Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Arthur is sunlight, warmth. He is big and shining and golden, so golden that sometimes it's like Merlin can warm his hands just in the glow around him.

Merlin loves him fiercely.

Merlin is moonlight and he's always cold, especially at night. They're out on a long hunt, one night, sleeping on the ground, and Merlin shivers and shivers and shivers and tries not to toss and turn, because Arthur's so damned alert and he'll notice.

Then Arthur sits suddenly, in the firelit darkness, and lunges, and pulls Merlin into his warm embrace. Merlin struggles, startled, but Arthur holds him firmly until he goes still and submits. 'That's better,' he says softly, 'you're freezing, you idiot,' and arranges Merlin to his satisfaction.

He's so warm, so beautifully big and warm, and Merlin lets out an involuntary little sound of content, burrowing a little bit into Arthur's chest, his face pressed into Arthur's shirt and neck. Arthur gives a low laugh, the sound humming soothingly past Merlin's ear, and tightens his arms around him. 'Better?'

'Yes,' Merlin whispers, already slipping off to sleep; and he could almost imagine that before the darkness rolled over him, he felt the touch of lips, softly, on his hair.

Merlin is soft and gentle and not at all a fighter, and it sometimes makes Arthur want to shake him in frustration, but mostly just protect him.

Arthur is hard, and strong, and trained to fight, to hunt, to protect with the sword; but Merlin is something else entirely. Merlin nurtures things and cares for them and worries about them, and Arthur is fascinated by it.

Merlin likes unicorns. And flowers. And children – Arthur sees him go down on one knee next to a little lost crying toddler, and coax her into watery smiles, and then lift her up in his arms and take her home to her mother, little arms clinging trustingly around his neck. He never knew that Arthur had watched him.

Arthur's training the next day, and he stops and turns to see where Merlin is sitting on the bench, and Merlin's long smooth neck is craned up at the sky and he's smiling vaguely. Arthur follows his eyes, and there's a small wheeling bird, high in the blue heavens, dipping and circling and swooping without apparent intent.

Arthur brings his sword and puts it down; he's had enough of the practice dummy anyway. He comes and sits down, not on the bench but on the ground at Merlin's feet, and there's something oddly intimate about it. He twists his head back and up to look at Merlin, and Merlin's not looking at the bird now, but at Arthur, the little smile still dreaming at the corner of his mouth. And it feels right.

'Good training?' Merlin says softly, and he reaches out to straighten the neck of Arthur's tunic where it's bunched itself up under the mail shirt. His fingers feel cool and good against Arthur's sweaty skin.

'Good,' Arthur confirms, and leans back against the bench, his head level with Merlin's leg. He runs a hand through his damp hair, making it stick up in sweaty spikes; and then Merlin laughs and blows a cool stream of air onto him.

'Ahh,' Arthur says happily. 'That's good. Do it again.'

'Yes, sire,' Merlin says. 'Your personal fan, that's me.'

'It's an honour, Merlin,' Arthur says lazily.

Merlin blows gently on him again, long and cool, and then says, soft and provocative, 'Prat.'

Arthur lunges at him, and Merlin writhes away, almost out of reach, but Arthur's battle reflexes don't betray him and they end up wrestling all over the grass, laughing breathlessly. Inevitably, Arthur prevails, and ends up pinning Merlin to the ground, triumphantly grinning down at him. 'Yield,' he says firmly.

Merlin stops struggling and drops his head back, still laughing. 'All right, I yield,' he says meekly; and as Arthur releases his arms, Merlin reaches out with an easy movement and gently brushes the hair out of Arthur's eyes.

Arthur is day, and light, and openness, and he's really rather terrible at keeping secrets considering that he's the Prince of Camelot. Sometimes he looks into Merlin's eyes, and his blue eyes are so honest and frank and open that Merlin's heart aches with his own burden of hoarded secrets.

(It is those times that Merlin must close himself up, tight, tight, like a locked chest in a vault, because he knows it would be so, so easy to let it all come spilling out at Arthur's feet.)

Merlin is dark soothing night, and he closes himself up and keeps his secrets because he must.

But one day, they're out riding in the woods, bantering, and it's so stupid, the kind of inane freakish thing that never happens: a tree branch falls, as they're riding beneath it. And it's heading straight down on top of Arthur, and Merlin reacts on instinct, feeling his eyes glow warm with released magic – knocking the branch away from Arthur. Away from his beautiful Arthur, whom he loves more than his life and his secrets.

Arthur sees. Of course Arthur sees, and when the horses have stopped rearing and quietened, he's staring at Merlin as though he's just had a bucket of cold water to the face. Merlin's shivering, thinking of taking the horse and bolting; but he can't, he can't.

