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Merlin was alone. Oh, he was used to this but that didn't mean he liked it. He'd been alone for a thousand years now and it wasn't any easier than it had been at first. He still missed Arthur. It was an ache that went bone deep. Sometimes, he wished for death, to join Arthur. But he couldn't die.
He needed Arthur. Needed the man who had been his best friend, his lover. He needed to know that Arthur would indeed return. He was starting to doubt that his lover would ever come back to him and doubt, as he'd learned early on, was never a good thing. Doubt led to negativity and negativity made him remember the day his entire world had ended. So he tried not to doubt himself or Arthur. But it was hard.

It was sometimes hard to believe that Arthur had been gone a thousand years. The memories were every bit as vivid as they had been the day it happened. Merlin could remember how his chest had felt as if it would explode, how he'd screamed at the sky in pure grief-stricken rage. Whatever Gods were up there had taken Arthur from him and that wasn't something that he would ever forgive. Arthur had been all that made Merlin whole and without him Merlin felt empty, lost. Broken even. Merlin had never felt like that before and it was breaking him apart. Breaking every part of him into a million tiny pieces. It hurt. An unimaginably fierce pain that seemed to seep into his very bones.

Merlin was sitting on a rock near the Lake of Avalon when it happened. He was reading a book, one of the many accounts of Arthur's life. This one, like the others before it, was entirely false. In it, Merlin had been an aging wizard that Arthur hired to be his advisor. Entirely false. He and Arthur had met as youngsters, before Arthur was even King. They'd grown into men together, had become lovers and best friends. And then Arthur had died, leaving Merlin alone. Oh, Merlin wasn't mad at Arthur. It wasn't his fault. If it was anyone's fault, it was Merlin's. He'd thought that he'd defied destiny but he'd failed. He had failed himself...and Arthur.

The water started to bubble as Merlin looked up from his book. Excited, Merlin stood up and watched the water as a man emerged. He wore armor and looked confused. It was Arthur. There was no mistaking that face. Merlin ran to where Arthur stood, shivering in the early morning cold. When he was face to face with him, Merlin reached out a hand and laid it against Arthur's cheek. Arthur leaned into the touch, smiling softly at his lover.

"Merlin? Wasn't I...dead?"

"It's been a thousand years, love."

"But...how are you still here?"

"I think I had to wait for you. I never died. I've been waiting for you for a thousand years."

"Oh love, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left you alone so long."

"You're here now. That's all that matters. Come, let's go. I've got a small apartment we can share. Let's get you out of the cold."

"I am freezing."

"Besides, you're wearing chain mail. People will start staring if we wait too much longer."

"People don't wear chain mail anymore?" Arthur asked quietly.

"Not these days. It's been centuries since things like that have been worn. It's been a thousand years, Arthur. Things change a lot in that time."

"You'll have to help me...adapt to this new world, Merls. I've no idea how I'll handle it..."

Merlin took Arthur's hand and nodded, beginning to walk back to the small flat he'd owned for a few months now. He could tell that Arthur was scared stiff of this new world. But he'd help him. Arthur had the courage to get through this. And with Merlin at his side, he'd be just fine. It wouldn't be easy and Merlin was certain that there would be rough spots...but they would get through it together. Which was how they did everything.