Fic: Enough to Feel Your Breath on Mine (1/4)

[seravia]

Title: Enough to Feel Your Breath on Mine
Fandom: Merlin
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Arthur/Merlin, Merlin/Freya
Length: 39k total
Summary: Merlin and Arthur wake up in the middle of a board meeting in the twenty-first century when they were in Camelot just moments before. Now they’re lost in a world they don’t understand, where Merlin is the son of the company owner and Arthur is the employee. Merlin’s lost his magic, Arthur doesn’t know how to not be a king, but somehow the world keeps turning.
Author's Notes: Written for paperlegends Takes place mid season 4. Time travel from canon to modern day and back.

“Arthur!” Merlin shouted, dashing forward to push Arthur out of the way of a falling chandelier.

Arthur’s head snapped up. He barely had time to take in the sight of Merlin leaping at him before he found himself shoved to the ground, Merlin landing on top of him, and the loud crash of something heavy hitting the ground by his feet.

Then nothing.

--

Fifteen hundred years in the future…

“Merlin!” Arthur shouted, leaping forward to shove Merlin out of the way of a falling ceiling light.

Merlin glanced up in surprise, mouth opening around the name “Arthur” as he was pushed to the ground, Arthur bouncing slightly as he landed on top of him, the sound of shattering glass echoing around them.

Then nothing.

--

Merlin opened his eyes again and suddenly he wasn’t staring at Camelot’s flagstones anymore. Directly on top of him, he found a shocked Arthur staring back at him, and he immediately dropped his gaze. He looked around, finding a room full of people sitting around a wooden table, all their gazes trained on him. Where he was lying on the floor. Merlin opened his mouth to say something, anything, but no sound came out.

Merlin began to panic as the eyes in the room went from expectant to puzzled to derisive. Then his eyes widened in shock as he took in what he was wearing.

What was that fabric? It was all heavy and stiff and gray.

Before Merlin could make more of a fool of himself by blurting out the first thing that came to mind, a woman rushed in and yanked him to his feet and out the door, dumping Arthur on the floor, and making hurried apologies as they left. Merlin found himself shoved into a room lined with windows. Immediately, Merlin darted to the glass and gazed around in awe. There were big, tall, imposing rectangular houses that could touch the sky. And he was so high up! All the people and carts looked so tiny on the ground!



He didn’t realize the woman was speaking to him until she snapped her fingers in front of his nose. Merlin jumped back and nearly tripped over his own feet. He looked at the woman in surprise.

Then he really did fall over, feeling as if the breath had been knocked out of him. “Freya?”

The woman - Freya! - quirked an eyebrow at Merlin. "Yes?"

"You... how... what?" Merlin sputtered.

"Would you like to be a bit more specific, Merlin?" Freya asked, sending him a disapproving look. "What happened in there?" she asked more gently. "That was an important meeting. Are you feeling all right?" Freya offered Merlin a hand up.

Merlin stared at her hand as if he'd never seen it's like before, not daring to reach out and touch, for fear that it would disappear.

"Merlin?" Merlin's eyes snapped up to meet hers. Freya looked concerned now, crouching down to Merlin's level. "Do you need help, Merlin?"

"N-no," Merlin responded shakily. "Where am I?"

Freya sent Merlin a puzzled frown. "You're in your office, Merlin. You were just in a board meeting. Have you hit your head that hard?" Freya reached out to feel around the back of Merlin's head. Merlin felt his breath catch in his throat. His eyelids fluttered shut as he reveled in feeling Freya's touch again.

At that moment, the door flew open.

"Mer - oh."

At the sound of that voice, Merlin leapt to his feet, swinging around to meet Arthur's confused gaze. "Arthur!"

"Merlin," Arthur replied, sounding distant.

"Arthur," Freya chimed in, tone disapproving. "Why aren't you at your desk?"

Merlin saw Arthur visibly bristle at being addressed without deference. Merlin quickly came to the rescue - to Arthur's or Freya's rescue, Merlin wasn't entirely certain - by saying, "I wanted to speak with him!"

"Oh," Freya said, face relaxing into a small smile. "I'll leave you boys to it then," she said, shooting Merlin a wink on her way out.

The moment Freya was out the door, Arthur crowded into Merlin's space, looming over him and demanding, "What the hell is going on, Merlin?"

Merlin, still reeling from the fact that he was seeing Freya in the flesh again, couldn’t find his voice and kept staring at the closed door where he’d seen Freya last.

“Merlin!” Arthur snapped, shaking Merlin’s shoulder.

“What?” Merlin said, startled from his reverie. He turned wide, confused eyes on Arthur. Arthur’s shoulders slumped, eyes softening at Merlin’s expression.

“What happened?” Arthur asked, less sharply this time. “The last thing I remember, I was about to speak to my council when you shoved me to the floor. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes, I was on top of you on the ground and you were gaping like a fish at the people in that room.”

“I - ” Merlin began and faltered. “I don’t know. I was trying to push you out of the way of that chandelier before I found myself here. Where is here?”

Arthur groaned and sank into the leather chair behind the desk, covering his face with a hand. “I was hoping you’d tell me you fed me some magical mushrooms or something ridiculous like that.”

“You hate mushrooms, sire,” Merlin shot back.

Arthur glared through his fingers. “Shut up, Merlin.”

Merlin rolled his eyes, but didn’t speak, choosing instead to sit across from Arthur in a squishy blue chair, peering around the room curiously.

“I knew I should’ve gotten that chandelier fixed,” Arthur sighed.

Merlin smiled weakly.

A knock came at the door.

“Enter,” Arthur called automatically.

Freya poked her head in, a frown on her face. “Arthur, you know you’re not supposed to be in Merlin’s chair,” she chided.

Arthur sat up so quickly he nearly slid off the seat. ‘Merlin’s chair?’

“I wish you would set some boundaries, Merlin. This is your office, after all.”

Merlin stared at Freya uncomprehendingly.

Freya sighed and rolled her eyes, unable to stop the corners of her lips from turning up slightly at Merlin’s blatant disregard for the rules. “Anyway. I was coming to tell you that your father wants to see you.”

Arthur jumped up, but faltered when he noticed that Freya had directed her statement at Merlin.

Merlin continued to stare at Freya, still unable to speak.

Freya’s look of exasperation quickly melted into concern. She waved a hand in front of Merlin’s face. “Merlin? Are you sure you’re all right? Do you need to leave early? I can make your excuses to your father.”

At that, Merlin finally came alive. “M-My father?” he stammered.

