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Chapter Text

Merlin and Arthur rode back to Camelot mostly in silence, each lost in their own private thoughts. Merlin kept glancing at Arthur’s face, but all it showed was how contrite the king was at having to sacrifice one of his knights. There was none of the relief at saving Camelot. Merlin himself was still trying to calm down from the panic and tightness in his chest. He had sacrificed much more than just a knight after all. He had sacrificed the future of magic in Camelot.  

Merlin told himself sternly that this was the right thing to do. Arthur’s life came before everything else, even magic. He could imagine a world without magic before he could imagine a world without Arthur. At the back of his mind he knew that he was possibly being entirely selfish, and he had a feeling he would have to pay for this dearly and soon, but the thoughts didn’t scare him as much as he had been scared about Mordred continuing to live, for it was now clear to Merlin that he truly was Arthur’s bane. 

Merlin looked ahead where the turrets of Camelot were just coming into view. Whatever the future brings, he would have to just deal with it. He glanced back at Arthur again, whose horse had just stepped a little bit ahead of his own, so Merlin couldn’t see Arthur’s face anymore. He thought back again at the moment beside the campfire and how close they had come to Arthur accepting the old ways again. Arthur had almost confessed his doubts that his father’s ways may not have been right. They had come so close to their destiny last night, Merlin could still feel the aftertaste. 

He sighed, the nagging feeling of hopelessness resettling back on his shoulders. He nudged his horse to speed up to catch up to Arthur, and side by side they rode back to the castle in silence. 

Merlin was so lost in his thoughts when they entered the gates, he didn’t notice him right away. Not until he spoke to Merlin directly.

Emrys, welcome back, Merlin heard, and immediately a shiver of fear went down his back. He looked around to locate the source, because surely - surely fate hadn’t betrayed him this badly.

But there he was, among the group of knights, greeting Arthur but staring directly at Merlin.

Mordred. 

He looked tired but very much alive, a small frown on his face, as if he didn’t know why exactly Merlin was panicking. He probably didn’t, because Merlin hadn’t yet dared to share the role he played in Arthur’s fate. His destiny.

But Merlin could not do that. Not now. It was clear now that he had made the wrong choice, and he had to make it right. Immediately.

He took a step back, and then turned and fled.

******

Merlin had taken off running as soon as he had seen Mordred in the courtyard upon their return, unable to stand the sight another second. He had been running for ages now, but even when his body was ready to give up, his mind told him he had to keep running. His mind raced almost as fast as his feet, and he understood now that it had been a test for him, not Arthur, and he had made the wrong choice. Again. But this might just have been his last chance, and he had done the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do. He could see Mordred's face over and over again in his mind as he had stepped out of the castle, looking completely healed. He could see Arthur running up to meet him, and Mordred's face as he had met Merlin's eyes. 

Merlin squeezed his eyes closed, picking up his speed, hardly watching where he was going. He had been running for hours now, once or twice even speeding himself up by magic. Suddenly, his legs gave out and he was thrown against the ground. Merlin lay panting, his strength failing him suddenly, his heart beating out of his chest from exertion and panic.

A couple of minutes later, after he had collected his wits, he looked around, trying to figure out where he was, and it immediately felt at once both familiar and terrifying. It was the same valley that he and Arthur had spent the previous night in when Merlin had convinced Arthur to go against magic. Tears of frustration sprang up in Merlin's eyes as he picked himself up, retracing their steps from the previous night, remembering everything that had transpired, and his mind's eye showing him exactly how he had gone wrong and how he could have made it right. Before long, he found himself inside the cave of the Disir.

Merlin stopped and made to turn back, having no desire to face the Triple Goddesses or angering them any further. Unfortunately, he was too late, and the Goddesses appeared before him anyway.

"Emrys", they called out together. Merlin winced.

"I do not deserve that title anymore," he told them truthfully. "I am unworthy."

The goddesses did not say anything in reply. Merlin sighed and looked down.

"I know it is Arthur's destiny to bring magic back to Albion. But how can I choose magic over his life?" he implored. "He means so much to.. to the kingdom, to his people.. his knights. I cannot imagine a Camelot without him!"

The goddesses continued to look at him, and it only made Merlin more desperate.

"Look," he tried to take a breath and calm himself down, his mind working overtime to look for a solution. "Can you help me reverse what I have done? I know I have failed on all accounts, but I plead with you for another chance. I know every single mistake I have made. I just need another chance, and this time I will do it right. Please help me!"

He fell to his knees, begging the goddesses for another chance. He did not care if he made a pathetic picture. All he could think about was that he had failed Arthur and his destiny. He had long ago failed to win Arthur's heart. But he had still carried on, believing that he could still stay close to Arthur as his trusted companion and that one day Arthur would change his mind about his magic. But Mordred's face washed up in front of him again, and he felt more hopeless than he had ever felt.

He felt a touch on his shoulder then, and he looked up to see one of the goddesses bending over him, her expression kinder than before.

"It is not over yet, Emrys," she said. "You must have hope."

Merlin wiped his eyes on his sleeve and looked at her.

"Do.. do you mean it? There is a possibility that Arthur will be saved?"

The Goddess looked sad then, seeming to coil back from him. She looked back at her companions, who were watching Merlin with thoughtful expressions.

"Arthur's destiny cannot be altered. Things have been set in motion already," the second Goddess declared. Merlin's heart sank.

"But," the first Goddess interrupted his thoughts. "Magic can do all kinds of wonderful things, if one only allows it to," she spoke more to her companions than to Merlin. The two Goddesses seemed to be having a silent conversation, finally looking at their third companion as if for her final word. Merlin looked between them, sensing a judgment about to be passed that might affect his request.

