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Chapter Text

First of all, a huge thank you to @PapySanzo who put together this Advent Calendar and is posting merthur art prompts daily for each prompt. You should check them out!

Secondly, all the fics I'm writing for this are set in the same [modern] universe, however due to the order of the prompts, they are not linear. Please keep that in mind so it doesn't get confusing.

Lastly, here are the prompts I'll be using for each day;

1. Wish List
2. Pandoro vs Panettone
3. Ugly Christmas Garland
4. Fire on Hearth
5. Knitted Jumper
6. Ice Skating
7. Hot Chocolate
8. It’s Cold Outside, Let’s Cuddle for Warmth 
9. Parent!Merthur
10. Nutcracker Merthur
11. Christmas Cleaning
12. Gwaine Wraps Arthur Up in Christmas Wrapping Paper
13. Merthur Baking
14. First Snow
15. Hanging Christmas Lights
16. Long Scarf
17. Visiting Parents
18. First Christmas Together
19. Magic Mistletoe
20. Sick Comfort
21. Christmas Market
22. Arthur with Santa’s Hat/Merlin with Reindeer Antlers
23. It’s still magic if you know how it’s done
24. And so this is Christmas…

I'm in the middle of exam season so updates will not be daily but I have planned out all 24 drabbles so they will be written eventually :) Enjoy!

Chapter Text

“So have you made your wish list yet?” Merlin asks casually, looking up from the piece of paper he’d been scribbling on for the better part of an hour.

“My wish list?” Arthur frowns, trying to figure out what Merlin’s on about.

“Yeah, you know, stuff you’re wishing for this Christmas?” Merlin explains.

Arthur scoffs. “That’s for children, Merlin. Don’t tell me you think Santa is real too.”

“Well, no,” Merlin acquiesces. “But, I do believe in Christmas magic. Like, not magic in like fairies but more along the lines of good things happen around Christmas. Am I making sense?”

“Do you ever make sense?” Arthur drawls. 

Merlin peers at him hopefully. “But you get what I mean, don’t you? Isn’t Christmas just more magical than any other time of the year?”

Arthur shifts uncomfortably. Truthfully, he’d never seen the appeal of the season. He could never understand why other people were so enthralled by it. It was more of a nuisance to him. The traffic was ridiculous, it was always cold, everywhere was over-crowded, sick people were always spreading their nasty germs, there was a ridiculous amount of pressure to get everyone the perfect gift, the skies grew darker much faster… 

Honestly, he could go on for pages about the dreadfulness of the season, but not when Merlin’s looking at him with his stupid puppy eyes.

“What’s on your list, then?” Arthur asks instead, redirecting the conversation. He didn’t fancy lying to Merlin, but he didn’t fancy crushing his spirit either. 

Merlin’s face brightens, an adorable flush turning his skin pink. “That’s personal, you nosy bugger.”

“What?” Arthur snorts. “Don’t tell me it’s between you and the old man?”

Merlin rolls his eyes. “I already told you I know Santa isn’t real. That doesn’t mean I’m going to tell you all my Christmas wishes. What’s the fun in that?”

Arthur didn’t particularly see the fun in making the list either but he wisely remained quiet, humming as an answer. 

“Here,” Merlin took out a loose page and passed it to him. “You could work on your list if you want.”

Arthur stared at the paper then shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Fancy some coffee?”

Merlin shrugged then nodded, looking slightly disappointed. Arthur leaned down to press a consolatory kiss to his curls before he headed to the kitchen. 

Of course Merlin would be a Christmas person. Honestly, he doesn’t know what he was expecting.

-

Arthur’s at work the next day, trying valiantly to focus and do what he was paid to do, but he can’t stop thinking about Merlin and his stupid wish list. It’s ridiculous. He’s an adult. Adults don’t make wish lists because they know the ‘magic of Christmas’ is pure bullshit. Merlin just so happens to be such an optimist that it borders on naivety sometimes. It makes sense that he’d believe in all that crap but Arthur knows better.

With a defeated sigh, he takes a folder page and writes ‘Wish List’ very neatly at the top. This is what he gets for not avoiding Merlin after he spilt coffee all over him all those months ago. 

Arthur stares at the paper, wondering what to even write on it. He’s been rich his entire life. First, thanks to the spending allowance his father so generously provided, and then because he’d come into his mother’s inheritance and started earning his own salary. He doesn’t need anything material because he simply buys himself whatever he wants.

• My father’s love

He feels completely and utterly foolish writing it but it was true. That was the one thing he’d yearned for his entire life—the one thing that was always out of reach.

The wish list starts to feel more cathartic than list-like so Arthur continues, knowing the paper would be burnt before anyone could ever see it.

• To understand what’s so special about “a mother’s love”
• To get why people say Christmas is about love; to understand why everyone loves the season so much

Arthur feels utterly embarrassed just reading his writing but he can’t deny that those are his deepest wishes. His phone alarm goes off, reminding him that he needs to leave the office now if he’s going to make it home in time since he and Merlin are hosting a small dinner with some of their closest friends so he shoves the paper haphazardly in his jacket pocket, gathering his things quickly.

