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1500 years. That was how long Merlin had been waiting for Arthur's return.

1500 years and still counting to this day.

While Merlin was expecting for Arthur to return via the Lake of Avalon, he knew he could not stick around the area forever. When it became apparent Arthur was not coming back to save Camelot from its inevitable downfall years later, Merlin cast a spell on the lake's shoreline. The spell would alert him when Arthur eventually rose from the lake; if he even did, that is.

Meanwhile, 1400-something years was plenty of time to wander the world. Explore new places and meet new people. So that was what Merlin did. He never stayed in one place for too long, often leaving after a couple of summers. Should he ever return to a place he had formerly lived in, he only did so after at least a few dozen summers. Just long enough for Merlin to be forgotten amongst the people, so no one questioned him about still looking like a young man after so many years.

Of course, Merlin had acknowledged that using the aging spell would have resolved most of the issue. But he remembered how his body always seemed to be in pain while he was an old man. That was something Merlin did not wish to experience again if he could avoid it. Plus, it reminded him of his antics as Dragoon and the Dolma back in Camelot. Antics in which Arthur was involved in. Despite the fun Merlin had with the ability to speak and act freely back then, sometimes the memories were too painful for him to look back on.

Even though Merlin did not stay in one place for long, it did not stop him from making friends. Naturally, some had taken more of an interest in him, both men and women alike. But Merlin found he could not accept anyone who approached him that way, and he never made a move towards another. None of them compared to Arthur.

Merlin knew Arthur would want him to be happy, even if it meant taking on another lover. He reasoned Arthur most likely would have not minded, seeing that the king had married Gwen for kingdom appearances while having Merlin as his true lover behind the scenes. Although with the knowledge of Arthur bound to return at some point, it felt like cheating.

Anyway, Merlin witnessed a lot of things over the last 1500 years. It was both amazing and terrifying to see how much the world has changed since the days of Camelot. The only thing missing was Arthur's return. However, after witnessing the atrocities that were now named the World Wars and still no sign of Arthur, Merlin wondered if the former king would ever return.

Meanwhile, Merlin was on the move again. He was in the process of deciding where to live for the next couple of years. The rural town in the Canadian province of Alberta that he was moving out from had been great for getting away from the general population. It was small, peaceful, and had been one of the places to closely resemble Ealdor. He made a note to move to the area again sometime in the far future.

However, Merlin felt the urge to move into the city again. A change in scenery could do him some good. It was also easier to blend in within the city compared to a rural town. Although before Merlin could decide on a city, he needed to pick a country. While trying to make that decision, he felt a pull towards the British Isles. Merlin wondered why that was the case, sensing the spell he had casted on the Lake of Avalon still dormant. No matter how hard Merlin tried, he could not come up with a reasonable explanation for the feeling.

Therefore, Merlin ended up moving into a flat situated somewhere in Northern London. This time, being on the same land mass that was once known as Albion provided Merlin with a sense of comfort rather than bringing back painful memories. Merlin did not dare to question it for the time being. At least with being at this location, Merlin could make a quick trip to the lake to check on the spell. It should not have worn off, but these days, Merlin did not know what could happen with magic being so limited in today's society.

And so, Merlin had arrived at the building in which his flat was in, called Camelot Tower. He did not carry many belongings with him, as his two small suitcases only contained essentials. He learned it was best to travel light when moving around so much. Often, he gave away the stuff he did not need before leaving.

Before Merlin could get settled into his new temporary home, he had to stop by the landlord's office to pick up his key. Hopefully this time, he could actually meet the landlord. When Merlin had come by for a tour of Camelot Tower and his flat, he had been accompanied by the landlord's assistant. She was a quiet girl named Olivia who had brown hair, and brown eyes that were behind a pair of glasses. She had explained to him that the landlord was away on a trip, and should be back by the time Merlin wanted to move in.

Now, Merlin stood in front of the door to the landlord's office. It was closed, but Merlin could see light from underneath. He looked around one more time before raising his fist to knock.

"Enter." Said a slightly muffled voice. It was deeper, so the landlord must be back from his trip like Olivia said he would.

Merlin opened the door, unprepared for the surprise behind it. Initially, the office looked the same compared to when he had come for the tour. The bookshelves to the right were still overflowing with books and papers. The filing cabinets stayed locked up in the back of the room. A lonely chair sat at the front of the desk. The only noticeable difference was a few more papers on the desk, but the desk itself was still cluttered as it was before.

As for the person behind the desk, all Merlin could see at the moment was a mop of blond hair. The man appeared to be searching the desk drawer near the floor for something.

"You can place the stuff in the corner of the room. I'll look through it later. Thank you." The man said without looking up.

Merlin paused for a moment at hearing the man's voice, feeling a sense of familiarity. But he quickly shook it off. "I'm not Olivia, or whoever you were expecting for a delivery. I'm supposed to be moving in today, and I'm here to get my key. My name is Merlin."

That caused the man to finally look up. He sat up properly in his chair, allowing for Merlin to see his face and upper body. "Oh right. Olivia did tell me a tenant would be moving in today. Please give me a moment to get your key."

All Merlin could do was stare at the man—who was presumably his landlord—in shock while said man stood up to open one of the filing cabinets. The man looked identical to Arthur. He had the same blond hair, blue eyes, strong physique, pale skin kissed by the sun, and the same voice Merlin loved listening to. Only instead of royal attire or chain mail, this man was dressed in a business casual outfit consisting of a shirt and trousers. It was like Merlin saw a ghost.

No, it cannot be him. Merlin shook his head. The spell at the lake had not alerted him. Arthur should not be back. It had to be a coincidence. There were plenty of blond men in England. Maybe he had met Arthur's doppelgänger.

The man pulled out a key from the filing cabinet. He looked at it for a moment before humming to himself in affirmation. Key in hand, he closed the filing cabinet. Back at the desk, the man took a booklet from the stockpile in the back corner, setting it next to the key. His attention turned back to Merlin. "You will be living in flat number 211."

Merlin looked at the key now on the desk. There was a tag on the keychain, labeled 211.

"I hope you enjoy living here. My name is Arthur, and I am the landlord of Camelot Tower." The man finally introduced himself. "You've already met my assistant, Olivia. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the building or your lease, please tell either of us."

Oh great, his name was Arthur too. Merlin really needed to visit the lake. Then he realized he needed to say something, as Arthur was now looking at him expectantly. "Thanks. I'll be sure to let you know should anything come up."

"Great. Let's get the rest of the paperwork done, and then you can move into your new flat." Arthur gestured for Merlin to sit down.

Merlin took a seat, willing to do anything to get out of the office as soon as possible.

It was not until two days after moving in did Merlin get an opportunity to visit the Lake of Avalon. After the encounter with Arthur on move-in day, Merlin was too spooked to leave the flat. Then he spent the entirety of the second day getting settled down. This included the necessary shopping to restock his food, cleaning supplies and hygiene items. By the time he went to bed, the flat looked like Merlin had been living there for a while rather than having just moved in.

Merlin stood at the shoreline of the lake. He was impressed it was still there after 1500 years. The area itself had changed surprisingly little. It appeared no one had dared to build a lakefront property, based on what Merlin could see. Most of the surroundings were still forested, although he could tell where more trees had been lost in a few spots. The water was still fresh with a clean, blue appearance. Overall, the lake remained calm, contributing to the peaceful atmosphere.

Magic that was once placed 1400-something years ago tingled in the air with Merlin's presence. The spell had not worn off, making Merlin frown. Arthur had not risen from the lake, that much was clear. If his landlord was indeed the Arthur Merlin knew in the past, then how did he get back to the world of the living? The lake served as the only portal left between the living and the dead. No matter how hard Merlin thought, he could not come up with a rational explanation.

For now, Merlin decided to put his questions and worries to the side. He did not even know his landlord's surname. His landlord was most likely a different Arthur anyway. All he had to do was not get his hopes up about it. Bad things always seemed to happen whenever Merlin got his hopes up.

When Merlin got back to his flat, he remembered the booklet Arthur gave him alongside his key. Maybe it could give him more information. What info was he looking for exactly, Merlin was not quite sure. But something was better than nothing, hopefully. It took him a minute to locate the booklet, having shoved it in the nightstand drawer beside his bed immediately after moving in.

The booklet mainly contained information about Camelot Tower. The building was pet friendly, had a fitness center, and there was an outdoor pool. Merlin skipped over this information and proceeded to the back section. There, it talked about the staff of Camelot Tower. Interest piqued, he flipped a few pages until he came across a blurb about Arthur. It only took the first sentence for Merlin's brain to fry.

"Arthur Pendragon is the landlord of Camelot Tower."

Oh shit. This Arthur even shared the same surname. Now that made the same looks, voice, and full name as Arthur of Camelot. There were too many similarities for this to all be a coincidence. Despite what his spell at the lake may say, Merlin was inclined to believe Arthur had returned.

However, it seemed Arthur had no memory of Camelot. Or at least of Merlin. There had been no recognition on Arthur's part aside from Merlin moving in, but that was expected as the landlord. Nothing had signified remembering about their time as lovers. It saddened Merlin to think about it.

Could it have been possible Arthur had returned through rebirth instead of the lake? Prophecies were technically predictions, not straight up facts about the future. But now that Merlin thought about it, the prophecy only said Arthur would return, not how. Then there was the part about Arthur returning during Albion's greatest need. Was that part just flat out incorrect? Merlin tried to recall recent world news about the UK. Nothing current or predicted for the future seemed appropriate for him to dub as Albion's greatest need. Especially when compared to the events of World War II.

To assure himself he was not going crazy, Merlin took out his spell book from underneath the bed. It was one of the only things from Camelot he still had to this day. Over the years, Merlin added spells to it. If he used any spell at any point, it was in the book. It was never known when a spell he once used centuries ago would come in handy again.

He whispered a spell, causing some of the pages to glow with magic. Those were the pages Merlin read, each one giving him a different idea on what could have happened. It was indeed possible for Arthur to return through rebirth instead of the lake, hence for the loss of his memories. Although it was also still possible for this Arthur to really be a different Arthur from the one in Camelot, resulting in everything only being a giant coincidence. Merlin did not believe in that scenario, but he was forced to keep it in the back of his mind, just in case.