"We shall talk about it," the third Goddess said to Merlin after a minute.

Merlin looked to the first Goddess again, but she was returning back to her place. They no longer seemed to notice Merlin, and Merlin felt that he had been dismissed. He stood up on shaking legs.

"I thank you for hearing my plea," he said anyway, not knowing what else to say. He eyed them for a few seconds more and turned to leave.

******

The goddesses converged as soon as Merlin left the cave and moved out of earshot.

"He has a good heart,” the Third Goddess volunteered. “He is capable."

The First Goddess wasn’t convinced. "He has also made many mistakes. Over and over."

"And yet he still fights for the destiny we all want, we all wish for."

"What do you suggest?” the Second Goddess asked, ever practical. “You know Arthur's fate is written already."

"In this lifetime, yes. There are others."

"Have you lost your senses, sister?” cried the First Goddess. “You know the next time Arthur comes back is fifteen hundred years from now."

"What is fifteen hundred years in the face of a lifetime?” the Third Goddess argued still. “It is but a blink of an eye."

"We would be toying with the natural order," the Second Goddess warned.

"I believe it has come to that,” scoffed the First Goddess. “Emrys is much powerful, there is no telling what may happen."

“Reborn or immortal, Emrys is going to meet the King again in a different lifetime,” the Second Goddess mused, mostly to herself. “I trust we are only accelerating the timeline.” She smiled at the First Goddess. “It may be interesting to see him get the second chance he pleaded for.”

"Believe in him, sisters, for he is Emrys,” the Third Goddess implored, sensing her will winning over the other two. “And more than anything, believe in the destiny that has been writ."

The First Goddess sighed. "Very well. Then there is no sense in waiting. We must make haste and prepare immediately."

Chapter Text

Merlin was awoken by a voice speaking somewhere off to his side. He squeezed his eyes closed, reluctantly trying to coax himself awake. His bed seemed extra comfortable that day, and he tried to focus on the voice, hoping to comprehend what Gaius was talking about. 

"...almost at full-time with no goals from either side yet..."

Merlin frowned. That wasn’t Gaius’s voice and those words didn't make sense. He squeezed one eye open to see who was in the room, expecting one of Gaius's patients.

What he saw though, was a window and some people in strange, colorful clothes running outside. 

Merlin sat up, alarmed, and nearly fell off the bed. And then he looked around, and really fell off the bed. He looked up at the bed, which wasn't really a bed. It seemed to be a very soft but very big lounging chair. He looked frantically around the strange place. Every single thing he spotted seemed to be foreign to him. He suddenly heard a loud cheer from the window and scrambled back on to the seat in an attempt to get away from it.

"Who scored?" he heard someone ask from behind the wall, and Merlin startled, for he would recognize that voice anywhere, even in this strange dream place - for this must be a dream. Sure enough, in a moment, through the door to his right, came bounding in the one person who had the power to calm his rapidly beating heart right then. Arthur.

Arthur was not looking at Merlin yet, and Merlin took this opportunity to openly stare at what he was wearing. He then looked down to see he himself was wearing strange clothes. He looked back to see Arthur cheer with the people in the window.

"Alright! We're in the lead!" he said, sparing a glance at Merlin. Arthur then paused and looked back at Merlin again, giving him a little more attention.

"What?" he asked. Before Merlin could form an answer, Arthur started talking again. "Oh did the game wake you?" He came up behind Merlin and hit his arm gently. "Sorry, Merlin." He walked around the seat, turning his attention back to the 'game'.

Merlin turned to look at the window again. It seemed to be something like a scrying device, and they were seeing a place not in the room they were in right then. Magic! Merlin looked warily at Arthur again. Somehow, they seemed to be in some place where Arthur was fine with magic, even using it. Maybe he didn't know it was magic yet. Merlin mustn't spook him, then. 

Arthur walked around. He spared a glance behind him where Merlin was still sprawled on the seat, and casually picked Merlin's feet off, sitting down and putting Merlin's feet on his lap. Merlin's brain stuttered to a stop and his mouth hung open.

Merlin gaped at Arthur, and then his mind started forming doubts. Was this really Arthur? Something magical was going on, but was it evil in nature? Maybe his brain had finally given up and collapsed, taking him to this fantasy land, although he didn't remember this particular situation in any of his fantasies. 

Arthur must have sensed him staring, and he glanced at Merlin.

"What?" he asked again, as casually as he ever had.

Merlin closed his mouth with a snap, looking away to stare at the window. Arthur however, continued talking. 

"Are you hungry? I made pasta," he said. "It's still cooking though, you'll have to wait a couple more minutes."

"You cooked?" Merlin blurted out astonished, before he could think better of it. Arthur though just rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Yes, yes, your nagging finally paid off, I did the cooking for once," he replied, smiling slightly. "Now stop teasing and pay attention to the TV," he said, pointing to the window.

"Tee... vee," Merlin repeated in a low voice, looking back at the window with the colourful people.

Arthur threw another questioning glance at Merlin, but thankfully returned his attention back to the 'tee vee' soon enough. Merlin tried to observe the people on the ‘tee vee’ too, but they seemed to be running around in quite a random fashion for him to follow what was happening, and his attention was very much concentrated on his heels that were touching Arthur's thighs, and Arthur's hand on top of his foot. It was bliss and torture at the same time. He couldn't take it for too long and decided to pull his legs back, dropping them on the floor like Arthur's were. 

Arthur didn't seem to mind, continuing to pay little attention to Merlin. Merlin took this opportunity to look Arthur over.

