Dan was sitting on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through tumblr, when a surprised yelp came from the kitchen.
"Phil?" Dan asked, without letting his eyes leave the screen.
Dan wasn't really fazed by Phil's clumsiness anymore. After living with the guy for a couple of years, Dan knew Phil would probably stumble in the room in a few seconds, flop down on the sofa and with a toothy grin would tell Dan all about his clumsy encounters with harmless kitchen utensils.
This time though, Dan's ears did pique up when he heard a slightly panicky waver in Phil's voice when he replied "I'm fine!"
"You sure?" Dan asked, already putting his laptop down.
"Yeah! Of course! Just... Don't come in!"
That was for Dan, who had already made his way over the kitchen door, the only reason he needed to push it open.
Now, there were a couple of things Dan could have suspected to see. Maybe Phil was wearing socks and had dropped a glass, and now he couldn't reach the door without stabbing his own feet. Maybe he was boiling water for rice or pasta and dropped the pan and now there's water everywhere. Maybe he had dropped a knive, cut his hand and was trying to open the cupboard with the first-aid-kit with his toes to stop himself from bleeding everywhere, falling down in the process and hitting his head. (It sounds ridiculous, but Dan would not be surprised if that was the case. Ridiculous things tend to happen to Phil)
Instead, Dan's eyes were greeted with a sight his mind could not comprehend.
Phil stood in the middle of the kitchen. His right hand was outstretched towards a pan of rice, that seemed to be hanging still in the air, mid-fall. Half-cooked rice and water spilled over the rim, but it seemed as if gravity couldn't get a grip on it. Phil's left sleeve had somehow caught fire, but the flames, that should be dancing along his arm, were frozen still as well. When Dan's eyes finally made contact with Phil's, time seemed to start again and with a clang, the pot dropped down, spilling its contents on the floor. Phil seemed to notice the fire again as it licked along his arm.
"Ah!...uhm, shit...auch!" Phil patted his sleeve to extinguish the flames.
Dan was watching it unfold before his eyes.
"What was that!?" He finally burst out.
"What was what? I mean, nothing, that was nothing, I mean maybe? Do you remember? Anything?" Phil stumbled over his words while he rushed to pick up the pot.
"Remember!?" Sputtered Dan. "What is there to remember? There was a freaking pot flying in the air!"
"You don't then.." Phil muttered to himself. "Of course not." He sighed, and grabbed a towel to clean up the mess.
Dan on the other hand was still panicking. "How can you be so calm, did you not see that? What the hell is going on?!"
Something seemed to snap in Phil. "Of course I saw that, Dan!" He threw his towel on the floor with an exasperated sigh. It fell in the mess of soppy rice with a 'splat'. "Of course I saw, I did that!" Phil stood up,his eyes glowing."And I'm sick of it that I can't tell you!" His eyes seemed to glow brighter and at the peak of his outburst, the glass door of the oven shattered. Dan involuntarily flinched.
"It's like Camelot all over again." Phil wispered to himself as his eyes turned back to normal.
Dan noticed how Phil seemed to shrink back into himself and how his eyes glazed over with tears. Dan decided to ignore that last bit (and the oven door because HOLY SHIT WHAT WAS THAT) and softly asked. "Can't tell me what?"
Phil looked up again, his eyes a bright blue. "You wouldn't understand." He said. "Not yet."
That confused Dan. "Why? I thought we could talk about anything."
Phil looked down. "Hey, what is it?" Dan pushed, catching Phil's gaze again. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. You know I won't hate you or anything."
"Do you believe in reincarnation?" Phil asked soft.
"Uhm, sorry what? What has that to do with anything?"
"Cause I do." Phil continued. "We've met before, Dan."
"Phil, you're confusing me, what are you trying to say?"
"I'm trying to say that..." Phil sighed in frustration. "I remember Dan, everything! I remember who I was, who we were, what we did, everything! And you don't!" Phil looked desperately expectant at Dan.
Dan looked at Phil as if he had gone mad. Which in Dan's opinion, would be a pretty good explanation of Phil's behaviour at this point.
"But..." Dan shook his head. "What has that to do with flying pots? Or shattering glass for that matter?"
Phil sighed again, resigned this time. He spread his arms a little at his side as if to say 'I give up'.
"I have magic." He simply stated.
"Excuse me?"
"Do you trust me?"
"I... yes, of course, but..."
"Then close your eyes." Phil said.
Dan wasn't sure if everything was okay with Phil, but in his confusion, he realised he still trusted him. So even though Dan considered calling a mental institution, he still closed his eyes.
Soon he felt three fingertips touching his forehead, and a rush of sensations filled his mind.
The smell of horses and hay, the feeling of a heavy armour weighing him down, the taste of fresh fruits and the sound of clattering swords in the distance. A vision of a sword caught in a stone, then the feeling of it in his hand. Flashes of red capes and green forests, a throne room and a crown.
At all times, a set of bright blue eyes was following him, supporting him.
