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Sir Leon likes to consider himself a very honorable knight, thank you very much. Today, however, his honor is being tested. By Prince Arthur no less.
“Can you believe that guy?” The prince wacks the dummy a little harder. “Saying things like that to me? Who does this Merlin guy think he is? With his shabby clothes and that awful smile and those funny eyes…”
Leon does his best to hold in his sigh. It has been at least three hours since Arthur has met this guy, Merlin, and it has been three hours since Arthur has been talking about him. The prince hits the dummy harder, and its poor straw body is barely keeping itself together. Leon pities the inanimate dummy, it didn’t deserve to be the target of Arthur's strange fixation on some peasant boy.
After Arthur’s encounter, the prince had stormed to the training grounds doing nothing but attacking the poor dummy while ranting to Leon about the stranger’s eyes and behavior. Leon also pities this Merlin and hopes the poor boy doesn’t meet Arthur again. He’s sure it would just end badly.
Merlin, the stranger Arthur ranted about for five hours, is now the prince’s manservant.
Honestly, Leon is too amused to be stunned. The universe sure has a sense of humor, and Leon wishes he could give it a high five.
Leon has found the prince’s manservant to be quite...strange. He knows that Merlin just moved in with Gaius (thank you castle gossip), but his behavior is like one of a reckless puppy. Leon says this with no animosity of course (he
is
an honorable knight after all). Merlin is an interesting fellow that’s for sure.
He can tell that Merlin always seemed to be at odds with Arthur. Just yesterday, he called Arthur a pompous toad while the prince threw his pillow in retaliation (Leon still isn’t sure what he just witnessed). But then, it’s like the servant did a 180 and will put his life on the line for the prince.
“If you are so sure that my son’s drink is not poisoned, then you may see to it how to handle this servant’s folly,” King Uther says to their visiting king.
King Bayard nods in understanding and sheaths his sword. Both kings look at each other then to Merlin who is clutching the cup so tightly Leon fears someone would have to cut his hands just to take it from him. He glares right at Mercia’s king, fierce and unwavering. Leon is considerably impressed.
Arthur looks worried. The prince has never liked others putting their lives before his. He always feels that a debt needs to be repaid tenfold in order to make up for it. The prince also knows how to take care of himself, so there’s a pride factor added to him not accepting others' help.
Merlin is the prince’s servant, someone whose literal job is to serve the prince and do as he wishes. Only problem is Merlin has in no way acted like a servant since the day he arrived in Camelot. He talked back to Arthur, called him out when he’s being a “prat” (not that Leon would ever admit to agreeing with Merlin. No, he is a knight), and has even outwit the prince sometimes. Leon may only see these instances on the training grounds, but he can see that even though Merlin has only been working for Arthur for a month, he’s grown attached. (Not to mention Leon has amazing observational skills, nothing escapes him).
So, when Merlin drank from the alleged poisoned cup, Leon could see the relief in Arthur’s eyes when it seemed that everything was okay. Then everything wasn't because Merlin collapsed minutes after. Mercia was quickly taken to the dungeons, and Leon (being the knightly man he is) helped escort the King and his knights to their cell. While he left, he turned to see an Arthur he had never seen before. It was an Arthur who looked lost.
From there, Leon began to notice more interactions between the two throughout the years. He wasn’t surprised that others in the castle began to notice as well. (Even the king did! From what Leon heard, King Uther even requested for Merlin to continue to look after Arthur. If that doesn’t tell you anything, then you must be Merlin because how oblivious can you be?)
When the whole Catrina fiasco happened, the gossip ran wild:
“Did you hear?”
“The prince helped Merlin escape the guards when Lady Catrina accused him of spying!”
“Can the prince be any more obvious?”
“Damn, now I owe David ten.”
Yes, Leon knew about the betting pool. He’s not an idiot. The servants weren’t exactly subtle with it. Did Leon ever participate? Of course not! Leon is a knight with honor! Besides, he would always feel like intruding whenever he considered stepping in. It wasn’t his place. This is a matter that Leon will let those two figure out themselves.
“You said you and some servants have created a whole operation?”
Okay, so maybe the servant was a little persuasive. It has been four years, and if Leon was honest, it was starting to get on his nerves as well. Maybe a bit of meddling wouldn’t hurt.
