A/N: Thanks for all the reviews :) There's a chance I may not post tomorrow, but at the latest I'll have ch 54 posted by my Thursday evening.

On with the fic! ;)

Chapter 53: Subtext

An ear-splittingly cheery "Rise and shine!" rattled Arthur back to consciousness. He blearily opened his eyes-only to shut them immediately as Merlin flung open the curtains on the windows facing south and east. Blinding light streamed in.

"Mmph," Arthur muttered and rolled over, automatically reaching to pull the bedcovers snug up to his chin.

He wasn't under any covers. He opened his eyes, trying to remember why he wasn't nestled under warm blankets. Merlin stood over him, hands on his hips and a comical expression on his face.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"You slept with your boots on, sire? Were you planning on sleepwalking?" the manservant quipped.

Arthur reached around and, finding nothing else suitable for throwing, yanked the pillow from under his head and launched it at Merlin's smirking face. The projectile pillow missed its mark entirely as the boy ducked with more grace than he ever bothered to exhibit when it actually mattered, Arthur noted. He let his head drop back-only to hit the firm mattress with a thud in the absence of the pillow he'd just thrown. He groaned.

"Well, sire, you'll just have to get up now, since I'm not bringing it back to you," Merlin announced as he scooped up the pillow and dropped it on the chair by the fireplace. He then began bustling about the room, stoking the fire, tidying up the dinner dishes, and folding the clothing Arthur had left strewn across the floor the previous morning.

"How are you so cheerful so early? It's indecent," Arthur muttered, rolling off the bed and looking around absently. He could never seem to get his mind working fully before he'd eaten in the mornings.

Merlin just ignored his comment and continued his bubbly rambling.

"...And I'll have your bath drawn in just a tick…"

Arthur looked around. Oh, right, there's a tub...which wasn't there yesterday. He scratched the back of his head, still standing aimlessly in the middle of the room. How did Merlin get that in here this morning without me hearing?

"...And the best part is," Merlin was still talking, apparently, "I don't have to worry about the water getting cold while hauling it up here!"

"Hmm, what?" Arthur asked as he started pulling off his boots, not really following the one-sided conversation.

"Balinor put a charm on the water buckets so the water will stay just hot enough, no matter how long they sit there."

"He used magic...on my bathwater?" Arthur asked, trying desperately to wrap his mind around words and thoughts and being awake and magic and…

It is far too early for all of this, Arthur declared to himself.

"Yep!" Merlin replied happily. "Makes my job so much easier! We should find someone to do that for all the bathtubs back in Camelot." Merlin poured the last bucketful of water into the copper tub. "Do you have any idea how much time that would save?"

"Merlin."

"Yes, sire?"

"Where's breakfast?" Nothing makes sense until after breakfast.

"Oh, um, downstairs?" Merlin replied innocently.

Arthur sighed. Guess I'll have to face Emrys again...and I still don't know what to say to him.

Guinevere's voice-the voice of reason, as always-replied, Well, you could start by behaving like a well-mannered guest and actually go down for breakfast.

"Well, then, hurry up with the bath," Arthur ordered.

Merlin obliged, keeping up his chipper monologue as he helped Arthur change and settle into his bath. The servant then made the bed and swept the floor. Arthur watched him work, pondering again their conversation the day before.

I really was too hard on him, Arthur thought. But what do I do about it?

Guinevere's voice came to his rescue yet again: You could always apologize.

To Merlin? You must be joking.

No answer. He could just imagine his Guinevere standing there with her hands on her hips, giving him a look that said she was perfectly serious. She'd naturally be embarrassed to have been so forward after the fact, but she always said what he needed to hear.

I wish she was here

Back to Merlin, his conscience reminded him. You still owe him an apology.

Arthur sighed. Merlin looked up sharply.

"Sire? Is the water too cold?"

"No...actually, it's perfect." Maybe Merlin has a point about the bathwater…

He shoved the idea to the back of his mind and focused on trying to figure out how one goes about apologizing to one's servant...and before breakfast, to boot.

"Merlin?" Arthur began.

"Yes, sire?"

"I just wanted to say, well, that it was, um…"

Merlin watched him with apparently growing confusion.

"...Uh, that I'm glad that you came with me when I left Camelot."

Merlin's confusion melted into a beaming smile. "'Course I did! How else were you going to manage to dress and eat without me?"

This time, Arthur was already armed. The scrubbing brush flew through the air, just missing Merlin as he grabbed the supper dishes and dove out the door.

Arthur heard an "oomph" and a series of clanks as his clumsy friend tumbled down the first couple of stairs to the nearest landing.

That was sort of your fault, the Guinevere-voice informed him matter-of-factly.

"Um, Merlin?" he called hesitantly.

A muffled but surprisingly still upbeat "Yes, Arthur?" floated up from the landing, as Arthur heard the scuffling of the boy righting himself and gathering up the scattered dishes.

Good, he's fine, Arthur thought. Aloud, he replied, "Hurry up with that and get back here-I don't want to miss breakfast again!"

A/N: So much bromance, at least in the subtext ;) What'd you think?

Guest review replies:

Nance: Thanks so much for your kind and complimentary remarks about ch 52! I'm glad you liked the ongoing theme of Arthur's inner dialogue sounding like Uther and Gwen. ;) I'm so glad you like the way I'm handling thoughts in italics…it does get a bit confusing when people are both thinking to themselves and projecting certain thought to other characters in the same chapter, but other than that, I've found it makes it easier to follow both as a writer and a reader! :)

Guest #1: Thanks for reviewing ch 52! As far as the eventual Arthur!reveal, I have something very specific cooked up, but your idea was still cool :) I like your idea about Leon's POV during Uther's announcement about Morgana! I'm already planning, too, to have Gwen do more of the being-Morgana's-eyes-and-ears-around-the-castle role, so you'll get more people's perspectives that way through her interactions. More Morgana soon, I promise! One more chapter of the Perilous Lands, I think, then back to Camelot for a bit ;)

Guest #2: Thanks for leaving a review on ch 1 about Leon's indestructible nature…yes, I plan on making use of that running joke later on! ;)

Reader: Thanks for leaving a review! I promise Merlin's going to get a lot of father-son time with Balinor in this fic ;) As for the rest of your comment, well, you'll just have to keep reading! ;)

Bookybookworm: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're excited about the pranks! I haven't actually decided yet, but I will soon ;) Hope you enjoyed ch 53!

Guest #3: Haha, your suggestion was entertaining ;) Yeah, that probably would have gotten Arthur out of his room…but then again, so does breakfast ;) Thanks for reviewing!