Curate, connect, and discover
No I am fine, great even! (Why would you do this?!? I am broken down sobbing)
SecretConsort!merlin
I had this fic idea before falling asleep, I don't know if anything like this already exists (probably). Be warned that I didn't revise this once.
First of all Arthur and Merlin absolutely love each other, but they start off as friends with benefits. Until one day Arthur can't handle anymore
“Say you're mine. Say you'll be mine and no one else's”
“I'll be yours as long as you're also mine”
And yeah, they go exclusive after that (they already were but now was official) and give them a few months or years, but eventually Merlin becomes Arthur's secret consort and they are officially official, mother's sigil and all, because like I said, they Love each other.
Anyways, eventually Uther finds out they are together and he gets tomato-red furious, and only calms down when Arthur agrees to marry for political reasons, whomever Uther chooses for him.
The thing is, Uther kind of learns to like them as a couple, not that they go all out and about telling the world, because is still supposed to be a secret, but Uther sees the sweet glances and the smiles, and most of all he sees how willingly they are to die for each other and it just sits right with him. Uther thinks Merlin makes a good consort for his son and is in no hurry to marry him off anymore.
But of course, nothing really stays the same, and the day comes where the only way Uther finds to keep peace with another kingdom is to marry Arrhur off to some other king's daughter, and he hates it because he knows and he approves of his relationship with the skinny boy that makes his son so happy.
And then comes the heartbreaking scene of Arthur telling Merlin the news and the even more heartbreaking scene before Arthur's wedding day
“I won't be able to be only yours anymore”
“Maybe not, but I'll always be yours”
And they cry through the night holding each other tightly as if the world were to end, because it just might.
And the next day, Uther can freaking see it
They are both behaving, no one is causing a scene but from up close you can notice how bloodshot their eyes are. And he can see it in the way they refuse to make eye contact, he can see it as he sees Merlin silently crying as Arthur shows the crowd their future queen.
And Uther hates it.
And is not like the new princess is a horrible person but she just doesn't like Merlin, she doesn't want to share her husband. She makes Merlin leave Arthur's Chambers and forbids him to follow Arthur all day unnecessarily, but she knows she can't win.
Not when the King himself gives Merlin royal chambers on the same floor as theirs, and especially not when Arthur doesn't spend the night on his.
Arthur has duties, though. Husband duties. And he has to fulfill them and it kills Merlin.
And Uther can just watch helplessly as Merlin's gaze follows Arthur and his wife and he stays behind as the servant he is supposed to be and is so unfair because she doesn't even love Arthur
And they keep growing apart but keep fighting for each other because they are fucking made to be together so they still try even if the best they can do for days is hold each other for a few minutes just breathing each other in because that's home and that's where they are meant to be
It continues for a while until one day comes where Arthur goes out without Merlin
And at the same time while he is away, his wife finds herself with child, and everyone's so happy and Merlin just has to leave for a while because he can't handle it
But again, things never go as planned and the knights return with Arthur's body, because something went wrong
And you can honestly choose what it was, a curse, a spell, bandits, a boar, a mercenary, it doesn't matter because Arthur is dead now and Merlin wasn't there to save him
And now Uther has to deal not only with the death of his only son, and with his widow wife with child but he'll be the one to tell his consort and is so devastating
Merlin's face turns from sad to haunting and it's like the world ended and Uther can see himself in him, he can see the death of his love weighting on Merlin the way it weighed on him, if not worse
Arthur's body stays inside the castle for two days before the burial so the people of the castle can say their goodbyes and no one has seen Merlin, they are not even sure he went to see Arthur
And everyone is concerned about the poor widow all dressed in black, she is sad, sure, but the tears rolling from her eyes are just for show, Arthur was barely a friend, but he was good to her
Arthur's body is being prepared for removal, overseen by his family and close friends before the public ceremony took place, and that's when it happens
Merlin just barges in and stops everything.
He's spent two days working in it, and he just doesn't care anymore, as long as it works
And Uther once again just watches as this skinny boy fills the room with golden light, and he can't even care to do anything because honestly he would do everything for his love if he could
And everyone watches as the light coming from Merlin starts being absorbed by Arthur through his chest and is so beautiful to watch
Arthur starts to sit up as Merlin lowers down and they just have a moment, a small second where they are both there and Merlin just rests his head against Arthur's
“I would do it again. I would do it as many times as needed because I love you and you are my everything”
“Merlin?”
And then the light is gone, and so is Merlin
And Uther watched as his widowed son holds his lover's body, just like he did over twenty years ago