“I really think you should take the afternoon off,” Freya decided. “You must have really hit your head. I’ll call around the car.” Before leaving, Freya turned to Arthur and said, “You should get back to your desk, Arthur. I know a stack of paperwork was just delivered to you.”

“No!” Merlin exclaimed, suddenly terrified of letting Arthur out of his sight. “He can… he can come with me!”

Freya shot Merlin a fond look and said, “Oh, all right. You two practically live in each other’s laps anyway.” She made a shooing motion and gave Arthur a pointed look until he got up and took Merlin’s arm, leading him out the door.

Arthur paused when he exited the office. He looked at Merlin helplessly, completely at a loss for where to go. Merlin stared back equally blankly.

Freya stepped into their field of vision, worry clear in her gaze.

“Are you boys all right?” she asked softly.

Arthur gave a sharp nod, but the lost look in his eye didn’t fade.

Freya reached out and took Arthur’s arm. “Come on,” she said gently. “I’ll take you both home.” Arthur and Merlin nodded mutely and followed her through the maze of cubicles, stepped into a moving box, and emerged out on the street.

A man who was waiting outside a parked car waved cheerily at Merlin and Arthur. “Freya tells me you aren’t feeling well, Merlin. What’s up?”

“I-I-I-” Merlin stammered, having no idea what to say.

Freya answered for Merlin, shooting him increasingly concerned looks. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with him, but I think he’s hit his head. I’ll go with them back to their flat.”

The man nodded and Freya shooed Merlin and Arthur into the car. Merlin slid in and sat down gingerly, not sure why he was getting into this strange contraption, but afraid to voice his uncertainty. Arthur was equally befuddled as he slid in beside Merlin and pressed their legs together, both of them relaxing a bit at the contact, at the knowledge that despite the unfamiliar world around them, there was still someone who thought this was just as crazy as they did.

“Straight home then?” the man asked.

Freya slid in and shot a sideways glance at Merlin and Arthur. She nodded. “Yes. Definitely straight home.”

The man in the front of the car - That was what Freya had called it, right? - gave a thumbs up and suddenly the big black contraption they were sitting in started whirring loudly and vibrating slightly. Merlin jumped in fright, hitting his head on the top of the car, digging his nails into Arthur’s arm, making Arthur hiss and claw at Merlin’s hands to get him off.

Freya leaned over and gently pried Merlin’s fingers off Arthur’s arm, squeezing his hand briefly before letting go. “What’s up with you today?”

“Nothing,” Merlin squeaked.

They proceeded to sit in silence until the car stopped in front of a tall, fancy looking building. The man in front came around to open Freya’s door. She stepped out, then poked her head back in when Merlin and Arthur didn’t move.

“Are you two coming?”

Merlin quickly nodded and tried to scramble to the door despite the fact that Arthur was in the way. Arthur gave a grunt as Merlin practically kneed him in the crotch, and shoved him away. He smoothly slid out of the car, shooting Merlin a scathing look. Merlin hastily scrambled out of the car, tripping over the curb, just avoiding hitting the ground because Freya reached out and caught him.

“Careful,” Freya chided, keeping her hand on his arm as she tugged him toward what looked to be several sheets of glass spinning. When Freya didn’t stop as they neared the glass death trap, Merlin dug in his heels, sputtering, “I-I don’t want to go in that!”

Freya gave Merlin an exasperated look. “Merlin,” she said with exaggerated patience. “You chose to live here. I don’t care how much you dislike revolving doors, I’m not letting you wander off to smack into a wall or something. Come on. It’s not going to eat you, I promise.”

With much reluctance, Merlin allowed Freya to drag him between two sheets of glass. He stuck close to her as they walked and breathed a sigh of relief when the revolving door was behind him. He looked back to check on Arthur, but was startled to find him right behind them, looking completely unfazed, suppressed amusement in his eyes, at Merlin’s antics Merlin was sure. Before he got a chance to mutter “prat” at Arthur, Freya was tugging him along again, this time into what looked to be another death trap that was some kind of box with a light and loads of buttons much like the one they were in from the other building. Instead of resisting, Merlin thought better and meekly followed Freya in, trusting that she wouldn’t take him anywhere that would actually eat him.

When the metal box stopped, Merlin found himself staring at a brightly lit hallway with doors lining each side. There was some plush, fur-like material lining the ground beneath his feet, and Merlin had to be dragged into a room Freya had just opened the door to.

Merlin froze upon stepping through the door, staring around at the well-furnished surroundings in awe. Arthur, however, had no such qualms, and sauntered right in, plopping himself down on a couch. He bounced a little, a curious look in his eye as he felt the material sink beneath him in a way that the chairs in Camelot never did.

Freya tugged Merlin to the couch beside Arthur, and pushed him firmly on to the seat.

"I'll go make you boys some tea. Do you need anything else? Some paracetamol perhaps?”

Merlin could only shake his head, staring at Freya with wide eyes, hoping he looked well.

Instead of looking placated, Freya only seemed more alarmed. She reached out and put her hand to Merlin's forehead again. "Are you sure you don't need medicine? It's unlike you to be this quiet. The only time you're this complacent is when you're dead on your feet." She glanced over at Arthur. "On the bright side, Arthur seems to look a lot better. Maybe it was the stale air in the office?" She swept away and headed toward what Merlin assumed was the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with two steaming cups, putting one in front of Merlin and the other in front of Arthur.

"Drink up," she ordered. "It's the special herbal tea Gaius makes." She studied Merlin carefully for a few moments before shaking her head ruefully. "Is it really that hard to take care of yourself, Merlin?"

"No?" Merlin tried.

Freya gave a small laugh. "Well, I’ll go knock on Gaius’ door and have him take a look at you. Then I've got to get back to work. Someone's got to do your work while you're not there, right?" She winked at Merlin. Merlin immediately felt guilty for foisting his work off on someone else. Freya handed Merlin a small black box and said, "Here's the TV remote. I'm sure you can entertain yourselves. Do you want a laptop too?" Without waiting for an answer, Freya hurried to the desk on the other side of the room and returned with a slimmer box. She set it down on the low table in front of them and gave a short nod. "That should be enough for you guys, right?"

Freya ruffled his hair a bit as she walked past toward the door, calling over her shoulder, “See you on Monday! Cheers!”

Merlin and Arthur sat in silence staring at the things Freya set down in front of them after the door closed.

Finally, Merlin broke the silence by asking, “Hungry?”

“Starving,” Arthur replied, looking around the flat with a lost look in his eyes.

As they continued to sit, lost in this overwhelming world, Freya poked her head back in the door. “Merlin? Arthur?” she called.

“Yes?” Merlin called back.

