A/N: I really anted to try my hand at writing a Christmas story for Merlin, so when I had this idea a couple weeks ago, I had to give it a shot. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I hope you all have a magical Christmas.
The first time it happened, it was a relatively quiet morning in early June. Merlin had been walking through the lush green park near the shores of Avalon, wrapped in his thin red cloak and enjoying the cool summer breeze on his face while. Thoughts of his past and of the people and places he had loved and lost fought for the dominant place in his mind, but he refused to let misery overshadow the feeling he got from focusing on the world around him.
So Merlin took the opportunity that the uncommonly beautiful summer morning presented him and took a stroll surrounded by nature, letting the natural magic of the earth soothe his own disquieted, restless magic. He let his mind focus solely on the energy he found calling to him from the grass, the dirt, the trees, the birds, the sky.
As he had hoped would be the case, he gradually began to be able to relax, completely lost in the world around him. So intent on maintaining the sense of peace that filled him that he didn't notice the small girl that had run up to him, shouting at him excitedly, until she was at his side, pulling at his cloak and jumping up and down excitedly. It took him a moment to bring himself back to the present enough to realize what was going on.
The child looked to be about 5 years old and her dark pigtails bounced on top of her head as she continued to jump up and down, and Merlin finally managed to focus enough to realize what she was shouting at him.
"Santa! Santa, I found you!" she was exclaiming over and over again.
Merlin's eyes widened and he froze with his gaze fixed on the girl, unable to determine how to handle this situation. He looked down and let his eyes look over himself in an attempt to figure out what this child was seeing to make her react the way she did. It didn't take long. While it certainly hadn't been intentional, Merlin supposed that with the red cloak he wore and the long white beard falling from his chin (he hadn't felt a need to revert to his younger state as of late), he probably did look a bit like the children's character that this world had come to love. He felt oddly complimented at the comparison.
Nonetheless, he very definitely was not Santa Claus. Once his brain had finally caught up, he had intended to correct her. Really, he had. He knelt down next to her and placed his hands on her shoulders to stop the bouncing so that he could speak to her. He opened his mouth and started to say, "Oh, I think you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not-"
But then he found himself unable to continue as her brown eyes lost some of their gleam and her head tilted slightly in confusion as she tried to understand his words. He knew in that moment that it would absolutely break this girl's heart if he told her the truth, and he couldn't bear to do it. So he gave in. If it was going to keep the smile full of hope and joy on this child's face, then he would be Santa Claus. So instead of denying anything, he let the corners of his mouth twitch up in a conspiratorial grin.
"Yes, young one," he found himself saying. "I am Santa Claus. I didn't think anyone would recognize me like this, but you found me. What is your name?"
The girl grinned so wide that Merlin thought she might pull a muscle and the gleam in her eyes returned in full force. "I'm Lucy," she responded. "My big brother said you weren't real, but I knew he was wrong. I just knew it!"
Merlin chuckled at the surety in her voice. "Yes, well, big brothers don't know everything, now do they, Lucy?" he couldn't help but ask. He should know. He had spent years by the side of a man who was his brother in all but blood.
"Nope!" she replied, then tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes slightly, seeming to have a thought. "Santa, why are you here? It isn't Christmas, so I thought you would be at the North Pole."
Merlin fumbled for a moment trying to come up with a convincing explanation. Finally, he decided on, "I was there. Between you and me, though, the elves can be really annoying sometimes. I needed a bit of a vacation, so I came here. Besides, the cold makes these old bones ache."
Lucy nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I don't like the cold either." Then she really caught Merlin off guard by jumping forward and wrapping her little arms around his neck. He was startled, but he let it happen. He found the innocence of the gesture to be comforting, and he briefly returned the hug before pulling away and resting his hands on Lucy's shoulders and smiling warmly.
"I'm glad to have met you, Lucy." Then, as an afterthought, "I know it's a bit early, but do you know what you'd like for Christmas?"
Lucy's grin widened again. "Yes!" she exclaimed. "I've wanted a baby sister for a long time now, but Mommy just keeps saying 'we'll see.'"
She said it with such sincerity and eagerness that Merlin felt his heart clench in his chest. He had truly hoped she would ask for something simpler, something he could actually give her. But he was determined that she wouldn't walk away empty handed. He thought for a moment before he had an idea.
