Work Text:
-/-/-
A beautiful field of flowers was what greeted him as he woke up.
No, he wasn't really awake. That much was apparent.
From the endlessly blue sky to the sweet aroma of countless flowers that spanned across the land with no end in sight, none of it was real in slightest. He might not have been born a magus, but he could at the very least tell apart dream from reality. A gentle breeze blew by, bringing along with it a flurry of flower petals that danced in the wind.
"What are you trying to pull now..."
Cursing softly under his breath, Gilgamesh idly ran his hands across the numerous flowers that surrounded him. So numerous were they that they formed a sort of cushion under him. Coming in a vast variety of breeds, he could only identify a few of the common breeds at best. The identity of the pink tinged flowers that were seen commonly accompanying a certain Magus of Flowers was lost on him. Patience had never been a strength of his and he found his wearing rather thin at the moment. He swore if that damned mage didn't show his face within the next minute-
-he abruptly swung his golden axe at the figure that appeared behind him.
"Hey!" A playful voice rang out as the long haired figure dodged the harsh swing. "Is that how you great your dear old friend?"
He snorts at the man's audacity. They both knew that the king of Uruk only had one friend, and said friend was dead. Either way, he had no time to waste on whatever game the other male was trying to play. He had a country to rule.
"Return me to the woken world this instant mongrel."
Loathe as he was to admit, the other caster was certainly stronger than him when it came to the world of dreams. If the Magus of Flowers truly wished to keep him here, there would be little he could do to escape. Why was he in this dream scape anyway? He certainly didn't remember falling asleep. He continued to puzzle on the matter while dematerializing his axe. Although, an endless sea of flowers as a dream location was to be expected from the other.
The white haired servant frowned upon hearing his words. Having made sure that he wasn't going to be cleaved into half by the golden axe any longer, he happily sat himself next to the golden king. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, he gazed intently at Gilgamesh. His once playful expression was now one of utmost seriousness.
"Gil, you don't remember?"
What? Gilgamesh resisted the urge to punch the other man in the face for uttering that nickname.
"This is a nice place to rest, isn't it?"
"Merlin."
A soft sigh.
"You collapsed again. At this rate, you really will work yourself to death before help from Chaldea arrives."
Did he now? Searching the other's face for any signs of a lie, he eventually conceded defeat. Collapsing from overwork wasn't a terribly rare event for him. Even Siduri had begun expressing concern about his work schedule as of late. But, with the wretched gods threatening to obliterate humanity every other week, what choice did he have? While he did believe in his people to offer up a solid defence against the assault, without him they would be little more than headless chickens.
"Just rest here for a while alright? I'll wake you up tomorrow."
"That’s too long. Wake me up in three hours."
Merlin purses his lips at the demand, but ultimately didn't refute him much to his satisfaction. At least the servant still knew his place.
Unfortunately, with so much time and nothing to do, his mind tended to wander to dark thoughts. The past him might have his head filled with unless thoughts of nothing but enjoying life. But ever since that trip to the underworld, he had been unable to bring himself to revert back to that arrogant state of being. What a fool he had been then. Blinded by his own greed, pride and arrogance, he had failed to see the things that truly mattered and his country had paid the price for that. The death of his only friend and the journey he undertook had opened his eyes. It was though he rediscovered his purpose in the world when he looked upon his once glorious country which was then in a state of near ruin.
It didn't help that his reunion with his long thought dead friend had been anything but pleasant. The damned gods had once more found a way to utterly ruin something so precious to him.
Before he could continue spiralling into more depressing thoughts, a warm body hugged him from the back and brought him back to the present. While he initially bristled at the contact, Gilgamesh eventually relaxed into the warm embrace with a light sigh.
"Don't dwell on the past." Merlin advises while nuzzling his head into the crook of the blonde's neck. Said blonde tolerates the surprisingly comfortable gesture while playing with long strands of white hair.
The Wise King supposes the Magus of Flowers did have a point. Casually picking up a small white flower unlike the ones that usually surrounded the flower magus, he began to idly study the slight object in his hand. It feels feathery soft against his skin and leaves a smudge of yellow pollen on his fingers as he prods them. A light floral scent assaults his nose and although he normally doesn't like flowers, he finds to his surprise, that he quite likes these small white ones.
"Interesting choice my king." Merlin observed as he casually placed a hand on the king’s left flank which was pointedly ignored by the other. "Do you know what flowers these are?"
"...no."
There was no point trying to guess when he has next to no clue and there were a ridiculous number of flowers existing in the world.
"It's an olive flower which represents peace, a meaning rather at odds with your arrogant violent self eh?"
Finishing his little jibe, Merlin picked up a cluster of the white flowers and arranged them neatly in between blond strands. The ending result was a rather elegant looking flower cluster adorning the King of Uruk's hair.
Too tired to really get annoyed at the mage’s silly antics, Gilgamesh decided to just ignore the other completely. He pulled out of Merlin's embrace and rested his head on the other man's lap. Shutting his eyes resolutely to indicate his desire to rest, he hoped the Magus of Flowers would just shut up for the moment and leave him to be. The other male startled a little probably due to the sudden shift in position, but seemed to settle down easily enough. Gilgamesh got a grand total of 12 seconds of peace before he felt Merlin shifting around. While a little annoying, it doesn't exactly disturb his rest so he lets it slide. He does however, open his eyes upon feeling soft material being draped across himself.
A white cloak with flower petals lining its edges now covered his body and he must admit that it was quite welcome against the cool breeze of the endless flower valley. Gilgamesh tilted his head up to look at the now cloak less Merlin. His black undershirt clinged to his body leaving little to imagination. The white haired male might be a mage, but his body certainly lacked no amount of wry muscle.
“You-“
He was silenced by the soft kiss on his forehead. It was just a brief contact, but the blond could feel the love and reverence that was contained within.
“Your end will not be a happy one.”
It was neither a question nor an ominous warning, merely a fact that Merlin stated to remind themselves once again what fate had in store for them. With one of them from the future and the other able to see the future, such a normally distressing fact had lost its novelty a long time ago.
Sighing rather tiredly, the king of Uruk allowed his head to fall back to the side and stared blankly at the vast expanse of flowers again. He liked to think he was ready for the inevitable.
“I can only hope to make what remaining time we have left as enjoyable as possible, my dear king.”
Merlin started stroking his hair in calming circles. The cluster of olive flowers that were somehow still adorning his hair were rearranged by long slender fingers. Together with the soothing strokes and the warmth of the white cloak, Gilgamesh eventually slipped into slumber.
-/-/-
“Gil.”
No response.
“Gil!”
The King of Uruk still does not respond to his call. It seems he was really exhausted after all.
Merlin smiled somewhat somberly at the slumbering blond in his lap. Long lashes framed eyes that would be blood red if opened and his hair was deceptively soft. Gilgamesh was truly a beautiful being that even the goddess of desire wanted. The courage and strength to continuously defy the gods despite his frail mortal shell was frankly awe inspiring. Gilgamesh would fight to the bitter end for humanity for he was just that kind of person. Merlin felt truly blessed to have met this man.
“My lonely, solitary king.”
He caressed the face that showed only hints of suffering that was so carefully hidden when awake.
“I promise to follow you to the ends of this earth.”
Of course, he would never let Gilgamesh who hated such sappy lines hear this.
In the endless sea of countless flowers, a mage once again reaffirmed his promise to his master.
Time marched on.
The wheels of fate continued turn.
Nothing changed.
And the flowers merely sat and listened.