AN: An alternative ending to The Sword In The Stone Pt. 2- Season 4, Episode 13. Canon AU.
"You came to check on me."
"I did no such thing," Arthur faux denies, with a smirk sliding onto his face.
"You did," Merlin persists, refusing to let it lie, despite current circumstances.
"Merlin, this is hardly the time-"
Jumping into motion suddenly, Merlin quickly strides forward to plant himself directly before the other man, reaching up to place his soft lips over Arthur's wind worn ones. For a brief moment, the war torn world falls away. That is until Arthur gruffly pulls apart from the lip lock, uncertainty and fondness filling his eyes, before he turning from the sorcerer, leading the way back to the others.
APMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPME
"I just came to see if you were alright," Gwen offers up, when she enters through the tall wooden doors to be greeted by the questioning gaze of the young king before her and another room in utter disarray.
"The castle is in shambles, but it's reparable,"
"Indeed. It will take some time."
"Have you seen Merlin anywhere? If we're to start arranging-"
"You love him, don't you?" Gwen cuts through. When he does not respond, she continues, "Down in the tunnels, you went after him. You always go after him, Arthur, no matter what the cost. You value those around you, including myself, but with him it's different. You cannot deny that I am wrong."
Warily meeting her soft brown eyes, Arthur nods slightly at the statement. Leaning his left hand against the solid chair beside him, remnants of the once tidy castle, he continues to hold her gaze.
"What do you intend to do about it then?" she queries, realizing the sensitivity of the subject.
"I am king of Camelot. There's nothing to be done. He would be so much as dead if my enemies were to find out, much less, my own subjects. I could not condemn him to that life."
Coughing slightly into her hand, a soft smile spreads across her face, before she responds.
"Whether this were to remain between you and I, or if you chose to tell the whole world, Arthur, as long as he is at your side in any capacity, he will remain someone that those who wish you harm, will seek to eliminate. The moment he was given in service to you, that much was decided."
Looking down at the floor, he cannot find a reasonable argument to lodge against that, because her statement had proven to be true many times over thus far.
"What do you suggest I do then? I cannot marry him. Camelot, as well as the rest of the five kingdoms, would never allow for such a thing to pass. To marry you alone, would have been reason enough for unease, but my male servant? There would be uproar."
"The Knights would-"
"Gwen, it simply isn't done, by anyone and most certainly not a king. It would not bode well for the future of the kingdom, or my duration as its ruler, especially as I have not long been the successor to the throne."
"I suppose you're right."
For a moment, she bites her lip, mulling over the situation, wishing that something could be done.
"Arthur?"
"Hmm?" he replies, surfacing from the haze of his thoughts, circulating through his mind.
"He deserves to know, regardless of what you decide to do."
"And if someone were to find out?"
"You deem him worthy of saving, time and time again. Is he not worth this risk as well?"
Pausing, he glances back up to the homely, but beautiful woman, whom had been a good friend to him at least, for so long.
"I will think on it. For now, I need some time alone Guinevere."
"As you wish, Sire, " she speaks gently, before picking up the front of her dress to leave the room and a contemplative Arthur behind.
APMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAP
Elsewhere in the castle, Merlin is helping Gaius sort through the wreckage that had been wrought upon them in the siege. All the while his mind continues to wander back to the reckless kiss that he had laden upon Arthur's lips in the tunnels.
Picking up broken glass, as well other pillaged plants, he berates himself silently for having done such a thing. At no point in time, despite Merlin's many suspicions, had Arthur ever let on that he would enjoy such a thing. The object of the aforementioned kiss had indeed reciprocated, if only for a moment, but had hardly looked at Merlin since they had taken back their home from the clutches of Helios and Morgana.
"Merlin, do you think that there is anything that can be salvaged over there?" Gaius wheezes out harshly.
The younger of the pair had practically begged him to sit down and rest, but his elder had refused, citing the fact that he could not rest properly until everything in their little sphere became organized once more. To which Merlin had acquiesced, but only just. He had only been allowing Gaius to walk around every so often, checking on his progress, while in between his check ups, the man was to sit and look through the books that had been thrown about in haste, no doubt one of Morgana's futile attempts to find that which is not hers.
"Unfortunately not. Whoever entered, made sure that we would find it in utter chaos."
"I was afraid of that," Gaius states softly, coughing this time after he speaks.
"Gaius, I can take care of this. Please, rest. You'll only get worse if you don't."
"Merlin-," he starts, before a coughing fit overcomes him.
Making haste to his side, the young apprentice helps his friend and mentor to his bed. Taking a cool washcloth from the bucket beside the elder's head, he wipes it across his forehead.
"I could kill Morgana myself, just for what she subjected you to," Merlin tosses out, anger simmering within him at the thought.
"As touching as that is Merlin, if you allow anger or bitterness to consume you, I fear you could become more like her than yourself."
"Agravaine was right there under our noses the whole time, and despite my suspicions, I did nothing to stop him. The whole ordeal could have been avoided if I had just found a way to prove his alliance sooner."
"Merlin, you cannot blame every terrible occurrence in Camelot on yourself. I, too, suspected him, but did not act as I should have. We are all at some fault here, but dwelling on that does not change what has come to pass."
