I don't know why I'm updating so fast, I just love writing this! Anyway, again I love to hear from you guys so PLEASE REVIEW if you can. It doesn't have to be long, but it boosts my spirits, so... I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's plenty fluffy and angsty, so yeah, should be fun. :D I don't own Merlin.

The first sound they heard was a loud yell from Gwaine. He was grinning from ear to ear and he turned to Percival and whispered something in his ear. Percival, who had previously been grinning as well, scowled slightly and pulled a few dollars out of his pocket and put them in Gwaine's hand. Mordred looked shocked as well as amused. Everyone else's expressions were variations of surprise, amusement, satisfaction, save for Freya and Gwen who looked conflicted about the whole thing.

Arthur swallowed and looked from Merlin to their friends and back again. Merlin looked incredibly embarrassed and was biting his lip and looking at his feet. His ears were red, the way they got when he was blushing. Arthur knew he had to break the silence, because Merlin certainly wasn't going to, so he just cleared his throat and said awkwardly,

"Is there a problem?" No one moved, but Morgana stumbled, giggling and fell into Gwen's shoulder.

"Nope! No problem! Carry on!" Gwaine called before he moved back to turn the boom box back on. Everyone gradually went back to what they were doing after a few minutes, but they all got some sort of friendly comment from everyone. Most everyone said they knew it was going to happen sooner or later. Arthur got nervous when Gwen came over with Morgana to say something.

"Guinevere, I-"

"Arthur, don't worry about it. I always knew Merlin was a priority over me. It's okay."

"No, he's not, I mean, he….but you're my…."

"I lived without you for a long time back in Camelot. I think I'll be okay," she said kindly, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "Although I hope we can still be friends."

"I never said we were going to be a couple!" Merlin didn't say anything, but he looked down at his feet again. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, it was going to happen sooner or later." She walked away quickly without looking back. The only person who didn't seem to have anything to say about it was Freya. Neither of them saw her for the rest of the night and Merlin worried she had gone off on her own. She may be immortal, but she knew this century as well as Arthur or any of the others.

It was the best and worst thing for Arthur and Merlin. The best because they both had been wanting to do that, but the worst because now they weren't sure how to act around each other. Were they a couple? Were they still friends and it was just a bromance kiss? Was nothing changed? Neither seemed to know and Arthur left to go socialize with the knights soon after Gwen walked away. Merlin was left on his own and he was very conflicted. There was Freya and her feelings to worry about. There was also Arthur and Gwen to worry about, and he just didn't know what to do.

Gaius approached Merlin and smiled at him as if amused. "Hello, Merlin," he said, "I think congratulations are in order." He quickly noticed Merlin's expression and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't know. I should be happy, right? But I'm not. Where do we go from here? I don't know what this makes our relationship. I've never even kissed anyone save for Freya and now Arthur. I don't…." he trailed off, sitting down on the couch behind him and putting his head in his hands. Gaius sat next to him.

"What do you want, Merlin?" Gaius asked him softly. Merlin looked at him before resting his elbows on his knees, and putting his chin in his hands.

"I don't know. I want us to be friends, but more than friends, but the same relationship. I don't know how to explain it."

"So you don't want much to change except for the fact that you and Arthur are in love." Merlin's insides panged at the phrase. It was foreign to him.

"I suppose, but I want us to be the same as we ever were, just plus the….affection I guess." Gaius smiled at him, but answered,

"I can't say I can help you with that, but I think you'll get there, Merlin. You always do." He stood and walked away, leaving Merlin alone with his thoughts. Merlin sighed, retreating to his room soon after Gaius left him.

((()))

Merlin found Freya laying on her bed in the room, pretending to be asleep. He knew this because her breathing was nowhere as even or slow as it should have been if she was actually asleep. She was shaking and when he put a hand on her shoulder, she flinched.

"Freya, what's the matter?" he asked. She didn't answer at first so he asked her again. She took a deep breath and sat up, moving her hair to one side and over one shoulder, twisting it with a finger.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I'm tired, but I can't sleep." Merlin lit a candle and held it in front of her face. Her eyes were red as if she'd been….

"Freya, why are you crying?"

"Are you really that clueless?"

Merlin shrugged, "Pretend I am. Probably."

