Archive of Our Own

It has been some time after Arthur finally learned everything there was to know about Merlin. No more hiding, no more secrets, it was just the two of them together at last. They were both sickeningly happy together. Just as before, there was never one without the other unless they had different tasks to attend to. Even then, they somehow always manage to sneak into a meeting they weren’t needed for. And of course it wouldn't be Merlin and Arthur without their squabbles and disagreements, though, they could never stay mad at each other for more than a day. All in all they both had what they’ve always wanted, each other.

Which is why Arthur currently had his chin on his desk staring daggers at a small pouch in front of him. 

The door opened and he startled only to find Leon entering the room and he instantly settled back into his previous position. 

“Sire,” Leon greeted with a questioning look.

“Leon”

“As important as this report is, what in the world are you staring at?”

“Pouch,” Arthur grumbled. 

“I see. And are you trying your hand at magic Sire? Because I’m getting the sense that you’d rather set it on fire by glaring at it.”

Arthur sat up leaning against the back of his chair and motioned to the pouch. Leon hesitantly set the reports in front of the king to look at while picking up the small offending item. Fearing a curse or some weird prank Leon slowly opened the pouch where inside lay a small box. He took it out of its confinement and lifted the lid. Oh. 

“Oh.”

“Yes.”

“So you’re going to...”

“Yes.”

“Well that’s good news? About time if I’m being honest.”

“Very nice to hear that from you Leon. However, I am, in all honesty, trying not to lose my head about proposing to the one man that I love with every fiber of my very being,” Arthur said, pulling at his hair.

“Arthur, you and Merlin have known each other for years, you’ve been through so much together, and I’m pretty sure you’ve been in love with each other for longer if Merlin’s destiny spiel has anything to say about it. If you’re worried he’s going to say no I will not hesitate to sic the knights and Morgana on you for being so daft.”

Arthur just sighs. “It’s not that I’m afraid he’ll say no, though don’t get me wrong those nightmares keep me up plenty. When I ask I want it to be perfect, everything between us hasn’t always come easy and I just want this one thing to be a moment we can look back on without tying it back to something that wants to hurt, maim, curse or kill us.”

Leon chuckled, “Well lucky for you Camelot has a great king and a powerful Warlock on our side so nothing has wanted to hurt, maim, curse or kill you in a while. So just plan something nice and ask him.”

“You say that like it’s the easiest thing in the world, like I can ruck up to him and say ‘Oh hi Merlin, love of my life, please spend the rest of your life with me thank you.’ Gods I think I’m going to throw up.”

“Alright now I know you’re just being dramatic,” Leon thought for a moment, “How about a picnic? It’s simple, private, and it’ll just be the two of you. There have been no reports of bandits or hostile forces in the past week, and it’s spring time so there will be plenty of nice spaces for you to go.”

Arthur thought about it for a moment, “That’s actually a great idea. Thank you. I’ll need to move around some plans, I want to do this as soon as possible,” Arthur started mumbling to himself about meetings getting lost in his own head. 

Leon shook his head in amusement and quietly left his king to his own devices. As soon as he left the room he took out a piece of parchment he had stowed away and scratched some things down as he made his way down the corridors. 

Some days later, while they were getting ready in the morning, Arthur suggested to Merlin they go on a picnic that afternoon.

“A picnic?”

“We can go out for lunch right after your meeting with the Druid Council. We haven’t had one in a while and it’s nice out today, just you and me,” Arthur finished nonchalantly. 

“Sure that sounds lovely, we have been pretty busy lately,” Merlin said, fiddling with the clasp on his cloak trying to get it to close. Arthur came up behind him wrapping his arms around Merlin’s waist, resting his chin on his shoulder. 

“That’s not helping you know,” Merlin huffed, smirking at him. 

“I know,” Arthur smiled. He batted Merlin’s hands away from the clasp turning him around clicking it in place. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to dress me all these years when you can’t even do this yourself,” he straightened out the cloak on Merlin’s shoulders laying a soft kiss on his forehead. 

Merlin leaned into the gesture, “Hm, maybe it’s just easier to dress people who are royal prats all the time,” hugging Arthur around the middle.

“Well now with that attitude maybe we won’t need a picnic then,” pretending to pry himself from Merlin’s grasp.

“Wha- hey,” Merlin pouted, tightening his hold around his King.

Arthur chuckled, lightly kissing his pout away, “Come on now, we have a lot to get done today,” he said, taking Merlin’s hand and heading out of their chambers. When they came to where they needed to part, Arthur gave him one last kiss on the back of his hand brushing his lips over the pale scars that were littered there. “I’ll see you for lunch later,” he smiled, extracting himself from his lover, “Now go quickly, the sooner you get your meetings done the sooner we can go.” 

Merlin nodded and made his way down the hall but turned to give Arthur one last smile before disappearing around the corner. He never failed to give Arthur that warm fluttering feeling every time he smiled at him. 

