Till There Was You
Chapter 1
Characters~ Arthur & Merlin
Warnings~ chibi!Arthur and Merlin, fluff, hiccups, birds, autumn, schoolyard bullying, terminal illness, some Parked!themes...
Disclaimer~ I don't own Merlin in any way, shape, or form—Arthur does. ^w^
Music on My Mind~ Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol (don't own)
Notes from the KIT-chan~
Kid!Merthur twoshot for yasminty and lilybells. Enjoy~ ^^
.::.~*Kit Shadow~*.::.
~o~
It all started one morning when Arthur walked into school for his first day back from summer vacation.
He'd looked around to see all of the other children playing with their own toys in various parts of the room and his friends were gathered up at a single corner, waiting for him to come sit at their table with bright, eager expressions on their faces. At this, the young blonde's face lit up at just the slightest.
It was as if nothing had changed since the last time they'd been together that one day in June when their teacher had wished them all a splendid farewell for what had been the incoming three-month break. Arthur flashed a big smile to his friends before giving his teacher a respectful nod, approaching their table with a smug countenance.
"Arthur," Leon chuckled, patting his friend good-naturedly on the back before turning to aim a brief gesture towards Gwaine to make room for the blonde.
The young Pendragon let out a long sigh, sitting down beside the latter and staring across the room to watch his half-sister Morgana laughing with Gwen at a different table. In a split second, the green-eyed brunette turned and shot him an annoyed look, at which Arthur rolled his eyes sarcastically, diverting his attention towards another part of the vast classroom.
It wasn't long, though, before his gaze finally stilled at an oddly vacant corner, where he saw a raven-haired little boy about his age sitting all by himself. Compared to his other classmates, he seemed a lot smaller than average. He was very frail, and his complexion was as light and soft as the sleek ivory keys of a piano. At the same time, the boy wore a melancholic, pretentious expression on his face and held close to his chest what seemed to be a white baby dragon plush in his arms.
At this, the blonde's eyes softened, curious thoughts running through his open mind, more so because this was the first time he'd ever seen him here before.
After a while, the raven looked up from his isolated spot, staring timidly at him with bright cerulean irises, and Arthur quickly looked away, his countenance uneasy but contemplative.
Who was this boy?
By the time the Pendragon had finally fallen out of his stupor, the lunch bell already rang, and everyone got up from their seats to go outside for recess.
~o~
Even when he was out on the playground, he still couldn't stop looking at the raven from afar.
"Arthur," Gwaine spoke, prodding him on the shoulder. "Oi—you in there?"
But the blonde paid no attention, and even when Percival was about to throw him the ball from first base, he was still unfazed by his surroundings.
"Heads up!" he'd called, hastily tossing the dodgeball over to Arthur.
In that instant, the Pendragon snapped back to reality, but before he could even reach for the ball, it had already whizzed past his head and bounced over in the direction of the trees.
Instinctively, he rushed to sprint after it, stopping only when the rubber red sphere rolled into a pair of dilapidated brown leather shoes. At that moment, Arthur froze where he was, inhaling sharply when he glanced up to meet two big pools of shimmering sapphire.
The blonde's face grew rigid as he took a few steps back from the raven, whose eyes were just about as wide as his were that point. His expression was shy, alabaster cheeks flushing light pink as Arthur carefully picked the ball up in his hands.
"Er..." he murmured hesitantly, glancing down at the latter's shoes. "Sorry about that," he exhaled, waiting apprehensively for the boy's response.
But all he'd heard was utter silence, and the young Pendragon immediately looked up to see the raven's gaze fixed curiously on the rubber dodgeball he'd quickly tucked under his left arm. At that, Arthur stared thoughtfully at the scarlet orb before holding it back out in his hands towards the other child.
"Hey..." he began quietly, glancing once into the raven's eyes. "...do you want to play with—"
"ARTHUR!"
In that instant, the blonde whirled around to see all of his friends waving to him from afar.
"Give us the ball!" Elyan called, cupping his hands around his mouth.
"We've only got a few minutes left!" Percival added.
Arthur hesitated slightly, looking down at the dodgeball in his hands. "I'll be there in a sec!" he shouted back, glancing over his shoulder to continue talking to the raven-haired boy.
But the very minute he'd turned around, the latter was nowhere to be seen. He stood there puzzled for a moment, scanning the bushes around him before reluctantly returning to where the rest of the boys were waiting for him.
As soon as the blonde had turned his back, however, the raven silently emerged from one of the farther trees and timorously watched them all play together in the middle of the field, half-hiding his semblance with his little dragon plush.
