Captain Ozone: Yes, the angst was quite high on 5x02 wasn't it? I'm happy I managed to write something humorous before I watched it, though. ^^

servant123: Aw, thank you so much! It would be amazing if it actually happens in the show, wouldn't it?

jediyam: Yes, indeed it would. ;)

Murphy AT: I am so glad you got it! :D Definitely one of my favorite scenes so far.

Sheila Wolfe: Thank you so much :D And there will be much more to come, hopefully.

Forever Day: You made me blush. *hugs you.* And I would love to see them handcuffed to each other too! It would be hilarious.

Title: Turning Pages.

Summary: A ficlet miscellany inspired by random music/desserts/quotes/movies or thoughts. No slash.

Inspiration: Another 'drabble' although this is more of a ficlet. It's pure Sunshine and Rainbows, literally! :D

Challenge from The Heart of Camelot. 'Sunshine & Rainbows'

A/N: Because Arthur is entitled to have fun once in a while. And writing sibling-ish fluff makes me HAPPY! Besides, we have snow in the show now so the writers BETTER make scenes like the ones below happen or else...

Sunshine and Rainbows.

It was Merlin's awed, definitely overjoyed voice, what proclaimed it. "Look, Arthur, it's snowing!"

And it was. The snowflakes fell steadily, soon making it impossible to see through the tainted glass of Arthur's window. But Arthur did not see this for he was hunched over his parchment, trying to come up with a witty way to end his speech.

The King smiled and started writing down the last lines of his after mentioned speech when Merlin's voice rang right by his side. "Arthur! You have to look at this!"

Arthur pursed his lips when his train of thought decided to take another route and was lost to him completely. His ears became pink. "You really can't shut up, can you, Merlin? Don't you see I have more important things to do than listen to you and your stupidity?"

'Good, that did it.' The King thought viciously when Merlin's jaw snapped closed with an audible sound. He felt something prickle at his heart but dismissed it immediately, telling himself he had nothing to feel guilty for.

The thought of feeling guilty was replaced by shock when two sudden hands grabbed his speech – the one he'd been working on tirelessly for a day- and held it on the air for a moment before ripping it cleanly in two.

Turning his neck around with wide eyes Arthur saw Merlin's wide smile as the man held the ruined parchment on his hands and threw it away.

"What were you saying Arthur?" Merlin asked kindly and there was a twinkle in his eyes that Arthur had seen only counted times.

"You-you…did you just….?"

"Destroyed your speech? Yes, I did." Merlin confirmed proudly.

Arthur's brain seemed to be broken. "You-you…."

"Arthur, you've been working day and night for over a week. I think that even you deserve a little-"

SLAM!

Arthur didn't even notice when his hand shot towards the first thing he could grab (which ended up being a fluffy pillow) and slammed it over his manservant's grinning face.

The blow was enough to send Merlin crashing to the floor, looking up at him with wide blue eyes and a fish-like gape. Arthur was equally shocked as he held the pillow on his hand and watched feathers float around them and perch themselves on his and Merlin's hair.

Then, Merlin smiled and Arthur felt a shudder go through him. (He'd never want to see that particular smile sent in his direction ever again.) Springing upwards faster than Arthur had ever seen him clean anything, the man grabbed a pillow on his hands before he-

WHACK!

Arthur, still staring at Merlin's feather-covered form, never saw it coming. One moment he was about to apologize for leaving an angry red mark on Merlin's face and arm and the next one he was receiving a mouthful of feathers himself.

So he did the only thing that seemed logical and slammed his pillow down at Merlin's head, watching his manservant skillfully avoid the fluffy weapon and run out of the room with a loud laugh.

Naturally, since he still had a point to make, Arthur followed him.

Merlin was surprisingly fast for a man that couldn't walk without tripping. He jumped and ducked, slid and ran through the busy hallways, snickering like a madman all the while, sending Arthur that funny look he'd seen earlier while the King -still in his official ceremonial robes and with a crown on his head- went after him. People stared at them but those who had more time living in the castle just shrugged their shoulders and moved on with a smile.

It was not that surprising to see the King chasing his manservant through the hallways, after all. It was only a matter of time. They behaved like children around each other anyway. Unaware of the chuckles he was drawing from Mary the cook and one or two veteran knights King Arthur sprinted through the castle, his whole body focused on tackling Merlin to the ground and make him pay for hitting him with a pillow. The ruined speech was forgotten.

Merlin might've been fast but Arthur was trained to chase down scurry little beings so he had the obvious advantage (and really, did Merlin actually think that he could get away with it? Idiot.) So, after a few more seconds the King could see his triumph approaching as he stretched a hand and grabbed a handful of Merlin's beloved neckerchief.

