I'm back with another chapter! :D I hope you'll enjoy it, it's all from Arthur's POV :)

CHAPTER 4
A Very Silent Observing Indeed


It was a nice day and Arthur certainly liked his time spent in the forest rather than in his own chambers, where he couldn't even have a moment of privacy anymore. Not that he wasn't... strangely flattered by having Merlin there and helping him, but... well, how should he put it... sharing a bed was sort of something that Arthur has never done before.

And it hasn't left his mind since.

Not only was he confused that he wasn't even slightly bothered by having someone in his bed, taking the precious space away from him. He was also quite puzzled by the feeling of it... that it wasn't as horrible as he'd thought it would be and that he didn't mind waking up next to the angel, watching him wake up too.

Arthur shook his head and closed his eyes for a few seconds, opening them again and watching the road and trees in front of him. They were riding all side by side so they could cover more ground and spot more animals to hunt. And right next to him was Sir Leon, his most trusted knight.

The prince sighed when he realized he wasn't even properly thinking about the hunt anymore as he usually would. His mind was occupied with an angel with tousled raven black hair and fluffy white wings that he's seen only twice or three times really, and not even for very long. He couldn't help but be curious as to what it would feel like to touch them... to run his hands across the countless white feathers.

He almost slapped himself for that thought. Not only was that inappropriate because Merlin was an angel and surely wouldn't let him touch his wings, but he didn't even know Merlin at all and he was supposed to be looking out for a deer or a boar or anything else he could put his arrow through.

"Sire?" He heard Leon speak up.

"Yes, Sir Leon?" Arthur glanced at him, and then pretended he was focused on the trees and very intently looking for their prey.

"Pardon me for asking, but... are you alright? You seem... distant." Leon told him, making Arthur tense and then sigh in resignation.

"No, you're right." He told him and smiled briefly. "I'm just worried about lady Morgana." He quickly made up a convincible lie and nodded to make it clear.

"I understand." Leon nodded too. "I'm sure she's already feeling better, Sire." He tried to reassure Arthur, which the prince appreciated. He felt a bit guilty when he realized his thoughts weren't with his sister, but with a strange man he met only the day before.

Why was it that the angel already fascinated him so much that he found himself thinking about him?

"Sire!" Another knight from the other side called quietly. "A deer, sire." He clarified and pointed to a bush that was about thirty feet in front of them.

"Halt!" Arthur raised his fist into the air, signalling his knights to stop their horses. Then he took his crossbow from the back of his horse and put an arrow into it, looking at the deer in the distance. It didn't have a clue that he was about to end its life.

Arthur aimed at the deer's heart and closed his one eye. And then, just as he let the arrow fly through the air, something hit his arm and moved the crossbow away, making the arrow hit a tree. The deer raised its head and moved its ears, quickly spotting them and running away.

Arthur frowned as he looked at his forearm, but the confusion was quickly gone and he nudged his horse to move. "Don't lose it!" He yelled at his knights, all of them now galloping through the forest to catch the deer for the royal kitchen.

After only a minute though, they realized it was gone. Arthur sighed and stopped the horses again, frowning as he remembered what happened as he fired. What was it? He turned around in his saddle, watching the forest behind him, when he heard something...

It sounded like... faint panting and someone... running?

His eyes widened when he put two and two together and realized what was actually happening. "He didn't..." He whispered and then cursed, "damnit," with a sigh of frustration.

"Alright, let's... let's take a few minutes to let the horses rest." He made up a lie again and dismounted his horse with a frown on his face.

"Is everything alright, my lord?" Leon asked him again, but this time Arthur only shook his head.

"Everything's fine." He told the knight and put the reins of his horse into Leon's hand. "I just need a few minutes, that's all." He added and was glad that Sir Leon didn't question it further.

When Arthur turned around at the forest behind them, he tried to spot anything that would indicate that the angel was actually there, but he couldn't. The boy made himself invisible and did everything Arthur asked him not to do.

"Follow me," He whispered as he made a few steps into the forest behind his knights, and he was sure Merlin heard him, if the sigh that followed wasn't just him hearing things.

