A/N: Not long ago, there was a challenge to write a piece of Merlin fiction based on a film. This was my attempt. I love kid characters, I think they are adorable and hilarious, truly innocent and so nostalgic, because we lose that innocence and belief in the world as we grow older. This story follows the plot of Ponyo very closely, but if you have never watched it before you shouldn't get lost ;)

Pairing: Merlin/Arthur, Hunith/Balinor, Uther/Ygraine, mention of Gwen/Lancelot
Warnings/spoilers: Kid!fic. Spoilers for characters introduced in Series 2, and for the entire Ponyo movie (which is to be expected really).

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. I do not own Ponyo. I just like the idea of putting the two together to amuse myself.

On a little island off the shore of a great continent stands a little house on a cliff by the sea. It is rather ramshackle and more than a little slapdash, but nonetheless, it is home.

Rollicking waves playfully chase each other like children, foam spraying like little balls of sunshine when they break on the surface of the rock face. Birds fly overheard lazily, flapping their wings when the urge comes, and gliding gracefully across the clear blue sky when it doesn't. A little car trudges its way up the cliff slope, blue hood gleaming in the sunlight. With a hurried slam of a car door and a dash up the toy strewn driveway, Balinor Emrys tumbles through the door and immediately locates his son.

"There's my boy!" The man shouts gleefully.

The tiny toddler, who had been crawling around his coloured blocks on the living room floor, giggles in delight as he is caught and carried through the air into his father's arms.

"Getting up to no good aren't you, you little rascal." Balinor said into his son's belly, blowing raspberries that had the child squealing in laughter. The lovely aroma wafting in from the kitchen catches his finely honed maritime senses, and cradling his son against his chest, he carefully tugs tiny grasping hands and falls in love with sweet blue eyes.

"What's that smell Merlin? What is it?" He says teasingly, bouncing the still giggling toddler. "Let's go find Mummy and ask!"

His son claps and squirms excitedly, and happily gurgles "Hoon-ey! Hoon-ey! Hee hee hee," his bright blue eyes darting this way and that for his mother.

Balinor feels his jaw drop.

"Hunith!" he yells ecstatically. "Hunith come quick, Merlin's talking!" He drops to his knees and places Merlin carefully on the floor. The toddler sits back in his dinosaur print nappy with a thump and reaches out for his father, making unhappy noises and squirming impatiently, pulling at Balinor's long, wavy brown hair.

"Who's a smart boy Merlin? Who's a smart boy?" he coos. "Can you say that again? Can you? Say Mummy's name."

Bright blue eyes flicker past his silly daddy and release the wavy strands, holding out his arms for the exasperated, but fond young woman in the doorway. "Hoon-ey! Hoon-ey! Up!"

"Hunith! Did you hear him? Our boy is so smart!" Balinor laughs, hugging the toddler to his chest. "He said 'Hunith, Hunith, up'! Did you hear?" He lies on the floor, grinning like a loon, and lets Merlin crawl around on his chest.

"I heard, you silly man. And you would've too if you'd been home a week ago like you were supposed to." In spite of her slightly accusative tone, she joins her family easily on the floor, the sound of waves breaking against the cliff soothing her even further as she lay against her husband's warm side. Balinor kisses her hair and takes her hand. They exchange quiet hellos and welcome backs, basking in the glow of their perfect family of three lazing about on the living room floor, the smell of dinner and home permeating the air.

Their mischievous toddler sources their entwined digits and tries to fit them into his mouth.

"Oh no," Balinor groans. "Already?" He had dreaded the very thought of it, but the day had finally come. His adorable son had reached the stage where he was going to put whatever he could find into his mouth. So not fun.

"Yup." Hunith sighs contentedly. "You can now play the exciting game of, 'where do I think I can sit that Merlin hasn't drooled on?'" Her supposed annoyance was belied by the way she let Merlin slobber all over her finger to his little heart's content.

Balinor smiles ruefully, ruffling his son's soft brown mop. "He's growing up so fast." He whispers quietly.

"It just seems that was because you keep running off with that lover of yours." She teases playfully. Before she had even agreed to marry Balinor, she knew the sea would always come first for him.

("Marriage," she had harrumphed. "How outdated and antiquated an idea is that?"

