Positions Oh, you prat. You utter prat
Pairings: possibly unrequited!Merlin/Arthur. Hints of Arthur/Gwen.
A/N: I never write fic, so this isn't beta'ed. But hey, the more fanfic the merrier, right?
Merlin thrums with pent up energy. His fingers tingle, legs aching to get as fast to the court yard as he can. He squints his eyes, needs to see the blond head of his king. And there he is, riding in front of his men.
Merlin pulse slams fast beneath his skin, singing Arthur, Arthur, Arthur.
He breaks out into a run, going down stairs and stairs in what seems like seconds.
And he remembers. He remembers Arthur telling him that it would be too dangerous to take Merlin with him. Merlin remembers, too, the way he fought Arthur, saying "no," and "I have to come with you". He remembers the way the words I have to protect him rang through his head, vibrating from his stance.
In the end, he stayed. Guards following his every move, under Arthur's orders. He remembers feeling so frustrated. He could take them out in one second. But how would he explain that to Arthur?
Arthur couldn't know about his magic yet.
So Merlin had stayed. And under the pretension that he was cleaning Arthur's chambers, he used the buckets of water as a scrying fount instead. Heart beat high in his throat, his eyes shining gold, looking for ways to protect him.
But now Arthur was back. And he was alive. And that was good.
Arthur could still have a lot of wounds. Merlin intended to help Gaius with that immediately.
He ran outside, shoving his feet down the stairs and onto the cobblestones. He wanted to slap Arthur for being such a prat. He wanted to heal his wounds. He wanted.. something else as well. And with the amount of energy in his veins, it was hard to suppress it. He wanted to hug Arthur to his chest, wrap him up in his arms and never let go again. Merlin wanted to feel embarrassed for the last one, and normally he would.
Arthur got off his horse, helped by his men, favouring his right arm and Merlin ran.
He got closer. He slowed his pace and wondered if it would hurt Arthur if he just flung his arms around him and would hold on tight.
He got his answer.
He came to a halt when he saw Guinevere from the corner of his eye, dashing forward like he had been. He watched her hug him. He watched Arthur close his eyes and hug her back.
Merlin's heart sunk to his knees. The position was already taken.
Embarrassment for what he was about to have done slammed into him. He watched on silently. Watched Arthur release her after what felt like minutes.
Arthur looked up, his eyes searching the court yard and finally coming to rest on Merlin's. Arthur nodded at him, smiling.
Merlin weakly smiled back.