Arthur shivered in the cool air and drew both his blankets around him more tightly. As thick and warm as they were, they were rather useless when up against the freezing conditions of the forest. He heard Merlin sigh heavily beside him and shift into a more comfortable position on the forest floor.
Although Arthur hated to admit it, he was starting to regret ever going on this hunting trip in the first place (and dragging Merlin along with him) as he imagined his own, warm bed.
"This is ridiculous," he heard Merlin mutter, sitting up and throwing his blanket off him. "Are you awake, Arthur?"
"Yes," Arthur replied wearily.
"We're never going to get to sleep! Honestly Arthur, if we freeze to death, it will be your fault-"
"Stop being such a girl!" said Arthur scornfully, imitating Merlin and pushing himself into a sitting position. "It's only a little bit cold, it's nothing you can't handle."
Although Arthur couldn't see him through the dark, he imagined Merlin rolling his eyes. "Prat."
"Is that the only word you know?" said Arthur, torn between amusement and exasperation.
"Clotpole!" said Merlin helpfully.
"Idiot," Arthur muttered. He settled back down, huddling under both his blankets. "Come on, we need to get some sleep."
Merlin stood up. "I'm going to get a drink of water from that stream we passed earlier. It's not far from here."
"Be careful you don't get lost," Arthur warned. "You're not the brightest, and it's easy for idiots to get lost in dark forests…"
Merlin promptly threw his blanket at Arthur before running off, calling over his shoulder, "Is that the only word you know?"
Arthur smiled and shook his head, picking up Merlin's blanket from the ground. His smile was replaced by a frown as felt a large hole in the corner of it. Sliding his hands over the thin cloth, which was basically all it was, he could feel many other small holes and tears, and several loose threads were hanging from it.
Comparing it to his two, heavy blankets, Arthur felt a small pang of guilt. Merlin probably would freeze to death if he slept under this for a whole night. Coming to a sudden decision, Arthur stood up and made his way over to a large clump of bushes, praying that Merlin wouldn't return. He hoped he was heading in the right direction, as he remembered seeing them earlier but couldn't recall their exact position, only that they were somewhere roughly around here.
He tentatively reached out a hand and withdrew it almost immediately, wincing in pain. He had stuck it straight into a prickly bush. Swearing under his breath, Arthur buried the blanket underneath the bush and turned away, hurrying back to his bed, if he could call it that. It was more a pile of blankets.
Arthur had only just sat down when Merlin returned from the stream, heading over to him and collapsing onto the ground with a loud groan. Arthur watched as he felt around on the ground for a few seconds, before sighing heavily.
"Arthur, where have you put my blanket?"
"Nowhere!" said Arthur, pretending to sound surprised. "It must have been blown away by the wind – it's so small I didn't notice it."
"Great," said Merlin glumly. "Just great."
"Well, what does it matter?" said Arthur. "I mean, it was just a moth-eaten rag, wasn't it?"
He could feel Merlin's glare and winced, this time in discomfort. "It may not be in the greatest condition," said Merlin in a carefully controlled voice, "but it's all I have to sleep under! What am I supposed to do now?"
"Well, it looks like you'll have to have one of my blankets, doesn't it?" said Arthur, in a tone of resignation.
Merlin snorted. "Yeah, definitely."
Arthur handed him his warmest blanket, hoping Merlin didn't know that it was the best one out of the two. "I mean it. I don't want you to get a cold tomorrow, not when we're away from Camelot. You might as well have this."
"Thank you," said Merlin in surprise.
Arthur sighed. "Whatever you say. Night."
"Night!" Merlin replied brightly.
I can live without two blankets for one night, Arthur decided. And giving Merlin my other blanket was worth it, as I'm preventing my best friend from getting ill!
Leaving himself with this comforting thought, Arthur fell asleep.
A/N: There will only be one more after this, although I don't actually know why I'm pointing that out, as you know from the title anyway. Oh well, hope you liked this one :)