Chapter Text
The rather old, dusty and battered train pulled into King‘s Cross, its doors opening with a wheezing rattle.
Gaius, who was standing as close to the platform‘s edge as his old age and experience would allow him, had his hands clasped at his front to keep them from fidgeting and craned his neck when the train‘s passengers started flooding from the opened doors.
“Gaius!?“
He perked up when he heard the voice of a young man call for him. The voice had come from behind him and when he turned, he saw a tall, lanky figure walk in his direction, dragging a small black suitcase behind itself. The lanky figure belonged to a man in his early twenties who was almost a head taller than the old doctor, had a shock of pitch black, unruly hair that covered the upper edges of two rather big ears and an hearnest, beaming smile on his pale, angular face when he approached the other.
“Merlin!?“, asked Gaius when the young man reached him and laughed out loud, took his opposite by the shoulders and drew him into a short hug before releasing him to give him a thorough onceover. „Now look at you! All grown up! The last time I saw you you barely reached up to my elbow!“
“Yeah, well, time‘s a funny thing, innit?“, Merlin chuckled awkwardly. He turned serious again quickly however when he asked: „How‘s my mum?“
Gaius turned somber as well, patting his young ward on the shoulder.
“Let‘s get you to the car first, then we can talk.“
Gaius had taken a cap to the train station and told it to wait for them. They heaved Merlin‘s suitcase into the boot together and slipped into the back seats. Gaius told the driver Merlin‘s new address and they were off.
“Not to the hospital first?“, asked Merlin with a frown. Gaius chuckled and shook his head.
“I‘m aware that you want to see her immediately, but she told me to keep you from doing exactly that at all costs! She wants you to get settled into your new home before you do anything else.“
“This isn‘t my home“, Merlin retorted glumly. „I wouldn‘t have chosen to be here at all if it weren‘t for her sake. As soon as she‘s well enough again that she can get treatment in Ealdor, I‘ll leave.“
“That‘s what you‘re thinking now“, said Gaius with an understanding pat onto Merlin‘s knee. „Give it a few days, maybe you‘ll like the city life just as much as the countryside.“
Merlin scoffed.
“Doubtful.“
“Wait at least until you see your new flat before you forsake the whole thing. It‘s very well positioned and very close to the hospital, you‘ll be able to reach it on foot.“
“What about the job? You said you‘d found one too?“
“Yes, at Camelot Enterprises. It‘s a good company, you‘ll like it there. The CEO is an old friend of mine, I actually helped deliver his son. He‘s about your age now and expected to take over the company one day. Maybe I‘ll introduce you two-“
“No thanks, I‘m not here to hang out and make friends, remember?“
“Doesn‘t mean that you shouldn‘t take the opportunity when it presents itself, does it?“
Merlin sighed.
“So, this new job?“
“Yes, it‘s in the post office at Camelot Enterprises, they‘re always looking for people.“
“The post office?“ Merlin raised his eyebrows. „That‘s the great opportunity?“
“There‘re… chances of advancement“, Gaius replied evadingly.
„It was the best I could do on such short notice. And it‘ll pay the bills until Hunith‘s feeling better.“
“It‘s not that I‘m not grateful for what you did for us, I am“, said Merlin with a small, honest smile. „If it weren‘t for you, mum would never have gotten referred into Albion General!“ He then pulled a sour face. „But really, the post office of all things? I‘d even have taken the janitor, at least then I‘d get some fresh air every once in a while.“
“Ever heard of the phrase ‚beggars can‘t be choosers‘?“, Gaius asked with a quirked up brow.
“God, I forgot about that eyebrow thing you do, it scared the shit out of me as a kid“, Merlin laughed, effectively taking the wind out of Gaius‘ sails, at least for a moment.
„With this, I want to conclude my presentation. If you have any further questions, my employees over here will gladly answer each and every one of them. Thank all of you for your attention.“
Arthur Pendragon sent his signature killer smile into the room. It was mostly filled with middle aged men, but you couldn‘t be sure enough. There was a series of loud claps and lots of impressed nods going through the crowd. Slowly, the gathered suits got up and gathered around the smiling employees for more information.
Arthur extracted himself from the commotion, shaking some hands and exchanging some pleasantries here and there on his way out of the crowd. He heaved a big sigh when he‘d made it and filled himself a glass of water at a snack table from which he drank with big gulps.
“Good job, son“, a voice said behind him and someone pat him on the back of his shoulder, short but heavily.
