Evermore
Chapter 3: In Your Eyes through Mine
Characters~ Arthur & Merlin
Disclaimer~ Yeah—don't own Merlin in any way, shape, or form. (Arthur does XD)
Warnings~ young prince!Arthur and young poor!Merlin, some OOC because they're kids, and fluffy slash/shounen-ai ~wO
Notes from the KIT-chan~
Still not much to say. ^^";
Whole plot's based on a true story short, though this is much different. n_n";
Enjoy~ :D
.::.*~Kitsune Shadow~*.::.
~o~
It had been about 9:00 in the morning when Merlin had woken up half-dazed, his head almost spinning.
The raven had groaned, sitting up to sift his hand through his messy, jet black hair.
Where am I?
At that moment, he'd let out a sigh, groggily opening his eyes to see the beige walls and hardwood flooring of his room, and immediately, he'd snapped back to reality right then and there, his breath hitching.
How did I...get back all the way over here? Merlin had thought to himself with wide eyes. At the same time, the events of last night had slowly begun to reoccur in his mind, making him feel uneasy as he'd remembered running away from home.
The raven's eyes had widened with apprehension as he aimlessly looked around the room with a shocked expression on his face.
I don't even know where I'd ended up last night, so how in the world did I—
In an instant, he'd stiffened when he'd heard soft snoring beside his bed and tentatively turned to glance down at the floor to catch a glimpse of Arthur Pendragon lying on the floor.
The blonde had been sleeping at that moment, on a makeshift bed made of leftover pillows that Merlin had usually kept under his bed. His face had been almost angelic to the raven, a fair complexion calm and serene with slumber.
For a minute, the raven had felt a strange weight being lifted from his chest, and his eyes had softened as he recalled the familiar warmth that he'd felt the other night, reaching up to put his hand over his chest as it began to beat faster and faster just as it did before.
Of course.
At that moment, Merlin had paused to smile slightly at the sleeping prince before him, then got up from his bed to reach for the blanket he'd had draped over his legs and pulled it over his shoulder, Arthur fussing a little before going back to sleep.
After all had been quiet again, the raven had closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, leaving the room to go downstairs.
~o~
Merlin was almost lucky that none of his siblings had woken up yet, since usually around this time they'd be up to meet him downstairs for breakfast.
But each and every one of them were asleep in their beds, and soon after he'd reached the last door, the raven had proceeded to tiptoe downstairs with the intention of going out to find breakfast for his brothers and sisters while it was still early in the morning.
However, he'd been more than halfway down the steps...when he'd realised in an instant that to his surprise, the kitchen table was already set up with paper plates, plastic utensils, and...food that actually wasn't scraps.
It was indeed, real food, hot and fresh, the smell of it almost mouth-watering to him at that point. At that moment, just as he had approached the threshold, his eyes widened and mouth dropped with awe and disbelief.
Who could have done this?
Almost immediately, numerous thoughts had begun to flood Merlin's head, turning his mind this way and that. But then he had held his breath in an instant when he had heard a loud yawn from behind and whirled around to see a tired blonde leaning against the threshold, rubbing his eyes.
"It wasn't that easy carrying you all the way back, if you must know."
The young Pendragon had let out a sigh before looking into the other's shocked eyes, raising an amused eyebrow at him. "Do you like it?"
At that moment, the raven had been all but speechless, still gawking at the blonde with wide eyes. At first, he stood stiff where he was, but then he finally managed to swallow and breathe before opening his mouth to speak barely intelligible words.
"Arthur..." he'd croaked, slowly glancing back at the delicious food. "You mean...you did all this by yourself?"
There was a pause.
After a few seconds, Merlin had exhaled sharply before turning around to face the young prince again, only to find him with nothing but a smug grin on his face as he took a few steps forward until he was almost standing right in front of him.
"Yeah," Arthur had replied, his sapphire blue eyes glimmering with happiness that instant. "I did."
At that moment, the raven had gulped as he gazed timidly up at the latter, then tried to speak again.
"But how did you—"
The blonde had chuckled lightly for a minute before answering him confidently. "Don't worry about it—it's not stolen or anything like that." He glanced back at the window. "Despite the fact that we're all part of the royal family, my mother actually knows a lot of the common people that live here, including the merchants that sell food in the markets that you visit so often. So I went out early in the morning while you were asleep to gather up whatever I could manage to get from them," he finished, pointing at the table.
In that instant, Merlin had looked back in amazement, then turned back to Arthur with a stunned expression on his face. "Good heavens..."