~Twelve minutes later~
RING.
"Give it back, Cenred!" Leon cried, persistently jumping up to try and grab the ball from the taller boy's hand, which was extended high up in the air so that it was out of the other children's reach.
Not even Percival, the biggest in Arthur's group, could knock the rubber sphere out of the bully's grasp. It wasn't until a second later that the blonde himself leaped onto Cenred's back, only to be tackled down onto the floor and punched in the stomach by another boy that was much older than he was.
Before long, the teacher had called them all back in, and Cenred laughed haughtily, pegging the dodgeball into Arthur's face as he walked back into the school with the rest of his enormous gang.
At that moment, the young Pendragon groaned, struggling to get up when he was suddenly assisted by a concerned Guinevere.
~o~
"You should tell someone," Gwen offered, pressing a damp, lukewarm rag against the blonde's swollen cheek as the other children packed up to go home. "It's not fair that you have to deal with him almost every day."
Arthur let out a long sigh, turning his face away from her. "I know," he muttered, half-heartedly zipping his backpack shut.
Gwen exhaled slowly, accompanying him as they walked out onto the front steps of the building. And again, the young Pendragon's eyes fell still on the raven-haired boy as he lingered alone on the swingset nearby with that same morose, longing expression on his face.
"...who's that?" Arthur murmured idly, the words just barely audible above a hushed whisper.
Not long after, chocolate brown irises had followed in the same direction. Then Gwen paused for a moment before letting out a slow sigh, stepping forward so that she was standing right beside the blonde.
"Oh...that's Merlin," she replied softly, her gaze softening on the raven. "He lives across the street from my house. I see him all the time whenever I get the chance to go outside with Dad."
Arthur nodded once in understanding and pondered for a minute, watching contemplatively as the other boy embraced the tiny dragon against his chest.
Gwen looked at the blonde, glancing back over at the raven with an uneasy countenance. "...he's really quiet though," she added thoughtfully, "Always afraid of being around other people. I've talked to him a couple of times, but he usually didn't say much. Awfully shy, that one. That's why you see him by himself so often—poor thing."
The blonde's eyes grew pensive, fixed on the latter as he carefully got up from the swing to walk towards the back gate. In that instant, Arthur exhaled slowly, loosening his grip on his backpack strap at the slightest.
Gwen cleared her throat, turning to step over in the direction of the front gate. "It's getting a bit late...you coming, Arthur?"
At that moment, the young Pendragon's eyes were soft on the small raven. "No—it's alright," he replied in a hushed, detached voice. Then he looked up and stared warmly into his friend's eyes. "I think I'm going to stay here for a little while. You can go ahead without me, Guinevere."
In response, the latter lingered for a bit before giving the blonde a meaningful nod, shifting her gaze towards Merlin as he made his way past the small fence. After a short while, she let out a sigh and smiled, tentatively moving her feet in the opposite path with her back facing Arthur.
"Be careful not to startle him if you're going to try something," she called over her shoulder.
In that instant, the blonde stiffened, turning to look at Gwen with a puzzled expression on his face. "Er...excuse me?"
Guinevere laughed lightly, stepping out past the front gate. "Nothing, nothing...oh, see you tomorrow."
Arthur frowned. For a moment, he stood perplexed on the pavement, gazing after his friend before she finally disappeared around the corner. Then he slowly shook his head, turning to glance over to see that the young raven had already gone as well.
With that, the blonde sighed, immediately rushing off in Merlin's direction.
~o~
But by the time Arthur had reached the back gate, the other boy was nowhere to be found. He tentatively stepped out on the narrow trail, turning his head in both directions to search for the latter that instant.
That was when he saw the little raven a bit farther along on the other side of the path, bent over and arm outstretched as if he was reaching for something in front of him.
At that moment, the blonde considered the curious sight very carefully in front of him, slowly approaching Merlin as he made small, frustrated noises of great effort.
But as he got a closer view of the boy, his face gradually grew stiff when he saw that the raven was perched unsteadily at the edge of a big, grassy slope—desperately reaching for a cluster of forget-me-nots that were growing about a foot away from where he was standing.
In that instant, Arthur's breath stilled. Any movement at the slightest, and he could fall—perhaps even roll down towards the woods down at the very bottom.
Immediately, the blonde ran towards him. "Hey!" he cried apprehensively.