"GOT YOU!" Arthur cried out triumphantly, tugging mercilessly on the piece of fabric, noticing at his third tug that Merlin was growing blue. Realizing that his friend was choking to death Arthur let go of the neckerchief, watching as Merlin stumbled forwards a few more steps and rubbed his neck.

"…got you." Arthur repeated, trying to get rid of the glee that had impregnated his words earlier and imprint a frown on his glowing face. "Now, if you don't mind stopping this childishness Merlin, you can go and start cleaning my room…"

However, he'd barely started his long list of chores when Merlin, with a raised eyebrow, said. "I'm sorry sire, but you let go, which means you haven't got me." and promptly started to flee once more.

Cursing and yelling "MERLIN!" King Arthur ran, once again, after his laughing manservant. However, he took a few more steps before he realized they were out of the castle, in the courtyard, and he was touching snow with his boots and Merlin was grinning at him like the idiot he was from afar…and ...was that a snow ball on his hand…?

Realizing, far too late, what was about to happen, Arthur started to bark out "YOU'RE IN THE STOCKS FOR A-"before snow was all over his face and cloak.

Merlin laughed, slamming the palms of his hands on his knees, and Arthur felt his cheeks grow red at his manservant's utter delight. "Ah, your face!"

"You're dead, Merlin!" Arthur called out, allowing a grin to spread on his face as he gathered snow between his gloved hands. "Clearly, you don't know who you're messing up with."

"Oh, I think I know!" came Merlin's joyful tease. "A crowned prat with soppy clothes!"

Arthur found his grin was getting wider as he bounced the snowball with his hands and began aiming at Merlin's ridiculous ears. But the snowballs mysteriously changed course as they reached their target not that Arthur, who had begun racing towards his friend once more, gave it any thought.

They raced each other throughout the lower town, Merlin laughing still – now a little breathlessly if truth should be told- and Arthur growling although a bright smile was threatening to embark his whole face. People pressed themselves to the sidelines as the two went through, shaking their heads and muttering something about 'children.'

Suddenly, Arthur found his feet were slipping and he glanced down just in time to see an icy mirror getting closer and closer to his face until he crashed, face first, on the frozen lake.

Immediately, the laughter of his manservant stopped and a voice called out, "Arthur? Are you alright?"

Still dizzy and pained from his fall, the King of Camelot pouted as he attempted to sit up on his knees and failed. "No." he said, but instead his voice came out as. "Mo."

Rolling his eyes, Arthur realized his nose was bleeding. How was he supposed to deliver a speech with a bleeding- oh, Merlin had destroyed that speech. Never mind then.

Arthur wanted to say, 'you idiot!' next but instead it came out as "Y-U IMDIOT!"

Merlin had crouched beside the frozen spot of water, watching Arthur with a mix of fondness and exasperation in his blue eyes. "You can detect a trap concealed by leaves but you can't spot frozen water?"

'Shut up.' Arthur said, but it came out as " – ut ump! I jus god my nose broken ad ids yur foult!"

"I'm sorry, my lord. I'll resume being your eyes next time then." Merlin said, not without sarcasm. But his blue eyes twinkled worriedly and he observed, "You're bleeding quite a lot, Arthur."

"reely? I hadn't moticed."

Merlin rolled his eyes and extended a hand. "Let me help you up, prat."

But Arthur, who still hadn't quite forgiven Merlin for striking him with a pillow (a pillow, no less!) saw his opportunity. Grabbing Merlin's inviting fingers he pulled his best friend forwards, watching with a smirk as Merlin's eyes widened when he hit the hard frozen surface.

"Arthur!"

" ha-ha. Yur face."

"You are a complete dollop head, aren't you? How are we going to get out of here now?"

To illustrate his point, Merlin waved his arms around, where frozen trees stood tall but yet no remnant of civilization was visible.

Feeling quite stupid, Arthur glared at him and said 'Well, it's your fault so you figure it out.' Which, translated to Arthur's new dialect, would be. "Wel, its yur fult doe yu figure it ot"

"Yes, thank you for laying all the responsibility upon me, Oh, great leader."

"Imdiot."

"Prat."

Instead of replying Arthur bent over and grabbed the unsuspecting Merlin in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles on the black hair as hard as he could while Merlin yelped and tried to squirm away.

"Ow, alright, alright!" Merlin squealed, squatting at Arthur's hands. "Stop it!"

Grinning, the King let go of his warlock and attempted to get into a dignified position ( which resulted into a pantomime of cross legged sitting.) while gazing up at the sky above them. Besides him, Merlin did the same.

"Arthur?"

"Hm?"

Merlin tossed him something and Arthur caught it, blinking at the bright red neckerchief his manservant carried around. Sending an inquiring look in his direction, Arthur frowned. Merlin just smiled at him. "You're bleeding an awful lot." He said.

