Merlin sat in his oak chair on the porch, idly watching the sunlight dance on the lake.
He prayed to the Goddess for clarity, so that he could once more see the path. He didn't know how to carry on with life anymore. Having Kara around only reminded him of Arthur. It was good, seeing him I her eyes, but it was secretly tearing him apart on the inside.
"I need you, Arthur..." he whispered to the gently rippling lake. "I honestly don't know how many more years I have in me to continue like this." He took another sip of his coffee, numb and dead inside. He couldn't feel anymore, just... empty, without Arthur. Lost without his soulmate, the other half of his fate. He became mildly interested in a stream of bubbles forming on the surface of the lake, and a golden ripple flowing outward from the disturbance. Almost as if...
The mug fell from Merlin's frozen fingers, slipping to crash on the wooden porch. Merlin stood, hastily shrugging off his leather jacket, and trainers. He bolted to the water, wading in with a gasp. The water was freezing, chilling him to the bone, while he forged ahead, towards the rapidly slowing stream of air coming from what he assumed was Arthur.
"Hold on, Arthur!" He cried, taking a deep breath and diving under the water. He saw his husband, unconscious and sinking towards the lake's bottom. He was less than two feet away, and Merlin reached out, hooking his arms under Arthur's shoulders, dragging him to shore. Arthur... Please don't be dead.
Merlin deposited him on the small strip of pebbles lining the lake, and started to press on Arthur's chest rythmically, trying to force the water out of his lungs. He took a deep breath and blew it into his husband's mouth, plugging his nose, then resumed the compressions.
"Listen you prat. I did not wait all this time for you to come back, just to watch you die again." Merlin growled, pressing harder.
Suddenly, Arthur started to spew out the water, coughing violently, as Merlin sat him upright. "Merlin!" He spluttered, still trying to clear his lungs. Arthur looked different than when he had died. His wrinkles had been smoothed out, and the silver streaks in his golden hair were no longer there. It seemed as if dying had returned Arthur to the age he had been when they had married, shaving twenty-five years off. He looked just as radiantly handsome as he had on that glorious day.
"Arthur..." Merlin couldn't contain himself. He desperately pressed his lips to Arthur's, his taste setting his heart ablaze. By the Goddess, it was as if he could breathe again, Arthur's smell filled his nostrils, and as he pulled away, resting his forehead on Arthur's, he thought that it was the most wonderful cologne money could buy.
"I missed you too, love." Arthur chuckled, his hands twining into Merlin's hair. "Obviously I have been gone for a while..." He gave a small tentative smile, seemingly afraid that Merlin was angry. As if he could ever be mad at Arthur. We'll he could, but not for something that had been in the hands of the Triple Goddess. He'd had no say in when he would return.
Merlin smiled back, kissing him again. "You've been gone 1558 years, three months six days, and four hours. It was hell." Merlin said, as he nestled his head into the curve of his neck.
"I'm so sorry." Arthur murmured, arms winding about his waist, holding Merlin's warm body closer as he shivered. It was a chilly evening, as the last bits of summer drew to a close. "So, this is modern day Albion?" He asked, mildly intrigued. It didn't look too much different.
"I'm all that's left of Albion, Arthur. I guess my greatest need was wanting to die. I didn't know if you were ever coming back, and..." Merlin started to shiver as well, but not from the cold. He was horrified by the fact that he'd almost asked for death, not knowing that he was just a prayer away. "I'm sorry."
"We'll, then it's a good thing I'd returned, isn't it? Can't have my idiot husband killing himself, now can I?" Arthur chuckled, and then subtly hinted that it was getting rather cold, and they were both sopping wet.
Merlin led him into the small cottage, and Arthur took in the simply furnished home, noting the new machines that inhabited the kitchen. There was a mid-sized desk in a corner covered in charcoal sketches of what turned out to be him, along with a large sheet of blueprints for a building.
"Come on, I'll get you some dry clothes, love." Merlin said, halting Arthur's exploration of the small house. It was rather cozy in there, charming, almost. Merlin called to him from the bedroom, and Arthur quickly entered. Only to see Merlin peeling off his soggy shirt and pants.
Arthur admired Merlin's graceful, lean frame, as he dug through his drawers for something that would fit. Mmmm Gods above how he loved Merlin's body, no longer the skinny scrawny man he'd been interested in, now Merlin had appreciable muscles from the training, and his learning skills with the throwing knives.
Merlin turned around, as Arthur finished undressing, only to gasp, as he saw his husband's glorious body.
Goddess help him.
He had his absolutely fucking gorgeous husband here naked, wet, and hard.
"Merlin..." Arthur half moaned, as his husband's own manhood responded to Arthur's presence. Merlin took a step forward placing his hands on Arthur's shoulders, quite literally climbing him like a tree, and telling him to stop talking and that the lubricant was in his nightstand. And also condoms, because he really didn't want to get pregnant the day Arthur returned.
"Erm... Merlin..." Arthur groaned, as he pulled out of his husband.
"I know the condom broke." Merlin replied, cleaning them off with magic, and helping him with the torn protection. Merlin silently swore - he had bought them a year ago, in a fit of longing, for when Arthur returned. Apparently they were no longer useable.
Well, at least he had tried to not get pregnant the instant his husband came back from the dead. That's good, right?
"Goddess..." Merlin groaned, stretching. He was pleasantly sore in the places only Arthur could reach. Merlin felt his magic bubbling under his skin, and knew by its intensity, that he would be once again, pregnant. In just a few short months, there would be talk all over the news of the man who was carrying a child.
"Merlin, I..." Arthur gently took him in his arms, kissing his forehead. "It's barely midday. What do you want to do?"
"Let's get dressed, and I'll show you the nearby village. You need some clothes, and I'm in need of food." Merlin looked at him with a smile. "Looks like it's my turn to take you shopping..."
