So just an epilogue for those who requested one. I didn't get much of the others as much as Arthur's reaction afterwards and whatnot in here. Just a cutesy little epilogue for a happy freaking ending. Because that's all anyone wants right? I don't own Merlin. Don't forget to review! :D Enjoy!

"Out, Rye! I told you, this is too much! Get out!" Arthur fumed after walking in to see the cottage wrecked...again. His friend Rye had lost his house and Arthur was giving him a helping hand, but too often he broke the rules to a ridiculous extent, leaving Arthur to clean up after him.

"Arthur, I told you, it wasn't me, it was the-"

"The dog? You're blaming Bear again? How stupid do you think I am?" Rye flinched, glancing at the giant wolfhound and then back at Arthur and shrugged. "I'm serious this time, Rye. Get out."

"I have nowhere to go, what am I supposed to-?"

"I don't know, figure it out! I can't handle it!"

"You wouldn't just kick out a friend in need would you?" Arthur folded his arms over his chest and then pointed to the door.

"I can sic Bear on you if you want. The door is that way," he replied calmly. Rye immediately went on the defensive.

"I thought you were better than this, Arthur. I can't be a clean freak for your pleasure." Arthur took a deep breath before glaring at his taller, ginger friend.

"You need to leave," he said as calmly as he could manage, "You've left my house a wreck every day since you got here. I don't know what on earth you could be doing, and I don't want to know, and I wouldn't care, except for that I have to clean up after you. I'm not putting up with it anymore. It's actually ridiculous." Rye pouted at him, holding his gaze for a second more before snapping,

"Fine. I'll stay at Ginny's place. I don't need you."

"Never said you did."

"Fine."

Arthur shrugged. "Fine." His relationship with Rye had always been rocky. This wasn't much of a change.

"You suck."

"Okay." He'd been insulted too many times before to let it bother him. Rye left quickly, gathering up what few objects he owned and slammed the door on the way out for dramatic emphasis. Arthur sighed with relief the moment he was gone. He collapsed on the couch and Bear followed, nuzzling Arthur's hand. Arthur lazily weaved his hand through the wiry fur, a heavy weight still weighing down on his chest. Things hadn't been great lately.

The century was changing too quickly for him. It had been nearly five years since Merlin had died and he hadn't called on him once. He wanted to prove that he didn't need him to be okay. He just wasn't sure who he was proving that to.

Arthur had a problem keeping up with the times. He was alright financially, having found an odd job helping out at a restaurant in town. The cottage was already paid for many times over, so that wasn't a problem. This century was just too loud for him, and it changed too quickly. Back in Camelot, change meant some kingdom's alliance had changed or been terminated or someone had just been knighted. It didn't mean people's opinions changed every other week about practically everything. Even this rural town wasn't peaceful enough for him.

Not to mention some of his new best friends were upset with him because he turned one of them down for the fifth time for a date.

"You're perfect for her, Arthur," they said, "Why don't you go out with her? You're being a real jerk, you know." He didn't see how politely turning down a date was a bad thing, even if he'd had to turn her down several times over. The girl was really very nice, reminding him a lot of Mithian. Mithian would be long dead by now, though, of course. He was interested, but he was trying very hard to keep himself true to who he really was best for.

Merlin.

It always led back to Merlin. When he wasn't sure about something, he would sometimes hear Merlin in his ear telling him it wasn't a good idea. This was starting to frustrate him. He wanted to be his own person again. He had gotten on just fine without Merlin before.

Except not really.

Merlin had shaped him to be a better person. The combinations of their personalities shaped both of them for the better, to be honest. They needed each other. And that was why, in all his frustration with his new life, Arthur suddenly put his head in his hands and whispered,

"Emrys?" Nothing happened. Merlin probably hadn't told him the actual spell, that idiot. There had to be a magic phrase or something, right? Arthur tried once more, and this time he channeled his frustration and anger and regret and focused it on that one person. "Emrys!" The word sounded strange in his mouth. He knew Merlin was also known as Emrys to the druids and other magical folk, but to him he was Merlin. Merlin was Merlin.

