Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A young man walked up and down rows of flowers and potted gift plants. A bunch of roses here, a single carnation there, a mismatched bouquet of orchids and lilies, a potted succulent. This young man’s appearance was quite a thing. Large ears stuck out beyond a mop of straggly black hair that clearly hadn’t seen a barber in months, a vibrant red scarf was tied around a thin neck, a t-shirt the shade of a robin’s egg hung off his thin frame. And those eyes, oh those eyes. They were sad and tired and they drooped a little in the corners, eyes that turned gold sometimes if he wasn’t paying attention, eyes that had clearly seen many things, too many things. He appeared young and happy, but how can you be young when the centuries have flown by like doves from a cage? How can you be happy when a very good friend had died in your arms and you were powerless against his death? How could you be any of those things when you’ve got no one left except for a man who married your best friend’s wife after his death? How could you be any of these things when you felt so alone?

As he walked up and down the rows and clumps of flowers, he counted them and made sure that none were wilting or making themselves unsellable. He regarded each plant closely, jumping when the bell over the door rang, indicating that someone had entered the shop. He walked around the display of bouquets to greet his customer and when he saw them he almost cried. The first was of darker skin and had long, curly brown hair and the other was paler than day and had long black hair.

“I don’t see anyone, Gwen,” the pale one said, “Let’s just go. Did you see the name of this place? Who calls a flower shop ‘Pendragon Flower Boutique’? The fact that whoever owns this place is hiring is probably a scam. The owner is probably some old snot who just has that ‘Hiring’ sign in the window so he can kidnap people.”

“Come now, Morgan. Haven’t you read the Arthurian Legends? The owner is probably someone who grew up reading them and loved them so much that they named a flower shop after the Pendragons. Plus, I’ve heard of this shop. Apparently it’s owned and run by a young man named Merlin. He’s apparently really nice. Let’s give him a chance, ok?”

“How may I help you ladies?” he asked, approaching them slowly.

“Oh, hello,” the one named Gwen said cheerfully.

Exactly as I remember you, Merlin thought with a twinge of sadness.

“We were just wondering about the ‘Hiring’ sign in your front display window?”

“Oh yes, I am hiring. See, it’s just me working here and it has been since the day I opened this shop. Are you both looking to work here?”

The one named Morgan looked at her companion and said with a huff, “Yeah, we’re both looking for a job. She has more experience than me though.”

“Ok, so you both want to work here and one has more work experience than the other, am I to assume that you come as a package deal then?” he asked, making sure to add a teasing lilt to the last part.

Morgan and Gwen exchanged a look, clearly picking up on his 1500 year old sarcasm, before turning to him and giving him The Eyes.

Wow, thought Merlin, Even your eyes are exactly how I remember them. Soft brown for Gwen and evil gray-green for Morgana.

As the two young women gazed up at him, he almost cried out in dismay when he thought about all that these two had put him through during his years in Camelot.

No, not these two. These two were just reincarnations of the women who’d he’d known in that long forgotten kingdom. Reenactments of two old, long forgotten plays, if you will.

He sighed, turning away from them and walking towards the back of the store, his thumb under his chin and his forefinger resting on the front. Did he want to hire the reincarnations of the two female Pendragons? Not truly. Would he ever get the chance to see them again if he didn’t? Most likely not. Could their return mean that Arthur would be back soon too? Maybe. Wait, that was it. The return of the illegitimate princess and the servant turned queen could mean the return of the Once and Future King. It could mean that he’d see Arthur again. Yes, he had to hire them, all personal feelings aside, this was a business, after all.

“Follow me, ladies,” he sighed.

As they did, Morgan asked, “So, Merlin, what’s the deal with the name of this place?”

Without hesitation, he responded, “I grew up reading the myths and legends of King Arthur and the sorcerer Merlin. I found it kind of ironic that my parents had named me ‘Merlin’ and that mixed with my love for the legends, and my love for flowers, I decided upon naming a flower shop after some aspect of the stories. ‘Pendragon Flower Boutique’ just had a nice ring to it in the end.”

They walked silently for a few more feet before coming to a door that said “Personnel Only” and pushing open the door, Merlin led them inside.

