A/N: I expected to give Merlin three solo's but wound up with just two. Sorry. So I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 8:
The Way You Make Me Feel
Merlin and Arthur lay next to one another on the small bed staring at the ceiling, breathless and flushed, Merlin's leg slung over the prince's shin while his left leg hung off the edge of the bed. both naked as the day they were born. They just lay there for a while, silently replaying the scene of a while ago over and over in their heads. They'd gone at each other in a way that only restrained passion could spark. Then they'd taken it slow and savoured every moment and the wonderful silence that had occupied it.
Arthur lifted his head and rested it on his arm as his face lit up with that I'm-the-Crowned-Prince-of-Camelot arrogant smile Merlin had seen the first day he met him and seeing it now sent a hot flush right through him. It didn't take long for reality to seep into their little world and threaten to shatter their comfortable contentment, as Gwen slipped into Merlin's thoughts and guilt had him sitting up in the bed and turning away from Arthur.
"Merlin?"
He didn't answer, simply burying his head in his hands.
"What's wrong idiot." Arthur said in a light yet concerned tone, his brows slowly furrowing with worry. "Are you… regretting…?"
Merlin lifted his gaze and looked at the small window. "What about Gwen?"
You could have heard a pin drop in the silence as Arthur shifted further onto the bed. "What about her?" he finally answered nonchalantly.
Merlin's head snapped around to glare at him. "She's your wife. - And my best friend."
Arthur pulled an insulted face and pressed his hand to his chest. "What? - I though I was your best friend." he pouted.
"I'm being serious Arthur." the young warlock snapped.
Arthur's lips curved in a small smile. "I know you are that's what makes you so adorable."
Merlin's brilliant blue eyes sharpened. "I'm not adorable."
"Oh but Merlin, you are." Arthur laughed, shifting even closer to the younger man. "Utterly, completely, adorably…stupid." he said, whacking the man with a pillow.
"Ouch." Merlin gasped. "What the hell was that for prat?"
"Do you really think I'd be here if Gwen didn't know?" Arthur really did sound insulted. "What do you take me for?"
"She knows?" He gasped his head dropping into his hands. "Oh god."
"Of course she knows idiot. - Just as I know she's currently off doing I don't-want-to-know-what with Lancelot."
"What?" the warlock's neck was beginning to ache from all this movement. "Y- you know a-about that?"
Arthur's brows furrowed. "You know about that?" his voice held a little anger.
"I know that they liked each other when he was here last time. - I didn't know they were still…."
Arthur sighed and flopped back on the bed. "They weren't, at least Gwen says they weren't, until this insane singing thing happened. It's getting people to reveal all kinds of secrets." the prince gave his manservant a knowing look, and a raised promising brow, causing Merlin to turn scarlet had look at his feet. Arthur laughed behind him.
"So you're alright with them being…?"
"Together? - We had a chat." Arthur's voice returning to its usual conversational manner. "Figured it'll be best for everyone if we kept up the pretence, at least in front of my father. - He'd have Gwen and Lance's heads if he found out….not to mention yours."
"Mine?" Merlin gasped with worry.
"Of course, corrupting his good and dutiful son with your pagan ways." he winked.
"Good and dutiful?" Merlin looked around the room. "I'm sorry, I thought we were discussing you. - Have you got a brother I haven't met. - And as for corrupting, if I remember correctly you were the one with your hands all over me."
Arthur laughed. "And you loved every minutes of it."
Merlin blushed again. He really had to do something about that, it might cause a bit of a problem if they were going to try and keep their relationship a secret.
"So?" Arthur pressed.
"So?"
Arthur sighed. "Are you okay with this? - Keeping it quiet and everything?" he asked nervously and Merlin couldn't help but grin down at the floor.
"I don't know, sneaking around, finding dark corners, sounds like a bit of a hassle."
"Oh."
Merlin laughed then and flopped himself down almost on top of his prince. "But then, life with you is always a hassle, so I think I can survive."
The pair lay there trading insults for a few moments before Merlin realised the silence was almost deafening.
"You hear that?"
"What?" Arthur frowned shifting on the bed in case he needed to leap to safety.
"Exactly, silence." Merlin turned a grin on Arthur. "Do you think it's over?"
"I bloody hope so, I hate singing."
"I don't blame you. What a racket." Merlin wrinkled his nose teasingly.
