Arthur's POV

I know Merlin's a sorcerer now, and that's totally fine.

I know he's still going to be my best friend, that's more than fine.

He's now gained himself a seat at the round table at my request, after taking the magic-ban off of Camelot, which was on my order and is absolutely great. Most days, I suppose.

Today's not one of those great days.

I'm trying to concentrate as I discuss business with the other knights, and Merlin's not helping.

He's doing the opposite, actually. He's being an idiot. He has decided to let words run through my mind to keep my attention and blood-flow occupied away from a steady mind of business.

It started off simple, I mean.

Oh, did I mention Merlin and I are seeing each other in secret? That it's been going on for a while now? That might've been the reason he finally ended up telling me about his magic. However, it also remains the reason that we can't flaunt our relationship yet. Until the laws on magic are well-set, we can't afford to have the people thinking that his decision on the law was based solely on romantic intentions.

Don't look at me like that, it wasn't totally. Merlin made a good argument for magic. It had nothing to do with whatever other nasty things we did that night. It was all about the merit of magic versus the woe, and about whether or not it was worth it.

Whether people like it or not, I trust Merlin. He's always been my friend and confidant, long before our bare bodies hit the sheets together.

Anyhow, back to the present, where I am seriously considering killing Merlin.

It all started off really simple really, hearing his voice in my head as we sat on opposite ends of the table. At first I thought he just wanted to chat with me privately. 'Hello Arthur,' rang through as a whisper in my head. I turned around for a moment, trying to look towards Merlin. The voice in my mind grew louder. 'No, don't look over. Don't acknowledge that I'm talking to you.'

'What is it?' I let my thoughts stream through to him, as I was clearly becoming frustrated trying to multitask telepathically communicating with him and chatting with the knights over their issues.

'Oh, nothing,' Merlin's voice rang more clearly. 'Just a little out-of-sorts this morning, I suppose. I just can't get my mind off your cock.'

At this point, I was drinking from my goblet, and spat what I was drinking of it practically right into one of the knight's laps. Leon was nice though, so he graciously took my apology before continuing talking about…what the hell was he talking about again? I couldn't concentrate. Stupid Merlin, snickering across the table with Gwaine, who I could sure-as-shit tell was starting to figure out what was going on. 'Merlin, this is not the time to be talking about-'

'Sure it is,' Merlin retorted before I could even finish my thought. 'You know, it's been about a week. Both of us have been terribly busy. I've been busy getting accustomed to both the role as your servant and role as court sorcerer at once, and you've been negotiating with the other kingdoms about the new laws. Truth is, I'm just about done being patient.'

'Merlin,' my mind growled at him. 'I have business to attend to, like, now.'

'Oh, I know you do,' Merlin said, smirking and continuing normal-seeming conversation with Gwaine somehow (I'll be darned if I know how he sodding pulled it off) and kept words running through my mind. 'But you haven't been able to focus on work, have you? You've been thinking about it too. Been thinking about how bad you want it, just been too afraid to admit-'

'Merlin, stop,' my inner-voice practically begged. I could feel myself starting to get aroused, and now Leon's words have all but disappeared as my attention almost completely faded to Merlin's ministrations.

'You're flushing. You know that, don't you?' Merlin's voice rang lower in my mind. 'Well, try this on for size: if you just told the knights to leave, you could have me right now. Right here. I could suck on your beautiful cock, and then you could slam into me on the round table. How filthy would that be, yet how good? I bet you'd love that.'

"MERLIN!" I screamed aloud this time, and flushed at the realization that I did so.

Gwaine piped up. "What, is Merlin not allowed to plan nights at the tavern with me now that he's got so much work on his plate?"

"Have you been paying attention at all?" Leon asked. "I mean, it's a big deal, there's a town about ready to be leveled on Camelot's terrain. Shouldn't we step in to help?"

Merlin was just smiling his smug little smile at me, and I practically growled. Then, I looked over to my knights and spoke as professionally as I could manage, making sure to stay on my chair and significantly hidden under the table. "Leon, I was listening. We don't know yet if it's a real threat yet, and so I believe maybe just a few of you could go check it out and come back to tell me what our kingdom can do to help?"

Leon nodded, gathering most of the knights as he left, leaving only Merlin and Gwaine on the opposite side of the table. I cleared my throat, drawing both their attentions to me. "Gwaine, Merlin doesn't get the night off, but you can go to the tavern if you wish. I have business to discuss with my manservant."

Gwaine chuckled, getting up from his chair and doing a bit of a curtsey as he went. "Have a good time, you know, with your business, Princess."

Gwaine left, shutting the door tightly behind him.

I circled the table and landed right in front of Merlin. Merlin looked up at me with a frustrated expression. "You promised not to call me that!"

I shook my head. "Just like you promised we'd keep this a secret until the kingdom was ready?" I leaned down, kissing Merlin once as I leaned over him. I groaned as I felt his hands already starting to work away at my armor. "You're going to be the death of me, Merlin. In the middle of a round table meeting, what the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Merlin said slowly, as he worked away at my clothes and I equally worked away at his, too concerned with lust now to be too angry for this. He pushed me back onto the table as I was in a state of undress, kissing away at my neck and down half my chest before he started to answer. "That I was overworked, and I was horny, and you look particularly good today. Also, I figured since you'd most likely be feeling the same, it'd make for an easy target."

