Work Text:
Merlin would have liked to appreciate lying in a big, soft bed; one Arthur had been sleeping in the previous night. If he had been in good condition, Merlin would be sniffing the pillow looking for the faint smell of Arthur on the sheets.
But alas, Merlin was feeling like he was going to throw up his insides again. He shivered, nauseated, and even though he tried to hide it, he made a queasy sound and Arthur was upon him in an instant.
“Merlin.”
“I’m alright,” Merlin lied through his teeth.
His stomach felt on fire and his throat burned. He groaned and shrugged in on himself.
“Mithian’s physician should be here any moment,” Arthur promised. They were in Nemeth, on an official visit. That was why the sheets were the wrong colour and the chambers were in the wrong position.
There was so much worry in Arthur’s voice, like Merlin had never heard before. He was once more sorry to have eaten from one of the plates served during the banquet. As soon as he had swallowed the bite, his throat had closed down, and his magic had acted on instinct, making him throw up in the middle of the banquet.
A small voice in his head, that sounded a lot like Kilgharrah, made him promise he would never eat from the noble’s plates again.
While Merlin tried to contain his nausea, the door opened and closed quickly. He heard Arthur murmuring and a woman rushed to his side.
“I’m Alice. Did you throw up again, colt?” When Merlin looked at her, she reminded him of his mother. He shook his head, denying, and regretted it immediately because everything waved. “Good. I’m going to perform a test to confirm what happened, alright?”
Merlin could just make a noise to say he understood. Arthur moved to one side so that the woman could work.
Alice put several items on the bedside table and lifted Merlin’s sleeve. From a bowl, she took a small brown thing that looked much like a raisin, only darker.
“What’s that?” Arthur asked, suspicious.
“This is a Medjool date,” Alice said, showing it to both Arthur and Merlin. “It’s a fruit that comes from Africa and that Queen Mithian is very fond of. They can be eaten like this or used in cooking but, unfortunately, they can be allergenic for some.”
“I’ve never seen one,” Merlin confessed.
“That’s what I thought,” Alice said. “Usually people are alright eating them, but others can die. The contact might tell us if you’re allergic to them.”
The idea that he could have died made Merlin’s stomach turn; even more the thought that Arthur could have died by eating it, too. Without preamble, Alice rubbed the date on the skin of Merlin’s arm. Almost immediately, it reddened and swelled. Merlin hissed as it started itching wildly.
His magic flew to heal the damage, because it was so used to Merlin being in danger by now, and Merlin had to close his eyes so that the sudden flash of gold wasn’t seen. He quickly reigned his magic back as tight as he could, making a pained sound that he hoped passed as caused by the scratch of the date against his skin.
“What’s wrong?” Arthur came closer, his eyes bright with worry.
“Exactly like I thought,” Alice said, looking between both the king and Merlin’s arm. “You ate from the banquet’s plates, didn’t you?”
Merlin made a pained, affirmative sound.
“Merlin!” Arthur chided him.
“It could have been poisoned,” Merlin defended himself, offended. “It could be you in here.”
Alice tried to hide her giggle at their interaction and Arthur huffed, rolling his eyes.
“Your servant had an allergic reaction to the date, Your Majesty,” she said in conclusion. “The good thing is that your body reacted and you threw up almost immediately,” Alice smiled motherly-like at Merlin, patting him on the shoulder. “That should have taken care of the worst of it. You’ll probably still feel a little sick today, so I recommend a strict diet and some rest. And please be careful; don’t eat dates or plates cooked with them. You’re allergic to them. I’m going to prepare a tonic for you. It’ll settle your stomach.”
“Thank you.”
Merlin watched Arthur accompany the physician to the door.
“How can we know if anyone else is allergic to dates?” He heard Arthur asking dazedly.
“Unfortunately, the only way is like Merlin had done, Your Majesty. Try it and hope for the best.”
Alice and Arthur said their goodbyes and the door of the chambers closed with a soft click.
