Hey again! I hope you enjoy this chapter, there is a great deal of fluff, angst, and a teeny tiny implication of Gwaine/Percival (which I do ship, by the way). I don't own Merlin. Please please review, it motivates me to get these chapters done faster. I know I said I'd wrap it up around now, but I'm still working on it. I'm guessing I'll finish in either next chapter or in Chapter 13, plus an epilogue (you'll see for what later :D). Enjoy and don't forget to review! :)
Merlin awoke a day later in Gaius's room, his cot next to Elion's, who was still recovering from Mordred's attack.
"Gaius!" Gwaine called when his eyes opened. Gwaine had been sitting on a chair by Merlin's side, keeping watch vigilantly. Bear was sitting dutifully next to him, and his tail started wagging when he saw Merlin wake up.
"Gwaine?" he asked groggily, "What-how long have I been asleep?"
"Just a day. We worried though, Merlin. You keep giving us a scare."
"I'm sorry," he grumbled, "I'm not doing it on purpose."
"Right," Gwaine said, "Anyway, I thought we should let you know, Arthur took care of Mordred. He skewered him the minute he saw you were passed out. Was it Mordred who made you faint?" He looked very concerned and Merlin closed his eyes and swallowed. He remembered what it was. He knew what it was.
"No, I'm -uh, just stressed, is all. Keeping up this aging spell is really taxing on me, that's all. You know we lost Freya, right?" Gwaine nodded sadly.
"So where is the idiot?" Merlin asked, "Arthur, I mean." Gwaine looked faintly amused and if in the proper spirits, he may have made a racy comment, but he wasn't in the proper mood at all. So he just told him,
"He was here earlier with Gwen. They went off somewhere about an hour ago, going to take a walk or something." Merlin felt a familiar pang of jealousy, and it must have shown because Gwaine's expression quickly turned to one of sympathy. Before he could say something, Gaius marched over and laid a hand on Merlin's forehead. He mumbled something incoherent and stepped away to grab a wet cloth. Merlin sat up and tried to move out of bed, but Gaius quickly yelped,
"Stop!" and Gwaine put a hand on his chest and pushed him back down. Merlin scowled at both of them. His head was throbbing, but he needed to find Arthur.
"Merlin, you're not going anywhere," Gaius told him, as if reading his thoughts, "You need rest or you'll kill yourself. Need I remind you how much strain your body is under with the aging spell alone? Not to mention whoever beat you up at the lake and then Mordred and stress beyond what a normal person should be able to take. You are remarkable, Merlin, but even you need to rest sometimes."
"Where's Arthur?" he asked stubbornly, "Either bring him here or I'm going to look for him and you know you can't stop me if it really came down to it." Gwaine widened his eyes in surprise at the implication, but Gaius looked unfazed. Merlin stared Gaius down and Gaius did the same. Merlin glared at him for a good two minutes before Gwaine interrupted,
"Uh...I'll go find Arthur…." Merlin nodded at Gwaine gratefully and shot Gaius another annoyed glare before turning over to be alone with his thoughts.
"Merlin," Gaius said softly after a minute. Merlin didn't reply. He knew he was being unfair, but he was upset and a whole other roll of emotions he didn't want to be, and he didn't need Gaius on top of that telling him what he couldn't do.
"Merlin," his voice came again. He felt Gaius put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm doing this because I care. I don't want something bad to happen to you. And we all care about you. I'm trying to help you." Merlin kept silent. "Fine, be stubborn. I never knew you to be any different." Merlin thought he heard a tad of affection in Gaius's voice. The hand on his shoulder lifted and he heard Gaius walking away.
Merlin's eyelids suddenly felt very heavy and he struggled to keep his eyes open. Sleep took him quickly, but it felt like moments later when his eyes opened again. He blinked and saw Gwaine and Arthur sitting across from him talking. Gwen was nowhere to be seen. Merlin's heart tugged when Arthur noticed he was awake. He looked troubled, but smiled in spite of himself, and Merlin returned the grin. Gwaine smirked when he saw them both grinning like a pair of mischievous children and got up, announcing that he was leaving. Once Gwaine left, Merlin frowned at Arthur.
