Merthur Oneshots

When Magic is the Only Option

Hullo and welcome to another merthur oneshot! I'm a little rusty on the writing front so we will see how this goes! Hope you enjoy:)

Merlin was in a sour mood, he had spent the entire day before trying to get a moment alone with Arthur, but the new king of Camelot was constantly being whisked away for duties, much to both of their upset. But the current cause for Merlin's ire was a visiting noble family, whose daughter was trying very hard to gain the favor of the king. Arthur paid her very little mind, as the girl was still in her teenage years and Arthur now in his mid-twenties, but there was also the fact that Arthur simply didn't like women. Which no one except for Merlin knew, of course this made sense as the two were secretly courting, but this still didn't make the young girl flirting with Arthur any easier for Merlin to bare.

Lunch with the noble family had finished, and Merlin followed Arthur from the room and through the halls of the castle until they reached Arthur's chambers. Merlin shut the door behind them and began picking up laundry, tossing it into the basket he was carrying, a clearly upset look on his face.

"What did that laundry ever do to you?" Arthur joked watching Merlin

"Be on the floor" Merlin grumbled

"Merlin, what's wrong?" Arthur asked, realizing something was truly awry

"Nothing" Merlin replied, his tone dull and dry

Arthur raised an eyebrow and walked over to the raven haired man, taking the basket of laundry from his hands and setting it down. After that, he took Merlin's hands in his and looked at the others face, searching for an answer as to what was wrong. Merlin softened slightly at the way the blonde showed concern, letting his eyes meet Arthur's.

"Cariad, what's wrong?" Arthur asked with a soft tone

"We didn't get any time together yesterday, and the noble girl is all over you" Merlin explained

"You know I only care for you in that way, and as for spending time together, I was thinking about calling the knights for a hunt" Arthur offered

"When would we leave?" Merlin asked, his interest peaked

"The day after tomorrow, as the visiting nobles leave in the morning tomorrow" Arthur answered

"How long would we be gone for?" Merlin questioned

"Not entirely sure, however long we would like I suppose" Arthur supplied

Merlin smiled, hunts were always good times for him and Arthur to spend time together unbothered. They hashed out a few more details for the trip, agreeing that it would be good for both of them. At some point towards the end of the conversation, Arthur had kissed Merlin lightly on the cheek, causing Merlin to jokingly tell him he missed. This caused Arthur to kiss Merlin breathless before a knock on the door called their attention.

The day preceding the hunt was chaotic at best for Merlin, and by the end of that day, he was exhausted. He prepared the bath for Arthur like always, using a little magic to keep it just right, made sure supper was set up, lit the hearth, prepared Arthur's night clothes and tidied up while he waited on the king to return to his chambers for the night. Arthur returned only a few minutes after Merlin had completed everything, an exhausted look on his face.

"Dinner is on the table, the last of the bath water is warming on the fire, your night clothes are set out on the bed and I organized your desk as it was a right mess" Merlin spoke as he used a rag to dust a shelf

"Thank you" Arthur spoke, a sigh of relief leaving him, then he noticed how tired Merlin looked "when was the last time you ate or sat down?" Arthur asked