[FIC] (We Can Burn) Brighter Than the Sun ~ BBC Merlin ~ Arthur/Merlin ~ Mature ~ Chapter 26/26 -COMPLETE
Title: (We Can Burn) Brighter Than the Sun
Series: Dragons Soar the Skies With Plentiful Fields Below
Fandom: BBC's Merlin
Author: Batsutousai
Chapter: 26 of 26
Rating: M
Pairings: Arthur/Merlin, past-Arthur/Gwen, background relationships
Warnings: AU, time travel fix-it, PTSD, immortal!Merlin, powerful!Merlin, grief and loss, allusions to suicide
Summary: Merlin has been alive for 1500 years, and he's long since accepted that Arthur's not coming back. But there may yet be a chance that he can go back to Arthur and get a chance to not fail his king.
Epilogue—But Glory, Behold
In Merlin's first life, Uther had died when Arthur was twenty-four, unwed and childless, in love with a servant—two, apparently—with an estranged elder sister who coveted his throne, and highly distrustful of magic. He'd felt alone and had struggled under the weight suddenly thrust on his shoulders.
In Merlin's second life, Uther died when Arthur was twenty-five, felled in one of Odin's multiple revenge plots—one that Arthur hadn't known to expect, and so they failed to thwart it—married with one daughter and another child on the way—and in a committed relationship with another noble—was on excellent terms with his elder sister—who was, herself, a fully-trained High Priestess of the Old Religion, and content to only be in line for Camelot's throne if the absolute worst came to pass—and believed magic had a place in Camelot. He both had the support of three other resident nobles, and trusted them to help him rule the kingdom. And he had the combined mentorship of two kings with very different ways of ruling to turn to, as well as solid alliances with four of the six occupied kingdoms Camelot shared borders with, and peace treaties with the other two.
He had grieved Uther's passing, with Morgana, Alicia, and Merlin sitting vigil with him, although all of them knew that the three magic practitioners had no love for Camelot's former king. Arthur had even insisted that none of them needed to join him, but all three had ignored him, only Morgana giving a response, flatly informing him, "He never acknowledged me, but that's no excuse for me choosing to be a bad daughter now."
"When were you ever a good daughter?" Arthur muttered, but didn't make any further attempts to wave them off.
Alicia was the first called away, when their two-year-old daughter's nurse sent a servant to fetch her, and Morgana helped her up and followed her out, after lightly touching Arthur's shoulder.
Once the door had fallen shut behind the two women, Arthur reached out and caught the nearer of Merlin's hands in his own, slotting their fingers together, Merlin's ring from Aithusa warming from the contact with the bearer of its match. "You won't leave until I do," Arthur murmured, and Merlin knew it was neither a question, nor an order, simply a statement of fact.
He shrugged. "If the apocalypse comes ahead of schedule, I might have to leave you here," he admitted.
Arthur snorted and stood, tugging Merlin up with him.
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Or start the fic at chapter one!
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