It was a cool, brightly lit store room with rows upon rows of plants and flowers that had just arrived earlier that morning and several pricing cards and sticker machines. On the wall to the right of the door, there was a row of rose red aprons with the name of the store in gold embroidery on the front pocket.

“Gwen, I don’t think that this is a good idea,” he faintly heard Morgan whisper.

“Always so skeptical, Morgan. It’s a room filled with flowers and aprons, I don’t think he’s got any bodies or murder weapons in here. I mean, have you looked at him? He looks like he hasn’t had a proper meal in a while and that he couldn’t hurt a fly. Give him a chance.”

“You and your chances, Gwen. That heart of yours is too big, it’s going to get you killed one of these days.”

“No it won’t, who would even want to come near me with you standing there glowering like an angry mother hen?”

Merlin was trying to hold back laughter as he turned on the light to a workbench so he could see the nametags and the small engraving machine he had.

“Names, please,” he said, turning to the women.

“I’m Gwen and this is Morgan. Do you need our last names too, or just our first names? Also, I’m sorry about Morgan here, she tends to think the worst of people sometimes. I’m pretty sure she’s experiencing past life traumas or something.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ve dealt with way worse.” 

From her especially , he added silently. 

Merlin typed the two names into the engraving machine’s computer system and placed the two magnetic tags in the queue.

“These should be ready in an hour or two. In the meantime, I’ll start teaching you the ropes of the flower shop.”

Chapter Text

♔♔♔

Two months had passed. Two months of utter gloom on Merlin’s part, and not because he had to deal with Morgan and Gwen, but because he had yet to meet Arthur’s reincarnation. As for Morgan and Gwen, well they were having the times of their lives. Gwen had discovered an outlet for all her joy and love, talking to the living plants while she watered them and then talking to all the patrons who’d enter the store. Morgan had discovered the benefits of working in a flower shop and the fact that not everyone was out to get her. And between the three of them, flower sales at that little shop skyrocketed. 

One afternoon after selling a £50 bouquet of roses to a kindly old woman, Gwen found herself staring out the window at a gang of young men who were trooping up the sidewalk and right towards the flower shop. She laughed slightly when she saw who it was.

“Don’t look now, Morgan, but I think that that’s Arthur and company walking this way.”

 “Really? Can’t they get the hint that maybe neither of us want to see them? We’re working, don’t they know. I guess we’re just going to have to get rid of them before they trash Merlin’s shop. C’mon, Gwen, let’s go stop a hurricane.”

Before either of them could do anything to stop the men from entering the store, the bell had rung and suddenly the small hole-in-the-wall store was completely filled up. 

Merlin, being the ever intuitive little sorcerer that he was, chose that moment to come from the back of the store where he was getting more roses (as the kindly old lady had bought literally every rose that was visible at that moment, hence the reason the bouquet had been so costly). Upon entering the front of the store, he regretted it. 

Two of the young men were very clearly trying to hit on Gwen, their flattery and flirtatiousness earning them blushes from her. Another one was hulking around the store, his shirtsleeves torn off to reveal his muscles, looking at the cheaper bouquets. One with darker skin was talking to the one with shoulder length blond hair. And a sixth, a young lad, no older than ten, stood in the middle looking bored. Merlin looked about, wondering how to get this rowdy gang of no-gooders out of his shop, and that’s when he noticed that Morgan was gone. 

“Where could she have run off to? It’s not like her to disappear like this,” he mused aloud to himself. 

“Where did who run off too?” a voice behind him asked. 

He jumped and turned around to see a young man with short blond hair and a red v-neck t-shirt standing behind him, leaning on the wall a bit. 

“Oh, um, hm, just one of my staff members, Morgan. She disappeared before you and your friends came in. I can’t seem to find her.”

“Merlin, I’m right here,” another voice quipped from beside him. 

“Ah, Morgan, there you are. Um, do you know this man? And those men? And the boy?”

Merlin, having not looked fully at the man in front of him yet, had not noticed that he was the reincarnation of Arthur. The intuitive sorcerer had not yet noticed that the king had returned, that his king had returned. 

