Merlin spent his afternoon scrubbing the floors in Arthur's chambers clean while Arthur was in the council meeting. He wasn't sure if it was meant as punishment for his late arrival that morning, but it felt like it. The crouched position hurt his back and he'd managed to wet down the knees of his pants almost immediately.
He would've used magic, but he knew that if he finished early Arthur would just find some other chore to force on him. He also didn't trust his hungover brain to be at its best state to perform magic discreetly inside Camelot's castle, so he continued scrubbing at the stone floor by hand. At least the monotonous work made it an easy task to complete without having to strain his mind. He'd had to shred his jacket and neckerchief to avoid feeling overheated, yet he still felt somewhat clammy.
Merlin found himself lost in thought when a knock on the door startled him. He sat back on his knees—not bothering to stand up since he'd have to get back down again—and called out for whomever it was to enter.
Gwaine's head peaked inside the door, looking around the room. He grinned as he caught sight of Merlin.
"Merlin!" His voice just a bit too loud for Merlin's ears, making him wince. "How're you? It was a great evening yesterday. I have to invite you to more drinking contests in the future."
"I wouldn't mind if you refrained," Merlin grumbled as he continued scrubbing at the floor again.
"Where's the princess? I have a report for him," Gwaine said.
"Arthur's in the council meeting," Merlin said. "You can leave the scroll on his desk."
"That's alright. I want to give it to him personally. I'll come by again later."
Merlin expected Gwaine to leave with that, but instead, he took a few steps further into the room. Merlin glanced his way, catching how Gwaine was seemingly watching him work.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" Merlin asked between his strokes with the brush against the floor.
"Probably," Gwaine said with a cheeky grin.
Merlin huffed but continued working, hoping that Gwaine would lose interest soon. He wasn't feeling particularly sociable.
"Hey, what's that?" He heard Gwaine ask.
Merlin paused, looking up at Gwaine. "What?"
Gwaine leaned closer, peering curiously at Merlin. Though not towards his face. Merlin looked down on himself, wondering if he'd managed to spill something on himself but saw nothing more than a few wet flecks. When he looked up at Gwaine again, he saw a positively mischievous smile on his face.
"And where exactly did you catch that?" he asked, pointing to Merlin's neck.
Merlin scrambled off the floor. He found a mirror to look into trying to see what Gwaine was talking about. He looked at his reflection and caught sight of a bruise at the base of his neck, near his collarbone.
"And you thought the evening went bad?" Gwaine asked teasingly.
"Gwaine, I-" Merlin started but paused.
Perhaps he could've convinced someone else that he'd fallen and hit himself or something. But not Gwaine. He was quite sure that, if anyone, Gwaine was the one least likely to not see a love bite for what it was.
"You can't tell anyone," Merlin settled for instead. His eyes grave. "Promise that you won't tell anyone."
"Alright, alright," Gwaine said, his arms raised in surrender. "A man's business is his own." He seemed sincere. Then his smile returned. "Though you might want to cover that up, darling."
Merlin hastily found his neckerchief and put it back on. He'd rather be too warm than have someone else catch sight of the bruise. Much less ask questions about it.
"You won't tell anyone?" Merlin asked suspiciously. He knew Gwaine had a certain taste for gossip.
"I won't," he repeated. "I can't understand why you think it's so bad, but I won't tell anyone."
Merlin nodded and sighed in relief.
Merlin learned—a bit too soon—that Gwaine's promise not to tell anyone else did not mean he didn't pester Merlin about it. He kept asking who he'd been with any chance he got when they were alone. Merlin stayed tight-lipped about it, not that it stopped Gwaine from trying.
Otherwise not much had changed. Merlin's hangover disappeared. Arthur gave Merlin chores and shouted at him. Gaius sent him out to pick herbs in the forest. Merlin and Leon pretended like nothing had happened.
At first they mostly just passed each other in corridors. Sometimes they shared a fleeting look before both turned away like nothing was unusual. So what if Merlin could be suspected of taking a bit of a detour to avoid bumping into Leon? He was only trying out new shortcuts around the castle.
