Merlin held Arthur's shoulders and gently turned him back towards himself. Locking his eyes with Arthur's, he leaned forward until their lips touched.

Arthur could not believe this was really happening! Merlin! For God's sake! Merlin! And he's kissing me! Thoughts raced through his head, incoherently, as e fisted the dark-haired man's hair and slid his tongue against Merlin's lower lip. Taking is chance at the resulting gasp, the prince invaded Merlin's mouth with his tongue, exploring every crevice.

Merlin leaned further into Arthur, giving himself up to the mercy of his prince. His hands explored the nape of the other's neck. His body swayed in Arthur's arms.

"Ahhh- Merlin-" Arthur moaned in between the kisses. The sound shocked the said sorcerer back to his senses. With a jerk, he pulled himself apart from the prince, stared into those beautiful blue eyes.

"Arthur – we – this -" Arthur tries to shut him up with another kiss but Merlin is persistent.

"What Merlin?" he asks, slightly exasperated.

"You are the Prince of Camelot," Merlin simply stated.

"How very observant of you, Merlin," Arthur drawled, his fingers moving to tease Merlin's neck.

"Ahh," Merlin moaned, involuntarily. "I am your servant – ah – sire – stop- ahh."

"The way you're giving me orders to stop, I might have thought you'd forgotten that," Arthur smirked as he continued his ministrations, making his servant's legs wobble in pleasure.

"Ohh! Just – " Merlin extricated himself from the prince's hands and heaved a sigh of bittersweet relief. "Just listen to me, will you! I'm trying to – well, to be honest I don't know what I'm trying to do - but I – I mean – " A look quite akin to fear formed on Merlin's face, causing Arthur to forget all about what they had been doing. All he wanted was to make Merlin smile again.

"Hey, hey, what is it Merlin?" he asked, concern evident in his voice as he guided Merlin to sit on the bed with him. He gently stroked Merlin's cheek with his thumb. "If you do not want this, all you need to do is say it. I'm not going to force you into anything, Merlin. I hope you know that."

"Yes – yes, I know but – I- ," Merlin took a deep breath. "First of all, I want you to know that I am willing to do anything for you. I was when Caleb said I had to - I- and I would if you ordered me to. I would do it because I have sworn my allegiance to you. I will serve you in any way I am required to. I would never hold it against you or anything similar." Merlin paused for a breath. "However, before we – we kissed, you said it was more than just – you know – and I would like to know if it's true or if that was just to - "

"Merlin! How can you think I would – okay, I know I am not always the most well-behaved person – but I would never do that to you , Merlin – not to you. I do care about you Merlin. And I don't think you need to be told that you are more than a servant to me. I may not be good at showing it every now and then but you are one of my closest friends, I value your company, your advice in my life. And when I said I lo- like you – I meant it."

"You did?" Merlin's face lit up in one of the most beautiful smiles Arthur had ever seen.

"Yes, and now, if you don't mind -" Arthur grinned as he pushed Merlin to lie on the bed and adjusted himself over him, claiming Merlin's mouth as his.

The next morning, Arthur woke up in his bed, naked and alone. There was no trace of Merlin having been there last night, except for the memories in Arthur's mind. He held his head in his hands and groaned. He had pushed away the one person he cared about so much! Why couldn't I have kept my mouth shut! He's probably half the way to Ealdor now! Had last night just been Merlin's way of fulfilling his duty – had he been wrong in assuming that Merlin wanted it as well? Arthur was in the middle of his thoughts when his chamber doors flew open with a bright voice practically singing out "Rise and shine."

"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Yes, who else did you expect?" Merlin grinned at him as he placed his breakfast on the table. "You might want to get dressed before you eat though," the sorcerer winked as he grabbed Arthur's clothes and stood by his bed, ready to dress up the prince.

"I thought you – never mind," Arthur said, cheerfully as he got out of bed and kissed Merlin hard before getting dressed.

"Eat with me," he said softly as he sat in his chair and motioned towards the one to his right for Merlin to sit.

"But – "

"Merlin."

"Of course, sire," Merlin smiled as he took a seat.