Now on to create the perfect afternoon.

Leon, Elyan and Lance saw the two of them ride off into the woods that afternoon from one of the tower windows. “It’s definitely today,” Elyan stated. 

“Well, we’ll just have to wait for them to come back before all is said and done,” Leon said.

“It is Merlin and Arthur, who knows,” Lance shrugged. 

They all watched them disappear into the tree line and turned to make their way down to the armory. Lance took one last look out the window spotting some dark clouds not too far into the distance. He smirked and followed his fellow knights down the stairs.

It was a perfect picnic. There were no bandits, the birds were singing, the food was delicious; it was just Merlin and Arthur chatting about their day and the gossip that went on around the castle. They finished eating and were lounging, basking in the sun. Arthur had his head in Merlin’s lap, his fingers carding through his golden hair taking in the moment.

Arthur felt a press of lips on his forehead and opened his eyes to Merlin’s blinding smile. He slowly took in the details highlighted in the sunlight: his dimples, sharp cheekbones, his fringe spilling over the silver circlet on his head, the criss cross of scars marking across his nose, jaw and soft lips, the shine of mischief and love in his eyes. Arthur lifted his arms to cradle the face he loved so much between his hands thumbing the stray marks on Merlin’s cheeks. The moment was perfect. Arthur looked into Merlin’s eyes noting the two colors that made Merlin who he was, the left a shining gold and the right a deep blue, “Merlin, I --” 

A drop fell onto his head, and then another, and in no time a downpour soaked them both to the bone. Quickly scrambling up to try and save their things they ended up tripping over one another and landed sprawled out on the ground. 

The moment they locked eyes they started laughing. The whole thing was pretty fitting really. Once their laughter subsided they carefully untangled themselves and cleaned up the now wet picnic. Merlin forgoed drying everything off since they, and everything else, were already soaked through, and they still had to ride back to the castle. 

Arthur secured the last item on his horse and turned to call for Merlin. He saw him standing in the small clearing with his face tilted up to the sky feeling the rain fall down on him. Arthur made his way over with a smile on his face, “Come on love, we should get back before you get sick.”

Merlin spared a glance at him and offered his hand, “Dance with me first.”

“Merlin.”

“Just one.”

And of course who was Arthur to refuse anything Merlin asked of him. Taking his hand Merlin tugged him close leading Arthur in a dance to the song of the rain. 

They started slow, swaying in lazy circles. But soon enough they were happily skipping around, splashing in the newly formed puddles. They held onto one another, spinning in circles, laughing at the silly dance. 

Once sufficiently muddy and out of breath they stopped, just holding on to each other, resting their foreheads together letting the rain fall around them. 

“I love you,” Merlin stated over the pitter patter of the rain.

“It seems I would have to argue that I love you more,” Arthur replied.

Merlin chuckled capturing his king’s lips, wet from the rain, tasting like wine and a fresh spring morning. Separating, they mounted their horses so they could make their way back home.

“I told you so,” Arthur said, wringing out the wet cloth and laying it on Merlin’s head the next day.

“Nobody likes an arrogant cabbage head,” Merlin responded from under the mountain of blankets piled on top of him. Though his stuffy nose made it sound like incoherent mumbling and Arthur just laughed. 

“I’m leaving his medicine here with you Arthur. I trust you can administer them without any trouble. Make sure he eats before taking them, and that he gets plenty of rest,” Gaius said leaving multiple vials on the night stand. 

“Of course Gaius, thank you.”

“I’ll be on my way then, no more picnics in the rain for the both of you,” Gaius warned with a stern look at both of them.

“I’m not the one who went and got sick,” Arthur said defensively.

Gaius just rolled his eyes and showed himself out of their chambers.

A while later while Arthur was helping Merlin eat there was a knock at their door.

Leaving Merlin to eat, Arthur made his way to the door only to be unceremoniously shoved aside by some visiting knights. “Hey! You lot can't just barge in here like that.” Arthur sputtered as he closed the door.

“Can and did,” Gwaine shot back making his way towards Merlin with Leon and Elyan in tow. The rain was still pouring down so many of the people within the castle were stuck inside getting restless. “Merlin! How is my favorite magic man getting along?” Gwaine bellowed, taking Arthur’s seat while the others gathered around the bed. Arthur just sat on the bed angrily next to Merlin taking his bowl of soup away so he wouldn’t spill it.

“We heard you were sick so we thought it would be nice to visit,” Leon said.

“Thank you. I was just about to go mad seeing Arthur’s face all day,” Merlin snickered, which quickly turned into a coughing fit.

“That’s what you get for making fun of me,” Arthur said smugly while rubbing soothing circles on Merlin’s back.

“Worth it,” he hacked.

