A/N- I usually don't ever write more than one chapter for things cause I'm lazy and lose inspiration, but at least two people wanted moar, so here it is! Positive reviews really go a long way. ;D

That Went Well

When Merlin awoke the next morning, it took him a moment to figure out where he was and why Arthur was slumbering next to him. When he did, he shot out of bed, looking wildly around. Uther was nowhere in sight, and what Merlin and Arthur both had forgotten last night came rushing back.

"Ah, Arthur! Those prisoners! We didn't help them at all!" Merlin cried. Arthur started from the bed and fell onto the floor. Merlin realized that he was naked and covered himself with a hand, trying to find his trousers.

"Where's my father?" Arthur asked as he pulled himself up from the ground. His hair was sticking in every direction and he winced as he took a couple of steps.

"I don't know! We might not be in time to save the prisoners! Arthur, you have to go stop your father! You're still the only one he sometimes listens to!" Merlin said, finally finding his trousers and hastily pulling them on. He found Arthur's as well, and threw them at the prince, who put them on.

"Okay, okay, I'll go find father, and hopefully stop him. You can, uh... clean this place up," Arthur said. He didn't bother to find his own shirt which was probably lost in the bowels of the bed somewhere; instead he went to the wardrobe and found one of his father's. It was slightly big on him, but he didn't pause to find another one, quickly dashing out of the room without any shoes on.

Sighing, the servant set about pulling on his shirt and shoes and fixing his hair as best he could. He was actually rather glad that Arthur had ordered him to clean the room, as he really didn't want to try to explain to Gaius why he was absent last night. Or go with Arthur to confront Uther. He only wondered what he might say if one of Uther's personal servants came in while he was still there.

Me? I'm just looking for something. In the king's bedchambers. Nothing suspicious about that at all.

Merlin went to a window, pulled back the drapes, and peered out. He was surprised to see that the sun was only just beginning to come up. Perhaps they weren't too late after all. The pyre to burn those accused was there in the square below, but that had been built yesterday. Only two guards stood around it, and a crowd wasn't gathering.

Maybe we distracted Uther enough, after all. Merlin thought guiltily. If only I'd just remembered in the first place- He shook his head, banishing the thought.

Merlin left the window and gathered everything on the bed into one large pile and took it to be cleaned. He managed to avoid anyone who would ask questions as to why he was carrying the king's bedding, which he was grateful for. He returned quickly with fresh bedding and had the bed looking brand new in no time.

Done with that, Merlin slowly headed back to Gaius' chambers, having nothing else to do for now. He fervently hoped Arthur had managed to find Uther before he decided to go ahead with the execution, or all of last night was for nothing. Well, maybe not nothing. Everyone involved had seemed rather pleased with the situation, including Merlin himself. He's never seen Arthur so very... whiny. No, that was a lie. He'd seen Arthur whiny plenty of other times, just not for the same reasons.

How could both Arthur and I have been so stupid as to forget the entire purpose for going to see Uther? Merlin thought again. If the prisoners died, he would feel guilty. He would have had the chance to help them, but messed it up.

Lost in thought as he was, Merlin didn't even realize that he'd run right into Gaius until the physician was pulling him up from the ground.

"Ah, there you are, Merlin! Where have you been?" Gaius' tone was only slightly angry and more amused, like he knew something that Merlin didn't.

Suspicious. Merlin thought with a frown.

"I was just, uh, you know. Helping Arthur with things. He had me working so late that I just... fell asleep. I lost track of time."

Gaius raised a brow. "Is that so? Well now you can help me with 'things'. Come on," Gaius said, and Merlin followed silently. He had a feeling that his troubles were only beginning.

…

Only a few people stared at Arthur as he quickly made his way to the council chamber where he hoped his father would be. He couldn't waste time running around the castle looking for the king. Not with lives on the line.

Sure enough, Uther was there. He was sitting at the end of the table with a lot of paperwork around him and a few random people and more paperwork. Uther looked distracted as he gazed at the papers around him, tapping his quill on the table and not actually getting anything done.