"Would you do it because I really, really want to spend the rest of my life with you and have it validated on a bit of paper?" Balinor had pleaded, down on one knee.

She had taken the ring out of the champagne flute and let him slide it on her ring finger with a long suffering sigh and a promise that she would get to name all their children.)

No matter how much he longed to stay and raise a family with her, the pull of the ocean was too great in his blood. She had told him, the first time he had returned from a voyage with a guilty look on his face, that she didn't mind. She was like a lighthouse guiding his beloved vessel in a storm, always thinking of, and looking out for him (for him only, she had wanted to say, but that was deliriously sappy, and she'd already conceded a good chunk of dignity when the initial sentiment crossed her lips in the first place).

Also, if he ever cheated on her, she would have his balls.

He had pulled a face, just like the one he was giving their son now. "Why is your mother so mean to me Merlin?" he pouted. His captain's hat was digging into the back of his scalp, so he took it off and placed it on his happily slobbering son's head. Merlin squealed in pleasure, giggling as the hat made him disappear from the neck up. Balinor kept it in place with a gentle palm and smiled warmly at Hunith's pouting face.

"Don't I get a hat?"

He pretended to deliberate over the idea, smiling at her. "Well.."

Balinor closed the gap between their lips, thrilled, always thrilled, at the familiar taste of Hunith's welcoming mouth. Their lips and tongues relearn their familiar dance and rhythm after a month (and two weeks) at sea, mouths slowly growing slack, lips softening and reluctantly drawing apart. Balinor, not being able to resist, places another chaste peck on his wife's lips before opening his eyes.

"Shameless man." Hunith says, flushed and pleased. "What are you doing in front of our son?"

Balinor grins recklessly, tilting his head as they both looked at Merlin, his chubby fists whipping about excitedly, captain's hat masquerading as his head and making boat noises. Lifting the hat clear off the toddler's head causes Merlin to shake his mop of hair out, laughing and falling onto his hands and belly on his father's heaving chest.

Balinor plops the naval hat unceremoniously onto his wife's head, the cap dwarfing half her face and vision, just as it did on their son.

"Bal, this isn't 'An Officer and a Gentleman'." Hunith grins, pushing the tip up out of her face.

"Wear it in bed tonight?" He asks, living up to her earlier declaration of his shamelessness. Hunith despairs, and yet loves being shackled to the man.

Merlin, however much he loves these two big people, decides that he'd much rather have the hat back to play with, determinedly parks his behind on his father's chest and wiggles his fingers. Like his favourite coloured blocks and Mr. Bear, the hat comes when called, and he delightedly squeals as it drops over his head once more, content to ignore silly adults and play his with his new toy.

This time, Balinor isn't the only one who drops his jaw in shock.

Arthur and Merlin on the Cliff by the Sea

Merlin, aged five and five sixths, was a terribly mischievous child indeed. He loved to play in the sea at the bottom of the cliff where his house stood, looking at the ships as they crossed the bay. His favourite toy was a plastic tugboat, which he named Ealdor II (Ealdor the first was Bally's). Hunith said she despaired of him and his father, but Merlin was certain she was only kidding.

While Hunith was getting ready, Merlin decided he had enough time to go dip his toes into the water and play with Ealdor II for a bit before they had to leave. He liked to think that the Ealdor would appear over the horizon if he stood there for long enough (which it would, but Hunith insisted he go to school).

"Don't take too long, Merlin!" Hunith yelled from inside.

"OK!" Merlin shouted back, taking the stone steps down into the bay two or three at a time. He held his boat above his head carefully, wiggling his toes in the sand. The water glistened, leaving slimy seaweed and bits of shells on the shore. Something hit the side of his foot, and he looked down to find the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, stuck in a bottle.

He put his tugboat down carefully, and picked the bottle up, turning it over in his hands.

"It's a goldfish." He murmured to himself. It was vibrantly red, with flecks of gold where the light danced off its scales and very, very pretty. The fishy's tail stuck out of the bottle's opening, so he tried to pull it free. It held fast. "It's stuck," he whined.

Waves started to rush into shore. Merlin thought they looked like slime monsters with beady eyes coming to get him. He clutched the bottle tightly in one hand with his boat in the other and retreated onto a big pile of rocks, which the slime monsters broke apart against, retreating back into sea foam.