But his call fell on deaf ears, and Merlin's eyes still remained fixed on the flowers, not long before he'd shifted closer and finally lost his footing. The raven let out a startled cry, his eyes widening tenfold as a blur of the bright green grass rushed out from beneath him.
Just as he started to brace himself, he felt something warm wrap around his stomach, holding him in place and suspending him mid-air as if the world had suddenly grown still.
And before there was a sigh of relief, a low murmur coming from over his shoulder. "Careful there."
A boy's voice.
At that moment, Merlin's mind snapped back to reality, and he quickly turned to see a blonde-haired child about his age smiling at him with ocean blue eyes that shimmered under the dim evening light. For a second, the raven held his breath, timidly glancing down to see his arm folded carefully around his middle. Then he snapped his eyes shut, letting out a small exhale.
Arthur chuckled softly, gradually moving back to lead him safely away from the slope.
The raven cringed, swiftly slipping out of the other's steadfast but strangely gentle grip.
In response, the Pendragon winced a little, staring concernedly at the shaken expression on the other's face. "Are you all right?" he asked in a slow, quiet tone. "You almost fell off—"
In that instant, Merlin looked up and found himself facing the blonde with timorous eyes. Then he glanced down at Aithusa, tucked neatly under the latter's left arm—just as that dodgeball had been earlier on the playground...
Suddenly, his train of thought broke once more when the blonde started speaking again in a calm voice, and the raven raised his gaze to see him handing the dragon plushie to him.
"You dropped this," the boy muttered, looking at him with warm sapphire irises.
Merlin swallowed hard. He stared straight into the latter's eyes, not sure what to do or say, because he wasn't normally used to anyone other than Gwen or his mum talking to him like this—or better yet, even at all. But after a few seconds, he managed to take Aithusa from the blonde, hugging the soft toy close to his chest, and flushed shyly, staring down at his own two feet.
"Aithusa..." he whispered diffidently. "Th-thank you."
In response, Arthur held his breath upon finally hearing the wonderful sound of the latter's voice, like wind chimes jingling faintly in a mild spring breeze. His eyes softened at that point before he bashfully stuffed his hands into his pockets. But that was when he remembered that one was still holding something and tentatively extended his other palm to reveal a small, delicate flower identical to the ones that the raven had been trying desperately to obtain.
Merlin's eyes widened and he looked amazedly at the Pendragon's bright facade.
"Er...there were a few of them growing by the bushes near the back gate," he murmured in a slightly sheepish tone.
The raven blinked slowly, reaching his arm out to take the blue forget-me-not from his faintly tanned hand. He gazed down at it with a warm expression, holding it gingerly in his hand.
Arthur watched in silence as the other boy's face gradually lit up with genuine delight.
"Pretty..." Merlin mumbled, smiling to himself as he placed the flower inside Aithusa's front pouch. Then he lowered his eyes, cheeks coloured light pink. "...what's your name?" he asked in a shy, hesitant voice.
At this, the blonde reared his head back, gazing up at the evening sky above. "Arthur," he replied, eyes scintillating as he turned to meet the latter's gaze. "And you're..."
"Merlin!" a female voice called from not far away.
In that instant, the raven instinctively looked back, and Arthur followed his stare to see a petite brown-haired woman waiting patiently at the other end of the path...supposedly none other than the boy's mother herself.
Merlin grinned back at the brunette, then glanced over his shoulder to gaze longingly into his new friend's ocean blue eyes.
But Arthur only nodded once and gave a reassuring smile. "See you to-morrow, then," he spoke in an amiable tone.
At this, the raven flushed slightly, his lips slowly curling into a small grin in return. "S-see you," he chuckled in reply.
The blonde's face lit up with warmth.
For a moment, Merlin still lingered, not being able to take his eyes off his newly found friend, but after he'd heard his mother call his name again, he immediately whirled around to totter over in her direction.
The young Pendragon let out a small sigh, watching after the small raven as he happily rushed into the petite woman's arms, and then turned to make his own way back home as well. But the second he'd turned around to walk in the opposite path, Arthur abruptly froze dead in his tracks and mentally scolded himself when he realised in an instant that 'to-morrow' was a Saturday, which meant there was no school.
At that, the blonde let out a sharp exhale, briefly glancing back to see Merlin and his mother leave.
He was right in what he'd said, though: this would not be the last time that the two children would see each other again. The only thing was that neither of them had any clue that their next encounter would be very soon.
~o~
On Sunday morning Ygraine had decided to take Arthur with him to the supermarket, leaving Morgana at home with Gaius, their manservant and personal physician after quite some effort of persuasion on her part.