The only sound was the shuffling of papers, the quill tapping, and a cough here and there. When Uther heard Arthur entering the room, he watched him like a hawk. Arthur became very aware of the fact that he didn't have any shoes on, he was rather disheveled, and he was wearing one of Uther's shirts. The other people at the table looked at him as well, eyes wide. His footsteps echoed loudly, despite his bare feet.

"Leave us," Uther said without taking his eyes off Arthur. The random people hurriedly left, and the door closed behind them. King and prince were alone. Arthur reached Uther, though he stood a few steps back. He tried his hardest not to meet Uther's gaze.

"Father, have the prisoners been executed yet?"

Uther took a moment to answer, obviously not expecting this question. "The ones accused of sorcery?"

"Yes."

"No, they haven't. Why do you ask?"

Arthur shuffled awkwardly, his feet rather cold on the stone of the floor. He was relieved that he wasn't too late, but in a way, he was. He should have taken care of this last night. That had been his whole plan. But he hadn't imagined-Unbidden, thoughts of last night sprang up and Arthur blushed, clearing his throat.

"I was wondering if you'd consider... excusing them?"

Uther's brows furrowed and he leaned back in his chair, appraising Arthur. "Oh? And why would I want to do that? They've been found guilty of using sorcery. You know the punishment for that."

"I know, father," Arthur said, deliberately not calling him 'sire', hoping it had some effect. "But I was just wondering if you could be persuaded to change your mind," Arthur said, inching closer, still finding anything but Uther extremely interesting.

The king let his eyes travel up and down Arthur slowly as he considered. "We can't have people accused of sorcery go free. That would endanger us all. Besides, what would people start thinking if prisoners went free all the sudden? Other kingdoms would perceive Camelot as weak, and there are already a few kingdoms who barely need any excuse to attack us, " Uther said, though by his tone Arthur could tell that he was just reciting things he'd said before. His attention was focused elsewhere.

"But father, they were convicted on scant little evidence. It would be an act of mercy and goodwill to let them go now," Arthur insisted. He knew that this tactic would probably fail because it usually did. He still had the sex option again, if he got that desperate.

"You're not being very persuasive," Uther said, voice low. Arthur gulped. He usually felt at least a little bit in charge when he and the king had an argument, but not this time. Uther was in control, and they both knew it. Arthur could tell that Uther wasn't even mad because the king knew that he'd probably end up getting what he wanted. When was the last time they'd had an argument and Uther had not been mad?

"I-"

Uther stood up suddenly, placing his hands on the table. "Last night was about this, wasn't it? The prisoners?"

Arthur was usually very good at reading his father's moods, but not today. Everything was off today. He couldn't tell now if Uther wanted to tell him off or otherwise. The prince took a steadying breath.

"Father, I just want you to consider-"

"It was, wasn't it?" Uther demanded, taking the few steps to close the gap between them. Arthur stood his ground. They were about the same height, so Arthur was finally forced to meet Uther's eyes. The prince was the first to look away however, blushing again. He couldn't face his father right now. Not after last night. He couldn't imagine how Uther was being so calm about the whole thing. The king put a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"Arthur, I will pardon them."

Arthur's head snapped up, eyes wide. "What?"

"I will pardon them. For you," Uther said, letting his hand slide off the prince as he turned to leave the room. Arthur worked his mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

What does he mean by that? For me? Arthur thought as he left to go find Merlin. The prince sighed, banishing the thought for now. Arthur first went to Gaius' quarters, and found the old man busy over what looked like a bright red liquid of some sort. It was smoking, but it smelled rather pleasant. It filled the room with the aroma, and Arthur felt calmer.

"Is Merlin here?"

Gaius pointed to Merlin's room without looking up. Arthur hurried over and didn't bother to knock.

"Arthur!" Merlin said in alarm, slamming a book shut and hiding it behind him. Arthur was still too flustered to really notice.

