For A Thousand Years

by PrepareToBeMildlyEntertained

Merlin has lived for almost longer than he can remember. He works day-to-day in a coffee shop, when one day the magic in the air shifts and the lake of Avalon boils. The Once and Future King is returning. (Continuation of Merlin series finale, modern day)

It was immediately noticeable that something in the air was vastly different. Not that there was a particular smell or look or anything else remotely like that. It was just this sense of the unnatural. The magical. Merlin figured that was probably what woke him up in the first place. One minute he was dreaming – the vague memory of water and glowing golden eyes still burning on his brain – the next, he was sniffing into wakefulness with sharp movements.

He still wasn't quite used to waking up without the long, white beard that had defined his existence for so long now. It had only been a couple of weeks since he had felt the odd prompt to return to the original face he had worn in Camelot more years ago than he ever felt the need to count. The baby-smooth feeling of his chin was an adjustment, but Merlin relied on the sometimes entirely random feelings he got from the universe.

He knew a thing or two about destiny and the universe, after all.

And it seemed, now, like the young face might have had good reason, considering the magical tang on the air. Merlin rolled over in the soft, downy bed and stretched with a groan, popping a couple of joints in his back as he did.

With another grunt, Merlin lifted his legs and slapped them down onto the floor next to the bed, wincing as the cold nipped at his toes. He wiggled the chilly digits against the hardwood and let his eyes burn gold with a quick pull on the magic within him, immediately warning the room to an appropriate temperature. Merlin smiled to himself dumbly. Just the sort of magical uses Gauis would never have approved of.

At this thought, Melrin's smile disappeared and the temperature slunk down again. It still hurt to think about him, even after all the time he had been gone.

Still, he had taken too long to wake up already. He had a new job to get to. Merlin stood, pulling off his soft, grey nightshirt as he went and tossing it to the floor without a second thought, simply adding it to the pile of dirty clothing already there. He grabbed a blue Henley from the dresser and pulled it on swiftly, pushing the sleeves up just past his elbows. He shimmied into a worn-in pair of trousers and tousled his hair lightly as he walked out of his bedroom.

A muffin was retrieved from the kitchen. He'd have to eat it as he walked, but oh well. Merlin glanced at the clock as he slid on a pair of tan work boots. Shit. He was running late. Merlin glanced around the messy flat with quick movements, trying to keep an eye out for his favorite leather jacket, but he saw nothing. Merlin groaned, checked his watch, then let his eyes go gold again, the leather jacket whipping out from underneath the coffee table and landing in Merlin's hand.

Satisfied, Merlin left the flat, slamming the door and locking it without another thought to the fact that the air was off somehow. That the world was fundamentally different and that was what had woken him up. Instead he just took quick, half-jogging steps down his street, trying to finish his muffin, on the way to Grinder's.

---

Alright, it was, on the whole, a terrible name for a coffee shop, but Merlin hadn't named it! The place was brand new and was within Merlin's neighborhood, so why not? He'd worked in coffee shops before. He had experience. In actuality, Merlin had done just a bit of everything, but coffee shops suited him at the moment. Maybe another feeling from the universe.

Merlin jogged inside the door, tinkling lightly as it opened. Alison, another barista, tossed a small wave Merlin's way when she saw him, then went back to giving a guy in his early twenties a couple of bills in change. Merlin slid in behind the counter, tossing his jacket on the employee coat rack as he went.

"Sorry I'm late," he smiled at Alison. She shook her head, the ponytail tied up tightly at the top of her skull waving around.

"Not a problem," she said. It probably was a problem, seeing as he had only been at the job for a couple of days, but at least Edward, the store's owner, wasn't there yet. Alison smiled at a customer – a teenage girl with ombre hair and large hoop earrings, and took her order, repeating it back to Merlin.

Merlin grabbed one of the thermal cups from the back counter and got to work. Alison could probably be described as conventionally pretty, he thought. He had known her for about three days, but still. She had that aura about her that made Merlin think she would probably kick a guy's teeth in if he rubbed her the wrong way. It was the confidence she had more than anything else. Merlin popped the lid onto the cup and handed it to the teenager across the counter with a smile and the traditional, "come back soon."

Grinder's was still a newer place, no not many customers came in, but it wasn't like the place was dead. A couple of university students sat at tables on their laptops and a woman in the corner sipped a latte as she read a book Merlin couldn't quite see.

"Late morning?" Alison asked when the line at the counter disappeared entirely. She turned around and leaned against the counter so she was looking at Merlin.

"Yeah, just overslept, I guess," Merlin said with a sheepish grin. Alison rolled her eyes.

"Lucky Ed wasn't here," she said, voicing his own thoughts from earlier. Merlin hummed in agreement. Alison drummed per palms against the counter a couple of times while they sat in silence.

"Hey," she finally said, "would you keep an eye on the front? I've got some reading to get through." Merlin nodded emphatically.

"Oh, yeah, sure," he said. Alison gave him an odd fake salute of thanks and grabbed a huge book (Merlin thought probably Philosophy) off of the back counter and then fell into an empty chair to start reading.

The rest of the day was really very routine. Ed finally joined the coffee shop staff around ten in the morning, looking pleased with himself as ever. He was a prat, although a possibly lovable one. Sort of like someone Merlin used to know a good long time ago.

"New guy!" Ed greeted with a grin. He sauntered up the counter. Alison wasn't reading anymore. Not that she would let Ed say anything to her about reading on the job. She's a take-no-shit kinda lady, if you recall.

"Merlin," Merlin said, "my name's Merlin." Ed slammed a large hand down on the counter, making Merlin jump.

"That's right, Merlin," he said. "Your parents really fucked you over, mate." Ed chuckled to himself. Merlin internally winced but said nothing. New job, he reminded himself, this is a new job.

Ed had straggly, dishwater hair that was pulled back into a decently long ponytail. He had gold-rimmed, square glasses and wore cardigans of excessively bright colors over pretty much any shade of dirty T-shirt he could find. Annoying, granted, but he still had some sort of charm that made him hard not to like at least a little bit. Enough that he was tolerable. Merlin had a moment to laugh with himself about what Ed would think of Merlin's parents' names before the coffee shop proprietor spoke again.

"So, Merl," Ed rolled the nickname out over his tongue and then nodded as though he was already fond of the name, "as we are welcoming people here at Grinder's, I would like to suggest we take a late lunch together today. You too, Ali," Ed smiled at the brunette who responded with an eye roll.

"Work to do, Eddie," she said. "Plus, who will keep Bianca company during the after-lunch rush if I'm gone?" Merlin ruminated on the two previous days he'd spent at Grinder's and recalled the after-lunch rush to be a grand total of three customers, but said nothing.

"Fine then," Ed smiled. He adjusted his ruby red and golden cardigan and addressed Merlin directly, "just you and me. Welcoming lunch. A the sandwich place, whatever it's called, by the lake." Merlin gulped. He knew the place. He never strayed far from the lake.

"I know the place," Merlin said. Ed walked around the counter and started making himself a cup of coffee.

"Perfect," he said, "two o'clock. I'll pay."

---

The walk to the sandwich shop (name still unremembered) took about 15 minutes. Ed kept up most of the conversation, but Merlin was no slouch. He always prided himself on his sparkly personality. Or his sarcasm. But he gets them confused.

Their table was right next to the windowed walls, all facing towards the lake, but Merlin generally ignored it. Not so fantastic memories and all that jazz. A waitress with purple-tipped hair who looked about 16 took their orders with an eye roll and a generally done-with-the-world posture and then it was back to just Ed.

"So, Merl," Ed began. He leaned back in his chair. "How long have you lived here?" Merlin thought for a while. Here as young, fresh-faced Merlin? About two weeks. As old, craggy Emrys? Much longer. Here as in the actual land area?

The years blended together after the first few hundred.

"Just moved in," Merlin answered. The purple haired waitress came back over with two plates containing sandwiches and crisps. Merlin's stomach grumbled. Damn, he was starved.

"Where are you from, then?" Ed asked. Merlin bit into his sandwich. Heavenly.

"Oh, here and there," Merlin said with a vague hand wave. "Been on my own for a while. Needed a job now that I'm here, and you were nice enough to give me one." Ed bit into one of the salted crisps from his plate loudly.

"Bring a girlfriend along? Or a boyfriend?" Merlin chuckled hollowly.

"No, just good ol' me," he answered. Ed's next question didn't quite make it to Merlin's ears as a quick rush of that bit of magic in the air washed over him. It lit the inside of his body up like it was on fire, then disappeared just as quickly. Merlin squinted his eyes and squirmed in his chair. Odd.

Ed was looking at him expectantly. "Sorry, what?" Merlin asked, having missed the question entirely.

"I asked about your family," Ed repeated, not looking disgruntled at having to repeat himself.

"No family either," Merlin said with a little tilt of his lip downward. Ed looked at him in earnest sympathy.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said. He grabbed another crisp and laughed into his own story, most likely to pacify Merlin.

