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"I think the world is spinning." Arthur said, as he threw himself on the bed with a grunt. It has been a nice night at the tavern with their friends, but he drank more than he could handle. Merlin could see from the way he kept swigging the mead, something was bothering him. And despite all the drinks he had at the tavern, he was determined to find out what it was.
"I shouldn't have drank that last 5 cups." He said with the same energy and threw himself at the chair. The ceiling was looking funny, and he lowered his head when he felt like throwing up. There was no reason to make more mess than there already was, which was a lot because Merlin had been busy fighting off a stupid goblin instead of doing his chores, especially when he was the one to clean it. And with a hangover, too. He cursed under his breath to whoever it was freed the goblin, he still had to investigate that. He grunted some more and turned his gaze to the man on the bed.
"Hey." said Merlin, deciding to solve his problems one at a time. He would have all the time tomorrow (not really) to think about the goblin. But now, his friend needed him. Arthur just made a sound instead of giving an answer. "You alright?"
Arthur peeled himself off the bed and sat up, looking at Merlin with a squint. "I think so. I'm not gonna die at least. Does that count as alright? I don't know." Merlin scoffed at that and stood up. Some clean air would do them good. He opened the window and look out at the town, it was a silent night. Then took a deep breath and turned back to Arthur. "I didn't mean it like that." Arthur gasped theatrically and put his hand to his chest. "So you don't care about your King's wellbeing? I could throw you in the stocks for that." They both knew it was an empty threat, and Merlin snorted. "You don't do that anymore. Maybe you should come up with new threats. This ones getting old and rusty, just like you." Arthur made an offended noise and threw him a pillow. His aim was off and it hit the wall beside Merlin. He frowned at it like it was pillows fault. "I think I'm drunk." He said, like he discovered something and chuckled. Merlin giggled and then his face turned to serious.
"Is something troubling you? I saw the way you drank tonight. You don't drink like that Arthur." His serious tone forced Arthur to look at his face. Right part of his face was at dark, the only light source in the room being the dying hearth. The moonlight was playing at his hair and made it shine. It was a beautiful scene, really. But Arthur wasn't in the right mind to appreciate it. He first denied it, like he always does with the things he considered as weaknesses. This time it was feelings. But he couldn't fool Merlin, the man knew him like the back of his hand. Of course he pressed and pressed, until Arthur spilled.
"I just feel lonely sometimes. Being a king is a lonely job. I can't trust anyone, or I can't meet someone in the way other people do. Everyone wants a piece of my kingdom, while the only thing i want is to love and be loved." He said, feeling dizzy with emotions and alcohol. It made him weak. I should stop drinking, he thought to himself. Not tonight though. He was allowed to drink and pity himself as much as he wanted tonight. Tomorrow, he will be the strong King of Camelot again, the man his people respect and trust.
"What about Gwen?" Merlin said, opening a barely closed wound again. "She has Lancelot now. What more could I offer to her? Lancelot is the best man among of us, being good with emotions and all that girly things." He chuckled, not really meaning it. Merlin playfully kicked him at the foot, probably because of the emotions being "girly" comment. "Well, I would say you can offer her a crown, but I know she never needed things like that. And I'm afraid if you made a move now, Lancelot would try to get out of the way again. It would probably hurt all three of you. How about Gwaine? I know he despises nobles and all that, but I think he might have a go with you."
Merlin held his breath as Arthur thought. He wasn't sure about Arthur liking men, and he thought it was the best way to ask it without asking it. If Arthur got offended he could blame it on the alcohol. "I think we are better as friends. He is ridiculously handsome and stupid, but we are both hot headed. I need someone to cool me off, being the moon to my sun." Merlin exhaled the breath he held and smiled. "I never knew you had a poetic side. So, Gwaine being a man isn't a problem?" Now that he knew the answer, he could ask it easily. Arthur thought for a while, frowning, and then smiled. "Huh, I guess it doesn't. I never thought about it before, but I think I had feelings for a few men throughout the years. Nothing big obviously, since I didn't realize it. Why, does it bother you?"