He began walking away from his knights, heading for a river that he knew was flowing nearby. It was at a safe distance so the knights wouldn't be able to see them or hear them so they could talk freely. And as soon as he made it to the river, he turned around and put his arms on his waist.

"Now, do me a favour and show yourself." He sighed.

When Merlin appeared in front of him, Arthur wasn't prepared for him to stand so damn close to him. That idiot (okay, sorry, an angel) was staring into his eyes, standing not even two feet away from him. His puppy dog eyes were another thing Arthur didn't prepare himself for. He took a deep breath and then cleared his throat.

"Personal space?" He said with his throat feeling tight. "You do have that in heaven, right?" He added after Merlin's little frown.

"Of course," Merlin looked down and quickly took a few steps back. Then his puppy dog eyes returned and he looked up into Arthur's eyes again. "I'm so sorry!" He said. "I know you wanted me to stay in the castle, but I wanted to see the forest and I wanted to keep you safe, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you, I know you're not officially my human to prote-"

"Slow down," Arthur stopped him as he raised his hand. Merlin immediately stopped talking and only then Arthur noticed what Merlin was wearing.

"What on Earth are you wearing?" He half yelled in a question, seeing his breeches that were too big for Merlin and kept almost falling off because Merlin apparently thought that stealing a belt would be already too much.

"I'm sorry!" Merlin apologized again as he adjusted the breeches again, pulling them higher, over the knot (that Arthur kept staring at, even more confused than before). Merlin sighed. "I know I should have asked first, but I needed something more comfortable than... well, this," he pointed at his white robe and then shrugged.

"Okay," Arthur closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to process it all. "So all this time, you've been following m-"

"Oh no!" Merlin gasped, making Arthur open his eyes again and look up. Merlin was staring at his forearm that he unknowingly showed him as he pinched his nose. There was a long scratch on it, not really bleeding, but looking quite awful. Arthur had completely forgotten about it, but he must have scratched himself while climbing the cave wall the day before and fighting off the spiders.

"Oh, that's..." Arthur frowned at the wound. "That's nothing, just a scratch." He finished the sentence, but when he looked up at Merlin, he could see that he'd already lost, whatever their argument was about to be.

"You hurt yourself." Merlin went back to him, returning to their previous issue with proximity and personal space. Merlin took Arthur's hand gently and rolled up his sleeve, uncovering the rest of the wound. Arthur was a little taken aback that he let Merlin touch him like that and talk to him like that, but then again, he's never met an angel. "Sit." Merlin commanded after a short examination, and pointed at a large stone family scattered along the river.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You know, I'm the prince here. I should be giving orders." He told Merlin, who didn't listen to him at all.

"I'll heal you, so stop complaining." He told him instead, surprising Arthur a little. Until then, Merlin seemed... gentle and clumsy, not really aware of much in this world (except his knowledge about heaven). But he must have cared a great deal about Arthur if he was so hell-bent on keeping him safe and healing his every wound.

This realization left Arthur staring at the young angel as they sat opposite each other on two stones that were close to each other and as Merlin kept turning his arm and hand with his light and gentle fingers.

A little smile graced Arthur's lips as he kept looking at Merlin's face that was shrouded in concentration. It felt nice to have someone so genuinely protective of him, even though Arthur would never admit that out loud – he was the prince and was supposed to need no one except a queen one day and an heir and trustful knights. But the way that he felt like he needed Merlin... it felt almost mysteriously charming.

Not that he really needed Merlin of course, he only met him under twenty-four hours ago and he'd be soon leaving for Heaven anyway.

He stopped looking at Merlin with that thought and focused on what Merlin was doing with his hand. The angel was hovering with his spread fingers over the wound and his eyes were closed. Then his hand began to shine with bright white light and Arthur had to close his eyes as well.

When the glow was gone, so was the scratch. Merlin left no traces of it on his forearm and smiled at his work well done. Arthur didn't take back his hand immediately, in fact, he left it in Merlin's gentle fingers for a few extra seconds, and then he slowly pulled it back, making a fist and then spreading his fingers, admiring the clean forearm.