“Well I hope you get better mate,” Elyan said, eyes roaming expectantly, “Hope you now know not to go on any more picnics seeing as all you got was wet and sick ,” he said pointedly looking at Arthur whose eyes widened a bit before he schooled his expression into something neutral.

“Well it was lovely before the rain came through, we should all take a day again and go out together soon,” Merlin offered.

“Sounds good mate, just focus on getting better for now,” Leon said, “C’mon lads let’s leave them alone.”

Arthur handed Merlin his soup back and followed them to the door. 

“Really Arthur?” Elyan hissed as soon as they were out of earshot.

“What? Why are you mad at me?!”

“Nothing,” Elyan grumbled, “Just hurry up and propose or whatever, it’s been forever already!”

“What happened Arthur?” Leon asked.

“I don’t know! I forgot ok? We were having a nice time, it couldn’t have been more perfect, but then the rain, and Merlin, he just, made me forget with his face, and I don’t know. He always makes me forget about my worries and I guess we had such a great time I forgot,” he finished lamely.

“That was the most disgustingly sweet reason why you didn’t ask him,” Gwaine said. 

“Well there’s always next time,” Leon shrugged.

“Yeah next time,” Elyan grumbled.

Arthur just sighed, “I’ll see you all tomorrow for training if the storm passes. Leon fetch me if anything important comes up, I’ll resume my duties tomorrow.”

He dismissed the knights and made his way back to take care of Merlin. 

“Now, now Elyan. No need to be grumpy about the Princess’s inability to do a simple task,” Gwaine teased, slinging his arm around the angry knight leading him down the corridor. Leon just huffed out a small laugh and followed them jotting something down on his piece of parchment. 

Arthur was nursing a small headache sitting in the throne room. He had been listening to petitions from his citizens for the better part of the day and he would’ve liked nothing more than to run himself through with his own sword than hear another petty squabble. “Leon, please tell me we are done for the day.”

Leon looked over his list and seeing Arthur’s foul mood he took it upon himself to spare the next person who would be unlucky enough to be on the receiving end of it.

“I think we can wrap it up for today Sire,” he said dismissing the stragglers of the court.

Arthur further slumped in his throne letting out a deep sigh, “Leon what am I going to do?”

“Well I suggest an identification system for the goats, it's much easier to distinguish ownership that way.”

“What? No, I meant about Merlin. But thank you. That is a good idea as well. Write that down somewhere.”

Leon hummed in agreement while jotting down the note,“You could always present him with a gift? Something nice, but not over the top, you know he isn’t fond of all the extravagance.”

“I don’t know. What gift could even measure up? I’d give him anything he'd ask of me but it’s always hard to surprise him with something.”

“Well what’s something he uses often, or maybe something he misses from Ealdor?”

Arthur thought about it for a moment when his eyes lit up, “A pet!”

Leon looked at him with a concerned look.

“See it’s perfect, when Aithusa left with Kilgharrah Merlin was devastated, he was moping about the castle for ages. I know it won’t be a replacement, but I know he has an ungodly soft spot for animals. Plus, he can bring it along with him, he was extremely upset when Aithusa couldn’t fit in the castle anymore. It’s perfect!,” Arthur beamed. 

Leon smiled, “Well it wouldn’t be any different from taking care of you Sire.”

“Treason Leon.”

“Of course Sire.”

The next week found Leon and Percy walking through the corridors when they saw Arthur wrestling with something in his hands, “Come on now don’t squirm so much. I just need you to cooperate for just a moment please,” he seemed to be coaxing a gray ball of fluff from somewhere inside of his cloak.

“Everything alright Sire?” Leon called out.

“Yes, maybe. Shit catch him before he gets away!” Arthur said pointing to something quickly making its way towards the two knights. 

Percival scooped up the little fur ball in his large hands seeing what was giving the king such a hard time. What looked back at him was a pair of blue eyes and fluffy gray fur purring softly at the large man, squirming in his grasp.

“Who’s this little guy?” he asked, giving the kitten a small rub on his little forehead.

“That little terror is Merlin’s new present when I propose,” Arthur said, approaching them.

“Really? Where did you get him?” asked Leon, giving the kitten a small rub himself.

“One of the stable hands found a litter of them a couple of days ago. When I went to pick one out this one started to climb my trousers and wouldn’t let go. Seemed like he chose me instead,” Arthur chuckled. “Now hand him here, I need to get him ready to present to Merlin when he gets back.” He made grabby hands at the squirming mess of fur and claws. Percy seemed very reluctant to let him go but relinquished his hold on the kitten for Arthur to take. 

As they saw him disappear down the hall Percy glanced at Leon who was now scratching something down on a piece of parchment.

“So…,” Percy started.

“Gwaine.”

“He’s going to be insufferable.”

“Day is still young.”

“Do you think there are still more kittens at the stables?”

“Let’s see for ourselves shall we?”