The third possible scenario was one Merlin disliked too, but also the least likely out of all of them: Arthur being a shade. Magic had faded significantly with the rise of technology compared to 1500 years ago. However, Merlin was still alive and using magic, so it was not completely dead. Someone could have used necromancy to make Arthur return. The chances were very slim, but non-zero. Memories Merlin had kept locked away came to the surface: Lancelot returning against his will as a shade to cause trouble within the kingdom. He remembered how sad and betrayed Arthur and Gwen felt when they learned the truth. Merlin shook his head; this was not a good time to get lost in the past.

At least Merlin could verify whether Arthur was a human or a shade with the same spell he used in Camelot. By doing so, he could confirm that the landlord was a non-threatening human being and not a magical creature waiting to end Merlin's life at the right opportunity. With something to go off of, Merlin began to plan.

At 3:00 a.m. that next morning, Merlin was crouched at one of the walkways which led to Camelot Tower. Next to him, his spell book was open to a page he copied over from Gaius's book on necromancy. On the pavement, Merlin used chalk to draw the magic circle that would tell him whether the person inside was a shade. This was the entrance closest to the landlord's office, so chances were good Arthur would walk down this way.

After the circle was complete, Merlin softly spoke the incantation to activate it. He stepped back to admire his handiwork. The circle looked exactly like the one in his book. One more spell was used to prevent the chalk from fading or unintended modifications for a few days. He did not want to draw another magic circle anytime soon. Hopefully, no one would think of the circle other than a children's drawing made the previous day.

Now all he had to do was wait for Arthur to show up. Merlin scouted for a place to hide out at which would allow him a good view of the circle. He decided on a tree about 50 meters away. The tree had a lot of foliage, so Merlin did not have to climb too high to get himself hidden. Satisfied with his plan, Merlin let his eyes close, intent on taking a short nap while it was still dark out.

He did not know how long he had been asleep for, but he was woken up by the increased intensity of his magic humming inside of him. For a few moments, he was confused as to why he was outside, let alone up in a tree. Faintly, voices were heard, making him look over towards the car park. There, he saw Arthur walking towards the pavement with the magic circle. Now more awake, Merlin remembered what he was supposed to do. He felt his heart pound in his chest with anticipation as Arthur got closer to his magic circle.

It seemed Arthur did not notice the chalk drawing, as he walked over the circle with no hesitation. Merlin saw the spell do its job, confirming Arthur to be a real human. Satisfied with the results, Merlin climbed down from his perch. He sighed with relief, glad that fate was not so cruel as to have him encounter a second shade impersonating someone he deeply cared about.

The adrenaline from earlier's anticipation started to wear off. Merlin felt soreness in his back, and was a bit drowsy. Both no doubt caused by taking a few-hour nap in a tree. Too tired to think of his next move, Merlin went back to his flat for proper rest. After a three-hour nap, Merlin was back to flipping through his spell book for ideas. If he was honest with himself, Merlin was stumped as for what to do next. With Arthur not being a shade, it meant he was either reincarnated with no memory of Camelot, or an entirely different person with the same looks, name, voice…

Merlin felt it was safe enough to believe the former was what happened. With that in mind, he thought the next best step was to figure out how to get Arthur's memories of Camelot back. Memory magic was something he had experimented with a little bit, but not much. He knew how to inflect short-term memory loss on another person, but that was the opposite of what he wanted to achieve. He also could not recall an instance after Camelot in which he needed to use memory magic. There was a chance the book would have nothing about memory regeneration at all.

A part of him deeply hoped there was a spell of some sort that could miraculously bring back memories about a person's past life. The other part of him knew nothing was ever that easy. The latter part was proven correct after a skim of all the glowing pages. The best way to bring back someone's memories was to have them experience intense emotions similar to something they experienced during their past life. Usually caused by a similar, major event.

Once again, Merlin was stuck. He thought back to the major events of Arthur's past life he could think of. There were definitely quite a few he missed, with the events of Camelot happening so long ago. But out of all the ones he could remember, Merlin was present.

Maybe it was time for him to become friends with Landlord Arthur. But how does one become a close friend with their landlord these days?

During the next two weeks of living in London, Merlin did not get any good opportunities to have a conversation with Arthur that lasted more than 10 seconds. Nothing went further than a "good morning" or a "good evening". Arthur was often in his office, but it seemed that every time Merlin passed by, Arthur was either on the phone or talking to another tenant.

At the same time, Merlin himself was busy. He landed a job at a nearby bookstore owned by a kind, elderly couple. It did not pay much, but it was still enough for him to get by. The job mainly served as a way to pass time anyway.

When Merlin finally got the opportunity to have a proper conversation with Arthur, he had not been trying to have one. Innocent Merlin was just coming home from the grocery store when it happened. The store had somehow ran out of the usual plastic bags, so he had been forced to use two giant brown paper bags. They were heavy, and Merlin had to use his magic to make them feel light enough for him to carry. For a simple task like this, using magic constantly took quite a bit of concentration on Merlin's part. It was why when he arrived back at Camelot Tower, he was not prepared for the door to be suddenly slammed into his face.

With a small cry of pain, Merlin stumbled backwards onto the ground. The combination of the sudden backwards force and losing his magical concentration resulted in Merlin's groceries falling out of his arms. Some of the items fell out of their bag, creating a mess on the pavement.

"What the hell was that for?!" Merlin looked up, wanting to know who was responsible for his predicament. A man whom he did not recognize was in the doorway. The stranger did not seem to notice Merlin, but instead was focused on whatever was inside the building behind himself.

"Wait until I speak to your father about this! You and your tower will be done for!" The stranger yelled at someone inside the building. He stomped away in anger, clearly fuming.

"Good luck trying to convince him. It'll be my word versus yours." Arthur stood in the doorway, not bothering to chase after the angry man. "I promise you won't get anywhere with him."

Merlin was now staring at Arthur in awe. The angle in which the sunlight hit him made Arthur look majestic. If this turned out to not be the same Arthur as the one in Camelot, Merlin would cry for the rest of his immortal life.

"Are you alright?" Arthur looked down at Merlin.

"I'm fine." Some bruises may show up later, but those were minor.

Arthur helped Merlin pick up the groceries that fell on the ground. "I'm sorry that this happened to you."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault." Merlin assured. "Thank you for helping me, truly."

"It was the right thing to do." Arthur stood up. "Seemed like he didn't realize that he hit you with the door."

It took Merlin a brief moment to realize Arthur was talking about the angry man. "What was that about, anyway?"

"I had bailiffs come by to evict him." Arthur looked up in the direction where the angry man went, who was long gone. "Today was the date written on his official notice. He absolutely refused to leave his flat."

"One of those people, huh." Merlin hummed.

"Yup." Arthur took one of the bags. "Let's get these back to your place."

"Oh, yeah, sure." Merlin picked up the other bag. One bag was much easier to carry than two. No magic was needed this time.

The two went inside the building, with Merlin leading the way. He walked over to the lift, pressing the button for the second floor. It was not until they were going up did the conversation start up again.

"So why did you have that man evicted?" Merlin's curiosity got to him.

"He was a nightmare tenant." Arthur shook his head. "Originally, he moved here because of my father. He's a friend of his, and at the time I didn't see a problem with him moving in since I had a few flats available. Everything seemed fine at first, too."

The lift doors opened. Merlin led Arthur down the hall to his flat.

"But he turned out to be an entitled git. He thought that it was okay to not pay his rent because of his connection to my father. At one point he got behind on his rent for two months, so I sent him a notice for the money. After that, he started becoming a nightmare."

Merlin took out his keys and unlocked the door to his flat. He let Arthur in first, receiving a mumbled "thank you" from him in the process. Then he let himself in. He used his body to push the door closed. "You can set the bag on the kitchen counter."

Arthur placed his bag at the indicated spot. "He then paid just enough rent to avoid the eviction process. This cycle happened for a few months: he would get behind on rent; I would send him a notice; he pays enough to avoid eviction, but never the full amount; over and over again."

"He was legally able to do that?" Merlin asked, feeling irritated for Arthur.

"Unfortunately." Arthur sighed. "Annoying as it was, that had been my only problem with him, and he wasn't bothering anyone else, so I dealt with it. Until he started harassing the staff."

Merlin listened to Arthur vent about what had occurred over the last few months. After so many late-rent notices, the angry man had started taking out his frustration on the staff. Of course, the staff had told Arthur about it, and that had been the last straw for dealing with the nightmare tenant.

"The next time I sent him another notice for the late rent, which was three months ago, I also sent him a no-fault notice." Arthur explained. "So even if he paid rent to avoid eviction by the first notice—which he did, as usual—he could not fight the eviction process for the second one. No-faults take longer to get the tenant out, and I couldn't claim the remaining unpaid rent, but it finally got him out and that was all that mattered. Today was the day the bailiffs came for him."

"He must not have taken that well."

"No, he didn't, but I don't care." Arthur leaned back against the counter. "He probably would still be here if he hadn't bothered the staff."

How Arthur handled the angry man gave Merlin some insight into this Arthur's character. Merlin could see a little bit of the king he once knew in him. King Arthur stood up for his people, just like how this Arthur stood up for his staff and tenants. Replace the kingdom of Camelot with Camelot Tower, the castle servants with the staff, and the citizens with the tenants; the similarities were there.

"Do you really think he's going to do anything now that he's officially gone?"

"He may try, but I don't think it'll go anywhere. He has no legal ground to stand on. I took extra care to ensure it." Arthur's gaze shifted towards the living room window. "And if he tries to get my father to do something about it, it'll be his words versus mine. I kept a very detailed record of what happened, and my staff can back me up."

"Can you keep me updated if anything happens? After all, he did hit me with a door."

"Sure."

A loud buzzing noise came from Arthur's direction. Merlin watched him reach into his pocket to retrieve his mobile. He looked at the caller ID and frowned.

"I have to go back to my office to take this." Arthur rushed towards the door.

"Thanks again for helping me earlier." Merlin called out, watching Arthur's retreating figure.

"It was no problem at all." Arthur left, closing the door behind him.

Once again, it was quiet in the flat. Merlin sighed, processing the past few minutes. The conversation he just had with Arthur was not ideal for the first proper one, but beggars cannot be choosers. He had wanted a conversation that lasted more than a few seconds and he got it. Merlin hoped the particular conversation was the push he needed to be able to comfortably make small talk with this Arthur. Meanwhile, the ache Merlin felt on his arse and face reminded him that he should tend to his bruises.

It seemed nothing was going to come out of the angry man incident. A few days later, Arthur informed Merlin that he had a discussion with his father. The former tenant had indeed tried to tell a story that made Arthur seem like the bad guy. Thanks to Arthur's documentation, it was debunked.

