Sunday, as usual, involves brunch. What had started out as a family get together between the Pendragon family - Uther, Arthur, and Morgana - has changed into the gather of friends - Arthur and Merlin, Morgana and Leon, Gwen and Lance, Gwaine and Percival - amongst occasional others.

Beforehand, Arthur lets Merlin sleep in for a short while, as he still does not feel well. When told to go visit a doctor, Merlin, as per his usual, stubbornly says that he will be fine. The cold isn't as bad as the last time he was sick, and he survived that just fine - "Yes, Merlin, after over three weeks of being unwell!" - so, a small case of a headache and stuffy nose should be easy enough to manage.

Arthur knows that Merlin just hates admitting exactly how sick he is. Sometimes, Arthur can't help but agree.

But at lunch, Merlin smiles and laughs just as bright as any other day, and informs Arthur that the pain in his head has toned down to the smallest of aches. All the same, Arthur still keeps his palm against the nape of Merlin's neck, stroking his thumb up and down along the side, throughout every lull in conversation that could be quiet enough to remind Merlin just how loud his head can be. And every time, Merlin leans into it.