A/N: I'm still alive! :D So I actually finished this a while ago and have been writing a lot actually, but my laptop was blocking the site so I couldn't publish anything... but all of a sudden it worked today? I don't even know. Here's some Merthur. This takes place near the end of the goblin episode where Merlin accidentally releases a goblin and it possesses Gaius and such. Enjoy and please review!
I don't own Merlin! Slash ahead!
Btw still FREAKING OUT THAT MERTHUR IS CANON JSDUHDOUWEH.
Donkey Ears or Not, I Still Love You
Merlin knew that what he would find in Arthur's chambers after the whole incident would be downright hilarious, but as soon as he laid eyes on Arthur huddled in the corner against his enormous bed with huge, very distinct donkey ears in a lopsided flop protruding from his golden locks and an embarrassed pout accompanied with a soft blush over his features, he completely lost it.
"Hee-haw!" Arthur brayed furiously, causing his blush to deepen as Merlin leaned against the bed frame, clutching his stomach as he laughed heartily at his helpless prince.
"I'm sorry, so sorry sire!" Merlin exclaimed breathlessly, not sounding all that sorry at all. His grin was huge as he finally managed to control his laughter and approached Arthur who was glaring at him as if to stay as soon as I'm back to normal you're dead.
"You can do whatever you want to me," Merlin commented cheerily. "This is absolutely priceless."
The young sorcerer dared to outstretch his hand and gently scratched the back of one of Arthur's ears, causing Arthur to mewl in pleasure. His eyes rolled back lazily and Merlin chuckled, retracting his hand.
"As much as I'm enjoying this, I have the remedial potion from Gaius," Merlin said a little mournfully. Arthur looked relieved and brayed appreciatively. Merlin carefully pulled Arthur up from his spot on the floor so that they were both sitting comfortably on Arthur's plush bed. Merlin took out the tiny vial from his pocket, the liquid a light periwinkle, and uncorked it. He put one hand firmly on Arthur's shoulder, and with the other he pressed the open vial against Arthur's lips, forcing him to drink the treatment. The prince let out a strange gagging sound, causing Merlin to stifle another laugh, and almost instantly his ears started to disappear.
Arthur tentatively reached up and patted the sides of his head, feeling for the donkey ears but finding nothing but soft blonde hair. Then he glanced at Merlin who was watching him, and opened his mouth hesitantly.
"Merlin," he said softly, and then his deep blue eyes brightened upon hearing his own voice and he ran an exhausted hand through his hair. "Oh, thank God."
"Welcome back, sire," Merlin responded cheekily, causing Arthur to pounce on him, pinning him to the bed.
"You bumpkin!" Arthur huffed, tightly pinning Merlin's wrists on either side of their bodies. "Let's turn you into a bloody animal and see how you like it!"
"I liked you better as a hybrid donkey…" Merlin grumbled, wiggling a little under Arthur's weight.
"Excuse me?" Arthur asked dangerously. Merlin smirked.
"It was so much nicer; you couldn't talk or do anything for that matter, and the ears were just adorable," he sighed, flashing Arthur a mocking grin. Arthur growled, his cheeks flushing, and attacked his snickering manservant. Limbs flailed everywhere as they lunged at each other, until Arthur's hand accidentally brushed against Merlin's ribcage and he discovered that Merlin was awfully ticklish. He grinned wickedly, tickling Merlin until he was completely at Arthur's mercy.
"Alright, ALRIGHT! I take it back!" Merlin cried pleadingly, nothing but a rumpled, incoherent mess after Arthur finally let up. They both collapsed beside each other on the bed, panting lightly. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, the only sounds their light breathing in the huge room, Arthur leaned up on his elbow and leaned slightly over Merlin, staring down at him intensely.
"I'm sorry, for not believing you," he said quietly. "You always seem to prove me wrong, and I do trust you… but telling me that Gaius was being possessed by a goblin? That was a little hard to swallow." Arthur chuckled in disbelief, causing Merlin to smile brightly up at him.
