Merlin the Murderer?

Chapter Text

Merlin

Merlin knocks loudly, twice.
He needed to be sure that he won't reveal his magic to Gaius the same way he had in the past life.
He waits until a familiar voice calls him in and he steps inside the chambers he had once called home for the better part of his young life. Ducking his head to enter, he looks around. Everything still looks exactly the same. The same herbal scent, the similar bubbling of potions and multiple objects that looked straight out of the Black Plague.

He is jarred from his reverie when he hears a familiar voice call out to him, "Yes, how can I help you?"
Merlin turns to face his mentor that had been like his father for more than 10 years and he has to mentally force his body from jerking.
He had known that he would see Gaius again but being here again and actually seeing his Mentor's face… his alive mentor's face is apparently more than his conscious mind could handle. Emotions rush to him with every familiar wrinkle in Gaius's face.

Merlin doesn't trust his voice at that moment so he didn't reply, he just slides his bag from his shoulders and passes Gaius the letter he has in his bag. He still has no idea what it says- his mother made him promise to give it straight to Gaius. She had also said that he would trust her word more….

"I don't have my glasses," Gaius says to him, taking the letter anyway and looking at him pointedly. Merlin sighs internally and takes a deep breath before introducing himself.

"I'm Merlin." The old man smiles and looks at Merlin with newer, brighter eyes.
"Hunith's son?!" He exclaims and Merlin nods, smiling himself. The old man comes forward and wraps Merlin in a tight hug.

"It's good to see you, my boy! We had all thought the worst when you went missing years ago."
He then pulls back and looks at Merlin again- at arm's length this time.
"Such a strong man now too!" Gaius pauses, eyebrows furrowing, "But you look older than you should be….,"
Merlin looks down sheepishly and Gaius withdraws his hands from Merlin's shoulders- making sure that the door is properly locked before turning to address his nephew again.

"Tell me, do you still have your… gifts?" Merlin finally raises his eyes from the ground and looks at Gaius- nodding once. The physician's back straightens with alarm but he does not say anything.
So, Merlin continues.
"They are in my full control, so you need not worry. I am also very good at hiding, so we won't get caught. I won't cause any trouble for you here Gaius, I promise. My only intention is to find a job and use my knowledge of medicine that I gathered on my travels to help you."
He explains and he can see the alarm and fear on Gaius's face fade with every word. But the wariness remains.

The old man sighs but smiles and then points to the room behind Merlin.
"Those are going to be your chambers. You must be tired, go get some rest. We will talk more in the morning"
Merlin smiles in answer and retreats to the room he will be calling 'his' for the next… he doesn't know how many years. Last time it was 10 long years, he hopes it will be longer this time around.

Outside the room, Gaius kept looking at the door that his nephew had just closed. He was scared, not for himself but for the young man in his care. Hunith had already lost so much so young in life and she did not deserve losing her son as well.
But, he thought, the boy seemed responsible enough and knows of the danger both of them could be in if they were caught.
That was a start…
Gaius made his way to the bench to rest his old body….
He is not that old, only fifty-five... but he has found that pretending to be very old has some perks.
Once he is seated, he picks up his glasses and puts them on. Opening the letter to read its contents.

Dear Gaius,

By now I am sure you have met Merlin.
The first thing I will start with while introducing Merlin is that he has changed a bit from the cheerful and careless boy he used to be.
He went missing for four years as you know and hasn't been the same since….
I am hoping that his time in Camelot would bring me back my son- the cheerful one. Not that I do not adore the man Merlin has become, I just miss when he used to be a boy.
But know that I couldn't be prouder of who he is today.

His…. talents are still the same if not more in control and, they have grown, Gaius. They have escalated in power.
I do not know much about this new Merlin but I will tell you this-
Merlin is a good son, a greater man and his destiny will change the lives of many… for the better. He already has changed so many lives…

But also, beyond his power, he is still my tender boy.
There is a reason he is in Camelot, he will tell you why if he wants to and if you ask nicely.

