Chapter Text
After a frenzied introduction and accidentally outing himself as a sorcerer the second he meets someone in Camelot, Merlin is quickly put to work by Gaius.
Running errands around the castle is to be his first job, as Gaius is getting old and all the stairs are a bit of a pain. His second job is fetching herbs. Try as he might to explain to Gaius that he doesn’t know how to identify medicinal plants, his complaints fall on deaf ears. After all, he’s gotta learn at some point.
So off Merlin goes into the forest. Gaius said that knitbone and agrimoney can be found in the clearing just before the lake. Which lake? Merlin doesn’t know, but Gaius assured him that he couldn’t miss it.
He's mumbling the herbs’ descriptions to keep them fresh in his mind when a stick snaps under the weight of something behind him. Merlin whips his head around, spell already on his lips, ready to fight whoever, or whatever, the threat is. Instead of finding a bear or a bandit, it’s a knight dressed in Camelot red who has decided to sneak up on him.
Merlin clutches a hand to his beating chest.
“Woah, mate, calm down,” the knight says, pulling off his helmet. His blonde hair is pressed to his skull and matted from sweat and he’s got a crooked nose but he’s undoubtedly handsome.
“I thought you were a bear.” He breathes out a sigh of relief.
“Huh? A bear? There’s no bears in Camelot.”
“Well I’m not to know that, am I?” Merlin replies. “I’ve only been in Camelot a few days.”
“Ah, so you’re lost,” the knight assumes, rather rudely, too.
Merlin gawks.
“Excuse me?”
“Why else would you be wandering around here?”
“I’m collecting herbs for the court physician. He’s my uncle.”
“Gaius?” The knight asks, his head tilted in confusion. “I didn’t know he had a nephew.”
“You know Gaius well?”
“Yes, I meet with him frequently.”
“You must not be that good a knight then, huh?” Merlin asks. “If you need to see the physician often.”
“I’m going to ignore that you said something so rude and just assume you don’t know about the Knights’ Code.”
“Obviously I don’t know about the Knights’ Code. It sounds like something you have to follow and not me.”
The knight shakes his head in disbelief. Merlin smirks at him.
“Which herbs are you looking for, then?”
“Knitbone, agrimony and calendula. Apparently, there’s someone with a broken bone or two.”
“Yes. That’d be Sir Pellinor. His duel with Sir Geraint didn’t go particularly well. Do you know what to look for?”
“Yes!” Merlin replies defensively. He recites their descriptions from earlier. “Knitbone has purple flowers and large, pointed leaves. Calendula has orange flowers and thin leaves. Or is it yellow flowers? Or maybe that’s agrimony?” Merlin asks under his breath.
The handsome knight looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Okay, maybe I don’t,” he admits. “But I don’t suppose you would know what they look like?”
“You’re in luck, because I know exactly what they look like. You’re searching in the wrong area, anyway. They’re all on the other side of the clearing.”
“Well, Gaius’ instructions were pretty vague.”
“I’d believe that. C’mon, I’ll give you a hand.” He starts to walk off, looking over his shoulder as he goes. “Are you coming or what?”
Merlin waits a moment or two, admiring the knight’s broad, armour-cladded shoulders, before trailing after him.
The afternoon is fairly pleasant. The knight successfully points out the herbs Merlin has been asked to collect and they chat about life in Camelot. His stories seem quite amazing, but Merlin is sure his experiences won’t be nearly as adventurous.
It’s only when Merlin returns to the physician’s chambers that he realises the knight never told him his name.
-
“Merlin? Merlin, where are you?”
Gaius enters the main room, the door banging loudly against the wall. He drops his medicine bag on one of the many cluttered tables and looks around, humming appreciatively. The floor is clear of dirt, the sink is empty of dishes and there’s a bundle of herbs hanging by the open window. Merlin appears to have done all of the chores he asked of him.
“I’m in here,” comes Merlin’s response. He’s at the door of his antechamber, hair ruffled and looking tired.
“Have you been sleeping? It’s only late afternoon.” Gaius raises an eyebrow. Hunith said that Merlin can be lazy sometimes.
“I finished everything you asked of me around midday and there’s not much else to do, you know?”
“Why not go out and about? Isn’t that where all the young people are?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t really met anyone besides Sir Olwin and your other patients.”
“The king has asked to see me to discuss some matters this evening, so I won’t be around for dinner. Why not head down to the tavern? You’re bound to meet someone your age there.”
With no better option, Merlin scrubs up a bit and changes his shirt before he heads down to the town.
Upon opening the tavern door, Merlin is greeted by laughter and loud conversation. In between the tables of gambling townsmen and barmaids holding jugs of mead are a couple knights, still donning their capes. There is a table of men and women laughing and pointing at a blushing man, seemingly the butt of the joke. A few people sit, others slumped, at the bar, some of whom appear to be passed out despite the early hour.
Merlin feels a bit out of place and quickly regrets taking Gaius’ advice. He’s too young to strike up a conversation with any of the gamblers, and he certainly doesn’t feel comfortable chatting with the knights, either. He’s about to turn around and walk out when he decides maybe getting a drink into his system could make him brave enough to talk to someone.