"I'm certain you would make a wonderful big sister, Lucy. Unfortunately, even my magic isn't enough to do something as complicated as creating life," he said gently, regret filling his voice. His heart fell at the look of disappointment that spread across her features, causing her face to fall and her shoulders to sag. Unwilling to let her sadness continue, he pushed forward. "What if I gave you something to help you practice instead? That way, if you do become a big sister one day, you'll be ready."
Lucy looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding, a slight small returning to her face, albeit smaller than before. After smiling back at her, Merlin turned around so that she couldn't see his face, put his hands into the satchel hanging at his side, and let his eyes briefly flash gold. When he turned back to face his young friend, he was pulling out a beautiful baby doll with short black curls and big brown eyes that perfectly matched the color of Lucy's.
He held the doll out to Lucy and her eyes shone in wonder at the sight. She reached out and gingerly took it from him and immediately hugged it to her chest. She met Merlin's eyes and smiled at him. "Thank you, Santa! I love it!"
Merlin's heart positively swelled within his chest. "You're welcome, Lucy. Take care of her, okay?"
A look of solemnity crossed the child's face as she said, "I will, I promise."
He patted her shoulder. "Good girl," he said. "Now you'd better go find your mother. We wouldn't want her to worry about you."
Lucy quickly wrapped her arms around him again before muttering a quick goodbye and running off in the direction of a woman sitting on a bench a little ways off, absorbed in a book. By the time the woman looked up in surprise at her daughter's excited tale of meeting Santa and the new doll in her arms, Merlin was gone.
The second time it happened, it was at least December. Merlin was once again wearing the red cloak he had worn when he met Lucy 6 months ago, and he was at the mall looking to replace some of the more worn out items in his wardrobe. He wasn't especially thrilled to be here, as he hated shopping and he didn't particularly love large crowds, but he had put it off too long already and it had to be done.
So yes, red cloak, long white beard, at the mall in December. It made sense. He hadn't particularly anticipated it, especially since he hadn't thought about that day in the park for months, but when it happened, he wasn't nearly as surprised as he had been the first time.
This time, it's a little boy, around the same age as Lucy. He'd only made it a few feet away from the clothing shop he had been in when a pair of small hands grips one of his larger ones and tugs at it. Merlin jumps slightly in surprise before looking down to see a head of blonde hair with gleaming blue eyes. He thinks momentarily that this is probably much what Arthur had looked like as a child., but he didn't get much time to focus on the thought as the child started shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Santa! Santa! Santa!" he yelled, and Merlin felt dozens of pairs of eyes turning toward him, followed shortly by his cheeks flushing red in embarrassment. Luckily, most of them looked away quickly enough, unimpressed by the appearance of a mall Santa right before Christmas. The children, however, were not so quick to dismiss his presence.
Before he knew it, he was surrounded by a half dozen kids who had weaseled away from their parents. They all had a gleam in their eyes to match that of the small boy still holding tight to his hand. Well, might as well play the part again.
"Shh," he hushed them in an attempt to stop them from drawing a larger crowd, but even as he did it, he was getting down on one knee so that he was on their level and smiling kindly at each of them in turn. "Don't let the elves hear you. I'm supposed to be at the North Pole right now, and I'm sure they're looking for me."
A couple of the little girls in the group giggled, but the blonde boy spoke up. "Why aren't you at the North Pole? Shouldn't you be getting ready for Christmas?"
"Oh, but I am!" Merlin replied brightly. "We were missing information about what a few of the children here wanted for Christmas, and I couldn't just let that slide. The elves wanted to just give them generic gifts, of course, but I told them that just wouldn't be good enough. So now I'm here! Now, why don't you all tell me your names?"
The blonde responded first, finally releasing Merlin's hand as he spoke. "I'm James!" he said rather loudly, clearly not understanding the request for quiet. His reply was followed quickly by the others introducing themselves as Sarah, Paul, Timmy, Violet, and Asher.
"Well," Merlin said after learning their names. "It just so happens that you're all on my list! Would you do me the honor of telling me what you want for Christmas?" He couldn't pick out any individual answers from the excited chorus that followed, so he waved his hands in a gesture to slow down and laughed as he tried to quiet them once more. "Hang on, hang on. I can't understand you if you're all speaking at once. Now, one at a time please." They make a show of trying to be patient, but Merlin sees the effort it takes all of them to wait their turn. He turns to James, who looks to be nearly bursting. "How about you go first?"
