"Do you really love me?"
Arthur took a sip from his cup and turned around to look at Merlin, who was sitting on his bed, his eyes squinted in a slightly confused look as he stared out of the window.
"Would I say if it wasn't true?" Arthur asked in return.
"Well... no, probably not, but I just—" Merlin had to think for a second. He didn't want to make it sound mean, or to have Arthur take it the wrong way. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't like... infatuated, or something."
Arthur slammed his drink down on the table, causing Merlin to shake in surprise as the other man got up quickly and walked back to Merlin, sat on the bed, and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Every day for the past four years I have watched you work for me, and during those years from my transition from prince to king I have watched you grow, as well. I have watched every day as you protected me, as you cared for me just as I do for you." Arthur sighed—he wasn't good at this. "I have been in love with you for quite some time, Merlin, but only recently have I been able to act on those feelings. I'm—I'm sorry if I've treated you poorly in the past, but I couldn't let anyone know. Not even myself."
Merlin was walking down the steps, minding his own business when his attention shifted to a loud bang that came from the guest rooms. It'd sounded like something had either broken, or died—neither of which that would make Richard particularly angry, he thought.
Merlin ran into the room and saw Arthur huddled in the middle of it, crouched down with a rolled up newspaper in his hand. Arthur gazed to him then back around the room as if looking for an invisible attacker. Merlin stood there for a few seconds before he became annoyed.
"Arthur, what are you doing?" Merlin asked bluntly, "You look fool—"
"Shh!" Arthur hissed frantically, his eyes continuing to dart around the room. He turned awkwardly a few times, looking, waiting, watching. "OUCH! FUCK!" Arthur screamed suddenly, and he raised his hands behind him to begin patting and swatting.
Merlin watched in horror as a small wasp flew out of his shirt and up into the air and then landed on the ceiling.
"Ow, ow, ow, ouch, oooww!" Arthur moaned. He was jumping around the room, his hands above and behind him in a desperate attempt to try and soothe the area.
Merlin couldn't help but laugh. "Are you afraid of bees, Arthur?"
Arthur looked at him shocked. "I am not, Merlin. I am just annoyed by it and I want it dead and – ow – it stung me!" Arthur hung his head defeated, but he quickly realized he did not know where the bee was and he was immediately back to looking around for it.
Merlin shook his head and walked to the middle of the room. He held his hand up to the ceiling and felt his magic run from his fingers and into the bee, where he told it that everything was fine and that he was going to help it. The bee slowly flew down and—to Arthur's disgust—it landed on Merlin's finger. Merlin walked to the window and gently opened it, allowing the bee to fly out. Merlin turned around in triumph and gave Arthur a conceited look.
"Well, took care of that problem for ya, eh?" Merlin said, beaming with pride.
"Well, I didn't need your help," Arthur snipped.
Merlin couldn't believe it. Arthur was still being a useless arrogant prat about everything! What did Merlin even do to deserve this kinda treatment? The raven-haired boy walked up quickly to the blonde, who was leaving the room, and he grabbed his arm to spin him around.
"You tell me what I did, right now!" Merlin yelled. His eyes were dead and cold as he glared into Arthur, and he was rewarded with an irritated look.
"Why do I have to report to you?" Arthur snapped back, "I don't work for you; I work for your father."
"For the last time, he's my step-father! And that doesn't make any sense!" Merlin yelled angrily. He stepped closer. "We were—Arthur, we were such good friends! What happened?" Merlin asked, his eyes softening just a fraction, his anger simmering just as quickly as it had flared as he looked to Arthur for answers.
Arthur shook his head in disbelief and turned to walk away, but Merlin grabbed his arm again and pulled him close.
"What did I do?"
Arthur's feelings got the better of him. He clenched his fists and hung his head, mumbling his answer under his breath.
"What?" Merlin asked, dipping his own to try and catch Arthur's gaze.
"yewdadntkzmbk," Arthur said again. He began to blush and Merlin could tell something was wrong.
