Cross-posted from AO3 same day. Parts 1 and 2 also posted same-day due to the Merlin Reverse Big Bang Rules.


Despite the years between… the incident and now, Merlin still craved the warmth of touch from his friends and family. The combined hugging power from both his father and his best friend kept him grounded in the moment, and when the three of them pulled apart, the smiles on Balinor and Will's faces seemed to match the way Merlin felt: proud and happy and content. Still, when they took a few steps back, he couldn't help the way the loss of their touch chilled him inside, though he had long practice in keeping that from his face. Instead, he tugged at his clothes a bit self-consciously on his garments, feeling odd in the red and gold when he was so used to his people's earthier browns and greens and blues.

"Nervous?" Will asked as he circled Merlin.

"I shouldn't be," Merlin said with a small laugh, unable to suppress the familiar flair of hatred at the sound of his own voice - it had never been quite the same after he'd started speaking again. "I've been waiting for this day since I was eight. But yes, yes I am. What if I mess up? What if I embarrass him? What if I embarrass our people?" He couldn't help his nervousness. He hated the way his stomach fluttered, the way his fingers trembled, the way his confidence was falling again.

"It's perfectly natural," Balinor said. "I almost had to be carried to your mother. And then when I was standing in front of her, I almost fainted."

Merlin and Will burst out in joint surprised laughter.

"Really, m'lord?" Will asked between choked huffs.

Balinor smiled. "Really. We were an arranged marriage too and I'd never seen her before and I was worried that she would hate me on sight. You at least have the benefit of marrying your best friend."

"Hey!" Will exclaimed, feigning outrage at being demoted.

Balinor waved him off. "You both know what I mean. Merlin, my boy, you have spent a third of your life in Camelot, learning its lands and histories, meeting its people. They love you as much as our people do. You'll do fine."

Merlin nodded and ran his hands over his clothes once more. Then he took a deep breath and nodded again. "Alright, let's go." His father stepped up on one side to hook his arm around Merlin's as Will did the same on the other. Together, they stepped from Merlin's room and into a full clearing aglow in the light of the full moon.

The clearing was large, but it was still full of fae and humans, nobles and peasants alike, all mixed together in a ring around the edges. The moonlight was so bright that no one was carrying torches, but Merlin could see fairy lights sprinkled in the trees behind the gathered crowd. Gaius stood in the very center, decked out in clothes that looked fancier than Merlin's own, but they were also embroidered in runes that made it clear these were Official Robes. And then standing at his side, promptly stealing all of Merlin's attention, was Arthur.

Arthur nearly took Merlin's breath away. He was crownless, as was Merlin, the crowns to be presented to one another later in the ceremony, and just as Merlin was in Arthur's colours, Arthur was in his. Blue sleeves emerged from under his chainmail tunic, and his cloak matched, the dragon symbol of his mouth in embroidered in black over his shoulder. Merlin couldn't be sure if he flew or walked over, but he was in front of Arthur only a moment later.

Arthur raised his hand as if he were about to slide his fingers down Merlin's bare arm and Merlin's breath caught in his chest before Gaius cleared his throat and they both startled, Arthur's hand falling away. "You look…" Arthur started and then trailed off, staring at Merlin in such a way that it renewed the fluttering in Merlin's stomach. But not for the same reason that had delayed his arrival; this fluttering also sent heat rushing through his skin and dried out his mouth.

Merlin nodded and smiled. "You too," he said breathlessly. He couldn't stop staring at Arthur, a face he knew as well as, or better, than any other. A face that was there for him in hard times and good times. It was just a face, really, but to Merlin, it was a face that embodied everything dear to his heart.

"If I may begin?" Gaius said dryly, snapping Merlin out of it, and he realized that the crowd had grown restless, albeit in an amused sense, and he guessed they had been staring at each other for perhaps a bit longer than was necessary.

Arthur's cheeks were flushed when he nodded and waved his hand. "At your will."

"Thank you, sire," Gaius deadpanned, and Merlin had to suppress a snort.

As the ceremony progressed, Merlin could barely keep his mind focussed on any of the rites Gaius recited, or any of the vows he or Arthur said. He could feel the bond forming in his chest, incited by Gaius' officiating, and when he and Arthur linked hands - Arthur's left to Merlin's right - for Gaius to wrap in ribbon, the bond flared through his limbs, warm and bright. It wouldn't reach its peak until- for several hours, but Merlin could tell it would only get stronger as the night wore on. The only thing he couldn't tell was if Arthur felt it too.

Across from him, Arthur looked just as dazed as Merlin felt, but when it came to for his people's traditions to come into play, they snapped out of it easily enough. Together, they waved forward their chosen people - Will for Merlin and Morgana for Arthur - and they handed over what they had both been keeping safe: a crown and a ring each.

The crown Will passed to Merlin unbound left hand was Arthur's, and his father's before him, but white heather had been braided around the spokes in recognition of his consort's people. The fact that it was a plant and not flowers that made up part of his crown was unusual, but all plants had their meanings and nothing suited Arthur better. The ring was a simple gold band, small and easy to wear beneath his gloves. Morgana passed a similar ring into Arthur's right hand, as well as Merlin's usual crown of flowers, though it had been altered to include a slim gold circlet in recognition of his consort's people. Two crowns embracing their own people's traditions while incorporating the other's.

"I watched these both get made and I did not once let them leave my possession until I handed them to Morgana when we arrived," Arthur said, his smile a bit forced and a lot sad. Merlin couldn't help but smile too. It had been four years since he'd been found, but the memories would haunt him for the rest of his days.

"I didn't let anyone else touch them either," Morgana said softly, her smile a bit more forced, but still would have reached out to her but he was holding a ring and a crown in one hand and his other hand was still tied to Arthur's. He settled for smiling back and nodding his thanks.

Merlin took a deep breath, and then looked up at Arthur. "With this ring," he said, voice loud and clear as he slipped the gold band in his hand down Arthur's ring finger, "I, Merlin of the Fae, bind you, Arthur of Camelot, as my husband. With this crown-" he held up Arthur's crown and then placed it gently on his head "-I crown you my wedded Prince of Otherworld." The bond in his chest flared brightly as Arthur smiled brightly at him.

"With this ring," Arthur said next, voice just as loud and clear as Merlin's had been as he slipped Merlin's ring over his finger "I, Arthur of Camelot, bind you, Merlin of the Fae, as my husband." He placed Merlin's crown on his head, fingers lingering against Merlin's hair. "With this crown, I crown you my wedded King of Camelot."

The ring of onlookers burst into cheers and Merlin forgot himself and lurched forward to kiss Arthur. Arthur laughed but kissed him back, wrapping his free arm around Merlin's neck and sliding his fingers into Merlin's hair.

"And now you may kiss," Gaius said, the dryness back in his voice. Merlin didn't bother to break away from Arthur's mouth to flutter a wing at Gaius.

Kissing Arthur was as comfortable as it always was, but this was hardly the place for such things to be continued at any kind of length so he dragged himself away. Or tried to. Arthur, apparently not yet done with him, just fisted his hand in Merlin's hair and kept him in place to kiss him a little bit longer, wherein Merlin struggled to remember why he had even tried to end it in the first place. When he finally loosened his grip and let Merlin pull back, Arthur's eyes were hooded and dark, his expression making promises that Merlin knew his new husband would happily be fulfilling come dawn. Merlin could feel the heat in his cheeks as he straightened, and he could hear Gwaine whooping somewhere in the crowd.

Arthur rolled his eyes but otherwise ignored Gwaine, which was the standard response for anything Gwaine ever said or did. Instead, he raised their bound hands high in the air and the cheering got louder. This time, Gwaine said something worthwhile: "Long live the kings! Long live the kings!"

