Merthur One-shots

Merlin And The Terrible, Awful, No Good, Excellent, Amazing Birthday

Yes, Merlin could have used magic to get the tray up the stairs, but he chose to carry it anyway, partially because it gave him more to sulk about and also because he didn’t want Arthur to catch him. Sorcery had been legal since Arthur discovered his secret a year ago, but changing the laws had no effect on Arthur’s tendency to tease Merlin, giving him ten kinds of hell every time he caught Merlin using magic for chores.

(Merlin suspected this was revenge for his reluctance to take the position of court sorcerer that Arthur frequently tried to push on him. It wasn’t that Merlin was opposed to advising Arthur on magical matters, but the title came with bureaucratic obligations that he’d rather avoid.)

Finally, he made it to his destination.

As he suspected, Arthur was still curled up under the blankets, fast asleep. Lucky bastard. Merlin set the tray on the table hard enough to make the plates and utensils clang. Despite the noise, the king slept on.

Great. Now Merlin had the added task of waking Arthur up. Normally he didn’t mind, but today Merlin should have been the one lazing about and this was just the icing on the nonexistent cake.

“Arthur, time for breakfast,” Merlin called as he opened the drapes.

The king answered with a snore.

Merlin sighed and walked over to the bed. “Come on. Your food will get cold. You need to eat.”

“Don’t wanna,” Arthur groaned, pulling the blanket over his head. “You eat it.”

There were days when Merlin believed the Triple Goddess was testing his patience. This was rapidly becoming one of them.

“I’m pretty sure it’s treason for a servant to eat the king’s breakfast,” Merlin said. “Now stop whining and get up. You have a busy day ahead and…”

Arthur mumbled something from under the covers that Merlin couldn’t quite make out.

“What did you say?” he asked trying to draw the blanket back. “Let go of the covers. You can’t stay in bed all day.”

“I said,” Arthur began, his face now exposed as he yanked the blanket back from Merlin, “I don’t have a busy day ahead because I’ve taken the day off.”

“You’ve… the whole day?” The Triple Goddess really was testing him. Merlin wasn’t sure he was going to pass.

“That’s right. The whole day. I’ve been working hard lately and I deserve a day off. Today seemed as good a day as any so I had Leon clear my schedule. And since you’re here, I don’t even have to get up for meals. I can eat in bed. Bring the tray over.”

Would Gaius believe Merlin if he said Arthur died of a heart attack? Magic could make it look convincing but Arthur was still young and his heart had been in perfect health at his last exam.

“Stop stalling, Merlin, and get the food. I’m practically starving.”

As he retrieved the tray, Merlin considered how two contradictory things could be simultaneously true. He loved Arthur, he hated Arthur. He’d been excited about his birthday, he was ready for it to be over.

“How would you survive if I wasn’t here?” Merlin grumbled, setting the tray on the bed beside Arthur.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m not quite sure how I made it through my first twenty years before you showed up. It’s a relief to know I’ll have you with me for the rest of my days.”