His hair was short, much shorter than Merlin had ever seen him wear it, part of it even standing upright on his head like spikes. The usual weight of the kingdom that sat on Arthur's shoulders seemed to have lightened considerably, and he was looking much younger than the Arthur he had been riding alongside only a few hours back. That gave Merlin a bit of relief and he thought that at least wherever they were, Arthur seemed to be happier. He looked around the room again, this time his gaze much calmer than it had been the last time.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp whistle coming from the ‘tee vee’. This seemed to be a signal of some sort to Arthur, who cheered abruptly and turned to put his palm in front of Merlin's face. Merlin looked at it, frowning.

"Merlin, did you doze off again?" Arthur asked, lowering his hand a little. He then stretched his other hand out to grab one of Merlin's wrist, and struck Merlin's palm against the one he had up. "We won!" he said happily.

"Oh," Merlin blinked, trying to understand what was happening. Arthur frowned, looking concerned.

"Are you feeling alright? You look more tired than usual," he commented. He leaned closer to Merlin and then put his palm on Merlin's forehead. Merlin fought his instinct to flinch away.

"You're not warm,” he declared. "Come on, let's get some food inside you."

Arthur stood up, and Merlin stood up behind him, guessing that he wanted him to follow. Arthur strode into what looked like a very small kitchen, much smaller than the castle kitchens and almost like his mother’s kitchen back in Ealdor, although most of the things here were again foreign to him. He did see a stove, though, and pots and pans, and Arthur was now leaning over one of the pots, stirring something inside. The sight was so unfamiliar to Merlin that he had to hold the wall to not fall over in surprise again.

"Get the plates out," Arthur commanded, his back to Merlin. 

Merlin looked around, trying to locate anything resembling plates. He found some on a shelf soon enough, thankfully, and got them out, laying two of them on the small table in the kitchen.

Arthur brought the pan over as he was finishing laying the plates.

"Oh, we're using the fancy plates today, are we?" Arthur commented, smirking up at Merlin, who immediately flushed at the thought of having made a mistake in this new place already.

Arthur didn't seem too put out, and Merlin realized he was really just teasing. He attempted a nonchalant shrug and gazed down at his plate instead, not sure what he was supposed to reply. His head was feeling woozy, and he decided to put away all efforts of figuring out what was happening for a moment and try to just enjoy this turn of events, where Arthur cooked for him and was now serving whatever was in the pot onto his plate.

When he looked at what Arthur had served him, he almost retched. It looked like a dumping of worms slithering around in something red. He was about to jerk his head up and stare at Arthur, but something in him told him not to react. He waited until Arthur had served himself and sat down to eat. He watched as Arthur took a pointy spoon and scooped up some of the worms and put it straight in his mouth.

"Mmm," he purred happily. "Not bad, even if I say so myself!" Arthur looked at Merlin. "Go on, try it!"

Merlin put aside his vague memories of Arthur attempting to cook a chicken and picked up his own pointy spoon and imitated Arthur. He paused before putting it in his mouth, trying to draw up his courage.

"Oh, go on, you won't die, I promise!" Arthur encouraged him.

"Well, with that kind of reassurance," Merlin replied, already falling into their regular banter without thought. He looked at Arthur warily, wondering if this Arthur would take offense, but Arthur only seemed to have a twinkle in his eye as he tried in vain to hide his grin. It was this more than anything else that gave Merlin the courage to put the food into his mouth.

A nice, creamy, and spicy taste flooded his mouth at once, and it was so much better than what he was expecting. He looked at Arthur, surprised. "Ha!" Arthur pointed at Merlin. "Admit it, you like it!"

Merlin chewed down his food as fast as he could, ignoring Arthur in favor of his plate because he suddenly realized how hungry he was. Arthur continued to give him amused looks as Merlin inhaled his plate of food in record time, getting up to serve himself again.

Soon, they were done eating, and Merlin was saved from figuring out what to do next when Arthur took charge and steered him away from the kitchen and down a hallway. "I'll clean up. You look tired enough anyway," he said, opening a door leading into a small room. "Go to bed, Merlin."

Merlin thought about all the questions he had, but then he spotted the bed illuminated by moonlight from a small window next to it, reminding him very much of his own bed at home. Suddenly, all of his tiredness seemed to return in earnest. He fell on his bed readily and was out like a light even before Arthur had closed the door behind him.

******

When he woke up again, it was bright inside his room. He groaned and turned his face to the wall, but sleep was already retreating from him slowly. He frowned a little, trying to remember the last thing that was on his mind. He had been in a different world, but he hadn't been worried because there had also been-

Merlin suddenly opened his eyes, sitting up on the bed. His head spun for a few moments, and he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will it to stop. When the spinning slowed down enough, he blinked his eyes open cautiously again.

He was still there. It hadn't been a dream. He was in a small room, the bed - so soft under him - taking up most of the space, and the table next to it filling up what wasn't taken by the bed. Merlin stood up and walked closer to look at the objects on the table. He saw some form of parchment, with a diagram on it that looked like a cat, but nothing else on the table looked remotely familiar. He reached out to touch the parchment paper. Slowly getting more and more alarmed, he looked around the room to find anything that might be familiar to him. The bed looked different but was still a bed. There was a shelf that looked like it was built into the wall. It was open with clothes hanging inside, but none of them were his clothes. Merlin tried to think of the last thing that had happened to him in his own world. Something must have magicked him here. 

The images came slowly to him then. Arthur and him, sitting around a campfire. Arthur talking about bringing magic back. Merlin failing spectacularly, again, to convince Arthur about magic. Mordred, Arthur's bane, being alive despite the sacrifice Merlin had gone through. 

