Fic: Merely Ceremonial, 3/3 [COMPLETE]
"Coming," he shouted, shoving his legs into the first pair of trousers he found and stumbling out into the hallway. He couldn't resist looking towards Arthur's door, but it was still firmly shut. Another impatient knock on the door prevented Merlin from checking to see if Arthur was still in. He hurried over to the door of the flat and yanked it open before whoever it was could knock again. "Sorry, I was just-Uncle Gaius?"
"Are you expecting someone else?" Gaius asked in greeting, eyebrow already firmly raised at his nephew.
"Er, no, no.” Merlin pasted on a smile and tried not to make it too obvious that he’d completely forgotten about his uncle’s visit. “I was just, erm. Well, I was sleeping, actually," he admitted sheepishly. Gaius looked amused.
"I took the earliest train in. I thought we might need the full day to discuss things."
"Right, right," Merlin nodded, before realizing that the hallway might not be the best place for such discussions. "Come on in. Do you want to see her now?"
"No. I think we should talk first. I want to have your opinion before I see her myself."
Merlin nodded, leading the way into the kitchen. The glass he'd left out last night had been drained and moved into the sink. Arthur had obviously been through, but there was no sign of him now. Merlin tried not to think about what that might mean as he took his uncle’s coat.
"Here should be fine. I don't think Arthur's in, but just in case, we'll have more privacy here than the sitting room."
"Good." Gaius settled in at the table. Merlin followed suit. "Now tell me, my boy. What have you been noticing? Any causes for alarm?"
"Nothing really. We just went out last night, and she seemed fine. I just...I don't know if she's as far along as she should be. She hasn't really flown yet and our link is pretty limited. She’s gotten better at sending images, like I said, but usually none of it makes sense. She's already a few months old, surely she should be further than this."
Gaius hummed thoughtfully. "There is nothing I have researched that indicates we have anything to worry about. As I told you before, her growth patterns won't be the same without another dragon to help her. Your magic is doing what it can."
"Is it helping enough, though?" Merlin asked. "I mean, she should at least be talking, shouldn't she?"
"A dragon in the wild would normally progress much faster," Gaius said slowly. "I think, considering that you are her primary example, that her beginning to communicate with images is the equivalent of a human child starting to babble. I have no concerns regarding her ability to talk. I am much more interested in her progress in flying."
"There hasn't been any progress," Merlin said truthfully. "Sometimes she jumps and sort of...glides, but that's about it."
"I see." Gaius scratched his chin, thoughtful. "Have you tried teaching her by example?"
"And how am I supposed to do that? I don't exactly have wings to demonstrate with," Merlin pointed out, holding out his decidedly non-wing-like arms for good measure. Gaius waved an impatient hand.
"Of course you don't. But what about letting her fall? From some distance, preferably."
"What, just dropping her off a tree or something?" Merlin asked, horrified at the very thought.
"Eventually. Perhaps just from your arms to start with. Her instincts are there, they just have to be awakened."
"Like mine, you mean. Fat load of good they've been," Merlin said glumly. He let his head fall to pillow on his arms. "I'm supposed to be this great dragonlord, and I can't even teach one to fly."
It was perhaps the still-present headache that was making him feel so maudlin (Merlin never had perfected self-healing with his magic), but Merlin couldn't help feeling like a bit of a failure. Gaius put a hand on his shoulder.
"You've done well, my boy. Far better than most would have in your position." Merlin gave him a weak smile. "Nothing could ever have prepared you for this, but you've accepted it and done your best. I'm proud of you."
Merlin might have said something in reply, if the door hadn't flown open before Gaius could even finish and Arthur fell into the hall. Gaius and Merlin both froze when Arthur caught sight of them. His eyes flicked between the two of them and then dropped to Gaius’ hand still on Merlin’s arm. An odd look passed over his face for a brief second before he replaced it with a polite smile.
"Sorry to interrupt. I'll be out of your hair in a moment."
"No need," Gaius said when Merlin just continued to stare, feeling like his stomach had turned to stone. "We were just going to get some fresh air. Weren't we, Merlin?"