Merlin closed his eyes but, as usual, he was aware of Arthur moving around the chamber and coming closer. He was surprised to see Arthur had taken off his cape and was already unbuttoning his jacket, the concerned look in his blue eyes making him look younger.
“I’m feeling better,” Merlin said, failing to follow how Arthur’s fingers worked on his clothes.
“You still lie terribly, though.” Arthur shrugged out of the dark-red jacket, leaving it on the back of a chair.
“I do not,” Merlin protested. “I don’t want to throw up my insides anymore.”
“Rest,” Arthur ordered, sitting to take off his boots. “I’ve ordered a bath. It’ll be here any moment.”
Just the thought of a bath already did wonders for Merlin’s mood. A few moments later, there was a knock and several servants got the bathtub in the middle of the chamber, while others filled it with steaming water. Merlin managed to sit up on the bed to watch the proceedings, appreciating it wasn’t him working.
“See, Merlin?” Arthur pointed with his chin at the servants and smiled teasingly. “Efficiency.”
“See, Arthur?” Merlin bantered back. “An army of servants. Only one.”
“Semantics,” Arthur answered, but laughed.
Merlin sat down on the bed and made to unlace his boots, but he felt nausea rising. The noise called Arthur’s attention, and the king was by his side in an instant.
“Merlin!” The hand on Merlin’s shoulder felt warm and caring, and it focused Merlin away from how close the floor seemed to be all of a sudden.
“I’m fine. Fine.” Merlin swallowed hard.
“You don’t look fine at all,” Arthur worried.
“Your majesty?” Someone called from the door. Merlin looked up to see Queen’s Mithian’s maid with a small green bottle in her hands. “I’ve been sent to give you this for your servant. With instructions to drink it all. Her Majesty sends her regards for a quick recovery.”
“That’s so nice of her,” Arthur spoke gently with a soft smile. “Send her our thanks. My servant is doing better already.”
“I am,” Merlin said, even though he knew well he should be silent. He received a tender look from the maid and a rolling of eyes from Arthur. But those didn’t have any effect on him anymore. Almost. Most of the time, anyway.
“Come on, drink this and get into the bath before it gets cold,” Arthur said, sounding as if he was repressing a laugh and presenting the opened and awful-smelling potion right in front of Merlin’s face.
“Yes, Sire,” Merlin said with a sigh. He took the vial and made a face.
“Man up,” Arthur smirked. “One big gulp. Can’t be worse than what you’ve already endured.”
“You can’t promise that,” Merlin murmured. With a grimace, he closed his lips around the small bottle and swallowed the bitter liquid, trying his best to taste it as little as possible.
Arthur finally lost his battle with his mirth and laughed.
“It’s awful,” Merlin said, leaving the vial on the bedside table.
“What? Your face? Indeed,” Arthur said, still laughing.
Surprisingly, the king knelt and helped Merlin out of his boots without a word. “Do you think you can manage the rest?”
“Yes,” Merlin said, a little breathless.
While Merlin got naked, Arthur busied himself around the chamber, putting his own clothes away in the wardrobe and his boots to one side—giving Merlin as much privacy as he could.
It was also a note of how distressed he was that the king was ordering his own things, instead of complaining of his servant’s laziness.
As he undressed, Merlin felt the tonic working in his body. He had drunk it quickly because he was sure all medicines tasted awful and he hadn’t checked what could be in it. But the results were so fast that there was no other option than to think magic had been used.
He tried not to think too hard about it. Magic was illegal in Nemeth, just like in Camelot. Small, healing spells might find a blind eye. But the greatest sorcerer to walk the land would surely still find his allergic body in the pyre. Or stuffed with dates.
There was a towel by his side on the bed, so Merlin used it to cover himself, chest included, until he got into the water. He was very conscious of his ruined, scarred body, and the fact that Arthur didn’t know about it.
As soon as he was inside the bathtub, Arthur came closer.
“Rub behind your ears,” he teased, but there was a vulnerability in the way he checked over Merlin that gave him away.
“That’ll take too much time,” Merlin joked as well with a tired smile. “Don’t you want to take a bath too?”