Arthur was a mess of nerves trying to tie a small red neckerchief onto the tiny squirming kitten. He wanted to loop the ring on it but the little monster was wriggling too much and it kept slipping out of his grasp. 

“Come on now you little gremlin, we have to get you ready for Merlin.” He was moments away from begging when the little guy darted off the bed and into the front room. “No wait I still need to tie on the --- ”

“Oh hello there, now where did you come from?”

Arthur paled, quickly stuffing the ring in his pocket and making his way over to the door. He stopped just shy of the entrance to the bedroom where he saw Merlin cradling the kitten in his arms cooing at it softly. Merlin heard Arthur approaching and smiled at him, “Arthur were you being mean to this little fellow?”

Arthur rolled his eyes, “If anything he was being mean to me. He was being very uncooperative and ruined the surprise. Almost gave me a scar to match yours, the wily little thing.”

“Surprise?”

“Yes Merlin. Surprise. He’s yours. If you would like him,” Arthur added hesitantly.

Merlin looked at Arthur with wide eyes, “I can keep him?”

“I remember how upset you were when Aithusa left so I thought you would like an animal that would actually fit in the castle this time,” Arthur said casually.

Merlin darted over and pulled him into a kiss. “You’re a huge sop you know that right?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arthur said, wrapping his arms around Merlin careful not to crush the little creature between them.

“How should we name him?” Merlin said, lifting the kitten up to Arthur's face.

“How about Gremlin?” he suggested, as the kitten batted at his nose.

“Don’t be rude,” Merlin chastised studying the kitten,  “Hmm, he looks like a knight don’t you think? With his fur and his feet have little white boots and gloves. So something noble.”

Arthur smiled at the concentrated face Merlin had. Only he would need to think so hard about naming a kitten.

“How about Sir Oliver? Oli for short,” Merlin beamed.

Arthur snorted, “Whatever you say darling.”

Merlin unwound himself from Arthur's arms as he made his way to the doors, “Ok little Oli we still have some things to do today. How would you like to help me write some reports for the Druids?” He cooed. Arthur found himself smiling at the duo but immediately panicked as Merlin reached the door, “Wait hold on!”

Merlin turned around with Oliver, both sets of big round eyes looking at him expectantly. In that moment Arthur realized he may have made a mistake. With the two of them together, they could get away with murder.

Clearing his throat Arthur pulled out the little red neckerchief from his pocket, “I forgot to put this on him,” He quickly tied the cloth around the kitten’s neck, “Just so everyone knows he’s yours.” 

“Thank you Arthur he’s perfect,” Merlin said adoringly. With one last kiss he made his way out and down the hall.

Arthur sighed and leaned his head on the door drawing the ring out of his pocket, seeing it glint in the faint light, “Damn it.”

“Merlin!” A loud voice called him from across the courtyard. He turned trying not to jostle Oli on his shoulder where the little kitten decided to take a nap and was met with Leon, Gwaine, and Lance striding over to him. 

“Looks like you got a new friend,” Lance smiled.

“Well he looks easier to take care of than Arthur,” Gwaine laughed, “And look at the little scarf. Definitely takes after you Merls.”

“He’s a cat Gwaine not a child, and he is Sir Oliver to you lot. He is a noble little knight if you must know.”

“Of course. Can’t disrespect one of our own now can we,” Gwaine said with a faux seriousness as he inspected the little red neckerchief. He glanced quickly down at the hands holding the little guy on Merlin's shoulders and huffed in frustration. 

“You should have Gwen embroider his name on the neckerchief so everyone can see it,” suggested Lance casting a knowing look at Gwaine’s pout. 

“I was actually on my way to see her. Would you like to join me?” Merlin asked.

“Sure I’ll come, I haven’t seen her today since we parted this morning,” Lance said following after him leaving both Leon and Gwaine behind. 

As soon as they disappeared into the castle Gwaine fumed, “How could he bollocks this up for me!? Leon. Is it treason to kill the king? Just a little bit?”

“I’m sure any amount of killing the king is treason,” Leon smirked.

“I’m putting my tavern bill on him tonight then,” he grumbled, marching inside.

Leon just chuckled and followed after him scribbling once more on his parchment. 

The clash of swords had always helped to clear Arthur's head. After a frustrating council meeting he needed to let off some steam and trained with Leon that afternoon. With a dull thud and a sword at his throat Leon decided to get to the main reason he was getting beat into the ground. “Still haven’t come up with another idea Sire?”

Arthur pulled him up from where he lay on the ground, “No. I can never get it right! It’s always because Merlin is always being so Merlin I just forget, or distracted, and poof, the moment is gone. We’ve also been so busy lately we’ve hardly had any time to ourselves. I just want to get this over with so we can get to the better part of the engagement.”

Leon hummed thoughtfully, “What about dinner? You eat dinner together all the time. Just make this one a bit nicer than usual and poof, you have your moment. You can have it in your chambers and it’s inside so no rain this time.”

