Title: Day 4
Author: tarotgal
Fandom: Merlin
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Not my characters. I wish they were mine. I definitely don’t get paid for this.
Summary: When it won't stop raining and Arthur finds a cave, Merlin has a choice to make.
Notes: Written during my 12 Ficlets in 12 Days in 2022-23 project project for cheeseontoast1

It had been pouring rain since before they’d woken up that morning. The remnants of last night’s campfire weren’t salvageable, the coals long since extinguished in the deluge, so there was no hope of starting the day’s journey feeling either warm or dry. The canopy of trees in the forest provided only meager protection from the rain, and they had the misfortunate timing of reaching the plains by mid-morning with no overhead cover of any sort. 

Merlin couldn’t remember ever having felt so cold and wet for such a long time. He had long since stopped shivering, though he wished he had brought a thicker cloak. He had long since given up trying to keep his fingers from wrinkling in the wet, though he wished he had remembered to bring along his own gloves and not just Arthur’s. He had long since stopped expecting the rain might let up, though he really wished it would. He had long since quit thinking of the magical words that would dry him, though he wished he could somehow use the magic in a way where Arthur would not be suspicious. 

Dutifully, he sat on his horse and followed along behind Arthur on his. The Prince must have felt equally cold, wet, and miserable, but he showed no signs of it. Instead, he looked regal, stoic, and determined. Merlin hated him just a little for that. 

But only just a little, because every so often Arthur glanced back to make sure that Merlin was still there and still as all right as he could be given the rain. There was a time when it might not have occurred to Arthur to check on him, so each glance over his shoulder warmed Merlin’s heart just a little more. After one such check, Arthur shouted back to him in order to be heard above the petting rain. “We might be able to take shelter somewhere in the foothills up ahead! Or else find a proper cave when we start going higher.” The mountain loomed large in front of them, so large they couldn’t see the top for the thick fog and cloud cover. It didn’t inspire overly optimistic feelings in Merlin, but he couldn’t resist Arthur’s hopeful insistence that they push onward. 

As they got closer to the mountain, Arthur seemed to spot something and began bearing to the right. Merlin followed along, watching for branches, prickly bushes, fallen trees, boulders, and other hazards he was forced to duck under or navigate around. It wasn’t until they were nearly upon it that Merlin saw that behind a tangle of brush and stone stood the opening of a small, dark cave. It was big enough for them, big enough even for the horses to be out of the rain. It seemed just about perfect.

Arthur dismounted and began clearing away what he could. It went only a little faster when Merlin joined him at the task. If he had five seconds alone to work some magic, Merlin could have cleared the way in an instant. But Arthur was determined and not about to take any suggestion of a water break. So it took them the better part of an hour to get through, and Merlin now felt damp with sweat in addition to being soaked from rain. 

When it came time to enter, however, he hung back at the mouth of the earthy cave. Not an idiot, his horse followed Arthur and Arthur’s horse in. But Merlin stood outside, reluctant to go any further. 

Arthur sighed. “What is it now, Merlin?”

“I… er… is this a bear’s den?” 

Arthur looked around in the near darkness, as if looking for a giant bear he might have missed earlier that was standing right beside him now. “Probably at one time.” The cave wasn’t especially deep, so Arthur could make out just about all of his surroundings before the dimness transitioned to darkness. “There are some claw marks here, and the size would be right for a big bear. And, yes, shredded bark and leaves. Looks like it would have made its nest right here.” 

Merlin shifted from one foot to the other. “Maybe it would be wise for us to go, in case it comes back?” It was squarely in autumn, and if a bear could return here at any moment to bed down or get its den ready for hibernation, Merlin didn’t want to stand in its way. 

“Doubt we have anything to worry about. This den hasn’t been used in ages if the layers of dust and the entrance are any indication. There must have been a rockslide or a cave-in at some point. I’m sure there’s no bear living here now.”

His reassurances did nothing to put Merlin at ease. If anything, he was even more reluctant to enter now.  

“If there were a bear here, you know I’d protect you from it.”

Merlin nodded, a small smile sneaking past his hesitancy. But he was still facing a situation he didn’t want to be in. And it was still sort of Arthur’s fault. 

“Then what exactly is the problem?” 

