Till There Was You

Chapter 2

Characters~ Arthur & Merlin

Warnings~ chibi!Arthur and Merlin, fluff, hiccups, birds, autumn, schoolyard bullying, terminal illness, some Parked!themes...

Disclaimer~ I don't own Merlin in any way, shape, or form—Arthur does. ^w^

Music on My Mind~ Out of My Heart (Into Your Head) by BBMak (don't own)

Notes from the KIT-chan~

Kid!Merthur twoshot for yasminty and lilybells. Enjoy~ ^^

.::.~*Kit Shadow~*.::.

~o~

At that moment, the whole playground, including Cenred himself, stood still, watching the raven with amazed, incredulous expressions on their faces.

The next minute, Cenred was laughing raucously. "Are you kidding me, Pendragon?" he gibed, elbowing one of his goons in the stomach. "This runtfor a bodyguard? You've got absolutely no chance."

Arthur gazed disbelievingly at the raven, then back at the tall brunette. Merlin only stood his ground and slowly shook his head at Cenred, as if in a threatening sort of manner.

In that instant, a fuse had set off in the bully's mind, and soon Cenred started forward with the intention of grabbing the younger boy where he stood—if not for his friends, who'd rushed forth to hold him back when the teacher came outside to call the students back in.

With that, Cenred was forced to reluctantly back off, glaring at Merlin and then at Arthur.

"This isn't over, Pendragon," he growled, immediately narrowing his eyes at the raven. "And you, Emrys—you better watch your back there. Just because of your 'special treatment' doesn't mean I can't break you like a twig any time I want," he spat out acerbically.

But Merlin only stuck his tongue out at the brunette, who'd hissed back before letting his friends take him back inside the school. When all was well, the raven turned around and smiled at his best friend, helping a dazed Arthur back up on his feet.

"Merlin—" the blonde began to utter.

But before he could say anything more, the raven had already left.

~o~

That afternoon, the young Pendragon followed Merlin back to their usual spot by the pond and quietly sat down beside the younger boy to watch the little ducklings climb out over on the side, flapping their wings.

The raven lowered his gaze for a moment, then looked back at the small birds. "...I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth," he spoke in a hushed whisper, leaning forward against his curled up knees. "Then I ask myself the same question."

Arthur glanced at his friend, then turned to lightly toss a pebble into the dark water. The next few minutes consisted of nothing but dead silence between them as they continued to observe the family of ducks from afar.

Then finally, the blonde brought himself to speak again in a soft tone. "Merlin...why did you do that?" he asked, looking at the ground. "Why did you...stand up for me like that? You know perfectly that Cenred could have easily hurt you, too."

There was a long pause.

Merlin let out a small sigh and uncurled his knees, not looking at Arthur even once. "Because you're my friend," he replied in a clear, even tone. "And friends always look out for each other."

The Pendragon took a deep breath, tossing another pebble into the pond's depths. "Isn't that what they usually say for brothers?" he replied.

Suddenly, the raven grew quiet.

Arthur shot a quick look at him, then back at the pond. "I mean...not that I couldn't already think of you as a brother, Merlin. It feels like we've been together for an awfully long time now, doesn't it?"

Merlin said nothing.

"...Merlin?"

No response.

At that, the blonde shifted closer next to the raven, staring at him with concerned eyes. "Merlin."

Silence.

"Have you ever seen a leaf...fall from its branch?"

In that instant, Arthur looked up to see his best friend, staring up at the trees surrounding them.

"...it's a beautiful thing," the raven murmured in a soft voice.

Arthur listened wordlessly, not knowing what to say in response.

But Merlin let out a weak chuckle, then hung his head, continuing in an even quieter tone.

"I actually did have a brother once, you know," he began, fighting to hold back tears that were forming under his eyes. He swallowed hard and looked up at the stars. "When we lived in our old house, he used to bring me outside just after the sun went down so that he could show me all the buildings at night when each and every one of their windows would light up a different colour."

The raven shifted his gaze down at the sky's reflection in the pond and sniffled. "S'like a city of fireworks that have exploded all at once," he chuckled, imitating the sound of a grand explosion.

Arthur's eyes instantly softened on the latter. "Merlin..."

At that point, Merlin was sniffling and slowly shaking his head, but he quickly rubbed a hand over his face to wipe his tears. "But that was before...he ran away, though," he spoke in a shakily. Then he closed his eyes and stifled a sob. "Before when he was...still alive..."

Immediately, Arthur reached over to take the raven into his arms, comforting him.

Hot tears rolled down the raven's cheeks, and finally he gave in to weeping. "Cathal..."

The blonde rubbed his back, holding him close to his chest. "Shh...it's okay."

Merlin sniffled, dropping Aithusa and wrapping his arms tightly around his best friend.

