The Smuggler's Secret
A/N [show-me-your-tardis]
Plot – AU: In which two enemy smugglers are forced to work together. Can they put their differences aside to complete the job, or will their hatred for each other bubble over?
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Pretty pretty please.
Chapter Seven
The sun was covered in cloud, by the time I found my way back. I don't know how I recognised the cave, considering I'd never seen it in light and I hadn't walked to it myself.
I limped – because now the pain in my ankle was unbearable – into the cave. I heard a whistling, and Arthur looked up as I walked in. I lowered myself carefully using the wall and dropped my face to my hands.
"Where's the wood?" Arthur asked.
"The what?" I asked, feeling too nervous to meet his eyes.
"The wood. You said you were going to get wood for the fire." Arthur said, I could hear the smirk on his lips.
"I-"
"You were gone all night, and you still return with no wood? You are useless."
I finally looked up at him, glaring. He met my eyes and smiled.
"You seem pretty red, Merlin. Are you okay?" He teased.
"Shut up." I said.
He continued whistling some song I'd never heard before. I kicked a rock on the floor and watched it bounce against the wall.
"So you're Uther's son." I said, after a long silence.
"Yes." Arthur replied shortly.
I glanced at him, he was inspecting one of the throwing knives and balancing it in his hand. He didn't seem angry but I could hear it in his voice.
"And you left." I said.
"Yes."
"And now Eldian is hunting you down."
Arthur sighed and placed the knife down. He continued to stare at the knife as he spoke.
"Is there any point to this summary?" He asked.
I swallowed and watched him.
"Why did you leave?" I asked timidly.
It'd been bugging me. Once I got over the initial terror of the name Pendragon, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Yes, his father wanted him to be a killer, but all that luxury, all that power, he could have said no. His father would've understood, wouldn't he?
It didn't make sense for him to become a smuggler.
"I told you." He replied.
"It doesn't make sense."
"It's not important, all that matters is-"
"It is important though!" I interrupted, "Why would you leave all that behind?"
"It's not as great as you might think." He started, biting his lower lip, "My father... He is not a good man, as you might expect. He is an even worse father. He blamed me. My mother, she..."
He trailed off, but I didn't need him to continue. Arthur's mother had died days after he was born, something to do with magic. No one's fault.
But apparently Uther blamed Arthur.
"I've always thought I was worthless." Arthur whispered, I could barely hear him.
His eyes stared unseeingly at the floor, "Because, if your father thinks you're worthless. You must be. Right?"
He laughed a short humourless laugh. I didn't have a reply. It all made sense now.
"I thought you liked Poppy." I blurted out.
My hands flew up and smacked against my mouth. I hadn't intended to say that. I didn't even know I'd been thinking it. I wanted to know when he left, more about Camelot. But there it was, the words floating in the air, taunting me.
Arthur looked up, his mouth open slightly. His blue eyes seeming to see right through me.
"What?" He asked, his eyebrows drawing together.
We had been sat in silence for a long time. Neither of us had anything to say after Arthur's confession.
"Nevermind. Doesn't matter." I said a little too fast.
"I don't like Poppy. Why would you say that?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.
"The way you always watch her. It's obvious."
Arthur laughed loudly, throwing his head back. I wasn't expecting that. I felt myself smile along with him.
"I'm not watching her, you idiot!" He laughed.
"What?"
"It's you! I can't believe you thought..." He trailed off, overtaken by another bout of laughter.
When he finally had control of himself, wiping a tear out of his eye, he said, "It's you. It's you I'm watching. If I was ever watching her, it was because I was jealous of her!"
I shook my head, "But you asked if I was with her."
"Yes. Exactly."
"But." And then it hit me. He'd wanted to know if I was with her because he was jealous. Not jealous of me being close to her, but jealous of her being close to me. I had it all wrong. It was me he liked, not her.
I opened my mouth but no words came out. Arthur smiled as he watched me struggle for words.
"I mean, come on Merlin! I kissed you yesterday! I obviously like you, are you really that blind?" He continued laughing.
He got up, gripping his sides, and sat next to me. Still laughing to himself he gently pulled my leg straight.
"How's you ankle?" He asked.
I didn't answer, I was still in shock, he pulled my pants leg up slightly and pressed two fingers to my ankle. I flinched and hissed through my teeth.
"You've sprained it, we'll have to stay here for a bit until it's healed."
"And then what?" I asked.
He pushed his bag under my leg, keeping it elevated. He lowered my leg down and sat back next to me.
"I don't know." He shrugged, "I guess we'll have to come up with a plan."
He rubbed his temples and squeezed his eyes shut. I looked away, I didn't know how to react. He was a Prince afterall, how was I supposed to comfort a Prince?
I reached out and placed one hand on his shoulder, I could feel his skin through his shirt. He opened his eyes and those blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark of the cave.
I expected him to look confused, or laugh at me, or pull away. He didn't though. He just stayed looking at me, so close we were breathing the same air.
His tongue darted out and moistened his lips.
I caught myself staring at his mouth and looked away, blushing. My hand falling from his shoulder. I saw his hand reach out, felt his fingertips lightly turn my face back to his.
And then his lips were on mine again. I forgot how to breath, I forgot where we were, I just focused on his lips on mine. The gentle pressure causing my heart to beat louder, so loud I was sure he could hear it.
His fingers followed a trail softly down my jaw, down my neck, into the dip between my collarbones, before falling away.
I pulled away from him, trying to catch my breath. His eyes were lit up, his lips were red. I bit my lip and he smiled at me.
"Merlin." He breathed.
My mouth found it's way back to his, without me telling it to. This time, I remembered to breath so I didn't have to pull away. It was different now, harder, more panicked. I didn't remember how we started kissing, but I knew I didn't care.
My hands were in his hair now and his hands were on my waist. I shifted my leg over his lap – ignoring the stab of pain - and he pulled me closer to his chest. So close I could feel his heartbeat, it was almost as fast as mine, almost.
The air in the cave was heavy with our breath and the wall was cold as I braced one hand on it. His hands were under my tunic, warm against my skin. One of his legs bent upwards and I was knocked slightly closer to him, closer than I thought was possible. A small moan escaped my lips, I blushed, if Arthur noticed he didn't react.
"Merlin." Arthur repeated, his lips leaving mine.
My hand left the cave wall and gripped a handful of his shirt, bunching it up.
"Arthur." I sighed back.
I pushed my lips against his, trailing my tongue across his bottom lip. His hands moved from my waist to my shoulders. He pushed me back slightly. I reluctantly sat back and tried to hide the hurt on my face.
"What?" I asked.
Why do I always sound so pathetic?
"I have something to tell you." He said.
His lips were pink, and his cheeks were flushed. I probably looked similar – only less... Perfect. I removed my leg and sat back in my place. Without looking at Arthur, I placed my ankle back on his bag.
"You don't have to say it, I get it." I muttered.
"No, Merlin. You don't understand."
"Just don't." I threw my head back, leaning against the cave wall.
The word pathetic was ringing in my head. In my peripheral vision I saw Arthur's hands reach out for me, he dropped them before they touched me.
"It's not you, it's-"
I snorted, shaking my head in disbelief.
"Are you really going to say that to me?" I turned to look at him, "It's not you, it's me."
His mouth hung open, like he wanted to keep speaking but couldn't.
"Look, I'll leave by tomorrow morning. And you can keep running alone, doing whatever it is runaway Princes do. Just... Don't bother, okay?" I said, wiping the sweat off my forehead.
He nodded slowly, his mouth finally closed.
