Hey guys!

I know the last chapter was a bit of a cliff-hanger, but at least it was a good one, right? I hope so, anyway. This might be a little later than usual, but that's only because I just finished another fic of mine, and have now started another one, but updates should be regular again from now on. And if not, you have permission to bug me about it as much as you want.

Thanks for all of your reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Megz

oxox

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Merlin woke the next morning with a smile on his face. For the first time in . . . a very long time, he felt . . . great. As his vision began to get clearer, he remembered what had happened the night before, and his smile only got wider. Swinging his legs out of the bed, and sitting up, he ran a hand through his tangled hair, replaying the moment in his head as many times as he could. He never wanted to forget it.

Kissing Arthur had been everything he'd imagined - no, - better. It had been . . . Merlin didn't even think there were enough words in the English language to describe that kiss. And though it had only been a brief twelve seconds (yes, he'd counted), it had felt like it lasted for hours. Even just thinking about it, filled Merlin with a feeling of great happiness and pleasure. It hadn't been Merlin's first kiss, but it felt like it was. It felt like . . . like no other kiss could possibly compare to it, like they were on an entirely different level.

Arthur had pulled away first, keeping his hand on Merlin's cheek. Merlin felt for sure that they were going to be caught out by Gaius, but for some reason, he didn't particularly care. Any time spent with Arthur, was worth the risk of getting caught. Merlin had felt for sure that he was going to apologize, or say it was all Merlin's fault. He knew it was a stupid thing to think, but he'd seen these things happen before. A confused popular guy, who doesn't quite understand his sexuality, takes it out on another kid of the same sexuality who can't defend themselves. He felt for sure that that was how it was going to work out.

But nothing of the sort happened.

Instead, Arthur simply whispered; "Goodnight, Merlin." and pressed another shadow of a kiss on his lips. Merlin had tried his best to remain calm, at least until Arthur was halfway down the street. Then he let the manic, cat-got-the-cream grin spread across his face. He wasn't sure how long he stayed out there; just long enough for his happiness to subside just a little, so that Gaius wouldn't ask questions. Little did he know, halfway down the street, Arthur's expression mirrored his perfectly.

Pulling on a t-shirt, and standing up, Merlin began to pace the room.

What did it mean? He'd been kissed by Arthur bloody-Pendragon of all people! . . . And he'd liked it. It didn't make any sense. Just a few weeks ago, Merlin had hated Arthur. Now, all he could think about, was his lips on Arthur's again. There was no logical explanation. People didn't just suddenly develop feelings for someone they'd spent years hating.

Arthur had changed though, Merlin was sure of that, but he just didn't know where it had all come from. Why had Arthur suddenly decided to stop taunting him? Why had he stopped Mordred? Why was he being his friend? And most importantly of all; why had he kissed him?

There were many possible explanations, of course, but Merlin wasn't quite sure he believed any of them. It was possible, for example, that Arthur was doing it for a dare, or a bet. See how far he could push the nerdy little poof that never stuck up for himself. But then Merlin knew that Arthur would never do that. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. It was also possible, that Arthur was suffering from some kind of mental affliction that he didn't know about. Okay, so maybe that theory wasn't entirely plausible, but Merlin wanted to take all possibilities into account. Or maybe, Arthur had an evil twin that -

Don't be ridiculous! Merlin thought to himself. His theories were becoming more and more insane as he carried on, and yet he couldn't bring himself to consider the most likely of all of them. It was possible, perhaps, there was the tiniest possibility . . . that Arthur liked him?

One thing was for sure though, as Merlin's fingertips brushed where Arthur's lips had met his. He'd fallen for Arthur Pendragon. And he'd fallen hard. There was no hiding any more, no way he could deny it. It was plain for even him to see, and Morgana and Gwen had been right all along. He had feelings for Arthur, and there was no going back on it. Bloody hell, Merlin thought to himself. What have I gotten myself into?

This prat really is going to be the death of me.

Later that day, Arthur returned from school upon receiving a text from his father, saying they needed to "talk". Whatever it was, Arthur did not like the sound of it, and was not looking forward to this "talk". He hadn't spoken to his father since asking him for help with Mordred. He only hoped that his father had been able to do something right for once. If not for him, then for Merlin, at least.

He threw his bag to the side, and made his way up to his father's study. He wanted this conversation to be brief, and to-the-point, as most of their conversations were. Arthur preferred it that way. The more time he spent in his father's company, the more he couldn't wait to be out of school, out of this house, and as far away from Uther as he could possibly get. He'd visit Morgana of course, once he'd moved far away enough, but he just wanted to get away from his father. That was the main thing.

He jogged quickly up the stairs, rethinking the day in his head.