"Family's not so great, really," he said, chomping loudly. "I have this sister, about 17…" Merlin faded out again. He didn't really give a damn about Ed's family, to be honest. He accepted the lunch invite to seem like a decent employee and that was about it. The odd rustle of magic whispered past him again and Merlin glanced out the window curiously. Ed seemed to have finished his story so Merlin offered a general, "right", to agree with whatever the guy had just said about his sister. Ed eyed him suspiciously.

"Where's your mind at, mate?" he asked. Merlin gave Ed his full attention.

"Sorry," he fixed his face with a goofy smile, "I've had an off day. You were saying about your sister?" Merlin forced himself to pay better attention to his boss, pushing the recognition of waves of magic to the back of his mind so it just felt like a tap had been left to drip in his brain. A manageable enough distraction.

It didn't totally shock Merlin that he really did like Ed. In the old days he had liked most people, but that became harder and harder as the world turned and wars came and went like passing fancies. Merlin became fed up with that level of self-absorption. But Ed, Ed he actually liked.

"I just thought," Ed was in the middle of the story about how Grinder's had begun, "I needed a place to work, but I didn't want to answer to anyone. And I know coffee. So I figured a shop was a good solution. Hopefully we'll get some more traffic soon."

"You'll get there," Merlin said. Empty plates sat in front of each of them now. Ed smiled at him.

"Thanks, Merl," he said. Merlin thought about corrected him on the name and then decided it was probably too late at this point anyway. "So, back to the shop?" Ed asked. The drip, drip, drip of magic continued and Merlin gave Ed what he hoped was another bashful smile.

"Actually, you go ahead," Merlin said. He let himself glance up at the red-headed waitress behind the counter and hoped Ed took the hint. He did.

"Ah, fine then," Ed glanced over at the waitress and rolled his eyes. "Be back by the time your lunch ends." Ed paid for their lunch and left with a pat on Merlin's shoulder and a teasing smile. Merlin let the bashful smile fall as soon as Ed was out of the shop and on his way back to Grinder's.

The magic tickled against Merlin's brain again and he let the sensation take up more space in his mind. He gave a tight smile to the red head at the counter and exited the shop, pulling the leather jacket back on over his Henley.

The wind blew against Merlin as he made his way to the street and then jogged across it, coming to a stop in front of the lake, of Avalon itself. The magic felt even stronger here. Pure magic. So hot Merlin felt like the lake should have been boiling. That was right about when the first bubble of air made its way to the lake's surface and popped silently.

Merlin's eyes locked on the spot. There was no particular reason he had never moved far from the lake besides that he just felt compelled not to. Something about the place kept Merlin curious, and not just that it was a connection to his old life.

Another bubble pupped to the top of the lake's placid surface. And another. And another. They were coming faster and Merlin felt like his heart was being squeezed in a vice, every muscle inside him clenching. His fingers were tingling.

The lake – well, just the one part of the lake – was bubbling steadily now. Merlin glanced around behind him but no one in any shops across the street had noticed yet. Merlin raised his hand slightly and sent out a pulse of magic, shielding what was actually happening at the lake from view, then returned to looking at the bubbling, boiling portion of the lake. Merlin's hair was blown back and his eyes burned but he refused to look away from the lake. After this long he wasn't going to miss out on seeing whatever this was as it happened.

The ground rumbled and shook around Merlin and finally, finally, a golden head broke the surface of the turbulent water. There was a gasp of air and a flash of silver and then the body was being dragged down again. Merlin's jaw dropped and then he was furiously wading into the water, clothes and all. The golden head bobbed, face just underwater and Merlin yelled as he leapt even deeper into the water.

"Arthur!" Merlin wanted to laugh and cry all at once. He hadn't had the chance to say his name in so much time. He never felt like he could, but this was his chance. "Arthur!" Merlin got the bobbing golden head and reached with strong arms under the water, grabbing onto chain mail and armor with a vice-like grip.

Merlin pulled, lifting the fallen King of Camelot above the water line again, and then started pulling him to the shore. Arthur's head dipped forward and Merlin worried he might have to do CPR when he finally heard a groan and a cough. Merlin felt like laughing.

"You're fine, Arthur," he said. He kicked his legs hard and pulled them both up onto the shore, laying Arthur down on his back. Arthur groaned again, his eyes remaining steadfastly shut. "Let's see those baby blues," Merlin added with a grin. Arthur cracked one eye open uncertainly.

"Merlin?" he asked, voice rough.

"That's me," Merlin said. He grabbed Arthur's shoulder and pulled him up to a sitting position, which brought another groan. The other blue eye opened up and he looked Merlin up and down critically.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Arthur asked and Merlin let out a loud bark of a laugh right in his face. Arthur furrowed his brow. "Merlin?"

"It's actually you," Merlin laughed again. He fell back into a sitting position he was seated directly next to Arthur. Who was still in full armor, for God's sakes. "I can't believe you came back. I thought – I don't know what I thought. But it's you."

"What in God's name are you on about?" Arthur's eyes were blown wide as he looked at Merlin. Finally, he turned around and was met with the sight of a paved street and a row of shops full of people, all dressed in vastly different clothes. And there were lights that didn't seem to be candles or lamps. The windows were so clean and large. Arthur's jaw dropped and any remark he had been planning to make at Merlin's cost fell away in shock.

"Welcome to the 21st century, Sire," Merlin said. Despite the teasing tone of his voice, he watched Arthur carefully. He moved to stand up but his footing went out from underneath him and he fell again. Merlin put a hand out to steady him but didn't touch him. Not until he got his bearings.

"21st century?" Arthur said in a wild voice. He eyes were roaming over everything in awe. Merlin kept them carefully cloaked still from the eyes of the patrons. The lake had stopped boiling, at least.

"Um, yes," Merlin said. He shifted so he was perched in a squat, facing Arthur. Arthur. He was right there, right in front of Merlin. Only a foot away. Close enough to touch. Merlin had been alone for so many years, and now, sitting in front of him, was the King of Camelot. His head was reeling just a bit. Arthur turned his head back (finally!) to look at Merlin again, taking in his appearance a second time.

"Oh, God, how long have you been here?" Arthur asked, his eyebrows going up in concern. But he was still freaking out too much to really comprehend any answer Merlin could give him. And Merlin didn't really want to give him an answer just yet. He pulled up his leather jacket to look at his watch, a movement Arthur tracked carefully with his eyes. Damn, broken. Merlin's eyes glowed golden as he shook the watch and it fixed itself. Arthur sucked in a breath.

"Shit, I have to go back to work," Merlin said. It was almost hysterical, worrying about something like that. After Arthur had just reemerged from the waters of Avalon after a thousand years, clad in chainmail and frightened.

"Work?" Arthur asked, getting even more confused. He clenched his eyes shut and took a couple of very deep breathes before trusting himself to look at Merlin again. Thing was, it was still Merlin. The same messy, brown hair, high cheekbones, over-happy grin, but it was different. The clothes were one thing. But there was just something off Arthur couldn't quite place, especially with how much he was trying to calm down at that moment.

"Yes, work," Merlin laughed. He scratched his head. "Um, I'm going to have to drop you off at my flat for a bit, honestly."

"Drop… Flat… what?" Arthur squinted. Merlin straightened his legs, standing and then holding out a hand to Arthur. Arthur took it and stood carefully. Merlin looked around. He thought he could probably cloak Arthur all the way back to his flat. He had had some practice with magic, after all. A thousand years made for some really fancy tricks.

"Back to where I live, I'm taking you there," Merlin said. He brushed off his jeans and started walking towards the road, gesturing for Arthur to come along with him. He held up a hand when he saw the truck driving quickly down the road. It blew past Merlin and Arthur in a blur and Arthur fell backwards a couple of steps. Merlin sighed and walked back to where Arthur stood, grabbing the shoulder plate on his armor and half-dragging him back the road.

"What in God's name…" Arthur trailed off, not even finishing the question. He didn't finish a single question on the way back to Merlin's flat, just kept looking around in absolute shock and disbelief. Every light that lit up blew his mind a bit, and cars were just too much for him. Merlin felt like he was leading a 5-year-old in play armor around town, but he maintained a small level of patience. It was a lot to take in, in all fairness.

They finally arrived at the building and Merlin jogged inside. "Come on," he shouted back at Arthur. They walked to the end of the long hall and Merlin pulled out his key, unlocking the front door. He winced upon entering. So, maybe he should have kept the place cleaner.

"Good to know your level of cleanliness hasn't changed," Arthur remarked from the doorway where he stood uncertainly.

"I wasn't exactly expecting company," Merlin said. He awkwardly ran around the flat picking clothes and the odd bit of rubbish from where they lay on the floor. He tossed the clothes onto his bed in the other room and the rubbish went into the bin. He checked his watch again. Damn.

"I can't believe I have to leave you here, but I need to go," Merlin said. He shifted back and forth on his feet, watching Arthur, who had finally entered the flat. It wasn't a big flat, only one main room that combined living room, kitchen, and dining area. "The loo is that door. You can borrow some of my clothes. Just get out of that chainmail for God's sakes. I'll be back in a couple of hours, alright?" He barely waited for a nod from Arthur and then he dashed out the door again, leaving Arthur utterly alone.

