Okay, this was originally supposed to be a prompt for Don'tEvenBlink (she asked for something along the lines of the knights saving Merlin from himself), and it seemed to turn into Gwen saving Merlin and Arthur's friendship from themselves. So, yeah, sorry for completely screwing up your prompt D.E.B.
Anyway, thanks for the reviews and alerts and favorites last chapter. You guys are amazing, as always, and I really hope to hear from you again.
These characters are still not mine, thanks again for reading, and I am going to get your ideas soon. I just got to figure out how to work them into the story.
See ya!
It had been one of those weeks. The one where everything he did went wrong, everywhere he seemed to turn someone was yelling at him, and no one seemed to be on his side. A complete pile of shite if anyone asked Merlin-which no one did-and he was finally glad it was Sunday.
Sunday was the only day Arthur gave him off, it was his day off to do whatever he pleased (within reason of course because Gaius and Arthur both forbade him from going out drinking with Gwaine ever again), and he had been planning to not leave his chambers all day and sleep. Glorious, mind healing sleep; his friend, his best mate, the one thing that was on his side no matter what he did, and he was finally going to use his entire Sunday to be a complete and total sloth. That is until Arthur decided to drag him on another one of his infamous hunting trips.
Merlin didn't know why he was so surprised. The week hadn't gone his way, so why should his day off be any different? So, Sunday morning he awoken by pounding on his door and Arthur calling, "Get up you lazy Arse! My horse needs to be saddled before we leave."
Grumbling, Merlin threw his blankets off of him, swung his legs out of his nice, warm bed, and proceeded to stub his toe on his nightstand. Cursing, hoping he didn't break his toe, and ignoring Arthur's demanded question of what had happened Merlin stood up. He tested his foot; made sure he actually could walk on it, and then proceeded to get dressed.
He was just moving towards the door, hopping on one foot as he tried to pull his boot on, when Arthur became impatient and threw the door open. It smacked into Merlin's head, sending his reeling backwards and onto the floor.
"What is taking…?" Arthur trailed off, eyebrows furrowing as he spotted Merlin lying on the floor. "Why are you on the floor?"
"Because you're a prat," Merlin responded propping himself up on his elbows.
"Better a prat than an idiot," Arthur retorted crossing his arms, smirking at his own joke. "Now hurry up. I want to be gone before sunrise." He then stalked out of Merlin's room, closing the door behind them. In frustration, Merlin snatched his pillow off his bed and hurtled it at the door.
Merlin
Once dressed and ready for the trip, Merlin rushed out of his room. He stumbled past Gaius' sleeping form, envying his uncle, and grabbed a couple of biscuits left over from last night's dinner before heading out the door.
He rushed down the stairs, managing to slip on something at the bottom, and proceeded to crash into an unsuspecting maid. Towels and linens went everywhere as both servants fell to the floor. Staggering to his feet, Merlin stammered a series of apologies, ignoring the way his ankle twinged when he put pressure on it.
"It's alright," the maid stated, waving her hand. The staff was already well aware of Merlin's clumsiness, and they had long since stopped complaining about it. But Merlin had been sure he was getting better, really he had been. This was just not his week.
He helped the maid pick up her laundry, stuffing it all in the basket she had been carrying, and handed it back to her with one last apology before continuing down to the stables, limping slightly on his left ankle.
No one bothered to ask what had happened when Merlin approached the knights and Arthur. Merlin didn't blame them, they all looked bleary eyed and pale, obviously he wasn't the only person Arthur awoke so early.
"What the hell took you so long?" Arthur demanded from his horse, no doubt having the stable boy put his saddle on.
"Nothing," Merlin muttered quietly, heading towards his own horse. He pulled himself up, into the saddle, barely keeping a hiss at bay when he put more pressure on his ankle. Without waiting for him to tie his things to the saddle, Arthur and the rest of the knights already took off. "Of course," he mumbled to himself, quickly securing his bag and following them, hoping his bad luck streak would wear off soon.
Merlin
Unfortunately for him it hadn't. In fact, by mid-afternoon, it seemed to have gotten worse since the morning. Merlin had succeeded in scaring off five different animals, burning lunch, and not securing Arthur's horse well-enough so it wandered away. After wasting fifty-minutes looking for the damn thing, Merlin was ready to just go home before this day could get any worse.
"Here, Merlin, do something useful," Arthur grumbled when Merlin returned with his horse. The king shoved the dirty dishes at his servant, snatched the lead from Merlin's hand, and dragged the horse away. Snorting humorlessly, shaking his head, Merlin stomped towards a nearby stream.
Slowly, he began cleaning the plates, very much aware of the knights chatting among themselves, and he could almost enjoy the silence. That is until Gwaine and Percival began mock fighting. Swords clashed back and forth, both knights egging each other on, and otherwise being rowdy as always; a bit like children.
Merlin ignored them, continuing his task, unaware of just how close they were until he felt someone knock into his back. He fell forward, landing face first into the lake. Flailing, trying to get to the surface, very much aware of the dishes surrounding him, he felt someone grab the back of his tunic and pull him to his feet.
