"And what, exactly, am I to do with him?" Arthur said as he crossed his arms, looking perplexed as his gaze traveled from Gwen to their 6 year old son.
"Spend time with him. You haven't exactly been doing a lot of that lately." Gwen replied, an edge in her tone and brows knitted together, her eyes telling him if he didn't he would never hear the end of it.
"Fine." Arthur huffed out as his arms untangled and hands went to his hips and he rolled his eyes. Not a good move on his part.
"Good," she said tightly as her glare towards her husband became more intense before she turned away. "and don't even think about pawning him off on Merlin."
"Merlin can barely watch where he's going and you think I would entrust him with my son? As tempting as it sounds I wouldn't. I promise." Arthur said in what he hoped was reassurance despite his sarcasm and the fact that pawning him off on Merlin was the first thing that came to his mind.
"Then I hope you two have fun." Gwen said turning with a smile at both of them before leaving Arthur and Arthur Jr. alone to stare at one another.
"Well AJ," Arthur stated as he leaned with his back against his desk, looking into his sons light brown eyes as he mentally went over his schedule for the day to see where he could either squeeze in some time or do something later but his day was filled with training and council meetings, all of which he felt were absolutely necessary. "Looks like you'll be helping me today." he finally decided and watched as the small boy grinned up at him widely, eyes brighter than the sun itself, at least, that's what Arthur thought as he looked upon him with a warm smile.
"Daddy, look!" AJ called, the helmet covering his eyes as he swung the broadsword recklessly and began to run about with it laughing hysterically like it was some sort of toy and not a deadly weapon, making Merlin pale as he came across them on the training field as he carried a few weapons and targets with him.
AJ pulled his helmet up enough to see the court sorcerer, who was more like an uncle to him due to the annoyingly high amount of time spent with him while his father was busy, was staring at him with a gaping expression before his eyes landed on the blue, yellow and red targets he had swung over his shoulder, and he charged towards him happy to finally have something to swing at. "Oi, stop it!" Merlin shouted as the blade came dangerously close to his midsection and he jumped away.
Clearly upset at the fact Merlin had yelled at him and refused to allow him to hit the target, the rambunctious 6 year old ran over to him and, with a skill and grace he must have inherited from his father, swiftly kicked him directly in the shin and ran away with his sword, leaving the sorcerer to grab at his leg and glare into the back of the little bugger.
"Arthur have you gone mad?!" his voice grew an octave higher with each word that slipped between his lips as he tried to avoid getting stabbed by the 6 year old heir to be. Dying at the hand of a 6 year old did not sound very appealing, in fact, he bet his magic that after they grieved his death they would make jokes about it for centuries.
"What do you mean? I'm training him to be a fine knight," Arthur said as he watched AJ. "Besides this was all Guinevere's idea, told me to spend time with him without giving him to you and I plan on at least trying to keep that promise to her."
Merlin couldn't help but watch as the child began running about, the sword bigger and heavier then he was and the blades tip getting closer to the ground before finally it struck dead into the grass and dug in firmly, spearing AJ in the gut with the hilt and knocking him over and sending the helmet flying a few feet away.
"Oh yeah, he's got the makings of a great knight if the plan is to disarm and maim himself." Merlin said sarcastically as he watched the child writhe on the ground and groan in obvious pain.
Merlin waited for Arthur to show some sort of concern and go check on him but when he didn't, "So you're just gonna leave him there then? Not gonna check if he's missing an arm, an eye, an organ?"
"Jesus, Merlin, it was just the hilt. Worst he'll have is a bruise, maybe a cracked rib. He's gotta learn sometime." he said as he adjusted his wrist protector while glancing over at the boy.
"He's 6." the warlock said as he eyed the king in disbelief before his eyes, laced with a mixture of satisfaction and guilt, landed on the boy who was no longer rolling or moving, just laid there still as stone.
"And I was the same age as he when I wielded my first sword and I ended up with an injury far worse then he probably has." Arthur said as he too looked to his son. "AJ, you all right?" he called and slowly they watched as his small arm raised and thumb flicked up to signify he was alright. "See?"