Pretty trees suddenly made way for fire, a giant dragon, underground tunnels. Swords and shield clashing with each other. A sharp pain in his side, almost burning.
Again, support from the blue eyed man. Soft hands touching him, hot tears surprising him.
"I have magic" that one sentence again, resonating in his mind. "Magic...I have magic..." it sounded impossible, how could someone like Merlin ever- Merlin... MERLIN!
Dan's eyes wildly snapped open, locking gaze with Merlin - no, Phil before him.
But the flashbacks hadn't stopped there. Dan almost lost his balance when new images perpetrated his mind.
A scientist in the Renaissance with bright blue eyes, as advisor and equal instead of servant. Civil wars, rebellions and revolutions followed. Standing on a navy ship, laughing at a seasick guy around his age. Blue eyes flashed gold and suddenly, he was the one that was seasick. A quick change of scenery had him standing before a man his mind instinctively named Napoleon. Swords in their hands and negotiations on their tongues, circling each other.
The flashes followed eachother quicker.
Crowning 18 year old Victoria Queen of England. Horse riding through the country, the sound of a second horse close behind. Watching the first factory get build. Shutting it down after seeing how it destroyed the lives of the working class. More civil wars. Civil wars turned to world wars. Watching TV with a blue eyed man. Running in a burning building to save a child. The flames were Nazi-red. Soft hands and murmered spells treating his wounds. Comforting prince Charles after lady Di had died. Huddled in a bunker during the cold war, next to a blue eyed man.
Those eyes were always there, always by a different name, a different appearence, but with the same big heart and kind soul. Always standing next to him, to stop him from doing something stupid. To get him back on his feet as he did it anyway. Behind the layers of history, cultural changes or masked memories, he was always the same Merlin.
'Emrys' his mind provided. His mortal name was always different, but he would always recognise Emrys.
"Dan? Are you okay? Please, talk to me." Emrys's voice sounded soft, careful, as if he didn't want to scare him. "Dan? Arthur? Can you hear me?"
Dan opened his eyes and blinked a few times in the too bright kitchen light.
"Merlin..?" Dan realised he was leaning against him after loosing his balance. His hands were twisted in the material of Phil's shirt. Merlin smiled.
"It's me." He said cheekily. Then he frowned. "Though not really, it's Phil now."
Dan looked away and regained his balance. "So, that really happened?" He asked, looking tentatively at Phil.
Phil nodded and took a few steps back. "Need proof?" Phil asked. Dan nodded.
Phil took another step back and with a wave of his hand and a flash of his eyes. The mess on the floor floated in in the air and landed back in the pot. The mop in the corner of the room started moving on its own, dancing across the floor to get rid of the remaining water. Glass on the floor started floating back in the frame, knitting together like a jigsaw-puzzle. Phil muttered a word in a language Dan didn't understand, but recognised from a lifetime ago, and the patch of burned sleeve sewn itself back up.
Dan frowned. "How did that catch on fire, by the way?"
"This? Oh, I tried to make the boiling speed up by lighting the flames a little higher. Then I needed some vegetable oil from the cupboard, but I forgot that the spoon was still in the pot. The door hit the spoon so the pot fell over and when I tried to catch it my sleeve caught fire."
The story was so ridiculously Phil that Dan couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh, cutting the heavy atmosphere of magic and history, allowing them to be just Dan and Phil.
Dan's eyes caught Phil's, who was biting his toungue to stop himself from smiling.
"You know, I thought a couple of thousand years of practice would have made you less clumsy." Dan teased.
Phil huffed "And I thought a couple of thousand years would have made you less of a prat!"
"Oh shut up, Merlin." Dan replied, easily slipping into familiar friendly banter. Then his eye caught the ruined pot of rice. "So, what are the plans for dinner then?"
"I dont even know anymore." Phil said with a sigh. Then he glanced at Dan. "But if you dare to start ordering me around again, I swear I will-"
Dan hit his friend in the shoulder. "Of course not you spork,I meant ordering pizza or something!" Phil laughed. "Okay, you call the pizza place, I'll find us an anime to watch."
Dan put his arm around Phil's shoulder and let him out of the kitchen. Right before he let go to grab his phone, Phil whispered; "I'm really glad you remember, Arthur."
Dan stopped for a moment. He realised this would change everything. There was so much they had to talk about, so much to discuss. Past lives entangling themselves with the present. Figuring out what parts of his personality were his own and not some universal 'Once and Future King'-thing. Worrying about why they were brought back this time, what dangers they had to protect Britain from.
Dan quickly stopped his mind short with the realisation that whatever had happened in the past, Emrys had always been there.
He turned back at Phil and smiled.
"Me too."
A/N
Pheew, don't really know what happened there. One moment I was starting a quick short cute crossover reveal drabble, next I'm looking up the history of Britain on Wikipedia to find facts to put in this monstrosity.
I think I started writing at 1 AM.
I also think I might regret this later.
Also, any constructional criticisms? Tips? Grammar things I failed to notice? I'm not a native speaker so every bit of advice is helpful.
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