A/N: The BBC own Merlin.

Am back off holiday (boo hiss). Thank you for reading/reviewing etc. I was trying to reply to every review but lost track with chapter 3 due to being a tad preoccupied so if I didn't reply I am v sorry and I love you!

This was written in Devon, couldn't get it ready before I went; too busy counting votes and being schmoozed by grannies in red and blue rosettes. (Don't ask.)

Chapter 4: 'Significant'

"...I keep losing control of it and I don't know what to do. I'm gonna get arrested under the prevention of terrorism act or something if I keep going."

"You say it's to do with this boy you've met?"

Merlin blushed at using the term 'boy' in reference to Arthur but he could hardly tell his grandfather the whole truth at this point. "What am I going to do Grandpa? He's avoiding me since we... er... he only talks to me when he has to," Merlin, nursing a cup of tea in an effort to keep his hands warm, regarded his grandfather's distant image with baleful blue eyes. "I feel like he's part of me..."

From his current location in his office at the University of Arizona where he was a professor of Astronomy Kil Emrys appeared to consider his grandson's dilemma, "You're sure Merlin? This boy is 'the one'?

"I'm sure. I knew from the first moment he opened the door; when we shook hands I was certain. It aches to be away from him, my magic has being going out of control...I'm being pulled towards him, it hurts..."

"It would seem that your magic does recognise this boy..."

"What are you getting at Grandpa?"

"Your magic is an innate part of you Merlin; it recognises him as...significant. Powerful magic like yours has the ability to draw such person to us almost like a moth to the flame."

"I drew him in?" Merlin had the feeling his grandfather was holding something back. "What aren't you telling me Grandpa?" How powerful am I? He had kept his magic in check for so long he had no idea what he was truly capable of.

"I'm telling you what you need to know; this boy...is significant to you and you must not give up. I can understand that it might seem impossible at the moment given what you have told me, but he's in your life for a reason. It is not for me to tell you what that reason is," the webcam picture fuzzed and Merlin leant closer to make sure he could hear. "This lack of control you're experiencing is linked to him; when that situation comes right so will your magic."

"Grandpa, I thought we'd talked about you not being so cryptic all the time," Merlin sighed.

"This is something you have to work out for yourself Merlin. I can't advise you what to do; this is your destiny alone."

"Still being cryptic," Merlin muttered half under his breath. "Can't you just fill in the blanks for me?"

"You have to follow your own path, I cannot influence your choices," came the reply. "I will say that it sounds as if he is fighting you because of circumstance, not because he doesn't want you and you should take heart from that, but be careful. This situation is delicate but it's not insurmountable."

Merlin frowned, "I hope you're right Grandpa because this whole thing sucks."

"Am I ever wrong?" said his grandfather in a lighter tone.

"Not that you ever admit to, no," Merlin threw back the last gulp of his tea checked the time. "I need to mull this over; next Friday yeah?"

"Sure thing kid and I'm always here if you need to talk about this before then. Love you."

"Love you too Grandpa." He flipped the switch on his laptop and the webcam stopped broadcasting. He hated it that his grandfather was so far away; he was the only one who truly understood the magic thing because he had it too, albeit to a lesser degree. Not that his Mum wasn't supportive; she just didn't know what it felt like to burn inside like he was right now. He just wished the old man would just tell him straight instead of talking in riddles. What was he holding back? Merlin supposed he shouldn't mind his grandfather's ways; he hadn't batted an eyelid when he'd confessed to sleeping with another bloke.

Hunith chose that moment to knock his bedroom door, "Merlin?"

"Come in Mum," he called, slamming the laptop shut and forcing a smile. He really just needed to process this new information. Arthur was significant to him? Well, no shit Sherlock!

"Why aren't you out with your friends tonight?" she asked from his bedroom doorway, a look of concern marring her pale face. On most Friday nights Merlin and Will and a few others would spend in the evening at one of their houses with a bottle of something; sneaking into the pub when underage was impossible in such a small community.

"Everyone's too broke after last week's blow out," Merlin invented, seriously doubting that any of his school friends lacked funds; Merlin and Freya were their year's charity cases, the rest of them were the full fee paying offspring of wealthy parents. Merlin and Freya had the summer jobs whilst the others had a hefty allowance. "Besides I'm doing some research." He gestured towards his laptop.

"Alright love, as long as you're alright. I'm meeting Morgause for a drink tonight, so I'll see you later hm?"

