"Merlin, what are you wearing?" Arthur asked in several octaves too high. He did not like Merlin's shirt.

"What?" asked the eleven year old, looking down at it. "I'm Irish. It suits me."

Indeed, it did. It was one of those "Kiss me, I'm Irish!" shirts. Merlin had worn it in honor of his heritage and because his others were dirty.

Arthur was near shaking. He was angry. "You really want random people to kiss you?"

Merlin laughed, infuriating the blonde further. "Really? It's just a saying; you know that. I knew you were messing with me!" He playfully elbowed his friend in the ribs as they started to walk to school.

"Wait! Wait for me!" cried a voice. Arthur groaned and tried to pull Merlin along.

"C'mon," Merlin pleaded, giving him the puppy dog eyes. "She's your sister."

They waited and Morgana caught up with them. She read Merlin's shirt and smiled. "Well," she said coyly. "I'm willing to take that offer."

The raven's eyes widened and Arthur snarled. "Really?" they both asked.

Morgana blushed. "Ummm…yeah."

"Okay."

Morgana stood there for a moment, shell shocked that she'd been taken seriously, then boldly walked up to him and planted a firm kiss on Merlin's cheek. The raven blushed and Arthur pulled him away, dragging his best friend down the street at an alarming speed.

"Ar-Arthur, stop! You're hurting me!"

Those were the magic words. The blonde stopped and gave Merlin an apologetic look.

"What's up?" Merlin asked, raised eyebrows. Arthur shook his head. "C'mon, you can tell me."

"Is your shirt old?" the blonde asked instead of answering. Merlin nodded, slightly confused. "Do you care if it gets ruined?"

The younger boy snorted. "I have three more like this at home."

"Okay, close your eyes," Arthur commanded. When Merlin didn't, he took the red neckerchief off his friend's neck and pulled it over his eyes.

Merlin wasn't really sure what was happening, but he heard Arthur rummaging through something, then the very audible sound of a cap being taken off a marker.

"Arthur! What are you doing?!" Merlin suddenly felt the tip of something being pressed first in his chest, then in his stomach. The neckerchief was then pulled back down to his neck, having him see a very smug looking Arthur.

The raven looked down and gasped, turning red. His shirt now said "Don't Kiss me, I'm Arthur's." The word "Irish" was crossed out with a red marker.

"There," the blonde said, slinging back on his backpack and taking Merlin's hand. "Now we won't have to worry about any creepers that just want to snog."

Merlin was quiet the whole way up to school, contemplating what it meant by "I'm Arthur's." He knew his friend was always protective and possessive of him, but did he really see Merlin as no more than a piece of property? Well, that's what he thought being Arthur's meant.

He stopped outside the school's steps, breaking his hand away from Arthur's. "Arthur," he started.

"Merlin," Arthur said, not looking at him. "C'mon, were going to be late."

"Arthur," Merlin tried again. "What do you mean by this?" He indicated his shirt.

The blonde turned around and didn't answer. The raven touched his shoulder and suddenly….the world turned upside down. Merlin had no idea what was happening, but he knew whatever it was it felt good. He didn't want it to stop. It made his stomach fly, his heart flutter, his breath stop. He liked it.

Arthur pulled away, and rested his forehead against Merlin's. "That's what I mean," he panted. They had just kissed. "You're mine, Merlin."

The raven blushed. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you felt like this?"

Arthur smiled. "Always."

It then started. It was slow at first, only holding hands and throwing each other affectionate looks (they were only eleven and twelve, remember). It progressed to regular kisses on the cheek and occasionally "dates."

Dates for them consisted of just hanging out, like before, but now it involved more physical contact (if was possible; they were always were touching when they "just friends").

"Merlin?" Arthur asked on an occasion like that. They were sitting under their tree, Merlin resting on top of Arthur. The raven turned to face him, making their face inches apart. "Merlin," he started again, almost getting lost in those blue eyes. "I think…I think…" he couldn't find the right words.

Merlin smiled. "I know."

Arthur sighed. "Merlin, you are the most wonderful person I have ever met."

The raven shook his head. "No I'm not. I'm nothing."

The blonde was shocked. "Merlin…you're not nothing. I can't believe you would even think that."

"Hear it enough times and it becomes true," he muttered, placing his head on Arthur's chest.

"What?" Arthur shot up, but somehow still clutched Merlin to him. "Who tells you you're nothing?"

"It's okay. I've been called worse."

"Merlin," Arthur growled. "Was it Cedric and Valiant? I'll-"

"Do nothing," Merlin said without any emotion. "You'll do nothing, because it wasn't them. Honestly, it's true though; I'm nothing. I'm not worth anything. I don't matter. No one cares about me, except for you."

Arthur hugged him to his chest. "You do matter. You're worth everything. You are everything. You're my everything."

Merlin shook his head. "My own mother doesn't care about me. She left when I was three and Cenred filed for custody. He doesn't care about me either.

"My mother loved me though, even if she barley showed it. Cenred doesn't love me. He acts like he does, but that's just so he can get the child support money. I hate him. I hate him and I can't escape." Merlin closed his eyes and Arthur sat back as he curled tighter to him.

