#iamnotfat

I am not fat !

  Arthur glared at his reflection in the mirror. Or more precisely, his bare chest. The king had always praised himself for being muscular-and not fat, like Merlin loved to say.

Only, it seemed Merlin wasn’t far from the truth. Arthur still couldn’t believe it, once he had noticed. He was chubby! Arthur had trouble understanding. He still trained with his knight, and he didn’t eat that much! Well, he did like to eat, but that wasn’t the point. Thinking about it, because of his duties Arthur couldn’t train or hunt as much as before.

His glare edged away, a worried look coming instead. Was he really getting fat?

“Arthur?”

Merlin raised his eyebrows as Arthur looked at him. Was it insecurity that he saw on his face? Before he could voice anything, Arthur stiffly flew to where his shirt was, hastily putting it on. Merlin stared at his best friend, confused. It looked like… Arthur was hiding his chest.

“Uh, Arthur? Something’s wrong?”

Arthur froze. Leave it to Merlin to notice. “What would something be wrong?” he snapped.

One of Merlin’s eyebrow shot up-a perfect imitation of Gaius’. Merlin had learned quickly that when Arthur snapped like that, it meant something did trouble him. Especially when he noticed the blond avoiding his gaze-perfectly knowing Merlin had spotted his insecurity.

After a quick but intense stare off, Arthur sighed. “Don’t you dare mock me.” He warned, serious. Merlin nodded-he knew when to be serious. “Am I… getting fat?”

“… What?” That was unexpected. “Why are you asking?”

Arthur frowned. “I’m… chubby.”

Merlin could only stare. If someone had told him he would see the day Arthur Pendragon would feel insecure about that… Merlin knew Arthur had doubts about his reign, but it was the first time the warlock saw his master and friend worried directly about himself.

“Arthur… I doubt we will see you fat one day. You’re still adjusting to your new duties. Give it some more time, and you’ll find time to work out as you did before.” Merlin reassured him with a smile-guessing Arthur’s thinking.

Arthur blushed slightly at being so well known. Though, he had to admit, Merlin’s words made sense. Soon enough, he would gain back his fitness. He narrowed his eyes as Merlin approached him, smirking slightly.

“Beside, it doesn’t show a lot.” Merlin added. He tapped lightly Arthur’s stomach, earning a soft noise of complaint. “Though, I guess people can find this cute.” He teased.

Arthur swatted at Merlin, effectively hitting his head.  “Shut up, you idiot.”

Though, the smile dancing on his lips betrayed his gratefulness-a silent thank you to his friend.