"Arthur, you kinda need to—"
"You DIDN'T kiss me BACK!" Arthur screamed. His face was bright red and his eyes were wet. He was panting and sweating and he couldn't take this any longer. The truth was out, he needed it—God, he needed it...
The next step took Arthur by surprise. Merlin was only an inch from him. Arthur looked around the room before looking down to Merlin, who was looking at Arthur's body, his eyes scanning up and down. Merlin grabbed Arthur's hand and intertwined their fingers as their eyes met, and after a few more steps, then so did their lips.
Merlin pushed into Arthur, forcing Arthur to stumble backwards against the wall. Merlin let go of Arthur's hand and slid his hands up and down Arthur's body, caressing, touching, grabbing all the flesh he could.
Merlin left Arthur's lips and began to kiss his neck, biting and licking as he went, and between breaths, Arthur tried to say, "Merlin... I didn't... think... you... ngh... you felt this way..."
"I didn't think... you... felt... this way... either..." Merlin responded between kisses.
Arthur pulled Merlin into him and wrapped his arms around him, dragging him forward and into the other room. Together, they toppled onto Arthur's bed, Arthur landing on top.
Arthur looked down at Merlin. He was so confused but he simply didn't care at this point. The pale skin that he had dreamed about for so long was his, the dark black hair, the tight beautiful body—it was all his. Arthur lifted his hand to caress Merlin's face, who sheepishly looked up at Arthur and smiled. This was too perfect.
Arthur jumped off of Merlin and stood up. He looked around the room, waiting. Merlin sat up.
"What... are you looking for?" Merlin asked.
"The last time this happened... it was a dream," Arthur said.
Merlin gave him a puzzled look and laughed through his bemusement. "Trust me, Arthur, this isn't a—"
beep beep beep
And there it was.
Arthur wasn't surprised—this was the third night in a row that he'd had that same dream. It always ended the same way too.
He reached out and flipped his alarm clock off before scrambling around to get dressed, and then he walked into the kitchen, getting ready to make breakfast. Nobody was home, save for himself and Merlin.
At the kitchen table, Merlin thought: Tomorrow. He wasn't scared anymore; he knew exactly how he was going to deal with it, and he was pretty confident. His thoughts strayed to Arthur, who was off yonder, gallivanting around and avoiding him like the twat-burger he was. Merlin chuckled into his spoon of cereal. He was really too funny for his own good.
"Oh..." Arthur said when he entered, looking at Merlin, "I didn't think you'd be awake."
Merlin gave Arthur a nod and a somewhat suspicious look and went back to eating his cereal. Arthur, however, took two slices of bread and placed them in the toaster, trying to be silent as to not draw attention.
"So why have you been avoiding me?" Merlin asked, his tone conversational and casual.
Arthur sighed. He'd known that this had been bound to come up eventually—but maybe if he was lucky, it would play out like his dream. Arthur almost laughed out loud at that thought.
"Well," Merlin demanded, "are you going to answer me?"
Arthur turned around and placed his ass against the counter, shrugging his shoulders and leaning back. Merlin felt his anger rise into him, he got up and walked quickly to Arthur, raising his hand and giving him a sharp right hook. Arthur felt himself recoil into the cabinets.
Merlin grabbed Arthur's shirt and forced him forward. Arthur was dazed and confused and he lifted his hand to grab his jaw.
"What the fuck Merlin?" Arthur stared, "That really—"
"Shut the fuck up!" Merlin yelled. His eyes were glazed gold and Arthur felt intimidated. "You told me you would be here for me, remember?"
Arthur's heart sank, his expression changing from irritation and anger to sorrow and guilt.
"You haven't been here, Arthur... you haven't been here." Merlin pulled Arthur close and wrapped his arms around him. His lips made contact with Arthur's ear. "I need you, Arthur..." Merlin whispered. "I need you more than anything..."
Arthur pulled back and nodded. Merlin smiled and brought his hand up to touch where he had punched Arthur. All was silent for a moment, until Merlin said, "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to... I was just..."
