Fic: Second Chances
Title: Second Chances (3/3)
Author: oomnydevvotchka
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Word Count: 6.5k
Warnings: Mild homophobia
Summary: This prompt over at Kink Me Merlin.
The day of the Pride Parade dawned warm and clear. Merlin didn’t usually like dressing too flamboyantly, but, as this was a special occasion, he had opted to wear a rainbow t-shirt. He arrived at the starting point of the parade about a half-hour before it was set to start. Even with his earliness, he was far from the first person there. Gwen, who was wearing a rainbow bandana in her dark curls and brandishing a paintbrush, was the first to greet him. “Merlin! Let me paint your face!” she called cheerfully.
Merlin was slightly wary of her (He didn’t think Gwen actually had any artistic ability) but he submitted to the face-painting anyway.
As Gwen grabbed his chin and pushed his face to the side, Merlin saw Tristan approaching with trepidation. He was wearing a button-up and jeans in place of his usual suit, but he still stuck out like a sore thumb. Many of the people milling around were in drag, in skimpy clothing, or else covered in glitter and feathers. Several people walking by gave Tristan odd looks before Merlin beckoned him over to the group. Gwen, who had just finished painting the word PRIDE on Merlin’s cheek, looked at Tristan and clicked her tongue sadly. “You’ve never been to one of these before, have you?” she asked him kindly.
Tristan shook his head. “I haven’t. Merlin, there’s something I need to tell you before -”
Merlin interrupted him. “Surely it can wait a few minutes? No offense, but you look…stuffy.”
Tristan opened his mouth to reply, but was shocked into silence when Gwen grabbed his face and started to give it a treatment that was similar to Merlin’s.
Merlin nodded at her handiwork, which looked to be two interlocking ‘male’ symbols. “Yes, that’s the right idea, but it’s not quite enough. Do you have another one of those bandanas?”
“I don’t, but Lance could probably spare his.”
“Right, thanks. Back in a tick!”
Merlin disappeared, weaving through the crowd, and Uther sighed. He wanted to tell Merlin who he really was, so he wouldn’t be blindsided when Arthur saw them.
Gwen noticed his discontent. As she turned his face to paint interlocking ‘female’ symbols on his other cheek, she said “Merlin told me about your son. I’m sure everything will go wonderfully.”
Uther smiled at her. When he had first walked into the group meeting, he hadn’t expected to form any sort of relationship with the people in it. Yet, he now counted these young people as his friends. Gwen had such a kind heart, Lancelot was so noble, Freya hid a wicked sense of humor beneath her shy exterior and Merlin…Uther would be proud to welcome Merlin into his family. That is, if Arthur could forgive his father for hurting him. God, Uther hadn’t realized how difficult it could be to be gay until he had met these young adults and heard their stories. He was ashamed to think of how he had acted when Arthur had come out to him, how he had created and encouraged an environment in which Arthur needed to hide who he was.
As Uther was having these thoughts, Merlin returned, Lancelot in tow. Uther blinked incredulously as he took in the sight of Lancelot, who was shirtless, had a large rainbow and the word ALLY painted across his chest, and was absolutely covered in glitter. Merlin caught Uther’s eyes and grinned. “Guess you can see why he doesn’t need the bandana” he said, before pulling the object out of his pocket and tying it loosely around Uther’s neck. “There. Now you look the part.”
Uther took Merlin by the arm. “Thank you, that’s quite wonderful. But I really must speak to you, alone, before the parade starts.”
Merlin frowned slightly, but let Uther steer him a short way away from their friends. “What is it, Tristan?” he asked.
Uther winced at that casual use of his fake name. “I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
Before Uther could continue, he was interrupted by a familiar voice. “Father?”
Uther and Merlin both turned around, slowly, to the source of the voice. Arthur was wearing his very own rainbow bandana, knotted so that it was ruffling his blonde hair. He had some of Gwen’s artwork (hearts in many different colors) scattered across his cheeks and forehead.
And he looked absolutely gobsmacked.
Merlin, for his part, was feeling very stupid. Of course Tristan was Uther! That explained why the man had always seemed familiar to him, as well as the similarities between his story and Arthur’s. Recalling what ‘Tristan’ had said about his deep desire to reconcile with his son, Merlin decided to leave the two of them alone for the time being.
Arthur’s shock would surely make him more receptive to Uther’s apology.
Merlin spoke up. “So, I’m guessing this is what you wanted to tell me?”
Uther nodded rather sheepishly.
“Well” Merlin said, “It seems like you two need to have a bit of a talk. I’ll be over with Lance and Gwen.”
This caused Arthur to snap out of his shock, but by the time he had choked out “Merlin, what-”, Merlin was out of earshot. With no other choice, Arthur turned back to his father. “What is that on your face?” he asked.
Uther tried to resist the urge to touch his cheeks. “I’m not sure, actually. I haven’t seen it. Guinevere didn’t paint anything inappropriate on me, did she?”
Arthur blinked. “No, it’s just those male and female symbols interlocking.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, the circles with the arrows pointing up for female, and the t pointing down for male?” Arthur attempted to imitate the symbols with his fingers, but failed miserably.
“Right” said Uther. “What is it, the male is on one cheek and the female is on the other?”
It was at that point that the absurdity of the conversation hit Arthur. “Father, what are you doing here? Won’t it ‘hurt the image of your company’ if anyone sees you in rainbow?”
Uther huffed out an almost-laugh, steeling himself for this conversation. “Arthur. I was wrong to put the interests of the company above your happiness.”
Of all the possible replies Uther could have made to that question, Arthur never would have expected that one. “What?”
“Son, you know as well as I do how difficult it is for me to admit that I’m wrong. That’s why I donated that money to Stonewall. It wasn’t a bribe; it was an attempt to show you that I had changed my mind.”
Arthur’s entire worldview was being tipped on its head, and he didn’t know quite how to deal with it. “How do you know Merlin, then?”
“Well, when the donation didn’t work, I decided to begin attending LGBTQ meetings.”
“And you happened to choose the one Merlin’s involved in.”
“Yes, and before you ask, the reason that he didn’t tell you is that he didn’t know. Merlin’s not a common name, and neither is Uther. I didn’t want the members of the group to know how I had behaved towards you, so I gave a false name.”
Arthur, who had been numb for the entire conversation, began to feel the first stirrings of hope. It must have shown in his face, for Uther’s voice was stronger when he said “I want to tell you that I am sorry that I reacted so badly to your confession. I was wrong to tell you that you should stay in the closet and, if you’d like, I would be happy to rebuild my relationship with you.”
While Uther had been cold and unforgiving for Arthur’s entire life, he had never been prone to lying, so Arthur believed his words to be sincere. “Thank you, Father. Your apology is accepted.”
They had come to the point in the conversation where a normal father and son would have hugged. Unfortunately, Uther’s change of heart couldn’t erase over twenty years of history between the two, so they merely traded awkward looks at each other until Uther cleared his throat and said, softly, “I like Merlin. I’m glad you chose him.”
At this, Arthur smiled, and the two men, by unspoken agreement, made their way back to the growing crowd.
They marched in the Pride Parade side by side that day, and didn’t give a damn who saw them.