I'm Cold
So this is for DreamCatcher, a fellow Merthur fan, loyal fanfic friend and all round fabulous person.
"Merlin!" Arthur bellowed late one evening, just as the poor manservant was creeping away, thinking that he might actually get to bed on time for once.
But nope, of course not. Because Arthur always needed something more. And whatever Prince Clotpole Arthur wanted, Prince Cabbage-brain Arrogant Arthur always got.
Slowly, he dragged himself back into Arthur's chambers to find the prince sitting upright in bed looking very disgruntled.
"What is it?" Merlin demanded.
Nobody else would ever dream of daring to speak to the prince in such a way; rudely, bluntly, without even a hint of a "my lord" or a "sire" or any other title with which one 'should always address royalty'. Pah. As if Merlin had ever paid any attention to that. And for some reason Arthur let him.
"I'm cold." The prince stated.
Merlin stared at him.
"What?" Arthur protested.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, you must be freezing in that huge, comfortable bed with all those quilts and covers and blankets and pillows." Merlin retorted sarcastically.
Arthur widened his eyes a little in surprised consideration. Then flushed. "Whatever, I'm still cold."
"And what do you want me to do about that?" Merlin sighed.
"I don't know, do I? Do I have to look after myself now?!" Arthur exclaimed, exasperated. The way he always did whenever he thought on what a failure for a manservant he had ended up with.
"You're a big boy now, I'm sure you can manage." Merlin raised his eyebrows.
"Why should I, when I have you to manage me for me?"
Merlin heaved a deep breath, trying to keep calm. "I still don't know what you want me to do about it."
"I would say use your brain, but then I remembered you don't have one."
If only he knew how many times he had used his brain to save this clotpole's life.
"You're cold." Merlin began begrudgingly, figuring if he just did something then Arthur would stop complaining and let him go. There really was no point arguing with the prince because he would always win because he was the prince, which really wasn't fair.
"Well done… I forgot how slow you were Merlin." Arthur shook his head.
"So you'll need something hot to keep you warm."
Arthur raised his eyebrows, waiting.
"I could put something like a pan or a brick in the fire and let it warm up then wrap it in some cloth and put it in your bed?" Merlin suggested.
Arthur looked pleasantly surprised. "That might actually work."
"Right… brick… or pan… and then I'll need some cloth to wrap it in."
"Well, you're not using any of my clothes!" Arthur protested but Merlin barely heard him. He was too busy trying to find a brick that wasn't in the wall, or a pan that wasn't dirty.
"Ok. Slight problem. No bricks or pans."
Arthur groaned. "Well, hurry up and think of something else before I freeze to death."
Merlin glared at him. If only he had any idea how cold the rest of them were every single night. But they didn't get any sort of special treatment like this. Nooo. But if Arthur was even the slightest bit chilly; red alert, red alert, this won't do!
"You could try wearing more layers." He suggested.
Arthur shrugged so Merlin went and got another shirt. As he handed it to him, their hands brushed and suddenly something seemed to click in Arthur's mind because his head jerked up to look at Merlin.
"You're warm." Arthur said suddenly.
"Actually, I'm so cold I can't feel my toes." Merlin protested.
"No, but the rest of you is warm." Merlin didn't like Arthur's tone of voice.
"And?" Merlin asked nervously.
"Get in." Arthur commanded casually.
"What?!" Merlin objected.
"Get in the bed, Merlin." Arthur repeated as if it was obvious.
"But… but… but… what?"
"You're warm, so you'll warm me up too." Arthur stated, matter-of-factly as if he hadn't just asked another man to get into bed with him. His manservant for that. He could see that Merlin was still reluctant so he added "Also, I'm pretty sure it will be a lot warmer, and a lot more comfortable, than that tiny, hard, freezing bed of yours all the way over on the other side of this huge, cold castle."
He watched as Merlin's mind raced. There was silence for a while. Then:
"Fine." Merlin shrugged. Arthur just smiled and lifted up the covers.
"Well, hurry up." He ordered. "Don't let the heat escape!"
So, hesitantly, Merlin slid under the covers.