The crowd began to join in, and Arthur and Merlin began to turn in a circle, displaying their bound hands for all gathered to see. "Long live the kings! Long live the kings!"

Merlin couldn't keep the smile of his face and he turned to his husband and found himself graced with a grin just as wide as his own. Staring into Arthur's eyes, he mouthed along with the crowd:

"Long live the kings!"


"Arthur!"

Arthur had barely stepped foot inside Otherworld's castle before he was engulfed in Queen Hunith's arms. Caught off guard, he moved to hug her back and barely stopped himself in time before he touched her wings. King Balinor was standing just a little ways back, watching them with wet, red eyes. Arthur's arms hung in the air for a long moment before she finally stepped back and he finally set both palms on her shoulders. Her eyes were wet and red like her husband's, and guilt flared in his chest.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come immediately," he said, tightening his grip for just a moment before letting his hands fall away. "I had to question and sentence the slavers before I could leave Camelot."

Balinor nodded understandingly, but Hunith shook her head rapidly and reached out to grip Arthur by his arms instead. "No, no. You don't have to apologize for anything, Arthur. You brought Merlin back to us."

It was Arthur's turn to shake his head. "Finding him was a complete accident. I didn't do anything. I couldn't find anything where he was being kept, or get any answers from the slavers. I couldn't do anything."

Hunith's grip became claw-like against his shoulders as she leaned in close, and he could see tears building in her eyes. "It doesn't matter, Arthur. You found him, no matter the circumstances. You made sure he was safe. You brought him back to us. You brought him home."

Arthur bowed his head and nodded. No matter what anyone else said, no matter their conviction, he knew the truth of it in his heart, and only he could reconcile that with himself. He stared at the ground for a long moment before his eyes fell on his pouch and he remembered the bracelets.

"For Merlin's birthday, right before he disappeared, I gave him a pair of bracelets I had commissioned," he said, looking back up and setting his hand over his pouch. "What I gave was two silver bracelets, engraved with runes for health and prosperity and friendship; he put them on said, he loved them, and that was that. But when we found him… He was still wearing the bracelets, but Alator said they were iron. And engraved with runes for binding and madness. I don't know what can be done with them, if there is some way to find out who cast magic on them or…"

Balinor stepped forward up to his queen's side. "Do you have them with you?"

"Yes." Arthur had put the bracelets in a separate little pouch and he pulled it out and handed it to the king who nodded and then stepped sideways and disappeared.

Arthur stared at the empty space for a long moment, feeling a bit empty at the sudden stillness he found himself in. He had been moving nonstop for days, dealing with slaves and slavers and the bracelets, wanting nothing more than to be at Merlin's side all while knowing that he couldn't until he was done. Now that he was done though, that emptiness left him off-kilter, that need to see to his betrothed at odds with his inability to comprehend that he was finally free to do so.

"He's in his room," Hunith said suddenly, reminding Arthur that she was there. He turned to look at her and found her already looking back. "I'll walk with you." She didn't wait for an answer before taking his arm and starting off. "Merlin's been resting, since he came back. Our healers took care of his injuries the moment he arrived, but he hasn't spoken once and for the most part, he just sleeps. When his father or I or Will sit with him, it takes him a long time before he seems to recognize us, but he doesn't attempt to interact with us."

"When we found him, he didn't speak then either," Arthur confessed. "It seemed like he was trying to say my name, but he didn't make a sound. Even when he…" Arthur's eyes pricked and his throat grew tight, and he coughed to clear it. "Even when he cried, he didn't make a sound."

Hunith slowed to a stop and pulled him into another hug. Arthur wished he could return it but he never quite figured out how to hug a fae properly. After she pulled away, it took him a moment to realize they were at Merlin's bedroom door.

"I'll give you some time with him. If you need anything, just let us know. Okay?"

He nodded at her as she moved away, and he watched her until she disappeared into her own room. He turned to face Merlin's door with a deep breath before he pushed in.

Merlin was lying on his bed, tucked under a blanket. What clothes Arthur could see seemed to be Merlin's again, the scruff had been shaved away, and as Arthur got closer, all the bruises and scrapes on Merlin's face had disappeared. There was a chair next to Merlin's bed and Arthur sunk down into it heavily; it felt like he hadn't stopped moving in the three days since Merlin had been found, unable to rest until he was at his betrothed's side again.

From the time when he opened Merlin's door to the time he sat down, Merlin's eyes had remained closed, and they didn't open when Arthur took his hand. He bowed his head over the limp fingers and then pressed his lips to the pale skin. "I'm sorry, Merlin. I'm so sorry. I feel like I betrayed you or… I don't know." He sighed and stared blankly ahead at the far wall. "I found you purely by chance. If Lancelot hadn't come back to Camelot, if he hadn't been near the mountain, if he hadn't come across those trails… Merlin, you were so hidden that I never would have found you. You were so lost and…" His eyes were burning again, and he didn't bother trying to force the feeling away. "I didn't search hard enough. I found you, but I failed you."

The tears began to fall and Arthur let them. He hadn't let himself cry since Merlin went missing, too afraid that crying would mean that Merlin was gone and that Arthur was never going to find him. It was a bit of relief to finally let them go after all this time, and yet, they hurt too. He couldn't help but grieve, even though Merlin was back, but it didn't seem like it was his Merlin who had returned. He couldn't be sure that his Merlin would ever return, and it was all because he had given Merlin iron bracelets, and hadn't looked hard enough to find him fast enough.

The fingers in his suddenly twitched and Arthur's head snapped up. He had to brush his free hand over his eyes to clear his vision, and when he could see again, it was to find Merlin's eyes open and fixed on him. He inhaled roughly and sat up.

"Merlin…"

Merlin's mouth moved, but just like before, no sound emerged. Arthur smiled, but it was still watery. Once the tears had started to fall, it was difficult to get them to stop again. The hand in his tugged and he regretfully let it go, but Merlin just reached up to touched his face, trailed fingers over his eyebrows and down his nose to his lips and then across to his cheek and into his hair.

"Yeah, it's me. It's Arthur. And you're home." He couldn't help himself from whispering, even though there was no need. It just seemed as if making any loud noise would break the sanctuary of Merlin's room. "You were in there for so long, I can only imagine how this may seem like a dream to you, but I promise you, this is real. I'm real. You're out of that place and you're never going back. I can promise you that."

The smile Merlin gave him was soft but sad, and it just made Arthur want to start crying again. It was a smile that looked like it meant that Merlin didn't believe him, that Merlin thought that he was still back in that room again. Arthur stood slowly, taking care not to startle Merlin, and leaned forward to press a kiss to Merlin's forehead.

"I'll stay here as long as I need to, until you're well again. Alright? Morgana and Agravaine will-" Merlin sucked in a panicked breath, eyes going wide as his chest began to heave. "Merlin?"

Arthur reached out to Merlin and Merlin shrunk away from his touch. Startled and confused, hurt, Arthur pulled away and sat back down in the chair.

"Morgana?"Arthur repeated, and Merlin shook his head just the tiniest bit. "Agravaine?" Merlin's breath hitched a second time and Arthur's frown deepened. "I know you don't like my uncle, but he, and Morgana, will take care of Camelot in my absence."

Merlin started shaking his head more and his breath quickened to an unsteady pace. Merlin opened his mouth to speak and then snapped it shut when he didn't make a sound.

"Merlin, it's all right," Arthur tried to assure him. "Agravaine will-"

He got cut off by Merlin's hand making a slicing motion through the air between them. Then Merlin surprised him by grasping his wrists, but only making a circle around them with his thumb and forefinger. He shook Arthur's wrists and gave Arthur a meaningful look. Arthur could only stare down at Merlin's hands in deep confusion. Merlin huffed out a breath through his nose and released Arthur's wrist only to grab his own wrist with one hand, and then switch to grab the other.

