Magic

Chapter 3

Merlin could feel Arthur's breath coming shortly on his face, he could even smell the scent that the prince so vehemently wear every day. He was getting drunk of the delicious cologne the prince was impregnated with, and his heart started pounding like a crazy drum. Hitting his chest so painfully that his breath was coming short and slow, feeling his skin warming and tingling up with the sensation of Arthur's warm and rough skin.

He was getting dizzy and his heart couldn't stop hitting his rib caves with force, Merlin was getting excited for being near the person he loves...wait, this is not correct, the moment he thought of Arthur like something else than a friend, his head started hurting and throbbing like he was being hit it by something hard and metallic. His breath was shallow and a thin cold sweat bathed is body, his heart was beating so painfully that he thought he was going to have a cardio arrest. But all of a sudden, it stopped. The feeling of him dying just because he thought he was in love with Arthur stopped as suddenly as it came, and everything was in his place. He didn't see the room moving around him and saw Arthur looking at him with worry, he smiled a little bit at him letting him know that he was perfectly fine even though he wasn't at first.

Why did he think he was in love with Arthur? Arthur is just a friend, he doesn't have feelings for Arthur. Lancelot is the one for him, he loves him, he is in love with Lancelot and nothing could change it, not Arthur, not him. But why? Thinking about Arthur that way left him feeling disturb and empty, like, there was something missing when thinking of Arthur in a romantic way. Arthur was still looking at him, worry still about him looking like he was going to collapse or faint. Merlin smiled one more time reassuring him that everything was okay with him and there was nothing to worry about, but he was happy to see Arthur worry over him, it left a warm feeling tingling in his belly and chest. He felt his cheeks warmed a little bit, and knew he was blushing for reasons unknown.

Lancelot cleared his throat and that sound made the two men looked at him surprised.

"I was already thinking that there was something wrong with you two as you didn't even move from the same spot and stopped breathing all together," Lancelot said getting closer to them, looking that Merlin had his entire face cover in a red, pinkish, adorable blush. Lancelot smiled and turned to see Arthur that had step back from where he was with his face blushed as well. Lancelot only raised an eyebrow at the sight of the Prince.

Merlin didn't know what got into him, he couldn't normalize his erratic breathing and felt his face burning like if the sun was in front of him. He passed his tongue over his lips, licking them and feeling how they were all chopped and dry. Merlin couldn't tear up his gaze from Arthur who was standing far away from him, looking awkward and confused. He looked away as well to see Lancelot with a smug in his face, that made Merlin looked at Lancelot with a bored expression. Lancelot was getting the whole picture wrong.

But he couldn't do anything to make Lancelot think otherwise, he just sighed and moved towards Lancelot who was looking at him funny.

Lancelot opened his arms to embrace Merlin, something that was normal for them to do, they were very close and Merlin could fantasize  for a little bit that those hands belonged to Arthur, but surely it wasn't the same as to feel the real thing. Merlin could feel the warmth of Lancelot's body embrace him and that made him suddenly sleepy, he didn't know why he was feeling so weak all over if he didn't do anything more than talk and walk with Lancelot, they didn't even move that much. 

Lancelot felt Merlin's body going limp, he had to hold him tight against his body. Arthur that was looking from far away got closer to them, the view and the scene they were displaying didn't make him feel good, he wanted to go there and ripped him from Lancelot's arms, he wanted so much to have him against his body, to feel how close he was to his body, to smell that delicious scent, to feel his skin under his touch how smooth and soft could be. He muster all his might not to think more about his fantasies and get a hold of himself before doing something stupid in front of Lancelot, he wasn't going to lose against him. Not this time.

"If something wrong?" Arthur asked looking at Merlin resting on Lancelot's chest, he didn't like that particular view, but he couldn't do anything to make them part away, they were friends and he is supposed to be pining over girls instead of a servant as Merlin. He looked away, not having the nerve to keep looking at them.

Lancelot that had set his eyes upon Merlin's limp body, looked up to see Arthur with worry eyes and narrowing his eyes. He smirked at the sudden look on Arthur's face.

"Don't worry, Arthur; he is fine, I think he just got tired mysteriously;" Confessed holding Merlin closer to his body, he saw by the corner of his eye how Arthur's body shifted uncomfortable, he wanted to laugh more than ever, but he contain himself and very serious said "Look, I have things to do and can't take Merlin to his room, is there a possibility that you can take him? If that's fine with you of course." 

Arthur after hearing Lancelot's proposal was astonished, normally Lancelot was the one to always being carrying Merlin when something like that happens, he even volunteered one time to take Merlin to his room as the boy was very tired to go to where he was staying for being hunting all day long, but Lancelot rejected him by telling him that he was more built and taller than him and that it was better for him to take him. Arthur was taken aback for how Lancelot implied that he wasn't strong enough to take care of Merlin and that made him annoyed and irritate of Lancelot, he didn't like they way he was when it came to Merlin, it was like he was marking his territory by always being beside Merlin all the time. He also wanted to have private time with Merlin, after all he was his friend; they met before even knowing about Lancelot's whereabouts. 

There was a time when he decided to fight for Merlin's affection, he was going to do everything in his power to make Merlin pass more time with him than with that guy. Arthur thought that Merlin also wanted to pass more time with him as he was the one who was always nagging him for neglecting him and that the only person that he could count to be always there was Lancelot, Arthur once again got annoyed by the mention of the knight, but ignored that feeling and focused on Merlin who was sulking while cooking his meal. He smiled, looking at Merlin do chores make him believe like they were very intimate, that only he has the opportunity to see a side of Merlin that was very domestic, well, he was a servant, and he was used to do stuff like this. But that didn't stop Arthur for falling more for Merlin, everyday. But when he was going to execute his plan of passing some quality time with Merlin, he saw how close he and Lancelot were, and how Merlin's expression was very different when he was with him, he was looking at Lancelot with such tender eyes and a soft smile that make him shiver. He heard him laugh like never before, Arthur never saw him laugh like that. 

He understood.

There was no place in Merlin's heart for him no more. He was too late, Lancelot won his heart and he was a fool with hopes on when Merlin suggested pass more time with him and he was so stupid and dumb to realize that Merlin was just thinking of him as a good friend and nothing else. 

And that hurt him so very much.