Chapter Text
His vision was still blurry and his head was pulsating with an excruciating headache. Merlin couldn’t for the life of him remember what manner of creature he had spent the day fighting or how he had managed to return to Camelot by foot really, but all he could think about was a good night’s sleep. He just had to prepare Arthur for bed and then he could finally sink his head in a soft pillow and doze off for the night.
But, as he walked through the halls he seemed to know like the back of his hand, he noticed something was off. Things seemed to be different somehow, out of place, to the point where he was even struggling to find his way to Arthur’s chambers. He told himself that it was just his foggy mind playing tricks on him, but still he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted. Eventually, he stumbled into Arthur’s chambers and he could instantly feel himself relax, all those worries quickly fading into the back of his mind.
“Good evening, my love! What kept you so long?” Arthur greeted him warmly as soon as he walked into the room.
“Your what now?!” He blurted out wide-eyed. Surely he couldn't have heard that right.
But Arthur was unfazed by his apparent confusion and promptly planted a soft kiss on his lips as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. Merlin could feel himself blush at the sudden touch of Arthur's lips, leaving him feeling even more dumbstruck than he was before. Granted, it hadn’t been an unpleasant kiss, but unexpected nonetheless.
He wondered if perhaps Arthur had too much to drink that night and was simply mistaking him with some other lady at court. But Arthur wasn’t known to overindulge unless some big celebration warranted it, and he hadn’t heard of any such event taking place in Camelot recently. Perhaps he had fallen prey to another love enchantment in his absence, though this was certainly the weirdest one so far.
Then the confirmation came.
“Oh, Merlin…I’ve missed you,” Arthur mumbled fondly. He was perfectly aware that it was him and not any other lady on a social call. Not only that, but he was openly admitting he missed him. Arthur had never seemed to care so much about his absence before or at least he had never voiced it so warmly.
“I wasn’t gone for that long,” he quipped back in an attempt to bring back their usual banter.
Or was he? He certainly hadn’t been around for that new development in their relationship.
“Oh, you know I can’t bear to stay away from you for long,” Arthur said as he gently ran his hand down his arm and reached for his hand. That tender touch was enough to make his heart race and send a shiver down his spine. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Arthur wasn't usually this comfortable with touch and, to be honest, he wasn't sure if he was. But he had no idea how to address it, seeing as Arthur didn't seem to notice he was doing anything out of the ordinary.
Whatever it was, he was too tired to deal with it now, so he tried his best to ignore it and resume his normal duties. The sooner he finished dressing Arthur for bed, the sooner he could get his well deserved sleep. Surely those interactions would all make much more sense in the morning.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, my Lord. I take it you are eager to get changed for bed?” He asked, trying his best to keep a nonchalant tone while a new fluttering feeling settled in his chest.
“Not yet,” he replied to Merlin’s displeasure. “And I’ve told you there’s no need for formalities in here. It's just you and me, we don't have to worry about anyone else,” he added with an overwhelmingly soft tone.
Something wasn't right. Arthur was always rattling him on about the importance of titles, so it seemed odd that he was discouraging their use now. What was the new nature of their relationship after all? It was as if Arthur was inviting him to play a new game he didn’t know the rules to. Could it all be an elaborate play to somehow punish him into doing more chores?
“Now, tell me, how was your day?” Arthur asked casually as he pulled him down to sit beside him on the bed.
Merlin was strangely caught off guard by his seemingly innocent question. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had asked him that question. The closest he got to talking freely about his day was during his supper with Gaius, and even then there were a lot of his misadventures that he kept to himself. Besides, out of all the people who could have asked it, he certainly wasn’t expecting it from Arthur. There was no honest way for him to answer that question without revealing his secret to him, but even if he were to answer honestly, he wouldn’t know what to say seeing as his memory of what actually happened that day was still a bit foggy. So he resorted to keeping his answer as short and vague as possible.
“Nothing special. Just spent the day running some errands for Gaius,” he muttered under his breath, before attempting to change the subject to avoid any further questions. “Should I fetch your night shirt now?” He asked dutifully as he started walking towards the closet.
“I had other plans for tonight,” Arthur replied with a devious grin and Merlin feared for what his next unexpected move would be. But before he could figure out what exactly his plans were, Arthur walked up to him, standing so close he could feel his breath on his neck. “You're always so keen to undress me, I thought tonight I might return the favour.”