"No, of course not. I just wanted to be sure you were cool with me being homosexuel before i told you that." He smiled innocently. Arthur's breath caught in his throat with this information being dropped like that. "Good for you I guess? What can you say to someone who tells you about this stuff?" He was asking genuinely, since he wasn't even aware he went both ways until a minute ago. "Welcome to the club? I don't know, I didn't talk with many people about that. Only Lancelot knows me. I don't even know how he figured it out. That man is creepily observing." He shuddered with that thought. The day Lancelot talked with him about it was still getting in his nightmares. He thought he was about to get thrown in the dungeons for being a sinner. Even though Merlin knew his friend wouldn't do a such thing like that, it was always a possibility.
"I don't think the rest of our friend group is into men though. Maybe Elyan, but it might be awkward with him being Gwen's brother and all." They both grimaced at the same time. "Not your brightest idea. Wait, does that mean you knew Gwaine is into men?" Merlin looked away with guilt. "I might had a night with him or two." He said, with a small voice. Arthur was calm, he sweared it. He was just trying to understand it. Maybe he was mad at Merlin for not telling him before, but he knew it was risky. Telling you had a relationship with his knight to a king might not go well. "Then why did you offer Gwaine? Are you not the jealous type? If you are looking for a third, I am not the best man to ask."
"Oh no, we are not together. It's just, sometimes it happens, you know?" Arthur made a face that very clearly showed he didn't know. "It's only physical. A man has his needs after all. Gwaine of course gets a lot of action with women, and sometimes men. But it's not like that for me. I am not that attractive and I have been always bad at understanding people. If I try to make a move on a wrong person, it's going to end up bad. The first time we were drunk and he joked about me being a disaster at bed, so I showed him how wrong he was. After that, when one of us needed to have something, we went to each other."
Arthur hummed, thinking about everything his friend said. If it worked for them, that was good. But he wasn't sure it would work for himself. Well, only one way to find out, right? "Do you want to do it with me?"
Merlin gaped at the man. Arthur, his best friend for almost a decade, and the man he loved for a little less time than that, was asking him to have sex with him. He blinked for some time and then asked with a blush. "Are you asking me to have sex with you? Why?" Arthur smiled.
"Well, despite what you said about yourself, I find you very attractive. Beautiful even. You might have some ridiculous ears and stupid cheekbones but it just adds to your charm. And I know I don't have to worry about someone finding out. I trust you. Also you just implied that you are very good on bed and I want to find out if it's true or not. Lastly, I am curious about how it goes between two men and I don't want to be some idiot if I find a lover who is a man. If we don't like it, we will just forget about it. What do you say?"
Merlin sucked a deep breath and tried to think about it. If it goes well, he could have some beautiful nights with the man he loved. Maybe Arthur will even fall in love with Merlin. But if it goes bad, it means he will never have a chance with him again. Arthur will think they weren't compatible and completely forget about him. Merlin tried to clear his mind to think about it but his breeches were tightening in a record time. In the end he yielded to his desires and took a step. "Alright."
"Alright?"
"Alright. Let's give it a go. Do you have anything you don't want to do? It's your first time, we should maybe take it slow." Merlin was now in front of Arthur. He got in between Arthur's knees and put one hand on the blond's face. He slowly traced his lower lip with a thumb while Arthur thought about it. "I don't really know much about it. How about we just kiss and touch each other tonight?" Merlin smiled at him. Arthur looked so beautiful in the dim light, looking up at him with a blush. And then he leaned and kissed him. A chaste one, just their lips touching. Arthur closed his eyes, expecting more but Merlin withdrew.
"If you ever feel bad about this, if you want to stop or just don't like it, say it. We will stop immediately. Got it?" Arthur rolled his eyes and put his hands to Merlin's hips. "Yes, yes, just get on with it. Are you trying to stall because you're not actually good at bed? If that is the situa-" Merlin slinced him with a kiss deeper than before. Gods, how could his lips could be this soft? For a while they just kissed slowly, enjoying the moment. Then Merlin opened his mouth and licked Arthur's lips, asking for permission to enter his mouth. When he obliged, they started to discover each others mouth. Their tongues twisted and licked each other. When they drew back, both men were panting.
