So, first fanfiction in this category. Long time Doctor Who and Merlin lover and its been a while since I posted anything new. This is a story from a Role Play on Tumblr from my Merlin account, warlockmerlinemrys and a good friend's Rose, thedoctorscompanionx.

Disclaimer: Neither of us own Merlin or Doctor Who. Both are the property of BBC.

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Merlin cracked his back, stretching tall, his eyes fading from the gold to the familiar blue. He was old, so very old, even if he didnt often show it. The aging spell was easier to control now and he didnt even need a potion to return. Hiding in plain site is easier than a glamour.

He poked his head around the wall to the main street. London again, after all this time, he still loved watching the people change and grow. It had been years since the castle of Camelot stood tall and he had seen many thins in this travels. His smile grew, lighting up his eyes in joy as he walked down the main street. He did like it here, but he gradually felt a stone drop to his stomach.

Rose hadn't been deliberately watching this guy. She just looked to the opposite site of the street and there he was. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and his eyes…. Did she really see them change colour or had it been a reflecting of the light? She didn't knew but she had to be sure. What if there were aliens in town? If there were they needed to be stopped.

Her curiosity won and she followed the guy walking down the main street. Should she just approach him? Or maybe following him was a better idea…

Meanwhile Merlin looked around the streets of London in amazement. Time had changed the place and yet he still felt drawn there. the people rushed about and Merlin turned, seeing a slogan on a shirt. Gone were the times of tunics and breeches, but also gone were the times of magic. Not a hint or a whisper of another magic user anywhere.

Merlin stopped. He frowned and half turned to saw a blonde girl. He slightly tilted his head, watching her, waiting to see if she would attack.

"H-hello" He called to her, hoping he wasn't making the wrong decision.

Rose hadn't expect him to turn around. Had he noticed that she was following him? Her cheeks instantly turned red. "Oh hello…" She finally said shaking her hair in front of her red cheeks, so they would be less visible. "I'm sorry I followed you." She blurted out. "You just seemed to appear out of nowhere and your eyes….." Rose bit on her lip feeling rather stupid after her confession. "Sorry I'm probably just imagining things… I just wanted to make sure everything was okay and that you weren't… Weren't going to attack anyone…. Okay I probably sound totally crazy now don't?"

Merlin smiled, his eyes softened at her.

"Nah, I'm not going to attack anyone. Why would I? These people, this city, it takes my breath away." He breathed deep, letting his eyes wonder over her, before looking her directly into her eyes with kindness and compassion.

When he locked eyes with her she felt herself relax, she felt that he was telling the truth, that he wasn't going to harm anyone. "It's beautiful isn't it?" She replied softly. "A lot of people don't realise how magnificent everything is… They see but they don't really look if you know what i mean…" She stopped and flashed him a smile. "I'm Rose by the way."

Rose, Merlin thought. It suited her.. He couldn't tell her is real name, Merlin or Emrys. He spent so much time spinning lie and lie about him and Arthur, hoping to hide the truth, but the names were nearly impossible to change. Even if he did tell her, his name was too odd for the Modern London.

"I'm John….. Smith?" His voice squeaked high, saying his pseudo name, Giving away his obvious lie. He wanted to slap himself, John Smith, how suspicious could he get.

She raised an eyebrow in suspicion, as if challenging him, "John Smith? I'm sorry but I don't believe a word about that. What you just said, isn't your name at all, is it? I'm afraid I have to tell you that way to many friends have used that name as an alias already and also the squeaking of the voice gave it away." Rose said grinning. "So come on tell me your real name! Can't be that bad can it?"

"J-jonathan?" He said unsure, "My parents hated me." He added quickly to reassure his story. He reached up to touch his neckerchief in nervousness, only to remember that he was forced to stop wearing them. He rubbed the back of his neck instead.

Merlin sighed, dropping his head to avoid her eyes, "Fine, Im Arthur, not John."

Arthur's face and final moments flashing in his mind. The small and final 'thank you' ran through his mind. He clenched his fists. it was over 500 years ago and Merlin still couldn't think of his masters name without pain. Merlin knew what he was feeling was wrong and Arthur had Gwen and they were happy, but Merlin wanted to be happy too.

Rose wasn't sure what to believe any more but she decided to just leave it for what it was. She was pretty sure now he was hiding something but the question was what…?

"Well it's nice to meet you Arthur." What was that flash of emotion that passed over his face…? Was it pain? What had happened to him? "Are you okay?" She asked suddenly concerned, not caring if he was dangerous or not. "If you want to talk about it … I'm here believe it or not I've seen and been through a lot of stuff that you wouldn't believe."

A familiar slip of pain flashed through his heart. He slipped on a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He studied her closely. He saw it in her. She knew it too, the pain and the hurt.

"Yes, you have, haven't you?" He questioned, almost whispering.

Her eyes held the pain of loss that he saw daily in the mirror, she too had lost something, someone important to her. Maybe, after all this time he had finally found someone who suffered as he had suffered and maybe, just maybe, he found someone to find a comfort in.

"Merlin" He whispered lowering his eyes. He didn't want to see the disbelief in her eyes. "I'm Merlin."