The servant, Leon remembers his name being Malifer, smirks, and Leon feels this odd need to smile back. Malifer is more scrawny than Merlin (Merlin is the only servant Leon knows so the comparison could be a little skewed) and appears to be well fed (as are all servants who work under the care of the castle). He crosses his arms which shows off his tan skin. (Not that Leon was really focusing on it a whole lot. It’s just that Merlin isn’t that tan that the difference between the two is quite noticeable).
“Yeah, I’m sure someone as observant as you has noticed us long before now.”
Malifer is right. He remembers when he spied the duo around a corner staring at Arthur and Merlin while having a heated discussion with three other servants. After that day, he couldn’t stop noticing them everywhere. In the stables, in the dining hall, on the way to the prince’s chambers, on the courtyard— they are always there. Always watching his two friends carefully.
“You guys aren’t very subtle.” Malifer scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“We are to those idiots, and frankly, that’s all that matters. You’ve seen those two. It’s like they’re in their own world.”
Fair, Leon has seen enough of that.
“So, do we have a deal?” Malifer stretches his hand out to Leon. It’s callused and rough, typical for a servant’s hand to be. Leon nods and shakes his hand. Just like that, their deal is set in stone, and Leon feels something in him loosen when he looks into Malifer’s mischievous eyes.
That evening, Leon is reminded how long he has suffered. Merlin always having a quip at the ready, and Arthur teasing to the point Leon wishes his soul would just leave his body. Both of them playing off the other. Both of them lost in each other’s eyes….Leon needs a drink.
His mistake was asking Merlin to pour for him.
“It’s okay, Leon you can just say you need it after handling Arthur’s pratish-ness all day long,” the servant says so blatantly. Leon knows it’s only a joke since Merlin made sure his voice was loud enough for the king to hear.
Said king decided that he should grab Merlin’s scarf and pull the servant towards him until the two were at eye level, leaving Leon caught in the crossfire. Leon then looks up to the ceiling, willing the floor to swallow him whole because he would rather be in that predicament than be caught between those two staring at each other.
“I could have you thrown in the stocks for that,” Arthur hisses.
“Hm, yes, I’m sure you could, Sire .” Merlin smirks.
Good heavens, there are people here, Merlin!
Leon takes the jug full of mead, (Merlin wasn’t going to notice anyway. He was busy eye fucking with the king.) and pours enough to rival Gwaine’s portion. At least the alcohol will make Leon forget about his dignity.
Finally, Arthur releases Merlin and the servant continues on with his duties like nothing ever happened. Like Leon wasn’t scarred from being caught between the two. He feels eyes on him and looks over to find Malifer looking amused at Leon's situation. Of course he would.
Malifer raised his eyebrow at Leon, the smirk never falling from the servant’s face. Leon only shrugged because really, what could do? He wouldn’t be surprised if even after they get together, Merlin and Arthur still wouldn’t be able to take their eyes off each other.
“Someone caught your eye, Leon?” Leon startles. He looks away from Malifer and sees his king smile teasingly. Leon coughs and tries his best to calm down his heated cheeks. What is he so flustered for?
“Don’t know what you mean, sire.”
Arthur snorts and looks away shaking his head. “You can’t fool me, Leon. I’ve known you long enough to know you know exactly what I mean.”
Leon doesn’t like this. It’s not fair. Arthur can’t just tease him about some servant when he was doing the exact same thing mere seconds ago. The knight huffs and sips some from his cup. He’s going to need a lot of it tonight.
The weather is a pleasant one today.
Leon hasn’t had to suffer as much with Merlin and Arthur’s pining, training had little to no hiccups, and he has enough free time to wander before attending his other duties. The castle walls are the same as ever and many servants hustle about the hallways attending to their work. Watching the servants, Leon lets his thoughts drift to one certain servant: Malifer.
Malifer is interesting to talk to. For all his snappy attitude towards Leon, the knight can tell that Malifer has a soft spot. If he didn’t, Leon doubts that this operation wouldn’t have gotten started in the first place. He can see it in the way Malifer talks about his friends, the way his eyes twinkle with mirth whenever they discuss something about Arthur and Merlin. However, Malifer can also be quite brash. His decorum for one (though Malifer still makes sure to show respect he is not afraid to throw it all away if someone is being an ass).
He’s fascinating to watch.
