(A/N: I got this idea because I wanted to write in this writing style and so I sat there until I came up with a good idea. Basically I thought, well, there is a lot of stories like this in Merlin's point of view; he finds Arthur blah blah, but I haven't found one like this in Arthur's, like...some crazy man comes to him, tells him he's a dead king, so I went with it. It will be a chapter fic. I don't own Merlin, or the actors would have been paid more, there would have been more seasons, Merthur would have been (even more) canon and instead of a battle of Camlann there would have been a tea party.)

It had been another normal day, just like any other before it. Arthur was late for his environment class and couldn't find his left shoe. Flat on his stomach in his bedroom, Arthur stretched his hand under his bed. He found many things under it, in that vase black hole of dirt; his missing wooly sock he had needed when it was really cold last month, a fish bone, he blamed that on his cat, Noodles, a book he had thrown out of frustration last semester, and possibly a mouse or a very big and alive dust bunny. He wasn't sure. Even so, he hadn't found his left shoe and cursed as he came back up for air, standing on his knees.

"Where the hell is that shoe?" he asked himself, looking around his room, as he raked his fingers through his blond hair in confusion. He had only worn these Nike's two days ago; he had left both of them at the end of his dresser, knowing he would need them again. Rolling his eyes, he stood, he was really late now. Deciding class was probably more important than his favorite pair of shoes, Arthur slipped on his boots, grabbed his bag and keys. Shouted a goodbye to Mr. Noodles and headed out to his car.

He lived in a nice bit of town, close to the university; he only had to take one major road to get to his school. The rest of the roads he took were small, through the town. Arthur liked the idea of a small town, with stoned sidewalks and one bookstore, right next to the only coffee shop (because that was most convenient.) Everyone knew your name and if you were sick, some old lady would bring you a container of her famous chicken noodle soup. Arthur liked chicken noodle soup, but sadly, no old lady showed up at his door the last time he was sick, but he had his whole life to work on that. Arthur was still young, the town was still wary of him and his friends, but Arthur never held any insane parties at his house or sold drugs out of the backseat of his car, so that at least prompted Mrs. Horan to give him an extra muffin from the coffee shop once in awhile, Arthur would gladly take it, for now.

His University was nice, a bit of a pain in the ass though, some of the classes were hard and Arthur was more than certain he'd never need like half of this shit in his life, but he took it all with a grain of salt. It was free after all. He had gotten into this school on his talent alone; he had gotten a scholarship for Footie, which meant extra work, but Arthur had never been a slacker. He still wasn't sure if Footie was the only thing he wanted to do for the rest of his life, or at least, a major part of it, he could be a business man like his father or a nurse (or doctor rather) like his mother. But Arthur still had time decide his fate, so as he pulled into a parking spot in front of the school, he turned off the car and jumped out.

Arthur wasn't overly interested in the environment, he recycled every Tuesday, when the truck came to pick up the recycle bin. He'd never cut down any tree and only peed outside once, and that was an emergency! So, that's why Arthur only half listened to Professor Nitwit…or was it Knittings, Arthur didn't really care. The man went on and on about how the Earth was dying and they would all be doomed soon enough, Arthur thought that he was a bit over dramatic, people had been saying the Earth was dying forever now and here they still where, alive. And this man, Professor Nitwit, made it sound like their doom would be upon them before lunchtime. Arthur thought longingly of a burger for lunch.

On his way home, Arthur stopped by his favorite burger joint in town and picked up his lunch, before heading home. He lived in a small, one bedroom house, just enough room for him and Mr. Noodles. He liked the property right away, it was a condo, which Arthur hadn't known at the time he bought it, (he had grown up in quite big house with his family,) but it was joined with another home. The small family that lived next door were lovely, Arthur wondered if they had an old lady who made soup. But alas, it was only a married couple and their little baby. The baby was a new arrival and ever since she had come about, Arthur had been even quieter, not wanting to disturb her and in return, she had only woke him up once from crying. Arthur parked his car in the driveway and padded inside, being greeted right away by Noodles; he sat on the washer, that stood by the back entrance to the house and Arthur patted his head. He set the food down on the table and pulled his jacket from his arms. Mr. Noodles was on his tail, figuratively speaking, as Arthur headed to his bedroom and took off the boots, dropped the jacket on his bed and turned back, going back to the kitchen.

Arthur sat in the sitting room, neglecting the homework he had to do, while he ate his burger, heavily interested in The Avengers on the telly. He had just finished his lunch, rolling up the papers in his hands, he stood, walking through the kitchen to the trash. As he threw it away, he heard a knock on the door. Rolling his eyes, he headed to the door then. On the other side of it was his girlfriend, Pepper, name very fitting. Her hair was red as a red pepper and her lipstick sometimes tasted spicy, Arthur didn't mention that to her though. He pulled open the door, after seeing her waving madly from the little window in the kitchen door.

