CW: Vomiting

Arthur wasn't sure why he was released the next morning, rather than being forced to spend the week in the dungeon his father had promised he would face. He also didn't care. He'd given the flower to Gwen but heard nothing of Merlin. Nothing of his fate. No news of whether he had been too late, or if when Uther crushed the delicate flower he really had rendered it useless.

He ran, taking the stairway up from the dungeon two, three, steps at a time, sprinting through the halls, ignoring the startled servants he passed, dashing up yet more stairs, why were there so many goddamn stairs, why did the dungeons have to be so far, why couldn't he get there faster, he had to get there faster.

Then he reached Gaius's door and stopped. Why did he care this much? And why was he so afraid right now to knock?

Why did the thought of his manservant lying dead behind this door scare him more than anything he'd ever felt before?

He wasn't an uncaring man. He cared for each of his people, even the ones as infuriatingly inept as Merlin. If he was honest with himself, he had learned to care for them more these past few months, though he wasn't entirely sure (or maybe just not willing to acknowledge) why. The thought of them suffering caused him pain. But Merlin suffering... why did that feel different?

Steeling himself, he put the thought out of his mind, and knocked on the physician's door.

Though Merlin had been full of his usual cheerful energy when he first woke, it had quickly become clear it was adrenaline rather than a full recovery driving this. He hadn't been particularly surprised, but Gaius had been disappointed when Merlin passed out so soon after he had awoken. It seemed the damage the poison had done was not something that would disappear overnight.

He and Gwen had kept Merlin awake long enough to get some food and water into him before he fell asleep. Gaius had woken him intermittently through the night, plying him with more water and healing tonics, but Merlin had managed little more than a mumbled thanks each time before his consciousness was claimed yet again. He appeared to be improving, but Gaius doubted he would be able to rest easy until Merlin was back on his feet.

By the time the knock on his door came early the next morning he was exhausted, and beginning to feel his age in his bones. Expecting it was Gwen back to check on Merlin, he sighed with relief. She would surely be more than willing to keep an eye on Merlin for a few hours so he could have a rest. He was surprised when he opened it and came face to face with Arthur instead. "Oh, Sire. I-"

"Is he alive?" Arthur interrupted, and Gaius wasn't sure when he'd last seen such a look of urgency and fear on the Prince's face. He looked as drained as Gaius felt, with dark circles beneath his eyes and his skin tinged grey. He was breathing hard and there was sweat on his brow, and Gaius wondered if he had run all the way from the dungeon. Thank goodness he had good news to give him. He smiled at Arthur.

"Yes your highness, you saved him."

Arthur stared at him in disbelief for a few moments, before his shoulders sagged with relief and a smile spread across his face. "Thank god." Gaius barely resisted raising an amused eyebrow at him, but Arthur seemed to sense his thoughts anyway. "I mean- Glad to hear it, that's good news." He quickly switched back to his usual, more detached demeanour. It was a demeanour Gaius knew was a facade, and this time he failed to keep his eyebrow in check. Arthur didn't notice though. He was peering over Gaius's shoulder, eyes fixed on the bed in the middle of the room, and the tuft of black hair poking out of the blankets.

"He is currently sleeping," Gaius said, and then moved to let Arthur enter. Arthur took the hint and did his best to move quietly. An array of emotions came over him as he approached the cot. Merlin was curled up on his side, blankets wrapped tightly around him and covering the bottom half of his face. It looked like he had been clutching them to his chest when he fell asleep. He was shivering faintly, enough so that Arthur could see him trembling through the blankets, and his skin was horribly pale and clammy.

But he was breathing, and the steady rhythm of it tempered Arthur's anxiety with joy. "He'll recover then?" he asked softly, turning back to Gaius.

Gaius nodded. "He will. His body has been through a lot so it will take some time and medical assistance, but he will be alright."

"Good," Arthur nodded at him. "That's good. Thank you, Gaius, for saving him."

Gaius shook his head humbly. "I believe that thanks belongs to you Sire," but Arthur raised his hand.

"No no, he wouldn't have made it without your knowledge as well."

Gaius smiled and then gave a small bow. "Thank you Sire."

Arthur's eyes moved back to Merlin and he let out a quiet huff. "Well, I just came by to make sure I wouldn't have to go to the trouble of finding a new manservant, even if this one's going to laze around in bed for a week."

"Of course Sire." Gaius watched as Arthur shifted a little nervously, his eyes flicking between Merlin's face, the stools beside his bed, and the door. He was silent a little while too long, and Gaius did his best not to chuckle.

