According to my records, fanfiction started workin last night :3 though I was too sleepy back then, so I didn't dare to publish this yet. I have been... completely caught up with this show now :D Plus, I've been wanting to do a longer fanfic for a while now. So here it is! Written in the early morning, 6 am, no sleep before, on my floor with only my dear blanket and my pillow, while having a fever. So... I have nothing to say. I've grown pretty numb to f Hope you like it and reviews are always appreciated.

And I have no idea why the latin word 'sanitas' means 'health'. I was disappointed upon seeing it doesn't mean sanity x) well, in vino veritas, in aqua sanitas. Merlin or Arthur or anyone you see in this fic does not belong to me. I'd go as far as guessing they belong to BBC or Shine Limited or whatever...

"Come this way", Merlin's voice, as quiet as possible, but at the same time as loud as needed, lingered in the otherwise empty hallway for a moment, guiding the other's way.

The meant other stopped for a moment, but did not turn, and Merlin could practically hear him going "the hell that's the right way" in his head. Not quite to his surprise, the prince ended up throwing an annoyed glance at him and continued going into the wrong direction. Merlin thought he probably made this just to make it harder for the servant, that is, until he spoke.

"I do know where my room is, thank you very much", Arthur announced gazing around the corner, "I heard some noises…"

They were already close to Arthur's room, and Merlin was quite proud they had managed even this far without any bigger complications. It was probably nearer to four before noon, and it was rather dark, save the light that the torches on the walls gave them. There had been a feast before, for another knight being appointed, and they both had only left some time ago. Merlin was in a lot better shape than Arthur was, as he had not been drinking, being the servant he was. But then Arthur, he was another story. He could not quite tell how much the future king had drunk. He had of course served the majority of the drinks, but he couldn't say for sure if Arthur had also provided himself some on his own. It was possible, as he didn't take Merlin hanging by his side all the time and surely wasn't as patient as to wait for him to come around every time his goblet was empty. So it had come to this.

Merlin had no clue how drunk the other was, but certainly not even near sober. Arthur seemed somewhat disoriented. And his talk, well, more like his subjects to talk about were no better. But it was not like Merlin could have prevented it from happening. Like he could stop him from drinking too much. Admittedly, Merlin had diluted some of wine with water and after a few mixtures, he was certain Arthur would never find it out, but that was all he could do. Generally, Merlin didn't like drunken people when he himself was all clear. They were a bit too clingy and a bit too moody. Of course, some people could be extremely funny when drunk, but then they'd most likely turn to over expressive again the next minute. But Arthur he couldn't find himself disliking when drunk. He liked Arthur more open and more vulnerable, as he never was.

He would not expect him to be like that when sober, no, that would just not suit Arthur, but when Arthur was intoxicated it was possible for him to take a sneak peek at his heart. He was not seeking out to cheat some life defining matters out of the boy, he just wanted to see how the other truly felt. And of course, as alcohol does have a habit to blur ones thinking process, Arthur could make so senseless comments Merlin couldn't help but laugh. He'd tell it all to Arthur in the morning. Right now however, he was the set up to put the young prince to bed. The prince who was currently wandering further down the wrong way. Merlin rushed over to him, pulling him back by his hand. Arthur paid no attention to this, but stared at the hallway with a suspicious look spread over his face.

"Come on now, it was probably just some guest heading back to their room, or some servant. It is not uncommon for someone to move around in the castle anyways."

Arthur took one last glance at each direction of the hallway, before making a full spin, shaking Merlin's hand off in the process, and starting his rightful journey. Merlin sighed and proceeded to follow him cautiously, expecting him to change his mind at any moment. But when actually reaching to the door to his room with no more arguments on safety and chivalry, Merlin guessed by now he must have been tired and most likely having a deceased drunkenness, as the boy was not nearly as cheerful anymore as he had been. He remembered Arthur informing him that it was the prince's duty and responsibility to drink in these kinds of occasions, something about the right way of showing his acceptance to the newly declared knight and about the people wanting to see him get wasted. Merlin only thought it was good that most of that people were outside, not hearing their ruler to come explain the long, long history of Camelot. Uther would be surprised if he heard the true story of how Camelot was established.

Arthur struggled some with the lock of his door, but shoved Merlin's hand away when he tried to help him. He muttered something incoherent and pushed the door open, stumbling on the way in. Merlin came in also, closing the door behind him. The moonlight coming through the window was enough for him to be able to light the candles of the chandelier that was standing on the table in the middle of the room. Arthur in the meanwhile was trying to make his way to his bed, almost falling over as he tripped over something and probably hit a cabinet too while he was on it, what could be deduced from the light thud. After Merlin had lit up the candle he turned around to make sure Arthur was okay, finding the other halfway out of his shirt. The servant slowly looked the other way, feeling he was intruding the other's privacy while he was drunk. He noticed the curtains being open and took it as his next mission to close them in the most sluggish movement ever.

