Alright ladies and gents, here's the deal. I'm a junior in college; I had a very bad, dark summer (except my birthday week—that was a nice reprieve); and I cannot guarantee specific chapter updates. Thanks for everyone who's stayed with me so far, I really appreciate and love you guys. However, life is a bit more…well, important for me right now. I'll ever abandon a fic, I promise, but I can't promise frequent updates. Thanks for understanding.
The second they arrived back at the flat, Merlin went into a frenzy. He tore his room apart, then the living room, then, to Pygmy's utter dismay, her room, all the while muttering, "Where is it? Where is it?"
"Should I unlock Bateleur's door next? So you can snoop around in his room too?" she asked dryly.
"Don't be daft. It wouldn't be in there. That place is a pigsty."
"Oi!" Miss Ruth shook her finger at Merlin. Because of her glasses, her eyes looked like saucers, making the whole thing quite comical. "I'll have you know I cleaned that room the second he left. He might've been touchy with his things being touched, but I wasn't about to have a messy room with no boy in it!"
For a moment, the rustling of papers stopped. "He'll be mighty peeved when he comes back," Merlin noted.
His mum snorted. "He's too busy with that veterinary school program. He's not coming back until he graduates."
"Which at the rate he's going, will be next month," Pygmy murmured softly, earning a laugh from Merlin.
"Now tell me exactly what it is you're looking for," Miss Ruth continued. "I might as well know why you're mucking about. I pay for this flat."
"The location." Merlin grinned widely. "Since I've got my key, I just need to remember where I parked my ship, so Arthur and I can go there and then just time travel back to his time."
"Will it be that easy?" Arthur asked.
"If I can just remember where I parked my ship, yes."
Arthur thought for a moment, remembering all the times Merlin misplaced things back in Camelot. "I wish there was a way to track things. It'd make it so much easier to find them if they were on a map."
Before he could add, "I'd finally have all my socks you lost," Merlin shouted and tackled Arthur down.
"Yes, yes! Arthur, you're a genius!"
Once he'd removed himself, going to hug his mum and sister, Arthur realized that Merlin hadn't tackled him. He'd hugged him, and Arthur had just been so surprised, they fell backwards.
"Come on, Arthur!" Merlin jabbered excitedly, helping him to his feet. "Let me show you the wonders of the future!"
x~xXx~x
The blinking light on the map flashed. It was mocking them. Oh, it might be look like an innocent flashing light, but it was actually a mocking, horrid little bugger.
"Why in the gods did you park your ship there?"
"That's a bit of a long story… I can tell you, on the trip there."
"Okay." Arthur stared at the light again. Sure, it was amazing how there were devices with tiny little maps on them that could tell you where other devices were, but why did that light have to be so mocking? "So…how do we get to this planet?"
Merlin grimaced. "I think there's only one option."
"The Doctor?" he asked hopefully.
"No. Jack Harkness."
Arthur tried not to show his distain. It didn't work. "He's our only option?"
"Yeah…"
"Bollocks."
"Yeah."
x~xXx~x
Over the next several days, Merlin spent little time with Arthur. After getting off the "mobile" with Jack Harkness, Merlin informed that Jack was busy until the end of the week, and that was the most he'd said to Arthur one-on-one until the day they left.
First, he spent two whole days with his mum: feeding and cleaning the birds, taking her out to dinner, showing her to a "museum" where birds were the main "exhibit." Next, he and Pygmy had a whole day of shopping, wine tasting, and people watching, ending the day with an entire night of clubbing, which they took Arthur to. It was loud, bright, and uncomfortable. At least the drink was nice, if a bit too sweet. Then, for two days, Merlin left altogether. He explained he was going up to where his brother, Bateleur, was studying, and wouldn't be home for a few days.
"He's saying goodbye, you know," Pygmy said, that first day he left.
"Why would he do that?" Arthur asked.
She smiled knowingly. It was a sad smile. "Because he doesn't plan on coming back."
