Chapter Text
Superhero life was tough, really. It has been merely two weeks since Kilgharrah decided it was time for his powers to show up…and decidedly Merlin’s life was turned upside down.
It was not really the magic. Oh boy, Merlin just loved the magic, he could not help but practice it all the time, especially when Kilgharrah was not there to smother his enthusiasm and remind him that he should focus on finding the Once and Future King.
But Merlin was good at it, really good at it, and that’s how he started to experiment a bit more whenever he could help someone in distress.
He started small, with boy scout tasks: he saved a cat stuck on a tree with a floating spell, he stopped a pickpocket from stealing a wallet on the subway with a tripping spell, he helped a panicked dad find his lost kid at the mall with a tracking spell.
But then…the coffee shop thing happened. And Merlin could tell from the start that this was something else… something darker than normal. It all started when a new coffee shop opened in town. Everybody was talking about this new place, all of his friends were stopping by the shop to get their morning drink. They were crazy about it, but Merlin didn't seem to get the what the fuss was all about. He seemed immune to the collective euphoria. Also, he could feel obscure energy coming from that place, and from his owner. On the outside, looked a normal, regular millennial boho guy, but Merlin could simply tell that his aura was not entirely human.
And then suddenly, all the friends who happened to get their usual coffee from that place started to look more and more tired, almost like ghosts. Even Arthur had almost stopped teasing him on a daily basis, and looked as if all of his energy was suddenly sucked out of him.
Well, not that he minded not being teased of course, but not being at the receiving end of Arthur’s attention was, in fact, surprisingly upsetting, he had to say.
"The Dark Kingdom is behind it." Kilgharrah said to him. "I can feel them, I recognize their obscure powers. You have to stop them. Their queen, Morgause, is not yet in possession of the Cup of Life and she is tired from traveling across time and space... that's why she needs to feed on human energy to get stronger, and to accomplish her evil plans, she is sending her army of sorcerers and monsters to take over the earth with this stupid tricks!"
So, Merlin was convinced to intervene, and for lack of a better plan, had no choice but to improvise when he went to confront the shop owner. Well, Merlin was counting on handling the matter it in private, but the weird owner was in fact a monster who had took the appearance of a human, and he clearly had other ideas about their confrontation. He decided to reveale its ugly true form in the middle of the street, and to challenge him to a magic duel.
Luckily, Merlin did not have too much trouble getting rid of it. A few spells Kilgharrah had taught him were enough to send him spiraling into another dimension, but…well, his performance was noticed, a few people of course filmed it, and … it immediately went viral.
In less than a few hours, the video of the battle between the brave warlock and the monster of the coffee shop was on everybody’s feed… Well on the good side, Merlin thought, he was wearing an old sweat with a hood, and when people started filming he had raised his neckerchief to cover his mouth and nose to fend off a nasty dusty attack. Also, people seemed to be fond of the new hero in town.
On the not-so-bright side, people had given him the most stupid nickname ever « Mr. Neckerchief » (which also transformed into a popular hashtag), and they could not stop talking about him. Mmm, he really did not do a great job at the secret identity thing, Merlin admitted to himself.
"Hey, funny ears!"
Well, at least Arthur seemed to be back to being his old, prat self.
"Have you seen the video of the new dude everybody talks about?" the blonde asked with a smile as he sat beside him in the chemistry lab.
Of course, Mr. Gaius had to pair him off with the prat to work on the annual project for the science fair. So, besides spending his free days saving the world, he also had to see Arthur's stupid face every Friday afternoon.
"Arthur, we are supposed to work on the project, not talk about trending reels… we aren't going anywhere with it…"
"Ohh come on! It was so, so cool! Did you see the crazy attacks that he used? The golden thunders? And the wind whirl thing?"
Arthur seemed beyond ecstatic.
"And since when you are such a fan of magic? I am sure your father does not appreciate this new freak…if he becomes major, I’m sure he’ll do anything to track him down and get rid of him… "
Merlin had not intended to sound harsh, but he was scared about the attention he was getting. Magic was rare in the country, it was not exactly illegal, but if there were a few warlocks who cooperated with the police force, Uther Pendragon had made a stance against it in his campaign…
Arthur looked away as if he got burned.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not my father. And I don’t…dislike magic…not all of it at least. But apparently, there is nothing I can say or do to make you see me as something other than a stupid jock. So fine, go on thinking whatever you want about me, or my family if it makes your life easier…"
Merlin felt a stab of guilt. He knew that Arthur was nothing like his father. He often voiced his very different political opinions on social media, and he never truly spoke about Uther in front of their group of friends.
