The Net, a famous scene from season five...

"Great, just great."

"Where did the other rabbit go?"

Merlin couldn't believe how stupid he'd been to end up in a net like this. It must have been his stomach talking, or he would never have fallen for such an obvious trap. His stomach rumbled loudly in confirmation, like it was teasing him. He wasn't amused.

Merlin was very much aware of the proximity he and Arthur were in, and even though they were very good friends, this was totally embarrassing and awkward, not to mention painful. If he felt stupid, he wondered how Arthur was feeling. The King, with all his experience in battle, should have known better than to run headfirst into a silly entrapment.

He let out a deep sigh. "Why did you jump to my aid? That was a bit dumb, wasn't it?"

"Dumb?" Arthur piped next to him, "You go for the bait right away, and you're calling me dumb?"

"I was hungry."

"I can hear that."

"You could have cut me loose by now, and we could have had roasted rabbit."

"Don't remind me, and get your knee out of my face," Arthur muttered, trying to turn away from him to no avail.

Merlin was very tempted to use magic right there and then to get them the heck out of this uncomfortable situation. He knew he couldn't. Arthur's face was way too close to his, and he would notice.

He would definitely notice.

Merlin would protect the King with his life, but at this moment, apart from being painfully reminded of the net by the ropes biting in his back and the cold metal rings of Arthur's chainmail against his side, they weren't in any immediate danger.

"Arthur?"

"What?"

"Why did you, you know, try and rescue me?"

"I wasn't thinking."

"Seriously."

"You're my friend, Merlin. You would have done the same for me." There was silence for a moment. "But if you tell anyone about this—and I mean anyone…"

"You'll have to kill me?"

"Exactly."

Laughter suddenly filled the air, startling Merlin somewhat, and he tried to lift his head to see why Arthur was so cheerful all of a sudden.

"What?"

Arthur didn't answer him. Instead he started to laugh harder. It was an infectious kind of laugh, and before he could stop himself, Merlin was laughing as well. It made the net circle round and round, which made him nauseated, but they didn't seem to be able to stop.

The image of a mortally wounded Arthur falling to his knees suddenly flashed through Merlin's head, putting a halt to his laughter. The thought of losing his friend was more than he could bear, and not hearing the King's laughter ever again was out of the question. He would make sure it never happened. He had to.

The silence returned, and with it Merlin realized how exhausted he actually was. Cold, hungry and exhausted. Closing his eyes for a second, he could already feel himself drift into sleep. There, he would be able to forget the pain for a while. Not only the actual physical pain of the net, but also the pain of what would be Arthur's future if he couldn't prevent it.

All of it.

The End