The water was pleasantly warm and he let his head fall back with a satisfied sound.
“You could always heat it back up,” he heard Arthur say very low.
Merlin opened his eyes, not sure when it was that he had closed them, and looked at Arthur. The king had taken a step closer and was looking down at him. Had he really talked? Had Arthur said that he could heat the water again? And how could Merlin do it? He couldn’t really pretend…
Merlin touched the scar on his chest, thankfully hidden underneath the water. There was a long moment in which nothing moved, and Merlin knew that Arthur was fighting with his feelings. The king hated being vulnerable, so Merlin stayed still, looking at Arthur’s feet.
After a while, Arthur’s eyes fixed on him again and the movement was so obvious that Merlin had to look up.
“Wouldn’t your magic save you?” Arthur’s voice was just above a whisper, but his tone was angry and frustrated.
“What?” Merlin sat up, spilling water from the edges of the bathtub. “I. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
But Arthur had knelt right by his side and grabbed his wrist. It wasn’t a fierce hold, nothing Merlin couldn’t get rid of if he wanted. Yet Arthur’s strong fingers felt reassuring instead of threatening.
“Your magic.” Now Arthur’s voice was firm and his eyes looked for Merlin’s own. “Couldn’t it save you from this?”
“I…” Merlin looked at his king, speechless, his chest tight. He had never seen Arthur so obviously distressed. He wasn’t sure he could lie anymore.
His free hand moved to his chest and he realised that his burn scar was now above the water level. He tried to hide it with the palm of his hand and by raising his legs towards his chest. He moved away, but Arthur’s hold on his wrist tightened slightly.
“I’ve known about it for months, Merlin,” Arthur said. “I’ve seen the scar on your chest, and those you try to hide until your magic has healed them enough.”
Merlin felt his skin burning with shame and his eyes watering. He blinked, trying to get rid of the unwanted moisture.
“Every time you disappear in the night, the only thing that reassures me is the fact that I know your magic protects you,” Arthur kept on talking, his voice low and desperate. “That you’ll come back, even if it’s with a new mark of a dangerous adventure you don’t want me to be part of. But I don’t think I can live thinking that I’ll lose you for something as silly as a fruit, Merlin.”
“I threw up, didn’t I?” Merlin said quickly, taking his wet hand from his chest and touching Arthur’s cheek to comfort him. “I… I felt something was wrong with the food. When Alice rubbed the date against my arm, my magic immediately went to heal the burn.”
Arthur looked into his eyes as if looking for a lie there. He seemed to calm down at finding none and moved slightly into the hand touching him. Merlin allowed his lips to curl up and enjoyed how close they were, how nice Arthur’s fingers around his wrist felt, how warm Arthur’s face was against the cold of his own hand. Arthur’s thumb caressed the inside of his wrist, making his magic hum and Merlin feel self-conscious.
“Now that we’re clear,” Arthur said without moving from his position, his tone still low. “Don’t go out on another dangerous quest without me, alright?”
“But—”
“No buts, Merlin,” Arthur cut him off seriously. “I know you must be very powerful. The Lord knows that despite how well you hide it, I’ve seen you doing things that escape the imagination. But I really don’t want to lose you. Is that understood?”
Merlin would be dumb if he didn’t. Dumber, that is.
“Understood, Sire.”
He leaned in and closed the distance between them, kissing Arthur softly.
“What was that?” Arthur blinked, and Merlin’s chest tightened thinking that he might have misunderstood Arthur’s intentions.
“Well, I thought that… Since we were telling the truth, I… Kiss?” he babbled.
“You call that a kiss?” Arthur raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
Merlin felt himself being pulled in by Arthur’s hand on his neck. Their mouths met firmly this time, and Arthur moved to one side, sliding his lips so that Merlin had no option but to open for him. He felt a traitorous groan escape from his throat as Arthur’s tongue invaded him and rubbed along his own.
Arthur’s fingers on Merlin’s arm were invigorating, causing goosebumps to rise. The one at his neck moved down his back, following Merlin’s spine into the water. Merlin shivered and felt his whole body become alive with sensations and arousal.
