Fic: How Do I Love Thee?
Title: How Do I Love Thee?
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing but an overactive imagination. And a computer.
Summary: Merlin counts the ways...
Warning: Vague spoilers for most of Season 1.
Words: 540
A/N: Not beta-ed. Should be read in conjunction with Arthur's 10 Things I Hate About You
…Let me count the ways.
One
I love that you listen. I love how you pay attention to people whose opinions would normally be beneath a prince. You listen to Gwen, you listen to my mum, and you listen to me. And I love that you don’t just hear, but you respond.
Two
I love that you care. You worry about the plight of your people, and the troubles of those beyond your kingdom. You care for the rich and the poor, the young and the old. I love that you care for those you should condemn.
Three
I love the faces you pull when you think no one can see. When your mask of blank indifference briefly slips as you twist your lips or arch your brows when something angers you, or amuses you, or perplexes you. I love how I’m the only one that notices.
Four
I love the way you fight, all skill and determination and force. I love how powerful you are and how much you want to succeed. I love that you fight to win because you fight to protect and to preserve and not for glory and gain.
Five
I love that you admit when you’re wrong and I love that you refuse to concede when you’re right. I love how you’ll argue against what you’ve been taught when you see that change is needed. I love that you fight for what you know is right rather than do what you’re told.
Six
I love the way you say my name. How you stretch it and savour it. How it rolls on your tongue and purrs through your lips. I love how you whisper it in the darkness and how you mutter it in your sleep. I love how it sounds like the most precious thing in the world. I love how my heart flutters every time I hear it.
Seven
I love the way you lick your lips when you’re nervous. The tip of your tongue just peeks out. You do it before you say something you’ve never said before, or when you’re about to disagree with your father. You did it before you kissed me for the first time and you did it again last night.
Eight
I love the way your hair smells, of fresh air and grass and sunshine. I love how soft it feels between my fingers and how it falls about your face. I love how much you tweak it and how you run your hand through it when you’re annoyed.
Nine
I love the way you feel in my arms, all hard muscle and sinew and warmth. I love the way you rest your chin on my head and hold me close. I love the way we fit together like we were always meant to be like this.
Ten
I love everything about you. I even love the things that irritate me. I love it when you pout, or snipe, or moan and when you revert to being a prat. I love it when you glare and you sulk and you lose your temper.
I love all these things because they’re part of you; they make you who you are.
I love them because I love you.