Thinking about it made Merlin's throat start to close up with panic. He needed to be there with Arthur at this time. Any time Arthur was spending with Mordred could be dangerous. Merlin looked around the room again, trying to find one thing that he could use, one thing that might begin to give him some clue as to how he got here, and how he could get back.

He almost missed it the first time, but the second time, he was looking through the items on his table, he saw it. A picture. And in the picture was a younger Merlin, his mother, and his father. Merlin paused, shock coursing through his body. He vaguely noticed the other man in the picture - Gaius - but it was the picture of his mother and father together, looking at each other and smiling. It seemed entirely life-like. Merlin had never seen such a high quality of artistry before. It must have been created by a very talented artist. Merlin picked up the frame and brought it closer to his face. It almost brought tears to his eyes.

He heard the door open behind him after a while - a minute or an hour, he couldn't tell how long he had spent looking at the picture - and reluctantly tore his eyes away from his father's face to see Arthur - the Arthur from here - standing in the doorway. 

"...-up yet? Oh, good, you're up," he was saying. Merlin stared at him, trying to wrap his head around what he had found. He needed to know.

"Arthur," he began. "I... do you know if.." he faltered, the words getting stuck in his throat. He cleared his throat and tried a different direction. "Um, I think I need to see Gaius," he tried, hoping Gaius in this world could help him as he did in Merlin's world.

"I think we will see him when we get to your mum's," Arthur said, looking concerned. "Are you feeling ill? I can phone him to come by here first."

Merlin didn't understand half of what Arthur said, but he decided there was enough of the sentence that he could assent to. 

"Please," he said, barely stopping himself from adding 'Sire'. This Arthur didn't look like he was royalty. Although his concern did seem to increase at Merlin's words and he took a small item out of his pocket and started poking at it.

After a minute, Gaius's voice piped out of the object in Arthur's hand.

"Hello?" it said, startling Merlin. He moved forward to examine the object.

"Hello, Gaius," Arthur answered, sparing a glance for Merlin. "Do you think you can drop by our place before heading over to the Emrys's?"

'The Emrys's,' Merlin repeated in his head, another round of shivers running down his spine.

"Is everything alright?" Gaius's voice asked. 

Arthur looked expectantly at Merlin, but after Merlin failed to come up with anything to say, Arthur stepped in himself. "Nothing to worry about, Merlin wants to consult you on something real quick. We can drive over together after." 

A pause from Gaius, and then "Alright, I will be there in a couple of hours. That way we should be in time for lunch at Hunith's."

"Sounds good, thank you, Gaius," Arthur said and poked the object once more before putting it back in his shirt. He focused his attention on Merlin.

"You're starting to worry me, Merlin," he said. "What's going on? You can tell me."

Merlin was very much tempted, but he had no idea where to start. He opened his mouth several times before closing it again. Arthur seemed to sense his distress increasing, because he put up both his hands then.

"Alright, it's alright," he said. "We'll figure it out, alright?" He came closer to put his arm around Merlin's shoulders. In spite of everything, Merlin felt a bit better instantly. Arthur pulled him along, going into the hall and next door, where there appeared to be a sink. Arthur turned a knob, and water started gushing out from a pipe. 

"Go on, wash up. I'll make you some coffee," he said, pulling his arm back and leaving Merlin to it, going back to the kitchen.

******

Merlin figured out how to turn the knob to shut off the water, and he hesitated before emptying his bladder into what looked like it might be this world's chamber pot. He spent the rest of the time before Gaius arrived sitting quietly in his room, trying not to look at the picture too much. Arthur handed him a cup of tea at some point and it did make him feel a little better, although the concerned glances he kept shooting at Merlin made him feel a little guilty, too, so he lay back under the blankets for a while. He heard Arthur walking about in the house for a while before settling down. 

Merlin must have dozed off again, because next thing he knew Gaius was bending over him and feeling his forehead. He startled a little because this Gaius looked a little different, his hair shorter and his glasses very oddly shaped, but Gaius's presence was as soothing as it was in his own world. 

"Merlin," he said once he noticed Merlin waking up. "What is going on?"

"Gaius, you're here," Merlin said, sitting up, making space for Gaius to sit on the bed. He looked around, trying to figure out where Arthur was. Gaius must have noticed him looking, and went to close the door.

"Is it your magic?" Gaius asked in a whisper, once he returned.

"Where's Arthur?" 

"I asked him to give me a few minutes alone with you," Gaius answered.

"Gaius, I don't know how it happened, but I am not the person you think I am," Merlin told Gaius about what happened, trying to reproduce every detail that he could think of. 

"I am from a different world, or a different time at the very least. In my time, Arthur was the king, and magic was banned. But Arthur has this destiny - to be-"

"- the Once and Future king," Gaius finished for him, looking stricken. "It has finally happened," he said, looking as if in awe of Merlin.

"That is extraordinary," Gaius said at length, looking almost as faint as Merlin felt. Merlin had a passing thought of whether this world's Merlin had as many problems as he did with his magic and how much he shared with Gaius anyway. 

"Merlin, this is extraordinary," Gaius repeated. 

"You... do you believe me? I thought this would be more difficult."

"My boy, this day has been foretold in all the legends. We have been waiting for you to come back for hundreds of years. You are meant to bring back magic to this land again. I would be a fool not to believe you." 

Merlin gaped at him. "Foretold?" he repeated. "Where? When? By whom?"

Gaius got up from the bed to pace for a few minutes before turning to Merlin.

