They were deeper in the forest, where sunlight just barely could sip through the mass of leaves.
Despite it should be the lightest hours now, a shadow was hanging heavily over them.
It was too dark, to ride on the horses. Instead they've had to walk, and leading the horses after them. Squinting the eyes, so they could see any obstacle in front them. So, they wouldn't trip on the roots of the trees, or hitting a stone with the foot.
At first neither of them noticed, but the wood was weirdly silent.
The wind wasn't hissing between the trees and grasping the sticks with a gently blow. And the birds weren't chirping, or flapping their wings.
Nothing.
It's like the forest was holding its breath, and keeping the eyes on them. Curios how things would progress between them. And how they would react on the soon encounter with someone they knew...
The ground creaks underneath their feet.
Merlin glances curiously at Arthur, and notices how the blonde is looking at him.
The slender man chuckles shyly and looks away, and gets a smile from Arthur.
The horse behind Arthur starts neighing, while shaking a little with the head.
Merlin looks back at Arthur and gives him a smile back.
The king turns the face forward, and starts clearing the throat.
" Merlin I-..." he starts saying, and the heartbeats increased in speed.
Merlin hums asking.
Arthur swallows hardly.
"There has been a thing in my mind, for a long while now... You aren't allowed to laugh or turn it into a joke..." he adds, while the cheeks start heating up.
Merlin starts eyeing him curiously. Even though it's kinda dark, he could notices how the cheeks seem darker than just a few seconds ago.
Which makes his stomach to twist. In a good way.
But the blush could mean something else. Something he waves away as result from the cold.
It's rather chilly, and he would do anything to be at home, where he could enjoy a warm soup.
Merlin swallows nervously.
"W-what?... And no-... I won't laugh at you..." he promises.
Arthur starts clearing the throat, hesitantly. Maybe he shouldn't ask such a thing. 'Cause, things could be very awkward in no time... There Merlin might be very uncomfortable with being around him.
The king inhales deeply.
"... What would you do-... If-... You fell in love in your friend?... Or wait... You might have been in loved with him for a while..."
Merlin's heart skips a beat.
Did he heard right?!
"... Him?-..." he grins, and couldn't stop feeling hopeful for once.
Arthur flinches, where he inhales sharply.
"N-no I-..." he gulps and stiffened.
How could he foolishly give himself away like that?!
One minor mistake, and he might has screwed up everything...
Merlin grins from ear to ear.
He would love to tease Arthur more, but then, he might not get any answer from him.
So, it's better to remain silent for now. Plus, he promised to be nice...
Right now Arthur's mind is spinning around with a lot thoughts going on. It's a completely chaos in there.
He clears the throat.
"S-so-... What would Y-you do?" He clears the throat again.
Merlin glances at Arthur for a moment, before he looks forward where they are walking toward.
"I-... I would tell him, since he might have feelings for me as well..." he answers, and starts blushing.
Arthur gasps softly and looks over at Merlin.
It's a shame he can't clearly see him through the darkness.
But at the same time, the darkness is a blessing. Simply 'Cause Merlin can't see him either.
"Merlin... I-..." he starts saying, causing Merlin's heart to pound faster.
"Yes?-..."
"I li-...."
In the otherwise silent woods, they could now hear twigs breaking apart as something rather heavy walked on them.
And it wasn't the horses who snapped those twigs. Or Merlin for the matter...
Arthur became alerted and tries looking around, despite he couldn't see much due the darkness.
Merlin raises an eyebrow.
"What were you-..." he starts asking when Arthur hushed him.
The brunette huffed over Arthur's sudden rude behavior.
Arthur hands the reins to Merlin who gasps shocked when he grabbed the leather reins to Arthur's horse.
The blonde man gives Merlin a signal to stay put, and wait until further note.
Then he walks toward the direction in the forest where he heard the sounds from.
Slowly he pulls out the sword, and gets ready to swing it.
When he is close enough to the animal/monster/human, he hides behind a tree to surprise the approaching thing.
YOU ARE READING
Arrow
Fanfiction(Au Merthur with smut) Arthur is filled with guilt. Pain he has caused himself by mistake. Memories he will never be able to forget. And will never forgive himself for. But those memories seem ease a slightly for each day Merlin stays by his side...