“I’d forgotten that Gaius is at a conference this week, so I phoned him just now. He’ll be back tomorrow and he’ll be around to check on you boys early in the morning. Be careful, won’t you? Don’t do anything crazy tonight.”

“Yes, Freya,” Merlin said, at a loss for what else to say.

“Ok, I’m actually getting back to work now. Don’t forget to eat! Do you want me to call your usual take away place for you?”

“That would be lovely, thank you,” Merlin said, relieved.

“Will do. Take care of yourselves!” Freya called before leaving the flat again.

“So what do we do now?” Merlin asked.

“Wait for ‘take out’? Whatever that is,” Arthur said.

"Wonder how long that takes," Merlin said with a sigh. "I'm starving too."

Arthur pulled the strange slim box Freya had put down toward him and poked at the top a bit as Merlin watched nervously.

"What do you think it does?" Merlin asked in a hushed voice.

"Let's find out," Arthur replied, lifting it up carefully and peering at all sides of it. "It's heavy," he said in surprise.

"Let me see," Merlin said, tugging the box away from Arthur to examine it for himself. "Look, it's got a bit of hinge here," Merlin pointed out, gesturing at one thin side of the box. "Maybe it opens." Merlin stared at the other end of the box for a few moments before giving a shrug and pried apart the two halves of the box.

Arthur grabbed the thing back and started running his fingers over it, exploring the smooth black inside of half of the box, then poking at the letters on what appeared to be little buttons on the other half. "What did Freya call this?" Arthur asked. "A laptop?"

"I think so," Merlin replied, rapidly losing interest as Arthur just kept stroking the letters. He glanced around, spotting the "TV remote" Freya left for them and started poking at those buttons. It was nice and colorful and the buttons were soft. Merlin amused himself pushing random buttons until suddenly, a loud crackling rang out and the black box a few feet away sprang to life.

With a yelp, Merlin backed himself into one corner of the couch. Arthur quickly sank into the other corner, hugging the laptop to his chest protectively.

"What did you do, Merlin?" Arthur demanded.

"I don't know!" Merlin half-wailed, waving the remote around. He poked a few more buttons and found himself suddenly fascinated by the changing picture on the box. "I think this controls it," Merlin said slowly, poking a number and watching the picture change from a person talking about "stocks" to some animals roaming a grassy plain.

"Well, as long as it's not about to attack us," Arthur said, relaxing and going back to pressing buttons on his laptop. "Wonder what this one does..." Arthur muttered to himself, jabbing at the different shaped button above all the letters. The laptop promptly beeped and the black shiny surface flickered brightly before making pictures of its own.

"Merlin!" Arthur said excitedly. "This does the same thing!"

Merlin leaned over to look at the laptop eagerly and started pushing buttons. "Nothing happens," Merlin said with a pout, going back to playing with the remote.

Arthur's face fell at Merlin's declaration. Then a new screen popped up with a picture of Merlin's face in the center and a white box beneath it. Arthur frowned at the image for a while, then tried pressing buttons. To his surprise, letters that turned into little dots began appearing in the white box. "Maybe it's some secret key to controlling this!" Arthur muttered. He typed in words like "Camelot," "the five kingdoms," and even "Merlin." Then, just out of sheer exasperation, he typed in his own name.

Much to Arthur's surprise, the image disappeared and a new one took its place. Arthur darted a curious glance at Merlin, but decided not to comment on the fact that his name seemed to have unlocked the strange contraption.

The new image on the screen was one of Arthur and Merlin sunning themselves on the beach, laid out on blankets on the sand as the water lapped at their feet.

Arthur gazed at the image for a few seconds, slightly awed by the tranquility in the scene, before the picture dissolved, and another of the two of them took its place. This time, the two of them had their arms thrown over each other’s shoulders casually, both grinning at the camera. Merlin was holding a small yellow furry bear with a bandage over one eye in his hand, and Arthur was holding a sign that said “Pudsey.”

Arthur was endlessly fascinated by the changing pictures on the laptop screen, but eventually shook himself out of it to continue clicking buttons.

When he clicked a button on the screen that looked like a circle divided into three different colored sections and a blue center, something expanded to fill the screen. At closer inspection, Arthur saw the words “Camelot Marketing” written across the top with a picture of Merlin and a man he didn’t recognize to the side of the writing.

A ding came from the direction of the door.

"What's that do you think?" Arthur whispered, shooting a wary glance at the front door.

"I don't know," Merlin responded equally quietly. "Should we go check?"

"I wish I had my sword," Arthur muttered as he trailed after Merlin.

Merlin flapped a hand at Arthur in a shushing motion. He opened the door a crack and peered through at a man holding some kind of brown bag. "Can we help you?"

"Two orders of Pad Thai take away?" the man asked, lifting the bag up to eye level.

"Ah, yes!" Merlin said, recognizing the words "take away" in the man's question. "Thank you!"

The man gave them a strange look before turning and leaving, muttering something that sounded like, "Thank god I've already been paid."

Merlin closed the door and turned back to Arthur, holding up the bag and giving a shrug.

"Food?" Arthur asked hopefully.

"Smells like it," Merlin said, giving the bag a cautious sniff. "Smells nice too."

Merlin picked his way back to the couches they were sitting in before and set the food on the low table in front of them. He pulled out two round, clear containers containing what looked like noodles with various other things mixed in. He examined one for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders and handing one to Arthur and taking one for himself. Thankfully, Merlin was able to fish out two forks from the bag. They held on to the forks for dear life, feeling marginally better to be holding something familiar for the first time since arriving in this strange place.

Merlin pried open one of the containers and took a bite of the food. "Not bad," Merlin told Arthur, mouth full of noodles and egg.

He had to stifle a laugh when he saw Arthur still struggling with his container. Merlin plucked the strange clear plate out of Arthur's hands and opened it for him. "See?"

Arthur huffed at Merlin. "I was handling it," he insisted.

"Just trying to help, sire," Merlin teased. "Go on, try it."

Arthur gave Merlin a sidelong glance. "Well, you're not dead yet, so I suppose it can't hurt," he said grudgingly and took a cautious bite.

Merlin raised an eyebrow at him. "So?"

"Not bad," Arthur admitted.

Merlin shot Arthur a grin and dug into his food. They spent the remainder of their time eating in silence, gazing around wide-eyed at the room full of unfamiliar objects they were in.

Once Arthur was finished with his dinner, he pulled the laptop back on to his lap, itching with curiosity to find out why Merlin's face had popped up on this screen in relation to a Camelot of some kind. As he clicked around, he was shocked to realize that Merlin was the heir to this "company" much the same as Arthur was the heir to Camelot's throne.

