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Merlin burst open the door to the physician’s chambers and stormed up to his room. Gaius barely looked up to see the young man throw his bag on the floor at the foot of the steps.
“I can’t take it anymore Gaius. Arthur has me worked to the bone. He’s had me in the stables, on the practice field, in the armoury. I should tell him to treat me properly, get the stable-hands, squires to do these jobs. But I still do it all! And why do I do it?”
“Merlin-” Gaius began, but Merlin hardly paused for breath.
“All because I love him! Like a fool!” The sound rippled through Merlin’s bedroom doorway. “I say ‘yes Arthur’ and ‘of course Arthur,’ when all I want to say is ‘how would you like me, Arthur?’. I mean, what does that say about me?”
“Merlin-” Gaius strained, trying to convey a sense of urgency, not that Merlin noticed.
“And then! He did that smile! You know the one? The crooked smile! And I had to stand there! Stand! There! My legs were jelly! Then he disappears and has me finish up in his room which smells of him and feels of him and I swear those bedsheets-”
“Merlin!” Finally, Gaius got through to him and Merlin stopped his tirade.
“What?” Somewhat muffled, Gaius assumed he must be changing tunics after a shift in the stables.
“Come here.”
“I’m just changing,” and out shuffled Merlin down the few steps from his room, a new tunic between his knees whilst he removed the old one. “What?”
And as his head came free, Merlin’s gaze firstly moved to Gaius, then to the other person in the room.
Merlin’s mouth dropped. Eyes wide. He quickly grabbed his tunic and held it before his body, for at least a little decency.
Although considering the conversation Merlin had been yelling, there wasn’t much of that left in the room.
“H-how much of that did you hear?” Merlin squeaked.
“All of it.” Arthur spoke calmly, firmly, with purpose.
Merlin slowly started to pull the new tunic over his head, until Arthur moved forward, grabbed his arm and stopped him.
“Don’t bother.”
And with that, Gaius watched as Arthur pulled Merlin back up the steps to his cramped little bedroom and almost slammed the door before Arthur poked his head back around the doorframe.
“Leave, Gaius, you won’t want to be privy to this.”
And with that, the door slammed, there was a brief pause before soft moans whistled through the wooden slats.
Gaius simply stared. That has just happened as quick as a flash right before him. “But these are my chambers…” a failed protest left his lips before the moaning got louder and he couldn’t bear it anymore. Gaius left without another word.
From the two men in the bedroom, on the other hand, Gaius didn’t want to hear what words they had to offer.