"I believe your father should be a better person to tell you more, Merlin. He is much closer to the lore than myself. And you are, after all, his son. It is his right. He might be upset if he knows you talked to me first."

"I... I am not ready to share with anybody else before I figure out what is happening myself," Merlin replied, hoping to avoid the topic for the time being. "Can we keep this between ourselves for a while? I am sorry for involving you in this, Gaius. I didn't mean to trouble you," Merlin said sincerely. "It is almost an instinct for me to go to Gaius whenever things go wrong in my.. I mean... where I'm from."

"My boy, you can always talk to me about anything you need. I do believe your father would have better luck with the magic stuff, though."

Gaius looked at Merlin with the same look that the Gaius he was familiar with, the dreaded eyebrow going up. Thankfully, he yielded to Merlin's puppy dog eyes.

"We might have to skip your parents' lunch today, you have a lot of reading to do."

Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up to freshen up and to put on a clean shirt from the closet while Gaius took out the object he had seen Arthur use earlier. Gaius, however, put the object to his ear after poking at it. Merlin realized he was hearing a one-sided conversation, but Gaius mentioned Merlin quite a bit. He waited for Gaius to put the object away before addressing what was worrying him.

"Gaius, where I am from, it is different from here, and many of the objects here don't really make sense to me. I am not sure how to .."

"Of course," Gaius said. "You must have skipped a good amount of time to come to us. I think we may be able to remedy that. I will need to check my books." He paused, trying to decide something. Then he said, "I can bring my books here, or you can come with me but that might be confusing to you, since you are not familiar with this world at all. But then," he looked at Merlin, "there's Arthur. Do you want to tell him...?"

"No!" Merlin exclaimed. "Arthur cannot know, not yet. I will go with you."

"Alright," Gaius opened the door. "Come along, we must get started at once."

Merlin slipped his feet into the strange-looking shoes by his bed and followed Gaius out the door. However, he was stopped before he could go out the main door by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Arthur.

"What is going on?" Arthur looked from Gaius to Merlin. "Aren't we supposed to leave together?" 

"Arthur, forgive me, I completely forgot to tell you," Gaius interrupted, and Merlin was glad he was out of Arthur's intense gaze. "Lunch is cancelled. Merlin is coming with me to the clinic, where I can give him a nice therapeutic massage. That should help with the tiredness."

Merlin tried not to look surprised at Gaius's words. Arthur's look of concern was bringing out his instinctive need to reassure him. He put his hand on top of Arthur's hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be back for dinner, Arthur. Sorry about lunch," he said to Arthur. It worked better than Gaius's words had. Arthur's expression cleared considerably and he released Merlin with one last squeeze of the shoulder. 

"Alright Merlin," he said, stepping back. "Make sure you eat something. You hardly had any breakfast."

Merlin smiled at him, feeling warmed and suddenly jealous of his counterpart of this world who gets this version of Arthur as a roommate and friend all of the time.

Chapter Text

Merlin reached their floor just as Arthur opened the door to let him in.

"Hey! Thanks for letting me in, I forgot my keys," Merlin said as a way of greeting. "I brought Chinese food!"

"Excellent, I'm starving," Arthur took the food bag from Merlin and left him to close the door while he grabbed some plates. "Are you feeling better then?" he called out from the kitchen.

Merlin smiled even though Arthur couldn't see him. "So much better! Gaius really knows his stuff."

"Good, I'm glad," Arthur said as he came back into the living room. He put the food onto the coffee table and started to serve.

"Hang on, I want to go change real quick," Merlin called out, running to his room. He heard Arthur grumbling, but he also heard him turn on the TV and smiled to himself again. 

After driving Merlin to his home in his car and almost giving him a heart attack, Gaius had not only found books about the destiny he had talked about, he had also found a spell to fill in Merlin's knowledge of modern technology, or more precisely, copied Gaius’s knowledge of the modern world over to Merlin. They traced down the timeline to determine that Merlin had traveled about fifteen hundred years into the future. Not only that, it looked as if all of them had been reborn again in this timeline. Merlin seemed to have inherited his modern counterpart's body because he couldn't find any of his scars on his body when he checked.  

"So it is more of a soul exchange, non-corporeal," Gaius had stated, and Merlin had to pause for a second to wonder how strange it must be to Gaius and how he seemed to be taking it in stride just like his own uncle. 

Merlin's head was still reeling from all the extra information he had acquired in the last few hours, but he was also feeling better. He thought he could see some glimmers of hope. The Disir must have decided to give him the second chance he had asked for, and if this was their way of granting his wish, Merlin would take it. Merlin was determined to do his best this time around. But first, he had to learn more about this modern world.

"Watch it," Arthur said, frowning a little as Merlin almost knocked down the food in his haste to get to the sofa. Merlin grinned at him, unashamed. 

"Did you start already?" he asked. "What are we watching?" he asked again before Arthur could form an answer.

"Aren't you chipper. What kind of massage did you go for exactly?" Arthur asked in return, smirking at Merlin. Merlin flushed, although his grin didn't seem to want to falter. Arthur handed him another plate of food.

"I was waiting for you, idiot. Why would I start?" Arthur told him. "And I am watching Iron Man, I don't know what you're watching."

Merlin's brain informed him what Iron Man was, which only fascinated him more. For the next few minutes, his attention was captured by the screen in front of him, food and destiny forgotten. About 10 minutes of silence later, he felt a poke in his ribs and startled.

"Huh?" he responded, startled. Arthur was watching him, an amused smile on his face.

"Every time you watch this movie, like it's the best thing in the world," he commented. Merlin was glad he was keeping up with his counterpart's habits.

