FIC * How To Woo Your Manservant * Merlin * Arthur/Merlin * 2/2

[renrenren3]

First part.


The night was going great and Arthur was feeling very pleased with himself. Asking Merlin on a date had been a wonderful idea.

All right, if he had to be completely honest with himself, this wasn't technically a date. There hadn't been any hand-holding or romanticisms or snogging. Arthur particularly bemoaned the lack of snogging. And he hadn't exactly asked Merlin out either since he'd had to go and ask him what he wanted, which wasn't very subtle.

But they were spending the evening together, sitting side by side right in front of the wooden stage that had been rigged up in one of Camelot's largest squares, and that was good enough for Arthur. The benches were crammed full of spectators but Arthur didn't mind. He pulled the hood of the cloak over his eyes and inched closer to Merlin.

"Is everything okay?" Merlin asked nervously. "Maybe we can get better seats. If you tell them you're the prince you can probably get some chairs, or..."

"This is fine," Arthur replied, wondering if he could get away with slinging his arm around Merlin's shoulders. Nobody would recognize him and they were already very close anyway, their knees pressed together, Merlin's elbow digging (somewhat uncomfortably) into Arthur's rib.

Merlin's arms were awfully bony. Did Gaius ever feed him?

"This man is really great, isn't it?" Merlin said, pointing.

Arthur turned his attention away from Merlin, who looked almost handsome when he smiled like that, and back to the stage. He hadn't really been paying attention to the antics of the jugglers and jesters, having seen more than enough of those during the endless banquets held for his father's guests.

At the moment the stage was occupied by some guy in flowing robes who was juggling three lit torches. At his call, a boy came forward with another torch and tossed it upwards. The man caught it easily and started juggling four torches without missing a step.

The crowd cheered wildly, Merlin clapping and hooting along with the rest of them.

"Is this all?" Arthur said with disdain. "Anyone could do that."

"No, you couldn't," Merlin replied. "Not unless you trained for it."

Maybe he had a point, but Arthur had no intention of agreeing with him, not while Merlin's eyes were so obviously glued to this stranger.

The man was good-looking, in a scruffy sort of way, but he was just a penniless travelling juggler! He had no business stealing Merlin's attention like this. "I don't see what's so great about him," Arthur muttered.

Merlin glanced at him but immediately turned his attention back to the stage when the juggler called for another torch.

"He's unbelievable," Merlin said.

What Arthur couldn't believe was that Merlin would get so worked up over some stupid street artist. So much for his date. Arthur hoped the man caught fire.

His wish backfired spectacularly when the juggler's boy misjudged his aim on the next throw. The torch flew past the juggler's outstretched fingers and right towards Arthur.

Arthur watched the torch's trajectory in dumb stupor. There were only a few feet between him and the stage, it would hit him in a few seconds and there was no way to dodge. He was pressed between Merlin and another stranger, he couldn't move in any direction except in front, and there was that torch in front of him and it was just inches from his face now...

Then Merlin grabbed his arm and pulled him away. They both fell backwards, stumbling over the people who were sitting behind them. Arthur's brain took a moment to process the fact that he was still alive, not on fire or concussed by a large lump of wood, and he'd have celebrated if he didn't feel so beaten up. His freshly-healed shoulder didn't particularly approve of the treatment.

His enthusiasm at being tangled with Merlin on the flagstones was also somewhat dampened by the fact that several other people were tangled with them.

"Worst... night ever," Merlin said breathing heavily, voicing Arthur's thoughts.

He didn't seem to be hurt, at least, which was more than Arthur could say for himself. He massaged his shoulder gingerly. Nothing broken, at least, though by morning he'd be sporting another fine collection of bruises. The only good thing that could come out of this would have been Merlin and his salve, but Merlin didn't seem particularly concerned with Arthur's well-being at the moment.

"Did you see the juggler?" Merlin asked urgently. "Did you see what he did?"

"Merlin," he replied pushing himself to his feet, "are you really so obsessed with that man?"

The torch had missed them by mere inches and had thankfully gone out. It would have been a nightmare if the wooden benches had caught fire.

"No, I mean..." Merlin began but was interrupted by the arrival of the juggler and his assistant. They were both very pale, and the boy was crying uncontrollably. At least someone seemed to care that he'd almost been killed

"I don't know how it could have happened," the boy sobbed.

The juggler gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before bowing his head to Arthur. "I'm terribly sorry, sire," he said. "You're not injured, I hope?"

Arthur pushed back the hood of his cloak and shook his head graciously, as much as his shoulder allowed him to. "No harm done," he said.