"What the hell, Arthur?" he demanded. Gaius had followed Gwaine out, so they were completely alone. Arthur's face fell visibly.
"What?" he asked, but he knew what Merlin was trying to get at.
Merlin's voice caught when he tried to respond, so his voice cracked. "I thought you told Gwen it was over. I thought you guys were….not together anymore." Arthur deflated even more, if that was possible, and he looked like a kicked puppy.
"You mean yesterday?" Arthur inquired softly, "That wasn't….I mean that was nothing….she…"
"You both are still technically married," Merlin said harshly, "I understand."
"What's the problem?" Arthur asked, but he immediately saw that was the wrong thing to ask. Merlin immediately set his jaw the way he did when he was really upset and sat up slightly, making his head spin.
"What's the problem? I knew sometimes you could be clueless, Arthur, but you've got to be just plain stupid to not know what the problem is!" Arthur cringed, and opened his mouth to reply, but Merlin blundered on, "I've been holding an aging spell for roughly a year and a half now, first of all, which is taxing on me physically. Not to mention I've been punched, blasted, thrown, hit, bowled over, and a bunch of other things that I would not like to add to my physical stress. On top of that, we've lost Mordred, Morgana, Lancelot, and Freya! We almost lost Elion! Do you even know how stressed I am?" Arthur opened his mouth again, but Merlin didn't let up. He counted the deaths on one hand before continuing, "And on top of all that, of all that bullshit that I've had to deal with since you got your sorry ass out of the lake, you kissed me and led me on and then got all over Gwen again! You told her it was over and encouraged me and led me on, but then you just - how can you do that?" At this point, both of them were close to tears, but Merlin hadn't finished yet. "I know that you are the great Arthur Pendragon, and I believe in you, but you are senseless sometimes, you idiot!"
Merlin was sitting up, his head throbbing from his injuries and now from yelling, and frustrated tears were welling up in his eyes. He wiped them angrily and glared at Arthur, who was sitting across from him. Arthur looked like a deer in the headlights mixed with a deer who had gotten under the headlights and run over by the car. He wasn't sure whether to apologize or defend himself. He wanted Merlin to understand, but he didn't know how to articulate what he wanted to say. His voice came out as a squeak at first, but then he cleared his throat and chose his words carefully.
"I don't want to fight with you," he said slowly, "We used to be a team. We worked together. Nearly equal. But now I feel like you're treating me like a child because you have magic. I'm sorry I wasn't born with that marvelous gift, and I'm sorry that you were terrified about telling anyone for fear of being executed, and I'm sorry for everything else that happened in Camelot, but I am not a child. I know this can be a magical battle, but in case you haven't noticed, I have a magical sword! I can defend myself, I am not inferior to you!" His voice was steadily growing. "You can't just not tell me these things and then expect me to know everything about you and understand. I don't understand you, Merlin, and I don't think I ever will. You can't just blow up in my face every time I ask you what's wrong. I care very much about you and the least you can do is show me you respect me. I have some redeeming qualities too. You don't always have to be the hero." Merlin cringed, now feeling the sting of his words. "I am fully aware of who we've lost and what kind of stress you're under and what ever else, but I asked because I knew there was something more than that."
"But what about-"
"I didn't know you saw me kissing Gwen," he snapped, "And you shouldn't jump to conclusions, genius. She kissed me because it's a reflex whenever she needs to be comforted like she did and that was just something we used to do. It was something she was used to that was familiar to her and I let her take comfort in that. It didn't mean anything to me, at least not as much as it used to and not nearly as much as it means when I'm with you." Arthur was glaring at him intently and Merlin's heart stopped for a minute, he was sure. He felt blood rush to his cheeks and he looked away from Arthur and cleared his throat.
"You mean that?" Merlin asked quietly, looking back at Arthur.