Merlin, by this point, had worked his way down to my waist as he kissed and nipped. "That still doesn't give you the…you still can't do that in a middle of a meeting. And when were you going to tell me you told Gwaine?"

"He's my second-closest friend in Camelot, other than you," Merlin said, sitting up for a moment and looking a bit cross. "Who else was I supposed to go to when I had issues with you?"

"Issues, like what?" I asked curiously. I wasn't aware there were any issues.

Merlin chuckled, and I felt the vibration of it ghost over my body. "Oh, I don't know, the fact that we haven't even kissed in about a week and every time I see you I have to pretend I don't secretly want to be doing things like this?"

"Things like-" My speech paused as Merlin took my cock past his lips, sucking insistently as he held down my hips with a firm grasp. "Fuck, Merlin, ok, I get what you mean."

Merlin sucked for a long time, thankfully, before he came back up with a pop. "Oh, that's not all I missed," Merlin said, rolling away from being over me to being splayed out on his back, opening his legs wide as he grinned mischievously at me. "Care to venture at what else I've missed?"

I chuckled lowly, climbing over Merlin, pulling his legs around my waist and lining myself up with his entrance. Knowing, from vast experience, that Merlin preferred to use magic to let himself be prepped – as it made things go faster. "You still can't do that in the middle of a meeting. I'm the king now. I can't have my guard think I'm going insane."

"You know, there is a solution to that," Merlin said in a strained voice, which was beautifully cut short by his moans as I seated myself completely inside him.

"What might that be?" I asked smugly, smiling brightly as Merlin was wriggling underneath me looking for purchase. But I was resolute. I wasn't moving anywhere till he would tell me.

"We could, you know, we could tell them," Merlin said in a small voice, as if nervous to approach me with it. He shouldn't be nervous to me…it's…I thought we were doing this for him too. His integrity. His ability to work without ridicule. His- "I know you're worried about what they might think, but they are our friends, and if you don't fucking move soon I swear-"

I shook my head, leaning down to kiss Merlin once sharply, before leaning in closely. "I don't care," I realized how true the words were as I said them. "I don't fucking care what they think, Merlin. They are my people and if they want me to carry out ruling this kingdom properly they will have to take whomever I wish to spend the rest of my life with, to marry and to do this again on the round table when the conversation isn't so serious, then they will need a different king than me."

"That's it," Merlin said, to my utter surprise. His eyes turned gold for a few moments, and then he was on top, bouncing on my lap. I groaned, reaching forward and grappling for purchase as I tried to keep a grip on Merlin's hips. He didn't stop, but he had more questions. "I…was…you want to…okay,…you want to…what…did you just…say you wanted to…marry me?"

"Yes," I said more confidently than I felt. Inside, I felt far too nervous at what he was going to say to that.

"Like, in the context…OH, Arthur," Merlin said as he hit the right spot himself, then his eyes glowed gold before he had us flipped over again, and spoke again. "You keep thrusting. I need to…oh, fuuuuck…talk. Did you mean it as in eventually?"

I pondered it for a second. "I didn't want to scare you off," I began honestly. "But I've been thinking about it for a while. I just thought I'd wait until we went public." I groaned, thrusting more quickly into Merlin, eating away at the gorgeous sounds he was making. "But, I've just been waiting for you…"

"Yes," Merlin said, making it the most fucking gorgeous word I'd ever hear him say in the universe. "Yes, I'll marry you, prat. On one condition."

"Anything," I cooed.

Merlin chuckled. "We're not waiting a week in between for this, ever again. Unless it's in extreme circumstances."

I chuckled then too, leaning in for a kiss before answering. "That, I think, is absolutely amenable."

It was only a few more fast thrusts after that until we were finished, panting and exhausted over the table. It wasn't a few minutes past that there was a knock at the door, and Gwaine's voice booming through asking if we'd talked through our issues yet, because it was boring to drink at the pub alone.

I groaned. Merlin laughed. "Alright, you go back and wait at the tavern or I get to be annoyingly obvious about your little secrets."

"I'll be at the tavern then," Gwaine said, obviously moving away quickly.

I quirked up an eyebrow. "Secrets? Gwaine? I thought he was an open book."

"You wouldn't blame him, with eyes on someone such as Perc – shit. Uh, don't tell him I told you that. There's more I just won't tell you, that'll be fair," Merlin said, quickly dragging back on his clothes and helping me back into mine.

I was now too curious to give it up. "Come on, I won't say. Does Percival fancy him as well, because I bet you know that too? You just have been double-sworn to secrecy."

Merlin sighed. "He does, but they don't know how to handle it. They don't know what the rules are on that sort of relationship in Camelot, and cavorting between the knights. And, since I swore Gwaine to secrecy when he was told about us, he obviously can't approach Percival with that."

I smiled brightly. "Someone else that will be happy to hear the news then."

Author's Note: I don't know where I am going with this, at least I can't remember. Oops. But if you want me to continue this one, comment or favorite to let me know. Might be some Percival/Gwaine later, as you might guess. Which will most likely be my first crack at writing them. YEE! Alright, I'm tired. But this was fun and it's been sitting in my documents file for a month. Thanks for reading if you did, and I will try to continue it if it is the will of my lovely people. :D