Chapter Text
Merlin was the first to notice, as always.
Before he made any movement to alert the girls, Arthur had already sensed it from their Parabatai bond. The sudden shift of focus, the quickened pulse, and just a little flare of magic.
It still sent shivers down his spine to sense demonic magic through an angelic rune, even though it was only a tiny, tingly thing since Merlin couldn’t do active magic when he activated the runes. At this moment, he was a shadowhunter, not a warlock. But the part of him with demon was still more sensitive to demons than normal shadowhunters.
Merlin tilted his head slightly, giving the girls the signal, then abruptly disappeared from Arthur’s sight. Arthur didn’t worry. Archer needed to be discrete. He dashed towards the direction Merlin focused on with Guinevere and Morgana at his back, and immediately faced a herd of demons as he exited the dark alley to a small park. The small-sized demons had alien-y heads and tentacles. There were quite a lot of them, but thankfully that type of demon wasn’t very intelligent. It should be an easy night.
With a shout, Arthur charged forward with his specialised seraph blade Excalibur unsheathed. His speed rune was glowing brightly and he dodged the tentacle attacks with ease. With a quick turn, he swung his sword widely and slayed the one on his right, at the same time an arrow flew through the sky and put another one on his left to dust.
A wide grin appeared on Arthur’s face. He loved battle. He loved to feel the adrenaline running, his senses cleared and his heart beat with Merlin’s as if they were one. He could keep charging forward without looking back because Merlin would always have his back, as Arthur would his.
With a quick glance across the field, he could see Morgana and Guinevere fighting back to back, seemingly having a fun time as well. Morgana’s double daggers danced in the air, gracefully cutting down the demons’ octopus legs one by one. Guinevere was more merciful, her long spear always shot through the demon’s heart.
Arthur turned back to his own fight, blocking the attacking fang easily and kicked its owner aside, letting Merlin finish it. There were only a couple of demons left now. An alert was sent through his Parabatai rune as he sliced an ugly alien head in half. Arthur didn’t bother to look. He twirled around and threw his blade out with full force. Excalibur hit the demon that crept onto Merlin just as an arrow turned the one behind Arthur to dust. With a fluent move, Merlin drew his own seraph blade out and tossed it in the air. Arthur lept up and caught it firmly – the lazy sod, still has an awful aim – and had the rest of the mess dealt with.
The fight resolved rather quickly. Standing among the disgusting demon dust and ichor, Arthur took out his phone to report to the Institute while the girls were chatting and cleaning their weapons. Merlin appeared beside him just as he finished the call with Agravaine, the Head of London Institute. He slides Excalibur back into the sheath at Arthur’s waist, apparently having cleaned it for him. Arthur nodded in silent gratitude as Merlin took his own sword from Arthur’s hand, starting to wipe out the demon ichor.
“ Good job, everyone. Uncle said we can all go back. He’ll call another team to finish the rest of our patrol route.”
His team made a small cheering noise and headed back to their home. Arthur didn’t want to hear his half-sister and his girlfriend chatting happily about another handsome seelie Morgana had a fling with, so he slowed down his pace and stayed far back with Merlin, who was still fussing over his sword that had only sliced like, two demons.
“ No need to spend that much effort if you never gonna use it. You didn’t spend nearly as much time with my Excalibur.”
“ Clean your own sword if you want it shinier. And really? You still called it Excalibur?"
" It’s a good name!”
“ I knew I shouldn’t show you that mundane movie.”
They chatted casually, rather happily, if Arthur were being honest. However, the hyper connection of their Parabatai bond had faded, leaving a hollow feeling inside of Arthur. People always said that Parabatai was the most sacred bond, the closest two persons could be. Sometimes Arthur wondered if that was exaggerated. Shadowhunters were born to fight, maybe that was all it was about.
Before long, they arrived at an old small church in an empty street. Arthur stepped to the front and knocked on the door once, then pressed the angelic rune on the back of his hand to the door.
The magic ward protecting the Institute lowered and the door slided open. They entered one by one and stopped in the entry hall. The door closed behind them. Arthur closed his eyes, waiting for the scanning.
