors, run errands without complaining?"

"Yes, yes."

"Goodnight, Merlin."

"ARTHUR!"

The End