Book of Merthur Oneshots

Sneaking Out

   Merlin was sitting on his bed with a bag full of items he'd need for tonight. He thought about the promise Arthur made him; that he'd try to sneak out of his room to visit Merlin in his chambers and sneak out to the nearest forest. Originally, Merlin offered to go to Arthur's room, but the prince decided against it because Uther had a new habit of bursting into Arthur's room like he was expecting to see Arthur having an affair with another set of parents. And they agreed that Arthur would visit Merlin under the cover of night.

   Merlin patiently waited for his prince to arrive in his small room. It was nearing midnight and Gaius was fast asleep and convinced Merlin was also asleep. Merlin paced the room and stopped when he heard the front door open.
   At first Merlin thought it was Arthur, but it couldn't be because Arthur wouldn't be stupid enough to walk right in the front door! He'd come in through the window or something.
   Merlin quietly left his bedroom to the main room and leaned against a wall, already thinking of a few spells to use just in case. He tried to hear past Gaius' snores, and he heard footsteps getting close. When the footsteps got close enough, Merlin leapt out of his hiding spot and tried to tackle whoever entered. Unfortunately, Merlin failed to do so and he instead was pinned to the wall.
   "Merlin?" A voice whispered. Merlin recognized the voice as Arthur.
   "Arthur? What are you doing?" Merlin whispered back. "Coming to see you? Like we agreed?" Arthur reminded. "I know that, but why the hell would you come in through the bloody front door?" Merlin whisper shouted. Arthur thought for a moment and shrugged. "I suppose it was more convenient." Merlin rolled his eyes and Arthur grinned.
   "Let's not talk here. We'll risk waking him up." Arthur said pulling Merlin's arm. Merlin nodded and followed into his own bedroom.
   Arthur traveled inside the small bedroom and made his way to the window. He got it open and let a gust of cool wind get in. He looked at Merlin and stretched out his arm, "Coming?" Arthur asked. "Honestly, I think we should go out the front door because that's more convenient, is it not?" Merlin joked. Arthur thought of a good comeback and said, "True, but when I decide to snap your neck I can conveniently place your body outside the window instead of trying to hide or burn the body." Unable to think of a good comeback, nodded, "Fair enough."
  