“Yes that sounds easy, but I suppose there won’t be any harm in doing something easy.”

“Come on Arthur, have a little more enthusiasm. You’ll be engaged by the end of the week before you know it,” Leon said, giving Arthur a hearty pat on his back.

“With my streak, I doubt it.*”

Leon just laughed and slung his arm around Arthur’s shoulders leading him back into the armoury. 

That night Arthur requested dinner to be made up of all of Merlin’s favorites, and even went out of his way to have flowers ready sitting nicely on the table. He was fiddling with one of the daisies when Merlin came stumbling through the door with Oli tucked neatly on his shoulder. 

“What all this?” he asked, taking everything in.

“Well we’ve been busy lately and I thought we could use a treat,” Arthur said, pulling Merlin into his embrace. 

Merlin hummed against his chest, “It looks lovely. And I am starved. I had the longest day you would not believe,” extracting himself from Arthur he set Oli on his bed and surveyed the table once more.

“Arthur did you request all my favorites?” he asked cheekily, digging into his food.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I happen to enjoy all of this just as much as you do,” he said with a faux expression. He sent Merlin a smirk as he sat down and dug into his own plate as well.

They ate and talked about their day in the warm firelight. Merlin was in the middle of reliving a particular event with one of the druids, talking animatedly using his fork to make punctuated movements. Arthur just listened, being quietly amused and observing him. Arthur never got tired of looking at Merlin. The glow of the firelight cast a golden glow on his face smoothing out his features. His eyes are always full of life and mirth. He never ceased to have this lively air around him that always seemed to pull Arthur in. 

Arthur thought how only a couple years ago Merlin could have never been this open, least of all around him. But now he can’t imagine his life without Merlin being his true self, never to hide away again. 

Just then there was a knock at the door stopping Merlin mid story.

“Now who could that be?” Merlin asked, making his way to the door. 

“Oh, Merlin, excellent, we need your help with something quickly,” Morgana looked out of breath.

Arthur stood up, “What happened is everything alright?”

Morgana just nodded, “Everything is fine, nothing to concern yourself with Arthur, but I need Merlin up in the tower. One of the visiting druids has managed to almost destroy half the tower by accident, and I need some help getting it back in order before we unknowingly cast an unsavory enchantment all over the castle.”

Merlin looked back casting an apologetic glance at Arthur.

“Of course. Go on now, I’ll be here with the pudding when you get back,” Arthur assured.

Smiling, Merlin swiftly followed Morgana out the door as Arthur sat back down at the table. Before the door closed entirely Merlin burst in once more, “Almost forgot,” he said, giving Arthur a quick kiss and rushing out the doors once again. 

Arthur just smiled as the door shut laughing quietly to himself and drew out the small box from his pocket. He lifted the lid observing the ring against the candle light and gazed into the small stone set into it. “I will get you on his finger even if it kills me.”

The next day Merlin and Arthur walked into their meeting with the Round Table. The knights were amicably chatting waiting for their arrival and quickly took their seats. Setting Oli on the table to nap, Merlin started laying out his notes and reports for the day. During the meeting, Merlin and Arthur felt an odd sensation of being observed. Of course it was expected of the knights to pay attention, but they were all hyperfocused on something that definitely wasn’t the border reports.

As they finished up and filed out, Percy and Lance wanted to say hello to Oli while Leon spoke to Arthur. 

“So...”

“If you can believe it, he was called away to fix a mess in the tower, truly nothing can surprise me anymore,” Arthur said in defeat.

Leon laughed, “In due time Arthur.”

Just then Lance and Percy passed by to leave. Lance just shot Arthur a frustrated look and left while Percy beamed following right behind him.

“Why does it seem I’ve been angering a lot of the knights lately?”

“Not sure Sire, maybe the season has been getting to them,” Leon shrugged leaving the King and his Warlock behind making a small note in the margin of his notes.

Merin had been away for a week on a mission with the Druids and Arthur did nothing to hide his moping about the castle. It was like a dark cloud hung around him wherever he went and not much could cheer him up for long. Even little Oli, try as he might, only reminded him that Merlin was absent from both their lives. Leon and the knights tried to console him any chance they could get, “Don’t worry sire he’ll be back before you know it. This time when he gets back would be the perfect time to ask him you know. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and all that,” Leon said. Arthur just sank further into his chair during their meeting while all the knights just exchanged worried glances.

It was nearing night, dusk was just retreating making way for the stars to start decorating the night sky when Merlin returned with his party. Arthur, of course, rushed out to meet him. Being apart for so long made him ache knowing that Merlin used to hide his injuries. Hopefully he came home unscathed.

Merlin made his way over to Arthur after handing his horse over looking ragged but still in one piece. 

Enveloping him in his arms, Arthur relished having Merlin back in his presence.

“I missed you,” Arthur whispered.

