Hello again! A semi-short chapter for you here! Enjoy!
Chapter 9
Merlin opened his eyes. He was still wrapped around Morgana in the same position they had fallen asleep in. It was dark so he assumed he had only been asleep for a few hours at most. He considered the girl asleep in his arms. She was snoozing against his chest; her breathing was slow and steady. Her breath tickled his bare throat.
His thoughts trailed on and on until they reached what Morgana had said about her "theory." What was it? "Let's see how awkward I can make Merlin feel in one night?" Knowing Morgana, that could be her theory.
Merlin let it go for now. His limbs were feeling rather stiff because he hadn't changed his posture in a while. He flexed his arms out a bit, rolled his shoulders, and bent his knees, trying to stretch every part of his body. Morgana began to stir. Oops, he thought. She curled her toes against his ankles and nuzzled her head against him as she moaned softly.
"Morgana?" he whispered. No reply. He tried again, "Are you awake?"
"I'm trying very hard not to be," came her muffled response.
"Morgana, we have to talk," he persisted.
"Not now," she whined.
"Yes, now." He untangled himself from Morgana and scooted away so that there was about a foot of empty space in between them. Morgana made a frustrated groaning noise as she curled face down into a ball.
"What?" she asked, irritated. Her face was pressed into the pillow, her dark curls splayed out haphazardly down her back.
"Your theory." He tried to say it lightly since she obviously wasn't in the mood.
"What about it?" Her garbled voice was almost humorous to Merlin, but he knew that it would be a bad idea to laugh at her at this time.
"I want to know why you needed me to stay with you to test it." She didn't say anything for a long time. He thought she had fallen back asleep. Finally, she rolled onto her side and faced him.
"You know I've always had nightmares." It was a statement, not a question, but Merlin nodded anyways. "Well that night you stayed with me after the…anyways, you stayed with me and—and I didn't dream, Merlin. Not once. Every night for as long as I can remember, I've always dreamed. Except that night." Her eyes bore into his own, and he had never seen such intensity before.
"So…the theory—"
"I didn't think much about it at first," she interrupted, "I just thought that it was a coincidence or something. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it had anything to do with the way our magic connects the way it does. The next night I had the most horrible of nightmares. I wanted to see if you were the reason they went away, like they had that night. And—and I think you are." Merlin couldn't find a response to that. At least her theory wasn't what he thought it was. "So you see, you keep the dreams away." Morgana reached over to him and stroked his cheek once, then let her hand drop to the space between them.
"But…How do you know for sure? Why don't you see if they come back tomorrow night without me here to be certain?" Morgana's eyes widened.
"You want me to risk having nightmares again? No."
"Well…" He didn't know what to say. Morgana decided to fill the silence. She looked anywhere but his face.
"What I was going to ask you, if my idea was correct…was if you would keep staying with me…" Merlin was surprised by her offer. "I mean, it's not only the dreams," she quickly said, disgruntled by his silence, "it's nice when you're here, Merlin. It feels…right." Merlin swallowed. As a friend he wanted to say yes, wholeheartedly, to help her with her suffering, but at the same time he was afraid that he would be giving her the wrong idea if he agreed. "Please, Merlin." She locked her gaze on to his, there were tears forming at the corners. "I've been trying to find a way to get rid of them for the longest time. They terrify me."
Merlin's heart couldn't take it. He drew her into his arms and whispered, "I will," he rested his chin on her forehead. Morgana didn't cry much before she pulled out of their embrace to wipe her eyes with the heel of her hand.
"There is one problem though," Morgana said.
"What?"
"Gwen."
"Make that two. Gaius."
Morgana exhaled, frustrated.
"One, or both, is going to find out."
"See, Gaius is the easy one. I can just tell him that Arthur's been making me stay out late and get up early for extra chores."
"But Gwen…"
Merlin thought for a moment. "Can't we just tell her? I mean, she's your maid, you can order her not to say anything."
Morgana bit her lip. "Gwen wouldn't say anything because she a friend above all else, it's just…it would be a bit awkward, telling her, don't you think?"
"Oh, I dunno, 'Yeah Gwen, don't freak out if you find a man in my bed, it's just Merlin.' Yeah, that sounds about right." Morgana giggled.
"I'm sure we could tell her, it's just the reason we'd have to give her for your presence is what worries me."
Merlin sighed, "I'm sure you'll come up with something."
"What? How come I have to?"
"Well, I have to worry about Gaius!" Morgana glared at him.
"Fine. But you have to go along with what I say though."
"Sure," he shrugged.
"I'll tell her you're my lover," she smirked.
"What—I—what?"
She laughed, high and clear. "You said for me to come up with something, so there you go."
"But…but how is that the best explanation?" She raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
"Honestly, Merlin, she's going to ask why you're sharing a bed with me. I can't just say it's because you're keeping that side warm for me."
"But…"
"What? Are you embarrassed to be my pretend lover?" There was a hint of seriousness behind her mock offense. There was no correct answer to this question, so Merlin groaned and rolled face down into the pillows as Morgana had been moments ago. She patted his back in fake sympathy.
"Come on, it won't be that bad. I hear I'm a very attractive lady."
"Mmmph," came his response. Morgana curled up next to him and rubbed his back. Merlin knew he shouldn't let her keep touching him like that, but it was so relaxing that he decided to let it slide.
"Unless you can come up with something better, that seems to be the best explanation for someone who doesn't know that we have magic." Merlin pulled his head up from the pillows to look her in the eye.
"Fine. But you have to tell her. And not when I'm in the room."
"Deal."
He buried his face back into the pillows. Morgana continued to rub his back until they were both overcome by sleep once more.