~xXx~
"Mummy, why does Arthur get to go? Arthur doesn't like shopping with you as much as I do..." the three-year-old brunette had whined.
In response, Mrs. Pendragon had taken little Morgana in her arms and brushed her long, dark brown hair behind her ears.
"I'm sorry, love, but Mummy needs your brother to help me carry a bit of heavy stuff at the store...unless you think you can do a better job?"
The young brunette giggled, nuzzling her face into her mother's shoulder. "Of course I can," she laughed, shooting a look at her older brother who'd been sitting the whole time in the car with the window open. "But maybe next time—Big Brother sure looks like he wants to carry EVERYTHING today," she finished with a mischievous smirk.
At that, Arthur had rolled his eyes at his younger sibling before turning to look in the opposite direction.
~xXx~
Presently, mother and son were exploring the produce section for special sales that the store had on for the day, with Ygraine directing Arthur to keep track of their cart.
It wasn't until the young blonde started begging her to purchase strawberries that they had suddenly heard a loud cry not far away, and Arthur immediately looked up to see none other than Merlin's mother waving to them from the cereal aisle.
What surprised him even more, however, was how his own mother had started waving back with the same vigour, almost flailing as if she'd already been familiar with the brown-haired petite woman.
"Hunith!" Ygraine cried, quickly approaching the latter to give her a warm embrace. "What a surprise to see you here!"
Merlin's mother laughed, returning her best friend's welcoming gesture. "Ygraine! How long has it been?"
At that moment, Arthur chuckled to himself as he watched the two mothers chat with delight, then eagerly shifted his gaze in the next instant to see if perhaps the young raven was anywhere nearby.
Before long, he'd spotted Merlin standing in the fish section, watching the freshly caught lobsters stirring about in their own tank. The small Pendragon walked towards his friend, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hi," he spoke in a hushed whisper.
In response, Merlin raised his head, slowly turning around to meet the blonde's scintillating cerulean eyes. Almost immediately, his expression softened and a wide smile was spread across his bright face.
"Hi," he replied, glancing back at the large crustaceans he'd just been observing.
Upon noticing this brief motion, Arthur gazed over the younger boy's shoulder, then shifted forward until he was standing next to him—his nose almost leaning against the cold glass.
For a moment, it was silent between the two children, with the exception of their mothers' laughter that could be heard in the background.
After a short while, the blonde sighed, peering dully into the depths of the tank. "They're not doing anything," he groaned, frowning disappointedly at the motionless clumps of lobsters.
Merlin looked at him, then back at the crustaceans. "They were scuttling before...maybe it's just you."
Arthur opened his mouth to say something but then closed it and gradually turned to see the raven grinning ear-to-ear. At this, the blonde narrowed his eyes playfully and slowly shook his head, his lips curling into a mischievous smirk.
"Is that so? Watch this," he chuckled in reply, facing the moist glass with a smug countenance.
In that instant, Merlin turned to look at his friend, just in time to see him stick his tongue out at the lobsters and make the silliest face he'd probably ever seen at that point.
Pretty soon, the largest lobster crawled out from under the group and approached the tank to meet the blonde's teasing gaze with its own black, beady little eyes.
At this, Merlin laughed, pulling a funny face of his own beside the young Pendragon to get another great crustacean to stand its ground beside its bigger king. In the next few minutes, the two boys stood there having a blast with each other until their mothers had finally come to pull them apart and say farewell.
Ygraine smiled, taking Arthur by the hand before turning to leave for the cash register. "It was nice to meet you again, love—take care!" she called to her best friend over her shoulder.
"You, too, dear! See you Monday afternoon!" Hunith replied, placing her own giggling son up into her arms and placing him into his seat on the grocery cart.
~o~
When they were in the car, Arthur couldn't help but notice how happy his mother still looked at that point. After a moment, he'd finally brought himself to start some conversation.
"Mummy," the young blonde began in a curious tone, "how do you know Merlin's mum?"
At this, Mrs. Pendragon looked at her son with bright eyes. "Oh, sweetheart...Merlin's mummy and I used to go to the same school."
Arthur pondered contemplatively upon her response, then went on with another question. "...were you best friends?"
Her response was a brief nod before she shifted her gaze back to the road: "The very best," she replied.
Before long, they were in back in the garage of their home, and Ygraine reached over to kill the engine.
"So what did Mrs. Emrys mean by 'Monday afternoon'?" the little blonde asked.