Arthur looked around at all of the shiny, metal surfaces in the room. So many clean lines, so many gleaming surfaces. Red lights glowed from one such metal box in what looked like a kitchen that seemed to display the time. Arthur just stood in the middle of the room and dripped for a while, not really sure of anything at all. It was almost ten minutes later when he asked the empty room, "loo?"

---

Merlin finished the job of drying off his clothes on the way back to Grinder's, which was a solid five minutes of flat out running. He crashed through the door out of breath and Bianca and Alison looked up at him like he was mad. He checked his watch. Exactly on time. He fell forward, hands on his knees.

"Welcome back?" Alison said unsurely. There was no one in the shop. Even Ed appeared to still be missing. "How was lunch?"

"Superb," Merlin said. Alison raised an eyebrow at him and took off her apron.

"Well, I'm off," she said. Bianca, the third barista with a job at the shop, waved as Alison quickly threw on a jacket, grabbed her book off the counter, and left the shop without another word. Merlin smiled at Bianca and she gave him a tight lipped smile of her own. Well, smile was the wrong word. She went through the effort of lifting the sides of her mouth just slightly and for about half a second. Still, it was something.

Focusing on work was especially hard for a number of reasons. One: the King of Camelot was back in his flat, dripping wet, and highly confused. Two: Merlin had been waiting for that to happen for hundreds of years. Well, not the wet bit. Although he wasn't complaining. Three: there were no fucking customers.

The time dragged on and on with no one to even bother making coffee for. In the two and a half hours that Merlin still had to work, exactly two people came in for coffee. Ed never came back. Bianca was supposed to close up, apparently. Merlin was chomping at the bit to leave. It was obvious that Bianca could tell, but she wasn't like Alison. She was a good girl and likely terrified of the consequences of letting Merlin leave early. She kept her eyes down and didn't talk most of the time. She read her little book, but stayed steadfastly behind the counter. Of all the people for Merlin to end up working with, he gets the one who wouldn't even attempt to bend the rules.

"So, Bianca, how's life?" Merlin said about an hour into his captivity behind the counter. Bianca put a slender finger between the pages of her book and looked at Merlin.

"It's good, thank you," she said. "You?" Merlin nodded emphatically.

"Oh, it's great," he said.

"Good," Bianca said. She remained silent, looking down and awkwardly tapping her toes before returning to her book. Hell. He was in Hell. There was no other word for it. Merlin groaned internally and let his head fall backwards so he could look at the ceiling and appropriately demand what he had done to deserve this.

---

Arthur wasn't stupid. He felt like it every now and then, but he wasn't entirely incapable of working things out. After Merlin had been gone for a bit, he did decide to wake up and work on figuring out just how to… whatever. Ok, the plan wasn't clear, but he wasn't just going to stand in the middle of the room, dripping wet, until Merlin got back. Borrow some of my clothes Merlin had said. Right.

Arthur glanced around at the glaringly white and silver room again before turning to the door just next to a large, silver box with handles that he would be investigating later. He walked to the door and turned the handle carefully, pushing his way into what appeared to be Merlin's bedroom.

It was an absolute disaster, which meant that, however long he had been here, he was still Merlin. Just as dirty and terrible at keeping his room clean. Clothes were strewn out across the floor and piled on the bedcovers. There was little furniture in the room. Just the bed, a side table, and a chest of drawers.

As mentioned earlier, Arthur was no idiot. A quick example would be that he did, in fact, know how to remove his own armor and dress himself, thank you very much. He followed Merlin's orders of changing his clothes stiffly, trying not to think too much about it. He had not been wearing his helmet when he broke the surface of the lake, and it was nowhere to be found, which was upsetting. It had been a very good helmet.

He removed the gauntlets first. Sabaton, greaves, breastplate, they all had their chance. Each piece was carefully removed and lightly set on Merlin's bed until Arthur stood in the room absolutely naked. He let himself stand that way for just a bit, closing his eyes and feeling like the air washing over him was cleansing him and helping him return to who he was.

The chest of drawers was as messy as the floor. It was nonsense. Arthur picked out some form of loose shirt with sleeves that stopped at his biceps and pulled it on over his head. It was grey and had a of design drawn on the front in a material Arthur didn't recognize. He found a drawer of some form of undergarment that were similarly pulled on without much thought. The breeches took a bit of work. The first problem came from the fact that they were very distinctly not like any kind of breeches he had ever seen in his entire life. After he pulled the incredibly unfamiliar fabric up, he was left to stare at the fixings on the front of the odd breeches for a minute before pulling the metal tab upwards and then buttoning them in place.

Arthur found his way to the second door in the 'flat' as Merlin had called it and inspected himself in the mirror. The clothes were very strange. But Merlin seemed confident in them. Although the shirt was a bit tight around his arms, and the bottoms were perhaps a bit short. Then again, these were Merlin's clothes.

That task completed, Arthur felt at once less and more concerned. He had accomplished something, which was a big step in this world that absolutely terrified him. A world that seemed to absolutely trust magic. That was his only explanation for the odd things he had seen on his way to this home and for the things actually inside. Lights that glowed on their own, without fire. Machines that moved so quickly Arthur couldn't process them. Pictures that moved and were frighteningly close to reality along the roads and inside shops. Magic was the only possible explanation.

Arthur wandered into the main room once more, too uncomfortable to fully function. There wasn't much personal about the flat, so Arthur felt he knew very little about this version of Merlin he had found. A version who still did magic, if that timepiece trick was anything to go by. There was food to be found in the cupboards, and the large metal beast near the bedroom door turned out to be an additional place to store food, one that remained cold.

To be safe, Arthur found a slice of bread and sat down on the fabric covered bench in the middle of the main room and ate without much conviction. The red lights in the kitchen area told Arthur that an hour and a half had elapsed since Merlin had left, if the methods of telling time hadn't somehow changed as well. As he finished his bready snack, Arthur became more and more upset at having been left alone so quickly. Oh yes, he decided, he was going to have some words with Merlin when he returned.

---

Merlin jogged the entire way back to his flat. He didn't bother stopping anywhere to retrieve anything Arthur might need, just ran straight back. Things would have to be figured out later. First, he assumed, Arthur was going to have questions. Well, actually, first was going to come the undignified rage at being abandoned so quickly, Merlin had no doubt. But then would come the questions. Which he had very few answers to.

His key jiggled in the lock a couple of times, Merlin's hands unsteady, until he was able to turn it and enter the flat. Arthur stood in the middle of the main room, arms crossed, facing Merlin. He had changed, at least. He was wearing one of Merlin's brand new grey T shirts. It had a graphic design on it, just a few overlapping triangles in light blue. He was also wearing jeans. His golden hair was rumpled slightly and he looked pissed. Ah, so Merlin had been right then.

"Welcome back," Arthur said, cold tinge to his voice. Merlin closed his door and set his keys on the side table in a bowl.

"Hi," Merlin said. He pulled off his leather jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch. This was weird. This was really strange. This was a very high level of odd. Merlin bit his lip to stop himself laughing. Arthur glared at him.

"What?" Arthur said. Merlin shook his head and winced as he responded.

"I'm sorry, it's just," he began, "you look very different in these clothes." Arthur shifted uncomfortably like nothing was quite right.

"Yes, well, so do you," Arthur said. Merlin glanced down at his Henley and jeans. Probably true. He didn't even really think about it. This was just the norm.

"Right," Merlin said. He broke eye contact with Arthur and walked into the kitchen area to retrieve some kind of snack. Only a couple of hours had gone by since his lunch, sure, but perhaps swimming to the middle of a lake and then dragging back a knight in full armor had taken a bit out of him. His bread had been moved from its place in the bread box so Merlin could only assume Arthur had helped himself. He decided on an apple that was in a bowl on the counter, lifting it up and taking an overlarge bite.

"I can't believe you just ran out," Arthur said. Merlin rolled his eyes up to the sky and exhaled deeply, highly exasperated. He finished chewing and swallowed the bite of apple then turned to face the King.

"I did apologize for that," Merlin said. As though that would fix his everything. He turned back around and located his kettle, filling it up with water and placing it on the stove.

"Well, all forgiven then," Arthur said, looking every bit like he was in an entirely unforgiving mood.

"I'm sorry, but I did have to go to work," Merlin said. "You know, for money. That I assume I'm going to need more of now that you're here." He took another bite of his apple as this thought crossed his mind. Maybe that was why he had been pushed to get the job. Although, really universe? A new job because Arthur needed to be taken care of again? Perfect.

"What do you do?" Arthur asked. He was still standing stiffly and sounded as angry as before, but there was a bit of curiosity now. Merlin went and retrieved two cups from his cupboard and placed them on the counter as the kettle steamed.

"I make coffee," Merlin said. At Arthur's confused face he sighed and continued, "I make a kind of drink that a lot of people have now." Shitty explanation. And there was going to be more to explain. Dear God, he was going to need a drink. For now the tea would do. He poured the hot liquid into the cups and stirred each one softly.

"So, you work at a tavern?" Arthur raised an eyebrow and Merlin internally cursed the universe.

