The final installment! I just wanted to thank you all for the fantastic reviews you've given me during this series, and all the support you've shown me. (: I am extremely grateful! I got all teary-eyed writing this, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (:

I do not own anything to do with the Merlin series - it all belongs to the BBC. I do not own Hollister; Michael McIntyre; Jamie Oliver; or Mario Kart. They all belong to their respective companies.

I hope you all have an amazing Christmas, and a wonderful New Year! (: xx

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me, Christmas crackers and good cheer.

*****

Arthur rolled out his shoulders slowly, wincing when they protested in pain. Falling asleep with Merlin, snuggled in front of the tree had been the perfect start to Christmas, but the obscure position hadn't been too kind of his joints. He yawned widely, reaching out to run a hand through Merlin's hair. He mumbled something unintelligible, slowly waking up.

Smiling, Arthur leant closer to Merlin's ear. "Merlin, it's Christmas." Merlin sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Did you say it was Christmas?" Merlin yawned, quickly slapping his hand over his mouth.

Arthur nodded, brushing a piece of stray hair out of Merlin's eyes. "Mmhmm." He chuckled as Merlin's face lit up with childish excitement.

"Well, what are we sat here for? There are presents to unwrap!" Just as Merlin was about to leap off the sofa, Arthur caught him with an around his waist. Merlin whined in disappointment.

"Arthur!"

"Isn't there some Christmas law, or something, that says you can't open presents until Arthur has actually had a chance to drink some coffee?" Merlin sat back on the sofa heavily.

"You sound just like my Mother."

*****

Merlin was unimpressed. Not only had Arthur insisted on drinking an entire mug of coffee before he could go anywhere near the tree, but he had also insisted he be allowed to have a shower and get dressed beforehand.

So, in a childish attempt at revenge, when Arthur was finally ready to open presents, Merlin flounced off to go and have a very long shower and eat breakfast, knowing full well that Arthur would not be pleased.

It was well past 9AM when they both finally sat down in front of the tree, Arthur nursing another cup of coffee between his hands.

"Whose gonna go first?"

"You can, Merlin." Arthur handed Merlin the first gift he could see with Merlin's name on it. From the very boring brown paper, Arthur assumed it was from his father. Just as Merlin was about to wrench off the paper, Arthur tutted. "Open the card first!" Merlin let the package drop back onto his knees with a frustrated sigh. He wrestled with the envelope for a moment, before pulling out a tastefully simple Christmas card. Inside, it read:

Merlin,

Merry Christmas.

Uther.

Waving the open card in Arthur's face, Merlin asked, "Can I open the present now?"

"Yes." Arthur watched in amusement as Merlin first shook the present, and then squished it between his fingers.

"It's in a box!" Merlin cried, clearly unimpressed. "How am I supposed to guess what it is?"

"I think that's the idea, Merlin." Ignoring him, Merlin continued to rip off the paper, and open the flat box. Peering over, Arthur attempted to see what it was. Merlin slowly pulled out a red and gold scarf, with a small dragon stitched into one end. Stunned, Arthur sat back and watched as Merlin put it around his neck. "He gave you a Pendragon scarf." He said simply, lost for words.

"…Is it special?"

"The idea is that when a father in the Pendragon family approves of his child's partner, they give them something with the Pendragon crest on it."

Merlin blinked several times, looking from the scarf, to Arthur and back to the scarf again. Suddenly, he grinned widely. "You'll never get rid of me now!"

"Oh good God." Arthur laughed as Merlin tossed the balled-up wrapping paper at him. It missed, of course, but it was the thought that counted.

"Your turn!" Merlin picked up the small, rectangular present his mother had left for Arthur and handed it to him.

Unlike Merlin, Arthur did not feel the urge to shake the package or squash it, so he merely peeled off the paper, revealing a Wii game he had been intending to buy for a long time – Mario Kart. Laughing, he turned to Merlin. "We are so going on this later!"

"No way am I making a fool of myself on that!"

"Oh, come on, I'll let you win?"

"I do not need you to let me win! I can beat you on my own!"

"Oh yeah? I bet you £10 you can't!"

"You're on!"