"Merlin..." Arthur whispered. "You've got to see this."

Merlin put down the TV remote to sidle up to Arthur, leaning in close to see the laptop. "What's that?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know," Arthur replied. "But it's... it's about you."

"Me?" Merlin squawked, tipping on to Arthur's lap in surprise. When he picked himself back up, Merlin pulled the laptop closer, losing himself in the descriptions of him, his company, his employees, and most surprising of all, his father. Despite his curiosity, the moment Merlin saw the name Balinor at the top, he frantically clicked away, not wanting Arthur to make the connection between Balinor, Merlin's father, and Balinor the dragonlord.

Merlin went through the rest of the descriptions, drinking in the information about "Camelot Marketing," his company (whatever that was) and the people who worked for him. To his surprise, Merlin realized that many of his employees were people he knew from Camelot, like Gwen, Morgana, Gwaine, Leon, Percival, and more. The coincidence made him pause, wanting to think more about the implications of it, but he pushed it to the back of his mind in favor of learning more about where he was.

When he finally got to Arthur's description, linked from Merlin's own description, he had to stifle a laugh. "Arthur?" Merlin said, trying and failing to hide a grin.

"What?" Arthur asked, narrowing his eyes, knowing Merlin's expression couldn't mean anything good.

"Have you read about yourself yet?"

"No... I didn't realize there was information about me."

"I think you should. Right now." Merlin pushed the laptop back at Arthur and started fiddling with the TV remote again, keeping his gaze trained on Arthur out of the corner of his eye, waiting for his reaction.

"What's a secretary?" Arthur asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Er... it's a modified version of a manservant from what I gather," Merlin said, shooting Arthur an amused grin.

"What?" Arthur exclaimed, jumping up so quickly the laptop went crashing to the floor.

"Careful!" Merlin cried, quickly rescuing the laptop and checking for damage. Thankfully, it looked fine.

"I am not going to be your manservant, Merlin," Arthur declared, folding his arms over his chest and lifting his chin haughtily.

"I believe the title used was secretary," Merlin pointed out, trying not to laugh at Arthur's pout.

"You said it was a manservant."

"A modified version of a manservant," Merlin corrected.

"Same difference," Arthur insisted, waving a hand in the air.

"If you insist on being a manservant..."

"Merlin!" Arthur snapped.

"I'm just saying!" Merlin quickly said, raising his hands, palms up in a gesture of peace. "There's no shame in it. A bit of work might do you good."

"I do plenty of work, Merlin."

"I know you do," Merlin said soothingly. "But this is different work. Think of it as learning how the common people live. As a king, you're meant to be in touch with everyone from the nobles to the peasants, are you not?"

"I suppose..." Arthur agreed grudgingly.

“Think of this as getting in touch with the people then.”

--

After hours of fiddling with the TV and laptop, Arthur announced that he’d like to go to bed. Merlin agreed and got up, wandering around the flat, opening and closing doors until he found two bedrooms.

“Which is yours and which is mine, do you think?” Merlin asked, looking at Arthur uncertainly.

Arthur peered into both rooms, then pointed to the one on the left. “The cleaner one is mine, obviously.”

“Oi!” Merlin protested before the door slammed shut in his face, a muffled “Good night!” drifting through the wood. Merlin stuck out his tongue at the closed door petulantly before turning on his heel and marching into his own room.

Merlin made sure the door was locked before he changed and flopped down on the remarkably soft mattress. Merlin reveled in the softness surrounding him, arching like a cat. Lazily, he lifted his hand so that it rested on top of the blankets, cupping it and whispering, “Leoht.” Merlin stared at his hand in dismay when no ball of light appeared. He shook out his hand, then promptly felt foolish for thinking that would make a difference in his magic.

“Leoht,” he whispered more insistently.

He was still surrounded by darkness.

Merlin sat up abruptly, staring at his hand for so long he thought he could discern the lines on his palm in the dark. “Leoht,” he begged, knowing the result would be no different. There was no tugging in his gut, no flare of magic within him. There was just empty space where his magic should be.

Merlin lurched to his feet, feeling sick. He fumbled with the doorknob, feeling the world spin as he felt his way along the wall to the bathroom. He had the presence of mind to lock the bathroom before collapsing beside the toilet, expecting to heave up his insides at any moment. When the dizziness subsided, Merlin pulled himself up, bumping his shoulder against a tiny switch that clicked. And suddenly the bathroom was bathed in light. Merlin bit his hand to muffle his yelp. He looked around in wonder at the luxurious bathroom. He touched the smooth tiling along the walls, marveling at the glide of his fingers over the stone. He flicked the tap on and off, staring in awe at the water that began to flow and stopped on command, no effort required beyond the twist of a knob.

Merlin ran his hands along the sides of the sink before leaning his weight on his arms, looking into the mirror and into his own face. He’d rarely seen his own reflection before. He’d caught some distorted glimpses of his reflection in water or in the window, and even a couple stolen glances in Arthur’s handheld mirror. But this mirror was extravagant even compared to Morgana’s mirror behind her dressing table.

Turning to see how he’d made the light appear, he found a small switch on the wall. He flicked it, gasping when the room was pitched into darkness. He flicked it over and over, marveling at the ease with which he could control light. Abruptly, the awe filling his chest disappeared as he was reminded of his usual ability to control light with his magic. He leaned against the door and slid down until he was sitting on the blessedly cold floor. He titled his head back against the door and stared up at the ceiling.

He, Merlin, had lost his magic. And he didn’t know how to get it back. Merlin wrapped his arms around his torso, as if he could hold himself together that way.

How could he protect Arthur without magic? How could he and Arthur survive in this bewildering world without magic? Merlin studied the light on the ceiling, suddenly wondering if, maybe, magic wasn’t needed here. Maybe this switch that made light appear and disappear was the only kind of “magic” that existed in this world. He didn’t know what to make of that.

Feeling more drained than before, Merlin pushed himself off the floor and returned to his bedroom, sinking back into his cocoon of warmth, fighting the tears that threatened to spill over. He clutched the blankets tighter around himself, seeking the welcome comfort the softness brought before.

This time, even the comfortable bed couldn’t ease the ache in his chest.

--

The next morning, Merlin woke up with a hollow feeling in his chest. His revelation from the night before hit him all at once. He had to sit back against the headboard and close his eyes for several moments for the room to stop spinning. Merlin was sure he would throw up if he tried to stand. He rubbed at his chest idly, wincing at the feeling of emptiness inside him. How was he going to be any use without magic?

Merlin dragged himself from bed when he heard banging from the room beside his own. With a sigh, he trudged towards Arthur's room, hoping he hadn't broken too many things yet.

