A/N: Sorry! I know it's been a long time since I updated. I've just been so busy between work and midterms. It's been a hectic couple of weeks.

Chapter 10

~ Merlin ~

The weeks passed in a blissful peace. Arthur and Merlin's relationship was kept behind closed doors for the most part. This wasn't Arthur's decision, it was Merlin's. Everyone in Camelot knew that Arthur had kissed his servant in the middle of the palace courtyard, but Merlin insisted on taking things slow and being discrete.

Merlin trusted Arthur, he truly did, but he was still hurt by what he saw in Arthur's chambers all those weeks ago. He knew why Arthur had kissed Gwen and he believed Arthur when he explained that it hadn't meant anything. He believed that Arthur was trying to convince himself that he could be happy with Gwen. And Merlin had forgiven him. He just hadn't gotten around to the forgetting part.

But all that was going to change today. Today, Merlin was finally going to have that talk with Arthur. He was going to stop shying away every time Arthur tried to kiss him. He was going to tell Arthur that he was ready to move on. He was ready to be with Arthur. He just had to hope that Arthur was ready for him.

Merlin knew Arthur had been less than pleased with their arrangement these past few weeks. Not that he would ever say anything about it. He was trying to prove to Merlin that he wasn't as much of an ass as he constantly acted like. Arthur spent every waking moment asking Merlin questions about his magic, which Merlin was certain was his way of showing Merlin he was willing to give him his space. Which was very strange, considering he was giving Merlin less space than he would be if he just left him alone, but Merlin appreciated his effort.

But that was going to change. Because Merlin couldn't handle it anymore. He couldn't hold his petty grudge against Arthur anymore. It was too difficult.

He knew that tomorrow, the knights, Agravaine, Arthur, and himself would be riding out to follow up on some sightings of men from Calien's kingdom. He knew that this would no doubt be a life-threatening experience for Arthur and he wanted to enjoy a day with Arthur before that happened. He wanted them to be on the same page before then. Which is why, he had arranged for Arthur to go on a hunt today. Though he had no intention of actually letting him hunt.

Arthur had seemed eager enough when Merlin had woken him up and suggested a hunt, but as Merlin prepared the horses, his anxiety grew. What if Arthur's feelings had changed? What if he waited too long? Merlin had never really been good with words except when he was telling Arthur he was being an idiot. What if he couldn't say it right? He wasn't really sure what he was saying in the first place.

Merlin pushed those thoughts out of his head as Arthur joined him. Arthur put his hand on his shoulder affectionately. Merlin returned Arthur's infectious smile. He moved his hand to squeeze Arthur's gently before they mounted the horses. If Arthur noticed the significant lack in hunting supplies, he didn't say anything. Even he was smart enough to realize this wasn't a real hunting trip.

After they had been travelling a little while, Merlin led Arthur to the clearing where he had birthed Aithusa. He had been pondering this for a while and he wanted Arthur to formally meet the dragons.

They dismounted the horses and Merlin tied them up. He grabbed the few parcels that contained food for lunch. Arthur immediately sat down, his back propped against the tree.

Merlin paced for a while before he turned to face Arthur. "Don't freak out," he pleaded. He didn't give Arthur time to respond before he called, "O drakons, e male and e female so ftengometta tesd'hup'anankes!"

When he uttered the last words, he took a deep breath before turning to face Arthur. To his surprise, Arthur didn't look angry. He looked eager and a little scared. "You called them, didn't you? The dragon my father had trapped and the baby?" Arthur asked. Merlin couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. "What?" Arthur asked insulted.

"Do me a favor and don't call Aithusa a baby," Merlin suggested.

"She's what? Five, six weeks old?" Arthur asked.

"And she's as temperamental as a toddler. There used to be a lot more trees here. She's taken out half the forest and she can't even breathe fire yet," Merlin pointed out.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

The men looked up when they heard flapping noises. Merlin had to suppress his chuckle at the shock evident on Arthur's face. Arthur clearly hadn't prepared himself for just how much Aithusa had grown in the past weeks. Not that he was alone. Merlin came to visit her two to three times a week and even he had difficulty keeping up with her rapid growth.

