Merlin pushed through the door, balancing a few trays of delicious goodies, some of which he was eyeing for his own breakfast. Half his chin was buried in his neckerchief and his coat was firmly buttoned—the air had turned cold recently and the castle seemed to radiate it from the freezing stones. He swore he could even feel the ice through his shoes.
For what seemed to be the fifth time, he considered the pros and cons of buying a new cloak, a pair of gloves, and some new boots and, for the fifth time, came up with overwhelming cons and a depressing amount of pros. Number one being staying warm throughout the winter.
The main con being he'd have to resort to thievery to even consider purchasing gloves that would last even a few days doing the work Arthur set him to. He glanced down at one of his hands, chapped, red, and blistered. Merlin bit his lip—his fingers would fall off before the end of the winter if something didn't change.
His thoughts were broken off when he entered the room, sliding the tray onto the table. "Arthur?" he questioned, glancing over at the King who, surprisingly, was already half dressed. He was sitting on the other side of the table, fiddling with a wrapped box.
Merlin raised a curious eyebrow. "Someone give you a gift?"
Arthur's eyes snapped up, knocked out of his thoughts. "Oh, no. I….," he trailed off, looking a bit sheepish. Merlin smiled at him, slipping into the chair next to Arthur (conveniently closer to the fire, which he held his hands over and almost mewled at the overwhelming warmth—Gaius couldn't afford a fireplace, especially not for a servant's chamber). "Merlin, why don't you have any gloves?"
Merlin, instantly a bit self-conscious, drew his hands back in to study them. "Can't afford them, sire," he admitted, glancing down at his chapped hands. He wiped a bit of blood off a scratch too cold to heal, cocking a small half-smile. "Besides, it's only royalty with the good stuff. All the rest of us commoners have to make due." His words were light and teasing, poking Arthur gently to get him to at least smile.
But Arthur's face didn't change. If anything, his frown deepened. "Are you meaning to tell me you've been out in this weather doing my chores without any form of protection other than that?" He gestured at Merlin's small brown jacket.
Merlin shrugged lightly. "I have a cloak. But I swear to god it's made out of a burlap sack, so it doesn't do much good. Got cheated by a man in the marketplace. Happens." He didn't know what else to say—he might be the King's manservant but even that didn't pay much. Not enough to buy clothes suited for a nobleman—ones that would actually last for the work he did.
Arthur gritted his teeth. "Why didn't you tell me?" he snapped.
"Why does it matter?" Merlin retorted, concerned now. "You're the King. I'm a servant. I'll make do, I always do."
"Because you're my servant, you idiot!" Arthur shot back, actual worry shining in his eyes. "It's cold. You're going to get frostbite. Just…. Take this." He shoved the box towards Merlin, a flush appearing on his face.
Merlin's eyebrow rose. "Did you get me a gift? It isn't even Christmas!" He gave Arthur a large smile and the King attempted to wave it away. "Just open it, you idiot."
Merlin slid off the ribbon, pulling open the box…and stared for a moment in shock. "Oh… Arthur…," he gasped, eyes widening. He glanced over at the other man, biting his lip. "You don't have to…you didn't…,"
"I didn't," Arthur said firmly. "These are hand-me-downs. I didn't keep capes for very long when I was younger. I grew like a weed—the tailors had to constantly be making new ones. This one was from the summer when I was fourteen. I grew so big in one winter I only wore this one for a few months. It's barely used, and it's blue… I thought it matched your eyes."
The last words were barely spoken but heard by both of them, Merlin's eyes shining in gratitude. He pulled out the gorgeous blue cape, allowing it to flourish out on the floor. The quality really was made for a prince—dark blue velvet lined with dappled brown rabbit fur with a hood of the same quality. Merlin threw it over his shoulders and tied it with practical gold braid around his neck. He was briefly confused at how perfectly it draped over his shoulders, swimming in all the right places.
"I still had your measurements from when I made you that servant's costume years back," Arthur admitted. "I knew you had filled out since then but the tailors knew you. It wasn't hard for them to make some adjustments. They were all going on about how proud they were that I was taking care of my servant."
Merlin turned around, about to say something, when his eyes snagged on something else in the box. Lying at the bottom was a black pair of leather fur lined gloves and a pair of dark boots.
"Both also hand-me-downs," Arthur was quick to point out, cheeks tinged with a bit of red. "Should fit you."
His words were cut off when Merlin propelled himself into Arthur's arms, clutching him closely.
Arthur gazed down fondly, smiling a bit. "Do you want to know why else I had them add the hood?"
Merlin glanced up, confused.
Arthur's hand snagged in the material and brought it up over Merlin's head and placed a fierce kiss on his lips at the same time in the protection of the hood. Merlin's hands entangled themselves behind Arthur's back and kissed Arthur back, chuckling softly.