Take good care of him for me, Gaius. I am sure he will not give you much trouble.

Love,
Hunith.

P.S- You will find that his and your habit of 'talking with your eyebrows' is eerily similar.

Gaius removes his glasses and smiles, Hunith sounded happy, that was good, she deserved to be. The magic still worried him but he couldn't send the lad back.
For some reason, he had a feeling that Merlin was meant for Camelot….. or was it Camelot that was meant for him…?
He shakes his head, smiling...this was going to be interesting.

He looks back at the door that leads to his nephew's room and gets a random giddy thought,
'At least he won't have to clean the leech tank anymore. He had Merlin to do that for him!'

The next day.

Merlin was cooking breakfast for both himself and Gaius.
Gaius was good at many things but cooking... Merlin shudders…. Not so much.
The slop that he called food was disgusting and nor could he eat that but neither could he let Gaius continue to suffer.
So, yes. Merlin was taking over Gaius's eating habits.

He was so busy that he didn't notice the door opening and closing to the physician's chambers.

He took a spoon and dipped it in the gravy, bringing it to his mouth to taste.
It still needed salt, but he took out a serving for Gaius (with less salt) and then proceeded to add more salt in the whole dish.
Gaius didn't know this, but his blood pressure was high- he needed to cut back on his salt.

He turns to wipe his hand on the towel and is just about to magically blow off the fire under the pot when he notices someone in his periphery.
He whirls around, defensive but smiles at seeing who it is.

Gwen.

She is just looking at him, seemingly zoned out, holding a bucket of water in her hands. Gaius was out on his rounds so he knew that it was up to him to bring her out of her reverie. He tamped down on his urge to hug her and just called out to her as a stranger would.

"Hello, can I help you?"

Gwen jerked a little, making the water in the bucket slosh with her. She realizes that she had been blankly staring at Merlin for the last minute or so and blushes.
She quickly comes back to herself and comes forward, placing the bucket in the table near Merlin.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in Gaius's chambers?" Her voice is not accusing but curious, with a smile to her face. Merlin takes a moment to look at her.
Guinevere, truly was beautiful like this, under the sun and her wind-swept curls that were always imperfectly perfect. He could see why the best men he knew had fallen in love with her. Arthur, Lancelot and later on... Leon- all had appreciated her beauty and kindness.

Merlin smiles before answering.
"My name is Merlin…. I am, uh, Gaius's nephew." He stops there but she continues to look at him curiously. He does not realize that it was because he looked completely at home in a kitchen- which was quite unusual for men in those days, so he continues, trying to abate her curiosity.
"I came to Camelot, yesterday to look for a job-"
"Oh! You must be the one my lady mentioned!" Merlin furrows his brow and Gwen blushes again and rushes to introduce herself too.
"I am sorry, my name is Guinevere, although you can call me Gwen! All my friends call me Gwen- not that you are my friend or anything but just because it's easier to say…." her eyes widen at her own words and she backtracks, "Not that I don't want you as my friend-,"

Merlin cuts off her rambling by a laugh, head thrown back.

He had missed this Gwen. Not the Queen who had been so- not Gwen that he had mourned her loss along with the other friends he had lost along the way.
The sad thing had been that he had mourned her much before Camlann or even her actual death- he had mourned his friend when she changed after her marriage to Arthur. When she became the Queen.
He had mourned her when she won't speak to him as they used to at all. Except for the formal 'Thank you, Merlin.' Or 'That is all, Merlin', Gwen did not speak a single word to him after she got married.
He had even tried asking Arthur about it, but he had just called Merlin 'a girl', otherwise completely ignoring his question.

He looks at her now, still beautiful, still untouched by the evil magic of Morgana or the pressure of the court – and smiles. Maybe this time he would figure out what had happened to her after the marriage…
"Would you like some breakfast…. Guinevere?" He was going to call her by her given name (full name) until she thought him to be her friend- it was only fair.
She giggles at the name and nods, taking a seat opposite to him on the table.

