In Sickness and in Health

Basically a cute one-shot that came to me the other day in which Arthur is sick, and persistent that it won't affect him, only to fall prey to his fever and spill some secrets to a certain manservants that he really didn't want to. Merlin/Arthur, of course.

Warning: Spoilers for series one

Enjoy and don't forget to review x

P.s. Since I haven't named it yet, I call my virus the Billy-bob Virus :DMerlin first noticed it when he went to wake Arthur up. He was late, as always, and feared the prince may have risen without him. His fears, however, were in vain, as when he quietly entered the room of the blonde-haired royal, silence was the only occupant. A symphony of raspy breaths echoed around the sunlight room, bounding off mirrors and curling around windows. It sent a shiver through Merlin's spine.

As the warlock walked across the chamber, he found the prince curled between varies layers of sheets and fur blankets. Now, Camelot had always been known for its icy, brittle weather, when a wind was a constant visitor, but today in Camelot, the wind had mysteriously disappeared. In fact, you could go as far as to say that it was a humid. And humid is exactly the right word.

This morning, when the warlock had awoken to sunbeams in his face, he noticed that he had discarded his blankets in the night due to the warmth. Also, he couldn't bear to wear his jacket, so he was just in a red shirt and his blue neckerchief, and already he was beginning to boil.

Arthur, however, was curled in a cocoon of sheets; his head lay against a pillow that had been flattened in the night with his twisting and turning, and a frown gracing his features. Merlin stood by the prince, worry pricking in him. Using his hand, the warlock brushing it lightly against Arthur's forehead. The prince's skin was on fire. And he was slowly drowning in cold sweat.

With a sigh, Merlin gently began to peel away the blankets. The prince seemed to be shivering despite him being as warm as boiling water, and he clawed at the sheets as his manservant pulled them away. It was round about that time when Merlin found the prince's shirt underneath a chocolate coloured fur blanket. The warlock froze, his eyes widening. Arthur was naked as the day he came into the world underneath his mountain of cloth. All items of clothing discarded in the night.

A blush creeping rapidly onto his face, Merlin felt his ears burn as he gently shook Arthur. The prince jumped at the sudden movement, his actions so much like Morgana's after one of her visions. His eyes were rimmed with red, like he had been crying, and this alarmed the warlock. Emerald's had lost their spark, fading during the night.

With a relieved sigh, the prince fell back, and Merlin diverted his eyes quickly as he noticed the blankets falling down slightly with the movement of the prince.

"Merlin…" groaned Arthur, rubbing his forehead, "What do you want?"

"It's morning" Merlin murmured, "You have to dine with your father this morning, but you're sick, sire". Darting up, the prince looked alarmed,

"That's today?" he exclaimed. Merlin nodded, but as Arthur made to swing his legs out of bed, the warlock pushed him back down by his shoulders, blushing more as he did,

"You're too ill, my lord. Can't you feel how hot you are? And you've broken out in a cold sweat in the night. You need to rest, and I'll fetch Gaius". Staring at his manservant, a variety of emotions crossed Arthur's face.

Was Merlin actually worried? How strange. True, it was his job to care for the prince, but he seemed to be so gentle with his actions as he spoke to Arthur. In an almost affectionate way. Yet, still, some part of the prince glowed in content at what he saw in his manservant.

The last emotion that crossed Arthur's face was anger and annoyance,

"Merlin! Let go of me! I am going to dine with my father, sickness or not!"

………………………………………………………

The maidservants came in a quickly collected the plates, still littered with uneaten food, and picked up empty goblets as they took away the king's breakfast. His son's plates seemed barely touched, and he had requested only water, which he jugged down like his life depended on it. They all saw the state of Prince Arthur, his pale skin, his hollowed eyes with dark circles around them, his expression that looked sleepy and agonized. They knew he was sick.

Uther noticed this also, scanning his son with weak interest. He had ordered him to dine with his this morn so they could discuss new recruitment patterns for the knights, but Arthur hadn't seemed to heard a word of it and nodded with his father paused for breath, his eyes not leaving the table.

