Definitely Not Hugging

After a long chase they finally had the monster surrounded, trapped between the knights of Camelot and the edge of a cliff. Arthur was at the front of the line, his sword outstretched, and Merlin kept his eye on him as he crept closer to the precipice.

The monster snarled, towering over them, and when Arthur stepped forward, swinging his sword, it burst into fire with a deafening roar.* It advanced on the knights, flames leaping from its hands, and Merlin surreptitiously stretched out his arm and conjured a storm.

The sky darkened rapidly, thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, and with a crackle of lightning the rain poured down, drenching them all.

Things happened very quickly after that. The monster began to hiss and fizzle and a cloud of steam rose from its skin as its fire went out. With an anguished cry it stumbled back, falling over the side of the cliff – and its long tail coiled around Merlin's knee and dragged him over the edge, too.

Merlin didn't have time to think – he only barely registered hearing Arthur yelling his name – as he fell down and down, dropping swiftly through the rain and the fog until he finally landed hard in the gorge below and everything went dark.

He woke some time later to the sun shining in his eyes and an insistent hand shaking his bruised and aching shoulder.

"I thought I told you to stay back," Arthur said, glaring down at him. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

With a groan Merlin sat up and looked around. He'd landed squarely on the monster, which had cushioned his fall better than he would have expected from a creature that could set itself on fire. Its carcass was still smoking around the edges and had slightly singed Merlin's damp clothes, but other than a few minor burns and bruises, he was unhurt.

"I just wanted to get a better look at it," he said, shrugging amiably. "It's not every day you see a monster burst into flame."

Arthur continued to glower at him. "Next time do as you're told," he said gruffly. He studied Merlin for a long moment before he looked away, squinting up at the sky. "You're lucky that storm happened to pass through when it did."

"Yeah," Merlin said dully. "Lucky."

"Well, if you're not hurt you can't expect to laze about all day," Arthur said, straightening up. "We have a long ride ahead of us if we want to reach Camelot by nightfall."

Merlin nodded and struggled to his feet. He wobbled a little, feeling sore and disoriented, and Arthur reached out a hand to steady him. He hesitated briefly, his hand a heavy, sturdy weight on Merlin's shoulder, before he suddenly dragged him into a hug.

Merlin stood frozen, his arms pinned to his sides and his chin digging uncomfortably into the chain mail on Arthur's shoulder. "Are you hugging me?" he asked in disbelief.

"Don't be ridiculous, Merlin," Arthur snapped. "I'm just trying to dry you off." His hand made a vague sweeping motion between Merlin's shoulder blades before his arms tightened around his back, pulling Merlin closer.

"Oh," Merlin said. "Thanks." And he couldn't keep from grinning as he wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist and held on tight.

* I totally had a Balrog in mind :)