Merlin was often snarky with you, and in truth, you probably deserved it with the way you'd once acted. But Merlin had another side to him that you had yet to truly see.

He cared for you. Deeply so. He'd done a lot of things that a regular servant wouldn't have done for you. He wasn't overt with his affection, no. He preferred to do it in the quiet.

Then you fell ill. Nothing dire, but it kept you in bed, feverish, tossing and turning. Merlin never once left your side. In a moment of lucidity, you saw him asleep with his head on his forearms, black hair tousled.

Cute. You reached out to touch him, fingertips ghosting across his features. He stirred.

"What is it? Are you in pain?" He murmured, black hair a mess as he abruptly sat up.