Author: Loopstagirl
Title: Red and Gold
Rating:NC-17
Characters: Arthur, Merlin
Pairing/s:Arthur/Merlin
Summary: Arthur's moods match the Pendragon colours. Meaning it is up to Merlin to bring him back to gold.
Warnings:
Prompt 18: Gold
Merlin looked up sharply as he heard the door bang open and the King of Camelot stride into his rooms. All it took was one look of Arthur’s face and Merlin sighed. His jaw was set, his eyes blazing slightly revealing the anger bubbling just under the surface. Throwing himself into a chair, Arthur just stared blankly at the wall even as Merlin got to his feet. Moving swiftly, he was soon behind Arthur, his hands pressing into the muscles across his shoulders as he tried to get the monarch to relax. Arthur seemed to be having days like this more and more recently, and Merlin was worried that the pressure of being a king was starting to get to him.
“Red?” The warlock whispered softly, causing Arthur to nod. It was like their own little code. Arthur’s mode was reflected by the Pendragon colours. When he was like this, tense and angry, it was as if he was seeing red, as if everything was harsh and glaring, making him want to hide away. It was up to Merlin to make Arthur see the softer side of things, to bring him back from the edge and bathe him once more in the golden light.
Taking his hand, Merlin didn’t give Arthur a chance to protest. When Arthur was like this, it was up to Merlin to take control, to look after him and give him what he needed. He stripped them both with one golden flash of his eyes and knew by the intake of Arthur’s breath that it was already doing what it needed to. Leading him over to the bed, he gently pushed the king down onto the mattress, another spell causing a bottle of oil to appear in his hands. Pouring some of his hands and rubbing them together to warm it, Merlin only had to cough and Arthur rolled over until he was lying on his stomach. Straddling him, Merlin positioned his hands.
“You really shouldn’t let them get to you, love.” He murmured softly, massaging the tension out of Arthur’s back. It just showed how many times he had done this, for he knew exactly how much pressure to apply to which parts of Arthur’s back. Sure enough, it didn’t take long at all until the King’s breathing had begun to even out and Merlin could feel the way Arthur’s body was relaxing under his hands.
He had to smile softly as his hands continued to move, light and feathery now he could feel the way the tension had lessened. It was only him that got to see Arthur like this, only him that got to be the one to make Arthur this relaxed. The king was limp and pliant in his hands, allowing him to take care of him. Not many people could say that they had the King of Camelot surrender to them.
“Gold...” Arthur muttered almost sleepily, a clear sign that he had come down from his angry mood and was truly beginning to relax. Tipping more oil onto his hand, Merlin let them drift lower, carefully beginning to work Arthur open.
“My golden king.” He whispered, kissing the back of Arthur’s neck gently before lining himself up and pressing in. His hands ran down across Arthur’s back, over his shoulders and then into his hair, stroking lightly as he began to thrust gently.
When Arthur finally fell asleep an hour later, completely relaxed, Merlin smiled even as he dressed, pulling the covers over his king. He wasn’t sure when the words had come to mean something different to them other than just colours, but he knew that he would make Arthur feel golden every second of the day if he could. Merlin hated the fact that Arthur had to be in his “red” moods first, but as long as he could bring him back each time, back to the golden bliss, that was all that Merlin cared about.