Merlin still wasn't convinced but wasn't all to eager to check on him either, considering he was turning out to be a prat just like his father. "Well if you don't mind my asking, what was your first injury?"
"I..broke my arm." Arthur said almost unsure as his eyes turned to Merlin and watched as his face turned to confusion with an amused smile.
"How in the world did you break your arm at 6? Unless you were in a tournament or the knights were literally training you to be a killer at that age, I just can't fathom how!"
"Well for one the sword was very heavy, and secondly I could barely lift it above my shoulder and when I did my arm twisted and-stop laughing." he growled as he looked to Merlin before rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "This is why I can never have a serious conversation with you."
Finally Merlin managed to get his laughter under control, the images of Arthur as a puny weakling trying to lift a sword leaving his mind, and his eyes moved to AJ and he couldn't help but laugh again. If it wasn't obvious knowledge that he was indeed the kings son, it was evident after hearing Arthur's story and witnessing AJ's display that clumsiness was a family trait both shared.
AJ moved sluggishly and brought himself to a sitting position, shaking his head and holding his side as he used his free arm to push him up so he could stand, leaving the sword where it struck firm in the ground as he wobbled over to his father, a nauseating feeling radiating from his midsection, who greeted him with a ruffle of his hair and a smile.
"There's my little knight to be," Arthur beamed proudly as AJ looked up at him with a sickly expression.
"I think I'm gonna puke." he stated as his hand went from holding his side to his gut before he leaned forward and barfed all over Arthur's boots, the knights watching and laughing from behind as Arthur's expression went from proud to hardly amused.
"Right. That's enough for the day, go and sit over there with Merlin." Arthur said as he carefully removed his boots to avoid getting vomit on his hands before tossing them away from him and walking onto the training field barefoot, his eyes shooting daggers at the goofy looks his knights were giving him.
Gwaine was in hysterics as Arthur grabbed a sword from the rack and lifted it, taking a defenders stance as he waited for one of his knights to act as an attacker and come at him. "Come on then!" Arthur shouted, agitated that no one moved from their spot.
"No one wants to step on your feet, sire." Gwaine said with a cheeky grin at the king causing him to go off on a spiel about how no one should care, even if he was naked, which made the grins fall and looks become unsettled at the sudden turn the speech had taken.
Merlin looked at AJ who seemed to be recovering well from his battle with the ground, the young boys brown eyes meeting his as he wore an apologetic look. "Sorry for kicking you uncle Merlin." he said and Merlin only smiled down at him before nudging his shoulder with his own.
"Don't worry about it," he said as his eyes trailed back to Arthur who, by now, had his arms spread wide as he kept taunting and challenging his knights who refused to fight the bootless king. Merlin could see Gwen coming onto the field, a puzzled look on her face as she undoubtedly searched for her son but only seen her husband shouting like a mad man, and her face hardened as her pace picked up.
"Why don't you go fight him?" Merlin said with a hint of mischief in his eyes that soon mirrored in AJ's as he jumped up and ran for his sword, plucking it from the dirt like Arthur did with Excalibur from stone, and rushing up behind his father.
His plan had worked as he looked back to Gwen who was now smiling and watching. "Get him AJ!" Merlin called enthusiastically as he cupped his hand over his lips to enhance his voice and causing Arthur to turm to see the boy huffing as he ran towards him at a rather slow pace and he smiled, raising his sword high enough so he could hit it as AJ dragged it along the grass before the blades met lightly from his underarm blow and then stepped on Arthur's foot.
"Very good," Arthur said tightly with a forced smile, holding in the yelp of pain that sat at the back of his throat as his face contorted, and smiling tightly at the young boy. "At least he understands and knows how to exploit and use a weak spot when he see's it."
Merlin glanced at Gwen again to find her standing still, a smile on her lips now, as she looked at the two boys begin to playfully fight one another and Merlin felt satisfied in knowing he helped Arthur keep his promise without him even knowing, like always it seemed.
A/N Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! So, what'd you think about it? was it a pass or a fail? would you like to see more one shots added or watch it burn in dragon's fire never to be seen or read again?