“Well,” Morgan began, “This is my half brother, Arthur. Over there, flirting with Gwen, are Lance and Gwaine, that big guy there is Percy, the blond is Leo, the one the blond is talking to is Elliot, Gwen's brother, and the boy is Mordred. He’s only 10, but he’s a very nice ten-year-old.”

Merlin had recognized Leo immediately, for although the rest of the Knights of The Round Table had died off of old age and poor health, Leo was immortal and he and Merlin had stuck together after the fall of everyone else. 

As he scanned the other men in his flower shop, he realized that they all looked almost exactly like he remembered them. Each and every one of them. Even Mordred. 

Merlin found his eyes trailing back to the pair of half-siblings in front of him. For the first time in centuries, his eyes alighted themselves on Arthur. He felt a wave of panic spread over him as he looked at Arthur. 

He was as attractive as he had been the day that they’d met, back in Camelot. Though, this new meeting of the Once and Future King was way easier to deal with than Arthur threatening Merlin with a sword. Without so much as a warning, he felt his eyes slide over Arthur in a way that would be considered checking out in that day and age. He looked healthy, which was good, still a bit on the chubbier side, though not much. Merlin admired the fact that Arthur still seemed to be a fighter and that he still had his muscular frame. 

Merlin caught himself as his eyes wandered back up to Arthur’s eyes. He could feel himself turning bright red as their eyes met and Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“Do you like what you see?” Arthur asked, his voice a deadly whisper.

“Oh, um… uh, I better get back to work. Nice to meet you, Arthur. Have a good day. Um, where did Morgan go? Wasn’t she just right beside you a moment ago? I better go find her. Good day. Um, oh there she is, talking with Gwen. I better go see if any of your friends need help finding something.”

He felt his blush deepen as he turned to walk away, Arthur’s eyes on his back. He made some attempt to get away but Arthur grabbed his wrist.

“Just wait, Merlin . You are just trying to run away from me, I can tell that you’re just going to hide in the back of your little shop here until me and my friends leave. I’ve met people like you. Always running away from the things that scare them. Do I scare you, Merlin ?”

Merlin froze. 

Was he afraid of Arthur? No, he couldn’t be. Was he afraid of the prospect that he might have fallen for the King way back in the days of Camelot? Oh yes, definitely. 

“No, sire,” he said under his breath.

“Pardon?”

“I said, no.”

“What was the word after that?”

“I didn’t say anything after ‘no’. Now please let go of me.”

“How about I don’t?”

With a twist of his wrist, Arthur had Merlin facing him again, and came within a few inches of Merlin’s face. 

After contemplating Merlin a moment, Arthur released him and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out his phone, opened it and handed it to Merlin. 

“I like you, Merlin. You have some form of nerve and defiance. It’s admirable.”

Merlin looked down at the phone in his hands. The contacts app was open and a new contact tab was on the screen.

“A-are you wanting my number?” Merlin asked nervously.  

Arthur nodded and made a gesture at Merlin to continue. 

Hurriedly, Merlin tapped his name and number into the new contact, blushing the whole time. 

“There,” he stated, a little bit on edge, “Done.”

Arthur gave him a wry, and very attractive, smirk, before walking past him to his friends. 

Not even a minute later, Merlin’s phone chimed, wrenching Merlin from his daze. Before looking at his phone (which is very unprofessional, mind you) he saw that all the young men were gathered around Arthur grinning at him like maniacs. 

The message read: It was very nice to meet you, Merlin. I know you barely know me, but how does a lunch date sound? -Arthur

With wide eyes and a very red face, Merlin made an attempt to respond to the message. Attempt, meaning that his fingers shook almost too much for him to type properly. They didn’t shake enough, however to prevent him from typing: Yes that sounds good. When and where?

After determining a place and a time, Arthur looked up at Merlin and gave him a shy, and extremely adorable smile. Then he turned to his friends and ushered them out of the shop, temporarily forgetting Mordred, who turned to Merlin and said, “Well, it would seem that the greatest sorcerer of all time has finally gotten himself a date with the Once and Future King, good luck with that.”

“What?”

The boy just smiled at Merlin before slipping out of the shop to join the group of men who were once again trooping down the street. 