That was also the time Arthur told Merlin more about his father.

"He owns a massive real estate business that mainly operates in London: Pendragon Capital. He works a lot, often being there instead of at home. That's been the situation since my childhood."

Merlin shifted in the chair across from Arthur's desk. He had seen the company when searching for flats in London, but had not bothered to look into it. Several businesses over the years used the name Pendragon or similar. Names were always reused over the years. It was the same reaction he had when he learned of the building being called Camelot Tower.

"I currently work there as the CFO alongside being the landlord of this building. Although my father wants for me to eventually take over the company."

"Is that what you want to do? Take over the company?"

"It doesn't matter what I want. My path has already been decided for me."

Suddenly, Merlin was hit with a familiar feeling of déjà vu. He was reminded of how Arthur had always wanted to please his father while he was a prince. Seemed like this Arthur had that in common too. As much as Merlin had wanted to continue the conversation, he had to leave in order to not be late for work.

When he got home from work, however, Merlin decided to do some research. Specifically on Pendragon Capital. Sure enough, the company was a juggernaut in the real estate industry. Not only was their presence all over London, but stretched across the entire country as well.

But Merlin was not interested in how big the company was. Instead, he navigated over to the staff page. Under the section for the owner, the name "Uther Pendragon" displayed on the screen. Below that was a picture of a very familiar looking man.

"Damn. He's back too." Merlin lowered his mobile to stare at the wall in front of him. The real estate industry was very fitting for the former tyrant king. Merlin would not be surprised if Uther was just as bad as a parent to Arthur in this life too, based on the conversation he had with Arthur earlier that morning. It felt slightly like a modern day version of Camelot.

Did this mean Morgana came back too? She was Uther's daughter back in Camelot, and so far, this life seemed to make parallels with the past. He continued to scroll down the page. There was Arthur as the CFO, but none of the other higher ups were anyone Merlin recognized.

Then he realized he could just ask Arthur if he had any siblings the next time that he saw him. It would be the easy way to find out, and maybe get closer to befriending him too. Seeing that he had nothing to lose with this course of action, Merlin decided that was what he was going to do.

Instead of waiting for the next day, Merlin decided to see if Arthur was still at Camelot Tower. Filled with anticipation, he made his way to the ground floor. Initially, he got excited upon seeing the landlord's office door open. However, his excitement faded away when he did not see Arthur anywhere. Although Olivia was in the doorway, wiping down the door handle.

"Hey, Olivia." Merlin walked up to her.

"Hi Merlin." She turned towards him. "What's up?"

"Is Arthur still here?"

Olivia shook her head. "Nope. He left about 20 minutes ago. Did you need him for something?"

"No. It wasn't important. Just wanted to ask him something."

"What did you want to ask him?" She gave him a curious look. "Is it about your flat?"

"No." Merlin shook his head. "Out of curiosity, do you know if Arthur has any siblings?"

"He has a sister." She answered. "He talked about her a few times, but I never met her in person."

"What's her name?"

"Morgana."

Bells rang in Merlin's head. So Morgana had come back after all.

"Thanks for the info." Merlin turned to leave. "That's all I wanted to know for now. I thought I saw someone who looked like him and wanted to ask. I was mistaken, since he was a man." He felt bad for lying, but there was no way he could tell her the truth. "I'll catch him tomorrow. Have a good night, Olivia."

"You too, Merlin."

With this new knowledge, Merlin felt his hunch was confirmed: Arthur had returned through rebirth with no memories of Camelot. There were way too many similarities at this point for him to not be. Now it was time to make Arthur remember, the sooner the better.

Tomorrow evening after work, Merlin went to visit Arthur's office. However, he was greeted with the sight of the closed office door. Olivia sat in the chair by the entrance, occasionally glancing at the door.

"Is Arthur in there?"

"Yes." Olivia's voice held concern. When Merlin gave her a questioning look, she elaborated further. "He's been there all day with the door shut. I know he had a meeting with his father today, but I didn't think it would take this long."

Merlin frowned. "Do meetings with his father always take this long?"

"No. This is a new record. But the one thing consistent about these meetings is that they make Arthur stressed."

Both of them flinched when they heard Arthur shouting through the door. Stressed seemed to be an understatement.

"You may be better off waiting until tomorrow if you wanted to talk to him." Olivia said.

But Merlin was a stubborn person. "I'll wait until the meeting is done."

"If you say so." She got up from her seat and left.

Merlin sat there in the chair, browsing the internet to pass the time. He thought about his plan of action for when he went to talk to Arthur after the meeting. More likely than not, Arthur was going to be incredibly irritable, and may try to turn Merlin away (or anyone, for that matter). Because after stressful meetings with his father back during Camelot times, Arthur was irritable and tried to shove Merlin away. However, Merlin knew from those times Arthur needed comfort more than anything. Chances were good Arthur would need the same thing here.

It was not until about an hour later did the meeting finally end. Merlin put his phone away, hearing the sound of footsteps from within Arthur's office. Moments later, the door opened, revealing Arthur. His collar was disheveled, along with his hair. Bags could be seen underneath his eyes. Overall, Arthur did not look good.

"Hello." Merlin greeted from his seat.

Clearly, Arthur had not been expecting to be spoken to. He visibly jumped upon hearing Merlin speak. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting." Merlin stood up. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" Arthur acted professional, but Merlin could tell he was trying to hide his irritation. His hand twitched at his side, one of the tell-tale signs Merlin had learned back in Camelot.

"About you." To ensure the conversation was going to happen, Merlin walked past Arthur into the office. "Olivia expressed her concern for you. She was the one originally waiting there."

Arthur watched Merlin waltz into his office. His mouth opened and shut repeatedly like a fish. Then he spoke again. "She doesn't have to wait there for me, and neither do you. Did she ask you to wait there for her?"

"She didn't." Merlin shook his head. "I sat there willingly."

"Well then, you said you wanted to talk. Make it quick."

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Confusion wrote itself on Arthur's face.

"Are you okay?" Merlin asked his question with a soft, quiet voice; one he knew brought people comfort, including Arthur.

All Arthur did for a few moments was stare at Merlin. He kept his expression neutral, which prevented Merlin from reading him.

Meanwhile, Merlin wondered if this was going to be when he gets kicked out. That would also be in character for Arthur in a moment like this one. He stayed silent while Arthur assessed him, not trusting his mouth to help the situation.

"I'm fine." Arthur responded, breaking the silence.

"Don't lie to me, Arthur."

With a sigh, Arthur closed the door. "No, I'm not fine."

"Better." Merlin made himself comfortable in one of Arthur's chairs. "Do you want to talk about it? What's bothering you lately?"

At first, it seemed like Arthur was going to reject Merlin's offer, but he held himself back. Instead, he asked a question of his own. "Why do you care so much? All I am to you is a landlord."

"You did help me with my groceries that one time, and kept your promises made to me thus far." If only Merlin could tell the full truth. He wanted to so badly, his heart ached. Alas, hopefully he could say it another day. "You also provide a roof over my head. You haven't exactly given me a reason to hate you. If you think I'm worried, imagine how Olivia felt waiting for your meeting to be over with."

Arthur furrowed his brows, processing Merlin's response. In the meantime, he went over to his desk to sit down. "I think Olivia already told you this, but the meeting I just had involved my father."

Merlin nodded, confirming Arthur's assumption.

"It wasn't just him. All the executives were attending. For context, lately profits have been on a downward trend for the company. Naturally as the CFO, I've been assigned to investigate the cause, which happened three weeks ago. I had written up a report of the investigation, and this meeting was to discuss the findings."

"What did you discover?" Merlin had perked up when Arthur began to tell his story. Finally, a meaningful conversation may happen between the two. Merlin may get to know Arthur more, and ideally, Arthur will feel better by the end of it. It was a win-win situation.

"Someone had miscalculated somewhere in the expense reports. It made our costs appear more expensive than they truly were. But the mistake already made an impact on the company stock market price, which decreased by 30%."

"That's a huge drop. How bad was the miscalculation?"

"500,000£. It was a bad one. Unfortunately, my father has a bad habit of shooting the messenger should he be delivered bad news."

"You were the messenger." There was no need to ask, as Merlin already knew the answer.

"I was the messenger." Arthur ran a hand through his hair. "Although my father was justified in his anger towards me. I didn't make the mistake, but it was still a financial one, which is my department."

"No, he was not justified to get upset with you." Merlin shot up from his seat. "It wasn't your fault for the mistake. Did you at least find out who did it?"

"Yes, but-"

"Were you responsible for any part of the process involving producing the expense report?"

"No, but-"

"There you go. It's as you said: he shot the messenger." Merlin crossed his arms in front of his chest. He took a moment calm himself down. Anger was not an appropriate emotion for this conversation. He was supposed to make Arthur feel better, not worse. "It sounds like this has happened before: your father's temper getting the best of him."

"You can say that again." Arthur sighed. "No one is safe from him. It seems like he finds a new target every week. Everyone is terrified of him aside from those in my father's inner circle."

Merlin's arms fell to his sides. "Is this how you want your career to go? Constantly on edge with your father?" Who was probably his boss too, now that he thought about it.

When Arthur did not respond after a moment, Merlin walked around the desk to stand next to Arthur. "You never gave me a proper answer to my question the last time we talked. Do you even want to take over Pendragon Capital when your father steps down?"

While waiting for a response, Merlin took the opportunity to examine Arthur's face. He could see the debate Arthur was having with himself in his eyes. More likely than not trying to decide whether to tell the truth.

"No. I don't even want to deal with real estate. Except for Camelot Tower. Being able to provide affordable housing to people who need it feels right. I don't want the next landlord to raise rent for the tenants as soon as they take over."

"Understandable. Your rent here is indeed very affordable compared to other places. I'm sure that your tenants are grateful for it." Merlin gave Arthur a soft smile. "So, if you were able to work any career you wanted, what would you do, if not real estate?"

"Promise me first that you won't laugh." Did Arthur get embarrassed about his dream job? Merlin wondered why that would be case if true.

"Promise." Merlin gave Arthur one of his friendly grins.

"I…I want to be a baker. Maybe even own a bakery."

"That's a respectable occupation in my book." Merlin made sure to convey that he meant it. "After all, someone has to make those delicious biscuits and scones I like to eat."

"My mother liked to bake. When I was a child, she would make something every weekend. Sometimes it was a classic favorite; other times it was something none of us had tried before. There was always enough in a batch to last the entire week."

Merlin's mouth watered just thinking about all the desserts that could have been made.

