Disclaimer: Not my personal property and I take no property claims to the show/characters.

Merlin woke with a start, eyes open wide and unblinking in the dark. For a long moment, he could only hear his quick breaths and racing heartbeat. Raising a hand to his head, he gripped onto his hair as he tried to remember what had woken him.

He had not been having any dreams he was aware of, and he most definitely did not hear any voices calling his name – Merlin or Emrys. Glancing around the room as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Merlin realized there was a figure by his doorway.

"Wha-? Arthur?" he gasped, scrabbling in the sheets with his elbows and hands until he was seated against the wall. "What are you doing in my room? You – you better not bring up woodworms; I already checked yesterday."

Arthur stepped forward slightly and Merlin could see his hands were wringing together before him. "You," Arthur started, voice hoarse and quiet, "You were having night terrors."

Merlin blinked and moved his head back until it hit the wall, "I – what? Why – you?"

There was a long silence as he stared at Arthur and the man stared back. Arthur finally cleared his throat and said slowly, "I hear your, uh, your screams in my head and can't sleep."

Merlin sighed, pulled his arms up and folded them over his eyes, "Arthur, you've finally lost your mind."

"You don't have them when I'm in the room," Arthur protested, "This isn't the first time I've come down here!"

Pulling his hands down, Merlin stared at Arthur again, "You've – Arthur, you can't just – this is my room!"

"I'm King, I can do whatever I want," he replied testily. Moving back into the dark around the closed door, Arthur replied, "Shut up and go to sleep, Mer-lin."

As he slid back down, Merlin glanced towards Arthur again and then rolled over so his back was facing the other man. Arthur's insanity could wait until the morning.

Merlin woke to an empty room. The only mark of Arthur's presence was a cleared area by the door where he must have pushed the dirty clothes and books away. Pulling a mostly-clean shirt over his head as he exited the room, Merlin glanced over to see Gaius staring at him. "Why did the King leave your room at dawn?" Gaius asked, giving Merlin the Look as he inspected his bedhead and wrinkled clothes.

"Don't even start," Merlin replied, approaching the table and picking up his porridge. He avoided Gaius' gaze as he scooped the gruel into his mouth. "Gaius, do you know anything about –" he started as he turned back towards the man. He reconsidered it mid-turn and shook his head, "No, it's nothing."

That earned him another Look and a "Wash up and get going – you've a busy day ahead of you."

Merlin spent the day as usual, cleaning up after Arthur wherever he went and attending to him at meals and council meetings. The only difference between this day and any other he noticed was that Arthur avoided meeting his eyes at all times. If it were anyone else, Merlin would be worried. But, it was Arthur, so he merely rolled his eyes and ignored him in return.

After he turned down Arthur's bed, Merlin turned to find the other man standing close behind him. "Arthur –" he started, and then closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Releasing a long breath, he flashed Arthur his best smile – almost missing the way Arthur sucked in a short breath – and asked, "Is there anything else for the evening or am I dismissed? Sire?"

Arthur's eyes flicked away towards the bed and back to Merlin's own before the other man replied, "No, there's nothing else. Good night, Merlin."

Pulling the door shut behind himself as he left the room, Merlin answered, "Good night, Arthur."

It was a week later that Arthur brought up the night terrors again. "Merlin!" he called as the other was carrying an empty dinner plate towards the door.

Sighing, Merlin turned around – expecting a long list of chores to be done by morning. He was surprised to find Arthur standing awkwardly behind his chair, hand floating between the arm rest and the top of the seat back, shifting from one leg to the other. His eyes were fixed on a spot behind Merlin's head on the wall. "You, uh, you've still been having night terrors. I was thinking that," a long swallow and clearing of his throat, "I was thinking that you could sleep in the antechamber there, the, uh the servant's quarters. If, uh, you're close, maybe you'll sleep well."

The whole thing sounded fabricated to Merlin – Arthur rarely lied and when he did, he did it very poorly. Eyeing him suspiciously, Merlin turned and pointed at the other room, "Sleep in there?"

Arthur's gaze followed his finger and he nodded, "Yes. And consider it an order if you're going to say no."

Rolling his eyes, Merlin bowed his head, "Yes, sire."

He spent the night curled up under a soft set of furs – furs that seemed questionably new and freshly tanned – unable to sleep as he considered what could be plaguing his king.

Merlin woke up, not because of the sunlight on his face but because Arthur burst into his room, shouting happily, "I slept!"

Tumbling out of his bed, Merlin rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and blinked at him. "One would think with the years of practice you've had sleeping, this wouldn't be such a surprise."

Arthur shot him a glance and replied, "Shut up, Merlin, and get my breakfast."

Merlin went through the day wondering about Arthur's comment in the morning. Arthur had slept well because Merlin had not slept; Merlin not sleeping meant he would not have had the chance to have any night terrors. Maybe there was something wrong with Arthur, or with Merlin, and Arthur was suffering because of it.

Sighing, he made his way down to Gaius' chambers – waving off the man's questions as he fetched clean clothes. After he washed his face, he sat down at the table with the man and asked, "Can a person be affected by another's night terrors? Could they hear the other person's screams?"

Gaius stared at him and slowly replied, "Well, Merlin, if you were shouting in your room, I would most likely hear it."

Merlin shook his head, "No, I mean…in your head. Could you hear it in your head?"

Gaius opened his mouth to reply and then shut it, giving Merlin a pondering look. "Well, let me see," he answered. He rose and moved across the room to fetch a book from one of the far tables. Flipping through the pages, he added, "I've never heard of such a thing – of one's dreams affecting another's."