Pressing the neckerchief upon his nose, Arthur noted, "thanks tu yu."

"I wonder what your council would say if they heard you talk like this." Merlin muttered absentmindedly, earning a glare from his King. "But then again, they won't have the opportunity unless they find us before nightfall."

Arthur didn't answer. He was aware that if he hadn't pulled Merlin into the slippery surface they wouldn't be trapped in the middle of a frozen lake but his need for revenge had been too great. Stupid Merlin.

But somehow, his cheeks were flushed his heart was racing and his mind felt carefree for the first time since he was a little boy. Frowning in disconcert, Arthur realized he was…having fun.

As a child he'd never had the opportunity to race around with other children- save they were from noble blood- and even Morgana had never been that good of a childhood playmate. She'd always been a source of bickering, as far as Arthur remembered, but the kind of bickering that left him, red-faced, standing in front of Uther and trying to explain why Morgana had found a fish on her pillow.

Merlin, however-Arthur found a smile tugging at his lips as he looked at his manservant's tranquil face.-Merlin was different. It was as if he knew exactly what Arthur needed, be it counsel, a good whack around the head, teasing or even a shoulder to cry on. Whatever Arthur needed him to be, Merlin would become. Were he in need of a man to keep him from getting sidetracked, Merlin was him. If Gwaine had convinced him of taken a sip of ale at the tavern and Arthur found himself throwing up in the bushes the hand swiping back his sweaty hair was Merlin's. If he was being a prat Merlin would be the first one to put him in his place. Wherever he looked, whenever he was there was always him. As a constant, as a planet never deviating too far from his sun.

"Merlin?"

"Yes, Arthur?"

'You were right.' Arthur admitted. 'I was being a prat.' But what came out was: "yu wer riggt I was bein a prrat."

Damn, having the neckerchief upon his nose did not improve things.

However, Merlin only chuckled. "About time." They fell into comfortable silence. Then, "Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Arthur shot his head upwards. "phor whatt?"

"I needed that, you know? I hadn't had that much fun in a while."

Silently, the King agreed, pressing the neckerchief tighter to his face though a smile spread across his lips.

"It's good to remember there's still a sun behind the storm clouds." Merlin added. Arthur stared, utterly confused, at Merlin's solemn eyes, which were now looking at him. "The fact that we are older doesn't mean we can't go out and be ourselves. Enjoy our lives. Even with a weight greater than the world on our shoulders."

Arthur, thinking that Merlin was talking for him, as he always managed to know what was going through his head with odd accuracy, said gently. "you'rr right. T-ank yu, Merlin."

"You're welcome." Merlin answered. Suddenly, his eyes got wide and he sprang to his knees. "Arthur!"

"Whatt?"

"You bled right through my scarf!" Merlin said indignantly. However, Arthur could tell it was not the piece of cloth he was worrying about. "Gaius needs to see that nose." Ah! and right he was.

"That's excellent, Merrlin." Arthur drawled. "But we'rr trapp-d h're rememberr?"

Merlin smiled mischievously and his eyes twinkled. "Not for much longer."

And before Arthur's wide eyes, the clumsy servant rose to his feet and climbed, very gently, out of the freezing, slippery ice and into the snow. "See?"

(Of course, Arthur didn't know that Merlin had managed to mutter an anti-slipping spell under his breath while he was too busy thinking.) So his face was one of total and complete incomprehension. He stared at his manservant, dumbfounded, with the neckerchief still pressed to his face, for a few more moments. Then,

"whatt dhe hell?" said Arthur. Because, really, what else was there to be said?

"I told you I have many talents. I can juggle too, remember?" Merlin took his hand and hoisted him up. Glancing at his bloodied neckerchief, Merlin said. "You will have to buy me another one, you know?"

"Shudd up, Merlin."

"As cheery as always, sire."

"How are you holding up, Arthur?"

The King rolled his eyes although Merlin could not see him since he had to tilt his head forwards to try and stop the blood and Merlin was, quite literally, guiding him through the snow as if he was a blind man.

"Haow do yu think?"

"You sound better than a few moments ago." Merlin said, crouching so that his impish smile was directly on his King's line of sight. Arthur growled. "Look at it on the bright side. You have an excuse for not delivering the speech."

That was certainly an improvement but still Arthur's growl stayed in place. "dhe speech dhat yu destroyedd."

"Oh." Merlin said and the hand that was not around Arthur's hunched shoulders disappeared, for a moment, inside the pocket of his trousers. "You mean this speech?"

He waved a piece of parchment in front of the King's bloody nose.

"I spent last night and part of today's morning doing it." Merlin announced, winking at Arthur's expression. "Believe me, I read yours above your shoulder and this is the least I could do for my King."