Arthur brought his hand up to silence him. "It's fine, Merlin. I kinda deserved it." He chuckled and looked down at Merlin. They were still touching. Arthur could feel Merlin's stomach expand and contract with each breath, and he could feel Merlin's legs against his, his breath against his neck.
Merlin was cherishing the contact. He loved the way Arthur felt beneath him. His warmth, his essence, Merlin had gotten good at feeling people though his magic and boy, oh boy, did Arthur feel fantastic. Merlin felt his touch last too long and pulled back, blushing gently. He started to step back. "Well, um," Merlin said eloquently, "I'll talk to you soon, yeah?"
"Yeah... sure." Arthur smiled and watched Merlin walk away before sinking to the floor. His heart racing, his pants tight, he rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. It was going to be a long taxing friendship with this one.
Merlin sat outside in the cool air. The night was moonless, and the haze of fog and mist on the air was ominous. It was ten minutes to midnight and he wasn't sure what to expect and he couldn't help but keep checking his phone. 11:56... 11:57... 11:58...
"Punctual, aren't we?"
Merlin looked up and searched for the disembodied voice, his eyes scanning the area in front of the gates to his house. Merlin saw in the distance three dark figures walk up. The middle man was stumbling and weaving—it was obviously Gaius. The three figures reached Merlin and then the two on each side pushed Gaius to the ground. Merlin heard his yell as his knees cracked against the asphalt.
"A trade. Your life, for his," one dark figure said.
"No! No, Merlin! Don't do it!" Gaius yelled from beneath his mask. The left assailant lifted his hand and brought it down hard on the back of Gaius's head, and Merlin heard a faint grunt before Gaius stopped speaking.
Merlin felt his anger over take him and his magic surge inside of him. His right hand began to glow, and lightning sparked and crackled between his fingers. He lifted it and a large stream of electricity shot and electrocuted one of the masked attackers. Merlin watched as the magic wrecked and swam through his body.
The light faded and the electricity dissipated from the attacker, who laughed.
"This one's strong," he said.
Merlin took a step back in shock. That was as much energy as he thought he could put out at one time, and it did nothing! Merlin's breathing became hitched as he realized how deep in shit he really was. He thought he'd be strong enough to beat them, but he figured wrong.
"You know, Jeff," the one attacker said, "why don't we just kill both of them?"
"You know... that's a really good idea," replied the other assailant, and then together they both left Gaius and began walking to Merlin.
It was quick. Merlin didn't know what happened until both attackers were on the ground, both with arrows in their back. Merlin stood in bewilderment. He looked around, not seeing anyone in sight, but—Gaius. He ran forward to the old man and removed his mask.
"Gaius, Gaius!" Merlin yelled as he pulled Gaius close.
"Ah... Merlin my boy... I'm so sorry I brought this upon you," Gaius murmured into Merlin's chests chest as they sat on the ground. Merlin saw two more figures walk up in the distance, but neither of these were disguised like the previous ones.
Merlin felt energy surge through him again and he got ready to make another attack.
"Don't do it, I'm not your enemy!" yelled a female in the distance. They got closer until Merlin could see their faces. One was an older gentleman with short black hair and beautiful facial structure, the other a younger beautiful black woman with long, wavy hair. "We're your friends. I promise."
As soon as Gaius looked up, a large smile broke out on his face. "Ah, my old friends, Lance and Gwen."
Merlin looked at Gaius. Why was it that every time Gaius was involved, things went weird and got confused and everyone knew each other but Merlin didn't and it was just awkward and can it stop, please?
Gaius turned to Merlin. "Merlin, these are very good friends. They are members of the Knights, and they are the ones who will help you stop the Purge," he explained, and he sounded thoroughly pleased about it.
"Well," Merlin started. "It's good you got here when you did, I thought for sure I was going to be in a lot of trouble."
"Yeah, you're not bright are you?" Gwen said rather matter-of-factly. "I figured Gaius already informed you that they're pretty much immune to magic, and yet you try to 'shock'," she used air quotes for that, "them into submission. You do know electricity is the weakest form of elemental magic, right?"