Merlin moaned pitifully and tried to follow Arthur’s mouth when the king separated them.
“You taste like the tonic,” Arthur winced.
“Oh, sorry,” Merlin blushed bright red. He went to sink his shame into the water, but Arthur’s bright laugh and a light pull on his hair impeded it.
“Don’t be silly. Let me serve us some wine?” Arthur kissed his cheek, then his jaw and his neck. Merlin moved to allow him more room and Arthur moved up to kiss his lips one more time.
“Alright,” Merlin said with a shivering, aroused voice.
“Come out of the water,” Arthur said, a clear invitation in his voice.
Arthur stood up and Merlin was presented with a tent in his breeches. It was a relief to know he wasn’t the only one affected by their kissing.
Clumsily spilling water everywhere, Merlin was out of the bathtub as quickly as he could. He covered himself with the towel and he was drying when Arthur came back with two goblets. The one that Arthur gave him only had a few sips.
“Alice said strict diet, so…” Arthur interrupted himself looking at the wet floor. “What happened here? An octopus escaped?”
“Sorry,” Merlin excused himself. “I was in a hurry.”
“Not to show yourself to me?” Arthur questioned. “You realise that now you’ll have to clean this, and that I’m going to take away that towel, right?”
Merlin blinked, looking at Arthur and gaping. Arthur allowed his moment of awareness by drinking calmly. Feeling extremely self-conscious again, Merlin imitated the movement and drank his watered-down wine.
He looked at Arthur. The King was waiting for him to realise that he was waiting for Merlin to show himself as he truly was. Merlin left the goblet on the table, still gripping the towel around himself as if his life depended on it.
“Are you sure of this, Arthur?” He asked.
“I’ve been waiting for you to be ready, Merlin,” Arthur confessed. “Are you, now?”
Without taking his eyes from Arthur’s, Merlin let go of the towel. It pooled at his feet. At the same time, his magic cleaned all the water that had spilled, his eyes burning with telling gold.
“That was…” Arthur shook his head and smiled. “Incredibly hot.”
They approached like they were attracted by magnets. They found each other’s mouths instantly and they kissed deeply.
“There you are,” Arthur said sensually, before going for another kiss.
“You are overdressed,” Merlin murmured, digging his fingers under the hem of Arthur’s tunic.
“And you were sick a few moments ago,” Arthur reminded him. He still allowed Merlin to guide him backwards towards the bed, and shrugged out of the tunic without too much fuss.
“Semantics.” Merlin grinned and pushed Arthur’s chest so that the king fell onto the bed.
For a moment, he took his fill of Arthur’s chest—of his golden perfection—and of the fact that he was allowed to look. He couldn’t believe that he was very hard underneath his trousers, and that kissing Merlin, touching him, was the cause.
“Hey,” Arthur called sensually. “Like what you see?”
“As if I’m going to make your head any bigger,” Merlin huffed.
“Thing is, I do like what I see,” Arthur said, looking slowly at Merlin's naked body. “And you’re too far away.”
Merlin climbed on the bed by Arthur’s side and the king received him with a kiss, pressing them together. The trousers scratched Merlin’s naked and hard cock so, with a thought, Merlin’s magic got rid of what remained of Arthur’s clothing. Arthur gasped.
“Sorry, was it too much?” Merlin asked, worried that feeling the magic around him had made Arthur react like that.
“No. You’re cold,” Arthur answered, still breathless. “But it’s alright. Let me warm you.”
Arthur’s mouth was hot everywhere it kissed Merlin and, as promised, it left Merlin’s skin nicely warmed up and tingling when Arthur moved down his body. He took care to caress with his stomach Merlin’s arousal to keep him hard as he sucked on his nipples. He also kissed the wrinkled skin of Merlin’s chest, even if Merlin tried to squirm away.
“You’ll let me reassure myself of your wellbeing.” Arthur’s strong hands stopped him.
“Alright,” Merlin conceded in a low voice, and stopped moving.
