(A/N: Nanowrimo has officially ended and here I am with the story I wrote. I wrote this one pretty quickly within the month, I'm talking I was done writing it by the 14th of Nov, like, staying up until 4 am writing it even though I had to get up at 8 for work. Dumb stuff like that. I had basically wanted to write two stories, since this one is only 10 chapters. But I didn't do that because I am trash, but I did my duty, I started and finished a story in the month. I hope you enjoy it as well, as always I don't own anything, because I am not rich, this is a season 3 work around. Everything in season 3 happens, I am just too lazy to have actually written about it. Just assume it all happens tho, this just happens OFF camera. The only thing I really changed is that they would have met Gwaine BEFORE the start of season three and honestly that was just a mess-up on my part and I then didn't want to fix it. Everything else happens the same tho. Enjoy!)

It was a day like any other, the Prince was tasked to go retrieve some stolen relic that someone had stolen from King Uther, whom had already stolen it from someone else. Merlin tagged along because that's what he always does, he really has no choice but to, as Arthur was an utter foolish moron, who will die probably three times a day without Merlin there to stop it. Getting the relic back was easy, which was some sort of fancy looking vase, but it was getting out of the bandit invested woods that was the issue. That part hadn't gone so well, because as they were riding their horses through a pass a large man in a tree jumped off and knocked Arthur off of his horse.

"You were supposed to be staying vigilant!" yelled Arthur, as he was picked up by this large man and slammed onto the ground. Merlin jumped off his horse, moving both his and Arthur's horses out of the line of fire and only slightly watched as the big man made to jump on top of Arthur. It would probably kill him, the weight. Merlin turned sharply as soon as he moved the horses and with a flash of hidden gold in his eyes, the man lost his balance and toppled backwards. Arthur stood up, pulling his sword from his belt. Merlin could see a patch of dirt on his cheek and a bruise forming beneath his eye. "Some help you are, Merlin!"

Merlin only shrugged, and then the screams of many men all at once could be heard. And then men were upon them, running over the short hills quickly and making for both of them rather fast. Merlin dodged his way out of many an attack, there was probably about ten Men. Two Merlin made 'run into a tree' that just happened to be there, in the middle of the pass, and three more were attacked by bees, the other five were on Arthur, whom took two down with his sword, but continued to try to fight off the other three. Three on one, it was only due to Arthur's grand fighting skills that he was even still living. He prided himself on being the best Knight in Camelot for a reason, because he was. But even with skill, he needed help. Merlin made one suddenly lose his trousers, and this tripped him, falling bare-assed into a bush, and Merlin was just about to do something...the likes of which he didn't know what yet, when Arthur suddenly screamed. And it scared Merlin, it scared him because he thought something happened to him, something Merlin hadn't seen, but he yelled again...

"MERLIN!" and just over the two tall bandit's Merlin could see Arthur pointing behind him, he was punched in the ribs by one of the men, right as he did and nearly buckled over. Merlin whipped around to see an eleventh man rushing toward Merlin, arms opened wide and before Merlin's magic could react he was being tackled. Merlin struggled under the man for a second, who seemed to have misjudged Merlin's size and had hit his head on the ground as they fell. Merlin was not a big man, but he was more powerful than most people thought. He kneed the man as he withered in pain from his head, and this made him wither in pain for another reason. And then Merlin wiggled his way out from under him. He stood up then, looking back at Arthur who now only had one fighter left to defeat, the one who had punched him in the ribs. Arthur seemed distracted though, distracted by Merlin. He was punched in the face right as Merlin stood up and Merlin yelled out.

"Arthur!"

But as he did Arthur kicked up from the ground, kicking the man in the stomach and with a leap he was back on his feet, the man so taken off guard by the kick and the agile quickness that he stumbled back and quickly met the point of Arthur's sword. There was growling in Merlin's ear now, and Merlin was suddenly grabbed around the middle. He only just looked over to see the big, ugly man's face whom he had just kneed a moment ago. Merlin used his elbow and slammed it into the man's nose and he was down, too.

And then it was just Merlin and Arthur, standing in the middle of carnage, just a few feet from each other. It was honestly perfectly normal, it happened all the time. Arthur put away his sword, laughing a little, in his 'I can't believe I didn't die' laugh he did sometimes, which was kind of cute and again, perfectly normal. Then he was stepping over a dead man and coming toward Merlin quickly, and Merlin expected to be yelled at, for not helping or whatever usual utter rubbish Arthur says, because that too, happens all the time. It was completely normal.

What wasn't normal however, is as soon as Arthur had gotten close enough, as soon as Arthur was near Merlin, he grabbed Merlin around the middle, almost as tightly as that ugly man just had, only in a way that didn't make Merlin want to puke. He looked him dead in the eyes, which...alright, did happen sometimes, he was still laughing a little, and his eyes were so light and full of life, especially for someone who had just killed half a dozen people. And everything felt like it was moving very slowly, yet very quickly all at the same time, which couldn't be normal, could it? And then Arthur's lips were on his, which definitely didn't happen all the time, or really...ever before.

But it was in such a way that demanded attention, so entirely, that Merlin couldn't think, couldn't react. Why was this happening? It was not that Merlin was mad about it, or didn't like it, it was actually the complete opposite, he liked it very much and what was there to be mad about...? But, it was strange, because this had never, definitely never, happened before. Before Merlin knew it though, and before he had even decided to kiss back, Arthur pulled away, and now he looked how Merlin would expect him to look. The realization seemed to be hitting him, his eyes went front light to a dark color and he released Merlin as if he were something dirty, taking several steps back, nearly tripping on the man Merlin had just knocked out. He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but only let out a shaky breath and closed it again. Merlin only stood there too, staring at him. Seconds ticked by as if not moving at all, and then Merlin pointed a thumb toward the horses.

"We should go..." he said, finding his lips strange to talk with, as if the ghost of Arthur's were still there, haunting him. Arthur only nodded and turned away from Merlin quickly, not to look at him again, not even to speak to him, for the rest of the journey home.