Summary: Merlin finally finds the half that makes him whole. SLASH Reincarnation fic. AxM Character death at start but happy ending
No I do not own Merlin, I wish...
The sounds of the battle field, the screams, war cries, and the clash of metal on metal would never leave Merlin. He would be haunted by them, but one thing would haunt him more.
'Arthur, no!' the warlock cried, running towards his fallen king, lying bleeding in the mud at Camlamn. He skidded to his knees next to the blonde man, who smiled wanly up at him.
'Hello Merlin.' His voice was weak and Merlin knew by that and by his wounds that he would die today. Tears pricked his eyes.
'Where's Mordred?' he croaked
If it were possible for Arthur to look smug in this state, that's what he would have looked like 'I dealt with him,' he said with satisfaction.
'But at what cost?' Merlin looked to Arthur's wounds and tried to heal them with numerous different spells.
'Stop – Merlin.' Arthur managed 'It's too late for me.'
'Don't say that!' Merlin cried desperately racking his brain for something – anything! – that would save the king of Albion.
Eventually after using every single healing spell he knew, Merlin gave up, exhausted. He lifted the king's body gently into his arms and held him, not caring about the mud or blood.
'You can't die!' he choked, tears flowing freely down his face 'Arthur you can't, I love you!' he looked into his eyes and saw tears there as well, though Arthur would deny it.
Arthur smiled again and reached up to rest his hand on the side of Merlin's face 'I will always love you Merlin.' He murmured softly
The two had finally admitted their love the night before the battle. After Guinevere had run off with Sir Lancelot, Arthur had been devastated, leaving Merlin to comfort him. The king had eventually realised that it was always Merlin, it always would be Merlin. And so they had spent a night, a single night lying in each other's arms, and Arthur had listened to the warlock's heartbeat, wishing that they could stay like this forever. But destiny does what she wants. And so they ended up here.
Arthur could feel Merlin's sobs shuddering through his body 'Merlin, I-I'm going –'
'No, please.' Merlin whispered
'Merlin,' Arthur looked up into his love's eyes 'please, kiss me, one last time...'
And Merlin obeyed, pulling Arthur up and fusing their mouths together with gentle desperateness, looking into Arthur's blue eyes as he did so, slowly watching their spark go out, the light leave them until they were lifeless and Arthur's mouth stopped moving and went cold under Merlin's lips. Merlin pulled back and with a shaking hand closed the eyes of the man he loved. Now he could be sleeping he thought.
Merlin cried out in anguish and held Arthur's body tight to his chest, laying his head upon golden locks he sobbed.
After what seemed like days the tears stopped flowing and Merlin pulled away from Arthur and set him gently down on the blood soaked grass. The raven haired man still shook, wishing it had been a dream, not wanting to accept that Arthur, the once and future king, was gone forever.
He heard something snap behind him and realised that the battle had not ceased, why not? The world had ended, so why had the fighting not stopped?
'Aw, isn't that sweet, did you love him Merlin?' the voice, laced with deliberate cruelty and sarcasm came from behind him.
Merlin stood up and turned, he found himself facing the beautiful yet cold Morgana, though these days she called herself Morgan le Fay. Trying to separate herself from the lady she had once been, to the evil sorceress she had become under the guidance of her half sister.
'You killed him,' Merlin's voice was raw with emotion and crying. 'It's your fault he lays there! Your own half brother! Doesn't that mean anything to you?' Merlin wasn't aware when he started shouting, but he didn't care, he just wanted to cause her as much pain as he felt.
The pale woman laughed. A cruel cold laugh that pierced Merlin's heart and made him sad for the gentle king's ward he had met. Merlin saw red and he screamed and lashed out with magic without saying a spell, he didn't care he just wanted to hurt Morgana.
By the time Merlin was finished, Morgan le Fay was finished also, as was her army, every one of them cut down. The battle was over.
When the warlock's mind cleared he looked around for the knights of Camelot. He found Sir Bedivere swiftly, who asked him where the king was. Merlin did not reply but asked if the knight would help him. Together they carried King Arthur to the lake of Avalon with his sword Excalibur, a gift from Merlin at his coronation.