James lets out a blast of air from his lugs as though he had been making a monumental effort to hold it in. When he spoke, it still wasn't particularly quiet. "I want a toy knight!" Well, Merlin had decided the kid looked like Arthur. The request really shouldn't surprise him. Biting back a snort at the thought, Merlin turned around, reached into his satchel, and closed his eyes so that the flash of gold wouldn't be seen. Turning around to face James once again, he said, "Lucky for you, I just happened to have a very special knight in my bag." Then, handing it over, he had a thought and he couldn't help but voice it. "His name is Arthur. Will you take care of him for me?"
James's eyes were absolutely beaming as he threw his arms around Merlin, the toy hitting the back of his head in the process. "Yes! Yes, I will!" He pulled back and said, "Thank you, Santa, I love it!"
Merlin grinned back at him and patted him on the shoulder. "You're quite welcome, James. Merry Christmas." Then he turned back to the others. "What about you, Violet? Do you know what you want for Christmas?"
Violet nodded shyly before quietly asking for a unicorn, and Merlin was all too happy to oblige, reaching his hands into his bag and coming back with a beautiful white unicorn and handed it to the girl. The girl's instantly brightened face said more than her small "thank you" possibly could. He placed a hand on her shoulder briefly before wishing her a Merry Christmas and moving onto the next child.
He continued on through the other four children, giving a dragon to Timmy, an Elsa doll to Sarah, a pirate to Paul, and a teddy bear to Asher. They all thanked him, and some gave him quick hugs before stepping back to allow the next child their turn. Once they were all happy with their new toys, Merlin once more wished them a Merry Christmas before rising to his feet once more, his old bones fighting against him slightly.
Looking around, he realized that there was a group of adults a few feet back, presumably the parents of the children, all of whom were gaping at him. One man in particular was darting his eyes between the gifts he had given the children and Merlin's admittedly not very large satchel. He knew they were trying to figure out where the toys had come from, but he wasn't about to give anything away. He just grinned across the hall at them, called out a bright "Merry Christmas" to them, then waved and continued his walk toward the parking lot without another word.
Maybe, he thought, shopping and crowds didn't have to be so horrible.
After two more similar occurrences just in the week leading up to Christmas, Merlin decided to give in completely. He bought a Santa suit, complete with the hat and the boots. He had to admit that he hadn't felt this light in years. Who could have known that something as simple as pretending to be Santa would be what he needed to help heal the scars in his heart that had been gradually been increasing in number throughout his life with seemingly no hope of being mended?
Donning the suit on Christmas Eve and grabbing a rather larger bag so that his magic would be slightly less obvious, Merlin left his home to spend the day walking through town. Every now and then, a child would stop him, usually drawing a crowd, and he would fulfill their Christmas wishes. By the end of the day, his cheeks hurt from smiling so much, and he barely got his suit off before he collapsed into bed and fell into the most peaceful sleep he had had in years.
It became a tradition from then on. Every year on Christmas Eve, Merlin would put on the Santa suit, grab his bag, and spend the day giving out gifts. More and more every year, he would spend the few weeks following Christmas hearing whispers about the guy in the Santa suit who had somehow, impossibly, had the oddly specific toy that their child had asked for in that bag of his. Merlin always had to hide a small smile and a chuckle. He always found it so amusing that people today would assign responsibility to literally anything before they would entertain the idea of magic.
The children, of course, were certain that he was really Santa Claus. The facts that the adults turned over and over in their heads, trying to come up with rational explanations for, were immediately taken by their kids to be indisputable evidence. Neither group was completely correct, of course, but he saw no need to correct them.
As Merlin saw the children grow up, he watched most of them turn into the adults who just rationalized away the obvious displays of magic. It saddened him a little, but he was always happy to find the few that never gave up their belief.
It was nearly twenty years after the first incident when Lucy reappeared with a daughter of her own. She took great delight in telling him that she still had the doll, and that it had only been about another year after they met before she got a baby sister. Though Merlin very much had nothing to do with that, he was delighted, and it made him laugh when Lucy confided that she had always thought that it was some sort of Christmas magic that had made it happen so quickly.
Merlin took great delight in fulfilling the wish of Lucy's 3-year old, Daisy. After all, a Mickey Mouse doll was a much simpler request to fulfill than that of her mother all those years ago. As he bid them a Merry Christmas and watched the pair walk down the street, he couldn't help but smile. Even if most of the world refused to open their eyes to see it, there would always be those who believed in magic.