„Thank you, father.“
Arthur didn‘t turn around but he smiled complacently, sneaking a glance at his father‘s serious but proud face in the window of the skyscraper they were currently in. Behind the glass he had full view of the breathtaking London skyline. His father paid the view no mind as his eyes were fixed on the lively crowd on the other end of the room. „You have them wrapped around your little finger. Now we need to make sure that they stay there too.“
“Yes father“, said Arthur, straightening up and losing his easy smile, the mask of the confident business man back on. Right, don‘t get too comfortable or dwell on temporary victories, you‘ll lose them if you don‘t stay alert. Guard up, always, eyes on your target.
He turned to say something to his father, but Uther had already moved on to talk to the meeting‘s host at the edge of the crowd.
“I must say, I‘m impressed.“ Once again Arthur didn‘t have to look to know who was talking to him. His adoptive sister, Morgana, had come up behind him, laying a hand on his upper arm.
„Praise, from you, Morgana? That‘s rare, is it my birthday or something?“, asked Arthur, his tone low and only audibly teasing when you knew him better than 95% of the people in the room.
“I was going to say it‘s impressive that you didn‘t make a fool out of yourself in front of everyone. Take as much praise from that as you like.“
He rolled his eyes, finally turning around to face her. She looked stunning in her burgundy dress, her ebony hair falling in elegant waves over her left shoulder.
“Hilarious“, he said flatly. „Next time I‘ll tell him to have you give the speech and make a fool out of yourself.“
“Oh, but he would never! I‘m not the heir to his throne, that‘s your job. And you‘re doing it masterfully.“ She threw a pejorative glance over at the crowd of suits. „Now, to my favorite part of the economy circus…“ She plastered on her best paparazzi smile, all teeth and stretched, red-painted lips, before letting go of his arm and diving into the crowd, probably charming the pants off some poor junior executive.
Arthur followed her with a heavy sigh.
Merlin spinned on the spot he was standing on, taking in the whole room. Whole being the key-word here, the tiny space combined living room, kitchen and entry hall into one. A door to the right from the entry led to the bedroom, a door on the left to the bathroom.
And that was about it. His new flat. His new home.
“Not a lot of space in the city, is there?“, he remarked over his shoulder, looking at Gaius who was leaning against the entry door. The old doctor, once again, quirked up his ‚eyebrow of doom‘, as Merlin had dubbed it at an early age.
“It‘ll suffice for you alone. And, like you keep insisting so vehemently, it‘ll only be for a temporary while. Only until your mother is out of chemo.“
Merlin took another look around the room. It wasn‘t too bad. It looked cozy enough, or it would be, given some time. There was a small TV, a comfortable looking couch and two soft armchairs. The kitchen was a cute little nook on the opposite side, the cupboards all coloured a deep crimson red. The two parts were separated by the narrow, wooden dinner table in the middle. Opposite the entry there was a large set of windows surrounding a glass door that led to a tiny balcony with a plastic table and some lawn chairs on it.
“It‘ll do“, Merlin shrugged. And, smirking, he added: „It‘s not like I‘m planning to throw huge parties here anyway.“
Gaius huffed.
“You‘d better not.“ He took a look down on his watch. „I should get going, my shift is starting soon.“
“Can‘t I-“
“No“, Gaius insisted, not even willing to hear him out. „I promised Hunith that I would not let you visit her until you‘ve properly settled in! You have a long day behind you, you should take a break and rest now. Don‘t forget that you‘re starting your new job on Monday.“
„Right“, huffed Merlin, plopping down on the sofa and kicking up his feet onto the coffee table. „Well, I don‘t want to keep you for longer than you can afford. You go do your thing, I‘ll be watching some telly and unwind.“
“If you‘re sure“, Gaius nodded. „Then I‘ll be seeing you at the hospital tomorrow. Have a good night in the new room.“
“See ya tomorrow!“, Merlin called after him, as the older man drew the front door shut after himself.
Merlin didn‘t turn on the telly. He kept looking around himself, while the flat was getting darker and darker as the sun was setting.
The thought of sitting here, all alone and watching TV sounded unbearable. He meant what he had said to Gaius earlier, he hadn‘t come here with the intention to find friends and enjoy himself. He was here because of his sick mother. But if she didn‘t want to see him tonight that didn‘t mean he had to spend it all alone.
Following the spontaneous urge for company, he got up from the sofa again, fetching his jacket and keys as he passed the front door.
Let‘s see what London had in store for him tonight.
A door fell shut with a bang. Someone shouted. There was the sound of breaking glass.
Morgana didn‘t react to the noises, even as they carried all the way into the kitchen, and downed a big glass of red wine. She also barely reacted when her brother came rushing in, his face flushed and his eyes shining with anger. He stopped short when he noticed her standing there, leaning against the marble countertop.
