Hi! I know it's been a while since my last fanfic for Merlin, but I was and still am really busy with finals and studying for university entrance exams and I'm working on one long Merlin fanfic right now! So far it's about 40K words long and I'm in chapter 7 out of 10. It'll take a long time to finish it and finally post it, like a really long time, but until then, I hope you like this short oneshot :)

It's been five years since Merlin ended and honestly my whole day was basically listening to Merlin soundtrack and thinking about 5x13 and how much it still hurts. :'(

But it's still Christmas and this oneshot is supposed to make you smile. I hope it will :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin

* WORTH IT *

.

Merlin probably shouldn't be doing this. It was a terrible, terrible idea. And it was expensive! He couldn't believe how much a mistletoe cost nowadays. But here he was, balancing the plant and a little hook in one hand and a hammer in another, standing atop of Arthur's table, dangerously high above the floor.

Would it be worth it? Merlin had no idea, but he had to try. He and Arthur have been together for at least a week now and they still haven't kissed. And that was driving Merlin both mad and desperate enough to try and hang the mistletoe himself. And in secret of course.

Arthur was training with his knights, even though to Merlin, it would forever remain a mystery because why the hell would Arthur choose to train with his knights in winter when it was so bloody cold?

After a while (and with a little bit of magic), he managed to press the hook against the ceiling. Having swallowed his guilt about destroying Arthur's chambers, he took the hammer and hit the hook. He waited for a few seconds to see if anyone had heard the clang, but when no one came to complain, he continued. Despite his natural and unbelievable clumsiness (as Arthur had described it many times), Merlin successfully fastened the hook to the ceiling. He admired his work with a smile, and finally took the mistletoe and hung it on the hook.

This was precisely the moment Arthur chose to come back to his chambers and open the door, startling the poor servant.

"What-"

Arthur didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Merlin lost his balance and fell right off the table into Arthur's prepared arms.

For a moment there was silence.

Merlin stared up into Arthur's confused and worried eyes, he himself red and embarrassed. Arthur, on the other hand, seemed to slowly process what was happening, still not fully understanding. He looked at Merlin, at the table that was too close to the door, then at the hammer that had fallen on the floor as Merlin fell into his arms and then at Merlin again.

"What in the hell-"

"Surprise!" Merlin laughed awkwardly. Then he cleared his throat and Arthur let him go, now both of them standing on the ground in front of the disaster that Merlin had caused. "It's Christmas," the warlock just shrugged.

Finally, it seemed to occur to Arthur as he looked up and noticed the subtly hung mistletoe. Merlin's blush was a clear hint of what was happening as well. His confusion disappeared and he just stared at Merlin in disbelief.

"All this just so I would give you a kiss?"

Merlin shrugged. "I mean, we've been going out for about a week and we still-"

"Eight days and twelve hours to be exact," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"That's how long we've been going out, idiot."

That brought a smile to Merlin's face. "You've been counting?"

Now it was Arthur's turn to blush. Without giving Merlin a chance to say anything else, he nodded and walked closer to him, putting his arms around his waist. Merlin held his breath and his eyes wandered down to Arthur's lips. He couldn't help but feel nervous now that his plan had worked and what he'd wished for was finally about to happen.

"Now shut up and let me kiss you," Arthur laughed. "It's a tradition after all."

Arthur pulled Merlin closer and their lips touched. It was brief but sweet and just perfect for their first kiss. It left them both smiling and quite thankful that Arthur had closed the door. Without further ado, they kissed again, this time more desperately, their lips moving in sync.

"Merry Christmas," Merlin murmured into the corner of Arthur's lips, opening his eyes briefly to smile at him.

Arthur laughed softly and nodded, already going for another kiss. "Merry Christmas, Merlin."

* Merry Christmas *

English isn't my first language, but I hope you didn't even notice that while reading :D Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas everyone! :)