"Jeez, you dolt, you don't have to shout," came an amused voice to Arthur's left. Bear barked loudly in Arthur's ear and Arthur's head shot up and glanced to the voice. He grinned widely from ear to ear and stood up. He wanted nothing more than to feel him there and so Arthur started towards Merlin, but tripped over Bear and face planted. If Merlin was solid, Arthur probably would have banged into his knees, but apparently he wasn't, so he went right through and on to the floor, getting rug burn on his face. He heard a snicker from above him and scowled playfully. He got up, dusted himself off and folded his arms across his t-shirt.

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm not solid yet, it takes a minute." Arthur waited until Merlin's image seemed to become clearer and then asked,

"Are you solid now?"

"Think so."

"Good." Merlin outstretched his arms, obviously anticipating a hug, when Arthur socked him in the shoulder. Merlin clutched his shoulder and whined,

"Oww, what was that for?"

"Everything."

"Figures." Merlin grinned at him. "So you figured out how to bring me back. Took you long enough."

"Don't make me punch you again," Arthur growled, but he couldn't keep the smile from his face.

"Oh please, I can control my solidity."

"What?"

"Try punching me again and see what happens, basically."

"You can't talk to the king like that, Merlin."

Merlin chuckled, "Yeah, but I can certainly talk to an ass like that." Their playful banter made Arthur happier than anything in the world at that moment. Arthur's laugh slowly faded away as he sat down on the couch and glanced up at Merlin with sudden anxiety. Merlin frowned and sat next to him.

"What?"

"How long are you staying?"

"As long as you need me."

Arthur took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I do need you. Always." Merlin's eyes twinkled as if he knew something Arthur didn't.

"That's where you're wrong."

Arthur frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You don't always need me, you just think you do." Merlin added for his own amusement, "But trust me, I'm flattered." Arthur shoved him lightly in the shoulder.

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Is that even possible at this point?"

"Not really, no."

"So why are you here?" Arthur asked seriously, and a little hurt.

"Because you need me now."

"Says who?"

"Says you. You called me."

"Oh. Right."

Merlin smiled at him warmly. "So what is it?"

"I hate this century," Arthur scowled, wringing his hands. Merlin put his cool hands lightly on Arthur's to stop him from fidgeting.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking genuinely apologetic, "There's nothing I can do to change it. This is your destiny."

"My destiny is to live alone in a house that's too big for me and have jerk friends who don't understand me like you do? They don't know who I am."

Merlin sighed softly before asking, "Why don't you tell them then?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Because….I can't? What, tell them my best friend is the most powerful sorcerer of all time and my other best friends are knights of Camelot? Not to mention I'm the king of Camelot and my wife is the queen."

"You're using present tense, Arthur."

"So?"

"Arthur." Merlin took his hands off of Arthur's. Arthur immediately started fidgeting again, cracking his knuckles and other little mannerisms that Merlin noticed he did when he was nervous. "So what's wrong with your friends then?"

"We sound like gossiping girls," Arthur protested. Merlin looked at him expectantly until he said, "Fine. They're just not...you guys. They don't understand me and they don't know that I'm not as familiar with this century. I mean...they expect me to have a girlfriend and I'm really not interested."

There it was again. That annoying knowing look Merlin had. "Is this about me? Because if it is, I don't care if you have a girlfriend, especially if you are interested. You're your own person, Arthur. You make your own choices. It's your life. Don't do something or not do something to make me happy."

"Well I'm just not interested and they think it's rude that I've turned her down so many times."

Merlin shrugged. "In this area I'm about as clueless as you are. If they're getting offended, I can't help you. You're going to have to figure it out. Are you really not interested or are you pretending you're not interested for my sake?"

Arthur glared at him. "Not."

"O-okay Arthur." Merlin smirked sideways at him. "So what do you need me here for? I'm guessing not for girl trouble."

"I'm not having 'girl-trouble'," Arthur mumbled. He turned to him suddenly. "I love you."

Merlin smiled playfully. "I know."

"What?"

