Twelve Parcels in Silk
Present the Sixth: A Last Minute Surprise
It's Merlin's birthday again and Arthur is royally screwed.
He'd thought of every single thing that he could give and nothing seemed good enough. He wanted to show Merlin that he cared, that he appreciated him and if he was brave enough, he might even tell Merlin that he loved him.
He had named Merlin as his Court Sorcerer and now there wasn't anything that Merlin really needed. He considered getting clothes (he always considers clothes because what Merlin wears is atrocious) but when Merlin became Court Sorcerer and got enough money to get a wardrobe like the king's, he had insisted that he liked simple and plain clothes.
Arthur then considered getting Merlin a hat just to be funny but he wanted this to be serious and he really, really needed to tell Merlin his feelings. He had observed his friend on many occasions and he has come to the conclusion that Merlin might, possibly, maybe return his feelings. It was better than nothing.
The knights had been talking about how they gift flowers and trinkets to their beloved but Arthur doubted that Merlin would appreciate some shiny bracelet and Arthur didn't want to give flowers because then Merlin would just think he was teasing him about being a girl.
Then Sir Evyn said he was giving his beloved Lady Kelly a new dress to wear for when he escorted her to the royal feast and Arthur had considered getting Merlin something elaborate to wear for his birthday feast. He considered telling Merlin his feelings at the feast but he wouldn't want all his knights and the nobles to see him get rejected (he hoped and wished that Merlin wouldn't reject him).
So then he started to plan a feast for Merlin's birthday but he didn't know who to invite. Sure he'd invite Gwen, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, Percival, Gaius and himself but he didn't know if Merlin had other friends that he would want to be there. Sometimes Arthur thought that the people of Camelot loved Merlin more than him and he didn't want to invite the whole serving staff in case there were people that Merlin didn't like.
He was getting a headache and just this morning he had snapped at Merlin and it was his birthday.
Arthur felt like a big, insufferable prat.
He had never left Merlin's presents till the last minute but it was the very morning of the special day and he still had nothing.
Merthur and Arlin were residing in his chambers at the moment since some maid was cleaning their chambers so Arthur was stuck thinking of gifts with the two rabbits nibbling on his trousers. His bare feet tickled when Arlin (the smaller one) rubbed against it and he considered getting Merlin more rabbits.
But he didn't want to repeat his gifts so he let that idea go.
When lunch came around he was in full panic mode because it was six hours before the feast he had planned three days before and he still had nothing to give.
He considered dressing himself in red silk and gifting himself to Merlin but the image was ridiculous and he groaned. He was stuck and all because of an annoying idiot who stole his heart. Perhaps he should just give Merlin his crown and be done with it but then he thought of the poor citizens who would be under Merlin's rule (for Merlin was kind but a little stupid when it came to running a kingdom) and decided that his crown would definitely not be what he gifted.
Images of belts, hats, jewels, horses, pigs, ink, trees, paper, soup, peaches and sweets flowed through his head but he deemed them all unacceptable and started again.
He looked out his window, cradling Merthur in his arms and stroking her fur. He watched the people below run around trying to finish their jobs and then he spotted it. In the midst of all the chaos was a druid man and Arthur shouted for a servant to look after Merthur and Arlin before running down the stairs towards the man.
He arrived back just in time for the feast but didn't get a chance to change so he ran into the throne room with mud all over his clothes and his hair in a disarray from the blowing wind. Everyone turned to look at him and he grinned, saying, "Happy Birthday Merlin!"
Gaius was giving him his eyebrow look and scanning the state of his clothes with his eyes. Arthur kept on grinning and then realised that everyone was still staring at him. He stopped and asked, "What?"
"You're not wearing shoes Arthur."
That was Gwen and then Gwaine added, "And your feet is covered in mud, in fact, so is the ground that you stepped on."
He looked behind him and found a trail of mud leading down the hallway and he said, "Ah."
Merlin was in the process of unwrapping Gwaine's gift so he simply gave Arthur a look that said 'I'm not cleaning it up' and then went back to unwrapping.
He watched as Merlin beamed at the gift Gwaine had given him (is that a teapot?), he walked to the table in the middle and saw that the kitchen had done what he had asked. All the food were Merlin's favourites and there were a lot (too much) dessert. He watched the way Merlin smiled and laughed, feeling warmth spread through his body.
If Merlin didn't return his feelings, then he'd be happy just to see the joy on his face every day. He might not be ecstatic that Merlin rejected him (he'd probably want to kill himself) but he would be happy that Merlin was happy. With that thought in mind he wondered if he should tell Merlin because what if Merlin became all awkward around him afterwards.
He pushed his doubts and worries away and tried to join in with the laughter and fun everyone was having.
"Come on then Arthur, show us what you got for Merlin."
Arthur didn't know whether to thank Gwaine or murder him, instead he just said, "Merlin's gift is in his chambers, I will show him later."
The knights made wolf whistles and Arthur blushed a deep red. He went for the nearest goblet and drowned all its contents.
When the feast was over he supported a slightly tipsy Merlin back to his chambers. He had consumed some wine himself but unlike Merlin, he could actually walk in a straight line.
"Arthur," a giggle, "what'd you ge-get me?"
Arthur sighed and didn't answer his slightly drunk friend (he hoped that Merlin was only slightly drunk).
He pushed open his Court Sorcerer's chamber's doors and dropped Merlin onto the nearest chair. He walked over to where a cage was covered but red silk and tried to get Merlin's attention. When his friend finally looked his way, he pulled the silk off revealing an owl sitting inside the cage.
"Archimedes."
"What?"
Arthur asked confused. Had Merlin already met the owl?
"His name is Archimedes."
Merlin didn't look tipsy at all now and was instead staring at the owl in fascination.
"How do you know its name?"
"His."
Arthur looked even more confused and asked again, "What?"
"It's a male. And he can talk to me in my head."
His voice was full of wonder when he said the last part and Arthur remembered what the druid had told him.
"This owl is a creature of the old religion and he is part of Emry's destiny. The owl is no simple owl and together, he and Emry's shall change magic forever. Emry's has power over nature itself, this owl will provide him with wisdom and knowledge to be able to use his power."
Arthur had no idea what the druid had been babbling about so he had just nodded and thanked him, now he knew what the man had been talking about and he stared at Merlin. He had thought he had fallen in love with a sorcerer only to find out he is the most powerful sorcerer of all and now he could change nature itself? Arthur was stunned but trusted Merlin to bring the world no harm.
He smiled and said, "I take it you like him then."
"Very much."
Merlin was still staring at the owl, Archimedes, in wonder and then he turned to Arthur.
He didn't think before touching Merlin's lips with his own, it felt natural and good, so good. When he stopped thinking about how nice Merlin's lips was he realised he was kissing Merlin and panicked. Then he realised that Merlin was kissing him back (he's kissing me back!) and he smiled into the kiss, deepening it.
(That was one gift he wouldn't mind repeating and the following days saw the King and Court Sorcerer sneaking each other kisses of love and affection)
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