There were a few gasps of surprise around him. So much for going incognito, but it couldn't be helped. He'd have to call the guards and make sure that they maintained order in the square, and also talk with these performers to make sure that the rest of the spectacle wouldn't be dangerous for the viewers.

"It would have been so dreadful if anything were to happen to the crown prince while we're here under your father's benevolent protection," the juggler said with a tight smile. "My name is Lantis, sire. I was born here in Camelot, it's such an honour for me to meet you in person..."

Arthur nodded absent-mindedly and gestured to a couple of guards.

"Arthur, didn't you notice anything strange?" Merlin asked.

"Not now," Arthur sighed. "I'm busy, whatever it is I'm sure it can wait until I've sorted this out."
It wasn't as if he was happy to cut short their date that was not a date, but he had a duty to make sure that the citizens of Camelot were safe.

He was sure Merlin would understand, until Merlin exclaimed, "I've got to go!" and ran off towards the castle.

Arthur pulled a face, turned away from yet another of Lantis's oily bows and started ordering people around.

It didn't take him long to restore order. Nobody had been injured, and soon the benches that had been upturned during the commotion were put back in their place. The juggler's show had been cut abruptly short but nobody seemed eager for him to start from where he left off, so a trio of singers took the stage and started to sing an old ballad.

They were good but Arthur had no reason to stay if Merlin wasn't around. He excused himself from Lantis and his friends, assured them once more that he was perfectly fine thank you, refused their offer of a cup of wine, and made his way back to the castle.

Merlin wasn't waiting for him in his chambers, not that Arthur expected him to. Maybe he'd gone back home. Or maybe he'd sneaked off to meet someone else. He had been in such a hurry to get away...

Arthur paced up and down his room restlessly. This kind of thoughts wouldn't help him at all. If he didn't want Merlin to run away with tall dark strangers he'd have to do something about it and he'd have to do it now.

He retrieved his mother's book from the drawer where he'd hidden it and thumbed through it, considering his options. On one hand he had his dignity, on the other Merlin. His dignity was important, his father had spent twenty years teaching him that a prince must always be proud and set an example for his men.

But Merlin was, well, Merlin, and Arthur thought that he'd have happily torched Camelot himself if it gave him a chance with Merlin. There wasn't really a choice here.

Half an hour later he was under Merlin's window armed only with determination and a lute. He plucked nervously at the strings, drawing a sound that was maybe music and maybe like a wailing cat.

Arthur had been taught how to play, years ago, on the grounds that all noblemen needed to know the basics of music. He hadn't been very good at it (something that Morgana loved to comment upon) and his lessons had stopped quickly.

Now he wished he had kept practising. He hadn't been playing in ages and his fingers were awkward on the strings, not to mention that his shoulder ached as he tried to hold the lute properly. Still, Arthur was confident that he'd be able to play one of the easier songs. At least if he didn't have to sing. Arthur grimaced.

He'd probably have to sing, wouldn't he? Arthur wasn't an expert, but he was afraid it might not count as a serenade if he didn't sing. Besides if he didn't sing Merlin wouldn't know that it was him. He tried the same chords again experimentally, decided that the resulting note was passable and launched into the first stanza.

It was a sappy love song that he'd heard several times from minstrels, usually dedicated 'to the beautiful ladies of the court', which meant Morgana. She seemed to like it (or maybe she just enjoyed the attention) which probably meant that it was good. It wasn't as if Arthur was an expert of love songs.

He wished he'd paid more attention when the song was played in court, since he didn't know some of the words and had to make them up as he went along or replace them with 'la la la's. Hopefully Merlin wouldn't notice the difference.

Arthur was halfway through the refrain and was getting really into it when the window opened. He grinned happily, looked up and dropped the lute on his feet.

"Sire?" Gaius exclaimed. "What's going on?"

Arthur gulped, finding himself suddenly unable to speak. "Er," he said.

His brain informed him that his life was over. He was never going to live this down. It would be better if he picked up a sword and killed himself here and now to avoid any further embarrassment, and the only thing that stopped him was that he hadn't brought his sword, only the accursed lute. Maybe he could strangle himself with one of the strings.

"Sire, it's very late," Gaius said. There was a long and awkward pause in which Arthur elected to stay completely silent. He couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't make the situation much, much worse than it already was. "Do you think that maybe you could keep the noise down?" Gaius ventured.

"I was, er," Arthur said. He cleared his throat. "I was hoping to talk with Merlin?"

Gaius raised an eyebrow. "Merlin isn't here," he replied.