Arthur watched him repeat the motion three times before he ventured, "The bracelets?" Merlin nodded emphatically, but it did nothing to clear Arthur's confusion. "I don't understand…" Merlin's lips were moving again, but it wasn't Arthur's name they weren't shaping this time. "Agravaine?" Merlin nodded again. "What does Agravaine have to do with-" Merlin mouthed his uncle's name again and then shook his bare wrists at Arthur forcefully.

A sick feeling began to form at what it seemed like Merlin was implying. He didn't want to believe it, but he didn't want to disbelieve Merlin after all he'd been through. Suddenly, he remembered what he knew about the Door: that only authorized humans could pass through it. Authorized humans like his uncle.

"Merlin, are you saying it was my uncle who did this to you?" he asked, feeling faint, even as he posed the question. Merlin nodded, face all hard lines like Arthur had never seen.

When Arthur had returned to Camelot, his uncle had been packing for a trip, he said to visit a noble, but now, it made more sense. Arthur had made it back the same day, only hours after he'd had Finna relay back to Camelot that Merlin had been found. If his uncle had been responsible, it would explain his haste to leave the castle so quickly. But why?

The memory of the condition Merlin had been in when he had been found flashed through Arthur's mind. Why had Agravaine taken Merlin? Why had he kept him hidden and away? Why had he hurt Merlin's betrothed? Why why why?

Suddenly, he remembered that when he had set out for the Door, Agravaine had joined them as far the fork in the road. That he was already enroute to wherever he had been heading to to hide. Arthur stood so fast that the chair tipped over and he bolted for the door and flung it open.

"HUNITH!" he bellowed.


Arthur hadn't been able to take his eyes off Merlin since Merlin had stepped through the Veil into the moonlit clearing, and it had nothing to do with the fact that their hands had been bound with ribbon shortly afterwards and still were. No, it had everything to do with how vibrant and alive Merlin looked, his wings so vibrant they nearly glowed, cheeks flushed from laughter and wine, smile bright and ever-present since before they had left the clearing for the feast. The feast celebrating their marriage at long last, only four years late.

"You're staring again," Merlin said under his breath, still facing ahead, presumably entertained by the antics of their people under the influence of wine and food and music and displays of magic.

Arthur smiled. "Of course. Who wouldn't be able to take their eyes off such a beautiful husband?"

Merlin huffed out a laugh and glanced at Arthur out of the corner of his eye. "No, really. What's with all the staring?"

"Well," Arthur drawled, leaning in to murmur in Merlin's ear. "It could because I can't stop thinking about how I'm going to be bending you over the desk in my room before dawn." Arthur pulled back just far enough to see the way Merlin's face darkened in a flush. "But it could also be because of how proud I am of you."

Merlin's head jerked back and he shot Arthur a startled look. Arthur smiled at him. The strange sensation in his chest… brightened, making him feel warm and happy.

"I know this is taking place later than either of us wanted, but we're here," Arthur started. "I know you'll never be the way you were before, not exactly, but the progress you've made is amazing, even if you're not exactly happy with it. You are incredibly strong, Merlin, and I'm incredibly lucky to have you."

Merlin stared at him for a long moment before he smiled. "I'm already stuck with you, Arthur. No need to flatter me now."

Arthur reached up with his free hand and cupped the back of Merlin's neck. "I mean it, Merlin." He slid his fingers into Merlin's hair and curled them into a fist, shaking gently to enforce his point. "I'm proud of you, and I am the luckiest man in the world to have you at my side."

Merlin smiled a watery smile and leaned into Arthur against the pull of fingers in his hair to press their lips together. As Arthur should have predicted, Gwaine started hollering from his table.

"I can't believe you made me knight him," Arthur whispered against Merlin's lips.

Merlin shrugged. "He deserved a reward for finding the bald man Agravaine hired. For bringing me the peace I wasn't sure I'd ever find again." Merlin's fingers laced through his didn't convulse when he said his tormentor's name, and his voice didn't tremble when he spoke of his imprisonment, more signs of how far he'd come in the healing of his mind. "Besides," Merlin said and then waved his hand. There was aloud shout from Gwaine's direction, followed by the sound of crashing and laughter. "At least sometimes he can be good for a little entertainment."

Arthur chuckled as they pulled away, and then he started laughing again at the sight of Gwaine pulling himself out of the wreckage of a table, shedding food as he stood. After he was back on his feet, Merlin waved his hand again and food and table reformed, returning to their places, except for what was in Gwaine's hair and clothes.

"You're both terrible kings!" Gwaine called out, and then tried to flirt his way into a dance with Percival.

"Let's see what he says about us after he's on stable duties for a fortnight," Arthur said and Merlin laughed. Arthur had always liked the way Merlin's laugh sounded, but tonight, with that warmth in his chest flaring every time it happened, he loved it even more.

"You two sound like you're having fun," someone said, and Arthur looked up to to find Morgana standing in front of the table. He glanced to his right where she'd been sitting last time he looked, but apparently she'd gotten up and he hadn't even noticed. Although, in Arthur's opinion, he could hardly be blamed from barely being able to take his eyes from his husband; he and his best friend were finally wedded after too many tumultuous years both together and apart.

"Well, Morgana," Merlin said, voice dramatically haughty, "I would hope so. It's our wedding after all."

She laughed. "A wedding that will lead to a very prosperous time for both of our lands."

It made him think of a similar conversation they'd had, years ago, the night before Merlin was found. "Prophecy?" he asked, grinning.

"Intuition," she replied with a smile of her own.


"Merlin, you don't have to do this yet!" Arthur exclaimed, frustrated and pacing Merlin's bedroom floor as Merlin walked around, throwing clothes every which way for no other reason that to be contrary, that Arthur could tell. "You've only been back three months! You only started talking again a week ago!"

"I don't care!" Merlin exclaimed in that newly hoarse voice of his, flinging a shirt at Arthur who caught it and flung it on the ground at his side. Merlin stared at him with eyes blazing and wings fluttering agitatedly, posture aggressive like he was this close to starting a fight with Arthur like they hadn't done since they were boys. "You've had him imprisoned for three months, Arthur. I know that you're only waiting on my testimony before you sentence him to death, and I'm not going to get any sleep until he's gone. I'm not even sure I'll get it when he is gone! Half the time, I'm not even sure I'm home! I wake up every night in a nightmare that I'm back there. Every night, Arthur! Don't you remember? It took me five weeks before I was even sure that this place was real. That it wasn't my mind finally breaking down, that the madness hadn't finally reached its peak."

His voice had grown more and more hoarse as he spoke until it finally petered out, and when it did, he glared at Arthur and fumed, his breath coming in heavy pants. He was finally starting to gain back all the weight he'd lost while imprisoned, but he was still weak, three months not nearly enough time to regain his natural athleticism, especially when he spent most of his time holed up in his room. Merlin would never say it, but Arthur knew that he was afraid to leave, afraid of being taken again.

Arthur moved forward slowly, as he usually did with Merlin these days, afraid to startle him like a skittish colt ready to bolt. Merlin didn't move as Arthur approached, but he did glare harder. Arthur reached up to cup Merlin's face and he pressed their foreheads together, and Merlin let him, even though his glare darkened.

