In The Still Of The Night

Chapter 2

The august heat was rolling off of Arthur in waves, making it harder to fall asleep these days. Furthermore his brain was working overtime. There was just something about Merlin. For the last few days he had been unusually quiet, clumsier than normal, like his head was totally elsewhere. He tried everything, talking to him, distracting him, teasing him but more often than not, he got no reaction out of him at all. He couldn't deny that it got him worried. Tomorrow he'd try again. 'Well, whatever it is, I hope it'll pass.' he thought, and drifted off to sleep.

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Arthur noticed the change in Merlin's appearance. He looked paler, skinnier, his skin darker around the eyes. The signs of exhaustion. He didn't know what caused his manservant's lack of sleep, but he could definitely sympathize. He was having more and more troubles with it each night. Like tonight. He could have blamed the heat again, but he knew that it was more to it than that. He was worried. Because whenever Merlin was troubled, something bad followed, so that couldn't mean anything good. He needed him to be chatty, derisive and insolent . The way he should have been.

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Okay, this was getting really weird. Merlin was giving him a look today that could be only described as... funny. He was glancing at him incredulously, than shook his head, turned his back on him and carried on working. Occasionally laughing to himself, or murmuring something that sounded disapproving. Naturally, when the prince asked what he said, he said it was nothing, or simply just remained silent.

That left Arthur dumbfounded, lying in bed, contemplating whether his manservant had gone mad. One thing was quite sure though, Merlin was utterly useless in the state he was in. Moreso than usual.

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The nights spent either worrying or floating between awake and sleep were taking their toll on Arthur. The bags and circles around his eyes were starting to mirror those of Merlin's, and when his servant was in the room, an unbreakable silence settled between them like a thick, impenetrable wall. And this time, it wasn't a comfortable one. The prince never realized before how much they usually talked, and how he needed that to get through his day, to fulfill his duties as an heir to the throne. Merlin managed to become what a good servant should be: completely invisible.

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Sleep wouldn't come, and Arthur slipped into the bad habit of thinking about Merlin. During the day he had been watching the boy as he worked, and wondered what caused the change in their dinamic. He had been staring at him, smirking as he was mudding through his chores, and couldn't help noticing that there was just something so attractive about him. In the still of the night it suddenly struck him what it was. It was his soul, his strength, his firm belief in something only he could see. Arthur would have given everything to see what Merlin saw.

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The looks have stopped, just like the conversations, and Arthur found that he not only missed the voice that always gave him sound advice, and reassurance when he needed it, he also missed those eyes. The eyes that spoke of sincerity and unquestionable loyalty, that gaze that felt like it pierced his very soul, and told him silently that all would be right in the end. He found that as crazy as that seemed, he craved Merlin's approval, to make him proud, although he would never admit it aloud to anyone. It was hard enough to admit that to himself.

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'Are you even listening? Meeeerlin! I swear you are getting curiouser and curiouser by the day, Merlin'. He had told him, and it was true. The boy's whole body had seemed to be as tense as a string about to snap any minute, but for one shiny moment in time it relaxed, when he turned around and glared into Arthur's face, particularly his lips, like he was deaf, and trying to read the words off his mouth. The prince couldn't explain it, but it angered him to no end. Lately his days were just as unbearable as his nights.

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'Out! I can't even look at you right now!' He hadn't been in a forbearing mood today. Looking back on it, he was exactly the prat Merlin often accused him being. He had snapped, and not just because his lack of sleep. It was disappointment. Merlin clearly hated being around him. Those funny looks, those awkward glances. He had thought he figured it out, he had lost sleep over this after all. But when in the cruel light of day he seemed to be proven wrong, he couldn't handle his hopes being shattered. If this could all just go away...

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Next morning Arthur noticed the subtle change in Merlin's looks.

'You seem...relaxed.' he mused, and secretly he was glad that his manservant looked better, but the tension was still there. The way he looked at Arthur was different. Intense.

'I am. It was nothing a good night's sleep couldn't cure.' he was just standing there with no intention to start working just yet, his gaze never left Arthur.

The prince knew that look. He knew it so well. That was something he had often seen girls sending his way. He certainly didn't expect to see that from his servant, and it was a little bit different. There was no shyness, it was determined, unapologetic. If Arthur didn't know better, he would have thought that Merlin was under some kind of a spell. He hoped he wasn't.

Oh, God, this is really happening. He wasn't imagining those funny glances. The recognition hit him hard, and he turned away a looked out the window. It was all he could do keep from crossing the room and pin that lean frame against the wall. He cleared his throat.

'What are you waiting for? Get to work.' he said, and heard movement behind him.

Someday. Soon.

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The moment Merlin stepped into the prince's chamber, he knew that that would be a point of no return. He had always been an open book to everyone, but his master knew him exceptionally well. How he managed to hide his magic from him this far was as big a mystery to him as it was to Gaius. But when it came to his feeling, his eyes always betrayed him, what was the point in trying?

He stubbornly held the blonde's gaze, almost daring him to read his eyes, and he could have sworn he saw realization crossing the other man's face.

'What are you waiting for? Get to work.' Arthur was probably steeling his voice, but it gave everything away as it broke.

Merlin moved to pick out the prince's clothes for the day, and he was secretly smirking to himself. He saw what he wanted, and he would take it. It was enough. For now.

The answer was there all along. He softly chuckled to himself as he left to fetch Arthur's breakfast, humming absentmindedly. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was in love. So it did turn out to be an enchantment after all.

(The end) ps: Don't hate me