Still staring at that same spot of the wooden surface of the dining table, Arthur saw his plate move out the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but smile internally. Folding his arms across the table, he lay his head on them, closing his eyes with a quiet moan. His head felt like it would crack open ant moment, if he didn't burn to death first.

Knowing it wasn't his place to do so but not being able to stop himself, Merlin walked over to Arthur crouching down beside him and brushed the hair that had matted on his forehead away. Arthur opened his eyes at the movement, boring into the warlock with the smallest amount of acknowledgement,

"You're very sick, sire" Merlin said, glancing over to the king who was watching them. Uther agreed with the manservant with a glint in his eyes. As always, Uther was too thick skulled to see the truth before his very eyes.

"Merlin-" Arthur groaned quickly, before freezing, his eyes bulging. Not breathing, Merlin was a little taken back by the prince's shocking expression, and so, merely stayed there, crouched, when Arthur leapt from his seat and bolted out the room with a hand over his mouth like his soul was about to pour out.

Sighing, Merlin found himself looked to the only royalty left in the room, King Uther. The king looked at the manservant with a frown,

"Go find him and take him to his chambers, I'll send someone to fetch Gaius" he ordered, barely acknowledging the manservant's existence. Merlin nodded, almost immediately, and stood up, placing his jug on the table and leaving the room at a rushed pace.

………………………………………..

He found Arthur in the nearest bath chamber, and was appalled to see the prince in such a manner as he was. Arthur was kneeling; almost lay, on the floor, his arms around a cool basin while he lent his head against it, relief spreading through his system. He looked so weak. So vulnerable. So un-Arthur-like it was a strange sight.

Again, the manservant found himself crouching next to Arthur, gently putting a supportive hand on the prince's arm,

"Come on" Merlin murmured and he pulled the prince up, carefully, and hooked Arthur's arm around the back of his head and encouraged him to get to his feet, which Arthur did, with an Arthur-like moan of discomfort.

"You can't carry me, Merlin" the prince mumbled, and Merlin chuckled, adjusting Arthur's weight,

"Of course I can't" he replied, "I'm just guiding you". Arthur scowled at the warlock as they left the bath chambers, and slowly made their way down the hallway.

"Idiot" he muttered, and he heard Merlin snicker quietly. He noticed how his manservant kept adjusting Arthur's arm, and so the price took his weight off Merlin and supported himself. After all, what use was an exhausted manservant? And, well, he didn't want to hurt him.

"Looks like you're not invincible sire" muttered the manservant, his voice teasing. Arthur rolled his eyes, but he smiled slightly,

"Oh, don't worry, a little virus isn't going to defeat me" Arthur replied and it was Merlin's turn to roll his eyes,

"No, Arthur, it's just going to make my job a lot harder". The prince smirked,

"Maybe this whole sickness thing isn't so bad after all".

………………………………

"He's quite sick" Gaius admitted in hushed whispers to Merlin, "By not spending the morning resting; the sickness has gotten a better hand on his system. As soon as his fever breaks, he'll be fine". Merlin exhaled with a slight chuckle, his shoulders untensing. He had feared the worst when Arthur had collapsed in his chambers.

"Gaius will be here any moment" Merlin announced as he straightened Arthur's mountain on sheets. As a reply, the prince groaned,

"I don't need-" but he stopped speaking, instead, the warning-less sound of a body hitting the ground, the skin-crawling echo as bone was slammed against the hard floor. When Merlin turned around quickly, he found the blonde-haired royal had collapsed backwards, falling unconscious.

Smiling gently, Gaius put a hand on Merlin's arm, and forced the warlock to tear his gaze away from that same prince, whom laid in a fever-endured sleep, his face twisting occasionally in pain.

"Don't worry, he'll be okay" the physician assured him and Merlin forced a fake frown over his defeated expression,

"Who said I was worried" he replied in a defensive tone. Gaius merely smiled in a knowing way before announcing,

"I must inform King Uther that Arthur must be bed-ridden until he is well again". Nodding, Merlin watched as the old man left the room, shutting the door behind himself quietly.

