Work Text:
Four Times Arthur Tried To Save Merlin And The One Time Merlin Saved Arthur
“Arthur?“
“Yes?”
“Why are lying on top of me?”
“I just rescued you, moron. Didn’t you see that arrow?”
“Sure I did. It was Gawain’s arrow and it hit the the mark. Ten yards away. We’re on the training’s field.”
Arthur looked over to the smirking Gawain who just raised the crossbow again. Seconds later, the next arrow almost split the first one.
Standing up, Arthur said: “It was a close thing.”
Merlin who was still lying on the ground, wheezed, “I’m sure.”
Maybe it hadn’t had been the best idea to do this in full armor.
***
“Arthur! What… the… hell?”
Arthur couldn’t answer; he was too busy coughing and throwing up seawater.
“You can’t swim, idiot! What the hell?”
“I thought…” coughing, “I thought you were… drowning. You flailed around.”
“I WAS SWIMMING!”
“Didn’t look… like you were.”
“See? How would you know? You can’t swim!”
“Merlin?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
***
“Merlin? I’m sorry.”
Arthur didn’t get an answer, so he just continued looking at the dark hair of his manservant. The rest of the face was buried in Merlin’s hands.
“Look… I thought Kay was attacking you.”
Still no answer. Arthur started getting angry; how the hell should he have known one of his knights would like doing… things with his manservant?
“Would you please look at me? After all, nothing happened!”
At that, Merlin raised his head.
“There you would be right. Nothing happened and you made sure nothing will EVER happen. Thank you so much!”
Arthur huffed; if Kay was so easily deterred he wasn’t worth Merlin’s affection anyway. In Kay’s place, Arthur wouldn’t have minded the broken nose.
***
“I’m telling you, she was a sorceress!”
“Sure she was.”
“My father taught me, I recognize sorcerers!”
“Sure you do.”
Arthur fiddled with a loose thread of the horse blanket.
“Didn’t you see how quickly she got away? She almost… vanished. Kind of.”
“I would vanish too, if I saw a lunatic with a sword, running towards me, yelling ‘I’ll kill you!’”
“The way she looked at you…”
“She looked at me because I was trying to buy herbs. Idiot.”
“She was trying to cast a spell on you!”
“Mhm. You will explain to Gaius why there’s no chamomile.”
***
“Look, Merlin, I have to. I kind of promised her and… ohhhhhhhh… don’t stop that!”
“If you ask her, I will stop.”
“But why? Nothing will change between us so… ohhhh Gods, what are you…? Hgnn.”
“I don’t share, Arthur.”
“You don’t… oh, yes, there…”
“Let her marry Lancelot; everyone will be happier then.”
“Ahhhhh… I guess you have… ohhhh… a point here.”
“Thought as much.”
The End.