Notes:: In true BBC style, the last scene I think is adorably cliche, I really like the way I did it though (modest much? Why thank you! xD) Thanks to everyone that helped me bring the grand total to 52 reviews. I hope this chapter is a treat to everyone other than me trying to get my Arthur/Merlin fix haha. This is pretty much the conclusion to the fic...a little anti-climactic, but I tend to prefer subtle endings. After this, there will be a short epilogue because Uther hasn't had his say yet...(OMG SPOILER!!)
Miscommunication
Arthur/Merlin:: Everyone is horribly misguided and thinks that Arthur and Merlin are a couple. Arthur and Merlin, armed with nothing but fierce denial, set out to prove everyone wrong..or die trying.
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Chapter IV: A Mistake, err Mistakes
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And...just like that, it was over. Not to say that the storm blew over, that was certainly too much to ask; but somehow they managed a balance. Arthur realized that his affairs would go into shambles without Merlin there to manage them, and Merlin thought his life was getting to be horrifically dull if he wasn't given the chance to...well, Merlin realized with no little loathing, that there was only one word --- pamper Arthur.
Because Arthur was a prince and princes were usually pampered, much to the servant's dismay.
"Could you be any slower? It's not like I ripped it in half, is it?" Arthur loomed threateningly over him, "I really don't have all day."
Merlin looked up from his...needlework. He felt almost like a girl mending Arthur's torn shirt—why couldn't he have given the shirt to someone who could actually sew? No idea. And why did Arthur insist on watching him sew? No idea on that either, but Merlin had practiced all night stitching his bedsheets and now he was fairly good at it.
Having nimble fingers helped.
"...Arthur, I'm pretty sure that mending your clothes is not part of my job description."
"Sure it is, you do whatever I tell you to do." Arthur smirked at him. "But to be honest, I didn't think you'd know how to sew."
There were times when Merlin really wanted to jab needles into Arthur, this was one of these times, "I'm a fast learner." He said blandly, "I'm almost done. I don't see how you're so eager to kill things, anyway." He stabbed the cloth instead.
"Hunting's a good sport."
Merlin bet none of the hunted animals felt that way, "Ow!"
Arthur looked at him, "Merlin, you idiot, you pricked your finger."
"No, really? I haven't noticed..." Merlin examined his finger, it had been a small prick, after all, the needlehead was only so big, but it was deep because he had heeded to his moment of anger. A red droplet quickly formed on his finger. He'd practiced last night, and pricked his fingers thirty times and counting, just so that he wouldn't look stupid in front of Arthur.
"I'll be fine though, it stops after a while."
Arthur clicked his tongue disapprovingly, "Don't you ever worry that it's going to get infected?"
"I'll take care of it in a minute, after I'm done." said Merlin.
"I will not have you bleeding all over my shirt." Arthur grabbed his hand, "Let me see."
"No, Arthur--"
And then he realized that...his finger had somehow made it inside Arthur's mouth without him knowing. Even if--Merlin blushed furiously at the mere thought. He couldn't look Arthur in the eye and his finger was numb altogether.
"What?" Arthur looked at him, "Merlin?"
Arthur was speaking. That meant it was safe. Merlin tried to ignore the fact that his finger was damp with Arthur's saliva and instead, concentrated on threading the needle. "You didn't have to do that." He said, knowing that his cheeks were still flaming crimson.
"Of course I did, that stopped the bleeding, didn't it?"
Merlin looked, it did.
"Wouldn't water have done the trick?" Because why did he get the feeling that Arthur was just looking for a convenient excuse?
"Merlin, you've been with Gaius for so long, you disappoint me. I know he said you'd never be a physician, but this is ridiculous."
Merlin glared at him, and then his glare faltered and he looked down at the shirt spread across his lap.
"Err, Arthur?"
"What?"
"I think Sir Orwain is here to see you." Merlin mumbled, Sir Orwain pressed against the doorway looking absolutely traumatized, but Sir Orwain nonetheless. Merlin wondered how long the poor knight had been standing there.
And Arthur wondered the same thing, apparently, he looked a little horrified, but then the expression was replaced by one of royal indignation, a face he wore well because he wore it all the time. "Orwaine, I suppose it's beyond you to knock. How long have you been standing there?"
Long enough, said Orwane's face, which looked ashen and horrified, but he coughed politely and said, "A while."
"What do you want?"
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that the hunting party is...ready, and that we're all um, waiting for you...and, if you're busy, we could always go another time...." He paled as he delivered each word.
"I'm not busy." Arthur said steely.
"I am." Merlin said helpfully, holding out his needle for proof, "But then, that's to be expected, Arthur, go on without me."
Arthur gave him a look that clearly said, you aren't helping. But left anyway, it was for the best.
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Long story short, Merlin supposed that it would have been different if he had gone on the little hunting trip with Arthur and his knights. That way, they'd actually have some brains with them, instead of just all brawn and no brains. They all had a hand in it, sure, but it just had to be Arthur who personally shot the arrow that shot the unicorn. Camelot was cursed, doomed, so the whispers said, and Arthur stubbornly refused to believe a word of it.
Merlin really did not like Arthur right now. There was no water, only sand came from the wells, and the wheat died. But even before that, thanks to Sir Orwaine, all the knights now looked at him funny. Merlin didn't really appreciate being looked at funny at all.
