chapter 4 - Breakfast in bed

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The second night after Gwen's funeral was closing in. Arthur was getting ready for bed. Well, Merlin was getting him ready for bed. "Do you want me to stay again, or are you alright being alone?" Merlin asked while helping Arthur get his nightshirt on. "You can stay if you want, but I'm alright," Arthur stated, hoping secretly that Merlin would stay. "Alright, well good night then," Merlin said and started to walk towards the door. "Good night," he heard Arthur say while he walked out and closed the door.

'Am I imagining things or did he sound disappointed?' Merlin thought to himself. 'No, I'm definitely just imagining things.' Merlin wished he would have stayed, but what reason would he have had to stay. Then again, Arthur did say he could stay. 'I should have stayed.' Merlin walked into his and Gaius' chambers, deep in his thoughts. "Is there something on your mind?" Gaius asked with his mouth full of food. "Nothing important," Merlin replied and went to sit at the table with Gaius who handed him a plate of food.

When they had eaten, Merlin went into his room, changed into his night clothes and went to bed. The night was surprisingly cold and Merlin couldn't sleep. He was tossing and turning in his bed for at least an hour, he could hear Gaius snoring in the other room.

Arthur was lying awake in his bed, missing the comfort of Merlin lying next to him. He decided to go for a walk. He was walking through the castle barefoot, not even knowing where he was walking to. Soon he found himself at Gaius' door, and decided to go in. He was careful not to wake Gaius up, and opened the door to Merlin's room. Merlin sat up on the bed when he heard the door open. "I couldn't sleep," Arthur said quietly, when he had closed the door behind him. "Me neither," Merlin said. "I started to regret not staying with you," he continued hesitantly. Arthur gave him a small smile and said, "You can still come." Merlin smiled and got out of bed, and the two left the chambers silently and went into Arthur's room. They both got into the bed close to each other, maybe a little too close, and they soon fell asleep.

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Arthur woke up to the sunlight peeking through the curtains. He opened his eyes and saw Merlin curled up against his chest. The sight of his adorable face lit up from the morning sun made Arthur smile. He yawned and closed his eyes again, wrapping his hands tightly around Merlin. He hoped no one would walk in this time. The only thing he wanted was to lie there with Merlin's warm body pressed up against his.

Merlin fluttered his eyes open and saw Arthur's chest moving up and down underneath him. He looked up and his eyes met with Arthur's. They both smiled while they looked at each other, like nothing else in the world mattered but each other.

"Good morning," Arthur finally said, still smiling and looking into Merlin's blue eyes. "Good morning," Merlin said back just as happily, if not more. "You want some breakfast?" Arthur asked. "Would be nice," Merlin replied. Arthur slowly got out of bed and opened the door. Soon a servant passed by and Arthur stopped her and asked for some breakfast for two. She smiled and said, "Of course my lord." She bowed and walked away towards the kitchen.

A little while later there was knock at the door. Arthur opened it and took the tray of food, then closed the door. He walked over to sit on the bed and put the tray down. There was different kinds of meat and cheese, some grapes, apples and other fruits, two tankards of water and some flowers. Arthur took a blue flower and put it gently behind Merlin's ear. Merlin started to laugh at that, and Arthur had never heard anything so beautiful. They both started to eat, Merlin took an apple while Arthur started from the meat and cheese.

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Arthur and Merlin were walking towards the training field where the other knights were waiting for Arthur. It was a warm and sunny morning and there was barely any clouds on the sky. Merlin and Arthur were both in a good mood when they arrived to training. Merlin went to sit next to the field to watch, while Arthur started the training. "Nice flower, Merlin. Who'd you get it from?" Gwaine asked with a wide grin on his face. The others turned to look at them. Merlin had already forgot that the flower was still behind his ear, and he started to blush. "No one," he replied with his face bright red. "It's from Arthur, isn't it?" Gwaine chuckled. Merlin was watching Arthur who was looking away blushing. "I'll take that as a yes then," Gwaine said as he followed Merlin's gaze to Arthur. All the knights were smiling at the two. "Stop staring and get back to training," Arthur said coldly. They did as they were told and no one said another word about it.