Ever since last night, he hadn't spoken a word to Merlin. Not because he didn't want to, of course, he just hadn't had the chance. He'd gotten to school just as the bell rang, meaning he had to rush straight to form class, or risk getting a late detention. And he'd been pulled out of all his classes that day, for some extra revising for all his exams. It had been unfortunate, but Arthur honestly didn't know what he'd have said to Merlin, if he had gotten to see him. At lunch and break time, Arthur had been informed that Morgana, Gwen, and Merlin had to do a Drama rehearsal, so he'd sat with Gwaine, Leon, Percival, Elyan and Lancelot instead.

It had been fun, sitting with his old friends again, but the whole time, he couldn't stop thinking about Merlin. He hoped though that, in a few days or weeks' time, his two friendship groups would be able to come together, and maybe then, he wouldn't have to feel so guilty for ditching either of them.

He raised his hand to knock on the door, and upon his second knock, it flew open to reveal a stony-looking Uther Pendragon.

Arthur didn't like the look of it already, and he sighed, as he entered the study. He chose not to sit down, as that would imply that the conversation was going to be a long one. Instead, he stood, hands behind his back, waiting for his father to sit down.

"Well, what is it?" Arthur asked impatiently. He wanted to be in and out as soon as possible.

"I'd like to talk to you, about the matter of Mr Emyrs and Mr Camlann." Uther replied, and Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes. Uther looked at him quizzically, not quite understanding the source of his annoyance.

"This isn't a business deal! For God's sake, can you just try, for once, to feel some kind of compassion?" Arthur cried, throwing his arms up in the air, and pacing. "Just . . . try to imagine what this is doing to Merlin. It may be a serious situation, but do you have to treat it so coldly?"

"Okay, okay, you're right. I'm sorry," Uther replied. But he didn't sound sorry. Still, Arthur knew it was as good as he was going to get, so he gestured for his father to continue. "I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do."

"What?!" Arthur yelled, turning around and slamming his hands on the table. Uther didn't even flinch. He barely even batted an eyelid at his son's outburst, simply raising a slightly greying eyebrow. "What do you mean there's nothing you can do?"

"Arthur, there's no evidence. There's literally nothing to suggest that your accusations are true. I'm not saying that I don't believe you, because I do. But the accusations that you made, as I'm sure you are aware, are extremely serious. I can't act on them, however, unless there's something to prove them. And so far, I've found nothing."

"Have you even tried?" Arthur spat, pushing himself off of the desk, and running his hands through his hair.

"Of course I tried! I even got Mordred into my office, but of course he denied it. I even tried to talk to Mr Emyrs, but he didn't seem to want to talk about it." Uther continued, but the rage behind Arthur's eyes built up even more.

"You didn't need to bring Merlin into this! I wanted him as far removed as possible. It was incredibly traumatic for him, and the only thing that he needs right now, is Mordred gone!"

"Well I'm sorry Arthur, but unless you can convince him to talk to me, there's nothing I can do."

"Well I'm sorry too. Sorry for thinking that you could do the right thing for once!" Arthur yelled, kicking the chair across from his father's desk as he stormed out of the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

~ Thursday, 17:00pm ~

You there? - A

Yeah, I'm here. What's going on? - Merlin

I've got something I want to tell you. - A

Alright then, go ahead. - Merlin

Just . . . promise you won't think differently of me afterwards? - A

I promise. - Merlin

I . . . God, I don't know how to tell you this. I didn't want to tell you. At least, not like this. - A

What are you talking about? - Merlin

I like you, Merlin. - A

You . . . why are you telling me this now? - Merlin

Because I thought you deserved to know. - A

But I don't even know you! - Merlin

You do. You just don't know it's me. - A

That doesn't help at all. What do you expect me to say now? - Merlin

I don't expect you to say anything. I just thought you should know. - A

But . . . how is that fair? You can't tell me you have feelings for me, and then not tell me who you are. - Merlin

I wish I could tell you, but . . . I don't know. - A

You're scared. - Merlin

I think so, yeah. - A

But you have nothing to be scared of. - Merlin

You. I'm scared of you. My feelings for you, and what you'll think of me when you find out who I really am. - A

I won't think any less of you, I promise. - Merlin

You promise that now, but you can't know for sure. - A

Will you ever tell me? - Merlin

I suppose I'll have to, eventually. - A

Is that it? - Merlin

What? - A

You tell me you have feelings for me, and that's it, is it? I'm just expected to accept that, am I? - Merlin

I don't know, I just . . . there's not a whole lot more to say. - A

What's scaring you, really? - Merlin

That you might like someone else, once you find out who I am. - A

That's what's scaring you? - Merlin

Well do you? - A

Do I what? - Merlin

Stop avoiding the subject Merlin. Do you like someone else? - A

I think I might. - Merlin

Well? I know it was kind of short, but let me know what you thought of it anyway! REVIEW! :D