[He leans forward then, unhurried. Time might be slipping through their fingers like the grains of sand in an hourglass, but he'll be damned if he doesn't make the time for this. War or not, this thing between he and Arthur is worth more than just a trite, cursory nod. So much more.
They are two sides of the same coin, and it's only after coming here that Merlin's really allowed himself to believe it. They can build Albion together. They will be great someday. This, Merlin believes now with a surety that he'd lost somewhere along the way as he was forced further into Camelot's shadows with every difficult decision he'd made. He knows better than to doubt now.
The hug is nothing like the few they've shared before this. It isn't some means of comfort to quell the desperate feelings of grief. They're worn down to the core and torn at the edges, but even so, the embrace holds no trace of that. It's a warm, gentle kind of connection that Merlin wills to convey all the feelings of love, loyalty, and gratitude he's come to associate with this man who would be his king.
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They are two sides of the same coin, and it's only after coming here that Merlin's really allowed himself to believe it. They can build Albion together. They will be great someday. This, Merlin believes now with a surety that he'd lost somewhere along the way as he was forced further into Camelot's shadows with every difficult decision he'd made. He knows better than to doubt now.
The hug is nothing like the few they've shared before this. It isn't some means of comfort to quell the desperate feelings of grief. They're worn down to the core and torn at the edges, but even so, the embrace holds no trace of that. It's a warm, gentle kind of connection that Merlin wills to convey all the feelings of love, loyalty, and gratitude he's come to associate with this man who would be his king.
When he speaks, it's to say just one thing: ]
Thank you. For everything.