Next one: Count on Me by Bruno Mars. This one is actually a little different, it doesn't follow the lyrics as much as the others do but it just took on a life of its own and the message of the song is still the same message as this (hopefully!). Enjoy!

Gwaine tossed irritably from where he was sprawled on the hard ground, eventually kicking his blankets off completely and rising unsteadily to his feet. Stumbling over to the fire, the Knight decided that he needed a drink. The moon was high, bathing the clearing in a soft light and showing the evidence of the men sprawled everywhere.

"Can't sleep?" But whilst the majority of the men were asleep, Gwaine wasn't the only one still up. Now that his vision had cleared slightly, he caught sight of the figures sprawled around the fire. Percival was leaning against a log, Elyan sprawled across the ground, but very much awake. Lancelot and Leon were on the other side, cups cradled in their hands. Both of their eyes simultaneously flickered up to greet him before returning to staring into the fireplace.

But that wasn't all. Arthur was sitting on another log next to them, Merlin sprawled at his feet. The servant was the only one who was asleep, using Arthur's boot as a pillow. Gwaine wasn't surprised. The nobles they were on this damn hunting trip with had taken to ordering the boy about. Although Arthur's jaw had clenched, his eyes had given away that there was nothing any one of them could do without making it worse for Merlin.

"I'll sing you a lullaby if you want." Gwaine muttered, throwing himself down besides Elyan, an impish grin lighting up his face as Lancelot silently handed him another cup.

"I thought you cared about Merlin. You do that and you'll wake him up and have the whole area running for cover."

"Very funny." Maybe it was because he was the first one he had met when he had returned to Camelot, but Gwaine had found a firm friend in Elyan, a man who was quick with both his hands and his mind when he needed to be. He was the calming influence on the rash man's behaviour.

"Sire, when are we..?"

"Heading back? Hopefully tomorrow, Leon. This hunt has gone on long enough, Mer- we all need some rest."

"Admitting how much he means to you then, princess?" Gwaine mocked. He knew that Merlin saw Arthur as a firm friend, and although Arthur wouldn't have admitted it out loud, the feeling was mutual. It was the slip of the tongue on sentences like that which reminded them all of how their prince really felt.

"Shut up."

"He did well out there today." Leon muttered, glancing down at the sleeping boy. As he watched, Merlin seemed to shiver slightly in the night air, and before he knew what he was doing, the older man had drawn off his cloak and laid it over the boy.

"You can always count on Merlin to save the day." Lancelot said quietly, a small secret smile crossing his lips. He had been the only one to see how much Merlin had been helping when the party had been set upon by bandits, but was glad the others were at least respecting that he wasn't a waste of space. The fact Arthur hadn't said anything to the contrary showed he too was feeling the same way.

"He's always there." The prince eventually admitted, he too glancing down at their sleeping companion, resisting the urge to shake his foot to get the blood flowing again. He had meant what he said, Merlin needed the rest.

"But he knows that when he needs it, we are right here, doesn't he?" For once, the confident note in Gwaine's voice had vanished as he stared down at Merlin. No one answered, for no one was quite sure. They all took Merlin's presence for granted; knowing that he would run straight into danger for any of them if he thought it would help. Or if he just didn't think at all. But did he know they would do the same for him?

"I...he knows." Arthur finally said softly, following Gwaine's glance and gazing at his sleeping servant. He was sure Merlin knew it, and if he didn't, then he was an even bigger idiot than his master regularly told him. He had proved enough that he wasn't going to let Merlin get hurt, and especially wasn't going to let him get himself hurt through some noble intention of helping one of the others.

The fact that he was sitting with a group of Knights, ones he himself had knighted in the middle of the night around a dying fire even discussing this showed how much Merlin had been the one to bring the men together. Arthur knew who their loyalty was with first and foremost, especially Gwaine and Lancelot. And whilst none of them would admit it, he knew they had no intention of getting any sleep themselves. It wasn't uncommon for a noble to call upon a servant in the middle of the night, and Merlin needed his rest. They would sit up all night in order to make sure he got it. Arthur had given the others protection through their new status. The least he could do was try and help his servant.

"Arthur?"

"What, Gwaine?" He didn't mean to snap, but Arthur couldn't help but feel guilty. He said that Merlin knew they were there for him, but what if that wasn't the case? What if the lanky servant didn't realise?

"Why are you pulling a pained expression?" Arthur felt his grimace grow now that the man had noticed. He had hoped to be able to get away with it.

"I can't feel my foot," he eventually muttered, causing Gwaine to smirk and Lancelot to wince sympathetically. Bending down, the once banished Knight of Camelot slowly slipped an arm around Merlin's chest, lifting him for long enough for Arthur to move said foot out of the way. Merlin whimpered slightly in his sleep, shifting irritably, but before he could even think of waking up, he was gently lowered again, a scrunched up cloak under his head as well as the one covering him.

Silence fell once more over the group. One by one, they drifted off to sleep. All apart from Arthur. He counted on his servant way too much than he ever gave Merlin credit for. The least he could do was make sure the man knew he could count on Arthur in return.

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