-

Merlin shoves his hand into Arthur’s jacket pocket as he’s doing laundry, laughing at Arthur’s awful habit of forgetting things in his pockets when his fingers wrap around paper. He pulls out the paper, curiosity getting the best of him when he realizes Arthur had written a wish list after all. 

Merlin’s eyes mist over as he reads over the list, his heart aching for his boyfriend. Despite how impossible the list seems, Merlin resolves to make sure Arthur gets everything he wishes for this Christmas, just like he’s given Merlin everything he could ever want.

Chapter Text

It had been, like most things, nothing more than a casual comment. Arthur was simply telling Merlin about that one Christmas he had spent in Italy and he had mentioned the cuisine obviously. 

Except, well, Arthur was a picky eater and he had mentioned some type of traditional Italian Christmas cake being one of the best things he’d ever eaten so obviously that had stood out to Merlin. He wasn’t exactly sure of the name though, because Arthur had said it with the proper Italian accent like the posh bastard he was so Merlin had just filed away that it started with the letter ‘P’ and included that in his google search later on.

Which explains why he was baking at an unholy hour of the night after a long, exhausting day at work. He had found the recipe for a Panettone online and had made sure to buy all the ingredients and stash them for a day when Arthur was working late, which wasn’t actually that uncommon. 

“Merlin?” Arthur calls, the sound of the front door opening and closing echoing through the house. “Are you still awake?”

Merlin pokes his head out the kitchen, pleased that his creation had come out exactly like the recipe promised it would. “In here.”

Arthur smiles, coming over to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist and give him a proper greeting kiss.

“I thought for sure you’d be asleep,” Arthur sighs happily, sinking into Merlin’s embrace.

“So that’s why you came in screaming for me?” Merlin deadpans and Arthur rolls his eyes.

“Oh please, like that’d ever wake you. You sleep like the dead, love,” Arthur perks up, sniffing the air dramatically. “What’s that smell? Have you been baking?”

Merlin grins, stepping out of Arthur's arms to make his way over to the counter, where the plate with the cake is sitting. 

“Surprise! I made you a panettone since you told me you loved it so much.”

Arthur’s shocked face does something strange before his expression morphs into fondness and he steps forward as Merlin cuts him a slice and holds it up for him to bite.

He chews thoughtfully before he swallows. “It tastes wonderful, Merlin. Well done.”

“Do you really think so?” Merlin asks. “Or are you just saying that? Because you’re making a weird face.”

Arthur shakes his head. “No, it really does taste good. Here, cut me another slice, yeah?”

Merlin grins, watching Arthur scarf down his servings, feeling like the best boyfriend in the world.

-

“I’m sorry, you made panettone for Arthur and he actually ate it? Arthur? Pendragon? My brother?” Morgana gapes at Merlin in shock and Merlin’s eyes furrow.

“Why wouldn’t he? He loves it.”

“What? No, he doesn’t. Arthur absolutely hates panettone, he says it’s an absolutely vile mix of candied fruits and raisins and he doesn’t understand who hated mankind enough to come up with that recipe.”

“He told me himself he loved it! He said it was the best part about spending Christmas in Italy,” Merlin defends himself.

Morgana blinks. “Merlin, you daft sod, Arthur loves Pandoro . It’s basically the exact opposite of panettone but people do tend to mix them up.”

Merlin’s jaw drops as he pulls out his phone and searches up the difference between the two.

“Do I need to separate you two over here?” Arthur half-teases as he makes his way over to them.

“How could you not tell me?” Merlin yelps in indignation, whirling on his boyfriend.

“Not tell you what?”

“That you like pandoro and not panettone!”

Arthur’s expression goes guilty. “Ah. Well, it’s not that I don’t like panettone, per se…”

“Morgana told me exactly what you’ve said about it,” Merlin argues. “You ate like half of the cake by yourself! Why the hell would you do that if you hate it so much.”

Arthur smiles, reaching out to tuck an errant curl behind Merlin’s ear, his eyes sparkling. “Because you were so excited that you’d made me my favorite dessert. How could I tell you I actually hated it?”

Merlin softens, smiling dopily at how sweet Arthur could be.

“I’ll make you a pandoro next time,” He promises, leaning in to kiss Arthur as Morgana gags at the both of them in the background.

Chapter Text

Merlin loves Arthur.

He loves Arthur with every single part of his being and he knows that that includes Arthur’s strange quirks and emotional baggage. 

What he does not love is Arthur’s taste in Christmas decorations.

He doesn’t know what he was expecting but it most definitely was not this fucking eyesore of a Christmas garland. Holy hell.

Arthur has very impeccable, expensive taste. Most of the things he usually goes after are modern and sleek. Merlin was expecting Arthur’s tastes to run more into fully white Christmas trees decorated thematically with reds and golds.

He did not expect Arthur to choose out a Christmas garland made out of brown straw and topped with ugly little elves with beady eyes. What the fuck?