Merlin blinked. "That was weird."

He looked back down at the bottle in his hand. The red fishy was stuck, and stuck good. Looking about him quickly to check the coast was clear, he willed for the bottle to release the goldfish, feeling his tummy get a bit funny as it did every time he did things Hunith smiled at him for.

Instead of melting away, like he had wanted, the bottle jerked a little unsteadily in his hands, before it exploded; one of the glass pieces grazing his finger.

"Ouch!" He cried, shaking his hand out and sucking the injured digit into his mouth. One of these days, his magic would listen to him properly! Probably. Carefully, he shook off the excess glass into the ocean. He put his hand back under the goldfish, cradling it in both his palms. It didn't move.

"Is it dead?" He wondered sadly. He gave it another jiggle, willing it not to be.

In response, the goldfish darted out a quick tongue, cleaning off the blood welling up on his thumb with a lick.

"It licked me!" He shouted excitedly. "It's alive!"

He dashed back up the steps, rounding to the back to where the tap was, picking up a green bucket off the ground as he ran past. He struggled to turn the tap, having to use both his hands before a trickle of water started falling into the bucket. Once the flow swelled, he carefully deposited the limp goldfish into the bucket. He turned off the tap absentmindedly, watching the red body float in the water. He hadn't seen when the fishy's head had been stuck in the bottle, but it had a mop of golden hair that glistened in the sunlight. It looked like a crown!

"Merlin, we have to hurry love!" Hunith called, stepping out of the door. A strong gust of wind almost took her coat off her shoulders. "Where did that come from?" She said, shuddering with cold.

"I found a goldfish Hunith!" Merlin yelled out.

"That's great sweetie." Hunith yelled back. "I'm going to bring the car around now!"

The red body was buoyant, but still. The pretty red fishy was belly up, eyes closed and peaceful looking. (Merlin had never seen a fish with eyelids before, but he was only five after all. Why wouldn't there be fish with eyelids?) He looked on at the unmoving fishy curiously, a bit sad. "Maybe it's too late..."

Blue eyes snapped open and Merlin had a stream of water squirted in his face.

Merlin gleefully laughed. "It's alive!"

The red fish swam in circles in the bucket as Merlin held it to his chest, water sloshing over its side.

"Come on Merlin, we're late!" Hunith beeped her horn.

Merlin carefully walked to the car, allowing Hunith to bundle him in as he hugged the green pail with his little red fish to his chest. He was so focused on it in fact, that he totally ignored an exchange between Hunith and a scary looking man spraying water on their lawn, menacingly coming towards their car before Hunith drove off.

"That better not have been pesticides he was spraying." Hunith muttered as she put on her seatbelt. The car swerved precariously as she did so, but Merlin was used to that.

"Yeah, he was mean looking." Merlin piped in. The winding descent down into town from their home was very pleasant. The salty air weaved in the rolled down windows, and the radio hummed in the background.

"Well, yeah." Hunith conceded. "But don't you judge people by how they look Merlin."

"Ok, I won't." Merlin agreed readily.

"Are you taking that to Kindy with you?" Hunith said, tousling her son's hair fondly. Merlin didn't even notice.

"Yeah."

"Is that alright with Catrina?" Miss Catrina was Merlin's kindergarten teacher. She was an alright sort, he supposed. It would be nice if she could lay off the beans a little though.

"It's okay, I'll protect him." At this, Merlin proudly showed her his goldfish, which was elegantly gliding across the water.

"It's so cute!" She laughed. Putting her eyes back on the road, she noted with dismay that the ship was almost coming into dock. Quickly, she took two sandwiches out of the backseat and popped one in her mouth, handing the other to Merlin. "This'll have to do for breakfast today!"

Merlin held his clumsily, nibbling on the corner. A piece of lettuce fell out an plopped onto the surface of the water, where his goldfish was observing him with interest. He looked from his red fish to his sandwich, to the lettuce in the water. He nudged it closer to the fish, but he only turned his head away, as if to scoff. "Not hungry?" Merlin asked his fish.

He licked his thumb and broke off a bit of ham to offer instead. Then he noticed something.

"Hunith! My cut's gone!" He exclaimed.