"No, it is not a tavern. There's no alcohol," Merlin said with a bit of an eye roll. Arthur's uncertainty returned. Merlin looked at him for a moment. "Do you mind if I ask… what you remember about before you came back?" Merlin asked cautiously. Arthur looked up in thought.

"Nothing," Arthur said. "Well, nothing after the field we were in. When I, ah, thanked you," Arthur looked from the ceiling to the floor without stopping to look at Merlin.

"So, you only remember up to the point you died, then?" Merlin asked. Arthur's eyes lifted quickly and he stared a Merlin, slightly agape.

"So I did die, then?" Arthur asked in a whisper. Merlin walked to the king and put one of the cups in his hand carefully. Arthur took a sip and seemed to approve as he continued to sip it carefully.

"Yes, you died," Merlin said. This was not the thing he was worried about. These were the questions that were going to take up far too much time. The things Merlin already knew that Arthur would want to be filled in on. "I put you in a boat on the Lake of Avalon and burned your body." Well, there was probably a better way of putting that, but it was too late now. Arthur fell into a chair near the couch, almost spilling the tea but saving the cup at the last moment.

"And what about you?" Arthur asked, recovering more quickly than Merlin thought he might. Then again, this was the King of Camelot they were talking about. He didn't run a Kingdom by being a self-absorbed prat. Well, he did, but there was also a certain level of resilience that he had. Merlin had just forgotten it was there, almost.

"I didn't die," Merlin said, willing the conversation to end. Alright, yes, Arthur seemed to have forgiven him for the magic thing way back then, but he was on his deathbed at that point so forgive him for being concerned. He took a sip of his own tea.

"Obviously not, you weren't injured," Arthur scoffed. Merlin sighed. Whole truth then.

"I mean I never died," Merlin said. "I've been alive the whole time." He was met with silence. He took the opportunity to set down his cup and take another bite of his apple. It was not nearly crunchy enough for his tastes.

"Merlin," Arthur said softly. "That's almost a thousand years." Merlin looked down to his hands and pretended to count on them.

"Oh, is it really? I hadn't noticed," Merlin said.

"You've just been living and living for all this time?" Arthur asked. He gulped, "alone?"

"I think that about covers it, yes," Merlin said. He was back to being uncomfortable. The way that Arthur was looking at him was driving Merlin mad. The same way Arthur used to look at him when he actually managed to be impressive. The look that was the beginning of Merlin hiding his second secret from Arthur. The one he had never told.

"I don't understand this place," Arthur said, abruptly changing the subject. Merlin looked around the flat in indignation.

"Oi, I know it isn't a palace but I think it's pretty ni—"

"I meant the world in general, Merlin," Arthur nearly chuckled. "Not your home. Although I don't much understand that either."

"Ah, well, I can show you a couple of things," Merlin said. He finished off his apple and tossed the core into the bin, wiping his hands on his jeans. Arthur held out his now empty cup and Merlin took it, and his own, back to the sink in the kitchen.

"All I have been able to tell so far is that this is a place you must feel more like yourself in," Arthur said. Merlin looked at him in amused confusion.

"Any particular reason?" he said. Arthur cleared his throat.

"Well, the fact that magic is accepted here," he said quietly. Merlin stammered into silence. He sort of wanted to laugh, but also wanted to just lay down and sleep for a bit. He settled for putting his head in his hands and shaking it.

"No, there is no magic. I mean, I still have magic," Merlin said uncomfortably. "But no one now even believes magic ever existed." Arthur looked around the flat curiously, then went back to staring at Merlin.

"Then how?" Arthur asked, not needing to finish his sentence. Merlin leaned away from the counter and walked to Arthur, stopping right in front of him. He sat down in the chair opposite so they were eye to eye, which was really not great for keeping Merlin calm, but it seemed to help Arthur.

"I'll show you," Merlin said. "I'll show you all of it. You're going to be fine, Arthur."

"Yes, thank you so much for the vote of confidence," Arthur snarked back. But Merlin could tell he was grateful. He could always tell. Those little ticks in Arthur's face that revealed how he was feeling, no matter how he tried to hide it from the world. There was no hiding from Merlin. Even after a thousand years, Merlin knew that face far too well. He had seen the face in his dreams enough times that he could probably have drawn it from memory. The way his cheekbones curved, the way he pouted when he wasn't sure what he should do in a tough situation, and especially those blue eyes. Merlin shook himself and forced his way back to the present.

"Hey, you'll just have to trust me," Merlin said. He gulped. It was a way of gauging the reaction. If Arthur had meant what he said back in the last few moments of his life. Arthur looked up and met his eyes.

"Alright," Arthur said. "I trust you."

---

Merlin decided to put buying clothes on hold for just a bit. It would take a good deal of time and effort and Arthur looked just fine in his clothes. Merlin told himself that was why he refused to buy anything yet, at least. He may also have been swayed by the fact that he really liked the way Arthur looked in his clothes.

At as late as it was in the evening, though, Merlin was starting to think about food. Namely, that he really had none. None beyond some slices of bread, a bit of fruit, and maybe some milk. But they were going to need more than that.

Merlin was thinking about this while he showed Arthur where all of the appliances plugged into the wall. The fridge was pushed forward a couple of inches so Arthur could see properly behind it.

"It's hot on the back yet cold on the inside," Arthur said, his voice sounding muffled from behind the refrigerator.

"All the work that goes into cooling in the inside heats up the machinery," Merlin said. This was something like the ninth explanation of how something in his flat worked. Heaven help him when he tried to explain the telly. Or worse, the computer. Maybe it was better to just let him believe it was all magic. Certainly easier.

"And all of the power comes from this… plug?" Arthur said, taking a moment to remember the new word.

"That is the idea, yes," Merlin said. His stomach grumbled loudly at the same time Arthur's head reemerged. Arthur raised a comical brow.

"Hungry, Merlin?" he said. Merlin gave a half-hearted glare in response.

"As a matter of fact, I am, yes. Pulling your royal arse out of a lake really took it out of me," he said. He lifted his arm and looked at the time. Ah, right, so wanting food wasn't out of place. "Are you not hungry?" Arthur glared a bit and then shrugged.

"Food would not be… unwelcome," Arthur said. Merlin thought for a bit about what food was nearby.

"There's a place that sells fish and chips on the corner," Merlin said. Arthur just stared. Merlin rolled his eyes. "Food, right down the road."

"We're leaving again?" Arthur asked. He spoke as though it was a routine question but Merlin noted the bit of fear that wrinkled the skin around Arthur's eyes. Merlin sighed and took a step forward to put a hand on Arthur's shoulder, the touch feeling like an electric shock was going up his arm.

"It is really close, and you'll be fine," Merlin said. He grinned, "Plus, I'll be there the whole time." Arthur nodded.

"I'm fine, I don't know what you're on about," Arthur said. He leaned away from Merlin's touch and Merlin felt his happiness shrink slightly as he let his arm fall.

"Let's get you some shoes then," Merlin said, getting that business-like tone back in his voice. "I'm starved."

---

Merlin led them to a tall table with a couple of very tall chairs and tossed his jacket lightly over the back before taking a seat. Arthur followed suit exactly and then looked around at the crowds.

There weren't too many people in the place, which Arthur appreciated. The long walk from the lake to Merlin's flat had been overcrowded and made Arthur feel claustrophobic. There were just so many people. And so much to look at. It was all very fast, this world.

A woman in a short, purple dress with flowers in the fabric came to see what they wanted to eat and Merlin responded easily.

"Fish and chips for both, and water," he said. The woman nodded and flounced away, dress flicking up against the backs of her thighs. That was another thing. The clothes in this place, in this time, were so strange. And people wore a lot less of them.

There was a group of men and woman all sat together at the bar drinking. So this was still a tavern, Arthur noted. He voiced this aloud to Merlin.

"Pub. It's called a pub," Merlin answered with a half-cocked smile. "But same basic idea, yes."

"You must spend a good deal of your time here then," Arthur said with a mischievous smile. Merlin's face remained impassive and Arthur let the smile fall. "What?" he asked.

"I assumed you had figured it out," Merlin said. He shifted in his chair and wouldn't quite meet Arthur's eyes.

"What, that you spend a lot of time in the tavern? There wasn't much to assume," Arthur said.

"Yeah, that's the thing, I didn't," Merlin hesitated. "Generally speaking, if Gaius said I was at the tavern, I was…" he trailed off. Arthur finally got it.

"You were doing magic," he said lowly. Merlin kept his head ducked. Arthur swirled his tongue around his mouth as he thought. The woman returned with two plates, steaming, which she set down in front of each of them, along with a couple of glasses of water. Then she wandered away again, Merlin watching her go.

"I meant what I said," Arthur said after a moment. Merlin paused mid-bite, a bit of fish hanging out of his mouth.

"What?" he said around the food and Arthur chuckled.

"Honestly, hundreds of years and you still have the manners of a goat," he said. Merlin smiled in that sheepish way, big teeth jutting out with his head slightly ducked and Arthur's stomach flipped. God, that smile. He forgot sometimes.

