Over the next week or so, Arthur asked more personal, almost prying, questions than he had in his entire life. He was desperate to learn more about Merlin, about his magic, about his fire, about what other powers he kept hidden, about his guilt and anger and feelings and lack of love in his life.

Well, he tried to avoid that one, but the thought was always trickling in the back of his mind. How anyone could go through life the way Merlin did was absolutely astounding and Arthur was frankly surprised that Merlin hadn't collapsed under all that weight yet.

Especially what with what had happened to his parents. Even though Merlin never quite said the words, Arthur knew that he blamed himself for it; that he always had and probably always would. HE knew the feeling well; his mother had died in childbirth and Arthur always felt some sort of responsibility on his shoulders for that loss.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

He wondered vaguely if Merlin felt like this life he led was supposed to be some kind of penance for his sins, for the harm he had felt he caused. Arthur hoped not. No one should put themselves through those kinds of thoughts. Not Merlin, at the very least.

Arthur had seen so many sides to Merlin since he had learned the secret. He had seen vulnerability, self-doubt, depression, and then beneath those ugly concepts, there was caring, selflessness sacrifice– there were so many layers to Merlin ta Arthur could barely keep track of them.

Merlin, the real Merlin, was so different from the charismatic and confident man Arthur had first met. He was more real, though, more human somehow. He was not perfect, he was not golden, and Arthur honestly preferred him that way.

The real traits only appeared when the two of them were alone together, though. At the bar with their friends, Merlin's friends that he'd known for years and years, he put on the mask again, the thing that shielded him away from their world, removed him from them.

And Arthur was the exception to this, Arthur who had only known him for a little over a month. Merlin was himself around Arthur, the only person that he could truly be who he was with, because Arthur was privy to information that his other friends could not even hope to find.

Arthur was a bit scared by it all, to be honest. Not that he would ever say anything about that, but it was the truth. It was overwhelming, both in good ways and in terrifying ones.

But he knew that he would gladly take those terrors if it meant that he could keep Merlin in his life. Because Arthur was Merlin's exception, but Arthur was one the one that needed him; needed him near, needed him safe from harm, needed him to keeping being strong.

Arthur found himself unsure of what was so interesting about his life before Merlin came along. Sure, he had lived in London, a city that he still remained absolutely desperate to get back to, even if Albion was growing on him a bit, and he knew he had liked his uni classes, his friends, but it felt like he had barely scratched the surface of life then.

And now he had plunged all the way in, suddenly finding himself so completely out of his depth.

Like he had said; terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. Speaking of which…

"Arthur! Come on, hurry up."

"Where exactly is it we're going?"

"Just come on!"

"Call me crazy, but I do not just follow people randomly into the woods. Especially people with magical powers that could kill me very quietly and make it look like an accident."

"I'm wounded by your accusations."

"As you should be."

"Prat."

"Idiot."

"Clotpole."

"Clotpole?"

"Just come on!"

Arthur, with a loud, heaving, overdramatic sigh, trudged up the steep hill path that Merlin had bounced ahead on until he was almost at the top, with Arthur somewhere around the middle. He was of the belief that he could have easily overtaken the other man in an evenly matched footrace, but Merlin was so exuberant and also hopped up on caffeine from earlier this morning that Arthur didn't quite like his chances at the current moment in time.

Not to mention that as soon as noon passed and Arthur had left work for his afternoon off, Merlin had appeared just outside of the newspaper building, excited and chugging a cappuccino, talking a mile a minute about something that he'd been dying to show Arthur – well, Arthur had basically given up the pretense that he was going to be doing anything other than spending as much time with Merlin as he could, and followed him.

He had not been expecting the woods.

Arthur liked nature, he had loved going on hikes and trail rides as a kid, and he was no stranger to exercise, trying to work out a couple of times a week.

It was the not knowing where he was going that bothered him. He trusted Merlin, trusted him absolutely, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a trickling of unease at having no semblance of control of the situation.

But honestly, he should have been used to that by now. It had been the state of his existence since his move here.

"Merlin –"

Arthur had made it to the top of the hill, but Merlin was already a few feet away, his face turned the opposite direction of Arthur's and gazing into a clump of trees. Arthur, confused was about to open his mouth once again, but Merlin's reverent whisper caught him off-guard.