"I know that I need you before I can sentence him, that both of our courts need to hear your testimony. I know how much it will help you. I know." He gave Merlin's head a little shake for emphasis. "But I don't think you're ready for this. Your voice still gives out easily and you haven't left your room any time I've been here, and from what Will and your parents say, and from what all of everyone says, no one else has seen you leave your room either." He pressed a fierce kiss to Merlin's mouth as Merlin stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm scared for you, Merlin. If you can't leave your own room, in your own castle, in your own realm, a realm that all humans except for me have been temporarily revoked from accessing, then I think leaving now will do you more harm than good. I don't want you to go back to the way you were when you came home and I'm scared that doing this so early in your recovery will mean you will. Do you understand?"

Merlin sucked in a long, slow breath and nodded. He closed his eyes and then kissed Arthur softly, finally reaching out to wrap his arms around Arthur's waist to pull him close and hold him tightly. Arthur moved his own hands into Merlin's hair, which he could never resist touching when the opportunity arose to do so. When Merlin finally pulled away, his eyes remained closed and his breathing had calmed, but there was a flush to his face that Arthur never tired of seeing.

"I'm sorry," he whispered against Arthur's lips.

Arthur shook his head. "Don't be. I understand why you have to do this, I just want you to understand why I'm afraid for you. Do you?"

"Yeah," Merlin replied, nodding. "Yeah, I understand."

Arthur sighed in relief and kissed Merlin again. "Good. Then you understand that you don't have to ride back to Camelot with me? I can meet you there, and that way you're not out sooner than you're ready for?"

Merlin's arms tightened for a moment, holding Arthur close. It was common for him, nowadays. He told Arthur once, before everything that had happened that he like the way Arthur felt, that his weight and his touch was comforting. When he was recovering, he'd frequently reached out for Arthur's hand, sometimes going so far as to pull Arthur from his chair into his bed, especially if he'd just woken from a nightmare. In bits in pieces over the last week, since he'd gotten his voice back, Merlin had explained what had happened to him: the torture and the healings just for more torture, the accusations and the confessions, the hallucinations. Agravaine's pleasure in it all. The only way he'd been able to tell Arthur at all, he'd said, was because he'd pulled Arthur into bed on top of him and had been able to feel the that weight to help keep him in the moment, to remember that he was safe.

Finally, he pulled back, but he didn't let Arthur go. "I know," he said, nodding. "I know. But I need to do this. I think it will help, and I want you with me when I do." Arthur couldn't help the way his hands tightened into fists. Just thinking of Merlin back in his world, seeing his tormentor again, made his heart race faster. Merlin closed his eyes and pulled just a little against Arthur's grip, making him remember how much Merlin used to love the way Arthur would, on occasion, take control of him and move him to his will. "What about this: if I don't feel safe, if at any time I get too scared, I'll step back through the Veil and come here. Okay?"

"You promise?" Arthur asked, voice firm, and Merlin nodded.

"I promise."

Arthur stared Merlin straight in the eye for a long moment, testing his gaze and conviction. When Merlin didn't look away, always a sure sign of a lie or a half-truth, Arthur nodded once. "Okay. Let's go."

Arthur laced the fingers of his left hand with those of Merlin's right, leaving his sword hand free, and he didn't let go the entirety of the slow journey from Merlin's room to the stables where a group of guards were standing with the king and queen. Balinor and Hunith looked just as worried as Merlin felt, and Arthur could see the way they restrained themselves from rushing over to them when they appeared, waiting until Merlin got close. Arthur extracted his fingers slowly, handing him off to his parents for last minute reassurances like he was sure they all needed, and he excused himself to check on their horses.

When he rejoined them with their mares in tow, Merlin reached out immediately to take his hand again. It made it tricky to get on their horses, keeping hold of one another, but Arthur knew neither one of them was particularly inclined to make it easier if it meant losing contact. Merlin's grip had been white-knuckled tight since they'd left his room, and it only got tighter when they set out on the road, horses riding close together and surrounded with fae guards as they left a teary Balinor and Hunith behind.

No one talked once during the trip. The loudest sound was that of the horses walking across the packed earth, and the vague, breezy sound of wings shuffling; all of the fae were tense and on alert, not just Merlin, and Arthur could tell. There wasn't even the sound of tack jangling to break up the quiet morning air as the fae never needed saddles or reigns with their horses and Merlin had spent the summer after the bandit attack teaching Arthur and his horse how not to need it either.

Even when they finally reached the group of his knights waiting at the gates of Camelot, Arthur couldn't relax, even though it was his home. In fact, that might have made him even more tense, just the thought that this had been Agravaine's home once too, that there could still be people in Camelot that were in league with Agravaine that Merlin couldn't know about and so Arthur couldn't find out either, and investigation without base only went so far without offending the nobles that Arthur couldn't afford to offend. Which was all of them. From the way Merlin just grew more and more tense, Arthur could tell he knew it too.

"Do you want to go to my rooms first?" Arthur asked as they dismounted together, both of them still refusing to let go of one another.

Merlin didn't answer for a long moment as he stared up at the castle. "No, I want to get this over," he finally said. "I need to get this over with."

"Of course." When Merlin started to move, Arthur tugged him back. "You remember your promise?"

Merlin snorted and rolled his eyes, and for some reason, it made Arthur's heart lighter. Merlin was always at his most annoying, and his most amusing, when he was being sarcastic, and Arthur had hardly seen that part of Merlin seen he'd come back. So every reappearance of that sarcasm was less annoying and more of a victory, though Arthur deeply looked forward to the day that he would find that sarcasm annoying again. But that was in a future far from now, many years away.

"Yes, mother," Merlin deadpanned. He moved to walk up the steps before Arthur tugged him back to his side.

"The way I love you cannot be compared to familial love, Merlin," he said under his breath, watching Merlin's face carefully. "And with the things I've wanted to do to you since we were teens, you shouldn't think of me in that way either."

Pink crept over Merlin's cheeks and when he spoke, it came out a bit breathless. "As you wish, my king."

Arthur inhaled sharply, surprised by the words, and Merlin grinned cheekily at him. Arthur wanted to roll his eyes at him, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything but smile at being graced with Merlin's long-absent sarcasm. Merlin looked surprised, but he smiled back, and this time, when he moved, Arthur let him.

The great hall was already filled with courtiers and nobles, both human and fae. Everyone present was somber and silent, but when Balinor, Hunith, Morgana, and Will, all standing at the front of the room on either side of the thrones, saw Arthur and Merlin, all four of them smiled tersely. Arthur could only assume they were as happy to see Merlin out and about as he was, but just as worried that Merlin would relapse or get attacked by any possible one of Agravaine's potential supporters.

Eyes followed them all the way to their chairs, and when they sat, Arthur pulled Merlin down into the consort's chair, despite the fact that, at this point, it could be a year before they were properly married. It was as much of a declaration of his faith and his loyalty as it was a way to keep Merlin close at his side. The guards waited for Arthur to nod before they opened the doors again.

"Bring in the prisoner!"

Imprisonment didn't suit Agravaine well, but he came out of it better than Merlin had. He was dirty and greasy, and he'd lost a bit of weight from the smaller, simpler meals, but he was undamaged. He was also gagged, and with good reason; the things that had come out of his mouth when he'd been arrested had been nearly unbelievable to hear, and from the prison guards' statements, it hadn't gotten any better. Arthur didn't know what hurt more: being betrayed by one of his two remaining family members, or the fact that he was about to be down to one family member.

"We are here today today to hear Crown Prince Merlin of the Fae's statements regarding his period of imprisonment, for which my uncle, Lord Agravaine of Camelot, is accused of perpetrating. After his testimony has been presented, I, King Arthur of Camelot, with leave from King Balinor and Queen Hunith, will pass judgement and sentencing. During Prince Merlin's statements, I ask that no one interrupt. Prince Merlin, you may begin."

