The morning sun broke through the cracks in the blinds, an unwanted strip meeting Arthurs' eyes at just the right angle to make him groan and shift under the sheets. He rolled over, wanting nothing more than to cling to Merlin and fall back asleep, when he was met with the crumpled duvet acting as some sort of barrier between them. The night had been hot and the duvet only made it feel like they were stuck in an oven, but now the strip of it down the middle between them only served as a nuisance that Arthur was quick to rid. He balled the top half of it up in his arms before tossing it down the bed some more, using his sheet clad feet to kick it down as best he could.
Merlin stirred beside him causing him to freeze momentarily in his actions. The last thing he wanted was Merlin waking up when all he wanted to do was go back to sleep, knowing full well that when Merlin was up everyone was up. He was basically a human alarm clock. But when Merlins eyes didn't flutter open Arthur felt a slight disappointment. In the rare moments Arthur did happen to wake up before his love he enjoyed just laying there in peace, watching over him and taking mental notes on the little things about him until those beautiful, sleep filled eyes would open and look around in a slight daze before meeting his, a sleepy smile gracing his lips that Arthur would capture with his own unable to hold back.
And now as the duvet was no longer a problem, Arthur got a good look at Merlins sleeping form, the sheets only draping his waist and leaving his bare chest and arms exposed as he laid on his side facing the other wall. His body rose and fell gently with each breath he took and Arthur became entranced by this little action. Scooting closer to him, Arthur found a comfortable position just centimeters shy of making contact with his bare back and rested on his side as he ghosted his fingers along his exposed shoulder blades, following every dip and curve that he had already committed to memory a hundred times over but that never stopped him from reviewing what he already knew.
His fingers trailed up and over his shoulder as he made his way down his bicep, stopping momentarily to explore the crevice between the muscle and bone. He could feel his skin slowly begin to bump under the trails of his fingers, a reaction that made a smile ghost his lips. Finally he perched himself up on his elbow and rested his head on his palm as his index finger lowered to Merlins forearm, connecting every freckle and mole and beauty mark on his way, Merlins skin his own little game of connect the dots, until his arm was adjacent to his and his fingers laced their way between his. Arthurs thumb pad moved gingerly yet gently above Merlins, doing little figure eights.
After a few moments of doing that he released the sleeping mans hand and rested it on the taught muscles of his abdomen, breathing out a sigh of contentment he slowly moved the palm of his hand upward, his forearm gliding against Merlins side as he did so and feeling him quiver and move causing Arthur to stop his actions suddenly and almost draw away as he shifted onto his back and moving his head so he was facing Arthur, his lips parted and his gentle breath just barely ghosting Arthurs chest and neck. He admired the docile nature of his lovers face, how young and innocent he looked at this very moment, but mostly how at peace he was.
Arthurs hand continued its exploration of Merlins upper body, wanting to feel every inch of the skin he rarely got to touch in their waking moments. He finally made his way to his collarbones, jutting from under his skin like little mountains that Arthur appreciated more than he would allow Merlin to know. They were quite possibly Arthurs favourite part of Merlins body and he always paid them much more attention. Using his index and middle finger he started at the far right of where they began and pulled his hand slowly over them, feeling the ridges and then the dip in the middle where he could feel his heart beat against his fingertips, before ending at the other side. Arthur fought with himself, resisting the urge to kiss those ever so tempting collarbones and end up being caught in his silent adoration.
Arthur began humming gently as he ran his fingers up and down Merlins side, his skin soft yet hard over his ribs, when he felt him squirm and then giggle, Arthurs eyes widening as Merlins fluttered open and looked at him, the sleepy look he was used to barely etched into those eyes telling Arthur he had been awake for a while.
"Good morning." Merlin said as he stretched his arms over his head. "What?" he questioned with a smile as he took in Arthurs shocked look as he pulled himself into a sitting position, the sheets pooling around his waist.
"How long were you awake?" Arthur questioned, his face beginning to tinge pink with embarrassment and Merlin could see his body tense up. Merlin just smiled wider before leaning over and placing his lips against Arthurs. When he pulled back Arthur seemed to have relaxed a little, but he still wore that questioning look.
"Well when you started kick-boxing the duvet I almost rolled over until I felt your fingers on my back." he admitted. "And it felt really good so who was I to stop you?" he giggled recalling the feeling of Arthurs fingers like a gentle massage. "In all my life I never imagined you as a morning romantic." he continued making Arthur go full on red in the face as he threw the covers off in haste and exited the bed.
"I'm going to make coffee." he replied, wanting to escape the embarrassment that was evident in his body language. "Baby, there's no need to be embarrassed, I do it to you all the time." Merlin called to him making him stop dead in the doorway and turn to look at him at his sudden confession.
"You do?" Arthur asked him only to watch him nod. "And it's nice to have the favour returned every now and again." He winked, letting Arthur know that all the times before this particular one that he had been aware and awake.