Its Worth it, I Promise (Merthur)

Merlin sighed and continued running after Arthur. They were at an amusement park, and Arthur wanted to ride EVERYTHING. Arthur still wasn’t used to all of the modern rides and entertainment, whereas Merlin had had too much. So, when Arthur came back and suggested the park, Merlin almost didn’t go. But of course he would go with Arthur, regardless of the activity.

Now, looking for the other man running through the crowd, he almost regretted it. He could give up at any moment and let the once and future king figure things out on his own. But he couldn’t.

Over the centuries he had tried not to grow attached to anyone, but he would always love Arthur. Recently he had figured out that’s what it was. The feeling that made his stomach turn and his feet feel so big. Whenever he looked into Arthur’s beautiful blue eyes, he felt it all over again. Love. That word he had tried to distance himself from, obviously without success.

As his head began to feel light just thinking about Arthur, he realized that the blonde was beckoning him over to a particular ride. As Merlin got closer, he realized it was the Dragons Tail. Sure he was a great sorcerer, maybe even the greatest, and he had defeated many real dragons, but he was somehow terrified of roller coasters, and the Dragons Tail might as well have been the greatest of all roller coasters.

But Arthur looked so happy and he really wanted to, so, with a queasy stomach, Merlin marched up to the line and stood silently beside Arthur.

As they awaited their turn on the metal death trap, Merlin tried to find a spell to calm his nerves. Failing to do so, he eventually settled on a protection spell, so he was absolutely positive he and Arthur couldn’t be harmed. Even with this knowledge, he was absolutely terrified.

When it was finally their turn, they were strapped into a car-like box with dragon wings on the side, and the ride started.

First they went up, suspense building, until they reached the peak, where they fell forward. From that point on, Merlin was sure he was dead or dying. They looped so many times, at any moment he wasn’t sure if he was right side up or not. They would dip and turn and twist and flip and by the time it was over, Merlin was sure he would never be able to walk again.

He stumbled off the ride like a drunk and grabbed a hold of Arthur’s arm. “Wait, wait,” he mumbled, trying to find his balance.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asked, laughing. Merlin threw himself onto a nearby bench.

“Just peachy,” he answered sarcastically. Arthur sighed. “You don’t really like roller coasters, do you Merlin?” Merlin just shook his head, waiting for Arthur to call him a clot pole, but Arthur just smiled.

“So then why did you get on the ride?” Merlin didn’t know what to say, I went because I just wanted to be close to you, no matter the activity, because I love you? Instead he just said “Because you went.”

Arthur chuckled, “Merlin, I leave you alone for a couple thousand years  and you become a sucker for peer pressure.” Merlin felt the tips of his ears beginning to turn red.

“No, it’s just I didn’t want you to stand alone, and then be all, you know, lonely.” He felt the blush spreading to his face and was somewhat glad Arthur interrupted him.

“Merlin, you never were a good liar,” he said, sitting down next to him on the bench, “Come on, obviously you must know you don’t like them, you could have just not gone.”

Merlin knew he wasn’t going to be able to lie to Arthur, so he mustered up all of his courage and lowered his voice as he much as he could so as to still be heard. His face completely red, he whispered “Because I wanted to be with you.”

Arthur’s smile immediately fell and Merlin knew he had crossed a line. “I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered, “That was inappropriate, I don’t know what I was thinking, I didn’t mean to ruin everything. I understand if you don’t…”

Merlin couldn’t finish. Arthur interrupted him by lightly pressing his lips up against Merlin’s. At first Merlin didn’t know what to do, but he quickly got over his surprise and kissed Arthur back. As they both got more comfortable, the kiss deepened.

After a moment, Arthur pulled away. “You talk too much,” he said playfully. “Prat” Merlin smiled. They shared one more little kiss then stood up.

“So your royal pratness,” Arthur teased, “what would you like to ride?” Merlin laughed at the new name Arthur had given him.

“Anything that doesn’t involve drops, heights, or being upside down,” Merlin responded, shuddering at the thought of such a ride.

Arthur though about this, then smiled. “Well we can go get something to eat.” Merlin laughed, but Arthur was serious. He grabbed Merlin’s hand and started towards the food court. Merlin couldn’t be completely sure, but he felt like he was glowing.

He had waited millions of days for this one day, and it was completely worth it.