Just Hold Me [ merlin x arthur ]

13 - first: a simple touch.

arthur looked down at his finger , grabbing it — calloused fingers wrapping around the singular digit ,  blue eyes trailing back up to look at him with a frown as if testing him before he let go , once merlin turned to move again .

" you know, still haven't changed how dramatic you are huh ? " he questioned with a roll of his eyes not that he minded, his annoying dramatic moments are what made merlin — well , merlin .

arthur certainly wouldn't change a thing about him, not even something as small as his hair color , it wasn't a one way ticket ; his servant never wanted for the blonde to change , either .

sure ; for the better , like he had of over the years but ,
to still be the prat thatd of stuck by him the whole time , even after everything .

when the other got instep with the king , the blonde looked up , taking note of their distance between the gates and them ,
  his ocean hues scanning the area before he moved closer to merlin ever so slightly, so that he could hook his pinky with the others just for a moment ,

even if that's all they got .

yet merlins gaze follows the others as he felt him grab his finger  ,
  he only blinked , brows stitching together but once he realised what the other was doing , he went with it in a heartbeat , nimble fingers somewhat sitting against the others , his own pinky clinging to the others like a jigsaw , only slowing his walk to waste as much time as he could to simply be this close , his heart possibly skipping a beat , he couldn't help but smile to himself , it was small , but for sure evident .

" dramatic ? " nothing but a laugh escapes his lips , " .. well - no ... i - i mean id hope not .. " he'd never change ; just like the blonde told him not too .

he made a promise to himself that hed stay the way the king wanted him too .

" yes , dramatic you . that's exactly what you are."
arthur mumbled under his breath , making it his turn to point at the other with a roll of his eye .
" still a total bumpkin as ever ."

nothing but merlins jaw clenched at his remark , shaking his head slightly " .. ill take it as a compliment - but , i mean you can be worse — " he rebutted .

arthur feeling his finger curl with his the others moved slightly to slot between them a bit , gladly moving slower with merlin .

it was odd what a simple hand hold could to someone . . he felt like a kid again all excited , heart slightly racing over the closeness but they weren't kids anymore.

they had experienced things no one else had , went into a battle at a young age knowing the chances of making it out were somewhat slim but it was done anyway - did they still have a right to act young when the youth was taken and filled with responsibility and burdens ?

merlins gaze fell to his feet , averting the others in a way , being , shy and all , feeling that , good , sick in his gut , the butterflies , the hunch of joy he never thought hed have , the urge to tug him into his arms and hide away from the world with nothing but him as he felt something as simple as his hand , sure in a way it hurt because he couldn't , but this was enough .. he was enough .

no matter of age , it was reality , and he had him , he had to tighten his grip at one point to reassure himself that it was , but , this was it , and he was going to cherish every moment he had with him .

" excuse me ! i cannot be worse , shut up."
  he nudged the boy , though , made sure his grip tightened so merlin wouldn't let go , yet merlin only stumbled slightly — he didn't want to let go , either , and attempts to fix his step .

soon , whilst trekking  , arthur grew brave , more of his fingers slowly slotted into place with merlins boney digits ,
  a knotting feeling in his stomach is unfamiliar .
it was different than how he had felt thinking of gwen a few years ago , different than anything but a good different at that .