Day Seven: Cosplaying

Merlin and Castiel sat on the couch, waiting for Dean and Arthur to get dressed. Merlin wore black dress pants, a white button down, a long black cloak, and a green and silver tie. He twirled a wand he fashioned from a stick in his hand. Castiel was sprawled out next to him, his black jacket thrown across the back of the couch. Cas wore swamp green pants, a black t-shirt and, combat boots.

Merlin huffed, "What the bloody hell is taking them so long? The convention starts in thirty minutes and we still need to actually get out the door. Arthur!"

Merlin turned to look at the bedroom door, expecting it to open. There was no answer.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous. We should just go without them, Cas. It's not like they wanted to go anyway." Merlin frowned and fiddled with his wand.

Cas sat up straight and leaned towards Merlin, "We played soccer for them, they can do this for us." Merlin gave Cas a half-hearted smile.

It was true, if Arthur and Dean wanted Cas and Merlin to get down and dirty playing soccer, sweat, blood, and sprained wrist, then they could attend a convention and cosplay with them.

Cas stood up and marched over to Dean's door. He pounded on the door, "Dean! Come on, it's not that hard to put your clothes on! What's taking you?"

"Cas…I look ridiculous!" He yelled, muffled by the door. Cas tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Dean, let's go! We're getting impatient! At least I didn't make you go as a Disney prince!" Cas wanted to desperately go as Aladdin and Dean would be Flynn Rider, but Dean down right refused.

Cas heard shuffling on the other side, a click, and then the door opened. Dean stood in the door frame, a perturbed look on his face. Cas took a step back and admired the man in front of him. Dean wore a black track type suit, red and silver stripes ran down his short sleeves and down the sides of his pants. He was also wearing combat boots.

Cas smiled, "You look great! You still need the paint thou-"

"No, I am not putting paint on my face!"

"But you're Peeta, Dean! Just a little bit, like you're practicing! That's what he does in the books…" Cas trailed off, feeling a bit offended. Dean noticed Cas' mood change.

"Fine, I'll put the paint on." He turned back into his room just as Arthur came out of Cas' room.

Merlin bounded over to Arthur, who wore the same thing he was, except his had gold and scarlet colors.

Merlin beamed at him and held him by the front of his cloak, "There's my Gryffindor." He stood up and planted a kiss on Arthur's lips.

Arthur lifted his arms and examined them, "Merlin, do I really have to prance around with this cloak on? It's so…"

"Perfect," Merlin said, cutting him off, "You look great!"

Ten minutes later, they were finally out the door. Merlin and Arthur both had their Hogwarts attire on and wands in hand. Dean had his camouflage paint on his face, with help from Cas, of course. Cas was just as surprised as Dean at Cas' ability to draw a leafy, rocky design on part of his face and neck. Cas had his bow and arrows slung over his shoulder.

Both couples held hands as they walked down the streets of London towards the park, where the summer convention was being held. It was an annual thing that the university put together to celebrate the end of another year. They had merch stands for a good chunk of the fandoms, concerts all day long, craft stands (where one could enhance their costume to take it to the next level), costume contests, deep, thought provoking discussion groups, and tons of food from all over the world (all fandom inspired of course).

It was their first time going and Merlin and Cas had brought it up to Dean and Arthur, begging them to join in on the fun. Then trying to pick a fandom was a whole other problem. All four of them were broke college students, so they couldn't up and buy their costumes. Cas and Merlin actually spent a whole day learning how to sew so they could put the red and silver stripes on Dean's costume and the Hogwarts badges on Merlin and Arthur's cloaks.

"I still think Merlin and Arthur should've gone as, well, Merlin and Arthur," Dean said.

"And where, may I ask, would we get chain mail and swords and a beard for Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Who said Merlin has to have a beard? He was young at some point you know. Maybe he wore…" Merlin looked to the sky, pondering what fashion Merlin would have donned in Camelot, "…a handkerchief! And servant type clothes. He was, after all, a commoner."

Arthur nudged Merlin's arm with his elbow, laughing, "Well, still, I wouldn't want to cosplay as them."

"Why not?" Cas asked.

"Because Arthur dies in the end. I'd rather be someone who lives 'til the end."

Merlin gave Arthur an affectionate look, "I agree, what would I do without you?" He grabbed Arthur's hair and pulled him in for a kiss.