"Y-u imdiot!"

"I believe a 'thank you Merlin, you are absolutely indispensable to me' is among the lines of what I was expecting but that's good enough."

Not saying a word, the King took the parchment from his servant's slender hands and tucked it into his own pocket, feeling the bubble of anxiety fade away and a slow smile starting to form behind Merlin's neckerchief. He'd never admit it but he was secretly relieved. For some reason people always praised Merlin's speeches not that he'd tell the idiot anything of the sort.

However, watching Merlin's smug smile he suspected his friend already knew.

"Although my speech may earn some undeserved flattery for you sire." Yes, he definitely knew. From Gwen of course. "I'm afraid you cannot read it with your nose like this. Honestly Arthur..." Merlin smiled brightly at him and ruffled his hair. Arthur just huffed.

The appearance of the king and the warlock in the courtyard, covered in snow and- in Arthur's case- blood, caused a racket. For one, Sir Leon all but jumped in the spot he was training with the other knights and ran to his King, asking the passerby to bring Gaius as quickly as possible.

"Calm down, Leon." Merlin had told him. He didn't stop as he guided Arthur up the stairs and towards the physician's chambers. "Is just a nosebleed."

Gaius sighed wearily when Merlin explained to him what had happened after Arthur's 'incomprehensible babble' was dismissed as impossible to decipher by the physician. So, at the present moment, Arthur was sitting on a bench with Merlin's neckerchief still on his nose, frowning at his friend.

"You mean you can't understand him, Gaius?" Merlin was asking, smiling brightly.

Gaius nodded while he titled Arthur's head back so that he could dab away some of the blood. "I'm afraid not. Though it wouldn't surprise me if you could. You spend all day with him after all." The physician and his ward exchanges glances though and Arthur felt as if he was missing something.

"Yes, of course." Merlin said, but the smile he sent in Arthur's direction had the King shooting glares at him.

"Y-u can't be seerius Gaius!"

Gaius frowned at Merlin. "What did he just say?"

"He's just whining." Merlin said with a dismissive gesture and the physician, much to Arthur's indignation, accepted it without question.

"I'm NUUT!"

"Yes you are."

Not bothering to verbally answer this time, Arthur lunged forwards and grabbed Merlin's neck with his bicep, grinning wickedly as he rubbed his knuckles into his friend's scalp. Sighing and muttering, "I don't believe it." Gaius left them to it but not without a small smile on his lips.

.

When Arthur came by the next day and, without a single word ( the King was growing tired of all the snickering), placed an enveloped package in Gaius' hands the physician's eyebrows rose so high that they became lost in his white hair. Unable to stop his curiosity, since Arthur's nasal voice could not be understood by anyone but Merlin, Gaius waited until the King strode away and carefully took away the envelope.

There was a piece of paper with Arthur's scribbled writing all over it and, carefully folded, an elegantly made neckerchief accompanied by a warm leather jacket.

Understanding what this was all about Gaius shook his head as he read the note.

Gaius,

He probably said nothing about this but Merlin got his feet wet yesterday. Since he's been sneezing non-stop for what goes of the day and it's annoying as only something coming from him(Arthur had made sure he underlined the word very darkly.)can be, in order to get rid of further torture, I am sending him one of my old coats.

Is one that doesn't fit me anyway so don't feel as if you should protest by any means. I want you to make sure he uses it because its winter and the idiot will not, and I repeat, will NOT get relieved from his duties- ( Gaius suspected having George as a replacement had something to do with the emphasis.) -for something as stupid as not wearing anything warmer.

I suppose I owe him the neckerchief. But he owes me two pillows.

Have a good evening Gaius,

Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot.

Chuckling, the physician proceeded to lay the neckerchief and the coat in Merlin's room, thinking of preparing his ward a hot tea. But he did notice though, that Arthur's shoulders had never been this narrow. That coat wouldn't had fit, even when he was a boy.

However, when Merlin stumbled in, watery eyed and sneezing as if he wanted to beat some personal record, Gaius' first blunt question was, "Why does Arthur say that you owe him two pillows?"

It was rather hilarious to watch his ward's eyes go big with indignation and blurt out with a congested voice.

"What? He started it!"

And thus, ladies and gentlemen, ends one of the most 'added on' things I've written to date. This was supposed to go up yesterday and only consisted of the 'lake scene' up until the "as cheery as always sire." But somehow I couldn't resist to add more. I probably would've added even MORE if it wasn't for the obvious need to finish it and stop writing and keep going with my college apps. ;)

Besides, it confused me to no end that Merlin was wearing his usual servant clothes while running around in SNOW. Geez, writers. He will clearly freeze to death.