A/N - This was originally written for Kinkelot on livejournal. Prompt: Hands.
Magic Touch
Arthur leaned back in the warm water and closed his eyes with a contented sigh. It had been a long day of training with his knights and it was nice to be able to rest his tired muscles at last, the bath helping to relax him.
He heard footsteps approach and then fingers brushed over the skin of his shoulders. Arthur frowned, about to ask Merlin what the hell he was doing but, as the touch became firmer, hands slick with soap massaging his shoulders, he stopped himself. Damn, that felt good. Opening his eyes, he leaned his head back and looked up into Merlin's earnest face, noting the smile and the sparkle in his big blue eyes.
Gently, Merlin's hands encouraged his head up again before his hair was wetted. Arthur couldn't bite back the moan that escaped his lips as Merlin began washing his hair. Those long fingers raked through his locks, taking their time. A brief scrape of nails, not enough to hurt, sent a shiver down his spine. Arthur shifted slightly in the water, trying to hide the interest his body was showing in Merlin's touch. He didn't want Merlin to stop what he was doing but he wasn't sure that the other man was quite ready to see the effect he was having on Arthur.
Merlin rinsed Arthur's hair without a word. His soapy hands slid across Arthur's shoulders and then down his back, stopping just above the water level. Arthur felt Merlin's presence as he leaned closer, his chest against the back of Arthur's head, and then arms reached around him. Merlin's ministrations continued down over his chest, paying a little more attention than strictly necessary.
Not that Arthur was complaining, however. Lord no. He was just wondering how he could encourage Merlin to move a little lower still, thinking that if Merlin's hands felt this good on his chest, how wonderful would those talented fingers feel wrapped around his cock. Every touch made his cock swell even more, growing hard as steel. Giving up on trying to hide it, Arthur laid himself back in the bath and stretched out his legs, the result of Merlin's delicious torture now obvious, standing up and begging for attention.
Merlin finished washing Arthur's chest, hands dipping just under the water to glide over his stomach, then back up. Arthur growled in frustration, only for the growl to die on his lips as Merlin's fingers found his nipples. Closing his eyes again as deft fingers toyed and teased at the hard nubs. A brief movement and Arthur frowned. He could have sworn he felt the brush of lips on the side of his throat, but when he opened his eyes, Merlin was still sitting in the same position above him, leaving him wondering if he had imagined it.
No, he hadn't. He couldn't have. He angled his neck again, hoping for Merlin to act again but he didn't. Time for a less subtle hint, he thought.
Arthur turned far enough to grab Merlin's arm and, with a sharp tug, deposited him in his lap in the bath, fully clothed.
Merlin, the cheeky little sod, just smiled up at him innocently.
"Something wrong, Sire?"
Taking Merlin's hand and directing it to the problem, Arthur sucked in a breath as Merlin's warm palm wrapped around his cock, giving him a gentle squeeze.
Merlin shifted to a more comfortable position, plastered along Arthur's naked body and sending water splashing onto the floor as he moved. It was Arthur who dragged him closer and initiated the kiss, leaving Merlin breathless.
Eventually, Merlin sat up again, looking down at himself. He shivered.
"My clothes are soaked," he said. "I'm freezing."
Arthur grinned. "Well then you'd best get out of them before you catch cold, hadn't you?" He stood up, water sluicing off the toned planes of his torso as Merlin stared, and took a towel to dry off. "You know, it's nice and warm in my bed…"
He was right, Merlin thought a little later as they lay in Arthur's huge comfy bed, sated and catching their breath. Then again, it could have something to do with the warm body currently draped around him. Arthur was curled up, his arm around Merlin's waist, one leg hooked around his. Suddenly, Arthur frowned slightly, propping himself on one elbow.
"Why now?" he asked. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"
Merlin just stared at him in disbelief. "You're joking, right? I have been throwing hints your way for months," he said. "I couldn't have been more obvious if I'd stripped naked and done a dance in front of you but you never even noticed."
Arthur thought back and, now that he knew what he was looking for, realised that Merlin was right. He had been leaving clues for ages but Arthur had been so caught up in his knights and royal politics and such that he had never paid attention.
"I'm sorry."
"Wow," Merlin murmured. "Did I just hear that correctly? Arthur Pendragon actually apologised!"
Arthur's cheeks tinged pink and he scowled. "Oh, shut up."
"Make me," Merlin challenged.
Arthur silenced him with another kiss but his mind was still on something that Merlin had said earlier. Drawing back, he asked,
"Now, about that naked dance…"
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End.