Hi Guys! I started watching Merlin... about two months ago, and I managed to cram all five seasons in those two months. I just finished the series yesterday (and if you haven't finished it, don't read anymore. There aren't any specific spoilers, but it ruins the ending) and I basically freaked out.
So I started wondering how others handled it and how MERLIN AND ARTHUR would handle watching a show like that and this happened. I apologize if it's a bit OOC, I haven't written much Modern AU Merlin. Or any Merlin. Right.
Let me know what you think! Review!
No Show is Worth Your Tears
Morgana was a busy woman. She didn't have time for unnecessary distractions, contrary to popular belief. She was the head of design for a fashion magazine, not some bloody intern you could call for whenever you wanted. But for reasons unknown, people still bothered her. Sometimes it was a late design submittal, sometimes the layout was skewed or colours were off. People called her to solve their problems, no matter how irrelevant.
In this case, however, it seemed to be something even less significant than normal.
One hour ago, Gwen had called Morgana, frantically explaining that Arthur and Merlin had locked themselves in Merlin's pathetic excuse for a flat (Not those exact words, per se, Gwen was much too nice to insult Merlin's dingy living space). They refused to open the door and Gwen swore she heard sobs through the door.
Morgana had kindly told her that she did not have time to check on the two idiots and would do so when she had free time—according to her planner, that was next year on January 14th at 7.30 pm. Still, Gwen pleaded, and at the end of the day, Morgana could not ignore her best friend's request, so she cancelled her meetings for the afternoon and hailed the next cab to take her to Kings Cross.
...
"No!" Merlin gasped, hiding his head under the blanket. "He can't just die! They wouldn't end it like that, right Arthur? They can't! I'm sure people would be upset and make a petition or something; angry fangirls are a force to be reckoned with…" Merlin continued babbling nervously, grabbing the DVD cover and looking down the episode list, "I'm sure there's another episode, right? Arthur?"
"I… I think that's it." He whispered, holding a cushion with a death-like grip. He blinked several times and took a deep breath, "That's the end of it Merlin."
"Bloody hell! What would possess anyone to write an ending like that?" Merlin pushed his fingers through his dark hair before jumping off the couch and running to his bedroom for his phone, "Maybe," he called out so Arthur could hear, "Maybe there'll be a movie or a spin-off series…"
"Merlin," Arthur said, his voice cracking. Merlin stopped for barely a moment and took in Arthur's sad eyes, "It won't be coming back."
"No!" Merlin shouted, "It can't end like this. I will figure it out. We can protest outside the studio, or find out where the director lives, convince him…"
"Merlin."
"Shut up! It can't end like this, just let me think, I'm sure there is a way. There has to be." Merlin sunk down to the ground, phone clutched in his hands. Arthur made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a choked sob, but of course, he would later deny shedding a single tear.
…earlier...
Gwen had come over, six in the morning, to give the boys some homemade banana bread. Merlin, her neighbour and friend, accepted the baked good graciously, and Arthur promised to do it justice, already breaking off a chunk with his fingers.
Merlin's living room (and kitchen and dining room) had been turned into the ultimate boy-den with junk food and cushions littered across the room and the curtains closed so no light would enter (not that any would, it was raining as usual). The telly flickered in the dark, ready for a DVD.
"What are you watching?" Gwen asked, pointing toward the telly with her chin.
"Sorry Gwen, we cannot tell you" was the reply. Gwen thought nothing of it. After telling the boys to have fun, she went back to her flat and started to do the dishes. She vaguely heard an ominous soundtrack from the next room and people (no doubt the characters in whatever show they were watching) chattering away.
After having cleaned the dishes, she took a shower, pick up her umbrella and made her way over to the pub where she would be meeting Lance (Lancelot, but no one called him that) for some bangers and mash.
It was almost six when she came back and she knocked on the door, politely waiting for the boys to answer so she could get her serving dish back.