Suddenly, his eyes bulged as he'd realised yet another detail and whirled around to stare at the prince open-mouthed. "But wait a second—wouldn't anyone have seen you, then? What if they tell your father that you—"
"I know for a fact that the people I talked to wouldn't because they were too good of friends to my mother, so they wouldn't dare," Arthur cut in abruptly with a clever smile. "Besides relatively everyone else was asleep when I went out, so not a lot could see me then. And I was wearing a cloak to disguise myself, so there you go," he added with a small laugh.
For a minute, Merlin had paused, taking some time to somehow grasp all that was occurring to him just now, still confused by how much the young prince had risked for him alone...
But finally after a while, he managed to look up at Arthur again and spoke just above a hushed whisper.
"...why did you do all this...for me?"
Silence.
Then soon, Arthur's face grew kind and serious. "Because...I really wanted to make it up to you."
At this, Merlin nodded slowly, turning his thoughts over and over in his mind.
But then the blonde had grinned slightly and spoke again, lowering his eyes. "With that being said..." he began in a soft tone, carefully putting his hand on the other's shoulder.
"Can I ask...if we can start over? From the very beginning?"
At that moment, Merlin raised his head to look straight into Arthur's eyes.
Both had looked at each other for a long while, observing the different gleams each had in one another's eyes.
After a few more seconds, Merlin had managed to grin back and nodded once at the blonde in agreement.
"I'd like that very much."
Arthur laughed. Then he sighed and lightly patted the other's shoulder: "All right then," he exhaled, taking his hand off of Merlin's shoulder
At the same time, Merlin watched the blonde patiently with a curious expression on his face.
Before long, Arthur took another deep breath and gazed into his bright blue eyes.
"So..." he began, slowly extending his hand out to the raven with a winsome expression on his face. "I'm Arthur."
At that moment, Merlin couldn't help but chuckle a little before finally taking the latter's hand with a genuine smile.
"Merlin."
~o~
From that point forward, the two had spent more time with each other, what with Arthur helping Merlin take care of his siblings and even play with them every now and then out in front of the woods behind the house.
"Merlin, over here!" Arthur had cried while jumping to the side with his arms outstretched.
In that instant, Merlin had smiled before receiving the ball from Diana's hands and throwing it at the blonde.
Most of the time, nothing but children's laughter could be heard from behind the Emrys home, though no one had ever thought to think that the Prince of Wales was hiding in the same spot.
But likewise from that experience, a new bond had begun to form between the two boys, each moment that they'd find themselves looking into each other's eyes, and for Merlin, it had been the first time ever that he'd felt feelings this strong for someone other than his family...
~o~
The days had passed in that week, and it hadn't been until much later that there had finally been a night where Arthur had been looking vigilant out the window as his father's security guards patrolled the streets while Merlin was busy behind him getting ready for bed in his nightclothes.
"They've been out there for days now..." the blonde had murmured in a soft voice filled with concern. "Do you think they're still looking for me?"
At that moment, Merlin sighed and pulled the covers. "I don't know...but I'm pretty sure that they are. Be careful not to get to close to the window, otherwise they'll see you from here."
In that instant, Arthur nodded once and slightly back away from the windowsill.
Then it was silent between them soon after.
"Merlin?"
The raven pursed his lips before responding timidly. "Yeah?"
There was another pause.
"Would you be happy if...if I went back with my family?"
At first, Merlin didn't answer. But then he stopped to think hard about the other's question.
"...I don't know—would it make you happy?"
At that moment, Arthur frowned and continued to gaze out at the night sky, guards still outside changing shifts.
"I don't know."
Silence.
At this, Merlin's eyes couldn't help but soften and he looked down. "Arthur...I only say I don't know because I'm not the one with your feelings. What you want to do is what you want to do."
No reply.
In that instant, the raven closed his eyes and clutched the sheets before speaking just below a whisper.
"But if there's anything that'll make you feel happy...then I guess I'll be happy as well."
At that moment, Arthur's eyes had widened upon hearing his words and held his breath as he glanced back to see the solemn expression on the other's face. Then he turned away from the windowsill to sit next to Merlin on the bed.
At first, there was more silence between them.
But not long after that...Arthur had lowered his eyes and absent-mindedly reached over to take Merlin's finger, a soft look on his face.
Instinctively, Merlin flinched slightly and looked up into the blonde's eyes.
At that, he had smiled at the raven before giving his finger a small squeeze.
"...thank you, Merlin."
For a minute, the raven held his breath and stared intently into the other's eyes.
Then he looked down at their intertwined fingers and warmly smiled back at the prince.
"...no problem."
~o~
The next morning, Merlin had woken up earlier than usual, only to be surprised in seeing Arthur packing his bag next to him.
"What are you doing?" the raven had yawned, stretching his arms out in front of him.
