Just Hold Me [ merlin x arthur ]

14 - in this time.

lunch passed , as did the day ; a little before dinner , arthur happened to have disappeared without a word .

in which only caused his servant to grow worried , his mind constantly ruminating on possible divulgations that all lead back to losing him again .

the raven haired male was currently stood in the king's chambers , nimble digits doing their work to fold newly washed clothes so he could put them away .

he hadn't spoken a word to the blonde since he'd of returned from wherever the hell he had of been for the past few hours without letting anyone else know prior ,

he knew arthur had rights to do whatever he pleased as he quite literally was the king ; but not knowing got to him ,
being inquisitive had its cons , too , thinking something had of happened to him , or worse .

he wasn't mad , not really , just upset .
the silence that sat deemed loud , nothing but the rustle of fabric every so often and the crackling of the fire rang throughout .

until eventually , he speaks up .
" so , where were you ?"

arthur spoke , too
" oh so you can talk ? i thought you'd gone dumb ."

remaining where he had been seated since he got back with a furrowed brow and the excuse of a lot of paper work .

he observed merlin for a moment , blue eyes glancing towards the actions of his hands before he exhaled a breath of air ,
shifting his gaze back to the papers , on his feet he cleared his throat, brushing off his statement a bit .

" i told you, i was out , merlin . . "

he wasn't entirely sure why his manservant was so angry about his travels , the hours of silence only keeping him completely puzzled and slightly agitated .

merlin bit his tongue at the blonde's retort , a roll falling to his ocean hues , one thing he didn't miss was his remarks , well — at a time like this , he wasn't exactly in the mood .

" i asked where , you didn't exactly give us any notice ..
i know it's not like you have to ,
but - to go out there all by yourself — "

falling quiet , a breath of air exhaling pursed lips , as calloused digits wrap around the wooden handles as he shuts the cupboard doors , realising how drastic he sounded aloud , contemplation cascades ;
maybe he really was overthinking it .

only to mutter an apology under his breath , slowly stepping over to him .
" . . some sort of closure would've been nice "

" merlin i do not need to relay my whereabouts to you every time i move . "

the blonde sat up some though fell silent for a moment ,
blue eyes watching his every move almost as though determining his mood through the tension in his body .

" merlin — "

calloused hand laid gently upon the softer ones before him , lifting it a bit to gain the others attention fully ; to the darker haired male , feeling tattered palms caress his own did in fact cause him to look at him , shoulders dropping suddenly by the simple touch , as if the king were the only one to ground him .

" why do you stress so much ? you sound as though you cannot trust me ."

by now he let his hand go and moved it to settle against his own side , a tilt falling to his head to signify a silent demand to know what was going on .

merlins lips part to speak , but the audibility of words was completely silent , thinking , dark brows furrowing to cause a dent in between them .

" of course i trust you — it's just- " averting ones gaze , he sighs ,
" .. i fear that if you were to get hurt , or worse , while out there , with none of us knowing —
by the time we'd get to you , it'd most likely be too late -
you must be a fool to think that they're aren't people out there who long for you to be .. dead , arthur."