Immediately, he was struck by how warm it was. How could Arthur possibly be cold in this? And how comfortable. No wonder Arthur never wanted to get up in the mornings. If Merlin had a bed as comfy as this, he would never leave it. He sighed happily.
"Enjoying yourself there?" Arthur teased, and almost laughed when Merlin just nodded, too blissfully happy to reply. "Well, good for you, but you're forgetting why you're even supposed to be doing this?"
"Shh…" Merlin mumbled, already drifting off to sleep.
"Merlin!" Arthur nudged him uncomfortably in the ribs. He started awake.
"What?" he groaned.
"I'm cold!" Arthur complained angrily. "Warm me up."
"Ok…" Merlin nodded nervously. "How do you suggest I do that?"
"Come here." Arthur demanded.
Slowly, Merlin shuffled closer, trying to be as smooth as is possible when awkwardly squirming along the prince of your kingdom's bed. Suddenly, he collided with said prince, who immediately flinched back.
"Merlin! You're freezing!"
"Sorry."
"How are you meant to warm me up when you're this cold? Get out!"
"Give me a minute to warm up! Or how about you warm me up then we keep each other mutually warm?" Merlin suggested.
"You've changed your tune." Arthur chuckled.
"This bed… is so warm… and so comfortable…" Merlin grinned.
"And you're meant to be making it even warmer for me. Which isn't really working since you're so much colder." Arthur pointed out.
"Yeh, but I'm warming up." Merlin protested. He rolled over and, under his breath, muttered a warming spell, making his body automatically toasty and warm. Why didn't he do this every night, a vague thought occurred to him? Rolling back to face Arthur, he reached out his hand. "See?"
Arthur cautiously touched the hand with his own. "You warm up quickly!" he exclaimed, pulling Merlin closer, and without even seeming to think about it, or consider it at all odd, ran his hands all over Merlin's body.
Merlin squirmed at the prince's, now colder, touch.
"Ticklish, Merlin?" Arthur teased.
Merlin crossly batted the flitting hands away. It was just so… weird. "Are we going to sleep or not?" he demanded.
"Oooh, ok, Merlin. Grumpyhead. You're no fun." Arthur pouted. "However, you are warm so I'm not really going to complain."
For once, Merlin mentally replied. Instead, he just asked awkwardly
"So… how are we going to do this?"
"I don't know." Arthur returned, shrugging, in that arrogantly casual way of his. What right did he have to be this casual in this strange a situation?! "Give me your arm."
Merlin sighed, but obliged. Arthur rolled over, dragging the arm over his shoulder so it rested against his chest, hugging it like a teddy bear. Merlin was pulled flat against Arthur's back.
"Err… Arthur?" Merlin complained. "This isn't exactly very comfortable for me."
"And you're not really making me very warm like this." Arthur tutted, rolling back again.
He looked at Merlin, tilted his head, and then started to practically sculpt him, pulling different parts of his body and moving them as if Merlin were just a doll he could play with. Eventually, he seemed satisfied lying on his back with Merlin against one side with his arm thrown across his chest and his leg hitched over his own legs.
"How's that, Merlin?" Arthur checked, with only a hint of sarcasm.
"Fine, I guess." Merlin replied, mildly surprised that Arthur had even asked. Maybe he wasn't such a pig head after all.
"Good. Although it wouldn't have made a difference." Anndd… Merlin took back what he had just thought. The prince sighed happily. "Niceee and warm… Night Merlin."
"Night Arthur." Merlin replied automatically.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he considered how weird this all was. Also, since he had figured out he could just use a warming charm, why didn't he go to bed? He tried to convince himself it was something to do with how comfortable this bed was. But his mind was filled with thoughts of the gorgeous man in the bed next to him instead, as he drifted off to sleep. Wait what? Shhhhh. Sleep.
Zzzzzzzzzz.
... Merlin slowly came to his senses far too late the next morning. God, Arthur was going to kill him. But it was still so dark. And his bed was so comfortable… and so warm… and definitely not his bed.