"Of course," Arthur replied kindly. Merlin felt the corners of his lips tugging up, but he didn't want to let them. Eventually, his relief beat his stubbornness and he gave Arthur a small smile. He sat up straighter and put his arms around Arthur's neck, pulling him closer and hugged him tightly, burying his head in his chest. Arthur scooted closer before standing up to make the hug more comfortable and Merlin quickly followed, keeping his body wrapped into Arthur's and allowing himself to breathe in his familiarity. Arthur rested his chin on top of Merlin's head and with one hand, petting his hair lightly.
"You idiot," he muttered affectionately.
"Senseless clotpole," Merlin mumbled.
Arthur released him after a few minutes and looked like he was about to sit down again when Merlin let out a small whine and snatched the front of his shirt. Arthur frowned for a second before Merlin pulled him towards himself and kissed him, slowly releasing his shirt and wrapping his arms around him. Arthur immediately leaned into the kiss and slipped his fingers into Merlin's belt loops to pull him closer and then wrapped his own arms around the other's waist. This felt like the first real kiss they had had. It was special and intimate and affectionate and it was something Merlin had wanted for a long time. It was slow and warm and gentle and innocent. It was perfect.
After what seemed like forever, they heard a slow clap to their left. They both jumped and sprang apart and saw Gwaine standing there, a grin on his face and his hands raised to clap again.
"Gwaine!" Merlin snapped, blushing again, "I thought you left."
"How could I resist staying?" Gwaine asked. When Merlin glared at him for real, he continued, "I really did have a good reason. I heard you guys shouting as I was leaving and I stayed to listen and make sure you weren't tearing each other apart. When it went quiet, I worried. So I came in. You were going at it for a good five minutes before….now."
"You're a dick," Merlin muttered, "Couldn't you just leave it alone?"
Gwaine shrugged. "It's what I'm known for. Sorry. Can't change it. Besides, we're having a small ceremony for Lancelot, Freya, Mordred and Morgana. Four gone in a week, three in one day. Not really what I was hoping for." He looked serious now. Merlin forgave him, and Arthur just looked annoyed. When they didn't respond immediately, Gwaine blurted, "So, you two lovebirds coming?"
Merlin scowled at Gwaine and when they walked past him to leave, he bumped him against the shoulder, but good-naturedly. He was only a little annoyed with Gwaine. Gwaine was who he was and Merlin wouldn't have it any other way.
((()))
Gaius had been bothered w hen he saw Merlin out of bed, but he figured he wasn't going to stop him at this point, and so he let him go to the unofficial send-off for their friends. Gwen cried the most, having lost two people she had loved very much. Everyone had something to say about each of the ones they had lost. Merlin found it especially hard to say something for Freya, and in the crowd of people that made a circle around where he had buried Mordred's body, he found it easy to reach back and look for Arthur's hand. No one saw. Arthur took his hand and squeezed in reassuringly.
The friends separated after Merlin was finished speaking and they went their separate ways. It was evening now, around eight o'clock. Merlin quickly whipped up dinner, not even bothering to spend too much time on it, and instead used his magic to make it, and handed out plates of pasta with marinara. Nobody spoke while they ate, and Gwaine was so agitated, that while he was spinning his spaghetti, he managed to fling most of it onto the floor, which Bear made quick work of. Gwaine scowled and glared at his plate for the remainder of the evening.
When Arthur and Merlin headed off to bed, they shut the door and Merlin asked abruptly, "Can you sleep in my bed again tonight?" Arthur raised an eyebrow and then smiled warmly.
"If you need me to." Merlin nodded and crawled into bed, waiting for Arthur to follow. Arthur changed into sweats and a t-shirt and crawled over him where he usually stayed. Merlin immediately curled into him before pulling Arthur's arm over his shoulder and holding it there. Arthur let him and he got comfortable as well, pulling the covers up closer to both of their shoulders. He nuzzled his head into the crook of Merlin's neck and was content with just cuddling with him like this forever. Not being able to resist, he kissed the back of his neck lightly.
