Of Hangovers and Haplessness
Merlin wasn't sure whether he was glad there was no hangover on the morning after the night before; sure, it meant he could think straight (and that was rather lovely, especially because it meant he was awake from the second Arthur was), but he didn't get to give Arthur his comeuppance and be a tad petulant – or at least stroppy – all day.
Merlin rolled over and Arthur was staring at him, and hadn't bothered to put any more on than he had last night.
Okay… maybe the lack of hangover wasn't so bad.
"I was going to call for breakfast in bed, but it seems that my manservant is rather preoccupied this morning." The intolerable smirk which would usually be intensely irritable was really rather cute this morning. Evidently Arthur had not drunk as much as usual – which threw his motives from last night into a rather hopeful perspective – as he was not storming around and throwing things and shouting at him.
There was a hand on his thigh, tracing cooling circles; the motion was so abstractly intimate from the dispassionate conversation Merlin found himself watching it intrepidly. "If I'd known you to be such a hapless romantic, I would have demanded you to get down on one knee last night and kiss my hand."
Arthur smiled, circling motions becoming smooth, straight lines, gradually lengthening. "If I'd known you were going to act like such a girl I might not have brought you back here in the first place."
"Yes, because I think you just confirmed your complete lack of interest in girls." Merlin found himself peeking up between his lashes, hating himself for his sheer femininity and then really not minding it much at all because Arthur was blushing, and it was just – well, adorable.
Somehow, somewhere in the proceedings, one finger had become a hand, and Arthur's mouth was fluttering across his face. The second hand slid down to rest calmly on the small of Merlin's back, and despite the acceleration of his heart he looked up with cool eyes. Arthur smiled.
"Do you trust me?" he whispered in his ear.
"Absolutely," Merlin replied, and moved up closer to prove it.