Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, BBC does.
Moments With Arthur
Merlin wondered aloud for the fifteenth time why they had a hunting trip at night. "It's not like you could even see anything you were hunting!" He grumbled as he pushed a particularly large branch out of his way.
Arthur sighed. "If you had been listening Merlin you would have heard me say that it isn't always about hitting the target. Hunting at night helps heighten your ability to hear and feel your surroundings. It forces you to-" Merlin stopped listening, he'd heard this the first fifteen times. Arthur tended to get carried away when he was talking about his favorite past time. An owl hooted nearby, causing Merlin to flinch. Thankfully Arthur didn't notice, as he was too caught up in gloating over the fact that he had almost managed to hit a deer.
"-but I let it go, because I didn't want you to break your back trying to carry it back. Then who would I have to do my laundry tomorrow?" Merlin rolled his eyes. "The reason you didn't hit it was because I moved the arrow at the last second." He thought. While Gaius probably wouldn't have approved of him using magic, Merlin wanted to take advantage of probably the only time where he could prevent Arthur from killing an innocent creature without any consequences.
"-and then I need you to ready my horse, I have to hunt another sorcerer." Merlin immediately thought of the deer and wished he could save the innocent sorcerers who were killed for what they were. He wondered what Arthur would do if Merlin told him his secret right now. Sometimes, during moments when Arthur let his guard down, he felt that Arthur would understand and maybe even accept it. At times like this however, Merlin was sure that Arthur would have him thrown in the dungeons.
When they finally made it to the castle and back to Arthur's room, he helped Arthur out of his hunting gear and gently laid it aside. As he turned to leave he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks for hunting with me tonight Merlin. I know you don't like it and Lord knows you're terrible at it, but thank you nonetheless." Arthur said. Merlin gave him a small smile, nodded, and left the room. Moments like this gave him hope for the future, and it was getting brighter every day.
This is my first Merlin fanfiction. I think it turned out alright. I may or may not turn this into a series, so for right now I am labeling this as "In Progress" and I might begin working on a companion piece "Moments With Merlin" soon. Please let me know what you think!