There are many looks arthur gave him that merlin was used to. Annoyance, frustration, worry, even the occasional look of gratitude. But awe, that was new.

'You're a god?' For once Arthur was speechless. He stared at Merlin like he was the sun after a long winter, shining light on his face once again.

'I'm.. to the druids.. They think I'm a god, I'm-'

'All this time.' Arthur whispered under his breath, just loud enough for Merlin to hear, and then slightly louder, 'All this time, I've been ordering you about, I've been - and you- you could have.'

He stopped a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, 'You let me treat you like dirt, like you were nothing but a common servant. You could have killed me in the blink of an eye. But you didn't, why didnt you? You would have been safer, you could have lived freely. Why did you let me live?' His voice started to rise, all while Merlin stayed silent.

'All of my magic, everything I've done - and I still dont believe the druids when they say I'm a god, they must be wrong they can't be-' Merlin took a deep breath then continued, 'All of it has been for you, to protect you. Why didn't I just kill you? how could I? The druids, they call me Emrys. But do you know what they call you?'

Arthur shook his head.

'They call you Once and Future King. They say you will unite Albion, be the King we so desperately need. It's my duty to make sure that happens.'

'But why?

'Because you're- ' the love of my life, my soulmate, Merlin wanted to say, 'You're my best friend. Two sides of the same coin, remember?'

All Arthur could say to that was, 'Thank you.'