I can barely believe it, but there it is, at last - the final chapter of the Love Potion. I can't apologize enough for the horrible delay - I had lost my inspiration, and it took a nice long holiday to remind me I could write something else than boring essays ;)

I'd like to thank all my reviewers from the bottom of my heart, and especially all the wonderful people who wrote to me even months after I had posted chapter 2, encouraging me and/or giving me a well-deserved kick in the ass. You're all the reasons why this chapter is out.

So Lottedot, sarahelizabeth1993, Redpanda14, Black-Dranzer-1119, Anave Lipad, Loopstagirl, Colonel UnderRoo, PersonalLegend, goodythreeshoes, PancakesYum, xxxArthurLover101xxx, BuckleMyShoe, 009Sevgi, unicorndiva, LadyFromPoland, sybylla, Mimilafee, AceofDiamonds8, daily-chan, UltimateGinger, GuitarGirl214, Inu Star Angel, enigma-kar, Angelike Riddle, ShepsGirl, DaughterofDeath, crossmyheartforever, betrayedsunshine, LeChatBlanche, ShiroNeko, Cynic Writer, fire dragonheart, Catindahat, Centra-gal86, hope86 and Just a girl - thank you, thank you a thousand times for your patience and for embarking on this little adventure with me. I had a lot of fun, and I can only hope you will as well!

Gaius was handing him a blue vial, easily held and hidden in one hand. What a small container for something that was going to have such an impact on his life, Merlin reflected wryly. "There you are. Just slip a few drops in his meal, and he should return to normal very quickly."

"You…you want me to be the one to...?"

Gaius looked a bit surprised at his charge's hesitation.

"Naturally, Merlin! Who else do you want me to trust this to?" He exclaimed, shaking his head. Said boy blushed a little as he silently acknowledged that the question wasn't this smart, but he still wanted to protest, because making him do this seemed quite unfair to him. He was conscious however that he had no valid reason to refuse, and so he just took the vial that his mentor had been holding out for him with a little sigh.

Dispirited, he started to walk towards the door, but paused as he came near their main table, which had been "borrowed" by Gaius for his experiments in the past week. Considering Gaius finding the cure meant renouncing on the love potion's…unexpected perks, Merlin was of the mind that he deserved to get something in return; and if that "something" was the renewed use of their table, then so be it.

"Do you want me to take some of that with me as I go, or do you still need them?"

"What do you mean? Oh, those, no, leave them please, I'd really like to study the potion's components some more. Do you have any idea how rare it is to find a wholly new potion? There are some traces of the most curious ingredients in this…" There the physician's voice became nothing more than a rumble as he lost contact with reality and became lost in whatever fascinated him in Science.

Merlin wasn't really interested in his mentor's ramblings about how the potion that had turned his world upside down was apparently "captivating", so he left after a vague smile sent in Gaius' direction, his hand tightening on the vial to the point where his palm became slightly damp. Had he glanced behind him he might have seen Gaius's eyes widen in realization before the man almost flew to the table in his haste to check his latest theory; but as it was, he left with his head high, without a glance backwards.

As he came into the room, forgetting to knock as was his habit, Merlin froze at the Prince's reaction to his arrival: jumping from the window's hedge he had apparently been meditating at, Arthur stalked towards him, surprise evident in all his gestures.

"Merlin, you're here!"

"Well yes…You know, I thought Gaius was exaggerating when he was reprimanding me about my lateness, but if you react this way when I'm on time I guess he does have a point."

Arthur seemed slightly discountenanced.

"No, I meant…I just wasn't sure you would be here, I suppose."

The Prince drew a distracted hair through blond locks, and Merlin froze as he finally understood why he was acting so strangely this morning. Arthur had no idea of what the vial hidden in his sleeve meant, didn't know everything would end at this meal…and his last memories were of the feast. Of their…kiss. The warlock hesitated. He knew that if he proposed they settle down for breakfast Arthur would jump at the chance to put this awkward moment behind them; and yet a small part of him selfishly urged him to try and discuss it with the Prince, to make him express what it had meant to him – to both of them – so that he could have this memory when the whole farce was over.

