I'm sorry this is a few hours late. I had it written in time but I didn't get a chance to post it. This one is much shorter than the last, as I said they'd be. I'm also not very happy with it. But I hope you don't find it too terrible.
It wasn't often that Arthur Pendragon got sick. But when he did, it certainly wasn't pretty. Merlin hated to see him feeling so horrible but it was difficult to feel too bad for too long. Arthur tended to get whiny when he was uncomfortable or bored. And being sick meant both. It also meant he had plenty of time to send Merlin to all parts of the castle for ridiculous and outlandish things. He'd spent a good portion of the day making the journey between the kitchens and Arthur's chambers, trying to keep him in a warm blanket. Bring the blanket from the bed down to the kitchen. Bring the one hanging in the kitchen back up. Wait about an hour. Repeat. Merlin would do anything for Arthur but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Merlin," Arthur said, his teeth chattering horribly. "I'm so c-cold."
"I know, sire. I'm sorry. I wish there was more that I could do."
He looked forlornly at Arthur. This man he loved, usually so regal and strong, huddled in a ball shivering slightly, teeth chattering. His eyes were squeezed shut that the bruising of his eyelids looked like lilies floating on a pond of moonlight. A violent, rattling cough took hold of him and shook him.
Merlin had contemplated using magic to help him but Gaius had promptly warned him against it. While it was a miserable illness, he'd said, Arthur was sure to recover in a few days. So, as much as he wished he could, he knew magic simply didn't make sense. It was too dangerous. But, perhaps, there was something else he could do.
He dropped the armor he'd been polishing, more to have something to do than because it actually needed it, and strode purposefully to Arthur's bedside. Acting for all he was worth as if his heart weren't pounding and his knees gone soft.
"Alright, dollop-head. Move over." Arthur looked up at his manservant, confusion crinkling his brow and coloring his eyes. Darkening them.
"What are you doing?" he rasped.
"You said you're cold, right?" Merlin crawled under the covers and wrapped his skinny arms around Arthur, feeling even more awkward than he'd thought he would. Arthur was tense but he must have begun to warm up because, after a little while, he loosened up. And even snuggled closer into Merlin's chest, making a noise like a small animal. A noise which did strange things to Merlin.
All the awkwardness was gone and the two realized that they were cuddling. The prince and his servant. Arthur and his best friend. And neither had any intention of going anywhere for quite a while.
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