Chapter Text
1500 years, it's been 1500 years since he'd seen his friends, seen and held his king for the last time, and even though he's kept kilgharrah's words close to heart and mind, it was getting harder and harder to believe that Arthur was going to return at all. With a shake of the head and a quiet sigh he shook away the thought, just as he always did and focused on work instead. Looking up from the paperwork he'd spent far too long going over, he smiled at the nurse as she passed him, idly thinking that it was quieter than usual, but refusing to say so out loud less they be over run in a matter of minutes.
Putting away the paper work and getting ready to take a walk around the patients in his care, to ensure that they were recovering as expected, he heard the sounds of a scuffle in one of the entryways, causing him to raise an eyebrow as his magic, which usually stayed dormant unless he was actively using it, rose to the surface as a voice could be heard shouting "unhand me! Do you not hear me?! Unhand me at once!" Freezing for a few seconds, Merlin took an unsteady breath before going to investigate so that the struggle didn't turn into some kind of brawl.
As soon as the person in the security guards arms became visible, Merlin froze again as the man looked at him apologetically "sorry Merlin, he seemed rather agitated when he arrived and has a sword on him though we have no idea if it's real or not" he looked vaguely worried by the idea as merlin recovered from his shock and slowly nodded.
At this point the struggling man had become both silent and still "Merlin?" Was the soft spoken question, as if they too didn't believe the other was in front of him again, it was then Merlin held out his hand towards the blonde and nodded to the security guards "I'll take it from here, thank you gentlemen" he says as he takes Arthur by the wrist and leads him to the nearest empty room, taking off the armour and chainmail so it would seem as if he was checking for any injuries, which he subconsciously was. He was a doctor for crying out loud and not only that, this man had died in his arms!
Arthur didn't seem to mind this, hell he relaxed as soon as merlin took him from the two men that had accosted him for no reason in his eyes "you look a damn sight better than when I last saw you" Merlin mutters playfully once he'd finished his check over, startling Arthur when he put a stethoscope on his chest as it was rather cold and he gave the man no warning or reason for doing it.
For a few minutes the two just stared at each other, before Arthur surprised his friend by leaning forwards and pulling him into a bone crushing hug "god's Merlin I've missed you and your prattle" he says, voice full of emotion as Merlin lets out a quiet chuckle before gently pulling away "I've missed you too, more than you can imagine" he says softly as he placed a hand on the man's shoulder. Taking in his face once again and committing it to memory once more before stepping away and heading for the door "stay here, I've got work to do and I don't want you randomly wandering again" he says so that Arthur knew he wouldn't be far away should he need him for whatever reason, though he did come back with some cookies and a bottle of water so that he knew the man had at least had something to eat whilst he was gone.
It was another 3 hours before they saw one another again, but by the time Merlin had finished his shift and gone to get him, Arthur had fallen asleep. Much to the amusement of a nurse who Merlin had asked to keep an eye on him "rise and shine, dollophead!" Merlin sing songed playfully as he always had when getting his king to wake up.
This caused Arthur to groan and open his eyes slightly "all this time and you haven't found anything new?!" He asks in annoyance, causing the nurse and Merlin to chuckle quietly and Arthur looked at the nurse with wide startled eyes "I'm sorry ma'am, I'm not disturbing am I?" He asks, much to Merlin's growing amusement as she shook her head. Slightly baffled by Arthur's behaviour "not at all sir, though it's high time you head home" she says, looking at Merlin with a raised eyebrow, as by the look of it the two knew each other. She was answered with a nod, before he once again took Arthur by the wrist and led him outside to where his car was parked.
Arthur took one look at the car and dug his heals into the floor beneath him "I'm not getting in that death trap!" He yells as he'd had to avoid far too many, going at preposterous speeds in order to even get here "it's either that or you walk " Merlin says as he opens the passinger door and waits patiently for him to make up his mind. Arthur continued to glare for a few more seconds, before conceding and getting in as slow as possible, until Merlin pushed him the rest of the way and shut the door before he could change his mind.
The ride home was surprisingly quiet, though he could see Arthur clinging to the door for dear life out the corner of his eye. It was only a 10 minute journey but the way Arthur got out once Merlin had parked up, you'd think it was far longer than that. It wasn't long before Arthur was exploring the house, with Merlin keeping an eye on him so that he didn't startle bad enough to break something.
Arthur found his way into the library in the basement "this is as big as the one back in Camelot!" He says in stunned awe, slowly wandering around curiously picking up books as he went, noting that they all seemed to vary with age. It took a lot longer than Merlin expected for the man to head back upstairs again, telling him that he'd no doubt find Arthur down here again at some point, Arthur continued to wander around the house until eventually he spun around to face Merlin "where are my chambers, I wish to retire" he says, noting that his friend was doing something in the kitchen.