"I apologize, your majesty," Merlin said with a bit of a scoff. Arthur's face fell and he was serious again. Merlin noticed and quickly followed suit. It was like they just didn't know how to be around each other anymore. Enough of that. Arthur was done with the weird looks and uncomfortableness. He knew what was bothering Merlin, and Merlin knew he knew, so what game were they playing.

"I meant what I said," Arthur repeated, staring at Merlin until the adorable idiot met his eyes. "I don't want you to change. I said I wanted you to still be you. I forgave you," he finished. Entirely too much. He had said entirely too much. Gods, he was just so bad at this. This was what death beds were for! You weren't supposed to have to deal with the consequences of what you said on them. Merlin, meanwhile, looked like someone had punched him in the gut. His eyes were open wide and he was leaned over his fish and chips, growing cold in his absence. He came back to himself suddenly and leaned back.

"I—thank you," Merlin said. He sniffed. Arthur nodded. Good, done with that then. The food, he could admit, was very good. He had eaten fish before, but not cooked like this, and not covered with the salt and vinegar like it was. The potatoes – chips – were equally good. They ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Companionable silence, mind you. Merlin just seemed to be happy having the company.

The fabric of Merlin's shirt ticked against Arthur's arms uncomfortably and he scratched at it. While Merlin had the essence of fitting in without really fitting in, Arthur felt horribly conspicuous. He was uncomfortable and out of place. Merlin was keeping him grounded, fine, but his head still spun with every new thing that he saw. Merlin noticed, apparently.

"You look like your head's about to burst," he remarked. His plate was entirely cleaned off, as was Arthur's.

"It's a lot," Arthur said vaguely. Merlin just nodded and pursed his lips as he looked around the pub.

"It's different, but it isn't," Merlin said. Arthur turned to look at him for an explanation so he continued. "Well, it's still a tavern, in the basic way. There's drinking, and shouting, and lots of people. Occasionally there are drinking games. It's where people go to have fun with their friends. Yes, the clothes are different and there's electricity, but that's all that has changed." Arthur smiled at him. Merlin always had a way of being an utter idiot until the moment he wasn't. It was unsettling and perfect all at the same moment.

"Shall we head back?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, sure," Arthur said. He got down off of the tall chair and grabbed Merlin's borrowed jacket from where he had thrown it over the back, pulling it on easily. It was soft and made of the same fabric as his trousers, the rough, blue material, only it was lighter. Arthur rather liked the jacket, although he liked the way Merlin's leather one looked on him as well. You just like the jacket, Arthur mentally berated himself.

Merlin paid for the food with a couple of pieces of paper and some coins and then they left, back into the semi-chilled night air. More of those cars rushed past at an ungodly speed and Arthur moved around Merlin so he was walking on the side of the path furthest from the racing beasts. Merlin smiled but said nothing about it.

They walked in silence for a while. Well, relative silence. There was nothing quiet about the future. The present. Whatever, it was too complex. Merlin just stared directly ahead, half smiling in that way he did that made it seem like he was always the happiest person on the planet. Maybe he was. Arthur had always been drawn to the smile. The way it shaped Merlin's face, the way it carried up to his eyes. It was to the point where it physically hurt Arthur at those times when Merlin's smile fell away, even for seconds at a time. If Arthur had his way, Merlin would never stop smiling. If he could but rule the universe.

"What happened after I died?" Arthur asked suddenly, not really knowing where the question had come from. He had been thinking about Merlin not smiling, and suddenly he had to know. Merlin glanced sideways at him, the smile falling slightly. Arthur almost cried out. He panicked and tried for a joke. "I mean, after you all stopped weeping for me. How ever did you get by?" Arthur strained for humor. Merlin's half-smile returned, although it didn't quite make it to his eyes. Arthur counted it as a partial success.

"Well, I stayed away from Camelot for a little while," Merlin said. He kicked a rock from in front of him over to the side, almost kicking it into Arthur's leg. Arthur gave him a glare and Merlin grinned. There, perfect.

"Why did you stay away?" Arthur asked. Merlin shrugged.

"My whole job was supposed to be protecting you, and you died," he said bluntly. "I was sort of lost, I s'pose." Arthur snorted.

"You just moped around after me," he said. Merlin gave a breathy laugh.

"Well, when you put it that way," he said. They were silent again for a few steps. "I did go back. You know, eventually."

"And?" Arthur said. It was like an interrogation with him. Merlin used to be so talkative. Getting this Merlin to talk was much harder. This Merlin. Like he was a different person. Well, maybe he was, in a sense. But the smile was the same.

"Well, I was kind of a court sorcerer for a while," Merlin muttered. Arthur stopped dead for a beat and then continued walking.

"There was a court sorcerer?" Arthur asked. "Gwen," he choked on the name a bit but continued on, "Gwen put you in charge of things? Magical things?" Merlin's eyes lost some of their light at the mention of Gwen.

"Gaius told her everything while I was away," Merlin said. They arrived at the flat and Merlin quickly opened the door and led them inside. "Gwen lifted the ban on magic. So, when I came back, she put me in charge. It wasn't some kind of royal title," Merlin peeled off his jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch. "It just meant I basically did what I was doing before, only people knew about it."

"And what was it you were doing before?" Arthur said. He fell into the couch and looked at Merlin curiously. This closed off, more reserved Merlin. The one who still looked uncomfortable at the mention of magic, which just seemed unfair. That Arthur was the one who was completely fine talking about sorcery and the sorcerer wasn't seemed… wrong.

"Really?" Merlin asked cautiously. "You want to know?" Arthur exhaled deeply like he just put up with more than anyone else on the planet and gestured at the other end of the couch.

"Yes, Merlin, I want to know," Arthur said. It seemed like that was all Merlin needed after all. At first, when he talked, he wouldn't look at Arthur, but he stopped that after a point. He started joking again. Turns out he could still make Arthur laugh as hard as he ever did. They talked for so long Arthur lost track of the time and didn't even realize when he drifted off.

When the moon was high in the sky and Arthur was asleep, Merlin just got to take in the sight for a while. The beautiful curve of his cheeks. The way his hair fell like gold around his face. The way his drawn eyebrows loosened in sleep like he was finally relaxed. He got to look at the nice shape of Arthur's muscles in the shirt, looking every bit the same Arthur he had always been. Arthur saw none of this. He also missed Merlin throwing a blanket over him before going off into his own room with a soft, "good night, Arthur."

---

Merlin padded into his bedroom softly and closed the door. He turned and was mildly stunned to see the carefully laid out suit of armor on his bed. Of course, Arthur had been wearing it earlier. And he had changed clothes. Where else would the armor have gone? Merlin walked up and to the bed and ran a delicate finger over the chest piece of the armor.

Same as it ever was, that armor. Same as the day Arthur died, he supposed. Although a bit wet, admittedly. Even after all of these hours. The water couldn't be good for it. Merlin thought about going to get a washcloth to dry it off and then reconsidered and just used a burst of magic to whisk the metal dry. So much easier than doing it by hand. How did he used to do it all by hand?

Merlin remembered exactly why when he picked up one of the gauntlets and examined it. It was like holding a piece of Arthur right here. Sure, Gwaine could have made any number of tasteless jokes about the phrasing of that sentiment, but that didn't change how Merlin felt. Seeing all of the pieces laid out here in front of him somehow solidified Arthur being here more than the fact that Merlin had spent the last 8 hours speaking to him. He could imagine putting every individual piece in its place. Pulling it over Arthur's head or arms, tying parts into place. Just being that close to him. Feeling the warmth of Arthur's body radiating outwards as it all fell into place. These were the things Merlin could easily recall as he stared at the armor. But there was only so much time he could spend staring.

He moved the armor carefully to a spot in the corner of the room and dried out his bed with the quick pull of magic. He couldn't find it within himself to be upset at Arthur for putting wet metal all over his bed. He couldn't find the emotion to be mad at Arthur for much of anything right at that moment.

Merlin slipped off his Henley and jeans and tossed them into a different corner, getting under his bedcovers in nothing but his boxer shorts. He felt too hot all over to put any night shirt on. It was like Arthur's presence in the other room was making his blood run hotter. Did that used to happen? Maybe. Arthur did always do things to him. It had been too long. Merlin stared at the ceiling for a long time, just thinking about him. Arthur, the once and future king, asleep on his couch. In Merlin's clothes. Which Merlin got a perverse amount of pleasure from. Something about seeing Arthur in his clothes made Merlin's stomach feel like it was doing backflips.

The moon rose steadily and lit the room, making the armor in the corner gleam with reflected light across the ceiling. Merlin stared at the little shards of light as he finally drifted off into sleep with the name Arthur running in a loop across his mind.

---

Merlin's journey from asleep to wakefulness was instantaneous. One moment he was in the dark throws of dreamlessness, the next his eyes opened wide in the sun-lit bedroom all around him. He was still lying on his back, eyes up to the ceiling, which was abnormal. Merlin had been told many times by Gaius, Hunith, and even later by, well, romantic partners, that he slept like a child. That is, constantly moving and often ending up on the opposite end of the bed, stretched out wide on his stomach.