“Bears…” Merlin looked down, embarrassed. He watched the raindrops splash against the toes of his boots. “Bears, er, make me sneeze.”

There was a beat of silence. Then another. And another. Uneasy, Merlin raised his head to try to get a read on the prince. 

Arthur’s head was cocked to the side, and he was squinting. “I’m sorry. I must not have heard you properly. They what?”

Did he really have to say it again? Saying it the one time had been hard enough. With a deep breath to settle his nerves, he said it again, as plainly as he could so there would be no mistaking and no more having to repeat it. “Bears make me sneeze.” 

They were only a few feet away from each other. He couldn’t possibly have misunderstood, but Arthur repeated it, sounding incredulous. “Bears make you sneeze?” 

Merlin nodded. He hated admitting it, talking about it. People always asked how he knew, and then he would be forced to relate the whole embarrassing story about his first run-in with a bear.  

But Arthur didn’t ask. In fact, there was more silence. Then Arthur swept his hand to the side, gesturing to where their horses stood, just inside the cave, out of the rain. “But you rode all day. You ride all the time.” 

Merlin had no idea what that had to do with anything. “Yes…?”

“And they don’t make you sneeze?”

Merlin wasn’t sure whether he felt more frustrated or embarrassed or amused. The combination of all three was making his head hurt. “Those are horses, Sire, not bears.”

Arthur huffed with exasperation. “Yes, but, they have fur or hair or whatever.” 

“So do a lot of things–dogs, cats, rats, cows–and those don’t make my nose tickle. Bears, on the other hand…” 

Arthur finished for him, “Make you sneeze.”

Merlin nodded. “Now you’re getting it. I knew you weren’t as thick as everyone says.” Arthur glared at him. “So, you see, it might be better for me to stay out here.” He gave a shiver, rain rushing down the back of his neck, under his tunic. Rain flooding into his boots. Oh, how he hated everything in this moment. 

“What I see is that you have two options. You can either stay out there and catch cold and spend the rest of our quest sneezing. Or you can come in here and dry off while we wait for the rain to stop and spend only the night sneezing.” 

Still, he hesitated, watching water turn the dirt to mud around his boots. “Or… third option… we can keep going and look for somewhere to take shelter that didn’t have a bear living in it.” 

“Merlin!” 

Hating that Arthur was right, and hating even more that Arthur knew he was right, Merlin sighed and headed into the cave. His relief at being out of the rain was immediate. But a familiar scent assured him any relief would be short-lived. He might as well do as much as he could before he was useless. “Would you like me to try to build a fire at the mouth of the cave for some warmth? The bark back there should be dry enough to burn. I don’t know how long it’ll last, but maybe we’ll be able to dry out some of our clothes.” The boots would take a long time to dry, for each of his footsteps right now squished. 

“That would be nice,” Arthur said, taking off his cloak with a flourish that made water droplets fall from his hair. Having spent all day on a horse, he paused a moment to stretch, and then he started to strip off other items of clothing. Merlin had to force himself to look away at once, or else he’d never get the fire started. Besides, he was still annoyed that he was in this situation to begin with.  

It turned out that the bark was dry enough to burn, but their flint had been ruined by the rain. Feeling like fate owed him one, Merlin decided a little risk was necessary. He turned his back to Arthur, and a second is all it took for him to use magic to conjure up a little spark. The spark danced and almost went out, but it caught and then spread as he blew gently to encourage its growth. Merlin added more bark and fanned the flames until he was sure they would last a while and the smoke would drift out the front of the cave instead of toward the back. 

Hands dirty, he wiped them against each other as he rose to his feet. “There. That’s done, at least.” He started to turn to see what Arthur was up to and found himself pulled ‘round and drawn into a powerful kiss. Surprised as he was by this, he did his best to return the kiss in kind so that Arthur wouldn’t dare stop. The sensation was wonderful, thrilling even. His hands went to find the small of Arthur’s back, where they usually rested during a kiss. 

But when his palms touched only bare skin, Arthur gave a start and drew back. “Watch it! Your hands are like ice, Merlin!” 

It was then that Merlin realized Arthur had removed every stitch of clothing he’d had on. Merlin suddenly felt both overdressed and in need to be in direct contact with that body immediately. “You’d better do your part to warm them up, then.” He stepped forward, pursuing his lover, hands raised.