While Merlin’s got a stroke of courage, he walks up to the barkeeper cleaning the glassware.
“Hi there. Could I get a pint of mead, please?” Merlin asks as politely as he can.
The barkeeper looks him up and down, however.
“As if. You look to be barely out of childhood.”
“Hey now. It’ll be my nineteenth winter this year.”
The barkeeper still looks at him suspiciously but reaches for a glass to fill anyway.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask the court physician. He’s my uncle.”
“I didn’t know Gaius had a nephew.” He stops just as the glass is about to over-fill.
“Yeah, well, apparently he doesn’t tell many people about it.”
“I’ll be checking with him to make sure. In the meantime, you’ve got a two-drink cap.” He wags a finger at him accusingly. Merlin raises his hand in defence but takes the pint of mead when the barkeeper pushes towards him.
“Thank you,” he says, turning around to realise he still doesn’t know a single person in this tavern and now he has to sit somewhere for the entirety of his drink until either he finishes it and leaves, someone comes up to talk to him or, gods forbid, he strikes up a conversation himself.
Instead of awkwardly floundering at the front of the bar, he makes the decision to sit at a table off to the side. Merlin takes a deep sip, enjoying the warm feel of it pooling in his stomach. He cautiously looks around, ensuring he’s not making eye contact with anyone.
Unfortunately, his luck isn’t very good tonight. The hot knight he met at the forest clearing earlier is among the other knights, and he catches his eye just as he takes a drink from his glass. Merlin can see his eyebrows raise in surprise and he quickly excuses himself from the group and makes his way towards Merlin.
Knowing his track record, Merlin is going to say something very dumb and make a fool of himself, so he drains half his pint. He supposes that they call it liquid courage for a reason.
“You’re looking a bit lonely over here,” the knight says as a form of greeting.
“Gaius suggested I ‘go out and meet the young people’. He didn’t seem to realise they wouldn’t all just flock to me.”
“Good thing I’m here then, huh?” The knight pulls up a stool next to him and places his glass on the table.
“Oh no, you really don’t have to. I don’t want to keep you from your friends.” Merlin immediately feels embarrassed. The other knights are looking over at the two of them but the handsome blonde just waves a hand in dismissal.
“Trust me, they’ve had enough for me for the day. Besides, I wouldn’t mind getting to know you.”
His smirk is just on the other side of friendly. Merlin feels his collar grow warm as he reaches for his drink to calm his nerves.
“Where’d you say you’ve come from?”
“I didn’t. Ealdor. It’s a farming village on the edge of Essetir,” Merlin says.
“Oh, a country boy then!” The knight gibes.
“You certainly wouldn’t call me a city rat.”
“Is that even a saying? Do people say that?”
“They do where I’m from. They’d take one look at you and think, ‘oh yeah, he’s a city rat.’”
“Yeah right,” the knight laughs and then fixes his face into something a little more noble. “Sorry about earlier, by the way. I don’t think I ever apologised for startling you.” The knight says rather genuinely.
“Don’t worry about it.” Then Merlin adds, trying out some of this liquid courage, “buy me a drink and we’ll call it even.”
The knight laughs, surprised by Merlin’s forwardness but makes to get up anyway.
“Alright then. What’s your poison?”
Though the barkeeper seemed to be pretty serious about Merlin’s two-drink maximum, he doesn’t seem to mind when the knight orders him a third and then fourth round.
Merlin is tipsy now, cheeks flushed and laughing at just about everything this guy has to say. He also can’t seem to keep his hands to himself. Everything’s above the waist and if the guy had a problem with it, he’d have no trouble getting Merlin to stop, but he doesn’t so Merlin figures he’s in the clear for now.
“Hey, did you want to get out of here?” the knight asks in a low voice.
“Oh, is there a curfew? I’ve completely lost track of the time.”
“No, no. I meant, get out of here. With me.”
“Oh. Oh.” Merlin clears his throat. “Yeah, sure, definitely.”
They get up to leave and the knight quickly sneaks off to pay both of their tabs. Merlin takes a moment to look around the room. The other knights left a while ago and the rest of the tavern has mostly cleared out.
“You didn’t have to do that. I can pay you back,” Merlin insists.
“No, please. It’s the knightly thing to do.”
“Oh well, if the Knights’ Code insists. What does it say? Graciousness and generosity?”
“Aha! So you do know what the Knights’ Code is!” He pushes open the door of the tavern and the cool early evening breeze settles around them.
“Not really. Those are the obvious ones. Maybe you can tell me more?”
“Well there’s the vow to protect the weak and defenceless,” the knight offers with a smirk.
“Is that your way of insulting me, or asking to walk me home? Because I may be smaller than you, but I reckon I could take you on,” Merlin challenges.
The knight stops and turns to face Merlin, taking his bait. “Oh please. I could take you apart with one blow.”
“Yeah? I could take you apart with less than that.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
If there was such a thing as electricity yet, it’d be coursing in the air around them. All the same, Merlin feels the tension between them and pushes the knight up against the wall of some sort of establishment. Really, Merlin’s not too familiar with the trading centre of Camelot yet.
