Date Published: July 17, 2022
Word Count: 2526
A/N: Well apparently angsty fluff is my specialty, cause this was gonna be pure fluff but then the lead in started getting a little angsty lmfao

The air was crisp and clear. The forest around the patrol was peaceful, surrounding them in soft rustling and animal noises. All the magical energy of the living world flowed through Merlin's veins; it felt like a familiar hug. A calmness washed over him as he let his magic reach out in return. It pulsed through the trees, invisible and silent, but his mind saw the path ahead. It was safe and clear.

He wished he could enjoy the feelings more, but his mood had been gloomy since yesterday. The journey was a social visit to one of the nearby kingdoms. Merlin had been responsible for making sure they had everything, as usual. They did, that is if they weren't going to be dinning with the royal family. He'd remembered everything else, even the fancy clothes the king had requested, but it seemed he managed to forget the most important item. The warlock had forgotten Arthur's formal crown.

It was realized that it was not in any of their supply bags yesterday afternoon during one of their rest stops. As soon as Arthur learned it was forgotten, he'd blown up on Merlin. It had been a good while since the king had truly raised his voice at him, but he was unsurprisingly furious. They were too far into their journey to turn around for something that was technically nonessential. Arthur would have to attend the formal dinner without his crown. It made him look, in the king's words, undignified.

After exhausting practically every insult in his vocabulary, Arthur had sent him away, commanding him to find some chore to keep him busy, to keep him away from him. They hadn't spoken to each other since. The evening prior had consisted of a silent routine of preparing the king for bed and Arthur wouldn't look at him.

Merlin had tried to apologize. He normally thought that Arthur overreacted to his mistakes, but this time he was really beating himself up. The yelling and insults were a bit much, but the warlock understood why he was so mad. Arthur was tasked with constantly upholding a respectable reputation; appearances were everything to snobby court officials. Despite his remorse, the king was still in a sour mood.

The babbling of a brook nearby caught Merlin's ears. It was probably a good idea to rest the horses, and fresh water would allow them to refill their canteens. Merlin trotted up directly next to Arthur. "We should probably stop for a while, the horses could use a break," he said, trying to keep his voice neutral. "I'm pretty sure there's a stream up ahead."

"How would you possible know that?" Arthur responded. His voice was lined with skepticism.

"I can hear it, alright? You don't have to be prat," he said. Frowning, he huffed; he don't know why he bothered be helpful. Merlin glared at him and let his sharp tongue lose. "Although, I guess it's just in your nature, so I shouldn't be too hard on you. It must be difficult being all brawn with no brains under that hair."

The king made an offended noise, turning his head towards him. His face was slightly red with the angry expression he wore. Merlin wondered if he should stop, but it brought him some satisfaction to get back at the way Arthur had been treating him. "How dare you? I'll have you know that there are centuries worth of battle strategies, history, royal protocols, and laws in my head!"

"That must be wide it's so big," Merlin countered.

Arthur looked like he wanted to hit him, but Sir Leon interrupted their bickering. "Pardon me, Sire, but I believe Merlin is right about the stream," he informed him. Once they stopped talking, he realized the sounds of running water had grown close enough for the others to hear. The warlock lifted his chin proudly. "Shall we make camp?"

The king nodded to him and looked back at Merlin; he saw his expression and rolled his eyes. The patrol pulled off the road and followed the sounds of the stream. They found a mostly flat spot to start a fire and lay down their supplies. Merlin was tasked with tying the horses off and refilling the water skins; the chores the chores that took him away from the camp. He strolled a little ways away and tied all the horses to trees, giving each of them a friendly pat on the side. They huffed affectionately in response; a small smile returned to Merlin's face at their behavior.

He walked down to the brook and began filling each of the canteens. The water was cool and refreshing against his skin. It distracted him from his frustration. As he fulfilled the mundane task, he let his attention wander around. The grass by the water was greener and lusher than under the trees. Flowers sprung up from the ground in colorful splotches.