He couldn’t deny his arousal had flagged a bit, but Arthur moved lower until he started kissing and using his tongue near his crotch. But when he was there, Merlin was unable to stop his hands from tangling into Arthur’s hair. He moaned wantonly, pushing his hips up into Arthur’s wet heat, the king accommodating his rhythm easily.
“Arthur,” Merlin called, breathless with pleasure. “Give me…”
“What?” Arthur asked, confused.
“Your dick.”
“I’m not giving up yours.” Arthur licked the silt of Merlin’s shaft, and Merlin mewed.
“Just. Turn around.”
“Did you just order me?” Arthur raised a blond eyebrow.
“Arthur…” Merlin thrust up once more. He thought about begging but there was a certain light in Arthur’s eyes that made him narrow his own and lower his voice to a grunt: “Now.”
“Fuck, I liked that,” Arthur whispered, hurrying to obey.
Making them both lay on their sides, soon Arthur had his dick in front of Merlin’s face. Merlin licked his lips in anticipation. “I’ve always wanted to see you like this.”
“You’ve seen me naked before, Merlin,” Arthur said, and if Merlin didn’t know better he would have swore there was shyness in his tone.
“I mean like this.” Merlin licked Arthur’s long, thick dick with his tongue flat, making the other man gasp. “Hard and hot and mine.”
“Shit,” Arthur breathed out.
There were no more words as they took each other, finding a pace that was satisfying.
Arthur made delightful noises, echoed by Merlin as he felt the vibrations in his own shaft. The pleasure of his King’s tongue curling around his hardness highlighted when Arthur’s hands moved to his hips and forced him to push into his mouth.
Merlin opened Arthur’s legs and touched right behind his balls, his fingers caressing Arthur’s wrinkled entrance, relaxing arousingly. His cock in Merlin’s mouth hardened even more. It was obvious that Arthur didn’t know whether to thrust into him or down onto his questioning finger. Feeling courageous, Merlin breached him to the first knuckle and Arthur came with a shout. Humming, Merlin sucked him until Arthur trembled from overstimulation.
Merlin rested his head on Arthur’s thigh, delighting himself in how beautiful Arthur was after coming, the blush of pleasure high in his face and going down his chest. Arthur breathed hard, eyes closed for a moment.
“That was amazing.” Arthur opened those amazing blue eyes of his and smiled blissfully.
Merlin was going to answer but his breath got stuck in his throat when Arthur engulfed his cock and sucked hard. The king stroked what he couldn’t fit of Merlin’s shaft due to the position, and the pleasure increased tenfold.
“Gods, Arthur, you’re so good at this.”
Merlin had been dancing on the edge of climax for too long now and it wasn’t difficult for Arthur to bring him over the edge. His blood roared in his ears and he came crying out Arthur’s name.
Arthur hadn’t had time to swallow when they were already kissing. Merlin searched for his taste on Arthur’s tongue and moaned as Arthur lay on top of him, hugging him tight. The weight of his king, his lover, felt amazing and it wasn’t until this moment that he realised that his magic was still humming, content.
The kiss ended and Arthur looked down at him.
“Is it silly to ask how you are feeling?” Merlin smiled at the concern he could see in Arthur’s eyes, searching for something on his own.
“I believe there was healing magic in the tonic Alice made me drink,” he confessed, caressing Arthur’s naked back. “I feel completely restored. Nothing hurts anymore.”
“I’m going to ban Medjool Dates in Camelot. You scared me so much,” Arthur said, taking his weight off Merlin and resting by his side on the bed.
“Oh no you’re not!” Merlin looked seriously at his king with as much dignity as his naked state allowed. “I am allergic to them, but I’ll be careful. You cannot ban something just because you’re scared of it.”
The silent reference to magic lay between them. Arthur looked at him, still serious. After only a moment a smile broke on his face, intelligent and happy.
“You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, Merlin,” he confessed. “No more secrets. Understood?”
“No more secrets, my lord.”
Merlin leaned down and kissed his lover until they needed to stop and sleep.
THE END.