Arthur laughed and moved back further. But he reached out for Merlin’s hands, cupping them in his own and rubbing them. He pulled them to his lips and blew warm breaths upon them, just as Merlin had done to nurture the flame. He felt something within himself fire up at the touch. They were away from Camelot, away from everything, and away from everyone. They were also away from the entrance, away from the fire, and away from the horses. But they were nearer to the remnants of the bear’s hibernation nest. 

“I can’t help but notice you’re not sneezing,” Arthur pointed out. “Perhaps you were wrong and bears don’t make you sneeze after all.”

Oh, how Merlin wished that were true. “G-give it a moment,” Merlin replied. He pulled one of his hands free and rubbed the back of his wrist under his nose. “It’s tih-tickling now.”

“That’s convenient.” Arthur narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You’ve been in this cave all this time, and your nose doesn’t get tickly until I mention it? If I didn’t know you better, Merlin, I’d think you were trying to pull one over on me. Or, worse, you were trying to come up with an excuse to get out of making love.”  

“I… ahhh… I swear… hahh I…” He pulled the other hand free, waving it in front of his face.

“Don’t worry,” said Arthur, his voice soft and low. “I know you’re not capable of that level of deception. You’re absolutely terrible at keeping secrets.”

That statement had only a moment to register with Merlin before the sneezes took hold. “Ahh ah-hahhhh… here hah hah HAH it HAHH HA-Kshhooo!”

“Ble–” Arthur had barely begun the word when he was cut off.

“Hahh-KIHShhhh! HehKushhh! Hahhkshhhhh!” 

“Goodness, Merlin! I don’t think I’ve ever heard–” 

But Merlin wasn’t done. Not remotely. Tears building in his eyes, nostrils twitching uncontrollably, he cupped both hands to his face as his mouth hung open and the top of his tongue pressed against his bottom lip. “HAH-Ktshhhh! Hah-Kahshoo! Kshooo! HahhhKshhhhh! Hehhh hehhhh-KEHShhoo! Haptshooo! Hahhhh… hahhhhh… hah…” The tickle backed off just a little, dying off in much the way it had built up. 

Arthur waited a moment, as if wanting to be sure Merlin was through and not wanting to be interrupted again. Then he marched over to his back, rummaged around, and drew out a handkerchief. “I probably should have given you this to begin with. But I honestly didn’t think–”

He was cut off this time by Merlin blowing his nose, well aware of the timing. 

Arthur raised an eyebrow but didn’t scold him. He cupped his hand to the side of Merlin’s face and waited for Merlin to finish and lower the handkerchief. Then he moved in for another kiss, this one gentle, reassuring, and kind instead of urgent and passionate as before. “Come, let’s sit over by the fire. It’s closer to the fresh air. Or maybe the smoke will–”

Arthur being unable to finish a thought was starting to become quite the thing. But this time it was because Merlin pulled him close and guided Arthur’s hand right to his trousers. “Let’s stay right here and you can hehhh help hehh me off with my wet clothes before I catch a chill.” 

Arthur’s fingers fiddled with Merlin’s belt, tugging ever so suggestively on the end. “Are you certain that’s what you wa–”

“Yes please, Sire.” 

Arthur gave him a fiery look for interrupting yet again, but Merlin grinned with playfulness and Author’s look softened at once to pure affection. “Good,” he whispered. “Because that’s what I want, too.” He slid the end of the belt up so it came loose and slid down Merlin’s body to the floor of the cave.

Arthur pulled over his cloak, only partly dried now from the fire, and turned it over so the inside was facing upward. It was warm and soft against Merlin’s bare skin as they lay down upon it together. 

Even though Merlin felt eager for this, the thought that he was going to sneeze again–soon–and ruin it kept rising to the top of his mind. When Arthur lovingly stripped him of his trousers, tunic, and underclothes, he held onto the handkerchief, hating that it was necessary and now so obvious. “I had better… um…” His cheeks blazed red with embarrassment and irritation, and he had half a mind to call this whole thing off entirely. It wasn’t his fault that bears made him sneeze. It wasn’t Arthur’s fault that the refuge he had found had once belonged to a bear. It wasn’t either of their faults that they’d had to find shelter because it was pouring rain. But somehow Merlin still felt annoyed that this was where he found himself, unable to do anything but suffer and curse his fate until it was all over. “I had better keep this handkerchief heh hah h-handy.”

