Arthur sat on the sofa, in the sitting room, next to his father, as his father read the paper. It was after dinner on the third night of his and Merlin's stay there, Arthur could see Merlin and Arthur's mother from his spot on the couch, they were talking, both smiling as they were cleaning up from dinner.

Arthur bit his lip, watching Merlin; He was smiling, lips moving, he remembered how they felt, when Merlin had first come into Arthur's life, he had kissed him, it was insane that now, now Arthur wanted Merlin to kiss him. Merlin's eyes they were squinted, but Arthur could still see the blue, the blue that struck him. It was mental, Arthur had never pined over someone before, if he liked a girl, he went for it. But Merlin wasn't a girl, that fact hardly mattered to Arthur anymore. It was Merlin's feelings, Arthur didn't want to put himself out there and get rejected, Merlin was in love with a king. A king who Arthur wasn't.

"Could you stop acting like a love-starved girl for five seconds?" Arthur heard Morgan saying and he turned to look at his sister with a glare. She was sitting on the floor, looking up at him from her phone.

"Shut up," Arthur told her.

"Stop being a freaking p-"

"Morgan, stop bothering your brother," their father said, from behind his paper. Arthur smirked, sticking his tongue out at the girl. She made a noise like 'huuck' and looked back to her phone then.

"Pie!" the voice of the man, whom turned Arthur into a love-starved girl, suddenly said. Arthur looked up to see Merlin walking in, in his hands, he had two plates of pie, he handed one to Arthur, as he sat down next to him. Merlin smiled at him and Arthur started eating his pie. It was apple.

"What do you boys plan on doing tomorrow?" his mother asked then, as she walked in, carrying her own plates of pie, handing one to Morgan and then to Arthur's dad. Having no pie for herself, she was on a diet. Though, Arthur didn't think she needed one. Merlin looked at Arthur again, with the same smile.

"Um, I was thinking we'd go into London," Arthur said. "I want to take Merlin on the London Eye."

"I bet you do want to take him…"

"Shut up, Morgan!" he yelled, before looking back at his mother with a pleasant smile. "He says it's been five years since he's been in London."

"He was telling me that," Arthur's mother shook her head. "Must be nice…to live away from the city."

"In time, dear!" his father suddenly barked. "When I'm retired."

"Even our own son's moved away from London, Robin!"

"Merlin lives on a lake," Arthur said then, to shut them up. "It's very peaceful."

"Yeah, it's quite nice," Merlin nodded. "You guys can use it, you know…for a vacation, I'm never there anymore."

"Then, where do you live?" Arthur's mother asked.

"With Arthur."

Morgan choked on her pie.

"It's close to the Uni!" Arthur said quickly, glaring at Morgan.

"Of course, that makes sense, dear," his mother smiled, but he saw the side look she sent Morgan. They were in this together!

It wasn't very long after pie, that Arthur went up to bed, leaving Merlin with his parents and sister, let him be annoyed with Morgan's comments for awhile. Arthur lie in bed, thinking, he hated thinking these days. Because all he thinks about is Merlin and that doesn't lead him anywhere good.

Merlin wanted the king, King Arthur of Camelot, he wouldn't be interested in Arthur, Nothing Arthur of Nowhere, not until he was the king at least. Arthur had decided this some time ago. So, the only logical thing to do was become the king, right? Probably not, but Arthur didn't care anymore. He liked Merlin, he really did…no he loved him, he hadn't felt this way about anyone in a long time, he never felt this way about Pepper. He had felt this for a bit, with a girl named Vivian, when he was fourteen, but that wasn't love, it was lust and was over before he could even blink. He supposed he had never really felt this way before, not really.

Merlin walked in then, grinning as he did, waving down the hall at someone before shutting the door. He walked further into the room and paused, when he saw Arthur awake.

"You're sister's funny," he explained, coming over and sitting down on his own bed, still grinning at Arthur. "I really like your family, Arthur."

"They like you," he shrugged, biting down on his lip, still thinking. "Merlin…" he had decided, he would do it. "Merlin, I want to remember."

Merlin looked at him funny, "I know," he said. "What are you getting at?"

"I want to remember now!" Arthur told him, Merlin looked confused.

"Here? You don't want to wait until we get home?

"No," Arthur shook his head, sitting up. "I want to do it now; do you have any new ideas on how we can awaken my memory?"

"Well, there may be one way…" Merlin shrugged. "But it's a long shot."

"Let's do it," Arthur said, turning to sit so he was in front of Merlin. Merlin looked at him a bit alarmed.

"Arthur, why do you want to do this?"

"I want to remember!"

"Why?"

"What kind of dumb question is that?" Arthur barked at him. "Let's just get to it..."

