The house seemed eerily quiet. Merlin shut the door behind him with a bang, to alert Arthur that he was home if he wasn't already aware of it. However, no one replied and he placed his bag on the floor, frowning.

"Arthur!" Merlin called. "I'm back!"

The door leading through to the kitchen swung open, and Arthur hurried out of the room, fixing Merlin with a bright smile. "Hello Merlin!" He indicated the kitchen. "I've been in here for the last few hours!"

"And why exactly have you been in the kitchen?" said Merlin with a feeling of dread. "Please don't tell me you've been trying to cook again, we had to replace that oven, not even my magic could fix it!"

Arthur pointed an accusing finger at Merlin. "You were just making that up to make me feel bad! Do you really expect me to believe that the most 'powerful sorcerer in the world' can't fix an oven!"

Merlin rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised you know what an oven is. Anyway, what were you doing in there?"

"I discovered this thing," said Arthur eagerly, grabbing Merlin's arm and dragging him into the kitchen. "Look!" He pointed enthusiastically at the washing machine.

"You press this button," Arthur explained, "and it goes round and round. I've been putting things I found lying around the house into it – they all spin round!"

"Err, Arthur?" said Merlin weakly. "What exactly have you been putting into the washing machine?"

"The what?" said Arthur blankly. "I'm talking about this!" He pointed at the washing machine again.

"It's called a washing machine," said Merlin vaguely, opening the door to the washing machine and groaning as his eyes landed on a pile of (smashed) ornaments and his remote control, among other things Merlin couldn't quite make out. Not that it mattered, as they were all ruined now anyway.

"I figured that it doesn't really matter if these things are damaged, because you can just fix them with your magic," said Arthur, shrugging offhandedly. "Anyway…" He swept the remains of Merlin's possessions out of the washing machine. "Merlin, you need to press that button once I'm inside this machine thing, alright?"

"Arthur, do not climb inside the washing machine!" said Merlin warningly.

"I'll do what I want to do!" said Arthur indignantly. "Don't even try and order me about, Merlin."

Merlin rolled his eyes as Arthur clambered inside the washing machine. "You're not going to fit," he said in amusement. "You've been at the pies again-"

"Shut up!" was Arthur's muffled reply as he unsuccessfully tried to squash himself inside the washing machine, seemingly unable to breathe as he tried to gesture frantically at Merlin to shut the door.

"Arthur, you're either going to come out of there, or you're going to stay there all on your own until you starve," said Merlin firmly. "You aren't even in the washing machine properly, how can you expect me to shut the door if your legs are sticking out? And besides, you don't even know what a washing machine is for."

Arthur glared at him, but clambered back out of the washing machine all the same. "Use your magic to make it bigger! I mean, why have one if you can't use it properly?"

"Can't use it properly?" Merlin repeated blankly.

"Well, they were obviously invented so people could spin about in them, only that useless machine thing doesn't work. Is it meant to be like an indoor fair ride?" Arthur added eagerly.

Merlin laughed. "No, not really. You actually use them to wash clothes."

"What?" said Arthur in genuine astonishment.

Merlin nodded. "If you ever want to wash clothes, you put them in the washing machine. Although in your case," he added hastily, "you'd be better to give them to me. I don't want you to break the washing machine like most of the other things I own."

Arthur barely registered the insult. He shook his head in disbelief. "This washes clothes? That's all it does?"

"Well, it would have been useful if we'd had one of them, wouldn't it?" said Merlin.

"What, back when I was king?" said Arthur in surprise. "Oh no Merlin, I would have banned this. Along with all the other strange things you get nowadays."

"Well, no one would have thanked you for doing that," said Merlin with a sigh. "Anyway, I was going to have some chocolate cake, but I suppose you can't, seeing as you've 'banned' it..."

"I said I would have banned it!" said Arthur sharply. "There's a difference. Now give me some cake, or I'll send you to the stocks!"

Merlin smiled as Arthur strode out of the kitchen. He may not be the king any more, but some things never changed.

A/N: Hoped you liked this one, and thank you for the reviews! :)