Arthur watched from stained glass windows as banners were erected and servants brought carts of food (including breads, cheeses, fruits and poultry) into the castle. Leaning against the window pane, Arthur yawned and ran a hand through his still slightly damp hair. He could still smell the bathing oils on his own skin; almost feeling the way Merlin's fingers brushed his clothed skin as the servant undressed him from his armour.
The tournament earlier that day had been glorious, the king absent-mindedly touched the dark bruise on his upper arm; a trophy of his victory. He smiled fondly to himself, the memory of upturned grass and metal flashing in the sunshine fresh in his mind.
A knock on the door drew back his attention "Come in." Arthur turned towards the big wooden door as he spoke. The door opened and Merlin came through (of course it was Merlin, it was always Merlin) Arthur held back a smile at the sight of that dark, mussed up hair and beautiful bright eyes.
"Time to get dressed, Sire. What would you like to wear for tonight's feast?" Merlin announced walking straight in and up to his king's extensive wardrobe.
"I'm glad you asked, after the last feast I'll never even let you choose my bed attire." Arthur jested, and then added "I was thinking the gold and red."
Merlin didn't miss a beat, a smile tugged at his mouth, and he quickly quipped back "At least you know that red and gold go together, I recall a different feast not too long ago where you wanted to wear red and green."
The king did not fail to catch the light-hearted jab and the little quirk of lips as Merlin opened the wardrobe and pulled out the clothes that the king had indicated. Merlin laid them out on the bed and waited while Arthur changed his undergarments. When he was ready Arthur stepped out and Merlin helped him into his formal attire. While the king checked his reflection out in the mirror, he missed the longing glances Merlin was giving him.
"Yeah, yeah, you're handsome, now come on or you'll be late." The servant encouraged, going over to the door and holding it open for his king.
Arthur flashed Merlin a smile as he strutted out the door. The wood felt rough under his hand as Merlin's knees went weak and he used the door for support before hurrying off after his king.
X X X
Music and laughter filled the warm evening air. The guards felt their bellies rumble as the smell of delicious foods wafted throughout the whole castle. Servants were called to refill goblets with enough alcohol for the whole of Camelot, or to mop up what had been spilled over the floor.
Arthur constantly had his goblet refilled with wine by Merlin, who watched him become more and more drunk. The servant wasn't exactly happy about his king being drunk; it always made him more of a clotpole in Merlin's opinion.
Arthur waved Merlin over to where he was seated at the head of the feast for the one thousandth time that night (or so it felt) "Ah! Merlin!" The king exclaimed when he arrived having just left only minutes ago. Merlin was about to replenish the king's drink when Arthur put his hand over the top "No more, about time we-I went to bed."
Thoroughly surprised, Merlin helped Arthur to his feet, but before they could leave, the king picked up his goblet and shouted "To Camelot!" to the entire hall. He took a long drink as the attendees chorused "To Camelot" and drained their own goblets. Only then was Merlin able to lead Arthur away from the feast. Merlin's grip on Arthur's arm sobered him a little and he set himself on the task of walking up the stairs without making a fool out of himself.
After what seemed an eternity of stone stair cases and flickering fire torches lining the walls, the big wooden door that signified it was the king's bedroom came into view.
Merlin held the door open for the other man "Thanks." Arthur acknowledged.
"Did you just thank me?" Merlin's eyes widened in shock.
"No, of course not." Maybe he was a bit drunker than he intended to be, but he was still more sober than Merlin thought he was. At the feast, Arthur had found various means in which to 'misplace' some of his wine (on the floor, into someone else's goblet and back into the wine jug, just to name a few) instead substituting it for water.
Arthur stood in the middle of the room with his arms out "Well, don't just stand there all night, I've waited long enough."
Merlin went over to his king and began to undo all the little bits holding the outfit together.
"Slower…" It wasn't a demand, more of a request.
The king's hand slid over Merlin's; which had stopped when the rest of him froze. A gentle hand cupped the servant's chin and raised his face so that their eyes met.
Merlin laughed nervously and backed away a little "Arthur, how much have you had to drink?"
"Not nearly as much as I wanted to, but I wanted some sort of clear head for this." The king admitted still standing in the same spot.
