~ Chapter 2: Childhood ~

"How dare you say ta mighty beast wifout me?" a childish voice called, unable to entirely contain the giggle. Merlin's small legs moved surprisingly fast as he ran toward where Arthur was pretending to hold a sword.

"Mer, that's not what you're supposed ta say. You're supposed ta say thank you for slaying the beast," Arthur complained.

"No Arfur!" Try as he might, Merlin could not make the 'th' sound. Hunith thought it was adorable even if it meant that Merlin would probably need to go to speech when he started school. "You sayed it wifout me!" The boy promptly burst into tears and hid his face in his hands to amplify his display of distress.

"I sorry, Mer!" Arthur pleaded, immediately engulfing Merlin in a huge hug. "Don't cry! We can play whatever you want ta next."

Neither Hunith nor Igraine moved from their positions on one of the benches in the park. They both knew the difference between legitimate tears and what they'd called his "con tears". These were most definitely his con tears. Merlin had Arthur wrapped around his little finger, and Arthur loved it. Arthur knew Merlin's tears were fake, but it allowed Arthur to fall into the role of protector, and little made Arthur happier than keeping Merlin safe.

Arthur had grown rapidly and now stood as one of the tallest in his Kindergarten class, but Merlin was the smallest and often was an easy target. With Arthur, he was never isolated from group activities. Every story either of the boys shared from school inevitably included the other.

"I wanna pay in ta sandbox!" Merlin yelled excitedly.

"Oh, no," Igraine whispered. The sandbox was truly a nightmare. Once they got home, they would spend days finding sand in unknown places around their homes and on their five–year old terrors. They didn't know where all the sand came from. It often felt like they brought home more sand than was in the sandbox. Arthur would not refuse Merlin, and within minutes, they plopped down in the sandbox and created a cloud of sand in the process.

They somehow built their own things but found a way to connect them. Arthur would create a bank while Merlin created a school. They'd weave a story about how the school was a banking school and would have wild and nonsensical storylines overlap. Most of their stories were forgotten as soon as they were uttered, so Igraine and Hunith often had trouble following what was happening. This kind of play was still relatively new to them. It was only within the last few months that they'd started playing together instead of playing side by side, and their mothers loved to see it.

It was while they were building some kind of castle – Arthur digging a moat on one side, and Merlin poking his fingers into the sane to make windows into the mound of sand they were pretending was a castle – that a little boy named Valiant approached Merlin. He had to be at least two years older than the boys. Arthur didn't notice his presence at first; he was occupied with his moat. Merlin, on the other hand, noticed the moment Valiant's shadow overtook his. Valiant sat down next to Merlin. At first he just sat there. "Go away. I want to play here now." Only Merlin heard Valiant's words.

"No. Me and Arfur are paying."

"But I want to play." He poked Merlin. "Your ears look stupid; they're too big for your head."

"No dey're not." Merlin's lip quivered dangerously. His ears had always been a sensitive spot for him since his very first day of preschool when one kid had pointed at him and started chanting, "big ears. Big ears. Big ears!" Arthur had pushed him, earning himself a time out. The kid who had made fun of Merlin had not been punished.

Almost as bad as the kids were the adults who tried to assure Merlin he would grow into them. He didn't know he needed to feel self–conscious about it until someone pointed it out.

"Are you gonna cry? Cry baby! Cry baby!"

"I'm not gonna…" Merlin couldn't even get it out. His eyes started to water.

"You are! Because you're nothing more than a big–eared cry baby."

Merlin felt anger swell up in him. It seemed to fill every small space in his tiny frame as he bunched his fists together. The last time he was this angry was when Arthur had eaten all of his chocolate ice cream because Merlin had forgotten about it while they were playing a game. Arthur had immediately apologized and snuck the entire carton from his freezer so Merlin could have some. Needless to say, when that happened, Merlin's anger was quickly forgotten. He'd never been able to stay mad at Arthur wrong; mostly because when Arthur did something wrong he also made up for it. While they didn't have the words to describe it yet, they both knew their friendship was more important than their pride. It was doubtful Valiant would have that same realization

Merlin stood up as tall as he could, but he was dwarfed by Valiant. He nearly tripped over the castle they'd been building and it was the first time Arthur realized something was happening outside of his meticulously crafted moat.

"I'm not a cry baby!" Merlin's words carried, and Hunith rose to her feet. She'd been watching the boys play but hadn't realized that the new boy wasn't being friendly until that moment. Merlin had a flare for the dramatics, but he rarely blew things out of proportion unless he was trying to con Arthur into something.

