This story was loosely based on a date that I had not too long ago. I'm sorry for any mistakes in this story that I might have missed. I don't own bbc's Merlin, I'm just merthur trash. Merthur/Arlin. With Gaius being Gaius. Please feel free to review.
The morning was particularly beautiful that day. Not only because the birds were singing, but the soft morning sun was shining so that the light illuminated the bright green of the grass and brought out the brilliance of the stained glass windows. He slipped out of Gaius's chambers and strolled down the stone corridors of Camelot's immense structure to fetch breakfast. The corridors hadn't been particularly busy with only a few servants walking about performing their duties, but as he opened the door, and the kitchen was as busy as it always was.
He weaved in and out, ignoring the cacophony caused by high activity, to avoid crashing into the unpleasant cook that made transparently clear to him that he was unwelcome to her dumplings countless times before. He saw the tray sitting on a counter, picked it up, and headed for Arthur's chambers with a spring in his step.
Without knocking, Merlin entered and saw that the prince wasn't at least awake. He huffed as he set down the plate of food. He strode across the room, threw open the curtains, and said, "Rise and Shine!"
Merlin watched as Arthur groaned as he stirred awake. He crossed the room as Arthur was rubbing his eyes in an attempt fighting against sleep, stopped by his bedside, and Merlin kissed his forehead. Arthur sleepily smiled, stretched, and the blankets were thrown aside. Arthur stood in front of his manservant. The man had changed from an everyday annoyance, to a friend, and then, finally, he was a lover.
He watched as Arthur's hands grabbed his own and kissed them. He dropped one of his hands only to grab his neck and lightly pull him into a kiss. Pleasant, light kisses wasn't the only thing on the schedule for the day, unfortunately. What the prince of Camelot didn't tell him was that they were going on a hunting trip. The was an hour or two past noon and the summer sun was beating down on them, making them sweat more than usual. The one that bore more discomfort was Merlin, since he was lugging the necessary hunting weapons.
"Ugh! You royal prat! why didn't you tell me we were going hunting? What sort of date is this exactly?"
Arthur turned and addressed Merlin, Because MERlin, I figured we would need meat for our next incredibly romantic excursion."
"Hate to break it to you, but me lugging your stuff isn't particularly romantic," Merlin muttered.
Arthur ignored him as he trudged through the fenlands secretly plotting to hunt for some quail to become Gaius and Merlin's dinner that night. Merlin slipped several times that day, which scared the prince's quarry away. The prince would only huff, pull him back up, and start again to find an unsuspecting bird. Merlin swatted at mosquitoes as best as he could, but they eventually drank his blood; leaving an itchy bump in their wake.
His boots were ruined, the bottom of his pants were soaked with water, and he was currently lugging heavy hunting equipment through whatever dry areas in the marshland called the fenlands. He hadn't been on many dates, but he could claim that this one had been the worst. He appreciated the fact that Arthur was trying, but this was ridiculous. He glared at the blond haired man all the way back to the castle.
He still needed to clean the equipment, shine Arthur's boots, clean the prince's chambers, and by the time he finally returned to the physician's quarters his limbs were threatening to fall off. He rubbed his shoulder as he limped to Gaius' side.
"A particularly eventful day, my boy? Don't scratch those!" Gaius added as he noticed the swollen lumps on his hands.
"It was, quite possibly, the worst date I've ever been on!" He pouted and he began with recounting the day's events.
Gaius grabbed a vial from a nearby shelf, uncorked the top, and rubbed a foreign substance on his mosquito bites, "It seems as though Arthur really cares for you, otherwise Arthur wouldn't consider an excursion in the first place."
Merlin snorted at the comment his mentor made. How many times had he heard that expression regarding his relationship to Arthur? Kilgharrah, alone, said is so many times he could practically recite the words in his sleep.
"You'll be pleased to know, though, that Prince Arthur deemed you worthy of a pleasant surprise," He informed Merlin as he handed him a note with the royal seal and Arthur's handwriting that read, To Merlin.
Merlin broke the wax seal and sighed as he read, Merlin, I know that this morning wasn't particularly enjoyable, so I felt the need to compensate. I know you'll like it. Not everyone has the privilege of receiving a gift from royalty. It's the quails we caught earlier this morning. Love, Arthur.
He was such a prat! To be fair,though, he acknowledged that the date wasn't particularly enjoyable for him. The scent of cooked meat wafted to his nose, and he deemed his stomach too empty to give any more thought to it. He sat on one of the benches stationed on either side of the table, and Gaius joined him for dinner on the opposite side. He happily munched on his portion of the dinner as he thought of the romantic dates to come. He believed without a doubt that the best dates would come after Arthur's reign. When practicing magic wasn't punishable by death.