"You think I didn't hear you, but I did," Merlin nodded, "The last thing I heard before I died. And on the list of last things to hear before you die, I think 'I love you' is a pretty good one. Especially from the person you love the most." Arthur blushed, but he kept his face deadpan.

"Thanks, I think," Arthur replied. He bit his lip and looked down.

"In case you were wondering," Merlin said loudly, "I love you too."

"Thanks, Merlin," Arthur said, obviously distracted. Merlin gave him a slight nudge.

"What is it now?"

"Nothing. I just...I want my old life back. I've missed it ever since I came out of Avalon. It's hard to forget where you grew up."

"You'll be living in this century longer than in Camelot, or at least as long."

"That's not helping. I don't want to be here longer than I was in Camelot. I want to be back in Camelot. I hate it here," Arthur complained petulantly, "No one gets me here. I wish I was dead so I could be with you and Gwaine and Guinevere and-" Arthur felt a lump in his throat gather, "Camelot is back in the lake isn't it? If I died at the lake and it took me back, I'd be in Camelot wouldn't I?" Merlin's expression turned dead serious.

"Arthur, you can't mess around with destiny. It wants you here now. You'll go back in the lake when you're ready, but trying to speed that process along won't help you." The expression on Arthur's face was one of a caged animal. Merlin looked back at him sadly. He knew he didn't belong here. He belonged in Camelot, in Avalon's Camelot, with everybody else. But for reasons Merlin couldn't explain, fate wished Arthur to be there.

"But I could just be there now. Why do I have to wait?" Arthur said numbly.

"No," Merlin said firmly, "You can't just kill yourself. That won't accomplish anything. That won't make you happy. There are more important things in life than being happy."

"You don't think I know that?" Arthur asked quietly.

"I'm not here to argue with you. You have to trust me. All I can say is that you can make the best of this situation. You are Arthur Pendragon, King of freaking Camelot. You have always fought through things that majorly suck and this is one of those times. I believe in you."

"Nice to know I have your support, Merlin," Arthur grumbled. Merlin stood up suddenly. Arthur glanced up at him and grabbed his wrist.

"What are you doing?" he asked Merlin.

"I think it's about time for me to go," Merlin said thoughtfully.

"What, why? Stay here," Arthur complained.

"No, I have a sense in my gut, that I have to go," Merlin asserted. Arthur stood up and wrapped his arms around his friend, holding him tightly.

"Please don't. Listen to your heart, not your gut."

"They're both saying the same thing," Merlin chided, returning Arthur's hug, nuzzling his head into his shoulder lightly. When Arthur pulled back, he looked torn.

"You know," he chuckled, "My new friends did teach me something good. They said….actually the girl that I'm not interested in said something I thought was rather good. She said, 'If you love something, let it go. If it was ever yours, it will come back to you'." Arthur suddenly looked guilty. Merlin patted him on the shoulder and whispered,

"I'll come back when you need me again. Don't worry." Arthur's response was choked by the lump in his throat. He didn't want him to leave. Before he could go, Arthur grabbed the neckerchief around his neck and pulled Merlin to him quickly, smashing their faces together. Arthur kissed him softly but hungrily, and felt a tear go down his face. Merlin went along with it gladly, but pulled away too soon and rubbed Arthur's cheek with his thumb, wiping away the one tear.

"I'm sorry," Merlin apologized softly. Arthur gave him a watery smile.

"It's okay. You can go. Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin gave him a familiar friendly smirk. "I'll always be there for you, Arthur." With that, he faded away, and Arthur smiled. He felt a strange sense of freedom. He didn't need Merlin with him all the time. Not anymore. He would always be a part of him, always, but he could live without him. He was his own person, Merlin was right.

So then it was with a new feeling of joy that he heard a voice at the door, knocking softly on it.

"Arthur? Are you alright?" It was Ginny. Properly, Genevieve.

"Come in," he said. A girl with inquisitive blue eyes and straight raven black hair poked her head in the door.

"Oh, hi. Rye was just at my place. He said something about you flipping out on him." She sounded worried. "Are you alright?"

