Stranded - Merlin/Harry Potter Crossover Imagine

Part 4 [Merlin]

Merlin patted down the edges of Arthur's newly made bed, his mind elsewhere as he nodded along to whatever Arthur had been talking about for the past hour. As much as he tried to return to his normal routine, Merlin found it difficult keeping his mind from drifting to (Y/N). He wondered what she was doing at that moment, if whether she was hungry, or tired. Or if she was getting along just fine without him. Whatever it was, he couldn't stop thinking about her, and it showed.

"Merlin!" Arthur shouted. A wave of anger rushed through him, forcing itself out through his fist with a sudden strike to the wooden surface of his desk. It had been about a week since he asked Merlin to get rid of the strange sorceress, and he hoped Merlin would've come to his senses by now.

"Sire?" Merlin answered, his eyes wide and startled, like a child who knew he was about to be scolded.

Arthur sighed, letting the venom in his mouth dissipate before he said anything else. "You've been distracted lately. You're still not hung up on that sorceress, are you?"

Merlin blinked. Was he really that transparent?

"Of course not," He lied. "I was just thinking about all the work I have to catch up on." He nodded, clearly aware that Arthur wasn't buying whatever he was trying to sell. He fidgeted with the ends of the blanket, dying to get out of this uncomfortable situation before they both ended up saying something they'd later regret – more so himself than Arthur. "Well, I think I'm done for today. I should head back to Gaius."

"Good idea, I'll come with."

Merlin shook his head, his eyes narrowed in confusion at Arthur's sudden need to be joined at the hip with him. It wasn't enough for Arthur to have made Merlin publicly ditch (Y/N), possibly the only person in his universe that could really understand him and make him feel comfortable with who he was, but now he had to deal with Arthur's never-ending suspicions.

"That's quite alright, Sire. I've lived here long enough to know my way back."

Arthur paused for a moment to glance at him, then continued gathering his things. He sheathed his sword and motioned for Merlin to walk in front of him, a smug expression etched into his features. "I wasn't asking for your permission. Besides, my shoulder has been bothering me lately, and I wanted to ask Gaius if he could make me an elixir for the pain.."

"Your shoulder seemed fine during training today."

Arthur smacked his lips, blinking slowly as he tried to subdue his growing irritation with Merlin's defiance. "It's my body, how would you know what hurts and what doesn't?"

Merlin rolled his eyes, and began what was surely going to be a long walk back to his chambers, the sound of Arthur's sword clanking against his armor prompting him to walk faster.

Whatever conversation Arthur tried to start, Merlin ignored. Not because of disinterest, but because he couldn't imagine a topic that didn't somehow work its way back to (Y/N). Everything would always lead back to her so long as Merlin didn't have her by his side. He wanted to question why Arthur made her leave when she hadn't done a thing to harm anyone. Why having magic was so bad that it made people deserving of banishment.

Even his relationship with Gaius was taking a beating, because he, too, agreed with Arthur about (Y/N). Gaius, who helped Merlin keep his magic a secret, couldn't find it in his heart to do the same for (Y/N), even after learning of Merlin's feelings for her.

The way Merlin saw it: Gaius would rather watch the lovesickness claim him, his heart slowly losing its rhythm until it could no longer find the strength to beat on its own anymore. As much as Gaius tried to explain to him that it was for his own safety that (Y/N) disappear, Merlin couldn't understand it.