Just got the urge to give this a second part, not quite sure why, but hope that you like it anyway.

It was with a heavy heart Merlin finally managed to pull himself from Gaius' chambers the next morning. If he was honest, he wasn't quite sure what had happened the night before. He thought it would be Arthur with the foggy head, but Merlin's own was reeling. Something had changed in his attitude towards the king, that much was for sure. He had somehow forgiven Arthur for what he had done, and promised to be by his side no matter what. But how was that going to be possible when Arthur wasn't letting anyone close, driving away those who managed to get close to his heart? He may have actually carried out his threat of exile with Gwen, but Merlin had heard those words directed at him several times lately as well. And if Arthur was unsure about what had happened the night before as well...Merlin wasn't looking forward to finding out what his reaction to breaking down on his servant was going to be.

His feet dragging, Merlin purposefully made the walk to the royal chambers last as long as he possibly could. Much as he might moan about working for Arthur, he normally enjoyed getting there in the morning, even if it did involve having to duck flying objects. No one else saw Arthur like that, not yet properly awake and the only time these days he wore his heart on his sleeve. Those brief glimpses of the old Arthur gave Merlin hope that if he could just remove Agravaine's ever increasing influence over his friend, Arthur truly would be the King to unite Albion. But slowly as he might have been walking, Merlin still found himself face to face with Arthur's door and the inevitable entry he knew he had to make. As per usual, he didn't bother to knock, but slipped rather quietly through the door.

Merlin had been expecting Arthur to still be in bed where his servant had left him the night before. If was honest, Merlin also expected him to be nursing a sore head, something that the warlock was going to have no sympathy for whatsoever. If Arthur thought that he could just drink away what he had done, he had another thing coming. It would have been alright, maybe even effective, if Arthur had been the only one hurting. But several of Merlin's close friends, including himself, could feel the hole left by Gwen's absence strongly, and an oblivious King was not going to help anyone. Whilst contemplating how bad Arthur's head was, Merlin couldn't stop his thoughts flickering momentarily to Elyan, wondering what Leon and Gwaine had said to him, curious as to whether it would help calm the young man down. They needed the knight, but Merlin couldn't fault him for his actions. He too had been furious with Arthur, and Gwen had only been his friend. It must be even worse when it came to being a sibling.

"Arthur?" Merlin could only blink in surprise when he saw the empty bed. For a moment, he felt a fleeting burst of panic, wondering whether Arthur had done something stupid considering his words the night before, but then the warlock forced himself to calm down. Looking around the room, he quickly located the royal, slouched in his chair and staring into the fire, the frown on his face showing that he was lost in thought.

"Sire?" Moving over, Merlin knew in a glance Arthur had not heard him enter. Whatever was plaguing the king (and Merlin had a very good idea of what it might be!) it was dominating his thoughts and senses completely. "Arthur?"

"Merlin?" Arthur finally blinked, turning to face his servant. Merlin winced. Arthur was pale with dark shadows under his eyes. The hope the king would have just slept the night through had obviously been one wish too many. The man looked like he had barely closed his eyes, mind whirling with alcohol and troublesome thoughts all night. Deciding that if Arthur was looking this far from kingly, he could put aside their status differences, Merlin moved in front of the man.

"You look like hell." He said boldly, waiting to see what the reaction would be. It would certainly be one way to judge the mood Arthur was in. To Merlin's relief, Arthur just chuckled drily.

"It matches how I feel then. Merlin, last night..."

"I know, I know, never speak of it again to another living soul or you'll make my life hell or have me in the stocks for a week. Or is it banishment now, I know that is your new favourite..."

"Thank you." Merlin stopped, his mouth falling open almost comically as he just stared at Arthur, mind trying to process what had just come out of his mouth.

"What?"

"Don't make me say it again, Merlin, you heard me the first time. And mind your tongue, I don't want you speaking to me like that again."

"Fine, fine." Merlin responded airily, knowing as well as Arthur did the King's threats never had, and never would, stop Merlin from speaking his mind. If he was honest, the servant had realised that he had gone a bit far with the whole banishment thing, especially considering what had brought about the conversation in the first place. Apparently he hadn't forgiven Arthur quite as much as he believed he had. Merlin stole one glance at Arthur's face, and sat himself down on the other chair. Arthur's eyebrows raised, but the corners of his lips had to resist the smile tugging at them.

"You're never going to change, are you?"

"Nope." Merlin paused, glancing down and studying the table for a moment. "Arthur, I know...I know we talked about this last night, but you weren't exactly thinking straight. You'll probably throw something at me for saying this, but... are you okay?"

The servant was practically holding his breath, wondering whether he really was just pushing Arthur far more than was sensible considering the king's latest attitude. But if Merlin couldn't be here for him as a friend without fear of consequences now, when Arthur needed him the most, then what was the point of the last few years of his life trying to break through Arthur's defences? To his surprise, Arthur dropped his gaze.

"You know, Merlin, I'm not sure I am. I heard what you said last night..."

"That makes a change then."

"...and she did always come back to me, no matter what I put her through. Hell, I almost got her executed when my father found out." Arthur completely ignored Merlin's interruption, going back to studying the fire. This time, however, his servant stayed quiet. Arthur only wasn't looking at him because he was uncomfortable about what he was talking about. Merlin wasn't about to make him close back up again, not when Arthur was finally, possibly, just maybe, letting him in.

"But walking in on that...I never knew something could hurt that much. It was as if someone had just ripped my heart out and stamped on it." Merlin winced at the description and how Arthur could deliver it in such a flat voice. "How can I let that go? How can I have her around, looking at her chatting with some noble or knight or whoever, and wondering whether she wanted to be with them too? I can't do that, Merlin, I can't become my father in terms of paranoia. And if I can't trust the person I wanted to marry, then who can I trust?"

