This fic is dedicated to blackteaplease for three reasons. One, she proofread it for me and all that! Two, she got me back into writing fanfiction, and three, she's scary and didn't like it when she wasn't in the dedication for this fic :P
Merlin had been on his feet all day, making coffee, serving customers, everything that came with working at a coffee shop. He's only been there for three weeks, and this was his first full day. That, coupled with the fact that his shoes were awful, meant his feet were hurting. A lot.
It seemed that no matter how he stood, there was at least a hundred kilos of weight compacting the soles of his feet, and Merlin himself weighed barely sixty. If only he was lighter, maybe it wouldn't hurt so bloody much.
As he stood there cleaning out the coffee machine for the last time that day, Merlin wished that some of that weight would simply lift off, and he could stand in comfort. However, his thoughts were disrupted as his boss walked into the shop and stood next to him, watching his every move.
Arthur Pendragon was generally a good man to work for. He treated his employees well, and even though he enjoyed insulting Merlin, the barista knew that only he could make exactly the right coffee that Arthur needed at any given time.
Everyone at the small, but quality, coffee shop knew that Arthur wasn't running the shop because he wanted to, but rather because his father made him. Uther Pendragon was the CEO of a large chain of supermarkets, which owned a plethora of smaller chains and companies. He had ordered Arthur to start up the coffee shop in the hope that his would learn some management skills, but he had failed to notice that his son was just naturally gifted in those areas.
However, regardless of Arthur's skills in management, it was still very irritating when he came into the coffee shop at a time like this. Merlin abandoned the side he was cleaning, and moved over to start grinding beans for Arthur's coffee. He'd have to go back and clean the whole thing again later.
As he made Arthur's coffee (double shot latte with a little extra boost) he got into the zone of coffee making. His hands worked mechanically; frothing the milk, pouring it into the cup, adding a spice mix of his choosing (it was different every day, depending on Arthur's mood). While he was in that zone, he felt the pressure on his feet getting lighter and lighter, until it wasn't there at all. Once he was finished he turned around to present the coffee to Arthur...
Only to see him starting at Merlin with his mouth wide open in shock.
"What is it?" asked Merlin, handing the coffee to Arthur. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, except that Arthur looked maybe a few centimetres shorter than usual, though he put that down to perception.
"You... you're floating!" said Merlin, pointing wide eyed at Merlin's feet. Merlin looked down, only to see that his feet were about an inch above the ground. That sight shocked him so much, that he fell, not just until his feet hit the floor, but all the way until his bottom was on the ground.
"What. Was that?" asked Arthur in an overly careful tone.
Merlin got up, hands on his head, shaking his head from side to side. "I have no idea. It just... happened? I guess I just wanted the pressure off my feet so much, that I hovered?"
"You know, Merlin, if I hadn't just seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed you. It just doesn't make sense. Has anything like this happened before?"
"Not like this. And not for a few years."
Arthur was silent for a few moments, before speaking. "Are you saying that you have defied the laws of physics before?"
"Umm," replied Merlin, "Yes? When I was little, I used to make things float in the air. I could never do it on purpose though. It always happened when I was concentrating on something else, but I was doing that task automatically. It seems all my concentration went into my 'magic', as my mother calls it."
Arthur took one long sip of coffee. "I think I need something stronger than this," he said.
Merlin nodded once, and reached into the very back of a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of Baileys. He poured a generous helping into Arthur's coffee, before pouring a shot for himself in one of the latte glasses. He downed it in one, letting out a sigh as the alcohol began to calm him down.
The two stood in silence while Arthur finished his coffee and made to leave the shop. However, just before he left, he turned to Merlin and said, "Don't tell anyone about this, Merlin. It'll be best kept as a secret." And with that, he let the door swing closed behind him.
Merlin remained leaning against the bench top for a few moments, before he started to tidy everything away. He moved the dirty cups over to the sink, and picked up the Baileys to put it away. AS he was opening the cupboard, he swore he saw something change on the label. He brought it closer and noticed three lines of text, and a small drawing of a dragon that he was sure hadn't been there last time he looked.
Emrys has awoken
The Old Religion will return
The Once and Future King is about to rise.
Merlin closed his eyes as he felt a huge power rush into him, along with memories of a long forgotten time. When he opened his eyes they were glowing gold, and his mouth formed a single whispered word.
"Arthur"
Merlin
Done! This fic was written in about 45 mins, after I got inspiration from my sore feet at work! Weird things remind me of Merlin... And no, I don't work in a coffee shop, so I apologise for any errors there. And just letting you all know, however open ended the ending is, I will NOT be writing a sequel. I think that whatever happens after this has been done too well, too many times, and I just wanted to write something original. So, I hope you all enjoyed it, and please review!