Merlin's neck was warm where Arthur kissed him, and he quickly turned over to face him. They were mere inches away from each other. He chuckled softly in the dark, grinning a grin that Arthur couldn't see as he asked, "How could I fall in love with you of all people? You could do so much better." He was sure Arthur had a cocky smirk on his face now as he replied,
"True. Except not. I don't see who could be better, Merlin. Although I have to say, Mithian and Gwen come pretty clo-OW!" Merlin had smacked him in the shoulder lightly for being cheeky.
"Clotpole."
"You're an idiot, you know that?"
"Why?" Merlin quickly found out because in a matter of seconds, Arthur had pulled his arm behind his back and twisted him into something resembling a pretzel before sitting on him.
"Don't hit me in the dark, Merlin," Arthur growled playfully in his ear. Merlin smirked while his face was pressed against a pillow and put a hand against the mattress, his eyes glowing gold and he disappeared. Arthur bumped onto the mattress with an 'Oof!' and looked around in confusion. Then he found himself pressed against the mattress with Merlin staring at him and sitting on his chest. He leaned closer towards Arthur's face, stopping when their faces were inches apart.
"Don't sit on me, Arthur," Merlin hissed with the same playful tone. He got off of him after a minute and crawled back into their original position, laying side by side.
Halfway through the night, Arthur decided it was too hot and pulled off his t-shirt before stuffing it into Merlin's previously peaceful face. Merlin spluttered awake and while he was a bit offended by the faint smell of sweat, it mostly smelled good, like Arthur, and he buried his face in it and went back to sleep.
When Merlin woke up the next morning, he glanced guiltily at Freya's empty bed and slid out of Arthur's grasp. It was barely dawn. He made himself a cup of hot cocoa, which was always a comfort drink to him, and then he thought of the last night Mordred had been with them. He stared guiltily at the drink and barely touched it. He wished he could talk to Freya about what he had to do next. He knew one of them would awake this morning complaining of nightmares and they may well go the same way as Mordred. And that would continue until the lake either got what it wanted or killed them all trying. There wasn't much of an option when it came to everyone besides Arthur and Merlin. They would die either way, and Merlin was sure he knew which way they would prefer to go. But he was terrified of telling them.
Gwen found Merlin first. She too had had trouble sleeping and she found Merlin about ten minutes after he himself had woken up. She walked up next to him silently before sitting next to him.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked groggily. She shook her head. Her eyes were still red and puffy from both lack of sleep and lots of tears.
"I can't stop thinking Morgana, Lancelot and Freya. I'm worried about what's become of them," she admitted quietly.
"What about Mordred?" She crinkled her nose in distaste.
"I wasn't really very close to him, to be honest, not ever. Especially not after he killed Arthur and then tried to do it again and killed Lancelot in the process."
"I understand."
"I don't know, Merlin." He glanced at her. What was not to understand? She caught the look and said, "I know you've seen a lot, loads more than I have. But through all we've been through, I've been helpless, always. I can't do anything. I stand by and watch it happen and I can't help."
"You can fight really well, Gwen, especially when under pressure and handed a sword," Merlin suggested.
"Yes, but I can't do that now, can I? And most times I didn't have an opportunity to do that. You lot saved my skin more times than I can count," she said bitterly. Merlin was silent for a minute.
"Now I understand a bit more," he admitted, "And you're probably not going to like what I'm going to have to tell the others." Gwen widened her eyes.
"What now?" she asked anxiously.
Merlin huffed slightly in hesitation before telling her, "Nimeuh told me that everyone I brought back from the lake, save for Arthur, are not supposed to be here. It's an imbalance in the universe. Arthur was foretold to return to save Albion again, you all were not." Gwen was starting to look like her old self again, sitting up straighter. Merlin took a deep breath and continued, "I think she's wrong. You all played a part in helping him save Albion again, like always. But I do believe she is correct in saying it has imbalanced the universe. Your return has caused those vengeful spirits to rise again in the lake. Someone will wake up with a nightmare this morning. I don't know who. That person will have the potential of becoming what Mordred became." Gwen covered her mouth with her hand and looked even more worried now. "They will pick us off one by one until they get want. And if they get what they want…" Merlin shrugged. Gwen looked troubled now.
"So what you're saying is….we have to die, to restore balance for them to leave you and Arthur alone," she repeated slowly.
