"It's going to be alright" Merlin whispered it in Arthur's ear as they stood waiting on the cold asphalt of the bay, the water tower looming over them in the darkness.
"What's going to happen?" Arthur whispered back.
For the first time, Merlin could hear genuine fear in Arthur's voice, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. "I don't know." Merlin turned and looked directly into Arthur's eyes. "Arthur, I need you to know this; I will protect you with everything I have, including my life." He put his hand over Arthur's heart, and could feel it beating fast and hard behind his ribcage. "We are going to be alright." He said it again, this time with determination and assurance, in an assertive yet sweet sounding voice which made Arthur's heart melt. Merlin gently leant up and kissed Arthur softly, wrapping his arms around his shoulders in a sweet, warm and comforting hug. They broke apart just in time to see Jack pulling the SUV into the bay in a perfect 90 degree turn, and Tosh alighting the invisible lift, with a black standard Torchwood backpack. They looked at eachother and Merlin smiled his usual cheeky grin. He held out his hand and Arthur took it. "Better not keep them waiting!"
The SUV was cramped, but bearable as Jack hurtled towards the edge of town at hold-on-to-your-teeth-if-you-value-them speed.
"What is it we're actually facing, Jack?" Owen's voice sounded from somewhere in the back.
"I don't know. Something is affecting The Rift, maybe from the other side.
"So what's all the gear for?" Tosh's voice was muffled by the bag, and Owen, who was half sitting half kneeling in the centre of the car.
"I hope you don't suddenly stop, by the way. That windscreen doesn't look all that cushioning for my delicate skull" Owen braced himself against the front seats as the vehicle hurtled over potholes in the road.
"Relax, my driving is perfectly safe!" Jack spun the wheel and the car turned, or skidded, into a small crumbling entrance road. "And the gear is to make sure we're prepared for whatever The Rift has seen fit to present us with today."
"Yeah but we don't usually bring this much stuff!"
"Are we under usual circumstances?"
Tosh paused for a minute. "…no"
"Well then, better to be safe than sorry. Well better to be alive than dead and in a body bag at any case."
"Jack, please, bit much"
"Sorry, its just…oh, we're here. No time for sentiment I suppose. Come on, get moving!"
The team filed out of the car and assembled on the asphalt. "Where are we?"
"Not far away from the city centre, this place was once a tyre warehouse. Be careful if we need to go inside, the structure's very unstable, been standing for years"
"This is where Mafanwy came through" Ianto looked up at the structure and sighed. "Where I first met Jack"
"Ianto, this is not the time for reminiscing about the old days!" Jack slammed the door of the SUV with maybe a little too much force, making the whole team jump. As if on que, the old building sent out a wave of energy so strong it nearly knocked the team off their feet. Jack steadied himself and took in a deep breath. "Looks like something's about to join us!" He steadied himself against another pulse of energy and moved forwards.
"Jack!" Arthur called after him, "You can't go in there by yourself!"
"I can, I'll be fine"
"As a knight of Camelot, I will do my duty and help you" Arthur's hand went to where his sword would usually swing at his hip, but stopped when he realised it was missing. "It would be helpful if I had a weapon. Merlin, where's my sword?"
Merlin looked up. "I haven't got it"
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Merlin, how do you expect me to fight without a weapon?"
Merlin didn't have time to answer as an immense wave of energy shook the ground, and a blinding flash came from the warehouse. Then, the energy subsided, and the area was silent. Merlin looked at Arthur, and the team looked at eachother.
Slowly, Jack advanced towards the building, hand outstretcheched to keep the others back. He disappeared through the splintered door and into the dark abyss of the building. It was silent for a few minutes, and then a shout was heard. Immediately the team moved in, Tosh handing small guns to everybody. Merlin and Arthur inspected theirs with interest and held them like the others, as they slowly moved into the darkness and, letting their eyes adjust to the darkness.
Jack lay still and unmoving on the floor, and a few feet away a golden light was pulsing, the energy it was giving off was weaker now.
"Stay back, the rift is dangerous when it's unstable" Owen lowered his gun and gave the others the signal to do so.
Jack sat up and looked around, before picking himself up off of the floor. "Ouch! Note to self: Never underestimate the shit that thing outs out!" He joined the others and studied the feeble glow in the centre of the warehouse. "It's dying out." He turned to the others. "Tosh, do you have the portable manipulator?"
Tosh delved into the bag and found the object. She handed it to Jack, who turned towards the rift and closed the portal. "There, that should close it."
"Did anything come through?"
"Just another weevil. It ran off somewhere, we can track it later."
"No point" Owen voiced up from the darkness. "It will just melt away into the millions of other weevils we're overrun with."
"I suppose" Jack sighed and stretch. "Well, we'd better get back to the hub. The pizza's probably gone cold now."
"How long has it been now?" Uther sat in his throne, head supported on the heel of his hand. "I forget."