"Hello!" she greeted him, pulling him into a kiss, before skirting around him and picking up Mr. Noodles, it was she who had gotten him the cat. At first, Arthur had been insulted, what kind of birthday present was a small, living thing for a twenty three year old? But two years later, he absolutely loved that cat. Pepper smiled sweetly at him from the sofa now, as she watched him make her a drink. Delivering it, he sat down next to her and continued watching the movie. She made noises next to him, so he paused it, (it was getting to the best part, when Thor finally shows up,) and he glanced at her.

"Why are you watching superhero movies when you have homework?"

He shrugged, because he was procrastinating, obviously and really, there should be a superhero class at school, he would take that gladly.

"Don't feel much like doing it right now," he said. She tutted. "But I will," he thought he'd better reassure her; she wasn't his boss, but she liked to think she was. "Later."

"Always later with you," she said, but didn't look annoyed, like his mother did when she had told him the same thing. "I've got to go home and see my papa, you know, he's ill."

"Yeah," Arthur nodded, her 'papa' had been ill for ages now. "Tell him I hope he feels better."

"I will, thank you sweetie," she kissed his cheek and he was sure red lipstick was all over his face, he grimaced. She giggled at him and whipped it off.

After a few hours of cuddling on the couch, Pepper left. Arthur hadn't noticed before, too busy watching TV, but it had started raining. He thanked god, once again, that Mr. Noodles was a cat and not a dog, as he turned back to the feline and watched him looking alarmed at the water coming down. A bit of thunder suddenly sounded through the air and Arthur laughed, watching as the cat's eyes widened and with one swish of his tail, turned around and booked it, surely going to hide under Arthur's bed, in the black hole from hell.

"Scaredy cat!" Arthur called after him.

Arthur had decided then, he had better get on to his homework, if not now, then he never would. He opened his environment book, back on the couch now. Blah, blah, blah, he thought, looking over the text in the third chapter. More thunder cracked outside and he sighed, secretly hoping his power would go out. Then how could he do his homework? Oh no! Professor Nitwit would somehow get over it. As the night grew on, the thunder got worse, Arthur wondered, good humouredly (or extremely childishly) if Thor and Loki were having a fight in Asgard, the thought took his mind from the environment once again and made him laugh.

The sounds outside sounded very much like BOOM, CRASH, CLANK. Arthur had long since given up on homework and now he lie in bed, petting Mr. Noodles' head lazily, trying to comfort the cat. So he didn't run under the bed again. BOOM, CLASH, CLANK. This storm was relentless. BOOM CLASH, CLANK. Arthur closed his eyes, trying to sleep but the sounds of the storm kept him awake. He didn't have anything too important planned for the next day, so sleeping in would be alright, nice even. BOOM, CRASH, CLANK…TAP.

"What the hell was that?" Arthur asked, eyes opening automatically, looking around the dark room. TAP, TAP, there it was again. "What the hell?"

Dislodging his scared cat from his arm, Arthur sat up. He looked at the clock and saw it was after midnight, no one would come over this late. He watched as Mr. Noodles, (looking at Arthur like he was the biggest bastard to ever live) jump on the floor and go weaseling under the bed. TAP, TAP, TAP. Arthur got up then, stomping out, whoever it was, was about to get an ear full. He walked to the front door, moving a few things, like a box he needed to send to his sister, with her birthday present in it. He pulled open the door with a jerk. He didn't know the bloke who stood there. He looked a few years older than Arthur, maybe twenty seven or twenty eight, he had a bit of stubble and really dark, raven hair. His blue eyes struck Arthur as they blew wide when seeing him. He grumbled at Arthur. He looked a bit homeless too, Arthur thought, wearing a long brown trench coat, a light blue (or at one point it might have been cream) sweater, he looked like he hadn't showered in a while, even though he was completely soaking wet from rain.

"Uh, buddy…um-"

"Arthur!" he said, as if the name meant wonders to him, Arthur raised an eyebrow, what the hell? How did this guy know his name?

"Uh...yeah?"

"Arthur!"

"Yeah, Arthur," he said, getting a little annoyed now. "Who the hell are you?"

At that very moment, it looked like a knife had pierced the man's heart. Arthur wish he had known what he had done to offend him, maybe he didn't like the word hell? Some people were like that, the real religious kind. Arthur respected that.

"Um, who are you?" he asked again. The man looked close to tears, breathing in and out heavily. Arthur considered calling the police.

"You don't know?"

Arthur shook his head, wishing he hadn't left his cell phone in the bedroom.

"Uh, um, listen, if you need money or something…"

He looked offended, gasping in for air, which sounded a bit shaky. Tears fell now, mixing in with the rain drizzling down the dark haired man's face. Arthur just stare, he was surely going to be murdered. He made sure he thought of his mother one more time, as he backed up a bit.

"I think you should leave," he said now, bravely. He had always been the brave sort. His friend's told him so, when he was the only one who would climb the tree to Mariah Miller's bedroom window, when her dad was home. But this was different; he was going to be murdered for real this time. "A homeless shelter-"

"I'm not leaving," the bloke said, shaking his head. "You have to remember me!"