"Merlin!" Arthur said, shutting the door behind him.

"Uh—how did it go with your father?" Merlin whispered urgently, placing a pillow over the book and coming to stand in front of Arthur.

The prince let out a long breath. "Well, they hadn't been executed yet. My father agreed to pardon them."

"Oh, excellent! But …why do you look so unhappy?"

Arthur shook his head. "Come on, let's talk in my room," he said, glancing sideways at the door. Merlin nodded and followed Arthur out.

"Sorry, commandeering Merlin," Arthur said as they passed Gaius, who just waved a hand.

Whatever he's making sure must be interesting, Arthur thought.

They made it to Arthur's chambers with only a few stares at Arthur's still bare feet, and the prince shut the door with a sigh. He went to his bed and flopped down on it. Merlin stood in front of him.

"So? What is it? Your plan seems to have worked after all."

Arthur raised only his eyes, looking at Merlin through his bangs. "No, no it didn't. I'm pretty sure that my father is expecting another round with me."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. He said he'd do it 'for me', but I don't know what he means by that. Either 'for me' like a favor, or literally 'for me', as in 'for my body'."

"Why are you assuming the worst? He might just mean the first one!" Merlin said.

"No, I doubt it. He's calling our bluff."

"What do you mean?"

"He came right out and asked if last night had anything to do with me asking for the prisoners to be pardoned."

"Well, what did you say?"

"I didn't say anything before he suddenly decided to agree."

"So... last night...?"

"Last night didn't accomplish anything, save for the obvious. Speaking of which, I need a bath," Arthur said, frowning. Merlin sighed and left the room. He returned a few minutes later with a large tub, assisted by two other servants. All three then lugged in the water while Arthur watched without seeing. Once the tub was full of steaming water, the other two servants left and Merlin and the prince were alone again.

"Bath's ready," Merlin said, panting from having lugged so much water. Arthur started up from his thoughts, looking around and being surprised at the full tub. He shook his head and stood to go behind the screen and disrobe. He fingered the hem of his father's shirt a moment before pulling it off and hanging it gently over the screen. He came out with nothing on and eased himself into the bath, sighing.

"Arthur. This is troubling you," Merlin said, kneeling next to him. Arthur put a hand behind Merlin's head and pushed it closer for a brief kiss.

"This is not what I had planned. I only wracked up the nerve to do it once because I thought it'd be over with afterwards." Arthur slid down in the bath until his face was covered up to his eyes, and his legs were mostly sticking out. Merlin took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He snaked a hand towards the water, but Arthur caught his wrist. The action reminded the prince forcefully of how Uther had caught his own wrist last night. Arthur dropped it.

"Hey," Merlin said, reaching in and putting his hands on either side of Arthur's face. The prince rose to a sitting position to look at him. "We'll figure it out, don't worry," the servant said, and Arthur couldn't resist another kiss.

"Join me," Arthur said, grabbing Merlin's neckerchief and tugging. Merlin gulped.

"O—okay, hold on a second," he said, and hurriedly shed his clothing. Arthur moved so there was room in the tub, and Merlin gingerly slid in opposite him. He put his legs around Arthur's waist, and the prince pulled them closer together. Their noses touched.

"No matter what happens Merlin, know that I love you," Arthur said, staring intensely into the servant's eyes. Merlin blushed.

"I know."

Arthur kissed him, then pushed him back against the side of the tub. He reached between them and put his large hand around both of their cocks. He rubbed them together, causing Merlin to cry out in surprise.

"Arthur, you're supposed to be getting clean!"

"Mmhm, just a minute," the prince said, grabbing side of the tub for balance. He pumped their cocks, squeezing gently with each tug. Merlin grabbed onto him, squirming and moaning. Arthur's hand went slowly at first, just stroking them. Merlin bucked his hips once, gasping. Arthur kissed him fully on the lips, sticking his tongue in. Merlin arched up into him and Arthur trailed his mouth down to Merlin's neck, which was offered eagerly to him. Arthur kissed the skin, then sucked hard on it. He left a nice mark and then turned his attentions back to the heat in his hand. The prince sped up, making Merlin squirm more than ever.