"Well, that is because it is the best thing in the world!" Merlin informed him, turning back to the screen, eager not to miss what was happening. 

"So you like to go for arrogant, self-centered pricks then?" Arthur asked.

"Well, I'm friends with you after all, aren't I?" Merlin teased back, receiving another poke in the ribs for his efforts. He elbowed Arthur back and soon enough a full fledged food battle had ensued. Merlin was reminded very much of his and Arthur's first few months together, when a much younger and less burdened Arthur used to take part in horsing around a lot more than in the later years. The thought made Merlin a little sad, and also made him miss his Arthur a little.

"What," Arthur in the present asked after a moment, noticing Merlin watching him. 

"It's just good to see you happy," Merlin replied, then flushed, remembering how it must have sounded to this Arthur, who hadn't taken part in any of the previous thoughts in Merlin's head. Arthur, however, just shook his head at him like he was used to Merlin blurting out embarrassing things to him all the time. He gave Merlin a soft smile.

"It's good to see you happy too," Arthur said back to him. "Or at least not-tired," he added lightly, turning back to his food.

Merlin turned back to his food too. The food was still very much foreign to him, as was everything else in this place. He guessed Gaius did not indulge in foreign cuisines much. He emulated what Arthur was doing, using his spoon to pick up some of the food on his plate and shoving it into his mouth. The flavour immediately burst onto his tongue, making him moan.

"Oh this is so good!" he exclaimed. Arthur hummed in agreement. Merlin had a hard time deciding which to pay attention to, his food or the TV screen and ended up with half the food on his clothes, having tried to eat his food without looking at it. At length, Arthur tsked at him and took his empty plate out of his hands.

"Did you try to feed yourself or your clothes, Merlin," he commented, taking the dishes into the kitchen. Merlin stood up, hovering for a second trying to decide whether he wanted to miss any part of the movie to go clean up.

"Oh just pause it," Arthur said from the kitchen as if reading his mind all the way from the other room. Merlin dug around for the ‘remote’, and succeeded in hitting the pause button. The characters on the screen froze mid-sentence. It looked quite eerie, like they had turned to stone from a spell. Merlin ended up unpausing them.

"What happened?" Arthur asked, coming back into the room.

"I.. I don't want to pause," Merlin said, not knowing how else to explain.

"Fine," Arthur sighed. "But you are staying on that side of the couch," he declared, pointing to the other end of the couch they were sitting on. Merlin grinned, that was more like the Arthur he knows.

"Yes Sire," he replied, this time fully intending to use the title.

******

Merlin spent all day Sunday going through the items in his closet, trying to learn about his modern counterpart. If he were to succeed in bringing his and Arthur's destiny to fruition, he might need to stay here for an extended period of time, and to do that, he needed to know this world and this Merlin and Arthur better. They were clearly good friends, and Arthur seemed to care a great deal for him, but Merlin needed to understand the boundaries he was working within. He also needed to learn about the world. The spell Gaius had used helped him with getting familiar with the everyday technology around him, but he was still clueless about the current political scenario around the world. Arthur did not seem like he was king in this timeline, so how was he going to unite Albion and bring magic back to the world?

Merlin found his laptop and spent a long time looking things up. The internet was a wonderful place, he realized. Not only was he able to look up things and events he wanted to learn about, but he also found his Facebook page and spent a lot of time looking at pictures from his time in school and college. There were pictures of him and Will as kids, and also a lot of pictures with him and his parents, and it made his heart skip a beat whenever he saw his father's face. 

He also saw many other familiar faces. Arthur was a fixture in at least every third picture in the last few years. There was also Gwaine, Leon and Lancelot, and he saw a few pictures of Gwen as well. From what he could tell, Arthur and Lance seemed to be quite close since childhood. Or maybe they just had a lot of pictures together. Merlin found that amusing since Lancelot was probably the least close to Arthur in his time. It intrigued him.

By the time it was time for dinner, he had decided there was only so much information he could gather from the internet. He needed to spend time with the man if he had to get any further.

"There he is," Arthur exclaimed when Merlin emerged from his room to find Arthur once again in the kitchen. "Working on a deadline? You seemed too engrossed in work, so I thought I'd get started on dinner."

"Um, yeah, research," Merlin replied, trying to be vague and truthful at the same time. "You're cooking again?" he asked, trying to get back on his agenda. "Are any of your friends going to join us tonight?"

Arthur gave Merlin a confused look over his shoulder before turning back to the pot he was stirring. 

"I would be making you cook if anybody else were coming over," Arthur replied. "Wouldn't want to run the risk of poisoning them with my cooking."

"Are you saying I am a better cook then?" Merlin asked and then cringed at how blatant he was being. 

Arthur snorted. "Don't let it get to your head, Merlin, you're pants at everything else."

Nothing different there, then, Merlin thought to himself. 

"Why don't we go out?" Merlin tried again.

Arthur didn't reply right away. He turned off the stove and turned around to look at Merlin properly.

"Alright, what is going on with you?" he asked, making Merlin squirm a little, not used to having all of Arthur's attention on himself like this. "Yesterday you were too tired to go meet your parents, and today you want to go out?"

He did make a fair point. Merlin looked away, wondering how to answer. Arthur wasn't supposed to be caring about Merlin, he was supposed to be serving Arthur instead. Wasn't that what he was born to do?

His thoughts were interrupted by Arthur stepping right in front of him.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, softer.

Merlin looked up and caught the expression on Arthur's face. Arthur seemed to be genuinely concerned. Merlin's heart skipped a beat as he once again marveled at the experience of having Arthur's full attention on himself. He didn't find it in his heart to lie. Or at least, lie completely.