“Wanna bet?” Merlin can feel the knight’s heart rate pick from where his hand is clenched in the guy’s tunic. He arches his eyebrow challengingly but also encouragingly, so Merlin presses his mouth to the knight’s.
As they both settle into the kiss, his clutch on the front of his shirt loosens, instead finding its way into soft, blonde hair, and the other one to his hip. The knight’s arms wrap around Merlin’s waist and he pulls them closer together. There’s a groan from the knight as Merlin licks into his mouth, tasting ale on his tongue. They pull back for a moment for air but Merlin kisses the side of his neck.
“You should know, I don’t normally do this,” the knight warns.
“What? Kiss boys you just met in dark alleyways?” Merlin asks.
“Yes,” he laughs like he can’t believe the situation he’s in right now.
“This doesn’t have to be a regular thing. This doesn’t even have to go any further than here.”
“No, I’m not saying that. I really want you.” The knight groans and Merlin presses even closer, squeezing his ass.
“Oh good. Let’s hurry back to yours then. My uncle is probably back from his meeting with the king. I’m not sure he’d appreciate the noise.” Merlin presses a few more kisses to the knight’s lips before he’s tugging him along by his hand.
When they get to the citadel, the knight pulls him to the left side of the castle, the opposite side to where Gaius’ quarters are.
“I’ve not been to this part of the castle yet,” Merlin comments.
“I’ll have to give you a tour some other time.”
They walk swiftly down the hallway until they reach a set of double doors. The knight pushes one open and they slip in just as he shuts it behind them. Once again, he finds himself being pressed against the wall as Merlin backs him up with his hands firm on his hips. They meet in an open-mouthed kiss, no longer holding back and letting desire overtake them. Merlin slips a hand between them and palms the knight’s growing erection. He feels him sigh into his mouth and pulls away to force a breath out.
“Can I suck you off?” Merlin asks, wide-eyed and keen.
“Fuck. Yeah. Yes, please.”
Without hesitation, Merlin gets down to his knees. One hand unlaces the knight’s breeches, the other still palming his cock. He gets the man’s pants down to his thighs with one strong tug and wastes no time getting his cock in hand, pumping it slowly.
“Feels good…” the knight moans from above him.
“Yeah?” He teases. “How about this?” Merlin wraps his lips around the head and sucks lightly. The knight’s hand grips at his hair, but he doesn’t push Merlin any further. Nevertheless, Merlin inches down until most of the shaft is swallowed down, and only the length he can’t manage is held in a tight fist.
Slowly, he begins to bob his head. Despite his eagerness and confidence, Merlin doesn’t have a whole lot of practical experience when it comes to blowjobs. Even still, the knight groans louder and fists his hair tighter.
“Gods, your mouth. Yeah, like that. Don’t stop.”
Merlin increases the speed and jerks his hand at the base of the knight’s cock.
“That’s it - Fuck. I don’t even know your name,” the knight suddenly comments.
“It’s Merlin,” he says, quickly pulling off but still moving his hand up and down all the same.
“Fuck Merlin, you’re good at this. Feels so good. The best. Keep going,”
Merlin, fitting his mouth around the knight’s length again, groans at the sound of his name, which sends vibrations along his cock. He stuffs a hand into his pants, relieving some of the pressure. He takes his own cock into his hand and jerks himself quickly. The knight begins to use his leverage with his hand in Merlin’s hair to fuck into his mouth, slowly and cautiously.
“Tell me if this is too much,” the knight says breathlessly, his chest rising and falling visibly now.
Merlin nods his head the best he can with a dick in his mouth and a hand holding him steady. More precum leaks into his palm at the feeling of his hair being tugged just a bit harder.
He picks up the pace a bit and sucks his cheeks over the knight’s cock, quickening the pace of his hand around himself. The knight curses above him.
“I’m getting close. Fuck Merlin, don’t stop, you feel amazing.”
Merlin jerks his cock faster, moaning over the knight’s dick. He bobs his head down as far as he can go, before sliding his mouth back up. He looks up at the knight as he licks a long stripe up his length.
Above him, the knight scrunches his eyes closed as he comes, groaning loudly and clenching the hand in Merlin’s hair tight. Cum pools on the head as it spurts onto his stomach and Merlin sinks down on it, tasting it, and moves his hand furiously over his own dick. With a couple more tugs, Merlin’s spilling over his fist and pulling off the knight’s cock. As he catches his breath, he rests his head against the knight’s hip. His soft leg hair tickles Merlin’s cheek.
“You’re good at that,” the knight says, his hand now carding through Merlin’s hair, smoothing it down where he had been gripping it.
“Thanks.” Merlin smiles up at him as he wipes away the cum left on the corner of his mouth. Then, he gets up from the stone floor and stuffs himself back into his pants. “We should do this again sometime?” he suggests.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” the knight says, also doing up his breeches.
“I’ll see you around, then.” Merlin presses a quick kiss to his cheek before he opens the large wooden door to slink back to Gaius’ chambers.