"Hmm?" Hunith responded absentmindedly, pushing down harder on the accelerator.

"I'm going to name him Arthur. Because there's a crown on his head." If Hunith squinted hard enough, she supposed the gold pattern around its head might have resembled a crown to Merlin. A child's imagination had no limits, after all (She had learnt this when Merlin gave her a picture he had drawn of her, which basically consisted of two wobbly squares in black and gold with some sticks coming out of for limbs. She had hung it on the fridge and laughed for weeks whenever she saw it. Merlin had been very pleased).

The newly crowned Arthur took this opportunity to leap out of the water and yank the big piece of ham left in Merlin's sandwich, gobbling it up quickly. He swam around in circles three times in delight, even going so far as to flip out of the water to perform a somersault in mid air.

Merlin giggled. "You like ham?"

Arthur nodded at him seriously, eyeing the sliver Merlin still held in his hand. Merlin ate it quickly. "Hunith," Merlin said, after swallowing. "Arthur likes ham!"

"Just like you!" She laughed around her sandwich.

"And he healed my cut too!" Merlin lifted his thumb to show her. "Arthur's magic! Just like me!"

Hunith nearly slammed on the brakes. "Merlin! What did we say about that!"

Merlin nodded in a serious manner, or as serious as a five year-olds could be. He put his pointing finger to his lips and went, "Ssssssh" at her. Then he did it to Arthur too.

Hunith parked the car with time to spare, out in front of the Wildflower Senior Centre. They had come to the border crossing just in time to be waved through by the men with fluorescent batons Merlin liked to recreate in their backyard, the ship's shadow looming over the small car as they made a mad dash for it.

Merlin got out of the car, eyes only on Arthur.

"Take care, no funny business alright!" Hunith said, kissing Merlin's head before dashing off to work.

"You too." Merlin said distractedly. He walked straight over to the hole in the fence that separated Wildflower and Kindy, eyes only for the gleaming red creature swimming in the bucket. He passed the veranda, and frail voices greeted him.

"Hello there little Merlin."

"Good morning little Birdie."

Merlin didn't even look up. "Sorry Miss Morgana, Miss Morgause, I'm busy."

"Oh my!" He heard behind him as he squeezed between the old gate and the wire fence. He dusted off his clothes and looked around for a good hiding spot. He crouched down in front of a good bit of shade, and carefully put the pail down.

"Miss Catrina's not very nice to pets, so I don't think I should bring you in." Merlin explained. He collected some big leaves twigs, carrying them hurriedly back to the bucket as fast as his stubby legs would allow. Arthur looked amused as Merlin covered the lip of the bucket with the foliage.

"So the cat won't get you!" Merlin explained further. Arthur looked at him dubiously.

The bell started ringing, so Merlin bid Arthur a hasty farewell, and ran into Kindy. Miss Catrina was standing at the entrance. She smiled at him, busy with some of the fussier children. He smiled back bashfully, staying in the corner next to the exit, fidgety and anxious to get back and check on his new friend.

Miss Catrina took the children into the classroom, and Merlin thought about making a dash for it, but Nimueh caught him. "Merlin!" She yelped, bounding through the door. She stopped in front of him and twirled, her dress becoming the shape of a bell. "Isn't it pretty? Mummy bought it for me."

Will walked up to the two of them with a beach ball gathered to his chest. "Merlin, let's play," the boy said.

"Maybe later." Merlin said. "I'm busy."

"Busy with what?" Nimueh asked, no longer spinning around.

"Just busy." Merlin replied defiantly.

Nimueh turned her nose at him and walked off. "You're weird Merlin."

Will copied her, although he almost fell over because he turned his nose with too much force. "Yeah, you're weird."

Seeing the coast was finally clear, he ran back to the spot he had hidden the bucket. It looked undisturbed, which pleased him very much. The cat hadn't come.

He lifted the leaves and twigs, peering in excitedly. His face soon fell.

"Arthur!" he cried out unhappily.

The red fishy was just as it had been when Merlin had first put it into the bucket, body still and unmoving, belly up. Maybe the cat had come after all! Merlin sniffled.

Arthur lazily opened one eye and yawned at him.

Merlin giggled, swiping the tears of relief from his face.

"Merlin?"

