Merthur sexy time ;) (the farther you go, the sexier it gets)

Takes place Season 2 Episode 7 "The Witchfinder"

Not betaed.

Thanks for reading :)

Merlin didn't see Arthur coming for him across the room. He had his eyes fixed on Aredian. He was so full of hate for this man he didn't care if the entire court saw him kill him. He would use magic if he had to. Even in front of Uther.

All Merlin could see was red once Gaius was sentenced to death for sorcery. Aredian knew he was lying and so did Merlin.

He was going to kill this man.

"You're a liar!" Merlin screamed on his way to closing his hands around Aredian's throat. He didn't even hear Uther call for the guards. All he knew was that he wanted this man dead. He was caught on impact by a small but otherwise able bodied wall. Merlin tried to rip off the arm of the assumed guard but knew it was useless to fight without his magic. He was not physically strong enough. All he could do was yell, "You're a liar!", again hoping that the someone, anyone in the room understood that he was in fact telling the truth and that this witch-hunter knew nothing.

Merlin glanced down when he realized his feet were no long supporting him. He was not being dragged away by a guard in armor but by Arthur. Reacting, Merlin grabbed on to the muscle that was supporting him -rather- dragging him from the room, hoping Arthur of all people would listen, would at least understand that he was telling the truth. Gaius wasn't the one doing magic.

Arthur knew he had to help Merlin. The guards would throw him in jail if they were the ones escorting him from the court. Maybe he could talk some sense back into Merlin and if he did. Maybe he could even let him see Gaius before his death. The thought made Arthur's heart heavy.

"I'll deal with this" Arthur said leaving the room, dragging Merlin behind. Luckily, he was remarkably light to carry, even while fighting his grip.

Merlin struggled down the corridor pleading with Arthur to let him go. He needed to find a way to save Gaius.

"Stop! Arthur! Let me go!" He repeated himself, struggling but Arthur's arms were too strong. There was no getting free.

When nearing the stairs to go down into the dungeon Arthur got sick of the fight and whipped Merlin around so he would not have to drag or carry him down the stairs. Merlin was stuck with his arm half bent and a stinging pain crept into his shoulder and hand. "Ow! Let me go!", was all Merlin managed to get out before they made it down the bottom of the stairs, stumbling the entire way.

Passing the guards at the bottom Arthur spoke again, "You two, go upstairs. I need some alone time with this one. He's to be taught a proper lesson about manners in the court." The guards left at Arthur's command and the two boys were left completely alone in the dungeons.

When Arthur was sure they were out of hearing range he headed down one corridor of empty cells. When halfway down the hall he threw Merlin's arm out of his grasp. Merlin's pain was finally relieved and all his anger was now directed at the man keeping him from finding a way to protect Gaius. The man who caused him so much pain on the way down there.

Where was here? Merlin was so mad, he wasn't even sure where 'here' was. All he had to go on was Arthur telling two guards to leave so he could learn a 'lesson'. Well his anger was still strong and he wasn't about to take any 'lesson' from Arthur. Free from his grasp his first instinct was to take a swing at Arthur's face.

And miss.

Arthur easily grabbed Merlin's hand and placed it back into its painful position behind his back, this time adding a little more force in order to get Merlin to stay still so he could talk to him. Merlin could feel Arthur's breath on his ear as Arthur got close enough to whisper. No one was around anyway so Merlin didn't see why this was so necessary.

Regardless, Arthur led him, still in their awkward holding position, into one of the many empty cells that had a door open all while whispering; "I know you're upset, I know you're angry. It's alright. I'm not throwing you in jail". Then he threw Merlin, with a little more force than necessary, against the cell wall.

Oh he wasn't was he? Is that what he called that? Not throwing him in jail? Merlin turned around and tried for another go at Arthur's face.

Arthur was too quick for Merlin, the fighter that he was. He had anticipated Merlin would attack again and was able to grab his wrist out of the air and hold it up as Merlin's other hand came sloppily flying at him. He grabbed that wrist too as Merlin tried now to kick Arthur in the shin. Arthur knew it was coming and dogged that one with his leg. Merlin kicked again and Arthur did not doge in time, the toe of Merlin's boot digging into his shin.

Letting out a humph of annoyance and pain, Arthur shoved Merlin's legs against the wall with his own, pinning his arms above him and holding him down with his body. He was just trying to help Merlin. He did not need to keep trying to hurt him. He didn't care how upset he was or how much of a right he had to be, Arthur was starting to get mad.

He had Merlin's wrists pinned high above his head on the hard wall, scraping his knuckles into the stone. His legs ran the length of Merlin's, keeping them flat against the wall and locking his knees so that there would be no more kicking. Merlin struggled to get free, flailing as much as he could under the prince's strong grip, scraping his skin more as he went.