He gave Merlin a significant look, and Merlin nodded dumbly. He wanted desperately to say something, but he knew he couldn’t until Gaius was gone, so instead he just stayed silent. Arthur was looking at him, and Merlin could still see a flicker of that strange expression he’d been seeing more and more of lately in his eyes, like Merlin was some sort of stranger he thought he'd known.
"I'll leave you to it then," Arthur said slowly. "Good to see you again, Gaius."
He left, but the weight on Merlin's chest didn't. Luckily Gaius didn't seem to notice the tension, or if he did, he was ignoring it.
"Alright, let's see to this dragon of yours. Where do you usually take her to train?"
Merlin swallowed, finally looking away from the empty doorway. Arthur would have to wait. "The woods near the park."
"Good. To the park it is, then."
---
"Beautiful. I never imagined I would see a dragon."
Merlin smiled at Gaius' praise. Aithusa preened. It had taken her a while to warm up to Gaius after they'd gotten to the park, but now she easily allowed herself to be bundled into his arms and shifted around for him to examine her.
"She is in perfect health. You've done well, Merlin."
"Thank you," Merlin replied. He was even starting to believe it, after their training session today. With Gaius' help, he'd managed to get Aithusa to open and flap her wings for more than just balance, and even to control her gliding when released to the ground. He grinned when Aithusa chirruped and batted Gaius with a wing for pressing against a sensitive spot.
"There you go," Gaius said finally, allowing Aithusa to flap out of his arms, where she immediately toddled over to where Merlin was sitting against a tree. "As far as I can tell, there is nothing preventing her from learning to properly fly except practice. It will take time, but it will happen. Seems to me we’ll have a fine young dragon on our hands in no time."
“Excellent,” Merlin said with a happy smile and a scratch to Aithusa's head. The dragon chirped, as if in agreement. Merlin chuckled at her before a thought occurred to him. “How big do you think she’ll grow?”
“It depends. The legends speak of dragons large enough to rival houses of the fine nobility,” Gaius said, eyeing Aithusa critically, “but also those that could be ridden and stored like horses. Aithusa’s legs don’t seem to be distributed for a great amount of mass, nor are her claws overly large. I think it’s safe to say that she will not be amongst the largest of her kin, but she may grow to considerable size nonetheless.”
“And what about breathing fire?”
“I’d say we have a few months before we have to worry about that, at least,” Gaius assured him, drawing his coat closer around himself. Merlin smiled in relief.
“Good. I was starting to think I’d have to fireproof the flat.”
“Not quite yet, no. However, Merlin..." Gaius sighed and crossed his arms before fixing Merlin with a serious gaze. "I think it may be time to start thinking about where we will move her. She cannot live in your flat forever."
"I-I know." Merlin swallowed. He had known this, but somewhere along the line he'd managed to grow attached to the dragon. "Do you, um...do you have any ideas?"
"I have an old friend who may help us. He owns plenty of land for her to explore, even when she starts flying on her own. And he could be trusted with the secret."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. Iseldir is a good man. His ancestors were druids, and he has maintained their lifestyles. He will take good care of her."
Merlin nodded. Gaius gave him an inscrutable look, and Merlin felt uncomfortably like he was being read. Finally, Gaius spoke.
"Iseldir's farm is just a little way by train from here. Aithusa will still need you and your magic for a while yet. Just because she will no longer be living under your roof does not mean you are completely freed of the responsibility.”
Merlin snorted, seeing through his act immediately. "Of course not. I am, after all, the last dragonlord."
Gaius' smile was small, but present. “So you are, my boy.”
Between them, Aithusa whistled.
---
Gaius left that afternoon. Merlin returned to his flat after dropping him off at the station, nerves jittering around in his stomach at the thought of seeing Arthur again. He’d managed to distract himself all day, but now he had no choice but to think about it.
The thing was, he didn’t know what to think about it.