"I'll come back to check on you in a bit."
"Do not dwell," Gaius manages to repeat, before turning over to tuck in for a nap.
Once Merlin is certain that Gaius will heed his advice, he walks back out to their shared living space, in another attempt to finish what he had started. Without the need to constantly check on his friend, he can accomplish a lot more in less time. That is, if the preceding knock at the door had not come. Glancing up, he meets the eyes of Gwen. At the sight of him, concern sweeps over her, as she notes the grimace that comes to his face.
"Are you alright?"
"Never better. You?" he states, then turning around to attempt to busy himself once again.
"I think you should go see Arthur," she points out, while surveying the damage that had been rendered upon the room.
"Funnily enough, I don't think I'm the person he wishes to see right now."
"That's where you're wrong. I believe your company would do him a great bit of good, especially after our conversation not half an hour before."
"I kissed him Gwen. Did he tell you that?" Merlin spouts out, all of his emotions having reached their boiling point.
"No, but-"
"I'll be lucky if he doesn't fire me, much less ever wish to speak to me again. There were people dying all around us, and I kissed him. Arthur's right, I really am the worst servant in the world."
"Did you mean it?"
"What?" he stops at the question, mid tirade.
"The kiss. Did you mean it?"
"Well of course I meant it. The point is, I shouldn't have done it. If there hadn't been a war going on, he probably would have thrown me in the stocks."
"You don't really believe that, Merlin. I can see it in your eyes."
"That's the problem Gwen. I don't know what to believe any more, regarding him, or anyone really. All I know is that I believe in Arthur, and the future that he will bring to this kingdom. I believe he is a good man. A clotpole for sure, but a good man."
"Do you love him?" she asks, watching the uncertainty fade away from the lanky man's features.
"Of course I do- wait, shite."
"Have you ever thought that those feelings could be reciprocated?"
"How can they? To him I'm just Merlin, the lowly servant, who spends too much time lazing about in the tavern."
"You and I both know that's not true. If it were, he would have fired you long ago."
"She's right you know," Arthur agrees, stepping into the room, revealing his hiding spot behind the entrance door to the medicinal chambers.
"Arthur," Merlin exhales, catching his gaze for the first time in hours.
A sense of peace washes over him as the soft blue eyes meet with his own.
"I think I'll just go. See you both later," Gwen states, her comment going largely unnoticed, with the two unable to take their eyes away from the other.
Inhibitions aside, the King of Camelot crosses the length between them, stopping only when he is directly in front of Merlin. For a few moments, all that surrounds them is silence, which is anything but deafening. Shakily sliding his hands on either side of Merlin's surprised face, to cradle it between them, Arthur leans down slightly to firmly press his lips against the dark haired man's.
Gasping, Merlin drops the book in his hands, only to slide his arms around Arthur's neck. Smiling warmly at the gestures, Gwen quietly lets herself out, shutting the door purposefully behind her. No one would disturb them, that, she would make sure of.
APMEAPMEAPMEAPMEAPME
Inside, Merlin gasps for air, stepping back for a moment from the man who had just fiercely kissed him in a manner that would suggest what Gwen had hinted at minutes before.
"How long were you out there?" Merlin asks, eyeing Arthur, hoping this is all not some cruel trick.
"I can't be made fool of again. So, is it true, what you said. Do you love me?"
"And if I do?" Merlin responds at him defiantly, knowing that it's now or never.
The pair share another gaze, before Arthur chooses to reply.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
Laughing wryly, Merlin glances up at him, realizing he's serious.
"At what chance would I have had to tell you something like that?"
Pausing, Arthur reaches up absentmindedly, brushing his right hand across his mouth.
"I don't know. You're right. That was a ridiculous question."
"I'm right. Well that's a nice change of pace, as opposed to what you usually tell me."
"I'm an arse, I know. We've covered that, multiple times over. Now, back to the point. You love me, yes?"
Nodding warily, Merlin agrees.
"In that case, it might interest you to know that," he pauses, nearly giving Merlin a cause to cease breathing, "I love you too."
A smile, which many had silently noticed Merlin reserve only for the man before him, dawns across his face, gleaming akin to that of a rising sun.
"However," Arthur begins, a more serious tone over taking the softness which had been there moments before, "because I am king, this must be kept a secret. Not only would it put an even more unnecessary target at your back, but the whole of the kingdom as well, if anyone were to find out. While I do not believe Annis would pay us any mind, I do not dare to think what would happen if the rest of Albion were to know."
"I understand," Merlin replies, suddenly deflating, as the warmth that had filled him moments before, disappears.
"This just means that, behind the safety of closed doors, I am all yours," Arthur whispers, his tone taking on the soft quality it had before.
Ignoring the obvious obstacles ahead, Merlin steps forward, reaching up to embrace the man once more, leaving those thoughts behind for another time. Revelling in the light he feels surrounding him, Arthur allows the snog to continue, despite the dizzying effect it has to his person. Not many could attest to intoxicating the King, and never in such a manner as this. He would, as time will prove, make similar exceptions for the man wrapped around his neck many more times over.