Valiant pushed Merlin back into the sandbox, right onto their castle. For a moment, Merlin's eyes were wide with shock, and he couldn't believe what had just happened. Then, nothing he did could stop his sobs.

Arthur crouched in front of Merlin. He had a sixth sense when it came to Merlin and almost always knew what Merlin needed. He helped Merlin to his feet and started brushing sand off of him. He didn't ask Merlin if he was okay; instead, he turned to Valiant. He took a step away from Merlin. "Go on, Mer. You can do it."

Merlin wasn't sure he could do it, but he knew Arthur would be there if he needed him. "Go away." He hoped he sounded strong and brave. Hunith and Igraine were a few feet away from the sandbox at that point. They wanted to give them the chance to work this out for themselves. If it could be resolved without putting up with a five–year–old tantrum, that would be the preference.

"No." Valiant took half a step as if he was going to shove Merlin again, but Arthur beat him to the punch. Valiant was much taller than Merlin, but he met Arthur eye–to–eye.

Arthur glared at Valiant. "Tell him, Mer."

"Go away." Merlin's voice was resolute and steady that time.

Valiant crossed his arms. "No."

"Then I banish you from the sandbox. If you're gonna be mean, you shouldn't be here."

"You can't banish me! You don't own the park."

"Leave," Arthur warned.

"What? Are you gay?" Neither Merlin or Arthur saw him move, but his hands grazed Merlin's chest and sent him sprawling. With similar speed, Arthur pushed Valiant hard.

Valiant went flying backward and then ran away.

Igraine and Hunith went to grab their sons. As expected, neither Merlin nor Arthur wanted to be held, but they carried them over to the bench they'd just left.

"Sweetie, you know we don't push."

"But he was being mean to Mer."

"I know, and you meant well, but when something like that happens, you find an adult. You don't fight back. It's so hard, but pushing someone doesn't solve anything. Do you understand?"

Arthur nodded. "I'm sorry." He had this way of making his eyes big that made Igraine's resolve crumble.

"Everyone makes mistakes. You just need to learn from this one."

Arthur nodded, so it was Hunith's turn. "Are you okay, Merlin?"

He nodded. "Mommy?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"What does gay mean?"

Hunith felt her heart sink. Was it really time to have this conversation? They seemed so young. Hunith had a feeling that Valiant hadn't really known what it meant and that he picked it up somewhere, but the damage had been done.

This was the kind of conversation she wished she had time to research, but the question was out there, and she didn't want to leave Merlin without an answer.

She looked toward Igraine. "Do you want Arthur to stay or do you wanna take him for a walk or something?"

"Mer's just gonna tell me later."

Igraine motioned to Arthur. "What he said." She nodded toward Hunith.

"So… gay is when someone likes someone of their gender. So, when a boy likes a boy or a girl likes a girl."

"Are you and Ms. Grain gay because you like each ofer?"

"No, sweetie. I do love Igraine, but she's like my sister. When someone's talking about this, they're talking about romantic feelings. Like what Arthur's mommy and daddy feel for each other. Except, when someone's gay, it's a daddy and daddy or mommy and mommy."

"It's not an insult," Igraine added. "That boy used it to be mean because he didn't know what it meant. You do, so you want to make sure you're being respectful about it."

Arthur and Merlin glanced at each other; Hunith wasn't sure if they totally understood, but she hoped they'd done an okay job with it.

"Can we go play now?" Arthur asked hopefully.

Igraine chuckled. "Go ahead."

Hunith and Igraine watched them play a two–player game of tag. "You really knocked it out of the park with Arthur. He's such a great kid."

"I don't know where he came from," Igraine admitted.

"From you, of course."

"No, I'd never have been that brave."

"Well, he certainly didn't get it from Uther," Hunith pointed out.

They watched Arthur and Merlin for a moment. The bond between them never ceased to amaze them. They knew at this age, best friends came and went, but they thought there was something different about their friendship. "Every time we joked about our kids being best friends. Did you ever think they would end up like this?"

"Never."

They could hear Merlin's mischievous chuckle from across the playground. "Tag! You it!"

Merlin ran as fast as he could, but he was no match for Arthur. Arthur tagged Merlin and was off. "No fair! You so much faster than me."

Arthur slowed down so Merlin could catch him. It was really sweet.

The two boys were laughing maniacally as they chased each other around the playground, through the basketball court, and back to the playground.

While they were occupied, Hunith nudged Igraine. "Look."

She pointed toward where Valiant was getting a snack from a young woman. He sat down and started pulling blades of grass from the ground.

