Arthur burst into Merlin's room ready to shout at him about being half an hour late with breakfast, as without his breakfast Arthur became even more impatient and grumpy than usual.
"Merlin"! Arthur called out as Merlin was nowhere to be seen.
Arthur was about to try again when he heard faint groaning coming from Merlin's bed.
"Merlin"? Arthur said, his voice becoming quieter and lower.
Arthur slowly walked up to Merlin's bed and pulled the covers to see no Merlin in sight. He then leaned his head so he could see the sides of the bed, Arthur jumped at seeing Merlin and shocked at the poor condition Merlin was in.
Practically carrying Merlin on his shoulders onto his bed, Arthur whispered "You should have gone to bed you idiot".
When hearing another quiet groan escape from Merlin, Arthur's eyes went considerably wider before grabbing Merlin's hand as if he was on his death bed.
"Arthur... Arthur no" was Merlin's muttered sentence which caused Arthur to panic, even if his facial expression showed no signs of being even slightly afraid.
However the panic soon invaded Arthur's face when Merlin's fevered muttering got louder and more frantic, soon enough Arthur regretted to admit that he had no choice but to wake Merlin up from his feverish dreams.
"Merlin"! Arthur said in a louder tone as well as shaking him slightly to get him to wake up.
Without warning Merlin suddenly sprung up from his lying position, breathing heavily, his heart pounding and sweat running down his forehead rapidly. Arthur made soothing hushing noises to calm him down.
Once Merlin had calmed down Arthur carefully leaned Merlin back into a lying down position before asking what the muttering was about.
"It... it was about y- you" Merlin stammered, clearly embarrassed that Arthur had found him in a muttering mess.
"What happened "? Arthur asked softly, making Merlin seem to relax around him.
Merlin gulped, "you... you were about to h- have me executed "Merlin explained, the stuttering still loud and clear in his voice.
"Merlin" Arthur said as he lowered his voice so he wouldn't frighten his at this moment of time fragile friend. "I would never have you executed, you mean too much to me as you're the one and only true friend I have" Arthur said in the same tone but softer.
Merlin let a small twitch of a smile out on his face as his eyes filled up with tears, one or two of them now slipping down gently off his cheeks which Arthur wiped away with his thumb.
Still having hold of his hand, Arthur squeezed it lightly to prove that he had meant every single word. All of a sudden Arthur took hold of Merlin's head and tilted his towards Merlin's lips that were now touching deeply, their soft kisses filling the atmosphere with hope and joy.
As soon as they pulled apart Merlin eyes were drooping, knowing that sleep was taking over his body Arthur laid him back down and tucked his duvet covers loosely over him as Merlin's breathing was soon a calm rhythm.
Arthur decided that he wasn't going to leave Merlin alone in case he feared about waking up alone. But not only that, Arthur himself didn't fancy sleeping alone knowing that his friend was feeling vulnerable therefore not being at his best.
The next morning Merlin was the first to wake up to find Arthur's head lying on the bottom half of his leg, soft snores escaping from his perfectly shaped lips.
Merlin hadn't forgotten the kiss he had shared with Arthur, his mind now taking him back to the exact moment when Arthur's soft and delicate lips had greeted his.
Feeling movement on his left leg, he saw Arthur gradually open his eyes before noticing that Merlin was awake, that very instant Arthur was properly awake and shot his head up at Merlin who looked at him with a blissful smile.
"Feeling better"? Arthur asked, kindness and relief both mixed in his voice.
"Yes thank you" Merlin replied. Arthur then felt Merlin's forehead to find that it was much cooler that the previous day which admittedly Arthur was in no hurry to forget and without a doubt Arthur knew that Merlin felt the same way.
" I'm sorry that I worried you" Merlin apologised, his eyes practically telling Arthur that he needed some sort of comfort sign to show that everything Arthur had said was the honest truth.
Arthur, who had not said a word, leaned closer to Merlin and kissed him faintly on the lips. "You're forgiven, my friend" Arthur whispered while lowering his voice to match the peaceful atmosphere.