"No it's fine, I understand," Merlin replied sympathetically, grateful to hear that Arthur really trusted him. "I had a hard time believing it myself, and I was the one who found the bloody thing. But you're still a prat."
"Idiot," Arthur responded automatically, affection laced in his tone. He shifted slightly. "Is everything back to normal now that the goblin has been captured?"
"Yes, sire," Merlin responded confidently, but then he snorted. "Your father's still bald though." They both exploded in a fit of laughter at the mental image of a very bald, unimpressed Uther.
"Merlin stop, my father's misfortune is no laughing matter, he'd have your head if he were to hear you speaking in such a way," Arthur scolded weakly, another laugh bubbling up from his chest at Merlin's knowing raised eyebrow; a hilarious imitation of Gaius.
"Don't worry, Gaius will take care of it," Merlin chuckled, his heart fluttering at the mirth crinkling the corners of Arthur's gorgeous blue eyes.
They smiled hugely at each other for a moment, before a strange glint appeared in Arthur's eye and he shifted his position a little so that he was hovering on top of Merlin again, body resting snugly between his manservant's legs. Merlin audibly gulped, suddenly noticing how intimate their positions were and nervously looked up at Arthur.
"Um, speaking of Gaius, we should probably go and tell him that the potion worked," he tried quietly, hardly breathing as he became all too aware of their proximity.
"Later," Arthur said impatiently, looking a little nervous and uncertain himself. "I need to try something first…"
Merlin's cerulean eyes widened as Arthur slowly lowered his face to Merlin's, his heart beating rapidly in panic.
"Arthur, what're you-"
"Shush, I'm feeling brave."
"What-"
But the rest of Merlin's question was cut off as Arthur tentatively kissed him on the lips, pulling back up quickly to judge Merlin's reaction.
Merlin had gone completely rigid and still, his eyes wide and shocked, but there seemed to be a faint spark of hope in them before his expression turned guarded. Arthur bit his lip nervously, still unsure of himself.
"Arthur, I don't play around with this sort of thing…"
"Neither do I," Arthur answered honestly, and in that moment all Merlin could see was pure sincerity and love shining in his prince's eyes as he stared down at him.
"Are you sure?" Merlin asked softly, as Arthur leaned in again with a gentle smile on his face that instantly caused Merlin to melt.
"More sure than I have ever been about anything else in my life," Arthur told him before pressing their lips together again. This time Merlin closed his eyes, marvelling at how soft Arthur's pretty pink lips felt against his own. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck, tangling his hands in his prince's sunshine-blonde hair, pulling him down for more contact. Arthur let out a small, content moan, slipping his arms around Merlin's slender waist as they kissed languidly for a while. Soon Merlin's legs began to wrap themselves tightly around Arthur's thighs, their hips rolling together creating delicious friction. Merlin nibbled on Arthur's plump bottom lip, and almost instantly their tongues were doing their own kind of intimate dance as they slid over teeth and lips and tangled together, languishing in the warm, comforting taste of each other.
After what could have been hours, they stopped, pressing their foreheads together and catching their breath. They shared a few more chaste kisses before Merlin leaned up to peck Arthur on the nose, causing said prince to blush a little as they smiled lovingly at each other.
"How long?" Merlin asked curiously, brushing a thumb lightly over Arthur's cheekbone. Arthur blushed even brighter at this, causing Merlin to laugh at the cute expression of embarrassment on his handsome face. He couldn't resist leaning up and kissing the blonde softly for a minute before pulling back for an answer.
Arthur relaxed, nuzzling Merlin's nose with a grin.
"That day you drank that poison for me," he admitted, causing Merlin's eyebrows to rise in wonder.
"That long?"
"Yes, when my father forbade me to go find that flower to cure you and I snuck out to do it anyway; that's when I realized how much you meant to me, and that I couldn't bear to lose you."