When Merlin finished refilling the water skins, he set them all down to the side and sat down. He let his fingers brush the grass blades as he closed his eyes. The sounds of the water was calming. The energy he had felt earlier was washing over him again.

The warlock opened his eyes. He looked around very carefully, making sure that none of the knights were anywhere nearby; he was alone with the forest.

Merlin turned to the grass around him. With a wave of his hand and a flash of golden eyes, there were more flowers. They sprouted into full bloom immediately and blended in with the rest of the nature. He smiled, feeling better after the use of his magic. Next, he cupped his hands and performed one of his favorite spells. Blue eyes turned gold once more and then he opened his palms toward the sky. A small batch of blue butterflies emerged and immediately fluttered down to the flowers around him. The warlock's chest felt looser and his mind felt more at peace.

He plucked a couple flowers from the bushes, smiling. He recalled how back in Ealdor he and Will had woven flowers together by their stems. They'd made bracelets, necklaces, and crowns out of them. Merlin's fingers began weaving them slowly together without a thought.

He must have been sitting there longer than he realized because someone walked up behind him. Merlin startled, turning around to see who. Upon seeing Arthur, his mood fell and turned back to the flowers in his hands. He was not in the mood for another lecture about how much of an idiot he was. He hoped that if he was unresponsive, the king would just leave him be and return to camp.

His hopes were not fulfilled, as Arthur was suddenly sitting next to him in the grass. He tensed and his throat closed up; it was difficult to swallow. Merlin's entire body was preparing for more harsh words.

None came; in fact, the king didn't speak. In the silence, Merlin continued his actions, slowly weaving together more flowers. The butterflies he had conjured were fluttering closer to Arthur and it made the tips of his ears warm. It was his magic subconsciously showing its affection for him. He was thankful that there was no way for the other man to know that. The silence remained for a while longer, Merlin pointedly keeping his eyes on the flowers.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," Arthur suddenly said. The warlock looked up quickly, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and mouth slightly open in surprise. The king met his expression with a knowing nod. "I know, I'm apologizing. I must be enchanted or something."

"Must be, you don't know the word sorry," Merlin replied, swallowing. He turned back to the flowers. Focusing on them, he managed to speak without his voice shaking. "I really am sorry I forgot the crown. I know how much it means to you to make good impressions. I... I don't know why of all the things I could've forgotten, it was that..."

Arthur sighed a little and shrugged. "Honestly... the more I think about it, the less I care about it," he said. He met Merlin's eyes as he looked up in curiosity. "Of course I want to look my best in the presence of other royals, but I don't necessarily need a crown to do it. This wouldn't be the first time I visited royalty without it, albeit those other times were usually unplanned, but still... you didn't deserve the way I treated you over it."

He offered an apologetic half smile. It looked like he genuinely felt remorseful; it wasn't often that Arthur showed his sensitive side towards him. Merlin swallowed, suddenly feeling warm in the face. He cleared his throat. He attempted to play it off. "It's not like I'm not used to it," he tried to joke, but it came out forced and tight.

"Yeah but normally there's an understanding that I'm not actually angry," the king pressed. "It didn't feel right to yell at you like that. You don't have to pretend you're not hurt by it. I'm sorry, Merlin."

An emotion that couldn't be defined spread through the warlock's chest and he let himself smile. "It's okay, thank you for apologizing," he said.

When he looked back up at the king, he was smiling too. A blush started rising in Merlin's cheeks, so he quickly directed his eyes back to the flowers he was weaving. He hadn't realized how far he'd gotten; he'd just been doing it unconsciously while they talked. It was almost done.

Arthur followed his gaze to the flowers. "I wanted to ask, what are you doing?"

"You're going to call me a girl-"

"Merlin, I just apologized for insulting you, why on earth would I turn around and immediately make fun of you?" he said with an amused lilt in his voice. "Besides, I'm the king, you have to tell me."