"Jeez Gwen, just lay into him why don't ya'?" the other man—Lance—said. He gave her a playful look, but she glared back at him.
"Are you all just going to leave me on the ground or is someone going to help me up?" Gaius asked impatiently, breaking the moment.
"Oh of course," Merlin said, and the three of them helped Gaius to his feet and began walking him towards the house.
When he was up, Gwen let go and wandered back. "I'll take care of the bodies," she said.
Merlin shook his head in disbelief. Tonight was going to be a long night.
Merlin helped Gaius onto one of the stools in the kitchen as Gwen and Lance took their own seats around the table. When Gwen sat, she began laying out a bunch of papers from her bag.
Merlin was the first to focus on the footsteps coming into the room. He turned to face Arthur, who was in his boxers with a cup in his hand and staring awkwardly at them. His face turned red (as did most of his body), and he walked with a sort of uncertainty to the fridge to get water.
The four of them never took their eyes from Arthur, and Arthur never kept his from them.
Arthur left in the same silence, and Gwen waited a few seconds before opening her mouth. "Was that King Arthur?" she asked Gaius, who nodded. Gwen looked puzzled before saying, "He's nothing like I remember. He kinda looks like a pussy ass bitch, if you ask me."
Merlin spat his kool-aid back into his cup and Lance gave Gwen a look of "really?" but she shrugged her shoulders, and Gaius chuckled. "Yes, yes, he has a lot to learn."
"Wait... 'King' Arthur?" Merlin asked.
Gwen shook her head and ignored him. She pointed down to the papers. "If you look here, we've gotten some inside information that they're trying to find a dragon—apparently one has been discovered in the mountains just south of here. If they slay one and drink its blood," Gwen said, sighing and showing her stress and anxiety, "they would be almost impossible to kill. We need to strike first and see if we can set the dragon free. Merlin," Gwen looked to him, "are you still a Dragonlord?"
"A wha'?" Merlin asked.
"Can you speak dragon tongue?"
"I... don't know."
"Well, find the fuck out then. Jesus, it's like all of you have gone daft." Gwen pulled out a book and threw it at Merlin. Merlin looked at the cover of the book, confused. "Do you need me to help you read it too?" she asked irritably, watching him fumble the book around in his hands.
"No, no," Merlin said cautiously. "I can... I'll read it myself."
"Good," Gwen huffed, "we leave in forty eight hours. I'll fill you all in tomorrow on the exact set course of action. Get your shit together and say good-bye to anyone you love, because none of us may make it."
"So... who were those people?"
Merlin looked up from his book to his door to see Arthur standing there, yet again, in nothing but boxers and eating crisps from a bowl. Merlin hated it when he did that. You can't just go around being sexy and naked all the time, he thought.
"They're friends. They're going to help me do something in a few days in the woods south from here," Merlin answered honestly, because he didn't want to lie, and well, just because he was too tired to lie. But he also didn't like being dishonest to Arthur—it felt wrong.
"Oh. Sounds like an adventure," Arthur replied easily, eating another crisp. "Can I come?"
Merlin looked back down to his book uncomfortably. "I think it'd be best if you didn't."
Arthur pouted. "But... please?"
Merlin looked back up to see an overly dramatic Arthur pouting like a baby. "No. No way. It's going to be dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt."
Arthur ignored that last comment and swiftly walked over to Merlin and sat on the edge of his bed. He pulled a crisp from his bowl and slowly brought it to Merlin's face. Merlin opened his mouth and Arthur gently stuck the crisp in. "Perfect," Arthur said. "I can't wait... also, Merlin."
Merlin stared at Arthur, waiting for him to continue. He took the time to notice how nice his hair was, like he had just gotten out of the shower.
"I know all about you."
Merlin watched Arthur get up and leave the room. What did he mean by that? Did he know he was magical? He opened his mouth to call after him, but it was too late. Merlin dropped his book on his lap and smacked his head back against his headboard.
Arthur. Fucking Arthur.