Dismantle The Sun

Chapter 23

Silence settled like dust after a violent explosion, coating the crew, gathered as they were around Arthur's motionless body, with a coat of noxiously heavy grey dust; a dust of pain. No one dared move, the moment stretching to breaking point as their eyes all fixed tight on their lifeless captain, silent tears building and escaping until finally a choked sob escaped the lips of the burly communications man, Percival.

"Arthur..." Leon said, hurt a cavalcade in his voice at watching his best and oldest friend die in front of him. He hardened his face and saluted one last time, not expected to be jolted out of his reverie as he was by a soft and comforting hand squeezing his shoulder as an anchor. He looked to his side to see the face of Gwaine giving him a sad watery smile, even as silent tears stole their way down his cheeks. The two men stood in a tragedic truce.

"Oh no" whispered Gwen, rubbing a comforting hand up and down the spine of a stoically faced Lancelot, pulling him into a soft hug, wrapping in her loving embrace like a boa constrictor of security and love.

Elyan let out a small groan of anguish.

Merlin knelt still, in the midst of it all, unmoving, his expression unreadable, eyes unblinking, paler than he had ever been, as if it were his life blood that painted the throne room floor and not that of the other man, who lay stationary in his arms. He starred at Arthur's still hand, the blunt manly fingers curled gently towards the strong rough palm, and thought about how it would never hold his now.

His insides were empty. Looking at Arthur it was as if everything that Merlin had been had been scooped out and dragged into the oblivion with the light that danced so prettily in Arthur's cerulean eyes, leaving him nothing more than an ancient hollowed out husk in the shape of a star turned human. There was a calmness about him. It was an acknowledgement that this was it now, that the worst thing that could happen had happened, and that it could never unhappen. All that was left for the star to do was live but every second he lived would feel like pokers down his spine, every step he took sharp needles in the soles of his feet, every breath would have been a dagger through his broken heart, but Arthur had taken his heart with him when he died. Merlin in his many millennia had born witness to a million errant, stupid, needless deaths but this was the first he had felt.

He didn't know if seconds passed or days until the sob wretched itself from his chest. Linking his hand into Arthur's still one he buried his head in the unmoving chest of the other man and let the tears come, his lithe and frail body wracked with shuddering agonising sobs.

"Arthur," he whispered, "you can't be dead. Don't you understand, you idiot, I love you. I've loved you since before there was time."

"Merlin..." Gwaine started, so softly it would have broken Merlin's heart anew if his heart still lived in his chest.

"No..." he trailed off, raising his head to place a fastidious kiss against Arthur's rapidly cooling, pale lips, decorated as they were by flecks of dried blood. Their second kiss was so much like their first, Merlin pouring every once of affection he had ever felt through their combined mouths and into the still body of the blonde man. Until eventually he pulled away. His eyes still fixed firmly on Arthur's face he would have missed the miniscule twitch of the other man's finger's had their grasped hands not still been linked.

"Arthur?" Merlin whispered again, tears of hopeful joy about his face. He looked up at the crew who stood looking down at them.

"He moved. Did you see it?" the star asked, his eyes shining pools of blue hope as they ran around the cautious looks he was getting from the assembled pirates and Gwen. Lancelot looked over at the woman in his arms before releasing her and gently crouching to the raven haired man's level. Kind chocolate eyes met ambient blue ones.