Taking his seat in the chair at Arthur's bedside, the manservant picked up the damp cloth that had been laid across Arthur's forehead and he dropped it into a basin of water and wrung it out. Arthur subconsciously lent into Merlin's touch as the warlock wiped away the beads of cols sweat that had found their way back onto the prince's face.

Merlin hated this. Hated it with even the darkest corners of his heart. He hated seeing the prince in this state. Weak. Conquered. Coarse with pain. Arthur was one of the strongest willed people the warlock knew, making this so wrong. He had only memories of the worse day of life in his mind's eye. Arthur being bitten by the questing beast, and falling into a poison endured coma, sure to shortly perish. And Merlin sacrificing his own life to protect him. Things didn't go as planned, however.

It was Merlin's destiny to protect the prince, and that day, he had failed him. Arthur had almost died. And, although he didn't know it, that was the warlock's greatest fear.

The manservant dipped the cloth back into the basin of water, and as he glanced back to the blonde-haired royal, he saw a pair of suddenly wide-awake emeralds, gazing at his with such a powerful stare, they bore right into the manservant's core.

Arthur's fever seemed to pause for breath, the prince's chest becoming still as his breathing became even and his face losing all creases from its agonized frown. The expression he wore instead was so serious, yet with so much raw emotion, if was almost the opposite of his normal constructed visage, and that frightened Merlin. However, the warlock was just relieved to see the prince awake.

Smiling, Merlin muttered in a gentle tone,

"Hello". Something deep in Arthur's eyes stirred, seeming to spark. Yet, the blonde-haired royal merely blinked, entranced by so many thoughts and emotions that haunted his mind. After a moment of blissful silence, in which Merlin finished wringing out the cloth, Arthur murmured in a dazed voice,

"Do you hear my heart pounding?"

Blinking, the warlock replied shortly,

"No". How could he hear something so quiet? Merlin came to the conclusion that perhaps Arthur was deranged due to his fever. But, truthfully, he had misinterpreted the meaning of Arthur's word.

The prince seemed to roll his eyes without actually moving them, and instead, reached out and grasped Merlin's hand, while causing the manservant to drop the cloth with a subtle splash. Placing it on his chest, on top of his white shirt, directly above his heart, Arthur pressed his own hand on top of Merlin's, pressing it down. His eyes never left Merlin.

Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum. Da-dum.

"I can feel it, though". Merlin heard himself say. Despite his chilled appearance, the prince's skin had not cooled from its blistering hot temperature, and despite his hand only being there for a moment, Merlin's palm had begun to sweat. But, it wasn't the heat that caused him to swelter. It was the same reason as to why the manservant's heart began to race as fast as Arthur's fluttering one.

This always happened when their skin touched. Whether it be Merlin dressing Arthur, or brushing against each other as they walked of even when their hands were touching for just seconds as Arthur was passed his goblet.

"Me too…" Arthur replied in a distant voice. It was the strangest thing. When he opened his eyes and watched Merlin beside him, his heart became to race, and it filled his ears. Arthur couldn't help but ask if the manservant knew. Did he know the truth?

That same blissful silence fell over them, and Merlin felt a warm blush creep over his face. His hand was still being clasped my Arthur and the prince's piercing gaze had not left his face. In a moment of embarrassment, the warlock felt like he should fill the silence that suddenly lost its comfort,

"How are you feeling?" But Arthur acted as if he didn't hear, and frowned to himself. Merlin blinked at Arthur, getting more confident in his conclusion by the minute,

"My father would kill me…" Arthur mumbled, sounding as if to himself, but actually meant for Merlin. His father wouldn't only kill him, he would never forgive him. And Merlin. Well. If feelings were mirrored…

"Why?" Merlin asked, rather startled and completely concerned. What had Arthur done that was so bad? Arthur merely ignored him again, continuing to follow his train of thought,

"It's against the law..." This time, his tone sounded desperate and crushed. How could it be wrong? It felt so…natural. So real. Did this mean he really was sick?