The only thing that was consistent was that Merlin awoke with the image of a golden-haired king burnt across his eyelids. That same image of Arthur bringing Merlin back to life. Well, drawing him out of sleep at the very least, but Merlin always considered sleep as a kid of death. It was dark and lonely and he could feel the coldness of it in his bones.

He let the name blow across his mind like wind across an empty beach. In his mind, it lit up the coast like pure sunshine. Merlin wasn't alone, his king was in the next room. Merlin's heart clenched and released. His tongue felt too large for his mouth and his fingers tingled. Great, Arthur didn't even have to be in the room to do this to Merlin. Fucking perfect.

Merlin lifted his hands to his face and fisted them up before pushing them both against closed eyelids. Lights danced around the darkness like kaleidoscope shards. Or like the reflection of Arthur's armor across the ceiling, Merlin's mind helpfully reminded him. The waves in on Merlin's beach crashed against rocks on the shore sharply and Merlin removed his hands from his face, opening his eyes once more.

With a burst of motivation, Merlin sat up in bed, his bare shoulders slumped over. He sniffed sharply and slapped his face a couple of times to wake up. His watch informed him he had some time before work. Well, more time than yesterday.

Merlin got out of bed steadily and opened his bedroom door, walking into the main room area. He glanced over at the couch where Arthur still seemed to be asleep. Merlin supposed being awakened in a lake after a thousand years could probably take it out of you. He wandered to the fridge and opened it to remove a small carton of orange juice. Merlin cracked open the top and drank directly from the carton as he wandered to the bread box on the counter.

"Ahem," the voice shocked Merlin and he dumped a bit of the orange juice down his front. Arthur stood by the counter with an amused smile on his face, arms crossed. "Morning, Merlin." Merlin coughed and put the orange juice down on the counter.

"Jesus Christ, Arthur," Merlin breathed. His heart clattered against his ribs. He put a hand on his chest and it came away sticky. Arthur looked Merlin up and down with an indecipherable expression.

"Warm?" Arthur asked. Merlin looked at him like a brainless worm and Arthur raised an eyebrow before indicating Merlin's bare chest and boxer shorts with a hand flick. Oh. Right. Merlin went to cross his arms over his chest and again came to the sticky reminder of the orange juice there.

"Yes, well, um," Merlin said intelligently. He looked down and saw more orange juice around his feet, making him stick. He glanced back up to Arthur in embarrassment to find the king of fucking Camelot staring at his chest. Huh. After a couple of seconds of silence, Arthur visibly shook himself and looked up to meet Merlin's eyes. They were close enough now – and when had Arthur gotten closer?! – that Merlin could feel the warmth of the man radiating outwards. In Merlin's mind, a tsunami was building on the beach.

"Are you planning on remaining sticky all day?" Arthur asked abruptly, taking a step back. Merlin let out a puff of air and the waves settled.

"Interesting way to put it," Merlin muttered. If Arthur heard him, he gave no indication. "I'm… clothes, yeah." Wow, he was on a roll today. Real poetry. Merlin internally slapped himself. He peeled his feet from the floor and went quickly back into his room, slamming the door and then leaning back against it, just willing his heart to calm down.

---

With Merlin disappeared behind the bedroom door, Arthur allowed his straight posture to fall forward, breathing heavily. Stupid, stupid. What was he doing staring at Merlin like that? Actually, he couldn't remember why he had decided to frighten Merlin that way at all. He had a distant memory of a vision in his head where he scared Merlin and he would jump and then laugh and give Arthur a hard time like he used to. But he had just poured that juice all down his chest, making the pale skin glisten just slightly. He had sort of looked like a doe realizing it was in the grasp of a hunter. Did that make Arthur the hunter?

Arthur shook himself from that line of thought and looked for a bit of cloth to mop up the mess on the tiled floor. It took him longer than it should have due to the fact that he couldn't stop his mind returning to that image of Merlin, barely clothed, standing vulnerable in the middle of the kitchen. His hair was askew from sleep and his eyes still looked tired. Arthur didn't think he's ever seen so much of Merlin's skin before. So much of the porcelain white lines that made up his friend. The sharp, jutting of his collar bone…

Arthur forced his thoughts elsewhere and found a cloth. He was so fixed on not thinking about how Merlin's skin would feel against the pads of his fingertips that he didn't hear the sorcerer himself emerge from his room, fully clothed. So, when Merlin spoke, he got a small amount of revenge in surprising Arthur.

"You don't have to clean that up," Merlin said. Arthur jumped slightly and turned a glare on Merlin, who was grinning. And wearing trousers and a maroon jumper that completely hid most of his skin from view. Arthur berated himself for being disappointed.

"Why is that?" Arthur asked irritably. Merlin raised an eyebrow at him.

"I have never seen you clean something up in the entirety of knowing you," Merlin said. Arthur leaned back onto his ankles. That was a good point. He was a king, for heaven's sakes. Why was he cleaning?

Because it's Merlin, his mind provided.

"It was going to stick," Arthur said. He stood up and tried to look like it didn't matter at all.

"Give it here," Merlin sighed, holding out a hand. Arthur went to give over the cloth but stopped a couple of inches short.

"No," he said. He pulled his hand back. The idea came to him now. He wanted to see it. "Clean it with magic."

"Yeah?" Merlin asked. Arthur nodded, more sure. He tossed the slightly juice-dampened cloth into the sink and returned his attention to Merlin.

"I want to see you do it," Arthur said. Gods, he hadn't meant for that to sound so, well, predatory. Merlin looked at the patch of juice on the floor and then up. His face looked different, like he was more focused, but there was a mischievous glint in his eyes and playing around the corners of his mouth.

Merlin raised on hand so it was parallel with the floor and whispered a word Arthur didn't know. Merlin's eyes glowed golden and Arthur's stomach flipped over. The cloth rose from the sink and landed with a slap on the floor without anyone touching it. Merlin twisted his wrist in a circular motion and the cloth responded, making a wide circle and sopping up almost all of the liquid in a motion.

Merlin flicked the hand at his side and the cloth flew and landed in the sink. Arthur studied Merlin's face as he whispered another indecipherable word and then blew a puff of air out through rounded lips, golden eyes still gleaming. It was like an invisible wave scraped across the floor, washing up the rest of the juice. It was followed by a burst of wind that dried the area in under a second.

Merlin lowered his hand. The whole thing had taken almost no time at all, but Arthur took a second to recover. Sure, he had seen Merlin do more impressive magic, more dangerous magic, but seeing it up close? The little quirk of his mouth when the spell happened? Looking at Merlin in the eyes as they turned gold? That was new. And Arthur liked it. His blood pumped faster and he could feel it pulsing in his fingertips. He felt fully alive. Merlin was looking at him for a reaction.

"So you really were good at cleaning all this time?" he said. Merlin laughed, the sheepish smile cracking to make room for a grin. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

If you had asked Arthur what went through his mind in the moments that followed, he wouldn't have been able to give you any intelligent answer. One moment he was smiling glibly at his own joke, then next he had crossed the distance between himself and Merlin and crashed their lips together in a kiss.

Merlin's whole body froze and Arthur did too. Their lips were together but neither moved. Arthur jerked backwards. Merlin stared at him, openmouthed, unspeaking. His hair was still messily all over the place and Arthur felt a pull in his gut, a need to grab onto it. To feel the inky softness with his own fingers. Merlin raised a hand to his lips, still not speaking. Arthur's mind was a thousand different places. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"I," he began, "I'm sorry." He shoved past Merlin sharply and practically ran down the hall and out of the building after crashing through Merlin's flat's door.

He was an idiot. What the hell had come over him? Merlin had been smiling, laughing. They finally understood each other again. He had seen the deepest part of Merlin and it had overwhelmed him. He needed the laughing lips for his own. Idiot.

He didn't even notice that he was walking in a city he didn't know or understand. He didn't hear the horseless carriages as they screamed at him for running in their path. His only thought was away. He had to get away. He was alone in this world he didn't understand. He had ruined everything. He was going to lose Merlin because he couldn't control himself. Well, maybe he deserved it. If anyone deserved Merlin, it certainly wasn't him.

---

Merlin's brain wasn't working properly. Half of it was screaming Arthur just kissed you, go after him you stupid git! Meanwhile, the other half was still working on the fact that, yes that really did happen. Arthur kissed you. Finally, the more rational part won out and Merlin dropped his hand from his lips as he broke into a full run.

"Arthur!" he shouted loudly as he made it to the bustling street. There were so many people Merlin had a hard time scanning for the golden mop of hair that set Arthur apart. Aha! There! Merlin took off running again. The golden head bobbed at a fairly decent pace, like Arthur was half-jogging. Maybe he was. Merlin's mind went back to doing that dreadful thinking think again just as he caught up with the blonde.

"Arthur, wait," Merlin crashed through the two people walking close together and nearly smashed into the one his was aiming for. The man who turned around was very distinctly not Arthur.

"Oi, mate, hands off," the guy gave Merlin a dirty look and continued his half jog. He was holding a briefcase and his business shoes clacked against the street as he hurried to work.