"Thanks," He smiled at Merlin, who was looking at his chest strangely. Before Arthur could ask though, Merlin looked him in the eyes and had that worried look again. "You have another scratch on your left thigh." He commented, making Arthur puzzled slightly.

"What?" He thought about it quickly and touched his left thigh, soon finding out that it did hurt slightly. How did he miss all these wounds the day before? How come he hadn't visited Gaius- well he did, but with a different matter at hand.

"Allow me to heal-"

"Wait! Arthur stopped him quickly as Merlin's hand started reaching for his thigh without any warning. "How did you know that?" He asked with a frown.

Merlin looked up at him again and pulled his arm back. "Well, uhm... I just looked you over, you know? With... with my special angel sight? It's a useful ability, you see-"

"Wait, does that mean..." Arthur swallowed slightly and willed his blush away. What was it with him and blushing today? "...that you just saw me naked?" He finished his question and feared the answer.

Merlin tilted his head, looking at Arthur's chest again, making Arthur shift slightly on the rock. "No." Merlin answered at last. "Don't worry, I just quickly checked if you were feeling any physical pain."

"But I forgot about the wound." Arthur pointed out.

"Your body could still feel that pain. You just didn't let your mind register it." Merlin explained calmly. Then he glanced at Arthur's thigh again and curled his fingers into a fist. "Now, can I heal that-"

"No." Arthur stood up and cleared his throat. "I don't think that would be... it's just not bothering me, so I'll let it heal the natural way." He came up with an answer and sat down after a while. He was a little sad to see the sad purse of Merlin's lips.

"Alright." Merlin shrugged and pulled up his legs on the stone, wrapping his arms around them. That was when Arthur noticed Merlin had no shoes.

"You didn't bother stealing my shoes? You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Arthur shook his head, looking at Merlin's bare feet, his toes in the air and his heels on the stone to support his weight.

"What? No, I'm not an idiot." Merlin defended himself immediately.

"Well, you just don't leave the castle without any shoes, Merlin!" Arthur groaned slightly, but couldn't help but chuckle afterwards.

"Why?" Merlin asked with a frown on his face.

"Because that makes you an idiot!" Arthur sighed as he looked at Merlin's feet again. After so much running through the forest after the horses, he didn't seem to have a single scratch. His feet were dirty, but not hurt.

"I don't need shoes." Merlin rolled his eyes, completely changing his tone as if Arthur was the idiot here. "No mortal blade can kill me or hurt me, remember? That goes for the pointy twigs on the ground too."

"Even mosquitoes?" Arthur asked, but Merlin only shrugged. "Alright." Arthur huffed, rolling his eyes as well. "But it was you with the deer, right?" He asked to change the subject. He was still cross with Merlin that he made him miss the prey. Not to mention that the knights now definitely thought Arthur was incapable of hunting.

"That was me." Merlin nodded. "I'm sorry, but after I saw you kill that rabbit a few weeks ago, I couldn't let you kill something else. That deer was beautiful, and much more happy alive than in your stomach."

That made Arthur pause and narrow his eyes. "How come you know I killed a rabbit?" He asked, seeing that Merlin's cheeks became pink instantly and he looked down at his knees that were under his chin.

He shivered slightly as he answered. "As I told you, there's a pond in the Garden which allows us to see the Earth and humans." Merlin told him, he sounded ashamed a little and he didn't look Arthur in the eyes as he gave his answer.

"That doesn't explain my question." He pointed out, noticing that Merlin rubbed his bare shin (that wouldn't be bare if he wasn't an idiot and took Arthur's high riding boots as well). "I hunted the rabbit with my knights over two months ago."

"I... might have... stumbled upon you in the forest." Merlin sighed with his eyes closed. Arthur had an inkling that Merlin was a little bit uncomfortable with all his questioning, but he wanted the answers. "And I kept watching you ever since." Merlin swallowed and looked up at him. "Sorry." He added.

"What is it about me that you find so fascinating, huh?" Arthur asked, now a little bit pissed that he was being observed without his knowledge for over two months. Merlin must have practically known much more about him than Arthur knew about Merlin. And that was unfair.

