Between Us

Chapter Five: One Cup Of Mead

It's been so long since I've seen Merlin. It kinda makes me sad tbh.
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Merlin put on some of his better clothes for the ball though he knew he would never compare to the royal court. He still tried his best and he thought he looked fairly well. He had a brown jacket over a black shirt and his trousers were dark to fit the aesthetic of his outfit. His usual boots would work and his hair was much more well kept than usual. He had no intentions on impressing anyone but he thought it would be nice to clean up like the rest of the castle.

He looked at himself in the mirror examining his outfit and body. Merlin wasn't one to be ashamed of his looks and as he's analyzing his outfit he couldn't help but feel confident in himself. He smiled and fixed his jacket before stepping out of his room. Guise was already at the ball helping the King with something that he couldn't tell Merlin. That was usually the case when it came to the King.

He stepped out of his icing chambers and made his way to the castle. Night had fallen and the moon glowed along with the thousands of stars in the sky. Merlin looked up mesmerized by the view. Though he loved the day time he knew he was a child of the moon and everything the night had to offer. He smiled and stepped into the castle with one last look at the full moon above.

The castle was bustling with life and conversations. Merlin squeezed in between guests, staff, and guards. He quickly climbed up the stairs and made his way up to Arthur's chamber. He knew that the Prince usually need help getting ready especially when it came to events like a this. He knocked on Arthur's door twice before stepping in. As he stepped in he caught sight of Arthur trying his best to lace his shirt up. He cleared his throat and the prince looked up at him.

"Merlin?" Arthur's eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open.

"Yes, Arthur?" Merlin raised an eyebrow and approached the Prince confidently.

He moved Arthur's hands away and grabbed the laces on the shirt and almost instantly started to fix it. Arthur watched him his pupils dilating in the process. Merlin was too focused on the shirt to notice the way Arthur was staring at him.

"You look-" Arthur started.

"Don't start." Merlin cut him off sure that the other man was going to tease him for trying to look nice.

" I was going to say you look amazing." Arthur breathed out and Merlin looked up at his words.

Merlin's hands were still on his chest and he hadn't realized how close they were until now. Arthur was a couple inches taller than him and Merlin felt his breath catch in his throat. His fingers fumbled with the laces and Arthur looked like he wanted to say something but the words were stuck on the tip of his tongue.

"Thank you." Merlin felt his face flush and his ears heat up.

"My pleasure." Arthur looked him up and down and Merlin's stomach bursted with butterflies.

Behind Arthur he could see butterflies starting to fly into the room from the open window and he knew instantly it was his fault. He tried his best to not feel them but the more he tried to ignore them more and more of them started to appear. Merlin looked back at Arthur and quickly dropped his hands and took a step back. He decided to ignore the look of disappointment in Arthur's eyes and went to reach for the Prince's cape.

"Any strategies for tonight?" Merlin did his best to change the conversation and the butterflies started to disappear.

Luckily for Merlin Arthur's attention was fully on him. He hadn't noticed the butterflies that were resting peacefully near the window and on his desk. Merlin brought the cape to Arthur and moved behind him so he could place it on his shoulders. Arthur looked down at his feet not sure if he had over stepped with Merlin or not. The warlock rested the cape on Arthur's shoulders and moved back in front of him so he could tie it around his neck properly. Arthur cleared his throat.