"Yes, I….and I know that's not fair to anyone. There's nothing else I can do. There's not another solution, and believe me, I've tried to find one." This was true. He went through Gaius's magic books with Gaius the other day and found nothing, no solution, and could not find a solution either on those pages nor in his mind. Gwen nodded, her finger tracing her lip thoughtfully. Then she sat up straighter.
"Well, I know what my choice is. All that's left is to tell the others and hope they take it well," she said confidently.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Merlin asked anxiously.
"I don't see another choice. I don't know about everyone else, but I'd rather die to save you and Arthur than to be possessed and have my dead body be used as a puppet." Merlin smiled at her and she returned it with a weak smile.
"Forgive me, Merlin, I'm trying to scrape up some of my courage that has been scattered to the wind."
"Don't worry about it," he replied kindly, "I'm sure you'll find it. It's always in there somewhere, Gwen." She gave him another tight smile and squeezed his hand before getting up and going back to her room to change for the day. He sighed and looked at his hands. He then stood and slowly made his way to the kitchen and slowly put together breakfast. He made chocolate chip pancakes, but he was so out of it that some pancakes had an overdose of chocolate and some had no chips at all.
Everyone slowly made their way to the table as they awoke at different times. Gwaine and Percival quickly picked out the pancakes with the most chocolate and scarfed them down quickly, grinning like little boys, with bits of chocolate around their mouth.
"Charming," Gwen had laughed when she walked in. They all ate slowly and deliberately, as if afraid they might be taken away if they ever left the breakfast table, when Merlin suddenly glanced around.
"Where's Arthur?" Without his noticing, Bear stole his pancakes and swallowed them whole, and when Merlin went to eat them and found his plate to be empty. He scowled at the dog, then looked up again.
"He've probibly still shleeping, that lazshy arshh," Gwaine informed him with his mouth full of pancakes. Percival clapped him on the back when he started coughing and Merlin crinkled his nose.
"Gwaine, that's gross, can't you eat slower?" someone asked. Gwaine shrugged, looking incredibly proud of himself.
"Oh there he is," Gwaine suddenly pointed out a minute later when they heard pounding footsteps on the wooden floor.
Arthur ran into the room, his eyes wild and scared. Thankfully, he had put his shirt back on. Merlin stood up and Arthur leaned on the other end of the table.
"Arthur, what's wrong?" Gaius asked. Arthur was breathing heavily and when he looked back up, Merlin saw guilt as well as fear there.
"I had a nightmare, Gaius," Arthur told them, "A nightmare about the lake."
((()))
Merlin and Gwen immediately paled and the others just looked confused.
"Are you sure?" he asked quietly across the table, "Absolutely sure?" Arthur swallowed and nodded. "No one else had any nightmares about the lake?" he addressed everyone. They all shook their heads. "Alright…" Merlin bit his lip. He glanced at Gwen, who nodded.
"I have to tell you something," he announced. Everyone looked at him attentively. After momentary hesitation, Merlin launched into the explanation of the choice they would have to make. Now his friends looked very troubled, and some looked very scared. Arthur looked terrified to learn that if they didn't act quickly, he would become like Morded and it would be all too easy for the lake to control him. Silence fell the minute he stopped talking. Even Bear didn't move, sensing the tension in the room.
"Nimeuh told you this?" Gaius asked, breaking the silence. Merlin sat down and nodded, resting his cheek on his hand.
"Why should we trust anything Nimeuh has to say?" Elion asked, "Wasn't she an old enemy of Camelot?" Merlin nodded again.
"But you missed what happened when she finished, "the warlock answered, "They destroyed her for telling me, and that's what convinced me. If it wasn't true, they wouldn't have bothered. She was a powerful ally for them, and to destroy her for something as simple as that is stupid if it wasn't true." Elion nodded and leaned back again. The knights seemed to accept this explanation, as did Gaius and Gwen. It was silent again before Arthur asked suddenly,
"So how long do we have?" His voice sounded more strategic, like when he was planning an invasion or a defense plan.
