Kay

Unfortunately, he was wrong. It was a miracle he had even managed to make it back to Camelot alive. He had truly thought he was going to die where Morgana had left him after inflicting the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. He could feel his blood dripping out of all the wounds she gave him, making his head woozy from the blood loss. He could feel his bones, broken in more places then he could count. But he couldn’t die out here. He couldn’t leave Arthur defenceless against her. He had to make it. For Arthur.

Making it to the lower town had been the easy part. Getting to Gaius’ chambers undetected was the real challenge. Merlin could barely walk without screaming in pain but he had to stay quiet. He didn’t want anyone to see him like this and tell Arthur. He had only made it to the cathedral when he fell to the ground with a shout of pain.

He tried to get up quickly, but he heard footsteps approaching.

“Merlin! Merlin, what’s happened?!”

Percival and Elyan came into Merlin’s view as he tried to gather himself. “Nothing, I- I’m fine,” he said.

“Are you mad?” Elyan shouted, “Merlin, you look half dead!! What happened to you?”

“Nothing, nothing. Please just- just get me to my chambers.” Merlin struggled to speak as he coughed and tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

“I’ll go and get Arthur-“ Percival started before Merlin shot up and grabbed his arm. “No! No, please don’t tell him!”

“Merlin, I have to!” he yelled before pulling his arm away and running towards the castle.

“Elyan, Elyan, ple- please stop him! Please just take me to my chambers,” Merlin cried.

“I’m sorry, Merlin. We must inform Arthur. Now come, put your arms around me.”

Merlin could do nothing but oblige as he cried out in pain when he stood up while leaning against Elyan. After the most excruciatingly painful walk to his chambers he had ever experienced, Merlin nearly collapsed as Elyan kicked the door open and shouted for Gaius.

“Oh! Merlin!” Gaius cried as he ran towards them, “What happened to you?!”

“Please help him, Gaius!” Elyan said as he helped Merlin further into the room.

Gaius quickly cleared his work table as Elyan brought Merlin over and they helped him on to it. Merlin cried out in pain as he laid down, hot tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Gaius, please,” he cried weakly, “please stop the pain.”

Gaius quickly moved to grab a pain relieving medicine when the door burst open once more.

“Merlin! Where’s Merlin?!” Arthur was shouting as he rushed in but then he stopped in his tracks when he saw him. His Merlin. Covered in blood, sweat, and tears, writhing in pain.

“Merlin,” he whispered, his breaths coming in short gasps, before he slowly came over to his side and fell to his knees. Tears gathered in his eyes as Arthur carefully grabbed Merlin’s hand, fully taking in all of his wounds.

“Sire, I need to treat him,” Gaius spoke gently, trying to get Arthur to move away from the table.

“Right, right, of course,” Arthur replied as he slowly stood to his feet. Just as he was about to step away, he felt Merlin’s hand tighten around his.

“Don- don’t go,” Merlin rasped out, trying to open his eyes to see Arthur standing before him.

Arthur moved closer again, now gripping Merlin’s hand in both of his. “I’m not. I’m not going anywhere. You’re safe now.”

Merlin nodded slightly before trying to smile when his eyes rolled into the back of his head and everything went black.

-

He could feel something heavy resting on his arm. He tried to open his eyes but they wouldn’t budge. His entire body felt like lead and he let out a groan as he tried to shift around a bit. Whatever was weighing on his arm was definitely not helping.

Merlin used all his energy to force his eyes open, only to cringe at the light coming in through the windows. Slowly, he tried to look around as he realized where he was. He was in Gaius’ chambers. Safe. He heaved a sigh of relief.

His body felt completely numb, but at least it was better than the nauseating pain Morgana had left him in. Suddenly, Merlin’s arm began to prickle but he couldn’t move it out from under whatever was on top of it. With great difficulty, he raised his head to try and see what was pressing down on his arm. When he saw what, or rather who, it was, Merlin gasped and quickly laid his head back down.

Arthur.

What was Arthur doing here?! And laying on his arm?!

Eventually, the tingling sensation in Merlin’s arm began to feel unbearable, forcing him to try and move it out from under Arthur’s head. As he wiggled it around and flexed his fingers, Arthur began shifting, murmuring something in his sleep.

“Not now Merlin… Mm, go away,” Arthur mumbled, nestling his head further into Merlin’s arm. A moment passed where neither of them moved. Then, Arthur’s eyes flew open.

“Merlin!” he shouted, shooting up into a sitting position, “Merlin, you’re awake!” he laughed, before leaning down and hugging Merlin, pressing his face into the crook of his neck.

Merlin’s body went stiff. What is going on?! 

He had never been more confused in his entire life. Arthur’s hair tickled against his cheek as he continued to hold Merlin. Suddenly, Arthur’s shoulders began to shake slightly. To say Merlin was shocked would be an understatement.

He tried to speak but nothing came out. After clearing his throat and swallowing a few times, Merlin finally spoke, “Si- Sire? What’s happened?”

Arthur froze. Slowly, he pulled away from Merlin, keeping his head down.

“Sire?”