Merlin waited in silence as Gaius peered at one page and then another, turning page after page. Giving a sigh, he jumped up and moved over study the book as well. "I can't find a description of such a spell," the older man finally stated.

"But, not all spells are in your books," Merlin pointed out, waving dust away from his face as Gaius slammed the tome shut. He turned to exit and called over his shoulder, "I may have more questions later."

Merlin stood across from Arthur as the man inspected his sword in the dim light of dusk through the window. He waited until Arthur had finished running his fingers down the blade, searching out cracks or fractures and then spoke, "Arthur, have you, uh –" He paused when the other man turned to look at him, eyes bright across the table. Speaking in a rush, Merlin quickly asked, "Have you followed any strangers anywhere or had a lock of hair mysteriously disappear or gazed in the eyes of some girl and repeated whatever she said or found yourself unconscious somewhere with no memory of what you had been doing?"

As Arthur stared at him, mouth open slightly in shock, Merlin rushed over to the bed and lifted the pillows – searching for any poultices or hair – and then ducked under the bed to check the frame. "Have you found any strange rings on your fingers or strange amulets around your neck? Check right now."

"What idiocy are you spouting, Merlin?" Arthur asked, voice deceptively soft and kind.

Merlin peered at him from over the edge of the bed, "I'm just taking precautionary measures."

Arthur rolled his eyes at him and lifted his hands up in the air, "All my normal rings," he opened his shirt collar slightly and revealed a lack of strange amulets, "All clear here, too." Merlin stared at his collar bones in interest before Arthur released the fabric again.

Arthur approached him and lifted him from the ground by his arm, "Now, you go do whatever it is you do before you sleep and leave me to my reports. Any more nonsense out of you and it's the stocks, Merlin!"

Merlin stared at him, open-mouthed, as he was shoved from the room. "I'm just trying to look out for you!" he protested as he was shooed away.

He was almost completely asleep when Arthur burst into the room and hauled him out of his bed. Merlin sputtered and pulled the sheet off his head as he looked up at the king, "What are you doing?"

"You were having them again," Arthur declared, dragging Merlin from the room. "Can't sleep."

Merlin allowed himself to be pulled into Arthur's chambers as he considered the statement. He hadn't been having any dreams he could remember – he had been thinking about which of Arthur's shirts needed laundering. Not much of a terror.

It was times like this he missed the Great Dragon being right under the castle, easy to access and consult. Sure, Gaius knew much about the Old Religion, but Kilgharrah would have had a good laugh at this and then told Merlin what to do.

He eyed Arthur as the man pulled him towards his bed and baulked slightly. "Arthur, no, what are you – "

Arthur threw a glance over his shoulder and dumped Merlin onto the ground next to the bed. "Sleep right there." The other man clambered into his bed again and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders.

Merlin peered around, "On the floor, Arthur?"

A pillow hit him hard in the face and he put it under his head. "I thought you didn't want me staying under your bed ever again," he commented coyly, closing his eyes and settling into the hard wooden floor.

There was a long pause and the sound of sheets rubbing along each other above him before there was a tug on the back of Merlin's nightshirt – the front of the collar pulled tight against his neck – and he was hauled up into Arthur's bed.

"Go to sleep, you dollophead."

"That's my word," Merlin replied as he snuggled down into the blankets. He felt a brush of skin against his waist and then Arthur's hand slowly moved to rest on his stomach. Blinking in the dark, he pursed his lips and tried to abandon the thoughts running through his head.

"Since I'm King, all of your words are my words," Arthur informed him as he buckled his belt in the morning.

Merlin stared at him for a moment and then laughed. "Your word is law, sire," he replied, still chuckling.

After fetching his breakfast, Merlin decided now was a better time than any to confront Arthur. He waited until the man had a mouthful and was chewing and asked, "What are you up to?"

Arthur blinked up at him in surprise and started to chew quickly. "You're lying about the night terrors. I know you are," Merlin informed him.

The other man pushed back from the table and stumbled away from Merlin, chewing as quickly as he could. Merlin moved around the table and approached Arthur, "What are you up to? Is this a joke? Are the knights in on it, too?"

There was a rapid shaking of Arthur's head and a noisy swallow. Arthur watched Merlin draw near and cleared his throat loudly. "I have come to quite like you," he stated slowly, eyes flitting across Merlin's face.

Merlin scratched his head and replied, "That's brilliant, Arthur."

"I, uh, quite, quite like you," Arthur reiterated, hand moving to clench the hilt of his sword.

"Thanks," Merlin replied, giving up in his head as he turned towards the table again.

Arthur took a loud, quick step towards Merlin and his hand brushed against Merlin's arm. "I lied about the night terrors," he admitted, voice catching slightly. Merlin turned to see the man's entire face was bright red. "I just, uh, wanted you in my bed."

Merlin turned and stared at him, mouth popping open before he burst out laughing. He couldn't stop himself, his sides beginning to ache as he fell to the ground. "You!" he shouted between laughs. "Night terrors!" His arms wrapped around his waist, squeezing in an attempt to stop the laughter. "Gaius thought –!" He wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his hands. "I was so worried!" he finally declared, beaming up at Arthur from the floor.

Arthur's eyes were fixed on his face and the man heaved a loud sigh. "You're such an idiot," he commented. Merlin was hauled up by his ears and kissed soundly on the mouth.

"But, I'm your idiot," Merlin replied, breath puffing against Arthur's lips.

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