AN: I'm back :D This is the first thing I've written in a long time, and for one of my favourite pairings, so I hope you enjoy this little bit of fluff :)

While You Were Sleeping

The mighty Arthur Pendragon, crowned Prince of Camelot, had a weakness.

He could fearlessly fight magical creatures single-handedly, win opposite any who challenged him to a duel with only his sword as protection, and even face his father after doing something he didn't approve of (which was often!).

But despite all this, there was one thing, or more accurately one person, that seemed to leave him knock-kneed, tongue tied and completely breathless.

And that person was currently snoring in his ear.

Shifting, so his head now rested on the palm of his hand, Arthur turned, giving himself a less restricted view of the beautifully odd boy that lay next to him.

Ridiculously long lashes cast shadows across his sharp, angular cheeks; so sharp, had Arthur not worshipped the skin there with both hands and tongue, he'd have sworn they were deadly to touch.

Dark hair, a drastic contrast to the creamy colour of his skin, sat haphazardly atop his head, curling like vines around the lobes of his ridiculously large ears that Arthur secretly loved.

His chest, currently bare and unbelievably skinny, heaved up and down with every deep breath as though it were a huge effort for such a small person to be filled with so much air.

Should anyone walk in on the well-known, hard-headed and hearted Arthur Pendragon and see him with such a look of pure adoration and devotion on his face, they should think they were mistaken or misled by some magic induced mirage.

But alas, as with calloused hands, a contrast to the soft and tender skin of his lover, he traced seemingly insignificant patterns over his heart, beating strong beneath his fingertip, every movement was filled with a love burning so strongly within his own.

"Merlin." He spoke softly to himself, extracting his hand and replacing it under his flaxen hair to continue his admiration with his eyes.

"Arthur," A voice grumbled in reply, rough from sleep, breaking him out of his reverie "Do you have to watch me while I'm trying to sleep?" One drowsy blue eye now peeked up at him from behind a delicate eyelid.

"I wasn't watching you." Arthur obstinately replied, sitting up, shoulders set stubbornly.

Merlin licked his dry lips before allowing a slight smile to grace his features, his other eye now watching Arthur with amusement, knowing well enough he wouldn't admit to it.

"Of course you weren't," Merlin watched as Arthur's eyes widened in disbelief, probably wondering why for the first time he'd let the Prince win "My mistake." Allowing his heavy lids to close once again, Merlin turned his back on a startled, and relieved, Arthur and resettled into the covers, smile still in place, knowing the real reason why.

Because one day he'd tell him.

Thinking of the look he'd seen in Arthur's eye, and basking in the warmth of the strong arms now encircling his waist, he knew he'd tell him.

When he was ready.

And Merlin was willing to wait as long as it took because after all, you'd need the patience of a saint to work for Arthur.

x