"Sorry," Merlin murmured well after the man was far out of earshot. People shoved past him on either side. Why had Arthur run? Merlin staggered over to a chair that sat empty in front of a small café. He kissed me and then ran. Why? Merlin groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

"He regrets it," Merlin muttered to himself. A woman in a miniskirt gave him an odd look as she passed, presumably thinking he was one crazy son of a bitch, sitting in a café chair muttering to himself. But Merlin didn't care about any of it. All these years. Hundreds of them spent knowing he loved Arthur, and now it was over. That was the only conclusion to be drawn in this situation. Arthur had a moment of mental abstraction after seeing the magic and decided to kiss Merlin and he regretted it instantly.

Merlin knew Arthur too well to believe he would come back after embarrassing himself that way. He would see it as the height of embarrassment. He would want to pretend it hadn't happened. Or avoid Merlin. Avoid the problem. It made sense to Merlin. Arthur would never actually feel that way for him. His emotions were all over the place from shooting into the 21st century to begin with. How could anyone be expected to handle that well?

Merlin pulled himself to his feet, unsteadily finding his balance. He knocked into a middle-aged man with a bald spot who was talking on his phone.

"Watch your step, you arse," the man groused at him before returning to his phone call. Merlin's heart collapsed a little more with every step towards his flat. With every step, the words 'he'll never love you' echoed though his head. The beach in his mind was barren, dried up like a drought had come. Merlin entered the flat and looked around. He felt like words were written all over the white walls in bright red spray paint.

He doesn't want you.

Mistake, mistake, mistake. It was on every surface. Merlin glanced at his watch. He was going to be late to work. What a ridiculous thing to think while his whole mind collapsed, but there you are. If he left right then, Merlin would still make it. And why not turn to routine now that a thousand years' worth of hope had been destroyed?

At the very least Merlin found a pad of paper and left a note on the counter. He didn't consciously compose words, just knew that he had written down something along the lines of "I'm at work." He left the pad on the kitchen counter and exited the flat without locking it. Hoping Arthur would at least come back to say he couldn't be around Merlin anymore. Just so he would know for sure.

Merlin walked to work feeling like everything about himself was made of rubber. His legs, his head, his heart. He was plastic. He wandered through the front door of Grinder's a minute early. It was empty. Alison sat in a chair reading one of her university books. She glanced up at Merlin as he entered and gave him a concerned look.

"You alright, Merlin?" she asked. She tossed her pony tail over her shoulder and it immediately fell back forward.

"I'm perfect," Merlin said. Plastic voice, plastic words. He took his place behind the counter and wished for the world to just do him the justice of melting around him.

---

"That's… £2.25 total," Merlin said. He set the steaming cup down on the counter in front of the auburn-haired business woman who stood there, glancing around Grinder's with general disinterest. She was in her late forties and there was a tinge of grey at her roots that indicated she was dyeing her hair to stave off the look of being old.

"Fine," she tossed the bills and coins out on the counter and grabbed the cup. "Thanks," she shouted back as she exited the store. Merlin glanced at the mosaic clock on the opposite wall. He had been working for hours now. He hadn't bothered to leave for lunch, just ate one of the Danishes that sat in the counter, waiting to be sold. He didn't want to return to the flat, didn't want to see how empty it looked.

At least Ed and Alison were leaving him alone. They seemed to pick up on the fact that he was very much not in the mood to contribute to any conversation. At present, they both sat at one of the little tables near the counter talking about some program they both watched. Alison looked somewhat bored and rolled her eyes multiple times, but Ed was leaning forward in his seat, arms flapping wildly as he spoke. The clock ticked.

It was almost time for him to head home for the day. Almost time to go back and see, well, nothing. Arthur had only been there for a day, but it felt like longer. It felt like Merlin didn't know how he functioned in the time that Arthur hadn't been there. The clock ticked again.

"Running to the loo," Merlin muttered. He moved around from behind the counter and went through the door that led to the single bathroom in Grinder's. It was clean, at the very least. Not that it got a lot of traffic from people who didn't already work at the shop.

Merlin finished up his business and washed his hands dully in the porcelain sink. His vision was unfocused like a camera lens on the wrong setting but he didn't try to adjust his eyes. He just stared without seeing at his own hands while the water and frothy soap ran over them. Merlin dried off his hands on a paper towel and tossed it in the trash.

"Merl," Ed called before he could open the door back out to the shop. "Someone here."

"Let Alison deal with it then," Merlin said, just loudly enough that he might have been heard. God's sakes, he wasn't the only one working there. He shoved the door open and entered the shop, looking down to brush some kind of dust off of his trousers.

"Someone here for you, Merl," Ed said in an odd voice. "I thought you said you didn't know anyone around here." Merlin looked up, confused and then stopped dead.

Arthur was in the same pair of Merlin's clothes he had been wearing the day before. He stood at the counter awkwardly, hands in his pockets. Even wearing the right clothes, he still stuck out like sore thumb. Maybe it was just Merlin's perception of him, but it was like he glowed. How anyone could look at Arthur without seeing the glow was unthinkable.

"Merl?" Arthur quirked up an eyebrow and smiled slightly.

"Bit of a nickname," Ed said with a toothy smile. "And your name?" Arthur turned an eye on Ed and pulled a face that Merlin hadn't seen in a long time. It was forceful, full of ego. It was a face that usually meant Arthur was telling someone to back the fuck down. But Ed didn't seem to be able to decipher all that.

"Arthur," Arthur said, then turned his eyes back to Merlin.

"Heh, you kidding?" Ed laughed. Merlin groaned internally. "Merlin and Arthur? Really?" Merlin glared at him. Arthur answered without turning to look at him.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" he said. That authoritative voice that usually went straight to Merlin's jeans. He wondered if he would ever have the chance to inform Arthur that their story had managed to be told over and over again. He thought it would probably annoy Arthur but that would just make telling him more fun. If he got the chance. At least Ed dropped it for the time being.

"Visiting from out of town?" Ed said, still smiling, though it looked more strained now.

"Yeah," Merlin finally found his voice, "it was a very long trip. Give me a minute, Ed?" Ed turned to his smile to Merlin and finally seemed to realize that his pleasantries weren't helping.

"Right, sure," Ed said. He wandered away and sat back down by Alison, who was watching them over her book.

"I got your note," Arthur said. Merlin saw Alison drop her book slightly to get a better view, and Ed wasn't even bothering to hide his stare. Merlin rolled his eyes up to the ceiling.

"Outside," he said. Arthur nodded and they both exited the front of the store.

"Arthur, you don't have to—"

"I'm sorry," Arthur interrupted. Merlin's face fell. Yes, thank you, he already knew that. Had he found his way here to rub it in?

"How did you find me?" Merlin asked softly. He refused to meet Arthur's eyes.

"The note," Arthur said. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and held it up. "When I finally got back around to your flat. I remembered you saying you worked somewhere called Grinder's. I asked for directions." Right. The note.

"Ah," Merlin said vaguely. He could feel Ed and Alison staring at them through the front window.

"Merlin, what did you mean?" Arthur asked. It was a question that finally drew his attention and he allowed himself to look up at Arthur. He looked amazing. The light, fall wind blew his hair around his face, making it glint at different angles. He cheeks were red from exertion, like he had run here.

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked, swallowing the lump in his throat that formed upon looking at Arthur directly. Arthur uncrumpled the piece of paper in his hands and read it aloud.

"'Arthur, I'm sorry. Don't leave me. I'm at work'," Arthur read. Merlin squinted at the paper. Had he really written that? He didn't remember the exact wording. Arthur was staring at him intently. "You said 'don't leave me'. Why?" Arthur said. Merlin swallowed. He had made it worse, hadn't he?

"I just meant don't leave," he said. Arthur glared at him.

"That's a lie," he said. "How did you manage to lie to me for so many years? You're terrible at it." He shook his head and looked down.

"Sorry," Merlin muttered. Arthur looked up, eyes wide and nostrils flared.

"Stop apologizing!" he shouted, throwing his arms out to the side. "I forgave you. A thousand years ago! I don't care that you lied. Well, I do, but I care why you lied, not just that you did."

"I told you," Merlin said. Arthur breathed heavily.

"Yes, you told me," Arthur said. "You were protecting me. So, I am asking you now not to protect me. If you lie now, I won't forgive you. Why did say 'don't leave me'?"

"Because I would fall apart at the seams if you left," Merlin said, so softly Arthur must have had to strain to hear. There was silence. Oh God, he had said it. The secret he swore he would never tell. A car drove past loudly, sounding a thousand times louder in the standing silence.

"You… What?" Arthur finally said. Merlin sucked in a breath and looked directly in his king's eyes, the years of keeping it down roaring up inside of him.

"I would fall apart," he said, teeth clacking together loudly at the conclusion of the word. "I got you back, and if you left there would be no point in carrying on. I waited so many years for you. I was willing to continue carrying a friendship because I could never be honest, but then you kissed me and ran off…" Merlin hissed in another breath. Arthur's jaw was slightly open, staring at Merlin.