Arthur took a deep breath, resting his chin on the latter's head with a solemn expression on his face.

~o~

From that point on, the word brother was never mentioned between them ever again.

The next evening after school, Arthur quietly took Merlin's hand and led him down the usual path back to the Pendragon home.

...or so Merlin thought.

"Arthur, where are we going?" the raven asked, not recognising the hill that they were soon walking up on.

At this, the blonde only chuckled, glancing back at his best friend. "You'll see," he laughed in reply before turning to continue. "Consider this a shortcut I found recently."

Merlin frowned dubiously, then stopped all of a sudden when he found himself standing in front of a bunch of bushes beside Arthur.

"Arthur," he began, eyeing the blonde curiously. "What is this—"

But the young Pendragon held a hand out to make him quiet. "Shh—for heaven's sake, don't be such a girl, Merlin. Just close your eyes."

In that instant, the raven sighed, reluctantly following the blonde's order, and when he did, Arthur smiled to himself as he grabbed his best friend's hand and led him beyond the thick bushes.

~o~

"Alright...open them."

Merlin frowned, standing still beside the Pendragon. "Are you sure?" he replied sceptically.

There was a sharp exhale. "Merlin."

The raven grumbled, muttering the word prat under his breath. "Alright, fine—" he began but abruptly stopped mid-sentence as soon as he lifted his eyelids, only to find the view of a grand city laid out below him from the top of the hill—numerous skyscrapers and buildings that looked oddly familiar to the ones he'd been acquainted with for so long when he was a lot younger...

It was impossible, but...then again...didn't all cities look the same?

"Well—do you like it?" Arthur beamed, standing beside his best friend, amused at the surprised expression on the other's face.

At that point, Merlin was all but speechless. "Arthur...this is—"

The blonde laughed, gazing out at the dazzling cityscape with bright eyes. "I found this place over the weekend when Mum took us out for a picnic. I thought you might like the view from this angle," he chuckled. "And it's not far from the park, either, so technically it's not far from home."

The raven's eyes softened as he watched his best friend run back towards the bushes.

"Come on, Merlin! You're not going to just stand there, are you? There's a lot more to see!" Arthur called back.

At this, Merlin grinned and couldn't help but follow him in delight.

~o~

For all the raven knew, the place could as well be their new usual spot from now on. The grass was decorated with vibrant flowers, and there was so much wide open space for running—not to mention the taller trees that were abundant enough for them to play tag and hide-and-seek in. Or both.

Speaking of which...

"Too slow, Merlin!" Arthur called, glancing at the raven over his shoulder.

A confident gleam appeared in Merlin's eyes as he rushed headlong towards the blonde. That instant, it felt spectacular to be defying what his body could and couldn't enable him to do—and running had, all his life, been one thing that his mother had always forbade him from doing just because of his terrible condition.

For right now the young raven was having the time of his life, and there was nothing that would stand between him and enjoying himself with his best friend.

Soon, the blonde jumped out from behind another tree and dashed off again in the opposite direction. "Alright, Merlin! That's it! Your turn to count to ten!"

At that moment, the raven laughed, hiding behind one of the trees and covering his eyes with his hands as he started to count out loud.

"One...two...three...four...five...six..."

He heard a rustle in the distance, which probably could be Arthur jumping into one of the thick bushes. Merlin took a deep breath and continued to count.

"Seven...eight...nine..."

By the time the raven finally reached ten, he opened his eyes immediately, only to find himself standing all alone in the middle of the wood. In that instant, he let out a long sigh, instinctively making his way towards the bushes nearby by when yet another rustle suddenly disturbed the calm, surrounding silence.

"Arthur!" Merlin cried almost triumphantly, approaching the shrub with a big grin on his face. "Arthur! You dollophead—I know you're in there—"

HISS.

But when he reached over to pull one of the bushes back, he didn't see the young blonde. Instead he saw a large black and yellow snake staring at him with an intimidating glare and baring its long fangs dangerously.

Merlin gasped, quickly stepping back from the bush, only to have the serpent-like creature follow him in an instant. He closed his eyes and gulped, frozen where he stood without a clue of what to do...for this animal was very different from any of the harmless little green snakes he'd often played with before in his mother's small garden. If he made any sudden move, it would kill him immediately with its venomous bite, and if he screamed...

But it would be too late.

"ARTH—" the raven started to shout.

"Shh—Merlin."

At that moment, Merlin opened his eyes to meet concerned, fearful blue eyes a few feet from where he was standing.

"Arthur," he'd all but managed to utter, tears welling up over his cheeks. "Arthur, help me."

Arthur winced and slowly emerged from the trees, holding a finger to his lips. "Shh...Merlin, it's going to be all right. Just do exactly as I tell you, and the snake won't hurt you."