He forced himself to calm down after his nerves made Aithusa fidget in her carry case, until he got to his door and felt them rise again. He almost groaned aloud when he opened the door and found the flat empty once more. Most of him just wanted to get his inevitable confrontation with Arthur out of the way, but clearly that would have to wait. Instead he just went into his bedroom to drop off a sleepy Aithusa, and then retreated to the kitchen to drown his nerves in food.
He didn't even make it down the hallway before the door to Arthur's bedroom creaked open, and Arthur himself stepped out in front of him. Merlin froze automatically, Arthur's name falling from his lips in a squeak.
"Are you ever going to tell me?" Arthur said, not even looking at Merlin. And it was probably that that made Merlin's mouth snap shut more than anything, because Arthur always looked everyone in the eye. But now he was staring at the floor, as if the worn carpet leading out to the sitting room was suddenly the most puzzling thing he'd ever seen. Whatever was on his mind, it was more important than a drunken kiss.
"What are you talking about?" Merlin finally ventured. Arthur's face hardened, but he still didn't look up.
"Do you think I haven't noticed? You're my best mate, Merlin, I notice things. Like how you've been acting strangely for months now. You're hiding something from me."
"I...Arthur, it’s not-“
"Don't lie to me," Arthur interrupted, finally looking up. Merlin was bewildered by the sadness that was in his eyes, buried beneath anger but still definitely there. "I know you are. I'm not stupid. I just want to hear it from you."
Merlin felt like throwing up. He thought he'd been so careful, but of course Arthur had seen something. He wasn't stupid, and Merlin had been careless, sometimes, trusting Arthur's obtuseness to hide his trail instead of using his magic to ensure it. He was stuck.
"I know you're not," he tried, "but Arthur, honestly. What would I have said?”
"I'm supposed to be your best friend!" Arthur huffed. "What good is it if you won't even let me help you?”
"I couldn't!" Merlin insisted.
"Why the fuck not? You know I would’ve helped you.”
"How on earth could I have possibly known that?" Merlin retorted. “It’s not like this is some normal thing.” Arthur glared at him.
"If you had just trusted me-“
“I do trust you!” Merlin said, frustrated now. “This wasn’t about you, Arthur. I wanted to say something-“
“Obviously not, or you would have said something before,” Arthur scoffed, and honestly Merlin didn’t know what to say to that. “I was worried about you, you idiot-“
“I’m not an idiot!”`
“Well you’re acting like one! You should have told me.”
"I couldn't bloody just say it, could I, you entitled arse-“
"I think I deserve to know that my so-called best mate is sick!" Arthur finally roared, loud enough that Merlin would have flinched if the words themselves hadn't left him feeling cold. Even his magic, which had been roiling angrily under his skin this whole time, stopped still. The only thing that seemed to be moving was Merlin’s heart, beating double time as if to compensate for being broken.
Arthur knew. And Arthur thought he was wrong for it. Sick.
“I heard you on the phone with your mother,” Arthur went on, quieter now but still with that angry undercurrent, “going on about how you didn’t choose any of this. It took me a while to put it together, but how could I not have noticed? I’ve been waiting for you to tell me for weeks so I can help you get rid of this.”
Merlin sobbed, feeling like his heart was trying to beat its way up his throat. “Arthur, I can’t just get rid of it, it’s a part of me-“
“Like hell it is,” Arthur hissed fiercely, stalking forward so that there were only inches between them. “I will not let you just live it out, Merlin, I won’t.”
“Arthur, please, listen to me-“ Merlin began, and Arthur grabbed Merlin by the arm, harder than he normally would have, and Merlin couldn’t help the startled “Arthur!” let out as he took a step back.
“I don’t want to hear excuses, Merlin, I just want to help-“
“There’s nothing to help with! Arthur, stop!”
A loud bang made them both jump before anything else could be said, and Merlin twisted around in time to see Aithusa charging out of Merlin’s open bedroom door. Merlin put his hands out to stop her, shouting her name, but she paid him no mind. She planted herself firmly between him and Arthur, spreading her wings and baring her fangs. Arthur’s eyes went huge with shock as he scrambled out of her way.