Chapter Text

That night, Merlin lay in bed feeling quite like an ancient, locked book that had somehow fallen open for the whole world to read. First, Arthur correctly interpreted his blush and had asked him out, then Mordred saying what he’d said. Was he losing his mysterious touch? Could everyone read him now? Had he fallen apart in those 1500 years that he’d been stuck alive, wishing for the return of Arthur? Was he not keeping himself as much of a secret as he thought he had been? 

He thought of these things and possible ways to correct them when his phone chimed. 

Half expecting it to be Arthur, he opened his phone and to his great and utter disappointment, it was only Leo.

Good job snagging yourself a boyfriend, Merlin. Also, I’m sorry that I didn’t warn you about us coming, Arthur had heard me talking to Mordred about ‘my friend Merlin’ and thought it would be a good idea to storm your flower shop just to meet you. Also, in case you’re wondering about Mordred, he does in fact remember the Camelot days. Don’t ask me how, I don’t know. Sorry for the late-night message, I only just thought of it now. 

Sighing, Merlin pulled himself out of bed and went to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea; caffeinated or not, it would help to calm his nerves. Plus, who needs sleep anyways?

 So, Mordred remembers? Well that would certainly complicate things. As much as Merlin disliked that Mordred and Morgana had both turned on him and Arthur in the days of Camelot, he was willing to think that the two had changed, that they were different. But with Mordred remembering, how long would it take for him to tell the others? How long would it take for the others to realize that they were in the midst of a 1500 year old man instead of a twenty-something year old man? Would they start to remember too? Or would they be completely oblivious to their pasts? Would Arthur remember? Would he see Merlin as he truly was? Would that end a second try at their relationship? 

When the kettle started to make its announcement scream, Merlin shifted his weight slightly, wondering how he could prevent a potential catastrophe with Arthur. As he poured himself a cup of tea, he wondered if the people from his past life would end up remembering their past lives, or if they’d live in blissful unawareness of their royal statuses, their servitude to a mistakenly legendary king, their wrongdoings and their acts of kindness. It would not upset Merlin if they didn’t end up remembering their pasts, but it sure would be a hard secret to keep.

After finishing his tea, he went back to bed and slipped into a fitful, restless sleep. 

As he slept, he dreamed, and not the dreams that are sweet at best and questionable at worst, but the kind of fever dreams you get when you are in distress or are under extreme amounts of stress and worry. And in Merlin’s case, being affected by rampant, unused magic. 

  Wind swirled around Merlin, his hair and clothes flapped up and down, and his eyes glowed gold. Arthur stood in front of Merlin, his sword drawn and at the ready, he had anger and betrayal in his eyes. Two extremely deadly emotions when you don’t know how to control them. 

“How could you, Merlin? You betrayed me! You have magic, you’re a sorcerer! How could you? I trusted you! You lied to me! I will have you executed for this. You are a LIAR!! I trusted you! You betrayed me!”

“No, Arthur, this is not what it looks like! I swear! Please, I only used it for you! Never for anything else, just for you. I promise. Please, Arthur, please believe me!”

The wind swirled faster and the ground under Arthur’s feet trembled. The ground in between them burst open and Merlin feared the worst.

“Merlin, you are a traitor to the crown, I trusted you! And look, how can you only use it for me? You’ve made the ground crack open and you’re trying to kill me! I know you are! That was your only purpose in coming to Camelot, to kill me.”

Merlin collapsed, exhausted and weary. Tears streamed down his face, tears of pure and utter sadness, tears of pain. 

“No, please, Arthur, please. This is not what you think. Please listen. Please just list-”

Suddenly Merlin was jolted awake, a cold, terrible sweat running down his back. He gulped air, his lungs feeling thin and like every breath was escaping through the fibers and sinews of his body. His body wracked from his heaving coughs and his gasps for breath. The air in the room felt heavy and suffocating, like a thick down blanket. He clutched at his chest, feeling his lungs and heart seize up. Everything felt like the world was spinning in uncontrollable directions and speeds. His head pounded and his hands flew from his chest to his head, then the back of his neck, pushing his head to rest between his knees. 

