Merlin turned the corner leading to his cottage, relieved to be home at last. He was absolutely exhausted, and right now all he wanted was to snuggle into a comfy chair in front of the fireplace with a good book and a mug of tea, nestled under his warmest blanket.

He sighed to himself. Of course, that wasn't quite all he wanted, in fact, there was only one thing that he wanted, truly wanted, something that he would willingly give up everything he owned to get. However, Merlin knew that there was no point moping over Arthur's return. He would come back when it was the right time for him to rise again, however much Merlin-

Merlin stopped short and blinked. Were his eyes deceiving him? He blinked again, and came to the conclusion that he was hallucinating. Either that or it was someone else who looked like Arthur he could see. Yes, Merlin decided, that would be it. It had happened to him before, more times than he could remember.

All the same, he struggled to fight the wave of disappointment that crashed over him as he approached his house. The blonde figure that resembled his best friend so much was sitting calmly, innocuously on his doorstep, although Merlin couldn't fathom what he was doing there. Probably someone wanting to sell him something, he thought dully.

The figure glanced up as he pushed the gate open but Merlin couldn't bring himself to look at him, wanting to put off the moment when it would be confirmed that it wasn't Arthur for as long as possible. He turned round to close the gate and, as he did so, the person spoke.

"Are you planning on just ignoring me, Merlin?" He sounded vaguely amused, although his voice was tinged with slight confusion.

Merlin promptly stopped moving, wondering wildly if he was imagining the voice. His heart felt as though it had stopped – he knew that voice. Slowly, he turned round to face the person who looked and sounded so much like Arthur that it was cruel…

As he met the blonde's eyes, he felt a rush of mixed emotions – shock, delight, anger…This person looked as though he could have been Arthur's twin. He tried to suppress his feelings of joy, reminding himself that this man wasn't Arthur; it was someone else, an imposter…

"Who are you?" he said in a low voice that was shaking with anger.

The other man stopped short, a look of hurt flashing across his face.

"You…don't remember me?" he asked hesitantly, pronouncing each word as though they were causing him pain.

Merlin shook his head, his anger ebbing away as quickly as it had come as he looked at the confused expression of the other man. "Just leave," he said tiredly, turning away to enter his house. He knew this man wasn't Arthur – surely if Arthur was going to rise again, he would have known? At least there would have been signs, Merlin reasoned, and he visited the lake almost every day – there would have been some kind of sign that told him Arthur was going to return!

"What are you talking about?" The Arthur-lookalike was now sounding anxious. "I'm Arthur! Arthur Pendragon!" His eyes scanned Merlin's face, seemingly trying to detect an emotion, any emotion that would hint at how Merlin was feeling.

Merlin's heart clenched. "You're an imposter," he heard himself saying, his voice sounding distant over his screaming thoughts. He had imagined this moment for so long, and here he was turning Arthur, his best friend, away…

"Imposter?" Arthur repeated blankly.

Merlin's mind seemed to have gone numb. "Yes," he heard himself reply hoarsely. "You aren't the real Arthur. I would have known if you were going to return."

"I've only been here for a couple of hours!" said Arthur. "And it is me, Merlin – I can prove it! You're a sorcerer!"

The statement had the desired effect. Merlin felt his heart clench as he looked properly at his friend. His friend who he hadn't seen for over a thousand years and who had finally returned.

He shook his head, swallowing hard. "I've waited for you for so long..." he whispered.

Arthur nodded. "I know." He smiled at Merlin, his blue eyes earnest. "I've said this once, and you should think yourself lucky that I'm saying it again, but thank you."

Merlin felt a lump rise to his throat as he stepped forward and pulled Arthur into a hug.

He knew he was beginning to sob but didn't care. Arthur was crying too, and he tightened his embrace. The man he had spent hundreds of years waiting for was back with him, where he belonged.

A/N: I'll appreciate any feedback! I know this isn't the best thing I've ever written, so thank you for reading :)