Eventually the reasonable part of him won out and he smiled winningly at his master, who was apparently still feeling highly uncomfortable. As out-of-place at it may have seemed, Merlin felt sudden compassion towards the blond man, knowing how it felt to have one's own actions throw oneself out of the loop. It was also a nice remember of why he absolutely had to cure Arthur, because it was quite unfair for the Prince not to be able to feel anything real. Those thoughts firmly in mind, he gestured at the table where he had begun setting all the dishes, wincing a little at the feast before him – he had wanted to really enjoy the delicious fare as it was probably the last time he would get to eat some, but he might have gone slightly overboard.

"Well, here I am, and I bring food! Let's settle down, okay?"

Obviously, he had underestimated his master's need to go to the heart of this matter once and for all, because Arthur didn't drop the subject like he might have a snake.

"No. Talk to me. What's the matter?"

Merlin sighed a bit, and absently watched his hands play with the little bottle of potion, take off the miniature cork and put a few drops in the dishes set out in front of the Prince's place. He had his back to Arthur and the Prince would be hard-pressed to see what he was doing, but all the same he knew it was incautious to do it in such an obvious way. Truth was, he wouldn't have minded having an excuse to explain everything to Arthur, and having the Prince see him sprinkle his meal with a potion would certainly be an efficient one.

No questioning of what he was up to came from the figure behind him, so he realized he would really have to answer his master's query about his feelings. Frenetically, he tried to find any reason why he'd be upset that wouldn't make them talk about Arthur's potion-induced actions, discarding the possibility of explaining he was very sad Arthur didn't like pears because he had seen some truly beautiful ones in the orchard yesterday or the one where he revealed his plans concerning a certain sleeping bag and a member of the reptilians. In the end, there seemed to be only one obvious solution.

"This is stupid, but I guess I'm still upset about what happened recently." As he felt rather than saw Arthur stiffen next to him, he realized he needed to get more specific, and soon. "I mean, three days ago, when we were hunting! You know, with Bolmir and everything…"

Merlin had been glancing towards Arthur to see whether his lie had been convincing enough, and was thus treated to the sight of Arthur's face closing off, his eyes turning cold. Some part of him instinctually started to panic, wondering if the Prince was angry at him for having to fight one of his knights over the likes of a servant, but he had started to get used to the changes the potion had brought and as such didn't pull away or lower his eyes.

"The bastard. He didn't just hit you, did he?"

That's when Merlin finally remembered Arthur had known nothing of Bolrin's diatribe, and he sort of felt regretful he had used this episode as a way to distract the Prince, even though it had obviously worked perfectly. He was over the hurt, anyway – Arthur had believed him, and that was more than enough. Now, if he could just make the small voice in his head that reminded him it was only the results of sorcery, that Arthur wouldn't have believed him otherwise, that Arthur might have actually agreed with some of Bolrin's accusations…

"No he…made himself clear about why he hated me, that's all. It was nothing much, really."

"Then why are you still bothered by his words?"

"I'm not! Honestly, it was just a little rambling about how I was useless and didn't deserve to breathe the same air as you…nothing I haven't heard before." There he threw in a cheeky grin, but Arthur wasn't convinced.

"Well it's good that it doesn't bother you anymore. It would have been difficult for me to believe my manservant was enough of an idiot to listen to a mad man's pitiful and ridiculous accusations."

Someone used to soft words and beautiful gestures would surely have found this reassurance weak or even insulting – but it was so Arthur to make it a matter of pride for Merlin not to believe Bolmir's words, and the possessiveness had been so present in his tone that it made him smile his patented goofy grin. Arthur relaxed at the sight and Merlin's smile actually became a bit painful as it tried to widen again when he realized the Prince had been waiting anxiously to see whether he had managed to put his manservant's insecurities at rest.