And maybe he could understand if Arthur had bought one, but no, of course not. Arthur bought one for each door and then decided to hang another one from the fucking Christmas tree. Who does that? Who the hell hangs a garish garland from the tree?

“Don’t you just love it?” Arthur grins, beaming proudly at his horrendous purchase. 

“Uh,” Merlin hesitates. “It’s surely unique.”

“I know!” Arthur beams. “It’s absolutely perfect. I can’t think of anything better to celebrate our first Christmas together with. I even got one for the bedroom too!”

“The bedroom?” Merlin winces.

“Yup, I hung it directly over the bedhead.”

Merlin wants to tell Arthur he has the shittiest taste ever. He really does. But, well, Arthur looks so ridiculously proud of himself and Merlin is so ridiculously in love with him that he can’t do anything to wipe that look off his face.

“Well,” Merlin sighs, a fond smile crossing his face. “Let’s go see this garland then.”

Arthur beams, leading the way.

It’s just as ugly as Merlin was expecting but Merlin figures the light in Arthur’s eyes is beautiful enough to make up for it.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Merlin asks dubiously, again, as he watches Arthur struggle with the logs inside the hearth.

“Yes, Merlin,” Arthur says, annoyance clear in his voice. “I’m capable of lighting a bloody fire, for God’s sake!”

“You’ve been trying to do it for five minutes,” Merlin continues. “That’s not very reassuring.”

“Shut up, Merlin,” Arthur snaps. “Aha!” He jumps to his feet triumphantly when the fire finally roars to life, turning to face his boyfriend. “See, all you needed to do was have a bit of faith in me.”

Merlin rolls his eyes then glances behind Arthur as the room grows both exponentially brighter and hotter.

“Uh, Arthur…”

Arthur’s smug look drops and he turns back to see what’s gotten Merlin’s attention.

“Fuck!” He swears, looking at the flames currently consuming his precious decorations. “Fuck, fuck, shit, fuck!” 

“Yes, very helpful,” Merlin gripes, struggling with the heavy fire extinguisher that he isn’t sure still works. 

Arthur runs over to grab the extinguisher from Merlin and, despite the situation, Merlin has to take a moment to appreciate how easily Arthur does so, muscles bulging under his sweater as he pulls the pin and aims at the flames.

By the time the fire is out, the collection of Christmas garlands that Arthur had sprinkled about the hearth are all ruined, either by the fire or chemical foam or both.

Merlin can’t find it in himself to be disappointed.

Arthur sighs. “I’m sorry I ruined everything. You were right, turns out I am incapable of lighting a bloody fire.”

“It’s alright,” He coos to his pouty boyfriend. “You didn’t ruin anything, we’ll go out and get much nicer ones to replace them, you’ll see,” He promises, wrapping his arms around Arthur’s broad shoulders.

“Besides,” Merlin continues when Arthur remains sullen, purposefully dropping his voice a few octaves lower. “It’s not all the time you get to see your strong, sexy boyfriend heroically save your life.”

Arthur raises an incredulous eyebrow at him. “You can’t be serious right now.”

Merlin shrugs impishly. 

“I nearly burned down the house and you’re somehow horny?”

“It was a small fire,” Merlin dismisses. “It happens. Besides, it’s not my fault you lift, is it? Am I not allowed to appreciate how fucking sexy your strength is?”

Arthur shakes his head in disbelief. “You’re insatiable.”

“Mm,” Merlin hums, leaning in closer. “And are you going to do something about it?”

Arthur’s expression shifts, his eyes growing darker and more mischievous. Without warning, Merlin feels Arthur’s hands wrap beneath his legs before he’s lifted against tightened abdominal muscles. He wraps his legs around Arthur’s waist and tangles his fingers in his hair, leaning down to kiss him. 

Unlike their bedroom, the living room is finally free of that ugly christmas garland, all thanks to a little fire on the hearth.

Chapter Text

Merlin absolutely adores his mum, that’s not a secret. It’s not a secret that Arthur has come to think of her as the mother he never had, either. 

Every year, Hunith makes Merlin a Christmas sweater to wear. She’s not the best knitter, despite her years of trying, and she somehow always finds a way to choose the ugliest designs. She does it as a joke, though, because the first year he’d teased her relentlessly so she’d made them both matching sweaters that were as ugly as they came. Merlin still wore it because it was Christmas and he knew it would make her happy and then the next year she managed to choose an uglier design and he still wore it so now he’s convinced she does it as a way to test him—to see how ugly it has to be for him not to wear it. Merlin’s just as stubborn as she is though so he refuses not to wear it, just so that she won’t win.

So yeah, he was definitely expecting her to make them both ugly matching sweaters again this year. What he was not expecting, however, was for Arthur to get one too.

Merlin winces as he stares at the fabric, wondering how he was going to break it to his poor mum that his posh dolt of a boyfriend would never be caught dead in that, much less alive.

