Sorry, no time to respond to reviews today, I will do it tomorrow x This post is a bit short as I ran out of time so what I wanted to happen in this chapter didn't but I will make up for it tomorrow x

Chapter 10

Merlin slept well for the rest of the night, lulled into a sense of security by Arthur's arms. He did not have any more nightmares, or even dream. When he awoke he felt fully rested for the first time in years, relishing in how his body sank into the memory foam and noticing that his muscles were not aching for the first time since the fire. He also noted that his head was not resting on the pillow, but on Arthur's chest, which was rising and falling softly as he breathed deeply, fast asleep. Merlin then noticed the weight around his good leg and waist. Arthur had intertwined their legs whilst asleep and had clearly swung a protective arm over Merlin. Merlin snuggled closer to Arthur so that their chests were pressed together and breathed in his scent smiling and waiting for his lover to wake up. When Arthur stirred he felt a warm presence resting against his chest and opened his eyes, yawning widely and smiling sleepily when he saw that the warmth on his chest was in fact Merlin's head.

Merlin stared up at him and gave a small smile, shifting so that they were face to face. Arthur gently untangled his legs from Merlin's, being careful not to knock the cast, but kept his arms wrapped tightly around his lover's waist, staring adoringly into his eyes. He then leant forward to kiss him gently on the lips. Merlin responded vigorously, pressing his mouth against Arthur's and biting down on his lover's lower lip gently. Arthur groaned in pleasure and allowed Merlin's tongue to enter his mouth. He was slightly startled in Merlin's increased confidence but did not question it, just glad that he had managed to put the nightmare behind him. When Merlin was forced to pull away for air he whispered, "I love you so much Arthur, you saved me." Arthur felt emotions rushing through him and a lump formed in his throat, "you saved me first, I have never exactly been a caring person, I guess I was too big for my own boots and conceited, but you showed me a way to become a more loving person." Merlin did not know how to respond to this, so settled for another kiss, this time broken when Merlin's stomach grumbled loudly, making him flush slightly. Arthur smirked slightly and said, "For someone so skinny you have the biggest appetite I have ever seen!" As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them, 'how could I have said that, he's skinny because he didn't have a chance to eat, not because he didn't want to.' Merlin just laughed and prodded him in the stomach saying, "not all of us live of chocolate gateau cake or whatever it is your sister bakes." "I am not fat" Arthur responded indignantly, making Merlin laugh harder, "just don't eat too much Arthur or I will have to make another hole in your belt." Arthur grumbled, and shot Merlin a mock-offended look.

Well, if that is your attitude towards my weight maybe I shouldn't grill croissants with full fat butter, prepare a fruit salad or cook bacon this morning. Merlin grinned goofily and held his hands up in the universal sign of surrender. "Fine you win" he retorted, "but I would lay off the full fat butter if I were you." Once again Merlin grinned cheekily and ducked when a pillow was aimed at his head. Arthur had swung the pillow aiming for Merlin's head but for someone so clumsy Merlin was very quick and agile when he needed to be. He humphed and got out of bed, admitting defeat and walked over to the wardrobe. He flung open the doors and picked out a blue t-shirt and jeans for himself along with two pairs of pants and socks. He flung a pair of socks and pants at Merlin and considered what to clothe the boy in. All his clothes would be far too big, and he eventually had to pick out a T-shirt that hadn't fitted him for three years, knowing that it would still be too big. He then grabbed a pair of trousers that were a couple of inches too small for him. Arthur had no idea why he kept these clothes but at least they had proven to come in handy. Merlin accepted the clothes, tucking them under his arm and excusing himself, going into the bathroom to wash, being careful not to get his cast wet. He emerged a quarter of an hour later, the t-shirt hanging loosely and revealing his scarred arms. The trousers were also far too large and he had to hold them up.

He entered the bedroom where Arthur had already changed and was sitting on the bed waiting. He had clearly washed in the ensuite, and looked slightly miffed when he saw how ill-fitting the clothes were. He pulled a belt out of the draw and passed it to Merlin who had slumped onto the bed next to him and had been rubbing his hands, the crutches were beginning to rub painfully. He slid the belt around his waist only to find that there was not a hole small enough. "You know what I was saying about having to put another hole in your belt…" Arthur laughed slightly and left, returning with a kitchen skewer that he had never used. He had no idea what it was for but the utensil had come in a kitchen set. His sister had told him it was to poke holes in cakes to check they were cooked but all the cakes Arthur had attempted to make had always been cremated, leaving no question as to whether they had or had not been cooked. He did not mention this, keeping his dignity and offered Merlin the belt back once he had poked in a new hole. He also pulled out a jumper and handed it to the boy, seeing that he was self-consciously trying to cover the scars on his arms. Merlin accepted the jumper gratefully and now his outfit was complete Arthur decided that it wasn't so bad after all, the crimson jumper fitted him well, it was baggy but fashionably so and Merlin had put on his scarf, which had remarkably escaped the blaze and had been lying folded on Arthur's bedside table.

Arthur made his way to the kitchen, determined that his cooking would be better today, however after setting fire to a tea towel, over toasting the croissant, burning the bacon and cutting his finger whilst preparing the fruit salad he decided that he would never enter another kitchen in his life. Cooking was definitely not his forte! Merlin sat down without complaint and once again wolfed down his meal as if he didn't know when the next would come. Arthur sadly thought that he had been so used to eating food sparingly so he would not run out, and never did know when his next meal would come. It was clear that it would take time for Merlin not to treat food like a gift about to be snatched away, and for him to recognise that he would have three square meals a day. Once finished Arthur said, "Well Merlin, I think it's time that we go shopping, you could definitely do with some new clothes and I owe you a new coat!" Merlin beamed at the thought, picking up his crutches and making his way to the front door, following Arthur's lead.

Sorry nothing really happened today, this chapter was meant to be a lot longer but I got a load of chemistry homework … the bane of my life! Also I had a meeting in my only free period and went bowling (I won a game for the first time ever and got 2 strikes and 6 half strikes, SO PROUD ! ) So yeah that put me in a good mood. And as further justification my computer crashed :( I will upload a longer chapter tomorrow and maybe even 2 depending on how long I go cycling for :) Please stick with me !