The warlock let out an exhale as he smiled down at the flowers. "King of prats maybe," he mumbled. Arthur rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to retort when Merlin held up the finished creation. "It's a flower crown. Will and I, back when were kids, would take flowers and weave the stems together. We could make stuff with them. I guess I still remember how to do it, even after all these years."

The flower crown was gorgeous. He'd purposefully picked flowers of each color of the rainbow, sewing them together in order. There were two red flower at the front in the middle, then it transitioned into the other colors on either side. Merlin had also picked smaller white flowers and attached them in between each color transition, like smaller decorative gems on a real crown. Maybe it was just because his magic had made the flowers, but they looked like they were glowing with how bright their colors were.

"That's a pretty impractical talent, but it's honestly really impressive," Arthur replied with a large grin. Merlin was sure his cheeks were red now as he ducked his head a little to hide them. "I bet you'd be good at sewing or embroidery if you can use flower stems to make this."

"Thanks," Merlin managed, smiling bashfully down at the crown.

The amount of affection in the king's voice was practically drowning him. He wasn't sure what to make of it, all he knew is that he wished he talked to him like this more; clearly he liked Merlin's presence more than he let on during their routine banter. His smile grew as his thumbs brushed the petals of the crown. His eyes widened a little, getting an idea. He turned to look at Arthur, who looked serene as he smiled at him. Merlin sucked in a breath and leaned towards him, raising the flower crown towards him. Arthur froze, looking surprised but not bothered by his action. The warlock was grateful his hands weren't trembling as he gently placed it atop his king's head. He made sure it was balanced correctly and exhaled shakily. "There," he murmured gently, leaning back to see the other man's reaction. "It's not made of gold or anything, but now you have a crown."

Arthur stared at him with wide eyes before shifting his eyes up towards the crown. He reached up, brushing his fingers against the soft petals. His eyes returned to Merlin's and the warlock swore his cheeks hand a pink glow to them. Merlin let himself smile with all the affection in his heart. He was certain he was beaming.

The king returned his smile. "Thank you, Merlin. I think it's fit for a king," he declared, lifting his head proudly.

He stood up, clearly intending to return to the camp. Merlin got to his feet and gave him a confused look as he started walking. He clutched the now full water skins. Falling in step beside him, he realized they were getting closer and closer to camp. He could hear the sounds of the knights conversing. A tiny bit of panic shot through him and he tugged on Arthur's sleeve to get his attention. "Wait, aren't you going to take it off before the knights see you?"

"Why should I? A king should wear his crown with pride," Arthur replied, giving him a charming smirk.

The warlock's face was entirely red as he watched his king stroll into their camp with the flower crown atop his head. He swallowed and followed suit. "I filled the canteens," he said.

He didn't need to announce that, they already knew what he had gone to do. Each of them had a knowing expression on their face. Merlin tried desperately to avoid looking at any of them, especially Gwaine; he knew that man too well to know he probably had a shit-eating grin on his face. He passed the water skins back to their owners without another comment. The knights thanked him and he took the opportunity to escape, rambling about needing more firewood.

As he scurried away, Merlin heard the knights speaking behind him. "Hey Princess, that's a lovely crown," Gwaine said; even from a distance, Merlin could hear the smirk. "Where'd you get it?"

"Merlin made it, Sir Gwaine," he heard Arthur reply. He didn't sound bothered; he actually sounded fond. "For all his faults, he's evidently skilled at some things. It is truly a beautiful crown. I intend to wear it until the flowers wilt, which will be saddening. Although, if it doesn't wilt before we get to our destination, I'll wear it at the feast."

The knights made comments that Merlin couldn't make out. He wasn't concerned with them anyway, his mind focused on the words Arthur had said. The flowers would wilt eventually. The king wanted to keep it until then. A thought crossed his mind; it was risky but he was confident that the magic issue was going to be sorted out soon. Arthur wouldn't notice if they lived a little longer than they were supposed to. Merlin's eyes flashed gold with a satisfied smile. His king had a crown to wear after all.