"I'd give us a day or two at the most," Merlin shrugged, "I'm really not sure, but not very long."
"I'll do it," said Gwaine suddenly. Merlin glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather go down fighting." He looked like he was trying to stand proud, but he also looked afraid. Percival stood up with him too and said,
"Me too."
"Us as well," chimed Leon and Elion.
"I told you I would," Gwen told Merlin, her eyes sparkling.
"And I," Gaius joined in. Merlin glanced at Arthur and saw his mouth was hanging open slightly.
"You would really do this for us?" Arthur asked seriously.
"We always swore we would," Leon said, "Don't sound so surprised!"
"We're going to die either way," Gwaine added. Percival smacked him.
"Don't say it like that, Gwaine," he snapped, before pulling him into a headlock and giving him a noogie playfully. Merlin almost rolled his eyes at their childish behavior before remembering that he and Arthur did that too. Gwaine was struggling in Percival's grasp, laughing and trying to pull his arms off. Percival was grinning widely. In ordinary circumstances it would be funny, but given the situation, it made it even better. Merlin grinned widely and it caught on to everyone else, who smiled and laughed with them.
Merlin suddenly started to wonder about Gwaine and Percival. If it was possible for he and Arthur, maybe….? They were always together, and always had been ever since they became knights together, and he had noticed their particular closeness over the last few months. This saddened him, because he knew they would have to go back to the land of the dead soon. Maybe in the next few days. He hoped, even if just as friends, they would still find each other there.
Merlin's thoughts were broken by a loud "ARGHH" and he looked up to see Bear tackling both Gwaine and Percival. He knocked both of them over and barked before licking their faces excessively. That finally made Arthur smile and as he pulled the dog off them at their pleading, he looked at Gwaine and teased, "I thought you were supposed to be strength!"
"Shut up, courage, it took you fifteen hundred years to come out of the closet!" Arthur raised an eyebrow and smirked at him before glancing at Percival and then back to Gwaine.
"I can release this dog right now and let it molest you, or you can stop pretending you don't have secrets of your own." His eyes flicked to Percival again, just to tease Gwaine. So he had seen it to. Merlin wasn't crazy. When Gwaine didn't say anything, looking torn between annoyance, amusement, and desperation, Arthur laughed and pulled Bear away and made him behave before walking away and throwing back another heavily implication-filled sentence, "I'd make the best of these last few days if I were you." Merlin walked over to them where they were still laying on the floor and offered them both a hand.
"He's evil," Gwaine muttered so only Merlin could hear, "How could you both possibly have known that?"
Merlin snorted, "So it is true? It's rather obvious if you look for it, Gwaine." Gwaine shot him a glare, but it quickly melted into amusement again and winked at him.
"Okay. Maybe I'll follow his advice."
Merlin nodded and said, "Good." He left to follow Arthur and everyone left in pairs. Gaius was talking quietly with Gwen, and Leon and Elion left to the town, and Gwaine steered Percival his own way, Bear cheerily trotting after them.
((()))
The day was business as usual for the most part, and Merlin remembered a conversation with Arthur from long ago when he saw them joking around in the late afternoon as they walked around the cute little village. They all had fun and enjoyed each other's company. Gaius hung back, not having as much in common with the rest. Merlin paused to speak with him.
"Gaius? Are you okay?" he asked quietly. Gaius looked up at him.
"Oh yes, quite alright. I wasn't fit for this world anyhow. I wish I was needed more, and I don't have as much in common with you young people anyway." Merlin frowned at him thoughtfully and clapped him on the back. Gaius glanced at him, seemingly annoyed.
"Nonsense, Gaius, you're fine! You're the life of the party!" Merlin shouted. Gaius looked embarrassed now when his friends in front of him started turning around.
"No, Merlin, really-"
"Come on, guys, isn't Gaius the best?" Gwaine and Percival looked at each other and smirked before running back and pushing Gaius to the front of the group.
"Gaius! Gaius! Gaius!" they chanted, and Gwen laughed heartily, giving Gaius a sympathetic look. Gaius glanced back at Merlin, looking torn between amusement and annoyance. Gaius decided to enjoy himself for the remainder of the afternoon and let the knights have their fun.