It was Nimueh! He hurriedly piled the twigs and leaves over Arthur's displeased face.

"What is that?" She peered over his shoulder and saw the flicker of a red fin. "You can't bring that into Kindy!" She told him bossily.

Merlin frowned at her, biting his lower lip. "The trees don't belong to Kindy, they belong to the Wildflower so it's fine!"

"Let me see!" The bossy girl demanded. Merlin reluctantly moved aside and let her see. Nimueh gasped. "Oh, a goldfish!"

"It's not a goldfish." Merlin corrected, feeling proud to show off his new friend. "It's Arthur." He dragged the bucket out of the shade so they could both see Arthur better, doing lazy laps in the small pail. "Don't tell anybody, okay?" Merlin pleaded.

"I won't tell." Nimueh promised. She waved at Arthur happily, but Arthur turned his face away and ignored her.

"Isn't he cute?" Merlin giggled. Nimueh was no longer impressed.

"It's weird!" She declared. "And it's fat. My Plecos are much better than that thing."

Arthur squirted water all over her face and front in retaliation for such slanderous remarks against his appearance. Nimueh's face scrunched up and Merlin ran for it, Arthur in tow. Sure enough, Nimueh started crying loudly about her dress behind him.

He wriggled through the hole in between the fence and the gate, consoling Arthur all the while. "Don't be sad Arthur, Nim was just being mean. Let's go change your water okay?" He walked quickly to the tap, detaching the hose that had been inserted with a wave of his hand and a tickle in his tummy. Arthur watched him curiously, rolling around on the surface of the water.

Merlin started to tip the bucket, slowly releasing the water down the drain. He hadn't thought about what would happen to Arthur though, and inevitably the red goldfish bounced out onto the grille on top of the drain, flopping around indignantly.

"Oops!" Merlin said sheepishly, scooping Arthur in his hand and back into the bucket. The water from the tap began to fill the bucket again, and Arthur flicked a fin at him, squirting him with water to show his displeasure. Merlin just giggled.

"Oh my, do you hear a little Birdie, Sister dear?"

"That can't be right, it's time for him to be in Kindy Sister dear."

The kind but gravelly voices of Miss Morgana and Miss Morgause filtered in from the verandah. He looked at Arthur consideringly, and had a feeling that Arthur shrugged his imaginary fishy shoulders at him. Not that fish couldn't have shoulders, but Merlin was only five and hadn't seen them on any fish yet.

"Well, maybe my hearing is playing up." said Miss Morgause's voice. Being a very conscientious boy, Merlin certainly did not want Miss Morgause to believe that!

He ran in front of the two old ladies. "Here I am Miss Morgause!"

The two elderly women laughed.

"Well well little Birdie."

"It is a little Merlin after all."

Merlin stood there bashfully, before suddenly remembering. "Misses! Guess what I have in here!" He held out the bucket proudly. Though he was not very tall, being only five and five sixths, the Misses were close to his height in their wheelchairs, and he was certain they would not be able to see.

"Oh, I'm no good at guessing games Merlin," Miss Morgana said, smiling.

"Terrible," Miss Morgause agreed.

"Well... What colour is it?" Merlin tried again, not giving up.

"Hmmm..." The old ladies looked at each other, and turned back to him, speaking in unison. "Red."

"Uh huh!" Merlin said, grinning. Then he frowned slightly. "How did you know?"

But the Misses ignored the question. "Let's have a look then."

"Sure!" Merlin dutifully held the bucket where the could see Arthur, who was floating on his stomach looking at the two old ladies curiously.

The two old ladies let out an impressed gasp, leaning forward to look. "It's so pretty!"

"Very cute!" Miss Morgana agreed.

Merlin leaned over to look as well, grinning at his friend. "His name is Arthur." He told the Misses. "He likes ham, and he's magic!" He was about to say that he knew some too, but stopped himself in time. "I cut my finger, but it healed when he licked it!"

"Can he heal our sore knees?" Miss Morgause asked cheerily.

"Yes, if we could run with little Merlin, that would be wonderful!" Miss Morgana added.

Arthur swam idly, apparently no longer interested in the conversation. Merlin tilted his head to the side, and finally said, "I think we'll have to ask him later."

The two ladies chuckled, and patted Merlin's head in turn.

