Merthur Oneshots

I See The Way You Look At Me, Don't You See The Way I Look At You?

Merlin started on clearing it away, picking the pieces and depositing them on the wooden surface of the table. Strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to keep them there, but Arthur didn't complain, so he continued doing it.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said, a few minutes later, breaking the comfortable silence that had come between them. "I know that you were looking forward to the Ball."

"I'm sorry too," He said, his eyes trained on the green skin of the pear in his hands. When no other words came, Merlin left.

It wasn't just Arthur that had been looking forward to the Ball. Merlin had too, though the demands of the councillors had dampened Arthur's spirits, and Merlin's too by association. Merlin was tempted to call them unreasonable, even though they weren't quite so, but he was feeling petty, so he did.

He slammed the door to Gaius' rooms open, and the old man hardly flinched, used to the harsh treatment to the door, and only turned the full force of his Eyebrow to the raven haired man. Merlin cringed, and mumbled an apology before shucking off his jacket and throwing it over a bench (Arthur was a bad influence) before sitting down on it himself. The winter had given away to spring earlier than usual this year, which was nothing but good for the plans for the Ball, which was to be held in the spring solstice.

"Arthur has to look for a bride at the Solstice Ball," Merlin muttered, answering Gaius' wordless question.

Gaius' eyebrow shifted further up his head, and he turned back to the vial he was holding in his hand. "I see."

"That's not fair!" Merlin burst out, throwing his hands up. "He wants to marry for love, and why can't they let him? Camelot's flourishing, there is no threat of war, and no reason for them to force him into marrying for political purposes!"

Gaius hummed noncommittally at his outburst, eyes still trained on the vial.

"I am sure they are doing this because they don't like Gwen. Well, Arthur should tell them to shove their opinions where the sun doesn't shine, she'll make a great Queen."

That made Gaius look up from the little bottle of glass in his hands and the pale green liquid within to fix Merlin with an odd look. "Gwen?"

Merlin nodded morosely, not thinking much into his mentor's tone. "They said he had to marry a week after the Ball, and that he'll have to choose a Consort then itself. But that's not fair, Gwen says they've separated on amicable terms, but that's not true. She thinks that I don't see the yearning looks he throws. They just need a little time. She'll come back. You'll see."

Gaius' eyebrow started ascending up his forehead again as he regarded his nephew with disbelief, but chose to say nothing. If Merlin's thickheadedness made him think that Arthur's yearning looks were for Gwen, then anything Gaius could say to the contrary would be rendered null by his stubbornness. Sighing, he kept the glass vial back on the table, moving to stir the stew he had placed on the burning hearth to cook. Merlin continued lamenting about the sorry state of affairs, though it was in a lower tone of voice that was barely audible.

****

The week leading up to the Spring Solstice Ball was one of the busiest Camelot had seen in ages, due to the fact that the sheer number of guests were more than the citadel had entertained in a very long time. Servants that usually never saw the light of day during their shifts were now coming out, and all the corridors were cluttered with people carrying spools of cloth, fresh produce, and anything else they might need to furnish the guest rooms that had been bare since the former Queen's death.

Merlin narrowly missed crashing into another maid carrying a basket of eggs, and jogged away with a hurried "Sorry!" over his shoulder. The maid yelled something back, but by then Merlin was too far away to hear. The Ball was going to take place the next night, and the hurry in the castle's inhabitants now had an undertone of panic in it.