When they got back from training, Merlin started to prepare a bath for Arthur. Arthur went behind the screen, took his clothes off and threw them on top of it. The bath water was ready when he got out, and he could see Merlin blush slightly at the sight of Arthur's naked body. Arthur smiled as he got in the bath. Merlin started to gently wash Arthur's hair, he loved how soft it was. Arthur enjoyed the feel of Merlin's fingers in his hair, and closed his eyes, a smile on his lips. Merlin took a much longer time to wash Arthur's hair than it should have took, but neither complained.

When Arthur was ready, he got up and turned towards Merlin. Arthur thought he looked absolutely adorable sitting there with his purple shirt and red neckerchief, a smile plastered on his face. They were staring into each other's eyes and Arthur took a deep breath. He grabbed Merlin by his neckerchief and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Merlin kissed back almost immediately with just as much passion, after he recovered from the shock. Merlin was standing now too, pressed up against Arthur, not caring that his shirt was getting wet. His hands were around Arthur's neck and in his hair, while Arthur's hands found themselves around Merlin's waist with a firm grip. Arthur gently bit Merlin's lower lip. Merlin gasped slightly, allowing Arthur's tongue to enter his mouth and discover every inch of it. After a while they pulled apart, panting for air. Their foreheads were pressed against each other's, their noses touching, their breaths tangled together.

And this is when Leon decided to walk in without knocking. They turned their heads towards Leon and saw his shocked expression. "Sorry sire, I should have knocked," Leon said and closed the door. After he was gone, Merlin and Arthur looked back at each other. After a few seconds they started to laugh lightly. Arthur planted a sweet little kiss on Merlin's lips and finally stepped out of the tub. Merlin was smiling widely. He gave Arthur a towel, and after Arthur was dry, he helped him get dressed. As Merlin was helping Arthur get a shirt on, there was a knock at the door. "Are you decent?" Leon asked from behind the door. "Yes, come in," Arthur replied when he got the shirt on properly.

Leon came in and informed Arthur of a council meeting. Arthur left with Leon to the council chambers after he told Merlin he could have the next few hours off. Merlin walked towards his and Gaius' chambers, happy about what just happened. He entered the chambers with a smile and a wet shirt. He walked straight into his room, not noticing Gaius looking at him strangely. He changed his clothes into a dry red shirt and a blue neckerchief, then he walked out of his room with a smile that seems to never go away.

Merlin sat at the table across from Gaius. "I haven't seen you much lately," Gaius said. "Well I'm here now," he replied cheerfully. "I haven't seen you all day, you weren't here when I woke up in the morning and now you come in, late afternoon, with a wet shirt," Gaius said with a questioning tone. "Yeah, Arthur needed me early in the morning, and my shirt was wet from giving him a bath," Merlin explained, the smile on his face still refusing to go away. "You give him a bath almost daily, you'd think you'd already learned how to do it without wetting your shirt," Gaius stated. Merlin chuckled nervously as he said, "You'd think so wouldn't you."
"I haven't seen you this happy in a long time."
"What's not to be happy about? Arthur's alive, Morgana's dead, the war was won, the kingdom is doing great," Merlin listed out. "Did something happen today you're not telling me?" Gaius asked with a serious expression. "No, of course not," he quickly replied. Gaius looked at him with a raised eyebrow but he didn't ask any more questions.

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It was evening and the sun was setting behind the trees. It looked like it might rain tomorrow. Merlin was walking towards Arthur's chambers when Arthur ran up to walk next to him. "Good evening," he said happily. "Good evening," Merlin replied. They walked into Arthur's chambers, and when they had closed the door, Merlin wrapped his hands around Arthur's neck. Arthur was surprised at first, but he soon wrapped his hands around Merlin's waist and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"I have a surprise for you. Me and the council have been working on it, and tomorrow the ban on magic will be lifted," Arthur told Merlin, looking into those deep blue eyes that he loves so much, and smiling excitedly. "Really?" Merlin breathed out, genuinely surprised. Arthur chuckled and replied, "After all you've done for me, it's the least I can do."
"Thank you," Merlin said and tightened his grip around Arthur's neck. He put his head on Arthur's shoulder and closed his eyes. Arthur hugged Merlin firmly and gently stroked Merlin's back. He whispered into Merlin's ear, "I love you." Merlin lifted his head and looked into Arthur's eyes. He smiled and said, "I love you too."

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