I must really be going out of my mind - I'm updating this story at midnight on a school night. O.O And tomorrow, I have a humongous Earth Science lab practical. O.O

However, I didn't want to leave you guys hanging and so...here I am!

Enjoy!


"It was your idea to go camping here, Arthur," twelve years old Merlin said calmly as he pulled out a book in the tent.

Arthur Pendragon whacked at his arm (again) and scowled at his friend, who was now rifling through the pages with an interested smile on his face.

"I didn't know that there'd be so many mosquitoes!" Arthur complained loudly, sitting up in his sleeping bag. He scratched at one particularly nasty bite on his arm, which was slowly growing to the size of a small robin's egg.

"Don't itch," Merlin murmured, flipping through yet another page. "If you itch it, it'll only hurt more and then you'll complain tomorrow even more than you are now."

Arthur groaned loudly and threw his pillow at his friend, who dropped his book in surprise.

"What?" Merlin asked, blinking owlishly at Arthur. "I'm sorry, Arthur, but I can't do anything about it except spray on more of that bug-repellant stuff that you hate so much."

Arthur sighed and scooted over to Merlin, burying his head in the other boy's pillow. "This is awful," he moaned. "Why did we choose this spot?"

"You chose this spot, Arthur," Merlin pointed out, but placed a reassuring hand on Arthur's back to tell him that he felt sorry for him. "And it was your idea to go camping in the first place. I wanted to stay home and work on schoolwork, remember?"

Arthur snorted. "Are you telling me that schoolwork is better than getting fresh air?" He asked incredulously.

"It's better than getting bitten by mosquitoes all day and night," Merlin replied pointedly and Arthur slumped over the pillow again.

"Good point." He muttered and felt the small sting of a mosquito biting the back of his neck. Arthur slapped the skin angrily but it was too late – he could already feel the smooth bump of the bite forming.

He groaned loudly and said, "I hate mosquitoes! Why won't they leave me alone?"

"Who knows," Merlin replied, shifting his position on his sleeping bag. "Maybe they like you."

Arthur sat up and frowned. "Well, why don't they like you?" He asked, pointing at Merlin. Strangely enough, his friend's pale skin remained as smooth as ever and there weren't any signs of mosquito bites anywhere.

Lucky.

Merlin shrugged. "I don't know," he replied thoughtfully, re-opening his book. "Bugs have never really bothered me. Except spiders. Ergh."

Arthur snorted – it was true. His friend was terrified of spiders. Once, the two boys had found a spider in the bathtub and it took a while, but Arthur had finally managed to scoop the spider up and release it back outside, while Merlin had stood by with wide eyes.

"How big was that spider?" Merlin had squeaked when they had found it.

Arthur smirked at the memory and replied, "Maybe a spider will crawl into the tent and bite you."

Merlin squired, visibly discomforted by the image. "Stop that," he said crossly, snapping his book shut. "I want to go sleep without feeling scared, thank you very much."

"Just think about it," Arthur went on cheerfully, "a big, hairy spider with big, hairy legs and – hey!"

The prince was abruptly cut off by a pillow chucked to his face. He tumbled backwards and heard Merlin laughing loudly in the background.

"Not funny!" Arthur yelled, throwing his pillow back on the sleeping bag and launching himself at the dark-haired boy. He tumbled over Merlin, his arms locked over Merlin's back. His friend yelled out in protest and shouted, "You brought up the spider!"

"Only because you weren't getting bitten by any mosquitoes!"

"Is that my fault?"

Arthur paused. "No," he said and blinked. "But it's annoying!"

"You're such a clot pole!"

"Am not!"

"You are, too!"

Arthur growled loudly in Merlin's ear and the two were back to rolling around the tent, yelling insults at each other.

Finally, the tent flap opened and Gaius, the court physician, stuck his head inside. "What are you two boys doing?" He asked incredulously. "You should be sleeping! It's nearly midnight!"

Immediately, several mosquitoes flew into the tent and Arthur screamed, "Gaius, the mosquitoes! We'll go to bed, just –"

"Ouch!" Merlin cried out, slapping his hand over his leg. He winced and rubbed at the spot. He frowned and mumbled, "That hurt."

Arthur frowned. "What is it?" He asked worriedly.

"It was probably a mosquito," Gaius said. "The campsite is filled with them. I suggest that you two should put on some of the bug spray before sleeping. Good night, you two. I better not hear any more from you for tonight."

"Yes, Gaius," the two boys chorused and as soon as the tent flap closed, Arthur turned back to his friend.

"Did you really get bitten by a mosquito?" He asked.

Merlin's hand slid away, revealing a small, red bump on his knee. "Does that look like a bite to you?" He asked miserably.

Arthur grinned. He couldn't help himself. He huddled underneath his sleeping bag and said, "Just don't itch it."

For a minute, there was silence.

Then, the two boys burst out into a fit of laughter that forced Gaius to tell them to go back to sleep.


A/N: This definitely wasn't as long as I had hoped, but I hope you guys enjoyed it, anyways! Review, give constructive criticism, but no flames, please!

Next chapter : [requested by battlemaiden518] Fifteen years old Merlin and Arthur get into a rather large, messy fight. Will the two make up?