Calm down, Merlin, he thought, Calm down. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. He didn’t find out that way. He didn’t find out until he died, you’ll be ok. Breathe. Just breathe, Merlin, just breathe. Remember those exercises? The ones you saw on the internet the other day? Use one of those, use it to breathe. Remember, 5-7-9? Inhale for five. Hold for seven. Exhale for nine. Come on, Merlin, you’ve got this. 

Breathing whilst your head is in between your knees isn’t that easy. He gulped at the air, trying to force it into his lungs, trying to force it to comply with his wishes, but to no avail. He could feel the tears start to run their track down his cheeks, he could feel the dreadful warmth of those dreadful tears, those tears that crept their way down his face in the silent hours of a stressful day, when he’s alone in the back of the store, where he’s locked himself in the storeroom. His breath caught in his throat, clogging and forming a lump that felt like a stone had been shoved down his neck, that felt impossible to breathe, to swallow, to do anything. His muscles spasmed up with the lack of air, the lump in his throat growing. 

He wanted to stand up and take a walk, he wanted to go out onto the street and breathe in the cool night air. But he couldn’t move, couldn’t get his limbs to cooperate; they had turned themselves to lead and were holding him down to the bed, and that leadiness was slowly creeping up through his body, slowly taking over his entire body, creeping into his lungs and arteries. 

He stayed that way, head between knees and breath caught in his throat, until he could finally get air past that lump and his limbs de-leadified, then and only then, did he relax a little, letting thoughts of breathing and calming down settle themselves in his head. 

Chapter Text

♔♔♔

Several months passed after that day, months during which the troop of young men had spent more than half of their time in the flower shop. They all spent their lunch hours and an hour after their jobs had finished hanging out at the flower shop, talking with Merlin and the two ladies, teasing Merlin about “a real man doesn’t own a flower shop, what are you? Some kind of softie?” And they’d all laugh at the way that Merlin made faces at them when they teased him and Arthur about dating. They all laughed and hid when a customer came in and had to be addressed by the last non-staff member who had not hid. 

One day, in late May, the ten of them were sitting in the shop, all of them deflated from the heat and trying desperately to keep up with the topic of conversation, when Gwaine suddenly sat bolt upright and exclaimed, “The two lovebirds are going to start living together at some point, right? When’ll that happen? I, personally, am wondering when these two are going to become peak lovebirds and start, you know, nesting together.”

Merlin felt himself turn an embarrassing shade of red and he covered his face with his hands.

“Gwaine, my good friend, please never ever say that again, it sounds weird,” Arthur said, raising an eyebrow and turning red himself.

“What, are you embarrassed about living in the same house as Merlin? Are you embarrassed about the prospect of sleeping in the same bed? Huh, are you embarrassed, Arthur? Is the great and fierce Arthur embarrassed? Hmmm?”

“I think it’s Merlin we should be concerned about,” Leo chuckled, “I mean look at him, hiding in his hands and turning redder than a tomato. Poor lad.”

The group all laughed, even Mordred, Gwen and Morgan, who usually did not partake in the teasing of their friends. 

“I think it’s quite cute,” Gwen sighed, “I mean, clearly they’re in love, right? And by the looks of both of them and the awkwardness about their relationship at the beginning, I’d say this is a first for them both. I do agree with Leo, though, Merlin is turning quite the shade of red.”

“I think it’s kinda weird,” Mordred stated, keeping in mind that the last time he’d seen these two together, it was more of a friendship than anything. 

“Why’s that, Mordred?” Lance asked, “I think it’s perfectly fine.”

Leo and Mordred shared a significant look, a look that said that they both knew exactly why the relationship between Merlin and Arthur was weird to them, being two of the three who remembered the Camelot days. 

“I think Mordred is just in that ‘everything is weird stage’ right now,” Leo said with a shrug, “He is just a boy, you know.”

The rest of the group all laughed at this statement. 

