Time had stopped holding much meaning to Merlin around his two hundredth year alive. Days passed, the sun rose and set, and he only kept track of the date out of shear necessity for things such as school when he went. Seasons drifted by, the people around him grew and aged and died, and still time continued to press on. But since Arthur awoke, Merlin found himself more aware of the days and time that passed between them.
It had been a week since their conversation about the fountain. The two men had done their research tracking down the different knights and had formulated plans on how to help them regain their memories.
Which was how, on that particular afternoon, Merlin found himself sitting on the edge of the fountain pretending to read with one earbud playing soft, instrumental music tucked in his ear. The warlock had been waiting for the better part of an hour, and the cold wind had chapped his lips before he'd decided to pull his neckerchief over half his face. Not that it helped too terribly much, but it did make the waiting more bearable.
Flipping another page of the book he'd read countless times in the past, Merlin's eyes lifted to the walking path in front of him, keeping his focus on those that traveled past. Finally, after another ten minutes, he watched a familiar form walk with purpose straight towards him and the fountain.
Gwaine looked different from that day they first saw him in the rain. Instead of a muddy uniform, he wore tight black jeans and an old band shirt that was half hidden beneath a thick jumper and hood. His hair was pulled back with a tie at the base of his neck, but little wisps still fell out around his face.
As the former knight grew nearer, he searched around before pausing, scratching the back of his neck before Merlin tugged down his neckerchief.
"Oh, hello." Gwaine offered a half wave and smile, seeming to recognize the warlock from their encounter the week before. "You're friends with that Arthur bloke right? Pendragon or something? I got a message that he wanted to borrow notes from our Econ class."
Nodding once but not speaking, Merlin looked down at the notebook Gwaine held loosely in his hands. "To be honest I'd never even realized we shared a class, and I really thought I knew everyone there." Another forced laugh came from the man just before his head swiveled left and right, as if the blond he was looking for might be off hiding in the shrubs. "Do you know if he'll be here soon?"
"He should be." Merlin finally found his voice, and the other nodded once.
"Nice fountain." Gwaine uttered after another moment, the notebook slapping against his hand while he rocked back on his heels.
"Yeah, it's very old." Merlin nodded, forcing himself not to cringe away from the awkward tension between them.
"You know, you're mates with Arthur, right? Can I just leave these with you to give to him? I've got class soon." Gwaine asked, a pleading look in his eye as Merlin straightened up and cleared his throat.
"Yeah, sure." Barely holding out his hand, the warlock waited expectantly as the former knight walked forward, passing the book to him. Suddenly, bounding across the grass towards them, was Arthur.
"Wait, isn't that him? Talk about good timing." Gwaine laughed, still letting Merlin take the notebook.
As he did, the warlock scooted away, perching himself right on the very edge of the fountain while tucking the book away into his own bag.
"Sorry, I'm here. I'm here." Arthur panted as he came to a stop between the two men, his hands falling to his knees as he sucked in a few deep breaths.
"No worries, mate. Your friend here already has the notes, so no harm done." Gwaine grinned, patting Arthur on the back as the blond stood up straight and took one last deep breath.
"Oh, great, thanks." Pushing up the sleeves of his sweatshirt, Arthur met Merlin's eye before looking back to their old friend. "You know, I'm sorry about this, Gwaine."
"Really, it's okay." The man uttered, lifting up his hands as Arthur grimaced.
"Not about the notes, man. About this." The blond moved quickly, grabbing hold of Gwaine's shoulders and pushing him forward, the two men stumbling together to the edge of the fountain.
"What the hell, mate?" Gwaine demanded, beginning to fight back as Merlin jumped up and grabbed the man's other shoulder. Together the two men forced the former knight's arms behind his back.
"I'd take a deep breath if I were you." Arthur suggested, and moments later the two shoved Gwaine headfirst into the fountain, submerging his upper half in the water.
The man fought against them, and when a couple of students paused to watch, Arthur sent them away by shouting something about an initiation. While the three struggled, Merlin bit back a curse as his mind raced, trying to think back to when they had decided on this mad endeavor.