Merlin slowly pushed Arthur onto his back and climbed to his lap. Without breaking eye contact, he rolled his hips, letting Arthur feel how hard he is. Arthur wasn't much different. The movement made them both moan and Merlin threw his head back. His pale neck looked extremely delicous in the moonlight. Arthur made a mental note to put at least one or two marks there.
Merlin lowered his head and turned back to kissing the man underneath him. This time it was faster and more hungry. He kept rolling his hips and let his hands roam. They were under Arthur's tunic, touching his sides and his firm stomach. Arthur's hands was on the other's hips, occasionally pressing him down his crotch and making them both moan with pleasure. They broke the kiss and Arthur laid his head back, opening his neck with an invitation. Merlin took the cue and started to put open mouthed kisses to his neck, sometimes biting and sucking a little. When his right hand touched to one of blond's nipple, Arthur made a noise very close to whimper. Merlin grinned and made his way to Arthur's ear and whispered with a deep voice. "You're sensitive, Sire. Does it feel good when I do this?" He put the nipple between his thumb and index finger and started rolling it. Arthur's hips bucked upwards as he moaned loudly without shame. "Fuck, Merlin, it feels great. Don't stop doing that."
Merlin kept doing it for some time, while sucking Arthur's earlobe and pressing kisses behind his ear. Then he drew back and tugged Arthur's tunic. It took some struggle to take it out in their current position but when they succeeded, it was worth the trouble. Merlin watched Arthur's body with hunger in his eyes before taking out his own tunic. "Gods, how can you be so beautiful?" There was no way Arthur could've blushed any more but Merlin was sure he saw the tips of his ears turning red. He scooted down a little and Arthur made a protesting noise. "Oh don't worry, you're gonna love this." And with that, he leaned in and took one of Arthur's nipple between his lips. He played with it for a while, twisting his tongue and sucking. Arthur was making very beautiful noises, holding Merlin's head against his chest and keeping his hand tangled in the black hair. Then Merlin put the nipple between his teeth, tugged it and bit it softly, and Arthur was sure he was in heaven.
Merlin's hand traveled down, cupping Arthur's clothed dick. It deserved to be unclothed very much, so he tried to open the laces. Finally he succeeded and took Arthur's dick out. He thumbed the head, spreading the precum and started to stroke it. With that Arthur's noise got louder until he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Stop." Arthur said, panting for breath. Merlin withdrew back immediately and looked at Arthur's eyes, searching for discomfort. When he found nothing other than pleasure, relief washed over him. "You okay?"
"Yes, just- Give me a minute. It's too much with both." Merlin smiled reassuringly and held Arthur's hand, offering some comfort. "It's okay. We don't have to do them both, what do you want to do?" Arthur huffed, "I thought it was your job to make me feel good, Merlin." trying to lighten to mood a little while he got to himself. Merlin slapped softly his chest with his empty hand. "I thought you'd appreciate the offer to take the lead." Arthur hummed. "Well you clearly thought wrong." Merlin raised his eyebrows, not biting the bait. "I want to touch you."
"Alright, let's get rid of these." He said, getting up and starting to take off his remaining clothes. Arthur did the same, and climbed to bed properly when he was fully naked. They both watched each other for a while, saving the moment and enjoying each others naked bodies. Merlin made it to bed too, and they laid down on their sides, their bodies almost touching. Arthur put his hand on the black haired man's shoulder, letting it touch him there for a while. Then he roamed down his arms and his chest, watching Merlin shudder when his hand kept going down his stomach. Finally he touched his dick, holding it in his hand and stroking it a little. Merlin took a deep breath with the sensation, it has been a while since he had a night so intense and slow. With Gwaine it was fast, focusing on the pleasure and getting each other off. But Arthur was different, they were new, discovering their bodies slowly.