But--oh yes, back to the situation at hand, there was no water, there was no food, the whole court still thought he and Arthur were hopelessly in love (a strange woman Merlin had met on a few occasions in the marketplace slipped him a 'love enhancing potion'--he didn't like the sound of that and disposed of it right away upon his return to the castle)...and there was curfew, and guard duty.
That last one was the killer, really. Merlin leaned against the wall, staring up at the hazy sky, Arthur had volunteered him to take the first watch ("since you like guard duty so much, Merlin, keep guard to your heart's content.") and it was horrible. First of all, it was silent, Merlin hated silence, he hummed a tune to himself to fill up the quiet, but stopped when Arthur strolled by. Merlin thought Arthur's presence negated the use of his guard duty.
"Merlin, don't look so cheerful on guard duty."
"But I can't help it." Merlin looked up at him.
Arthur rolled his eyes. Where did he pick up such a useless servant, anyway, "If people see that you are cheerful, they'll think you're weak and you don't know what you're doing." Which was...true, on both counts. "Can't you make a stern face?" He walked away.
Five minutes, he returned, and already Merlin's lips were stone stiff. He thought he looked rather silly, frowning like this, but Arthur didn't say anything.
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Crown Prince Arthur was having...well, a pretty bad day. First, he had nothing but good intentions when he took care of Merlin's finger. It wasn't because he really wanted to, it was because he didn't want Merlin to bleed all over what he considered to be his favorite shirt. It was an important shirt to him, and he had done it for the goodness of the shirt. Honestly. Fate must hate him, if there was such a deity out there.
"Uh huh." Said Orwaine politely. If he wasn't so polite, and if Arthur wasn't the Crown Prince, he would have said something along the medieval equivalent of, "Who the hell do you think you're kidding?" But Orwaine, for fear of losing his head, stayed his tongue. It was the wise thing to do. Some of the other knights though, weren't so quaint and mysterious things happened to Sirs Gale and Halsford, both of them were shot in the foot by wayward arrows from Arthur's crossbow.
Anyway...
Arthur had been pretty happy with himself for slaying the unicorn, actually...until he came back to Camelot and found the wheat fields dead and the wells filled with sand.
It was all Merlin's fault. Merlin would have stupidly argued with him and told him not to shoot the Unicorn. Arthur, after a moment's convincing, would most likely listen.
So it was that, and maybe something else that prompted Arthur to assign Merlin the first watch of the night. His manservant seemed to have a liking for night watches anyway, or so he professed. But where the spirit was willing, the flesh was actually weaker than Merlin thought. The poor bastard was either keeping watch with a stupid smile, or failing to look stern, or...
Falling asleep. Head lolling against the wall and dreaming of water, of wondrous fountains.
Well, that one was kind of expected, it was late at night, and Arthur certainly wasn't so stupid to leave Merlin to actually keep watch all by himself. Even if he managed to stay awake, it was common knowledge to anyone who knew him that Merlin was more than helpless with a sword. Arthur was no idiot. But sometimes, he wished he was, because an idiot would probably not noticed that Merlin's lips were red...and tantalizing.
Actually, it was a horrible place and time to have an epiphany, if Arthur did say so himself. To distract himself from the unreasonable urge to take his thoughts further, he jabbed Merlin rudely with the hilt of his sword.
"Wake up! You're supposed to be on guard duty!" Arthur was unamused as he sounded, and Merlin rubbed the back of his head, he could feel a bruise coming.
"Arthur..." Merlin blinked, "Why aren't you in bed?"
Arthur feigned nonchalance, "I don't know." He shrugged, "I didn't have the faith for you not to nod off." It was a very hard task, he discovered, to look everywhere but Merlin's mouth. "Merlin, stop smacking your lips, it's annoying." And driving me crazy...
Merlin almost wanted to tell Arthur otherwise, but then, he decided against it, "I'm thirsty."
It was the boyish pout that did him in, completely, prying all rational thoughts from his mind. Arthur dropped down next to Merlin and glanced at him, "Shall I distract you?"
Wide-eyed, Merlin stared at him, "But the Court--"
"Expects it." Arthur finished calmly, inching ever closer. "Except maybe Uther, but he can be dealt with."
Merlin said, "This feels a little counterproductive. Like it's a mistake." He was quick to add though, as he leaned a hairbreadth closer, "Not that I'm complaining." He paused, and his hand somehow settled lightly on Arthur's thigh, sending prickles the size of shocks up his spine, "I just...didn't want everyone to say "I told you so.""
If it was a mistake? Arthur could not quite bring himself to care. "Honestly...I was under the impression that it didn't matter to you so much." Arthur shifted, for no other reason other than the fact that he wanted to better pin his manservant against the wall. "And rest assured, it's very counterproductive, not just a little."
"I'm relieved...I think?" Merlin put his other hand against Arthur's cheek. It was too dark to see, but the skin was warm, and he had to wonder if Arthur was blushing. The prince probably was, he was a prat, and he held the entire Kingdom in utter admiration, but still he was human.
"Merlin..."
"Mm?"
"You're stalling." Arthur said, his arms slipped easily around Merlin's waist and held him there, "Shut up already and kiss me."
"...If I recall correctly, you were supposed to distract me?"
It was these moments that Arthur decided that he had the most exasperating manservant known to man, although his adorableness (almost) made up for everything. He opened his mouth to say something, only to be rendered silent by Merlin's lips. They were as tantalizing as Arthur thought them to be, maybe even more so.
"Just kidding."
Chapter IV End:: 5/01/09