AN:
After two chapters without Merlin/Morgana interaction, you deserve a reward. Unfortunately I don't have any cookies. I do, however, have another chapter.

Stars

A piercing scream tore him from his sleep. He quickly put on his shirt - he was still wearing his pants - and went down the corridor to Morgana's room. Merlin opened the door without knocking and, as expected, Morgana was sitting upright and staring into the distance.
"Are you alright?" He asked but there was no response.
The warlock moved around the bed and sat down next to her.
"Morgana, are you alright?" He asked as his arm went to her back but she shook as soon as he touched her.
"Don't touch me." She rebuked.
Having comforted each other in the past, it felt strange to Merlin she did not accept his. It frustrated him to no end that she did not trust him. His shock and discomfort did not go unnoticed by the witch but she hadn't the energy to do anything about it. He might find her rude but she'd apologize in the morning and be done with it.
"Just... Send me to sleep or something. I know you have a spell for that." She said.
Merlin shook his head and replied, "I could but I won't."
"Why the hell not?" She demanded.
He had asked Gaius the same question. Merlin had trouble sleeping in the days following his father's death. The potions barely helped but Gaius refused to turn to magic for what he called a trivial persuit.
"It breaks the sleeping pattern. At some point your body will rely on the spell to send it to sleep."
"I'm not going to drink any poisons-" Morgana stopped herself, swallowed, and apologized. "sorry, I meant to say potions."
This was what confused Merlin so. Her anger was justified but she was starting to be more considerate. The wrath of the witch was still there but, like a rose, there was beauty beyond the thorns. Morgana could be so very fickle that it would put him off his game.
"I'd like to show you something." He said as he offered her his hand.
Morgana didn't know what he planned to do. With him there was always that unexpected twist you wouldn't expect. First came his fierce loyalty to Arthur and then he saved Mordred. Now that she knew of his magic, the latter wasn't as surprising as before. So what would he want to show her? It wasn't a spell of any kind as he would have done it by now. No, he wanted to show her something he couldn't bring to her.

Morgana took his hand, not bothering to change as there was no one else on the isle. They went outside and walked for less than a minute until they entered another building. Inside, Morgana stared at the ceiling or rather lack thereof. The night sky seemed to fill the room and the stars' radiant bodies brought light to the room. The moon was larger than she had ever seen it before. It brought a whole new meaning to 'being close to the stars'.
"It's beautiful." She whispered in awe and Merlin gently pulled her to the centre of the room.
While Morgana wondered what ancient magics used to be practiced in this room, Merlin wandered off to grab something from the corner of the room. He came back with a roll of fabric under his arm. Morgana took notice of it and looked at him strangely.
"I come here when I can't sleep." He said as he rolled out bedroll.
The sorcerer sat down next to the bedroll and Morgana laid down on it. She smiled slightly as it became clear how comforting the night's sky really was. The room, however, was still a room and the weather outside did not influence the temperature inside.

Was this where he disappeared to those first days she was at the Isle? It did bring a sense of peace. She was glad he showed her this. "Even after you've been so horrible to him." She thought to herself.
"I'm sorry about earlier." She apologized.
"I'm sorry for... it wasn't your fault." He almost apologized for the 'poison' but he had said sorry enough.
Her heart felt heavy for him. After he scorned her and shown his regret, she had done so many things to hurt him. The tables had turned, she was at his mercy, and he showed kindness. After all the hate, he showed her kindness and she felt incapable of being kind herself.