“You‘ve heard everything?“, he asked, closing his eyes, afraid of the answer. She hummed affirmatively.
“So we didn‘t get the deal?“, she asked. She already knew what the answer would be. He shook his head. „Bet father‘s thrilled“, she commented sarcastically, taking another sip of wine.
Arthur slumped down on one of the highchairs, burying his face in his hands.
“It must‘ve been something with the presentation“, he groaned. „I knew I should have worked it over three times, just to be sure.“
“Don‘t be ridiculous, the presentation was great and you know it“, she hissed, putting down her glass and coming up to him, stabbing a red-nailed finger at him. „You keep working your arse off to appease him, but even you can‘t be perfect at all times. If he expects that, it‘s his problem, not yours!“
Her words seemingly didn‘t affect Arthur at all, as he was still pressing his face into his hands and heaving a bone-tired sigh.
“No, come on, don‘t give me that, get up“, she ordered, starting to shove him off the chair. He tumbled off, his hands falling away from his face to give her a confused look.
“Why?“
“Cause we‘re going out tonight!“
“What? Going out where?“
“You‘ll see!“
The Rising Sun was full and loud, just as Merlin had hoped. No one paid him any mind in here as no one knew him here. He ordered a pint at the bar and carried it with him to a single table from which he had a good look of the whole room.
Even with the place being as packed as it was, some people still found room to dance to the nauseatingly loud music. Two women in particular caught Merlin‘s eye. They were dancing with each other more towards the edge of the crowd, closer to him. The taller one had raven hair which she had pinned up and contrasted fascinatingly with her pale face, and was wearing a dark red dress, that looked way too expensive for the occasion. Her friend, a black woman with curly, braided hair, wore a pale lilac dress with embroidered flowers.
Merlin was sipping on his pint, content to watch them for a while while pondering which one he thought was prettier. He wasn’t in the mood to chat anyone up, let alone take anyone home for the night, but while he was there might as well look at some pretty faces.
Right when he was about to let his attention wander elsewhere, the woman in the lilac dress said something to her black-haired friend and left the dance floor, looking tired and out of breath. And she was directly heading for Merlin‘s table.
“Pardon, are you saving these for anyone?“ And now she was talking to Merlin.
He gaped up at her while she looked at him expectantly, her hand resting on the chair opposite his.
“… Oh! No, of course not, please have a seat“, he gestured for her to sit down, a grin forming on his face.
“Thank you!“, she said with a truly grateful smile. “I‘m afraid I overdid it a little over there-“ she nodded over to the dancefloor, “- it‘s been a long day.“ She sunk down onto the chair, looking relieved at the break.
“Welcome to the club“, he said with a crooked smile and lifted his pint at her in a mock salute. She frowned at him, cocking her head to the side.
“Are you alright?“, she asked. He shrugged.
“I‘m fine, thank you. Just… tired, I guess. I had a long day too, came here to unwind, but I‘m not really in the mood to party, it seems.“
She nodded with a sympathetic smile.
“I get it. But the night‘s still young, maybe you‘ll still get in the mood.“
“Nah, don‘t think so. I shouldn‘t have come in the first place, really, I should have stayed home and relax.“
“And yet you‘re still here“, she said, smirking and lifting a brow at him.
Oh. Alright then.
He smirked.
“That I am“, he replied in an equally flirtatious tone and extended a hand at her. „I‘m Merlin.“
She returned his easy smile as well as his handshake.
“My name is-“
“Gwen!“
Right then, seemingly out of nowhere, some tall, buff, blonde bloke appeared behind her, planting himself beside her chair like a tree and laid a possessive hand on her shoulder. He eyed Merlin suspiciously
“Is this guy bothering you, Gwen?“, he asked her, leaning down like to whisper in her ear, only to talk rather audibly.
“No, he‘s-“
“What are you, her bodyguard? Or her boyfriend?“, Merlin interrupted testily.
Both of their faces reddened and he knew he‘d hit a sensitive spot. He felt bad for her but not for the guy. The guy tried downplaying his embarrassment by squaring up and fixating Merlin with a steel glare.
“And what if I was?“
“Ah, so you‘re not.“
“You little-“
“Arthur! Please don‘t“
“You should listen to her, Arthur“, Merlin teased as he got up from his chair. He didn‘t know what had gotten into him, but he felt in an especially cruel mood today. Maybe it was the long time he‘d spent crammed into that train. Maybe it was the overly full and loud pub. Maybe it was the fact that his mother was dying and refusing to see him. Who‘s to say. But there was something about this Arthur-guy, that just made him want to punch him in his handsome face.