"It's been four weeks now, sire" Gaius stood before him, stomach churning nervously.
"He's my only son. I can't believe…I don't want to believe it." Uther's voce caught in his throat. He couldn't bear the thought of his only son dead; it was too horrible a thought. "It was my fault."
"No, don't say that, it wasn't and you know it." Gaius stepped closer and put a comforting hand on Uther's. Uther looked up, with eyes brimming with tears.
"It was. I refused to let him go. I should have taken further measures." He paused and took in a shuddering breath. "He's my only son!" With that, the king let the tears spill over. Gaius took him into an awkward hug and let him cry. After a few minutes, Uther's sobs subsided and he straightened up. Wiping his eyes with the back of his hands, he sat back on his throne, looking more like a small boy than the mighty and ruthless king he was. "Sorry" he apologised.
The apology took Gaius by surprise, but he managed to keep it quiet. "It's okay. Even the king has to cry at some point."
"Gaius, you've always been such a good friend, you know that?"
Gaius just nodded. "Thank you, sire."
Suddenly, Uther was sombre king again. "So you think its sorcery?"
"I'm certain of it. From what the knights and several people from the lower village have told me, I can't think of any other logical explanation."
"I see. Well the sorcerer hasn't been found yet, but I pray to god when they are they can bring Arthur back to us, dead or alive."
"You and I both, sire"
"You may leave" Uther nodded for Gaius to be let out. "Thank you, by the way."
"Pleasure." Gaius bowed and left the huge room, breathing a silent sigh of relief.
"Well, that was a waste of time" Owen grumbled as the team ambled back into the hub.
"Really? We managed to shut down another node, thus preventing any unwanted debris or creatures visiting us!" Gwen shot back
"She has a point" Jack chuckled as he plonked himself down in a conveniently placed chair.
"Can't win with you!" Owen sighed and went up to the briefing room. He reappeared several minutes later with the pizza. "The pizza's gone cold aswell!"
"I can fix that" Merlin put in, and focused hard on the box. "Forbearne" the word sounded different and chilling to Arthur's ears, and they were al taken aback when the pizza boxes burst into flames.
"Shit!" Owen threw the burning box to the floor and waved his hand like a madman.
Merlin looked at the box and his eyes flashed golden. The flames died instantly.
"Oops…" Merlin looked apologetically at Owen. "Sorry. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, that scared me!"
"I don't blame you" Merlin picked up the pizza and opened the box. "Oh, it's a bit burnt." He held up a black and rather burnt looking slice. "Hope you like it chargrilled!"
"We could scrape off the burnt bits?" Tosh put in helpfully.
"Tosh, the whole thing is a burnt bit!" Owen shot back, receiving a snort of laughter from Arthur.
"Its okay, I'll order some more." Ianto went off to order the pizza, and the team dispersed into their various jobs.
"Tosh, could you put a tab on the rift?"
"Already on it" Tosh sat down at her computer and within seconds her fingers were flying across the keyboard. "Hey Merlin, Arthur, come and look at this."
Merlin and Arthur stood behind Tosh, looking at the monitor she was pointing to. "Thought you might find this interesting." Tosh pointed to a tall spike on a long chart she had spread out across two monitors. "This is when you came through, Merlin, you see? And this is when Arthur came through. You both used a lot of energy getting here." She paused to make sure they were still following. "The rift spikes massively when anything living comes through, which is why we felt your arrivals."
"What exactly is the rift?" Arthur studied the chart with interest, marvelling at how they could map energy, and how the machines they were using worked.
"The rift is a rip, a gap in the space-time continuum. We don't know why it is there, or how it came to be there, or even how it works, but it is there, and occasionally things fall through. In this case it was you two. We need to wait for there to be a spike at the same frequency, and another node to open for you to be able to get back."
"Wow, that's really clever!" Merlin was studying the chart with the same interest as Arthur.
"How long will it take?" Arthur was desperate to get home, to be where he belonged.
"We don't know. This will tell us pressure is building and this thing here" she pointed to another, smaller scale that was constantly moving, the line peaking and unpeaking, almost like a heartbeat, "this is mapping the internal activity of the rift, what's happening inside it, and this" she pointed to another scale, which looked similar but it only had one line, and a constantly changing dial at one side. "This maps the frequency." Tosh smiled. "I set all this up the day Merlin arrived; I knew it would be needed as soon as possible. Jack's a fast thinker, but he's not one for thinking ahead, that's my job!"
"This is…I never imagined…" Arthur was lost for words at the lengths Tosh had gone to to monitor this thing that had brought them to this alien world. "Thank you."
"It's nothing; it's what I'm here for!" Tosh turned back to the computer and resumed typing, blushing at the prince's gratitude. Merlin and Arthur wandered around the hub, unsure of what to do. After a while, they found themselves drifting towards the cell block, and before long they were sitting in the same cell they had been earlier that day.