"Okay," Merlin shrugged, looking at Arthur for a second or two. "Close your eyes."

"Why...?"

"It's all part of it, you're going to try to let the memories in," Merlin explained. Arthur did what Merlin said then, closing his eyes. "Alright, now, clear your mind," Arthur did that too. "Okay, now just be open, keep your mind open."

How you clear your mind and open it at the same time, Arthur had no idea, but he tried. He sat there, eyes closed, trying not to think of anything. Clear minded…open minded….nothing was happening.

"Nothing's happening!" Arthur complained, opening his eyes again to look at Merlin, who had been watching him. Merlin shrugged.

"I told you it was a long shot," he said, turning onto the bed and laying down. "We can try again some other time."

"Tomorrow," Arthur told him, getting back into the bed, and under the covers. "We'll try again tomorrow."

In the morning, when Arthur woke up he got up and started getting ready, Merlin must have already been awake, because he was alone in the room. Arthur got dressed and put on his comfy sneakers, ready for a busy day on the London streets. He even put his British flag sunglass on (which he had found under his dresser while being back home,) so he would look like a real tourist.

He walked down stairs to find Merlin already at the breakfast table, talking to Arthur's parents; he smiled over at him as he came in. Arthur smiled back as his mother put a waffle on his plate.

"Those are some nice glasses there, Arthur," Merlin told him, smirking. Just as Arthur shoved a bit of waffle into his mouth.

"I thought you'd like them," he said around his food, before swallowing. "I figure if we're going to London, we might as well do it right."

"Quite right," Arthur's father said, lifting his coffee mug in salute before taking a sip from it. Arthur grinned and turned back to his waffle.

"Have you two got everything you need; maps, a game plan, and sunscreen?" his mother asked then and Arthur sighed.

"Mother, I am twenty five years old, I've lived near London my whole life," he told her, and she made a worried huffing noise. "I hardly need a map or a game plan." He counted on his fingers. "And it is not nearly warm enough for sunscreen!"

"But look at Merlin," his mother told him, moping her fingers through Merlin's dark hair, like she owned him or something. "He's so pale; I bet he burns so easily!"

"He's a grown man; he can take care of his own skin!" Arthur told her. She gave him her wounded-mother look then.

"I don't burn," Merlin said, as if trying to comfort her or something. "I've spent most of my life outside, actually."

"Still, you need to be careful, love," she said, running a hand down the side of his face, Merlin smiled at this. "The sun can be so dangerous."

What was happening here? Arthur wondered.

"I know, Grace, but don't worry."

"You know I will anyway," she bopped Merlin on the nose before walking away. And Arthur didn't know if he should feel jealous of Merlin, (that was HIS mum,) or of his mother. (That was HIS Merlin.) Instead, he just looked perplexed between the two and his father laughed, leaning over the table and bopping Arthur on the nose.

"Don't forget to stop for lunch, darling, it's so dangerous not to eat!"

Only Arthur and his farther laughed, Merlin just looked around as if he had missed a joke and Arthur's mum tutted from her spot at the sink. Before long Merlin and Arthur were heading out to the car, inside it, Arthur looked over at Merlin amused.

"What?" he asked, looking back, confused.

"When did you and my mum get so close?"

"I don't know…" Merlin blushed then. "She just likes me…"

"This is just like Mr. Noodles," Arthur said, turning on the car and pulling out of the driveway. "I think you're doing it on purpose."

"I think you're jealous."

"Oh do you?" Arthur smirked, looking over to see Merlin smirking in return. "You would be right."

"Don't worry, Arthur," Merlin laughed. "I'm not going to steal your mum or your cat."

"I know you won't steal them," Arthur said, putting on the radio. "But they might try stealing you and you're mine."

"What?" Merlin asked, but Arthur ignored him, turning the volume on the radio up really loud, bobbing his head to the chorus of 'NA-NA-NA-NAANAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA…'

Once they got into the city of London, Arthur parked his car and they walked down the busy streets. They passed by stores and restaurants, and pubs. Merlin looked around with a shrug.

"Five years doesn't change much," he was saying. "I guess fifty or a hundred years does a bit more."

"It must suck to be so old."

"Well, thank you!" Merlin snapped at him, but grinned after.

"You know what I mean," Arthur said, opening the door to a bookstore, per Merlin's request. (The man and books, honestly!) "To watch the world change so much and so many times."

"I don't know, it's never really bothered me," Merlin shrugged. "What bothered me is being alone." Merlin turned somber for a second, as he looked at a few children's books. "You could never make any friends, they'd all die on you soon enough, or start to wonder…'hey, why does that bloke still look the same?'"

"At least now," Arthur put a hand on Merlin's back. "You don't have to be alone anymore."