In that instant, Ygraine paused to think for a moment before taking the keys from the ignition. Then she unlocked the doors and spoke in a cordial voice. "Merlin's mother has gotten a new job someplace else." She turned to look at her son. "She'll be working at a much later schedule now than she usually does, so she'll no longer be able to pick Merlin up from school on time."
Mrs. Pendragon pursed her lips, then turned to grab the groceries in the back seat and went on. "Starting this week, he'll be staying with us every afternoon until his mum can get off from work to bring him home."
She handed Arthur a few bags, then opened her door. "I told Mrs. Emrys earlier that usually you walk home from school since—well, it's only about a few blocks away."
The young blonde nodded once and lifted his own door handle: "Alright, then..." he replied.
As soon as he stepped out, Ygraine let out a sigh and took out her keys again to lock the car. "So..." she began in a prudent tone, "can I trust you to take Merlin along and make sure that he gets here in one piece?"
At that, Arthur stood still for a long moment before smiling to himself at the thought of the raven keeping him company on the afternoons and playing with him upstairs in his room.
"Won't be a problem, Mum," the young blonde answered in content.
~o~
The next morning, first thing after walking into school, the two finally gave each other some mutual acknowledgement—the closest with Merlin watching Arthur play with his other friends while the young Pendragon himself watched the raven off by himself. But as the day went on, Arthur eventually brought himself to approach Merlin from the other end of the playground, only to find the latter with a sad expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" the blonde asked, crouching down to meet the raven's melancholic eyes.
Merlin lowered his gaze, then slowly held his hands out to reveal a tiny bird lying in his palms.
In that instant, Arthur's face grew solemn as he observed the poor thing on its side, its left wing bent in an awkward position.
The raven's eyes softened as he looked up at his friend. "I think it's broken," he spoke in a soft voice.
At that, the blonde frowned, reaching to examine the hurt creature's injury. But before he could even lift a finger, Merlin immediately pulled his hands away in a protective manner. "Don't touch it," he spoke warily, his gaze anxious on the other boy. "You might hurt it even more."
Arthur winced in response, as if hurt at the slightest by the raven's words. But he kept his expression composed and let out a small sigh, carefully getting up on his feet. "We could take it to Miss Freya if you want," he began in a calm, even tone, extending a hand out to the latter. "She can probably help. She's good with animals."
At first, Merlin said no words in reply. After a few seconds though, he finally brought himself to take Arthur's hand and followed him back inside the classroom.
~o~
As Freya was wrapping the bird's wing neatly in a tiny cloth, the young Pendragon couldn't help but notice the troubled look on his friend's face. His eyes were intent on the little creature, and his arms were clutched tight around his baby dragon plush. It wasn't until a few more moments' past that Arthur lifted his right hand to wrap it reassuringly around Merlin's wrist.
And in that instant, the raven flinched, turning to meet shimmering cerulean irises. Freya let out a light chuckle, glancing up from her small patient to smile at the two children.
"Arthur's right, Merlin," she laughed, tying the last knot on the bird's mini-sling. She stood up, carefully placing the small animal in the raven's palms. "Don't worry so much over this. It really isn't hurt that badly. Before you know it, it'll be flying again up in the sky with its fellow friends."
At that, Merlin gazed timidly back at his teacher, then grinned back at the young Pendragon.
~o~
After school, the boys spent their first afternoon walking back together, passing through the local park on the way home.
Merlin looked around curiously at the surrounding trees, then looked at his blonde friend. "Mum usually takes me out here for a little bit to watch the ducks over by the pond."
Arthur kicked a pebble at his feet, raising his head to meet the raven's eyes. "Really? I didn't even know there was a pond around here," he replied, looking at him with a confused expression.
In that instant, Merlin laughed, turning to walk down another path hidden in the bushes. "Is that so? Come on, I'll show you."
The blonde nodded once, following after the younger boy.
~o~
Later on that evening, Arthur and Merlin sat next to each other at the edge of the small pond among the trees, the raven pointing out the little yellow ducklings as they swam single-file behind their mother. And Arthur couldn't help but smile not just at the sight of the insanely adorable things but also of how animated his friend seemed at the same time even with the injured bird sitting on his knees. Speaking of which, in a few more moments another bird had, out of nowhere, swept down into Merlin's lap and snuggled right beside its injured friend.
In response, Merlin immediately looked down with a startled expression on his face, and Arthur laughed.
"Don't worry, she'll be better soon," he murmured encouragingly, eyes softening on the two tiny creatures.
At this, a wide grin spread on the raven's face, and Merlin looked up to meet Arthur's warm, intent gaze.
