It's Arthur's first Christmas after coming back from Avalon, and he's finally found the best gift for Merlin. The gift is so perfect that it might just make Merlin cry.
(Or: Arthur finds photos of Château de Pierrefonds online, prints one and gives...
Just as Alex Vlahos said on twitter a few days ago: it's that time of the year again Merlin fans. *sighs* This year I'm giving you a happy fic! :D I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas, everyone! :)
HIS HEART, HIS HOME
. . .
Oftentimes, Arthur found himself wondering - how could the world have changed so much over the course of 1500 years? There he was, in the middle of an overcrowded Christmas market in the city, alone, mentally recounting the money he had in his pocket.
Back in Camelot, everyone would be stepping aside to make space for him. There wouldn't be so many people, and Arthur wouldn't feel so lost. Here? In the city of the 21st century? Arthur had never felt so lost in his life.
There was music, and people were constantly talking, eating, laughing, he couldn't even think.
Not to mention that the idea of Christmas and almost all the traditions surrounding it were completely unfamiliar and new to him.
But he'd promised himself - he'd find a present for Merlin on his own.
Well, he'd gone to the market, found the few stalls that didn't sell food, and had been standing there since - still undecided.
How could he even find the right thing when there were so many things to choose from?.
And then he found it. The perfect gift. It was right there in front of him, his entire face reflected in it and it was beautiful.
He grabbed it, gave the lady who was selling it the money, and finally left the sea of people behind.
xoXÖXox
The time for presents had come. Merlin and Arthur were settled together on the couch, sipping hot chocolate and watching some old Christmas movie that Merlin had picked for them.
When the movie ended, Arthur hurriedly stood up and went to fetch his carefully wrapped present for Merlin. He was proud of it - not only had he bought it all on his own on the busy market, he'd even modified it to make it even better. It required some intensive google image searching and then using the printer, but Merlin had taught Arthur all of that a while back, so it only took him a couple of hours.
"I told you, you didn't have to buy me any presents," Merlin smiled at him as he slowly stood up from the couch as well.
Arthur rolled his eyes fondly. "This is my first Christmas, and I know you like celebrating it, so I had to," he told him. "Now go on, open it!"
Merlin sighed, but couldn't contain his excitement when Arthur handed him the present. He inspected it - it nicely fit into his palm, but it wasn't too heavy. Then he finally opened it.
He gasped.
"It- it's-" he stuttered, his eyes widening and filling with tears as he stared at the gift.
It was a red Christmas bulb with a golden hook on the top. What made Merlin so emotional however, was the photograph glued to the front of the bulb.
It was a castle.
Camelot.
Merlin bit his lower lip to contain the overwhelming happiness and sadness that he was feeling. His eyes slowly looked up at Arthur. "You remembered?" Oh god, his voice was shaking.
Arthur stepped closer and wiped away Merlin's tears, nodding. "Of course," he smiled at him. It's only been a few weeks ago when Merlin had admitted to Arthur that due to his long life, he could no longer recall what Camelot looked like. He still remembered Arthur's and his chambers, he knew the way to the courtyard, but the outside view as well as everything else? That was both lost in time and gone from Merlin's memories.
Arthur, on the other hand, had just come back from Avalon, where the passage of time was slower. He still remembered Camelot and often dreamed of it.
"It's not Camelot," Arthur clarified after a while. "It's a castle somewhere in France, but it's the only one I found that looked so incredibly similar to Camelot that I had to use it."
Merlin nodded, still speechless.
Arthur looked at Merlin's tears and frowned. "Do you- do you like it?"
Immediately, Merlin nodded. He looked up at Arthur, then set the bulb on the table and unexpectedly embraced his king. Arthur slowly wrapped his arms around Merlin, still not very used to hugging and expressing feelings, but glad that he still had someone to share such moments with.
When Merlin took a deep breath to calm down, he kissed Arthur's neck and whispered, "Thank you."
Arthur hugged him tighter and smiled, closing his eyes.
Arthur may have given Merlin his most precious memory back, but Merlin gave him so much more. He endured more than a thousand years of pain, and at the end of the waiting, he still loved Arthur with all he had.
He gave him his heart and his home.
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