Merlin took his time with the curtains and waited patiently even after closing the curtains. He heard two thumps that suggested Arthur had gotten rid of his shoes and then a lot of shuffling. After the room fell silent from the noise and he figured the other had finally managed to get under covers, only then Merlin returned to facing the other. Arthur lay on his stomach on the blanket, right hand under his head and the other under his chest, the candlelight flowing over his bare back. Merlin sucked on his bottom lip, figuring it'd be horrible for the prince to wake up like that. He'd be cold and he'd have no feeling in his left hand. Add that to the hangover he would probably be having. So he walked up beside the bed, shaking the other by the shoulder. Arthur grumbled and turned around on his back. Merlin was suddenly very aware of why people were so easy to take the advantage of when drunk. He wouldn't have minded if Arthur had been sober. Then he wouldn't be feeling like he was seeing something he shouldn't be seeing.

"Arthur, could you get up a little bit so I could get the blanket?" Merlin whispered in a calm voice.

Arthur mumbled some random gibberish again, Merlin could make out the words "sure, sure" and "yeah", and rolled on the floor from the opposite side of the bed. Merlin swiftly pulled the blanket in his hands and beckoned Arthur to move back. Arthur did, though it took him an extra effort in comparison to the first time since he couldn't just fall over on the bed. He settled himself in a sitting position now however, legs straight and eyeing the blanket his servant was still holding. Merlin casually attempted at throwing it on his legs, but it wasn't like it was feather weight and it only ended up in a small mess reaching only over Arthur's left leg. Arthur lowered his gaze a little bit to stare at the blanket and after that, at Merlin, with this "what on earth are you doing?" kind of way. Merlin tried not to pay any attention to the eyes upon him, shook his head and leaned over the other to sort out the mess. He'd have to be quick.

More so now he was trying to remain in oblivion to that he knew the other was still looking at him and even more to the fact that yes, he could actually feel the warmth of the other's body heat. So far he was not succeeding, more likely the opposite. The mentioned knowledge of the other ran through his head repeating itself over and over again. He felt out of place, avoiding carefully of even grazing the other, which made him rather tense. All because he shouldn't. Because he wasn't allowed, because the other was tight roping on the edge of awareness. Finally when he almost got his work done, Arthur went and decided that it was a good idea to hold his free arm, not the one that was holding Merlin from crashing on top of the boy. Not really grabbing, just laying his hand over the other's arm to show that he didn't want him to withdraw just yet, but he could if he so insisted.

At this point, Merlin felt that he couldn't avoid looking at the prince anymore. But Arthur had this rather blank look upon his face, like he was far away, thinking hard on something. If Merlin had to guess, Arthur was thinking about something that involved him, otherwise it would be just odd to stare at him like that. In the end, Arthur only let out a single sentence, two words.

"Thank you."

And then he leaned in and kissed him. The prince kissed the servant. The world went upside down but it was still spinning. The kiss was soft and it was tender, Arthur capturing Merlin's bottom lip in one single, slow kiss. And after it he just backed down as if nothing had happened, pulling his covers higher. Merlin was left gaping, words not exactly making their way out of his throat, let alone forming in his mind. He was thrown of balance. He was speechless, literally, and he had no clue of what to do next. So he just remained there, hovering over other, until he realized he should probably be backing off already. He didn't get all the way off the bed, as he felt like he need to sit down for a little while and the bed was the closest thing around. He kept ogling at Arthur as if he was waiting him to jump up again and announce that it had been a joke. He didn't though, he just kept laying there his eyes closed like he was sleeping. Eventually, Merlin managed out a word, even though he wasn't sure if Arthur was even awake anymore.

"Why did you do that?" he was stuttering, it was clear.

To his amazement, Arthur did give him an answer and didn't even require any time to consider what it was going to be.

"Because I can."

His voice was mostly covered by drowsiness, but Merlin could still separate the proud, the tad arrogant tone to it. He did it because he could and he said it like it was his hidden talent, to "can". Was it the real answer, Merlin did not know, Arthur had had tons of time to prepare himself to be a jerk again, but he was still drunk, it was possible he didn't even have an answer. Drunken people did drunken things. It was nothing to be taken seriously. This could be completely forgotten. He nodded to himself as an assurance and got off the bed. He swept his trousers, like Arthur would ever sleep in a dusty bed, before walking over to the wooden table and killing the candles. He then wished a good night to his master and carefully exited the very much dark room. And Merlin was quite proud of himself, for he hadn't thought for the whole time of how sweet and how soft and just perfect were the lips of one certain prince.