~o~
As months passed, the two had become fast friends who'd always be together through thick and thin. In short, Arthur no longer did a single thing anymore without Merlin at his side, and they would often be referred to by other people as 'two sides of the same coin.'
One night, Hunith even agreed to let her son spend the night over at the blonde's when she'd had to work overtime, and both boys had been exceedingly happy to hear her good news.
Initially, Ygraine was all set to let Merlin stay in the guest room that Arthur's father often used for visitors from work, but that night, Arthur agreed to let Merlin share his bed.
And so the two of them spent the night looking after the baby bird, which they'd now kept in a makeshift cage they'd previously made by Arthur's window. But after a while, when it was almost 9 o'clock, Merlin let out a small yawn and went to lie down next to his best friend. The young Pendragon sighed with a smile, then sat up to pull the covers over both of them.
For a moment, the room was peacefully silent...until suddenly there was a hiccup across from where Arthur lay. At this, the blonde raised his head and chuckled, glancing over at the younger boy.
"Really now, Merlin?"
The raven hiccupped once more, then covered his face under the sheets.
Arthur only laughed, instantly reaching for the bedside table to grab the glass of water Gaius had put out for either of them to drink, and quickly gave it to Merlin, who took it gratefully.
He exhaled slowly after swallowing the entire thing, then handed the empty glass back to his best friend.
The young Pendragon smiled, returning it on the top of the bedside table.
"There—"
HICCUP.
In that instant, the blonde groaned, placing a hand over his forehead.
Merlin chuckled softly: "Sorry—can't help it."
Arthur slowly shook his head and sighed.
Alright, he thought to himself, what if he made him hold his own breath?
But when he turned around, he saw the raven already trying the method...
HICCUP.
...and failing. At this, the blonde rolled his eyes.
Fair enough, he thought dejectedly. Arthur looked around, at a loss for other ideas, but then something soon sparked in his mind and he turned to look at Merlin with a careful gaze.
"Hold still for a second," the blonde murmured, shifting closer beside the young raven, "I want to try something."
In response, Merlin remained still just as the latter said but then only stared at him with confused eyes. "Arthur...?"
The young Pendragon took a deep breath then closed his eyes, moving forward until his lips were pressed firmly against the raven's.
At this, Merlin sighed, his eyes soft on the blonde before they slowly fell shut as well. After a few seconds, Arthur backed away and opened his eyes to find his best friend's cheeks flushed a light pink. "Er..." the raven could all but utter.
In the same instant, Arthur almost found himself blushing, too, but immediately he shook the feeling off and spoke again in an even tone. "Well, did it work?"
Merlin sat still for a moment and looked straight ahead as if waiting for his hiccups to come, but they don't, and his face lights up with astonishment. "Hey...they're gone," he whispered, gazing intently at the blonde.
In response, Arthur smirked, satisfied with himself, then lied back down on his side of the bed. "Alright, then, now we can all finally get some sleep."
The raven all but nodded in agreement and settling himself with "Aithusa" (his treasured dragon plush toy) in his arms. Arthur let out a long, suffering sigh and yanked the covers over his shoulder.
For a moment, it was silent in the room once more.
Until suddenly...Arthur was the one who—
HICCUP.
Merlin giggled, glancing back at the blonde, who'd covered his face with his pillow.
"Prat."
~o~
The next day, Arthur decided to play with his other friends again in their usual game of kickball—and this time around, he even tried to get Merlin to play with them, too, but the latter preferred to just watch them from the sidelines.
It wasn't until the end of lunch, however, that Cenred and his gang had come about to make another scene in picking on the little "Knights of the Round Table."
"Cenred!" Arthur shouted.
Thump.
"Arthur!" Gwen cried from afar, watching in horror as the bully approached the young Pendragon, who was now lying defencelessly on the blacktop.
But suddenly, Arthur found another shadow hovering over him that instant and immediately looked up to see none other than Merlin standing in front of him, arms outstretched protectively and eyes fierce against the older brute.
~o~
Notes from the KIT-chan~
Reviews please? ^w^
Hope you're all enjoying this so far! Other half'll be up in a bit~ :D
Be warned of some rather significant plot twists in the next chapter, though...reminder that this was a medium to get rid of some of my pent-up feelings... ^^";
(*Note: if merthurdreamer somehow comes across this at any point...you have not been forgotten! I'm still working on that sequel as we speak...it's just taking me a really long time! XD)
.::.*~Kit Shadow~*.::.