"OK Mum, have a nice time," he smiled back at her, a germ of an idea forming when he realised she would be going out. "You look very pretty tonight by the way." She did too, her long dark hair loose down her back, her dark brown tunic dress matching her eyes. Sometimes he forgot how young she really was, that she'd been only eighteen when she'd had him and was just thirty-five now, still young enough to meet someone else and have more children; she'd been such a good Mum to him and he knew she'd have liked more kids.

"Thanks love," she walked over to him and pecked him on the cheek and ruffled his hair before leaving the room. "If you do decide to go out, just leave me a note."

Merlin waited with a guilty heart until he heard the front door click shut as Hunith left for the evening. He knew she wouldn't be back until at least midnight if not later; Morgause liked to party. Uncle Gaius was engaged in his usual Friday night activity which entailed playing chess with his friend Jonas in the town, perhaps enjoying a tipple and walking back in the early hours. Merlin was alone.

He waited ten minutes or so to make sure his Mum didn't come back before leaving his bedroom and going to the kitchen. Hunith's work jacket was hanging over the back of one of the kitchen chairs; her keys were in the pocket, including a master key card that allowed entry into all the rooms in the hotel. Tamping down the guilt, he slipped it into his pocket went to take a shower.

xxx

Arthur had succumbed to an after work drink in The Rising Sun with a few of his fellow teachers; Leon, Owain and Ewan. Gaius had turned down the invite in favour of a game of chess and Morgana and Edwin were going into Ilfracombe to see a show at the Arts Centre.

Never before had a double JD been more welcome. He'd knocked the first back in one, lingering over the second as he tried to engage in the blokey banter with his colleagues. He was exhausted. The first week of school had been tiring in itself; add avoiding Merlin into the mix and it became a nightmare and sleep had tended to elude him until the early hours.

Giving Merlin the slip after class wasn't too difficult after the first day; engaging one of the moony eyed girls who seemed to hang onto his every word in a conversation on the way out of the classroom had sorted that out; leaving Merlin watching after him with frustrated blue eyes and resulting in Arthur having to physically force himself not to turn back and...well, claim him.

Not going back to his hotel room to rest and relax after a long day at work; that was taking its toll; but he couldn't take the risk that Merlin might turn up. Tuesday and Wednesday had seen him going out for the sake of it, riding for miles until sheer exhaustion forced him to turn around and go back and seek out his bed. Last night he had spent dining with Morgana, Edwin and – so not what he needed right now – Edwin's work colleague Lance, who had clearly been drafted in as a potential love interest as a means to get him off his shelf; even Lance's very obvious attractions could not hold a candle to Merlin in Arthur's eyes. Raven hair beat chestnut, deep blue eyes trumped brown... Arthur had slept that evening in Morgana's spare room after nodding off on the sofa the moment Edwin had shown Lance out.

Lance had text Arthur this morning asking him if he'd like to go for a walk along the coastal path on from Woody Bay on Sunday and Arthur had text back to agree; heaven knew some company would be nice in his forced exile from The Avalon Hotel this weekend. He'd tell Lance he only wanted to be friends when they were face to face.

"Oh no," groaned Ewan with a scowl from his position at the bar besides Arthur where they were getting in another round; only Arthur's third drink, he was heading home after this, his bed was calling him and he hoped another JD would help him sleep.

"What?" he followed Ewan's line of vision wondering what or who was causing such distaste and saw that two women weaving their way through the busy throng of Friday evening drinkers. Both very attractive, both slender, one blonde, one brunette.

"My cousin Morgause," explained Ewan, tearing his attention from the blonde and offering Arthur what appeared to be an apologetic look just as the duo reached the bar.

"Ewan! How are you?" exclaimed the blonde, presumably Morgause. "Mwah, mwah," she air kissed him, not seeming to notice how he leaned away when she entered his personal space. The blue eyes flicked to Arthur, "Who's your friend?"

"Arthur, this is Morgause, Morgause this is Arthur," muttered Ewan, now in possession of his pint and trying to back away.

Morgause gave Arthur a top to toe appraisal, "Well hello Arthur," she purred with a lick of her lips. "Where has my cousin been hiding you?"

Arthur saw Ewan gather up Leon and Owain's drinks in an awkward manoeuvre and make his escape. Utilising his best fake smile he let the blonde engage him in some flirtatious banter – Uther would be so proud - before drawing her companion into the conversation, not liking the way Morgause made no effort to include her friend even when the other woman handed her a glass of wine.