Arthur's face fell, if possible, even more. Merlin hadn't even heard his heartfelt and romantic serenade. "But he left the festival before me, I thought he'd gone back to his room," he whined.

"Yes, he got back some time ago," Gaius said. "But he went out again shortly after and he hasn't returned yet."

"Did he say where he'd go?" Arthur asked. This couldn't be, Merlin couldn't really have gone back to that man, Lantis. Except that Arthur couldn't think of anywhere else Merlin could be.

Gaius hesitated. "He didn't say, sire," he said eventually. "I thought he'd be with you."

Arthur nodded, dejected. This confirmed all of his worst fears. Gaius was still at the window so Arthur said, "I see, thank you," and the old physician retreated, not before giving him a very puzzled look.

He ran rather than walked back to the lower town, following the noise back to the square that had been the set of his first failure of a date. There were two guards on duty at the corner of the square. They both stood to attention as they saw Arthur approach, pretending that they hadn't been engrossed by whatever was happening on the stage.

Luckily for them, at the moment Arthur wasn't in the mood to tell them off. "Have you seen my servant?" he asked.

"He was with you earlier this evening, sire," one of the guards replied, unhelpfully, and Arthur glared at him thinking that maybe he could tell those two off later. After he found Merlin.

"I think I saw him enter the Rising Sun some time ago," the other guard ventured.

Arthur gave him a curt nod and hurried towards the tavern. "Don't let me catch you slacking off again!" he called over his shoulder.

Despite the crowd pressed in front of the stage outside, the Rising Sun was still doing a roaring business on Midsummer's Night. The tables were full of the usual patrons and the performers, highly recognizable from their flamboyant outfits, all of them getting a cup of ale and talking about the festival.

The innkeeper noticed Arthur immediately and ran forward, wiping his hands on his apron. "Sire," he said. "How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for my servant, Merlin," Arthur replied. "Is he here?"

"Why, yes, he arrived maybe half an hour ago," the innkeeper said. "He's upstairs," he added with a grin and a nod, seeing Arthur looking around the room.

"Upstairs?" Arthur repeated, frowning. There wasn't anything upstairs, except... "Did he take a room?"

The innkeeper laughed. "Oh, bless you sire, we're all full. Couldn't find a room tonight even if it was for the King! No offence meant, sire," he added hastily. "No, he asked after one of the men staying here."

"One of the street artists? A juggler?" Arthur asked, hoping to be proven wrong, but then again this wasn't his lucky night.

The innkeeper nodded. "Tall, lanky fellow," he said. "Name of Lantis." Arthur swore. The innkeeper smile died on his face. "Merlin, he said he needed to talk to this man," he added, almost apologetically. "So I gave him the key to the room and told him he could wait there."

"Which room?" Arthur asked.

The innkeeper looked pained. "He told me he was working for you, did I do something wrong?" he asked.

Arthur wasn't in the mood for being likeable. Arthur was in the mood for breaking someone's nose. Possibly the nose of a certain interfering juggler. "Which. Room?"

"Second door on the right," the man said. "Why, what's going on?"

Arthur ignored him and rushed up the stairs, pushing away a couple of patrons blocking his way. Upstairs the tavern was quiet, the noise from the festival muffled by the thick panelled walls. Arthur banged open the door to Lantis's room without even bothering to knock.

The room was small, just a bed and a stool and an old battered travelling chest. Lantis wasn't back yet, but there was Merlin there sitting on the stool and gaping at Arthur, and that was more than enough to make Arthur explode.

"There you are!" he exclaimed, slamming the door closed and pointing an accusatory finger at Merlin. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Arthur," Merlin said, "I can explain."

"Explain what?" Arthur replied. "You walked out on me while..."

'While we were on something that wasn't a date but might as well have been', his brain supplied. Not helpful, Arthur thought, probably best not to tell that to Merlin yet.

"You walked out on me," he insisted. "And then you ran back here and I find you in this man's room. Why?"

For once Merlin didn't have a smart-ass reply ready. He shook his head. "Lantis..." he began, but Arthur wasn't in the mood to hear about Lantis.

"Is he all you can talk about?" he yelled.

Merlin's eyes went wide. "What's wrong with you today?" he asked.

"What's wrong with me?" Arthur shot back. "What's wrong with you! I thought we had a chance."

"What?" Merlin replied. "You're not making any sense at all."

"This is all your fault," Arthur said. However he didn't have a chance to elaborate on how everything was Merlin's fault because the door opened again and a very perplexed Lantis popped his head in.