“What on earth is that?” Arthur blurts, staring at it in horror. “Merlin, please tell me you did not pay actual money for that thing. ”

“Uh, my mum sent it, actually.”

“Is this another one of those weird inside jokes you two have?” Arthur asks and Merlin is only mildly concerned that Arthur knows him well enough to understand that he and Hunith have weird inside jokes.

“Yup. Every year she sends me a sweater that matches hers but it’s always uglier than the last because she’s waiting for me to refuse to wear it which’ll mean I lose,” Merlin explains.

Arthur looks amused. “Well, go on, then. Try it on. Let’s see how you look in that goddawful mess.”

“This one’s yours, you prat,” Merlin snorts, tossing it at Arthur’s startled face.

“What?”

“Oh, yeah. Mum decided to include you this year so that monstrosity is all yours.”

Merlin’s expecting Arthur to make a face and throw the sweater back at him so he has to do a double take when Arthur smiles and immediately puts on the sweater.

“How does it look?”

“It’s the worst thing you’ve ever worn, that’s for sure,” Merlin laughs.

“Put on yours and then call her!” Arthur demands and Merlin does as he says, laughing even harder when Hunith answers wearing hers.

-

“You know, now that she’s seen you in it, you can take it off,” Merlin mentions later that night when they’re cuddled up in bed and Arthur’s still in the sweater.

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t want to,” Arthur confesses, burying his face in Merlin’s neck. Merlin can feel the hotness of his skin, which means he’s blushing. He brushes a hand through Arthur’s hair and squeezes him tighter with the other.

“Do you actually like it then?” He half-teases, thinking about the ugly garland above their heads.

“I love it, even if it is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s just—the ugly Christmas sweater thing is something that the two of you do and the fact that she’s included me in it this year…I just-”

“I know,” Merlin promises softly, saving Arthur the trouble of putting his feelings into words. “She loves you, just as I do, and she wants you to know that you’re family now.”

“It means so much to me, Merlin. I never thought I’d get to have anything like this.”

“Oh, baby,” Merlin whispers, kissing Arthur’s head. “You deserve so much more than you’ll ever know.”

Arthur sniffles but remains quiet for a while. “If you ever tell anyone I got emotional over an ugly Christmas jumper, I’m leaving you.”

Merlin smiles softly, feeling like he might explode with how filled to the brim he is with love for the ridiculous man in his arms because he knows that’s Arthur’s way of saying that Merlin’s the only person he trusts with his vulnerabilities. 

Chapter Text

“How do you feel about ice skating?” Arthur asks casually, gloved hand in Merlin’s as he leads them to the outdoor rink that was really just a frozen over pond blocked off for the season. 

Merlin scrunches up his nose and Arthur is helpless against the urge to kiss the tip of it, a pleased smile crossing his lips when Merlin’s face turns pink and not from the cold. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever done it since the first time, back when I was like six or seven, maybe? That sort of ended with my entire body being one big bruise,” Merlin grins wryly.

“Well, I was actually thinking that we could do that today? I sort of went ahead and booked us a half hour slot,” Arthur admits, looking at his watch. 

Merlin shrugs easily. “Sure, why not? Maybe my coordination or something has improved.”

Arthur snorts, shooting Merlin a look. “I promise to catch you if you fall.”

Merlin raises a hand to his heart, pretending to swoon. “My knight in shining armour.”

“Nevermind, I’ll be sure to point and laugh when you’re lying flat on your ass,” Arthur huffs.

“But then you’ll kiss it better?” Merlin croons sweetly and Arthur shoves him to the side before reeling him back to his side.

“You’re a menace,” He sighs against Merlin’s temple, gesturing with their joined hands to all the little children milling about. Merlin hides his laugh in Arthur’s neck, nuzzling into the thick fabric of Arthur’s scarf.

“You love me,” Merlin shoots back.

“God help me but I do,” Arthur sighs, pretending to be put out about it despite the fact that he’s smiling so hard that his cheeks are starting to hurt, a problem that he only ever has when Merlin’s around. 

-

Arthur rubs his hand over his face wearily as he sits in the waiting room of the ER, waiting anxiously for someone to come out and tell him what the fuck was going on with his boyfriend. Why had he decided to go ice skating in the first place?

Merlin had specifically told Arthur he hadn’t gone ice skating after the first time he’d tried it as a boy because it had ended with his entire body being one big bruise. So what the fuck was Arthur thinking carrying him ice skating? Why did he think it would end any differently?

God, he’d gotten so caught up in having fun that he hadn’t realized Merlin was falling until it was too late. He had reached out for him but he wasn’t close enough and it felt like he was watching in slow motion as Merlin’s head had hit the cold ice with a resounding crack, his legs twisted beneath his body in a way that Merlin was not flexible enough to accommodate.

Arthur’s pretty sure Merlin’s prone form lying on the ice is going to haunt him for the rest of his life.

“Merlin Emrys?”

Arthur jerks up to his feet as a nurse enters the waiting room, a clipboard with the forms Arthur had filled out and signed earlier in her hands.