As they laughed, Mordred watched Merlin and Arthur. He watched as they leaned together slightly. He watched as Merlin whispered something to Arthur. He watched as Arthur turned a pale shade of red and nodded. He watched as Arthur whispered something back. He watched as the two of them grasped the shirt of the other, seemingly in a gesture of agreement. He watched as the Once and Future King and the greatest sorcerer of all time leaned into each other and pressed their lips together in a sweet, gentle, stolen kiss. He looked away, not wanting to interrupt their moment. In turning away, he caught Gwen’s eye and the two of them shared a smile.

“Actually, Gwaine,” Merlin started, “Arthur and I have been spending nights at each other’s flats for over a month now. The only reason we’re sitting here, turning redder than blood is because you are all embarrassing and we have not told you yet, for this very reason. You lot are insufferable at most and annoying at least. I’m only telling you now, so you’ll all just shut up. In fact, Arthur is staying in my flat tonight, if you’ve got anything to say about it, do so now.”

The rest of the group stared at the two young men, some of them gaping at them and some of them raising their eyebrows. 

“Good job at keeping a secret from us, guys,” Elliot said, laughing a bit. 

“Yeah good job,” Gwaine teased. 

Merlin could tell that they were not impressed with the fact that the couple had kept that a secret from them for so long. He scanned their faces for signs of disappointment and he caught Percy whispering something to Elliot. The two of them burst out laughing and Merlin could only begin to wonder what shared secret or joke that only the two of them were privy to. 

Reaching over, Elliot covered Mordred ears as Percy opened his mouth to speak. 

“Tell us, have you guys done the deed yet?” Percy asked, leaning forwards, a disconcerting smile on his lips. 

Morgan and Gwen shared a look before Gwen said, “I think Morgan and I will take Mordred to get some ice cream. Does anyone else want anything?”

No one answered her as she and Morgan led Mordred out of the shop, flipping the sign to ‘Closed’ and locking the door behind them. 

Arthur and Merlin were both turning redder than any of the rest of the group had ever seen either of them go. They were both looking everywhere except the faces of their friends, avoiding eye contact and looking like two people who’d been caught stealing. 

“Well, have you?” Lance asked, looking mischievous.

Neither of them seemed to want to answer, both of them opening and closing their mouths like beached fish and turning redder by the second.

“You know we’re just going to take your silence as a ‘yes’ right?” Gwaine said, a teasing, yet serious lilt to his voice. 

Arthur finally composed himself and when he spoke it was for both of them.

“Whatever got that idea in your big head, Percy? What makes you think that? Hm? Do tell.”

Percy stared at Arthur, seeming to pick his words carefully, almost as though he was considering what words would get him into trouble with his friend.

“Well, it was just a question, Arthur. And in all honesty, we’ve all been kinda teasing each other today, so you know, it was asked teasingly .”

The others nodded and Elliot said, “Just pretend we never asked, Arthur, you know we didn’t mean it seriously.”

Merlin looked at the group, then at Arthur, who was very clearly trying not to laugh. Making a quick note of how the group might react to a laugh, Merlin turned to look at the display of potted gift plants and then at Gwaine. Smiling to himself, he whispered under his breath and the next thing that everyone saw was Gwaine slapping himself in the face.

They all burst out laughing, both at Gwaine’s look of confusion and at the fact that the atmosphere changed so rapidly. 

“Why are you slapping yourself, Gwaine?” Arthur asked, between gasping laughs. 

“I’m not… That wasn’t me. I did not slap myself.” 

They all laughed harder at the fact that Gwaine seemed to not be in control of his hand. Even Gwaine started to laugh. 

By the time Gwen, Morgan and Mordred returned, the group was a laughing mess, Gwaine having slapped himself again and Lance having slapped Gwaine, neither in control of what they were doing. 

“I think we missed something,” Morgan informed Gwen, both of whom had their arms crossed and were trying not to laugh too.  

“You think?”

Once the laughter had died down, Mordred announced that he had to get home “so as not to worry his adoptive parents” and the rest of the group started to disperse too, saying their goodbyes and leaving the shop. Soon, the only ones left were Gwen, Morgan, Arthur, Merlin, and Leo, Leo having stayed just to talk to Gwen about something that had happened at her dad’s metal works the week before. 

Arthur followed Merlin around until the store closed for the night, both of them saying good night to the three that had stayed after the others had left.