   Merlin took Arthur's hand and they left the castle without any trouble. They escaped to a nearby forest and set up their space for a few minutes. They didn't pack a tent or anything because they weren't planning on spending the night.
   Arthur was sitting on a soft blue blanket he brought, watching Merlin use magic to light a fire. Merlin finished and dropped down on the blanket and lied down. Merlin turned his head and looked into Arthur's eyes.
   "I managed to get a few things you might like." Arthur said pulling out a bag and placing it on Merlin's stomach. Merlin smiled and grabbed inside the bag and grabbed a pendant with a dragon on it. "You can have everything in there." Arthur said, seeing Merlin's happy face. Merlin stared at Arthur, "Are you serious?" Arthur laughed, "Of course! This isn't a library, you idiot!" Merlin smiled and continued to pull out more items. The bag included things like jars full of different flowers, crystals and salts and sands. There was also a few books, a couple on magic but there in the bag included fake covers to hide them. And finally, there was a note, and on the note was a sappy, romantic love poem Arthur wrote. Merlin read it and gave Arthur a kiss on the cheek. Arthur chuckled and gave Merlin a kiss on his cheek in return. Both giggled and leaned in for a real kiss on the mouth.
   They pulled back after a minute and lied down together. Arthur was rested comfortably on Merlin's chest so he could hear his heartbeat. Merlin stroked Arthur's hair and stared up at the dark midnight sky. The stars illuminated the world and brought a sense of tranquility. It really makes you enjoy being alive.
   "It's a shame." Merlin mused. "What do you mean?" Arthur asked a little worried. "I didn't get you anything." Merlin said. Arthur laughed, "I already have everything I could ever want. Don't stress about it." Arthur reassured.
   "Too late. I need to come up with something." Merlin said. "Like what?" Arthur said amused. "I don't know. Maybe I could try poetry." Merlin suggested. "You could try. I bet it won't be as romantic as mine." Arthur gloated. Merlin rolled his eyes.
   "Okay, I got one." Merlin said after thinking. "Let's hear it." Arthur said smugly.
   "Roses are red, Violets are blue
You-" Merlin stopped and scratched his head for more ideas, "-are a clot pole, you're lucky I love you or I would've thrown you out like the trash you are." Merlin finished. Arthur started laughing so hard he snorted and Merlin laughed with him.
   "Well at least if you "threw me out" I wouldn't have to deal with your poor servant work." Arthur said. "Then I suppose I'll have to keep you around then." Merlin said. "I could always kill you." Arthur said mocking sincerity. "You would fail to. I'd never die knowing you can replace me with someone who can do the chores properly." Merlin said matter-of-factly.
   "And you know what?" Arthur said, reaching to put his finger on Merlin's nose, "I prefer it that way." Merlin smiled. "I prefer it that way as well."
   Merlin continued to play with Arthur's hair and Arthur started getting sleepy. Merlin still felt like giving Arthur more. After thinking for a few minutes, Merlin decided to make something out of magic.
   Merlin scooped up a handful of soil and muttered a spell. In a matter of seconds, beautiful flowers blossomed from the dirt on his hand. Merlin picked every flower and tried to find a place to put them.
   "Arthur, can you please hold these for a moment?" Merlin asked putting the flowers into Arthur's hand. "Please don't crush them."
Arthur accepted the flowers, "Of course, anything for you." Arthur inspected the flowers, "Did you make these with magic?" Arthur asked. "Yes, I did. Do you like them?" Merlin said. "Definitely. I love everything you do." Arthur flirted. Merlin couldn't help the beaming smile on his face.
   Merlin muttered another spell and conjured a vine. He wrapped some of the vine around Arthur's head to see how much he'd have to cut. After doing so, he cut the vine to an appropriate length and took the flowers he had Arthur hold and thanked him.
   Merlin laid out the flowers along the vine and used another spell to connect everything. After adding a few more finishing touches, Merlin enchanted his design to never die. The flowers would stay beautiful and healthy forever.
   Merlin took a moment to admire the flower crown he made. He made it just for Arthur. Merlin nudged the prince and even called out his name, but to no avail. Apparently he fell asleep, but that didn't stop Merlin from crowning the prince with his creation. The flowers really complimented his blond hair. And in Merlin's opinion, Arthur looked like some sort of beautiful fae creature from a fairy tale.
   Merlin pulled Arthur closer and wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his face in Arthur's neck. He didn't intend to stay out all night because they may both get in trouble, but they didn't care. It would be worth it because they spent the night together and nothing would ruin this. Merlin closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

   Merlin woke up to a bright sunlight. The fire has burnt out and a cool breeze is blowing through the trees. Merlin sat up and remembered everything that happened the previous night.
   Merlin looked around and saw Arthur awake and still wearing the flower crown. He must've loved it considering he takes it off and pokes it a few times and looks happy doing so.
   Merlin was staring and Arthur noticed and went over to the area where they slept and helped Merlin stand up.
   Arthur pulled him into an embrace and kissed his forehead. "How did my favorite sorcerer sleep?" Arthur said, still holding Merlin. "I slept well. How did his highness sleep?" Merlin asked. "Best night's sleep in a while."
   Arthur pulled out of the embrace and went to gather everything they brought with Merlin's help.
   "I don't want to leave." Merlin said after they finished packing. "I don't want to either." Arthur said, grabbing Merlin's finger with his own. "I don't like keeping us a secret. It's just one more thing I have to hide." Merlin said sadly, leaning on Arthur's shoulder. "Don't worry. When I'm king, I'll make sure you never have to live in fear. We can openly be together and you can freely do magic." Arthur reassured. "I can't wait until that day arrives."

   The two made their way back to the castle but before they could get to the gates, the warning bells went off.
   "Looks like Uther found out." Merlin said. "Yeah. He must have noticed I ran off with the parents I had the affair with." Arthur joked. Both of them laughed and went around a more secret way.

   Before they parted, Arthur and Merlin made plans to do this again soon.