"You and Arthur." Merlin blushed.

"What about it?"

"….Uh, well, I thought we were….I don't know." She sounded as though she was hesitant to spell it out for him.

"Oh," Merlin's blush darkened, "I, uh, well that was….a long time ago, Freya. And I know….on the island before Arthur woke up, but….it wasn't….I didn't mean to…." he stuttered. He was hopeless.

"It didn't mean anything you mean," she finished for him. Ashamed to hear it put that way, he nodded quickly before looking down at his feet. "I understand. It was blatantly obvious you were in love. Just not with me. It's okay." She sighed before laying down to curl up in her bed again. Merlin was sitting at the end of her bed to talk to her. He scooted up so he could reach with his hand to touch her head. He laid a hand lightly on top of her hair and said quietly,

"I'm sorry." Then he got up, blew out his candle, and crawled into his own cot.

((()))

"Why have you abandoned us?" hissed voices from beyond the grave. "Morgana, you promised us revenge!" Morgana tossed and turned in her bed, terrified of the voices that haunted her. Morgause's bracelet was not helping her, but then, it was Morgause, among others, who haunted her now. The voices of her predecessors and her allies filled her head. Nimeuh, Morgause, the druids, Agravaine, and others whispered to her.

"Morgana," they growled, "They will all wither and suffer, but we require you to give us the way to do so. You must open the Veil. The maidservant Guinevere will do…."

"Stop it!" Morgana shouted at them, "Leave her alone! Leave us alone! I've left you behind, you can't make me do this! "

"We can control you, high priestess, do not think you are exempt from our power."

"Why do you want them? They are of no use to you now, Camelot and the lands are dead! They bring you no power now!"

"Silly, silly girl," they chortled, "You call yourself a high priestess and yet you forget the basic rule of life and death."

"No…." she breathed, "You can't do this! I'll tell….I'll tell Emrys, and he'll stop you. He can stop you!"

"You will have no say in this should you choose to betray us, Morgana," they hissed, "We would rather you do this willingly so as not to give up yourself too…."

"They brought me back," she told them, "I will not betray them again. I. Was. Wrong." She heard the voices growl and threaten angrily and they spoke as one against her.

"So be it."

Merlin was woken by a chilling scream from down the hall. He threw off his sheets and jumped out of bed. Arthur heard it too and perked up, following Merlin out, and was also closely followed by Freya. They found the knights had done the same and rushed to the source of the scream. It came from Morgana. Her eyes were closed and her chest heaving and she kept muttering, looking terrified on the outside. Merlin pushed through the circle they formed around her. Gwen looked nearly as terrified as Morgana and asked Merlin frantically,

"What's wrong with her? Even when she used to have bad dreams, she always woke up. She won't respond to me or anything!" Merlin put a hand on her forehead and addressed his old mentor.

"She's freezing, Gaius." Gaius nodded and rushed to his old herbs, part of him probably eager to use his old herbs again.

Merlin put his fingers on her temples and closed his eyes, trying to reach her mind. Something was attempting to block him out.

"Glisseo semptara hemae" he whispered. He was still blocked out, so he tried again. After the fifth time he tried whispering it, he suddenly yelled it out with no warning and the barrier broke. As he searched Morgana's mind and memories of whatever she was thinking about, he heard Gwaine mutter behind him to Mordred,

"That's terrifying..." He heard Mordred chuckle, but he blocked out the other sounds as he searched in more depth. He quickly located the dream and shuddered at the warning. Morgana was trying to warn him. She really was on their side. And she was helpless. He removed his fingers from her temples quickly, and he was white and visibly shaking. He turned around and asked shakily,

"I know you may not be ready, but we need to take off her magic inhibitor bracelet." Most looked okay with it, but Elion and Leon looked wary.

"Why?" Elion asked.

"Her mind and willpower have been….invaded. She can't defend herself and I can't always be there to defend her. Morgana's chest was still heaving from the struggle and she let out a pitiful whimper again.