Dean looked over at Cas, "Maybe you should've gone as an angel?" He whispered.

Cas gave him a hard jab with his elbow, "I am not putting on fake wings. It's a disgrace."

"Alright, alright…don't get your wings all ruffled." That earned Dean another jab and a playful smile from Cas.

Merlin suddenly turned around, forcing Arthur to fall back and Cas to almost bowl over the dark haired boy, "I have an idea, let's make this a little more competitive. Ok, so you know the scavenger hunt they have? Well, we are most likely not going to win because literally everyone gets involved, but we should make it between us, also! Me and Cas against Arthur and Dean. What do you think?"

Cas really liked the idea. So much that he almost started jumping up and down like a five year. "Yes, I agree! Dean?" Cas looked at Dean, hopeful.

Both Arthur and Dean had skeptical looks.

"What's in it for the winning team?" Arthur asked.

Merlin and Cas shared evil grins, "The losing team has to give the winning team full body massages for a week," Merlin began.

"-and they have to do the laundry!" Cas added.

Dean and Arthur shared contemplative looks, "Alright, deal." Dean said, holding his hand out to Merlin. Once everyone shook on it, Merlin held his hand up.

"One more condition."

"Wait, you can't do that, we already shook on it!" Arthur protested.

"Oh, calm yourself, it's something that is already part of all this, but it needs to be enforced. Both teams have to record each other or take pictures of the evidence, but," Merlin held up a finger, "You have to be in character in the photo or video."

Both Arthur and Dean's mouths dropped, "In character?" They said together.

Cas was loving this, "Yes, and if you break character, you lose. Capiche?"

"Do we have to be in character the entire time? How will the other team know?"

Merlin shook his head, "Just for the video or picture. If you really want to, you can be in character the whole time, but you have to be in character for the evidence."

All four of them agreed on the terms and conditions. When they arrived at the convention the two teams broke apart and studied the list of items and the map given to them. The items on the list where all fandom related and Merlin and Cas knew where many of the things could be found, but Arthur and Dean were having some trouble.

Dean stared incredulously at the mapped, "What the hell is this? What is an 'acid pop' and what does it mean by 'muggle equivalent'? Guys, this isn't fair, I don't know what half of these are?" Dean and Arthur where sweating over the list.

Merlin shrugged, "Ask around, no rules against it!"

"Come on Dean, a lot of this stuff you should know. You've seen and heard these references in movies I've shown you…that's if you were paying attention." Cas gave Dean a sly smile.

Dean began to blush. He pointed a finger at Cas, "You…you are in trouble when we get home."

Cas pretended to be frightened by Dean's words, "Is that a threat?"

Den grumbled and stalked off with Arthur, in search for answers. Merlin and Cas giggled as they walked off, "We've got this in the bag." Merlin said.

"Hello massages, goodbye laundry." They gave a hi-five and both skipped off to find the table selling Lord of The Rings merchandise.

~o0o~

All four boys stood side by side, arms folded and game faces on. The announcer for the scavenger hunt stood on a stage getting the crowd hyped up and ready for the hunt.

"Ladies and gentleman! Dwarves and elves of all sizes! Pixies, princesses, creatures, and superheroes! It is time for the scavenger hunt! Those who signed up should have received a list of items that you are finding. It is a list of ten items. The first team to find and document each item before time runs out, wins! Grab your wands, ready your bows and axes, brandish your swords, because it's time for the fifth annual Fandom Scavenger Hunt!" The crowd roared in response, sticks and swords waving in the air, "Ready your maps, set your compasses…GO!"

The crowd was chaos as people ran every which way, on the hunt for the goods. Merlin and Cas turned to Dean and Arthur.

"Good luck, boys," Merlin said.

Dean did a small half bow, "May the odds…be ever in your favor." He gave Arthur a wink, obviously so proud of himself.

Cas had to admit, it was kind of sexy.

Merlin scowled, "Come on, Cas, let's win this."

Merlin and Cas looked down at their list, carefully planning what item they would search for first.

Find the muggle equivalent to 'acid pops'

A picture or video of the muggle sport that Quidditch most resembles

A picture of your character(s) saving Big Ben

Find Platform 9 ¾

Find a pair of jokesters in a pub, they may or may not be singing and dancing atop a table, and get a picture with them

Get a group of people to give the three finger salute of district 12

Have a pokeball battle on the infamous, Abbey Road

London has its very own Barad-dûr, find it

Find one of the seven horcruxes that Voldemort made (does NOT have to be exact)

Without defacing property, leave the Mockingjay symbol of revolution somewhere in the city. Draw it on the sidewalk with chalk, or on a café menu board. Draw it on a piece of paper and tack it up, just so that it is easy to remove if need be. Take a picture or video of it.