“Is he okay?” He manages to croak out through the lump in his throat.

She smiles at him kindly, gesturing for Arthur to follow her to Merlin’s room. “He’s okay. He’s got a nasty bump on his head but thankfully no signs of a concussion or brain injury. His ankle is sprained though so he won’t be able to put any weight on it for about two weeks but apart from that he’s all good to go. The doctor is in the room with him right now for discharge but I’m sure she’ll be happy to go over recovery, signs to look out for, etcetera.”

“Okay, thank you,” Arthur says politely as she opens the door to Merlin’s room. He goes over to where Merlin is sitting on the bed, introducing himself to Merlin’s doctor and listening carefully as she goes over everything with him. After what feels like forever, they wheel Merlin out to Arthur’s car.

The ride home is silent, nothing but the radio filling the quiet of the car. Arthur helps Merlin into the house and sets him up on the couch before going into the kitchen to find something to eat. 

Not even a full half-hour later, Arthur jumps when Merlin hobbles into the room. Merlin looks broken and small, skin pale with a bandage wrapped around his head and Arthur hates it. He fucking hates that Merlin’s hurt and that it’s all his fault. He had promised to catch Merlin if he fell, hadn’t he? And he had broken that promise and now his boyfriend was paying the price.

“Dammit Merlin, I told you not to move! How bloody hard is it to just stay on the fucking couch?” Arthur snaps, anger and guilt whirring inside of him.

Merlin blinks, his eyes filling with hurt and Arthur hates himself even more than he did a moment ago because now he’s hurt his feelings too.

“I was just lonely,” Merlin whispers, his voice small and sad. “You haven’t spoken to me since before I fell and I just—I figured I’d come apologize.”

“Apol–apologize?” Arthur stumbles over his words incredulously.

Merlin nods, chewing anxiously on his bottom lip. “I didn’t mean to ruin–”

“Fuck, Merlin, no,” Arthur runs a hand through his hair in frustration then walks over to where Merlin’s sitting at the kitchen table so he can kneel in front of him. He takes Merlin’s hand in his own and presses a kiss to his knuckles, running his finger over the skin afterwards as he drops it to rest in Merlin’s lap. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

“Then why are you mad?” Merlin winces.

Arthur sighs heavily. “I’m mad at myself, not at you.”

Merlin frowns. “Hang on, why are you mad at yourself? You didn’t—oh, Arthur,” Merlin sighs, threading his fingers through Arthur’s hair. “Baby, it wasn’t your fault that I got hurt. Accidents happen, all the time.”

“But you told me! You told me why you hadn’t been skating and then I promised to catch you if you fell and I didn’t and–”

“Arthur!” Merlin hushes him. “Hey, if I really didn’t want to go, I would’ve said so, okay? I wanted to try it out again and now we know that I’m atrocious at it,” Merlin smiles wryly and Arthur frowns, still feeling like a mess of emotion.

“It’s not funny. You’re hurt.”

“Barely! In two weeks, I’ll be as good as new again,” Merlin reminds him. “And you tried to catch me like the gentleman you are, but these things just sometimes happen too fast. Arthur, I’m not mad at you and I don’t blame you and I’m the injured party here which means you can’t blame yourself either.”

“But-”

“But nothing,” Merlin interjects. “You beating yourself up isn’t doing either one of us any good, but do you know what will make me feel better?”

“Anything,” Arthur promises and Merlin smiles, bending down to press a kiss to the frown lines on Arthur’s forehead. 

“If you make me some hot chocolate and then curl up on the couch with me for the rest of the evening. I’ve got my mind set on cuddles, a nice warm fire and some cheesy hallmark romcoms.”

Arthur finally cracks a smile. “I think I can manage that without breaking you any more.”

“Oh my God, you did not break me,” Merlin groans dramatically. “Just shut up and make me my hot chocolate. If you say one more thing about this I might be the one breaking you.”

“...Kinky.”

Chapter Text

“From now on, this is what all our dates are going to involve,” Arthur declares. “We’re never leaving the house again.”

Merlin laughs. He’s laying on Arthur, wrapped in their most comfortable blanket. The fire has the room nice and warm and there’s a movie about a couple falling in love in a small town playing on the television. 

Arthur has managed to somehow figure out the recipe for the best hot chocolate and Merlin’s on his second cup as Arthur plays with his head and peppers him with kisses every so often. It really is the perfect date if he’s being honest.

“I really love you, you know,” Merlin murmurs in response, snuggling closer to Arthur. “Especially because this hot chocolate is the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted.”

“Well, at least now I know why you keep me around,” Arthur says dryly.

Merlin hides his smile in the folds of Arthur’s jumper. “It definitely not for your fire-lighting skills.”

“Merlin!” Arthur’s jaw drops. “It was one time!”

Merlin kisses his chin. “When we’re dealing with fires, one time is plenty, love.”

Arthur pouts so Merlin kisses him, savouring the taste of chocolate on his lips and wondering if he’d ever stop feeling this happy with Arthur.