'You're a sorcerer,' Arthur says, blank and obvious.

'Yes,' Merlin says shakily, and dashes fiercely at the tears that have started to trickle down his face, waiting. Because if Arthur wants to take him back to Camelot as a prisoner, to a cold cell and death in the grey morning – if that is what Arthur wants, Merlin will let him, because he can't deny Arthur anything.

'You lied to me,' Arthur says quietly, and Merlin presses his knuckles into his mouth and crushes back a dry helpless sob. He can't meet Arthur's eyes, now, too afraid of what he will see in them.

'Get off your horse.' Arthur's voice is fierce and hard and Merlin must obey, so he does it, climbing off clumsily and waiting with a bowed head. There is silence, and then a little thud, and Merlin glances up for a fraction of a second, and Arthur's off his horse. He's striding towards Merlin with a grim mouth and a tight jaw, and Merlin stiffens and braces his shoulders.

'God, just – just stop that,' Arthur sounds sick and angry and strange. 'I'm not going to hit you, damn you.' And he takes Merlin's shoulders in a hard, almost bruising grip, and he's breathing hard, and Merlin's crying messily, because he just can't seem to stop and he's more scared than he's ever been in his life.

And then Arthur's exploding. 'What – WHAT were you THINKING?' he roars, and Merlin gulps and shakes and turns his face away; but Arthur just shouts louder. 'LOOK at me!' – and Merlin has to obey, and he can't understand what he's seeing, because Arthur's face is wet and furious and his mouth is working as though he's trying to stop himself from weeping.

'You're – crying,' Merlin gulps.

'Shut up. Shut up,' Arthur snarls. 'You lied to me. You could have died. Every day. Damn you.' And then he yanks Merlin roughly into something that's more like a stranglehold than an embrace, and Merlin cries and cries and cries, his knees failing him, tears and snot and wetness everywhere.

'Sorry. I'm sorry. So sorry,' he keeps snuffling into Arthur's shirt, and Arthur's chest is heaving spasmodically and his face is pressed hard into a damp patch in Merlin's hair.

It's a long while they stand there, shuddering and clinging together. Finally, Arthur hauls Merlin out of the way of the horses, to a clear place by a tree, and they collapse against it, rough bark at their backs and twigs poking everywhere and Merlin's long legs getting in the way. Merlin's shuddering and sniffling, trying to wipe his face on his sleeve.

'Don't,' Arthur says hoarsely, and pins Merlin's arms down, fishing around and coming up with a big handkerchief from a pocket somewhere in his clothes. He tips Merlin's stained face up and starts to dry it off, his own face fierce and wet-eyed.

'You have to stop crying, you'll be sick,' Arthur says after a moment, as Merlin sobs again, and once more. 'Merlin.'

Merlin gulps and closes his eyes for a moment, but another sob rises up his throat and the tears are still coming, leaking down his cheeks.

'Take a deep breath,' Arthur orders. 'Merlin. I want you to obey me, now.'

Something about Arthur's commands makes the world steady around Merlin, and he keeps his eyes closed and breathes in, and out, and concentrates on the feeling of Arthur's tight hard grip on him. One last tiny sob – 'Merlin,' Arthur says warningly – and he manages to stop crying, though he's still shivering all over.

'That's much better,' Arthur says approvingly, and Merlin looks at him; and there's something wonderful in Arthur's face, something deep and soft and serious in the way he looks into Merlin's eyes. And Arthur dries Merlin's face with the handkerchief, gently, and holds it for Merlin to blow into, and then puts it back into his own pocket when he's done.

Then they sit, and after a moment Merlin realises that Arthur is rocking him, slightly, back and forth and back and forth, and that gives him a little bit of courage.

'Are you – are you going to – to –?' His voice is a tiny thread of sound, but Arthur hears; and Arthur seems to curl himself over and around Merlin as though protecting him with his body.

'Am I going to turn you in to my father?' he says quietly. 'Merlin.'

And he leans down and presses his forehead against Merlin's, and speaks, slow and clear but very soft. 'Listen to me. You are mine, and I protect what is mine with the last drop of my blood. Do you trust me?'

And Merlin gives a deep shaking sigh, and presses back against Arthur's forehead, trembling. His eyes meet and hold Arthur's, and he listens to the soft soothing sounds of their mingled breathing, and whispers, 'Yes.'

Chapter 2 coming soon! In which there will be a reveal of another kind...

Song choice: A Love Song, Anne Murray. This has basically become my Merlin/Arthur theme song, because it gives me all the feels about the two of them being cuddly and gentle and adorable with each other. *hugs*

You might also like my other Arthur/Merlin stories, which can all be found on my profile. :)

I hope you enjoyed this; please leave a review and let me know what you thought!