Chapter Text

♔♔♔

The two of them lay in bed, Merlin reading a news article and Arthur was reading a book on ancient war tactics, when Arthur looked to Merlin and asked, “Why do you think Gwaine hit himself?”

“I wouldn’t know. Maybe his brain told him to lighten the situation by slapping himself. Although, that wouldn’t explain Lance slapping Gwaine. I don’t know Arthur, heatstroke maybe?”

“You and I both know that’s not how heatstroke works, Merlin,” Arthur said, chuckling a bit. “Anyways, I’m going to go to sleep, you should too, you look tired.”

Merlin smiled as Arthur kissed him on the cheek before turning the lamp off and laying down to sleep.

Something was wrong, Merlin could feel it. The air surrounding him was putrid smelling and seemed to be closing in on him. He looked around, wondering why this scenery seemed so unwelcoming. There was no visible cause for worry, no visible cause for his unease.

Then, there, emerging from the thick air, was a form. Man-shaped and slightly slumped. As it approached Merlin, he was able to make out small details; the shape of the shoulders, the way it walked, and then-

“Arthur.”

“Merlin, you need to help him Merlin. He needs your help Merlin. Wake up, Merlin, wake up.”

“I don’t understand, Arthur. Who needs my help? Arthur? Arthur, who needs my he-”

He jolted awake. Arthur was also awake, staring at Merlin, wide eyed and pale. Tears were streaming down his cheeks and his hands raked through his hair. He looked like he was on the verge of a meltdown of some sort.

“Arthur, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Oh, Merlin, I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry, Merlin.”

“W-what are you sorry about, Arthur? You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No, I did everything wrong, Merlin. I am so sorry, so, so sorry.”

“Arthur, what are you talking about?”

“You… you were my manservant, I… I was a king. Oh God, I treated you horribly, Merlin. I should… I should have treated you better, you should… you should have been able to rely on me, you should’ve been able to tell me that you had magic, oh God. Merlin, I am so sorry.”

He was crying and stumbling over his words, his body was shaking with the tears that streamed down his face. Merlin was shocked, his brain kicking into panic mode and he tried to think of ways he could help Arthur calm down, ways he could help him through this remembrance of his past.

“Arthur, take a breath, then tell me what happened.”

“No… no, Merlin, I was blind and I treated you like horse droppings. I should… I should have listened to you. I should… I should have trusted you. Oh God, Merlin, I remember it, all of it. I am so… I am so sorry, Merlin.”

Merlin tried several ways to calm the Once and Future King, but none of them worked, mostly they only made him more upset, which in turn, made Merlin more upset. 

I need to do something, he thought, I need to calm him down. How though? How do I calm a man who’s just starting to remember his past life? How do you calm a  man who is crying because he thinks he treated you badly 1500 years ago?

He gave Arthur a good hard look before saying, “I’m going to make a tea, you can join me if you want and we can talk after.”

He stood up and hastily left the room, leaving Arthur with tears running down his cheeks and a confused look on his face.

When Arthur left the room, he found Merlin in the kitchen, his hands planted firmly on the countertop, his head hunched downwards, his shoulder blades pressed together. When Merlin noticed Arthur, he gestured to the table and said, “Sit down Arthur.”

After doing as he was told, Merlin offered him a mug of tea before sitting across from him. 

“Tell me, without crying please, what you remember and what you don’t.”

It took a while but eventually they had cleared up the fog that was still in Arthur’s mind. They talked for a couple of hours, Merlin filling in every gap in Arthur’s memories, telling him that the times they’d escaped death or harm was Merlin using magic to protect the people he cared about, namely Arthur.

They’d gone through three mugs of tea by the time Arthur asked quietly, “Did Gwen ever remarry?”

Merlin looked at Arthur and reached across the small table to lay his hand on Arthur’s.

“Yes, she did.”

“Who?”

“Leon, or Leo as he is now. Both Gwaine and Lancelot had died before you and Camelot needed an heir. I didn’t agree with it, Arthur. It made me mad that she could move on so quickly. It made me so mad Arthur, so mad that I left Camelot and didn’t return until I got word that Gaius had died. By that time Gwen and Leon were on their second child and I didn’t stay for very long after Gaius’s funeral, that’s how mad I was. I couldn’t stand even looking at either Gwen or Leon or their children.”