Merlin just hummed nuzzling himself into Arthur’s chest.

“Let’s get you inside and cleaned up.You can make your report tomorrow.”

Arthur led him inside stopping one of the servants to bring up some water for the bath. 

In their chambers, food was already waiting on the table which Merlin dutifully ate. Arthur stoked the fire higher to warm up the room while letting the servants pour steaming buckets of water into their tub. 

Once finished with his meal Merlin moved to remove his clothes, but Arthur quickly batted his hand away and made quick work of the knots, stripping him of his travel clothes. Finally bare Merlin looked into Arthur’s eyes, “Join me?”

Arthur smiled softly, ridding himself of his night clothes while Merlin got into the bath leaving room for Arthur to slide in behind him. 

Pulling a small table beside the tub, Arthur grabbed various oils and quietly started to bathe Merlin. “How was the mission,” Arthur asked softly.

“Fine, tiring, long,” Merlin sighed as Arthur combed his fingers through his hair lightly massaging his scalp and untangling the knots.

“Anything interesting happen?”

“No. And I know what you’re thinking. I promise this was a very uneventful trip. I think I even started to miss your whining it was so dull,” Merlin said with a light laugh.

Arthur started gently washing Merlin’s back,“Oh ha ha. See if I entertain you on our next trip outside the kingdom.”

“I don’t know, you’re doing fairly well entertaining me right now,” Merlin said, turning to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

Arthur continued to rub down Merlin’s arms, “Hmph, I just didn’t want to sleep next to someone who smells like the bottom of a bog.”

Merlin chuckled and relaxed under Arthur’s careful ministrations.

Once finished, Arthur placed a soft kiss on the base of Merlin’s neck, making his way around his shoulders, kissing back up to his jaw, kissed the notch in his ear, and laying one final kiss on the scar over his left eye. Merlin just hummed at the small gestures and leaned back into Arthur’s chest. Arthur had accounted for every scar on Merlin’s body more times than he could count. The scars reminded Arthur of the magic that ran through Merlin's veins. How powerful he was to put himself together again despite others cutting him down. He categorized every cut, every scrape, and every burn that Merlin received in the name of protecting Camelot, and Arthur himself. The ache still lingered in his chest every time Arthur saw them, but it dulled in the presence of every smile, laugh, and kiss Merlin gave him. 

They both sat in the tub relishing in its warmth and in each other. Merlin slowly traced Arthur's arms that were draped around the tub. Even with his eyes closed Arthur could hear him quietly scrutinizing Arthur’s own scars. He was a knight, of course he would have his own here and there from numerous battles. The irony amused Arthur as he felt careful fingers trace the soft ridges that marked the troublesome encounters. “You know, you can't get mad at mine if I can't get mad at yours.”

“Hmph, I’m not mad,” Merlin pouted.

“Tell that to the face you’re making.”

“I’m not! I’m just...frustrated,” he continued tracing the faint lines that ran along Arthur’s arm.

“Mmhm, well you can be frustrated more in the morning. Let’s get you into bed before you turn into a prune,” Arthur replied, nudging at Merlin’s side. 

They both had this conversation many times before, sometimes it resulted in a fight, sometimes just quiet acceptance, but they both understood as long as they have each other there will always be someone there to mend them when they break.

Arthur dried them both off, and dressed himself and Merlin in soft sleep clothes and led him to bed. 

They laid down and Arthur pulled Merlin close, tucking his head onto his chest, rubbing slow circles on his back. “I love you,” Merlin mumbled sleepily, pressing a soft kiss on Arthur’s neck before settling back onto his chest. 

“I love you more,” Arthur replied, kissing the top of his head.

Merlin huffed a small laugh before his breath slowly evened out.

Arthur looked down at him, the pale moonlight seeping through the window shining just enough to make out the soft lines of Merlin’s face.

Arthur never thought that one day he could have this. He never thought he could have a partner who matched him so well, never thought he could have someone to hold close at night, never thought he could have someone he loved so much it hurt. 

He never thought he could have Merlin.

When they first decided to share their chambers Arthur was ecstatic. However, he wasn’t prepared for the cold dread of waking up to an empty bed. He had a small panic that first morning when he woke up without Merlin beside him. There was a shot of fear that took over when he thought Merlin snuck out once again and thought he would come home hurt or worse, not at all. Instant relief flooded him when Merlin just walked in with breakfast for the both of them. After the third time it happened Arthur quietly requested Merlin to wake him up before getting breakfast, just to be sure, just so he wouldn’t wake up with a stone in his chest every time his hand only clutched cold, empty sheets in the morning. 

These days Merlin didn’t leave on secret missions anymore and he always had someone along to help. It didn’t stop the scars completely, but their acquisition became less frequent.