"Arthur?" Merlin called wearily.

His answer was a series of muffled swears. Merlin just shook his head and pushed the door open. "What are you doing?"

"I don't know!" Arthur exclaimed in frustration. Merlin fought the urge to smile as he took in Arthur's ruffled state, hair sticking up everywhere and clothes in disarray. "I don't know where anything is! I don't even know what anything is!"

Slowly, Merlin moved forward and put his hands on Arthur's arm, pulling him out of the room gently and settling him on the couch, an area they were mildly familiar with at this point. "I know it's confusing," Merlin said soothingly. "But it will work out, Arthur."

"How do you know that?" Arthur asked tiredly.

"I don't," Merlin said honestly, ignoring Arthur's glare. "But we'll figure it out. We always do."

Arthur gave Merlin a disbelieving look but nodded hesitantly, leaning back against the couch. Merlin smiled slightly and patted Arthur's arm.

When the doorbell rang, they both jumped, but Merlin went to the door, opening it wider this time. "Gaius!" he blurted out.

"Hello, my boy," Gaius said warmly. "Just woke up, I see."

"Er... yes. We were pretty tired."

Gaius' eyes widened for a moment, darting a look at Merlin and Arthur's equal states of undress. "Yes. Of course," Gaius said with a chuckle. "Now, Freya tells me you both had a bit of a fall. She sounded a bit worried you might have forgotten some things. You boys sit on the couch and let me have a look."

Merlin just nodded, uncertain how to respond. This Gaius seemed so like the Gaius from Camelot that he didn't know if he would be able to stop himself from blurting out the truth.

After quite a while of being poked and prodded, Gaius sat back and looked at Merlin and Arthur critically. "Everything seems fine," Gaius said. "Do either of you feel like anything's wrong?"

Merlin and Arthur exchanged a glance, knowing what the honest answer would be, but having no idea how to answer the question aloud.

"We're a little fuzzy on some things," Merlin said slowly. "Something like what Freya was saying?"

"Really?" Gaius said skeptically.

"Really," Merlin squeaked.

"Judging by the lack of injuries, neither of you should be experiencing any memory loss. Are you certain you've forgotten things?"

"Quite certain, yes," Arthur chimed in.

"But you remember me?" Gaius asked.

"Most definitely," Merlin said, nodding vigorously.

"What don't you remember?"

"Everything else?" Merlin squeaked.

"Everything?" Gaius raised his eyebrow in a gesture that was so familiar, the story was tumbling out of Merlin before he or Arthur could stop him.

By the time Merlin finished explaining where they came from, the world they knew, and the sudden thrust into this new world, Gaius' eyebrow had climbed so high up his face it had nearly disappeared into his hairline.

"Merlin!" Arthur had tried admonishing several times during Merlin's story, accompanied by attempts to shut him up. But Merlin had ignored him, the words coming out faster than he had the power to stop.

"You're from... Camelot?" Gaius asked in disbelief. "As in the real Camelot?"

"Is there any other?" Arthur asked in confusion. "After all, there's a Camelot Marketing here, is there not?"

"You know how crazy this all sounds, don't you?"

"Gaius, I know it sounds crazy. But believe me, it's true. We don't know how we got here, but it's definitely not our Camelot. All these... things," Merlin said, waving an arm about frantically in an attempt to express his confusion, "are not what we know. Please believe me. If you don't, I don't know who can help us."

Gaius sat down heavily in a chair beside the couch.

"You boys are going to need to give me some time to digest all of this," Gaius said, rubbing his face wearily. "I've known you all your life, Merlin. I don't know what to make of this."

"Do I seem the same to you?" Merlin asked tentatively.

Gaius didn't respond, only studied Merlin carefully. "I can't say," Gaius finally said.

"Can we talk privately?" Merlin asked.

Gaius nodded slowly and gestured toward the front door. "Come to my flat. We'll talk there."

Merlin was quick to follow, throwing Arthur an apologetic glance before disappearing out the door.

"Gaius," Merlin said the moment the door to Gaius' flat was closed. "Can I be completely honest with you?"

"Of course, my boy."

"Good," Merlin said in relief. "I'm not used to keeping things from you."

"So I'm in your Camelot too?" Gaius asked, a small smile on his face.

Merlin nodded. "You're the one I talk to whenever I need help," Merlin admitted.

"Some things never change," Gaius replied, laughing a little. "What do you need to be honest about?"

"Everything I said earlier was true," Merlin said slowly. "But there's more. I have magic. But Arthur doesn't know." Merlin looked at Gaius tentatively, at once hopeful and fearful that he would understand.

"Magic?" Gaius repeated disbelievingly.

"Gaius, please," Merlin pleaded. "Try to believe me. I wouldn't lie about this."

"Just because I'm a believer in the Old Religion doesn't mean you can make jokes like this, Merlin," Gaius said sternly.

"I'm not joking!" Merlin exclaimed. "I would prove it, but it's gone! It's been gone since I got here."

After a beat, “Wait, what? You’re a believer in the Old Religion? Does that mean you don’t think I’m completely crazy?” Merlin asked hopefully.

Gaius sighed. “If you’re asking if I believe in magic, then yes. But magic hasn’t existed in a very long time, Merlin.”

That gave Merlin pause. “When you say that,” Merlin said slowly, “do you mean that magic doesn’t exist at all in this world?”

Seeing Merlin’s stricken face, Gaius’s expression softened. He patted Merlin arm gently in an attempt to comfort him. “I’m afraid so, Merlin. But I won’t deny that I believe it existed years ago.”

Merlin perked up slightly. “Then do you believe me?”

“Merlin, my boy, I don’t know how I can,” Gaius said. “You’re not known for telling lies, but the old you certainly never displayed any such… talents.”

“But you believe that Arthur and I aren’t the ones you know?”

“I must be crazy,” Gaius muttered, “but I do. I’ve known you for long enough to know that there’s something different about you.”

“Is magic such a far leap then? Arthur and I time traveled, Gaius. What other explanation could you have?”

“That doesn’t prove anything about your magic, Merlin. Unless you’re trying to tell me that you’re the one who caused it,” Gaius said sternly.

“I wasn’t!” Merlin exclaimed. “Arthur doesn’t even know I have magic. I would never do something like this to him.”

“Why doesn’t Arthur know?” Gaius asked curiously.

“Magic is banned in Camelot,” Merlin said weakly.

“Banned?” Gaius echoed. “But the stories…”

“What stories?”

“If what you and Arthur claim is true, that you are the real King Arthur and Merlin… there are legends written about the two of you. Legends about who you were and what you did. The Golden Age under King Arthur’s reign with help from his Court Sorcerer Merlin.”