She turned her head and saw him on his back, looking at the stars as well. In the back of her mind, a childlike voice spoke "Kindness is in little things".
"Merlin?" She got his attention and scooted over so he could lay besides her on the bedroll.
The warlock hesitated and Morgana swore she saw red on his cheeks. It made her wonder how someone so strong and powerful could be so awkward. The answer was simple. He was Merlin. He accepted the offer since the stone floor was cold and far from flat. They could barely fit on the bedroll and so their shoulders brushed against each other.
"Do you know which is which?" She asked.
"That one, the bright one," he pointed with the hand which was closest to her. "is the north star which always shows north."
Morgana listened to his stories as they flowed from one to another and tried to keep track of which stars he spoke. She laid her head against his shoulder without a second thought. The position they were now in was nothing short of cuddling. Quite quickly Merlin deviated from his stories and they were picturing all sorts of things in the stars.
"That one looks a bit like a snake." She said.
Merlin 'drew over it' with his finger and replied. "It's just a squiggly line, several actually."
"It's not a squiggly line." Morgana insisted with a playful smile.
"No, they're the wrinkles on Gaius' forehead."
The witch smiled and chuckled. She looked at him and thought of how quickly he pulled her from her nightmare and into this silly little game of stargazing. It was fun despite its childishness. Fun, when was the last time she had fun? Planning and plotting quickly lost its charm but Merlin made her smile with this innocent game. How did he wrap her 'round his finger so easily? More importantly, however, why did she like it?

Morgana sat up straight and turned to the sorcerer.
"Merlin?"
The warlock sat up as well.
"I know I can be unreasonable sometimes and I appreciate you're putting up with it." She said.
Merlin thought about saying something comforting such as 'it's alright' but he didn't know what she wanted and decided to listen silently.
"It's... I'm not ready. When I look at you, I don't always see an ally. I thought I'd be over it by now but I'm not."
"What was she like?" He asked.
It shouldn't have surprised her that he knew she was referring to Morgause. Her sister's death struck closer to her heart than anything else. Nonetheless, it was an odd question for him to ask.
"Why do you care?" She asked honestly.
"Because I am to blame for it. For your pain and hers."
Merlin was being his old self once more but this time she did not worry that his allegiance might change. Although the first steps towards the throne had been made, they could still be undone. To her, it was his request that proved his loyalty. The Merlin that belonged with Arthur would never have asked about Morgause. This man wanted to know what drove her sister and what he had taken away from her. With the right words she could strengthen his faith in her and their cause.
"She was strong." Said Morgana, half-expecting him to try and prove her wrong. When he didn't, she continued. "She remembered the memories we shared of our childhood and she filled the gaps of mine. Things she knew set me free of so many doubts and it brought me to trust her more than anyone."
Again she had expected Merlin to try and prove otherwise but still he didn't.
"And she was kind. I've made mistakes when she taught me to be a high priestess but she always encouraged me to defy the odds. It wasn't like Uther's tough love where everything was conditional. It was helping me pick up the pieces like you always did." She paused and corrected herself. "Like you do now."
Merlin began to understand why she turned on Uther. Every child wanted the approval of their family and Uther never supported her in anything. The only acceptance he had shown her was in wake of his own mistakes. Just like Arthur. Morgause hadn't won her sister over solely because she was family. She brought the warmth of family and acceptance no Pendragon ever showed.
"She was more like family than Uther ever was." Merlin concluded.
There was the faintest smile on Morgana's face before she started looking at her hands again.
"We used to play checkers. I remember always winning when playing against father but he never lost to anyone else though I did. I examined his moves closely and he was no fool but sometimes Morgause would distract me so father would cheat to his own disadvantage."
With so few memories of her father, these little things were a world of importance. The moments were so small and to some they seemed so insignificant but to Morgana they were everything. Gorlois had been a good father to her. He didn't let her win so she would grow stronger or more confident. He did it so he could see her smile.
"I never knew." She mumbled.
Morgana lost more than a sister. She lost her childhood. The fond memories of her parents had lived on through Morgause until her death. She lost her parents, was haunted by nightmares, discovered she had magic and there was no one there for her. Morgause was the one with answers. It was natural for Morgana to go to her. She had become the voice of reason. In the darkness, alone, one would trust a guiding light. The darkness Morgana now carried with her was his fault. He refused to guide her properly when she feared her magic and later he took away her guiding light, he killed her sister.
"There's something we forgot." He said and continued at the sight of her frown. "Your bracelet. We could go and get it."
"We haven't the time." Morgana asked in disbelief.
"C'mon, it's not like you're going to sleep any time soon."
Morgana shook her head. Because of all they had done she had almost forgotten about her vision, the one she saw through the eyes of another.
"Arthur has captured Mithian. We haven't the time."