Author's Note: Hello again!

Following the completion of the sequel to this story (The Prince's Husband: It can be found on my profile!) I felt that The Prince's Boyfriend needed a different sequel to suit the events of The Prince's Husband. I hope you all enjoy this epilogue and I hope those of you who haven't read The Prince's Husband will check it out and review!

Thank you all for your support. Your reviews mean the world to me. I'm so glad to hear how much everyone is enjoying this.

Take care,

- VR136

EPILOGUE

It was a quiet night in London in July 2014. The recent heat-wave which had enraptured the entirety of the country had made it sleepy and quiet. Of course, because it was London, it was never completely quiet. Some drunkards spilled out of a pub nearby, shouting loudly to each other. A moth flew over the crowd and landed on a street lamp. The lamp hummed to life and the bulb blared brightly, the moth flew away, certain it had avoided death.

The reporters and photographers and cameramen waited quietly outside King Edward VIII hospital. They had been waiting outside for a week, taking shifts so that they could find relief from the unusually warm English sunshine. Finally their patience had been rewarded: That morning it was announced that the Duchess of Devonshire (Princess Morgana) had gone into labour.

They had heard nothing since.

The hospital's metal-and-glass-doors slid open with a hiss, the sleepy reporters jumped to attention. A man wearing a dark blue suit, carrying a folder emerged from the hospital. A car slid up and the man got into it: He ignored every question that was thrown his way.

Half-an-hour-later, phones all around the world would be beeping with the Breaking News: Prince Tarron Arthur Lawrence had been born at four o'clock that afternoon. The United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and its Commonwealth had a new heir.

Four hours before, Merlin had been able to hold his son for the very first time. With a shocking head of dark hair, he'd been happy to find that Arthur had a place in the baby's eyes and forehead. Tarron hadn't however escaped inheriting some of Merlin's more prominent features, as evidenced by his ears which seemed far too big for a baby.

Biologically, the child was Merlin and Morgana's (having been conceived through artificial insemination) but officially, the child was Arthur and Merlin's. Merlin found the whole concept a little odd, but found that ignoring the strangeness made it a lot easier to accept. They had decided that it was the easiest way to do it: Regardless of who his biological parents were— Tarron was the heir to the throne. He was just as royal as Arthur and Morgana were. No one would be able to doubt that the privileges he would receive by being brought up within the Royal Family were rightfully his.

It also helped that he was a boy, even though Merlin and Arthur would have been overjoyed to accept a daughter into their family. Convention ruled that the oldest boy would inherit the throne upon the monarch's demesne. And while Morgana's own daughter was just under two years older than Tarron, her gender prevented anyone complaining that the Royal Family were guilty of any ill-play.

It was the birth of Morgana's own daughter in November 2011 which had made Arthur start campaigning for a child of their own. Princess Alexandrina had been welcomed into the world eight short months after her parent's wedding in April 2011. Merlin wasn't sure whether it was her round pink cheeks or her delightful mahogany curls, but something about his niece had awakened something in Arthur. He had started causally discussing all the possible ways they might have children for a few months before pulling out the big guns and asking Merlin if they could have a baby.

It had taken Merlin five—ten months to agree, but he would never forget the look of bliss which fell over Arthur's face when he agreed to approach Morgana about their idea. It was the look of a blind man seeing the sun for the very first time. He had grabbed Merlin and kissed him and cried. Merlin had wanted a baby, too, but again… his only problem was how they would get one. But he pushed those thoughts aside and had approached Morgana with the idea. Morgana had agreed quickly—she had seen how much Arthur fawned over his niece. By late October, the artificial insemination had taken place and Morgana was pregnant.

The way the public had responded to the news had reminded Merlin of their response to the news of his and Arthur's engagement. Some thought it was delightful, some hated it. The word "incest" was thrown around a lot, even though it was made painstakingly clear that it was Merlin who had provided the sperm and not Arthur.

None of this mattered, though, Merlin realised looking Arthur sitting with their son. All families were a little wonky. Morgana had done for them what they could not: She had given them a son. She had made them a family. Tarron was not Arthur's nephew, Tarron was his son. Merlin had worried that Arthur would feel excluded from the process and feel that this was not HIS baby. Merlin was grateful to see that this was not the case. Arthur's face had a new softness to it as he looked down at Tarron.