Merlin snuffled against Arthur’s chest, wrapping his arms around his waist as if they could get any closer, and tangled their legs together. Arthur smiled softly, repressing the need to laugh and gazed at Merlin’s sleep addled face.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” he said quietly into the night. Placing one last kiss on Merlin’s head, Arthur fell into a peaceful sleep. 

The next day Merlin went over to retrieve Sir Oliver from Percy. Arthur was too busy the past couple of days to care for the little trouble maker so Percy offered to take care of him, and anyone could see the fondness the large knight had for the small kitten. 

“Welcome back Merlin,” he greeted, with Oli perched on his shoulder.

“Good morning Percy, thank you for taking care of Oli while Arthur was busy,” Merlin said, reaching to give the cat an affectionate rub.

“No problem, the little guy was no trouble,” he replied, extracting the squirming ball of fluff from his shoulder.
Merlin wrapped his hands around Oli cooing softly, “Hi Oli did you miss me? I’m sure Percy here took good care of you,” he nuzzled the kitten affectionately. When he looked over, Percy had a funny look on his face which he quickly schooled into a smile. 

“Would you like to accompany me to the training grounds? We can stop by the stables to visit Oli’s siblings on our way there. I’m sure he misses them too,” Percy said.

“Sure my next meeting isn’t until this afternoon,” Merlin said following him outside.

When they were crossing the courtyard Percy saw Arthur pass by taking notice of Merlin. Merlin was chatting away about his recent mission and was hardly paying attention to where he was going. Arthur made eye contact with Percy who just shot him an indecipherable look and steered Merlin towards the stables making sure he didn’t notice Arthur.

“What was that about?” Arthur asked Leon, who was writing something down in one of his reports.

“Not sure Sire. Maybe he just wanted to visit the kittens without a detour,” Leon guessed.

“If I knew he’d like them so much I’d have gotten him one as well.”

“He visits the ones at the stables plenty. They’re practically his at this point,” Leon said, remembering once he discovered the large knight covered in kittens trying to play with them all.

Arthur just shrugged and they moved on quickly to his morning meeting with some local lords.

“Arthur Pendragon you are insufferable,” Morgana greeted as she made her way into Arthur’s chambers for lunch. Merlin was busy at the tower so Morgana decided to join him instead.

“Wha- I didn’t do anything!”

“Exactly.”

He huffed and crossed his arms defensively, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh please,” she said sitting herself down at the table surveying the food, “Proposing to Merlin shouldn’t be taking this long.” She chose a selection of foods to tuck into.

Arthur just groaned as he sat beside her, “Trust me, if I had any say in the matter we would’ve been engaged before he even became Court Sorcerer.”

“Then what could you possibly be waiting for?”

“I just haven’t found the right moment to ask him. Every time I try, something inevitably interrupts us. Maybe it’s a sign or something, I don’t know,” he said in defeat. 

Morgana rolled her eyes, “The right moment? Really? After all this time? Arthur, I’m sure you can be taking a piss in the woods while you ask him and he’ll still say yes.”

“Morgana!”

“Oh don’t be so prude,” she said, cutting into her meal, “What I’m trying to say is, when have either of you waited for the perfect moment for anything? Why wait for one now?”

“You don’t understand Morgana. Nothing between us has come easy, and for once that’s all I want.”

“Well that’s that isn’t it?” she said, pointedly taking a bite of her food.

Arthur just gave her a look.

“Like you said, nothing between you two has come easy. There has never been the right time, or place, or moment, until it just happens. Just let this happen Arthur. You two love each other unlike any other people I know. And I’ve met Lance and Gwen. I have never known two people who were made for each other like you two,” she shifted so she could look him right in the eyes, “All you have to do is ask .”

Arthur stared at her for a moment and sighed, “I suppose you’re right.”

“I am.”

He chuckled at her and moved on to ask how her studies were coming along. But her words still lingered in his mind the rest of the day.

Arthur took to carrying the ring with him everywhere. Morgana was right. All he had to do was ask. Time was a fickle thing and he didn’t want to wait anymore. 

He was walking along the halls with Leon on his way to work through some reports when he saw Merlin on his way to the tower chatting with some Druids. It was probably because this was the first time seeing him after they parted that morning, or how at ease Merlin looked, or maybe it was how the light shined through the window at that moment lighting up his smile, but something possessed Arthur to do something right then and there.

As soon as Merlin was in short distance Arthur called to him, “Merlin, catch,” he flicked the ring towards him. Merlin caught it with surprising ease and looked at Arthur who then laid a deep kiss on him. Once they parted Merlin looked at him in a daze, “Hello,” he smiled, breathless. 

“I love you,” Arthur responded. 

With a wink he and Leon continued on leaving Merlin a little embarrassed, to once again resume chatting with the Druids. 

Leon just looked at Arthur with a concerned look, “Sire?”

Arthur just smiled, “He’ll figure it out later, in the meantime let’s finish this up shall we?”