"Sorry mate," Gwaine apologized, a smile in his voice, as Percival set him on his feet. Sputtering, Merlin pushed sopping wet hair out of his eyes. He was very much aware of Arthur, Leon, and Elyan joining them, the king in the lead.
Arthur smirked, crossing his arms, raising his eyebrows. "When I said wash the dishes I didn't mean go in after them?" The knights chuckled at Arthur's joke, and Merlin felt something snap inside of him.
"You think this is funny?!" he snapped, his voice harsh, surprisingly the knights and Arthur. "You think I like being your personal lapdog when we go on these stupid hunting trips? I know I am your servant, I know I am paid to serve you Arthur, but can't you do a damn thing for yourself?
"I mean, gods, today is my only day off! After the complete crap week I've had, I thought just maybe I'd get one day to relax, but NO you felt the need to drag me on another one of these mindless hunting excursions just so I can carry your things and compliment your kills and otherwise keep your prat ass company!
"And you two," he rounded on Gwaine and Percival, both edging away from him, "can't you go five minutes without reverting back to childlike behavior? I mean, you are grown men, KNIGHTS of Camelot, for Godsakes!
"And you two," he saved Leon and Elyan for last, both taken aback, "haven't really done anything wrong, but I am just really angry right now and need to yell at someone, so I apologize for screaming at you!
"Now, if you'll excuse me," Merlin finished, stooping down to collect the dishes he had dropped, "I am going to put these away." He then stormed off, the knights parting to let him through, and headed back up the hill, towards camp feeling embarrassed yet satisfied.
Merlin
The knights were unnaturally polite to Merlin for the rest of the day, but Arthur seemed to be giving him the worst cold shoulder ever that Merlin was actually glad to part with the king by the time they reached Camelot.
For the next few days afterward, Arthur would leave Merlin a list of things to do but wouldn't say anything to him, so that by the time Wednesday rolled around Merlin was beginning to miss the blond's voice. He even tried to start small conversations with Arthur, but he only received grunts in return.
Finally, Friday, for whatever reason, it seemed Gwen stepped in because as Merlin was scrubbing Arthur's floor he heard the blond in question grumbling over the sound of Gwen reprimanding him and when the door opened he noticed the queen dragging the king by his ear.
She hurtled Arthur forward, gestured to Merlin, and demanded, "Talk to him now."
"What?" Merlin looked between the two, both wearing stubborn looks on their faces, and wondered what had happened to get Gwen involved.
"Arthur Pendragon you talk to Merlin now or I will be sure that every maid knows to give you cold baths for the next month."
"You wouldn't," Arthur protested turning to face his wife. She merely put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows in a 'try me' type face. He sighed heavily, looking as if he'd rather be doing anything else (fighting a bear, learning to sew from Gwen, listening to Gaius talk about his bunions), and turned to Merlin slowly, practically spitting out, "I'm sorry for dragging you on another hunting trip."
For a second, Merlin actually pictured Arthur as a naughty child, the way he stood tensely, the way he said the words in a monotone, and definitely in the way he didn't really mean them. The young warlock almost teased Arthur about this, but thought better of it when Gwen sharply said, "And Merlin, is there anything you wish to say to Arthur?"
Merlin almost said 'no.' He may have regretted saying the words, but he still meant them. Arthur deserved to be berated once in a while, it kept him from getting too big of a head, but the way Gwen was staring at him made him feel six-years-old, and he heard himself say, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Arthur."
"Now hug," Gwen demanded looking between the two men.
"Oh come on Guinevere," Arthur protested just as Merlin stammered, "I-I don't think that's a good idea."
"You two are best friends, you do everything together, and I think you two should hug." Again, Merlin felt like a child under Gwen's sharp gaze, so he sighed and pushed himself to his feet. He met Arthur's eyes, the blond rolled his eyes in a 'what can I do she's scary' type way, and it took all Merlin had not to smirk.
They stepped forward, embraced quickly, and let each other go just as quick, backing away from each other. Arthur ran his hand through his hair while Merlin became well acquainted with the floor. Gwen made a satisfied sound before leaving the room, closing the door behind her, and the two men stood there awkwardly.
It was quiet for a while, but finally Arthur murmured, "I am sorry for…"
"Don't worry about it," Merlin interrupted softly. "I was having a bad week; I took it out on you and the knights. It wasn't your fault."
"Damn right it wasn't," Arthur retorted quietly, ruffling his hair again. Merlin chuckled once, shaking his head. "But seriously…"
"Arthur, as much as I hate watching you kill animals for fun, I don't actually regret those trips. I get to spend time with my friends away from all the scrutiny that takes place here." He gestured around the room. "It'd just be nice to be treated like an equal sometimes, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess Gwaine can do the dishes once in a while."
"Oh, I'm sure he'd love that."
The two men shared a quick smile, both looking away from each other. The silence that followed was less awkward, Arthur breaking it again. "You were a bit of an arse, though."
"And you were a bit of a dollophead," Merlin teased crossing his arms.
"Idiot."
"Prat."