No more secrets (Merthur)

chapter 2 - Truth or dare?

Merlin woke up to find that the others were already awake. They had fed the horses, packed up the camp and were ready to leave any minute. Arthur seemed to have noticed him awake, he walked next to Merlin and sat down on the grass. "Gwaine told me you didn't really sleep well last night so I told the others to let you sleep," he explained, looking into Merlin's sleepy, half closed eyes. He handed him an apple and started to get up after Merlin took it. "We'll get going in a minute, eat your apple and pack your things when you're done with it," he said and turned to walk away to his horse.

Merlin sat up and ate the apple, all the while packing his things with a little bit of help from his magic. He was soon done and he went to ready his horse. He packed his things on the horse, then hopped on and was ready to go, just in time, as the others did the same and started to move deeper into the woods.

It was still early in the morning and the sun didn't yet bring much warmth. The birds were singing a beautiful melody that nearly put Merlin right back to sleep. He was so tired, even though Arthur had let him sleep later than usual. Honestly he never really got much sleep, he was always tired from all the chores, as well as saving Arthur's royal backside on a daily basis.

Soon they dismounted their horses and scattered to hunt in smaller groups. Arthur left with Leon, Elyan and Percival. He would have wanted for Merlin to come with him but he didn't want the others to know that, so he didn't say anything when, to Arthur's disappointment, it seemed like Merlin wanted to go with Lancelot and Mordred.

Gwaine cheerfully hurried to Merlin and the two others and asked, "Mind if I join you guys?"
"Not at all," Merlin replied and gave him a smile, while Lancelot and Mordred were a little hesitant. Merlin noticed this and, after checking it was just the four of them there, he said, "I told him about my magic last night." Gwaine smiled, standing next to Merlin, facing the other two. Lancelot and Mordred looked surprised, and neither knew what to say. "It's alright, he won't tell anyone," Merlin assured them. The two of them nodded, slightly smiling. "Let's start hunting then," Lancelot said and started walking to the opposite direction of where Arthur and the others had left. The other three followed him and started hunting.

The sun was now high up in the sky and there were no clouds at sight. All kinds of animals were hiding in the bushes around them. It was a good time to hunt indeed. Merlin used his magic to catch a few birds right from the sky above, they landed with a thud. Gwaine was watching in amazement, as Merlin used his magic with great skill. They all caught a surprising amount of prey, and as the sun started to set, they headed back to their horses.

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Arthur was walking through the woods, towards where they would next set up camp. He was frowning and pouting to himself, while Leon, Percival and Elyan walked behind him. They noticed Arthur was in a bad mood so they didn't dare to say anything, they just walked with their prey in their hands.

Arthur hadn't caught anything, which was strange, since he's usually the one who catches something even if the others didn't. He was too distracted, thinking about earlier. Arthur was still upset that Merlin didn't seem to want to spend time with him. Arthur wanted Merlin to always be by his side, he couldn't bear it whenever he didn't know where Merlin was or whether he was alright. He cared about Merlin more than he'd ever cared about anyone else before. He was his best friend. Though lately Arthur has been starting to feel differently about his friend.

He wasn't sure what it was, but his heart fluttered every time Merlin was close to him, and when he wasn't, he found himself thinking about him constantly. He felt himself blushing everytime they touched each other, and his stomach seemed to flip upside down whenever Merlin smiled his beautiful bright smile. When he looked into Merlin's eyes, oh those beautiful blue eyes, he could feel himself getting lost in them and he couldn't take his eyes off of him.

Arthur was too much of a cabbage head to realize it, but he was in love with Merlin. Oh how deeply he was in love with him. He never wanted to be apart from him, and if he ever died, Arthur would surely crumble to pieces and soon follow him into the peaceful place called death.

