Merlin One Shots

Day Twenty of Christmas

A/N: pre series fluff

"Who would have thought the great king could be reduced to this frantic mess?" Balinore guffawed.

Uther shot him a glare. "Unlike you, I didn't have time to buy a gift."

"Uther, my friend," Balinore walked over, placing a hand on the king's shoulder. "Ygraine loves you. I assure you, no matter what you get, she'll love it." Uther sighed, the tension in his shoulders relaxing slightly. The Dragonlord patted him on the back, grinning. "See? Nothing to stress about."

"Like I said before, you already have a gift for Hunith. You have nothing to worry about." Balinore laughed, shaking his head. "What do you find so amusing?"

"Nothing, Uther." Balinore stated, but the grin remained, leaving the king unconvinced. "Fine. I was just thinking of the last you looked this stressed. Remember when Ygraine confessed that she had feelings for you?"

Uther paled, then turned red in embarrassment. "I thought I told you not to bring that up again."

"Too bad." Balinore replied cheerily. "You spent two days in your chambers, trying to comprehend what Ygraine had said to you."

"In my defense, it came out of nowhere!" Uther protested.

"Uther, she'd been trying to get you to notice for months. You're just oblivious." Uther opened his mouth to argue, but no sound came out, making Balinore chuckle. "I hope your future child doesn't inherit your inability to see what's right in front of them."

Uther scoffed. "I am still your king. I can order you to stop talking about this."

"Ah, but my lord," Balinore bowed mockingly. "When have your orders ever stopped me before?"

Uther rolled his eyes. "You're a fool."

"Maybe..." Balinore met Uther's stare, the barely contained mirth proving that the king was simply teasing. "But I'm the one who chooses to surround myself with fools."

"Balinore!"

So I originally planned for this to end up focusing on Uther/Ygraine but somehow it turned into focusing on Balinore and Uther's friendship.
Whoops.