It had clicked in Merlin's mind that they were in fact in one of the dungeon's corridors and that Gaius was in one of these cells. He had to find him. He hadn't seen him since they threw him in the dungeon in the first place, days upon days ago. He wasn't about to let Arthur keep him from seeing him.

"Let me go Arthur, I have to see Gaius!" The menace in his voice could be sensed throughout the room, rebounding off the walls. A splash of his natural-born magic may have added to that mix but Merlin wouldn't dare let that be known.

He tried to use the only body part that was not restrained, his head. He knew it would hurt but it was all that he had left. Clenching his eyes shut in apprehension of the pain he tried to head-butt Arthur, to no avail.

Arthur dogged the blow easily knowing it was Merlin's last option. The urge to call Merlin an idiot crept up on him and just as the word started to bubble up, Merlin took the pause to his advantage and fought back hard, pushing against the wall into Arthur with every bit of force he had.

Arthur struggled to get his position back as the boys bickered.

"Merlin, I-"

Their bodies continued to bump into one another.

"Let me-"

Arthur was stronger but Merlin's use of the wall was helping.

"Merlin, you-"

One huge push and Arthur tackled Merlin to the wall pushing him back the few inches he managed to fight out.

"Stop-"

Merlin pushed back on Arthur's chest who took advantage of the move and grabbed both of Merlin's wrists again. He swept his leg around to the back of Merlin's left knee, causing him to fall backwards and sideways towards the ground. Arthur, in an eloquent move, followed suite, smashing his weight down onto Merlin, causing Merlin's body to smack down into the hard ground beneath, momentarily knocking the wind out of him. Arthur, still having Merlin's wrists, wrangled his arms above his head and pinned them there and, straddling him, he bent his legs so that his feet wrapped in between Merlin's thighs making it so that Merlin could not kick his legs out making him officially immobile.

They were stuck in this precarious position as Arthur yelled, sick of bargaining and sick of the flipping around. "MERLIN!" Patience is a virtue but it was a hard one for Arthur. "Do not make me lock you in here!" Both angry and annoyed, his fingernails biting into Merlin's skin, he tried to catch his breath. He had tried to act calm, understanding what Merlin was going through but he could not tolerate him. The boy drove him up the wall sometimes.

Merlin seemed to physically calm after the combination of pain and the proximity of Arthur's yelling. The proximity was very close indeed. The prince's body needed to be close in order to pin him, their faces were but inches away.

Merlin did not talk, realizing his situation, and waited for Arthur to say something. He relaxed his muscles and let his body sink against the floor.

Arthur stared at him for a few more seconds before relaxing his grip on Merlin's wrists. No blood was drawn but he was sure the marks were visible. While he did relax his grip, he did not let go completely. He was still afraid he would try and attack again, not that that would be easy from his position.

After a few moments of staring down Merlin's vibrant blue eyes, Arthur decided he had indeed calmed down enough to talk. The heartache was shared between both boys. Arthur knew that Merlin was very close with Gaius, much closer than Gaius and himself but Arthur did grow up with him. Gaius had known him since he was a child and he trusted him. It was a shock to learn of his past and a shock to learn that his past had followed him into the present. While Arthur did not hate magic with such a vengeful passion as his father, he did grow up learning to hate it. He just never thought he would have to face it in a friend.

"Now, before you start..." Arthur said watching to make sure Merlin would be calm. "I cannot go against my father's wishes."

"But-"

"The King's decision is final." Arthur's hands tightened into Merlin's wrists both as a warning for him to calm and to let out some of his own anger towards his father.

"Aur-"

"THAT does not mean however that I agree with him." Arthur stared at Merlin, trying to see if he understood what he was trying to say. That he wished he could change it.

"Is there nothing you could do?" Merlin pleaded with Arthur, tears starting to well in his eyes as the anger subsided. A lump in his throat started to form, no matter how much he wanted to stay calm in his vulnerable position. He knew it was just a matter of time before he broke and he kept trying to swallow the lump away.

Arthur stared longer still into Merlin's eyes, noting the tears and the proximity of their faces, he lowered his voice to just above a whisper.

"I'm sorry Merlin, I truly am. I wish there was something I could do but..." Arthur paused at a loss for words. "I trust Gaius...with my life... but last night I found out that this accusation could be true. Gaius had practiced sorcery before and he may have started again." Arthur waited for Merlin to respond. Merlin probably knew of Gaius' past. They had been living together for some time now, they were quite close.

"Are you saying that you believe it's true? That Gaius is a sorcerer, that he has betrayed the king, that-" Merlin's voice was growing in volume again as the anger started to spike back into his words, nudged on my built as he knew he was being hypocritical in his words. For he himself was betraying the king by practicing magic and he should be the one in Gaius' place. He needed to let Gaius know this. He needed to be the guilty one. "That he could betray-"

"I'm saying that while hard to believe a-" Arthur interrupted.