"Let's go to Abbey Road first. It's out of the way of everything else. On the way back, we'll hit an antique shop, I bet we'll find something that resembles a horcrux there. Then we can do the Big Ben thing…then Shard Tower, then a pub, I have a good pub in mind where people are a bit crazy, we may just find a Pippin and Merry set there. Then we'll go to King's Cross and on the way back we will find a convenience store for a sour lollipop, get a picture of people playing basketball in the park and somewhere along the way we will leave the Mockingjay symbol. Sound good?" Merlin rambled off his plan to Cas.

Cas smiled wide, "This is a great plan," Cas said, but he couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach, "Do you think we're being a bit unfair to Dean and Arthur though? I mean, they don't know these references too well. If they did, then we'd be a bit more equal, because Arthur knows London better than Dean."

Merlin shrugged, "I'm sure they'll be fine. They're smart, they'll figure it out. I know for a fact Arthur knows a lot of these references, he just has to use his head."

Cas considered it…Dean should know this stuff too, he just has to…think… "Alright, let's go!"

~o0o~

"What…the actual…fuck…" Dean was annoyed…he was confused…and he didn't want to lose.

"I know..." Arthur was staring at the list, trying to decipher the references. He could vaguely remember Merlin telling him some of this stuff, but it just wasn't coming to him.

Arthur and Dean had at least started walking. They weren't standing around like other people.

"Okay, let's think, one, two, four, and nine are Harry Potter related. That should be easy; I've seen those movies a thousand times with Merlin."

Dean nodded in agreement, Cas and Dean always cuddled up to watch these movies.

"Alright, muggles, non-magic people. Acid pops…"

"Acid…sour?" Dean asked.

"You think?"

Dean shrugged, "Makes sense." Arthur made a mark on the list. Dean pointed to number two, "What do you think? Basketball or soccer…football, sorry."

Arthur turned his head, "Well, they throwing it in the hoops more than they kick it…so basketball?" He made another note.

"Platform nine and three quarters is obviously at King's Cross." He made another note, "Oh…kay, horcruxes…umm."

Dean wracked his brain, "Oh, those are the things they were hunting to destroy!" He remembered that easily. He and Cas had just watched the last two movies the other night. "So, what, we gotta find one that looks similar?"

"I guess, yah, makes sense." He made a final note. "Okay, that's the Harry Potter stuff; let's get those out of the way."

Arthur and Dean were off, determined to win.

~o0o~

"Alright we had our pokeball fight, and almost got hit by a car in the process, that was fun." Merlin checked off the item. "Found our horcrux, I can't believe you actually bought the thing," Merlin said to Cas as he checked that item.

"What? It's…interesting. I wanted it as a memory of this momentous occasion, and of course to rub it in Dean's face that we won."

Merlin barked out a laugh, "Nice, Cas, do you always tease Dean like that?"

Cas reddened, he and Merlin talked about other guys they found attractive, before they started dating their boyfriends, but they never really talked about Dean and Arthur with each other. "Um, yeah, I guess, but he knows, or at least I hope he knows I'm teasing."

Merlin pocketed the list, "I'm sure he does. Arthur and I are relentless with each other. Constant back and forth. You'd think we'd be tired of each other, but I personally think he gets off on the teasing." Merlin chuckled, as if remembering a fond moment. He walked to the curb and held a hand out to hail a cab, "I'll get the cab if you pay for food later?" A yellow cab pulled up to the curb.

Cas nodded, "No problem. So, how did you and Arthur meet?" He asked while they climbed into the back of the cab.

It was Merlin's turn to blush, "Um, well, it was the usual, rich kid runs into poor kid, they hate each other for a while, they eventually become friends, but then the raging boners start when they do the littlest things like the way they lick ice cream off the spoon or when they take their shirt off, or-"

Cas held up his hand, "Got it, I don't want to make a pit stop so you can relieve yourself."

