Camelot Drabble Prompt bingo 512: AU:space
Author's notes: not writing any more on this one.
Disclaimer: I do not own the BBC version of Merlin; They and Shine do. I am very respectfully borrowing them with no intent to profit. No money has changed hands. No copyright infringement is intended.
The first time Merlin went into space, it was as a tourist, flying high on the Concorde. The way Earth curved around, the glow of atmosphere, the intense blueness of the planet and the swirl of clouds obscuring Britain made him homesick enough for Wales that he cut his trip short and hurried home.
The second time, he was posing as an engineer, well, not posing really but he did have the magic touch after all. The International Space Station welcomed him with open arms, and he spend several glorious weeks not thinking about duty but how to get the toilets to work and an arm of the solar panels unkinked. He didn't even look down.
The third time, it was to shuttle food and supplies for the first Mars project. He stared out into space, stars close enough to touch, the slight red tinge of far-off Mars calling him, and he thought about stowing away and jetting into the great unknown, abandoning Earth for all time. Not that it was possible. Everything had to be balanced down to the last gram and his hitching a ride would only bring disaster to the mission. But as he flew back down, he mostly ignored the spin of continents outside his window, only noticing that Wales, for once, was cloudless, and he forced himself to look away. It held too many memories, most of them painful, and he didn't want to think about it anymore.
The fourth time, it was a frantic ride up to save the Space Station before it crashed down to Earth and killed thousands. He managed to help steady it enough so that the rest of the crew could do what they needed to do. He hadn't used magic in so long that he was breathless by the end. And of course, they just thought he was that good with fixing things. Magic never came into it but then it hadn't for a thousand years, and no one would have believed him anyway.
But the fifth time was different. Earth itself needed rescuing and Merlin worked tirelessly to try and change the foolishness of mankind that would turn a beautiful planet into their own personal toilet. As he floated high above the clouds, unfurling solar panels to shade the earth enough to cool it down, even as the politicians argued about punishment and trials, squabbling among themselves to try and paint the others as villains instead of working to fix their mess, he felt a strange pull to return home.
When he finally made it back to Wales, a man he'd waited for a thousand years stood there, glaring at him.
"What the hell have you done to Camelot?" Arthur said, waving his sword around at the burnt trees and thirsty earth.
"Not hello, Merlin, I've missed you, Merlin?" Merlin said, standing just out of range of the sword, wanting to give the man a hug and not knowing if it would be welcome.
With that, Arthur shoved his sword into the ground, then rushed over and pulled Merlin into his arms, giving him the hug of his life. "Hello, Merlin, I've missed you, Merlin, and what the hell have you done?"
When he told Arthur, his prat grew more and more angry. "Enough of this. Time to meet with the king and get these things settled."
"It's not that simple, Arthur," Merlin said.
"I have my sword, you have your magic, what more do we need?" Arthur said, but when Merlin just shrugged, Arthur's face settled into stubbornness. "The right thing to do is to do the right thing. And I'm not going to go down without a fight. Camelot needs our help. So, are you with me or do I have to do this alone?"
The task was impossible, the forces of the world against them both, but he could never say no to Arthur. With a nod, he reached over and clasped Arthur's arm, as they'd done so many times and so long ago.
"I told you I'd be your servant until the day I die. Always by your side, through thick and thin until the end of time, if necessary," Merlin said, solemn as a vow.
Nodding, his face bright and determined but there was gratitude there too as Arthur said, "Time to make things right."
And so, they did.