When Arthur looked up, Merlin felt like the floor had been pulled out from beneath his feet. Arthur’s eyes were red, his cheeks stained with tears. Merlin’s heart pounded rapidly in his chest.

“Merlin,” Arthur whispered, sniffling, “You were gone, Merlin. Gaius said- Gaius said you might not ever wake up. I thought…”

Merlin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Arthur gently grabbed Merlin’s hand before continuing, “I thought I’d lost you.”

The only thing Merlin could do was stare at his king in stunned silence.

Suddenly, Arthur’s demeanour shifted completely. His body stiffened as he let go of Merlin’s hand and stood, turning away and wiping the tears off his face. When he looked back at Merlin, his eyes were no longer soft. Instead, they were filled with something else. Rage.

“Merlin,” he spoke harshly, causing Merlin to gulp. “Who did this to you?”

Merlin had never seen Arthur look like this before. He shook his head slightly as he struggled to sit up before attempting to speak, “Arthur, it’s nothing-”

“Nothing?! You call this nothing? Merlin, you were dead!” Arthur shouted as Merlin flinched at the volume. But that didn’t stop him from continuing.

“You’ve been asleep for six days! Six days, Merlin! Do you have any idea what I’ve been through during that time?! I thought I’d lost you forever!” he was breathing heavily now, tears building in his eyes as he paced across the room.

He paused, gathering himself before turning to Merlin and speaking in a low, guttural voice, “Tell me the truth. Who did this to you?”

Merlin could do nothing but comply, “It was… it was Morgana.”

“Of course it was,” Arthur sighed, running a rough hand through his hair as he continued pacing, “How did she get to you? Did she have you kidnapped? I’ll have a word with the utterly useless guards who let that happen-”

“No, no, Sire,” Merlin interrupted and Arthur stopped to look at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

“I- I went to her willingly…” Merlin looked up at Arthur to see his eyes wide and he tried to continue, “She sent me a message and I-”

“Are you insane?! Merlin, why on earth would you ever go see Morgana alone?!”

“She said to come alone, or else she would-”

“Or else what, Merlin?!” Arthur was fully yelling now. “What could possibly be more important than your life?! You could have at least told Gwaine or Lancelot! I cannot believe you would do something so stupid! I really expected better from you Mer-”

“You.”

“What?” Arthur asked, confusion replacing his anger for a moment.

Merlin looked down at his hands, picking at the edge of a bandage before quietly speaking, “You asked me what could possibly be more important than my life. The answer is you.”

Silence.

Merlin heard nothing but the sound of his own laboured breathing for a few moments. He risked a glance up at Arthur, his heart pounding in his throat, only to see Arthur staring back at him.

He cleared his throat as he looked down again before continuing, “She sent me a message saying that if I didn’t come meet her, alone, then she would spare no effort in ending your life. I knew it was a trap but I had no choice, my lord. She knows too much about the inner workings of Camelot, I just… I couldn’t risk your life like that. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t-” Arthur sighed as he hesitated, “Don’t apologize.”

Merlin looked up at him to see that his eyes were soft again. Unsure of what to say next, Merlin gave his king a little smile.

Arthur chuckled at that, shaking his head before looking at Merlin again.

“You’re a dollophead, you know that?”

Merlin laughed before clutching his ribs in pain.

“Careful!” Arthur scolded, quickly rushing to Merlin’s side.

Merlin groaned before looking up at Arthur, only to see his face was just a few inches away. The breath left his lungs as his ears turned pink at the proximity. Arthur gazed into his eyes so lovingly that Merlin began to feel woozy.

“Don’t ever do that to me again, Merlin,” Arthur spoke softly, scanning every inch of Merlin’s face.

“No promises,” Merlin breathed out.

Arthur smirked, shaking his head again before glancing at Merlin’s lips.

Merlin gulped, unable to process what was happening. If this was what it took for Arthur to finally make a move then he would’ve gotten nearly killed a long time ago.

Arthur looked back into Merlin's eyes before saying, “I love you, you know?”

Merlin wasn’t breathing at this point.

“Y- you do?” he gasped out.

“Mhmm,” Arthur nodded, a little smile on his face. He stepped impossibly closer and placed his hands on the table on either side of Merlin before glancing back and forth between his eyes and lips.

“Uh, well…” Merlin struggled to speak, trying to build up the courage to reply, “I uh… I love you, too.”

“Is that so?” Arthur teased. Merlin’s face was actually on fire and he could do nothing but nod.

Arthur began leaning closer and just as Merlin closed his eyes, the door burst open and Gwaine came strolling in, munching on an apple loudly. 

“Merlin!” he shouted happily with his mouth full, as Arthur jumped away from the table, “You’re awake!”

Gwaine practically ran over and pulled Merlin into a hug, “We thought you were a goner!” he said, patting his back roughly.

“Ow, Gwaine- You’re hurting me,” Merlin squirmed in his grip.

“Sorry, sorry,” Gwaine giggled, softening his hold on Merlin, “I just missed you so much.”

Begrudgingly, Merlin wrapped his arms around Gwaine to return his hug, making eye contact with Arthur over his shoulder.

His king suppressed a smile as he scratched the back of his neck before shrugging.