Merlin sighed, turning his face toward the sky and sighing contentedly as he and Arthur rode back towards Camelot. Gwaine would be there, waiting for him.
"What is it?" Arthur asked, amused.
"What do you mean?"
"What has got you sighing and grinning like a love-struck girl?"
"Maybe I am lovestruck," Merlin commented, lips quirking into a wry smile.
Arthur laughed. "You? Over a girl?"
"Who says it's a girl?" Merlin challenged.
"A man then? Has Gwaine finally convinced you to give him a chance?"
Arthur genuinely hoped so, if he had to listen to Gwaine lament Merlin's continued rejections Arthur would scream and he could only imagine how much worse his whining would get if Merlin agreed to see some other man. Merlin had been so determined to rebuff Gwaine that Arthur had started to think that Merlin was only interested in women and didn't know how to tell Gwaine that he stood no chance.
"As a matter of fact, he has."
"And going off your ridiculous expression I'm guessing it went well?"
"It did," Merlin said, trying and failing to suppress a fond smile.
"Good, because if I had to hear him moaning about his inability to catch your attention one more time I was going to banish the both of you."
"So I accepted in the nick of time, then."
"I'll say," Arthur chuffed.
"So, aren't you going to ask for details?"
"No, I won't I suspect I'll have to hear them from Gwaine, and that they'll be terribly dull the first time. I have no desire to sit through the story twice."
Merlin clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. "He bought me flowers-"
"So you're just going to tell me anyway."
"It was nice, we snuck into the palace kitchens and nicked everything, the food, the dishes, the wine, then we snuck up onto the tower and ate up there under the stars."
"You realize I'm the King? I could put you in the stocks for that."
Merlin ignored him. "It was really romantic."
"I don't suppose he could have bought you dinner, I certainly pay him enough for it."
The smile was evident in Merlin's tone, "Gwaine said all the best dates involve a criminal element."
Arthur snorted. "Of course he did, that sounds exactly like something he'd say. Tell me, Merlin, does he realize that he's a knight, and that we have a code?"
"It may have occurred to him, he did complain a bit about a stifling set of rules that he never minded anyway."
"That also sounds like him." Arthur rolled his eyes. "You'll forgive me if I don't ask you a million excited questions like a teenage girl, Merlin, as I'm sure Gwaine will offer all the details whether or not we want him to at training in the morning."
Merlin laughed. "Fair enough, I could always talk to Gwen about it."
"What and leave Gaius out of the loop?"
"I already told him everything," Merlin said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"And are you going to tell him all the details when you finally wake up in Gwaine's bed?" Arthur teased, turning around in his saddle to see the payoff of Merlin's red face.
"I-no- it's not like he would ask! He's a physician, he knows better."
"Has he given you the talk yet?" He burst out laughing at the look on Merlin's face.
"Yes, and he didn't even have too! My mother already did that when I was a kid! But he did it again, and it was so embarrassing! I'm a grown man!"
Arthur laughed. "It couldn't have been any worse than my talk with my father."
"You mean Uther himself actually gave you the talk? I would have assumed he'd make Gaius do it."
"As did I, and he did make Gaius give Morgana her talk, but he, unfortunately, felt the need to talk to me himself."
"A sex talk with Uther," Merlin shuddered at the thought, "I don't envy you."
"I don't envy me either. I try to block it out."
"I don't blame you."
Arthur laughed again and the two settled into a comfortable silence, headed in the direction of home. Arthur glanced back once more and saw the smile still played across Merlin's face.
"I'm happy for you Merlin, also for me so I don't have to listen to Gwaine's whining, but also for you. Gwaine is a good man," Arthur said in a moment of sincerity he would later deny ever having had.
"I think so too, sire. Thank you."