"I can fight it for a little while, but it's very strong, and since it's her mind, I cannot banish it without her consent and the aid of her magic. Elion, she's given us no reason to distrust her since she's joined us. I can always contain it again if I need to, you've seen for yourself I'm stronger than her, but she can't defend herself." Elion swallowed and nodded. Merlin quickly touched the bracelet and removed it, and gold sparkled under the skin where it had been located and it spread over her whole body like veins. It settled and after a few minutes, with a look of intense concentration on her face, Morgana's body settled and her breathing became even again. Merlin put a hand on her forehead again and found it was almost back to normal.

"She's dispelled it," he breathed out in relief. Everyone released a breath they didn't seem to be aware they were holding and relaxed. Gaius returned with the herbs and deflated slightly when he saw he wasn't needed. He winked at Merlin, though, and went to put them back. The group retreated to bed again after that, save for Merlin and Gwen. Gwen wanted to make certain she was alright and requested Merlin stay for another few minutes.

Merlin reassured Gwen she was okay, but as he was about to walk away, she awoke and shot out an arm to grab his wrist. He turned around quickly and he saw her eyes were wide with fear.

"Why did you take my bracelet off?" she demanded.

"You….you needed it to fight whoever was controlling your mind," he replied, looking at her with confusion. She glanced at her wrist, her eyes still wide and her mouth slightly parted and she withdrew her hand from his arm.

"I'm sorry," she added, "Thank you." She rubbed her wrist where the bracelet used to be and sighed. She laid back against the bed and breathed in and out slowly. "Did you see them?" she asked suddenly. Merlin nodded.

"I'll try to do something about it. Not sure what though," he said thoughtfully. She replied,

"Just know if I do something that….well, something that would hurt anyone here, it's not me. I don't want to cause any more pain, Merlin." He bit his lip and nodded once at her. He left quickly, eager to go back to sleep and ponder it alone.

((()))

When Merlin awoke the next morning, or rather afternoon, he was confused to feel a warm mass formed around him. He opened his eyes blearily and looked behind him to see Arthur's face, still sleeping. Arthur's arm was over Merlin's body protectively and he was laying behind him as if he had hugged him and then fallen asleep. Which was not entirely untrue. Merlin shifted slightly and he heard Arthur grumble behind him. Merlin just curled more into his friend's broader chest and nuzzled his head into Arthur's arm that was resting on the mattress below them. It was warm and comfortable, and quite reassuring, considering he was thinking yesterday that Arthur was no longer interested because he'd left him alone for the rest of the night after they kissed.

Arthur woke up after Merlin shifted and noticed he had moved closer to him. Good. He wasn't sure if he was still awake or not, but he found himself curling his ankles around Merlin's feet so their ankles were interlocked and they slept like this for another hour. Freya awoke a few minutes before they did and scowled at the sight of them. She knew she wasn't being fair. Merlin was allowed to love whoever he liked, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. She sighed quietly, trying to put immature thoughts behind her and carry on like she always did. She left the room quickly, and left them at the mercy of whoever decided to walk in on them.

Mordred was, in fact, the first person besides Freya to see this. He stood there awkwardly for a second before stepping out. He was going to ask Merlin a question, but he decided it was best to ask later. But he did not conceal this information from Gwaine and Percival, just for the sake of fun, and they thought it was hilarious. They didn't disturb them, though , out of courtesy for their privacy. Mordred had, after all, just stumbled in by accident.

Merlin woke up finally around eleven in the morning and turned on his side so he was facing the ceiling. Arthur felt him shift and grunted, his eyes opening blearily. Merlin glanced at him.

"Mo-orning," he said. Arthur smirked slightly and untangled himself from Merlin before sitting up.

"Anybody see us like this? I'm sure we'll never live it down if they did," Arthur asked.

"Well, Freya for one thing," Merlin replied, pointing at the empty bed, "And knowing Gwaine, probably him or Percival or Mordred. I think we're lucky we escaped getting our faces drawn on to be quite honest." His humor was back finally and he smiled back at Arthur. He stood, yawning and pulling his jeans on. Arthur followed suit and looked at him for a minute.

"Merlin?" he asked, "Hang on, before you leave….."

"What? Still need help getting dressed?" the warlock asked sarcastically.

"No. I just...I was wondering...I'm not forcing this on you, right?" he asked tentatively. Merlin opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked at Arthur thoughtfully.

"No. You're my best friend and this is what I want, I think. When have you ever known me not to speak my mind?"

