Dismantle The Sun

Chapter 24

And with that, from where he sat half hunched, half huddled in the other man's strong arms, Arthur slid his left hand up along his jaw, cupping it for a second before moving the hand higher, until his fingers were carded though Merlin's dark hair and Arthur's thumb rubbed softly against the sibilant skin that lay behind the other man's ornate ear. He grinned, telegraphing his intentions, before pulling Merlin in and down for a kiss, their third, although only the second Arthur remembered. Their lips parted together soft lips meating blood-chipped ones, tongues creeping passed teeth and leaving the safety of their homes to explore other mouths. Merlin released a morsel of a moan, which the other man greedily gobbled up, as Arthur scooched closer into his chest and lap, as if trying to crawl inside the other man's skin just to feel close to him. They were lost together; lost to each other.

Just then, a throat was cleared across the room.

"Uh... guys" Eylan said, his face burnt the crimson shade of red of the sun of Nax-Garda, "we're happy for you put.. Uh.."

"Timing!" Gwaine chirped in, his brown eyes glinting with mischief.

"I THINK IT'S SWEET" came Morgana's disembodied voice, through Arthur's wrist communication device.

"It took them long enough," Lancelot joked, his arms still wrapped around Gwen who stood smiling with dimples in her cheeks.

Arthur wished the ground would swallow him up. His face flushed redder even that Elyan's as the blood returned through other parts of his body- it was still regenerating from being healed by Merlin, his stab wound now healed and scarred.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," Percival said, his tone sincere despite the ringing mock that his words lightly suggested.

"Oh my gods" mutter Arthur under his breath, as Merlin stood, eyes smiling from his cheeks in a way that Arthur, as mortified as he was, still found his stomach flipping over, a tricksy dolphin at the sight of the other man's glee.

"Captain, there's still the small mutter of Agravaine," Leon said, his handsome face was poed and encircled by his soft ginger curls. His voice was low as he took a step towards Arthur and Merlin, so he could speak to them more privately.

"He's right, Arthur, we can celebrate later," Merlin said, his eyes wide and voice worried. From across the room Gwaine, unsubtly eavesdropping let out a salacious whoop. Merlin couldn't resist the smile that invited itself upon his face, despite the severity of the circumstances.

"It was a duel to the death. I died, technically he won" Arthur said, his voice was sad. In losing the right to govern the universe he realised how much he had wanted to do it, to retire from the dash and dare of piratism and settle down in a steady role, with Merlin at his side. He'd have had a twin throne built for the other man, he thought sadly.

"You could challenge him to a re-duel" Leon suggested, his eye were serious with flint, but his suggestion desperate. The blond man's heart ached for what he had to do, for the implications it would have for the universe.

"No. He won fair and square. It would be ignoble of me to challenge him again." the lost prince said, his voice was set but he looked with great longing towards the dias where Agravaine's throne stood emptily. The dark haired man who stood next to him laced their hands together again and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Arthur..." Merlin whispered, about, no doubt to make a point that would make Arthur feel like he could do anything, like he deserved the universe and should rule it.

"No!" Arthur insisted again, tearing his eyes away from the throne and back to Merlin, they gazed into the other blue eyes searchingly, he needed the star to understand, "I can't die, Merlin, if I trick him into another duel then I'm no better than him. And I-" his sincere words were cut off by a high pitched strangled scream of agony from the other side of the room. The three men immediately broke their huddle, Arthur subtly positioning his body slightly between Merlin and the source of the noise, putting himself unnecessarily between the star he loved and any danger.

There was a comotion. Shielded from their view, Arthur could hear the sounds of a struggle, of a rasping throat clinging to life, begging for it, it being cut off with a deep and ferocious growl the likes of which the pirate captain had never heard before. Gwaine was watching on sadly, his face serious in a way Arthur had only seen when facing down immediate danger with the other man. Eylan had turned away, looking green about the gills and as if he were trying to prevent himself from vomiting.

"Wh- where's Agravaine?" Arthur turned to Leon, desperately, a worried thought suddenly occurring to him, "And Leo?" Leon had the good grace to look slightly guilty.

"Ah," he started, but his captain pushed him aside, striding manfully towards the gathered gorup of his crew, Merlin following swiftly in his wake. A growing stone of knowledge nestled in Arthur's gut; as if he knew what he was going to find on the other side of the room before he saw it. Placing his hand on Percival's shoulder he nudged him aside and stepped into the crew.

In front of them was the scene that Arthur was expecting, but it shocked him nonetheless. Agravaine, or what was left of him, was lying prone and in a rapidly growing pool of blood. His throat and intestines had been torn from his body, his dark eyes were glazed over emptily in the rigor mortis death. One of his hands hung to its wrist only by a fine tinge of ligament, danlgling casually across the stone floor. Very little remained of his face. The shape of Leo padded across to Gwaine's feet where he plopped himself down in a sit, the pilot raising a hand to scratch behind his large ears.

"Good boy," he whispered softly with an encouraging smile directed to wards the cat.

"Gwaine! What the hell?" Arthur shouted. Gwaine raised his dark eyes to the blond man's blue ones and smiled that delicate sad smile again.

"He was a tyrant, Arthur. A monster. You might be a noble but we're pirates, even Gwen in her heart, the only code we're bound by is the Pirate Code, and he killed our captain...," he said defiantly, his jaw set and head held high, fully expecting to be cast out of his friend's crew.

"...You're entitled to your revenge." Arthur finished for him. He smiled a bit.

"Leo wouldn't have it any other way," his first mate said from his side.

"You've changed your tune about him," Arthur said, gesturing to the cat that now sat washing himself at Gwaine's feet with his hand.

"He grows on you," Leon replied sheepishly.

"Arthur... Captain," Gwaine said, his eyes alight with hope, he knew in that causing Agravaine's death he was betraying his old friend's new ideals and had acted without expecting to be forgiven. Arthur sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm not sure we went about it the right way, but I can't pretend I'm sorry he's dead." he said, meaningfully emphasising the "we" as his eyes looked at Gwaine's skittish expression. The pilot grinned, a silent thank you passing between the two men. Some conversations didn't need to be spoken.

"No-one's sorry he's dead," grinned Merlin from Arthur's side, looping his arm around the blonde man's waist. Arthur let out a huff of laughter.

"He was awful." Pointed out Gwen cheerfully. Lancelot pulled her close and placed an affectionate peck on her temple, as if he couldn't believe his luck at the pluck in the woman he had fallen for.

"C'mon," Merlin said, running his hand down Arthur's arms, and linking their fingers on both hands, he pulled the other man away from the grim scene. Arthur gave him a knowing look.

"You're the King of the Universe now, get someone else to clean up that mess and enjoy it," he continued flirtily, leading Arthur to the throne he had previously been eyeing up.

"I suppose I am Agravaine's natural heir" Arthur conceded with an air of poorly feigned reluctance.

"Exactly! All right and proper!" Gwaine called from across the room- the usual joy back into his Irishly accented voice. Arthur finally smiled again, letting the star push him to sit in the throne and smiling even more gladly when Merlin slipped into his lap.

"So, what's left, then?" the King asked, staring at the other man his calm eyes seas of gentle love.

"What I do now I've got everything I could ever want?" he asked. Merlin threw his head back in a delighted laugh, the weight of the wait of centuries lifted from his shoulders finally as he sat in the king's arms. He leaned in conspiratorial to whisper in the other man's ear.

"Oh, Arthur. You live happily forever after" he explained, as if it were the most simple thing in the whole entire universe. And, in that moment, it was.