They kept going like that for some time, just looking at each others eyes and touching a little. When Arthur fastened his hand it became painful with the lack of slick. "Do you have oil?" Arthur nodded and turned back to retrieve it from the drawer next to his bed. He took the vial and uncorked it, poured some to his hand and warmed it a little before touching back to Merlin's dick. He spread it along his length. With the oil it became much more pleasurable and Merlin opened his mouth with a silent moan. He did the same, and started tugging Arthur's dick. "Fuck, yes."
"Come a little closer, I'm gonna show you something." They closed the space between them Merlin took both of them in his hand. After a little experiment with his hand, he started moving his hips, letting his dick move along Arthur's. Arthur moaned and threw his head back. "Fuck, Merlin, keep doing that and I'm not gonna last." Merlin took the opportunity and started kissing his open neck. Arthur was making pretty noises, and when Merlin found a particular spot he got louder. Merlin felt himself getting close, and he got to Arthur's ear and whispered with that same deep voice before. "It's okay Arthur, let go. Let me see your pretty face while you come."
After that Arthur came with a grunt, spilling on Merlin's hand and dick. Merlin drew back to take the scene in, looking at Arthur's closed eyes and open mouth. It took a few more tugs for him to cum, cupping his hands to not let the cum dirty the sheets. He flopped to his back to recover from the high, careful to not touch his hand anywhere. After getting his breath under control he got up, turning back with a damp rack to clean them both.
When he turned back Arthur's eyes were open, looking at the ceiling. He put a soft kiss at the blond's forehead. Arthur closed his eyes again, accepting the kiss. "How was it? Was it to your royal asses standards, Sire?" He hummed while cleaning the other's body. Arthur hissed a little when the cold cloth touched to his softening dick, but stayed silent otherwise. Then he opened his eyes and grinned mischievously. "Hmm I don't know, I didn't get it well. Maybe we should try again to see." Merlin slapped playfully his thigh. "We're both tired and still a little drunk. Let me know in the morning if I should forget about it or not."
Arthur hold his wrist and tugged, making him fall onto the bed. Merlin dumped the rack on floor and properly got onto bed, laying down beside Arthur. "Merlin, it was the best experience of my life. I'm never letting you forget about it unless you want to. How was it for you? I hardly did anything."
Merlin smiled with relief, putting his hand on Arthur's cheek. "It was perfect. Gods only know how much I wanted to do that since I met you. You might be an ass but you're a handsome ass with a great body." Then he frowned, thinking about something. "Ignore that last sentence. It will only make your head bigger." Arthur snorted. "No. I will remind you that every time you complain. What do you mean by since we met? Have you been thinking about me all this time while touching yourself at night?" Merlin turned red with that question, and looked away. "You definitely did. Next time you are gonna tell me about those little fantasies and we're gonna make them come to life." He turned a little redder with that but looked back at Arthur. They just looked at each other in a comfortable silence, Merlin's thumb tracing Arthur's cheekbones and Arthur's hand making soothing little circles in Merlin's waist.
Merlin put a kiss to his cheek and got up to get dressed. "Where are you going?" Arthur frowned. "To my chambers. It's very late and some of us has to work tomorrow." Arthur sat up and held his hand. "Don't go." Merlin turned to face him. "What?"
"Stay here. Let's sleep together. It will make it easier in the morning too, you can wake me up with a surprise." Merlin scoffed, "You just want to cuddle and you're blaming work for it. Very mature." But he turned back to bed and got down under the blanket. He settled beside Arthur, putting an arm on his chest and tangling their legs. He put his head on Arthur's shoulder. "You're lucky I love cuddling. And your bed is comfier than mine." Arthur snorted. The silence washed over them, their bodies reminding of their tiredness. They stayed like that, and Arthur felt very content.
"Merlin?"
"Hm?"
"Would you stop seeing Gwaine if I asked?" Merlin raised his head to look at Arthur's eyes. "Why?"
