Author : Tch0upi.

Title : Night Watch

Disclamer : Everything here belongs to BBC, Julian Jones, Jake Michie, Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy.

Rating : K

Pairings : Merlin/Arthur, can be seen as friendship or romance.

Night watch

Arthur jumped out of his skin, as he woke from the worst nightmare he ever had in years. It was during Leon's turn of watch, and the knight had been looking at the King with worry in his eyes for a while before he had decided to put a hand on his chest, trying to wake him up. Arthur had been moving around in his bedroll, moaning and crying softly. He'd been hard to wake but now he was looking at him, eyes wide and cheeks wet from tears.

It was so unlikely to see the King so vulnerable that Leon wasn't exactly sure about what to do.

"You alright, Sire?" Leon whispered, as to not wake anyone else.

Arthur slowly sat, trying to catch his breath. Usually he wouldn't remember his dreams. But now, he remembered everything. He could see the horrible picture of Merlin, pale as death after he'd been touched by the dorocha. He could feel the cold from his body, the empty eyes, the blue lips.

Arthur shivered violently as he wiped the sweat from his face. He looked up at Leon.

"Merlin… Where's Merlin?"

"Merlin?" Leon repeated, surprised. "Uh… right where he fell asleep earlier. Why? Is something wrong?"

Arthur looked at the knight and then shivered once again. It was so cold. He could see his breath.

"When did it start raining?" he suddenly asked, as he heard the soft sound of the rain falling around them.

"A little after Gwaine woke me up so I could take my turn of watch."

Arthur nodded, then looked around. It was still very dark but he could see the figures of his knights scattered here and there, sleeping soundly. And then he saw another figure, smaller, on the far side, away from the little fire, near a thick root.

"Is that Merlin over there?"

Leon turned.

"I think so."

"What is the idiot doing out there so far away from the fire? And under that rain?"

His heart was still beating fast from the nightmare. He needed to see if Merlin was alright. He knew it was silly, that it was just a dream, but fear was running in his veins like a poison. He needed to wash it off by seeing Merlin himself. By making sure he was really alright.

"Arthur," Leon spoke softly. "I think you should get some rest. We've a big day ahead of us. We didn't catch anything yesterday, remember? Merlin's completely fine, I assure you. He slept peacefully until now. As for the rain…"

"I… I just need to see for myself. It's cold and wet out here. He should come nearer."

Leon sighed. Really, what was it to do when Arthur had an idea in his head? And when that idea concerned Merlin, Arthur was even more stubborn than usual.

The knight sat back and smiled as he watched the King quietly raise and walk to the servant's sleeping form.

Arthur tried not to wake anyone as he made his way to Merlin. The rain was thin. It really wasn't a big deal, he could barely feel it on his face, but it still made it feel cold and humid. And as he suspected, Merlin was shaking lightly. He crouched down near him, and gently put a hand on his shoulder. Merlin was curled in a little ball, shivering just a little bit but still sound asleep.

Even in the darkness, Arthur could see that his cheeks were an adorable pink shade, and his face a pale yet healthy color. As he let himself calm down, Arthur felt his nightmare slowly fade away in his mind. The dorocha event was months ago, why did he even dream about that now?

He smiled softly. Nevertheless, he needed Merlin.

"Merlin," he called quietly, leaning down closer to him. "Hey."

The young man made a little sound. Arthur put his hand on his cheek.

"You're cold. You idiot," he murmured.

He shook him again, gently, and finally Merlin lifted his head up.

"Hmm… wha'…? Wha's goin' on?"

His eyes were closed as he rose on one elbow. Arthur felt stupid and bad from waking him up but the feeling in his gut, the fear, was still present. He knew he wouldn't fall asleep without Merlin.

"Arh…ur?"

"Merlin. Sorry. I just… It's cold, why don't you come closer to the fire? Near my bedroll. Come."

"It's the middle of the night…" Merlin muttered. "I was fine… you prat…"

Arthur smiled softly. Merlin was still not opening his eyes. He was kinda cute like this, all sleepy. Arthur grabbed his elbows to help him up, and then wrapped an arm around him, knowing Merlin was clumsy enough to trip and fall, and the idiot wasn't even looking where he was stepping.

"Why do I have to move...?"

"You'll be more comfortable by the fire."

"Is it my turn of watch…?" he asked in a tiny voice as they walked slowly.

"No Merlin. Did you even listen?"

Merlin laughed.

"'m sorry… 'm so tired."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"You know, it is kinda cold."

Arthur held back a laugh, as he looked tenderly at his friend. Only Merlin could be chatty even when he was half asleep.

They finally reached Arthur's bedroll and both dropped onto it. Arthur had taken Merlin's blanket and had placed it on the floor by his side. Merlin sighed and curled into himself again.

"It's warmer…" he whispered, already half back into sleep. "Thanks."

"Merlin."

"Hmmm."

"Merlin, just… I just wanted to say…"

Arthur was surprised when he felt a hand grabbing his. Merlin pulled him close, giving Arthur no choice but to lay beside him.

"Just sleep, Arthur. It's late."

It didn't take long for the servant to fall back asleep, holding the King's hand.

He was a little disappointed that Merlin hadn't, even once, opened his eyes. But he was released to see that he was alright. There wasn't a reason for him not to be in the first place, it was just a childish nightmare, but still… he felt better. He felt better having Merlin around, close to him. And he would see his eyes tomorrow. Those beautiful, amazingly blue eyes.

He planted a gentle and hesitant kiss on Merlin's forehead, and after that, Arthur fell asleep. He slept like a baby for the rest of that night, unaware of the tender and amused smile of Sir Leon who'd been watching silently.