And the Reason Is You

You know, if I had more time and wasn't trying to balance writing one fic a week and university, I would have probably made this fic longer and turned it into a proper magic-reveal fic where Arthur doesn't know about Merlin's magic yet. But since I don't have that time, I made the fic shorter and sweet, and tbh I quite like it :)

Title inspired by the song "The Reason" by Hoobastank.

Enjoy!

. . .

AND THE REASON IS YOU

. . .

Merlin honestly didn't know what he was thinking, but it was too late now to take it back. Not that he'd want to though. While helping a sorcerer run away from the knights of Camelot was a crime punishable by death, it was worth it when the sorcerer was just a little boy who'd begged Merlin for help telepathically.

Something like that didn't happen often. It only took one look at the boy to make Merlin realize that he had to help him. He was just a little boy with magic after all.

He was just like him.

This way, he'd told him. Run. Run!

They were still running. Up the stairs, through the halls, praying that no one would see them and catch them.

The boy's hand was so little and weak. It only made Merlin's legs move faster as they rounded a corner and ended up at the only semi-safe space that Merlin could think of at the moment.

Arthur's chambers.

He hoped the prince wasn't inside—they had nowhere else to go and he wasn't sure whether Arthur would ever consider lying to his own father for the sake of a boy like this one. And for Merlin's, now that he was technically an accomplice.

It turned out he had no such luck.

The moment they burst through the door, Arthur looked up at him, eyes wide, his hand with a spoon stopping halfway to his mouth. When he spotted the boy, his eyes widened even more.

Before anything, Merlin closed the door.

Then he looked at Arthur with desperate, pleading eyes, as the boy kept leaning against him more and more with every passing second.

"Merlin-"

"The guards are after him. I didn't know what to do."

As soon as he finished with his brief explanation, there was a knock on the door. Merlin quickly stepped aside and moved closer to Arthur, not sure if he would even help them, but having no other choice. They'd known each other long enough by now to be friends (at least Merlin would like to think so), but would Arthur actually betray the king for him?

"My lord?" A guard spoke from behind the door.

Merlin looked up at Arthur again, his eyes pleading for him to help them. Arthur looked at the boy and then into Merlin's eyes and for a moment there, Merlin almost thought Arthur would hand them over to the guards. But then Arthur's eyes softened and something changed.

"Hide him in there," he said and pointed at a little door at the back wall that led to his antechamber.

Without hesitation, Merlin gripped the boy's hand tighter and ran for the door. Once they were safely inside, Merlin heard Arthur open the door to his chambers.