Chapter Text

Merlin looks outside, noting the rate the snow was falling at and frowned. Everyone else was already here but Arthur was unreachable.

“If it keeps coming down like that, we’ll all be spending the night,” Morgana notes. “Reckon you’ve got enough food for this lot?”

Merlin laughs. “I’m not worried about the food. With Gwaine here, our alcohol supply is the real danger.”

“Oi!” Gwaine gasps in affront while everyone else cracks up.

Merlin’s smile fades as his eyes drift back towards the window.

“Hey,” Gwen says softly, gently squeezing his arm. “He’s okay. His phone probably isn’t getting any signal but I’m sure he’s fine, wherever he is.”

Merlin sighs. “Yeah, I hope so.”

The wind howls outside and Merlin shudders, pulling the blanket over his shoulder. It’s ridiculously cold and truthfully, all he wants is to be cuddled up with Arthur in his arms, safe and warm.

The front door flies open, accompanied by a gust of biting air, and Arthur steps inside, shivering even as he shakes snow off him.

“Fuck, it’s cold outside,” He grunts, smiling as Merlin bounds over to wrap him in a tight hug. “Hmm,” Arthur hums. “We should cuddle for warmth.”

Merlin laughs at the pathetic attempt at a joke, helping Arthur out of his outer layers before he wraps the blanket around Arthur, holding him close as they drop down onto the armchair.

Merlin settles himself on Arthur’s lap and Arthur leans his head on Merlin’s shoulder as he wraps his arms around his waist and greets their friends.

Elyan pours Arthur some of the hot chocolate and Arthur makes a face when he tastes it, coughing slightly as he swallows. 

“Jesus Christ, is there any chocolate in that or is it just pure alcohol?” 

Merlin laughs, taking an experimental sniff that lets him know Gwaine was the one doing the spiking.

“Everyone here’s already been drinking, mate, you’ve gotta catch up!” Gwaine calls out jovially and Arthur huddles closer to Merlin.

“Why did I ever let you bring him home?”

Merlin scoffs. “You say that like he’s not your best friend.”

“You’re my best friend,” Arthur argues.

“Excluding me, then.”

Arthur goes to argue but rolls his eyes when he realizes that Merlin has a point. Merlin smiles fondly as Arthur buries his face in the crook of Merlin’s neck, his cold nose pressing right into Merlin’s pulse point. He turns, nuzzling his face in Arthur’s hair as he hugs him closer, finally at peace now that Arthur’s where he’s meant to be; wrapped in Merlin’s arms.

Chapter Text

“Pleeeaasseeee, Daddyyyy,” Mordred begs. “I’m old enough now, I promise! And I’ve been good all year! I swear I won’t ever ask to stay up past my bedtime ever again,” He continues and Arthur snorts, knowing that that’s a lie.

Secretly, Arthur is completely on board with Mordred staying up until midnight to bring in Christmas with him and Merlin—or, more accurately, staying up as late as he can—but Arthur is the one with the soft spot. He’d give Mordred anything he asked for, simply because he was weak against his big puppy eyes. Merlin, thankfully, was pretty much immune which is the only reason there was any kind of order in their house.

“Ask you Da,” Arthur sighs when Mordred continues tugging on his pant leg and Arthur looks up just in time to see Merlin shake his head at him, expression unimpressed. He sends him a sheepish smile and Merlin snorts, bending down to pick up Mordred who pouts at him, looking impressively just like Arthur. 

“You can stay up with us on one condition,” Merlin decides and Mordred nods eagerly while Arthur beams as if he was the seven year old. “No iPad after eight.”

“I promise!” Mordred agrees, pressing a wet kiss against Merlin’s cheeks as he wiggles with glee. Merlin laughs, setting him down so he can run off to, presumably, make use of his iPad while he still can.

“You’re so weak,” Merlin smirks, walking over to Arthur and wrapping his arms around his waist from behind. Arthur leans back against Merlin but doesn’t stop mixing the cookie dough together. 

“You told him yes!” Arthur argues in defense and Merlin hums, pressing a kiss to his cheek and then nuzzling into the crook of Arthur’s neck.

“Only because it’s Christmas! Any other night and he would’ve been asleep by eight thirty,” Merlin goads. “But then again, considering I’ve spent the last ten years getting used to your puppy eyes, I suppose I’ve built a tolerance for cuteness.”

Arthur huffs. “I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be a compliment or an insult but I’ll take it either way.”

Merlin chuckles, swaying them gently to the Christmas music playing through the house. 

“I love Christmas,” He sighs contentedly. Arthur smiles, turning to kiss him sweetly. 

“Me too.”

-

“Do you think Santa got my list, Da?” Mordred asks, eyes bright as he sips from Arthur’s mug of hot chocolate. He’s properly snuggled in Arthur’s arm, a thick blanket wrapped around them snugly. Usually they’d give him his own mug but neither one of them trusts their energetic son to not drop the drink on the blanket and Arthur refuses to even entertain the idea of Mordred moving from his lap. Merlin’s heart feels like it’s about to burst, and for yet another time he wonders how he managed to get this lucky.