They then speak for hours on end. They speak of the Lady Morgana- for whom she works, speak of how Merlin learnt to cook- his mother taught him, they chat about everything and nothing. At some point, Gaius enters the chambers, sniffing the air and brightening at the sight of the cooked food. He joins them as well.
All in all, it is a good start to his stay in Camelot.

After Guinevere leaves.

Merlin washed the dishes and once he is done with them, he is about to go to his room when Gaius stops him near the table saying, "You didn't wash last night."...Merlin knows what is coming...
The old man tries the same trick again he had in the past, the trick that had made Merlin instinctively use his magic- he tips the bucket down.

But, this time, not only did Merlin already know what Gaius was doing but also he had a greater control over his magic.
He lets the bucket fall, let's the water spill all over the floor.

He then turns to look at Gaius and smiles cheekily.
"You want to see my magic Gaius, all you have to do is ask."
Gaius huffs and crosses his arms, Merlin had always known that Gaius had loved magic. The old man loved science too- the ability to explain things- but he had also loved something as unexplainable as Magic. Something that his science could never detangle.

He has mercy on his mentor and since this had been Merlin's water- for him to wash with- he commands the water to accumulate.
With no spells, no gestures and only his eyes giving away that he was performing any kind of magic- the water that had spilled and some of which had even started getting absorbed into the wood- starts rising in the air and then as if the whole process had been reversed the bucket lifts up- still upturned- the water starts flowing back into it and a second later, there is a bucket back on the table, filled with the water that had previously spilt.

Merlin looks at Gaius- looks at the shell-shocked face of his mentor and lets a snort escapes him. The old man turns to look him, face still unbelieving.
Merlin knows that it will take a bit of time for Gaius to absorb this level of magic being practised- so he picks up his bucket and walks back into his room to wash. Whistling.

Gaius had never seen something like this before. The boy was not just a simple warlock… he was probably the most powerful warlock Gaius had ever met.
He had never seen such magic but knew that after such a display many warlocks would pant for breath. Merlin had not even looked winded.
His nephew had not just not put water back into the bucket as he had expected him to, he completely reversed the process. That was supposed to be impossible because it is one step away from bending time. His nephew had re-winded the timeline of the water and the bucket- restoring it to its exact previous position- without any signs of physical duress.
Gaius's mind kept whispering 'Emrys Emrys Emrys' in his ears...no one else could perform such a deed. He frowned at that thought and brushed it away... no way was Emrys- the Druid myth and literal god, the most powerful magician to ever live - under his roof.

Who was to say that Merlin wasn't here in Camelot to cause trouble?

Gaius took a seat and contemplated. His nephew didn't require his guidance, he had already known what Gaius was trying to do with the 'bucket trick'. Not only that he was too powerful for Gaius, too powerful for anyone- but he handled the power with so much control, like holding the flow of the sea while only allowing a small stream of water to pass.
The physician had felt the power that had seeped from his nephew, it was humungous…. Unlike anything, he had ever seen but Merlin had looked comfortable, like the eye of the storm or... or someone who had practised at control their whole life.
So much power in one man could only signify one thing- that the man was a living/breathing Volcano and the fact that he was in Camelot…. It was definitely not to look for a job.

He knew that Hunith wouldn't lie to him but his nephew had been missing for years, anything could have happened in those years for him to turn to the wrong path. People like Nimueh were known for manipulating strong sorcerers/warlocks against Camelot, even the purest hearts turned.
Gaius swallowed, audibly…was he housing a potential murderer?

Such a powerful mage under his roof- with the power to not just kill the king but to do much more damage- this wasn't something that happened to Gaius every day.

While he is still reeling from these new morbid thoughts, he hears Merlin's door open and out comes the person he has been thinking so hard about, the one who could be a potential killer.
Gaius had decided to go with his 'point-blank' questioning.
"Merlin," he called out to the boy who looked like he was on his way out. His nephew paused and walked over to Gaius, "Yeah," answering eagerly.