His smile wilted, however, when he neared the breakfast table and remembered why he was here; Merlin sat down and faced the dishes with a glare the poor rolls and pieces of meat probably didn't deserve.

It was only a few minutes after Arthur had joined him at the table and they had started eating that Merlin froze, realizing he had forgotten to ask Gaius just how long it would take before the potion came into effect, or how exactly it would cause the love potion to wear off. Would Arthur's memories get wiped out? Would he get confused, like he had gotten after his little escapade with Sophia? Or would he remember what had happened in the past week, simply feeling like he had just fallen out of love with his manservant?

A small cough from his master had him raising apprehensive eyes from where they had been trying to bore a hole in his breakfast, only to find Arthur visibly frowning and holding his hand to his temple in an unconscious gesture. As blue eyes met his, Merlin got part of his answer – he still didn't know how much the prince remembered, but the potion was apparently quickly efficient. Indeed, the eyes that had conveyed so many feelings only ten minutes previously were now closed to him, the opaque blue revealing nothing. Arthur's defences had gone up, and in spite of the fact he was still wearing his nightwear and was sitting in front of him in the same relaxed sprawl he had every morning, an unbearable distance had just been created between him and his manservant.

Feeling the delicious food turn to ash in his mouth, Merlin stopped eating before he choked, and instead got up, putting various things away in the room as his master finished his breakfast. It was in a tense, charged silence that he gathered the dishes once Arthur was done, inexplicably feeling like he was escaping as he shut the door behind him.

Firmly biting his lip, stubbornly refusing to consider just what all of what had happened actually meant, Merlin made his way to the kitchen – but his shuffling gait didn't much look like his usual energetic, enthusiastic walk.

After more than a year in Arthur's service, Merlin had his daily routine down to pat. Feeling extremely grateful he didn't have to wear a ridiculous tin hat and get hit over the head in something vaguely resembling training today, he headed towards the laundry room to get Arthur's royal socks back, which were actually like any other socks, except they had small Pendragon crests on them – Merlin still smiled every time he thought about it. He was already planning his next trips; he had an armour to clean and a horse's shoe to change. A small sigh, unbidden, floated from his lips, but his step didn't falter. He felt…numb, truly – a vague trace of disappointment kept echoing in his chest, occasionally sending small flares of pain through his heart.

The next few days differed little from the ambiance left by the fateful breakfast. The cooks had gotten used to preparing breakfast for two and Arthur didn't say anything, so Merlin kept on sharing the daily meals with him. He told himself it was all for the food, but really he was just clinging to the last links he had to the week when Arthur had been under the effects of the potion. The awkward silences, however, only broken when one or the other needed to share a technical detail about their day, jarred so painfully with the memories of the long and pleasant discussions they had had that Merlin was pretty sure he was going to give up soon and go back to eating before he went to his master.

The worst thing, he reflected, was that they even seemed to have lost the connection they had had before this whole mess. There was a new uncertainty in every one of their gestures, like they didn't know to interact apart from their master/servant relationship. Their banter had disappeared, they never stayed in each other's presence more than was strictly necessary – Merlin hadn't even accompanied Arthur to his latest hunt, which would have been a relief in any other circumstance but right now was just another open wound.

They were falling apart.

A few more days went like this, tense and unbearable, until the silence between them was so thick that Merlin felt like he was going to choke every time he so much as breathed. And then, just as he was getting desperate enough to consider resigning, destiny be damned, everything exploded.

This morning, as he entered the Prince's bedchamber to find his master already dressed and arms crossed, standing in the middle of the room, he immediately knew that their current situation had come to an end; and although he couldn't help but feel anxious, it was still a relief.

"Merlin."

"Yes, sire?" He was proud of himself when his voice didn't break.

"I think we need to have a little chat."