“I know he did, he told me so himself,” Merlin confirms, pouring himself a glass of wine. 

“Do you think I’ll get everything I asked for?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Arthur teases and Merlin grins, knowing that he and Arthur can’t help but spoil their son so they had gotten him everything he had asked for and then some extra stuff. 

Mordred yawns, burrowing his head closer to Arthur’s chest as Merlin comes to sit next to them. He extends his feet onto his Da’s lap so he’s sprawled out over the both of them and Merlin tucks himself into Arthur’s side, resting his head on his shoulder.

“This is nice,” He murmurs, feeling the peacefulness wash over him. 

Arthur presses a kiss to his hair, remaining quiet as they both watch Mordred’s eyelids flutter as he tries to fight sleep but ultimately fails. 

“He’s precious, isn’t he?” Merlin murmurs, eyes locked on his sleeping face.

“Mhm, I still can’t believe we get to have this sometimes,” Arthur whispers, his thoughts so similar to Merlin’s that he can’t help but lean forward to kiss Arthur again. He’ll never get over just how much love he has for his husband and son. 

They kiss languidly as the fire burns in the background, losing track of time as they get lost in the moment until an alarm goes off to remind them that it’s ten minutes until midnight.

“I almost don’t want to wake him up,” Merlin says, brushing his fingers over Modred’s chubby cheeks. 

“Me neither,” Arthur agrees. “But we both know he’ll be a tyrant if we let him sleep through midnight.”

Merlin laughs and shakes Mordred until his sleepy eyes blink open. 

“Hi love,” He coos. “It’s almost Christmas.”

Mordred holds his arms out and Merlin takes him, hugging him to his chest as he catches himself. 

“Did Santa come yet?” 

“I dunno,” Merlin says, watching Arthur slip away to place Santa’s gifts near Mordred’s stocking and eat the cookies and milk they’d left out. “We’ll have to check after the clock hits twelve.”

Mordred hums, his eyes remaining closed as Merlin gently rubs his back.

“Hey, buddy, time to wake up,” Arthur laughs, coming back into the room before Mordred even notices he’s been gone. He presses kisses all over Mordred’s tiny body until he begins to giggle, finally waking up properly just as the midnight alarm rings through the house.

A chorus of “Merry Christmas!” echoes through their living room as they all hug for a moment before Mordred wiggles free to go see what gifts he’s been left.

“He came!” He screeches. Arthur pulls Merlin closer and they both watch Mordred tear through every gift he’s gotten, not even caring about the gifts they’ve gotten for each other. There’ll be plenty of time for that later, for now, they’d rather watch their son’s face as he lights up with the childish excitement that Christmas brings.

Chapter Text

My father’s love

The words keep flashing through Merlin’s head, even as he lays on his and Arthur’s bed in the quiet dark of the night, Arthur snoring quietly on his chest. 

My father’s love

Merlin thinks those words in Arthur’s handwriting might just be burnt into the back of his retinas. He knows that Arthur has always sought his father’s affections—has always slaved away at trying to earn his respect and approval—but to see them painted so clearly hurts him in a way he didn’t think was possible.

Arthur isn’t a child anymore. He’s a grown man and he’s learnt how to deal with pain but fuck, Merlin can’t help but think of a mini-Arthur, sitting around at Christmas and watching all his schoolmates be excited and eager for Christmas. He can’t think of the way his baby blue eyes would’ve been bright with tears as he realizes he won’t have what all the other children are having. 

His heart hurts for the child inside of Arthur, the one who’s never felt the love of a parent. It’s not fair. 

Every time Merlin thinks he can’t possibly hate Uther anymore, something happens to remind him that yes—it most definitely is possible.

Fuming with rage, Merlin does something absolutely insane.

He slips out from under Arthur and pulls on a sweatshirt, slipping his feet into some trainers. He presses a kiss to Arthur’s forehead and smoothes his palm over his hair, watching as Arthur settles his head onto the pillow instead of Merlin. He puts Arthur’s phone on silent and sends him a quick text, citing an imaginary crisis that Gwen was having, then puts the phone back on loud before he leaves.

The commute to Uther’s house doesn’t take long at this time of night and soon enough, Merlin finds himself banging on Uther’s door, uncaring of any neighbours he might be disturbing.

“Open the fucking door, asshole!” He yells, having spotted the lights in the living room which means that Uther most definitely isn’t asleep. “I will bang on this door all night if I have to, do not test me, Uther Pendragon!”

Eventually, the door is ripped open and Merlin is staring into the angry face of Arthur’s family. He doesn’t care. He’s pretty sure it’s impossible to be more pissed off than he is right now.

“What is the meaning of this?” Uther shouts and Merlin pushes past him into the house.

“You’re a shit father and I’m sick of it!” Merlin hurls, whirling around to poke his finger into Uther’s chest.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me! Do you even love your son? Or is he just another shiny trophy for you to show off? Or better yet, something for you to weaponize when it suits you?”

