Work Text:
Merlin woke late in the morning, rolling over on his side, wishing desperately he could just go back to sleep.
He groaned when he saw the time. So, it was not late morning but the afternoon then. The red numbers of 1:27 pm nearly glared back at him and he had half a mind to throw the alarm clock across his room.
Suffice to say, Merlin wasn’t in the best mood.
He usually wasn’t in the mornings, but today was much, much worse.
Today was the worst day of them all.
Knowing he couldn’t avoid it, knowing he would have to face the world even if he didn't particularly want to that day, he sat up groggily, wiping the dried drool on his face before reluctantly pushing his covers and getting out of bed.
He looked out the window and nearly groaned once more.
It was snowing outside.
And as much as he wanted to feel joyful, excited about this—his little village hardly ever got any snow—he couldn't find the energy to feel anything besides sadness, loneliness, hopelessness.
Arthur loved the snow.
He walked downstairs, muttering a spell to set up his table and prepare his food. While he enjoyed cooking, he didn't have the energy to make anything today. He barely had enough energy to eat breakfast, and breakfast was Merlin’s favorite meal.
He had been feeling hopeless for a while now. He had come to the realization that the dragon had been lying to him after all, that Arthur wasn't ever coming back. Killgharah must've felt bad for him, must have thought telling him that Arthur was coming back would give him some false hope, a reason for him to keep going.
He cursed the bloody dragon for causing him so much pain, for making him miserable, for making him have ridiculous faith that he would come back.
It was clearly a lie, he thought. Clearly, Killgharah had been playing one last joke, a way to keep him happy while he suffered alone, a way for him to see a light at the end of the tunnel. A light that was never actually there.
In the fit of anger, he failed to feel the slight shift in the air, the slight feeling of a key finally slotting itself into a keyhole, the slight feeling that something was… different.
No, Merlin missed all of this, instead opting to continue eating his meal in utter agony, hoping that the day would go by quickly.
As the day wore on, the snow did as well, small snowflakes floating haphazardly to the ground. The snow had now built up to cover half of his window and the sun seemed to gaze down on all of it, warming the world and the people as well who were joyfully jumping into heaps of the snow, making snowmen and snow angels.
Merlin hated it.
He hated that everyone was so happy today, that the world had decided to reward the people with kindness.
He wished that it had been pouring rain, that it had been freezing outside, that there was no holiday joy and that everyone was as sad as he was.
He knew he was acting bitter, petty even, but he couldn't help it. Gods, he wanted Arthur back, he craved for one look at Arthur’s smile, his beautiful blond hair, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement.
He cursed destiny and the old religion and anyone who had decided that he deserved this, to anyone who had planned his destiny from the start and knew where he would end up.
In his fit of rage, a candle suddenly lit itself and he jumped, nearly shrieking. He had caused this. Him and his anger and his bitterness.
He needed to stop before he accidentally caused something much, much worse. So, he swallowed, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes.
He needed to get some work done.
He needed to stop thinking.
He turned to his desk, focusing his attention on something much more productive, when he felt a shiver go down his spine.
He looked around, wondering if something had snuck up behind him, but found nothing. Thinking it was just the cold that had made it inside his house, he swiveled back to his desk, turning on his laptop.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he reached behind him, finding the reason for his reaction. All of a sudden, he felt as though something had hit him, a force he had never felt before.
He staggered back in his seat, feeling a wave of warmth envelop him. He felt… tingly. He wondered why this happened, what this even was, when he felt something click in his mind. It felt like the puzzle pieces slotting themselves perfectly together, a lock finally unlocking, an answer to a question he had been pondering for years finally revealed to him.
It felt like, for years, there was some part of him that was missing… and suddenly, he had found it. His missing half.
He could feel himself slowly unravel the truth in his mind, the slight hope that he had buried deep within him slowly digging its way back. Merlin tried clamping it down, reminding himself that having hope never did any good for him, but it still slivered its way into his mind, one word ringing in his ear, over and over again.
Arthur… Arthur…
Arthur.
He bolted out of his chair in an instant, not minding when it fell to the ground. He pushed the door open, forgetting to grab a jacket, just one thought continuing to echo in his mind.
Arthur… Arthur…
“...Arthur.” Merlin’s eyes widened and the breath was knocked out of him.
Because there, standing in the snow, the snowflakes falling softly onto his blond hair, was the man he had loved. The man he had lost so many years ago.
The man that had finally come back.