"Honestly?" Merlin looked Arthur up and down and smiled. "Everything." He breathed out, making Arthur frown again. "You're human. You're someone completely different than me, you're my father's creation." Merlin smiled. "And honestly, I was curious, I still am. I don't know anything about humans aside from what I've seen here in Camelot through the pond, and I wasn't even supposed to ever walk the Earth if it wasn't for my poor abilities."

Arthur wasn't sure how to answer. He was still pissed that Merlin watched his every move – it completely took the sense of privacy away from him, but on the other hand... Merlin looked genuinely sorry and genuinely fascinated by everything Arthur did and was.

"And now you're here and you know more than you'd thought you ever would." Arthur finished what Merlin didn't tell him and sighed. When he looked at Merlin, the boy was shivering again. "But it's not fair, you know? I feel like you know everything about me and I don't know anything about you."

"I've already broken almost every rule that I know about, I don't think telling you more would be such a big problem." Merlin grinned. "There are only a few things I can't ever tell you. The day you die, how you die, and how heaven for humans looks like. But that won't be a problem, I've never been there, so..." Merlin chuckled and shrugged.

"You know exactly when I'm going to die?" Arthur asked. It seemed like the frown on his face would never leave, one time it was because he was cross, and now because he was confused.

"Well... I don't." Merlin admitted. "But it's something that angels who have their humans to watch over can find out, I don't know how though."

"And as you said, you don't have... a human yet."

"No," Merlin nodded, rubbing his shins again. "But after I return and learn more, I'll get one. And I want that to be you. You'll be my human."

"I prefer you being my angel." Arthur raised his eyebrows and looked down. He never thought there would be someone constantly watching over him. The thought... troubled him a little because it meant that he never had privacy, but on the other hand, it also meant that he'd never be truly alone. But if Merlin became his angel, he'd never talk to him again...

Merlin chuckled at Arthur's response and nodded. "Yeah. But it would mean we'd never talk again." Merlin voiced Arthur's thoughts as if he could read his mind (Arthur really hoped he couldn't) and that made Arthur raise his head. Merlin wasn't looking at him, but his smile was melancholic.

When Arthur realized that Merlin was shivering because he was cold, he sighed and stood up again, taking off his vest.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked when he noticed the movement.

"You're cold." Arthur pointed out. "You've been shivering this entire time, and if you want to get back without catching cold-"

"I can't actually catch a cold."

"- then you'll accept this and you'll shut up about it." Arthur finished, ignoring Merlin's statement.

He gave him the brown vest and couldn't help but smile when the angel stood up and accepted it. Then he started putting it on backwards, leaving the open side of it on his back.

"You do know that this is not how you put it on, right?" Arthur asked, yet again doubting Merlin's intelligence.

"I know, but I have wings and can't just keep them under your clothes." Merlin answered with a fond roll of his eyes. "See my robe? It's got holes for my wings, and I don't want to ruin your clothes." He added as he hugged his stomach to keep the vest in place and smiled at Arthur.

"Whatever suits you." Arthur shrugged and looked around.

"Sire?" He heard someone from behind him.

"Quick! Make yourself invisible again!" He told Merlin and in a blink of an eye, he couldn't see him. When he turned around, he could already make out Leon in the distance.

"Sire?"

"I'm here!" Arthur answered, not moving. When Leon finally reached him, Arthur asked, "What's the matter?"

"You've been gone for over ten minutes, we were a little bit worried." Leon admitted. When Arthur didn't answer immediately, he added, "Are you alright, sire?"

"Yes, yes, I... I was just thinking." Arthur told him, trying to sound believable.

"Where's your vest, sire?" Leon surprised him with another question. Arthur opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking around like an idiot.

"I... I must have lost it." He said, turning back to Leon. "But that doesn't matter, I'll be back in a few minutes, go back to the knights and tell them that."

"Of course, sire." Leon bowed briefly, staying in front of Arthur for a few extra seconds and then finally turning around and walking away with a confused frown on his face.

Arthur let out a relieved sigh. "I'm such an idiot." He mumbled.

