Merthur one shots || Merlin

Arranged Marriage

This one is gonna be long, i apologise. I also posted this on Archive of our own under the same account name, it's called Prince Merlin Pendragon if you'd like to read it in chapters instead of one big thing.

Also, i dont remember what Leon, Ballinor or Hunith looked like so i described them my own way and i always imagined Percival being the main guy at their wedding idk why. Also, i kind of visioned Merlin's hair to look like Gwaines.

From the young age of 11, Arthur knew he was different from all the other boys that he was rarely allowed to associate with. He couldn't put an exact reason on how he knew, he just had this feeling whenever he was around them that he didn't fit in. All of the boys his age would sit and gossip about which Girls in the Castle each individual fancied and if they would court them when they became of-age. Arthur however, felt extremely out of place because he never found the Girls attractive like they did. Sure, they were beautiful and Kind, but he was never romantically attracted to them.

A year later, and his suspicions that he was different only grew more obvious, especially when the boys he would hang out with started doing little things like picking a Girl flowers. Arthur could never see himself picking flowers for a Girl, though he was the Prince, he wasn't allowed to do such things. Morgana would often tease him about it and he would only smile sadly in response but this feeling was in the back of his mind 27/7, it plagued his dreams, he found himself pondering what it could be rather than doing his duties.

It wasn't until his Sixteenth Birthday did these feelings finally make sense. When his Father recruited a new Knight, Leon, Arthur found himself inexplicably attracted to the man in a way he had never before. Leon was just a young trainee at the time, only a few years older than the Prince himself with soft hazel eyes, very light-almost ginger hair that curled gracefully atop his head and around his ears with a light dusting of freckles over the bridge of his nose. Arthur had a sudden but overwhelming urge to reach out and touch him in a way that was inappropriate for royalty and when the man turned in his direction and smiled at him, Arthur felt this weird warm feeling in his gut that he had never felt before.

Over time, Arthur found himself spending an inappropriate amount of time with the Knight and he knew if his father found out, he would be in a lot of trouble but he couldn't bring himself to care. The two quickly became good friends and spent as much time as they could in each other's presence, they had even shared their first kiss together. As far as First kisses go, theirs was at the lower end of the scale, it was sloppy and mostly just tongue and teeth behind the stables at night time, but it meant something to him. They never got a chance to pursue anything more because Leon soon left his position as Knight and left the Castle barely a day later. Arthur knew it was because he was uncomfortable being around the Prince after the moment they shared and he pretended he didn't care, but it hurt in a way he hoped never to feel again.

***

After that day, things started to piece together. He thought back to when he was a little boy and he sat with the boys while they watched the Girls and he realised the reason was because he wasn't attracted to them, he was attracted to the other gender. The realisation didn't effect him as much as it should have, it was like he always knew in the back of his mind he was attracted to men but the make out session with Leon put things in place. He realised he needed to talk to someone about the new information he obtained and he knew the only Person he could talk freely about these things were with Morgana.

Surprisingly, Morgana didn't laugh at him or tease him like he had expected, instead she was serious in a sickeningly sweet way. She started off by assuring him that being attracted to the same gender was perfectly normal and she emphasised that point by telling him of a fling she had with a girl before she came to Camelot. Arthur wasn't surprised but he still made a big deal out of it for her sake, though the conversation was about him. Then she asked him the question he was dreading.