Arthur’s face broke into a grin.
Merlin had to blink, once, twice, thrice… wondering if any of this was real. Wondering if he was truly standing in front of him, in the last clothes he remembered him wearing that day—that damn day—with that bloody grin he had wished so desperately to see for 1500 years.
“Merlin,” Arthur breathed, seemingly unable to believe it as well.
Merlin felt tears brimming in his eyes, unable to look away from the man he convinced himself would never return.
Gods, was he imagining it? Was it really him?
No, no of course not, perhaps he was just hallucinating…
“Merlin?” Arthur repeated once again, both amusement and confusion in his eyes. “Did I get the wrong Merlin or something? Do you even remember me?”
And suddenly it all clicked in his mind and that’s when he laughed, laughed so hard that the tears he had been trying to hold in were falling now, laughed so hard that his sides hurt, laughing because it was really him, it was really him and he was here and Merlin… wasn’t alone anymore.
Merlin wasn’t alone anymore.
Arthur, who must’ve been starting to wonder if he had truly gotten the wrong Merlin, was even more shocked when said man ran towards him, tackling him into a hug.
Arthur grunted before they both fell back, the snow thankfully cushioning their fall. “Well, that was certainly a warm welcome,” he heard Arthur grumble and his heart soared, knowing that in his arms was Arthur Pendragon, his Arthur, the once and future king, the man that was prophesied to return and who actually had.
Maybe destiny didn’t hate him all that much, after all.
Not wasting time, Merlin grabbed his face and kissed him as they still lay on the snow-covered ground. Arthur hummed, immediately kissing him back, slowly pulling him closer.
He paid no mind to the kids who might have been watching or the disapproving looks of the parents. He didn’t mind the way that his back slightly ached or the way he was quickly forgetting to breathe.
All that he knew in his mind was that Arthur was here to stay, him and his smiles and his sparkling blue eyes and his shining blond hair. It was just him and Arthur, the rest of the world quickly falling away.
When they finally pulled away, both panting and in need of air, Merlin beamed at Arthur, practically glowing.
“Now, that’s more of the welcome I was expecting,” Arthur teased.
Merlin, realizing he was still leaning on Arthur, slowly leaned back, blushing. It suddenly hit him that everyone in his village had just seen his rather inappropriate reaction with another man.
But he couldn’t help it. Arthur was back. Gods, just the thought made him smile.
Arthur was bloody back.
Finally, after centuries of waiting… he was back.
Merlin leaned into him once more, this time as a more gentle hug. Arthur immediately reciprocated, wrapping his arms around him.
“I missed you so much,” he whispered, the tears slipping down his face.
Arthur gripped him harder, holding him tighter. “I know, love.”
“Will you stay this time?” he asked, not caring how childish or pathetic he sounded. He had waited far too long, he couldn’t handle him leaving again…
“Forever, Merlin.” And the way Arthur said it—so sincere and intense—made him truly believe it. “Forever and ever and ever. I’m never leaving you again.”
Merlin tried pulling him closer even with how close they already were, memorizing the way it felt to be in his arms again, to feel his presence and know that he was always going to be there.
He wiped his tears away as he dragged himself away from the hug, letting Arthur breathe. “It’s good to have you back, clotpole.” He said shyly, grinning unabashedly, the knowledge that Arthur was here and alive finally sinking in.
“Gods, I’ve missed hearing that.”
“And I’ve missed calling you it,” Merlin replied. He made to stand up off the freezing ground when he accidentally kicked some snow onto Arthur’s legs.
He laughed as Arthur stared at his legs, his mouth wide open. “So, is this how you treat your king, Merlin?”
“Afraid you aren’t my king anymore,” Merlin said smugly adding in another teasing, “clotpole.”
And that was enough for Arthur to make a snowball, and promptly throw it in his face.
Merlin, too slow to react, felt a fist full of snow hit his face and he nearly fell, furiously swiping it away. Arthur was pointing and laughing at him and Merlin huffed, preparing another snowball.
“If you think you’re going to beat me, dollophead, think again,” Merlin was saying challenging.
“Bring it on, idiot,” Arthur answered, an equally competitive look on his face.
They spent the rest of the day throwing snowballs at one another, laughing at everything and nothing, not caring what anyone else thought of them. Merlin had missed this feeling of utter happiness, of silly grins and playful jokes. He missed this feeling of calm, this feeling of home that he had only ever felt around Arthur.
Perhaps he was glad that it had snowed that day after all.