Charmed season - 7 or 8ish

Charmed Character(s) - Piper friggin Halliwell

Merlin season - Post series

Merlin Character(s) - Merlin and Arthur

Disclaimer: Don't own nothing

Arthur came back.

He had some twenty-odd years of modern knowledge to go with his thirty-odd years of ancient knowledge.

He had blond hair to rival Wyatt's, eyes bluer than whitelighter orbs, and a temper that was vaguely, insultingly familiar.

He looked so young it made Piper furious.

If men who were thousands of years old could look like her children (or way younger siblings, maybe), then what chance did she have of looking young?

Seriously. Why did she even bother with creams or anything?

Still, her insecurities aside, Arthur was a nice enough man, and since Merlin was homeless unless he stayed at the manor, she found him stopping by increasingly frequency.

And that was fine. She just. Had had to give him the talk.

It went well, she supposed, mainly with her trying to threaten him subtly and ending up threatening him overtly.

"Listen." She'd said quietly, Merlin in the next room. "A lot of people I love have magic. Including my sons. Merlin tells me you don't hunt witches anymore, but just in case you get any bright ideas..."

She'd flicked her hand at a vase (she'd been meaning to throw it out anyway) and watched as Arthur's eyes widened, his whole frame flinching at the explosion.

To drive it home, she'd grinned at him.

"Are we clear?"

While he'd nodded at the time, making multiple assurances he would never hurt her children, she understood how that sort of conversation could put a dent in any relationship.

That was fine. Piper had threatened to vanquish King Arthur, but it was fine.

Strangely, that felt like the only part of this situation that held any normalcy – making sure, above all, that her family was safe.

God, though, she'd threatened a mythical hero. To his face.

She hoped Merlin never, never ever found out about it.

But Merlin was very busy nowadays. He'd explained it to her many times – something about dragons coming back, rampaging all over England, and him and Arthur being the only ones who could save the day – but Piper only really got the gist of it.

Merlin was...not always the best communicator. He liked to rant on and on about different magical things that often Piper had never heard of, and honestly it's always a toss up on whether he was messing with her, or these were real creatures he'd fought before.

So. She gave it fifty-fifty odds that he'd actually been fighting dragons for the past few months. Sorry, corralling dragons.

Still, he dropped by for tea every few weeks like usual, and since he kept visiting, so did Arthur.

Arthur was...weird.

Having two sets of memories jammed into one's head must be strange (or even one really big set, like Merlin), and it showed.

She could actually pinpoint the moment Arthur went from pampered, rich, corporate business-man's son to tough general, soldier and king. His back straightened, his hands locked behind his back, and his chin raised.

He'd don this mask, too, of calm and confidence and strength. Every time, she expected someone to start waving a flag behind him, and him to start barking orders at cadets.

It was weird.

His other persona, the one where he wore thousand-dollar shoes and snorted at texts on the latest smartphone and wrinkled his nose at traveling somewhere in anything not a limo or a jet, was even weirder.

Piper knew that her family was well-off. She had a business, after all, and though she'd inherited the manor, she still knew that it was a friggin manor (even though it took serious money to fix everything all the time, so she'd probably already paid for it in repairs).

The Halliwells were well off.

But the Pendragons were Bruce Wayne, Batman cartoon super-hero, could-roll-around-in-their-money rich.

Richy rich rich.

She doubted Merlin had noticed. Her warlock friend was confused enough with the different currencies around the world, and the one time she'd tried to explain inflation to him, he'd set her attic on fire.

Honestly, sometimes it was a miracle that he remembered he even needed to pay money for things.

He probably stole way more often than he bought.

Hopefully, with his new, unbelievably wealthy friend by his side, all the places Merlin frequented would start getting their money back.

But where was she? Oh, right.

Arthur was rich. He was nice. He was dangerous.

He was beginning to get on her nerves.

Didn't that always happen? Friends of friends usually made for pleasant acquaintances at best, mostly ending up as that-person-that-I-have-to-pretend-to-like-in-front-of-my-friend.

And Piper was not that great at pretending.

Still, she tried, after answering the door to reveal not an irritating blond but a welcome warlock – she smiled wide and tried not to show how relieved she was.

"Merlin! Come on in."

"Hello, Piper." He stepped in and, as now was custom, gently wrapped an arm around her.

Piper knew he needed this. She wasn't a real touchy sort of person, not outside her immediate family, but she let him hug her and hoped that it helped.

"I just pulled some brownies out of the oven." She said against his shoulder (why must every man she meets be so much taller than her?). "We could have some with our tea, if you want."

He breathed out slowly, a warm breeze on her hair, and nodded.

"Okay."

It took another moment for him to let her go, which was honestly about all she could handle before she blew something up.