And Leon had once told him that life at the Pendragon estate had been far from easy for Arthur growing up and that fights with Uther were almost constant. Apparently, Arthur’s mother died in childbirth, and Uther never seemed to miss an occasion to make Arthur feel guilty about it.
"Hey, I am sorry. That was out of place…I am just a bit cranky today…come on let’s watch the video again…it was pretty cool after all!"
Arthur immediately lightened up and picked up his phone.
"Yeah, too bad he is actually dressed like a hobo!"
"Hey, that’s classist! And he is not dressed like a hobo!"
Arthur burst into laughter…
"Come on! He totally looks like he is ready to rob a bank at the very least…but…he is kind of hot …I like the slender figure!"
Merlin blushed to the tip of his ears. "What ?? Since when are you even looking at guys? You could fill an airport waiting room with all the girls that you dated!"
"Ohh, well, first of all, rumors about my dating life have been greatly exaggerated…and then… I like girls, but…I think that I also like boys…I guess I have for a while now, but, now I am sure and I don’t think I should hide it…" Arthur said with a smile, before adding in a more tentative tone « It’s not a problem, right?"
Merlin knew he had to say something, and quickly, before making Arthur think there was something wrong with what he just said to him… Especially given that he was out and proud himself!
But damn it! The prat could not just drop a bomb like this as if he was talking about the wheater…And if Arthur also liked boys …that meant that…
Ok, no, no, come on! Focus on saying something validating, this change nothing! If anything you’ll just have to bear the sight of him making out with girls AND boys…
"Of course, this is not a problem! You should just prevent your female fans that they have competition now!" Merlin said with a warm smile.
Arthur seemed immediately reassured and smiled back.
"Come on! Let’s watch it again!"
And Merlin did not know if to be pleased, or jealous of himself.
XxxX
"Young warlock! You have made no progress in the search of the lost king, or the knights! And you spend all of your evenings on your phone! You are a disaster!"
Merlin, sprawled on the bed, with his phone in one hand, stopped scrolling through Arthur’s Instagram profile, where he was trying to see if the prat had recently added new interesting male friends, and rolled his eyes. Sometimes Kilgharrah was worse than his mother!
"And what do you suggest me to do…? You can’t even remember what the king looks like!"
"My memories are sealed, young warlock, just like yours, and everyone else from Camelot…it was done to make it more difficult for the soldiers of the Dark Kingdom to find you all. But then you go and became an internet phenomenon…this will attract attention to you! Silly boy!"
"Well, maybe this will also bring the king and the knights to me, don’t you think? Should I open an official account? The Moon sorcerer looking for the Moon knights and their King?" Merlin replied with a smirk.
Kilgharrah just scoffed, before leaving for his evening flight, without even acknowledging Merlin's rambling.
Satisfied, Merlin went back at his secret stalking mission. But suddenly, his phone started receiving an avalanche of messages and notifications.
From Gwen: oh my god, Merlin, have you heard about Arthur? I am devastated. What can we do?
From Freya: Shit, Merlin, it’s awful, do you think we can help the police somehow??? call me asap, I'm freaking out…?
Then Merlin took a look at the group chat.
From Leon: Guys, I know the news is truly devastating, but I am in constant contact with Morgana and Arthur’s family...I already spoke with the police to tell them all I know since he was on his way to come meet me when it happened…they’re going to find him, I am sure. Stay calm, but please contact the police if you have any kind of information.
Merlin’s heart skipped a bit, and then he noticed a flood of Twitter notifications following one other, covering the full view of Leon’s text.
Last Minute shocking news: Uther Pendragon’s son kidnapped, only weeks short of Election day. #Pendragonkidnapping #Arthurpendragon #UtherPendragon
The Echos of Camelot Breaking News - Arthur Pendragon kidnapped. #Pendragonkidnapping #ArthurPendragonismissing #UtherPendragon #freeArthurPendragon
The Daily Camelot: Arthur Pendragon reported to have been abducted. Police press briefing coming soon.
#freeArthurPendragon #Arthurpendragonissing #UtherPendragon
Merlin froze for a moment, then he felt a surge of anger and determination take over him.
No, not Arthur, no, nope…he was not going to let whoever was behind this get away with it.
Well, maybe it was truly time to get serious at this super-warlock thing, cause he was definitely ready to kill whoever even tried to lay a finger on Arthur’s prattish head.