"What are you doing in Camelot? What is your objective?" Gaius's voice had taken an accusatory turn, every word sounded like a criminal offence being announced.

Merlin's head jerked back -eyes widening- surprised at the questions. Guess he had taken it a bit too far with the magic before, thought Merlin.
He sighed and sat down, just beside Gaius. His mentor stiffened at the proximity but didn't move away.

Gaius continues with another question, "What is this destiny your mother claims that you have? Does it involve killing the King?" this question is whispered but Merlin hears it nonetheless.
He turns to look at his uncle- he had never called Gaius that, Uncle. He looks down to the floor, thinking for a second before looking up. Gaius waits patiently.
To be honest, Merlin wasn't surprised that his mother had mentioned his destiny… she had always thought that it would be better if Gaius knew.

Merlin looks away and stares ahead. He sighs, this had been inevitable. Gaius was always quick on the uptake, always the one to know and to figure out things. It would be good for them both to implicitly trust each other- as they had in the past.
Mind made, Merlin asked,
"Do you want to hear the answer or see it?" His mentor looks at him then, finally starting to relax at the knowledge that Merlin was going to tell him the truth.
"Both... I suppose," he replies, made sense to Merlin, Gaius never left anything to chance or ignorance- he covered all his bases. Merlin nods and then starts.

"Keep an open mind then, and if you have any questions I promise to answer them at the end but first please just listen…" He waits for Gaius's eyebrows to settle down rather than the man himself and then starts.
For a second he flounders, unable to decide where to start from but then a sense of calm takes over him and he decides to start how his own story had started.
The words coming to him out of nowhere.

"No man, no matter how great can know his destiny.
He cannot glimpse his part in the great story that is about to unfold… Like everyone, he must live and he must learn." Merlin paused, turning to look at Gaius before continuing in his own words and not the Great Dragon's.

"Would you believe me if I tell you that this- everything that is happening now has happened before? That me coming to Camelot, meeting you and even staying in that room," he points behind him to his chambers, "was all written, that I have already been here once before and spent 10 years of my life?" He doesn't let Gaius's answer, just continues.

"Would you believe me if I said, that unlike the start of the first time, this time I KNOW my destiny, that this time I know how the story unfolds- but have come back to change the ending?" He pauses there and turns his whole body towards Gaius, this part was going to be hard and most difficult to understand, he takes Gaius's aged hands in his before continuing,
"Would you believe me if I said that I have lived and I have learned for more than a thousand years?"
He gauges his mentor's expressions, sees how high the 'eyebrow of disbelief' is, Gaius probably thinks him a lunatic by now. That is why he uses the physical contact between them (Gaius's hands in his) to show Gaius his memories.

Everything, from the start to the end…. He shows Gaius all of it, not even leaving a single memory out. He shows himself coming to Camelot for the first time and saving Gaius in these exact chambers- just Merlin looking a bit younger, he shows the first time he was in the stocks, he shows himself being anointed as a servant to Arthur. Shows Gaius, the various threats they dealt with together on a daily basis… shows him how much Arthur means to Merlin, shows him about their conjoined destiny.
Shows him Arthur's marriage and his death.

Merlin had decided that he won't hide anything from Gaius. So, he shows him Ambrosia and how it came to be, shows him his kids- his dragonlings- shows him Hunith in Queenly garb and then shows him the 1500 years he spent alone. How the world progressed, and the science grew but how the magic waned.

After several hours Merlin lets go of Gaius's hands and the old man opens his eyes, looking dazed. A tear escaping his tired eyes.
Merlin suddenly finds himself encased in a tight hug and the continued ramblings of 'OH, my boy, my dear boy' could be heard by him.
Tears wet his shirt and only then did Merlin realize that Gaius was weeping for him. For a minute Merlin was stone-faced, still trying not to let it all bother him but slowly he let himself loose... gritting his teeth against the memories. All those moments that he had tried forgetting, all the death and time he spent getting over his broken destiny. All those years alone… It was like a dam of emotion had broken... waves of heartache passed through Merlin, rocking him in Gaius's hold. After so long... there was finally someone to hold him while he cried, while he let go...