Then Arthur got a sad look on his face. "I want to follow in her footsteps and continue baking things for others to enjoy. She made a recipe book containing everything that she had baked in her lifetime. I've kept it since she passed and I still have it."

"Being a baker sounds much more enjoyable than working in real estate." Real estate sounded boring. Baking on the other hand, was fun. At least in Merlin's opinion.

"It definitely is. Maybe someday…" Arthur trailed off, staring at one of the bookshelves at the side of the room.

"Maybe…" Merlin trailed off as well, suddenly finding the same bookshelf Arthur was looking at equally as interesting.

For a few minutes, neither man said anything. Although the silence was a comforting one rather than awkward. Every few seconds or so, Merlin would sneak glances at Arthur. His heart beat with both love and heartbreak.

Arthur spoke again, his voice boomed within the office compared to the previous silence. It shook Merlin back to reality.

"Sorry?"

"Thank you." Arthur avoided eye contact. "For letting me vent like that, despite it being quite unprofessional of me as your landlord."

"It was not a problem at all." Merlin displayed a crooked smile. "You seemed to need it."

"That I did." Arthur gave Merlin a soft smile of his own.

"If you ever need to vent like that again, I'm all ears." Merlin offered.

"Of course you are with how big they are." Arthur chuckled. "Are you sure you're not secretly part elephant?"

With the interaction being the closest to the playful banter they had with each other back in Camelot, Merlin found he could not be offended. Instead, a huge, goofy grin donned his face. "That's a new one."

"Surprising." Arthur glanced at his watch. "I'll let you go for now. It's getting late."

"Yeah, it probably is late." Merlin decided he should get back to his flat. He felt a yawn coming up, which he suppressed for the time being. When he put his hand on the door knob, he looked back at Arthur one last time. "Have a good night."

Arthur nodded in response. "You too."

While on the way back to his flat, Merlin smiled to himself. Waiting for the hour to talk to Arthur had indeed been worth it. Not only did Merlin feel their connection get a tiny bit stronger, but Arthur had looked much better by the end of their interaction. Overall, Merlin was pleased with how it went.

Ever since the evening Arthur vented his frustrations to Merlin, something had changed between the two. Unless one of them was either occupied or in a hurry, their conversations always lasted a little longer than a simple greeting. Then, Arthur started to be in his office more often, usually available for a chat. Sometimes their conversations got so in depth, both of them lost track of time. On a few occasions, Merlin had been late to work because of it. Luckily, neither of his bosses seemed to mind, instead giving Merlin amused glances. Besides, Merlin was sure Arthur had been late to at least a few meetings because of their conversations. The situation was mutual.

Before Merlin knew it, it had been nearly a month since he moved in, which meant rent was due. The day before, Merlin gathered the amount he owed in cash. Now the money sat in a sealed envelope, which was currently in his hand. Even though he probably did not need to, Merlin wrote Arthur's name on the envelope, just in case.

While heading down to the ground floor, Merlin let his mind wander. With Arthur back in his life, Merlin felt nostalgic for Camelot. As a result, in order to cope with the current situation, Merlin started reading a fantasy novel in his free time. It just happened that this one was also about Camelot, albeit a different version of the kingdom he once lived in. Camelot, whether it was the real or fake version, seemed to be the only thing his mind could think about for more than five minutes.

On the ground floor, Merlin saw the open door to the landlord's office. He strolled over, looking through the doorway to see Arthur at his desk, typing away on his laptop. Because of Camelot being on his mind so much, Merlin's thoughts had on more than one occasion drifted to imaging Arthur as a king once again. He pictured the Arthur at the desk dressed in royal attire, writing on a scroll with ink instead of typing on a laptop. The nostalgic feeling intensified in his chest once more, causing him to smile. In his head to this day, Arthur looked to be a handsome and fine king.

Merlin raised his fist to gently knock on the doorframe. "Morning, Arthur. Do you have a moment?"

Arthur looked up from his laptop. Recognition flashed on his face. "Morning, Merlin. What do you need?"

"I dropped by to give you my rent for the month." Merlin took the invitation to place the envelope on Arthur's desk.

"It's been a month already?" Arthur opened the envelope to count up the cash. Satisfied with the amount, the money was placed back in the envelope, which was then shoved into one of the desk drawers for later.

"Yup." Merlin stood in front of the desk, not in a hurry to leave. "Time goes by fast, doesn't it?"

"It sure does." Arthur rubbed at his eyes. "Usually, I like to remind my tenants a week in advance that their rent is due soon. I forgot to send that to you, didn't I?"

"I didn't receive any notice of the sort, but it didn't matter anyway." Merlin knew Arthur did not have to send the reminders to those who paid on time regularly.

"I'll have to remember for next month. Thank you for paying on time."

Despite actively being in a conversation in the present, Merlin's mind was still stuck in the past. "It's not a problem at all, my lord."

Arthur gave Merlin a questioning look. He rose an eyebrow in a way that reminded Merlin of Gaius. "Did you just address me as 'my lord'?"

The question snapped Merlin's mind back to reality. He replayed the conversation in his head. Vaguely, he remembered saying "my lord". Oh no. How did he slip up like that? Why did Arthur have to notice that out of all things? Why did his mind refuse to abandon the past when he needed it to? He looked away in an attempt to hide the blush which threatened to take over his face.

Before Merlin could respond, Arthur spoke again. "That's the first time someone called me that. It's amusing."

"I've been reading a lot of fantasy novels lately." Merlin half-lied. He wanted nothing more than to disappear. "The stories are quite fascinating."

By the time Merlin managed to gather the courage to look at Arthur again, the landlord had a thoughtful look on his face. "There's something about you, Merlin. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"I have my quirks." He gave Arthur a lopsided smile.

"Don't we all do." Arthur chuckled. He looked down at his laptop screen again. "Shit, I have a meeting." He scrambled for his headset. "Talk to you later, Merlin. Can you shut the door on your way out?"

"Talk to you later." Although Arthur seemed to take the slip up well, Merlin was still very embarrassed. He got out of the office, closing the door behind him in the process. He leaned back on the door and sighed. As funny as it would have been for a simple "my lord" to bring back Arthur's memories, Merlin figured it would not be that easy.

"You look flustered." At some point, Olivia had approached Merlin without him noticing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Was all Merlin said to her before abruptly leaving the lobby to go back to his flat. He needed to be alone for now.

Because of the combination of work and his embarrassment, Merlin did not talk to Arthur for three days. When he got up on the morning after the third day, he was prepared to go for a fourth day without speaking to Arthur. He made it out the door to work just fine, but when he arrived back at Camelot Tower in the evening, things got interesting.

For starters, upon entering the lobby, he was immediately greeted with the sound of two voices, both of which were coming from Arthur's office. He recognized one of them as Arthur's; no surprise there. The second voice was one Merlin also recognized. Like Arthur's, he had not heard it in 1500 years. If he was honest with himself, Merlin should have known he was going to meet Morgana again eventually.

"Well, brother dear," Morgana was saying while she walked out of Arthur's office, "if you ever change your mind, let me know."

She had not changed either, at least in looks, Merlin noticed. Personality wise, he could only hope she was like when he first arrived in Camelot: kind, and willing to stand up for and help others. At least in this life at the moment, she did not seem to absolutely despise Arthur's existence. It was a good sign, but Merlin had to remind himself that Morgana also had not always hated Arthur back in Camelot.

Morgana turned her head, causing her to make eye contact with Merlin. She looked at him for a moment, examining him. He could practically see the gears turning in her head. Something must have clicked, because she walked up to him. "Do you happen to be Merlin?"

It seemed she also did not have memories of Camelot. Honestly, Merlin thought it to be the best-case scenario. Not being on the run for his life all the time was a nice feeling. "Yes. How do you know my name?"

"Arthur told me about you. I am curious about the man who has managed to get my brother's attention."

Arthur poked his head into the lobby. "What timing you have today, Merlin."

"Good evening to you too." Merlin said in response.

Arthur walked over to them. "Merlin, this is my sister, Morgana. Morgana, Merlin."

"I can introduce myself, thank you." She gave Arthur the stink eye. Then she turned her attention back towards Merlin. "Nice to meet you, Merlin."

"Likewise." He shook the hand Morgana held out to him. "You said that Arthur told you about me?" Merlin looked at Arthur while his question was addressed to Morgana.

"Nothing more than that you're a tenant of mine who moved in recently." Arthur answered before Morgana could.

"Well, you did also get smacked with a door shortly after moving in." Morgana added. "Then there's the frequent conversations you two seem to have with each other."

"That's enough, Morgana." Arthur interrupted her.

"Alright, alright." Morgana waved her hand up and down like she did not want to hear anything more from Arthur. "Don't you have a meeting with Uther to attend to?"

"Fuck." Arthur cursed before running back into his office.

"There we go." Morgana chuckled. She gave a soft smile to Merlin. "Care to stay and chat with me? I wasn't kidding when I said I was curious."

There was not anything important Merlin had planned for the evening. Nothing aside from reading his fantasy novel until bedtime. He could potentially get closer to Arthur through Morgana, if they do have a closer relationship in this time period as Merlin was beginning to suspect. But there was also the risk of Morgana regaining her memories through Merlin, which would not be good. Although, Merlin was not sure how she would react to remembering all the horrible things she had done, and the equally horrible things done to her.

But somehow having Uther as a father had not made her remember anything. In Merlin's opinion, it was both a good and bad sign. Good because it may require something extreme to happen. Bad because it may require something extreme to happen. If it is difficult to get Morgana to remember, then it may be equally as difficult to get Arthur to remember. At least there seemed to be nothing to lose by talking to Morgana here.

"Sure. I don't have anything planned for tonight." Merlin gestured towards the chairs. "Want to sit down?"

Morgana nodded. She sat down in one of the chairs. "I don't have anything else planned for tonight either."

Merlin sat in the chair across from Morgana. He racked his brain for conversation topics. "Do you also work at Pendragon Capital?"

"Oh god, no." She made a face as she answered. "Well, I used to. I was in an executive position similar to Arthur. But then I got tired of Uther's bullshit. He expects so much from us, but gives us very little to work with. Eventually I had enough, and left the company for my own sanity."

"But Arthur still works there."

She shook her head. "I've tried to convince him to leave too. Working for Uther has done nothing but harm his health. But Arthur is just as stubborn as Uther. He wants to 'impress him' as he says, but I don't believe there's a way to impress Uther of all people."