"What's going on? I think you have the wrong room," he said, looking around. "Sire," he added seeing Arthur.

"It's nothing," Arthur snapped. "We were just leaving. Come on, Merlin."
He grabbed Merlin's arm and started to drag him towards the stairs.

"Arthur, wait, listen to me," Merlin said, trying to hold him back.

"I'm not listening to any of your excuses," Arthur replied.

"He's a sorcerer," Merlin hissed. "And he tried to kill you!"

Arthur stopped abruptly and looked at Merlin, who seemed very close to panic, and then back at Lantis. Just in time to see the man whisper some words and send the stool flying at him.

Merlin cannoned into Arthur, pushing him to the floor, and the stool hit the wall right above their heads showering them with splinters.
Arthur jumped back to his feet and went for his sword, remembering a moment too late that he wasn't wearing one.

"Merlin!" he called, but he didn't have time to check how Merlin was doing. Lantis had dropped any pretence and was throwing balls of coloured flames at him.

"Die, Arthur Pendragon!" he screamed.

Arthur jumped down the stairs, doing the steps three at a time. "Guards!" he called. It was dangerous to lead the sorcerer downstairs, the tavern was full of innocent citizens, but to remain in the corridor meant certain death for him and Merlin. "Guards!"

His voice could barely be heard above the noise. The next fireball missed Arthur by inches and hit a window, sending sparks and glass shards everywhere. That got immediate attention from everyone in the room. Then it was chaos as the patrons, sobered up by the danger, all scrambled for the exit.

Arthur dodged another fireball by rolling behind a table and straightened up just in time to see Merlin attack the sorcerer with a chair. Lantis staggered under the hit but didn't fall down. Instead he just raised one hand and Merlin flew against a wall like a rag doll.

Arthur saw red. He flung himself against the sorcerer, not caring that he was fighting with nothing but his bare hands. All he could think about was Merlin, his Merlin, and if anything happened to him it would be Arthur's fault, and Arthur couldn't stand that.

For a moment Arthur thought that he had the upper hand, but then the sorcerer pulled one arm free from his grasp and with a flick of the wrist sent Arthur flying. The impact knocked all of the air from his body.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Lantis said with a smirk. "I had to go into exile because of my magic, but I shouldn't have feared the King. I'm so much stronger than you." He looked down at Arthur. "And now you're going to die."

He raised one hand but before he could complete the spell there was a loud creaking noise. Lantis looked up just in time to see a large wooden shelf fall down on him.

Arthur gaped at the scene, then scrambled to his feet and went to check on Merlin. He was still slumped where Lantis had thrown him, but Arthur sighed with relief when he saw that he was still very much alive.

Arthur offered Merlin his hand. Merlin got to his feet, awkwardly, and brushed some dust off his clothes. That had been a close one. If that shelf hadn't gone down the moment it did...

Merlin winced. "Are you all right?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Merlin replied. He was a terrible liar. Arthur was willing to bet that Merlin felt just as battered as Arthur was. At least he didn't seem to have any serious injuries.

Arthur looked at the wreckage around them. There didn't seem to be any casualties either apart from the sorcerer himself. Arthur was starting to think that maybe his father, with all his paranoia, had a point. Magic was too dangerous to let go unchecked.

"How did you know that he was a sorcerer, anyway?" Arthur asked.

Merlin shrugged. "I just, er, I had a feeling," he said.

"A feeling?" Arthur repeated incredulously. "This man walks past all the guards and stands in front of half of Camelot without anyone realizing anything, and you had a feeling?"

"Earlier tonight, when he threw that torch at you, remember?" Merlin said. Arthur nodded. It would be difficult to forget about that in such a short time. "I saw him use magic to throw the torch at you."

Arthur thought back to the scene. "I didn't notice anything of the sort. How come you're such an expert on magic?"

Merlin looked away. "I told you, it was just a feeling," he said with a frown.

Arthur very carefully refrained to think about just how much of a fool he'd been. He felt annoyed both at himself for misunderstanding the whole situation and at Merlin for putting himself in danger. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"I tried," Merlin replied with a snort. "You weren't listening. I thought that maybe Lantis had enchanted you."

"So you decided to deal with him yourself?" he asked instead.

"Yes!" Merlin exclaimed. "You have no idea just how much I have to deal with, all by myself!"

"Ridiculous!" Arthur snapped back. "You're the one who's got no idea..."

"What?" Merlin asked.

Arthur shook his head. He couldn't tell Merlin, not after having acted like a perfect idiot. "Nothing," he said. "It's nothing. Let's go, I need some sleep."