Playing dumb would have been useless – Merlin simply nodded.

"Things…aren't the way they were before, I can see that. And I can't deny my part of responsibility in this matter. However I'm sure a reasonable arrangement can yet be found."

Arthur's voice was carefully controlled, stilted, like he was giving a speech to a royal guest instead of talking to the boy who'd been his best friends not a fortnight ago. His eyes were guarded. He was talking about responsibilities and arrangements like those had any place at all among feelings, and suddenly Merlin simply couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh, we can find an arrangement, can we?" He surprised even himself with the viciousness of his tone, but Arthur didn't seem to be particularly phased, only clenching and then unclenching his hands before he answered.

"Certainly. And I'm aware that some of my more…inappropriate actions might require me to apologize."

At any other time, Merlin would certainly have found the Prince's formulation humorous; certainly it was typical of the royal prat to acknowledge that he quite possibly might have to apologize. But nothing right now could have made him smile: Arthur had just proven both that he remembered exactly what had transpired between then and that he considered the events of this week as nothing more than something inappropriate, to sweep aside quickly. At this thought, Merlin's remaining self-control exploded.

"Really? But what would you apologize for, Sire, I wonder." The title, often ironically meant in the irreverent servant's mouth, became positively insulting then. "Why not apologize for taking advantage of the help? Because that's clearly what this is all about, isn't it? Do you feel ashamed for using someone so clearly weaker, clearly inferior to you?" Should you really apologize for making me feel I was something special, even if just for a week? Was it that repugnant to act as if you loved me?

Arthur should have violently thrown him from his rooms at that, promising him a lengthy stay in the stocks or even in the dungeons – but he didn't. He merely closed his eyes as if accepting the blow, and Merlin, much more furious at himself than at the Prince, let out a weird sound, half furious groan and half sob, before leaving the rooms and running to the rooms he shared with his uncle.

Merlin had been moping – though he would protest and declare he was merely studying the fascinating way Gaius didn't organize his books if one were to ask him – for around half an hour when his mentor finally lost his patience with him, mainly because he was sitting at the table and somehow still managing to be a nuisance every thirty seconds, whether by a heartfelt sigh or because he was physically in the way.

Heaving a sigh of his own the physician sat besides him, hissing under his breath as his knees protested the movement.

"What's the matter now, my boy?"

"I don't really want to talk about it, Gaius. But thank you."

Gaius didn't answer, simply staying near to his protégé with his right eyebrow slightly raised. He thought he knew the boy well enough by now to know that he soon wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer.

"It's just…this whole love-potion thing. It's complicated and messy and it just ruined everything! I shouldn't have…but then Arthur was so…and now everything's a mess and I can't figure out what to do and I just snapped at him but I knew it wasn't his fault."

Gaius's eyebrow now seemed torn between frowning his concern and expressing his surprise, finally stopping in an awkward position that would surely have made Merlin smile had he not already lowered his brow to his palms in despair.

"I must confess I don't quite understand what you mean, Merlin. Did Arthur's behaviour during the week where he was under the potion's influence trouble you?"

"Yes! I mean, no! Well, perhaps a little, at first…And then at the end…" Merlin felt himself blushing a little, something he was glad his mentor couldn't see right now. "But mostly it's just that he has changed so completely since the potion has stopped acting; I feel like we're not even friends anymore. And earlier, I…" Here his voice became an unintelligible mumbling.

"What's that, my boy?"

"I sort of…shouted at him. I didn't mean to! I know that, for once, he didn't exactly deserve it. I've just been so frustrated, and today he…And I just couldn't…"

Merlin's voice started trailing off again and smartly Gaius decided not to admonish the boy for his behaviour right now. Instead he sighed deeply, absently massaging his brow. He knew that he could end the boy's torment with his news, but he wasn't sure it was the best solution for all parties. Still, as he looked at Merlin's dejected countenance, he knew he had to reveal what he knew.