“Aithusa!” Merlin shouted, letting a little bit of power bleed into the words this time. Aithusa glanced at him, but otherwise ignored him and took another step towards Arthur. Merlin swallowed. “Aithusa, gnógr.”
Aithusa did stop then, but she let out a whine to show she wasn’t happy about it. Merlin hardly heard her. He was too busy staring at Arthur as the gold of his eyes faded, watching the shock-horror-fear tumble over his face.
“What-“ he began, staring from Aithusa to Merlin and back again. “What-Merlin what the fuck?”
“I can explain,” Merlin insisted, hurriedly placing himself between Arthur and Aithusa. Arthur looked torn between punching him and running from the room, and he was staring at Merlin like he’d grown a second head. “She won’t hurt you,” Merlin continued, taking a step forward. Arthur automatically stepped away, and Merlin felt his heart break again. “Arthur, please. I-I was born like this. I didn’t choose-“
“This is your secret,” Arthur said wonderingly, turning sharply to stare at Merlin again. “You have magic.”
It wasn’t a question, but Merlin answered anyway. “Yes.”
Arthur swallowed visibly. “All this time, I thought…but it was just-“
He cut himself off this time, bringing a hand up to rub over his mouth. Merlin bit his lip.
“I wanted to tell you, Arthur, but I didn’t know how, a-and I just…” Merlin swallowed again, blinking against the tears building up in his eyes. Aithusa purred supportively at him, wary gaze on Arthur. “I’m still Merlin. I’ve always been this way. It’s not sick, or evil-I’m not. I promise.”
Arthur looked like he’d been slapped.
“Merlin, I-fuck,” he swore, and suddenly he’d closed the distance between them in two fast steps. Merlin hardly had time to blink before Arthur was in his face, one hand on each of his shoulders and a painfully earnest look on his face. Aithusa snarled in warning, and Arthur flinched, but he didn’t loosen his grip.
“I’ve known about magic since I was seven years old,” Arthur said seriously, and Merlin would have jerked in surprise if Arthur hadn’t been holding him so firmly. “My sister has…dreams. That come true. Sometimes she can do things with her mind. I wasn’t talking about your magic when I said you were sick. I didn’t even know about it then.”
But that…didn’t make sense. “What the fuck were you talking about, then?”
Arthur didn’t answer right away. His eyes flicked down to Aithusa first, clearly uncomfortable. He bit his lip, and Merlin was almost overcome with the desire to lean in and suck it into his own mouth, in spite of his anger. Adrenaline and magic was coursing through him, making him feel a little reckless and a lot giddy, but then-
“I thought you were dying,” Arthur said quietly, so quietly Merlin almost didn’t hear it.
“What?” he rasped, completely taken aback. Arthur’s eyes shut as if he was in pain.
“You’ve been acting so weird for months and I didn’t know why. You hadn’t said anything to anyone. I just knew suddenly you were avoiding me and having weird conversations with your family all the time and being all secretive. And you were tired all the time, and I thought…I thought you were sick and were just afraid to tell me.” He opened his eyes, and Merlin was shocked to see the beginning of tears glimmering in the corners.
“Arthur,” he started, but what could he say? He’d never seen Arthur like this. Arthur’s hands were still on his shoulders, and he could feel them shaking ever so slightly. Slowly, he lifted his own hands and placed them overtop, pressing gently as if in reassurance. Arthur laughed raggedly.
“I had no idea about the magic,” he admitted, still quiet. “And I didn’t until a bloody dragon ran into my sitting room.”
“Shit,” Merlin said, because apparently multi-word sentences were beyond him at the moment. Arthur gave him a wry smile.
“You can imagine my surprise, I’m sure.”
Merlin wanted to laugh, even though absolutely nothing about this was funny. “Arthur, I don’t…what made you think…?”
“Lots of things,” Arthur shrugged. “I overheard you talking to your family sometimes, like I said. At first I thought it was just my imagination, but then Gwen started noticing things like you falling asleep in lecture, and it just seemed to fit. It never even occurred to me that you might have magic.”
“I’m so sorry,” Merlin finally said. “I didn’t know.”