---

Gwen brought Arthur breakfast on the next day, which was just perfect. Arthur didn't feel like remembering his awkward conversation with Merlin this early in the morning (or, for that matter, ever again).

Arthur didn't know if Merlin had told Gwen about it. He probably had, though, judging by the way she was carefully avoiding to look at him as she set the breakfast table. She curtsied and left without saying anything, and Arthur allowed himself a moment of self-pity before attacking the cold ham.

He had almost cleaned the plate when there was a tentative knock and Gwen reappeared on the doorway. "I was just wondering," she said, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.

"Yes?" Arthur asked, bracing himself for the worst. She didn't seem in any hurry to talk, though. "Guinevere," Arthur sighed.

Gwen looked around and closed the door behind her. "I feel silly for asking," she said with a small laugh. "You'll think this is silly."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," Arthur said.

"You... don't like me, do you?" Gwen asked. Arthur felt puzzled for a moment. "I mean, not like like..."

Arthur laughed. "I don't hate you, but no, I don't like you in that way either," he replied.

"I thought so," Gwen said, sounding nevertheless very relieved. "But Morgana was saying some very strange things yesterday so I thought maybe..."

"No," Arthur said. "Definitely not any more."

"Good," Gwen nodded. "Wow, this is awkward. Sorry about it."

Arthur shrugged. "It's my fault," he said. "She thought you were the one I liked and I thought it would be easier if I didn't correct her."

At those words Gwen cheered up considerably. "So there is someone you like!" she exclaimed.

Arthur pulled a face. He hadn't meant to let that slip. "Yes, but please don't ask me who," he said, forestalling Gwen's next question.

"Just tell me, do I know her?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, it's someone you know," Arthur admitted. (All this playing around with pronouns was starting to become tiresome.) Gwen made an undignified squealing noise and grinned from ear to ear.

Arthur sighed and rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "But I don't think it's mutual," he said glumly. "And I don't know what to do."

"What about flowers?" Gwen suggested.

Arthur snorted. "In this case, I don't believe flowers would be well-received," he said.

"Why not?" Gwen insisted. "Everyone likes flowers."

"Do you think so?" Arthur asked.

Gwen nodded. She seemed so sure of it. Arthur wished he could have told her just why he thought flowers wouldn't work, but he couldn't mention Merlin. Wouldn't.

"I liked getting flowers from you," Gwen said suddenly. "I thought it was the most romantic thing you'd ever done for me."

"Really?" Arthur asked feeling himself blush. The flowers had been Merlin's work, but he'd never found the courage to confess it to Gwen.

Gwen misunderstood his reaction and hastened to add, "I mean, saving me was also very romantic. And brave." There was an awkward pause. "But I liked the flowers. Everyone likes flowers," she repeated.

"Thanks, Gwen," Arthur said, and she gave him a bright smile before leaving.

Arthur wished he could have fallen in love with a girl. Any girl would have been better than Merlin. At least he could have relied on flowers. Why did everyone keep thinking that flowers were some sort of magical catalyst for love, anyway?

He spent most of the day in the courtyard, avoiding Merlin and venting his frustration against one of the training dummies. His body didn't particularly approve of the treatment and would have rather gone to sleep for the next two days, but if Arthur was thinking about the pain in his muscles he didn't have time to think about Merlin.

He still felt awful as he joined his father and Morgana for dinner. Uther was in a surprisingly good mood, something that Arthur put down to the fact that Midsummer had passed and all the travelling artists had left without trying to take over Camelot.

Earlier, Arthur had given his father a brief resume of the previous night's events (glossing over some of the less-than-glorifying details such as him forgetting his own sword) and he'd made a point of mentioning how Merlin had helped find and take down the sorcerer.

Uther had just nodded absently and given Arthur a pat on the back, dismissing Merlin as an afterthought. As if Merlin didn't matter, at all. 'But he's important to me!', Arthur wanted to tell him.

Except that he couldn't, because there was no telling how Uther would take the news that his only son and heir was desperately in love with his (male) servant.

Not that it mattered anyway. Whatever chances he had to make Merlin like him, he'd thrown away by yelling at him for no reason at all. Arthur wouldn't blame Merlin for hating him now. He hated himself for being an idiot too.

He was silent and sullen for most of the meal, picking at his food and letting his father and Morgana carry the conversation, speaking only when he was spoken to. Morgana had probably realized that something had happened between Arthur and his 'sweetheart' (hah!), but in a rare display of tact she had refrained from asking him any details.