Arthur had been pacing around the flat for the better part of two days and it was driving Merlin crazy. This time he was walking about with a package of crisps in hand, occasionally biting into one before he spoke.
"What about a watering can?" Arthur suggested, biting down on another crisp as Merlin tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling.
"You cannot be serious."
"If we need to get the water on them, why not? Do it while they're not looking and whoops, mini rainstorm." Arthur shrugged, pausing in front of the warlock who moved his head to stare at him.
"Given the fact that you were submerged, I get the sense that it's supposed to be the same for the others."
"How do you know for a fact though?" Arthur scoffed, tossing the empty crisp bag into an already overflowing bin and brushing his hands off. "Maybe a light sprinkling would suffice. You know, a lot of baptisms are done that way."
"And there are a lot where you're fully submerged in water, too." Merlin pointed out dryly, running his fingers through his unkempt hair. "If we're going to try something, we should do submersion first. If we try to drizzle water over them then there's no way they'll let us near them again if it doesn't end up working."
"I think you just like making things more difficult than they need to be." Arthur muttered, taking a drink from a bottle of water. "What do you want us to do then? Lure them to that fountain and hold them underwater until they remember?" Merlin's head tipped to the side in intrigue, his mind racing, and Arthur's mouth dropped open. "You cannot be serious."
"What other choice do we have?"
Gwaine's flailing grew more desperate, and Merlin's hand slipped as the man's elbow came flying back, nearly hitting him in the face.
"How long do we do this for?" Arthur hissed, and at the same moment their friend stopped moving, his shoulders relaxing.
"Until right now." Merlin stated, and the two hauled the man up out of the water.
The moment they did Gwaine gasped for air and rammed his shoulder first into Arthur's chest and then threw a too wide punch at Merlin. The former knight was cursing up a storm, though the words were lost in a jumble of sputtering and coughing as the man tried to clear the water from his lungs.
Swinging his bag off his shoulder, Gwaine gripped the strap and swung it out, causing both of the men to jump back away from him and his makeshift weapon. "You psychotic bastards!" The man shouted, coughing again and backing away, all while pushing back the dripping wet hair from his forehead.
"Gwaine—" Arthur tried, only to have the man hold his hand up in warning.
"You two stay the hell away from me!" Turning, Gwaine made it all of two steps before he crumpled to his knees, his bag forgotten at his side and his hands sinking into the grass while his head fell.
"Did it work?" Arthur asked in a loud whisper, both of them keeping their eyes glued to their friend who had begun to groan and clutch his head.
"I'm not sure," Merlin mumbled, shrugging one shoulder. "Go ask him."
"You go ask him!" The blond scowled, pushing his hand into Merlin's back and shoving him forward a step before the warlock swiveled around and grabbed at his arm.
The two struggled for a few seconds back and forth before a loud, coughing wheeze left their friend.
"You're both idiots." The man groaned, pushing himself up from the ground with his bag hanging loosely from one hand. Turning and glaring at the both of them, the former knight slowly began to shake his head. "Why the hell were you two trying to drown me?"
Merlin and Arthur exchanged a look before the blond cleared his throat. "Quick question first. What do you remember?"
"I remember you shoving me into that bloody fountain!" Gwaine shouted, gesturing a hand behind them as Merlin quickly stepped forward with both his hands raised in a calming manner.
"What he means is, do you remember us?"
"Of course I do. You two were under that tree last week when I scored. And I don't mean during the football match." The man uttered, a small smirk tugging at his lips before it faded into a grimace and he was back to gripping his head.
"Anything else?" Merlin pushed, watching as Gwaine shut his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath.
"God, I feel like I've drunk too much ale."
"Ale?" Arthur questioned, hopeful eyes cutting to the warlock again.
Gwaine looked up at the word, and promptly frowned, narrowing his eyes at the two of them. "Odd question, but are either of you aware that you look just like two people from history?"
"Gwaine—"
"Spitting image of them actually." The man said slowly, his fingers massaging the back of his head.