"A-Arthur-!"

The blonde's hand became more erratic in its tugging, and soon both of them came into the water.

Merlin's grip around Arthur slackened and he leaned back against the tub, grinning. Arthur leaned back on his side, satisfied. Merlin reached an arm outside the tub, feeling around for the soap he'd left on the floor. Finding it, he brandished it triumphantly.

"Now, about getting clean?"

Arthur splashed him, getting the servant's hair soaking wet. Merlin immediately retaliated with an even bigger splash.

About an hour later, after Merlin had mopped up the floor, both he and Arthur were squeaky clean and dressed. Arthur had gone back to brooding, however. He was sitting on his bed, glaring at his father's shirt where he'd left it on the screen.

"Careful, you might burn a hole in it," Merlin said, sitting next to him. Arthur only grunted.

"You know you have training to do in ten minutes, right?"

Arthur grunted again.

"How about this? Avoid Uther for the rest of the day, and hopefully he'll forget all about it!" Merlin said cheerfully. Arthur turned his glare to the servant, who held up his hands in surrender.

"That needs to be returned to my father."

Merlin only looked confused for a second before he seemed to realize that Arthur was talking about the shirt.

"You want me to do it, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Can't you get someone else to do it? Or just not return it? I'm sure the king has plenty of shirts."

"He saw me wearing it, idiot. He might use that as an excuse to come find me. Besides, if someone else took it back, they're going to wonder why I had it in the first place. I know how much the servants gossip."

"But I-"

"Just do it, Merlin!" Arthur grumbled, getting up to go glare out of the window. He heard a sigh behind him and a few seconds later the slamming of the door.

…

When Uther had returned to his chambers later that morning, he realized something was amiss. The room was spotless. His personal servant had been with him most of the morning, however. Not enough time to tidy up like this. That could only leave one conclusion: someone else had cleaned up.

Was it Merlin? Uther knew the servant was extremely loyal to Arthur and would clean up in here if Arthur had asked. In fact, they seemed to be closer than Uther recalled. They were spending a lot more time together as of late. A lot more time. Arthur had fucked Merlin last night as well. Neither of them had complained about that once. They hadn't complained about anything. In fact, they had even seemed quite familiar with each other.

Quite familiar. Was it really about the prisoners? Uther thought. He'd been thinking about it ever since the very early morning when he'd woken up next to his naked son and the equally as naked manservant. He'd been at a loss to try to rationalize Arthur's sudden advances last night, but when the prince had mentioned letting the prisoners go this morning, it made at least a little sense. There was a reason now, at least. Uther left his rooms and started towards the council chamber again.

Just how close are Arthur and Merlin? If they're as close as I think they might be, they hide it well.

Suddenly Uther was staggering back. There was a loud 'thud', and someone else was sprawling on the floor. It took Uther a moment to regain his senses, for he and the person on the floor had hit their heads together. Huge blue eyes looked up at him.

Merlin...hmm.

The servant didn't move, frozen in place probably by fear. Uther allowed himself a brief smile before he bent, offering a hand to Merlin. The servant's eyes got even bigger, if that was possible. He hesitantly reached out, and Uther had the feeling that he was offering food to a timid deer. The king pulled Merlin right up with one yank.

"I, uh, here!" Merlin shoved black fabric at Uther, and the king realized that it was the shirt Arthur had been wearing this morning. Uther turned piercing eyes on Merlin.

The servant gulped, instantly blushing ten shades of red. "S—s—sire! If you'll excuse me," he stammered, pivoting on a heel. Uther grabbed his arm before he could flee. Merlin whipped back around and the king could practically see his heart beating through his shirt. Uther pulled him closer so as to not be overheard.

"You cleaned my chambers this morning, did you not?"