Although Merlin had already gone over what had happened, hearing it a second time accompanied by soft crying from his parents and several ladies of the court, as well as audible gasps from the collective audience. During it all, Agravaine kept attempting to speak through his gag, but the sound was muffled, and when he moved to stand, chains rattling distractingly, one of the two guards standing watch over him would knock him down with a hit to the back of his knee with the butt of their spear. Through it all, Merlin kept speaking, ignoring every one of Agravaine's attempted outbursts, staring straight ahead with a grip on Arthur's hand that made his fingers go numb.

When Merlin finally fell silent, no one in the room spoke, not even Agravaine. Merlin hadn't broken his gaze from the little window above the hall's doors, and Arthur didn't pressure him to. Everywhere Arthur's eyes fell, he found somber, tearful faces, some fixed on Merlin, some on Arthur, but a good deal on Agravaine. Last, he turned his eyes to his his fellow monarchs.

"King Balinor, Queen Hunith." After an hour of Merlin's hoarse, quiet voice, which had slowly deteriorated the longer he spoke, Arthur's loud and clear voice made several people jump. "Though the majority of the crime occurred in Camelot by one of Camelot's peoples, the originating crime was committed in Otherworld on one of its peoples. Do you have anything you would like to say regarding Prince Merlin's statements or the sentencing of Lord Agravaine?"

Merlin's parents exchanged looks, then Hunith nodded and Balinor stepped forward. "The fae call for the execution of this prisoner, for the kidnapping and torture of their crown prince."

Several of the nobles present gasped in surprise, but the fae all nodded in agreement. Arthur could only guess that this had been something that Balinor and Hunith had indeed spoken to all their nobles about previously, and that it was truly a consecutive decision made by their people. The fae deeply valued all life, and for them to call for an execution was unheard of and only emphasized the seriousness of the matter.

Arthur nodded and turned his head back to the collective audience. "Does anyone else have any other evidence they would like to contribute before I make the sentencing?"

It still made Arthur uncomfortable that the man who had actually done the work of torturing Merlin had never been found, but no one had been with Agravaine when the fae caught up to him. And though Merlin had eventually used some unfamiliar magic to pass an image of his actual torturer from his mind to Arthur's, the man he'd shown was completely unfamiliar to Arthur, and no one could think of anyone that matched the description Arthur gave. All Arthur could hope was that the man Agravaine had do his torturing was nothing more than a mercenary, though he still hoped that one day, the man would be found so that the entire thing could be put to rest. He had already attempted to convince Agravaine to identify his helper, but Agravaine still refused to admit that he took any part in Merlin's kidnapping and subsequent imprisonment and torture.

The crowd shifted restlessly and looked about, but no one spoke and Arthur nodded. "I have heard the events from Prince Merlin not once, but twice. I have seen the evidence of what he has endured. I have heard the request from the rulers of Prince Merlin and his people." He paused, and though he had already come to a decision, the words stuck in his throat for a moment. "For the crimes of kidnapping the Crown Prince of the Fae, torturing the Crown Prince of the Fae, conspiring to commit murder against both the Crown Prince of the Fae and the Crown Prince and King of Camelot, conspiring to commit treason against the kingdom and rulers of Camelot, and murdering his wedded brother, King Uther of Camelot, I, King Arthur of Camelot, sentence Lord Agravaine of Camelot to death by beheading to be carried out at dusk."

Agravaine began to struggle against his chains and raged through his gag, but Arthur no longer wanted to look upon him. Not until it came time for his execution. "Take him away." The guards practically had to carry a squirming Agravaine from the room.

Once Agravaine was gone, Arthur finally turned to look directly at his betrothed. Merlin's face was pale, but his expression was steady. After a moment, Merlin turned to look back at him and then nodded. Together, they rose, hands still linked, and passed silently through the equally quiet crowd.

That night, after the execution, an execution that Arthur preformed himself, and after Agravaine's remains had been set upon a pyre, Arthur crawled into Merlin's bed and they fell asleep curled around one another.


Merlin could still hear the feast when he and Arthur finally closed Arthur's bedroom door behind them and barred it. Flushed and a bit dizzy from the wine he had consumed, and that feeling in his chest that not yet faded, he turned to Arthur who seemed to be in much the same state as he was, although Merlin still wasn't sure if he was capable of feeling the formation of their bond. He grinned, giddy with joy and happiness, and Arthur grinned back.

"Well, husband," Merlin said, already unwrapping the ribbon that had bound them together the last few hours and unable to resist using the endearment when it caused the budding bond to flare like a flame. Arthur grinned and took control of the ribbon, freeing them before tucking it into the waistband of his trousers. "I believe you have a promise to fulfil." He ambled across the room to the desk by the far will and started to shift the scant few parchments and quills out of the way. "Something about this desk." Merlin smiled as Arthur started to move slowly towards him, pace and expression predatory in a way that made Merlin's skin hot. "And me. And something else... I think it was... bending?"

Arthur stepped around him and out of view, a block of heat at his back, and when Merlin started to turn his head to look at him, a heavy palm landed on his neck and warm breath breezed across his sensitive ear: "Face forward, husband."

A shudder wracked Merlin's spine and he could feel his heart rate pick up as the weight of Arthur's palm increased, inexorably pushing his chest down to the desktop and flooding his body with arousal. The wood was cool against his too-warm cheek and his hands where they were tucked against his ribs, and his breath was heavy enough to flutter the papers he'd pushed to the side against the base of a large, capped inkwell he'd never seen before. He felt exposed and vulnerable, his wings and the bared skin between them laid out beneath Arthur's gaze, but unlike when he was imprisoned, he felt safe and protected. He was completely at Arthur's mercy, but he knew that Arthur would never allow harm to come to him, by his own hand or any other.

He could feel Arthur bend over him, so, so careful not to touch Merlin's wings - which were hanging loosely down his back and over his arse - with any part of his skin or clothes. "Move your wings, Merlin," Arthur whispered into his ear.

Merlin gasped in surprised arousal, unaware that stimulation to his ears of all places could make the growing hardness between his legs throb the way it did, and slowly moved his wings up to fan out across the length of the desk. Behind him, Arthur hummed, and then he pressed down a little harder on Merlin's neck, not to hurt, but just enough to make Merlin understand that Arthur wanted him to remain where he was. When Arthur pulled his hand away, Merlin didn't have enough time to make a noise of protest before he felt the ties holding his shirt closed at the back of his neck and below his wings being pulled undone. The slide of the ribbons as they were pulled away were like whispers of breath across his skin and made Merlin shiver, but the scrape of Arthur's callouses trailing down the bare skin of his spine made him shudder.

He was so entranced by the feeling of Arthur's fingers that the wet slide of Arthur's tongue following them caught him entirely by surprise. He couldn't stop the gasped moan from scraping its way out of his throat or the way his chest arched into the hard barrier of the desk. He was suddenly painfully aware of how hard he was, and that he had no way to relieve that tension; his hips weren't even close enough to the desk to rut against it. It was almost distracting, the way his hardness pulsed with need, but the only thing there was to distract Merlin from was just Arthur's mouth making the slow but steady journey down his spine from neck to waist.

"You can touch my wings." Arthur froze when he spoke, but so did Merlin, and Merlin wasn't sure which of them was more surprised.

Arthur unbent slowly and Merlin regretted the loss of his body heat and his touch. "Merlin… You know that you don't have to let me. I know how… private something like this is for your people. Just because I'm your husband now doesn't mean you need to let me. You can wait until you're ready, you know."

