Merlin : Arthur/Merlin : falling, restraintienabluOctober 19 2011, 04:21:56 UTC
They search for Morgana. Uther is worried, and wants to find her. Arthur is (secretly) worried, and wants to find her. Merlin is worried, but not sure if he wants to find her -- he's worried of the inevitable confrontation, worried that he'll have nothing to say to defend himself to her. It was the only way to stop Morgause, the only way to save Camelot.
But Morgana is sharp, and would probably see that it wasn't Camelot he was most concerned about saving.
So when Gaius discreetly flips to a few spells that might lead the way to finding her, Merlin looks the other way.
Morgana once dropped everything to help him when he was in trouble, stood by his side, and Merlin wishes he felt guilty he wasn't doing the same.
~
The search for Morgana is leading nowhere, but life doesn't stop because she's gone. Uther still has enemies, still has allies, still has political obligations to to fulfill. So when a king from a neighboring kingdom requests Uther to attend and Arthur to participate in an upcoming tournament, they go.
"It's for fun," Arthur tells Merlin, exasperated. "They're not out to kill me."
"You're paired to go up against Sir Elias."
"He's a skilled swordsman, it will be a good match."
"He's a sorcerer," Merlin says, bluntly, and hates that it sounds like a condemnation.
Arthur stares at him for a long minute. "We're not in Camelot, there's no rules against using magic in a fight."
"He will kill you."
"You're starting to sound like my father, you know that?" Arthur says, and Merlin is temporarily horrified. "If you're not going to help me prepare for battle, I'm going to get a servant who--"
Merlin snaps out of his daze, and grabs at Arthur's wrist as he passes.
Arthur turns and looks at Merlin, with an amused look on his face. "Really, Merlin?" he asks, with a laugh.
Merlin tightens his grip.
The amusement slowly fades. "Merlin," he repeats, annoyed. He tries to pull away, but Merlin's fingers stay wrapped around his wrist. The annoyance changes into something darker, and Arthur's voice lowers as he says, "Let go."
He doesn't.
"Merlin," he says, swaying into Merlin's personal space, voice dangerously low. "Let go."
Merlin keeps his gaze locked with Arthur's, and he relents.
Arthur takes an immediate step back, then turns on his heel and strides towards the door.
Merlin debates the merits of closing and locking the door, but lets Arthur go.
~
Arthur gets another servant to help him prepare, and so Merlin watches the match in Uther's box, standing just behind the king.
When Sir Elias prepares to use magic, Merlin can feel the pull of it, and he acts instinctively.
Sir Elias' knee buckles, allowing Arthur to score the winning point.
Everyone cheers.
~
As Merlin undresses and redresses him for bed that night, Arthur spends the entire time staring at him.
When he's done, Merlin looks up, evenly meeting Arthur's gaze.
Arthur stares at him for a moment longer, then looks away.
Merlin takes it as a dismissal, and heads to the door.
"Sir Elias," Arthur says, sharply, when Merlin is at the threshold, "suffered a crippling knee injury. He may never walk again.
Merlin turns to look at Arthur, a concerned expression on his face. "I'm sorry to hear that," he says, carefully.
Arthur's tone is oddly blank as he says, "Dismissed."
~
There's a new spell folden and hidden carefully under Merlin's pillow when they return to Camelot.
He doesn't even bother to open it, just watches disinterestedly as it turns to ash in his hand.
But Morgana is sharp, and would probably see that it wasn't Camelot he was most concerned about saving.
So when Gaius discreetly flips to a few spells that might lead the way to finding her, Merlin looks the other way.
Morgana once dropped everything to help him when he was in trouble, stood by his side, and Merlin wishes he felt guilty he wasn't doing the same.
~
The search for Morgana is leading nowhere, but life doesn't stop because she's gone. Uther still has enemies, still has allies, still has political obligations to to fulfill. So when a king from a neighboring kingdom requests Uther to attend and Arthur to participate in an upcoming tournament, they go.
"It's for fun," Arthur tells Merlin, exasperated. "They're not out to kill me."
"You're paired to go up against Sir Elias."
"He's a skilled swordsman, it will be a good match."
"He's a sorcerer," Merlin says, bluntly, and hates that it sounds like a condemnation.
Arthur stares at him for a long minute. "We're not in Camelot, there's no rules against using magic in a fight."
"He will kill you."
"You're starting to sound like my father, you know that?" Arthur says, and Merlin is temporarily horrified. "If you're not going to help me prepare for battle, I'm going to get a servant who--"
Merlin snaps out of his daze, and grabs at Arthur's wrist as he passes.
Arthur turns and looks at Merlin, with an amused look on his face. "Really, Merlin?" he asks, with a laugh.
Merlin tightens his grip.
The amusement slowly fades. "Merlin," he repeats, annoyed. He tries to pull away, but Merlin's fingers stay wrapped around his wrist. The annoyance changes into something darker, and Arthur's voice lowers as he says, "Let go."
He doesn't.
"Merlin," he says, swaying into Merlin's personal space, voice dangerously low. "Let go."
Merlin keeps his gaze locked with Arthur's, and he relents.
Arthur takes an immediate step back, then turns on his heel and strides towards the door.
Merlin debates the merits of closing and locking the door, but lets Arthur go.
~
Arthur gets another servant to help him prepare, and so Merlin watches the match in Uther's box, standing just behind the king.
When Sir Elias prepares to use magic, Merlin can feel the pull of it, and he acts instinctively.
Sir Elias' knee buckles, allowing Arthur to score the winning point.
Everyone cheers.
~
As Merlin undresses and redresses him for bed that night, Arthur spends the entire time staring at him.
When he's done, Merlin looks up, evenly meeting Arthur's gaze.
Arthur stares at him for a moment longer, then looks away.
Merlin takes it as a dismissal, and heads to the door.
"Sir Elias," Arthur says, sharply, when Merlin is at the threshold, "suffered a crippling knee injury. He may never walk again.
Merlin turns to look at Arthur, a concerned expression on his face. "I'm sorry to hear that," he says, carefully.
Arthur's tone is oddly blank as he says, "Dismissed."
~
There's a new spell folden and hidden carefully under Merlin's pillow when they return to Camelot.
He doesn't even bother to open it, just watches disinterestedly as it turns to ash in his hand.
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