"A clear head for what?" Merlin ventured.
Merlin's senses were suddenly in overload; soft, warm lips pushed gently against his own, while strong hands gripped his waist and pulled him close. The distinct smell of Arthur (smudged with wine) filled his nostrils and his mouth went dry as the other man's tongue left a wet trail across the seam of his lips; asking permission, and who was Merlin to deny his king. The dark haired man parted his lips and was rewarded with the smooth flick of a slick tongue. Knees weak and brain short circuiting, it took Merlin a couple of moments to respond, but by that time Arthur was already pulling away.
"I've wanted to do that for a while." The king admitted trying to be confident.
There was a short silence where both men stared at each other, then…
"Well, what took you so long?" The question was partly serious and partly teasing, but mostly letting Arthur know that what just happened was completely fine with him.
The relief was visible in Arthur's eyes and in the way he let his shoulders sag slightly (not to mention he was breathing again).
"I wasn't sure how you felt, but then something you said the other day made me realise that I should just take a chance with you. How do you feel?" Arthur asked feeling exposed.
Merlin could still taste Arthur on his lips and he couldn't get enough of the quickly fading flavour "I feel that we should do that again, and again, and maybe for the rest of our lives…"
The grin that bloomed on Arthur's face went from ear to ear and never faltered as he said "I'm glad we're on the same page."
This time it was Arthur that was overwhelmed by Merlin's sudden attack on his lips, hands pushing out backwards; Merlin was stronger than he looked. Arthur's hands landed on the table and Merlin cornered him against it. The support of the table left their hands free to roam each other's bodies. Merlin's hands travelled down the king's firm chest and stripped him of the first layer of clothing. Meanwhile, Arthur's hands had made their way to his servant's waist, he spun them around so Merlin's back was against the table, Arthur gripped his waist tight and lifted Merlin up to sit on the edge of the table; all without breaking the (very exploratory) kiss.
Arthur proceeded to remove all of Merlin's clothing above the waist, regrettably breaking their kiss and drawing in air. Goosebumps appeared all over Merlin's body and a shiver ran down his spine as Arthur kissed down his neck and bit into his collar bone. Arthur stepped back a moment to match his servant's level of nudity causing Merlin to gasp; the tension was electrifying. Merlin was already half hard and needed to touch Arthur again, he made a 'grabby hands' motion which made Arthur chuckle and tell him "Patience, Merlin. Good things come to those who wait."
"To quote what you said earlier 'I've waited long enough'…Sire." Merlin contradicted him with a small note of teasing in his tone.
Arthur rolled his eyes fondly "I don't know why I keep you around."
"You're about to find out." Promised Merlin as he slid off the table and knelt on the floor in front of his king. The strings of Arthur's pants kept snaking out of his lightly shaking hands, Merlin willed himself to calm down and keep his nerve, he'd never done this before after all, especially not with the king. Finally he got them undone and pulled down the layers of cloth enough to release Arthur's half hard prick.
"Merlin, you don't-ahhh!-have to…" Arthur's sentence was interrupted by the way Merlin's tongue experimentally licked around the head of his length.
The servant looked up at his king and said "I know, but I want to." There was no time for Arthur to respond as Merlin took the head into his mouth sucked lightly, his tongue ghosting over the slit.
"Oh-oh god!" Was the immediate response. Merlin slowly took him deeper into his mouth, tasting everywhere his tongue could get to, when he found a comfortable amount, he pulled almost all the way off and took it back. A rhythm started and Merlin gripped the base while Arthur put his head back, closed his eyes and rested his hands on Merlin's head, tangling his fingers in the messy hair.
Arthur had never been looked after like this before, sure he'd had this done before, but no one did it like Merlin. It was loving, careful and erotic in all the right ways, each touch was led by instinct and Arthur forgot about everything but Merlin and how freaking good it felt.
Just as Merlin's jaw was beginning to get sore, Arthur yanked his hair gently, indicating him to stand with a whispered "Merlin…"
Merlin stood and looked into Arthur's pupil blown eyes, he was about to apologise for being terrible at sucking him when he was cut off by Arthur's appreciative lips on his. The king walked them to the edge of the bed, where Merlin fell first, feeling the soft mattress under his back and scrambled further up the bed. Arthur crawled up the bed after him and began kissing him again immediately; he set to work on Merlin's pants and took them right off his long legs along with his shoes. Merlin suddenly looked nervous and shy beneath him; he was naked, on the king's bed, with the king.