“Yes, good thinking.” 

Merlin was taken aback, having not expected that response. Nor did he expect the immediate tiny nibbles and kisses on his neck and jaw or Arthur’s arms holding him fiercely close rather than at a distance. Merlin wanted to reply in about a million ways–with gratitude, with kisses, with cleverness, with a moan of pleasure–but his breath hitched and nose tickled and all he could do was close his eyes. 

“To be clear, I don’t mind if you sneeze,” Arthur whispered into his ear in-between kisses and a playful tug with his teeth on Merlin’s earlobe. “But I’d like to think my job is to distract you from the fact that you are.” 

It was impossible for him to stay irritated with Arthur’s hard, hot body pressed up against his. It was also impossible for him to not sneeze when he was in a bear’s den. “Hah! Ar-hah! Arthur…” 

“Shhh,” Arthur commanded, kissing Merlin’s wrist and forearm then guiding it up for Merlin to cover his nose. “You just do what you need to do, and I’ll do what I need to do.” And, with that said, he slid down and ran his tongue the length of Merlin’s shaft before taking it wholly into his mouth.

Merlin gasped, overwhelmed with too many sensations all at once, and most of all the idea that sucking Merlin was something Arthur needed to do. He clutched the handkerchief in one hand while gathering a fistful of Arthur’s blonde hair in the other and holding tight. The urge to sneeze mixed with the intense rushes of pleasure, and he lay helpless in the wake of both. 

“Hahh! Hah-Kshphhh! Htchmmmph! Heh-shmphh!” 

Arthur didn’t say bless you, but it was entirely understandable, as his mouth was busy doing much more important things. 

“Hahh!” Merlin gasped, almost unsure of why. Pleasure flowed through him like ticklish, wonderful ripples. Merlin knew he still needed to sneeze, could feel it playing with him in the back of his nose and throat. It was maddeningly ticklish but weak. “Hahh! Hhhuhhhhh!” But it didn’t seem to want to get any stronger. Whereas the pleasurable pressure building in him grew stronger with every suck or squeeze or flick of the tongue. “Huhh!” Merlin pinched his nose with the handkerchief, sure the sneeze was stuck but still not wanting it to strike until he’d reached his peak. He was somehow sure that if he were to sneeze, it would distract his body enough to drive all these wonderful feelings clear out of him. So he wasn’t taking any chances. 

Now that he wasn’t worried about sneezing, Merlin let himself relax fully, giving himself over to Arthur’s ministrations, and giving into the delight that took hold. His toes curled and he cried out with joy, the sound echoing off the walls in the cave the way his sneezes didn’t. 

It seemed to last forever and, at the same time, was over far too quickly. For at some point he was all too aware of two things. The first was that the sneeze stuck in the back of his nose was trying to have its way with him again. The second was that Arthur was bending Merlin’s legs for him, signaling his next move. 

Merlin spread his legs wider and raised his arse up a little to signal back. He might have to sneeze again, but he wasn’t going to let that stop him from pleasing Arthur. Luckily, it held off just long enough for Arthur to ready them both and then slide in. In a second, uncomfortable pressure gave way to bliss and relief in more ways than one. 

“Ahh hah hahhhhh hahh…” Almost. Almost! “Ah-hahhhh… hehhhh… heh heh hehhkShhoo!” He sneezed freely. “Hehshoo! Hahshuhh! Kshuhhh! Hehshuhhh!” His body jerked with each forceful sneeze, and Arthur’s jerked independently. And at some point, Arthur found his release and Merlin found his handkerchief, and they collapsed together on the cloak, both panting.

When he’d blown his nose and regained the ability to think, Merlin gave Arthur a kiss, which was returned with reassurance. “That was…” Merlin almost said ‘magical,’ but he caught himself at the last moment. “That was amazing.” 

“Mmm hmm,” Arthur agreed, gathering Merlin in his arms and nuzzling in close. “Is it foolish of me to hope the rain continues all day tomorrow?” 

Merlin laughed at this, knowing his nose would never be able to withstand so much intense sneezing, but he wasn’t at all certain it was a foolish hope.