Merlin stared at papers near his face so long that his eyes unfocused. He hadn't meant to say it, he hadn't planned on it, but… he meant it. He really did. The only people to have touched his wings since he'd left childhood behind were Agravaine and his minion, and Merlin hated that. He hated that they were the last ones to have touched his wings, and he wanted to erase the memory of their hands on him as much as he could. But that wasn't the only reason. He had already begun thinking of letting Arthur touch his wings in the couple of years before the kidnapping had happened, and though he had stopped since, he had started thinking about it again since he'd decided that it was high time their wedding actually happened. And if he wanted any night to be the first night for Arthur to touch his wings, his wedding night was it.

"I know," he finally said. "I'm ready. I want you to touch them. I want you to touch me."

Arthur let out a long, heavy breath. "Okay," he said, and then, "Okay. If you can't handle it, just tell me. I don't care what it is that I'm doing, you tell me, Merlin. Understand?"

"Yes, absolutely," Merlin agreed eagerly. "I understand. I promise."

Arthur didn't move for what felt like a long, long time, and the longer Merlin waited, the higher the anticipation became until it felt like his whole body was shaking. When Arthur placed both palms just under Merlin's wing joints, he nearly jumped out of his skin and Arthur had to gentle him like a frightened horse. "Easy. Easy now."

Merlin just nodded and didn't say anything, simply lay there and let Arthur smooth his hands down his back, pushing the two halves of his shirt away. Merlin expected Arthur's hands to slide back up, to finally make contact with his wings, but instead, those two strong, firm hands kept sliding, pushing against the waistbands of his trousers and underthings. He gasped at the feeling of hands against his arse that weren't his own, and writhed when two thumbs slid just a little between his cheeks, barely brushing against skin that had never been touched before. But for some reason, Arthur didn't stop there, though Merlin deeply wished he would. He just kept going down Merlin's legs in that slow, steady pace until everything had fallen to the floor around his ankles.

Arthur didn't speak to give instructions, didn't need to, just wrapped one strong hand around Merlin's ankle and lifted it to pull off his clothes and his boot before doing the same to the other foot. It was a strangely pleasant sensation, letting Arthur take control of his limbs, which was equally easy to do and terrifying to allow. When Arthur bent back over him a moment later, it wasn't just the warm, solid weight that made the press of Arthur's body so decadent, that made the bond warm, but also the gentle scrape of Arthur's clothes over Merlin's bare skin. Merlin waited to feel that weight up his back and over his wing joints, but it never came.

"You need to relax," Arthur murmured.

Merlin surprised himself, and probably Arthur too, by laughing. "I keep waiting for you to touch me and you keep not doing that. I just… I guess I'm a bit anxious. I don't like waiting for something to come and not knowing when it will. Not anymore." He paused, wondering if he should say anything, but Arthur had told him, not just now but when he was first recovering, that if something was happening that reminded him of his imprisonment, Arthur wanted Merlin to tell him so that he would never do it again. "It reminds me of him. A little. The waiting for something I know is coming but I don't know when."

"Okay," Arthur said simply, as understanding about the Merlin's uneasiness and lingering trauma as he always was. Merlin was thankful for that, as well as for Arthur staying where he was instead of pulling away. "Is it still alright if I touch your wings?"

"Yes. Please," Merlin said, not bothering to suppress his smile; Arthur may not be the best man, but he certainly endeavoured to be, and he was always the best to and for Merlin when Merlin needed him most. Just as Arthur had said that he was proud of Merlin, Merlin was just as proud of Arthur and the king he'd become. "In fact, I would rather you do it sooner than later."

No sooner had the words left his mouth did Arthur do as he asked and placed his palms flat on the base of Merlin's wings. Though the touch was expected, the actual experience of it was brand new and Merlin cried out in shock. Somehow just Arthur's hands on his wings evoked the sensation of Arthur's hands touching his whole body all at once. Or maybe that was just the bond again. It was really all starting to blur together. It took a few minutes for Merlin to realize he was panting, little moans escaping with every other exhale, but he could hardly be blamed when his whole body felt like it had been besieged by an amorous fire sprite.

"Gods, Arthur," he groaned, every limb encumbered by a strange weakness that left him immobile.

"Do you need me to stop?" Arthur asked quietly, and without any hints of his thoughts on the matter one way or another.

"I will set a curse upon your entire family if you do," Merlin threatened, even though they likely both knew that he couldn't curse a flea at the moment.

"That's your family now too," Arthur said.

Merlin blinked, a bit unbalanced. "Oh yeah."

Arthur chuckled but Merlin couldn't join in because his husband had lifted the weight of his palms from Merlin's wings until only his fingertips remained and he began to trace over the black-lined veins spanning Merlin's wings. He could feel in each sweep of fingers how careful Arthur was being not to go against the grain of the countless tiny scales, how careful he was not to exert any kind of pressure on the veins.

"I'm not sure I ever mentioned, Merlin," Arthur said suddenly, voice soft enough not to disrupt the cozy quiet of the room, "but I've always been fond of your wings."

"Just fond?" Merlin tried to tease, but he didn't have any breath to the question, or any smile to his mouth.

"Hush," Arth admonished gently, rocking his hips forward. Merlin hadn't realized Arthur had been holding them away, but the reason why he had was immediately clear and took the form of a hot length of heat between his arse cheeks. "I like the way your wings match your eyes. Such an unnatural blue. I've looked all my life but I've never found its shade anywhere except on you."

Arthur's fingertips slid from the outside of Merlin's wings to the inside, and Merlin bucked at the touch which was a strange combination of ticklish and arousing. "Is that- is that bad?" he barely managed to ask.

"Quite the opposite. I love that this colour is all yours. And I rather like the black too." Arthur's fingertips traced the edges of his wings from the underside, light enough to make Merlin squirm. "From the first moment I saw you, I loved everything about the way you looked. I loved your hair and your eyes and your wings and the colour of your skin. And then you opened your mouth."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Merlin couldn't help but laugh. "Funny you should say that. That's how it was for me too. I always feel like I'm looking at the sun when I look at you." He could still remember the first time he set eyes on the blond human boy he was going to one day marry, the way his hair shone brighter than his crown in the winter sunlight. "I thought your hair was magic for a long time."

One of Arthur's hands left his wings and he whimpered, but Arthur grabbed his hair a moment later, tugging his head back. But with the weight against his arse, all he could do was arch his back and let his head get pulled. Arthur's teeth attacked his neck before he could say anything, biting at the muscle and sucking at the skin, and Merlin flung back a hand to cling to the rock-hard muscles of Arthur's thigh. When Arthur stopped suddenly and sent cool breath over the overheated patch of skin, Merlin dazedly decided that he was going to punch Arthur after their coupling was complete; all this teasing was rude beyond belief, and now Merlin was going to have to get him back.

"I still think your hair's magic," Arthur said between kisses as his lips worked their way from the side of Merlin's throat to the back of his neck. "Sometimes it looks like there's blue in it, in the sun. And it's always soft and thick - I can never stop touching it. And your mouth…" Arthur leaned over Merlin's shoulder as he turned Merlin's head and engaged him a kiss that was so slow and long that it left them both panting for breath and made Merlin dizzy. "I can never get enough of kissing you with my hands in your hair."

It took Merlin a few moments as he tried to get his breath back to realize that Arthur was rocking his hardness into Merlin's arse in a gentle rhythm. It hit him then that Arthur was about to be inside of him, and he couldn't wait any longer for that to happen.

"Do you have oil?" he asked, the hoarseness of his voice made worse by his inability to return his breathing to normal. Arthur's arm reached into Merlin's vision and removed the lid from the inkwell he'd noticed earlier before dipping two inside and pulling them back out, dripping with oil. "Why was that on your desk?" he asked, his cheeks heating as an embarrassment that wasn't his to feel swept through him.

