Work Text:
Finally, a night that doesn’t involve violent sparring and battling bandits. Just a prince and his (best) friend going out for a pint. They were out for the day hunting for sport when Arthur stumbled across a quant pub in the woods. Rarely does Arthur get the opportunity to forget who he is and just enjoy a nice glass of mead with a pal, so he grasps the opportunity while he has it. “Come on, Merlin!” Arthur is slightly ahead of his friend, motioning towards the pub.
When the two lads walk in they are greeted with the faces of strangers. A pleased look spreads across Arthur's face as he takes in the room. “This will do just fine!” He says, and the two walk over to an empty table near the door. The bar owner walks over to the their table and stops in between them to wipe down their table. She is a stalky, fair-skinned woman with long, curly, brown hair. As she wipes down their table she glances up, and raises her brows as she speaks— “Well, aren’t you an ‘ansome fella?” A smirk appears on Arthur's face as he responds—“Thank you, you wouldn’t be the first to say that!” She looks over at the grinning prince, “Actually—“ She motions her head towards his dark haired friend—“I was referring to your friend over ‘ere!” She gives Merlin a flirty grin. Merlin looks at Arthur, then the woman, not hiding the surprise in his face, “Thank you.” He gives her a small smile. Arthur, clearly upset with the outcome of this conversation, interrupts, “Two tankards of mead please.” She nods, and gives Merlin one last smile before heading to the bar to grab their order.
————————————————————
Merlin and Arthur are a few drinks in, bantering and bickering with one another as per usual. As Arthur takes another sip of mead his eyes are drawn towards Merlin who is now standing up. His legs initially wobble a tad as he has not stood in over an hour and the drinks are beginning to hit him. “This is a great song!“ Merlin is pointing at two men playing instruments, whom some bar patrons take notice of. Men begin to clap their hands along to the beat and get up to dance. “Come on, Arthur!” Merlin motions for his friend to follow him onto the dance floor. Arthur waves his hand at his friend in disapproval. “No Merl—“ Arthur is unable to get the rest of his words out before Merlin takes hold of his hand and pulls him onto the dance floor with him. All of the men are huddled around in a circle, watching and taking turns dancing in the middle to show off their moves. As one man dances on his own, Merlin takes it upon himself to join the fellow. They both do a jig of some sorts and the crowd of men clap and praise them. Arthur is still on the sidelines with his arms crossed over his chest. He watches his friend move in this lively dance circle, both amazed and astonished that such a tall and somewhat lanky man was able to move his legs to a rhythm the way that he was. Arthur continues to watch Merlin dance until the song comes to an end. Merlin and the man he danced beside first turn to each other and bow, then sillily face the crowd and begin bowing until they felt was good enough. Merlin walks back to Arthur, a smile on his face, “Well that was fun wasn’t it!” They both walk back towards their designated table, a small smile hidden on Arthur’s face, he replies, his words barely detectable over the noise of music and drunk men— “Yes, it was.”
——————————————————————
The golden and raven-haired duo guzzle down a few more drinks while having slightly-drunken chatter. “I could use some fresh air, how about you?” Arthur asks Merlin, though he is not really asking since he waves down the bar owner to pay for their drinks before Merlin gets a chance to answer. After Arthur pays, with some resistance from Merlin, they both head out of the pub. They stand there for a few moments to take in the fresh air as they look at the orange hues of the sunset filling the sky.
“I think I will need to sit a moment.” Arthur says. Merlin follows, not saying a word. They walk for less than 5 minutes, Merlin straggling behind, when Arthur comes to a full stop. “This will do.” He points to and sits on a thick wooden log from a small, fallen tree. Arthur pats the empty space next to him and Merlin plops down beside him.