“ Arthur Pendragon, Deputy Head of the Institute, clear of live demonic energy. Welcome back, sir.” The metallic voice of the sensor spoke. Arthur stepped out of the scanning area.
“ Morgana Gorlois, clear of live demonic energy. Welcome back.”
“ Guinevere Smith, clear of live demonic energy. Welcome back.”
The last one was Merlin. He stepped into the scanning area. His eyes flashed gold. The dragon eyes. Merlin’s warlock mark. The evidence of his demon heritage.
“ Merlin Emrys, warlock mark registered.”
Arthur frowned at the security system’s change of tone, but Merlin didn’t blink an eye. He was uncharacteristically pliant to this new security procedure despite his usual aggressive reaction to the discrimination of downworlders. Arthur supposed a slightly less welcoming word from a machine hardly compared to the nasty comments Merlin had received the past four years he had been in the Institute. Besides, identifying and registering downworlders, especially warlocks, was an important means of preventing demon infiltration such as The Incident .
Before The Incident, the security measures had been much simpler. People with angel blood passed through, with demon blood registered at the gate. 3 years ago, a demon had passed through the ward by hiding in a dead shadowhunder’s body, according to Gaius. and caused great damage, including the death of the then Head of the Institute, Uther Pendragon. Arthur himself had been possessed by the demon. It had been Merlin who had banished the demon with warlock magic, for that Arthur was immensely grateful. After that, a new demon-detecting system was installed and a stricter security procedure was set up.
Stepping to the main hall of the Institute, Arthur saw a petite figure standing in the middle of the room, fluttering. She was a timid girl with long, dark hair. Arthur wondered if she was a visitor who got lost. Before he could approach and offer help, however, Merlin hurriedly walked past him to greet that young girl.
“ Freya! What are you doing here?” Merlin asked as he casually – way too casually – pressed a light kiss on the girl’s red lips.
“ Morgause is out travelling and asked me to do the regular ward inspection for her. I just finished and thought I could wait for you.” Freya smiled shyly.
Morgause was the High Warlock of London hired by the Institute to set up the protection ward. Arthur talked to her a couple of times after he took the role of deputy head. She was an intimidating woman, talked only about business and seemed to always look at shadowhunters with disdain. She was, however, the first person to treat Arthur like a competent adult instead of the poor kid who just lost his father. She also didn’t hesitate to share her knowledge and skills accumulated in her long living years, if asked nicely. Arthur had long developed a respect for her.
Arthur never heard of this Freya girl, however, either from Morgause or Merlin. Never once did Merlin mention he had this warlock friend, or girlfriend more likely.
Arthur wondered why Merlin didn’t feel comfortable to share. Merlin had all the first-hand information of he and Guinevere’s romance and was present in half of their dates. Yet Arthur only found out about this girl who looked awfully intimate with Merlin (They were whispering in each other’s ears now, sinking into their own little bubble and forgetting about the others.) by accident. Was it because she was a downworlder? He must have known that Arthur wouldn’t mind one bit. If it was 3 years ago, Arthur may still have acted poorly, but he liked to think he had grown out of that racist, pompous ass stage.
It seemed that Merlin disagreed.
Arthur’s heart stung. He tried to hide it from the bond but he was never good at it. Normally he wouldn’t mind, but at this instant, he didn’t want to be exposed, to feel vulnerable, even to Merlin.
He should have greeted the girl, asking Merlin to give a proper introduction and welcome her to the Institute. He could then tease Merlin a little, threatening to tell his cute girlfriend some embarrassing story, while secretly putting some good words for him in the back. Merlin had been demonstrating it for him even before they had become Parabatai 2 years ago. Arthur knew all the steps.
He could have done a lot of things. Instead, Arthur just muttered something about reports and fled the place.
He headed to the head office of the Institute at a fast pace. On the way, he kept his gaze fixated on the front, not returning anyone’s greeting. He walked past the infirmary where Gaius was treating injuries, and the training suite where Nimueh was drilling some newbies. He didn’t slow down until he reached the office door. Inside, his uncle Agravaine welcomed him with a warm smile as he opened the office door.