"Well you didn't tell me you had magic until I was dying in your arms," he grumbled.

"That was different," Merlin shot back, pointing at him accusingly, "I already gave you plenty of good reasons why I didn't."

"I know," he replied cheerfully, "I was just making sure."

"So nothing's changed, right? I mean...besides the sleeping arrangements and the intimacy obviously," Merlin asked cautiously. Arthur glanced at him sidelong as he pulled his t-shirt on. They had both been sleeping shirtless and in sweats beforehand and weren't keen on walking out like that.

"No," Arthur replied, smiling warmly at him, "Nothing besides that."

"So what does this make us?" Merlin asked. Arthur thought for a minute.

"Bravery and magic, just like always. Hand in hand, destinies entwined, and now in love. Should this come as a surprise?" Arthur replied snarkily. Merlin raised one eyebrow at him and replied just as wittily,

"Let's leave 'strength' out of this, shall we?"

"Probably best." They left the room together to face the long day that lie ahead of them.

((()))

"Merlin." Merlin spun around. It was the middle of the afternoon and most everyone else were out doing other things, but Merlin was stuck doing chores. As usual. But it was okay with him. He preferred it this way anyway. When he turned, he saw Mordred behind him. The familiar suspicion panged in him when he saw who it was, but Mordred gave no sign of aggression or harmful intent.

"Yes?" Mordred shuffled his feet uncomfortably and bit his lip.

"Well first I'd like to say I know you still don't trust me and I'm sure you never will, seeing as you never have." Merlin opened his mouth to reply, but Mordred cut him off, "I'm under the impression we've started with a clean slate. I hold nothing against you if you will hold nothing against me. I am aware we have both caused each other multiple grievances in the past, but I'd like to put that behind us now." Merlin resisted the urge to scowl. He trusted Morgana than he trusted the Druid boy. He said 'multiple grievances' as if they'd stolen each other's toy swords as children rather than mass murder and killing his best friend. "I know this is going to sound bad, and whiny if nothing else, but I'd like to know why Morgana is allowed to have her bracelet removed and not me." Merlin narrowed his eyes at Mordred.

"You were there….you heard me. She needs her own magic to protect herself from the spirits that have been awakened in Avalon."

"Yes, but I'd rather I not have an attack on my own mind like she did. It's easier to prevent them from coming in than trying to get them out once they've gotten in. And I'd say I've earned back some trust of the others, right? I've wiped the slate clean, just like Morgana." Merlin tried to find a reason to say 'no', but he could find none. His old instincts told him not to trust the Druid boy, but Mordred was right. The man looked sincere and almost pleading. He hated having his magic restrained and had put up with it longer than Merlin would have. Merlin swallowed and looked down at his feet.

Then he stuck out his right hand. Mordred took it and shook, looking brighter and Merlin removed the bracelet, but slid it into his pocket.

"I'm watching both of you. I know you've been good, but I still have good reason to be suspicious." Mordred didn't look worried.

"Thanks, Merlin!" he said happily, grinning at him before going out to join the others. Merlin just hoped it wasn't the wrong decision.

((()))

Gwaine approached Merlin the next day and asked, "So how's it going with Arthur?" Merlin playfully scowled at him. He and Arthur had slept next to each other again the last night and Arthur would randomly reach out and grab Merlin's hand as if making sure he was still there.

"'S fine, not that it's any of your business," he replied.

"Mordred tells me you sleep together," Gwaine replied, lowering his voice to sound seductive. Merlin laughed and smacked the back of his head.

"Not in the way you're thinking of it, stupid!"

"Well how else is there to think of it?"

"He just sleeps next to me when he gets cold."

"Cold. Ri-ight." Gwaine wiggled his eyebrows and Merlin decided to change the subject.

"How're you liking the 21st century then?" Gwaine huffed as if disappointed they were changing topics, but he replied confidently,

"It's fine, but I think I'm getting soft. Arthur will have to get us some training sessions going again when he's not too busy snogging you." Merlin glared at him before answering sharply,

"He does not."

"I bet he does."

"We only kissed once, Gwaine, and you were all there to witness it."