"Arthur?" Merlin was officially worried now, "What is?" He was oblivious as always.

This time, Arthur's gaze finally fell to their hands, still touching. Still grasping. And when he finally met the warlock's confused stare, his eyes were so different. They were full of melancholy. Begging and pleading for answers.

"How do I quit you, Merlin?" At this, the manservant's frown ironed out, his face freezing in surprise. Finally, he understood. Did the prince know what he was saying? Those were unwise words, especially because of the risk! Yet, some part of Merlin was beaming. Feelings were mirrored after all.

As an instinctive reaction, the manservant flicked his gaze to the door, making sure no body could have heard. He had to protect Arthur after all. Confident that no body had in fact heard the prince's confession, Merlin sighed mentally. Feeling pressure lift from his hand, he turned back to see Arthur had fallen back into his restless sleep, the fever again taking hold.

Taking a moment to frown at himself, Merlin as torn between several emotions. His final verdict was feeling like an idiot of course, how could he even think Arthur was wrong? What would that make him? A hopeless mistake? His heart was fluttering with affection and his mind was clouded with adoration, honestly, how could he not want this?

That answer was simple. He didn't want to get caught and watch Arthur pay for the consequences. That's if anything would happen. Would something happen? Shaking his head, his banished the thoughts. For now, it would be so much easier to tackle those bridges when he came to them.

Picking up the cloth and wringing it out again, he padded at Arthur's forehead, despite the sweat only just getting a grip on his skin. It seemed the illness had become more violent. With a sigh, Merlin smiled,

"Prat" he murmured.

…………………………….

Gaius pushed the door open only to stop at a sight that made the old physician smile. Arthur's fever had finally broken, and now, the young prince lay asleep on his bed, his skin still pale and bags still shadowed his eyes, but the colour had began to tint his cheeks again. Creases no longer littered his expression.

The prince finally looked at peace. The other reason Gaius smiled was the fact that Merlin's bottom half was still sat on the chair while the rest of him was lay across Arthur's bed, not touching the prince, but rather Merlin using his arms as a pillow as he also lay asleep, his fringe falling over his eyes.

The manservant hadn't left Arthur's side since the prince had become bed-ridden, not even to eat, and he seemed to have fallen asleep there the previous night, maybe not on purpose, but he didn't return to his chambers either way.

Gaius shut the door behind him, and the noise stirred Arthur from his sleep, causing the prince to look up with a startled yet sleepy expression.

"Oh, it's you Gaius" he said with a yawn and the old man chuckled,

"Glad to see you feeling better sire" he replied. Arthur blinked for a moment, when his gaze was caught on the sleeping figure of his manservant, lay so close to him, that if he wanted, he could reach out and brush his hand against the warlock's motionless skin. He was momentarily mesmerized. He was so harmonious. Blinking himself out of it, and startling himself with the embarrassment, Arthur peered at Gaius. The old man smiled gently,

"I'll just notify your father that your are well again, if you don't need me". The prince was about to ask for Gaius to give him some sleeping potion to catch up on lost sleep when the Merlin fidgeted in his sleep, his eyes opening drowsily and sitting up with a yawn. Arching his back, he flinched as his spine ached from sleeping in an unappreciated position. Sleeping could wait, Arthur decided.

"No, thank you, Gaius" Arthur replied and the physician smiled knowingly again before turning to leave. He wasn't as clueless as the boys thought.

"Arthur!" Merlin exclaimed after he blinked away his exhaustion and the prince came into focus, "You're okay!" The prince raised an eye-brow at him,

"Thanks for having so much confidence in my recovery" He replied, brushing his hand through his hair and agreeing with himself that after he'd eaten, he would take a bath. Or maybe both at once.

Merlin grinned his idiot grin, brushing off Arthur's comments and smirking as he teased,

"Well, your attitude soon changed" but his ears turned scarlet as he flushed with embarrassment, instantly regretting bringing up that subject without thinking. Arthur frowned at him,

"What are you mumbling about now?" The prince questioned as he swung his legs out of bed. Taking his turn to frown, a thoughtful smile danced around Merlin's eyes,

"You don't remember?" he asked, as he twisted around in his seat, crossing his arms over the back of the chair and lying his head on top as he watched Arthur fill his wash basin with water from a near-by jug.