Arthur lunged at Merlin. "Oh really? You're not exactly Lady Helen either idiot."
"Prat."
"Moron."
"Arse."
Arthur smirked wickedly and Merlin groaned.
_Secrets Of Men's Souls_
Gaius returned to his rooms with a sombre yet thankful look on his face. He'd had a bad morning with King Uther but at least that damn singing had stopped.
Pushing open his door he froze at the sight before him, the chaos of toppled furniture, his books and herbs scattered on the floor. "That boy." Gaius complained angrily under his breath, walking further into the room, he froze once more at another sight. Clothes were leading a trail towards Merlin's room. Which wasn't all that unusual, sometimes the boy didn't care where he dropped things. What did make Gaius frown though was that the clothes weren't just Merlin's, if he wasn't mistaken, which he knew very well he wasn't, they were….
"Idiot!"
"Prat!"
Gaius stared at Merlin's door for a few long moments before turning bright red, swivelling on his heels and rushing from the apartments, a small smile pulled across his face. If there was one thing Gaius was known for, it was his tolerance on all subjects.
_Secrets Of Men's Souls_
After three days there was still no sign of singing and everyone was thankful. Well almost everyone. After all, four people in particular had a lot to thank that magical storm, as Gaius had called it, for.
Everything had returned to normal in Camelot. The knights trained without fear of bursting into a song and dance route. Gwen, Lancelot, Arthur and Merlin had become very effective at finding ways to spend 'time' together. Though of course as Arthur's servant Merlin spent more time with Arthur than Gwen was able to do with Lancelot. Which was proven true when the young princess walked into her chamber and found the two men kissing the life out of each other. She'd squealed and gasped dramatically before placing her hands on her hips and demanding, playfully, to know just what Merlin was doing to her husband.
The four of them slipped into a bizarre and comfortable little group. And if anyone noticed the strange way the prince and princess' gaze weren't fixed on each other but on a knight and a servant, they were clearly smart enough not to mention it.
The only thing they lived in fear of really was Uther discovering the truth, but as no-one was talking, that was unlikely to happen. It all became an odd kind of open secret that the whole of Camelot was happy and thankful to go along with.
Of course it hurt a certain dark haired knight to see Merlin with their prince, but Gwaine simply told himself over and over that as long as Merlin was happy then that was all that mattered. - And to console his broken heart, Gwaine found himself a dashing tall blonde of his own.
_Secrets Of Men's Souls_
After a week of no music or spontaneous sing, Uther decided to risk throwing a banquet to celebrate. Ale and wine flowed and everyone had a wonderful time. Arthur and Gwen played the part of the happy couple for Uther and the people of Camelot, while Merlin and Lancelot watched on slightly jealous but excepting.
Of course this is Camelot and nothing ever runs to plan and magic is never entirely gone.
Everyone was gathered and just a little drunk. They didn't even noticed when the unearthly magical music returned, they didn't care that the room was filled with singing or notice who said what, they were all just happy to be alive, in love and in Camelot.
Merlin leant forward to pour Arthur more wine, his body too close, his breath stroking the Prince's cheek, causing the man's lips to quiver and his fingers to tighten around his goblet as his secret lover whispered. "It's the things that you do"
Arthur looked up at him with a seductive smirk. "There so physical" his gaze heavy with lust and promise.
Merlin flushed, moving around his prince to fill the princess' goblet, his gaze flickering to her before turning back to his lover. "It's the things that you say."
"There so flammable." Arthur replied, his hand moving to Merlin's arse as he turned his body to his wife with a warm smile, lifting his goblet to meet hers while squeezing the servant's behind. "You know I can't resist."
Gwen giggled, shaking her head at the flirtatious heat in her husband's voice, somewhat regretful that she was not its intended target. "Boy it's such a shame, you belong to another." she smiled brightly at him before turning to the knight at her side. "We don't wanna hurt nobody, but our hearts just can't hold back." she sang brightly at her knight, his hand brushing his subtly.
Lancelot got to his feet, his gaze flickering to Arthur before offering his hand to Gwen with a bow. Arthur nodded his consent, not that either of the pair expected any different. Lancelot escorted the princess to the center of the great hall, setting his hand on her waist at a respectable height, beginning to move her with the music.