But even Uther seemed to notice that something was amiss when Arthur left his food almost untouched. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Arthur shook his head. "Nothing," he said. It was a blatant lie, but maybe if he repeated it often enough he'd be able to persuade himself that he didn't mind being turned down by Merlin. Yes, as if.

He sighed. Morgana bit her lip and avoided his gaze.

"Are you sure?" Uther asked, unconvinced, and Arthur shook his head again. Because no, he wasn't sure, how could he be?

He hadn't been prepared for this. He was trained to fight monsters and lead knights in battle, not to fall in love with his manservant. Being in love was awful. How could anyone deal with it? How could anyone bear being in love with someone and not knowing if they were loved back, or even worse, knowing that they weren't loved back? It was driving him mad.

"How did you make my mother fall in love with you?" Arthur asked without thinking.

Uther's jaw dropped open and Arthur remembered a second too late that nobody mentioned the Lady Ygraine in front of Uther. Ever. Arthur started to stammer an apology but his father didn't seem mad at him. Just very, very sad.

"I didn't," he said eventually. "She just fell in love with me, I don't know why. She was beautiful and kind and could have married anyone she wanted."

"You're the King," Morgana pointed out.

Uther shook his head. "Ygraine never cared about that," he said. "She was very romantic." His voice was strange, as if something was caught in his throat, and was he blinking back tears? Arthur thought about the book, about how it had been a present from his father to his mother.

"I was afraid for the longest time that she would turn me down," Uther said. "But I thought I needed to tell her how important she was to me, because if I didn't I would always regret it."

Arthur thought he could see Uther, younger and unsure just as Arthur was now, and he finally understood. This wasn't about flowers, dresses, dates, serenades or what else. It was about Merlin, and his father had just given him a very good piece of advice: the most important thing was telling Merlin just how he felt.

Arthur pushed back his chair. "I've got to go," he said, ignoring his father's and Morgana's looks of surprise.

As he ran from the room he thought he could hear his father asking, "Who's the lucky lady?" and he hoped Morgana wasn't in a mood for gossiping. Later he'd have to think of some excuse to tell his father, because Merlin wasn't a lady, not at all, but at the moment he couldn't care less.

It didn't matter if Merlin turned him down. Okay, actually it mattered. A lot. But if he didn't try he'd never know and Arthur didn't think he could bear to spend another day like this.

Time to toughen up and confront his feelings. (That didn't sound very manly, didn't it?) Time to... conquer Merlin's heart. Whatever. He was prepared, or at least he was avoiding any thoughts about how unprepared he was. Nothing could stop him.

Or, Arthur amended coming to a halt in front of the door to Gaius's rooms, almost nothing.

He was ready to face Merlin, not Gaius. He didn't think he could face Gaius right now.

The old physician was full of tact and wouldn't have asked any indiscreet questions, but Arthur felt himself blushing at the thought of requesting a word with Merlin in private. Gaius might refrain from mentioning what had happened last night, but there would be raised eyebrows and curious glances, and Arthur really didn't want to deal with that.

At first Arthur thought he'd wait for Merlin to get out, but there were several obstacles to that. For one, it was past sunset, which meant Merlin might have gone to bed already. Then Arthur would have to wait until morning to see him, and he didn't think he could wait that long without going crazy.

Not to mention that the guards might have found it strange if the prince spent the night stalking the door to the physician's quarters.

Which left Arthur with one option only.

The window to Merlin's room was halfway up a tower but luckily Arthur had been trained to climb walls. He hadn't been trained so that he could sneak into his servant's room to declare his undying love, but since he could, why not? This was too good of a chance to pass.

Thankfully there were no guards patrolling this part of the castle, so nobody saw Arthur as he pressed himself to the stone wall and began his ascent. The wall was old and weathered and provided him with plenty of footholds. Something like that was nothing for him, just child's play. He'd faced much worse.

Sure, he thought about a third of the way up, the handholds were more of a problem. It would have been better if he'd remembered to bring his gloves, his fingers were starting to hurt. Not to mention his shoulder, which was definitely not okay with this kind of exertion.

Don't think about that, Arthur thought. Think of Merlin, who's waiting in that room. Not really waiting, obviously, since he couldn't know that Arthur was down here climbing the wall. But Merlin was in that room, and that was all that mattered to Arthur.

Of course, his treacherous brain supplied, he wasn't sure that Merlin was in his room either. For all that Arthur knew, Merlin could have gone for a midnight stroll and Arthur was about to barge in on Gaius or something like that. Arthur quickly shut up that part of his brain before it talked him into jumping off the tower.

