It was a gorgeous night in Camelot, and Merlin was at the Tavern, forgetting the fact that he had to be up early tomorrow for Arthur's various chores. He was currently pretty intoxicated, having partook in too many tankards of mead.
~~~
The candles were dim in the tavern, as they had been burning all night. There were villagers all around, some were dancing, some were getting into fights, and some were just having a great time. One of them was Merlin. He was in a group of other villagers, talking about King Arthur.
"You should see him sleep!" Merlin spoke, "he snores like a bear!" They all burst out laughing and took a large drink. Merlin looked in his cup, it was almost empty. He downed the last few drops and slammed it on the bar for more. The tavern maiden refused to pour another drink for Merlin, skeptical that he could pay the extensive tab.
"Oh just send it to K-King Arthur, he will take care of it!" Merlin reassured her, barely aware of what he was saying. She shrugged and figured it would get paid somehow, and poured another one.
~~~
Gaius was sitting at his desk reading as usual. The candles were nearly burnt out, he had been studying for so long. Arthur burst in through the door, disturbing the tranquil atmosphere of the room.
"Where's Merlin?" Arthur demanded. Gaius looked up at Arthur, startled by his sudden appearance. He didn't want to say where he actually was, for fear of getting him in trouble. Who would believe that he is getting herbs at this hour though? Arthur, impatient already, did not have time for Gaius's delayed answers.
"He's in the tavern isn't he?"
"Y-yes Sire" Gaius didn't know what else to say. And with that, the King slammed the door shut and made his way to the tavern.
~~~
By the time Arthur walked into the tavern, it was nearly one in the morning. Mostly everyone went silent at the sight of the King of Camelot walking into the Rising Sun at this hour. Arthur surveyed the area, looking for Merlin. It wasn't too hard to find him, he was the only one still talking and laughing. Arthur slowly began walking towards him, listening to what he was saying. The villagers began to converse with each other again, deciding that this wasn't their business.
"He can't even get dressed on his own!" Merlin commented, and took another large drink. The people around him quieted down, when they saw the King himself approaching. Arthur of course heard his "jokes" and got a little angry. He would have to pile on more chores in the morning to teach him a lesson. Once directly behind Merlin, he tapped his shoulder. The clumsy oaf spun around quickly, knocking his drink into Arthur's chest, spilling it everywhere.
"Oh I'm s-sorry sir, here let me help you with that!" Merlin could barely speak right, and he nearly fell over when trying to walk to the bar to get a rag. Arthur reached out and grabbed him.
"Merlin shut up, just come with me, you have to get to bed!" The King struggled to keep Merlin standing upright.
"Arthur??" Merlin finally saw who was holding him. "What a-*hiccup*-re you doing here?"
"Merlin shut up and come with me." He was getting impatient again, and people began to stare at the two now.
"Ok ok let's go." Merlin agreed. He began to walk out of the tavern and fell immediately after two steps. Arthur sighed heavily, and picked Merlin off the floor and held him in his arms like a child. He walked briskly out of the tavern, but not without Merlin loudly saying "Arthur, why is your face so red?"
They were outside now, Merlin in Arthur's arms, walking home in the pale moonlight. They were both quiet, as Merlin had his eyes closed with his head resting on Arthur's chest. Suddenly, Arthur felt something slap his rear. He whipped around, yelling "who's there!". Merlin started giggling, and could barely ask what happened without laughing too hard.
"That was you wasn't it Merlin?!" Arthur's face was beet red, and that only made Merlin giggle more. "Merlin shut up. Never do that again." Arthur seemed agitated, but Merlin was enjoying himself. A little while later, Merlin poked the King on the nose and giggled again when Arthur grunted in annoyance. "I am never coming to get you from the tavern again Merlin." Arthur tried to seem angry to not show how cute he thought Merlin looked in his arms at the moment.
Merlin reached out and put his arms around Arthur's neck and closed his eyes again. Arthur smiled softly and kept walking. When he reached the door of Merlin's chambers, he didn't want to wake him, but he knew he had to. He thought Merlin was asleep, so he gently kissed him on the head and gazed at Merlin's still face. Suddenly Merlin opened his eyes and started giggling again.
"I'm *hiccup* awake Arthur" He slyly remarked with a huge grin on his face.
"Oh for gods sake Merlin, just go to bed" Arthur harshly set Merlin down, and began to walk away, thoroughly embarrassed.
"Wait!" Merlin grabbed Arthur's shoulder and he spun around. They were standing inches apart at this moment, and they just looked into each other's eyes. "I didn't say I didn't like it," Merlin said. "just that I was awake." And with that, Merlin leaned in and deeply kissed Arthur on the lips, and entered his chambers, leaving Arthur speechless.
"I guess I could take a few chores off his list.." Arthur spoke to himself as he slowly walked away.
Thanks for reading and voting!! I really appreciate it! If you have any requests for further chapters let me know! I'm sorry I've been gone so long! It's been a tough couple weeks for me lately. You probably don't want to hear all the details, but I will be trying to get back on track now, with a new (and better than this one) Merthur coming out every week. Thank you so much for your patience and for sticking with the book!