Arthur stood again, though this time he left one hand on Merlin's body, a heavy press at the base of his spine. A moment later, wet fingers slid between Merlin's cheeks to trace the edge of a hole he'd only found the bravery to touch a scant handful of times as a young man before his imprisonment. "I told you, husband-" Merlin shuddered at the combination of hearing that word and feeling the tip of a finger press into him before pulling away again, "-I've been thinking about bending you over my desk. I've been thinking about it for years."

"Years?" Merlin gasped, fingers convulsing around Arthur's thigh, fingers digging into the muscle.

"Mhm." The fingertip pushed in again, only this time, it kept pushing until Arthur's knuckles brushed his hole and Merlin released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "I've wanted to touch you since we first met, though those urges stopped being innocent well before our reconciliation."

"Oh?" The question came out higher pitched than Merlin would have liked, but Arthur had chosen that moment to pull his finger back out and then push it back in, over and over, pace slow and unyielding. Logically, Merlin knew what was going where, but the reality of it hadn't really occurred to him before. He knew one finger wasn't going to be enough to get him ready for Arthur's cock, but he already felt so full that he could scarcely imagine what it would feel like when Arthur was inside him.

"Oh yes." The finger pulled out entirely and Merlin clawed at Arthur's thigh as he whimpered in loss. It had been a strange intrusion to get used to, but now that it had gone, he felt bereft and he didn't like it. He didn't realize he'd closed his eyes until he felt two fingers pushing at his entrance, wetter than he would have guessed unless Arthur had reslicked his digits. The tips went in easily, but he could feel his body resisting the onslaught and he had to concentrate on relaxing to let Arthur back into where they both wanted him.

"I used to wake up hard from dreams of you nearly every day for three years," Arthur finally continued, voice calm as if Merlin wasn't falling to pieces by his hand just in front of him. "I didn't even like you then, but I never stopped liking the way you looked. I would touch myself and think about touching you instead. I'd imagine taking you in my bed." Arthur gave a final, solid push and Merlin keened at the fullness of it. Arthur didn't shush him, or speak louder, just moved closer to his ear. "When I sat at this desk, I'd imagine you in my lap and on my cock as I worked."

And Merlin could suddenly see it as easily as if he'd plucked the very image from Arthur's mind (and maybe he had): a dressed Arthur sitting at this very desk, and a naked him sitting in his husband's lap, legs spread wide on either side of Arthur's, impaled on his cock. What would that be like? Would he be able to help his king with the missives from his nobles and the neighbors, the maintenance of their kingdom? Or would he be too out of it, drunk on sensation?

"Arthur…" Merlin choked out, overwhelmed by his own imagination, by what Arthur was doing to him, that there was more yet to come, that what had been done so far wasn't quite enough.

The fingers inside him twitched and spread, and Merlin bucked against the palm against his lower back, caught off guard by the movement. Only, his bucking just moved Arthur in and out of him in a familiar sensation, and Merlin found himself chasing after it, rolling his hips to feel the slide of Arthur's fingers in and out of his hole. As he moved, he could feel sweat forming on his burning skin, the aching in the muscles of his belly and back, the trembling in his legs, the way his hole started to loosen around Arthur's fingers.

"By the gods, Merlin." Merlin almost didn't hear Arthur over the screeching in his own mind as a third finger tried to worm its way inside his body alongside the other two. Arthur's breath against the sensitive point of his ear made him shake and rock, but he was trapped between Arthur's body and the desk with nowhere else to go. The hand at his lower back moved up and back onto one wing, smoothing from joint to tip. "My father used to tell me the only dreams that came true were the ones you made so, but for years I never thought that you'd be mine. Yet here you are, more perfect than any dream I could have ever imagine."

As three fingers pushed inside of him, Merlin's jaw slowly dropped, unable to breath at being stretched open, unable to form a sound. Then Arthur's teeth set gently into the thin skin at the point of Merlin's ear, and the combined sensations of fingers in him, a hand on his wing, and teeth and hot breath on his ear lit his body up like he'd been struck with lightning. It rushed through his limbs and whited out his vision and took far longer to fade than it came over him. However, when it did, it left him shaking and, oddly, both confused and relieved. Relieved because the throbbing between his legs and the daze to his mind had eased, and confused because the beginnings of the bond in his chest was still just that: an incomplete start.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked from behind him, equal traces of concern and amusement to his voice.

"I… um… What happened?"Merlin managed to get out as he tried to pull his mind back together.

"You came," Arthur said, now all amusement.

"Oh," Merlin replied, and then blushed. He'd heard that some men had problems with releasing too early, but he hadn't thought he'd be one of them. Arthur hadn't even gotten inside of him yet, not properly. His fingers were still in his hole, knuckles pressed to his rim. "I'm sorry."

Arthur's free arm pressed against where Merlin's was tucked against his side and Arthur bent over him to press a kiss to the back of his head. "Don't be sorry. You were a vision. Besides, I did it mostly on purpose. You always have strong reactions when I breathe on your ears and you were having strong reactions when I touched your wings, so I wanted to see if stimulating both could finish you."

"Well," Merlin said, still feeling breathless, "it appears you can."

They remained as they were for a few minutes, during which Merlin slowly got his heart and his breath back under control. He realized that Arthur was still hard, pressed against his arse cheek, off centered to accommodate the fingers still in Merlin. Merlin felt wrung out, and they had to continue to complete the bond, but he also wanted to continue. He wanted to feel Arthur in him, wanted to bring Arthur to completion with his body.

"I would love to continue," he said, shifting minutely to signal to Arthur that he was trying to get up, "but I think I need to be on the bed to do so."

Arthur stood so suddenly that it almost felt like Merlin was going to slip right off the desktop, but he was too far forward for that. He did groan in complaint when Arthur pulled his fingers free, leaving Merlin feeling unpleasantly empty. "You still want me to fuck you?" Arthur asked, sounding surprised.

Merlin turned to look at him over his shoulder, invoking a Gaius-brow. "Of course. How could I not?" He tried to push himself up with his arms, to put his weight back onto his legs, but his limbs were shakier than a newborn colts and he had to lay his body back down. "Even if I didn't, we still need to complete the bond. It just so happens that I do, as long as I get to lay down for it."

Arthur laughed and then his hands were back on Merlin, helping him stand before turning him around so Arthur could scoop him up with an arm under his knees and another behind his back. It felt strange to be airborne but not by his wings, but it felt nice to be held against Arthur's chest, to be able to see Arthur's face again.

"And I think I'd like to see your face when you finish in me," he found his mouth saying. Arthur glanced down at him and Merlin curled both arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss. Arthur stumbled but didn't stop kissing him as he tightened his hold on Merlin's body.

When they reached the bed, Arthur tossed him into the center and Merlin fought the weakness in his limbs to scoot back to recline against the pillows, spreading his wings wide to both keep them from being trod on and to invite further touching. He was surprised when Arthur walked away, but he only went as far as his desk, shedding clothes as he walked until he was standing gloriously naked in the weak dawn light. Arthur dipped his hand back in the well of oil and slicked up his cock as he walked back to Merlin. It wasn't until then that he realized how flushed Arthur's skin was, how dark his eyes had become, how the weight of his gaze made Merlin's own cock stir again.

"Are you sure you're alright to keep going?" Arthur asked, ever the chivalrous knight, even as he climbed onto the bed, cock bobbing enticingly with each movement, and even as he traced Merlin's hole with his slick fingers.

Merlin licked his lips and nodded, reaching out to tug Arthur closer. "If you don't get in me now, I'm going to curse your entire family."

Arthur smiled at the joke and closed the space between them. The feel of the tip of his hardness pressing against where Merlin was now loose and waiting made his heart pound in his chest. Then Arthur was pushing in, leaning forward with both hands braced on the bed to whisper against Merlin's temple as he did so: "That's your family now too."

