So it's not merthur but it will have merthur in it. This is going to be a little story about uther being a good dad and arthur having a rough day to the point he falls asleep on his dads shoulder.
Also uther won't be against magic since he spoke to his dead wife and forgave his own sins
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Uther was still king but Arthur's time was coming soon so he had put most of it on the prince for a while.
This took a toll on his stress level and he was exausted but uther knew it was good for him. Good for him to know what being a king means before he became one.
Today was the day they went back to normal and Arthur couldn't wait for it. He knew he shouldn't have felt like that but he was so tired that when he went to his morning meeting he fell asleep.
After his father asked him to join him while they have a meeting with some towns people in the throne room. He sits on his throne next to his father his head lulling forward to rest on his father's shoulder. Uther shifts but doesn't move letting him stay there.
The meeting started and uther told them all to talk quietly to let the poor prince sleep. True to their word they all wisper so when Arthur awakes a few moments before they leave he is confused.
He straightens himself and tries to recover from sleep. "You did not need to send them away, I apologize for falling asleep like that" he said but uther just smiled
"I did not send them away we just finished. I found no need to raise our voices nor did I find a reason to wake you." He said and Arthur was shocked
His father had spend many months making up for the years of not being a good father to him. He was happy to have his father like this.
"You know I didn't just dump all of that on you for no good reason. Those are only some of the kings tasks. You need to remember this when you become king" he said softly
"I will I swear" he said and uther seemed to like this answer because he patted his shoulder
"Good now go and get some more rest. You can have the day off tomorrow you will resume your prince tasks the day after" he said and Arthur couldn't have been more happy
"Yes father" he said and uther hugged him smiling as he thought of something to say before his son left.
"Oh and why don't you ask a servent to bring you and merlin some food" he said making Arthur blush
Uther had known that they had something going on for a while but never brought it up tell now
The next words from his fathers mouth makes Arthur feel like he is dreaming.
"He will make a good king. I see the way he keeps you humble and makes sure you are making the right choices he will help you a lot when you are king so don't forget to let him help" as uther speaks Arthur realizes that his father did pay attention to him he just didn't show it.
"I made that mistake with your mother so don't make the same one I did" he said and Arthur nodded again.
"I won't, thank you father" he said and then left to go tell merlin what had happened
Merlin wasn't suprised his only response being to say he helped already with lots like speeches and finding papers he needs, or checking them etc.
Merlins rant goes on for so long Arthur has to kiss him just to get him to shut up long enough to continue his story.
In the end he takes his father's words and gets food for them that they eat together talking about the future of the kingdom.