“How dare you!”

“Answer the fucking question!” Merlin demands.

“He is my son! Of course I love him!” Uther looks at Merlin incredulously, as if Merlin is insane for even asking such a thing and it only angers him further.

“Have you ever told him that? Done something to show that? No! Instead you make him feel as if he’s not good enough! You make him push himself to the fucking limit to try to win your love and even then, you still withhold it from him! And I am sick and tired of watching the best man I know be in pain because of that! We’re supposed to come over for dinner tomorrow night and you are going to make sure that Arthur knows he is loved just as he is or so help me I will make you regret it.”

Uther scoffs, “Am I supposed to be afraid of you?”

“When it concerns Arthur? You most definitely should be. And you know what, that shouldn’t even be the thing you’re worried about, you should be bothered by the fact that your son thinks you don’t love him!”

“But I do,” Uther argues, though something about him has changed and Merlin hopes it’s a sign that he’s feeling guilty.

“Well prove it to him, then. Good night.”

Merlin moves to leave but Uther grabs a hold of his arm. “You do realize that you are, in fact, insane.”

“Only when it comes to Arthur,” Merlin shrugs, slipping out of Uther’s lax grip and leaving.

-

When they get to Uther’s house that night, Uther greets Arthur with a stiff, awkward hug that makes Merlin grin. Arthur looks confused, but he still wraps his arm around his father’s waist, albeit a little hesitantly.

“Arthur, Merlin, it’s good to see you,” Uther nods, turning on his heels to lead them to the dining table. 

“You saw that too, right?” Arthur whispers to Merlin as they trail behind him. 

“Must be the magic of Christmas,” Merlin shoots back in the same hushed tone. Arthur rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anymore.

Dinner passes in the same vein and Arthur spends most of it wondering if he’s had an accident and is currently hallucinating.

Instead of the usual stilted conversation and thinly veiled comments about all the ways Arthur has managed to disappoint him, Uther spends his time trying to make small talk. He asks about Arthur’s life away from the office, and as if his interest in Arthur’s personal life isn’t shocking enough, he also seems genuinely interested in Arthur and Merlin’s life together.

“Okay, that’s it,” Arthur decides, placing his glass down. “What the hell is going on? Are you ill? Is it life threatening? Oh, God. Are you going to die?”

“What on earth are you on about?” Uther frowns, looking at Arthur like he’s finally lost the plot. It’s very similar to the look he’d directed at Merlin not a full twenty four hours ago, much to Merlin’s amusement.

“You’ve just spent the last hour being–” Arthur makes a small noise. “I don’t even know. It has to be because you’re trying to brace me for awful news.”

“I was trying to be more fatherly,” Uther grits out.

Arthur blinks at him. “Since when do you care about being fatherly?”

Uther frowns, his expression becoming regretful. “Someone very recently pointed out to me that I’ve not done a good job at being a father. The fact that you’re reacting like this just proves that they were right and I’m sorry that I never realized that before. I’ve always been very stern with you because I thought that was the best way to raise you into an upstanding gentleman but now I realize that I’ve led you to believe some things that are untrue.” 

Uther takes a deep breath, visibly steeling himself as Arthur gapes at him. “I love you, Arthur. You are my son and you are my pride and joy. I’ve always tried to push you to be the best person you can be but now I realize that has led you to believe that you were falling short in my eyes and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m proud of you and the man that you are. You and your mother will always be the most important people to me, my greatest treasure. Do you understand?”

Arthur nods, biting down on his lip as his eyes gleam. His hand searches under the table until it connects with Merlin’s and he squeezes tightly and Merlin doesn’t hesitate to squeeze back.

“I love you too, Father,” He chokes out, his voice hoarse. 

Uther nods and pats him on his back with an awkward head nod. 

-

“You’re incredible,” Arthur tells Merlin as the Nutcracker plays on the television. He’s wrapped in Merlin’s arms as they lay on the couch together, Arthur still feeling untethered. 

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I’m going to start calling you ‘The Nutcracker’ from now on.”

“What?” Merlin laughs, the conversation throwing him off guard.

“It’s fitting really, considering you managed to crack the toughest nut of them all.”

“One, that was the worst joke of all time, please never say that ever again. And two, what the hell are you talking about?”

Arthur scoffs, raising an eyebrow at Merlin. “Do you really think I don’t know that you’re the one who told my father about his parenting skills?”

Merlin shrugs. “He’s a shit parent and it’s obvious. I can’t be the only one who thinks so.”

“Maybe not, but you’re the only one who cares enough to tell him something to his face.”

“I don’t even talk to your father,” Merlin deflects.

“Whatever you say, love,” Arthur hums. “Did Gwen ever find what she was looking for, by the way?”

Merlin tries to remember what he had told Arthur when he got back home. “Yup. It was under the couch.”

“Really? Because I thought the emergency was that her car had broken down on the other side of town.”

“Fuck,” Merlin swears. 

Arthur laughs, tilting his head to kiss his boyfriend. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Evidently.”