Watching Arthur sail away as he had done Freya all those years ago, Merlin felt as if his heart was leaving him. This couldn't be it, could it? Only one would know. The Great Dragon. He had to talk to him.
'What happens now My Lord?' Bedivere turned to ask Merlin (who Arthur had made a Lord at the start of his reign) but found him gone from the scene, as if he'd never been there.
MxAMxAMxAMxAMxA
'This is not the end young warlock.' Kilgarrah said to a distressed Merlin that night 'One day the Once and Future King will return.'
Merlin refused to hope, but trusted the giant lizard enough to know that he did not lie. His heart didn't care about that however; it just wanted Arthur back, now!
His voice hoarse, he managed a single word 'when?'
'Alas I cannot see everything, young warlock. But if you want to give him the immortality you have then you must bind yourself to him in every way possible. Otherwise he will grow old and perish and the cycle will start again. There is one, who knows more about the secret to immortality, but I do not know where they are, but if you want to keep the young Pendragon next time, then find them.'
Merlin closed his eyes and a tear escaped 'Where?'
'You must ask the druids that live near the lake of Avalon,'
'Thank you, Kilgarrah.'
The great dragon bowed its head 'Good-bye, young warlock,'
Merlin watched him fly away, a faint spark of hope in his heart.
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And so Merlin waited, he saw everything: the days of the Tudors, the Stuarts, the French Revolution, the discovery of America, the days of Queen Victoria, the two wars, and so much more. (AN: They're not in order I know)
Merlin watched as the world grew and changed and people stopped believing in druids and dragons and magic. There were no knights anymore, those days were long over. Merlin stopped calling himself Merlin, changing his name as the long years went by. He stopped growing too, shrinking back into the boy he had been when he first met Arthur, then growing until he was the age as he was when Arthur was taken from him.
It was a lonely existence, but Merlin endured, safe in the knowledge that one day Arthur would return, and this time, if he still felt the same way, they would never again part.
Now Merlin was living in the twenty-first century, working as a doctor. Although he was Colin Emirates now.
As he got up to go to work as he did every day, Merlin didn't know that it was today. The two sides of the coin would be reunited.
The shift was long, but eventually it was over and Merlin wondered why he even bothered to work when he had enough money to last a lifetime, but it stopped him thinking so much he supposed.
As he walked out the door he walked straight into someone.
'Watch out you idiot!'
Merlin froze, that voice, his voice.
Two different shades of blue eyes met.
'M-Merlin,' the blonde man whispered, memories flooding back of when he had been king, his death, then, nothing until he had been reborn.
Merlin glanced around, 'Not here,' he murmured 'come with me.'
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As soon as they managed to get the door to Merlin's house closed the warlock found his mouth claimed. Letting out a muffled whimper Merlin kissed back, pressing Arthur against the door and pushing his tongue into the mouth of his king, who moaned and gripped the dark hair. Pulling away Merlin rested his forehead against Arthur's.
'I've been waiting – so long, I love you.' He panted, breathless
'I love you too Merlin, I'm sorry we didn't have more time to be together,' Arthur murmured before kissing him passionately once more.
...
Later they lay together in Merlin's ridiculously large bed.
'What happened, after I—?' Arthur whispered, looking into Merlin's eyes, he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he felt he needed to know.
'I lived on, waiting for you,' Merlin's voice was sad, but he could not help but feel overjoyed that Arthur had come back to him, and felt the same way still, it made all his suffering worth it, finally.
'But won't I, you know... again?' Arthur's eyes were mournful; he never wanted to leave his love again.
'Not if you're willing to tie yourself to me the last two ways, then we shall never be parted.' Merlin smiled, though felt that perhaps...
'Of course I am, what are they?' Arthur felt that he would do anything to prevent the sadness he had seen years before as he lay dying.
'Well a blood exchange and, well...' Merlin blushed slightly, maybe he should have proposed properly... 'marriage.'
'I'd marry you right now but that would mean having to move...' Arthur commented, kissing the corner of Merlin's mouth.
Merlin laughed softly, finally the missing half of him had been returned, to stay.
MxA
Thanks for reading
S