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The sound of his door opening was what brought the prince out of his everlasting thoughts. When the person entering tripped over the huge maroon carpet in the middle of the room, the prince did not need to turn around to know who it was. There was only one person in the entire kingdom who would be capable of being so utterly clumsy.
“Don’t you know that it takes two legs to walk, Merlin?” He threw the comment jokingly out in the closed off room, expecting to get a crafty comment back as he was used to, but when there was no answer to be heard he turned around to gaze at his manservant.
It was Merlin who stood before him, wearing the same brown and red clothes that he always wore, together with his blue and thin neckerchief. But, from only having looked Merlin over once, he could see that it wasn’t Merlin-Merlin, not his Merlin, at least. This Merlin had dark circles under his eyes, hair that was so messy that it looked like he’d just gotten up from bed, and a solely sad look in his eyes that made him look like he could collapse from exhaustion or despair any second.
What had happened to the happy and cheeky Merlin? The one in which he saw his best friend, and perhaps also something more – a forbidden indication he did not dare dwell on willingly, but that haunted his thoughts – with his high spirits and cheers, even in the darkest of times.
He took a step towards Merlin, who was now apparently busy looking down at the floor.
He found himself speaking with a caring voice he had not used towards anyone but Merlin for a very long time. “What is it, Merlin? Is everything all right?” It was not often he shook down his wall and took the time to really care about someone, most of the time they ended up hurting him or removing themselves from his life, but this was different. This was Merlin. This was the same Merlin who had stood faithfully by his side for so very long. Only he was the exception to Arthurs rule.
“Umm.. I have something I need to say to you Arth- I mean, Sire.”
He could see that this was hard for him for some reason, so the prince nodded, moving himself from the window so he sat at the edge of his dining table, still looking at Merlin with uncertainty.
“Well, go ahead.”
The manservant looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. “But before I begin, I need you to promise me that you won’t judge me before I’m done talking. And – And if you don’t want to see me again after this… then I understand. I just have to finally tell you, and to explain myself.” He straightened up, now looking directly into Arthur’s eyes. He needed Arthur’s word.
“Merlin –” Arthur started, but Merlin quickly interrupted him.
“Do you give me your word, Sire?” He winced as Merlin spoke the word Sire in a harsh tone.
Seeing how this seemed important to Merlin, Arthur did as he was asked. “I, prince Arthur of Camelot, give you my word.”
Merlin let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, and determination filled him up. He could do this. Kilgharrah had spoken of this day where the prince would finally know of his secret. He said with a hint of mischief in his eyes – a look that Merlin couldn’t quite put to words - that the day would be just as magnificent as it was told in the legends, and nothing less. And after that, he would not mention more of it “You will soon see for yourself, young warlock.” It is funny how the dragon’s words only seemed to confuse him more than they did him good.
Arthur watched as Merlin held the palm of his hand stretched out in front of him. The whole room was silent for a moment before he decided to speak.
“Merlin, what are you –” He didn’t get to finish his sentence, because in Merlin’s hand, which was empty just merely seconds before, laid now a simple burning flame at the flat of his palm. He took a glance up at Merlin, who showed no sign of uncomfort or pain having parts of his freaking hand on fire, and there was a small glint of gold in his eyes before it disappeared like it had never been there, and those blue eyes were back staring at him with an incomprehensible expression on his face.
The different nuances of red came together in Merlin’s hand, creating a beautiful flame that crackled in his hand. He could not stop his mouth from gaping slightly at the sight.
“You - You’re a sorcerer.” The last word was spoken almost like a whisper. His gaze was still set on the flame that burned so beautiful over the surface of Merlin’s hand.
Merlin cringled slightly, but kept his posture. He clasped his hands together, and when he brought them apart the flames had vanished.
“Where did you learn to practice magic?” Arthur tried to say in a calm matter, but ended up halfway snapping it at him. He flinched slightly at his own words, he hadn’t meant to be that harsh.
“I didn’t learn anything. I was born with it. Magic flows through my veins just as royal blood does in yours.”
“That is impossible. You can’t be born with magic.”
Merlin stretched his hands out to his sides with a defeated look. “Here’s the exception.”
Merlin was a sorcerer! A bloody sorcerer! The same thing he had been told to hate and hunt by his father as long as he had lived. Who knows what kind of tricks he has pulled on me… Arthur thought to himself, but soon realized that he had spoken the words out loud.
That was it, Merlin decided. After everything he had done to him how dared he accuse him of that? He could feel his magic pushing against himself to get out and release his anger in some way. “I have never used my powers on you in that way. With it I have saved your royal arse more times than I can count!”
The table that Arthur sat on started to shake slowly, and the prince jumped off it, standing shaken in the middle of the room a couple meters away from Merlin. He gave the table that floated a few feet above the ground, shaking quite fiercely now, a second look before looking up again at Merlin where he stood shouting at Arthur, his eyes covered in liquid gold.
“And have I ever gotten even a simple thank you or some gratitude for my work? No! All I get is do that, Merlin wash that, clean my stables, clean my room, muck out the stables and do everything I can’t make my bloody lazy ass to do!” There were tears in his eyes now, and all the candles that were lit in the room started floating softly in the air. He also noticed small cracks appearing in his windows, slowly threatening to tear the glass open.