"I, uhh, best be off then," Arthur eventually said. He made no move to leave though, and Gaius had an idea.

"I hate to ask Sire, but would it be alright if you send for Guinevere after you go?" Arthur looked at him quizzically. "I'm afraid I need to retrieve some more herbs and have some sleep myself, and I'd rather not leave him," he nodded to Merlin, "alone, just in case." It wasn't a lie. He desperately needed a rest, and since keeping food down had proven difficult for Merlin over the past 12 hours he was hoping to collect the necessary ingredients for anti-nausea tinctures. It just also happened to be a useful non-lie.

"Oh yes, of course." Arthur hesitated for a moment. "Although I'd expect she's busy seeing to Morgana." He hesitated again. "I guess I could keep an eye on the lazy dolt for a while."

"Are you sure Sire? I'm sure one of the other servants-"

"No, it's fine Gaius," he said quickly. "I've no other duties to attend to, and we can't have our court physician sleep-deprived and running out of supplies."

Gaius smiled, pleased his words had had the intended effect, and bowed again. "Thank you Sire."

Though he was grateful for the excuse to remain in the physician's chambers, Arthur felt restless almost immediately after Gaius left. He sat beside Merlin's bed for a while but soon found himself bouncing his leg impatiently. He took to wandering the room, not wanting the sound of his drumming boot to disturb Merlin, even if talking to him was what he wanted more than anything right now (not that he would ever admit that to anyone). Trying to distract himself from waiting for Merlin to wake up, he took to pacing the room, and then examining the range of different herbs and concoctions on the shelves. Maybe he should ask Gaius for some lessons on their uses, it might prove useful one day...

All the while he remained conscious of the quiet sound of Merlin's breathing. It didn't sound entirely healthy, still slightly harsh and laboured, but it was steady, and the sound kept the worst of his worries at bay. He eventually found himself perusing the book Gaius had left on the table the day before, the one that had provided the remedy to the poison. It was painful to think that without this book he would have lost his friend.

He paused in his flicking of the pages. Friend. When had Merlin moved from manservant to friend? The realisation took him by surprise, but it was certainly true. He made a mental note to never accidentally refer to them as that out loud though.

"Arthur?"

Arthur nearly jumped out of his skin and dropped the book, as Merlin's tired voice broke the quiet. He jerked his head up and found Merlin awake, peering over at him with bleary eyes and a small, inexplicable smile on his face. "Merlin!" He burst out, and his friend winced at the loud sound. "Sorry," he said more quietly as he rushed over.

" 'is OK," Merlin mumbled, smile back on his face. "Are you alright?"

Arthur dropped down onto the chair beside the bed and gave Merlin a confused look. "You're seriously asking if I'm alright?"

"Gwen said Uther put you in the dungeon?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "One night in the dungeons won't kill me Merlin." His expression became more serious. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Merlin replied.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms. "Merlin"

"Well, I've been better," he tried to joke.

"Merlin..."

Even with his brain moving so slowly Merlin could tell Arthur wasn't going to let him get away with that answer, and he really didn't have the energy to try and make him. He might as well be honest. He sighed. "Alright, I feel bad, but I'm alive so can't really complain." He was about to thank Arthur for the fact that he was in fact still breathing when, to his great surprise, Arthur reached out and put a hand on his forehead. His face felt hot all of a sudden.

"You've still got a fever," he said, and if Merlin didn't know better he would have thought there was a note of concern in the Prince's voice. The heat on his face had moved to his stomach now as well. Then Arthur abruptly pulled his hand away, stood up, and moved to the table. He returned a moment later with a tray that held a plate with a single bread roll and an ominous-looking vial of green liquid. He placed the tray on one of the stools beside the bed, then retook his seat on the other. "Right, sit up," he said firmly. "Gaius said you were to drink this when you woke up if you still had a fever." He picked up the vial and waited for Merlin to do as he was told.

Merlin just stared at him though, looking bemused. "What?" Arthur asked.

Merlin kept staring for another few seconds, then shook his head. "Nothing." He started slowly pushing himself up, and his head immediately spun. He scrunched his eyes shut and for a moment thought he was about to fall back. But then an arm was suddenly around him, and a hand was on one of his shoulders. He opened his eyes again and found Arthur's concerned face just a few centimetres from his. Merlin flushed and mumbled his thanks.

Arthur just gave him a nod and helped him sit the rest of the way up, and kept an arm around him until he was sitting on the side of the bed. When he let go Merlin seemed steady enough but, not willing to risk him falling and hurting himself, Arthur sat down beside him, and left a hand on his shoulder. Merlin looked confused when he glanced sideways at him, but Arthur turned away quickly. He picked up the vial he had placed back on the tray while he helped Merlin and held it out to him again.