“Well that was a nice night at the tavern. I wish I could do this more often.” Arthur’s words slightly slurring as the mead’s affect has not fully worn off yet. “Yes, sire. Did you see the man dancing beside me? He was quite competitive.” Merlin is looking out into the trees, remembering the dance off he had. “Hey, you had some impressive moves yourself. Where did you learn to dance like that?” Arthur looks at Merlin, waiting for his explanation. “Just comes naturally I guess.” Merlin says as he shrugs his shoulders. “Like I’ve told you, I have many talents.” He gives Arthur a little smile. Arthur returns the favor, his stare lingering. Merlin holds his stare as well, though seems slightly confused as to why Arthur is looking at him like that.
Arthur’s eyes accidentally wonder down towards Merlin’s lips. He feels like he is in a state of delirium. Why does he suddenly feel queasy in the pit of his stomach? Was it from the excessive amount of mead that he drank? No, he doesn’t feel like he has to throw up. This feeling is quite different. It’s a feeling he rarely gets when he talks to a pretty girl. Why does he feel like this right now? There are no pretty girls around. There’s just Merlin. Merlin. Arthur thinks back to when they were greeted by the bar owner and how she complimented Merlin’s looks. He thinks about how he felt a pang of jealousy as she clarified who she was speaking to. “She was right you know.” Arthur blurts out before he can stop himself. Merlin looks startled by his sudden words. “The bar owner. She was right, you are quite ‘an ‘ansome fella’”. Arthur mimics her accent. He gives Merlin a smile, but it quickly disappears as his face drops from the realization of what he has just said.
Merlin looks at Arthur for a moment, he seems somewhat puzzled by his words, but still manages a smile. “Oh, well…thank you, Arthur.”—Merlin stops, not sure of what else to say. Arthur and Merlin’s eyes meet again, this time Arthur’s eyes have a sort of glimmer in them. The moonlight lighting them up in the slight darkness of the woods. “Your eyes looks nice, ya know, with the moonlight reflecting off of them.” Merlin points to Arthur’s eyes, as if to let him know where they are on his face, in case he has forgotten. Arthur looks down for a moment, a flush of red spreads across both of his cheeks. He waits a moment, then looks back up at Merlin. The young men stare into one another’s eyes once again, like they always do, except this time, there is a sense of realization within them both. Arthur’s eyes grow slightly wider as he stares at Merlin. Before he can stop himself, he leans into him, pressing his lips to his. The kiss is soft and quick. Arthur pulls back from Merlin, who is now staring wide-eyed at him. Arthur pulls back a little further and speaks, flustered, with his head hanging low in shame. “Merlin…I’m so—I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” There is a moment of silence between them. Merlin grabs Arthur’s cheek with his right hand. He then leans into Arthur’s still low hanging face and presses his lips onto his. This time the kiss lasts longer, and they both take it in, feeling this moment that they have together. As the kiss lingers Merlin’s hand guides Arthur’s face to lift up again.
They break their kiss, eyes still closed, faces hovering a few inches apart from one another. Merlin and Arthur both slowly open their eyes. Neither could believe what was happening. They slightly back their faces away from one another to process what just happened. Arthur is the first one to break the silence. “I…” Arthur’s eyes begin to fill with tears. He bury’s his face in his hands. Merlin’s heart begins to ache at the sight of his prince’s sadness. He slowly wraps his arms around Arthur, lightly rubbing his back with his right hand. His voice is calm and soft, “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” They stay this way for a few moments. Deep down, they both knew, knew that these feelings were there buried deep within them. Buried so deep that they forget that they exist, until they get to have moments such as these. Just the two of them, no danger, no chaos to occupy them. This was it. This was the night where they finally brought this truth to the surface, which they were so terrified to think of, let alone speak of.
Arthur breaks Merlin’s hold on him, lifting his face from his hands. He looks at Merlin, who gazes back, listening. “Merlin…” Arthur is soft spoken, his voice showing a form of tenderness that Merlin has never encountered before. “Merlin, I—I think—I love you.” He gazes at Merlin with his puppy-dog eyes. Merlin feels as if a warmth has spread within his chest. “Arthur, I—I love you too.” Merlin hesitantly takes hold of Arthur’s hands. They stare at one another, smiles spread across their faces as tears fill both of their eyes. As they look at one another, they both think to themselves “What a night.”