Chapter 12

Warning/s: None that I can think of.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin nor anything to do with it.

A/N: This was a prompt from Elise.v: "Freya tries to convince Merlin to have children in the future, (with some arguments and doing extra sweet) but Merlin has his doubts. At the end merlin tells Arthur he's going to have kids, and Arthur has tou laugh, because Merlin is too easy to manipulate by a girl".

This one took quite a long time to write, just because I honestly wasn't sure how exactly to set about writing this. Hopefully I've done this prompt justice, please let me know, and keep the prompts coming! I managed to get this written purely because I'm doing work experience and I got a half day!

Day 1

Freya awoke earlier than usual. She wondered why, then realised that her husband was lying staring at the ceiling, humming under his breath. The light of the dawn must have woken him; they had forgotten to draw the curtains last night and while Freya wasn't sensitive to the light, Merlin was. Freya shifted slightly and Merlin glanced down at her, and realised that she was awake. "Morning," he said quietly, pulling her towards him gently to kiss her cheek.

"We should try for a child soon," Freya murmured into Merlin's ear, by way of greeting.

"What?" Merlin gaped at his wife.

"I think we should have a child." Freya threaded her hand through Merlin's messy hair.

"Why? We're perfectly fine as we are," Merlin protested, sitting up in bed. Freya followed suit, throwing her legs over Merlin's lap.

"I know, but I've always wanted to have children," Freya implored, widening her eyes and blinking innocently. "You said you wanted them too…"

"Well, yes, but not now!" Merlin spluttered. They couldn't have kids!

"Why not? We've been married for three years now and we'd both be great parents." Freya toyed with her husband's hand, biting her lip and fiddling with her hair. Unfortunately for her, Merlin wasn't falling for her usual tricks at that moment.

"I'm sorry, Freya, but no," Merlin answered firmly, sliding from bed and grabbing some clothes from his wardrobe. "Not yet." He strode behind the screen to change.

Freya settled back against the headboard. They were having children soon, whether Merlin liked it or not.

"She wants to have kids now!" Merlin squeaked.

Arthur nodded sympathetically. "You don't want to have them?"

"Not yet! Children are weird, they're like little frogs, bouncing around everywhere and making annoying noises!"

"Did you just compare children to frogs?" Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, Merlin, you need to have a proper talk with her."

Merlin sighed and paced around Arthur's room. "I would, but she'll just use her feminine wiles and before you know it, she'll be pregnant."

"Ignore her feminine wiles, then. Resist the urge!" Arthur slammed his fist on the table for emphasis.

"Right!" Merlin marched to the door, then paused. "I can't, Arthur," he whined.

Arthur groaned.

"Freya," Merlin declared, as he entered their chambers. "We need to-" His voice trailed off as he noticed his wife, curled up into a ball, on the floor. "Freya, what's wrong?" He hurried to her side and rubbed her back.

"I want children!" Freya sobbed, without looking at Merlin. Merlin felt a spark of panic ignite in his chest.

"I know, and that's what we need to talk about." Freya sobbed harder. "I do want children," Merlin said desperately. What was he meant to say? "Just not right now." He glanced at his wife's face, which was actually surprisingly dry considering the volume of her sobs.

"Wait," he said suspiciously. Freya wasn't above using any tactic to get what she wanted, which included- "Stop the fake crying, Freya, it's not working." The sobs stopped immediately and Freya looked up and scowled.

"It nearly was!" she glowered, her jawline set and determined. "Fine, let's talk."

Merlin cleared his throat. "I want children in the future. Just not the near future."

"Well, I do." Freya stared at her husband resolutely.

"I don't think we're capable of raising children right now!" Merlin countered, his voice rising slightly.

"We are, Merlin, you just won't admit it!" Freya shouted, scrambling to her feet.

"Freya-"

"No, don't bother! You don't want to have to deal with a child right now, not because you can't cope, or I can't cope, you just don't want the hassle!" Freya's cheeks were flushed bright red and there was a brightness in her eyes that Merlin knew from experience was pure anger.

Merlin ran a hand through his hair, turning away from his wife. He heard Freya snarl in frustration behind him and the door slammed. Nice one, Merlin.

Day 2

Merlin woke up to find Freya in his bed. He sighed in relief – he had finally admitted defeat in the early hours of the morning and gone to sleep without Freya, although he had wanted to stay awake until he knew she had returned safely.

She looked peaceful and Merlin cautiously shifted towards her, wrapping his arms around her torso. She woke with a start. "Sorry," Merlin whispered immediately, and Freya relaxed her shoulders.

"Me too," she muttered.

Day 6

Neither of them had broached the topic of children since their mutual apology. Freya was waiting for the right moment to strike; Merlin was merely relieved that their argument had been resolved.

Merlin traipsed into his chambers after a long, tiring meeting with the council. To be honest, all he wanted at that moment was a bath and to sleep. He was greeted with a bath and a beaming Freya. "I thought you might want a bath," Freya smiled, greeting her husband with a hug.

"Thank you," Merlin sighed gratefully, stripping himself of his top and heading towards the steaming bath. Freya smirked to herself: her plan was working.

Merlin was about to fall asleep, pleasantly relaxed by the bath, when Freya joined him in bed. She curled up into his side, slipping her leg between his and nuzzling into his neck.

"Love you," she muttered.

"Love you too," Merlin replied.

"I still want children."

Day 8

"Lunch!" Freya said happily, bouncing into their room with two plates, clutched precariously in one hand, while she held a jug of water with the other one. She set the three items down on the table and filled up the two goblets that were a permanent presence in their room. "Merlin?" Her husband was staring out of the window.

"Let's have kids," he said suddenly. Freya dropped the jug.

"Really?" she asked, not quite believing him.

"Really," Merlin confirmed, hurrying over to his wife. "Children are exactly what I want!"

"Are you feeling alright?" Freya watched her husband warily. Maybe he was coming down with a fever.

"I feel fine. I'm going to go and tell Arthur we're having children!" Merlin sprinted out of the room and down the corridor, leaving Freya alone with their lunches, wondering why Arthur had anything to do with it.

"We're having children!" Merlin beamed. Arthur, with a raspberry halfway to his mouth, blinked.

"Children? I thought you didn't want them yet."

"I do now," Merlin announced proudly, as if it was his original idea.

"Great," Arthur replied, stifling a laugh. "Go and talk about it with Freya – she's probably as shocked as I am."

Merlin nodded and sprinted back out of the room, and Arthur let himself laugh loudly. He wondered which feminine wiles Freya had used – Merlin was far too easy to manipulate.

A/N: I'm not happy with this really, but what can you do?