They arrived to where they left the horses, and Merlin, Gwaine, Lancelot and Mordred were already there. They had build a fire and set a few logs around it, and Merlin had started to prepare dinner. Arthur went to sit by the fire, tired and pouting. Merlin turned his head to look at Arthur, and the smile that was on his face, faded, when he saw that Arthur was in a bad mood. "Are you alright?" Merlin asked, worry evident in his voice. Arthur had a distant look in his eyes, as he watched the flames dance before him, reaching higher and higher toward the sky. He wanted to tell Merlin how he missed him, but it was ridiculous, they had just seen each other in the morning. So instead he just said, "Just tired." Merlin didn't seem to believe him, but he didn't say anything, he just turned back to cooking the stew.

Arthur was watching while Merlin made food. He loved to watch Merlin and he would have started to feel better already, if it wasn't for the strong urge to wrap his arms tightly around Merlin and never let go. He started to wonder why he was feeling like this, but he couldn't come up with a reason. That was until he heard Merlin humming, and his mind started yelling, 'I love him! I love him!' The realization hit him, he loved Merlin. He loved him with all his heart, with all his soul, and now he knew it. He wanted to tell him, oh how he wanted to say those three beautiful words, but he couldn't. Because what if Merlin didn't love him back? But he did, Arthur just didn't know it. So he kept his mouth shut and his feelings obey.

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By the time they had all eaten, the sun was long gone and the bright full moon above was casting shadows over their campsite. They were all sitting by the fire, while Gwaine got another idea. "Let's play truth or dare," he suggested with a smirk. They all knew what it was, and they all agreed, though some of them hesitated to.

"Okay Gwaine, truth or dare?" Mordred asked with a chuckle. "Dare," he answered confidently. "Take your stinking socks and bring them far, far away from me," Elyan told him, with an expression of both disgust and amusement. They all laughed out loud, except for Gwaine who sighed, got up and took his socks and put them in his pack, away from where they were sitting.

Gwaine came back and sat down, annoyed. "So Elyan, truth or dare?" he asked. Elyan took a deep breath and thought for a while, then he replied, "Truth."
"Are you having a crush on anyone, if so, who?" Gwaine asked with a smirk. "First of all, that's two questions. Second of all, no I don't," he told them, and then asked, "Merlin, truth or dare?"
"Dare," he answered, not wanting to answer any uncomfortable questions. A few of them looked surprised, though mostly just Arthur. "Kiss Arthur," Elyan said, a smirk now on his face too. In fact, all of them were now smirking and laughing, seeing how red both Merlin and Arthur's faces were. By now, Merlin was wishing he'd picked truth.

The knights were grinning like fools, waiting for what was coming next. When Merlin didn't do anything, Arthur burst out, "Oh just do it, don't be such a wimp." At that, Merlin, who was sitting right next to him, grabbed Arthur's face and pressed their lips together. 'What am I doing?' Merlin thought as he kissed Arthur, his eyes closed. He was about to pull back, when he felt Arthur's hand behind his head, pulling him closer, and his lips kissing him back. Arthur's other hand was resting on Merlin's waist, and Merlin's hands were now wrapped around Arthur's neck. Merlin was tugging Arthur's hair, and Arthur's hands found themselves around Merlin's thin frame with a firm grib. They were kissing each other with such passion, with so much love, it was overwhelming. They were aware of the others watching, but they couldn't care less.

They pulled apart and they were panting for air. They were looking into each other's eyes, their hands still around each other, they pressed their foreheads together and closed their eyes. Their hearts were beating furiously as they gently pressed their lips together again. This one was a much more of a sweeter and shorter kiss, that showed the tenderness and caring between the two.

The others were looking at them, dumbfounded. When the two stopped kissing, the knights started giggling and they were, once again, grinning like fools. Arthur and Merlin turned to look at them, and their faces flushed a bright red. They took their hands off of each other, and shifted so that they weren't sitting so close to each other anymore.

"So, who's next?" Merlin asks, trying to act like nothing out of the ordinary just happened. They went on with the game and no one mentioned the kiss. Well, Gwaine tried, but the others shut him up. Soon they went to sleep, and both Arthur and Merlin were acting like nothing happened between them, while the knights were just looking at the two, frustrated that they can't seem to just confess their never dying love for each other already.