"Merlin?" Arthur was hugging his knees and resting his head on his knees.
"Yes?" Merlin was almost sitting in the same position, but with his head resting against the wall.
"Tell me more about magic." The comment took Merlin off guard, and he smiled at Arthur's interest, and relief that he wasn't hostile about it.
"Magic, well, it's hard to explain. People like me, sorcerers, are born with it." Merlin smiled. "Watch this." He closed his hands and his eyes flashed golden. When he opened his hand a small flame was flickering, Merlin raised his hand and the flame rose, dancing in the air. With one flick of his wrist, it died out.
"Wow" Arthur breathed, and Merlin smiled. "What else can you do?"
"Lots of things" Merlin raised one eyebrow and Arthur snorted. "The amount of times I've saved your sorry little royal arse, it's not even funny! It's a wonder how you even managed to survive without me!"
"Beats me!" Arthur put an arm round his manservant and looked deep into his eyes. "When I met you, when I first saw you, I knew. I knew you were sent to Camelot for me, to be part of me. I'm the armour and you're the sword, we're two halves of the same book"
"We're two sides of the same coin" Merlin smiled, relishing in the warmth that their love gave him. Without warning, Merlin pressed his lips against Arthur's and the two of them engulfed eachother in a wrap of arms in a warm, strong hug which spoke of love and destiny, and Merlin knew, that that moment was meant to be, and it was what he was sent for, that they were both meant to be, and maybe their visit to this strange, wonderful alien land that was Cardiff, was meant to be, to bring them together. They broke apart after what seemed like eternity and smiled at eachother. "You've gone bright red" Merlin chuckled, and kissed Arthur again. Arthur kissed him back and then they sat together, smiling into eachother's eyes.
"I think we should take this further" Arthur smiled and whispered it into Merlin's ear, sending a pink blush into his cheeks, and flutters of anticipation running riot in his stomach. He fumbled for words, and looked up into Arthur's eyes, and saw the light of excitement and life burning bright in them. He smiled, gulped back a nervous laugh and nodded.
With shaking fingers, Arthur removed his shirt, goosepimples immediately surfacing at the chill in the air. Merlin took off his own shirt, and Arthur was taken aback at how skinny and pale he was. Merlin smiled and his hands moved down to his trousers, provoking Arthur to get a very noticeable erection. Merlin giggled and Arthur blushed as he watched Merlin undress until he was standing in nothing but his boots. Merlin casually leant on the wall and watched Arthur hurriedly strip from the rest of his clothes. They eyed eachother up, and Merlin knew his ears had gone crimson.
"Well, are you ready?" Arthur said it with a low, husky voice, which had Merlin's inner self baying for it to happen already. He nodded, suddenly aware of how much he wanted this, how much he had been wanting it from the start.
When it happened, Merlin couldn't think of a better place to be. As his hips gently moved with Arthur, warmth seemed to surround them both, Arthur's moans seemed to synchronise with his own. At first, it was a mixture of feelings, loving, exiting, awkward and amazing, and Merlin found these feelings hard to handle. The feelings seemed to well up inside him, and engulf the two in a swirl of emotions as they moved in synch with eachother. When Merlin reached orgasm, he couldn't believe how good it felt, it felt as if there was no-one else in the world, just him and Arthur, and it felt like time had stood still. He wished it had, so that he could stay in that moment forever. He cried a little, and he didn't know why. Maybe it was the realisation that they could be together like this, and that Arthur really did love him in the same way he did, or maybe all these emotions rushing through his body needed to be let out somehow.
After, Merlin and Arthur sat on the floor, breathing heavily, Merlin rested his head against Arthur's chest and Arthur put his arm around him.
"Wow! That was…" Arthur laughed. "Magical"
Merlin smiled. "It was" He yawned. "I never thought…I never..."
"Shhhh," Arthur smiled. "Come here" He leaned down and kissed Merlin, gently and firmly at the same time. It made Merlin feel warm all the way down to his toes, and made his heart melt.
Merlin and Arthur eventually emerged from the cell block, looking sheepish and tired. Jack gave them a knowing wink and thumbs up, which made them both, blush crimson. Jack chuckled and walked over.
"So, you two finally…" He did an action to save voicing it out loud, making them blush even more. Merlin nodded. "Well done! You beat me to it, Merlin!"
Merlin hit him "Hey!"
"Fighting over me are we?" Arthur was trying hard to conceal a grin, and raised one eyebrow, making all three of them burst into laughter.
"Jack, I'm going now. Arthur, you can stay with me" Gwen appeared and looked at the giggling three with a knowing look. "Jack, you're embarrassing them!"
"Aw, come on, I'm only having a laugh!"
"It's okay" Merlin reassured her and smiled at Jack. "See you tomorrow!"
Arthur followed Merlin and Gwen out of the hub, feeling as if he was enclosed in a bubble of happiness. He was tired, but he couldn't wait to be alone with Merlin one more time.