Merlin could only gape at Gaius. “Gaius, you must show me these legends,” Merlin whispered. “There are prophecies I’ve heard. I - I must know.”

“Merlin,” Gaius said warningly. “I don’t think it’s safe for you to know about your future. It may not be set in stone, but it’s not wise for you to go about changing it.”

“I know,” Merlin replied heavily. “But I need to know what happens to Arthur. I’ve heard things about Arthur’s death. Things that cannot come to pass.”

“Merlin…” Gaius said warily. “All right, I’ll show you. But not now. We have more important things to worry about.”

Merlin nodded reluctantly, knowing that what he feared wouldn’t happen while they were in this world.

“How can I prove to you that I have magic?” Merlin asked.

“I do want to believe you, Merlin,” Gaius said. “But how can I when you tell me you can’t use it anymore?”

“It is the truth, Gaius,” Merlin said softly. “I hope that one day I can show you what I can do, but that’s not today.”

“I must be crazy to say this, but I believe you. Even if you’re not the Merlin I’ve known for years, there’s something about you that makes me want to believe you.”

Merlin’s face broke out into a grin. He launched himself forward and hugged Gaius gratefully. “Thank you, Gaius,” Merlin said, breathing a sigh of relief. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t believe me.”

Gaius smiled and patted Merlin’s back gently. “Why don’t we get back to your flat now? Arthur’s waiting.”

“Yes! Of course,” Merlin agreed immediately, letting Gaius go and swiftly heading for the door.

Gaius followed, chuckling silently to himself, wondering if Merlin and Arthur were like this in every time period.

“Arthur!” Merlin called as he returned to their flat.

“Does he believe us?” Arthur asked quietly, darting a glance at Gaius.

Merlin beamed. “He does.”

“And I assume you’ll need me to cover for you with Freya with the whole memory loss thing?” Gaius asked.

“If you wouldn’t mind,” Merlin said embarrassedly.

Gaius shook his head with a small smile. “I’m used to you getting into trouble like this. Of course I’ll do it.”

“Thank you, Gaius,” Merlin said. “I don’t know how we could ever thank you enough.”

Gaius waved a hand in the air dismissively. “I’m here to help. Now, there must be much you boys don’t understand. Where shall we start?”

“Can you help us out a bit around the flat?” Merlin asked tentatively. “We don’t know what much of anything is.”

“Of course, of course,” Gaius was quick to agree. “Judging by the fact that the lights are on, I assume you figured out how electricity works?”

“Elec - what?” Arthur asked.

“Oh dear,” Gaius sighed. “I see we have a lot of work to do before the weekend is out. You both are going back to work on Monday, correct?”

Merlin nodded helplessly.

“Well. Let’s get started then. Why don’t I give you boys a tour of your flat and explain what I can. If anything remains a mystery, ask away.”

“Thanks, Gaius,” Merlin said, trailing after Gaius toward the front door, tugging a reluctant Arthur along behind him.

“All right, let’s start with something simple,” Gaius said, pointing at the door. “Locks must be universal. That little metal bump right there? That’s how you lock the door. If you turn it one way, the door will be locked. Turn it back and it’ll open again.” Gaius demonstrated quickly.

He turned to the left of the door and gestured to a little protrusion from the well. “That’s the light switch. You flip it up or down to turn the lights on and off. The light comes from the light bulbs up on the ceiling and around the room. That’s one form of electricity. Electricity is a kind of energy that powers much of what we use here. The lights are a good example.”

Gaius paused for a moment to let Merlin and Arthur take it all in.

“It’s like magic,” Arthur said, looking around warily.

Gaius darted a quick glance at Merlin, who ducked his head and gave a tiny shake of the head. “Er… not quite. It’s more like science.”

Arthur’s expression cleared up considerably. “There’s no harm in it?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Gaius said hastily. “It can still hurt you. For instance, if you put your fingers into an outlet,” he mimed poking two fingers into the holes of the outlet in the wall, “then it can shock you and possibly kill. So be careful. But like anything else, like magic even, it has two sides. It’s wonderful when used properly, but easy to abuse.”

Gaius glanced at Merlin’s withdrawn expression, silently wondering how Merlin spent his days with Arthur and his wariness toward magic when, if the legends were true, Merlin was magic itself.

“Gaius,” Merlin said quietly. “If it’s somewhat like magic, can it help us get back to where we came from?”

Gaius was stumped. “I… can’t say, Merlin. I’m afraid that’s something I’ll have to do a lot more thinking on before I can have an answer for you.”

Merlin just nodded, studying the light fixtures pensively.

Gaius continued to take them around the rest of the flat, showing them how to use the kitchen, including the stove, the microwave, the fridge, and the sink.

Arthur was endlessly fascinated with running water.

“Merlin!” Arthur exclaimed, turning the faucet on and off in quick succession. “It’s like a small waterfall! And I can control it!”

Merlin smiled at Arthur indulgently, having already seen the wonders of running water. “It’s quite fascinating. Everything here is so different.”

“It seems so,” Gaius agreed. “I’m impressed you boys managed to work out how to use the TV and the laptop so quickly. That in itself is a wealth of information at your fingertips.”

Gaius spent the rest of the day showing Merlin and Arthur around their own flat, pointing out different appliances in the kitchen and trying to teach at least one of them how to cook. Merlin was mildly successful, at least having managed to cook an egg without setting fire to the kitchen, unlike Arthur. Gaius considered it a small victory. By the end of the day, it seemed that the two would be able to get around their own flat without being hazards to themselves.

“Okay, boys,” Gaius said. “I’m going to head home now, but I’m just across the hall if you need anything. I’ll be back tomorrow to take you both out to lunch and walk around a bit. I’ll take you grocery shopping as well so you’ll have food in the house, and we can cover whatever I didn’t talk about today tomorrow. Sound good?”

“Thanks, Gaius,” Merlin and Arthur chorused.

Arthur quickly disappeared to play with the running water a bit more, so Gaius took the opportunity to pull Merlin aside and pointed out a shelf of books in Merlin’s bedroom.

“See those books, Merlin?” Gaius asked softly.

Merlin glanced over and nodded upon meeting Gaius’ gaze again.

“Those contain the legends I told you about.”

Merlin’s eyes widened and he took a few quick steps toward the bookshelf before Gaius grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.

“Listen to me, Merlin,” Gaius said firmly. “The old you was always fascinated with Arthurian legend, so you have quite the collection of stories. The problem is that few of the stories agree with each other. In fact, I’ve never once heard of a legend in which magic was banned in Camelot. I don’t want you to go looking for answers in those books there. I can’t tell you which one is accurate, and I hope you don’t spend your time trying to figure it out. Promise me you’ll try to have a life here no matter what you find in those books, Merlin.”