"We're here."

"What is it?" Arthur made his way over to where Merlin was standing, stopping only a few inches to his left and peering in through the multitude of tree branches that seemed to be never-ending. There was nothing there. He squinted, wondering if Merlin had perhaps taken more drugs other than caffeine this morning, but that thought was cut off by his own gasp.

The thicket of trees was no longer a thicket of trees. Well, it was, but it was so much more. Sunlight seemed to be pouring off of every surface, enveloping its surroundings, even the air, in a shining glow. There was a small clearing, one barely visible but still there, that seemed to be the center of it all, of this vast and unnamable thing that took Arthur's breath so entirely away.

Merlin breathed into his ear as the pair stood completely still. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"What is it?" Arthur managed to get back to him, not taking his eyes off of the beautiful golden light.

"Magic," he could hear Merlin's smile. "It's a place of power, of light, of that mystical energy that makes me tick."

"So this is – this is magic, like real, visibly personified magic," Arthur tore his eyes away from the beauty of it to face Merlin's blue ones. "This is what's inside of you?"

"I suppose," Merlin's smile was a bit bashful at the statement, but Arthur wasn't surprised in the slightest that this was the energy that had built Merlin up, had created him. "Part of it, at least. I'm not sure where the fire comes from. Probably something much darker and more sinister, though. Maybe like an anti-whatever this is."

"No, this is you," Arthur decided, and it was worth the trickle of emotion pouring into his veins to see the smile on Merlin's face light up. "This is most definitely you. Can we – can we go into it?"

"If you like," Merlin gestured him forward, with a sweep of his hand. Arthur stepped into the grove, and somehow felt the light seep into his skin, felt it overtake him. His muscles relaxed, his bones took in the gold, and he sighed contentedly within a moment.

"I knew it would like you," Merlin had stepped into the clearing as well, and the light shining from his pale skin made him seem as if he was some kind of angel, a direct parallel to the fire singing off of his flesh. This was beauty, this was Merlin on a high point, and Arthur was able to recognize that. "The magic here. You attract magic, I think."

"I do what?"

"Attract magic," a light blush appeared on Merlin's cheeks as he turned to face him. "First time I met you, my magic – the good magic, not the fire – it reacted to you like it hadn't anyone else before. I don't really know why, but it did."

It was Arthur's turn to hope his face wasn't turning colors. Again, he was partway flattered; partway intimidated by this great thing, this thing that he hadn't even aware was in existence until a week ago, that was suddenly the most important piece of his life.

"It's kind of why I'm afraid of being near you, actually," Merlin's voice was matter-of-fact and Arthur jerked his head toward Merlin's almost comically. "The fire might be attracted to you, too."

Any suave, flirty comments that Arthur could have thought up as a proper response died in that moment. Merlin looked so genuinely worried, as if the thought had been plaguing his mind, and Arthur just wished he could wipe it off of his face and make him laugh again, making a stupid joke about superheroes or small town life.

Anything but let him keeping appearing like a wounded puppy.

"I'm glad you brought me here," Arthur said quietly, letting his hand lift up and rest on Merlin's shoulder. The other man's eyes met his and Arthur thought he could see something there – something that he hadn't seen before.

But it was gone in an instant, so fast that Arthur thought he must have imagined it, for Merlin spoke again, his voice lighter and back on that same high from his slightly alarming caffeine intake.

"So, now that you've seen how beautiful magic is, do you want me to see if I can manage to throw a lightning bolt for you? I promise I won't hit any trees."

Arthur laughed. "Throw lightning bolts? You've got to be having me on."

Merlin's smile turned mischievous. "We'll see about that."

Arthur found his original stance on the matter moved after an afternoon of impossible things suddenly entering the realm of possibility, entering with a crash and a bang and, in the case of the lightning, a strike.

It was a good day, a day of laughter, of friendship, of touches that lasted just a second too long, of the most beautiful and frightening things Arthur had ever seen, and of magic of both the physical kind and the spiritual one that hung in the air around them, saturating it and enhancing every last thing that occurred, making it shine golden.

It was the best day Arthur had experienced in a very long while.

So naturally, it was the last good day Arthur would have in a very long while.