"He has my eyes." Arthur said softly. It was the fifth time he'd said it.

Merlin smiled and stood and walked over to where Arthur sat on the couch. They were staying at the hospital in a very exquisite suite: Morgana was in the bedroom, having fallen asleep with her husband Edward curled around her soon after the birth. Little Tarron had awoken and stared up at the room with interest.

"He's your son." Merlin murmured, sitting beside Arthur. He felt teary: Like he was so full of joy that some might spill if he wasn't careful. "He's ours."

oOo

"It has been a busy couple of years for the royal family! In 2008 the world watched as King Arthur and Prince Merlin the Prince Consort tied the knot in Westminster Abbey and we mourned with them in late 2008 when Arthur succeeded to the throne. In 2010 the country rejoiced when King Arthur had his coronation and in 2011 we witnessed the marriage of Princess Morgana and the birth of her daughter, Princess Alexandrina. And now we have another royal milestone: The birth of Prince Merlin and King Arthur's first child, Prince Tarron. We go live to Buckingham Palace where our Royal Correspondent Lois McAdams is reporting. Hello, Lois."

"Hi Diane, I'm reporting live from Buckingham Palace where Prince Tarron will shortly be arriving with his parents. His Royal Highness Prince Tarron Arthur Lawrence of Wales was born at 16:24 at King Edward VIII Hospital yesterday. Behind me, you will see the royal car coming up the mall…"

Arthur and Merlin were glad that they had a driver: Neither of them wanted to stop looking at Tarron even for a second. The original plan was to take Tarron back to their home in Saint John's Wood, but Merlin had rejected that idea, telling Arthur that it was probably safer to take him back to Buckingham Palace which was one of the most secure buildings in the world. Maybe he was being an overprotective father, but Merlin didn't want to take any risks with his son.

They arrived and got Tarron upstairs to their apartment. One of their seven bedrooms had been converted into a nursery: Another had been converted into a playroom. Merlin and Arthur had found out early that they were having a boy and so the nursery at Buckingham Palace (and St John's Wood and Windsor Castle, where they spent weekends) all had a blue colour scheme: Buckingham Palace had a blue and ivory colour scheme, St John's Wood had a blue and green colour scheme and Windsor Castle had a blue and coral colour scheme—Arthur had thought Merlin's expensive designing of each was a little crazy, but Merlin loved interior design, so Arthur hadn't tried to stop his enthusiastic musing over whether their son's room should be robin's egg blue and ivory or orphan blue and ivory (in the end they had gone for robin's egg blue: It was slightly brighter, but Merlin thought orphan-anything was a bad omen.)

(And besides, what did a baby care? He was a baby. As he grew up, Tarron would gain an appreciation for his father's love of interior design, but he would never fully understand the importance between two nearly identical shades of blue.)

Tarron was changed and then put into a new onesie with ducks on it. Merlin sat in the rocking chair rocking him to sleep while Arthur headed down to the kitchen to forage something for their dinner. Arthur could've called down to the kitchens to make them something (and in the coming months, would do so many times) but tonight the pair decided that they wanted to be just a family.

Merlin stared into the face of his son: The boy who would be king. It was hard to believe that such a tiny baby had such a huge destiny awaiting him. Merlin wondered if this was how Arthur's own mother had felt when Arthur was born. Had she felt sorry for him because he couldn't escape his destiny? Merlin didn't know whether or not to feel sorry for Tarron. Since Arthur's coronation, Merlin had believed strongly in the Divine Right of Kings—the concept that monarchs were ordained by God. This particular belief had come about in the moment after Arthur had been crowned.

Merlin closed his eyes and pictured the moment, for it was burned in his memory. Early afternoon light filtered through the window overlooking the high altar at Westminster Abbey. The light fell on Arthur, who wore robes of red and gold which were embedded with various gemstones and other jewels. Arthur held a Sceptre in each hand, each one embedded with representations of divinity and imperial power; upon his head Saint Edward's Crown, embedded with thousands of precious jewels. In the afternoon light, the jewels glittered and the crown glowed.