“Were you mad, Merlin, or were you just upset?”

Merlin looked up at him, slightly confused. Had he been mad or just upset about Arthur’s death? Had he actually felt angry or had he felt lost?

“That’s not something I thought of before,” he admitted. 

“Well, it’s better late than never,” Arthur told him kindly. 

Merlin smiled at him and the two sat in silence for a few minutes before Merlin stood up and put their mugs in the sink. 

“We should probably get back to bed, it’s three thirty.”

“Yeah maybe. Hey, Merlin, do you think the others will start to remember too?”

“Like I said, Mordred and Leo already remember everything, so it’ll be a matter of time before we find out about the others.”

“I guess.”

With that, the young couple went back to bed.

♔♔♔

As per Merlin’s prediction, the others didn’t start to remember everything all at once. Gwaine was first, then Lance, then Gwen and Morgan, then Elliot and finally Percy. And once they’d all gotten bits and pieces of their memories back from the past, they decided to meet at a small restaurant to talk about it, to fill blank spots and add detail to their broken up remembrances. Merlin and Leo did most of the talking and storytelling, but in the end they all had the story engraved into their brains. 

“Is this why Mordred said that the relationship between Merlin and Arthur was weird to him?” Elliot asked?

“Yes,” Leo answered. 

“I do admit that it is strange to have only previously seen these two as friends and to now see them as lovers,” Gwaine mused.

They all agreed, even Merlin and Arthur. There seemed to be a silent agreement to not speak in that moment, to just think and contemplate. And their thoughts seemed to speak more than their words.

“What are we going to do with this information?” Morgan asked.

“We keep it to ourselves and pray that no one else comes back.”

They all nodded, agreeing that they didn’t want any of their past friends, acquaintances, enemies, or love interests to come back, not because they didn’t want to see them again, but because they didn’t want to suffer further. 

“Wait, Merlin, didn’t you say that Arthur would return when Albion’s need was greatest?” Percy inquired.

“I did. I honestly don’t know what Albion needs right now, but I’m sure we will find out at some point.”

Merlin did not know it, but Albion had silently incorporated into his being, Albion’s greatest need becoming his own. In doing this, however, Albion had also silently destroyed itself, meaning that it would never have a great need again, that this was the last time that these people would be reincarnated, the last time that anything was to be heard from them. It also meant that Merlin and Leo would start to grow old with their friends. It meant that Albion’s greatest need was Merlin’s greatest need, that Merlin had needed Arthur more than ever at that point in time. And Arthur had come back, Arthur had returned because Merlin had needed him to the most.

♔♔♔

The years had passed quickly, giving them all time with each other, time to love the company of old friends, time to go on with their lives, almost as though nothing was off.

The years had given Merlin and Arthur time to get married and to adopt two children, siblings, a boy of twelve and a girl of eight, at the time that they were adopted. Merlin and Arthur had become well-known among the community members as the two florists that were too madly in love with each other and their little flower shop to let their love for anything fall to waste. 

It had been sixty years since the day that Merlin and Arthur were reunited, just over fifty years of marriage, almost fifty years since they’d adopted the siblings, thirty years since they had gotten their first grandchild and ten years when they’d gotten their first great-grandchild. The time had been very cheerful for the both of them, they’d loved and lost, yes, but it had been happy and beautiful.

It was early evening and the couple had decided to go for a walk in the park, just to breathe in the rain-heavy air and to watch the sunset. As they walked, they talked quietly about their plans for their great-grandchild’s birthday. They stopped talking, however when they came to a lake.

“Look, the sun’s setting over the lake, Merlin. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“It is quite beautiful, Arthur, quite beautiful indeed. But you know what’s prettier?”

“What?”

“You, our family, our friends, our love.”

Arthur chuckled, leaning over to Merlin and kissing him on the cheek.

They watched as the sun set and watched also as a pair of songbirds flew into the sunset, pulling small smiles from the elderly couple.