Think about positive things. Think about Merlin. Think about happy Merlin, Merlin smiling, Merlin yelling... No, not Merlin yelling, that wasn't helping. Think about Merlin spreading the salve on his shoulder...

His shoulder was really hurting now.

He tried to grasp the next handhold, missed it by several inches and ended up scrabbling for purchase on the stone. He took several calming breaths and regained his balance, one arm dangling uselessly at his side.

Arthur grimaced and looked up. The window wasn't too far away, he'd climbed most of the distance already, but he still couldn't reach the window-sill. He didn't think he'd be able to make it there, not with the way his arm threatened to fall off his shoulder every time he tried to move it. Being so far up meant that he couldn't manage going down either, there was too much climbing involved, and jumping was definitely out of the question.

He was, in short, completely stuck on the wall under Merlin's window. He had to do something about it, preferably before his other shoulder decided to ditch him for good and send him plummeting to his untimely death.

"Help?" he called.

He kept his voice low, just in case anybody actually heard him. He was asking for help, but this didn't mean that he was okay with just anybody finding him there. In fact he'd rather nobody found him there, which might somewhat hamper his rescue, because his situation was awfully embarrassing.

In the end, the instinct of self-preservation won out. Arthur cleared his throat. "Help?" he called again.

For a while all was silent. Arthur was about to give up all pretences of dignity and start screaming when the window opened and Merlin poked out his head. "Arthur?" he asked, surprised.

"Merlin?" Arthur called back, craning his head to look at him. Not that he had any doubts that it was really Merlin, but it was better than any of the other greetings he'd thought of, such as, 'I happen to be stuck halfway up this wall, could you please help me?', or, 'I love you but I think I'm an idiot, do you love me back?'

"What are you doing there?" Merlin asked.

"Long story," Arthur replied. "I don't think I've got time to explain. Could you give me a hand up?"

He couldn't see Merlin well, but Arthur thought he was frowning at him. "Can't you just climb up?" he asked.

"Nope. Shoulder," Arthur said. "Hurts." He was starting to get out of breath. Trust Merlin to start blabbering in the most inopportune situations.

"Oh," Merlin replied, pulling a face. "I'll go get Gaius."

"No!" Arthur exclaimed, panicking. Anything but that. "Just... throw me a rope. Or something. Have you got a rope?"

"No," Merlin said. "Yes!"

"Which one is it?" Arthur asked.

"Maybe I can find a rope, can you hold on a little more?" Merlin said.

Arthur glared at him and then said, "No," because now wasn't the time to try and be subtle. He could feel his fingers losing their grip.

Merlin pulled a face, then he leaned almost completely out of the window and grabbed Arthur's arm. Arthur's eyes widened. "You'll fall!" he exclaimed.

"So will you," Merlin replied with a grunt. "Hold on," he added, not that Arthur needed any encouragement for that. He scrabbled for purchase on the wall with his injured arm, managing to climb up another couple of inches.

Then Merlin managed to hook his arms under Arthur's shoulders and Arthur half climbed and was half pulled into the window. Arthur collapsed to the floor with a groan. He felt as if all air had been knocked from his lungs. Thinking straight was difficult as well.

His first thought was that he was alive and had just avoided to die by splattering himself on the flagstones below, which was a good thing. To die like that would have been worse than being eaten by a Wildren. And Merlin had just saved his life, again.

After this less-than-spectacular entrance, Arthur was unsure of what to say. "I thought we were both going to die," he managed after a while, since Merlin's feat had been nothing short of miraculous.

"I'm stronger than I look," Merlin replied sitting down next to him. "What were you doing out there anyway?"

Arthur slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. Standing up was currently not an option, not with the way his head was spinning. He licked his lips. Climbing that wall was nothing compared to the tension he was feeling now. "I wanted to talk to you," he said, fully aware of how pitiful that sounded.

Merlin, predictably, looked at him as if he'd just sprouted a second head. "You do remember about doors, right?" he asked. "They're useful to get into a room without risking your neck."

"Yes, Merlin, thank you," Arthur snorted. "I just, er, wanted to avoid Gaius." Saying it out loud made it sound even more stupid.

Merlin frowned. "Why, what's the problem with Gaius?" he asked.

Arthur looked away. "Er," he said. "Nothing. It's just, er, there's something I wanted to tell you."

"I think I know what this is all about," Merlin said. Arthur's heart skipped a beat. He turned around to stare at Merlin but before he could reply Merlin said, "You really are under a spell, aren't you?"

"What?" Arthur spluttered. "No, I'm not!" he exclaimed.