"It's just that we haven't really seen our friends in a bit. And we missed my parents as well," Merlin answered, watching Arthur's face carefully. "And you've been cooped up in here taking care of me all weekend," he added, feeling his face heat up but determined to come clear. "It would be good for both of us to get out and get some air, yeah?" 

Arthur's concerned face morphed into fondness as he smiled. He seemed to be lost in thought for a few seconds before taking out his mobile.

"I don't think anybody, least of all me, would be up to going out on Sunday night," he said. "But let me see if Lance is in, maybe we can pop in and have a drink at his place upstairs?"

Merlin perked up, recognizing Lancelot's name, and also from the fact that he seemed to stay in their building. 

******

Arthur and Merlin had visited Lancelot for a drink on Sunday evening, but it had been a short visit since Arthur had work on Monday morning. Lancelot, it turned out, was as noble as the Lancelot Merlin had known, and Merlin had been quite overwhelmed during the entire visit, unable to keep from remembering old memories of his friend. They had come back home shortly after finishing their drink, but Merlin couldn't help but think that Lancelot was the one person he could trust even in this world with his secret, and he would be able to best help him.

With this in mind, Merlin made his way upstairs to Lancelot's apartment late Monday morning, after Arthur had left to work. He knocked on Lancelot's door, feeling nervous but resolute. 

"Merlin," Lance greeted him, moving aside for Merlin to enter. "Hi again! Need something, or is this just a joy visit?"

Merlin nodded. "Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something. Do you have some time?"

Lancelot nodded, a knowing smile on his face. "Is this about Arthur?"

Merlin nodded, wondering what he was thinking. There was no way Lance could even imagine why he was here.

"I was wondering when this day would come," Lance said to Merlin once they had settled at the dining table and Lancelot had made tea for them both. "I knew it would be you making the first move, Arthur is too noble for his own good."

Merlin paused and frowned. This didn’t make sense. "What are you talking about?"

Lance's smile seemed to falter a bit. "What are you talking about?"

Merlin shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. "I have to tell you something. I... I have magic."

Chapter Text

It took Merlin much less time to tell his story to Lancelot than it had taken him to tell Gaius, mainly because Lance was too shocked to ask any questions for the most part. Merlin told him about Camelot and Arthur, about himself, his magic, and how he came to be Arthur’s manservant. He also told him about the Lancelot of the past and their friendship and about all of their destinies. Once Merlin reached the part about travelling to the modern world, though Lancelot stood up suddenly.

"Wait, wait, stop everything for one second, please. Are you saying you are a time traveler too on top of the magic thing?" 

"Um, not exactly. I cannot do it at will, I don't think. In fact, Gaius and I think it was done by the Disir, you know, the goddesses I told you about?"

Lancelot sat back down again.

"Of course," he said weakly. "Okay, continue please."

"Well, there isn't much else," Merlin concluded. "This happened two days ago, and I have no idea who anyone is here. If I have to complete my destiny, I need to learn much more about Arthur's life here. And there is only so much that Facebook can tell me."

Lancelot looked a little like he had just been socked upside his head. Merlin felt a little bad dumping so much on him. He waited for Lance to say something soon, but as the minutes kept ticking by, he started to doubt his plan. Sure, Lance in this world had the same look of honesty and forthrightness as the knight he used to know, but could Merlin depend on him here? 

"I'm sorry, Lancelot," he said at length. "Maybe it wasn't fair of me to involve you in my problems with no kind of warning." He stood up, deciding it may be better to leave. "Can you forget about all this? I can help you with that if you wish." 

Lancelot started at that. "No, no, just—" Lance threw an arm out like he wanted to stop Merlin. "Give me a minute, please. I'm just trying to wrap my head around this."

Merlin nodded, understanding what Lance was asking him for. He sat back down on his chair, watching Lance's face. After a few minutes, he looked back up at Merlin, almost scrutinizing.

"Merlin," he said. "Arthur is my best friend in the world, and my first loyalty is to him." Merlin almost smiled, this was probably exactly what he would have expected past-Lancelot to say.

"I completely understand, Lance," Merlin said. "As is mine. Everything I am trying to do, it is only for Arthur."

Lance struggled for a second like he was trying to put words to his thoughts.

"No... Merlin," he tried again. "My loyalty is to this Arthur," he said, and realization dawned on Merlin about what he meant before Lance finished his thought. "Your loyalty is to your Arthur... but are they the same?" 

Merlin paused. Lancelot brought up a valid point. But—"I am operating under the assumption that they are the same. Arthur, and all the rest of us too, obviously, have been reincarnated, and destiny is playing out again, so now I have a second chance to do right by Arthur. I just... he deserves it, you know. He is the Once and Future King."

That seemed to be the right thing to say, as Lance relaxed considerably after that. He gave Merlin a small smile and got up. He grabbed a laptop off of the coffee table in the living room and brought it back, turning the screen toward Merlin and tapping a few keys. Soon, what looked to be a photo album opened up on the screen. 

"I have known Arthur since we were in kindergarten together. My parents were friends with Arthur's mother," he pulled up a picture of a young couple Merlin assumed were his parents, standing alongside younger versions of Uther and, Merlin guessed, Ygrainne. "They had lost touch with Uther after she died but it seemed like Uther was glad to have me in Arthur's life when we were growing up." He brought up a picture of him and Arthur, looking to be around 7 or 8 years old, with Arthur carrying a football under his arm. Merlin smiled and pulled the screen closer, almost missing the next part of Lance's sentence. 

"He was not the best at raising children. Arthur spent most of his teenage years at my place anyway. They don't really get along great."