Merlin believed that one day, Arthur would reach his breaking point like Morgana had. At least back in Camelot, Merlin knew Arthur had questioned some of the things his father had taught him. Sometimes it went as far as holding a different opinion entirely compared to the teachings of his childhood. But he could not exactly tell Morgana that. "You can't help others if you can't help yourself."

"Exactly! If only he understood that."

"Well, he can be a bit dense sometimes too. And a bit of a prat."

"Ain't that the truth." She took a moment to breathe, having gotten worked up during her rant. "Tell me, Merlin. What do you think of Arthur?"

"He's a good landlord for his tenants." Merlin answered immediately.

"That's what all his tenants say. I do know that he takes good care of this building, and by extension the tenants." Morgana looked into Merlin's eyes. "However, you supposedly interact with Arthur more than the average tenant, is that correct? What do you think about him, aside from being a good landlord?"

Oh boy. That question was a dangerous one. A millennium and a half ago, Merlin could on and on about Arthur's character all day. He could still now, but there was no way for him to say all of it only based on the conversations he has had with Landlord Arthur. He took a few moments to try to come up with an appropriate response. "He's the type of person to put others first before himself. For him, it's a double-edged sword, as he does things for his ego too. He sometimes neglects his own needs in the process, and it hurts him. He has a big heart, but his ego can get in the way. Because of the former, he can be a good friend to have, despite the latter potentially driving people away."

"You must have talked to him a lot in the span of a month." Morgana commented. "That does sound like my brother."

Merlin could only shrug.

"Enough about him, I want to know about you. Tell me about yourself, Merlin. What do you do for a living?"

"I work at a bookstore nearby. Vienna books."

"I've been there before. I think." A thoughtful look appeared on her face. "The small one owned by a married couple?"

"That'll be it. I handle customer orders and take care of inventory. The store doesn't get much foot traffic, so it's a peaceful place to work at." It was also prone to having incredibly slow days. But he would take the quiet over the near constant chaos of working retail or fast food.

"I'll have to check out the store again. It's been a while since I was last there." Morgana said. "Got any family around here?"

"No, unfortunately. I'm on my own." Alone for far too long. Hopefully that would change soon. It was the extreme loneliness he would not wish upon his worst enemy.

"I'm sorry." Morgana quickly apologized.

"It's fine." He assured her. "There's nothing to apologize for."

Their conversation continued for nearly an hour. During that period, Merlin learned Morgana had started up an art studio after quitting her job at Pendragon Capital. That was located just outside of London. He also learned that based on what she said about the people she knew, it seemed that so far, no one else from Camelot had been reborn. Including Morgause, as Morgana had said that Arthur was her only sibling. Another interesting difference was that this time, Morgana and Arthur were full siblings, both having Ygraine as their mother too. Merlin hoped Morgause had not been reborn into this world, rather than Morgana not having met her yet.

The door to the landlord's office opened to reveal a disheveled Arthur. His look reminded Merlin of the first deep conversation that served as the catalyst for their current friendship.

"The meeting must had gone badly." Merlin tried to not stare at Arthur for too long.

"Must have." Morgana agreed. "Should we check on him?"

The two of them watched Arthur leave the office, laptop bag in hand. Instead of staying around, Arthur left the building. On the sidelines, Olivia watched on with what was probably concern.

"No. At least not right now. Especially after leaving abruptly like that." Merlin said.

"You're right. He may ignore me anyway." Morgana stood up. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Merlin. I do hope we can talk to each other again soon. Do you want to exchange numbers?"

"Sure." Merlin entered his contact info into her phone. This time, Merlin promised to himself he would truly befriend her. No more betrayals towards his friends. No more having people turn against him. Maybe that was how he could have achieved more peace while living in Camelot.

"Thank you." Morgana gave Merlin a soft smile. "Have a good evening."

"You too." Merlin watched Morgana leave. He sighed, fatigue starting to settle in. And he still had not eaten dinner yet; the realization coming to him as he felt his stomach grumble. Pizza night it was.

It was a bright, sunny day when Merlin went to the park. Everyone seemed to get the memo on how beautiful it was outside. Just from his spot at the entrance, he could see dozens of people walking or standing around. Children ran freely on the grass and the playground, shrieking with laughter while they played. He could see why Morgana wanted to meet up here.

Merlin made his way towards the miniature trail that circled around the entire park. He went counter clockwise along the path, as indicated by the directions he was given. The other people walking the trail did not pay Merlin any mind, too absorbed in their own business.

After walking for a few moments, a blue bench came into view. It was constructed with at least some significance, as indicated by the plaque next to it. This was the spot he was looking for. Morgana must have not arrived yet, because there was no sign of her presence.

Merlin sat down on the bench. He looked at the time on his phone, which showed he had arrived five minutes early. With needing to kill time, Merlin took the opportunity to bask in the peaceful atmosphere the park provided. He closed his eyes, focusing on the soft, cool breeze blowing on him. In the background, birds chirped away, their cries blending in with the other sounds of the park.

When was the last time Merlin felt truly at peace? After thinking back on it for a few moments, Merlin did not think he had ever experienced the feeling the first place. Back in Camelot, Merlin had to worry about fulfilling his destiny and hiding his magic all the time. Even back in Ealdor, while the village itself was peaceful, Merlin still had to hide his magic from most of the people there, and the occasional attacks from bandits scared him as a child for nights on end. Then, after Arthur's death, Merlin had been stricken with grief for a while. Ever since all of that, he had been waiting for Arthur's return. And now Arthur had come back to him, but with no memories of his life in Camelot.

Merlin exhaled a drawn-out sigh. He had been stressed for more than a millennium, and still was today. He wondered how quickly the stress would have killed him if he was not cursed with immortality.

"Merlin? Is that you?"

Merlin was taken back to reality upon hearing the familiar voice. But instead of Morgana like he was expecting, Arthur was standing in front of him. He was dressed in casual attire consisting of a T-shirt and jeans, something that Merlin realized he had yet to see him wear. Of course, Arthur managed to look good (and hot) in it.

A look at his phone told Merlin it was 1:00, the time he had arranged to meet with Morgana. "Huh? Oh hi, Arthur. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Morgana told me to meet her here." Arthur looked around, seemingly searching for his sister. "I wasn't expecting to see you here too."

Arthur's answer made Merlin suspicious. "Hm, I'm also meeting Morgana here. She did not tell me anything about you showing up."

Arthur rose an eyebrow. "Why would she not tell me that you were invited too? Or not tell you that I was coming?"

"I don't know." Merlin shrugged. Although he had a hutch as to the real reason why Morgana had wanted him to come here. He remembered a conversation he had with her over the phone last week, in which she had asked him whether or not he was single. The question had admittedly taken Merlin off guard, but he told her the truth in that he was single. Why did he not inquire more on why she asked the question in the first place, Merlin did not know. But he wished he did.

Now Merlin was trying not to show his inner panicking. Was he that obvious in his attraction towards Arthur? Okay, but that was supposed to be for after he had restored Arthur's memories. He just needed to get close to him now to meet his end goal. That was all. He had not even explicitly told Morgana that he liked men either.

Arthur had pulled out his phone while Merlin was trying to avoid his inner crisis. "It seems that Morgana won't be able to make it."

"Oh?" Merlin then felt his phone buzz in his pocket. The screen displayed a text from Morgana. "I just got a similar text from her." He showed Arthur his phone to prove he was not lying.

"I have a feeling she did this on purpose." Arthur sighed. "This seems like something she would do. The harpy."

"Has she done it before?" Merlin was surprised to see Arthur possibly sharing his line of thinking. He did not know whether it was a good thing.

"The 'having to cancel plans at last minute' thing or 'inviting other people without telling me' part?"

"Either, I guess." A question then came to Merlin. "What was the reason for you coming to see Morgana here?"

"We were going to spend the day together." Arthur answered. "What about you?"

"Basically that. Although I had no idea what the actual plans for today were. I was only told to come meet her here."

The two looked at each other for a few moments in silence.

"She definitely did this on purpose." Arthur muttered.

"Couldn't agree more." This was the chance Merlin needed. "Uh, since we're both already here, and it seems like neither of us have anything better to do today, do you want to hang out with me instead?"

A flash of surprise showed on Arthur's face. It was so quick, Merlin almost missed it. Despite seemingly not expecting the question, Arthur did not take long to answer. "Sure. Have anything in mind for what to do?"

"No." Merlin tried to think of something to do, but instead he could only come up with an excuse for his lack of ideas. "I haven't had much of a chance to explore the area since moving in."

"That's right, you moved here from Canada." Arthur recalled. "You surely have been given days off at that bookstore, right? What do you do during those? Sit around in your flat?"

Merlin felt called out. Truthfully, he had been too busy trying to get Arthur's memories back. But of course, he could not tell Arthur that. He gave Arthur an unsure smile. "Maybe?"

"You absolute buffoon." Arthur shook his head fondly. "Well then, guess I'll have to give you a tour of the area. You're missing out on some hidden gems."

"Please show me these so called 'hidden gems'." Merlin insisted. "I hope they are as good as you make them out to be."

"Trust me, they are." Arthur started walking towards the park exit. He turned around to check if Merlin was following. "Come, Merlin. There's quite a bit to see."

For the rest of the afternoon, Arthur drove Merlin around London. It did not surprise Merlin in the slightest that Arthur drove a more luxurious car; specifically a BMW. The seats were made of leather, and were comfier to sit on than Merlin expected. The interior smelled fresh with a hint of lavender, making Merlin believe Arthur had an air freshener inside recently. The vehicle overall was obviously well cared for.

During the drive, Arthur pointed out the places he frequented and/or enjoyed only a handful of times to Merlin.

"That restaurant has great seafood. Some of the best in London."

"The roast beef at this place is amazing. It's comparable to a homemade meal."

"I'm not sure how much you are into gaming Merlin, but that arcade we just passed is great if you want to play some classics from the 80s and 90s. And they serve alcohol."

"The library I visited sometimes as a child is to the right. May be your type of place, since you like reading."

"There's one of the pubs I recommend going to sometime. Great place if you like to watch sports, especially football or rugby."

"Remember the art museum I told you about? It's coming up over there."

Every time Arthur introduced a location, Merlin would either ask more about the place or nod his head in response. Truthfully, Merlin wanted to hear Arthur ramble about whatever significant place they just passed. This Arthur liked to talk, and Merlin was not complaining. It meant he got to listen to Arthur's voice more. Even if Arthur did not have his memories of Camelot, his voice was still comforting to Merlin.

