"So, you've been a sorcerer this whole time?" Gwaine asked.
"Yes, Gwaine, unless you missed the entire point of my explanation," Merlin replied tiredly.
"And you're not actually evil?"
"No, it was through a series of misunderstandings by which I appeared evil," he enunciated.
They were both seated on the couch at this point and Merlin was telling him everything. Or, at least, an abridged version of everything.
But Gwaine seemed to interrupt every other minute to ask questions or to disagree or to input his own opinions and it was driving Merlin nuts. It was like telling a story to a five-year-old.
He had texted Gwen a little while ago, so hopefully everyone would be there soon to help explain what Merlin couldn't.
"Okay, so, you've been alive all this time-though I'm still not sure I believe that-"
"I've already proved I have magic-"
"Magic and immortality are two very different things, Merlin."
"Oh, because you're such an expert on magic?" Merlin asked sarcastically.
Gwaine looked offended. "Anyway, as I was saying, you've been alive all this time and I've been reincarnated, but what about the others?"
Merlin smiled. "I was just getting to that, you see, you are not the first person to have been reincarnated. Gwen, Lancelot, and Gaius are actually on their way here right now."
"Really? And, um...none of the others?" He asked hesitantly.
"No, not yet, but we hope to find them soon," he reassured.
"Well, actually, um-"
He was interrupted by the door suddenly swinging open with the entrance of Gwen, Lancelot, and Gaius.
"Gwaine!" Gwen exclaimed, running and catching him in a big hug.
"Gwen," he replied, eyes wide as he gently returned the hug.
She pulled back. "Oh, Gwaine, it's so good to see you," she said.
"You too, my lady," he returned charmingly.
"Oh, no. None of that 'my lady' stuff. Here, I'm just Gwen," she chastised.
Gwaine gave a sweeping bow. "You shall always be a queen to me," he said suavely.
"If you're done flirting with my girlfriend, I'd like to say hello," Lancelot cut in.
"Lancelot! C'mere my friend!" Gwaine said, holding his arms wide, pulling Lancelot into a tight hug, both with wide smiles on their face.
The both pulled back and Lancelot stepped away, but neither could stop smiling. "Gaius," Gwaine said with a polite node in his direction.
Gaius returned the nod with a small smile. "Gwaine."
"It is so wonderful to see you all again, you have no idea," Gwaine said with a laugh.
"I think we have some idea," countered Gwen. "Everyone just keeps popping up, it's amazing. We also know Elyan, but he's abroad right now, but he should be back in about two weeks."
"That's great, Gwen," Gwaine said softly. "I know how much you must have missed him."
Gwen gave him a gentle smile, a look of sorrow briefly passing through her eyes, but then she brightened again. "Yes, but I have him now, and I won't let anything happen to him."
"Good. So…have you found anyone else?"
"No." answered Merlin. "Honestly, we're not even sure who will come back."
"Well, about that..." he trailed off.
"What is it?" asked Gaius.
"I, um...I might know where Percival is," Gwaine said, almost shyly.
"Really? That's great. Where is he?" Lancelot asked excitedly.
"At our apartment. We live together," he replied hesitantly. "He's...kind of my...boyfriend."
Nobody reacted for a few seconds and Gwaine couldn't meet anyone's eyes. Then Merlin smiled and said, "Ha! I always knew there was something there."
It was like Merlin's comment broke the brief tension and everybody started teasing and congratulating him and Gwaine slipped back to his old self, bragging about their wonderful relationship, glad for everyone's acceptance.
"So how soon can you get him over?" Merlin asked once they had all calmed down.
Gwaine thought about it for a moment before replying, "Well, he actually has today off, so I suppose I could call him right now?"
"That would be great," Gwen agreed.
Gwaine called him on the phone and quickly told him to come over, giving the address and telling him not to ask questions and that it was a surprise. He ended the call and looked back to everyone. "He's one his way."
About 15 minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Gwaine went to answer it. He pulled a very skeptical-looking Percival into the room who only grew more nervous when he saw the odd group currently occupying the room. "Gwaine, what is this?" he asked, trying—but failing—to hide his anxiousness.
"Before I answer that, how about a cup of tea?" Gwaine offers, practically shoving the small cup into Percival's large hands.
"Gwaine, I really don't think-"
"Just drink the tea and I think all your questions will be answered," Gwaine assured.
Percival looked down at the cup and back at Gwaine. He raised an eyebrow, but Gwaine only made encouraging movements towards the cup. He sighed, but looked resigned. He cautiously brought the cup to his lips, hesitated a few seconds, and then drank some. He immediately pulled the cup away as he gave into a coughing fit. Merlin quickly took the cup from him and placed it on the counter while Gwaine went to Percival, patting him roughly on the back a few times.
When Percival could finally breath again, he looked up into Gwaine's face with a look of wonderment.
"Gwaine?" he asked shakily.
"Do you remember, Percy?" Gwaine asked.
Percival nodded and his face broke into a happy grin. Gwaine pulled him into a tight hug and pulled back only enough to place a hard, quick kiss on Percival's lips. Then Percival let go of Gwaine and faced everyone else in the room, all with large smiles of their own.
"Lancelot! Gwen! Gaius!" He exclaimed turning to each person in the room. His expression became confused when he turned to Merlin. "Merlin?"
"That's me," Merlin said.
"I'm sorry, it's just that you look so...old. Why aren't you young like the rest of us?"
"Well, Percival, it's a long story. Now, both of you sit down so I can explain everything."
Merlin sat on the small stool that stood next to the large turtle table in his room. "Oh, Freya. I think I understand how Gaius feels. I'm too old to keep up with young people. It's nice to have them all back, it almost felt like old times, but I'm exhausted in a way I never was when I was young," he complained, placing fresh dandelions in his tortoise's food bowl. It was late at night now, and everybody had gone home a little while ago after hours of catching up about their current and previous lives.
Merlin turned on the stool to face out the window, watching as cars drove by on the street below, pedestrians illuminated by street lights and passing headlights. He looked up at the moon and the few stars he could see. He missed the times when he could take a short trek from Camelot and look up and see the whole galaxy, no light polluting the view.
He let his thoughts wonder to someone he had been trying not to think about too much.
Arthur.
Merlin was glad for the return of all his friends, overjoyed really. But it hadn't been them he had waited 1500 years for. It wasn't for them that he endured the solitude, the loss of everyone he held dear, the countless years spent searching for an answer. It was for Arthur.
Arthur, who must've been practically on his door step by now, given the proximity of the others. He wasn't going to just appear out of nowhere, he was going to show up one day, having lived a life without Merlin ever knowing about it.
How had this happened? How have all of his friends lived and grown up, right under his nose, without Merlin noticing?
He had grown lazy, that's how. After so long, he stopped looking so closely at the people around him, just let all those faces blur into the crowd. How many times had Gwen passed him as a little girl, hanging on to her mother's arm? How many times had a teenage Gwaine raced pass him, hurrying home from school?
Logically, Merlin knew it wasn't his fault. That fate had a way of doing what it wanted, how it wanted, and that it would work itself out in the end. But he couldn't help but feel like he had failed in some way.
Merlin took a deep breath.
Well, I won't fail again. I'm going to find you, Arthur, and anybody else out there.
Notes: Thanks for reading, comments and kudos are much appreciated :)
Next chapter is super secret mystery guest