Arthur paused, glancing at the warlock with a raised eyebrow,

"The last thing I remember is you dragging me to my chambers and tripping over your own feet as you opened the door" Merlin chuckled and Arthur too smiled, "After that, it's just a blur…" he finally admitted, turning back to his basin.

Smirking, Merlin raised his eye brows in shock. He was right. Arthur had been in a fever-educed state of mumbling. Like sickness's answer to amyl nitrate or truth serum.

"Oh" Merlin replied, a smile in his words. Turning, after splashing water on his face to wake himself up, Arthur questioned,

"Why?" and Merlin smirked, "What happened?"

"Oh" Merlin replied with a smile in my eyes, "You just had a moment of confession". Arthur froze, his eyes going wide,

"What?" he said, disbelief and horror in his tone. What had he said? Panic began to prickle at his system. He knew he'd regret whatever he said?

"Oh, nothing much…"Merlin replied, teasing and Arthur scowled, hoping he hadn't said anything about…

"Tell me, Merlin" he demanded, and the manservant grinned daringly, getting on his feet,

"I think I should-" he said, backing towards the door but Arthur interrupted as he boomed,

"Merlin!" but the manservant had already dashed out the door, his grin never leaving his face, with Arthur close at his tail.

…………………………………………………

The warlock groaned, but that just caused spikes of pain to break through his headache. Well, more like a migraine. Turning over in his sweltering bed, Merlin pressed his fingers to his temples. This was all Arthur's fault. If he hadn't have gotten sick, then Merlin wouldn't have caught it and now be bed-bound, and forced to eat chicken soup until he recovered. He had tried to cure himself with magic, but, by his eyes being strained, it just hurt, so he gave up.

Hearing the door open, Merlin exclaimed with his eyes still tightly shut in the hope to banish the pain,

"No more food!" He had remembered how horrid it was to bring up the days worth of meals, and he actually felt sympathetic of Arthur after he had to go through this, but then he felt envious because Arthur was over this and Merlin was still fresh to the churning of his stomach and the goose bumps.

"I woke up this morning" said the unmistakable voice of the prince, a smile in his voice, "And I found that the sun was already high in the sky. So, I came down here in the hope to put a certain manservant in the stocks for his laziness, only to discover he is ill and have my fun ruined". Merlin groaned louder. Just what he needed, a moaning prat.

Arthur smirked, knowing he would never actually have put Merlin in the stocks. He had gotten used to a useless servant. Opening his eyes, the warlock saw that Arthur was leant against his door frame with his arms crossed,

"I blame you for this" he muttered and Arthur grinned crookedly,

"Are you ever going to tidy this room?" he questioned, scanning the room and taking in all the scattered clothes and half-opened books. No wonder the blonde-haired royal's chambers were so untidy if his manservant couldn't even tidy his own.

"Ah, leave me alone" groaned Merlin, putting a hand over his eyes, "I'm sick". Arthur shook his head in mock pity, stalking across the room and standing over the warlock,

"Yeah, I noticed" he replied with a smirk. Mentally, he sighed. True, it was fun to torment Merlin, but he did hold pity for his tortured manservant. He had been on that particular horse ride, and he knew how bumpy the road was. He hated that Merlin would have to go through that because of him. But, the warlock was persistent to stay by his side. "I'm sorry you caught this" he admitted quietly.

Merlin peered at him with eyes of gentle affection and mumbled a reply,

"I don't mind". Arthur smiled secretly, "Hey Arthur?" Merlin asked, looking at the prince with his faded sapphire eyes from underneath black shadows and pasty skin, as Arthur pulled a chair up to Merlin's bedside,

"Umm?" he replied, his back arching as he rested his elbows on his knees. Merlin grinned as he teased,

"Do you hear my heart pounding?"