After driving around a good portion of London, Arthur suggested they stop at one of the pubs for food. Merlin agreed, feeling his stomach growl in hunger. Arthur pulled into the car park of the first pub in sight.

"I don't think I've been at this one yet." Arthur said as he got out of the car.

"Really?" Merlin was a little surprised to hear that. It seemed like Arthur had tried every pub in the city.

"I don't come to this part of town, really."

"Well, I haven't been here either."

"Of course you haven't, Merlin. You live like a hermit."

Merlin did not say it out loud, but he preferred the hermit life over the stressful situation Arthur was currently going through with Uther and work. Even if said hermit life was stressful at the moment too. "I do not live like a hermit."

"You look like you never see the sun sometimes."

"I do too. Just from my window."

Their banter only continued for a few moments longer after they were seated. Then, they were both occupied with the menus placed in front of them.

Merlin took his time looking at the menu. He found several dishes he would be willing to try. It took him a few minutes to finally settle on something. When he looked up at Arthur to ask him if he knew what he wanted, he realized the other menu was open to the drinks page. Internally, Merlin groaned. The day had been going great so far. He did not need a drunk Arthur to possibly ruin it.

"I would take it easy on the drinks if I were you." Merlin gave Arthur a cheeky smile. "You are my chauffeur after all."

"Shut up, Merlin." Arthur gave Merlin a look. Although Merlin could tell Arthur had taken no offense. "Luckily for you, I don't plan on getting absolutely wasted tonight. Although it seems like this place is known for their margaritas."

"I'll allow one margarita." Merlin compromised. "Maybe two if it has a lower alcohol content."

"Fine." Arthur huffed, glancing back down at his menu.

When the server came over to take their order, they confirmed the pub was known for their margaritas.

"I'll try the Mumbai margarita, then." Arthur placed his order.

"Do you make non-alcoholic versions?" Merlin asked.

"Sure do." The server nodded. "We know that the designated drivers may want to have drinks too."

"Then I would like to have the non-alcoholic version of the cucumber margarita." Merlin wanted to remember as much as he could from this day. And that included being at the pub.

Dinner went on without a hitch. Merlin did not know how exactly it started, but he and Arthur ended up sharing childhood stories with each other. Well, in Merlin's case, he had to modernize his stories on the spot, since he did not experience childhood in the current millennium or the previous one.

Although the stories Arthur shared gave Merlin more insight on the dynamics between the various Pendragons of this era. Like how when Ygraine was alive, Uther had actually been more of a father to Arthur. Then there was Arthur and Morgana making competitions against each other all the time when they were kids. It made Merlin wonder how different Arthur's childhood would have been back in Camelot if Ygraine had survived childbirth.

When the server gave them the bill, Merlin took advantage of Arthur's current state from the alcohol to pay for the both of them. Even though Arthur insisted he would pay at least for what he ordered, Merlin was having none of it. Eventually, Arthur conceded to Merlin paying the entire amount.

The weather was still nice and warm during the evening, so Merlin suggested they walk around the area near the pub. "You need to sober up a bit before you even think about driving me home."

"Alright, alright. You win." Arthur was buzzed at the most. "I mean you could also drive if you want to."

"I don't trust myself to drive a car such as yours." Merlin glanced over in the direction where Arthur's car was parked. "Besides, some fresh air will do you some good."

"Any preference on where to go?" Arthur took a look at their surroundings. "This was your idea, after all."

"Hmm." Merlin spun around in a circle. He stopped when he faced himself to the left. "Let's go this way."

The two walked together with Merlin leading the way. The silence was not awkward at all. In fact, it gave Merlin a peace of mind. A lot had happened today, and the calmness provided by the walk allowed him to process everything he experienced within the past couple of hours.

He let his mind wander, thinking about what other things he and Arthur could do the next time they hanged out together like today. With how much fun he and Arthur both seemed to have, Merlin hoped there would even be a next time. Sure, Arthur's tour gave him some ideas, but he was confident he could find something Arthur did not know about if he looked hard enough.

Neither of them knew it, but the pub was located near a shadier area of the city. And they walked right into it. To be fair, the change in their surroundings was gradual. Slowly, buildings started to become more and more worn down. The amount of trash littering the grass and pavement steadily increased. Less people were seen walking the streets. The smell of tobacco became stronger the further they walked.

Suddenly, a rat ran out from an alleyway in front of them. The rodent looked at Merlin and Arthur for a moment before running ahead of them. It ducked into the following alleyway out of sight.

The event made Merlin pause. He looked around the area they were currently in. "Uh, do you know where exactly we are?"

By now, Arthur appeared to be more sober. He glanced around with a neutral expression on his face. "I don't recognize this area. The rat probably isn't a good sign either. We should head back towards the pub."

"Yeah." Merlin turned his head in the direction of the setting sun, which was hiding behind a skyline of buildings. "It's starting to get darker out."

They turned around to retrace their steps. Merlin did not want to admit that he had not been paying attention as to what streets they had been previously on as much as he would have liked. Although they only made it past two buildings before things had started to go wrong. Right as Merlin and Arthur passed by a particular alleyway, multiple pairs of hands reached out and grabbed onto them.

Merlin let out a yelp as he was forcefully dragged into the darkness. Any cries for help were muffled as a hand clamped over his mouth. He tried to break free from the hands clutching onto him, but they would not budge. His hands were forced behind his back by his attackers. Then he felt himself get pushed towards a wall with sudden force. One of Merlin's arms got slammed into the brick as a result, which made Merlin wince in pain. Not even a moment later, there was the sensation of a blade at his neck, which caused Merlin to freeze up. Even though he technically could not die from a wound to his neck, it would be very inconvenient to bleed out all over the ground.

"What do you want from us?" Arthur did not have a knife to his neck like Merlin did. He looked like he wanted to fight back, but had obviously seen Merlin's predicament. Two men held onto Arthur, one for each arm.

With the attention mainly on Arthur, Merlin took the time to gather as much information as he could. In addition to the men holding Arthur, Merlin felt a third man using his body weight to pin Merlin to the wall. His assailant had one hand holding his wrists and the other holding the knife that "threatened" Merlin's life. Between himself and Arthur, Merlin spotted a fourth man. He was occupied with looking over Arthur, oblivious to Merlin observing him.

A feature all the men seemed to have in common was that they were dressed in dark clothing. Dark blue jeans; baggy, black jackets with their hoods obscuring part of each man's face; and black masks covering up the lower part of their faces that the hoods failed to hide. The only identifying information Merlin could get was the skin tone of each man due to their exposed hands.

"Try anything funny and you're dead." The man holding Merlin whispered into his ear. Merlin did not reply, only giving the slightest of nods with his head that would not result in getting his neck cut.

"You look rich. We'll be taking some of that cash off of you." Just based on his tone, Merlin could picture the sneer the leader may be displaying underneath the mask. "And if you fail to cooperate, we'll harm your friend here. No guarantee he'll live, though." The leader jerked his thumb towards Merlin.

Arthur let out a deep exhale, most likely to calm his nerves. He looked up at the leader with a hard, neutral expression. "I don't have much on me. And neither does he." He gestured his head towards Merlin.

"Something is better than nothing." The leader seemed to be unfazed. "Credit cards work too."

No reply came from Arthur. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut.

"Don't try anything and we'll let you live." The leader walked over to Arthur, deciding he should be searched first.

Getting out of the situation with only stolen wallets was a good deal with how close death was to both of them. It could even be argued to be the smart option for most people in Merlin's and Arthur's shoes. But Merlin was not like most people. These criminals would not get away with their actions, Merin decided. He felt his magic surge within his body, ready to go at his command.

Merlin waited until the leader had practically touched Arthur before unleashing his magic. Lightning surged out of Merlin's body, shocking the man that was holding onto him. The man cried out as the magic fried him from the insides. While the magic had only been let loose for a moment, it was enough to make the man drop to the ground, unconscious if not dead.

"What the fuck?!" The leader spun around to see the commotion. He did not look at the scene for long, immediately targeting Merlin. "You little punk!"

However, Merlin saw him coming. He flung the leader towards one of the walls, ensuring the head and chest got the brunt of the impact. The leader was not going to be standing back up anytime soon.

A familiar cry of pain caught Merlin's attention. His whipped his head back towards Arthur, not believing he managed to forget the most important person in this situation. Sometime during when Merlin was fighting back with his magic, Arthur seemed to have attempted to fight off the two men holding him. The man to Arthur's left was lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Meanwhile, the man on Arthur's right held a bloody knife. Arthur leaned against the wall, favoring one leg to stand on. He clutched at his right thigh in obvious pain; blood stained his jeans and leaked out between his fingers.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried out at seeing his friend injured.

The man holding the knife looked at Merlin for a moment. Then he attempted to run out of the alleyway. He only made it a couple steps before he was thrown against the wall by Merlin's magic, knocked out.

Frantically, Merlin rushed over to Arthur. "Where are you hurt? How bad is it?"

"The bastard managed to stab me." Arthur grunted. "Got me good."

In the darkness of the alleyway, Merlin could not tell how deep the wound was. But he could get a grasp of how fast Arthur was bleeding out, which was too quick for comfort. If Arthur did not get the medical treatment he needed, he would die from blood loss. Merlin considered himself to be damned for eternity should he fail to save Arthur's life again. Dialing 999 and having emergency services involved may take too long for Arthur to survive.

For a brief moment, Merlin considered using his magic to heal Arthur's wound. But that would take using more magic to increase the amount of light in the area, as thorough examination of the injury was required for proper healing. Merlin did not know how much of his magic Arthur saw already, but he did not need the other to be asking questions.

But what he could do was improvise. Merlin took off his belt and wrapped it around Arthur's thigh a little above the wound. He pulled on the belt, getting it as tight as he could before getting the metal piece through a hole. It was not Merlin's best tourniquet, but it would have to do for now in buying Merlin some more time.

"I'll get you to hospital." Merlin told Arthur while he got out his phone to look up where the nearest hospital was. "Promise."

"Merlin…" Arthur struggled to speak. "Back there…you…"

"Don't worry about it now." Merlin found a hospital two kilometers away. That distance should not be too far for his magic to handle. "Rest, you need your strength to survive this."

Arthur appeared to try to get more words in, but by then Merlin's fingers were already on his forehead. Even though Arthur would have slipped unconscious on his own soon anyway, Merlin preferred for him to be asleep during transit. With the help of a few additional spells, Merlin soon had the strength to carry Arthur; the stamina to run for a while; and the pavement beneath his feet sparkling gold, guiding him with the quickest route to the hospital he found prior.