Merlin laughed, "Sorry, so yeah…It went basically like that. He asked me to accompany him to a football game once, little did I know he was the one playing, and I don't know, just kind of, fell for him. Plus he was kick-ass at the game. How about you and Dean?" Merlin settled into the seat, propping his feet up next to Cas.

Cas fiddled with his fingers, "Well, I've known Dean, for a long time. This is gunna sound so cliché, but we are kind of destined for each other." Cas gave Merlin time to chuckle, but no laugh came from the boy's mouth, so Cas continued. "I've always known I was partial to men, but I don't think Dean did until we came here. The first time he showed affection was when he held my hand."

"Oh, when you went shopping with us?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah…then he asked me on a date and we watched the stars and…yeah." Cas wasn't sure if Merlin wanted to know about their first time together, so he kept it to himself.

Merlin sat there smiling. Cas wasn't sure if he was supposed to continue, "Uh-"

"You really like him don't you?" Merlin interrupted.

Cas' heart skipped a beat, "Yeah…I do." Cas couldn't help the smile that spread across his face.

"I feel that way with Arthur, like we were meant to be and there can be no other way. It's weird, I feel like I've met him before, like I have these memories with him that I don't remember…Well, now I sound crazy," he said, waving off his comment.

Cas shook his head, "Not crazy, love will do that to you."

That word hung heavy in the car. Love. Merlin and Cas were silent for the rest of the ride. Both left to think about Arthur and Dean…and love.

~o0o~

"Arthur, what the hell are five and eight…what are those fandoms?"

Both Arthur and Dean finished their Harry Potter tasks. Four down, six to go. They wondered how far Merlin and Cas got.

"Um,' Arthur scratched his head. He had no idea…two rowdy pub goers and a Barad-dûr?

"I think we should ask. We'll never get them."

Arthur agreed, he never heard of the Bara-thing and two rowdy men? How discreet could you get? He looked around for cosplayers. They were on a deserted street, no one in sight.

"Bookstore, they've got to know in there," Dean said, pointing to a small shop shoved between a furniture store and a discount clothing shop.

Dean and Arthur went into the shop, the little bell tinkling as they opened the door. An old man sat behind a clustered counter.

"Good evenin' boys, what can I do for you?"

Dean took the list from Arthur, "We were wondering if you know what these two," Dean pointed to numbers five and eight, "are referencing?"

The old man tipped his head back to look through his spectacles, "On a scavenger hunt I see," He looked at the boys' clothes, "You two don't seem like the type who usually participate in these kind of things." He looked back at the list.

Arthur and Dean looked each other, then at their clothes, then back to the man.

"We, uh, our boyfriends are into it," Arthur said.

"Yeah, I mean, to be fair, we did make them play soc-football with us. They got all sweaty and dirty for us, Cas even sprained his wrist." He laughed at the memory, while he nervously rubbed his neck. He felt bad for being rude to Cas before. He didn't complain when Dean took him to play, hell, he was more nervous that he would mess up and make a fool of himself.

Arthur was looking a bit sour too; he must be feeling the same guilt.

"Well, you got yourselves some Lord of The Rings references here," the old man said, ignoring Dean's rant. He handed them the list back. "Number five, two jokesters in a pub, Pippin and Merry," he said, expecting the two young boys to get it. They didn't.

The old man sighed, "There's a scene in the movie where they dance on a table and sing with slopping tankards in their hands."

"Oh! I remember that now! Cas loves those two, I can't believe I missed that," Dean exclaimed. The realization only added to his guilt.

The old man smiled, "Number eight, this one was a bit tough if you aren't sure of the proper terms, but Barad-dûr is the tower that holds the Eye of Sauron, that big fiery eye that follows the two hobbits, always looking for the ring."

Arthur slapped a hand to his forehead, "Shard!"

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, worried for his friend.

"Shard! Shard Tower, it's London's own Barad-thing-Merlin went all nerd on me when they finished building it. I can't believe I forgot that day. That was the first time we, uh…" Arthur had gone red. He shouldn't tell a stranger that little detail. Even without saying it though, he realized how special that day was, and it was all because of Merlin's inner nerd, and he forgot because he only remembered what happened later that night.

Dean cleared his throat, "Alright, well, thank you sir for your help. You have no idea what this means to us."

"Oh, I'm sure I do. Don't take for granted what you have, boys, life's too short."

Arthur and Dean were too stunned to answer. They ducked their heads in thanks and left the stuffy, little book shop.