"Gwaine—"
"Your voice even has that same snarky tone."
"Gwaine!" Arthur shouted, his old, commanding tone ringing out around them as the former knight's eyes grew wide. "We are them."
"No, you're not." The man scoffed, disbelief written all over his face.
"Merlin and Arthur." The blond spoke, using his finger to point to each of them with their name. "Arthur and Merlin."
Gwaine stared at the two of them for several long moments before he burst out into loud laughter, his body half bending as he howled with the noise. "Oh, my head hurts." He wheezed, still half laughing as he stood back up. "And I think I need a drink."
The pub was mostly empty given the early afternoon hour, but that didn't stop Gwaine from ordering three shots, all for himself. As his second glass hit the bar table they sat around, Merlin frowned at the slump of his friend's shoulders.
"You two just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" Gwaine scoffed, shaking his head and running his finger over the rim of the third shot glass.
"We need your help, Gwaine." Merlin said quietly, fidgeting with his water glass.
"I was doing good," The man groaned, using his other hand to wipe at his still damp hair. "I was studying. I was working. Now look at me."
Lifting his head again, Gwaine began to bring the third shot to his lips as Arthur's hand went out and caught his arm. "We're sorry about this." Arthur said, his voice more genuine than Merlin had ever heard as Gwaine turned his weary eyes onto them.
"It's just a lot, you know? Two lives are colliding inside my head, and I'm here stuck in between." The man grimaced, rubbing at his temple.
Tell me about it," Arthur sighed, letting go of the man's arm. "I went through the exact same thing last week. That damned headache lasted for nearly three days."
"What about you?" Gwaine asked, lifting his shot glass again and gesturing towards the warlock who had remained more or less silent since they'd sat down.
"I've been alive for centuries." Merlin said, his blunt words settling over the table like a ton of bricks, and Gwaine stared back with an open mouth.
After another moment passed, the former knight set the shot on the table directly in front of the warlock. "I think you need this more than I do, my friend."
The familiar words and friendly gesture brought a wide smile to Merlin's face. "Thanks, but I don't drink anymore."
"I don't see how." Gwaine shook his head, taking the shot and knocking it back. "So, can you explain how this happened? Because it doesn't make any sense."
"Being back? We're still trying to figure it out too." Arthur shrugged, taking a drink of the beer he'd ordered.
"There was a prophecy, back in Camelot. It said that Arthur would return one day, that's why I'm here." Merlin explained, wiping a drop of water off the side of his glass. "I was to wait for him, to be there when he returned. However, nothing was mentioned about you, or anyone else for that matter."
"Are there others here?" Gwaine asked, drumming his fingers along the edge of the table.
"Morgana." Merlin said with a frown.
"We also found Leon around a week ago." Arthur stated, finishing off his drink.
"That's it?"
"So far," Merlin nodded. "We did some research, and we know that some of the others are here. Elyan, Lancelot. But we haven't found anyone else physically."
"Well, I can help you with one of our boys." Gwaine uttered, slapping his hands on the table and leaning forward.
"What? Who?" Arthur and Merlin spoke their questions at the same time.
"Percival." Gwaine shrugged, half turning in his seat.
"Where is he?" Merlin asked with excitement. Out of all of the knights, Percival was the only one they hadn't found as a student at the university.
Gwaine turned further and gestured over to the bar. Standing next to a computer and tugging off his coat was a mountain of a man. With short, buzzed hair and a tattoo wrapping around his arm, Merlin almost didn't recognize their friend. But then he turned, beginning to wash his hands at a sink hidden from view, and there was no doubt left behind.
"Right," Arthur said slowly, lowering his voice as he leaned in close to the warlock. "Time to try that watering can idea?"
A/N
I love the fact that Arthur and Merlin have exactly one braincell shared between them and somehow neither of them possesses it at any given time.
I hope everyone has had a good start to their year! I've been putting a lot of time into both my health and the different stories I'm writing, and I wish you all the same motivation towards whatever your goals may be!
Feel free to leave a comment, they always brighten up my day!