Merlin rolls his eyes before wandering upstairs, listening as it takes Arthur a few seconds to follow, but by the time the king had made it into the doorway, Merlin had already started magically making up the room for him "did you do this in Camelot?" He asks as he watched the bed make itself in fascination, noticing that everything pauses for a few seconds before Merlin lets out a quiet hum of assent causing Arthur to smile and nod slightly.
It wasn't long before the room was made up, his now unneeded chainmail and armour was hidden in a cupboard of some sort, but Merlin suddenly turns to look at his friend "are you comfortable wearing those to bed or do you want to borrow something?" He asks, knowing that Arthur would only sleep in certain things "I'm sure I'll manage merlin, though I might need to get some new clothes" he says in amusement, it wouldn't do for him to wander around in a tunic and breaches whilst Merlin wandered around in a t-shirt, large hoodie, jeans and converse.
As if reading his mind Merlin rolled his eyes "of course sire, only the very best for you" he says sarcastically, laughing quietly when Arthur chucked a pillow at him in response. It wasn't long before Arthur was asleep so with some last minute touches to the room, merlin left as quietly as he could, slightly surprised that his friend didn't wake even slightly at his movements.
Once he was back downstairs, he finished making the meal he was working on when Arthur had announced that he was tired, putting enough away so that both he and his friend could have some the following day. He soon settled down as he began to eat and catch up with the day's events on TV, almost slipping off into sleep when a knock on the door was heard, several knocks in fact.
Not wanting Arthur to wake and be moody, he quickly answered, not expecting to see two knights and a late queen standing there looking confused but excited "Gwaine? Leon? Gwen?!" He asks in growing shock and disbelief, he shuts the door slightly and pinches himself as hard as he can.
First Arthur had returned, now three of his friends?! Realising that he wasn't dreaming and this was in fact happening, he opened the door again and becond the three inside, thanking the triple goddess that he was able to use his magic to make the inside of his house much bigger than it looked outside, Gwaine made himself at home on the couch instantly whilst Gwen and Leon looked around curiously.
Still slightly in shock, Merlin joined Gwaine on the couch and put his head in his hands "when he said Arthur would rise again, I didn't expect half of Camelot to come with him" he says loud enough for the three of them to hear, causing Gwaine to bump his shoulder against Merlin's "you not happy to see us?" He asks in that good natured tone that told Merlin that even though he was playing around with him, the man was also worried. By now Gwen had made her way over and had put a hand on her friends shoulder, concern clear to see in her eyes at her friends behaviour "if you three and Arthur are here, who else is gonna appear?" He asks, causing Leon to perk up at the mention of his closest friend being somewhere in the house
It wasn't long before everything started to catch up with Merlin, causing him to gasp and jump up "I'll get you guys some food!" He says, looking around his startled friends with a wide grin before rushing into the kitchen to see what would seem good to them "got any mead?" Gwaine asks as he wanders in, looking around curiously causing merlin to chuckle quietly.
Of course that's the first thing the man would ask about. Gwaine seemed to light up at hearing him laugh "it's called alcohol now and I've got plenty" he responds, pointing to the fridge so that his friend had an idea of where his favourite beverage was. It took awhile but eventually Merlin found a chicken meal big enough that not only would it feed the three of them, it would probably last the next few days so that Arthur could have some as well.
Now the three of them were fed and Gwaine on his way to being drunk, Merlin got on with making his house big enough for the three of them plus whoever decided to turn up next "I knew it" he heard Gwen whisper, when he looked at her there was a fond look on her face causing him to startle slightly.
He noticed Gwaine looked as if he'd figured it out at some point and Leon was just watching in cautious curiousity "I knew you were the one to help at camlann, thank you Merlin" she says, walking over and pulling him into a familiar bear hug that they had once shared regularly. It was then he knew that this was real and couldn't help but relax into his friend as Gwaine joined them, Leon chuckling quietly as Gwaine pulls him over and soon Merlin is in the middle of the three, feeling happier than ever.
None of them knew how long they had been standing there, but eventually Gwen pulls away trying to hide her yawn "boring you are we?" Leon says playfully as the cuddle pile falls apart, Gwen bats her hand at him in amusement before looking at Merlin curiously "would you like your own room or would you like to share with Arthur?" He asks as the three follow him upstairs, all of them even more curious to see more of Merlin's house "I wouldn't want to startle him if he's already asleep" she responds, looking slightly apprehensive at seeing her husband again after so long.
Merlin smiles as they pass Arthur's room and stop at another three "understandable, you guys have the first pick" he says as he opens each door, not at all suprised when Gwaine shot into the one with the bed furthest away from the window, whilst Gwen chose the room that let the most light in. Leon was in the room that had the bed in the middle of the wall and by the time he had got them all settled, Gwen and Gwaine had already fallen asleep. Leading Merlin to look in and smile softly, before heading to his own room in order to wrap his head around everything enough so that he could sleep.