"But you do have shoes." Merlin answered from behind him, startling Arthur a little bit. Arthur rolled his eyes and turned back to him. But before Arthur could answer, Merlin smiled and said, "oh, look!"

When Arthur looked where Merlin was pointing, he saw the deer that he'd been chasing with his knights. It really looked beautiful, nice shades of light and dark brown, with big ears and large black eyes.

But it still made Arthur think about his hunting party gone wrong. "I wish I had my crossbow." He uttered, making Merlin turn to him again.

"Don't kill it." He pleaded. "Please."

As if the deer knew they were talking about it, it stopped eating the plants on the ground and looked up at them, looking unalarmed. Merlin looked at her again when Arthur didn't answer and sat down on the grass around the river. The deer took a few steps closer to them, and when Arthur realized that it wasn't frightened of Merlin or himself, he sat down next to the angel too.

The deer walked over to the shallow river and drank from it, looking up at them again. Then it crossed the river and walked over to Merlin, who held out his hand for the animal to sniff it.

Arthur was in awe. He didn't even dare talk in the presence of this wild animal that seemed totally okay standing next to the man who tried to kill her moments ago.

"See?" Merlin smiled and touched the deer's head gently, smiling when it licked his forearm. "This deer is living with every moment of the life it's been given. Don't take it away from her, not today."

"It seems to like you." Arthur smiled. He was sitting close to Merlin, with his legs crossed on the ground and their thighs touching. Arthur could feel the remaining scratch when he was sitting like this, but frankly, he didn't care one bit. The deer really was beautiful.

"It's not just me." Merlin smiled at him. The deer then stepped closer to Arthur and looked into his eyes. Arthur almost stopped breathing with the intensity of the stare. It was as if the deer was talking to him, and when Arthur carefully raised his hand, the deer sniffed it as well.

"It forgave you." Merlin told him.

The deer then moved its ears and looked around, taking a few steps back and then running through the river and deep into the forest to find its deer family that seemed to be calling.

"That was... unusual." Arthur said, still sitting next to Merlin. When he turned to him, the angel was already looking into his eyes, with a smile on his lips. He seemed to be sparkling and Arthur could see the happiness clear in his eyes, the wish for Arthur to understand the beauty of life.

Arthur wasn't sure how it happened, but Merlin's eyes were so vibrant and the stare was so intense, that he had to look away and his eyes (accidentally, as he wanted to make himself believe) landed on Merlin's lips. It was only for a second, but he was sure the image of the angel's lips would stay with him for the rest of the day. And there was nothing he could do about it.

"We should- I should go." Arthur cleared his throat and stood up again, holding out his hand for Merlin, who took it and stood up as well.

"Your knights are worried about you." Merlin nodded, repeating what Leon had told them. They've been sitting by the river for way too long already.

"Yes, they are." Arthur said as he looked around and then at Merlin again. "You're going to follow me even if we ride farther into the woods, aren't you?" He asked.

"There's really no way you're making me stop." Merlin smirked at him, making Arthur purse his lips.

"Alright." He sighed with the decision already made in his head. He wasn't going to continue with the hunting trip, once he arrived back to their horses, he was going to tell Leon and others to ride back to Camelot. He just didn't want Merlin to be there always behind his back, watching his every move without him being able to watch Merlin's every move, that just wasn't fair. That was one reason, and the other one was that he wouldn't get to kill anything anyway if Merlin was still there, keeping every animal safe.

Arthur rolled his eyes and patted Merlin's shoulder, turning him towards the way back to his knights. "Make yourself invisible and make sure to stay behind us. I don't want to have to come back here, looking for you."

"You're worried about me?" Merlin asked with a light smirk playing at his lips again.

When Arthur looked at him and saw that, he couldn't deny that there was some sort of bond forming between them, either friendship or... something else. But all Arthur could do at that moment was roll his eyes and mumble, "shut up."

TBC

Yes, there was another Supernatural reference *sighs*

I hope you liked the chapter! Please consider leaving a review (it can be short, don't worry) to let me know what are your thoughts so far, thanks! :)