The first instance they spent a longer time in each other's presence after that morning was three days later. Arthur had dragged Merlin with him to the knights' morning training. Merlin never had to interact much with the knights, but they often exchanged a few words between training matches.
He loitered on the sidelines of the training grounds as he watched Leon spar against Elyan. He found that Leon looked quite good. The knight's armour fit him well. He wore them as if he was born to do so. Which—even according to old protocols—he was. There was a certain confidence in the way Leon carried himself. In the way he fought. Merlin found it admirable, though he had never really reflected on it before.
After a while Leon had Elyan down on the ground, the tip of his sword resting lightly against the other's chest. Arthur called the match finished and ordered Percival against Gwaine for the next. As the next round started Merlin found his eyes following after Leon as he made his way to the sidelines. He was chatting in low tones with Elyan as they walked.
Then Elyan caught sight of Merlin and gave a friendly wave, which Merlin returned. Leon's eyes rose, meeting Merlin's for a fleeting second. An awkward smile, a nod, then he looked away again.
Despite their agreement to act like nothing had happened, Merlin sometimes felt like the air between them was more than stiff. Almost as if a wall had been raised between them.
Although he preferred not to dwell on any vague memories he had of that night, Merlin found himself thinking of Leon more and more. Even just fleeting thoughts throughout his day. Of how long the knight had served. Of his loyalty towards Arthur. Of his bravery. His soft eyes-
Merlin was quite sure Leon didn't get similar thoughts of him. If he thought of him at all. He was, after all, merely Arthur's disobedient servant in most eyes. More of a court jester without talent at times. And yet, somehow they had ended up together that night.
As the weeks went on, things slowly started to ease up. Merlin and Leon had never been particularly close, but they regained the ability to exchange short greetings without having that lingering feeling of strain hanging over them. Well, at least not too much.
Sometimes—only a handful of times—Merlin thought they acted even more relaxed than before. Perhaps that they both shared a sensitive 'secret' had cracked the ice between them. If only a little.
When Arthur started to grow agitated from having been shut inside the castle for too long he proposed a hunt. The small company, consisting of his closest knights, got ready for a few days out in the forest. Oh, and also Merlin of course. Who else would make their dinner out of whatever poor rabbit or pheasant they managed to kill.
They settled out on horseback through the familiar forest. Merlin felt his body relax as they entered the forest. His worries practically melted off and disappeared into the breeze caressing his face. He'd always felt connected to nature in a special way. It was almost as if he could feel the life in his surroundings. Of course, the bustling knights had to destroy some of the peace with their constant, and loud, chatter. They rode for a while before getting off the horses. Longer than usual. Merlin suspected it was because Arthur had been cooped up for so long.
After tying up the horses and unpacking near a stream the knights readied their weapons to find something for dinner. Merlin handed Arthur his crossbow before starting to tend to the horses.
He had to wait alone as the knights tried to find some prey. He was happy he had the excuse to watch over the horses that kept him from having to join them. He took the time alone to look for herbs. He found some nearby that Gaius would appreciate. Then he found a few more that would help bring some taste to their evening stew.
Once the knights returned they carried a couple of birds they'd managed to strike down. As Merlin started working on the dinner the knights settled in the clearing.
"I did not!" Merlin suddenly heard Gwaine's loud exclamation. He tuned into the knight's conversation as he worked on cooking the dinner.
"You definitely would've been hurt if Leon hadn't held you back from running in front of Elyan's crossbow," Percival argued.
"I'm glad I shot the bird and not you," Elyan added. "I doubt you'd taste as good for dinner."
"You never know until you try," Gwaine said, sending Elyan a wink.
"Sir Gwaine, may I advise you to not try and get killed on our next hunt?" Arthur teased.
"I really wasn't-" Gwaine started but was quickly cut off.
"You were about to," Leon said.
"Well, you were there to save me, weren't you? No mishap," Gwaine said.
