@merthurmicrofic prompt: regret
Word count: 461
âDo you ever regret coming here?â
âWhat do you mean?â Arthur sighed. His eyes were closed, lulled by the soapy fingers pushing through his soapy fringe.
âLeaving Camelot. Giving up the crown, your rule, yourâeverything.â The fingers stilled in his hair and Arthur opened his eyes to see Merlinâs face like a weathered shield, still trying in vain to hide all the soft and fragile parts of him. âIn Camelot you had everything you couldâve wanted. Servants, a soft bed, a kingdom that loved you. Close your eyes.â
âApart from all the times it tried to kill me,â Arthur pointed out, and Merlin poured the ewer over his head. âYou donât want to go back, do you? Morgana will kill us if we tried to take the throne from her; she and Gwen have only just settled in.â
A fond smile cracked the stoic mask and broke across Merlinâs face. âNah, Iâm rather attached to my bollocks; wouldnât want to risk it. But you donâtâI donât know, miss that life?â
âMm. Youâre forgetting that I technically still have a servant.â
âOh, you do? Next time I see him Iâll be sure to warn him what a great big prat you are.â
Arthur snorted. He found Merlinâs fingers under the water and interlaced them with his own. A warmth that had nothing to do with the steaming bathwater bloomed in his chest at the ease of it. They could do this now, here in their own home, where it was just the two of them. There was no one to hide it from.
âI miss our friends, and the comforts were nice, but I donât regret leaving, no,â he said quietly. âDo you regret it?â
Merlin didnât have to say it; the look he was giving Arthur said it plainly enough. Unfortunately for both their senses of pride, embarrassment had never been enough to keep Merlinâs mouth shut, and so he said it anyway. âI already have everything I could ever want.â He had to look away then, as Arthurâs returning look was so full of feeling it made his chest ache dangerously, and Merlin wasnât about to succumb to death in this bathtub without having taken Arthur multiple times first.
âNot you,â he said, and pushed a soapy hand into Arthurâs face to end the look.
Arthur spat out a mouthful of bubbles. âNo?â
âNo. What I meant is I can use my magic freely, and we finally have two competent rulersââ
ââAnd I quite like owning chickens.â
âRight. And thatâs all.â Arthurâs hands slid up Merlinâs slippery thighs and he used the waterâs weightlessness to pull Merlin easily onto his lap. Merlinâs arms wound effortlessly around his neck.
âThatâs all,â Merlin said, and kissed him.
blakekathryn
germansingergirl
yousharknotpass
snowghoul
titsay