"Me." It was harder to say who looked more surprised at the word that slipped from Merlin's mouth, but Arthur smiled gently.

"I suppose you'll do." He said, the smile finally making its way onto his face a little and he nudged his servant lightly in the shin with his foot.

"It will get easier, I promise." Merlin muttered; his own smile slipping as he thought back on what it was like to lose a love. Freya had been a completely different situation to this, but at the same time, he had a feeling of what Arthur would be going through. He didn't notice Arthur watching him closely as his fingers toyed with the bottom of his shirt, unwelcome and painful memories surfacing once more. He thought he had put it behind him, but talking about this...it hurt.

The knock on the door made both master and servant jump, but as Merlin made to climb to his feet, Arthur shook his head.

"Who is it?" He called commandingly, motioning for his servant to stay precisely where he was. Merlin frowned quizzically, not understanding what Arthur was playing at. He might be the King, but there were plenty of nobles who already thought Merlin overstepped his boundaries with the man. If they saw him like this...Merlin was fully aware there were several things that could happen and be passed off as accidents. With Arthur being this unpredictable these days, Merlin wasn't sure quite whether he could rely on the King's protection the way he had relied on the prince's without even thinking about.

"It's me, Sire." Merlin tensed at Agravaine's voice. The king's treasonous uncle was the last person he wanted to see right now, but what he wasn't expecting was for Arthur's face to also cloud over.

"Leave me."

"But, My Lord..."

"Now!" Even Merlin didn't disobey Arthur when he used that tone of voice, and there was the sound of muffled footsteps before all fell silent again. Arthur blew out a long breath, dragging his hand over his face.

"Sire?"

"He wanted me to kill her, Merlin. He actually thought I would go through with it, I saw the look on his face. Is that what he thinks of me?" Merlin grimaced sympathetically, but secretly glad. Agraivaine didn't have that much influence yet that Arthur simply followed his uncle without thinking for himself.

"He doesn't know you." The servant said quietly, not being sure what the reaction to that would be. Arthur had pushed aside his servant in favour for his uncle, regardless of the fact Agravaine had only just reappeared in Arthur's life and Merlin had been the one to be with him through thick and thin over the last few years. But to his relief, Arthur made a noise in the back of his throat and didn't say anything else. After a moment of the silence, Merlin cleared his own throat and made to stand up.

"As nice as sitting around all day is, I've got this bit of a prat for a master who will moan if my chores don't get done." His attempt to lighten the mood that had taken over the room seemed to fall on deaf ears as Arthur simply looked at him. Merlin stood up, fingers playing with the back of his chair, suddenly uncertain of what to do.

"Oh just sit down, Merlin." Arthur snapped, and his servant almost flung himself back into the chair, watching his king closely. "I told you I heard what you said last night."

"Yes?" Merlin frowned, not having a clue where Arthur was going with this. By the way the thunderous expression on his face had softened slightly, it was apparent he was no longer thinking of Agravaine. How he could tell, Merlin wasn't sure, but the warlock was pretty sure Arthur wasn't thinking of Gwen either.

"All of it."

"So?" Now the servant was just confused. What was Arthur getting at? Rolling his eyes, Arthur turned in his chair until he was facing the younger man face on.

"I heard what you said about me not being the first man to lose someone I love. It happened to you, didn't it?"

Oh. Merlin had not seen that one coming. He hadn't really been thinking about what was coming out of his mouth as he had tried to snap the king out of his spiral of depression, and certainly hadn't expected Arthur to remember. His eyes dropped, and after a moment, he nodded.

"I'm sorry." Arthur said quietly, and Merlin shrugged.

"Why?" For a long time after Freya's death, he had wanted to hear Arthur say those words. Not that he blamed the then-prince in the slightest, Arthur had only been trying to protect his kingdom. Merlin knew that if he hadn't been able to get to know Freya, be able to love her, he too would have probably been joining his master on the hunt for the creature killing people. He couldn't blame Arthur in the slightest, yet he had still wanted to hear the words. But now, however, they seemed completely meaningless.

"I didn't know. I couldn't help you, you never told me. I couldn't be there for you, the way you have been with me."

Merlin sat bolt upright, knowing his mouth was hanging open.

"Who are you and what have you done with Arthur Pendragon?" Arthur rolled his eyes, giving his servant a slight kick once again.

"Shut it, you." He muttered, fondness in his tone.

"Never." Merlin responded with a cheeky grin, standing up once more. Arthur may have only delivered one sentence, but for Merlin, it was as if everything had changed. The King had noticed that he had tried to be a friend to the man, he had been listening to everything Merlin had said, and had even wanted to repay the favour. But it was so much more than that. He had admitted it all. Suddenly feeling the tension between the two of them life, Merlin grinned, and after a moment, Arthur returned his smile.

Things may be wrong at that moment in time. Merlin knew there was a traitor, one he couldn't seem to get Arthur to be able to see, and that they had both lost someone dear to them thanks to Arthur's actions. Camelot could potentially be in more peril than she had ever been in before, and once again, the threat was coming from within the castle walls, caused by the actions of someone Arthur was too blind to see the true nature of.

But at the same time, Merlin felt like he could smile again. Gwen may have been gone, a void that could never be filled in his heart. Yet, had he just got Arthur back? Not the King of Camelot who seemed to push everyone away, but the impassioned man who would fight for what he thought was right, no matter what. Agravaine's Arthur seemed to have backed away in that moment, and Merlin felt his grin broaden as Arthur finally stood up and began listing chores for his servant to carry out that day.

His Arthur was back, for now at least.