"Is that the same dragon?" Arthur asked.

"No, I secretly hatched another dragon a couple of weeks before Aithusa," Merlin told him sarcastically.

Merlin saw Arthur open his mouth to no doubt shoot back some kind of insult when he was cut off by the dragons touching down to the ground. Merlin didn't turn to look at them. He had seen this many times. He was more concerned about how Arthur would take it.

Arthur's eyes were wide. Merlin couldn't tell if it was from excitement or fear.

To Merlin's shock, when Kilgharrah landed, he immediately pushed Aithusa out of the way and put his head right in front of Arthur's.

Staring at him, unblinkingly, he said, "Young warlock, you have done well."

Merlin couldn't help the not-so-subtle smile that spread across his face. His smile wasn't at the look of fear on Arthur's face, it wasn't even because he was proud of himself. It was because he was so proud of Arthur. And how he's changed from the world's largest prat to someone Merlin could trust and love.

~ Arthur ~

Arthur stared at the giant dragon who seemed so determined to invade his personal space bubble. Arthur tried to hide his fear, but judging by the amused look on Merlin's face he wasn't succeeding.

"Young warlock, you have done well," the dragon said in its throaty voice.

Arthur looked at Merlin curiously, hoping Merlin would shed some light on the meaning behind the dragon's words. But Merlin wasn't being very helpful. He was looking at Arthur with a mixture of pride and affection.

When Merlin looked up, he shot Arthur a smile. Arthur couldn't help but return the smile. Despite his momentary happiness, he couldn't help but feel just the slightest disappointment. When Merlin had awoken him this morning and suggested a hunt, he couldn't help but hope that he was going to say he was ready to move on with Arthur. Arthur knew he needed time, and he was willing to give him all the time he needs, but Arthur was getting desperate. He was starting to worry that Merlin would never forgive him.

It was with a sigh that he tore his gaze from Merlin and looked at Kilgharrah who hadn't moved an inch. Arthur felt extremely uncomfortable under the dragon's gaze. "Should I say something?" He whispered to Merlin anxiously.

Merlin shook his head. He look up at Kilgharrah. "Thank you old friend," he said with a small smile. Arthur couldn't help but watch their interaction with curiosity. Kilgharrah backed away from him and said something, quietly, to Merlin. Arthur couldn't tell you what they were talking about if his life depended on it. He was captivated in how free and open Merlin looked. He looked so at peace and it was as if for the first time, Merlin was able to be himself.

He was pulled out of his reverie as Merlin looked over at him, a huge smile on his lips and a deep red flush across his cheeks. Merlin nodded at the dragon then walked towards Arthur.

"What did he say?" Arthur asked curiously.

Merlin blushed even deeper. "N-n-nothing," he stammered.

"Oh yeah? And I'm a simple peasant," Arthur told him sarcastically.

Merlin mumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'got the simple part right.' Arthur chose to ignore it and instead looked at Merlin expectantly.

Merlin squirmed for a moment under Arthur's intense gaze before a look of defeat crossed over him. "Something about how this wasn't what he meant when he told me you were my destiny," Merlin finally admitted, looking at the ground.

Arthur chuckled. Poor innocent Merlin. Only he would get so flustered over such a harmless comment. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about," Arthur told him gently.

Merlin nodded. "There's something I need to do with Aithusa," he said, not making eye contact with Arthur. "I want you to see this."

Arthur nodded eagerly. As much as he had hoped for a different outcome from today's 'hunting trip,' the little… er… young dragon was fascinating to watch. Even if this was all he got from Merlin today, he would be satisfied with it.

He waited curiously and then watched as Merlin carefully approached her. "Aithusa," he said in a gentle voice as he walked closer.