"I have no idea who you are, I'm sorry," Arthur told him, glancing around the room for anything that would be hard enough to whack this guy in the head with. In the end, he found nothing close enough. "I've never seen you before."

More tears, Arthur was truly scared now. He shouldn't have opened the door, he should have went and hid under the bed, in the black hole, with Mr. Noodles. Oh god, this guy would probably eat his cat for breakfast, after he finished chopping Arthur's body into pieces and littering him in the backyard, like fertilizer!

"You have to remember me; I've waited so long for this, please…" the man begged, Arthur shook his head, gulping. "I'm Merlin."

"Merlin?"

"Yes!" said the man, suddenly looking a bit more hopeful. But the only Merlin Arthur had ever heard of was the wizard bloke Ron Weasley liked to talk about in Harry Potter. "Do you remember me now?"

Arthur shook his head, eyes wide with fear as the man, Merlin, looked defeated once again.

"I don't understand, how do you not know who I am?" he asked, Arthur shrugged. "I thought you would, I've been looking for you for so long."

"Maybe you're looking for someone else."

"No, it's you, I can feel it, it is you."

Arthur felt fearful again, wondering how long he would have if he shoved the man back, deeper into the rain and shut the door. Maybe he would have enough time to get his cat and get the hell out of there.

"Arthur, you have to remember, me. I'm Merlin…I've waited, oh gods, so long."

Shut the door, get the cat, forget shoes or clothes, get the keys, run like hell…

"The dragon told me you'd come back, I just thought-"

Sobs worked through the bloke's body now, suddenly, as he fell to his knees at Arthur's door. Oh my god, Arthur didn't know what to do. What do you do when some stranger comes to your door, saying he knows you and then starts crying? His story would surely be told on the news over and over. They'd probably never find the man, after he was done killing Arthur and eating his cat, he would skip off to Ireland and pray upon some other unexpecting bloke. Merlin probably wasn't even his name, what kind of name was Merlin anyway?

"Uh…bu-Merlin…uh…"

He looked up, sad blue eyes and all. Arthur bit his lip.

"I shouldn't have come here!" he suddenly said, loud and gasping. He struggled to his feet. "I should have waited; I just wanted to see you. I've missed you so much."

"I've never met you before!" Arthur shouted now, this was insane, literally insane. Maybe he was dreaming, he must be, this stuff doesn't just happen in real life.

"Arthur…" said the man, suddenly falling forward. Arthur rushed toward him; Merlin was face down on the floor now, half inside the house, half still being rained on. Arthur gulped, what should he do now? Most of his brain told him to call the police, but for some reason, he didn't listen to that part, he listened to the part that said drag the insane man into your home and put him on your sofa. And that's what Arthur did, shutting the door and the rain out, after. He looked at him now.

He sort of reminded Arthur of Cas, from Supernatural, he wore a long, brown coat too and had dark hair. But Arthur hardly thought this guy was an angle. Merlin, if that really was his name, was muttering things now. Things like 'stay with me' and 'destiny,' Arthur was starting to regret listening to that part of his brain that thought this was okay. He tapped the bloke on the shoulder.

"Um…Merlin...?"

The bloke didn't stir, just let more tears slip from his closed eyes. Arthur bit his lip.

"Ar-thur..." he muttered, twitching slightly.

"Merlin!" Arthur shook him. This had to be settled, whatever this guy's mental state was. "Excuse me, wake up!"

Merlin's blue eyes popped open and blew wide again, just like they had before.

"Arthur…" then his face fell. "Oh."

"Look, dude-"

"No, Arthur, you have to listen to me," said the man, sitting up quickly. Arthur backed up, alarmed. "This isn't you, this isn't your life. You…you're a king."

"Wh-what?" said Arthur, this just kept getting worse and worse. He felt his belly churn, he wanted to throw up. What a way to end your life, listening to this moron go on. "Just kill me already, if you're going to. I haven't got time for this!"

Merlin looked taken aback, "I'm not going to kill you, Arthur, I would never hurt you."

"I find that hard to believe, you come to my house, in the middle of the night, telling me you know who I am, and pass out on my floor. Please…just leave!" Arthur told him. He looked just as sick as Arthur felt. Arthur also felt kind of bad though, maybe he really was looking for someone that looked like Arthur. "I'm sorry I'm not who you're looking for."

"You are, you're Arthur!" said the man, standing up, on shaky legs. He tried to walk closer to Arthur, but he put his hands up to stop him, Merlin froze then. "I don't know why you don't remember. But you're Arthur, King of Camelot, you died and….and I've been waiting for you."

Arthur's mouth fell open, this guy, he should be on the telly. The shit that comes out of his mouth!

"I'm no king," Arthur told him" I'm just Arthur, Arthur Pennicott and I've never met you before and I haven't died..." he said, he hadn't died yet anyway. Merlin shook his head.

"No, you are Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, I'm Merlin…you're…you're manservant."

"Are you on drugs?" Arthur finally asked what he had been wondering for…well, since Merlin had opened his mouth.

"Arthur, please!" he begged again. "Remember me!"

"I don't know who you are, I'm sorry!"