At that moment, Arthur stiffened where he was, then looked over at Merlin with a serious expression on his face. "I'm going home."
For a minute, Merlin paused to think once more, then managed to grin back at the blonde.
"All right—I'll come with you then," he replied, his eyes eager.
At this, Arthur couldn't help but smile at Merlin, then glanced over at the other side of the room where his cloak was, draped over a nearby stool.
"Get that for me?" he asked expectantly with a raised eyebrow.
In that instant, the raven chuckled in amusement and rolled his eyes playfully. "Yes, sire," he spoke in a sarcastic tone.
~o~
In the next hour, Merlin and Arthur had carefully and quietly made their way across the street until the two of them were finally standing in front of the Pendragon manor.
Then Merlin had gone so far as to hide behind the bushes just as Arthur raised his hand to ring the doorbell to his home.
Ding-dong.
After a few minutes of waiting, both had heard faint footsteps approaching the front, getting louder and louder each second.
And then...not long after that, the door had finally opened to reveal a tall, blonde-haired Queen Ygraine, dressed in satin and bearing a complexion as fair as her son's, standing wide-eyed in the midst of the threshold.
"Arthur?"
In that instant, the Prince looked up at her and smiled kindly before she had finally taken him into a big bear hug and pulled him inside, thrilled to see her one and only child alive and well after searching for him for more than a few days.
At the same time while this was happening, Merlin couldn't help but smile and glance over at the nearest window to see Mrs. Pendragon showering Arthur with kisses, the two of them laughing and smiling delightedly at each other.
The raven's eyes softened upon experiencing the very sight, almost remembering the times he'd felt the same way when his family had once been complete and happy...
After a few more minutes, Merlin had closed his eyes and let out a sigh before turning away from the window to make his way back home.
Although he hadn't quite seen at that moment...how Arthur had brought himself to shift his eyes towards the window—just in time to see his dear friend begin leaving the front porch.
At first, he didn't know what to do that instant, other than just watch him helplessly with the pain of separation deep down in the very core of his heart. But not long after that, a thought had finally occurred to him, and his face had soon lit up before he'd eventually turned to tug eagerly at his mother's sleeve.
"Yes, Arthur?" Ygraine had murmured, leaning her head down to listen to anything her son had to say at that moment.
In that instant, the blonde had smiled as he briskly whispered into her ear.
~o~
Merlin had just been about to step on the sidewalk when he'd heard the door open again and heard Arthur call from behind.
"Wait—Merlin."
At that moment, the raven's breath had hitched slightly as he'd stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the blonde standing on the front step with a small white cardboard box in his hands.
"Yeah?" the nine-year-old had replied, curiously gazing at the young blonde.
But before he could say anything more, Arthur had extended his hands out to give him the box he was holding, filled with what seemed like a bunch of freshly made chocolate chip cookies...
In that instant, Merlin had slowly reached over to take the box, looking up at him questioningly.
The blonde had laughed at that moment as he opened his mouth to speak.
"My mum made these a while ago. Thought your brothers and sisters might like them later."
At this, Merlin smiled with delight and slightly lifts the cover of the box to sniff the cookies.
"Wow...they smell great," he murmured before looking up at Arthur with a grateful expression on his face. "Thanks."
"Same to you," Arthur replied, nodding in approval. "For everything."
At that moment, Merlin couldn't help but laugh softly at him.
But then all of a sudden, Arthur's face grew solemn, and Merlin immediately grew quiet.
Silence.
"...promise me one thing though," the blonde had muttered, lowering his eyes for a minute with a reluctant countenance.
At that moment, Merlin's eyes became filled with concern. "What?" he asked, a storm of thoughts flooding his mind all over again. "What could possibly be...?"
Before he could say another word...he had looked down to see Arthur calmly reach over to take Merlin's finger in his hand one more time with a small smirk.
"Promise me...that this won't be the last time I'll ever see you again."
Instantly, the raven's eyes had widened.
But then after a long while, he managed to look up into Arthur's eyes to see that they were shimmering as usual, with that unique warmth that had always managed to make its way into the core of his very heart.
And soon after that...a genuine smile had appeared on Merlin's face, and he'd opened his mouth to speak in a soft but clear whisper.
"I promise."
~o~
Music on My Mind~ Close to You by The Carpenters (don't own this or any of the other songs I've mentioned previously ^^";)
Notes from the KIT-chan~
Reviews would be much appreciated~ :D
Hope you guys enjoyed—next update'll be up as soon as possible, though I've got effin' SAT(I)'s to study for this weekend. _"; But I promise I'll manage. That way you all know what to do if I don't come back...just kidding. XD
Ja~ =^w^=
.::.*~Kitsune Shadow~*.::.