Merlin stared at the bookshelf for a long while, knowing Gaius was right, but not wanting to fight the temptation to know how his and Arthur’s story ended.

Merlin was quiet for so long that he didn’t turn back to Gaius until he shook Merlin’s arm and called his name sharply. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes,” Merlin replied automatically. “I… I promise, Gaius. Whatever is in those books won’t help me in this world. That’s my focus right now.”

“Good,” Gaius said, sounding relieved. “Don’t hesitate to come talk to me if you boys need any more help.”

“Thanks, Gaius.”

--

Merlin spent the rest of the night poring over the Arthurian legend texts once Arthur had fallen asleep.

Merlin quickly learned exactly what Gaius meant about the inconsistencies in the stories. In fact, the only things the legends seemed to agree on was that Arthur was a great king and that he died at the hands of Mordred.

After the fifth version that ended with Mordred mortally wounding Arthur, Merlin flung the book away from him with a cry, curling up on top of the blankets and burying his face in his knees.

“How do I save him?” Merlin whispered to himself brokenly.

His only consolation was that Arthur had a long and prosperous reign before he and Mordred met on the battlefield. But to Merlin it wasn’t enough. It didn’t help that his own role in the stories was as inconsistent as any of the other elements.

If the future wasn’t written in stone, then why did Arthur’s death by Mordred seem so inevitable?

Merlin didn’t sleep at all that night. When he heard Arthur’s alarm go off, and the subsequent banging and cursing that followed, Merlin dragged himself off his bed and carefully put away the books.

He sat on the edge of his bed taking several deep breaths before he went to clean himself up in the bathroom, trying to erase the evidence of his lack of sleep. After thoroughly scrubbing his face, he gave it up as a lost cause, knowing there was no way of hiding the dark circles around his eyes.

Merlin shuffled into the kitchen and made breakfast for himself and Arthur, being careful as he cracked a few eggs and popped in some toast. It seemed smarter to start with something simple that Gaius had taught them the day before than to attempt Arthur’s usual complex breakfast.

“Merlin?” Arthur said as he came stumbling into the kitchen and collapsing into a chair.

Merlin felt the tight knot in his chest loosen slightly at the familiar sound of Arthur’s voice. He closed his eyes and just breathed for a moment, reminding himself that no matter what was to come, Arthur was here, alive, and -

“Is that breakfast?” Arthur asked hopefully.

- waiting for breakfast.

With a short laugh, Merlin turned and scooped the eggs on to two plates, plopping two slices of toast on to each plate before bringing both to the kitchen table.

“Yes, Arthur,” Merlin said with mock patience. “Breakfast is served. As usual.”

After breakfast, Merlin and Arthur managed to have a quiet morning until Gaius knocked on their door to take them out to lunch. Lunch was simple at a fish and chips place where Gaius didn’t want to draw too much attention to themselves while he was explaining what things like cars or streetlights did. They managed to get through the day without much fanfare until Gaius noticed just how tired Merlin had been the entire day.

“Merlin,” Gaius asked while Arthur was off studying the pigeons that were barely afraid of humans. “Did you stay up all night?”

“What?” Merlin said defensively. “No! Not all night.”

“Merlin. I told you not to think too much about those legends.”

“I know,” Merlin said with a sigh. “I just couldn’t resist. I admit that plenty in there is completely inaccurate, but there’s always enough truth in it for me to believe that it came from the life I’ve lived. And Gaius, they all end the same way.” Merlin rubbed a hand over his face tiredly. “It must be true then.”

“The future isn’t set in stone, my boy,” Gaius said.

“This one certainly seems to be,” Merlin snapped.

“Then it’s not going to change even if you waste your life on it,” Gaius reasoned.

“No, but I can’t just stand by and watch Arthur die.”

Gaius had no answer for that.

--

Monday morning, Merlin was woken from his sleep as his mobile vibrated on the bedside table. Merlin stared at the mobile wordlessly, a little scared to pick it up. He'd figured out what it did the night before, but that didn't make the violent vibrations any less terrifying.

Gingerly, he picked up the mobile and flipped it open, answering with a cautious, "Hello?"

"Merlin," came Freya's exasperated voice. "Where are you?"

"Erm... at home?"

Merlin heard a rather put-upon sigh on the other end of the line. "Why aren't you at work?"

Work! That was a concept Merlin understood. "Send the car?" Merlin said, remembering Freya saying something similar before they got into the black vehicle that transported him and Arthur back to their flat.

"I already have. It's waiting out front. So hurry and get here. Don't forget to drag Arthur with you."

"Arthur... right," Merlin muttered.

"He's your best friend," Freya reminded him.

"I wonder why sometimes," Merlin said under his breath.

When Freya laughed, Merlin blushed, realizing he hadn't been as quiet as he wanted. "We all wonder why, Merlin. Now up and at 'em!"

Before Merlin could protest, Freya hung up.

Merlin gaped at the phone for a few seconds, then dragged himself from bed to go wake Arthur. When he barged into Arthur's room, he stopped short in shock, finding Arthur awake and staring out the window.

"Arthur?"

Arthur didn't look back. "Merlin."

"We have to go to work."

"Kings don't work, Merlin. Kings have duties."

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Well, you're not a King here." From the bit of light streaming in from the window, Merlin saw Arthur wince.

"Yes, I know," Arthur said heavily. He turned to face Merlin, giving him a critical look. "Work it is, then." Merlin nodded dumbly, a little shocked that Arthur had given in so easily. Arthur gestured at the room. "Go on. Dress me."

"Arthur!" Merlin protested. "I hardly know how to dress myself in these clothes, much less dress you."

Arthur waved at him dismissively. "You can figure it out. I have faith in your limited mental capabilities."

Merlin narrowed his eyes at Arthur, but gave in with a huff. They were pressed for time with a driver waiting downstairs, and it took more time and effort than Merlin had to expend this morning to argue with Arthur. As it was, it took Merlin half an hour to dress Arthur to a somewhat passable level. Quickly, Merlin scrambled to his own room to throw on some clothes in roughly the same fashion as he dressed Arthur.

They dashed out the door, panting by the time they reached the car. The driver's eyes widened as he looked Merlin and Arthur up and down. He seemed to stifle a laugh before winking at Merlin. Merlin gave an uncertain smile in return, sliding into the backseat, dragging Arthur in with him.