Arthur released Merlin’s shoulders in order to run his hand through his hair, looking worn out. Aithusa whined softly, and Merlin automatically shot her a reassuring smile.
“It’s alright, Aithusa,” he said even as Arthur winced and stared down at her. “Wéðan.”
He didn’t miss Arthur’s sharp intake of breath at that, but when he looked at him he didn’t look scared.
“You really do have magic,” he breathed, wide-eyed, and then he laughed, somewhere between relieved and manic. After a second, Merlin joined in, and then they were both wheezing for breath and holding onto each other for support. Aithusa stared between them as if she wasn’t sure how they’d gone from shouting to this, and that just made them laugh harder until she gave up on them and waddled away to explore.
“This is all so fucked,” Arthur groaned once they’d tapered off to hiccups, but were still holding on to each other. Merlin gigged feebly.
“I have to admit, this is not how I expected tonight to go.”
“You’re always full of surprises, Merlin,” Arthur said, and Merlin smiled at the familiar drawl in his name.
“I’m sorry,” he said more somberly. “You have no idea. I wanted to tell you, but…”
Arthur’s mouth quirked up into a tiny, fleeting smile. “I…understand. No one outside the family knows about Morgana.” He huffed a dry laugh, but the fond look he gave Merlin next was genuine. “Any other secrets I should know about?”
“I’m a dragonlord. The last, in fact,” Merlin answered immediately. “I use magic every time I have to do a chore. I can juggle. Um. I’ve wanted to kiss you since Gwen’s party last year. I accidentally burned your shirt last month.” Arthur stared at him, eyebrows raised. Merlin flushed. “I think that’s all.”
Arthur stared at him some more. Merlin stared back.
“Idiot,” Arthur finally said, with feeling, and kissed him.
It was so much better than their first. For one, Arthur’s lips didn’t taste like alcohol. They were warm and a little chapped and Merlin chased the feel of them long past the need for air, before they pulled apart with heavy breaths and wide eyes.
“Um,” Merlin said eloquently.
“You are such an idiot,” Arthur repeated, still standing in Merlin’s space with his hands on his waist. “I thought you were dying, and I’d never worked up the courage to tell you I fancy you. We could have been doing this for months.”
Merlin opened his mouth, but Arthur shut him up with another bruising kiss, muttering, “I could fucking kill you,” and biting his bottom lip. Merlin kissed back eagerly, and then they were grappling with each other for dominance, though Merlin didn’t honestly care. He pressed closer, and somehow they managed to fall onto the sofa without injuring themselves. Arthur slid his hands around to press against the small of Merlin’s back, pulling until Merlin was almost in his lap. And that was so much better, too, because it allowed Merlin to press himself flush against Arthur.
And then he realized what he was doing.
“Arthur,” he panted, trying to pull away. “Arthur, wait stop.”
“What? What is it?” Arthur asked, groaning when Merlin pushed himself up into a sitting position.
“We-we should talk, right? Before…this?”
“What on earth are you talking about, Merlin?”
“My magic? And…and Aithusa,” Merlin said. “We can’t just ignore-“
“Yes we can. We very much can,” Arthur insisted, sitting up in an attempt to draw Merlin back in. And it worked, for a moment, before Merlin pushed him away again.
“Arthur, this isn’t just going to go away.”
Arthur groaned heartily. “Exactly, Merlin. Which means we can talk about it after I get my hands on your cock.”
Merlin had to force himself not to whimper at the very thought, instead fixing Arthur with a calculating look-or as close to a calculating look as he could manage with his hand sliding under Arthur’s shirt and his jeans tenting over his growing erection.
“You’re sure? You’re not…still mad at me, or-“
“I am furious with you,” Arthur cut him off, pressing up into Merlin’s hand, “but right now I honestly couldn’t give less of a fuck, so long as you shut up long enough for us to get off.”
“Alright, yeah, good point,” Merlin said, and leaned down to suck a bruise into Arthur’s neck.