Without needing to talk about it, both women rose and approached them. "Hello." Igraine gave a friendly wave. "Are you this boy's mother?"

"I'm the babysitter. Why? Is there a problem?" She'd been on her phone but let her hand drop to her side.

"I just wanted to make sure you saw what happened. He pushed my boy down." Hunith tried to keep her voice calm and even, but the very thought of what happened filled her with rage.

"Okay. And?"

Hunith stared. And? And? How… why… what? "And?" Hunith asked. "He pushed my son. You're not gonna do anything about that?"

The woman shrugged. "It seems to me like they figured it out."

"What kind of values is this boy learning? I've taught my son that violence isn't the answer. And I don't appreciate him bullying –"

"It's not bullying. Val got pushed back, if I recall correctly. Before you yell at me, why don't you worry about your own kids?"

Igraine's anger matched Hunith's. "I did take care of it. I spoke to my son and let him know that what he did wasn't okay, but he did it to protect a friend. There's a difference between senselessly picking on someone and reacting defensively."

"And my son hadn't done anything," Hunith added. "How can you justify him walking up to a little boy he doesn't know and pushing him?"

"If your kid can't handle it, that's not my problem. Teach him to stick up for himself and grow a backbone. Stop trying to take it out on Val." The woman took Valiant's hand. "Come on, dude. We can go do something super fun."

Hunith brought her hand to her head. "Never have I wanted to slap someone so much in my life."

Igraine chuckled. "Do me a favor and don't tell Arthur that."

"Deal."

Hunith was quiet for a moment. "Do you think she's right?"

"Who?"

"The babysitter. Do you think I'm doing enough for Merlin?"

"Of course, you're doing enough! You're teaching him to be kind and considerate of the people around him. That's so important."

"I know, but it feels like… like he deserves more than I can give him. I can't afford the toys he wants, and we don't live in a house, and –"

Igraine shook her head. "It doesn't matter how many toys he has or that you live in an apartment. You love him. That's the most important thing. Don't let what she said bother you. You're a wonderful mother."

Hunith quickly wiped under her eyes. "Sorry. This is not the time to have a crisis about motherhood."

Igraine shrugged. "I think it was your turn anyway."

Hunith opened her mouth, but whatever she was going to say was cut off by an all too familiar scream. Igraine and Hunith spun around to see Arthur on the pavement of the basketball court with Merlin squatting next to him.

"Mommy!" Merlin screamed. Hunith and Igraine ran toward the boys. That was Merlin's real scream, his something's wrong scream.

As they got closer, they could hear Arthur crying; he almost never cried unless something was really wrong.

The first thing they saw when they got to the boys was the blood.

"What happened?" Igraine strained to keep her voice even and calm.

"Arfur fell down. We were paying tag, and he fell," Merlin said through his tears. He looked at Hunith. "He say it hurts."

Hunith scooped up Merlin, and he immediately hid his face in her neck and clung to her tightly. Hunith stroked his back soothingly with one hand. With her other, she unsheathed the bag she called her 'mommy bag'. "There's a towel and a first aid kit in there."

Igraine rifled through the bag until she found what she was looking for. As she started to clean off Arthur's face, his cries got louder. "I need to take him to the ER," she whispered to Hunith. "I can drop you off first." It was an empty offer; Igraine knew Hunith would come with her.

Sure enough, "in your dreams." Igraine would have gone with Hunith in a heartbeat if their positions were reversed.

Igraine and Hunith got Merlin and Arthur into their seats – Arthur in his booster seat, and Merlin reluctantly into his car seat that he hadn't quite outgrown yet.

"I need you to hold this to your mouth." Igraine brought Arthur's hand up to the towel. "I know it hurts, but we're gonna take you somewhere and make it all better."

The moment Igraine withdrew her hand, Merlin reached over. He could only just reach the towel. "I help," he insisted with a determined look in his eyes.

While they drove to the ER, Merlin kept Arthur distracted with random stories. Igraine and Hunith didn't even try to follow them, but Arthur's crying slowly quieted until it completely faded. Igraine had never been more grateful for Merlin than she was at that moment.

Igraine couldn't help her smile as she watched them in the rearview mirror. It was easy to see Arthur as the protector, but little moments like this reminded her that Merlin was Arthur's protector every bit as much as Arthur was his. He just protected him in a different way.

When Arthur was released from the ER with a pulled tooth and stitches, Merlin was the first person Arthur wanted to see, and he almost immediately made a smile spread across Arthur's face as he showed off the new gap in his teeth. It made Igraine's heart feel full to know Arthur had a friend like Merlin.