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They were lost.
They were lost in the middle of the maze and they were losing daylight.
“Well, this is just fantastic,” Arthur huffed. “Remind me never to go into a maze with you again, Merlin. You’re terrible with directions.”
“I-” Merlin started to say, to remind the Prince that he had been polishing armour when Arthur had come in and told him that they were going to take a walk in the maze, only to stop himself and roll his eyes. “Let’s go left up at the next turn.”
“Why left?” Arthur asked, frown crossing his handsome face.
“People say that if you turn left, you’ll find the exit,” Merlin explained. “Or is that the middle?”
“I think we should go right,” Arthur replied.
“But-”
“Right it is,” Arthur said, completely ignoring Merlin and walking away.
“Fine, we’ll go right then,” Merlin answered, reminding himself that he had a destiny with the prat, and that he couldn’t turn him into a cockroach and squash him. No matter how annoying the Prince was.
An hour later, they were still lost, night had fallen and it was very, very dark in the maze, and cold.
It was all right for Arthur, he had his big fur coat on, but Merlin hadn’t realized they would be out all night, and only had his thin shirts. Following behind the Prince, he wrapped his arms around himself, wondering if he could get away with a warming spell.
“I think we should stop,” Arthur said, stopping suddenly in front of him, making Merlin ran into his back.
“What here?” Merlin asked, looking around and surprised to see that there was a little alcove off to one side, the grass there thicker, looking a lot softer then what they stood on.
“Yes,” Arthur said, walking into the alcove. “We’ll try again in the morning. I’m sure people will be looking for us by then.”
He lay down on the ground, not sparing Merlin another glance, pulling his warm cloak closer around himself.
Rolling his eyes and sighing, Merlin followed suit, curling into himself and trying to keep as much of the cold away as he could.
He tossed and turned, trying to find a position that would keep him warm and had almost convinced himself that Arthur was asleep and so therefore wouldn’t notice if he cast a warming spell, when the Prince rolled over, pulling him closer.
“Wha-”
“Your tossing and turning is keeping me awake,” Arthur murmured, voice sleepy, as he pulled Merlin flush against his body, wrapping his coat around the young warlock as well.
Merlin tried to convince himself that the heat that rushed through his body was only due to the coat, the warmth of Arthur and nothing to do with the fact that he was lying intimately against his Prince.
Who he, maybe, had been having some very interesting dreams about of late, involving kissing and bodies moving against each other.
“Stop,” Arthur mumbled. “Stop thinking, Merlin, and go to sleep.”
Swallowing hard, Merlin gave a small nod, surprised when Arthur pulled his face into the crook of his neck.
“Sleep,” Arthur said, and Merlin found himself drifting away.
**
Merlin woke slowly, mind fuzzy, as he snuggled closer to the warm pillow he was sleeping on.
“Comfortable?”
And just like that the fuzziness was gone, his body stiffening as he took stock of the situation.
He was lying in top of ... on top of the Prince, the Prince’s arms loosely around him, the coat covering them both. Pushing up slightly, he smiled nervously down at Arthur, wondering what his punishment would be.
“Um, hi?” he asked, biting his lip and wondering if there was anything he could say that would make this situation okay.
The question seemed to amuse Arthur, a bright grin crossing his face, as he stared intently at Merlin, his hands running up and down his back, and, if Merlin didn’t know better, he’d think that he was trying to soothe him.
“Arthur,” he started to say, only to be cut off when a pair of smooth lips brushed over his own, gently at first, becoming more passionate and possessive when Merlin responded by opening his mouth.
“What?” he asked, shaking his head and wondering if he was dreaming. “Arthur?”
“You are so oblivious sometimes, Merlin,” Arthur responded, leaning up to take his mouth in another devouring kiss.
He groaned when Arthur pulled away, his breaths coming in pants, as he glared down at the other man for stopping.
“As much as I would like to continue this,” Arthur said. “We have to get back to the castle, the winter festival is going to start soon.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, Arthur, we’re lost,” Merlin said, irritated that they had had to stop, as he reluctantly rolled off, watching as Arthur brushed himself off.
“The exit is just around the next corner,” Arthur replied, sending him a quick grin, before walking away.
“Wha-” Merlin replied, a little shocked. “You knew the whole time and you made us sleep out in the cold, on the ground?”
Arthur’s only response was to send a beaming grin Merlin’s way.
“You really are a royal prat,” Merlin grumbled.