"Arthur, I said it because I love you," Merlin said forcefully. He watched Arthur defiantly. At least now he could be laughed at for the truth. At least he wouldn't' have to pretend anymore. That is, if Arthur didn't run this time. These were all the thoughts that rushed through Merlin's mind in the five seconds it took Arthur to recover and leap forward, mouth crashing into Merlin's with enough force that their teeth were jarred painfully.

This time there were no frozen bodies. Merlin realized what was happening very quickly and returned the kiss with gusto. He captured Arthur's bottom lip between his own. His arms reached around Arthur's back and pulled him closer so they were flush together. Merlin could feel Arthur's smile against his lips.

One of Arthur's hands reached up and wound its way into Merlin's hair, turning his head slightly. Merlin's knees almost buckled. Arthur tasted like everything he had always imagined. He was fire and battle and magic and more, swirling around Merlin's mouth. Merlin licked his tongue against Arthur's lip and the man actually shuttered.

"Ahem," a voice interrupted. Arthur was gone in a second and Merlin was going to burn someone alive. Turns out that someone was Ed. That was okay, he could live without Ed. The man stood just inside the doorway with an awkward smile on his face. "Not to interrupt, but could you maybe resolve years of apparent sexual tension in bedroom somewhere?" When Merlin glanced inside he saw Alison smirking at him. She raised a hand to give him a thumbs up and Merlin felt his face go red. His boss had honestly just told him to go get a room. Not the best of impressions.

"My shift," Merlin managed to say. Arthur elbowed him sharply but Merlin didn't turn to look at him as he knew one look at Arthur red-mouthed and disheveled would just send him off again. And Ed was probably right about not going down on Arthur in broad daylight in front of his place of work.

"You know what, you get off early, ok?" Ed said. He rolled his eyes at them and went back inside, door closing behind him loudly.

"So, shall we?" Arthur asked. Merlin turned to see him smiling sheepishly, holding an arm up to point down the street.

"Shall we?" Merlin asked, confused. This was a lot happening at once. He didn't seem to be processing it correctly. Arthur made an impatient noise.

"Your flat?" he said. Oh. Oh.

"Ah, right," Merlin said. Arthur rolled his eyes fondly. Merlin grinned and grabbed hold of Arthur's arm before taking off in a dead run. "My flat."

---

It was lucky that Merlin's flat was unlocked because he had no doubt the two of them would have broken the door down. Merlin was back to kissing Arthur, dragging his teeth across his bottom lip aggressively. Arthur moaned. They were in the main room now and Merlin let a push of magic slam the front door. He continued to push Arthur backwards until they got to the bedroom and Merlin could shove Arthur's legs right up against the bed, but they stayed standing.

"I'm sorry… I lied," Merlin said between kissed. He ripped his mouth from Arthur's and started directing his lips other places, exploring what he had never before been allowed to. Soft lips against Arthur's stubbled cheeks. Arthur's head tilted backwards and he sighed.

"I told you no more apologies," Arthur said, his voice catching as Merlin moved his lips downward, placing careful lips against his neck. Merlin reached the neckline of Arthur's shirt and nearly growled when he couldn't get to any more skin. He reached down and grabbed the bottom hem of Arthur's shirt and started lifting it as his hands explored Arthur's skin. Arthur quickly picked up where he left off, reaching down and pulling off the shirt with a quick movement so he was bare-chested in front of Merlin

"Now you," Arthur said. His voice was low, heavy breathing added to the mix. He grabbed the bottom of Merlin's jumper before Merlin could get to it and ripped it off viciously, nearly tearing the fabric. They came back together, chest to chest, and Merlin moaned at the skin contact. Arthur was so warm. Merlin felt like he was touching hot coals. His hands teased against Arthur's sides as he kissed him deep and hard, his tongue pushing into Arthur mouth.

"Still too much," Merlin gasped, pulling away for half a second to get the words out. Arthur trailed kisses down Merlin's neck and then his chest, giving a smirk as Merlin wantonly tilted his head back. Arthur pressed kissed against Merlin's collar bone, wet and hard. He knew he was leaving a mark on the skin. Merlin grabbed onto Arthur's hair with one hand and held onto the back of his neck with the other. More, more, more he urged in his mind. Arthur was obviously thinking the same thing as he trailed his wet lips down further and further. He used his hands to unbutton Merlin's trousers, moving his mouth to the convergence of hip bones. Merlin arched into the touch.

"More, Arthur," he grunted, "more." Arthur grabbed onto Merlin's trousers and teased them off slowly, releasing some of the pressure on Merlin's tented boxers. Merlin kicked off his trousers from around his feet and shoved Arthur hard, knocking him on his back on the bed.

"I said more," Merlin growled, predatory and wild. Arthur's eyes widened. His pupils were blown wide and his hair was mussed up. Merlin loved it more than he thought was possible. Keeping his hooded eyes on Arthur, he quickly pulled off Arthur's trousers, tossing them into the corner where they landed on discarded armor. Merlin teased little kisses up Arthur's inner thigh, all towards the bulge beneath the final layer of fabric.

"Oh, gods," Arthur moaned, "come on, Merlin," Merlin smiled into Arthur's thigh and used two fingers to grab onto the waistband of Arthur's boxers and pull them off, fully releasing Arthur's cock. Merlin sucked in a shaky breath. Here was all of Arthur, laid out beneath him, more beautiful than he could have imagined.

Merlin continued to stare at Arthur as he reached down and removed his own boxers, finally setting free his own erection. He leaned into Arthur languidly, kissing softly across his chest before flicking a dangerous tongue around Arthur's hard nipple. He finally laid his full weight down on top of Arthur and was almost pushed over the edge.

There was so much skin. Arthur arched as they moaned together, eyes clenching together and then rapidly opening again. Presumably to so he could look into Merlin's eyes as Arthur reached between them and took Merlin's erection in his hand. Merlin's thoughts shuddered to a stop. Arthur leaned in again to kiss Merlin as he started to pump his already leaking cock.

Merlin moaned into Arthur's mouth. The rhythm increased and Merlin felt like giving over. Too many years of waiting for this exact moment were building up before Merlin was ready. He wanted it to last longer.

"Arthur," he tried to say forcefully, but his voice came out wrecked. "I'm going to lose it." Arthur kissed him again, smiling dangerously. He reached down with his other hand to grab onto his own straining erection and started moving them together, rhythms matching up. The friction made Merlin's toes curl.

"Come on, Merlin," Arthur croaked. "Come for me." Merlin felt the magic in his body heat up so much he didn't know how Arthur was still touching him. It was pushing against his skin in every limb. He felt like his skin was too small to contain the force that roared beneath it. Arthur's rhythm increased. Their mouths fit together, messy and wet.

"Come for me," Arthur growled into Merlin's mouth, and that was what it finally took to push Merlin over the edge. The magic within him exploded, gold shooting from his eyes as it all overflowed. The room was set alight and Merlin's muscles all clenched as he finally came hard, spilling himself all over Arthur. Arthur came almost immediately afterwards and they collapsed on each other, breathing hard.

"What… was that?" Arthur breathed. Half of Merlin's body was laid across him and Merlin could already feel how sticky they were.

"Magic," he smiled. He breathed a soft word and a cloth from the bathroom flew in. Merlin snatched it out of the air and leaned off of Arthur so he could wipe them off. Arthur chuckled.

"That is incredibly useful," Arthur said with a kiss to Merlin's jaw. Merlin tossed the dirty cloth to the floor and laid down next to Arthur softly, basking in his warmth.

"I have to agree," he said. For a while they just let the room be filled with the sound of the breath. Merlin turned his head to watch Arthur's chest rise and fall. He reached out and ran his hand down the soft skin and through the dusting of sandy hair there.

"I still don't know why you are back," Merlin said. Arthur look at him like he was mad and he clarified. "I mean here as in not dead and very much in the present day. And now very much in my bed."

"Ah," Arthur said. His fingers teased against Merlin's arm.

"But I'm glad you are," Merlin said. Arthur smiled and pressed a soft kiss into Merlin's cheek.

"Me too." Arthur rolled over and pulled the sorcerer with him so Arthur's arms were wrapped around Merlin like a warm jacket. Merlin pulled the blanket up over them and leaned into Arthur's warmth. Arthur breathed against Merlin's neck.

"I love you too, you know," Arthur muttered. Merlin felt the magic raise up against his skin again and he grinned.

"I know," he said. Arthur snorted and nudged Merlin with his knee. Arthur fell asleep very quickly, breath evening out. Merlin spent a while awake, however, staring at the ceiling as he had the night before. A thousand years of waiting had led to this. To Arthur sharing his bed. The magic in the air swirled more frantically than it had in hundreds of years. It was like the power had only just been reawakened. Like Arthur was the key. And maybe he was. Merlin didn't really care one way or the other now that he was here.

The light from Arthur's armor still reflected across the room in misshapen fragments and this time, when Merlin fell asleep, it was not with the thought of Arthur, but with the actual man wrapped around him. Two sides of the same coin breathing each other's air, wrapped in each other's arms, fell asleep as one.

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This work was inspired by a really fantastic piece of fanart by oyonok.