He glanced at her and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine." He glanced at her again. She was petit in build, but she was almost his height, and her eyes were always bright and expressive of her emotions. "You're not taking him in are you?"

"Heavens, no," she said, grinning at his casual mood. Then she cleared her throat and asked, "You're not still upset about uh...the others giving you a hard time are you? I'm really alright. Is everything okay between us and everything…?" He nodded genuinely and patted the seat next to him on the couch for her to come sit. She raised an eyebrow at him and sat down. Her blue t-shirt caught her at all the right places, Arthur couldn't help but notice. Then he frowned, pointing at her scarf.

"Where did that come from?" She glanced down and touched it with a hand. It was a bright red scarf.

"Oh, I think one of the guys gave it to me. I found it on my doorstep. You know Brendon's always getting me stupid stuff like that, but this is a good one. I like it." Arthur nodded.

"Yeah….Brendon…" He could have sworn he heard a soft chuckle from behind him. He smirked to himself. While he was deep in thought, he felt her punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" he complained playfully, "What was that?" He clutched his shoulder like it actually hurt, but her hand was so small and her punch so weak, he doubted it would have dented fresh Play-doh.

"You're always doing that, just staring off into space," she said, still smiling playfully, "You remind me of my grandpa, he was always doing that, like remembering some old memory from the war or something."

"I remind you of your grandpa?" he asked, his lips twitching upwards into a smile. He reached forward and tickled her under her ribs. The effect was immediate as he knew it would be. She giggled and started trying to pry his hands off so the tickling would stop. "Maybe I'm just a very deep person!" he joked. Ginny laughed harder at that and said between gasps for air,

"No-o, you're just a bully, Arthur!" He laughed and tickled her more and her wavy hair hit him in the face when she doubled over from laughing.

"A bully? Me? Well, that just proves you're an idiot!"

"Jerk!"

"Dunghead!"

"Clotpole!" Arthur froze, and she noticed, leaning back up to see his face. Her happy expression immediately went blank. "What?" she asked.

"What did you just call me?"

"….I dunno...clotpole? Why? Is that bad?" her eyes were wide again. She seemed afraid to offend him.

"N-no, it's fine, it's just a new one." He broke into a grin again, "You look scared, what's the problem? I won't bite!" She gave a tentative grin before smiling at him again.

"I just don't want to scare you away."

"What makes you think you would?" She looked a little thrown off before answering as if it was obvious,

"I've asked you out about six times and you've said 'no' every time, so am I doing something wrong?" Arthur immediately felt guilty.

"No. You're not," he said seriously, "It's actually me who-" Suddenly a light returned to her eyes that Arthur had been waiting to make a come back. She had been tiptoeing around him and now her old spirit was back.

"Don't you do that and go with the old 'it's not you it's me' thing. Girls know that trick and I hate it when guys use it. Please don't do that to me," she interrupted. He smiled at her and shifted so he was facing her.

"Okay, but seriously though. It has been me in the wrong. I've been interested and I turned you down because I was scared to say 'yes'." Her eyes went round with confusion. "And I'd like to make this the seventh and last time we confront this." Ginny was probably his best friend in this new world, and he knew this was good for him. And Merlin would approve. Or rather, he already had. He knew full well the scarf wasn't from Brendon. It was only too easy to guess who it was from.

"Ginny, would you perhaps be interested in going out with me?" He wasn't quite sure what the phrase 'going out' fully meant, but he knew it was meant for this purpose. She gave a small gasp before swallowing her gasp and nodding in his direction.

"Yes. That would be awesome. I mean...yes. Yes." He smirked playfully at her and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before kissing her cheek lightly.

"Good," he said quietly. This wasn't an impulsive decision. He hadn't lied. Arthur had felt drawn to her the minute he met her five years ago. She was probably one of the first people he met after Merlin died. This was what he wanted and it was what she wanted and it made them both very happy. Ginny was different from Merlin, despite their similarities. He didn't want to date her because she was like Merlin. He wanted to date her because she was the kind of person he needed in this life at this moment in time. And he would never regret this decision.