Merlin ran down the path in front of him as fast he could. Arthur's life was in his hands again, and he would not let himself fail a second time.

In agonizing anticipation, Merlin sat in the waiting room for the ER. When he had arrived, Merlin yelled for any nurses or doctors available to help Arthur. After he had told a nurse who came up to him what happened, gesturing towards Arthur's leg, she immediately went to get assistance. And thus, Arthur had been taken back for emergency surgery.

As for Merlin, apparently the knife that had been at his neck still managed to cut him. It was an injury he had not realized he had sustained because of the adrenaline pumping through his body. The cut luckily was only a nick which did not really bleed all that much, so Merlin declined treatment for himself, knowing his magic would have the wound completely healed after one nights of sleep. For his arm, Merlin determined it was not broken, only bruised.

However, despite it being 5:00 in the morning at the moment, Merlin had not slept. Nor had he left his chair in the waiting room, with the exception of the need for the toilet. His mind, body and magic all worried for Arthur's well-being. Had he made it in time for the surgeons to save Arthur's life? Are the surgeons able to save Arthur's life in the first place? Was Merlin going to be responsible for Arthur's death again simply because he was not careful enough?

Every few hours, a nurse would come and check on Merlin. All of them asked if Merlin was alright. Sometimes they gave him a glass of water without asking. Although every time, Merlin would brush off the concern for his health, continuing to worry about Arthur instead.

It was not until around 7:00 did a nurse update him on Arthur's condition. "Arthur has been moved from the operating room to the non-intensive care unit. You'll be able to see him during visiting hours if you'd like."

"When do visiting hours start?" Merlin asked.

"At eight." The nurse looked at the clock. "So in about an hour. He should be awake by then if you wish to talk to him while you're there."

"Thank you." Merlin could not bear to wait another hour, but he did not have much of a choice.

Instead of sitting in the chair for another hour, Merlin went to get himself breakfast at the hospital cafeteria. Although he made sure he was back in the waiting room by 8:00.

Two minutes after 8:00, a different nurse from the one who talked to him an hour prior approached Merlin. "You're here to visit Arthur Pendragon, correct?"

"Yes." Merlin shot up from his seat, eager to see Arthur.

The nurse beckoned Merlin to follow her. She guided him towards the non-ICU. Some of the doors to the patient rooms were open, allowing Merlin to look inside while he walked. A few were empty, all prepped should a new patient require the space. Others were occupied with people of various ages. Merlin tried to not let anything distress him more than the current situation already had.

At one of the closed doors, the nurse stopped, making Merlin nearly collide into her. She quietly opened the door and peeked her head in. "Mr. Pendragon? You have a visitor."

Merlin heard Arthur say something, but could not make out exactly what was said. Regardless, it was good news. Arthur was awake and at least semi-coherent. Merlin had not wanted to sit next to an unconscious Arthur, nor did he feel prepared to.

The nurse stepped to the side, allowing Merlin to enter the room. "Please let a nurse know if you or Mr. Pendragon need anything."

"Will do. Thank you." After Merlin walked into the room, the nurse left, shutting the door behind her.

Arthur's room was a standard hospital room. Nothing in it took Merlin's attention aside from the occupant of the room. Arthur was lying on the bed, which had been adjusted so he was in more of a sitting position. He had been changed into the standard hospital gown, which left little to the imagination for his upper half. The blanket had been pushed towards the foot of the bed, exposing his legs. They were bandaged up from his hip down to his knee. His left arm was bandaged up too around the inner elbow.

"Merlin." Arthur spoke the name like he had not been expecting for Merlin to be the visitor.

"Good morning, Arthur." Merlin gave a little smile. He took one of the chairs at the side of the room and moved it so he could sit next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"My legs feel like they got crushed." Arthur grumbled. "The soreness in my arm feels minuscule compared to it."

"Did any of the nurses or doctors explain what happened?"

"Apparently the knife managed to cut a significant artery in my leg." Arthur explained. "They used something, I don't what since I missed it when the nurse was telling me stuff, in my other leg to fix up the artery. I also lost enough blood to require a blood transfusion."

Merlin knew what Arthur was talking about. The femoral artery was one of the easier ones to cut with a knife, and fatal if not medically treated quickly.

Arthur turned his head to look at Merlin. "The nurse said if the tourniquet hadn't been on my thigh, I would have bled to death before making it to the operating table."

Based on how he was talking, Merlin could sense the shock of being in a near-death situation had not completely worn off for Arthur yet.

"You saved my life, Merlin. Thank you."

"I couldn't let you die in the alley." Merlin shook his head. "Not when there was a chance that I could save you."

Arthur gave Merlin a look that resembled something he could not describe. "You didn't want a repeat of last time. The guilt would have been too much."

"Last time…" Merlin's eyes widened. "You remember?!"

"You saved my life countless times back then. You were bound to fail at some point." Arthur gave Merlin a small smile. "Having to protect a king does that."

"When did you start to remember again?"

"The memories came back when I watched you use your magic. They all came back at once, giving me head pain worse than the worst of the migraines I've suffered through. By the time I was able to focus on what was happening, you had already killed one of the thugs."

"Huh. I've used magic around you before, and you didn't remember then." Merlin mused.

"What do you mean?"

It took Merlin a few moments to think of an answer. It probably was a bad idea to tell Arthur that Merlin at one point thought he was not real without the context. "It's a long story."

Merlin retold what he had experienced within the past month or so. With Arthur having his memories of Camelot, it was easier for Merlin to explain the prophecy in regard to Arthur's return. He told him about how he had not been expecting to see Arthur already returned when he moved to London, going so far as to make sure no one had purposefully risen him from the dead. Then from wondering why Arthur had not recognized him on the spot to trying to figure out how to get Arthur's memories back. "I never found the solution, as you may have guessed by now. I still don't completely understand how you regained your memories."

"It might be because you used your magic to specifically protect me." Arthur suggested. "You did use it to protect me a multitude of times back then, even though I had only seen you in action myself when I was busy dying."

In a flash, Merlin recalled reading a section of his spell book that said something about experiencing events causing memories to return. Considering how Arthur reacted to Merlin revealing his magic after Camlann, and how significant using magic to protect Arthur had been in Camelot, Merlin could see it being the case. "You could be on to something."

"Of course I'm right, Merlin."

"And there you go being a prat again."

Falling back upon their banter so easily made them laugh. Although Arthur was quickly cut short with a pained grunt.

"Are you ok?" Merlin began to reach out towards Arthur on instinct, but held himself back.

"It hurts to laugh." Arthur said through gritted teeth. "God, I can't wait to get out of here."

"Me too."

They sat in silence while Arthur recovered from the pain. Quietly, Merlin let his magic caress Arthur in an attempt to soothe out the pain quicker. The pain must not have been too severe, as Arthur said he was feeling better a few minutes later.

"Merlin." Arthur 's tone turned serious. "There's something else that we need to talk about."

"What is it?"

"Well…" Arthur seemed to think carefully about his word choice. "Based on what I can recall from our lives back in Camelot, we were lovers."

"Yeah, we were." Merlin confirmed it. "You married Gwen for political relations amongst your people and the other kingdoms of Albion; along with attempting to have an heir. But behind closed doors, we were the ones together."

Arthur nodded. "I know it's been a very long time since we've last been together romantically." He looked unsure of himself.

"It's been at least 1500 years." Merlin supplied for him.

"Jesus." Arthur muttered under his breath. After a deep exhale, he spoke again. "Anyway, what I want to ask is: do you still feel the same way now as you did back then?"

"You mean if I still love you?" Merlin broke eye contact, finding the bland, white wall more interesting to look at. "To be honest, after your death, I couldn't truly move on. People have taken interest in me over the years, and I've tried having a relationship with some of them, thinking that you would want me to be happy and all, but it never worked out."

"Was it because you were immortal?"

"No." Thinking about the real reason made Merlin blush. "Those relationships didn't work out for me because the other person wasn't you."

Arthur tilted his head in curiosity, clearing waiting for Merlin to elaborate further.

"It didn't matter if the other person shared any characteristics with you. Hell, I even struggled with the people that had some resemblance to you to a degree. But oftentimes, my mind kept reminding me that this person wasn't you specifically. My feelings were still going strong for you all these years later. It sounds ridiculous, but it's the truth."

"I see."

Merlin's eyes widened as a thought came to his mind. "Shit, you aren't asking me that because you're currently with someone, are you? I didn't even consider that. By all means, I have-"

Arthur put a hand on Merlin's arm to shut him up. "Calm down for a second, please. I'm not currently in a relationship. I've dated a few people, but those never lasted more than a couple of months."

Merlin sighed in relief. "Oh good. I didn't want to potentially upset anyone."

"You won't." Arthur assured him. He looked down at his bandaged legs. "If anyone upsets others, it'll be me."

"Huh?" Now Merlin was the one to be confused. He tried to read Arthur's expression when he looked back up at Merlin. Arthur's eyes read of…guilt? What could Arthur be feeling guilty about now?

"While my memories have returned, how I felt towards other people has not. I don't know how to exactly explain it." Which was supported by Arthur struggling to produce words for a moment. "Like, I remember feeling in love with you back in Camelot, but now I don't feel anything romantic towards you. It feels like I don't know you well enough, even though I should since I know plenty about you from my memories."

Merlin felt his heart ache. All of his effort spent for Arthur to get his memories, only for the love Merlin felt to be unrequited.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. I truly am." Arthur sighed. "If it makes you feel better, it's the same for Gwen and everyone else. Speaking of, have you met any of the others in this life yet?"

"No. I've only met you and Morgana personally. And I've heard about Uther and Ygraine."

"Regardless, I don't know why I feel this way." Arthur kept looking at his legs. "I wish I did."

"Hey now, it's not all that bad." Merlin tried to use optimism to hide his tears. "At least I don't have to hide my magic from you again."

Arthur must have detected something in Merlin's voice, because his head shot up, gaze looking straight into Merlin's. A sad look soon appeared on his face. When he spoke, his tone matched in sadness. "But it won't be the same as back then. And probably will never be the same again for you."

Deep down, Merlin knew that Arthur was right. But he could not accept the truth. Not right now. It was too painful.

Arthur reached out to Merlin again, this time opting to gently hold his hand. "However, if you're okay with it, I would be willing to try again in this life. Being in a relationship with you, that is."

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked. "You just told me mere moments ago that you didn't love me."