Merlin smiled shyly at that, and Arthur ruffled his dark locks before poking his cheek playfully.
"What about you, Merlin?" he asked, a pratty smirk on his face that caused Merlin to roll his eyes before answering.
"I think it was when my village was being terrorized by those bandits," Merlin said thoughtfully, thinking back to that week. "You disobeyed your father again just to help me, and you ended up saving Ealdor. That's when I realized that I lo-"
Merlin shut his mouth suddenly, blushing furiously.
"Realized that you what?" Arthur asked eagerly, tugging on one of Merlin's adorably big ears.
"Nothing!" Merlin squeaked with a nervous laugh. Arthur groaned.
"Please Merlin, I need to hear what you were about to say," he said, voice suddenly dead serious. Arthur gently cupped Merlin's flushed cheek, forcing him to meet his eyes.
"I love you?" Merlin tried in a tiny, stuttering voice, looking scared and nervous as Arthur stared at him. "I understand if you don't feel the same, it's silly really, I shouldn't have said anything it just kind of slipped out and I-"
"Merlin. Shut up," Arthur commanded in exasperation, but his eyes were locked with Merlin's, looking at him as if he was the most precious thing in the world. He leaned down, knocking his forehead with Merlin's.
"I love you, too," Arthur whispered, causing Merlin's jaw to drop and his eyes to widen comically in shock, and then flash him the most beautiful smile he had ever seen and then they were kissing softly again, happiness and excitement and pure wonder at how this whole arrangement and these confessions had come to radiating from every pore.
"Does this mean I don't have to do any chores for you anymore?" Merlin asked hopefully after they broke apart again, sappy, love-struck grins on both of their faces.
"No, of course not!" Arthur scoffed, peering down at Merlin as if he had lost his marbles. "Love or no love, you're still my manservant, Merlin."
Merlin raised an eyebrow in offence, and then smirked maliciously as he slipped a hand up Arthur's red shirt and used his other hand to tug Arthur into a searing kiss. He rolled his hips up to grind against Arthur's, a low moan sounding from the back of the prince's throat. But then Merlin let go and rolled away, hopping up from the bed and walking towards the door.
"Wait, Merlin?" Arthur asked in confusion, his voice slightly disappointed but still husky from Merlin's bold action. His manservant turned and stared at him innocently.
"I would love to continue, but like you said, I still have chores to do so…"
Within a whole of two seconds Merlin suddenly felt strong arms wrap around him from behind, and lips peppering small kisses to the exposed skin at the back of his neck, just visible above his red neckerchief. He shivered at the tingling sensation brought on by the contact, but grinned expectantly in triumph.
"Oh fine, you can have tonight off…" Arthur mumbled into his shoulder, inhaling Merlin's familiar scent as Merlin's grin grew impossibly wider.
"Thank you, sire," he responded coyly.
Arthur took Merlin's hand and led him back to the bed. This time they kicked off their shoes, and Merlin shook off his ratty brown jacket and tossed it to the floor. It wasn't long before Arthur found Merlin's lips again, and they were making out heatedly on the edge of the bed. When they separated briefly for air, Merlin tugged Arthur's head down further, and gently began to suck the soft spot behind Arthur's left ear.
"Hee-haw!" Arthur suddenly brayed pleasurably in surprise, his eyes rolling back a little at the sensitive spot before he turned bright red at the familiar donkey noise that had escaped from him. Merlin burst into laughter, effectively shattering the atmosphere; it seemed the potion was still in the process of curing Arthur. Said prince tugged at Merlin's neckerchief with embarrassment, fury, and arousal.
"Merlin!" Arthur cried, not at all amused. Merlin simply chuckled fondly at him and gently pecked him on the lips, managing to calm the fuming prince a little. He absently tucked a stray strand of golden hair behind Arthur's ear, giving him a bright, reassuring smile.
"It'll ware off eventually, love."
.
.
.
The End.