"Glad I was, too, it was entertaining. Plus, I bet a bunch of the other knights that it would be you and him and they thought I was crazy. I think only Lancelot agreed with me." He patted his pocket with a hand, hearing the clinking of coins there. "I saw you let Mordred off the hook, by the way. That was nice of you. Still keeping an eye on him, though, I hope?"

Merlin scowled. "Of course. What do you think of him?" Gwaine shrugged.

"I missed the kid, to be honest, it's nice to have him back. But I don't think it's uncalled for to keep an eye on him."

Merlin nodded, "That's what I thought, too."

"I'd best get back to Percival and Mordred and Bear. Don't want Arthur to think you're two-timing him, huh?" Gwaine affectionately ruffled Merlin's hair. Merlin swatted him away and yelled after him,

"You know you're worse than he is sometimes, Gwaine!"

"Tell him that, I'm sure he'll be flattered!" came Gwaine's response. Merlin chuckled to himself. Gwaine always wanted the last word.

((()))

Freya decided today was as good a day as any to address Merlin about something on her mind. She pulled him aside and he smiled at her.

"What is it, Freya?" She looked at him uncertainly and said,

"I need to talk to you." Merlin raised an eyebrow.

"Okay."

"Alone."

"Oh-kay." She rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist and pulled him into their room and shut the door.

"I'm worried about this."

"What?"

"Us."

"We talked about this, Freya."

"No, not us, I mean all of us."

"What do you mean?"

"We're dead, Merlin."

"You were dead," he corrected her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"We're not supposed to be here, Merlin! Who do you think died to take our place? Innocent people? And we shouldn't be here to begin with. I know you have the physical power to bring people back from the dead, but it's not right. And I don't think you purposely raised the others, but they shouldn't be here either. The only person who should be here is Arthur!"

"Do you miss being dead?"

"Of course not, Merlin, but don't you see? Something's wrong here. It's not natural."

"The only problem we've had is Morgana's attack, but we can figure that out and move on with our lives." Freya gave him a serious look.

"You know something's wrong here. They shouldn't be here."

"If you think about it, I shouldn't be here. I'm a few thousand years old, Freya, I should be dead."

"No, you and Arthur and meant to be here," she said firmly, "The rest of us are not."

"They're my friends!" Merlin growled, his anger growing slowly, "I've been deprived of human company for a thousand years, I've saved so many lives and they didn't even know I was there. I think I deserve some friendly company for a few decades."

"You did that to yourself, Merlin. You deprived yourself of human company because it hurt too much. Don't go blaming your destiny for that. It did not destine you to be lonely," Freya shot back. Merlin scowled at her and stood up, pacing the room like an angry, caged animal.

"So what do you expect me to do? Kill them? Kill you and Gwaine and Gwen and all my friends?"

Freya bowed her head. "I don't know. That's obviously not the solution, but I don't know what is."

"So don't tell me that unless you have a solution," he hissed, "I will not lose them again." Freya flinched, his intense gaze frightening her. Merlin stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh God," Freya said quietly, putting her head in her hands, "Come on, Merlin…."

((()))

Merlin was storming down the hall quickly, wanting to be anywhere but where Freya was. How could she say that to him? How could she ask him to get rid of them? He was looking at the floor as he walked down the hall and his fists were clenched, so he didn't notice when….

"Oof!" Merlin ran straight into someone taller than he was. He looked up after a minute and saw the one person he wanted to see.

"Arthur…." he breathed. He immediately hugged him tightly and buried his head in Arthur's shoulder, trying to hold back tears. Arthur looked down at his friend with concern and put his arms around him almost protectively.

"Hey Merlin….what's wrong, what happened?" he asked quietly.

"I'm fine," came his lame, muffled reply.

"Merlin," Arthur demanded. He held Merlin out at arm's length, his hands on his shoulders, and said, "Tell me."

Merlin sighed, "It's nothing, Arthur, just happy to see you." He sounded tired.

"Now we both know that's not true, come on now."

"Seriously, I'm fine. Maybe later. It's not important." Arthur raised his eyebrows.

"Okay, if you're sure…"

"I am." Merlin put on a fake smile and hurried past Arthur. Now it was Arthur's turn to sigh as he shook his head and continued walking.

When Merlin went to sleep that night, of course with Arthur next to him again, he was woken by a low whisper in his head.

"Merlin? Merlin!"