It took a whole year for Arthur to stop flinching whenever he opened this door and found someone who wasn’t his father. His wound had healed, and he could look at this office wistfully without the tears threatening to spill. He practically grew up in this office. His mother died of childbirth, his father was a workaholic. His childhood was playing with the documents and stationary on his father’s desk and listening to his father talk about how to be a good shadowhunter worthy of the name of Pendragon.
Looking back, Arthur knew his father probably wasn’t the best father or the best shadowhunter. He was harsh, unforgiving and narrow-sighted. He was hard to please and sometimes Arthur felt suffocated by all the expectations. But he never doubted his father’s love. And he would never forgive himself for sneaking out of the Institute on that fateful night.
“ Arthur! I’m glad to see you unscratched. Easy fight tonight?”
His Uncle rose from the chair, clapping his hand on Arthur’s shoulder. Arthur smiled at the fatherly gesture.
“ Yes. Thank you, Uncle. How was the meeting?”
“ Same as always. That reminds me, the Acadamy asked you to give a speech for their new graduates. And perhaps stop by the training field and give some demonstration?”
Arthur raised his eyebrow. He knew he was one of the best swordsmen in his generation, and Pendragon had been a highly respected family since the beginning. But inviting a 20-year-old young man to the graduation ceremony was certainly a rare case.
He was about to accept, then he thought of something and pulsed.
“ Can I bring Merlin? He’s my Parabatai. Surely he has the right.”
Agravaine’s warm smile dropped instantly. They had discussed this so many times that Agravaine didn’t bother to hide his annoyance anymore. Arthur repressed his frustration and kept his voice even.
“ I take that the council refused. Again. Or did you not mention the request at all?”
“ Arthur, you have to understand. Idris is our sacred place, a safe haven. They need to protect it from any possible demon filtration.”
“ Downworlders are part of the shadow world. They aren’t demons. And Merlin isn’t just a warlock, he is a shadowhunter too. I understand changing the long-standing rule is hard, but surely making an exception for Merlin is possible,” Arthur argued.
“ It doesn’t matter. He still has demon blood. And anything demonic is not allowed in Idris.”
Agravaine strolled back to his desk and sat down, stating the end of the conversation, but Arthur wasn’t done yet. He leaned in by the desk and waited until his uncle reluctantly met his eyes.
“ If you can’t persuade them, fine. Take me to the meeting. I am the next Head of the Institute and the Head of the Pendragon family. I have the right …”
“ You are still young, Arthur. You have a lot to learn. They won’t take your words seriously. Now go rest. I’m sure you are tired. I still have to review these reports. I don’t have as much leisure time as you youngsters. Enjoy what you have right now,” Agravaine said with a dismissive wave of hand.
Arthur swallowed his protest and stormed out of the office. He leaned on the closed door and shut his eyes, letting the frustration fester. After three years his uncle still treated him like a traumatised child. His father had been strict, but at least he had never taken Arthur’s age as proof (or rather excuse) of inability.
Arthur was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn’t realise Merlin standing beside him until he almost bumped into him. He made an embarrassing high-pitched noise that he hoped wasn’t heard by anyone.
“ Sorry. I thought you knew I came.”
“ How would I know if you standing there like a ghost!”
Merlin opened his mouth, but seemed to think better of it and shut it again. He had a weird expression that Arthur couldn’t decipher. Before he could ask, however, Merlin spoke again.
“ Do you want to spar? Burn some steam. I bet those demons today weren’t enough to cancel that ridiculous size of hamburger you had for dinner.” Merlin smiled slyly and swiftly dodged Arthur’s punch.
“ I’m perfectly fine, thank you. I bet your skinny arms can’t hold up the bow anymore after that little exercise.” Arthur retorted.
They continued bickering while heading to the training room. Merlin knew him too well, always showing up when Arthur needed him. For a second Arthur was tempted to ask Merlin about Freya. He just wanted to show the same support Merlin showed him, to shoulder his burden and share his happiness.
He ultimately decided against it. As they faced each other on the training ground, he could feel a tingle of joy coming from his Parabatai bond and their synchronized heartbeat. He didn’t want to ruin this moment. It was enough, he said to himself.