Maybe she could cuddle more with her husband or her sisters, but she had to have a limit somewhere.

"Um...Piper." He said later in the parlor, suddenly shy as he munched his brownie and sipped at his tea. "I've been meaning to talk to you. A-about Arthur."

Piper tried not to freeze. He hadn't found out about the threat thing, had he? Maybe if she gave him another hug, he'd forgive her.

Er...two hugs?

"What about Arthur?" She asked. Her tone was casual, but she couldn't help rolling her shoulders, like she was preparing for a fight, and she cursed her instincts.

Merlin didn't notice.

"You...you like him, don't you?"

Piper couldn't help but snort. She coughed, to cover it up.

"Uh. Well... It doesn't matter what I think." She said honestly. "He's your friend. It only matters what you think."

Merlin looked like she'd given him the worst answer imaginable – his brow bunched up, his hands twisted together, and his mouth frowned hard.

"Yes but – but I want you to be friends with him. Too. You're both.." He blinked away some strong emotion. "You're both my friends. I-I want you to get along."

He stared at her with those sad baby blues, and Piper knew immediately that Wyatt was going to get away with a lot in the future.

Demons she could handle.

Pathetic pouts? She was apparently powerless against them.

Piper sighed.

"You like him. So I'm trying to like him, Merlin. We just – don't have anything in common. So it's hard."

Merlin blinked again, then smiled.

"Don't be stupid, Piper," He said, his old-man voice coming back a bit. "You have at least one thing in common – you've got me."

Dammit. He was right.

Piper sighed a second time.

"I guess we'll just talk about you for the rest of our conversations together."

Merlin shrugged.

"It's a starting place. Besides," He grinned wryly, "It's still slightly better than talking about the weather."

"Don't count on it."

"Merlin isn't here." Piper said a few weeks later, when she opened the door to a familiar blond man.

It was rude.

She should at least say hello or something. She didn't.

"Er. Alright." Arthur said back, awkward as ever with her. "He said he'd be here later today. Is it – is it alright if I wait? Inside?"

God, did he have to?

Piper hesitated, hand tight on the door, one second away from telling him to wait in his fancy limo and slamming the door in his face.

It would be very satisfying.

Still, Piper remembered her conversation with Merlin awhile ago, and her conscience frowned disapprovingly at her.

Somedays she hated having a big heart.

"Yeah." She sighed. "Come on in, Arthur."

It was difficult to let him pass her, a tentative smile on his face, but she just pictured Merlin and his puppy dog eyes and it became a lot easier.

For Merlin.

"You can wait in the living room, if you want." Piper told him.

The door closing behind her felt like the final nail in this awkward interaction coffin. At least Arthur didn't try to hang up his coat, which would be a sure sign he planned to stay long.

Hopefully, they could make innocent small talk for a short time and Merlin would show up not ten minutes from now.

Hopefully.

"I don't have any tea ready, but uh, I could brew some. If you want." Piper tried.

Unfortunately, Merlin was not known for his punctuality.

"Oh, you don't need to go to any trouble –" Arthur started.

"It's not really trouble –"

"Well, I don't mean to intrude –"

"You're not –"

"If you're sure –"

"Let's just sit down." Piper finally said. Sort of yelled it, actually.

It felt like they were playing some weird, polite, passive-aggressive tennis match, and it was irking the hell out of her.

Because she was losing.

They lumbered to the living room, Arthur situating himself on her flowery couch, his current outfit probably worth more than her car, and Piper sitting in the armchair across from him.

It was too bad Wyatt's at preschool and Chris's napping, she thought, or she could have a legitimate excuse to leave Arthur in here alone.

The silence stretched.

"So. Merlin." Piper said, unable to take it. "How is he?"

"You see him more than I do." Arthur muttered. His blue eyes widened when he realized he'd said that aloud, and that Piper'd heard. "I-I mean, he's fine. He's already made friends with five dragons."

Piper eyed Arthur. He smiled blandly back, but she saw a bead of sweat on his brow.

At least they were both not enjoying this.

"That's good. Have you guys finally gotten that situation under control?" She asked. She was genuinely curious, if only because Arthur was easier to read and had no crazy-babble that she had to translate.

Merlin told her these things, but she didn't understand them.

"Um..It goes well. We've almost located the wizard that summoned all these dragons." Arthur said. "It seems he wanted an unstoppable army of the creatures, but.."

He scratched his cheek.

"He couldn't control them?" Piper guessed.

"Well, yes."

"Ah."

That lapsed into uncomfortable quiet once more. Arthur couldn't seem to bring himself to lean back on her couch, as if that would be too informal for him. He sat ramrod straight instead, tapping a finger on his knee nervously.