"You've been acting strange all week!" Merlin replied. "And... Gaius told me about last night," he added. "He said you were trying to serenade under my window."

Arthur groaned. "About that..." he began, but he trailed off. How could he even start to explain? It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Arthur, please," Merlin said slowly. "If you're enchanted you need to tell me."

"I'm not enchanted," Arthur repeated dully.

"So why are you acting like this?" Merlin asked, making a vague gesture that included Arthur, the window and probably also every stupid thing that Arthur had done in the past few days.

Arthur took a long breath and stared at Merlin. "I love you," he said.

Merlin blinked, staring back at Arthur for what seemed like ages. He'd never noticed just how blue Merlin's eyes were. "I knew it," Merlin said eventually, "you are enchanted."

Arthur sighed. It had taken him all of his courage to say those few words. He'd expected rejection, disgust, maybe even anger. Not this cold dismissal, as if the idea of Arthur falling in love with Merlin was utterly unbelievable.

It had been a long day, Arthur was battered and tired and he didn't feel like arguing. Merlin was only a few feet away. "Don't worry," Merlin was saying. "We'll find a way to snap you out of it."

Arthur leaned forward and kissed him.

As far as kisses went it wasn't very sophisticated, just Arthur brushing his lips against Merlin's tentatively, softly, scared that Merlin would push him away at any moment. But Merlin didn't. He just sat on the floor and let Arthur kiss him. Then Arthur felt a hand on the back on his head, and Merlin was tilting his head and pulling Arthur closer.

Merlin's lips parted, slightly, and there was no room for misunderstandings now, this was nothing but an invitation. Arthur hadn't even dared to think about this, couldn't have seen it happen anywhere but in his wildest dreams, but now that it was finally happening he had no idea how could he have gone on for so long without kissing Merlin.

When they finally pulled apart to breathe Arthur kept one arm around Merlin's shoulders, as if he was afraid Merlin would run away if he didn't.

"So," Merlin said after a while. "Not under a spell, then?"

Arthur shook his head forcefully. "I might have been confused, and I might have acted like a fool," he said, and Merlin smiled at that. "But I really do love you."

Merlin sighed and leaned more into Arthur. "I thought you were mocking me," he said. "At first I thought you'd found out that I had this huge crush on you and..."

"Wait, what huge crush?" Arthur asked, not quite believing what he was hearing. "You had a crush on me?"

"Er, yes," Merlin replied. "Since shortly after I met you." Arthur groaned. "Why else did you think I put up with your spoiled prince antics?"

"I'm not spoiled," Arthur replied. His haughty tone was somewhat ruined by the fact that he was playing with Merlin's hair.

"You are too," Merlin insisted. "You're spoiled, prattish and totally without any common sense."

Arthur tried to keep a straight face, but it was difficult when Merlin was smiling at him like that.
"That's slander!" he said.

"That's just the truth, Arthur," Merlin laughed. "No common sense. You just climbed into my bedroom window, halfway up a tower!"

"And a good thing that I did, too," Arthur replied. "If I hadn't, who knows how long you'd have gone on pining for me?"

"I wasn't pining for you," Merlin began, but Arthur shut him up with a kiss.

"I was," he whispered against his lips, and that stopped any further objections that Merlin could have had. Arthur leaned back against the wall and snuggled closer to Merlin, burying his face into Merlin's shoulder.

He closed his eyes and for some time he didn't think about anything but Merlin. In truth he'd spent the whole day just thinking about Merlin, but now it was okay because he didn't have to worry about Merlin hating him any more.

It seemed as if Merlin still thought that he was a prat, but Arthur thought he didn't terribly mind as long as he got to snog Merlin. He could compromise.

"Arthur," Merlin asked after a while, "are you going back to your room?"

"You're kicking me out?" Arthur said without moving, his voice somehow muffled by Merlin's shirt. "That's cold. I just risked life and limb to get here, you know."

"That's not what I meant," Merlin replied. "It's just, er, I don't know if you thought about it..."

"What?" Arthur asked, pressing a soft kiss to Merlin's collarbone.

"You're going to have to explain to Gaius how you magically appeared into my room without going through the door," Merlin said.

Arthur made a face. "That's what you were thinking about?" he asked, outraged. Typical of Merlin, always spoiling the moment. Though he did make it hard to be angry at him, with his stupid adorable face and his stupid adorable smile. "You should have been thinking about me!"

"I'm thinking about you explaining to Gaius," Merlin said with a grin. "What are you going to tell him?"

"We can think about that together," Arthur said, pulling Merlin closer. "Tomorrow."