Arthur hadn't looked human, Merlin remembered, it had been impossible to recognise his husband under the layers of ancient royal power and divinity. In that moment, Merlin believed that Arthur hadn't BEEN human: He believed in that precious moment, the moment when a monarch was crowned, he was divine. He was not crowned only by Saint Edward's Crown and the Archbishop of Canterbury, but he had been crowned by God himself, ordained by an omnipotent power that was impossible to understand.

And so, Merlin believed that Arthur was born to be King—that he had been chosen to be born to be King. And he couldn't help but wonder if he'd feel the same about Tarron. Merlin didn't know if he wanted to see his son crowned before he died. He only wanted one King to be ruling during his lifetime.

The King in question came back through the door and sat on a little baby blue and mahogany settee which was by the rocking chair where Merlin was situated with Tarron. He smiled at his husband and baby.

"Is he okay?" He mouthed. Merlin nodded and nodded back down to where Tarron slept peacefully. Arthur smiled down at his son, leaning over and putting his arm around Merlin. He pressed his lips to Merlin's temple and took a deep, shuddering breath.

Merlin looked back up at Arthur. "Are you okay?"

Arthur smiled at Merlin. His smile was warm: The smile of a man wholly content. "Yes Merlin," He murmured. "I'm fine. I've never been better."

oOo

One month later Merlin and Arthur hosted family gathering in their garden at their home in Saint John's Wood. The official reason was to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary which had occurred the month before (Tarron's arrival however, had put a halt to any real celebrations, although Merlin and Arthur saw Tarron as a grand present) but really, they just wanted to see their family.

Arthur had bought a state of the art barbeque and was going to try and single-handedly cater for the gathering. Merlin wasn't sure how well that would go, but when the doorbell rang, he left his husband surrounded by sausages and burgers and went to the front door which had already been opened by a member of their security. They were being wanded by another bodyguard (as was the standard procedure) when Merlin appeared. Amelia let out a squeal of excitement and ran to her half-brother.

"Merlin!" She said, throwing her arms around him. "Where's the prince? I've never met a prince before." While Amelia was somewhat disinterested in Arthur's status as a King, being a five-year-old-girl, she was entranced by the fact that Merlin was known as 'Prince Merlin' and believed that she was a princess. No one had the heart to correct her. After all, Alexandrina was a princess, Tarron was a prince: It didn't make sense to the young Amelia that she wasn't also a princess in a family full of them. "And also," Merlin had told his mother when she'd told him about Amelia's latest princess costume, "She is related to a future King: I guess she is kind of right."

Merlin laughed and scooped Amelia up. "He's upstairs being looked after by Morgana. And what do you mean you've never met a prince before? You've met me, haven't you?"

"I mean a real prince!" She said, Merlin laughed and put her back down and hugged his mom.

"Hi, sweetie, how are you?"

Merlin smiled tiredly. "Tired, but really… I've never been better."

He shook Adam's hand and then Amelia pulled at her father's sleeve. "Daddy, can we go meet the prince now? Daddy, can we?"

Adam smiled and looked down at Amelia. "You'll have to ask Merlin, honey."

Merlin smiled. "Sure you can, c'mon."

They headed up the stairs and down the hall into Tarron's Saint John's Wood nursery. Morgana and Edward stood in there, Tarron was in Morgana's arms and Edward was holding Alexandrina, who looked tired even though it was early in the day.

Morgana loved Tarron deeply, but Merlin could tell that something had clicked in her: She understood that Tarron was Arthur's baby. She may spend her days being a doting aunt, but her baby was Alexandrina, not Tarron. She looked up and smiled at Merlin and Amelia.

"He's doing well, isn't he?" Merlin asked, pride seeping into his voice as he looked over Tarron: Over the last month Tarron's hair had darkened and his colouring had become firmly peaches n' cream. When she looked up at him, her eyes shone.

"Oh Merlin, he's beautiful." She said.

Merlin carefully took Tarron from her and sat in the rocking chair: He'd found that rocking chairs were becoming his seating of choice since becoming a father. They really did help get children to sleep. Amelia took a step forward and Hunith caught her shoulder. "Tarron's a baby, Amelia." She said softly, "You have to be gentle and quiet around him, okay?" She nodded sombrely and Hunith took her hand away. Amelia crept quietly towards the rocking chair. Merlin sat forward, holding Tarron so that his body was supported, but so Amelia could get a good look at him.