Maybe if they hadn’t both been stretched in to many directions tonight they would have gone slower. Merlin didn’t care anymore. He’d waited too long, and Arthur kissed like he was afraid Merlin would slip away. What else could Merlin do but kiss him back.
He sucked kisses into Arthur’s jawline like he’d dreamed of hundreds of times before, hands fisted into his t-shirt. He could feel Arthur’s heart mirroring his own’s frantic beat, and he tugged Arthur’s shirt up enough to press his lips to it. Arthur groaned and took his shirt off the rest of the way, and Merlin took the opportunity to look.
He’d seen Arthur shirtless before, obviously, but not like this, with his skin flushed from Merlin’s kisses and his trousers straining with his erection. And he’d never seen Arthur’s eyes flutter shut the way they did when Merlin rolled his hips.
“Merlin,” Arthur purred, reaching up to drag him into another kiss. “Fuck, you’re so hot.”
“Do you have stuff?” Merlin asked a little desperately. He felt Arthur’s moan rumbling in his throat as he nodded, and then he was being scooped up. He laughed and wrapped his legs around Arthur’s waist as he was carried through the flat, pressing distracting little kisses to Arthur’s face. Finally, they stumbled, literally, into Arthur’s bedroom, and Arthur dumped Merlin unceremoniously onto the mattress before reaching for his belt.
They undressed themselves, in hurried, jerky movements that conveyed just how much they both wanted this. There would be time to ogle later. For now they just fell together against the sheets, touching each other blindly because neither was willing to break their kiss.
Finally, Merlin pulled away.
“Arthur. Arthur, shit, stop. Where’s the lube?”
Arthur rolled over to grope around in his drawer, returning to hand Merlin his prize. Merlin got to his knees and accepted the bottle with a long, slow kiss.
“Do you wanna fuck me?” he asked huskily, stroking the line of hair leading to Arthur’s cock. Arthur moaned.
“Yeah.”
“Good. Put that on,” Merlin instructed with a nod to the condom still in Arthur’s hand, and opened the bottle. He coated his fingers thoroughly before reaching back to circle his hole, pushing lightly a few times just to tease before letting the first finger in. Arthur watched him hungrily, and Merlin was struck with the thought that this was real, and this was Arthur, who ran in the mornings and often forgot to pick up after himself, and felt his heart beat harder.
“You like this?” he asked, letting his voice go breathy as he pumped his fingers. Arthur nodded, still staring. “Maybe next time I’ll let you do this for me. I might not even need your cock. Just your fingers spreading me nice and slow until I come.”
Arthur choked, his hand going to grip his still bare cock. “Christ.”
“Yeah,” Merlin said, smiling serenely, “I’d like that. But for now I just want you to watch.”
He let himself lie down before he added the second finger, spreading his legs to give Arthur a perfect view. Arthur took the hint for what it was and moved in front of Merlin just as Merlin slid his fingers back in. He heard Arthur’s breathing hitch, and smirked, letting his eyes close to enjoy the feeling. When he slid his third finger in, he heard the sound of a condom wrapper opening and opened his eyes to watch Arthur give himself a few good strokes. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than Arthur’s cock inside him, so he removed his fingers and surged up to meet Arthur. They kissed messily, too excited to really care, until Arthur let go and moved to lay on his back, hand beckoning in invitation.
Merlin didn’t need telling twice. He scrambled over to sit himself squarely on Arthur’s lap, taking his cock in hand and guiding it towards his entrance. Arthur grunted at the first brush against Merlin’s hole, but was otherwise silent as Merlin worked himself down until Arthur was fully sheathed inside him. He placed his hands on Merlin’s hips while Merlin adjusted, and then used them to guide when Merlin began his first, shallow movements.
It took them a while to find their rhythm. Merlin rode Arthur slowly, ignoring Arthur’s impatient noises. But then Arthur thrust up to meet Merlin, and Merlin felt his spine bow in pleasure.
“Arthur,” he gasped, biting his lips at the drag of Arthur’s cock inside him. “God, you feel so good-“
“Should’ve known you’d still be talkative like this,” Arthur panted back, giving another hard thrust that made Merlin gasp.