Merlin made a humming noise and turned away then, Arthur frowned, watching him. He had thought that would make him feel better, but perhaps Merlin thought he was still alone, even with Arthur. Maybe it was because of the king; Arthur figured Merlin felt he was still truly alone, without the king.

They left the store soon after that and Arthur was angry, not with Merlin, not with himself either, he was just angry. It wasn't fair, to fancy someone who wanted you to be someone else, this sounded like another one of those horrid chick-flicks. And it wasn't like Arthur wouldn't willingly change, it's that he couldn't…maybe some part of him didn't want to, maybe a part of himself said 'if Merlin doesn't like this you, then that's his loss,' but Arthur could careless to listen to that part. He wanted…no, he needed Merlin to like him and that meant, he had to become the king. Simple as that.

He was still musing when Merlin detoured them from their quest of getting to the London Eye, to go way out of their way, to Buckingham Palace. He looked through the barred fence, smiling quite proudly.

"This hasn't changed at all, as far as changing goes," Merlin explained, pressing his face to the bars. "And it's beautiful inside."

"You've been inside?" Arthur asked. "On one of those tours?"

"No, I was a servant," Merlin explained, Arthur's mouth fell open then. "No one would remember me now though…"

"You never cease to surprise me," Arthur told him. "What have you not done?"

"I haven't left the planet yet," Merlin shrugged. "Loki isn't the most reliable fellow; he was supposed to take me to Asgard sometime ago…"

"Damn that Loki, now stop talking shit," Arthur told him, grabbing him by the sleeve of his shirt, and started pulling him along. "Let's go."

Merlin laughed and willingly walked along side of him. They got to the London Eye soon enough and Arthur paid for them. The man standing by the pod-thingy, (Arthur still wasn't sure what the little cars you stood in were called,) he ushered them inside and slammed the door on them, hurrying everyone else behind them along too, as people piled into other pod-thingies, they two stood by the window and looked out at the ocean and the land as the car jerked up and down, allowing people inside.

"Well, this is fun," Arthur said, looking at his watch. Merlin smiled at him and walked closer to the window, just as he did the wheel started spinning them, for real this time. All of the pod-thingies must have been full. Arthur walked to the window and looked out, as they rose up, up, up, and then down, down, down the other side.

"I like it up here," Merlin said once they stopped at the top, looking out at the city and the land behind it. "You can see for so far."

Arthur smiled and walked closer to him, looking out at the same view Merlin was looking at. He wished he could read Merlin's mind, to see what he was thinking. Something profound was taking place behind Merlin's blue eyes and Arthur wanted to be apart of it. But before long he was, Merlin had averted his gaze to Arthur and was smiling, that fond smile, at him.

"I like being up here even more, because I'm here with you," he said then and Arthur grinned, turning away from the view to look solely at Merlin.

"I like being here with you too," Arthur said, he wished he could be more open with his feelings, he wanted Merlin to know just how much he liked being here with him, but he couldn't find the words, instead he just stared at him, probably looking deranged.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Pepper here?" Merlin asked then and Arthur frowned.

"No, never."

Merlin laughed, stepping closer to Arthur and whispered, "Good, because if she was here, I'd open the door and throw her out."

"I'd open the door for you," Arthur declared, leaning in a bit closer, to whisper too. Merlin was laughing and Arthur tried to too, but he suddenly noticed how close he was to Merlin, how close their faces were. How big Merlin smiled and how bright his eyes were, opposed to when he first showed up at Arthur's door, dull eyed and sad. Merlin had changed, he had become happy, and Arthur prayed it was because of him, and not him 'King Arthur' but him as a person. Merlin seemed to right himself soon after his laughing fit, upon seeing Arthur not joining him, he looked serious then.

"Arthur…"

He wanted to kiss him, dear god, did he want to. He could, they were already so close, a few more inches, and he would be home free. But he was scared, he didn't want rejected, or pitied or...any of the other horrible things that ran through his mind in that very moment. So, he just stood there.

"Arthur..." Merlin said again, a bit quieter and a lot more confused. He snapped out of it then, backing up, he had lost his chance, not that his stupid mind would have given him one. The car was moving again and they were going down, down, down, back toward the ground. Merlin still looked confused, as he staggered back and looked out of the window once again.

Way to make things awkward, Arthur, go you, he thought, as the pod-thingy came to a stop and the doors opened. Merlin followed him out.

"Where to now?" He asked, trying to catch up with Arthur, Arthur just wanted to go home now, but he wouldn't deny Merlin the pleasure of London just yet.

"Anywhere you want."

(A/N: This chapter was not my favorite, but it was sort of important, sort of. Anything else? Let me think...I will not be updating on time this weekend, see my status bar for why.)