That didn't make any sense. This was his home. From what Arthur gathered, he was most certainly coming back, once he dropped Arthur off and stopped the imposter from taking the throne.
Before he could say any of this, Pygmy got up and grabbed her dance bag.
"You're a bit oblivious, Arthur Pendragon," she said. "But you'll see soon enough. Merlin's not going anywhere, not without you."
x~xXx~x
Standing in front of Jack Harkness was a battle. A battle to control your limbs so you wouldn't cover your private bits.
"Stop staring at me," Arthur hissed.
"Sorry, but when I see something beautiful, it's hard to tear my eyes from it." He didn't sound the least bit sorry.
"Just keep it in your pants," Merlin warned. "How long will it take to get us there?"
Jack looked thoughtful. "With the ship I got? A couple hours. A day tops. Depends on traffic."
Arthur looked to Merlin. "What does space traffic look like?"
"A lot like the traffic you see here every day," he answered. "Terrible."
"I hope you brought games!" Jack laughed.
Surprisingly—well, it was Merlin so unsurprising—Merlin did bring games. A lot of them.
x~xXx~x
The space ship was surprisingly roomy. There were even two alcoves for sleeping in.
"Is this what yours looks like?" Arthur asked Merlin.
"No," he said, his voice hinted at pride. "Mine's much nicer."
"Hey, don't talk to Martha that way!" Jack called from the front, where all the buttons and leers where.
"Why did you name a space ship Martha?" Arthur asked.
For a moment, Jack sobered. "Well, she's just like her. The ship is, I mean. Martha was a fiery, stubborn woman who cared a lot about others. She even saved planet Earth once. This ship is in honor of her. They're one in the same!" He chuckled a bit, as in lost in memory. Then he shook his head, turned around, and said, "Hey, Merlin. Tell Arthur about that time you and I had to get the Doctor out of marrying a tree."
"It wasn't a tree, it was a—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just tell him."
x~xXx~x
Traffic was only cumbersome for the first few hours (nine, to be specific—the games Merlin brought were a relief), but then they took a swerve left and not a ship was in sight. They traveled for about three more hours before a planet appeared on the horizon. By the fourth hour, they had landed.
There were two suns in the sky. Two. They were green. And the sky itself was pink. Not a soft sunset-pink, but a bright neon pink. The river flowing next to Martha was glittering gold.
"Merlin, this is… This is beautiful."
"Isn't it?" He smiled, looking around. "Sometimes I wish I could stay here forever."
Jack looked around and shrugged. "It might be beautiful, but its history is ugly. Can you get to your ship from here?"
Merlin looked up the hill, frowning at the thought of climbing it. "Yeah, we can. It'll be one hell of a climb though."
"Well, if you'd parked on a bigger hill, one where I could've parked right next to you…"
"Oh shut up." He held out his hand. "Thanks. For everything."
Jack gripped the outstretched hand, looking serious. "Of course. It was great seeing you, Merlin. Will I see you again?"
His eyes strayed to Arthur, who was trying (and failing) really hard not to look like he was eavesdropping. "Perhaps. But probably not."
"Yeah, I thought so." Jack grinned and pulled Merlin into a big hug. "Take care of yourself."
"You too."
"Hey, Arthur!"
He started, not expecting the shout. "Yeah?"
"Take care of this bloke for me, alright? He'd loose his ears if they weren't attached to his head."
Arthur laughed. The fifteen hour drive had eased the tension he'd felt with Jack, and that comment was the final straw. Somehow, Jack had become somewhat of a friend to him. Maybe it was because he kept beating the time-traveler at Poker.
"Don't I know it. Goodbye Jack. Travel well."
As Jack's ship flew towards the double sunset, Arthur felt a pang of loss. He'll most likely never see Jack again. Or Pygmy and Miss Ruth. He'll never be in their company again. Ever.
Taking a deep breath, trying to clear his mind, he looked over at Merlin, surprised to find he was already looking at him.
"Ready?"
Arthur nodded. "Ready."
They began the trek uphill.
Merlin was right. His ship was much nicer.