Knowing already that that Merlin would fail miserably, Arthur turned back to the presents. They spent the next half an hour alternating opening them, until only the one's from each other remained. Before Arthur could even think about giving Merlin his, Merlin had thrust Arthur's in his face.

"Open mine first! But don't shake it." He warned, watching Arthur closely.

Arthur slowly opened the rectangular gift first, grinning broadly when he saw what it was. "'Michael McIntyre Live 2009'… You have good taste, Merlin." Merlin looked smug.

"I try. Now open the next one!" Just to annoy him, Arthur took his time peeling off the paper, earning him several agitated shouts of, "Hurry up, Arthur!" Frowning at the plain brown box, Arthur opened it, pulled out the mug, and began to laugh loudly.

"'Top Babe'? I'm glad you think so!| Arthur made a mental vow to use this mug all the time from then on. "Thank you." He leant in for a brief kiss, before handing Merlin his present. "Go on, open it."

Clearly deciding to be different, Merlin opened his present upside down, revealing the hoodie first. "Hollister? Really, Arthur?" Despite purely looking amused, Merlin pulled it over his head, maneuvering his scarf to a comfortable position. Merlin paused for a moment. "It's really soft." He admitted. "And it smells good…"

Arthur grinned at him, feeling incredibly proud of himself. "What did I tell you?"

"Alright, alright. No need to brag…" Merlin turned to the second part of the present. He frowned as a large picture of Jamie Oliver grinned up at him. "Everyone can learn to cook in 24 hours?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Arthur. "Are you implying I have no culinary skills?"

"Of course not. Just that you maybe nee a bit of a refresher course to remind yourself the difference between something edible, and something that is burnt beyond recognition."

"You can make you own lunch today." Merlin shifted over so he was sat next to Arthur, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."

*****

After several hours of failing dismally at Mario Kart, Merlin decided he had put off starting their Christmas Lunch long enough. Standing in the kitchen, Merlin put his hands on his hips. He had absolutely no idea what to do.

"Arthur," He called. "is there a recipe in that book for Christmas Lunch?" He waited patiently for a moment as he heard Arthur flick through the pages.

"No."

"Damn." Sighing, Merlin turned to the fridge. Best get it over with…

*****

As Merlin was crashing about in the kitchen so loudly, he did not hear the doorbell ring, or Arthur answer, and he definitely did not hear Arthur happily invite some people into the house. He only found out that it was not just him and Arthur anymore when he was ushered from the kitchen by his Mother and Gwen.

Utterly confused, Merlin turned to Arthur for answers. "You never said everyone was coming over – I would've hovered!" He hissed, smiling pleasantly at Lancelot.

"I didn't even know!" Arthur dashed off suddenly to answer the door after it rang again. From Arthur's pleased cry of, "Father!" and the sound of someone slapping someone else on the back, Merlin assumed that Uther had arrived. Checking to make sure his scarf was still around his neck, Merlin went out to greet him.

"Thank you so much for the scarf, Uther!" In response, Uther smiled and clapped a hand to Merlin's shoulder.

"My pleasure, Merlin." Glancing over his shoulder, Merlin noticed Arthur's extremely pleased expression and smiled. As they all made their way back into the living room, Lancelot held up Mario Kart, looking extremely excited.

"Up for a game, Arthur? Uther?"

*****

Merlin had almost forgotten how delicious his mother's cooking was when he had first sat down, but he was very quickly reminded of his mother's superior cooking skills. Hunith and Gwen seemed to have 'clicked' immediately, if the amazing food and their very smug expressions were anything to go by. Merlin swore that when the four men began to wolf down their lunch, he saw them share a high-five under the table.

"Merlin?" Lancelot gestured to the red and gold cracker (clearly supplied by Uther) in his hand. Grinning, Merlin pulled the other end of the cracker, whooping with joy when he won. He pulled out the paper hat from the remains, and seeing it was red, placed it on Arthur's head.

The room was very quickly filled with the bangs of crackers, shouts of joy as people won, and groans of frustration when people lost. Seeing his family and friends gathered together, laughing and having, he couldn't help but smile.

Christmas, Merlin decided, was his favourite time of year."