"He's a prince?" Amelia whispered after she had peered into Tarron's tiny face.

Merlin nodded. "And he's your nephew."

"We're aunts together, Amelia." Morgana said, smiling. If Amelia was crazed about Merlin's status as a prince, she was obsessed with Morgana: To Amelia, Morgana was exactly what a princess should be, beautiful and graceful and endlessly kind. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Amelia made a face and peered back at Tarron. "He looks kind of wrinkly."

The adults in the room laughed and Amelia looked around, not understanding what was funny. Hunith kissed Adam's cheek. "I'm going to go down and say hello to Arthur." She told him. Hunith had met Tarron before, when she had come up for a week after his birth to help Merlin and Arthur adjust to being parents and she didn't need to stay.

"I'll go with you." Morgana said. The two women left the room and Merlin was left with his sister, stepfather, brother-in-law and niece. Alexandrina had sort of woken up and taken the quick unsteady steps toddlers are famous for and now stood on Merlin's other side, peering at Tarron curiously.

A little while later, Tarron was fast asleep in a cradle outside. It was a hot afternoon and Merlin kept nervously checking on his son, making sure that he wasn't too hot or getting burned. After a few fails and a little experience with the fire extinguisher, Arthur had managed to produce a semi-edible meal which they all sat around a table and ate.

Amelia and Alexandrina became bored with the adults' conversation and ran off across the extensive garden towards the indoor pool house which sat on the edge of their property. They remained within sight of their parents, so no one worried. Tarron woke up and began to cry and Arthur rocked him slowly back to sleep.

The day was long, but they were a family who were comfortable with one another so the afternoon was leisurely. Evening came and it cooled. Arthur returned to the barbeque. Tarron was passed to Morgana who was more than happy to take him into her arms. Merlin stood up and walked over to the barbeque.

Arthur looked over as Merlin approached. "Hi honey," He said, leaning over to kiss him. Merlin stood and looked down at the barbeque, his arm wrapped around Arthur's waist.

"It doesn't look too bad." Merlin allowed after he had completed his inspection of the grill's content. "We might escape without food poisoning after all."

Arthur laughed and elbowed Merlin softly. "Such little faith!"

"Arthur, you know I love you dearly but you're an absolutely horrendous cook."

He frowned. "Lunch wasn't that bad, was it?"

"It was fine, love." Merlin said, kissing Arthur just below his ear. "I'm so proud of you; we haven't had to call the fire department following one of your cooking experiments in years."

"Hey, that happened like, one time."

"Arthur, they started using our calls as a way to train rookie firemen."

"And your point, Merlin, would be what?"

"That you're a terrible cook."

"You're not dead, are you?"

"No…"

"Therefore, I am not a terrible cook."

"Okay, a dreadful cook then." Merlin leaned his head against Arthur's shoulder. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"I love you anyway."

Later that night, once Morgana and Edward had taken Alexandrina home Merlin and Hunith sat in their reception room (like a living room, but fancier) enjoying glasses of champagne. Arthur had gone upstairs to put Tarron in his crib for the night and Amelia had insisted upon going with him. Arthur hadn't minded though, saying that he could use another pair of hands while he got Tarron ready for bed. Hunith had reminded Amelia to be quiet and the three had headed upstairs. Adam had taken a work call and was in the dining room talking to a co-worker.

Hunith took a sip of her champagne and sighed. "It is nice having a son who can afford six hundred pound champagne." She said and then she smiled. "Happy sixth wedding anniversary Merlin," She said, raising her glass. Merlin raised his and clinked it with Hunith's.

"Thanks… it's been," Merlin sat back and shook his head, smiling. "It's been a crazy six years, mom. Utterly crazy." He chuckled.

"I know," Hunith said, smiling at Merlin, "But you love him… and he loves you. It's wonderful how you are together. It's easy to see how much he needs you… how much you need him. You're like two sides of the same coin."

Merlin thought over his mother's words for a moment. "You're right," He said softly. "I love him. I love them. I love Arthur and Tarron more than anything."

THE END