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Arthur had seen Merlin carry bunches of flowers around exactly once in the time he'd known him, granted they were for Morgana but still, it was pretty weird the first time around. But now he was watching the man exit the castle and heading the complete opposite direction of either Morgana or Gwen, the two people Arthur knew he gave flowers to the most. So curiousity getting the better of him, Arthur donned the cloak he used to sneak around without anyone knowing who he was, and took the quickest path he knew in order to catch up to his wayward manservant.
Arthur knew Merlin could be a fast walker, hell the man practically ran around the castle on a daily basis, but he was suprised at just how far he'd managed to get from the castle in such a short amount of time. Thankfully he still hadn't learned to hide his tracks, so Arthur quickly caught up to him, though he stayed a ways away so that he could observe what the man was up to as he had come to lake Avalon, a place that he didn't even know Merlin was aware of. He watched as Merlin sat close to the water edge, idly moving his hand around where water met land and sighing a deep long sound that really shouldn't be coming from his friend.
At this point Arthur was begining to grow awkward, realising that he was intruding on something insanely personal for the man and as he began to turn away Merlin started to speak. Telling whoever it was he was thinking about, about his day and about arthur himself, which startled The King slightly "i brought you strawberries" he hears the man say in a strangled voice. At this point arthur was too stunned to move, as he watched merlin bow his head and start sobbing silently "gods i miss you Freya, so damned much" Arthur bearly hears the whispered sentence and his heart breaks for him, dispite not knowing who this Freya was.
Feeling the time was right, Arthur steps out from behind the tree and makes his way to his friend in the hopes of consoling him. When he's close enough, he kneels down and gently places a hand on the man's shoulder, trying not to take it personally when Merlin flinches away from him "hey it's just me, its okay" he says gently when he looks up at him with a heartbreakingly startled look on his face. Without thinking about it Arthur pulls the man into a hug, which causes merlin to tense for a few seconds, before wrapping his arms around Arthur and sobbing into his shoulder in a way The King has never heard before
Arthur just pulls him closer, muttering words of comfort that he's heard Gwen and Morgana say to others in times of need, he's not entirely sure if he's doing this right as Merlin just clings to him and cries harder. It takes almost a candlemark for Merlin to calm down, and even then he's still clinging to Arthur as if his life depended on it, perhaps it did for all The King knew. But he feels merlin start to relax and pull away from him "are you feeling better?" He asks softly as he knows theres no point asking if he's okay, it's obvious that he isn't.
He sees him nod slightly, before yet another sigh that sounds disturbingly tired is heard from him "i am now, thanks Arthur" he hears his friend mumble loud enough to hear. Dispite pulling away from each other, Merlin still has his hand wrapped around Arthur's tunic so he knows he isn't going anywhere until merlin either lets go or they leave together "its the anniversary of my first ever lover dying" Merlin whispers after a few minutes and Arthur's heart breaks for him even more "oh Merlin, I'm sorry i didn't know" he says gently, pulling him close enough to wrap an arm around his shoulders again, should he break down in tears once more.
But Merlin merely smiles sadly "you weren't to know" he says as he bumps their shoulders together gently "you cheered me up the day after" he says with a soft chuckle and Arthur remembers pulling him into a head lock and giving him a noogie, feeling relieved when he had smiled at him dispite his confusion "I'm glad i helped" he says quietly, squeezing his shoulders gently before tilting his head "tell me about her?" He asks, watching as his friends eyes light up a little more "she loved strawberries" he says almost instantly, and it explains why he had brought them and almost seemed distraught when he had said it out loud.
There was something that he couldn't put his fingers on in the mans eyes, before he spoke again "she had the most beautiful brown eyes, they twinkled in the candle light" ah that was it, it was pure unbridled love and affection for the woman that he loved. He knows he probably gets the same look when talking about Guinevere, "she was truly beautiful" Merlin says with a soft smile that Arthur is sure he's never seen before "she saw all of me" he says wistfully, before he seems to close himself off as if saying too much. Arthur doesn't push him as he gives him a gentle smile "her name is beautiful" he whispers softly and sees Merlin start to smile again "indeed, freya" he says once more as he looks out over the lake once more.
Arthur stays for a few minutes longer, just to make sure that merlin wasn't about to break down again before he stood up, bringing the mans attention back to him "im heading back to the castle, stay as long as you need" he says, patting merlin's shoulder a couple of times with a gentle smile so that he knew The King meant it. Merlin smiled back before his attention went back to the lake, so Arthur left him to do whatever Merlin did whenever he came here. By the time he had gotten to the tree he was originally hiding behind, he could hear Merlin's familiar footsteps following behind until they were walking side by side in comfortable silence, though Merlin did knock their shoulders together every couple of steps and let out quiet chuckles, which let Arthur know that although he was upset, the man was happy to have a friend by his side.