And suddenly Arthur made it very clear what he had in mind as he slid his hand inside his tunic and started tracing his bare skin with his soft fingers in a gesture that sent shivers down the line of his spine. Arthur's touch was surprisingly gentle but the unfamiliarity of it simply made his skin crawl.
Was this really happening?
Surely, it couldn't be. Arthur must have been enchanted again, or maybe…maybe Merlin had hit his head too hard in the forest that day and it was just his hazy mind concocting this distorted fantasy to keep himself awake. That would at least explain his lapse in memory. Either way, of one thing he was sure - this wasn't his Arthur and he shouldn't give in to his touch.
“It's getting late. I…I should be heading back to my chambers,” he muttered in an attempt to escape the awkwardness of the situation.
“Don’t be foolish, Merlin, these are your chambers,” Arthur whispered softly into his ear, but his revelation was short of reassuring. Since when did he share his chambers with Arthur? He definitely didn't remember having that conversation. And even if he did, did that mean this was a regular occurrence? The more he thought about the absurdity of those questions, the more his desperation grew.
“I really should be heading back,” he insisted, “I must speak to Gaius.”
Arthur finally picked up on his discomfort and released him from his touch.
“What’s wrong?” He asked gently with an overly worried expression.
“Nothing. I’m just tired, that’s all,” he replied but his answer clearly wasn’t enough to brush off Arthur’s sudden concerns.
So Arthur pulled him back to his bedside and sat facing him as if to examine him closer.
“Why would you visit Gaius this late at night? Are you feeling ill?” He asked with increasing worry as he gently placed a hand on his forehead without warning.
The warmth of his soft hand against his weary head was oddly soothing and all the overwhelming feelings of his most recent interactions with Arthur seemed to be melting away. He felt safe, taken care of, and he was reminded that Arthur really did care for him, despite the strange ways he had decided to show it lately.
“No, I’m…I’m fine really,” he mumbled, leaning into the warmth of his touch.
Arthur didn’t reply right away, he was still too focused on accessing his condition. But soon enough his hand would leave his forehead and Merlin wasn’t ready for that warmth to be over just yet.
“Perhaps I’m coming down with something,” he said in an attempt to prolong that tender touch just a moment longer.
“You don’t seem to have a fever,” Arthur stated as he regrettably removed his hand from his forehead, “but your head is bruised.” He concluded as he looked down at his hand lightly stained with his dried out blood, instantly sending him a worried glance.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just…tripped over a root and hit my head on a tree while I was in the woods today.”
“What were you doing in the woods?”
“I was just gathering some rare herbs for Gaius.”
“I’m sure Gaius could have asked somebody else to do it,” Arthur grumbled. He often seemed to forget that serving him wasn’t his only job.
“I like to help when I can,” he said with an apologetic smile.
“I know you do, but I don’t want you wandering around in the woods all day and knocking yourself out,” Arthur frowned as he eyed his bruise with something akin to genuine concern.
“Are you really that worried about me?” Merlin asked with a disbelieving smile, both touched and amused by Arthur's needless concern for him.
“Oh, don’t flatter yourself. Just make sure you look where you step next time, you clumsy idiot," Arthur mumbled flustered with a light shove to his shoulder. And just like that, he was back to being a loveable prat. Perhaps, Arthur hadn't changed that much after all. "Still you were right, you better check in with Gaius to make sure it isn’t anything more serious.”
“Alright, I better get going then,” he said as soon as he felt like he had Arthur's permission to leave. But before he had the chance to get up, Arthur placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. Another pleasant surprise, Merlin thought. Perhaps he was coming around to Arthur’s newfound way of showing affection.
“Good night, my love,” Arthur whispered. Just when he thought things were going back to normal, there was that word again. No matter how hard he tried to wrap his head around it, he still couldn’t make sense of Arthur's new way of addressing him.
“Good night, Arthur,” he laughed it off, still not able to associate that word with Arthur.
After that, he stumbled his way back to Gaius’ chambers, still shaken by the strangeness of his latest interactions with Arthur. When he finally landed on his bed, he couldn't help but to go over it all again in his head. The endearments, the kisses, the touching, so much touching…What had gotten into Arthur? He knew Arthur had grown lonely after Gwen left, but he never expected he would turn to him for that sort of comfort. Merlin couldn't tell if it was some twisted enchantment or just one of Arthur's weird moods, but he hoped that it would all be clearer in the morning.