Everyone looked extremely pleased by the end of the day, and fell silent as they passed the lake on the way home. Merlin had bought Chinese take-out for them, probably everyone's favorite. He had only gotten it for them once before and he let them use forks. But he figured now he would have a little fun and make them use chopsticks.
First, Merlin demonstrated how to pick things up with them. Gwen picked it up quite easily and found it fun to use the chopsticks. Gwaine, on the other hand, gave up within minutes and decided to just stab the meat on his plate with the stick and then put it in his mouth that way. Percival tried harder than his friend, but found himself doing the same thing.
Merlin crossed his arms. "How are you going to eat rice and vegetables that way?" he inquired. Gwaine simply smirked and shot back,
"I won't eat rice and vegetables!"
"You'll get scurvy," Percival added, referring to the disease you get from true lack of vegetables.
"I'm not going to live long enough to get scurvy, stupid," Gwaine joked. Percival looked at him disapprovingly, but got over it quickly and started eating again. Leon and Elion caught on after a while, as did Gaius. Arthur just poked things around on his plate before mimicking Gwaine and Percival's solution. Merlin snuck up behind him and tapped him,
"Come on, Arthur, you didn't even try. This is worse than the time you tried to learn how to -" Arthur looked up at him and with no expression on his face, and pointed a chopstick at him,
"What did I tell you about being funny, Merlin?"
"That I shouldn't."
"Good," Arthur smirked, "You're not funny, Merlin."
"Then why are you smiling, you twat?" Merlin joked.
"Just thinking of how stupid your face will look when I stick this chopstick up your nose." Merlin paused for a minute.
"You're not serious?"
"You wanna bet?"
Merlin hesitated for a second before chuckling, "You wouldn't actually-" and was cut off abruptly when Arthur's hand shot up in his direction. He missed by a mile, but Merlin quickly grabbed his hand and plucked the chopstick out of it.
"You could've killed me if you'd stuck that thing up far enough," Merlin commented warily. Gwaine caught the comment and, since he heard it out of context, he yelled obscenely,
"Are you talking about what you two did last night? For god's sake, Merlin, no one wants to hear about that!" Merlin shot him a playful glare before throwing the chopstick at him.
"No, Sir Gwaine, that is not what we were discussing." He looked back down at Arthur, who looked like he was trying to suppress laughter.
"Come on, Arthur, even you have to be above Gwaine's humor-"
"Nope!" Arthur swung an arm around Merlin's neck and pulled him down to give him a noogie like Percival had done to Gwaine earlier, and he heard Arthur growling in his ear, "If I was really trying to stick it up your nose, I wouldn't have missed."
"You have horrible aim," Merlin dared to say. Arthur raised his eyebrows.
"Is that so?" He started rubbing his knuckles against the top of Merlin's head as he held him in a headlock. "What about now?"
"You still do, hurting me isn't going to change that," Merlin said, in between attempts to pry Arthur's strong arms off. Arthur noogied him harder.
"What do you think now, Merlin?"
"I give up, I give up!" the sorcerer gave in. Arthur let go of him and smirked.
"Don't insult my chopstick abilities again," Arthur joked.
"Yeah," snorted Merlin, "You're a bloody genius with chopsticks." Arthur threatened to throw his remaining chopstick at Merlin, but he didn't and began stabbing the meat on his plate again before soaking it in soy sauce.
((()))
Merlin watched Arthur as he got tenser and tenser as the night went on. He seemed terrified of the idea of going to bed, and when 'goodnights' were finally said, everyone seemed to make the extra effort to hug him before he went to sleep. They all hugged each other as well, as if afraid they would never see each other again. Merlin understood the fear. Most likely they would be okay overnight. It was the next day they weren't looking forward to.
When Merlin and Arthur went to bed, Arthur took him by the hand and looked at him pleadingly.
"Merlin," he said in a small voice, "What if-what if I'm gone tomorrow? What if they take me tonight?" Merlin frowned at him.
