Merlin picked up Arthur's discarded clothes wearily, laying them on his unmade bed and began to fold them. The sun glared in through the windows, though the approaching night made the air cool. Merlin sighed heavily as he moved on to the trousers. After he'd folded the clothes he moved on to straightening the bed covers for his royal highness to sleep on. He finally finished the bed and gave the room a glance over. Noticing that the cupboard door was open and one of Arthur's shirts was hanging out, Merlin walked over to straighten it. As he did so, he heard the door open behind him.
"Ah, Merlin," came a voice from behind him, "In your element," and Merlin could practically hear him smirk. He turned around, a forced smile on his face.
"I've tidied everything away," he told him, turning to close the wardrobe door and turning back, "You know, you really are untidy," he said, folding his arms as Arthur took off his boots and left them in the middle of the room. He laughed as he crossed the room to look out of the window,
"And that," he said, turning back to Merlin, with a sarcastically nice smile, "Is why I have you, Merlin," and he winked. Merlin felt a funny sensation in his middle, yet ignored it when Arthur gestured to the boots and turned to get changed.
"What would I do without you, Merlin?" he said, as Merlin gave him a quick look of disgust, picking up his boots and placing them underneath his bed.
"Well, your room would be a mess, you'd lack any personal hygiene..." he paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face, "And you would be without a wife, due to those facts – no offence," he grinned as Arthur turned to give him a spiteful look.
"Yes, Merlin," he said in a tired voice, "But you're forgetting about my good looks and sparkling personality – who could resist that?" he asked, as his manservant shook his head, grinning and looking to the floor.
"Not me," he muttered, so that Arthur couldn't hear – or so he thought.
"What was that?" asked Arthur, studying him as Merlin looked at him with wild eyes.
"Oh, nothing, nothing," he said, quickly, giving a panicked smile, "Just," he coughed, "Clearing my throat..." Arthur nodded, giving him a look that said 'ah, right...' and Merlin breathed a small sigh of relief as he turned, once again and began to take off his shirt, pulling it over his head so that it ruffled his blonde hair. Merlin watched, not realising what he was doing. Arthur turned around, giving him a quizzical look.
"Are you going to just stand there, Merlin?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Merlin started, shaking his head,
"Yeah, I –" he swallowed, "See you in the morning," he said, proceeding to the door, stumbling in his haste, "I – goodnight, Arthur," he said, opening the door, giving the prince one more smile and closing the door.
On the other side of the door, Merlin ran his hands through his hair. He shook his head, then began to walk in the direction of his chambers, where Gaius would be working or reading, waiting for Merlin to return.
"Tiring day?" asked Gaius, as Merlin opened the door, wearily. He turned to look towards Gaius, who was pouring over a book, mixing some concoction or other, by the looks of it. He nodded,
"Yeah," he said, crossing over to the stairs that lead to his room, "Night, Gaius," he called as he began to run up them.
"Goodnight, Merlin!" he heard Gaius call back and smiled slightly as he pushed open his door.
He crossed the room, having pushed the door closed behind him, and flopped onto his bed, his face in the pillow. He groaned. He didn't even understand what was wrong. The way Arthur had winked at him... It had made him feel so – happy. He shuddered. That was odd. He turned around and kicked his shoes off, then pulling his shirt over his head. He then wriggled under the covers, too tired to do anything else and let his head hit the pillow, curling up on his side and slipped away into dreams of a certain blonde-haired prince.
The early morning sun shone through the window, casting its glow over Merlin's face. He opened one eye, then the other. He uttered a few words under his breath and a new shirt and trousers flew out of the wardrobe and hit him in the face. He laughed, pulling them on and slipping out of bed. He found his shoes, still in the places where he had kicked them off the previous night and put them on. He ran down the stairs and noticed the breakfast that Gaius had left for him. However, the physician was nowhere to be seen. Merlin sat down at the table and pulled the bowl towards him.
Five to ten minutes later, he strolled along the almost-empty corridors of the castle, meeting only the occasional guard or knight and a maid or two, going about their early morning duties, like him. He pushed open Arthur's door, slowly, so as not to wake him. He walked over to the wardrobe and got his clothes ready. He hesitated as the noise of Arthur rolling over in his bed came from behind him. He grinned.
"Good morning, sire!" he said, brightly and laughed to himself as he heard the prince groan.
"Morning, Merlin," he mumbled in reply, then: "Go away."
Merlin shook his head, still smiling and crossed the room.
"For now," he said, pausing at the door, "I'll be back with breakfast," he told him, as Arthur rolled onto his front and gave a grunt in reply.
"How long did you want to take, Merlin?" came the arrogant voice as he re-entered the room about half an hour later, pushing open the door with his back, having turned the handle by magic, seen as his hands were full. Merlin rolled his eyes and set down the breakfast on the table.
"Sorry, I was talking to Gwen –" he started, but Arthur waved his hand, stopping him. He pulled himself out of bed – he was shirtless, as usual. Merlin watched as he stretched. Then realised what he was doing and shook his head, fixing a smile on his face.
"Breakfast is served, ma'am," he said, bowing, a grin crossing his face. Arthur swatted him with the shirt he was holding, that Merlin had put out, earlier. He sat down, discarding the shirt on the floor. Merlin sighed and picked it up,
"You know, you really ought to invest in manners, Arthur," he told him, in a mocking voice.
