Chapter Text
Arthur smiled as he awoke.
Life was good.
He had a New York Times best seller, a literary agent with an advance for his second novel—already in progress—and the most gorgeous man in the world to share everything with.
And said gorgeous man was just stirring.
"Morning," Arthur said softly, spooning him from behind.
Merlin hummed in agreement, linking their hands together. He smiled, his eyes still closed, as he wriggled his arse against Arthur’s groin.
"Cheeky," Arthur chuckled.
Merlin just wiggled his arse more insistently.
It had taken a while before Arthur had allowed himself to accept that Merlin wanted this. That he wanted them both to be together. He’d been in a bit of a state of shock when Merlin had returned again as a human and stepped back into his life.
They’d done things together that Arthur shouldn’t have allowed, things that he had to take a step back from once he’d come to his senses. It had taken some work for them to get back to where they had started, but things were all the better for it, as Arthur was sure this is really what Merlin wanted and he wasn’t taking advantage of an innocent man.
Things were finally where they were supposed to be.
Merlin was one of the happiest people Arthur knew, much to his sister’s amusement—Arthur had been well known in the past to despise exceptionally cheerful people. He was always discovering new things about the world and bringing a different perspective into Arthur’s life.
Arthur had never gone back to the city; he didn’t see the need to. He spoke occasionally to his father on the phone, and once Uther had come down to Camelot-on-Sea and they had had dinner at the yacht club’s restaurant a little way along the coast. He had NOT been impressed by Arthur’s choice of boyfriend. But Arthur realised now that he never would be. No doubt he wouldn’t be happy with Arthur’s choice of partner if he was straight either, as he had always made a point to criticise Arthur’s life decisions. It had taken until now for him to realise that he didn’t need his father’s approval to live his life. If he came around to respecting Arthur and his life, great, Arthur would welcome him with open arms. But if not, it was no great loss. He knew who he was and what he wanted out of life now.
"Arthur," Merlin whined.
"All right, all right," Arthur said, leaning over him to reach for the lube on the nightstand.
He quickly slicked his cock liberally and pushed Merlin over onto his front, before kissing the back of his neck as he positioned himself.
"Ready?" he asked.
Merlin looked over his shoulder at him, looking annoyed now, and Arthur chuckled again before he slowly pushed in and in until he bottomed out.
Beneath him, Merlin groaned appreciatively.
It always amazed him how much Merlin liked sex. Arthur loved it, too, but Merlin positively revelled in it, always enjoying himself and always getting exactly what he wanted. Arthur hated to admit it, but Merlin had him wrapped around his little finger. He always had.
"Come on, Arthur," Merlin urged him, grasping the back of Arthur’s thigh.
Arthur steadied himself before pulling out and thrusting in again. He did this several times, experimenting with the angle until Merlin let out a long, drawn out moan.
"Ah, ah, yes," Merlin panted, as Arthur continued to push into him at the perfect angle that made Merlin claw at the sheets.
He hadn’t meant for this to be a particularly vigorous start to their morning. It looked like Merlin had had different ideas—but he certainly wasn’t complaining.
Arthur closed his eyes as he continued to fuck in and out of Merlin’s perfect, tight hole that clung to him so perfectly.
"So good, Merlin," he said, his voice strained as he pulled Merlin up onto his hands and knees.
He pushed in deeper, and Merlin arched his back delightedly, making happy noises in Mermish that Arthur didn’t understand but knew were a good sign. They continued to work together, the pleasure mounting and magic sparking around them until Merlin started to clench tighter and move faster. Arthur knew him well.
Reaching around and under him, he wrapped his fingers around Merlin’s cock, stroking him off in conjunction with his thrusts.
"I love you, you know that, right?" Arthur asked, kissing Merlin’s neck.
"I love you too," Merlin moaned as he pushed himself back onto Arthur’s cock, rocking back and forth in time with him. "Yeah, that’s it, right… there, I—"
Merlin came with a grunt over Arthur’s hand and the sheet. Arthur thrust several more times before pulling out, ready to help finish himself off only to have Merlin push his hands away, replacing them with his own. He looked up at Arthur with tender, soft eyes as he worked his hand fast.
It was unfathomable to Arthur how someone could manage to look so adorable and so fucking hot at the same time, but Merlin always seemed to be able to do it.
Arthur bent his head to kiss Merlin and came with a groan against his lips, his release splattering against Merlin’s stomach.
He smiled and laughed as he kissed Merlin again. "I really fucking love you."
***
Merlin smiled as he lazed in the water, floating on his back. He felt so lucky. He never imagined he’d ever find himself living a life like this. He’d wished for it, dreamed of it, but never thought it would be possible.
He still spent much of his day in the water or walking along the shore, where he searched for seashells, pebbles and other interesting bits and bobs to sell to tourists who visited in the summer months. Most of his time, however, was spent with Arthur. Merlin had finally put two and two together, remembering how he’d once rescued a small boy, similar to Arthur and realised they were one and the same. Arthur had confirmed it.
Turning onto his front, he let himself float, gently treading water as he looked over at Arthur, who was sitting in the shade to one side of the beach. He had a notebook with him—a regular occurrence—and was scribbling something down in it looking fiercely, deeply in thought.
Arthur wrote books for a living and, according to other humans, he was an excellent writer. Merlin wanted to read it for himself desperately, so he had been trying his best to learn written English, but it was an upwards struggle and his own handwriting was atrocious. He’d never had to hold a pen or pencil before and it was very tricky to get the shape of the letters right. Arthur was very clever to be able to earn money from it. Merlin was determined that he would get there eventually. Even if it took him years.
Eventually, Arthur looked up, aware he was being watched, and smiled sunnily at Merlin.
Merlin almost had to pinch himself to believe that this was his life now.
Arthur finished writing something on his paper and then tucked the pen and book away in his bag before getting to his feet. He walked to the edge of the water and called out to Merlin.
"You stay in there much longer and you’ll turn into a merman," Arthur joked with a grin. "Ready for dinner?"
Merlin stuck his tongue out at him.
"Prat."
Arthur’s sister, Morgana, had taught him that word, along with many others, which he knew got under Arthur’s skin.
He grinned as Arthur rolled his eyes affectionately. Merlin started swimming over towards him and whispered the spell to reverse the enchantment which gave him gills and webbing as he wadded out of the water.
"Find anything good today?" Arthur asked.
"A few bits," said Merlin, showing him some pretty shells and a gorgeous piece of worn seaglass that he was contemplating keeping for himself. "How’s your story going?"
"It’s getting there," Arthur told him.
Merlin smiled as a family came walking towards the beach down the path through the sand dunes, the kids shouting with delight as they ran on ahead of their parents. The little girl was wearing one of the necklaces Merlin had left out near the cottage with an honesty jar.
He slid his hand into Arthur’s as they made their way off the sand, thinking of the evening ahead.
Arthur would make them dinner—Merlin had tried cooking, with various degrees of success, but let’s just say it was a work in progress—then they’d head out into the garden and curl up together on the bench with a view out towards the sea, Arthur with a book and bottle of wine and Merlin content to just watch the sun go down.
In the summer months, they would stay out there long beyond dusk, enjoying each others company and the relative privacy of the old cottage.
Merlin wasn’t exactly sure what the future held in the long-term. He still longed to see everything there was to see, but he was happy just being human.
So long as he had Arthur by his side, everything felt possible and everything felt right, and it felt like destiny had brought him exactly where he needed to be.
In a beautiful seaside cottage, with a beautiful man, living a beautiful life.