Merlin made a show of tidying the table, his thigh brushing Arthur's arm, the prince raising his hand to gently brush at the back of Merlin's legs before pushing back his chair as Lancelot and Gwen circled the floor, pulling Merlin across the hall to a dark corner, thankful everyone's attention was on the couple dancing so beautifully. He backed the young warlock up against a stone pillar, his lips hovering so close as he sung. "It's the way make me feel."
"The way that you make me feel." Merlin breathed back into his mouth.
"Spinning my world around." Gwen smiled up at Lancelot as he spun her.
"Tell me, how could I walk away? I don't care what they say." Lancelot murmured quietly, his eyes aglow with love.
"I'm loving you anyway." Arthur smiled, his fingers stroking gently at Merlin's rough jaw. "It's the way you make me feel."
Gwen stared up at her love, her fingers warm and secure in his as he continued to spin her around the large space between the tables, all eyes on them but she didn't care. She'd never felt as happy as she did right now. "I've finally made you mine."
"Wasn't impossible." Lancelot smile brightly, closing the gap between them just a little more. "Got to let you know, you're irresistible." he whispered warmly, his voice low and seductive.
"Why didn't I see, you were the one for me." Arthur sang, pressing his lips to Merlin's.
"But you belong to another." Merlin teased, his fingers tightening in the red and gold jerkin, pulling Arthur further into the shadows and claiming his mouth.
Gwaine gaze flickering to the shadowed corner of the great hall and the prince he envied, "They don't wanna hurt no body, but their hearts just can't hold back." the knight sang, his attention caught by a firm hand on his thigh, he turned to smile wickedly across at Percival. "It's the way you make me feel." he chuckled, leaning in to slid his own hand up the taller knight's leg.
"The way that you make me feel." Percy groaned.
"Spinning my world around." Gwen laughed sweetly, her skirt wrapping around Lancelot's ankles as he spun her.
"Tell me, how can I walk away?" The gathered knight, lords and ladies sang, moving to join the princess and her knight in the center of the room with her lovers. "I don't care what they say, I'm loving you anyway. It's the way you make me feel." Continuing to sing as they all spun to the invisible music.
Arthur drew back to look deeply into Merlin's gaze, his thumb brushing over the servant's kiss swollen lips. "When I look into your eyes, every time you smile at me"
"Oh I go weak inside, baby I just can't hide, my lo-ve." Merlin replied, his voice carrying across the room, careless of who heard it, his eyes flashing gold for a briefest of moments before he pulled Arthur into another deep kiss, his arms tight around the prince's neck, holding on, refusing to let go ever again.
The hall filled with warm glowing lights, sparks raining down on the dancing court, outside the night's sky alight with bright flashes of red and gold.
"It's the way you make me feel, the way that you make me feel, spinning my world around, tell me, how can I walk away? I don't care what they say, I'm loving you anyway. It's the way you make me feel"
A/N: [Updated: 12/3/2015] So this last big musical number is a revised version. I finally figured out how I wanted that last scene to go and personally I think I rocked it. It's most definitely better than the original version. I think I tied up all the lose ends. The Gwaine/Percy thing was a totally new addition as when I originally wrote this the first time I have no notion of their…'bromance' if you want to call it that. Hell my brother slashed those two. Actually my brother (who is totally anti-slash) thinks Merlin's the gayest show on TV. Lol. So he pretty much slashes Merlin/Arthur & Gwaine/Percival by default.
Anyway; Song: It's The Way You Make Me Feel by yes, you've guessed it, Steps.
Altered Lyrics: I did a fair few alteration on this one. Sorry.
"Tell me, how could I walk away? I don't care what they say." Original Lyric…" "Tell me, how can I walk away? I don't care what they say."
"We don't wanna hurt nobody, but our hearts just can't hold back." Original Lyric…"I didn't wanna hurt nobody, but my heart just can't hold back"
"I've finally made you mine. - wasn't impossible. Original Lyric… "I'm gonna make you mine. It's not impossible"
"Why didn't I see, you were the one for me…" Original Lyric… "Baby can't you see, you're the one for me.."
"They don't wanna hurt no body, but their hearts just can't hold back." Original Lyric. "I don't wanna hurt no body, but my heart just can't hold back."
Well that's it, the end of the road. I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I did and man did I enjoy it, haven't had this much fun writing a fan fiction in a long time. Especially Arthur and Merlin's moments.
Would like to thank everyone for taking the time to read and review. I've enjoyed reading them.
That's all from me for now.
Farewell.
GATERGIRL79 XxX