"How on Earth did you manage all the chores you had in Camelot Merlin?"
Merlin let out a loud laugh that boomed throughout the small apartment they lived in.
"Well being the manservant to a king does tend to motivate someone a fair bit!" he called to Arthur who was fervently scrubbing away at the tiled kitchen floor.
Arthur paused and permitted himself a light chuckle before returning to the task ahead of him. Having just returned to Merlin last night (and let's just say it was an eventful night), he had promised to clean the entire apartment. This was mostly out of guilt, as Arthur had no desire at all to send his first day back cleaning.
"Why don't you take a break for a minute and come join me in here?" Merlin called from the living room couch.
Arthur threw down his scrub brush and forced himself to walk to the couch, rather than sprint away from the grimy floor like he wanted to. When he reached the couch, he found Merlin engrossed in some television program called 'Game of Thrones'. Sitting down beside him, Merlin did not pull his eyes away from the big black box on the wall. Arthur refused to speak; after all, Merlin had called him into the room, not the other way around. Yet, after several minutes had passed and he was still being ignored, Arthur called Merlin out on his behavior.
"What the hell is wrong with you Merlin? I've only just come back and now you won't even look at me? If this is the way it's going to be, maybe I should get my own place."
When Arthur had concluded his brief rant, Merlin paused the tv and turned to face his king.
Arthur was ready for angry words and yelling, but he remained silent with tears in his eyes, some already making their way over his cheek bones.
"Merlin I-" Arthur began, but Merlin soon cut him off.
"Don't apologize Arthur." Merlin looked down at his lap and a shaky breath escaped his lips.
"You're going to disappear again," he managed to squeak out. It wasn't a question. It was a statement barely whispered, pleading to be contradicted.
Arthur began to grow worried; did Merlin know something that he wasn't telling him? However, that did not matter at that moment; all that mattered was comforting his best friend. So he moved in closer to Merlin on the couch, taking his face between his hands.
Merlin attempted to avert Arthur's gaze by staring down again, but Arthur would have none of that.
Looking so deep into Merlin's eyes that it seemed he was searching for something he said, "Listen to me Merlin, I am not leaving you. Not now, not ever."
Merlin was still to upset to speak, so he simply nodded his head as a single whimper left his mouth. In that moment, Arthur swept his lion hearted boy up into the gentlest, most reassuring embrace he could manage. When they broke apart, their eyes found one another, and then their lips. After Arthur's hair had been mused and Merlin scarf untied, they detangled themselves save their hands, which remained intertwined. Both boys looked very much alive with smiles lighting up their faces, and Merlin finally truly believed that Arthur was there to stay.
All of a sudden, they weren't alone, voices filled the room. Arthur leapt from the couch, grabbing for his sword, and upon realizing it was not there, spun and grabbed a broom which he proceeded to brandish like a sword. Merlin started to giggle. At first it was quiet, but soon he was practically bouncing on the couch. Arthur wheeled around to see what Merlin was on about when he saw the men who had entered the room.
"You idiot!" Athur exclaimed. "You turned the bloody box back on!"
Merlin was now gasping for air as he replied, "You… thought… we… were… being attacked!" Tears spilled onto his face as he rolled onto the floor.
Arthur, not liking the fact that Merlin was now smarter than him, stomped back in to the kitchen and got back on his knees. He grabbed the scrub brush and began muttering under his breath. Something about needing to get his hands on a proper sword.
In the living room, Merlin whispered to himself, "It's ok Arthur, you may not be the brightest, but you're still my sun and my stars."