“You wanna find out what happens when someone annoys me like this?“, Arthur seethed, stepping right into Merlin‘s personal space, staring him down.
“Arthur.“
There was a hand on the blond‘s shoulder and when he turned there was a guy with curly auburn hair standing behind him, his worried gaze skipping between the two men.
“Not now, Leon“, hissed Arthur. „I can handle this guy, go back to Morgana.“
“You shouldn‘t get yourself into trouble like this“, the other guy – Leon – hissed back. Arthur shook off his hand. He turned back to Merlin.
“You still up for it, broomhandle-arms?“, he sneered.
“Oh, very creative“, praised Merlin sarcastically. „Did‘ya hear that one this morning at preschool?“
With a growl, Arthur tackled him and they tumbled, first onto the table then to the floor, while wrestling each other.
It had all been over embarrassingly quickly. The owner of the pub had called the police, and two officers had come to seperate them. Assessing that they were both intoxicated, they decided to arrest them, on the spot.
Which was how Merlin found himself in a detention cell, with the buff, blond idiot!
He was sitting down on the hard, wooden bench, his head bowed, his hands slung around his knees and a throbbing pain in his left eye which sported a colorful bruise.
Arthur, who had gotten away with a split lip, was pacing through their cell like a wounded animal, sometimes crossing his arms, other times with his hands on his hips.
“For God’s sake, just sit down already, will you?“, Merlin groaned, his head falling back against the wall.
“Shut up“, Arthur bit back, continuing on with his pacing. He seemed terribly on edge and Merlin wondered what had gotten him this riled up. Surely it wasn‘t being in a detention cell.
“Calm your tits, ya oaf. People get thrown into detention cells for starting drunk brawls all the time, it‘s not the end of the world“, he said, frowning.
“What do you know“, Arthur scoffed. “Why am I even talking to you, this is all your fault anyway!“
“My fault!?“, Merlin repeated heatedly and jumped to his feet. „You were the one who started an argument out of nothing!“
“If you hadn‘t harassed Gwen, I wouldn‘t have needed to start an argument!“
“I was just talking to her, man! And she didn‘t look too bothered by it! You don‘t own her, you don‘t get to decide who she talks to or doesn‘t! Or are you just butt-hurt because she thought I was more worthwhile than your sorry ass?!“
With a scowl, Arthur grabbed him by his collar, dragging him close.
“Merlin!“
Both of their heads turned and Arthur quickly let go of his collar.
“Gaius!“, they both said in unison as they saw the elderly doctor hurry towards their cell. They exchanged a confused look.
“How do you know Gaius!?“, asked Arthur, baffled.
“He‘s my godfather! How do you know Gaius!?“, asked Merlin, equally baffled.
“Godfather!?“, repeated Arthur, instead of answering. He turned to frown at Gaius. „So you‘re just here to get him out?“
Gaius sighed.
“I‘m afraid so, Arthur.“
Arthur suddenly looked very ashamed. Merlin couldn‘t help but feel a little bad for him at that look.
“Does my… does my father know where I am?“, he asked, none of his former cockiness left, sounding incredibly defeated. Gaius looked very uncomfortable.
“He does… he told me to tell you that he‘s going to get you out in the morning… after you‘ve learned your lesson.“
Arthur didn‘t meet any of the other‘s eyes, straightening up and averting his gaze. Merlin frowned, looking from the very uncomfortable looking man next to him over to Gaius to look for a hint on the man‘s face about what was happening right now. Unsuccessfully.
Gaius had been accompanied by a police officer who was now opening the cell and gestured for Merlin to get out. He did so quickly and frowning back at Arthur, who still didn‘t look at either of them.
“I‘ll see you around, Arthur“, Gaius rushed out, taking Merlin by the elbow and dragging him out the police station.
“Are you just gonna leave him here the whole night?“, asked Merlin with a look back at the man alone in the cell.
“I have no choice, Merlin“, Gaius replied apologetically. “It was Uther‘s expressed wish that he-“
“Hold up!“, Merlin interrupted, ripping his arm out of Gaius‘s grip and forcing him to a halt, a few feet away from the police station‘s exit. „Uther!? As in Uther Pendragon!?“
“Yes“, nodded Gaius, taken aback. „Didn‘t you know? Arthur is his son, the one I told you about.“
“That‘s Uther Pendragon‘s son!?“, Merlin wheezed, going deadly pale. Gaius sighed.
“Come on, my boy, you have some catching up to do,“ he said and grabbed Merlin‘s arm again, pulling him out of the station.