Arthur's expression turned serious as he drew away and said to her, "There really is something you should know about me though. I know it will be hard to believe, but I think if anyone will believe me, you will."

It was about as easy as Arthur expected it to be to convince Ginny of his story. As in not very easy. She took it better than he expected, and she didn't call him crazy. But her response was also not exactly believing his story.

"I think if you believe you were the King of Camelot and you're best friend was a sorcerer than that's what you truly believe," she said slowly.

"No, but seriously, it happened," he said to her. She nodded.

"Okay, Arthur."

He had a feeling she didn't believe him until months later when he took her to the lake of Avalon.

"Arthur, you can't walk on water!" she protested. He cast her a hurt look.

"I know it sounds crazy, but you have to believe me."

She snorted and mumbled something incoherent. He grabbed her wrists lightly and glanced around to make sure no one was around.

"Come with me," he said quietly, "I'll prove it once and for all."

"No, I don't want to get wet!" she complained, "Arthur, not in this outfit, I'm not!" He gave her a mischievous smile and she immediately went on the defensive.

"I know that look. Arthur, that look means trouble and I don't want- ARGHHH!" Arthur hoisted her up into a cradle and she fought him at first.

"Come on, Ginny!" he shouted. He hugged her tight to him and started to sprint into the water, feeling the familiar sensation of walking on water or air and she fell silent very quickly when she saw the shore disappearing.

"How are you-?" she started to ask. She looked down at his feet, then back at the far shore, then back at his feet. "There's got to be a sandbar or something…"

They reached the island in a few minutes, and Arthur set her down, panting hard.

"So this is Avalon?" she asked. He nodded. She folded her arms across her chest. "How?"

"Magic, I told you. Don't you believe in magic?" She looked almost disappointed.

"I wish I did." She walked over to the shore and started feeling around for sandbars. She walked on the sand she felt there, but Arthur put his hand out to stop her, since the real shore was only a foot long, and then it dropped off.

"No, Ginny, don't-" He heard a small gasp when she found the end of the land and fell through the water. "Ginny!" he shouted. He ran to where she disappeared and started feeling around for her, but found nothing. After a few minutes, he heard wet footsteps behind him. He whirled around, hands outstretched and saw a sopping wet Ginny standing there. She looked like a deer in the headlights.

"Arthur…?" she asked, reaching out one hand. He nodded and ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"What happened?" he asked her. She started wringing out her long, thick hair and said slowly,

"Well...I fell in, right? I got to the bottom and there was a city." Arthur's heart skipped a beat. He drew back and stared at her.

"Describe it. What city?"

"Well...there was the smell of everything beautiful. Flowers and food and people all at once. It was like what you'd find at a medieval fair, you know?" He nodded to make her keep talking, "The best thing was, when I turned around, there was a huge castle, with beautiful stained glass and...it was white. It was very pretty. There were so many people there. One guy in a red cape nodded at me. There were a lot of guys with red capes, actually," she said, frowning, "They looked like knights. They had chainmail on and everything." Arthur smiled widely.

"That's it! That's Camelot! That's my home!" he exclaimed, "Who else did you see? Tell me, I need to know!" She frowned.

"The knight that nodded to me had longish brown hair and beard, but he was very good-looking. Almost as good as you," she teased. He smirked at her and kissed her forehead.

"That was probably G waine. Who else?"

"I don't know," she said, "But there was one who brought me back up to the surface...he wasn't a knight. He had high cheekbones and dark hair like mine, except not as long." She paused to laugh, "We had similar looking scarves even. You know, like the one I found the day you asked me out?" He nodded. "He said you were who you said you were. And also he says 'hi'."

"Anything else?"

"Uh...nope. No wait, the last guy with the red scarf made his eyes turn golden and said to open my hand when I got back here." She glanced down at her hand, that was clutched in a fist and frowned. "That's funny, right?"

"Open it," Arthur said quietly. She slowly opened her hand and a bright blue butterfly fluttered out of her hand. They watched it disappear and then she turned back to Arthur and whispered,

"Who was that?" Arthur smiled and put a hand on her cheek.

"That would be Merlin."