Arthur noticed straight away "I'm not going to hurt you, Merlin." He comforted "I'm not in any rush, when you're ready we can continue." He gave his friend a reassuring smile and pressed soft kisses to his upper torso, tracing the lines of Merlin's body with his lips. Arthur's words and actions made Merlin feel a hundred times better, he was still a bit nervous, but trusted Arthur not to hurt or humiliate him.
Taking a deep breath, Merlin announced "I'm okay, we can keep going."
When he had physically relaxed, Arthur got up and removed his own pants and shoes, the night air cooled things down a little, but he had no doubt that things would soon be looking 'up' again.
Moving back up the bed, Arthur lightly ran his hand along the top of Merlin's thigh and over his hip bone, making short work of his expanse of stomach to trace each rib. Arthur touching him was a bit intoxicating to Merlin and his head sunk back into the array of pillows.
"Not getting sleepy on me, are you?" The king teased, knowing fully that Merlin was nowhere near sleepy.
"Arthur…" Merlin's voice was just above a whisper.
"Do you know how beautiful you are, I could just let my hands roam your body all day and night." That was what he told his friend, because it was the utmost truth, and tonight, he decided was about honesty. "Can I touch you, Merlin?"
"Yeah, yes, please, Sire." Came the plea.
Arthur cringed ever so slightly at the use of his title "Please don't call me that here, here we are equals." He requested softly, running his fingertips along Merlin's length.
Merlin inhaled deeply and nodded as a response.
Arthur gave him a smile and said "Lick my palm."
The dark haired man did as he was told, making Arthur shiver, then Merlin gasped as Arthur wrapped his hand around Merlin's erection. Slowly, he began to stroke the shaft, pulling small moans and sharp breaths from his friend. They started kissing again, Arthur slipping his tongue into Merlin's mouth, eating up every little noise produced.
After a while, Arthur rocked his hips against Merlin's, brushing their hard lengths together causing Merlin to cry out and Arthur to inhale sharply. He did it again, then again; spit wasn't going to be enough, he reached over to the bed side stand and dipped his fingers into some special lubricating oil and spread it over their erections.
He rocked his hips again (better) and then wrapped his hand around both of them, Merlin's hips bucked once, glad for the warmth and friction of Arthur's hand. Starting at a slow pace, he kissed Merlin lazily, then with more heat and intensity as he sped up.
Merlin was panting, groaning and rocking his hips up to meet Arthur's and Arthur stroked them together. He wasn't doing any better than Merlin and could feel his climax building, then suddenly Merlin was moaning "Ar-Arthur, Arthur…I…"
"It's okay, Merlin, I got you, it's okay." The way Merlin was moaning his name was enough to make him-
"Arthur!" Merlin almost screamed for him, as he painted their stomachs in white ribbons, clutching onto anything he could reach, ('anything' being Arthur's right bicep and the bed covers) Arthur could've sworn he saw Merlin's eyes flash amber before he shut them tight.
That was enough for Arthur; he came, giving their stomachs a second coat and groaning loudly. He held tightly to Merlin, not willing to let go. Eventually he untangled himself and scavenged up some rags to clean them up with "I'm going to need another bath." He told Merlin jokingly.
"I'll make you one in the morning. I'm too tired tonight." He punctuated the sentence by yawning loudly.
"Only if you bathe with me." Arthur countered as he cuddled up to Merlin, feeling sated and content, he pulled the covers around them and started drift off to sleep.
Merlin's voice stirred him back to consciousness "Should I leave? Everyone will talk if I'm found in your bed in the morning."
Arthur tightened his gripped and assured him "No, Merlin. Even though I'm fairly certain that all of Camelot heard you scream my name tonight, I don't want you to go anywhere, ever. You are mine, and I am yours; no more pretending, for anyone."
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Hey guys, so this is my first Merthur fic ever, but I got this idea the other day and I just had to write it. Now I'm having a lot of Merthur feels, anyway I hope you enjoyed it, much love xox (I don't own any of it)