Don't You • Merthur ✔️

IX: Daylight

That evening, the two had bid their goodbyes and left Ealdor, making their way back to Camelot. Merlin's mind never left from the events that occurred back in his village. When those strong feelings that were once held back for the longest time were finally uttered, it was more than just relief. It was also a crevice for new opportunities. Though, Merlin was too abashed to name what those opportunities were.

The two spent the night in the tavern with the other knights who invited them, to celebrate Merlin's return, according to Gwaine.

"Why were you gone for so long, Merls?", Gwaine giggled, who seemed like he was seconds away from passing out.

"There was just something I needed to attend to. Something came up back at home, nothing much.", Merlin glanced at Arthur, who gave him a sly smirk.

"If anything, I'm surprised to see Arthur still alive! How did you survive this long without Merlin? Could you dress yourself?", Percival teased, with a beer in hand.

The tavern suddenly filled with howls of laughter from the knights.

"Very funny. I'm not a child, I took care of myself perfectly fine."

"Are you sure? You probably spent these past two weeks fighting on the training grounds to cope without Merlin.", Gwaine added, chugging the last mug of alcohol on the table.

"If you don't want a week in the stocks, Gwaine, I recommend that you shut up.", Arthur rolled his eyes as he drank from his cup of beer.

"Fine. Put me in there as long as you want, because it only proves that you can't live without Merlin. I know I can't.", the long-haired knight purred, laying his head on Merlin's shoulder just before he passed out.

Merlin couldn't suppress the chuckle that left his throat, letting out a loud hiccup afterwards. He would be lying if he said he wasn't flat-out drunk. He didn't even drink that much, at least compared to Gwaine.

He doesn't remember the last time he let loose like this, drinking at the tavern. Arthur, however, thinks he has spent an awful amount of time in this place.

The knights enjoyed their time, letting out boisterous cheers that made the tavern a lot livelier. However, a blond-haired prince's attention was fixated on something else. He was comically unaware of how obvious his staring was. He only gazed at Merlin, who smiled and giggled at himself, his eyelids slowly drooping with drowsiness.

He lost all body coordination, his hands knocking over multiple bottles on the table. "Oops–", he giggled, trying to make the knocked over bottles stand back upright.

Damn cute, Arthur thought. Then he wondered to himself, has he ever found another man– cute? But he couldn't help it, he could not take his eyes off of him. A warm flush covered Merlin's face; he observed the red of his ears, then his cheeks, then down to those lips.

Something about the scarlet that filled them seemed so inviting. Almost a little too inviting, as he almost did something he would've found shameful. Though, he didn't mind the fact that his heart was racing, because Arthur caught himself staring, maybe a little too long.

But it was nothing. It was probably because he was a little tipsy. Yeah, that's right, he thought. He regrets drinking this much, the disorientation he felt made his vision grow fuzzy, and soon enough everything went dark.

---

The next morning came and the bright rays of the sun filled Arthur's room, giving the place a nice, comfortable warmth in the morning. Except, it wasn't the morning. It was one in the afternoon and both Arthur and Merlin were sprawled out on the bed, completely passed out from the night before. They have never overslept like this in a long time, especially Merlin.