He had been strong for too long.

He hugged his mentor just as hard and lets a single tear escape his eye as well. He had missed Gaius so much… there had been so many moments in his life that he had come across some situation where he had asked himself 'what would have Gaius made him do if he were here'- Gaius had been his guiding light, even in those years.

He rubbed Gaius's back to control the sobs, and it took a while but it seemed to work in the end. They both calmed down and smiled wobbly at each other.
Gaius composed himself a bit more before drinking some water and straightening up his spine, Merlin could feel the questions bubbling underneath Gaius's surface… He nodded at the old man as a permission to ask them.

Gaius took a deep breath and started, "First I want to thank you, Merlin. For multiple things- giving my memories back, helping out Camelot all those years ago and… coming back in Time knowing that you will have to repeat all of the bad memories too- like the Black Plague and the multiple… wars."

Merlin nods in acknowledgement and Gaius looks at him for a while before continuing,
"You have grown so much, my boy. I also need to tell you this now…. like your Mother, I am Proud of you. So much. Never forget that" Gaius shakes his head and cups Merlin's face for a second, Merlin nods again forcing the tears pricking his eyes to stay put.

They take another minute before Gaius frowns and turns to Merlin again,

"You are THE Emrys, then-" Gaius started with the obvious,
"Just Emrys, Gaius." Merlin cut-in, smiling, Gaius looked at him with amused-exasperation before continuing his line of thought,
"And Arthur is your other half." Gaius was looking at him strangely now- more intensely.
Merlin nods but adds, "Yes, that too but he is also the Once and Future King."

"And, he marries Gwen." Merlin nods, not seeing why Gaius just kept on stating facts. He had just now made Gaius see this. The old man continues looking at him intensely as if waiting for Merlin to say or accept something.

So, he does, sighing tiredly, Merlin says, "Yes, Gaius, all of that is true. But do you have any questions about the memories?" Merlin had thought that Gaius would ask him questions like 'how was the medicine like in the 2000's' or 'I can't believe you were a full-fledged physician- how was that like?'
But all Gaius kept doing was make uncomfortable remarks and look at him weirdly.

"Yes, I do have questions." Finally, was Merlin's thought. He looked at Gaius eagerly already composing his mental answer on the evolution of Medicine in all those years and how they had discovered so many new things, but it turned out that the prepping was useless.

"Why didn't they have kids?" What? Who? His face must have shown his confusion as Gaius cleared up with his next sentence, "Arthur and Gwen. Why didn't they have kids?"

To be fair, it was a medical question. Kind of. Merlin consoled himself before replying,
"I… don't know Gaius." Shrugging, he explains, "I mean, it wasn't for the lack of trying, I know that" Merlin half snorts- half huffs.
Cue the intense eyes from Gaius again, so Merlin rushed to explain himself further,

"I mean I was his servant, for god's sake. I had to enter the room every morning, wash the bedsheets and remove any sign that would indicate what had happened the night before.…" Merlin does a sweeping motion with both his hands, indicating the level of flourish in his cleaning. He stopped for a moment to looks at Gaius's face before remembering other details and smugly adding,

"Hell, I even had to tell Arthur how to do it before his marriage night. He was such a virgin." Merlin laughs and recalls the innocent and vulnerable side of his King and how he had explained an innocent Arthur what went where and how the King had blushed at every obscene hand gesture of his. Merlin laughed more.

He didn't realize that his eyes had lowered, lost in memories until he raised them when he heard Gaius say,
"Well, he is not 'such a virgin' now. He has taken part in such activities from a very young age this time and is well versed in such acts. The Prince hardly has to work hard to get women to enter his bed… although maybe this time it will be more difficult. His current attentions are on our Gwen."

