Hiding

Chapter 11

Merlin woke up once again in the main room of the physician's chambers. He briefly wondered why he wasn't in his own bed before he remembered what—or rather, who—he was sleeping on, and whose arms arms were wrapped around him. He grinned at the sleeping from of his prince beneath him. It was so rare that he saw Arthur look so carefree. He'd always chalked it up to the stress of being a prince, but he knew better now. Maybe being the prince was a part of it, but most of it came from the stress of having to hide his magic from his father, sister, and kingdom.

Merlin didn't know if Gaius was right when he said that Uther would have executed Arthur or renounced him as heir as twelve year old child, but it was almost a certainty now. The king had two decades to let his hate fester and grow, and there was no going back. Arthur and Merlin would have to hide the rest of Uther's life. But they had each other, and maybe that would be enough. Maybe, just maybe, they could be happy. Uther wouldn't allow anything more than a friendship between the two, but it would just be yet another secret.

As he thought about it, Merlin was sure to be executed if the king ever found out about it. It wasn't as if nobles didn't take their servants to bed all the time. That was common enough for them to be safe. And relationships between men weren't unheard of, either. There was too high a risk of bastard children for men to go around bedding random women all the time. No, a physical relationship between them wouldn't be questioned, even as friends. It was if Uther found out just how in love they were that there would be problems.

Merlin would be accused of enchanting the prince. Arthur wouldn't be able to do anything except plead and yell. Gaius wouldn't be able to find a cure, because there was no cure for something like true love. The spell would end when he was dead, except it wouldn't because there was no spell and Arthur would be beyond grief. Perhaps Uther would realize too late that Arthur hadn't been ensorcelled, perhaps he would simply think that killing Merlin hadn't ended the spell and there was no hope of removing Arthur from under the influence of the spell.

Arthur would probably do something stupid, like reveal his magic. Merlin shuddered thinking about it. If Uther found out that there was more between them than friendship and the almost expected physical relationship between master and servant, there would be hell to pay for both of them. Merlin couldn't let that happen. It was his solemn duty to protect Arthur, and if hiding their love was the only way for him to do that, then he would do it.

As he finished that thought, he felt Arthur beginning to stir. Merlin smiled mischievously as he got an idea. He looked around to make sure they were alone, then began to place light kisses up Arthur's neck, on his jaw, and finally on his mouth. Arthur may have been asleep only seconds before, but he was wide awake now. He held Merlin solidly against his chest and kissed back in kind before deepening the kiss.

There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that they definitely shouldn't be kissing passionately in the middle of the physician's chambers, where anyone could walk in and see them, but he ignored it, opting to lightly lick at Merlin's mouth instead. Arthur drank in Merlin's gasp as he pushed his tongue into Merlin's mouth. They were too occupied with each other's mouths to hear the light knock of warning on the door, and only noticed that Morgana and Gwen had entered when Gwen gasped and Morgana squealed.

They ceased kissing immediately and Arthur shot up, taking Merlin with him, of course. Merlin looked mortified and Arthur looked mildly terrified. When Merlin buried his face in Arthur's chest in embarrassment, the girls broke out into giggles that only intensified when Arthur glared at them. When they'd calmed down, no one was sure what to say. Morgana broke the silence with her teasing.

"So... your incredibly strong friendship was what caused the potion to fail, huh?"

Gwen's eyes widened in realization, like she hadn't figured out that it was love and not friendship that was the unexpected variable in the sorceress's plans when they'd walked in on the two kissing. Which, Arthur reasoned, she probably hadn't, until Morgana pointed it out.

"I think we all know the answer to that, Morgana." Arthur responded calmly, not willing to give in to Morgana's antics in this instance. Morgana faltered slightly, having expected fervent denials and not an implied confession. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"When did you finally figure it out?"

"Finally?" Arthur asked, not sure what Morgana was getting at. It wasn't like she could have known they were in love before they did. Right?

"Oh, Arthur, anyone with two eyes and a brain could have seen how in love you two are. It's just that no one but me seemed to look. So, when did you fools figure it out?"

Arthur sighed in exasperation before answering her. "When he was on death's doorstep and only—" he took a breath, preparing himself for the endless teasing the truth would earn him "—truelove'skiss would save him."

Merlin still hadn't removed his head from Arthur's chest, seeming perfectly okay with letting Arthur deal with Morgana's teasing games. The memory of finding out that Arthur loved him back was fresh in his mind, and he smiled at the reminder. Merlin shifted slightly in Arthur's lap, not sure what his friends would think of them now that they knew. It was bad enough that they'd walked in on the kissing, but for them to find out that they loved each other enough to break a powerful curse was worse.

Meanwhile, Morgana and Gwen were aww-ing over the two of them. Morgana thought that Merlin looked absolutely adorable in Arthur's lap, and Gwen would wholeheartedly agree. Arthur, however, was less than pleased with the situation, and not just because his pseudo-sister had had to see him kissing someone. No, he hadn't wanted anyone to find out, because the more people that found out, the more potential for their secret to get out.

"True love! Aren't they just adorable, Gwen?" Morgana turned to Gwen, who giggled and nodded.

Arthur, however, wasn't in the mood for merciless teasing. His face grew serious. "I don't think I need to tell you that what you saw doesn't leave this room, do I? Because it's Merlin's head on the line if my father finds out, and none of us want him executed."

Gwen and Morgana nodded solemnly, then walked over to check on Merlin.

"Merlin, honey, you can come out now." Morgana said as she and Gwen sat on the cot.

"M'good, really." Merlin's voice was muffled.

"Merlin, you don't have a choice. Gaius asked me to check on you later today. It's later, so let me see how you are." Gwen tried drawing Merlin away from Arthur with a gentle hand on his shoulder. Merlin groaned before finally relenting, but kept his head down as he turned to face Gwen. "There we are."

She checked over him before deciding that nothing needed immediate attention. She did notice, however, that Merlin hadn't moved from Arthur's lap, even though Arthur had a hand in his and he could've moved away to let Gwen check him. Gwen thought they were good for each other. Arthur would protect Merlin from danger, and Merlin would be able to get Arthur own of his own head when he needed to.

The girls stayed and chatted with them after that, but after a couple hours they needed to leave to attend to some important matter. Neither Arthur nor Merlin minded the company, but they were still new in their relationship and relished the time alone. It was silent for a few minutes, but Merlin brought up the elephant in the room.

"So they know now."

Arthur sighed. "They do. But I think our secret's safe enough with them, don't you?"

Merlin nodded and repositioned himself so that he was straddling Arthur's thighs with his face tucked in the crook of Arthur's neck. He wasn't sure when Arthur would be forced to return to his duties, but he wanted to enjoy the time they had together. He thought they would wait for Gaius to clear Merlin for walks around the castle, and then Arthur would be able to return to the bulk of his duties. Merlin wouldn't be able to return to practically any of his own duties, seeing as most of them required him to be far away from Arthur.

But right now, Merlin and Arthur were alone, and Merlin would make the most of it. With that thought in mind, he poked his tongue out and licked at Arthur's neck, giggling as Arthur started squirming. They continued in that manner for more than a few minutes, but not daring to do anything more than kissing in this place. Besides, they rather wanted to take it slow after their rough start.

It was late when Gaius returned, and he found the pair of them tangled in each other on the same cot that Merlin had been in when Arthur had brought him in. He smiled.