"Gaius is innocent." Merlin interrupted him in turn.

"A confession in front of the court is not something that can be taken lightly." Arthur carried on before Merlin could continue. "Gaius admitted his guilt, now there is nothing to do but face the consequences"

"The consequences your father set in place." Merlin spat back angrily. He knew he should not be blaming Arthur but he just wanted him to do something. To understand at least that he should want to do something.

Arthur tried not to show the hurt Merlin had caused in his statement. It wasn't as though he had been the one to set up Gaius' death sentence.

After a moment of silence longer, Arthur sat up, letting Merlin's arms go, taking his feet out from between his thighs and placing them on either side of the slim boy's body.

Merlin let his arms slide to his sides, bending at the elbows. He realized he would be touching Arthur if he let them go all the way so they ended up at strange angles that were more uncomfortable than when Arthur was pinning him. So instead he decided to slide his hands on top of his chest and inspect the red streaks of blood forming from the scratches caused by the floor and by Arthur's nails.

"There is nothing to do now but support Gaius." A defeated look came over Arthur's face. "Show him that everything will be all right, that-"

"Everything will not be alight!" Merlin shot up, propping himself on his elbows, barely rattling the boy on top of him. Arthur put up a hand to stop Merlin's retort and placed it on his chest sinking him back into the floor along with his words.

"No it will not. And it is not. But you must not let Gaius think that. Death is a terrifying thing to face, meant only for the brave, and you need to help him be brave by sucking it up and being brave yourself Merlin!" Arthur waited for a response as Merlin soaked in what he said.

"I feel so hopeless..." Merlin wasn't sure if he meant for that to slip from his mouth but it was gone before he could catch it.

Arthur had not been prepared for Merlin's confession and confusion fell across his face. "There's nothing we can do...he...a confession...it's..." He just spit out words from his sympathetic train of thought, not thinking they were really helping, but Merlin jumped at the word 'confession'.

"Wait..." Arthur looked back at the boy. "Wait-" Merlin sat up on his elbows again, Arthur's hand coming to stop him from rising any further. "What if I can prove that Gaius is innocent?" He looked at Arthur looking for any hope. He knew there had to be a way. Gaius was in fact innocent. There must have been some way that the hunter made Gaius confess. If he could prove how he made him…

"How?" Arthur looked confused. While he did prefer Merlin's change in attitude, he did not believe there was a way to prove innocence of a man who confessed his guilt.

Merlin did not answer but instead pushed at the prince's side in order for him to hint that he wanted to stand up. He was getting excited. He needed the chance to see Gaius and then he would work on a way to prove Aredian was lying. He didn't know how but he knew that he could. He had to.

Arthur looked hesitantly at Merlin but eventually let Merlin push him away knowing he could easily pin him down again. He took the opportunity to stand and stretch his sore body. His knees did not appreciate the rough ground but the only other position he could have taken was to sit on Merlin and he couldn't have done that because of his place on Merlin's body. He was, in fact, very low on Merlin when he had him pinned.

Merlin climbed up to his feet, ideas forming in his head. He was sure if he could get into Aredian's chambers that he could prove his guilt. There had to be something there.

"I see you thinking-" Arthur said looking at Merlin, "-and I don't like it." At least that got him a sarcastic almost-smile from Merlin. Arthur almost smiled too but remembering the situation and held it back. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up. Nor do I want you to do anything that will get you into trouble. I could get in a lot of trouble myself for bringing you down here. I don't know how you could possibly prove that-" Arthur paused looking at Merlin looking at the floor. "Do you hear me? Merlin?"

Merlin had not answered right away. "Yes, yes I hear you." He was too busy planning.

"Alright. Let's see Gaius" Arthur said after deciding Merlin's condition was much better than when entering the dungeon. While he did not want Merlin to have false hope, maybe it was best he did. If it would help him instill some bravery in Gaius, then perhaps it was a good thing.

Merlin had already decided that Gaius was not going to die. As he let Arthur walk ahead he established it in his mind 'Either I find proof that the witch-hunter is lying and prove Gaius' innocence or I confess and take his place...and die myself.' The thought left him feeling unpleasant and the emotional turmoil was eating him on the inside but he took a deep breath and pushed it all down so that it would not be visible to Gaius, plastering a smile on his face.

"I can only give you a few minutes." Arthur said when they had finally reached Gaius' cell and unlocked the door with his own keys.

All that he tried to push down started to fight its way back up Merlin saw Gaius. He was going to let him know that he was going to get out of there alive.

If it was the last thing he did.