Written for a picture challenge on LJ. Arthur/Merlin slash. Contains some nudity, voyeurism, dirty thoughts, but nothing explicit (because I suck like that).
Only my second Merlin fic, so I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Your feedback and concrit would mean the world to me.
Arthur hadn't meant to spy on Merlin. Of course not, that would be absurd. Not only was it completely below his dignity as a prince, but he was certain that an idiot like Merlin couldn't possibly have any secrets that would interest him.
No, definitely not spying, then. It had happened entirely by accident. Arthur had stopped by Gaius's quarters to fetch his tardy (as always) servant on his way to the training grounds. But he received no reply to his knock and found the room empty when he entered. Gaius was probably out tending to patients then. Not that Arthur really cared right now, since the object of his search seemed to be home. He could hear muffled sounds from behind Merlin's closed door. Well, at least Merlin might be awake, then. A minor miracle in itself.
Arthur thought about calling out to announce his presence (and displeasure) when an idea struck him. He would sneak up on Merlin and give him a fright. It might be juvenile, especially at their age, but Merlin shrieked in the most hilarious high pitched voice when he was startled, just like a girl. Merlin vehemently denied that he had ever done any such thing, even thought half his knights could attest otherwise (deer were apparently very scary creatures). Now seemed like the perfect opportunity to call his bluff.
Arthur pushed the door open just a crack and peeked into the dim room. He expected the mess he found, sprawled across every square inch of the tiny space. He also expected to find his manservant equally unkempt, perhaps still lazing about in bed or stumbling about the room like an idiot.
But what he actually found caught him completely off guard, rooting him to the spot, unable to move a muscle. Merlin was turned with his back to the door, completely naked as he rifled through a pile of wrinkled clothes on the bed (the state of which completely escaped Arthur's notice at the moment, otherwise they would have been the subject of a stern scolding).
Arthur had never seen Merlin naked before, at least not entirely. While the prince was perfectly comfortable walking about in various states of undress, Merlin preferred to hide himself beneath layers and layers, even on the warmest days. Arthur never really questioned it, presuming it was due to self-consciousness or a rural-bred sense of modesty. Arthur had always assumed that the body concealed beneath those ill-fitting garments would be scrawny and awkward, all jutting bones and too-sharp angles. He wasn't prepared for the reality, or how it affected him.
Merlin was gorgeous. Perfect. Mesmerizing. A dozen other sappy adjectives that Arthur had never imagined himself using. Merlin wasn't muscled the way Arthur was, but he wasn't all skin and bones either. There was a leanness and definition to his calves and thighs, the result of hours spent on horseback. His shoulders were much broader than they looked under his oversized tunics, and Arthur could obliquely make out the sharp hollows where collar bones met shoulders as Merlin shifted. The skin on his back was flawless, kept pale and smooth by its lack of exposure to the sun. Without the obstruction of that hideous scarf Arthur could make out the muscles in his long neck, elegant and sleek when he turned his head.
Images began to enter Arthur's mind unbidden, of himself touching that skin, exploring those muscles and bones and angles with his fingertips and his lips and…wait. Just. A. Minute. What was going on here? This was Merlin, possibly the most infuriating and incompetent boy in the kingdom, for God's sake. Most of the time Arthur didn't even want to talk to him, and now suddenly he was thinking about caressing him, kissing him, tasting…Wait, what? No. He was definitely not thinking that. But as Arthur's eyes roamed lower he couldn't avoid gazing at the other boy's arse, even if he tried with all his considerable self-restraint not to. It was simply…perfect. And undeniably sexy. And just begging to be…No!
Arthur had to pull himself together, and very quickly. Because this was definitely not happening. So he had seen Merlin naked. So what? He saw his fellow knights naked all the time when they bathed after practice in the communal barracks. A little skinship between men was normal, healthy. It was nothing to be embarrassed about, and certainly nothing to be aroused by. So why was this different? It shouldn't be. If anything, it should be even less interesting. Yet his body's reaction said otherwise.
Arthur was snapped out of his thoughts by a voice. "Arthur," Merlin called, without turning around, no hint of embarrassment in his voice, which Arthur found distinctly unfair. "…What are you doing?"
Arthur felt himself flush, and tried his hardest not to stammer. That would only make him seem guilty. Which he wasn't. He hadn't done anything, after all.
Now he had to push the door the rest of the way open, acting as casual as possible, as if he hadn't already been standing there for he-didn't-even-know how long.
"Ah, Merlin," he said, calling upon all the nonchalance he possessed as he entered the room, which suddenly seemed smaller than he remembered. "I came to see what was taking you so long, since, if you haven't noticed, it's well past breakfast time. And it is, in fact, your job to wake me, not the other way around. Though lately you seem to have forgotten that little detail."
Merlin had pulled on his trousers while Arthur berated him and the prince thanked any God he could think of for small mercies. That made it much easier to concentrate and pretend to be as annoyed as he hoped he sounded. Merlin reached for a tunic, pausing to smirk at Arthur in his customary irreverent fashion, clearly not repentant at all. That smile, combined with Merlin's still-exposed chest and neck made it very difficult for Arthur not to lapse back into leering stares, but he disguised it with his best royal glare.
"Well, if you were in such a hurry maybe you should have told me right away, rather than standing in the doorway staring."
Arthur knew he was gaping now, and probably blushing too, except that was something he never did, ever, so it couldn't be possible. And Merlin, God damn him, was smirking away, terribly pleased with himself. Why hadn't Arthur ever noticed how enchanting Merlin's eyes were when he smiled, or how full his bottom lip was or…damnit. He really was hopeless. He was absolutely certain Merlin would never let him live this down. His tenuous grip on authority over his servant would be gone forever.
Merlin was completely dressed now, tattered scarf back in place and boots buckled. He turned to Arthur, giving him a quizzical look to match the prince's vacant expression.
"Don't worry, I'll let it go this once, sire, but next time all you have to do is ask." And Merlin was out the door, practically skipping, the little prat, leaving Arthur stumbling in his wake.
This was a strange morning of role reversals and for a moment Arthur wondered if Merlin might have put him under some enchantment that turned the world upside down and inside out…But that was ridiculous, of course.