25. Idiot

Arthur was standing with his back to the door, leaning against the window. He didn't turn around. He knew it was Merlin; there was really no need to check.

Merlin shut the door as softly as he could and crossed to the window, unable to keep his gaze from drifting to the dark billows of smoke clouding the air. He noted with curious concern that Gwaine was still outside, staring at the flames. Without looking at Arthur, he asked, "Is there anything you need? If not I was going to go get some sleep…"

"No," Arthur replied and tilted his head a little to look at Merlin, "You can go."

Merlin was more than a little startled to see the glimmer of a tear on Arthur's cheek. Just one. But he had the grace (for once in his life) not to say anything about it.

"Oh, um…alright, then," Merlin agreed awkwardly as he placed a comforting hand on Arthur's arm and turned to leave.

"Wait," Arthur instructed, before he could stop himself. "Are you okay?" He couldn't help but notice how much more red and puffy Merlin's eyes had become since he'd last seen them.

Merlin glanced down at the floor, embarrassed that Arthur had figured out he'd been crying like baby. Though, he imagined it was actually fairly obvious. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Arthur didn't appear convinced. "I'm brilliant….really," he intoned, perhaps a little too cheerily, because Arthur gave him a disapproving glare.

"You're a terrible liar," Arthur informed him, raising an eyebrow. Merlin just shrugged and let his shoulders drop a little, avoiding Arthur's eyes. Arthur reached up and hooked two fingers under Merlin's handkerchief and pulled him closer.

Arthur's fingers felt like they were burning against his neck. The intimacy of the touch was so profound that he felt like he was going to start crying all over again. He let Arthur pull him closer, but he didn't make any moves to help.

"Merlin, look at me," Arthur instructed, though it took Merlin a few seconds to comply. 'We're alright. We're alive, thanks in no small part to you. I hate that we lost Leon like this, but…" He knew what he was trying to say, but he just couldn't seem to get it right.

Merlin cocked his head, slightly unsure of where this was going. Arthur gave up on trying to be comforting; it wasn't one of his natural talents. "We have unfinished business."

Trying not to let his jaw hit the floor, Merlin asked, "Now? You want to have this conversation now?"

"Yes….and no," Arthur said slyly as his grip tightened on Merlin's handkerchief. "Yes, now seems as good a time as any. And no, conversation wasn't my original intention. You're a rubbish conversationalist."

"Oh thanks," Merlin snipped. The rest of his retort was lost against Arthur's lips. This time Merlin had known it was coming but he was somehow still caught off guard and found himself melting against Arthur's chest before he could stop himself.

Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin's back, pulling him close and Merlin slid his hands across Arthur's waist, suddenly aware that chainmail was very uncomfortable. He drew back and shot a reproachful glance at the chainmail. Arthur caught on after a couple of seconds and started tugging it off, barely noticing that Merlin had scampered across the room and was bolting the door shut.

Arthur tossed his chainmail, paying no attention to where it fell and strode across the room while Merlin was still facing the door and messing with the lock. He stopped right behind Merlin, pressing his hands against the door on either side of his head. Merlin stopped moving just as he finished latching the door. "Arthur…We shouldn't be….It's a bad idea for us to…What if…"

Chuckling, Arthur lowered his lips to Merlin's neck and mumbled, "Crown Prince. I can do what I want."

"I know, but—"

"Shut UP, Merlin," Arthur growled as he scraped his teeth along Merlin's collarbone.

This elicited a soft whine from Merlin, who subsequently mumbled, "Oh, damn it," under his breath before throwing his head back against Arthur's shoulder.

Taking this as a good sign, Arthur flipped Merlin around and dropped his hands to his waist, pushing up the edges of Merlin's shirt. Merlin gasped as Arthur's fingers hit his skin and in a sudden flurry of movement, he wasn't wearing his shirt anymore. And then Arthur wasn't wearing his either.

Merlin traced his fingers over the dark scar across Arthur's chest, immensely glad he'd been able to heal it. "Thanks again for that," Arthur said, planting a light kiss on Merlin's lips. Arthur let his hands travel down Merlin's sides and across his hips. When Merlin didn't stop him, he latched his hands under the top of Merlin's pants and dragged him toward the bed.

Breathing heavily, Merlin rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "Oh, bollocks," He mumbled as a thought came to him.

"What?" Arthur asked, nudging him a bit.

"I just cleaned these sheets."

Arthur bit his lip, but he couldn't stop himself from bursting into a fit of laughter. He propped himself up on his elbow. Avoiding Merlin's comically annoyed face so he didn't start laughing again, he replied as nonchalantly as possible, "Looks like you have to do it again."

Merlin huffed indignantly but smiled when Arthur finally met his eyes again. There were still a few strands of hair plastered to the prince's forehead and Merlin was pleased to see that he hadn't exactly caught his breath yet either.

"Ugh, stop. You're doing it again," Merlin said.

"Doing what?"

"Remember in the cave when I told you that you were looking at me like you either wanted to kiss me, have me polish your armor, or do a magic trick? You're doing it again."

Arthur gave him a rumbling laugh and slid a hand across his stomach. "Well, you're not good at very many things, Merlin. I have to play to your strengths. Which is why tomorrow I need you to polish the swords in the armory for the tournament my father's having in a few days."

"All of them?" Merlin groaned and rolled over. "And wash the sheets, I suppose."

Arthur glanced at Merlin with prurient interest as he stood and started to gather items of clothing from wherever it was they'd happened to fall. "Mmm. Maybe wait on the sheets. Depending on how shiny you get those swords, I might find it in my heart to reward you."

Having just slid his pants back on, Merlin looked up with a shocked expression. "You're a pig."

"Crown Prince."

"Clot-pole."

"Wow, you really are an idiot, Merlin."

Merlin pulled his shirt over his head and motioned to the door. "So, that sleep I'm supposed to be having, I guess I'll go get it now."

Arthur sat up, considering. "You can stay, if you want…"

"It might be a little suspicious. I think I'll just go."

"Oh, um…right. See you tomorrow then. Armory and such."

"Right," Merlin said, stepping out of the room pointedly. He shut the door behind him and marched off to his own room. When he made it there and opened the door, his bed seemed extremely small and lonely compared to the one he'd just left. There were still a number of knots eating away at his stomach, but he was finally relaxed enough that he figured he could sleep without too many nightmares. He climbed in and curled up with his blanket pulled up under his chin. "Wow, you really are an idiot, Merlin."

THE END

A/N: Well, that's it, boys and girls. These last few chapters just came spilling out, but I'd love to hear any final thoughts you have. Your reviews and such have been greatly loved and appreciated. Hope you liked reading it as much as I like writing it. ~R.A.B.~

Also, I'm seriously considering a sequel to this story, but it's only partially formulated. Let me know if you'd actually be interested in reading it, and I might formulate a bit faster.