Merlin nodded so hard that Uther thought his neck might snap.

"Very good. I think you do a better job than my regular servant," Uther breathed next to Merlin's ear. He felt the servant shiver. For a brief moment, Uther was torn between asking about Merlin and Arthur's relationship and just letting him go. This was all the distraction Merlin needed to pry free of the king's grip and practically run away, stuttering apologies back over his shoulder as he went.

Uther clutched the shirt in his hand, staring hard at it. He folded it a couple of times and tucked it under an arm as he continued on his way back to the council chamber.

…

Merlin hurried away, intimidated beyond reason by Uther just now. He had no idea why, and he tried to shake the feeling as he made his way to where he hoped Arthur would be. Sure enough, Arthur was there, in the practice area with knight trainees. He was sparring with one, and won easily. Merlin waited off to one side, and when Arthur saw him, he called for a break.

"Merlin."

"Arthur."

"So? Did you return it?"

"I did." Merlin said, and the feeling of being overwhelmed by Uther returned with great force. Merlin's heart began to beat rapidly.

"Hey Merlin, what's the matter?" Arthur asked, concerned. He put a hand on Merlin's shoulder to steady him.

"S-sorry. It's just that, I met Uther in the hallway outside of his chamber, and he-" Merlin gulped, putting a hand over his heart. Why was he letting Uther have such power over him when he wasn't even there?

Arthur's eyes got bigger. "What? What did he do to you?"

"Nothing! He just guessed that I cleaned his room this morning, and I gave him the shirt, and that's it! I don't know why I'm freaking out!"

Arthur let out a sigh and put his other hand on Merlin's other shoulder. "You can't let him make you feel like this, Merlin. He'll just keep gaining an advantage over you forever, and then he'll start making you do things. After last night, who knows what those things might be?"

"I—I- okay, I'm fine, really," Merlin said, though he didn't feel it at all. He took a deep breath and smiled. Arthur smiled back and removed his hands from Merlin's shoulders.

"Alright. Now, go muck out the horses," Arthur said and returned to the trainees before Merlin could argue. Shaking his head, Merlin slowly headed to the stables.

…

Throughout the rest of training, Arthur couldn't concentrate fully. He kept thinking mostly of his father, and thus got flustered quite often. A couple of the trainees even managed to get him down before he would snap out of it and come back with a vengeance. When it was time to call it in for the day, Arthur was rather cross and angry. He stormed to his room, where Merlin was conveniently tidying up. He seemed in a better mood than when Arthur had seen him previously.

"Arthur! How was training?" the servant asked cheerily, coming to help Arthur out of his armor. The prince just grunted, impatiently waiting for Merlin to be done.

"Pouting all day is not going to help anything. At least tell me what's wrong," Merlin said.

"No."

"Arthur, what have we discussed about holding it all in?"

"I know, Merlin. It's just that I have no idea what to do about this whole situation. I thought it would end and we'd be done with it, but it just keeps dragging on," Arthur said, slumping down in a chair once his armor was off. Merlin left it on the table and leaned against a pillar in front of Arthur.

"You're going to have to go talk to Uther and find out what he meant. It's just going to keep bothering you until you figure it out."

"No, I'm not going to go speak to my father. That would make it seem like I was eager for more... you know."

"No it wouldn't! It's perfectly reasonable to want to know exactly what he meant, and the only way to do that is to ask."

"It's not perfectly reasonable!"

"Arthur, just go do it!" Merlin cried, flinging his arms to the side. Arthur looked like he wanted to get up and smack the servant, but instead he put his head in his hands.

"I'm afraid, Merlin." Arthur's voice was so quiet that Merlin almost didn't catch it.

"Afraid?" the servant asked, kneeling in front of Arthur and taking his hands.