"I don't think I can share you." Arthur was uncharacteristically serious. "What do you mean by that? We are not in a relationship Arthur, you can't ask me that."
Arthur took a deep breath to prepare himself for the thing he was about to say. "I'm in love with you."
Merlin frowned and drew back, hurt finding its way to his chest. "Arthur, don't play with me. You only realized you liked men a candlemark ago. How could you fall in love with me in that time? Is it only my body that you want?"
"No! Merlin, Gods no. It has nothing to do with sex or your body. It's just... I think I loved you for a while, just never knew it. Being with you makes me so happy Merlin, you have no idea. Not the sex, not the touching or cuddling, but just being beside you, talking to you, or even just being in the same room with you silently. I always keep finding excuses and new chores for you to do just to keep you in my room longer, just to see your face a little more. I thought it was because you are my closest friend and I find your company enjoyable. But when tonight you said you liked men, I felt this warmth in my chest, like I was waiting to hear those words from your lips for my whole life. I don't even remember my life before you Merlin, like I didn't exist before you. You make me a better king, a better man. You make me whole. I'm sorry for not realizing this before, I am the biggest idiot on earth to not know it the moment I looked at you and thought 'He is the most important person for me and I want to keep him beside me for the rest of my life'. Just, give me a chance to make you believe my love, okay? Give me a chance to court you, to win your heart. I promise you, I will make you the happiest man in earth." When he was finished, he was panting slightly. The confession sat heavy in the room, Merlin was looking at him with open mouth and wet eyes. And then, he crashed at Arthur, hugging him tightly. Arthur's hands found their way to his back without thinking.
"You already have my heart, idiot. You had it for years. I never thought... I never thought you will return my love back, never let myself hope for that. I hate you for not realizing it sooner and I love you for the man you are." They stayed like that for a while, Merlin sobbing silently and Arthur patting his back and hair. He pressed a light kiss to his temple, and murmured soothing words. When Merlin withdrew, it was with a big smile on his face. He put a kiss on Arthur's lips and returned to his original position. "Just to be clear, I'm going to hold you that promise. Every time we fight, every time you hurt me, I'm gonna remind you to this night and ask you about that promise."
Arthur chuckled. "Please do. I can't promise, but I do hope you will never have to remind me of that." Merlin hummed and they closed their eyes, finally feeling better. "Wait, what about Gwaine? We are in a relationship now, right? Can I ask you to stop seeing him now?"
"Hmm, I guess you can. Although I haven't been with Gwaine for almost two months now, I asked him a few times if he was free but he always said he was busy. I think he is dating someone but he isn't telling me about it, no matter how much I ask."
"I see. Do you think I can make him talk? Maybe I can trick him into saying it by trading information about each other's love lives? I will just say I'm in deeply in love with you and not tell we are dating. Oh, he is gonna be furious when he founds out." They both laughed with the thought. "Do you want to tell him? Or others, for that matter. I know we knew each other for years Arthur, but being in a relationship is very different than being friends. Maybe we should take it slow, give each other some time to adjust. We should be careful too, everyone might not accept us." Arthur squeezed him with his hand around Merlin's waist.
"Merlin, relax. I know all of our friends is gonna be happy for us. And even if other people don't like it, what are they gonna do? I'm the king, and you're the most powerful person on the kingdom. Oh yeah, I know about your magic. We are gonna talk about it later, I am very tired now." He yawned at that moment and closed his eyes. "Arthur, I-" Merlin said with a trembling voice. Arthur didn't let him talk.
"It's okay, Merlin. I don't blame you for anything. I had some time to accept it on my own, I am sorry you couldn't trust me. How about a little picnic date later this week? We can talk about it without fearing to be heard."
Merlin stayed silent for a little, and then whispered. "Alright. Thank you Arthur, for accepting me. I love you." Arthur kissed the top of his head.
"Of course, love. Love you too. Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
TheGirlOfTheWords Sat 04 Oct 2025 01:43AM UTC
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yogurtnept Sat 04 Oct 2025 10:38AM UTC
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