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Gwen smirked to herself as she walked down the halls of Camelot, a plan at her fingertips along with a piece of mistletoe that Gaius had grown. It wasn’t foreign to hang mistletoe in the castle during the holidays. Just yesterday, Lancelot had hung one above his bed for Gwen to find, so she figured she would pass it on to someone else.
She knocked lightly on the king’s chamber doors and after hearing no response, she pushed them open. The warmth of the fire still flickering in the corner of the room invited her in and she smiled at the cosy feeling that Christmastime brought. But there was no time to dilly-dally as the king could walk in at any second. So Gwen reached up above the door frame and hung the piece of mistletoe high. She fell back down to the heels of her feet with a smile of pride. She couldn’t wait to see what would happen.
·:·───✰───·:·
Merlin turned the corner with a tray of food fit for a king, which was especially plentiful today because the holiday’s always brought about the best meals. He had a smile on his face when barged through Arthur’s doors, not even bothering to knock.
The prat noticed his obnoxious appearance right away, lifting his head up from his book. “I didn’t know you could read, sire,” Merlin chuckled to himself, setting the tray of food down on the table.
Arthur’s face fell and he rolled his eyes back. “And I didn’t know you could manage to arrive on time for once… Oh wait,” he paused, shooting Merlin a look.
“I’m only late because I was making sure every part of your meal was absolutely perfect. Think of it as an early gift,” he said cheekily which earned him another glare from Arthur.
“You may go now, Merlin. I don’t want to keep you from Gaius’ long list chores,” he snapped.
Merlin nearly groaned at this. When he wasn’t doing things for Arthur, he was doing them for Gaius. And the prat knew this full well. Nonetheless, Merlin shot him another goofy grin before turning and heading for the door. But something caught his eye before he could exit the room completely.
He looked up above the door to see a small piece of mistletoe hanging, almost taunting him to torment Arthur somehow. This was perfect! He’d been getting on his nerves recently and what better way to make him feel better than to tease his king a bit? Merlin’s lips curled into a mischievous smirk and he turned around innocently. “Arthur,” he mumbled.
The man made no effort to look up from his book but gave a hum in response.
“Arthur, come here,” he said again. This time, Arthur’s head bobbed up and their eyes locked together.
“What do you want now, Mer-lin? I thought I sent you home already. Go bother Gaius or some other poor bloke,” Arthur tried shooing him away, but it wouldn’t work. When Merlin’s mind was set on something, it couldn’t be undone.
His eyes shot up to the mistletoe once again, reminding him of the task at hand. “Oh, come on, you bone-idle toad! I have to show you something,” he practically begged. Arthur stared at him for quite some time, causing him to doubt whether it was going to work or not. But Arthur eventually sighed, giving in.
The king stood up from his chair and, setting his book back onto the table, he slowly walked over to where Merlin was. He cracked a smile at this. “Now you have to kiss me,” he said, pointing up to the mistletoe with his finger.
Arthur’s eyes followed his hand up to the threat that was hanging from the door. Merlin could’ve sworn he saw all the life get sucked out of his body at that point.
“Are you serious, Merlin? This is why you forced me over here? I was just getting to a very interesting part of the book and it was all interrupted so you could point to a bloody shrub?” Arthur exhaled, clearly annoyed, though Merlin knew it was in good fun. “You’re not serious are you?”
“Well, who wouldn’t want to kiss me? Have you seen me, Arthur? I think I make a very kissable person! Or are you worried that I’m more experienced than you?”
Arthur’s mouth seemed to open and close like he was at a loss for words. But finally, he settled, “Excuse me? I am far more experienced than you, Merlin. Do you know how many princesses I’ve kissed? I don’t have enough hands to count the number of princesses I’ve--”
“Is that before or after they all run away from you?” Merlin sassed, leaving Arthur’s face to fall in shock. “No, I’m serious. Do you kiss them before they run away or do you chase them down to kiss them? I can’t imagine anyone would be happy kissing a dollophead either way,” he continued.
Arthur ran his hands through his hair in utter frustration, only making Merlin’s smile grow. “You have some nerve to talk to your king that way… You can’t just strut in here and--”
“You must be nervous,” Merlin sighed. “You’re under-confident in kissing and you’re worried you’ll mess up. You’ve realised that you’re just plain ugly compared to me and my perfect mug! I mean, just shut up already and kiss me, idiot!” Merlin exclaimed.
He’d never seen Arthur look so agitated before and he had to admit that he liked it. His eyes were angry, staring Merlin down as his hands balled up into fists. He looked like he wanted to either punch someone or fuck someone.
“Well? Are you braindead or something, you pra--”
Merlin could barely finish his sentence before Arthur’s hands were gripping his hips and shoving him against the wall. His body hit the hard surface with a thud, his hands keeping him in place, fingers pressing into his skin. Arthur’s face was inches away from his, he could feel his breath against his lips. “Enough with the stupid insults. You want me to kiss you, huh?” Arthur asked with a grit in his voice. When Merlin tried to rest a hand on his cheek, it was snatched and placed above his head instead.
Merlin managed to nod, a bit too eagerly than he’d intended. Arthur’s lips curled into a smirk and they moved a little closer to Merlin’s. “You’re the idiot,” he scoffed, then closed the space between their faces.
Arthur’s lips hit his and he instantly leaned into it. His lips were warm from the burning fire and they warmed Merlin up instantly.
He was kissing Arthur… He was macking the king! And it felt right in every possible way.
There was an explosion of butterflies in his stomach, which made his heart flutter and his knees weak. Arthur gripped him tighter when he felt like, supporting him as they kissed. Merlin pressed his lips harder against Arthur’s to make himself feel more dominant, but the man simply pressed him back into the wall, biting down on his bottom lip instead. Merlin let out a soft moan before opening his mouth for Arthur, whimpering again when he felt his tongue.
Everything felt so right… Arthur pressing him against the wall, their lips connected under the mistletoe. His body was on fire in the best possible way and he never wanted it to end. But all good things had endings and they eventually broke the kiss.
Merlin was panting heavily, his arms snaked around Arthur’s neck for support. His chest raised and fell against his king’s much more stable chest. Arthur looked down at him with a knowing smirk, his fingertips tracing the line of Merlin’s jaw. “Whoever put that mistletoe there is a genius.”
Merlin looked back up at him and scoffed. “That may be true, but I still think you’re an idiot.”