Merlin’s golden eyes shone at Arthur, and Arthur couldn’t help but to gaze at this person in front of him, this warlock, in all his madly magnificent glory.
“Do you know how hard it has been for me to hide this from you? For me saving your life time after time, and growing so close to you, but still having to hide the most important thing in my life from you!” Merlin shouted and the glass on the windows cracked fully, glass falling to the ground of his chambers and sending a chill through the room.
“So why did you?” Arthur shouted back.
Merlin cracked a bitter smile and let out a laugh, hoarse from all the emotions washing up inside him, but his face was everything but happy. “Arthur, you are the king’s son. The same king who has banished magic and would not stop at anything to kill those who practice it. Why do you think I haven’t told you anything?” Merlin knew it wasn’t fair to say that, but at the moment he wanted Arthur for just this once to understand.
“I am not my father,” Arthur said sincerely.
A single tear fell from Merlin’s eyes and Arthur watched it as it moved slowly down to touch by his nose, over his rosy cheeks and stopped on his lips, the same lips he had found himself imagining touching and kissing for some time now. And to think that I felt that way about him, that - that I.., Arthur’s thoughts were twisting and turning around in his head. That I fell for him once.. But what now?
“W–what?” Merlin uttered in shock, and the prince realized that he had spoken his thoughts out loud. Again.
“Fuck,” his hands went to his hair and he pulled a bit at his golden locks. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, hell it wasn’t supposed to happen at all.” He sighed, and Merlin had never seen the prince so lost for words.
“Um, I kind of might like you a bit, um, more than a friend?” He made it sound more like a question than a statement, but his voice was shaken and he could feel a small blush creeping up his cheeks.. “And I think I might be falling for you.” He almost whispered that last part, but he knew that Merlin had heard, because suddenly his face broke into the most glorious smile Arthur had ever seen. At the same time the table stopped shaking in the air and the candles stopped moving, being placed back where they were before Merlin had entered his chambers.
“Well, are you going to say something or just stand there and smile like an idiot?” Arthur commented, amused.
Merlin simply walked over to Arthur so they were standing and resting their foreheads together. Arthur whipped away the trace of tears on Merlin’s face.
“I think I’m falling for you too,” Merlin whispered back.
Arthur broke into a grin. “Really?”
“Really.”
Arthur opened up his hand and Merlin took it, entwining their fingers together. He couldn’t help himself as he moved his head down so that he could break the distance between them, and finally after all this time, Merlin’s lips were on his own.
At first he tested the new territory out gently, pressed their wet lips together gently while his heart beat quickly and fingers twitched slightly at Merlin's side, like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to touch, but then Merlin grew restless, grabbing Arthur’s hair and crashing their bodies together, as well as their lips. Together they kissed like it was no tomorrow and Merlin let out a moan at the first touch of their tongues together. He had waited so long for this moment, and now he wasn’t sure how he’d ever managed to live without it.
Merlin’s hands moved from Arthur’s head to his waist, where he tugged his body closer, leaving almost no space between them. And as they kissed, Arthur moved his hips forward to be greeted with something hardening moving against his pelvis. And he could not help his hoarse moan as they brushed against each other, creating a feeling he had long forgotten he could feel. But this wasn’t all him, he reminded himself. This was Merlin with him, standing close to him, kissing him, wanting him as he had wanted Merlin for so long.
After a while they both stopped kissing to take a few well needed breaths. Merlin’s face was completely flushed, Arthur noticed, with rosy cheeks, pink lips and thoroughly ruffled hair. Arthur let out a groan at the sight. He was certain that Merlin had never looked as desirable as he did right there, and it took all he had not to kiss the life out of Merlin.
“We still have to talk about your magic,” he managed to let out, and his voice was rpugh after all the kissing and shouting.
“I never-”
“I know that now,” Arthur said softly. “I know. But I still want to know everything about it, because I want to know everything about you. And I understand why you kept it from me, but surely you would know that I would never have told my father about it or let you get executed.”
“But I didn’t know. I couldn’t know for sure…”
“Now you know.” He smiled at Merlin and shyly kissed him quickly again.
“Sorry for breaking your windows,” Merlin said sheepishly when a cold breeze entered the room through the broken windows.
“It’s all right, I’ll just make my manservant clean it up,” Arthur said mockingly, and it was soon followed by a “Ouff!” as Merlin hit him with a nearby pillow.
Arthur growled and grabbed Merlin, throwing him over his shoulder - which earned a loud shriek from Merlin and some laughter on Arthur’s part - and placed him on the bed, where he pushed Merlin into the crook of his arms, and they just laid there, looking into each other eyes and muttering small words of content.
As Arthur gazed into those beautiful blue eyes he had only one thought in his mind, and this time he said it out loud on purpose.
“I love you.”
And Merlin smile right then lit up the whole room (no seriously, he actually lit all the candles in the room up with his magic) in a beautiful way that could be nothing less than magical.
As the young warlock and his prince sat up that dawn and talked through the night, somewhere far away a dragon smiled, sensing the last pieces of their destiny finally coming together.