“You love it.”
Arthur smiled. “Yeah,” he laughed softly, and Merlin kissed him for it without stopping the sway of his hips. He could feel Arthur shifting, bracing against the mattress, and then suddenly he was thrusting faster and deeper into Merlin. Merlin let out a high whine like something straight out of a porno, but he did not care.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he panted in time with Arthur’s hips, reaching down to take himself in hand. Arthur moaned at the sight, and Merlin realized he’d stopped riding him, instead holding himself still so Arthur could pound into him. Arthur’s face was screwed up and flushed in pleasure, and Merlin knew he was close, so he squeezed his muscles around Arthur’s cock, delighting in the surprised moan as Arthur shuddered and came.
“Oh God, yes,” Merlin said, and stroked himself furiously until he came, too, with a drawn-out, “Arthur, fuck.”
He kept his eyes squeezed shut even after he finished, afraid if he opened them the moment would be gone and he’d wake up alone in his own bed. He was still breathing heavily when a hand brushed over his thigh, and he shivered a little when it came to rest on his hip, thumb rubbing at the crease.
“Merlin,” Arthur’s voice rumbled, and Merlin reluctantly let his eyes open to see Arthur grinning up at him, clearly knowing exactly what he’d been trying to do and fully intending to make fun of him for it.
“Shut up,” he said before Arthur had the chance, and kissed him to ensure he was obeyed. Arthur’s cock slid out of him when he shifted, and he shivered again.
“You should confess your magic more often if this is what happens,” Arthur panted when they pulled apart, and this time Merlin laughed.
“You haven’t even seen the best part,” he said, and let his eyes flare gold as the come on Arthur’s belly disappeared. Arthur jumped in surprise, not quite able to hide his shock, before he let out a disbelieving laugh.
“I can’t wait to experiment,” he said, smoothing Merlin’s hair off of his forehead and flicking him gently in the ear. Merlin made a face and swatted at him, rolling over to press against Arthur’s side. They kissed again, mostly just because they could, and then Arthur sighed.
“We have lectures in a few hours.”
“Can’t we take a mental health day? I’d say we deserve one.”
“How irresponsible of you,” Arthur chided teasingly. Merlin grinned.
“You’re just jealous you didn’t think of it first.”
“Of course,” Arthur rolled his eyes, and planted another kiss to Merlin’s lips. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Merlin wondered if Arthur was always this tactile, or if it was still leftover relief at finding out Merlin wasn’t in immediate danger of dying. Either way, he intended to milk it for however long it lasted, and allowed himself to sink into Arthur’s hold happily.
Finally, Arthur moved away again, this time for good. “Come on,” he said, already starting to roll off the mattress, “I think there’s some leftover lasagna for heating in the fridge. And you can tell me all about being Harry Potter.”
“I am not Harry Potter!” Merlin grumbled, and then threw a pillow at his face when all Arthur did was snigger.
---
When Merlin woke up, it was to late morning sunshine in his face and a very irritated dragon whinging at the door. He groaned and made to sit up, but there was something keeping him down. He swatted at it, and it grumbled and tightened around him, and Merlin realized it was an arm. A second later, a warm pair of lips pressed against his shoulder.
“Do you always wake up your boyfriends by attacking them?” Arthur mumbled sleepily. Merlin chuckled.
“Only the special ones.”
“Lucky me.”
Merlin smiled, turning to offer Arthur a brief kiss before rolling out of bed. Arthur made a displeased noise. “Where are you going?”
“To feed Aithusa before she knocks the door down,” Merlin answered with a fond smile.
“She’s a dragon. You’re telling me she can’t feed herself?”
“Of course she can. She just hasn’t mastered the fridge yet.” Arthur opened his eyes a crack to glare at Merlin, who smiled innocently. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be right back.”
This time, Merlin was allowed to stand. Arthur immediately spread into his vacated spot, face pressed firmly into the pillows. Merlin shot him a fond smile as he opened the door. Immediately, Aithusa snorted up at him, radiating irritation.
