Merlinadvent Day4: Fic: Baking
Title: Baking
Author: jelazakazone
Fandom: Merlin
Pairings/characters: Merlin/Arthur, cameos by Aithusa and George
Rating: PG13
Word Count: about 600
Warnings:
Summary: Merlin would rather not polish Arthur’s armor again
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters and am not intending to profit from them
Authors’ notes: The daggers might have been borrowed from kleinefee92 ’s Day 8 fic wherein Gwaine does not receive a dagger. Written for day 4 of merlinadvent. Also, this is a direct follow on from Day 3 of Merlinadvent and references a drabble I wrote in October for a challenge that hermitknut held. Drabble included at the top here. Thanks to kleinefee92 and lewisian_gneiss for the beta help. I realize that oranges are anachronistic, as is the type of cake, but this is Merlin after all.
This was the drabble I wrote in October from this prompt:
They talk with tenderness
and pride, and yet their plight
is perilous unless
sweet Mary minds her night.
Giggles erupted from the kitchen as Mary walked in to find Arthur and Merlin coated in a thin layer of flour. They had decided to make a cake. Puddles of egg dripped from the counter onto the floor and flour coated everything. “Oh, Morgana will love this,” Merlin proudly said, decanting the batter into the pan. Arthur gently put his arm ‘round Merlin’s shoulder and dipped a finger into the goo. Slowly sucking on rich batter, he whispered, “I love it.” He tipped a covered finger into Merlin’s mouth to suck. Mary backed out, swearing to keep her own counsel.
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Merlin reached out a finger to touch Arthur’s kiss-roughened lips. A soft moan emanated from behind those lips, encouraging Merlin to draw a fingertip down the strong stubbled chin, onto the smooth neck and over his Adam’s Apple. Arthur’s moan escalated as Merlin’s finger reached the collarbone. A hand reached up to swat Merlin’s probing fingers away and Arthur said, “Merlin, haven’t I worn you out?” Merlin sat up and reached over to the table where the wrapped presents sat. He started fussing with the ribbon on the box with the dagger they had wrapped for Sir Percival. His nimble slender fingers were adjusting the curve of the bow as he sighed, again. “Merlin, why are you so restless?” Arthur queried. “The presents are perfect. You know the knights will like the daggers. You’ve done a fine job with the ribbon so stop messing with it. You’re just fidgeting because were snowed in and you’ve nothing more to do. That’s it, isn’t it,” the king said, brightening. “Well, you can--”
Merlin, eyes glittering brightly, interrupted with “--bake a cake!” His smile faltered briefly as he remembered happier times and then continued, “Come on Arthur. It will be fun. We did a great job with Morgana’s cake and we haven’t had a chance to do it again.
Arthur sighed and then nodded slowly, deciding to go along with Merlin’s cheery mood. “Hmm, yes. You’ve got a point, for once.” He clapped a hand on Merlin’s shoulder and turned him toward the door. “Lead the way.” The two men strode purposefully down the dark corridor, chatting amiably as they went. “What kind of cake should we bake this time?” Arthur was asking. “I am not sure what the kitchen stores hold, but George was just telling me the other day that Mary had told him the kitchen was in a fine state for Christmas dinner, so I think we’ll find almost anything we want.”
They rounded the corner and entered the empty kitchen. The fires had been banked for the evening and there was no sign of Cook. Arthur said purposefully, “Merlin, collect the ingredients while I stoke the fire,” and they each went to their respective tasks. They reconvened at a counter, tasks completed, and got down to business. Merlin had found an orange in the stores, and was grinning like a fool. “We can make an orange cake,” he exclaimed. They mixed butter and sugar until it was smooth and creamy. Then they added the eggs and whipped the batter. Finally, they put in zest, orange juice and flour. A ringed finger met an unadorned finger in the batter as they reached in to taste the concoction. Arthur smiled as Merlin’s finger approached his own mouth with batter on the tip and Merlin’s grin widened to admit Arthur’s sweetened finger for tasting. They both moaned with pleasure and agreed that it was a treat fit for a king.
This entry was originally posted at http://jelazakazone.dreamwidth.org/487924.html. Feel free to comment here or there.