Leon sighed. Then he caught Merlin's eye. Merlin smiled back. He told himself it was because he was happy to not have to use his physician apprenticeship knowledge out in the forest. Leon smiled back.
"Hey, Merlin, is dinner ready soon? I'm famished," Arthur complained, poking Merlin with his foot.
Merlin rolled his eyes but went back to finishing their meal.
The knights calmed down somewhat after dinner. The energy had seemingly run out of them after a day of activity and a meal. Merlin even thought he caught Percival snoring softly where he sat leaning against a fallen tree trunk empty plate still in hand.
Merlin washed up after them, the stream nearby helped him immensely. As he was scrubbing he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around, seeing Leon standing close by. The stream was a bit away from the clearing, but he could see most of the knights lay half asleep a bit away.
"It's rather quiet once they settle down," Leon said, looking towards the camp.
"They're no better than children," Merlin said, turning back to the stream and cleaning off another plate.
"Not by much," Leon answered amused.
"Reckless like them too," Merlin added for small talk. "Did Gwaine really almost get himself shot by a crossbow?"
"I wished I could say it was an exaggeration," Leon said.
Merlin shook his head trying not to laugh. "He would've been dead several times over if you weren't looking out for him. Probably the other knights as well."
"We all would be without you here to feed us," Leon said not unkindly. "We're lucky to eat this good out on a simple hunting trip."
"Thanks," Merlin answered, feeling his ears heat up. He could probably think of a few other reasons the knights would be dead, weren't it for him, but he couldn't say that.
They were quiet for a while. Merlin kept scrubbing the dishes and stacking them once clean. Leon didn't leave but seemed content staying a bit away from Merlin.
"You're always busy doing something, aren't you? You handle a lot." Leon said after a while.
"It's my job," Merlin said with a shrug without turning.
"It's not just the cooking and cleaning though, is it?"
"No, there's also polishing the Royal Prat's armour, waking him up, helping him find his own head," Merlin joked. "I tried to quit once, but Arthur wouldn't let me."
"Well, he is the king after all," Leon said amused. Then in a more serious tone, "What I meant is, it's more than that. More than most people see."
Merlin's movement stuttered before he continued moving. He could feel Leon's eyes on him. He wondered, not for the first time, if Leon had suspicions towards him. He couldn't know of Merlin's magic, or he would've already been burnt at the pyre. But Leon seemed to have grown more attentive to Merlin than before. Leon spoke again before Merlin found his words.
"You're always there when Arthur needs you."
Surprised, Merlin turned to look at Leon. He didn't look scared. Rather contemplative, otherwise he seemed calm. It made Merlin breathe out a little.
"I could say the same about you," Merlin said, seeing that smile on Leon's face twitch upwards.
Despite all his secret meddling, Merlin meant it. Leon had been a knight for a long time and Merlin had seen him grow alongside Arthur. He knew of his fierce determination to protect Arthur. Many knights, even some peasants, were ready to die to protect the crown. But Leon would lay down his life for Arthur. Even if Arthur lost the crown Merlin believed that Leon would stay by his side.
"I guess we're somewhat similar on that point," Leon said after another moment.
They smiled at each other for a moment. Merlin noticed how the late evening sun illuminated Leon's hair. His locks almost resembled a halo in the light. He found his eyes stuck to the picture. Then he realised his mind was wandering, and his smile fell.
"Well- I have to- I should pack these away," Merlin said awkwardly.
"Yes. Right. You should do that," Leon said, clearing his throat.
It seemed the awkward tension hadn't fully left them yet. Merlin gathered the dishes and hastily fled back towards the horses.
He glanced back after a while, seeing that Leon had made his way back to the other knights. The picture of them all together, Arthur's closest knights, both felt comforting and bitter.
Merlin shook his head and went to gather more firewood.
Authors Notes:
Thank you for reading!
I struggled a bit with some parts of this, but think it turned out okay in the end. Leon/Merlin is a new ship for me to write so I'm not used to their dynamic yet, but I'm enjoying figuring out how I want to portray them
(It's okay to point out spelling and grammar mistakes.)