"So, um, Shard then pub?" Arthur asked when they stepped outside.

Dean only nodded, he couldn't form words passed the lump that formed in his throat.

They walked in silence to the Tube.

~o0o~

Merlin and Cas entered the pub, their eyes watering from tears and cheeks sore from laughing.

"Cas-oh man…you, your-" Merlin choked out. He took a few deep breaths before continuing, "Your face was priceless in that picture!" Merlin had taken out the camera as they walked to the pub. They haven't taken a normal breath in four blocks.

Cas and Merlin took a seat by the front window and observed their surroundings.

"Well…this is more tame than I thought it would be. On a Friday night too."

He was right, it was very chill in the pub. Everyone was in whispered conversations, heads tucked close to each other.

"Should we check out another pub?" Cas asked. Cas looked over a Merlin and froze at the look on his face. "What's that face for?"

Merlin's eyes were squinting at a big table in the middle of the room and he chewed his bottom lip.

"Merlin?"

"I have an idea." Merlin got up and walked over to the bar. Cas watched as he leaned in close to the bartender and started conversation with him. He sauntered back, a triumphant smile on his face. "If the party isn't coming to us, then we'll bring the party here."

Cas was scared of the evil gleam in Merlin's eye, "Merlin, what did you do?"

Merlin waved his hand casually in the air, "Oh nothing, just requested a song or two, and a few pitchers of beer."

The door to the pub opened, distracting Cas. He glanced over and jumped out of his seat when he saw who entered.

Arthur and Dean were at the same pub as them.

"Merlin!" Cas hissed, "Look who's here."

Merlin looked over his shoulder, and then back at Cas, "Spying no doubt," he whispered.

They were about to duck into a dark corner, but their rivals spotted them before they could hide.

They expected jeers and teases, but instead, Merlin got a very hug friendly Arthur and Cas got a teary-eyed Dean.

Merlin and Cas exchanged looks. What the hell? Merlin mouthed. No idea. Cas mouthed back.

"Is this like, a distraction technique?" Merlin asked, his voice muffled in Arthur's neck.

Arthur pulled back, "No, just, this is a lot harder without you."

Merlin stared at him, "Have you gone mad? Have I pushed you to insanity?"

"No," Arthur chuckled. "Just, missed you is all."

Merlin nodded in response, the words stuck on his lips.

Cas looked at Dean, who blinked back tears, "Are you okay?"

Dean nodded, he too took Cas in his arms and squeezed…really tight.

"Dean-Dean I can't breathe."

Dean let go, "Sorry, um, hey, Cas."

"Hey," Cas said, confused by Dean's reaction.

This was all really weird, and Merlin and Cas didn't know where this behavior was coming from. They were interrupted by the bartender who held four pitchers of beer in his hands. He plunked them down on the table and smiled, "Music is on its way. You boys don't have too much fun now." He gave a wink and walked away. Not a minute later music came on, and just like that, the atmosphere lifted.

"You ordered four pitchers of beer?" Cas yelled over the music and increased noise.

Merlin shrugged, "We needed to summon Pippin and Merry!"

And summon Pippin and Merry they did, in the form of four boys; two dressed in Hogwarts uniforms and two in combat boots.

~o0o~

The four boys stood outside, huddled together under the London night sky. They weren't drunk, maybe a bit buzzed and very giggly.

"Alright, Cas, we gotta finish our list, we've only got an hour left."

Dean looked own at his watch, "Sonofabitch, Arthur, we gotta hightail it."

Arthur turned his back on Dean and took Merlin in his arms, "No matter who wins tonight, you are going to have the best night ever. I promise."

Merlin's mouth dropped in shock. Where were these words coming from? "Oh, okay."

Arthur smiled and gave Merlin a swift kiss.

Dean took Cas' hand and pulled him closer to his side, "I'm, um, thank you, for asking me to do this."

Cas dragged his hand through Dean's hair, making a ruffled mess of it. He tilted his head to the right, "You're welcome, are you sure you're okay?" He started to worry for him.

Dean grinned, "Yes, I'm more than okay." He leaned in and planted a kiss on Cas' jawline. "See ya later."

The two teams went their separate ways.

"What…" Merlin started.

"I don't know."

"But…"

"I know…"

This was definitely the most interesting day of their lives.

Note: Don't worry, it's just a little cliff hanger! Everything will be answered within the next to days!