Arthur had wanted a night out, and what Arthur wanted, Arthur apparently got.

They had all gone down to commandeer several tables in the local pub, and Uther had put enough money behind the bar to appease the locals. Every drink was on him that night and the locals made much use of it, while satisfying their curiosity. Arthur had been asked about his mother and he had told the story without much fuss and to a good deal of shocked sympathy. Now he sat outside in the beer garden, wrapped up in two coats, as it was cold, while he looked at the sky and heard the sounds of the party behind him. Then a door creaked and Arthur smiled, he knew who was coming.

"Are you all right?"

"Perfectly fine, Merlin."

Merlin got up next to him to sit on the picnic table, watching as the white streak moved swiftly across the sky.

"She didn't go far," Merlin said.

"Can you blame her? Boris is such a house wyvern. He's been her only company."

"We're never going to have to worry about burglars."

Arthur sniggered into the thick material of Percival's fleece, which he had taken to put over his own. Merlin muttered under his breath and warm air swirled around them both. Arthur gave Merlin a reproachful look.

"No one will notice, it's not like a rampant serket," Merlin said.

"Okay."

"It's not out of control," Merlin reasoned.

"No, I think we contained the worst of it with Aithusa, although there have been a few things happening."

"Nothing we can't handle I guess," Merlin said.

"It seems to have happened backwards."

Merlin frowned curiously. "In what way."

"Well, last time my big battle was at the end of it, since I died at that point. This time it seems to have happened at the beginning, now I have just started to learn about it all, and I'm alive."

"It's not really that simple, Camelot continued after you, and then presumably morphed into Britain, as it is now," Merlin said.

"And Camelot wasn't needed anymore," Arthur said. "So why am I back now?"

"Well, we're supposed to bring the balance of magic back to the world, maybe we've done that again."

"With Aithusa?" Arthur pondered.

"We'll have to keep an eye on that, you didn't let it happen, what you were feeling when you were fighting Mordred."

Arthur looked at his hand, there was still a tiny scrape where his hand had bled, causing the magic to leak.

"I don't think I have to panic every time I cut myself. I think it was just at that place, at that moment, either of us bleeding would have unleashed something bad."

"So you didn't want to hurt him."

"No, I didn't even want him to drown."

"I don't think that was your choice?"

"Your girlfriend did that."

"My girlfriend?"

"The Lady Of The Lake, she was someone you lost, you told me. Old You."

"That is so weird; Old Me. I can't imagine being old."

"Yeah, you were a bit strange; but very you at the same time. That was where I was going, nothing to do with you now, it was Old You that wanted to see me. You waited for me, for centuries, then you knew I was about to be born, he saw me, Old You and then decided to become young you, somehow. I never had a choice, the rest of them kept appearing and you manoeuvred everything. I think you only did young you so I couldn't blame you."

"I don't sound very helpful."

"Help is not the issue, you built Avalon for me, and now it's redundant. What are we going to do now?"

Merlin looked up at the stars. "I suppose anything we want. Maybe Old Me made sure of that. It does sound like we were very busy as Young Us!"

"Yeah. This is your retirement plan," Arthur said.

"Hey! Have you guys seen my fleece!" Percival bellowed from the doorway.

"Yes, I'm wearing it over mine! It was cold out here!"

"Fine! Just borrow my stuff, I don't get enough of that from Gwaine!"

Arthur turned to watch him slam the door. "Yeah, cos you don't like showing off those biceps. In my flashback I don't think I ever saw him with sleeves."

Merlin giggled, then he sobered. "I'm sorry, if you thought I abandoned you. Old Me abandoning you."

"You're a sneaky git," Arthur said as he slowly peeled Percival's fleece off his own so he could give it back. "All that memory you gave me, that I got when I put on that crown, that told me just what you did. You're not stupid; in this lifetime I am supposed to appreciate you."

"By the sound of it what we have now are the only lifetimes we have left. The pair of us, the rest of them may go on."

"So, we make the most if it?"

Merlin nudged his shoulder against Arthur's.

"Yeah, we do."