"Here, Gaius's orders." Merlin didn't expect the green concoction would taste good, but he didn't dare disobey Gaius's orders. He took the vial, downed it in one, and shuddered. His stomach immediately threatened to send the potion back up, but he managed to keep it down. Arthur snickered at Merlin's expression and picked up the plate next. "He also wants you to try and eat something." Merlin couldn't help groaning. He definitely didn't feel like eating. "Come on," Arthur insisted, handing it to him. Merlin eyed the bread with borderline fear.

"I really don't think that's a good idea..."

Arthur rolled his eyes again. "Don't be such a girl Merlin." To his surprise, the usually stubborn Merlin didn't keep complaining. Well, he did groan. But then he picked up the roll and took a pathetically small bite. Arthur wondered if maybe he was simply too worn out to keep their banter going. The thought worried him more than it probably should.

He stayed sitting where he was while Merlin forced himself to eat, something Merlin was silently grateful for. The warmth of Arthur's leg against his was somewhat comforting, and he found his shivers lessening. They sat in silence for the five minutes it took him to make his way through half the roll. Then Merlin felt a foreboding lurch in his stomach. "Oh no..."

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked.

Merlin responded by shoving the plate back at Arthur and reaching beneath the bed where he hoped a bucket still was. Thank goodness Gaius had thought to leave one there. Wishing he was alone with no one, let alone Arthur, there to witness what was about to happen, Merlin clutched the bucket to his chest, and his stomach emptied itself.

Horrified, Arthur had absolutely no idea what to do. Comforting sickly servants wasn't something he was in the habit of doing. "Umm..." He patted Merlin gingerly on the back and waited for him to recover. When it seemed Merlin was done, Arthur took his hand away. "Ugh Merlin, you should be ashamed, making a scene like that in front of me."

Merlin wasn't sure when he had last felt so embarrassed, but was actually grateful for Arthur's jibe. It lightened the mood a bit. He lifted his head just enough to make eye contact. "Are you telling me the Prince of Camelot is too squeamish to cope with a bit of sick?" Merlin tried to smirk at him. He hoped Arthur couldn't tell how ashamed he really felt. Arthur couldn't help smiling back, until a moment later, when Merlin had his head in the bucket again. Arthur put his hand on his back again, but this time rubbed it gently until the heaving stopped. Merlin eventually re-emerged and put the bucket down as far away from them as possible, face burning with embarrassment. "I told you food was a bad idea..."

Arthur didn't sass him back this time. Instead, he got up from the bed, made his way to the table, and returned with a glass of water. "Here." He held it out and Merlin took it, perplexed. His confusion must have shown on his face because Arthur frowned at him. "What?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Arthur?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Merlin gulped down the water, relieved to wash the taste of vomit from his mouth. When he was done he smirked at Arthur again. "You're never this nice to me."

Arthur let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm not a monster Merlin, I'm not going to just sit and watch you being sick and miserable." He ruffled Merlin's hair good-naturedly.

"Oi!" Merlin attempted to bat his hand away and Arthur chuckled.

"Besides, you did save my life." He'd sat down on the stool beside the bed and Merlin blinked at him a few times, brain still clouded. Arthur was smirking at him, but Merlin still couldn't quite grok the Prince's expression. Arthur felt a pang of guilt as he watched him, observing the glazed eyes. He did look terribly ill. "You should lie back down Merlin, you truly look awful. No manservant of mine should look quite so disgusting."

"Prat," Merlin snorted. So much for nice Arthur. For once he did as he was told though, and sighed as he climbed back into bed, and sunk into the pillows. His head was spinning from the movement and he closed his eyes. "Hey Arthur," he mumbled, half asleep already.

"Yes, Merlin?"

Merlin turned and forced his eyes open a crack. "Thank you." Merlin gave him a small smile and Arthur felt an unexpected rush of affection. He hesitated, then put a hand on Merlin's shoulder.

"You too." They smiled at each other for a few quiet moments. Then Arthur pulled his hand back and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Alright, get some rest." Merlin nodded, and for the second time, did exactly what he was told. Arthur waited several minutes until Merlin's breathing deepened and he was sure he wouldn't wake him. Then he reached out a hand and placed it gently on top of Merlin's, hoping Gaius wouldn't come back for a little while longer.

Thanks for reading my first venture into this fandom!

If you enjoyed this then consider checking out my other stories over on Archive of Our Own. I primarily write Kingdom Hearts and Merlin at the moment.