Merlin's brow furrows, that was quicker than expected. Arthur hadn't even noticed Gwen until Merlin had come into the picture. He nods, that's …. A good thing, he reckons. Him noticing Gwen means that he is not as naïve as he was when Merlin started as his servant, maybe a bit humble and not as mean as he was. It had been Gwen for whom Arthur had really grown into the man Merlin had always thought him to be.

The kind, caring, just warrior that he called the 'Once and Future King', it was Gwen that Arthur had listened to more than anyone, he thinks. Yes, Gwen's earlier presence in Arthur's life bodes well.
The fact that Arthur is more active in this life does concern him but then maybe this was good too… everyone has their own ways of learning. Maybe this Arthur is more sexually advanced than the Arthur who had died. Maybe having regular sex will make him less of a prat.

He looks up at Gaius with a smirk, only to see the old man looking at him closely. Asking his previous question again,
"Why didn't they have kids, Merlin?" this makes Merlin frown further.
In the future, reproduction was though sometimes still a problem, it wasn't as important as it had been in the middle ages, especially the Kings that required a biological heir.

"As I said, Gaius, I don't know. But if that problem occurs again, we can try some other ways of helping them reproduce. I have all that I will need in my library and we can make a biological child of Arthur's without any problem." Merlin explains but Gaius just keeps looking worried. So, Merlin sighs and tells him what had happened in the past.

"Look, it could be anything. From Gwen going through a trauma in the dark tower and all that Dark Magic... to Arthur being born of Magic. So, literally anything could be the reason, we couldn't figure it out then…. And now, there is no need to figure it out. There are things that we can try to ensure that the Pendragon lineage continues. And if not that, then Gaius... we have time to figure it out. Don't worry." The creases on Gaius's forehead fade away and the old man smiles at Merlin and brings his wrinkled hand to ruffle his hair.

OH-OH! Merlin knows what's coming. 1. 2. -

"Also, my boy! What atrocity have you committed with your hair? And what is that scruff on your chin? You look like a ruffian! A certified rogue." Merlin muffles his laughter with his fist, "I liked you better before, at least we could see your face and you looked less like a criminal offender." Gaius says all that without stopping for breath, then huffs loudly. Merlin pinches his lips in a valiant effort to stop his laughter but fails. He continues laughing as Gaius keeps berating him for imagined nuances.

"And-," Gaius turns away to the work table, "don't just stand there laughing like a monkey-,"
Merlin cuts him off with another burst of laughter, this time barely managing to keep himself on the bench "It's a… a hyena, Gaius." Tears of laughter leaking his eyes, 1500 years old and Gaius still berates him like he is not more than an infant.
Gaius turns to him, faking the annoyed countenance, amusement lining his eyes.

"Well, you laugh even worse than a Hyena- that is why I said- like a monkey with yellow teeth. But, as I was saying, don't just stand there, deliver these medicines for me. You know where!" Merlin nodded, still panting from the laughter.

It was good to finally have his Gaius back.

Arthur

He caught Gwen wandering around the Castle, Arthur grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a hidden alcove around the corner.
"Oh, aren't You are a sight for sore eyes?" He whispered, already kissing her neck and taking in her scent.
Gwen giggles soundlessly, "You just saw me last night!" tipping her head back, providing him with more ground to cover. Arthur just 'hmmms' they had fooled around more last night, making much progress in the bedroom...
He doesn't pause in his ministrations and asks her,

'Where are you coming from?" He asked her, holding her to himself by the waist and dragging her closer each second. It was becoming unclear where he ended and she began.
"Gaius's," she replied, breathlessly.

Arthur doesn't pull back but pauses his kissing, instead ran his hands over her body- checking for injuries- yes, her breast was very painful, her moan proved it... he kneaded the soft mounds further.
"Are you hurt, Guinevere?" lust over-whelming his voice, he pinched her nipple but instead of the moan he was expecting Gwen laughed.
"What?" he asked confused now.
"No, it's just Gaius's nephew just called me 'Guinevere' too. You just reminded me of him." Arthur's brows furrows, that's right. Gaius's nephew was supposed to come to Camelot today.

