Title: We Need to Talk
Fandoms: Merlin BBC
Rating: PG
Pairing: Arthur Pendragon/Merlin Emrys
Length: 924 words
Author notes: This is a fill for the prompts Confession and Transformation.
Summary: John is asked to become a part of the Atlantis expedition. There is, however, another person he has to consider.





“We need to talk,” Arthur said from his place in the doorway to Gaius’ workroom. Merlin was standing at the table, mixing a potion. He looked up at his king. It had been two weeks since Uther had finally passed on and now Arthur was finally really the king of Camelot.

“Can you give me five more minutes, sire?” Merlin asked. The potion he was making was notoriously difficult and didn’t allow for any delays in its making. It took also over two hours to complete and Merlin was nearly finished.

“Of course,” Arthur said, having recognized the potion as well. He had gotten hell from Gaius several times when he was younger for destroying this potion. The king entered the room, closed the door and sat down.

He regarded his manservant for a long time, watched those nimble fingers preparing the ingredients and dropping them into the potion. Sometimes, he wondered what Merlin’s hands would feel like against his skin when Merlin wasn’t just cleaning him perfunctorily, when he touched him with the intention to arouse and not just clean him as quickly as possible.

“What is it you wanted to speak to me about, sire?” Merlin asked, drawing Arthur from his daydreams. This was something that Arthur had come to loathe over the past two weeks. Merlin was never his true cheeky self with Arthur anymore. He was always distant and made sure not to talk back or address Arthur with anything other than ‘sire’. Frankly, it grated on Arthur’s nerves.

“We can start with you going back to being yourself around me,” Arthur said, his eyes meeting that of his manservant. Merlin looked away quickly.

“It is inappropriate for me to talk to my king the way I have been talking to you before,” Merlin replied.

“That has never stopped you doing it before,” Arthur frowned.

“Yeah, well, before, there wasn’t talk around the castle about it. You have a reputation to uphold, now more than ever. I won’t be the one responsible for ruining it.”

Merlin didn’t tell Arthur that this ‘talk around the castle’ also involved that Arthur was sleeping with him since that was the only explanation people could come up with as the reason why the Prince had let him get away with so much. And why he had defied his father again and again to save Merlin.

“If you were my advisor, would it be okay then for you to talk back to me?” Arthur asked. “I need someone that won’t mince his words to me. Someone that will tell me when I’m being an ass.”

“Well I suppose so. But on what grounds would you make me an advisor? The ones you have won’t like making a simple servant one,” Merlin replied.

“I thought something along the lines of court warlock,” Arthur grinned, watching Merlin’s eyes grow wide as saucers.

“But, but-” Merlin stuttered.

“Yes, I know about your magic. I’ve known about it since our first meeting.”

“How?” Merlin asked, totally dumbfounded.

“The words you said,” Arthur replied. “‘Hey, come on that’s enough.’”

“What about them?” Merlin demanded going red. Yeah, they weren’t the most clever thing to say.

Arthur rolled up the sleeve of this tunic and unfastened the piece of cloth that was always around his upper arm, no matter what the man was doing. As soon as the cloth came undone, Merlin could see the writing on Arthur’s skin in his own messy scrawl.

“I have been wearing them on my skin since the moment you were born. Fortunately, it was Gaius that was with me when they appeared. He told me what they mean and that I must never tell my father about them since it would put the person who said the words in danger. I knew that I could never risk that, because that person was my soulmate, the other half of my soul,” Arthur said.

“Why would that person be in danger then?” Merlin asked quietly.

“Because only people that are born from magic, like I was or that are magic have a soulmate,” Arthur replied. “Because of this I knew that you had magic and that you didn’t learn it like the sorcerers that have been to Camelot. You didn’t have a choice. This is also the reason why I named the position court warlock and not court sorcerer, because you are no sorcerer.”

“You knew all this time and didn’t say anything you prat?” Merlin demanded finally stopping to be so deferential.

“I did. I also would love to ask you to be my consort,” Arthur said as he pulled a ring from his pocket. “You make me a better person every day you are with me and now that my father is dead and the ban on magic has been repealed, I don’t want to spend another minute without you.”

Merlin was speechless for a moment. All that he had ever wanted and feared that he wouldn’t ever get was right in front of him. There was only one thing he could do at this moment. He raised his hands to his neckerchief and slowly undid the knot at the back. Once it came undone, Arthur could only stare at the sight before him. There, across Merlin’s throat was only one word, but it was in Arthur’s own script. There was no denying that.

‘What?’ was written clearly.

“I would love to,” Merlin said laughing in delight as Arthur pulled him close and kissed him.

Together they would make sure that Camelot would prosper.