Merthur One Shots

Stretching Your Wings

Date Published: February 11th, 2023
Word Count: 4384
A/N: A little continuation/bonus from my previous dragonlord one shot! I really love that AU honestly!

Merlin fidgeted with the reigns of his mare. The sky was a warm shade of orange, and it was growing darker with each passing minute. There was a gentle breeze in the air that played with the end of his neckerchief. It was by all means a gorgeous evening. Merlin's nerves felt out of place.

He shouldn't be nervous, if he was honest. This was something he'd been looking forward to for almost a week. He was excited! Yet, his stomach was churning, and he felt restless.

The sound of Arthur's horse letting out a whinny pulled his attention back to the prince in front of him. Merlin swallowed, conflicting emotions swirling. Gazing at the back of Arthur's head, he felt relief, but his nerves also grew. He couldn't explain why given the circumstances; this was partially his idea.

Camelot was growing further and further behind them. Any moment would be ideal for them to stop.

Merlin gnawed on this bottom lip. Was Arthur going to decide when they'd make camp? Or was he waiting for him to say something? He hated feeling so unsure of himself. He shoved his doubts down, riding a bit faster so he could pull up next to the prince. "Do you think we should stop soon?" he asked.

Arthur looked at him, and then at the sky and the distant Camelot castle. "Yes, I think we'd be fine here," he said, looking back at him. His voice was light, and a small smile rested on his face. "Let's make camp for the night."

The two of them pulled their horses to a stop and dismounted. Like clockwork, they began taking their bags from their saddles. Merlin took his bags off of his horse, and placed them on the ground to unpack in a moment. He stepped toward Arthur, who handed him the reigns to Llamrei without looking up. It was routine for him to tie up both horses when they were alone. Arthur didn't like letting anyone handle his mare, so he always tied her up himself whenever they went on a mission with the knights; it took a couple years, but he started letting Merlin tie her up whenever they were on solo missions to save time. Now, he realized that the trust he placed in him was more than a coincidence.

The young dragonlord carefully tied both of the horses to a tree, giving both of them affectionate rubs on the nose. When he walked back to the camp, he was surprised to see that Arthur had done most of the unpacking on his own. He usually sat down and waited for him to do it.

"You... you did the unpacking," Merlin said dumbly.

Arthur looked up at him from where he was attempting to get a fire started. "Yes, I am capable of doing things on my own," he replied with a smirk. Merlin opened his mouth, prepared to argue, but he held up his hand. "No need for the snide comments this time; I was thinking you'd want to have as much energy as you can."

The prince smiled at Merlin's surprised expression. "That's... that's really thoughtful of you," he said, feeling his chest expand. It was so easy to forget how their relationship had changed. Everything was the same, but so different. "I guess I should get used to you being nicer to me, huh?"

"Well, not too much nicer," Arthur teased.

The young dragonlord rolled his eyes as he watched him strike the stones a few more times. He wasn't having much luck. Merlin smiled knowingly and approached the fire, kneeling to sit before it. He leaned forward and blew gently through his lips. A small stream of flames flowed from his mouth, catching the wood instantly. He beamed proudly as he leaned back.

A stunned silence was filled with the crackling of the fire. When Merlin looked up, the prince's eyes were wide and his jaw hung open slightly. "You... you can breathe fire? When you're still human?"