When they arrived at their office, Freya was standing out front, tapping her toes and checking her watch. She hurried forward when the car pulled up, but stopped short when she saw the state of Merlin and Arthur's clothing. She pressed her lips together tightly, corners turning up. Merlin almost asked if she was all right before she shook her head and let out a laugh. She beckoned them both forward, fixing their collars and the fit of their jackets, adjusting the skewed buttons that Merlin couldn't get to button properly.

"What did you boys do? Decide to have a shag before coming to work today?"

Merlin and Arthur exchanged blank looks, wondering what the word "shag" meant. They turned their blank faces on Freya, but she didn't seem to buy it. She patted Merlin's shoulder and winked. "It's okay. Your secret's safe with me." Just before she walked away, Merlin thought he heard a muttered, "Not as if the entire office doesn't already know anyway."

Merlin and Arthur exchanged another blank look, hurrying after Freya.

"Arthur, there’s more paperwork on your desk. Last I walked by, the pile looked like it was about to tip over. You might want to get on that. And Merlin, a new case came in that your father wants you to look at." Freya took Merlin's arm, pulling him along, chattering to him about "cases," "promos," and "the client." Just before they reached Merlin's office, a tall stack of papers on a desk just outside Merlin's door gave way.

"Oh no!" Freya exclaimed. "Let me help you with those, Arthur," Freya said, quickly bending down to pick up the fallen papers. Arthur and Merlin hurried over as well, gathering the mounds of paper and piling them back on to Arthur's desk. "You'll have to sort through all of these today," Freya said, flipping through the pile. "Merlin will be needing them sometime tomorrow."

Befuddled, Arthur stared after Merlin, as he was pulled away by Freya, with a slightly panicked look on his face.

As Merlin was ushered into his office, Freya continued chattering at him, talking about a myriad of things that went right over his head. Once he was settled, Freya put down an overflowing folder in front of him and patted his shoulder comfortingly.

“Don’t worry, Merlin,” Freya said reassuringly. “Gaius talked to me about the temporary memory loss you and Arthur are going through. I know things might be a little difficult for you, especially in the office, so I’ll do what I can for you. You have plenty of books in your flat about marketing, so those should be plenty to help you brush up on anything you don’t remember. Let’s start you off slow. Why don’t you do a bit of data entry to refresh your memory on your clients? I’ll pull all their profiles and some completed cases so you can try to get back in the swing of things.”

With that, Freya was gone in a whirl, with only the lingering scent of lavender perfume as evidence to Merlin that she had even been there at all. Scant minutes later, she was back with more folders in her arms, dumping all of it in front of Merlin. He could only sit, dumbfounded, as she rattled off more facts and figures that made no sense before giving him another comforting pat and disappearing through a side door into what Merlin assumed was her own office.

Merlin stared down at the teetering pile of folders in front of him in bewilderment, Merlin finally resigned himself to just starting at the top. As he went through the mountain of information, he silently thanked the gods that all the research he did with Gaius in Camelot had made him a fast reader. The profiles in the folders didn’t seem overly complicated. Aside from some technical terms Merlin didn’t grasp, he was able to figure a bit more out about the kind of work he did in this world.

All the profiles were very helpful in learning about the kinds of people he did work for and the other folders provided surprisingly detailed description of the products they made and Camelot Marketing was expected to promote.

From all the reading, it looked like Merlin’s job was to present the things people made creatively so people would buy them. It didn’t seem too foreign. He’d watched frequently as vendors in the lower town would perform tricks or tell stories to sell their product to passersby. Now he was getting paid for doing it for the vendors.

And this data entry thing. It didn’t look too scary. He was the one who usually did all the organizing for Arthur. This looked like some kind of organizational system with his clients’ information, their product, what they wanted, and when they wanted it. It wasn’t too different from the charts Merlin drew up for Arthur sometimes about the tasks he was expected to perform.

The more Merlin read, the more confident he started to feel about being capable of doing his job. The data entry went fairly quickly, the only thing slowing him down being his slow typing speed.

When Freya poked her head in around lunch time to remind Merlin to eat, he smiled at her gratefully and turned down her invitation to join her for lunch. Instead, he called out to Arthur and went around to his desk to check on how he was doing.

“How’s it going?” Merlin asked quietly.

“Fine,” Arthur snapped.

Merlin was taken aback at Arthur’s hostile response. “Are you sure? Do you need help? Do you want to go have some lunch?”

“I said I’m fine, Merlin,” Arthur just said without looking at him.

“Arthur - “

“Leave it, all right?”

Merlin just nodded slowly, feeling completely bewildered. He went out on his own and bought two sandwiches, one of which he deposited on Arthur’s desk before he went around the rest of the office to say hello to the rest of his employees.

Arthur could only watch as Merlin went around, chatting easily with everyone, making the women laugh and bat their eyelashes at him while the men clapped him on the shoulder good naturedly and smiled at him fondly. It was a dynamic Arthur had never experienced and didn’t know how to create.

As he looked on, he began to feel more and more left out. When his gaze fell on the neatly wrapped sandwich on his desk, he steeled himself, picking up the sandwich and joining Merlin and his group of fans.

The moment he entered the circle, the chatter quieted. Merlin turned and upon catching sight of Arthur, his face lit up, and he practically bounced to Arthur’s side.

“Arthur!” Merlin said, beaming at Arthur. “Glad you decided to join us!”

Arthur looked around, not seeing the same excitement mirrored on everyone else’s faces. He felt his heart sink, realizing that the version of him in this world wasn’t very popular at the office. At his side, Merlin kept chattering on, either oblivious to Arthur’s discomfort, or trying to alleviate it. When Arthur felt a gentle brush on his arm, he looked over at Merlin, knowing it was his way of trying to comfort him. Arthur relaxed slightly, then abruptly tensed when he saw the looks the group was exchanging as they glanced pointedly between himself and Merlin. Arthur snuck another glance at Merlin, this time convinced that Merlin was oblivious to the looks going on around him.

When Arthur looked back at the group, it was to see a tall, very familiar man join the group. “Leon!” Arthur blurted out.

Merlin shut his mouth abruptly, following Arthur’s gaze to find that it was indeed Leon who had just appeared.

“Hello,” Leon said slowly, looking at Arthur’s strangely. “Just thought I’d join the group.”

“Hello, Leon,” Merlin said cheerfully.

“Hey, Merlin,” Leon replied. He smiled at Merlin warmly, all the confusion from when he was speaking to Arthur having melted away. Arthur slumped a little, realizing that he truly was a stranger in this world if even his most loyal of knights regarded him as an intruder. But Arthur stood his ground, staying at Merlin’s side, taking comfort from the few brushes of Merlin’s hand against his.

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