One-Shot – Armor kiss, fairly simple.

This absolutely incredible and beautiful song was the inspiration for this little story –.com/watch?v=PmVhX6QbV40 – 'All That I Am' by Amanda Somerville

Hey guys! So yeah … here's some Arthur/Morgana loveliness for you all! I hope you like it, PLEASE review, tell me what you liked, what you didn't, constructive criticism is always welcome – how else will I improve?

But firstly … HUUUGE thank you to my beta-reader for betaing this story for me – MegK1978 – your beta skills on this were incredible! Lol … thank you, you made it SO much better :)

I intentionally left the ending very open, so if you want to give me suggestions as to how a sequel/chapter 2 could go, just send me a message, I'm happy to take ideas :)

It's set in Season 1 of Merlin. They're meant to be totally in character, and it's something I think could have happened, they just didn't put it in the show ;) (because there was SO much ArMor sexual tension in the first season! Lol)

First Kiss

The numerous candles lit the great room so immaculately, casting small shadows everywhere, their flames reflected in almost every eye, that Morgana couldn't help but smile at the beauty of it. The combination of lighting and the beautiful music playing behind her, set the perfect mood for the evening.

She took several steps, pacing herself perfectly as she strode across the room – not too slow, but slow enough that it looked as though she had all the time in the world, allowing people to let their gaze follow her for as long as possible. She held herself properly, back straight, head high, slowly making her way across the room as she so effortlessly attracted every eye in the room. Having lived as a princess most of her life, and aided by her stunning beauty, this kind of thing came so naturally to her.

As she arrived at the buffet table, very aware of all the attention she was drawing, she couldn't help but smile. She was happy. Tonight was a beautiful night, she was happy to be there, and she wasn't afraid to hide that.

And it was that smile that Arthur noticed, as he stared across the room towards the buffet table and his eyes happened upon Morgana. She turned just at that moment, and in that second before she turned her gaze away, slightly embarrassed, he smiled back, completely overwhelmed by everything about her. Her face was lit up and she was smiling that perfect, beautiful smile.

Without hesitation, he excused himself from the conversation he was meant to be having with several other knights and walked across the room towards her.

"Morgana," said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Arthur gazing down at her.

"Arthur," she greeted, nodding ever so slightly.

"I take it you're enjoying the banquet?" he said, smiling a little as he spoke, his gaze diverted somewhat towards her lips.

"Er … yes … of course." she smiled at him, aware of the attention he was paying to her mouth.

"Of course." he looked away for a moment as a momentarily awkward silence fell between them.

The strange, stupid thing was that he was never at a loss as what to say when they were fighting, and that was something they did so well. Sometimes it seemed as though they'd never stop. But when they weren't fighting he saw her in a new light, and it really hit him how beautiful she was, and could never think of what to say. He knew she had the same problem because silence fell upon both of them whenever they were talking without raising their voices.

"How's my father?" he asked, having finally thought of something to say.

"I'm not sure really," she said, "I haven't seen him all evening. You know him, he's probably had too much wine."

"Almost certainly," Arthur said, smirking. Their eyes met and they both let out a giggle. "It's good to see him having fun though," he remarked, "something he does far too seldom recently."

Again silence fell between them for a minute. Morgana reached for a strawberry on the table and put it into her mouth. Once again, Arthur's eyes followed the fruit all the way to her lips, and he simply stood, completely unaware of what he was doing, gazing at her lips as she gently squashed the strawberry between her teeth.

It was in this moment Arthur finally realised that perhaps there was something more to Morgana than he'd first seen. He'd known her all his life; she was there from his very earliest memories. Having being taken in by his father, the king, she was like a sister to him, and she played the part very well – often teasing him, pushing his buttons and the like. But now when he looked at her, he wasn't seeing the young girl who he'd known for so long, but a strong, elegant, mature woman standing before him, beautiful as ever.

"Arthur?" she asked, looking up at him, quite puzzled.

"Yes," he answered, almost automatically, as he did a double take, dragging himself out of his thoughts and back to reality. "Hm?"

"Is there something interesting on my lips?"

Arthur smiled as the band of musicians behind them finished one tune and began another. "Would you like to dance with me?"

She looked up at him, quite taken aback, "Dance?"

"You know, it's this thing people sometimes do when there's music. It involves some measure of movement and rhythm, so I can understand why you wouldn't want to, there is a certain level of skill involved."

She tilted her head, throwing him a look that quite plainly said 'oh shut up!'. But with only a momentary pause she quickly retorted, "I'm afraid if I have to dance with you, I'm more inclined to say no. But … with such a level of skill involved, and you being 'so skilful', you're very welcome to make a fool of yourself on your own. It'd be quite entertaining actually."

"What's the matter, Morgana," Arthur teased, "scared I'll show you up?"