Merlin couldn't respond, not when Arthur was slowly filling him like he was. Arthur's brow was furrowed, as if in concentration, but he didn't break his gaze from Merlin's until their hips were pressed together, at which point, his husband let out a long breath as he pressed their foreheads together. Sweat made their hair stick to their skin and every breath Arthur took, that Merlin took, pressed their chests together, they were so close.

"Okay?" Merlin asked, hands on Arthur's ribs and fingers spread wide, keeping him in place.

Arthur laughed and the sound breezed over Merlin's face. "I feel like I should be asking you that."

"Oh, I'm perfect," Merlin replied with a smile. His orgasm had left him weak, but it had also left him relaxed, like he'd just had a few cups of wine , but without the affect on his mind. He could feel the renewal of interest from his cock, but right now, he was just enjoying the way Arthur was filling him and surrounding him, the sight of his face and his body as he took what Merlin was so freely offering.

"Yes, you are," Arthur murmured, staring down at him for a long moment before he leaned down to take a kiss.

Their first kiss had been the same night Merlin had been stolen, and they hadn't kissed much after he'd come back, but it still happened enough for Merlin to wonder why Arthur only ever kissed him in that same slow way he always did. He'd seen the way desperately-aroused people tended to go after one another, but Arthur was never anything less than excruciatingly slow and deliberate, like he was intentionally trying to make Merlin go mad. It didn't always make sense, why Arthur did it that way, but right now, it did. Merlin was hard again before Arthur even pulled his hips back.

When Arthur thrust back into him, it felt like his cock was forcing the breath from Merlin's lungs. As did each subsequent thrusts, until Merlin found himself inhaling every time Arthur pulled out and exhaling every time he pushed back in. He quickly realized that Arthur fucked the way he kissed, each thrust slow but firm and deliberate, leaving Merlin a panting mess whose world had narrowed down to just... Arthur.

One of Arthur's hands wormed under Merlin's body at his lower back, pulling him up so Arthur could work his knees under Merlin's arse, and the change in angle of Arthur's thrusts sent bursts of pleasure through Merlin's limbs. Something in Arthur's expression changed and he began to fuck into Merlin harder as he gradually picked up speed, every thrust working towards building up another orgasm until Merlin was clutching at the pillows below his head and trying to push his hips back into Arthur's.

The bond in his chest had never been brighter or warmer, and yet, it was growing more so still. There was even hints of it reaching between him and Arthur to connect them, traces of emotions and thoughts not his own and so explicit in their emotions and intentions that, even with Arthur fucking him into his bed, were making him blush. Arthur sat back on his knees, the arm under Merlin pulling him along, and the other hand pressed to his stomach. Rough callouses left a trail of goosebumps as Arthur smoothed his palm up Merlin's sternum, across the hard nub of a nipple, and down onto a spread wing. Merlin slammed his hips down at the contact and gripped the pillows so hard that he might have ripped them.

Arthur kept the pressure on his wing light, but he didn't let up. He kept brushing his fingers over scales and veins as his hips pushed Merlin to another cliff until he was teetering on the edge. The slightest breeze could push him off, and yet, he was stuck there. Everything in him: the bond, his orgasm, was waiting for something, but he couldn't figure out what. Until Arthur's hips began to accelerate even as his rhythm began to falter. The hand on Merlin's wing left suddenly and Merlin found that he couldn't suffer the loss of Arthur's skin at the moment. He wrapped them both in his wings, blotting out the light as Arthur's hand found his hair and gripped it tight, holding his head still for Arthur to devour his mouth.

The way Arthur was bending over him and between his legs pushed the softness of his belly against Merlin's cock, rubbing it as surely as a hand could, and that was all the touch he needed. His orgasm started to wash over him just as the inside of Arthur's wrist brushed the tip of his ears and shoved him over the edge of the precipice and into tumultuous waters. Arthur moaned into his mouth and the bond between them seemed to explode in light and heat, connecting the two of them across time and space and death, and for a split second, Merlin could see the future of their souls in a time far beyond Camelot.

The vision faded with his orgasm and left him limp and exhausted, Arthur's body a heavy, boneless weight keeping him pinned to the bed. The bond was a solid, unbreakable warmth in his chest, keeping him connected with Arthur in such a way that he could imagine his king's heart beating alongside his, could feel the echo of Arthur's thoughts and emotions in his own mind. His wings were slowly slipping away from Arthur's body and Merlin let them, letting in cooler air and light, and the familiar sights of Arthur's room were slowly superseding the strange things he'd seen at the height of their connection.

"Gaius told me about the bond, but I didn't think it would be like that," Arthur said, voice as dazed as Merlin felt.

"I've known about bonds since I was a child and I didn't think it would be like that," Merlin told him.

Arthur sat up on his knees with a low groan, and they both wrinkled their noses as Arthur's softened cock slipped from Merlin's hole. And then Merlin frowned at the mess of his release smeared on their bellies and Arthur's release slowly sliding from him. Arthur rolled over to the edge of the bed and got up, wobbling the few feet to his discarded clothes and back again where he swiped the cloth over Merlin's belly and then over Merlin's sensitive entrance, making him hiss at the scrape of the material. Arthur gentled his touch, keeping it slow until he was satisfied and then he tossed the clothing over the side of the bed.

Merlin shuffled his wings out of the way and weakly worked the blankets out from underneath his body, and it ended up taking the two of them to get it clear of Merlin's body. Arthur promptly collapsed next to him and drew the blankets back over them both, leaving them in silence. It was still early, and most of the castle's inhabitants would likely be sleeping in late, but Merlin could already hear the stirring of peasant life from the people in the lower city down below.

"Do you think every time will be like that?" Arthur asked suddenly, turning on his side to look Merlin in the eye.

Merlin thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. "I really don't know. I want to say 'no' because I'm pretty sure that should only happen with the formation of a bond, but... I don't think that was a normal bonding either."

"Not normal in a bad way?" Arthur asked, sounding concerned as he reached for Merlin's hip and tugged him close.

"No," Merlin assured him as he shook his head and settled into Arthur's hold. "I'm supposedly magic taken form, and a bond is nothing but magic, so that probably had something to do with it. We can ask Gaius, but from all records, there has never been anyone like me before, so he may not know either. I am unique."

Arthur snorted and pressed a kiss to Merlin's forehead, arm tightening around Merlin's waist until they were pressed flush together. "That you are. Big ears and all."

"I do not have big ears," Merlin argued with a frown, flicking Arthur on the underside of his chin.

"Yes you do," Arthur replied, voice calm and amused. Soft lips brushed across his brow to his temple and over to his ear, and the wet tip of a tongue traced the point, making Merlin shudder. "You have big ears and big eyes and a big heart and I wouldn't have you any other way."

Even after how intimate they'd just been, Merlin still found himself fluttered and flustered by the praise. "And you say you aren't a romantic," he muttered, burying his face in Arthur's chest.

"I am whatever you need me to be," Arthur said, chuckling.

"I just need you to be you," Merlin replied. "Big muscles and big sword and big ego and all."

"And you say you aren't a romantic," Arthur parroted, making Merlin smile.

"I am whatever you need me to be," Merlin echoed, and the bond in his chest thrummed with the power of Arthur's affection for him.

"I just need you to be you."

FIN


Fun fact: Arthur's white heather means 'protection'.

Well, that was a party! (not really) I think this my second longest fic though, so that's something. Like the thing? Reblog my thing (themadkatter13fanfiction tumblr, tagged La Chasse aux Papillons) and/or reblog karovie's original fanart (karoviesart tumblr, post 160376990066).