Leon just shook his head in disbelief, “He’s going to kill you is what’s going to happen.”

“Nothing I haven’t encountered before Leon.”

Leon just rolled his eyes following his King, for what reason, he just couldn't say anymore.

Merlin was working in the tower with Morgana on some research later that day. They were testing out some potions and their effects but it has been pretty slow going. A lot of the ingredients were sparse so they had to be extra careful with handling them. 

He moved to wash his hands before starting a new batch and slid off his ring-- Wait-- Ring?

Merlin looked at his hand, and on his finger was a thin band of silver branches delicately encompassing a red stone. It was beautiful.

“‘I’m wearing a ring,” Merlin said out loud.

“Mhmm,” Morgana just hummed at him.

“Morgs, I don’t have any rings,” he stated.

“Well it seems now you do Merls,” Morgana continued to work on her notes.

“I don’t even know where this came from!” he said a bit hysterically. 

“Merlin darling, I don’t think rings like that appear out of nowhere. I’m sure you can think of somewhere it could’ve come from,” she said absentmindedly, “Anything odd happen today?” She made one last note and turned to raise an eyebrow at him, leaning against the table behind her. 

Merlin just stared at the ring sitting innocently on his finger trying to think about what happened today. That morning he parted with Arthur, went to drop off Oli with Percy, and went to welcome some Druids. He had lunch with them and gave them a tour of the castle. He saw Arthur with Leon, and then he parted with the Druids and came up here.

Wait. 

Arthur.

  I love you. 

He was out that door leaving behind a smug Morgana to finish up her notes.

“I think that it would be better to ---”

“ARTHUR PENDRAGON WHERE ARE YOU?”

Arthur calmly got up from his chair during his meeting, “If you will excuse me for a moment I have some matters to attend to,” he nodded at Leon to take over and promptly bolted out the door in the opposite direction of the angry voice echoing throughout the castle. 

A moment later the door to the meeting slammed open to a very angry looking warlock, “Where?” he demanded. Leon just coughed and pointed in the direction Arthur darted off to. “Thank you,” he said, turning on his heel angrily stalking out the door. 

“Arthur Pendragon get your bloody arse back here! You can’t keep running away from me!”

“It seems like I’m doing a pretty good job of it!”

Servants and guards pressed themselves against the walls narrowly avoiding collision with the King as he was being chased by his Warlock throughout the castle. 

Soon enough Arthur ran out of castle and ran out towards the training fields passing by a handful of knights taking delight at the spectacle. “Kick his arse Merlin!” Gwaine called out as he ran past. 

Just as they left the fields Merlin used the last of his energy to launch himself tackling the King into the grass landing on top of him.

Turning himself around Arthur was met with a flurry of fists thumping him on his chest. “You utter, idiotic, arse, cabbage head, prat, turnip brained, clotpole of a man!” Merlin yelled pinning him down on the ground. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arthur said smiling up at him.

“You,” Merlin pointed a finger at his face, “Catch?!”

“It was easier that way,” Arthur shrugged.

“You didn’t even ask!”

“Ask what?” Arthur said innocently.

Merlin narrowed his eyes and pouted, “I hate you.”

Arthur just laughed. He sat up with Merlin still in his lap and grabbed his hands thumbing the ring resting on his finger.

Looking him in the eye he asked, “Merlin, love of my life, the worst servant I’ve ever had, the most brilliant man I’ve ever known, would you give me the honor of marrying you and spending the rest of our lives together?”

Merlin had tears rolling down his face, “I don’t know,” he chuckled, “I don’t think you praised me enough in that speech of yours,” he said sniffling.

Arthur smiled softly.

“My love, my moon and stars, my sun on a cloudy day,” kissing him at each phrase, “My Warlock, my Dragonlord, my partner.”

He held Merlin's face between his hands, “My everything.”

At that Merlin leaned forward and kissed him with everything he had, pouring all his love into it so that Arthur could never even doubt his answer.

They broke the kiss resting their foreheads together taking each other in, settling into the moment. 

“Marry me Merlin?”

“Yes.”

You are cordially invited to the wedding of King Arthur Pendragon and Court Sorcerer Merlin on the third week of spring --------------- 

Hunith smiled at the invitation, though what intrigued her was the letter attached to it.

Dear Hunith,

As you can tell by the invitation your son and his king have finally gotten engaged. It has been a trying time these past couple of months, how I got through them I do not know, but nonetheless it all resulted in the ending we all wanted. The happy couple wants to invite you for a private engagement party in the coming days where we will send for you when the time comes. In addition to this invitation I hope your earnings have gotten to you safely. It was quite amusing collecting from the knights having learned my lesson from the last time. I hope they will come in handy for you. Please treat yourself to something as you have indeed earned it. Though knowing you, you would have evenly distributed it to the village by the end of this letter. In any case I hope you the best and we can’t wait to see you soon enough.

Best, Sir Leon