She threw him another playful yet dirty look of sarcastic agreement, and turned to walk away, but he grabbed her by the arm. He loosened his grip, only gently holding her arm and they gazed into each other's eyes, for what should have been far too long.

"Please …" It was a quiet whisper, almost inaudible, but as it escaped his lips before he could stop himself, his eyes looked down, as though almost afraid to look at her, afraid of what she might think. It was so unlike him to ask nicely, let alone beg. But as she held her gaze at his handsome face, she also saw something in him that she hadn't seen before, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. They were both usually so strong-willed and so defiant, especially when with each other, but for some reason neither of them could explain, here, this evening, for this one night, they were opening the doors and letting themselves be vulnerable to one another.

She turned her head away, smiling, her defences going up again, "Arthur, no one else is dancing."

Arthur gazed at her for a second, and said, smiling, "They will be!" He practically swept her across the floor, turned her around, and stepped forwards, until they were almost in the centre of the room, and dancing together, slowly, two bodies entwined in a would-be innocent game of beauty and temptation. The crowds parted almost instantly as they moved, and within no time at all, another couple were dancing too. Soon people began to flock, and the room was filled with dancing, the mood suddenly shifted to one of gentle calm, a tender love and affection could be felt in the music now playing.

For quite some time they danced, couples coming and going, the dance changing, and the mood shifted several times as the night wore on. People began to leave in small numbers and crowds of people were slowly beginning to disperse, but right in the middle of the room, Morgana and Arthur danced on, one hand gently placed on her side, his other, holding hers.

They were closer now, their steps small and delicate, barely moving, just swaying gently to the music while in each other's arms. Morgana looked up into his eyes, gazing, wondering … what was this she felt? How could she make sense of these feelings when the man she was feeling them for was, if she was honest with herself, probably the last man she could see herself marrying. They argued all the time! And it wasn't that she didn't like him, he could be an incredible gentlemen, it was just that for all her flirting games and sideward glances, before now she had never seriously considered him for a partner because she'd always seen him as a brother-like figure.

As she turned away and lay her head on his shoulder, still moving slowly, gently, to the music, she pondered, losing herself in thought. And yet for all her thinking, she could not make any sense of it, whatever she was feeling she was not admitting it, even to herself.

Arthur continued to sway gently, moving his feet slightly, as he smiled to himself. He didn't really know why, but having her here in his arms, made him happy. He felt comfortable and knew that for all his reasoning and trying to make sense of this, the only thing he knew for sure was that this, right here, right now, felt right. It was a stupid thing really, but when he thought about it, it made him kind of sad, to think that this was the first time he had every held her like this. Even when they were children there were few embraces. But as soon as they began to grow up … it wasn't that they grew apart especially, more so that they just didn't care to be so intimately, physically close to one another.

"Morgana …" he breathed. She turned her head to look at him. Their faces slowly drew closer together until all they could see of each other was beginning to blur, until they were dangerously close to one another.

"I should be going." she said plainly, as she let go of his hand and pulled away, giving herself a little distance from him. She stood there for a moment, looking up at him, confusion and a little hurt painted all over his face, as they both stood there momentarily frozen, feeling intensely awkward. Then she left, walking swiftly away from him and out of the doors, her maid Guinevere following instantly, behind her.

Arthur watched her go, confused as to why she ran off, but unable to think about it anymore. He'd been lost in thought for far too long tonight, perhaps it was time to get another ale and forget about it.

But as much as he tried, Arthur couldn't put her out of his mind. No matter how much ale he drank or how many friends he talked to, she was always there, in his mind. The perfect picture of her face, that smile he'd seen at the buffet table still vivid in his mind, refusing to fade. Even as the night wore on, she was all he could think about.

Gwen finished off tucking in the sheets on Morgana's bed, then began to move around the room picking up a few things and making sure they were put away and the room was tidy before Morgana went to bed.

Morgana simply sat there at her dressing table, staring into the mirror, once again too lost in thought to function normally.

"Are you all right, Morgana?" Gwen suddenly appeared in the mirror behind Morgana's reflection, and she jumped a little, startled by her sudden wrench back to reality.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you … are you all right? You look … distant."

"Er … yes … yes of course, I'm fine."

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

"No, that will be all for tonight, thank you, you can go."

She curtsied. "Goodnight m'lady." She turned to leave, picking up the basket of dirty clothes on her way out.

"Goodnight …" Morgana barely noticed she was saying it, as though out of mere routine. She had wandered back into what she'd earlier resolved was very dangerous territory – thinking about Arthur.

The following day came and went, and she spent its entirety avoiding his gaze every time they were in the same room, which unfortunately for her, was rather often. She found herself smiling every time she thought of him, but when she realised what she was doing she felt embarrassed, which of course confused her, because she knew that however she felt about it, she had enjoyed last night. Whatever she thought, the simple fact was that during the previous evening and the events that had rather unexpectedly unfolded, she had been happy, she had enjoyed herself and enjoyed being with him, even in that way.