His eyes shot open and suddenly he remembered everything from the night before. The conversation with Arthur, the decision with Arthur… the getting into bed with Arthur.
And somehow throughout the night, the pair had wriggled themselves around, entwining themselves even more than they had been when they had gone to sleep. Arthur had wrapped himself around Merlin, arms enveloping his body from behind, stomach pressed against his back, legs bent and winding themselves together. Their heads rested close together; Merlin could hear Arthur's steady breaths in his ear.
Oh good, he wasn't awake yet. Perhaps if Merlin just slowwlllyy, slowwllyyy, carefullyyy, carefullyyy slipped away, Arthur would forget the whole thing and they would never speak of it ever again.
But, of course, Merlin wouldn't have such good luck. Just as he was edging away, trying to disengage himself from Arthur's gripping clutches, Arthur grumbled and mumbled and moaned in his sleep, rolling onto his back… and pulling Merlin with him.
Merlin practically fell on top of him, not expecting the sudden movement. His head ended up on the chiselled chest, clamped tightly under the prince's chin, one arm was pressed under a bouldering shoulder, the other flung across the sculpted stomach, coming to rest embracing a strong hand. Their fingers were knotted tightly together, leaving no room for Merlin to escape. And to make matters worse, the other of the prince's perfect hands had found its way around Merlin's body, curling around his back to gently brush against the exposed skin at Merlin's waist. Their legs were tangled even more than before. There was literally no hope of a chance for Merlin now.
And then he heard little indicators that the prince was awakening; his breathing was becoming shallower and more irregular. The cute, little squeaks and noises he makes in his sleep were becoming more frequent. And his heart beat was picking up. Merlin had a split second to decide what to do. Did he leap away and pretend that nothing ever happened? Or did he pretend to go back to sleep in a hope Arthur would prolong the inevitable? Leap or sleep? Leap or sleep? Leap or sleep?
Oh no. Arthur yawned loudly, and Merlin realised time was up. He screwed his eyes shut and feigned sleep, realising he had left it too long to do any leaping now.
He felt every twitch, every thought process that flickered through Arthur's brain, leading from confusion, to remembrance, to realisation. Merlin's own mind raced; how would Arthur react? What would he do? Would he be angry? Would he…
"MERLIN!" came a cry in his ear.
With a start, that he didn't even need to fake, Merlin blinked his eyes 'awake' and shook his whole body.
He prepared himself for the angry, confusing speech that was undoubtedly about to pour from Arthur's mouth.
Arthur opened his lips. Arthur took a breath. Arthur was about to speak. Merlin flinched. But.
"Did you have a good sleep?" Arthur asked, plainly.
Faking a yawn, to cover his surprise and flinch, Merlin replied, confused "Yeh… very good." And really, he had. He had had the best night's sleep in… forever.
"Good... Get up. We've got things to do." Arthur stated and slid out of bed, busying around to start the day.
Wait… Merlin stared. That was it?!
"Well, come on, Merlin!" Arthur pushed. "Get out of bed, you lazy sod. I need breakfast, and my armour – that had better be polished…" Arthur's words blended together as Merlin tried to register his surprise. For all that he had ever considered, he had not expected Arthur's reaction to be that… blasé. In a dream state, he spent the rest of the day doing whatever Arthur said, with only the shallowest of stupid, sarcastic comebacks and retorts.
And then, eventually, it was evening time again, and Merlin was really looking forward to getting away from all this, and trying to work it all out, think it all through. Back in his tiny, hard, freezing bed all the way over on the other side of the huge, cold castle.
Just as he was blowing out the candles and heading to leave, he heard Arthur's voice, yet again.
"Merlin…" he laughed. "Where do you think you're going?"
"What?" Merlin blinked.
"Oh, you are adorable." Arthur teased. "Did you really think I was going to pass up this method for the best sleep I've had in ages that quickly?"
So, he felt it too! Merlin mentally grinned.
"Plus…" Arthur smirked. "I'm cold."
I hope you all enjoyed and thanks for reading! Considering a second chapter for this although I kinda like it as a oneshot, but if you want more let me know! More fanfics to come, hopefully, so stay tuned!