Merthur

-Sparks-

Merlin had always assumed his magic could never be revealed, even if, in some bizarre turn of fate, Arthur accepted magic into Camelot, the betrayal would be too much. At first it was nothing but now... Now they had been through everything together, stood side by side as battles raged, monsters and dragons fought together, the death of so many and the comfort after yet he had never told him. Surely no man could recover from such a thing.

Today was a calm day, Gaius wished him well on his way up to Arthur's chambers with a smile and a paternal comment. As usual, Arthur was dead to the world and unreasonably angry at being awoken and the sky was a medium grey that was common in the autumn months. The smallest difference was barely noticeable to Merlin, to Arthur it was everything he had ever known changed forever. All it seemed was a misplaced stare.

A stare lingered on Merlin's slender, calloused hands as they worked, his sharp eyes couldn't miss it. Unusual? Yes, but it seemed like an odd and possibly sleep deprived action at best. However, Arthur couldn't bring himself to be predictable, he was fascinated.

He admired the way his gentle fingers expertly repeated the same tasks everyday, the beauty of his careful attention to detail. He chuckled silently as he remembered how clumsy Merlin was in every other circumstance, if only he payed that much attention to every task. He knew why he couldn't take his eyes of his servant, of course he did. It was a simple act in the way of reconciling himself with the truth that he had come to find unimaginably wonderful.

*

One night not long ago Merlin had been staring at the sparks in the fire as Arthur slept; it was times like those when Arthur admired Merlin as he sat in pure contentment, he wasn't proud of it but it was impossible to avoid. You see, under any other circumstance, Arthur would have jumped up, shouted sorcery and readied for a fight, but not then. Merlin's hands moved so subtly and Arthur was overwhelmed with a feeling of strength reaching from all around him as he lay and the sparks began to drift. Slowly and carefully they twisted into shapes of dragons and battles and things that had not yet come to pass, stories of knights and a power higher than anything he knew. He was too entranced to be angry or hurt or shocked and he simply lay absorbing himself into this gentle and wonderful image before him. Merlin was being so... Careful.

He sat there and thought for a while, thought of all the things that made sense and couldn't bring himself to feel anything negative as everything that came to mind was noble, the sense of a higher power that meant something more than violence and the abuse of strength. It was lucky he had witnessed something so kind and wholesome otherwise he may have felt different, he was glad he did as even he could admit such a thing. Maybe it was something in the trees or the ground that he had felt, the magic that had seeped past him well it was... Magical.

*

Merlin continued to work completely unaware that the recipient of his snarky comments and sarcastic wit was admiring him in a new way he had never know. "It would help if you didn't throw your clothes across the room every night, you see this" he gestured to the wardrobe "they go in here," he said as he smirked in the friendliest way he could. Arthur simled back, this was new to Merlin, it was the smile he gave him when he fell off his horse in a comedic way, or that time he nearly fell down a steep slope and ended up surviving and costing himself in mud. "Merlin..." Arthur said softly, "show me something."
Merlin turned to face him with all jest gone from his face, "what?"

He sounded shaken, but confused as though he knew what was coming but was sure it couldn't be. "I want you to show me some magic..." Arthur whispered moving closer to him. Arthur shook as he said it out loud, maybe he was unsure about everything, maybe he didn't trust him. "I-" Merlin choked on his words as he was so unsure if what was happening was real. They both swallowed hard before continuing, "don't be scared."