The dragon cocked her head to the side and Arthur could have sworn there was almost a playful glint in her eyes. When she opened her mouth, Merlin groaned and dropped to the ground faster than Arthur would have thought possible. A bunch of a smoky substance left her mouth. Arthur looked at her concerned. Why didn't she breathe fire? Was she sick?

Then Arthur remembered what Merlin said before. Aithusa was too young to breathe fire.

Underneath Aithusa's bellows, Arthur could only just make out Merlin's voice, stringing together words in a language Arthur didn't have a chance of understanding.

As suddenly as Aithusa's attack started, it ended. Merlin was standing before her with a disapproving look on his face. "How many times do I have to tell you? You've still got almost two months before your body will have developed enough to breath fire," Merlin warned her.

It took all of Arthur's self-control not to laugh at the look on Aithusa's face. She looked like a toddler who was just told she couldn't have a cookie.

The smile was wiped off Arthur's face as Aithusa started flapping her wings and screeching. Merlin simply rolled his eyes and Arthur found a new found respect for Merlin's bravery.

"Don't give me that attitude missy," Merlin warned. "We're going to work on your flying and that's the end of it."

Aithusa let out a thin sliver of steam to show her disapproval, but didn't make any other objections. Arthur watched as Merlin did some exercises to help Aithusa stretch her wings, then he guided her through some exercises where she jumped and flapped her wings to stay airborne as long as possible. She was often able to make it almost the entire way around the clearing before needing to touch down and the higher she went the quicker she came back down.

"Her wings aren't strong enough to support her," Merlin explained quietly in his ear. Arthur jumped. He had been so entrapped with Aithusa, he hadn't noticed that Merlin had approached him.

"Oh," was Arthur's only response. In a way, it made sense. She was just a baby.

"Come on," Merlin said. "Aithusa will be at this for hours until she tires herself out. We don't need to stay any longer."

Arthur looked at Merlin surprised. He had figured they were going to be here all day, but really, they still had hours before they had to be back at Camelot. "Where are we going?" Arthur asked curiously.

"You'll see," Merlin said mysteriously, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Arthur followed immediately and they had walked about half an hour before Merlin stepped through some vines right into a different clearing. This one was smaller and there was no chance that someone would stumble upon it. They were utterly and completely alone.

Arthur looked around, shocked. Where does Merlin find these places? He didn't have long to ponder this before a nervous cough demanded his attention. He turned to look at Merlin who looked like he was about to confess to murder.

Arthur waited patiently. He could see Merlin was nervous about what he was about to say. For some reason, Merlin looked more discouraged the more he looked at Arthur.

"Look Arthur," Merlin said in a dry voice. He cleared his throat to get more volume and Arthur felt his chest constrict. This was it. This was where Merlin was going to tell him that they couldn't be together because he couldn't get past Arthur's betrayal.

Arthur kept his face void of emotion and waited for Merlin to continue. "I'm sorry," Merlin said quickly. "I know I haven't been fair to you these last few weeks. I keep holding something over your head that you clearly regret, but I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm ready to be a big boy now and move on with you. That is – if you want to. I'm of course not going to make you do anything you don't want to do." Merlin paused in his ramblings only for a moment to take a deep breath. Arthur felt his excitement rise. Merlin wasn't telling him he never wanted to see him again. Quite the contrary actually. Unfortunately Arthur's body hadn't quite caught up with his mind. "But I can see that that isn't what you want and I'm just making a complete fool out of myself right now. This was a bad idea. I clearly waited too long and I don't know why I'm still talking. I'll just go back to Aithusa. I'm sure you know the way. Take the horses. I'll walk back later." It wasn't until Merlin started to climb back through the vines that Arthur snapped out of his haze and grabbed him.

"You're not going anywhere," he warned. He spun Merlin around and their lips connected. Unlike their last kiss, this wasn't one that Arthur or Merlin broke. This wasn't a kiss that was quick and desperate. This kiss was slow and passionate. It portrayed so much. This was a kiss between two people that loved each other. And as their kiss escalated, neither Arthur nor Merlin had any intention of stopping.