"Yes, I'm sure." Arthur nodded. "I can't deny the slight attraction I've been feeling for you for a bit after the events of yesterday. Even though neither of us probably saw it as a date, I had fun with you back then."

"Yeah, I wouldn't count yesterday as a date either. I mean, who wants to get mugged on their first date with someone?"

"You do have a point there." A thoughtful look crossed Arthur's face, along with a small blush. "Back in Camelot, we had something special together. Something unique to the two of us. I wouldn't remember feeling the way I did otherwise. The peaceful moments of just us together are the ones I seem to remember the most clearly."

"You're such a sap." Merlin sniffed loudly, indicating that he was teasing.

"I'm serious." With a small laugh, Arthur playfully hit Merlin's arm. When he calmed down, he spoke again. "I clearly fell in love with you once, and I'm still attracted to men in this life too. I hope you believe me when I say that I'm willing to give our relationship another chance."

Merlin pretended to think about it for a moment. "Maybe I'll just have to woo you to get you to fall in love with me again."

"I'm not a girl, Merlin. If anything, you should be the one getting wooed, being the girl out of the two of us."

"Hey! Just so you know I can now act on my threat of turning you into a toad should I want to. It's no longer treason to cast spells on you."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me." Merlin challenged. He did notice the way Arthur's eyes lit up, making him wonder if Arthur was going to scheme something later.

The door to the room suddenly opened, giving Merlin and Arthur a scare. Arthur quickly took his hand back from Merlin, scooting himself towards the center of the bed in the process. Merlin tried to control his emotions as if he did not just have an emotional heart-to-heart with the one person that he loved the most.

The same nurse that guided Merlin to Arthur's room poked her head in. "Mr. Pendragon? You have another visitor."

"Who else is in there with him?" A second voice came from the doorway, which was recognized as Morgana's.

"It's just me, Morgana." Merlin called out, standing up.

"Merlin?" Morgana stepped past the nurse to enter the room. Her eyes went from Merlin to Arthur, seemingly processing the situation.

"I'll leave you three be." The nurse quickly read the room. "Let me or another nurse know if you need anything." With a quick exit, the door was shut once more.

"Holy shit, Arthur." Morgana stood next to Merlin at the side of the bed. "What happened to you?"

"It's a bit of a story." Arthur smiled at his sister with nervousness.

"You're telling me everything." Morgana practically demanded. "I need to know why I got a phone call at eight a.m. telling me that my younger brother is in the hospital just out of emergency surgery." She turned towards Merlin. "And how long have you been here?"

"I was the one who brought him here. I waited all night to see him." Merlin yawned, the events of the past day catching up to him.

"It's true." Arthur backed Merlin up. "If it weren't for him, I'd be dead."

Tears formed in Morgana's eyes. She looked between Merlin and Arthur, trying to decide for herself what to believe. Then she did something that neither of them expected: she hugged Merlin.

"Thank you." Morgana whispered into Merlin's ear. "Thank you for saving him."

After a few moments of awkwardness, Merlin returned the hug. He gently rubbed Morgana's back, recognizing her need to cry her heart out.

A minute later, Morgana pulled away from the hug. She wiped at her eyes, brushing the last of her tears away.

"Do I get a hug too?" Arthur asked from the bed.

"When I can give you one without worrying about hurting you, maybe." Morgana huffed. She sat down on the second visitor chair. "I want all the details of what happened. If I find out that either of you left anything out, a world of pain will come for you."

Merlin looked over at Arthur for a moment, who returned Merlin's gaze. Silently, they came to an agreement.

"I guess it's best to start from the beginning." Merlin sat back down, getting himself comfortable.

Together, Merlin and Arthur told Morgana what happened, with the exception of the bit revolving Arthur's memories. She listened attentively, absorbing every detail. When Arthur's injuries were mentioned, she looked over at his bandaged legs again, no doubt trying to picture the wounds underneath.

"I'm glad both of you are okay after all that." Morgana fanned herself.

"It is a lot to take in." Arthur said in comfort.

"So how long are you going to be here?" Morgana asked Arthur.

"I need to stay here for another night or two as a precaution. Make sure there's no complications and whatnot." Arthur answered. "Although I won't be walking around so easily for a couple of weeks."

"It'll be best for you to live with one of us for those weeks." Merlin advised. "Don't need things to get worse because you don't have help by living alone."

"We'll work something out." Morgana promised. She turned to Merlin. "You should go home and rest. I'll keep Arthur company for you."

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked.

"You look like you'll fall over soon, Merlin." Morgana pointed out.

"She has a point." Arthur agreed. "You look exhausted. I'll be fine. Promise."

"Alright, I'll go." Merlin started to move towards the door. "Let me know if anything major happens while I'm out."

"We will." Morgana said.

And so, with Arthur no longer in immediate danger, Merlin was finally able to get some much-needed rest.

2.5 Months Later…

Time flew by fast for Merlin. Before he knew it, his rent was due again. Like the previous months, an envelope filled with cash was clutched in Merlin's hand while he made his way to the ground floor. The lobby was empty aside from Olivia dusting one of the coffee tables. He gave her a smile and a friendly wave.

Olivia looked up from her work to see Merlin. She returned his wave, giving him a knowing look while doing so as she spotted the envelope in his other hand. Then she rushed into Arthur's office, closing the door behind her.

Merlin knew what was going to happen next, if his memory served from the previous month when he paid Arthur rent. He walked over to the closed door of Arthur's office and waited. In a few moments, the door opened slightly, permitting Merlin to enter.

"'Tis Merlin from 211!" Olivia stood against the wall to Merlin's left. Naturally, she got roped into the scheme, being Arthur's assistant and all.

Arthur sat at his desk, watching Merlin enter the room. Even though Merlin could only see the upper half of Arthur's body, he could tell Arthur was sitting in a similar posture that he took when sitting on the throne back in Camelot. Additionally, Arthur seemed a little more dressed up today too, like he knew Merlin was coming to pay his rent. All of this combined with the hard, neutral expression on his face, Arthur managed to make himself look regal in an office environment.

"Speak your piece, Merlin." Arthur even managed to match the kingly tone he once had with his voice. It made Merlin feel like he was one of the Camelot citizens asking for a petition.

At the same time, Merlin quietly cleared his throat. One of the requirements for this act was for him to speak in a British accent. Because of traveling so much, Merlin's accent had changed over the years, and currently it was not a British one. He decided to try for an accent that resembled his own back in Camelot. "My lord, I humbly beseech you." As he spoke, Merlin bowed towards Arthur, holding out the envelope. He felt that his accent was a bit off.

Luckily for Merlin, Arthur did not criticize the accent. Rather, he nodded in approval. He took the envelope from Merlin's outstretched hand.

"25% rent off for Merlin!" Olivia announced from the side of the room. With the act officially being over, she rushed out of the room. The door closed behind her, leaving Merlin alone with Arthur. Merlin took the seat in front of the desk.

Arthur counted out the cash, and slid 25% of it back to Merlin. "Thanks for humoring me again this month."

Merlin slid the money back towards Arthur. "It feels wrong to pay only 75% of the rent for participating in a simple act when I know you don't offer the same opportunity to the other tenants."

Arthur watched Merlin as he got ready to slide the money back towards him.

"If you won't take it, at least give it to Olivia." Merlin insisted. "For having her get involved in our shenanigans."

"I'll make sure she gets it." Arthur took the money back, stashing it away for later.

Merlin watched Arthur bend over, disappearing behind the desk. He heard the sound of things ruffling, and then a zipper being undone. Despite his current irritation, curiosity got to him.

When Arthur came back up, he had a sandwich bag in his hand. He placed it on the desk, which revealed to contain two chocolate biscuits.

"Here." Arthur pushed the bag towards Merlin. "These are for you."

Slowly, Merlin took the bag. At the same time, he watched a faint blush make its way onto Arthur's face. As soon as he opened the bag, his nose was attacked with the wonderful smell of fresh baked goods with a hint of chocolate. Suddenly eager to try it, he took a biscuit and put it in his mouth. Goodness, it tasted just as good as it smelled. Any negative feelings Merlin had earlier vanished. Within the minute, Merlin ate the entire biscuit.

"Was it good?" Arthur watched Merlin intently for a reaction.

"No, it was terrible." Merlin responded, dead monotone. Immediately afterwards, a grin came onto his face. "I'm messing with you. It was actually really good. Another one of your batches?"

Arthur nodded. He looked pleased with himself. "I haven't tried anything with chocolate recently, so those were the result."

The second biscuit was gone just as quickly as the first. "For your first attempt with using chocolate in a long time, it's really good." Merlin then proceeded to change the subject. "How have things been for you since you left Pendragon Capital?"

"It's only been three weeks, and it's already proving to be one of the best decisions I've ever made." Three weeks ago, Arthur had finally reached his limit. Once again, someone in the financial department made a significant mistake. While Arthur had swiftly addressed the problem and got things back together, Uther still was not happy. He blamed Arthur for not catching the error sooner, believing that managing Camelot Tower was too much of a distraction. All the while, Arthur knew he had no shot at catching the error in the first place, and working remotely at (and managing) Camelot Tower had been his safe haven from going insane.

Apparently, Uther had been at his last straw, because the incident resulted in an ultimatum: sell Camelot Tower and come work in-person at Pendragon Capital; or lose not only his position of CFO, but also get disinherited from receiving the company when Uther retired. It was an easy decision for Arthur to make. Within the next half hour, Arthur had walked out of the building with only his coat, keys, and wallet, never looking back.

Now, Arthur was trying to start up a bakery. With Morgana's help, he found a good building to set up shop. Currently, the process of buying the space was ongoing. Meanwhile, Arthur was sorting out all the appliances and supplies he would need to get business up and running. Even though Arthur no longer worked at Pendragon Capital, he still had plenty of money and connections to get by in the meantime.

"That's good to hear." Merlin, of course, had been ecstatic when Arthur told him he no longer worked at Pendragon Capital.

"Do you have any plans later?" Arthur asked. "I heard a new restaurant opened up not too far from here and I would like to give it a try."

"What type of food do they serve?"

"Korean."

"I'm down." Merlin smiled. He stood up. "I'll be back here in three hours."

"Sounds good." Arthur's attention was then taken by his desk phone ringing. He picked up the call on the second ring.

Merlin took it as his cue to leave. He left the office, quietly closing the door behind him. The smile on his face turned into a happier grin. All he could feel in the moment was the excitement for the date he would have later that evening. Finally, he no longer felt alone again.