Morgause's friend was named Hunith, a non flirty, non pretentious woman with a friendly smile. Arthur liked her straight away; less so Morgause who seemed to be measuring him up to see if he would fit into her bed. He suggested the women join him and his colleagues at their table and they immediately agreed as they were already acquainted with each other; Hunith's eyes lit up when she saw Leon. Arthur thought he saw a reciprocal light in the other man's eyes and smiled to himself; he may be miserable right now but he wasn't so fed up he couldn't bear to see others happy.

He took his time over his third drink, enjoying the pleasant conversation, only having to remove Morgause's hand from his leg three times before she seemed to get the hint and turned her glossy pouting lips in Owain's direction. Owain, newly divorced, was happy to oblige.

Thankful to be rid of the blonde's attention he chatted briefly with Hunith about how beautiful he found the area, letting her tell him about places he really should explore whilst he was living here.

"You're a teacher at the Foundation too?" asked Hunith when Arthur mentioned the reason for his temporary residence. "What do you teach? My..."

Hearing the Foundation mentioned, Ewan start moaning good naturedly about the lack of motivation of his GCSE students and how Arthur as English teacher had it easy.

"Yea, Arthur's the newbie," laughed Leon before Arthur could give his reply to Hunith, looking back and forth between the newly acquainted pair searchingly, Arthur guessed he was trying to see if there was an attraction there; Leon was totally smitten. He turned the conversation away from Arthur, "I don't know what Ewan's so narked about; he's never worked in an inner city school where lack of motivation takes on a whole new level!"

"Leon, you worked in that school for two weeks when you were doing supply!"

"So, it was two weeks of hell!" He winked at Hunith. "It was like one of those movies where all the kids are supposedly misunderstood and all they need is that one teacher willing to devote the time and see underneath their bravado to lead them into greatness."

"You managed that in two weeks did you?" mocked Ewan with a raised eyebrow.

"Did I heck as like; couldn't wait to get out of there!"

Arthur laughed along with them, trying to ignore the wave of tiredness that threatened to take him, jerking back to full awareness when Leon said, "Hunith's son Merlin is in your class Arthur." Oh no no no no. Hunith was beaming with pride at the mention of her son.

Ewan and Leon made complimentary noises about Merlin, "All the teachers love Merlin," said Leon. "He's a dream to teach."

"I've already thanked you for getting him through his Maths A Level Leon, if you're fishing." She turned to Arthur, "I was so proud when he took it at 15 and got an A. I swear I don't know where he got those brains from; certainly not me!"

Ewan interjected, "I always said young Merlin is like a babelfish; his grasp on languages is better than mine."

What the fuck was this; the Merlin fan club? As if the week couldn't get any worse; Arthur now found that he'd been making small talk with Merlin's bloody mother. Hello, nice to meet you...yes I'm Merlin's English teacher – Arthur checked his watch - yep, almost exactly a week ago tonight I was fucking your son in the shower, definitely an A+...

Arthur knocked back the dregs of his drink and stood up abruptly, "Thanks for the drink but I've really got to get going now," he shrugged into his jacket and nodded politely at Morgause and Hunith. "It was great to meet you both."

Once outside Arthur sagged against the wall outside and enjoyed a series of deep breaths. Merlin's Mum was only a couple of years older than he was. Was it possible to be any more out of control of his life than he was right now? All his brain could tell him, more than its desire for sleep, was that if Merlin's Mum was in the pub, and Gaius was playing chess with a friend then Merlin was probably home alone, and all Arthur would have to do would be to... NO. What the hell was wrong with him?

He was going to take a leisurely walk home, and then sink into the oblivion of his waiting bed; let sleep claim him and take away all his improper thoughts.

By the time he made it home he had changed his mind at least five times about knocking on Merlin's door. Common sense finally prevailed. Three double whiskies wasn't quite enough inebriation to make that mistake. He slunk in his front door and headed straight for the bathroom for a quick shower; once done he stumbled into the bedroom, wanting nothing more than to sleep.

He didn't know why he wasn't surprised or alarmed when he realised Merlin was asleep in his bed, curled up with a discarded text book on the pillow beside him; nor did he question his reasoning when he dropped his towel over the nearby chair and crawled in naked beside him.

xxx

A/N: Not enough M/A interaction in this chapter I know. The next one is written and will be posted within the next day or so.

Please review. x