Leon pauses his walk. Speak of the devil. There, slumped on a wall, is Malifer. Leon frowns when he sees that the servant’s mood appears dampened. Best he finds out why.
“What’s wrong?” He sits next to Malifer making sure they're at eye level. Malifer looks over at Leon. The knight holds in a wince when he sees the servant’s nose. He remembers Malifer ramming into him yesterday very clearly. He hopes it still doesn’t hurt. “Is your nose bothering you?”
The servant blinks at him. Had he really forgotten? Malifer nods and tells Leon that his nose is fine and reaches to touch it with a lost expression. Leon doesn’t like that. Malifer isn’t supposed to look so...empty. He wants to ask, but he hesitates. Is it really Leon’s place to ask?
Leon settles for making a fool of himself. It works. Malifer laughs so hard Leon swears he might have seen tears. His laugh is loud and has hiccups in between it. Leon smiles. It’s...nice.
Leon was not having a nice time. Training is supposed to be fun. Relaxing. Now Leon feels like he’s on thin ice. One more move and everyone will see him fall. He shouldn’t feel so up in arms. It was just a wave. That’s it. Leon is a knight . A knight with honor. One single wave from Malifer should not throw him off his game like that.
But it did.
It doesn’t help that Malifer came because of Gwaine. (Leon is definitely not thinking of Malifer calling Gwaine charming the other day.) Gwaine, who was in the operation longer than Leon. Gwaine, who was just holding tightly to Malifer’s arm. Gwaine, who just kissed Malifer’s hand?!
The word charming is repeated in Leon’s head as he watches Malifer’s face flush. Gwaine saunters over to the knights with an innocent smile. Arthur pairs up Gwaine to spar with Leon. Leon hears the word charming whisper in his mind. He clenches his sword and faces Gwaine. He doesn’t hold back today.
“The king is being more forward with Merlin,” Malifer says. The servant seems smug and Leon can’t say he’s surprised.
“And why’s that?” It was always fun humoring Malifer, bantering back and forth. Malifer grins.
“Remember that time at the training grounds?” Leon's eye twitches. He remembers that day very well. So well he wishes he could scream, but Leon is a knight who must always be composed. He pushes the urge away.
“Well, if you remember, Gwaine asked Merlin a couple of questions, yes?” Leon frowns. He doesn’t remember that. He was more concerned about...something else.
“What were the questions again?” Malifer rolls his eyes, but his grin stays firmly on his face.
“It was questions about Merlin’s preferences.”
Ah. Makes sense. Arthur wasn’t as observant as Leon to notice Merlin checking out any of the knights.
“So Arthur knows now?”
“Yep!” Malifer’s smile was so blinding. He wants to make sure it happens more often.
Arthur is quiet when Leon enters. It’s not unusual to find Arthur quietly thinking about things, especially when it comes to making difficult decisions for his kingdom. Leon leaves Arthur alone and goes to sit in his place on the table, waiting for when Arthur will ask for his advice. Generally, that role will go to Merlin, seeing how the manservant has become a confidant for the king. This time, Leon can see it’s a topic Arthur is keeping from Merlin. Why? Leon can’t be sure, but when Arthur can’t talk to Merlin, Leon is his next choice.
“A couple days ago...you asked me about magic.”
Leon nods. Now he sees where this is going. He had asked Arthur that same day Malifer asked Leon. The knight figured that was the favor Malifer wanted to ask him, but chose to ask Leon himself instead. He remembers how unsure Malifer looked. How...distant he was. Leon didn’t like the distance that topic gave them. He felt far away from the servant who felt unsure if he could even trust Leon with such a question.
“Yes I did, sire.”
“Lancelot asked me the same thing some days ago.” Interesting. “It’s...got me thinking. Are we really doing the right thing keeping a law like this up?”
Leon is at a loss for words.
“I know that the only magic I’ve seen has been made to hurt, but...do you remember that druid boy?”
Leon does, but very faintly.
“He was only a boy. He and his father had done nothing...and yet my father wanted them dead anyway. They caused no harm. Then there was something Lancelot said.” Arthur paused and pursed his lips. “Said that magic...its goodness can only depend on the user. That it’s like a tool. A sword.”
“And what do you think, sire?”
Arthur doesn’t answer.
“Would you like to hear what I think?” Arthur nods. “Well, I think there should never be a law that allows innocents to die. This law...it hurts so many who only wish to live their life without fear. Many of these victims are people who call this kingdom their home. Sire, while it is my duty to uphold the law...it is yours to ensure that everyone is taken care of and looked after.”
