So, it wasn't Arthur's fault, right? It wasn't his fault that he had a thing for lanky, skinny boys with ridiculous cheekbones and biteable ears. And it definitely wasn't his fault that the boy, whose name was Merlin (and wasn't that a silly name) happened to come across his path. That was all Merlin's fault.

So maybe he had made the whole situation worse. He could hardly be blamed for it. And maybe that mace fight let him get close enough to confirm that yes, Merlin's eyes really were that blue. And his lips…

Arthur had never tripped so much in one fight. He felt like a clumsy squire all over again, too thin for his limbs, going askew all over the place. All in all, he had a truly fantastic time right up until Gaius came and put a stop to it all just with one raised eyebrow. So of course he had to act all offended, like he hadn't just been enjoying a thoroughly, ah, rousing few minutes. Then he sent Merlin on to the dungeons and within a few tidy minutes he was back to throwing knives at poor Morris to distract himself.

He decided that he would never think on the boy again.


1 update a day. 6 chapters. Merthur, on the off chance you didn't notice. Apologies if someone has already written this, but hey, it's more fanfic to read.