"Yes," Arthur whispered. "I'm afraid that if I go talk to him, he'll want to do it again, and when we do, I might like it again. You're not supposed to like having sex with your father, Merlin," Arthur whispered urgently. He need to make Merlin understand how he was feeling right now; he was so confused about how last night was affecting him right now. He didn't know what he should feel towards his father anymore, and how that might affect his relationship with Merlin. If he hadn't liked it so much, then none of this would be a problem and he wouldn't have to pretend to not want to do it again.

"You liked it?"

Arthur looked down into Merlin's face and wasn't able to read the expression there. The prince nodded. Merlin stood up and began pacing.

"Did you like it, too?" Arthur asked, suddenly having to know. If only he liked it, and Merlin had just been going along with it, what did that mean for them?

Did he prefer his father over his lover?

Merlin turned away from him, wrapping his arms around himself. "What does it matter what I feel?" he demanded, whirling back around and staring accusingly at Arthur. The prince stood up and reached out to Merlin, but the servant moved away.

"Merlin, what's the matter? Why are you acting like this all of the sudden?"

"How do you suppose I should react to the admission that you liked what happened last night?" Despite his words, Arthur could see tears at the corners of Merlin's eyes. He reached out to him again, but Merlin turned and sprinted for the door.

"Merlin, wait!" Arthur called, but the servant was gone. Arthur hurried after him, but a guard stopped him.

"Sire, your presence is required."

"Not now!" Arthur growled, but the guard caught his arm. Arthur glared at him, and the guard gulped.

"The king wishes to see you."

Arthur froze at that and nodded. Merlin he could deal with later, but it would be a bad idea to keep his father waiting right now. He followed the guard to the council chambers where Uther was discussing something with Gaius. The room smelled like whatever it was that Gaius had been working on in his chambers, and Arthur calmed immediately. Uther looked calm as well, and that above all else should have alarmed Arthur.

"Arthur," Uther said, voice deep and resonating throughout the room. Arthur sucked in a breath and stopped at the opposite end of the table. Gaius left the room with a curious glance at Arthur, but he didn't say anything. The prince waited for Uther to speak, which he did after a couple of moments. He fixed Arthur with a pleasant enough expression.

"Raiders have been spotted along the southern boarder. Take a detachment of soldiers and deal with them, please. You should be back by tonight," the king said.

Arthur raised a brow. Sure, he was the best swordsman in Camelot and he could get it taken care of the fastest, but he was also the prince. He didn't need to be going around taking care of every little problem that sprung up. He needed to.. what was it again? Something about Merlin.

Did father actually say please? Arthur mused. He felt, deep down, that he should be questioning the sudden need for him to be away from the castle, and why he wasn't going to say anything to protest. He just felt too calm to argue right now. Why does it smell so good in here?

"Very well, father. I shall leave immediately, unless you have something else you wanted to discuss?"

Uther hesitated. Arthur could see that yes, he did want to say something, but then his face became neutral as he took a deep breath of the fragrant air.

"No, that will be all. Have a safe journey," the king said, offering a small smile. Arthur returned the smile automatically and left the room.

All through the process of trying to find Merlin, giving up, and ordering another servant to ready his horse and alert the other soldiers that would accompany him, Arthur felt as if he was floating. It was only after they'd been riding for about half an hour and Arthur couldn't smell that interesting smell from the council room anymore that the prince realized that something didn't quite fit. Just why hadn't he protested being sent out? He had really needed to find Merlin and try to talk to him again.

Guilt settled in. Merlin needed him right now, or at least an attempt at an explanation of how he was feeling. Why in the world had he confessed that he'd liked what happened last night? Of course Merlin would respond how he did! How would he feel if Merlin had found someone else himself? He'd probably challenge the person to a duel.

"Sire!"

Arthur started and almost fell from his horse. He looked around to the soldier next to him. They'd stopped without the prince noticing, and everyone was looking at him. He glanced around and saw a curl of smoke not too far away, and assumed it was the bandit camp. He took a deep breath.

"Alright men, let's get this over with," Arthur said with false enthusiasm. He spurred his horse on towards the camp, mind somewhere else entirely.