Arthur nods, and Leon sees his shoulders relax. The frown smooths into something pleasant and calm. “Thank you, Leon.”
There is a feast to celebrate the ban being lifted. Leon may have drank a lot, but he still remembers that night. Malifer dragging him to witness Merlin's confession. His arm wrapped snug around Malifer’s waist. Malifer’s brown eyes sparkling. His laugh, like music to Leon’s ears.
Leon could replay that night forever in his head.
He’s just finishing up his rounds and decides to wander to the kitchen. He knows that the operation is having their last meeting tonight. After the feast, Malifer sprinted back to the dining hall to inform the castle’s residents of the news.
They all rejoiced when Malifer told them. Leon thinks he might have seen Gwaine cry while Percival held the poor man. Gwen hugged Lancelot as he spun her around while she giggled drunkenly.
The next day (today), the operation went to the kitchen to collect their gold. Leon knew it was finishing up as he got closer and hoped that Malifer was still there when the knight arrived. Fortunately, he got there just in time.
“Leon!” Malifer’s smile was so intoxicating that Leon just had to smile back.
“Hello, Malifer. What are you up to?”
Malifer shows the knight his winnings and proudly tells him about it. They fall into a comfortable banter. Leon wishes for this to last, but maybe not in front of the kitchen entrance.
“Do you want to walk around?” Leon asks. He feels nervous. He’s ignoring why. It’s not like if he opens his mouth again Leon will say too much. No, nothing like that.
“Of course!”
They walk, and the couple falls back into their comfortable bubble. Malifer looks beautiful. Leon feels his chest grow warmer as Malifer talks, his arms moving along with the conversation.
The servants’ quarters come up faster than Leon feels comfortable with. He wishes for this moment to last only a little bit longer. Leon is struck with this desire to hold Malifer close and never let go. He wants to card through the servant’s hair and tell him everything.
“I should probably turn in for the night.” Leon is snapped out of his thoughts. Malifer shuffles next to him. A light flush on his cheeks. “It was nice walking with you.”
Oh.
Oh.
“The feeling’s mutual.” Leon wants to say more, wants to tell him.
Tomorrow.
“Well, see you soon.”
Leon takes Malifer’s hand. “Until tomorrow.” He kisses it. It’s a promise. Leon walks back to his chambers feeling lighter than ever.
The next day finds Leon at the field practicing. He has no reason to be here so early, but it helps his nerves. Today, Leon is going to Malifer and tell him everything. But now Leon continues wacking the dummy. The dummy fulfills its purpose as the knight’s personal punching bag.
When he finishes, Leon goes to sit on a bench to cool off. Today’s weather is pleasant. The sun is out, he can hear the birds softly chirping, Malifer is walking over.
Fuck, wait, no. Leon wasn’t ready, yet.
“Hey, Leon!” He is so fucked.
“Malifer? What are you doing here?”
Malifer giggles. Why is he so cute? Malifer hands a cup over to Leon. The knight stares at it blankly.
“I noticed you were, uh, training...really hard, so I thought I would give you some water. You looked worn out.”
And Malifer looks beautiful.
“Thanks.” Leon takes the cup and takes a sip. Immediately, the water brings him relief and his muscles relax. “How are you doing today?”
“Oh, you know, nothing special. I found a way to skip my work in the kitchens and decided to wander.” Malifer shuffles his feet, and looks at the sky. “I just couldn’t stay cleaning the dishes all day. It’s such a beautiful day, you know?”
“Yeah, you are.”
“I’m what?”
“What?”
Leon couldn’t process what just happened. Did he really just blurt that out?
“I mean, well–” Better to just get it over with, “–yeah, you are. Beautiful, I mean. You have a beautiful smile, a beautiful laugh,” Leon coughs and looks up to Malifer, “and you have a beautiful heart.”
Malifer’s face turns red. He plops down on the bench. Malifer looks at Leon in wonder.
“I-I don’t...why-”
“Because I love you.” Leon feels more confident now. He reaches for Malifer’s hands and grasps them gently. “You are so beautiful to me. I don’t think anyone else can compare.”
Malifer smiles and threads his fingers with Leon’s.
“That makes two of us, then.”
“Guess so.”