Curiosity mingles with jealousy that Guinevere was thinking of a stranger when he had basically been 'getting it on'. It leads him to ask, "Oh yeah? And how is he? Did you ask him what kind of a job he was looking for?" Gwen failed to hear the rising irritation in his voice, he had increased the distance between them- refusing to make out with her when she was literally thinking of another man.

Gwen's eyes become faraway and dreamy when she talks about the bloody nephew- more stabs of jealousy slash at him,
"Oh, Arthur! He is a complete gentleman. And he cooks! I was just there to deliver some water to Gaius but when I entered he was cooking breakfast, so he invited me to it! And it was so so good, it's probably the best food I have ever had. And, he is dreamily handsome to boot!" Gwen pauses there, finally noticing the dark look in Arthur's eyes and consoles him,

"You are still the most handsome man I have ever seen, Arthur." She kisses him deeply and Arthur starts getting in the mood again but soon Gwen stops and immediately after they part she continues, making Arthur frown dangerously, "But, there is a fae-like beauty to him, he could probably even compete with Morgana…." Gwen zones out at that, probably imagining the cursed nephew.

Arthur was starting to lose his temper. They had just kissed and Gwen had immediately reverted back to talking about the stranger rather than talk to him or better yet kiss him.
He gritted his teeth and left her alone in the alcove with her thoughts of the damned nephew.

It seemed like that this 'nephew' was not only stealing Gaius from him, but he was also taking Guinevere.
For some reason, his feet had already started taking him towards the Physician's chambers.

When he reaches it, he pauses to think of an excuse to be there- he suddenly remembers that he still needed the massage oil anyway.

He is about to push the door open when he hears Gaius's amused voice exclaim loudly from the other side of the door.

"Also my boy! what atrocity have you committed with your hair? And what is that scruff on your chin? You look like a ruffian! A certified rogue. I liked you better before, at least we could see your face and you looked less like a criminal offender." Arthur hears Gaius huffs loudly and in response, he hears a laughter. A melodious sound in itself - he feels his anger fade just listening to it...

Arthur stands for another minute, savouring this kind of relationship, which he didn't have with anyone. He wanted to feel how it was like having a family member that loved you so much that every word resonated with love like Gaius's did for his nephew.

He was awarded with another interaction, laughter still echoing in the background.

"And don't just stand there laughing like a monkey-," he hears Gaius go on in a hissy fit.
Another voice, younger, deeper cuts him off with another burst of melodious laughter,
"It's a… a hyena, Gaius." Laughter, taking a gigglier edge now.
Arthur can just imagine Gaius amused face at his nephew's laughter, alight with the joy of making him laugh.

Then he hears Gaius remark cheekily,
"Well, you laugh even worse that is why I said like a monkey with yellow teeth. But, as I was saying, don't just stand there, deliver these medicines for me. You know where!" at this even Arthur huffed out a laugh. 'A monkey with yellow teeth?!' Maybe Guinevere had mistaken and Gaius's nephew was ugly in reality and Gwen was just too good to say it. He smirks at that.

When he hears footsteps approaching the door, Arthur quickly leaves the corridor, deciding against entering instead he decides on going for around the marketplace. It should clear his head.

It was only later that he realised that he had forgotten the oil, again. He just shook his head and prayed, may God save his sprained shoulder.

Notes:

If you are confused by what Library does Merlin mention in the chapter - then let me clarify.
When Merlin was packing for Camelot, he also packed his minimised library.
Now the Library is filled with the books he has collected over the years, magical artefacts and many many other things. *It's massive*
The library also has a clinic- equipped with the state of the art tools- ready for use.

Merlin does not need electricity; his magic helps him run or charge anything. Like his iPod.

Also, Merlin meets Arthur in the next chapter! Sorry to keep you's hanging! But, it's written and just needs some editing so I will be updating the next chapter very SOON! Don't hate me. 3