"Let me look Merlin." Boomed the voice of an old man, sitting a bit further away from the sisters in his own wheelchair.

"Okay Mr. Killy," Merlin happily agreed. He hopped over where the old Mister sat, showing Arthur to him very excitedly. Mister Killy took one look at Arthur, and recoiled violently.

"Young warlock, that thing is vile!" Mister Killy roared. Merlin doesn't know what a warlock was, but Hunith told him not to worry about it, because Mister Killy is a funny old man.

"That is a mermaid! A fish with a face! Return it to the sea or it will bring about a tsunami on us all!" Mister Killy continued.

"A tsunami? Don't say such things Kilgarrah," Miss Morgause chastised.

"You're scaring Merlin," Miss Morgana scolded.

But Mister Killy took no heed, leaning very close to Merlin's ear and whispered furiously, "When a mermaid is taken from the sea, the king of the sea will grow angry! He will cast a tsunami on the land dwellers in retaliation!"

Frightened, Merlin felt tears well up in his eyes. In retaliation, Arthur squirted even more water in Mister Killy's face he had at Nimueh.

"A tsunami! A tsunami has come!" Mister Killy wailed. From inside Wildflower, hurried footsteps rushed to the verandah. Merlin took off before he could get into trouble, though not before Hunith spotted him. He ran down to the sandy shore, hidden under the rock face. Above him, he heard Hunith demanding he come back and apologise. Merlin determinedly did not, sitting in the sand with Arthur in his lap.

He put his face right up to Arthur's, his nose touching the fishy's wet face. "Don't worry. I'll protect you," Merlin promised.

Arthur responded with a wet lick to his face, prompting the boy to jerk away, giggling. He exaggerated wiping off the wet with his sleeve, and was astounded to hear that it wasn't only himself who was laughing.

He looked down at Arthur in amazement. The goldfish was almost cackling, breaking the surface of the water and splashing about with his fins. Merlin, being five years and five sixths, had never seen a goldfish laugh before, but he took it in his stride and giggled along.

Arthur looked up at him, blinking. Merlin smiled fondly down at him, thinking of all the wonderful games he and Arthur would play together, only breaking from the thought when Arthur opened his mouth and said, "Merlin!"

He pointed to himself in delight. "Yes I am! And you're Arthur!"

The goldfish giggled and did some backflips in the air, shouting out "Merlin" and "Arthur" happily, finally ending with, "Merlin, Arthur likes Merlin!"

Merlin hugged the bucket tight. "I like you too Arthur!"

So enthralled were they with each other, neither of them noticed the presence of that weird man who had been at the house the cliff that morning, mostly because only his head and his left arm was visible, the rest of his body submerged in the sea. The outstretched arm deposited wriggling, writhing black masses into the ocean. When they plopped in, they grew large and grotesque, racing to the shore in a wall of large angry waves, completely encompassing the boy and his bucket. Oily limbs reached into the pail and fished Arthur out, trapping the flailing fish and receding back into sea to their master, leaving the empty bucket rolling on the sand and a child, soaking wet, tears and seawater mingling on his red face when he realised what had happened.

When Hunith arrived on scene, thoughts of disciplining her mischievous child were displaced by fear. Merlin was making the sea water float in a vast sphere above his head, trying to empty out the inlet to search for Arthur, tears streaming down his unhappy face and wailing his goldfish's name, and finally resorting to splashing around in the sea himself because he couldn't lift anymore water, and more just kept rushing in and the water was dripping down on his face and his tummy hurt so bad and he just wanted Arthur.

Hunith ran to him, picking up the bucket up on the way and lifted him into her arms, rocking him against her chest. As if the feeling of her solid body had broken something, the massive floating body of water dispersed, cascading down around them as he cried pitifully into her wet shirt.

Hunith could only murmur into his wet hair, barely holding back her own tears seeing her baby so distraught, "Arthur will be fine sweetheart, he'll be fine, he was meant to live in the sea, he had to go back Merlin, sweetheart don't cry."

Merlin just let out a heartbroken sob into her neck, as the water level righted itself around them, calm and placid once more.

TBC

Thank you all for reading. If you liked, it, I would love to hear from you. If you didn't like it, I would love to hear from you.