It irked her. Of course, she recognized that she would hate it if he lounged over her furniture, and that her annoyance stemmed not from his posture but from the awkward situation.

Still, her irritation didn't stop.

Piper searched deep inside herself for every scrap of patience she possessed, and tried to start another conversation.

"So do you live in America now?"

Arthur looked startled.

"Pardon?"

"I just wondered if you'd moved to the US or you still lived in England." She clarified, her smile turning brittle. "Because flying over here every week doesn't seem like it'd be much fun."

"Oh, uh," Arthur blinked. "I have a house here. But I'm at the estate in London more nights than not."

Wow. Richy rich rich.

It took Arthur a moment to realize that his words were a bit pretentious and he turned red, but didn't correct himself.

But Piper found herself caught up in another detail.

"You have a house here?" She frowned. "Then why doesn't Merlin hang out over there?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah, I know he likes to visit me," She fumbled, "I just mean why do you two have to meet up here, instead of there? Or better yet, your place in London! He can teleport."

Looking down at his hands, which had callouses only recently from his adventures, Piper assumed, Arthur sighed.

"Merlin...has changed."

He didn't meet her eyes.

It was a tender, humanizing moment, and it stilled Piper's sarcastic tongue. She waited for him to continue rather than rushing to defend her friend.

"Once, he would say that his place is always by my side. But now." Arthur furrowed his brow. "Now he needs his space. He can't – he can't seem to be near me. For too long. It. Confuses him."

Piper didn't understand.

This was what Merlin had wanted for centuries, what he'd been waiting and craving for.

And from what she'd seen of Merlin, and Merlin and Arthur together, the warlock had seemed so happy and at peace.

Yet Arthur was saying that Merlin couldn't handle it.

"What do you mean?" Piper wondered.

Arthur finally met her eyes, and he looked incredibly sad.

"Piper, Merlin is very old. Even with his resilience and his magic, his mind is not what is once was. And – and he seems to think I can't handle it." Arthur smiled without warmth. "He's trying to hide the worst of it from me. That's why he won't stay at my home, I think. He's afraid I'll see the, the damage, and – I dunno. Run away, I suppose."

"Would you?"

"No!" Arthur burst out. It was the first time Piper had ever seen him angry. "No, of course not! He's still my friend. I wouldn't fault him for losing an arm, or-or being blind, why would I fault him for this? It's not like he's this way on purpose!"

Piper was speechless.

She'd known that Merlin wasn't in the best mental health for ages, even before his breakdown at the lake.

She'd heard him call her so many other names – Gwen, Morgana, Mother, Arthur, (only the last one had bothered her, since it wasn't even female, come on) – and she knew Merlin hadn't the foggiest what year it was, even on a good day.

She did know.

Still, she hadn't even thought about what Merlin might've been before, and how much of a loss it might be to see how he'd changed.

And Arthur did grieve. He was torn up about Merlin and his mind and it showed.

But.

But there was still so much love and care wound up in it, as if half of his grief was the pain Merlin's mental instability caused Merlin.

It left Piper speechless, in a very very good way.

"Maybe you should tell him all that." She said softly.

Arthur was still red in the face, from embarrassment or strong emotion she wasn't sure, and had to consciously release tightened fists in his lap.

He tilted his lips up at her voice.

"Maybe I should." He agreed. "But Merlin is...stubborn. It's difficult for anything to penetrate that thick skull of his, especially the fact that I consider him family."

Piper stopped and considered this man, this king, this friend of a friend.

"Try a hug." She suggested. "That worked for me."

Arthur considered her right back.

He nodded.

There came a familiar knock at the door (Merlin was still polite even though she'd told him he could just zap right on in now), and the pair in the living room exchanged fond grins.

When Piper stood to get the door, though, Arthur caught her arm.

"I don't think I ever said but – thank you." He told her. "For looking after him."

"You're welcome. Uh, I know I never said but," Piper pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Sorry for threatening you before."

Arthur actually laughed.

"You're quite forgiven."

And the awkward silences were back, though not quite as uncomfortable as before.

Piper found that Merlin was right – she and Arthur had at least one thing in common.

Since it was Merlin, it was enough.

When Merlin entered her house that day, he was greeted with two hugs. He cried. Mainly, he insisted, because his two best friends were finally becoming friends.

Piper refused to hug Arthur, they weren't there yet, but.

Still.

It was a start.

A/N: What's it been, almost a year? Dang. Let me just tell you, college is hard.

Just a note, this story is still pretty gen, meaning I didn't write Piper/Merlin or Merlin/Arthur, but if you wanna put on your shipping goggles anyway, I don't care.

I didn't even mean to write this. It just happened.

Thanks for reading!