"Uther and Arthur?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah. Apart from Uther, the only family he is close to is Morgana, who is some sort of cousin of his. She went to the same university as we all did, and they seemed to reconnect quite well."

Merlin raised his eyebrow, surprised, but did not interrupt Lance. 

"You actually met Arthur through Morgana. Well, Gwen really. Gwen and Morgana were friends in college, and I met her through Arthur and Morgana as well. Oh, um, sorry." Lancelot caught himself deviating from the subject, turning a little red. Merlin grinned.

"You like her?" he asked, pleased. 

"Anyway," Lance continued, ignoring Merlin, which only made Merlin grin wider. "Gwen and you worked together at your first job at that coffee shop while you were still at Uni, and when both you and Arthur were looking for a flat, she sort of put the two of you together."

Merlin nodded again, registering all the details. 

"How long ago was this?" he asked.

"Let me see... three years ago? Yeah."

That made Merlin pause for a second.

"So... neither of us... I mean, did either of us..." Merlin hesitated, needing to know but afraid to know at the same time. "Nobody else stayed with us in the last three years?"

Lancelot's face contorted, like he was holding back something. After a moment, though, he only shook his head.

"I don't think Arthur dated anybody that seriously," he said. "You did have a lady friend for a while last year, but I don't know why exactly you broke up. Gwen might know better. Or you can maybe try asking Freya herself, she is coming to Gwen's birthday next week too."

Merlin's eyes widened as he looked at the picture Lancelot had pulled up on his computer. "Freya, oh!" He blinked at the picture of him and Freya, trying to absorb this fact. Freya was alive and well, and yet this Merlin had broken up with her. He had to find a way to talk to Freya without raising too much suspicion. Was he even capable of talking to her without all the old feelings rising up? Yes, he thought he could. For Arthur, he would face this and much more.

"Um... Merlin?" Lancelot touched him gently on the arm to get his attention after he had fallen silent for several minutes. Merlin looked up. Lancelot seemed to be hesitating, but then his eyes hardened like he had collected his resolve.

"Can I ask some questions now?" he asked. 

Merlin took in Lancelot's determined expression. He gave a tight nod.

"So, is it true? Was I a knight in the past? In your world?"

Merlin smiled, glad he could answer this honestly at least.

"Yes, of course! Sir Lancelot, the bravest. One of Camelot's finest knights of the round table," he said, with feeling. "And my biggest ally in winning us one of the most gruesome invasions of Camelot, against an undead army no less! We had sent word to many of our allies to come help us, but you were the only one who answered my call. Arthur made you a knight for it, even though you weren't of noble heritage. I was so proud of you both that day!" 

Lancelot's face lit up, and his curiosity grew on his face. Merlin was suddenly struck by how much he had missed his old friend. He couldn't help but reach out and clasp Lance on the shoulder for a moment. A thought struck him then.

"Who else do we know? It will be good to see more familiar faces," Merlin said, turning back to the computer. "Is Leon here? Gwaine?"

To Merlin's delight, Leon and Gwaine were indeed there, as were Elyan and Perceval, and they were all mates. The one name that really stole Merlin's breath away was Will.

******

Gwen’s birthday party was going to be a big affair, and lucky for Merlin, Lancelot was organizing it himself.

“She deserves a big birthday,” he explained to Merlin. “She is always the one who is throwing birthday parties for all of her friends…”

Merlin spent a few hours most days helping Lancelot in the planning, which usually got extended because of all of Merlin’s questions about their world and, in turn, all of Lancelot’s questions about Merlin’s world. Merlin had to tell Lancelot about how he had died, although he had hesitated about bringing up his obvious feelings for Gwen. Merlin didn’t want to spoil the bond they seemed to have in this world and thought it prudent to keep that piece of information to himself. 

After yet another evening spent in Lancelot’s flat, Merlin walked into his own apartment to find Arthur moodily sitting on the couch and typing into his phone.

“You’re back!” Merlin exclaimed, unaffected by Arthur’s mood. He had just heard about how Gwaine had met the group, and had spent the last 20 minutes giggling at it with Lancelot, comparing notes on the two Gwaines they knew.

Arthur didn’t reply for a second but glared a little at Merlin when he sat down next to him on the sofa.

“What’s gotten into you?” Merlin asked, sensing Arthur’s mood. 

Arthur huffed. “I’m perfectly fine, Merlin,” he replied in a clipped tone. “You can go spend all your time with whoever you want.”

Merlin stared at him, and then started laughing.

“I didn’t know you would get jealous,” he replied, earning himself another glare. “I was only at Lance’s place. You know he’s planning this huge party for Gwen’s birthday, right?”

That caused the tightness around Arthur to give way a little.

“You were at Lance’s all this while?” he asked, still looking at the TV.

“Of course! Where else would I go?” Merlin asked, amused. “I don’t even have my shoes on, see?” Merlin stretched his legs into Arthur’s lap, much like the first day. Arthur blinked at his feet for a second before suddenly pushing them off. 

“Ew! That’s gross Merlin, go wash up!” he stood up, grumbling to himself, but Merlin noted that he looked much lighter already. As he made his way to the bathroom, still chuckling, he thought about Arthur taking care of him when he was disoriented from his timeline shift. He should probably start repaying all of the kindness at some point to make sure his second chance remained alive.

“I’ll cook dinner today,” he called out before ducking into the bathroom to wash his feet. He thought he heard Arthur reply but didn’t make out what he said.

When he returned back to the kitchen though, he stopped short. Standing by the stove and stirring something in a pot was the last person he was hoping to meet there. 

Mordred.