"You know, I hadn't intended to tell you this because I didn't want you to lord what my discovery meant over the Prince…But when I see you so miserable, I feel like this choice was unexpectedly cruel."

Merlin turned to face the physician, truly startled. He had been expecting a lot of rote about how the Prince truly cared for him, or perhaps a reprimand for his behaviour; not what looked disturbingly like a confession.

"What do you mean?"

"The potion Princess Myrlia gave the Prince wasn't a love potion."

Merlin's whole body became stiff at the news but Gaius kept going, like he ignored that Merlin's world had just tilted to five degrees out of its axis.

"I don't know if you remember what I've told you the day I've found the cure, but there was the most curious ingredient in the potion. Ellebora leaves would never have been able to coexist with Othryl without counteracting its role, and Othryl is the most basic ingredient in all love potions known today – its rareness actually explain why they are so expensive and hard to make. I had wondered if the maker of this had found a way to make the two collaborate, and in what goal, when I realized that I'd gone on the wrong track right from the beginning, misled by the scent of Othryl and by Arthur's reactions to you."

Merlin opened his mouth then, desperate to cut off the rambling explanations about ingredients and potions and to get to the heart of the matter, meaning what the potion's actual effects were, but no sound came out. Luckily, Gaius was just getting there.

"I don't know whether it was a mistake or whether Princess Myrlia thought the Prince had hidden feelings for her, but this potion wasn't supposed to create new sentiments in the Prince's heart: it was meant to make it easier for him to reveal his true feelings – actually, it made it impossible for him to deny them. He reacted as he would have done, hadn't he been raised without a mother and by a grieving and busy father."

Merlin decided that now was the time to interrupt Gaius if he didn't want to hear him wax poetry about their future's leader difficult childhood.

"But how do you explain his behaviour this past week?"

"Well, think about it my boy; that's precisely why I decided to tell you this. The Prince's actions showed more clearly than ever just how much he cared for you as a friend. All his 'strangeness' you complained about was actually his true feelings, made apparent by the potion."

Merlin found himself in one of the strangest mix of emotions he had ever had as he started reliving the past few days in his mind, finding himself both elated and crushed as he realized that Arthur's protectiveness and affection hadn't been creations of the potion after all, but that he had still read too much in them when believing it could mean more. He gasped aloud, however, surprising his mentor in the process, as he remembered the night of the feast. Perhaps Arthur had only showed friendship when the potion had started to take effect because he only felt friendship then – but as soon as those feelings had evolved, most probably because of his jealousy against Alynor, or perhaps even because of Bolmir's actions, he had acted on them, unable to repress anything. This meant that what he had uttered on this fateful night was true, and had always been.

He distractedly heard himself ask something he really didn't care about, like how Gaius had even managed to counteract the potion when he hadn't been sure of what it actually did, but didn't listen to the answer. His heart was thudding almost painfully at those revelations, it was almost too much to comprehend; he suddenly stood up, cutting off his mentor in the process, mind set on one thing only.

"I have to find Arthur."

"And apologize?"

Those two words hit him like a bucket of cold water could have, dousing the fire of his resolve and stopping him in his tracks. How could he have forgotten so quickly the reason why Gaius had taken pity on him and decided to tell him the truth about the potion? As Merlin remembered their newest row and then his attitude of the last few days he winced, the sharp claws of guilt tearing into his stomach. Arthur's attitude as he hurt himself hadn't stemmed from a lack of concern, but from gaucherie; naturally, his master would have had difficulties expressing any worry for a servant, no matter how close to him he actually felt.

All in all, knowing the Prince had never actually had a change of heart put a whole new – and unpleasant to contemplate – spin on his actions, and he could only hope it wasn't too late to make Arthur understand that he didn't mean what he had said.

He knew that after such a row Arthur would have stayed in his room, sitting at his desk with paperwork deployed all around him, not really working but certainly looking busy enough that no one would dare to disturb him, so he made his way back to the Prince's bedroom.