"Shut up, Merlin," came the reply, though slightly muffled; he was talking with his mouth full. Merlin rolled his eyes. He carried on laying out the shirt.
"We're going out today," he informed Merlin, who had stood, leaning against the wall, arms folded.
"Oh, really?" he raised his eyebrows, "Where?"
"I need to visit one of the villages," he said, offhandedly, pushing away the empty bowl and standing up, stretching once again. He walked over to his clothes, Merlin followed, picking up the shirt.
"How come?" he asked, helping Arthur put the shirt on and trying to advert his eyes from the torso that he was pulling the shirt down over.
"Oh, one of the villagers appealed to my father, about a lack of money, I'm going over there to talk it over with them, since father has decided I have nothing better to do," he smiled at Merlin who laughed,
"Have a nice time," he called after Arthur as he crossed the room to change his trousers. Arthur looked at him, his head poking out from behind the screen which he was getting changed behind. Then he smiled,
"Oh, Merlin," he said, sweetly, "You're coming." And with that, he disappeared, once again, behind the screen to change, all the thoughts of a peaceful day fading from Merlin's mind. He grimaced and turned to clean Arthur's boots, quickly. Although he couldn't deny a sense of light happiness...
The knights, Arthur and Merlin had been trotting along a path in the woods for about two hours now and the sun wasn't helping their journey, each one parched. They had drank the last of the water and Merlin's mouth was completely dry. Finally, after half an hour of moaning, Arthur gave in.
"Right, we'll find a stream. There must be one somewhere – we'll split up. Elyan, Percival, you head in that direction," he pointed, "Leon, Gwaine, in that direction," he pointed in a different direction, "And that leaves me and you, Merlin!" he smiled at Merlin, mockingly, "We'll head down here," he pointed to the drop beside them, the wood sloped down. The knights nodded.
"Meet back here?" offered Gwaine, tossing his hair out of his face and grinning. Arthur nodded.
"Yes, meet here in an hour or so," Arthur confirmed, as the knights bid them farewell and rode off in their separate directions. Arthur paused for a moment, watching them go, then dismounted his horse.
"What're you doing?" asked Merlin, as Arthur sighed, tying his horse to a tree on the other side of the track.
"Well, Merlin, it's a bit steep," he said, sarcastically as Merlin realised and laughed, dismounting his own little pony with much less grace. He joined Arthur, attaching the rope to the tree next to Arthur's horse's. Then they crossed back to the slope. It was rather steep, thought Merlin, peering over. He could see green grass at the bottom, however and what looked like a clearing of trees. He did not noticed the hand sneaking towards his back before it pushed him and he was flying down the slope at an uncanny speed. He tried to grab on to various trees but missed. He could hear Arthur running behind him and laughing. Finally, the slope levelled out, yet this only tripped Merlin up. He landed flat on his face. Arthur slowed to a halt beside him, his footsteps heavy and the sound of his laughter loud. Merlin felt strong arms pull him up and felt a funny feeling around his midriff once again as Arthur brushed him down.
"Sorry, Merlin," he said, a slight grin on his face, lighting up the blue eyes. Then he looked at Merlin, puzzled. The manservant seemed to be grinning at something ahead. Arthur turned to look where he was grinning at and let out a shout of joy. A river, not too far away, trickled softly. The two boys sprinted towards it, both throwing themselves at the side and cupping their hands, drinking the water. After five minutes or so, Arthur leaned back against the tree that stood near the water's edge.
"That," he said, panting, "Is beautiful." Merlin nodded vigorously in agreement. Arthur pushed himself off the tree and lay back on the grass next to it. Merlin took his spot, quickly, leaning his head back against the tree. Arthur sat up after a couple of minutes, hoisting himself onto his elbows.
"You know, Merlin, you're not that bad," he said, smiling slightly. Merlin feigned surprise.
"What's that water got in it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Arthur looked at him, laughing and shaking his head.
"Shut up, Merlin," he muttered, sitting up properly. Their faces were inches apart. Arthur was still looking at Merlin. Merlin turned his head to smile back. Both realised how close they were. Arthur looked quickly at the brook before them. Then, with a change of heart, he turned his head back and leaned slightly, moving closer to Merlin, who tilted his head back to meet the soft lips. They kissed for a moment. Their mouths partly open, their eyes closed. Then pulled apart, so very slightly, each breathing fast and heavy. Then, they turned again, to meet one another's lips. The kiss lasted longer, this time, their mouths moving with each other. As they continued to kiss, they became closer, Arthur edging nearer, moving one hand to Merlin's cheek. Then, it was in the manservant's hair. He moved to straddle Merlin's legs and deepened the kiss, one hand still in Merlin's hair, the other on the young warlock's hip. Merlin wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck. He pulled him closer. After a while, they broke apart, panting for breath, slightly. Arthur rolled off Merlin, who sat forward, elbows on his knees. Arthur moved behind him, leaning against the tree trunk for support. Neither said a word. Merlin looked behind him, then moved backwards to lean next to him. After a while, Arthur sneaked his hand around Merlin's back, rubbing soothingly. Merlin leaned his head, hesitatingly onto Arthur's shoulder. He felt the prince rest his cheek against the top of Merlin's head, the hand that had been stroking his back fell to the bottom of his back and wound round his side.
The two friends sat for a moment, quite still, unsure of what just happened and what was happening.