"You won't be. You'll be okay. I'll make sure of that," he said firmly.
"You can't leave," Arthur said seriously, "You left last night and that's when they came."
Merlin widened his eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize...my presence is keeping them away. I don't know how long that's going to hold, but tonight I will make sure you'll be okay. As long as we're both close, I should be able to keep them away or fight them off if they come close." Arthur looked more reassured, never once letting go of Merlin's hand.
When they got into bed, Arthur still had a tight hold of Merlin's hand, his arm around Merlin's shoulder.
"Merlin…" he whispered in the darkness, "I don't want them to die. I never wanted them to die for me. I always thought their loyalty was more to Camelot, and if they died, it was for Camelot, not for me…."
"They have always been this loyal to you, every single one of them," Merlin replied, "They all love you and respect you and are willing to die for you, and its always been that way. They believe in you."
"Well what's the point of them dying now?" Arthur snapped, "There's nothing to gain."
"They are giving both of us a chance at living," Merlin shot back.
"But if I died...I give them all the guarantee of living…" Arthur suddenly said thoughtfully. Merlin turned over to stare at him in the dark.
"Don't you dare," he said quietly, dangerously.
"But think about it, if I just give myself to the spirits of the lake, they'll leave you all alone," he said slowly.
"Arthur," Merlin snapped, "Think about what you're saying. I don't know what will happen if they get your soul, they could become more powerful and kill us anyway."
"But you don't know that," Arthur told him, "You don't, do you? You're not sure if they all die if they'll leave us alone. And you don't know if I give myself up if they'll leave everyone else alone." Merlin felt his throat clogging. Arthur couldn't be serious.
Merlin gripped the front of Arthur's t-shirt in their close quarters. "You will do no such thing," he growled, "I can't live without you and they would all be devastated as well."
"They'll live," Arthur told him, "You can't always have what you want, Merlin. They've done it before, they can do it again. Think about it; it's all like it was when I died the first time. Morgana, Freya, Lancelot, and Mordred had died too. Only Elion's not dead yet. What if I'm supposed to die?" Merlin gripped his shirt harder, twisting it in his hand.
"No," he growled stubbornly, "Arthur, you can't and you won't and I won't let you."
"You've never been able to stop me from doing something I wanted to do."
"And you've never been able to stop me trying." Merlin was glowering now, tears welling up in his eyes again. He buried his face into Arthur's shirt.
"Are you crying?" Arthur asked him quietly.
"No, you idiot, I'm sweating through my eyes. What the hell, Arthur?" Merlin said back crabbily.
"I told you no man is worth your tears, Mer-"
"Don't you say that to me," Merlin snapped, "You and I both know that's not true. And you have always been worth my tears."
"What can I do to make you stop?"
"Promise me you won't sacrifice yourself, you stupid arrogant prathead hero, you."
"Merlin…"
"Do it or I swear to God I will bind you to this bed magically so you can't come to the lake tomorrow morning."
Arthur's voice softened in something like a sigh. "Okay, I promise, only if you do something for me."
"Anything."
"Don't die tomorrow."
"I'll try."
"Promise?"
"I promise, Arthur. Now go to sleep, we'll need it tomorrow!" He slowly unwound his hand from the front of Arthur's shirt, but kept facing him. Arthur gave him a light butterfly kiss on the forehead before grumbling something like "Not good enough" and then leaning forward to cover his lips. Merlin leaned more into him, if possible, and kissed him back eagerly. They stopped when they were both out of breath and Merlin smiled shyly at him.
"Had enough?" Merlin teased.
"Shut up and go to sleep, Merlin." Merlin smirked and he traced Arthur's face with a finger and felt him smirking too.
"Goodnight."
"'Night."
The minute Merlin fell asleep, he knew Arthur was already sleeping. He found himself in a dark forest, very much resembling the Valley of the Fallen Kings. He shivered from the cold and glanced around. Being here made him uncertain. He suddenly saw movement behind him and whipped around. Standing there was none other than Arthur himself, also shivering from the cold. Arthur saw him and yelled in warning,
"Merlin!"