He came in without knocking, but Arthur's instincts were good enough that he was raising his head before he had even finished opening the door; as a result, his eyes met steely blue ones as he came in.

"Si- Arthur? I'd like to talk to you, if you don't mind."

Arthur's nostrils flared briefly but he didn't cross the room to throw him out, which Merlin found quite encouraging considering the circumstances. Eventually, seeing as Merlin hadn't really stepped in the room yet, the Prince sighed in exasperation.

"Either come in or leave, but do stop dithering around like an idiot, Merlin."

It was wondrous, absolutely exhilarating to look at this exchange through the prism of his new knowledge and realize that all this time, he had been the one building barriers between them. Certainly Arthur was closed off and uncomfortable (and probably quite pissed-off as well), but he wasn't turning away. He wasn't chasing Merlin out of his bedchamber; he wasn't even pretending to ignore him. He was wary, yes, but not hostile, in spite of everything.

Perhaps he was even a bit hopeful, Merlin didn't know. He was trying to figure it out, but it was useless; he simply couldn't read the Prince. The potion, he now realized, had done a lot more than simply allow Arthur to confess; it had been the only reason why Merlin was able to read his master, and now that it was gone, Arthur's face was back to its most imperturbable expression.

"I only meant to say that I had been wrong to react as I did, and that I'm really sorry. Please believe me when I say I certainly didn't mean what I said."

"For all that the delivery form of your words could have been better, their substance wasn't particularly offensive."

Arthur was still speaking in polite-speech, something that he was now able to recognize as a defensive measure, so it took Merlin a little time understanding him. When he finally did, he could have hit himself.

"Yes it was. Of course it was."

"I assure you…"

Arthur was still protesting, still acting too politely, still looking at anywhere but him; suddenly, Merlin felt a sudden burst of inspiration strike, and he knew how he was going to go at it.

"Offensive towards myself if no one else."

Arthur was visibly startled at that. Good.

"I mean, am I a damsel in distress now? No matter how many times you call me a girl, Arthur, I'm perfectly able to defend myself." Morgana would kill him if she ever heard him talk this way, he reflected wryly, but he wasn't above using Arthur's slightly misogynistic tendencies against him right now. "And believe me; nothing you did to me last week was done without my consent."

The Prince's puzzlement was obvious this time, his expression less guarded.

"What are you talking about Merlin? Last week, I…"

His voice trailed off, and Merlin raised both his eyebrows.

"Yes, what did you do last week exactly? I've had some little trouble remembering what happened."

This could go off in two very different directions right then, and Merlin wished with all his might for Arthur to understand, to take this leap of faith. And when the Prince stepped forward, he could have cried his relief.

"I believe I…pushed you against this door." Arthur was still uncharacteristically hesitant, holding Merlin's right wrist in a tentative grasp he could easily have shaken off. Instead he allowed himself to be pushed back against the aforementioned door, letting a coy smile play on his lips.

"Oh that's right, I think I remember that. But what happened then?"

"I got closer to you." Arthur's voice wasn't uncertain anymore and his lips had stretched out in a small smile of their own. Merlin, trying not to get distracted at the proximity of the sparkling blue eyes in front of him, continued.

"Yes, precisely. And then, I think you…"

He never finished his sentence because suddenly lips were pressed against his and this was everything their first kiss had been and even more because there was no misunderstanding between them, no terrible certainty that this could come to an end at any time now.

It was after an indefinite moment of time that they truly separated once more, both flushed and breathing a bit faster.

"Oh, and Merlin?" purred Arthur in a low tone.

"Yes?" He asked, his voice catching a little in his throat at the look in the Prince's eyes.

"I do believe we still need to address your charming little…fit of temper earlier."

Merlin groaned.

"I'm so going to the stocks for this one."

A dangerous smile.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll figure out a slightly more imaginative retribution."