“I know, I slept in,” Merlin said, rolling his eyes. “Keep your scales on.”
Aithusa flapped her wings pointedly before stomping towards the kitchen. Merlin followed, digging her food out from its hiding place. While she munched happily, Merlin set about making tea. He’d just finished-one sugar for Arthur, two for Merlin, and a dash of milk for both-when Arthur walked in, yawning hugely and heading straight for the steaming mugs on the counter. Merlin settled in at the table while Arthur gulped down his tea before joining him, lifting his feet into Merlin’s lap with a cheeky grin.
Merlin rolled his eyes at him, hiding his smile behind his own mug. It felt strangely not-weird being like this with Arthur, like they’d been working up to this forever. Which was ridiculous, because even if Merlin had harbored (very secret) daydreams of domestics with his flatmate, none of them had involved a dragon chirping at them.
“You’re being very calm about this dragonlord thing,” he observed quietly, watching Arthur watch Aithusa.
“That’s because I haven’t finished my tea yet. I can’t have a proper freak out until I’ve had at least a cup,” Arthur replied. Merlin tried very hard to be annoyed, but the relief was too strong so he just leaned forward and pulled Arthur into a tea-flavored kiss instead.
“You’re amazing,” he said seriously. Arthur smirked.
“Remember that for when I realize this isn’t a dream and do actually start freaking out, yeah?”
Merlin smiled, but didn’t say anything. In his mind he saw the scene from last night, after the questions and the answers and a few minutes of confused shouting, when he’d slipped away for the toilet and to let Arthur think, and came back to see Aithusa sat in front of the sofa, muzzle brushing gently at Arthur’s outstretched fingers. And Arthur’s face, wide-eyed as he held himself incredibly still, until Aithusa had given a soft whistle and he’d reached down to stroke her neck wonderingly. And he knew, just like he had last night, that everything would be fine.
- -- --- ----- --- -- -
The moment Merlin stepped off of the train, he could feel it. His entire body was buzzing with his magic, making his steps faster and his smile wider. Arthur followed at a slower pace, knowing after almost a decade that Merlin would want his space for the moment.
As always, Iseldir was waiting for them, his customary serene smile in place.
“Welcome back.”
Merlin gave him a distracted smile. He fidgeted for the entirety of the short trip from the station to Iseldir’s farm, jumping out before the cart had quite rolled to a stop to throw his head back and bellow, “Aithusa!”
An answering call greeted him, followed a second later by the steady beat of wings. Merlin grinned as the massive form of Aithusa approached. She was nearly seven times the size she’d been after her months spent in Merlin and Arthur’s flat, and had flourished from her years living in the druid community. Merlin knew from his own observations and Gaius’ near-constant emails that the druids had all come to love Aithusa, just as Arthur had (after the month of inevitable fighting and freak outs had passed, and the three of them had settled into a routine). Her well-fed body and gleaming scales were proof of that love, Merlin noted approvingly when she landed in the clearing, swinging her head around to give the toothy leer that served for a smile.
“Merlin.”
“Aithusa,” he said again, moving forward to scratch behind her jaw. “You look well.”
“So do you. It’s been a while.”
Merlin ducked his head with a soft smile, passing his hand down Aithusa’s neck. “I know, we’ve been busy,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at Arthur, who was still standing a few feet away, and gestured. “There’s someone we want you to meet.”
Arthur stepped forward, shifting the bundle in his arms to reveal a mop of dark hair falling over sleepy, curious eyes. Aithusa extended her muzzle, and the baby gurgled, stretching out his fingers to meet her.
“Aithusa,” Merlin said, exchanging a hopelessly fond smile with Arthur, “this is Cador.”
Their son squealed when Aithusa blew a gentle breath towards him, face scrunched in delight. Aithusa rumbled in the way that Merlin knew was laughter.
“Pleasure to meet you, young dragonlord.”
[end]
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Note: Ending does not imply mpreg; in my mind, Merlin and Arthur do a surrogate pregnancy to continue the dragonlord line.
Thank you to everyone for reading! x