Confused about how felt and not even entirely sure of her purpose, she walked down the corridor towards Arthur's chambers.

Arthur was in his room, having just finished taking his armour off, sitting at his table and sorting through some papers for his father. He heard a knock at the door and looked up, pleasantly surprised to see Morgana standing in his doorway. She looked a little uncertain, hovering between coming and going, as if she was still making up her mind if this was a good idea or not.

"Morgana!" he said, smiling, "Come in." He got up, abandoning his work, and fetched the jug of wine from a small table, bringing over a goblet for her.

"Arthur," she said, as she walked in slowly, smiling nervously, "I just wanted to see you … I mean, after last night." She looked down, for a moment, obviously quite awkward and nervous about whatever she had to say.

But it turned out she really know what she wanted to say, or if she even wanted to say anything at all. She was completely lost for words, and began to even question why she came.

"Drink?" Arthur lifted the jug in his hand.

"Yes!" she took a step forward and took the cup he'd just poured for her, glad of an excuse to keep silent, something to ease the obvious awkward feelings between them.

She tilted her head, edging towards having something to say. "Arthur -"

"Look, Morgana, last night …" Arthur took a sip of wine, taking his eyes off her for a moment, and averting his gaze somewhere less uncomfortable. "If what I did upset you -"

"No! No, Arthur, you didn't do anything wrong, I just … I was tired and … confused."

Arthur began talking, she knew she should listen, but just then something caught her eye. Her thoughts drifted before she even knew it had happened, turning out everything he was saying. She just gazed at his lips, realising how much she loved them, how much she wanted them to be fused to hers.

She looked into his eyes. "Dance with me."

"What?" Arthur asked, clearly taken aback at the sudden interuption.

"I ruined last night by running away. But I've had plenty of sleep, I'm sure I can manage one more dance without having to leave again." She smiled and she gazed into his eyes, trying to work out what he was thinking.

"Morgana …" he turned away, putting his goblet down, searching for the right words, then looked at her. "There's no music"

"What's the matter? Afraid I'll show you up?" she teased.

Arthur smiled and let out a small laugh. Then he moved closer to her, gently taking her hand in his, holding her waist. There and then, in Arthur's chambers, with no music or occasion, they danced slowly, intimately, sharing so much without needing to say a word. They just stood and swayed, moving their feet slowly, and once again lost themselves in the moment, losing all sense of time, of right and wrong.

She leaned closer into his body, nuzzling her face in his neck. Arthur looked down with his eyes and smiled to himself – once again, he was happy and perfectly content just to be here, with her, like this. He felt like he could stay here in this moment, in this here and now, forever, and it would last that long. And yet every single inch of his body was burning with the desire to kiss her, touch her, have her to himself, like this, every moment from now on.

He shifted his weight slightly, she lifted her head, looking up and gazing into his eyes. For a few seconds that's all they did – gaze. Gaze through the windows, all defences gone, just the two of them staring into each other's souls. And they both knew that each desired the same thing.

Arthur leaned in, Morgana tilted her head slightly, and their lips touched. Still uncertainty lingered in the back of her mind, so she was slightly hesitant.

At first they simply pressed their lips together gently. She pulled away and pressed in again, pursing her lips, as he opened his mouth slightly, taking her lip between his. Their eyes closed as they embraced each other and their feelings head-on, the passion growing until it became a fire that could not be put out. Soon their tongues were searching, that unquenchable desire, the lust. This had gone far beyond a mere spark between them. Their passion and love for each other had grown into a fire, blazing across their minds, completely consuming them, their doubts, and burning any thoughts they'd had of this being anything but perfect.

Arthur removed his hand from hers and pulled his arm around her back, moving it up to her neck, leaning her back a little as he continued to explore her mouth, in search of the satisfaction, the quenching for this fire that burned inside both of them so strongly.

Eventually, slowly, it ended. They separated, standing up, parting from each other for what felt like the first time in so long. They gazed up into each other's eyes, uncertainty creeping in again, the confusion that they were beginning to feel, showing on their faces as reality came rushing back again.

Arthur let out a long breath, then after a pause he began, "Morgana …"

She simply smiled at him and he stopped talking. There was no need for talking, no use for words now. They simply stood there, gazing at each other for what must have been the thousandth time in the past few days. Any thoughts that began to creep in were pushed aside, because there was one thing clear in both their minds – they had enjoyed it. They'd been happy and it had been the perfect moment, the perfect kiss.

There were thoughts rushing in, each second that wore on as they looked at each other, more doubts began to appear in their minds, but it didn't matter. It all paled in comparison to what they had just shared …