Instead of the hurried footsteps she was expecting to hear, she heard some shouting and… was someone crying? She pressed her ear to the door and her eyes widened when she heard it again—someone was crying!
With newfound urgency, Gwen rapped at the door, "Boys? Open up, it's me Gwen."
No one replied.
"Arthur? Merlin? Please answer the door!"
Still, no one replied.
She heard a loud thud from the other side and immediately whipped out her phone to call her best friend.
…
Her stilettos clicked against the floor and echoed down the hall as Morgana made her way down to Merlin's flat. She saw Gwen's figure leaning against the door, knocking anxiously. When Gwen saw Morgana, she straightened, "Oh! Morgana, thank God, I didn't know what to do! They aren't answering. At first I heard shouting and crying and now it's completely silent, I'm worried sick, what do we do?"
"First of all, Gwen, you need to calm down." Morgana squeezed Gwen's shoulder and promptly reached into the duffel bag she called a purse, pulling out some water. "Hydrate" She said before reaching into her bag again and finding exactly what she was looking for.
"Is that a key to Merlin's flat?" Gwen asked, eyes wide.
"Of course, I had one made." Morgana said, giving no further explanation. Gwen shrugged, taking it in stride, Morgana (whether she admitted it or not) was a Pendragon, and Pendragons weren't always… well, let's just say they had no qualms in taking what they wanted.
Unlocking the door, the two girls found themselves faced with a miserable sight. While Merlin's apartment was a mess to begin with, it was much worse now. The lights were off, blankets were strewn all over the place. Merlin sat next to Arthur, both watching the rubbish bin as if their lives depended on it, their eyes blood shot.
"Merlin!" Arthur said, reaching over to shove Merlin's shoulder. It came out half-heartedly and Merlin merely shrugged it off and continued staring.
"Oh dear." Gwen said, turning on the lights. Morgana walked over to the bin and peered inside. Amongst the trash, she found five box sets of a TV show she vaguely remembered catching an episode of once upon a time.
Pulling one out she showed Gwen, "What is it?"
"Oh, you poor things." Gwen said sympathetically. She whispers to Morgana, "Basically, all the characters that people actually liked, died in the end. It's quite tragic." She turned to the boys, "Tea?"
"It's a TV show." Morgana stated in disbelief. Honestly, sometimes she couldn't understand why her brother and his best friend were such utter pillocks. "It's a TV show! Arthur, I can't believe this. I can't believe you. I had to cancel a meeting because I thought this was a life and death situation!" There was no reply. "You're being ridiculous." Morgana huffed and joined Gwen in front of the kettle. "How long do you think they'll stay like this?"
"It depends on how invested they are and how they handle it." Gwen said matter-of-factly, "I took three weeks."
"Three weeks? Really?" Morgana said, peering back at the boys. Merlin wiped his nose with the back of his hand and Arthur was still trying to calm Merlin down, although it seemed like he was reassuring himself more than anything. "How did you get over it?"
Gwen shrugged, pouring the tea into cups and handing one to Morgana, "It depends on your method. I just started watching something else. Some people turn to fanfiction and tumblr. If you ask me, that just draws out the pain. I'm not sure what these two will do."
Morgana blinked while sipping her tea. Fanfiction? Tumblr? What the hell was going on? "So what should we do?"
"Leave them. They'll get over it." Gwen stirred her tea. "Sorry about bringing you here. I thought it was serious."
"No, it's fine Gwen. I would have done the same. I think I'll go home and get some take out. Let me know if they…" She took a sip of her tea while vaguely gesturing to them.
"Of course, you have a good night. See you Friday, yeah?" Gwen took two cups to them and urged them to drink. Arthur narrowed his eyes, but was much too polite to tell Gwen to just leave already because she did not understand the emotional turmoil they were going through.
"Yeah." Morgana smiled put her empty cup in the sink before sparing her idiot brother and friend a glance and a roll of the eyes. "See you boys when you decide to get over it!"
…
It turns out that the boys never got over it.