"Merlin…." Arthur mumbled. He really wasn't sure what to say. "Merlin, you're the strongest person I know. Not physically. More like emotionally. You're the only person I know who's been through that."

"That's not even half of it," the younger boy said, something not right about his voice. "But the rest I can't tell."

"Why not?"

"I can't. If I do, bad things will happen." A tear slipped out of Merlin's eye.

"What type?"

The raven shuddered. "I don't want to think about it."

"Merlin…."

"Really. It's just…..let's just say it would be painful." The boy began shaking slightly and he put his head over Arthur's heart, body language the blonde had noticed in a lot in the past year.

"Merlin, I will never let anything hurt you," Arthur promised. "You don't have to be afraid."

Merlin sighed. "But I am. Cen – people are mean. They're cruel. They hurt each other. They kill each other."

"And I'll never let those people near you." He kissed his friend on the temple. "Merlin, I will always protect you."

"C'mon Merlin!" Arthur cheered at the annual school soccer match. It was the sixth grade verses the seventh grade, and their team was sure to win

Arthur had played most of the game, being the athlete he was, but this was Merlin's first time up all game. It also just happened to be the last two minutes, too.

Merlin seemed a little lost. He just followed whoever had the ball currently, and hoped that they wouldn't pass to him. Unfortunately, fate decided to hate him and some idiot kicked him the ball. The raven stared at it for a moment, and then tried to dribble it. He was almost the whole way down the field when a huge seventh grader, twice his size, stepped in front of him. Merlin panicked and kicked the ball, sending it flying. It hit the goalie in the face and bounced. Somehow, it landed in the net. At that moment, fate was kind.

The official blew his whistle. The game was over and sixth grade had won. Arthur ran over to Merlin, pulling him in a tight hug, then holding him at arm's length. "You were fantastic! At the end, I was sure he was going to pummel you, but then you kicked it…just wow!"

Merlin grinned. "You were great too! We wouldn't have won if you hadn't scored all those points."

They chatted for a while longer, singing each other's praises. Arthur ran his hands up and down Merlin's arms once. He noticed something funny. Before he could inspect more, a dark shadow was on them.

"Great game boys," said Cenred, smiling as usual. He had a jacket in his hand. "I watched the whole thing."

Arthur smiled back. He knew Merlin hated him, but, all and all, he was a nice man.

"Thanks Cenred," Merlin said, not making eye contact. The man suddenly pulled his step-son closer to him and wrapped the jacket around his shoulders, even though it was quite warm out. It was huge and it covered Merlin's arms. "Well, Merly and I should be off. Got things to do tonight." At that, they turned and left, Merlin looking ever so nervous.

Arthur smiled after them, then turned to find his own family. He spotted Morgana a mile off. Jogging over, he was in for a surprise.

"Father?" he asked incredulously. Uther smiled at his son.

"I got off from work on time and I caught the last quarter of the game," he explained. "Brilliant playing, though you need to work on your aim." That was Uther, a compliment then a criticism.

"Thanks," Arthur said, feeling shy. His father never showed up for anything.

"I saw you talking with your friend, Marvin? No, wait – Merlin. I saw you talking to your friend, Merlin, earlier, but who was that man that walked away with him?" His father's sudden curiosity struck Arthur as somewhat odd.

"That was Cenred, his step-father," he answered. "Why?"

"Uther's eyes narrowed. "Nothing. I just recognize his step-father from one of my past jobs."

"Which job, Daddy?" Morgana asked sweetly. She loved hearing about his many adventures.

"It was when I worked in the court system," he answered. At their impressed looks, he chuckled slightly. "No, it's not as interesting as it sounds. I used to file custody orders for people, make restraining orders, and take notes in court. It was really boring."

"Did Merlin's step-father work with you?"

Uther shook his head. "No. He was a client. He had a restraining order filed against him by his wife, for physical and mental abuse. There was no proof and they found she was an alcoholic, as there were beer bottles all over the house. She was sent to rehab and he got full custody of her son."

"Wow," said Arthur. "With all that drama, it doesn't sound like a boring job."

Uther smiled. "Alright, it had it perks. But after a while, all those cases got depressing. Luckily, my other career took off and I could quit."

There was no more words said on the subject as they set off to find their car, but something was nagging at the back of Arthur's mind.

Something to do with Merlin.

A/N: Hey guys. This chapter felt weird too, like something wasn't right. *shrugs* I'll probably find some typo in it and feel stupid for days. Oh well.

Well, anyways, I went back and fixed that Gwen/Alice typo in the first chapter. Okay, that's it.

Ummm...so have any of you seen the movie "Parked" with Colin Morgan in it? (Sorry, watched it for the first time last night.) It's the best and saddest movie ever. I cried so much at the end (maybe 'cause I'm a softie). Seriously, I hadn't cried that much since the time I found out how "Merlin" ended. Wow, this is getting off topic of the story...(sorry, I just really liked that movie and have no one to talk about it with.)

Yeah, so I'm thinking about doing a companion to this fic, like one through Merlin's point of view, so you can see what Cenred does. I don't know...just an idea.

And, as always, thank you so much to all the reviewers! All of you get virtual cookies! or virtual pandas! (take your pick.)

:)