In that instant, the raven anxiously nodded once, flinching the minute he'd heard the foul creature hiss at him another time. He quickly shifted his gaze towards it, his breath abruptly going still.

"What do I do?" Merlin whispered frantically to the blonde.

But at that point, Arthur was already tiptoeing towards the snake, holding a large rock firmly in his hand.

"Hold. Still. And say nothing."

As the young Pendragon raised his arm to smash the creature with his weapon, the raven squeezed his eyes shut and fought hard to hold back a scream.

THUMP.

~o~

When Merlin opened his eyes, he found himself back at the park, sitting on one of the benches and leaning against Arthur's chest. He instantly raised his head, fearfully searching for the horrifying snake.

But he only saw his best friend, eyes filled with anxiety for him.

"Merlin—are you all right?" the young Pendragon whispered briskly, carefully propping him up on the wooden bench.

Merlin took a deep breath and weakly nodded once. "Yeah," he croaked in a hoarse voice.

At this, Arthur let out a small sigh of relief. But the apprehension on his face was still clear enough for the young raven to see.

Merlin frowned, narrowing his eyes at him. "What's wrong?" he managed to utter.

There was a long pause. "Merlin...you don't look so good."

In that instant, the raven held his breath and instinctively knew what was going on, for it had happened to him countless times when he was younger.

The one thing that he sadly remembered his mother had always warned him about before—why he could never run or climb trees or play football with his friends...

Before long, he could feel his chest tightening up just like before, and he could feel the blonde stiffen beside him. "Merlin—I'm going to get help—"

Thud.

"Merlin!"

~o~

The last thing the raven remembered was gasping for air, and then everything had faded into a blur.

He could still hear Arthur's voice, though, shouting his name anxiously.

"Merlin—MERLIN!"

But when he woke up, the blonde was nowhere in sight. Instead, he found himself in a hospital bed with his mother crying by his side and holding his hand tightly.

Immediately, Merlin's eyes grew wide, and he searched frantically around the room for his best friend...until he'd caught the young Pendragon standing outside in the hallway with the person who used to be his personal physician when he was very young.

Oh no.

~o~

Gaius had told Arthur everything about his former patient's condition—from how he had suffered the terrible ailment since birth to the rough estimate of how much time the little raven would have left to spend in this world.

Soon after, the blonde had found himself staring painfully at his friend through the window glass.

~o~

"...why didn't you tell me?"

Arthur let out a long sigh, gingerly holding the raven's pale hand in his.

Merlin lowered his gaze and gave the latter's palm a gentle squeeze.

"Because...you were the only person who didn't treat me differently like everybody else and accepted me for who I really was," he replied in a hushed whisper. When he raised his head to look at the young Pendragon again, tears were rolling down his cheeks. "I was afraid...that if I told you everything, you'd stop playing with me like they all did..."

At this point, Merlin was crying, and Arthur had moved forward to wrap his arms warmly around his best friend. The raven sniffled, nuzzling his face into the other's shoulder.

The blonde took a deep breath, gently stroking the middle of his friend's back. "Shh...it's alright," he whispered softly into the latter's hair. "...I'm not 'everybody else'."

~o~

In the succeeding night, however, Arthur was at a loss in how to spend the remaining time with his one and only friend.

Better yet, he didn't even know if he should continue to be with the young raven, for it was his fault in the first place that Merlin had experienced...

Arthur vigorously shook his head and exhaled sharply.

Ten days, Gaius had said before in the emergency room. Ten days and Merlin's heart wouldn't have anything left to give...

The young Pendragon growled in frustration, slamming his fist against the wall behind him.

~o~

After three days, because Gaius had managed to pull a few strings for his former patient's sake, Merlin was allowed to return to his own home.

However, he had been forbidden from returning to school and was instructed to stay in bed—and for some reason Arthur had no longer been around to keep him company, which made him feel very sad inside.

It wasn't until the following morning did he realise why he wasn't getting any word from him anymore and why he didn't have to go back to school...when he'd overheard his mother talking to Arthur's mother early dawn when he had been supposed to be still asleep.

On Monday afternoon, he and his mother were going to move to a place where he would receive special treatment for his condition from doctors his father once had old connections with—but it would be very, very far...away from Camelot and Arthur himself...and Merlin didn't want that.

So in the late evening, when Hunith had gone out for a brief moment to take out the trash, the young raven had, after lots of waiting and careful planning, snuck out the back door of his own house and back to the only other place he knew how to go to: the Pendragon home.

~o~

It took a while for Merlin to find the one path that he and Arthur would usually take when they walked home together from school, but after a few tries, he finally found himself walking past the familiar gray house.

By this time, it was raining hard outside, so the raven quickly rushed up the front steps to ring the doorbell. But just as he was about to press the small button, he suddenly stopped short upon catching a quick glance over at the window nearby.

Its curtains were pushed back all the way, revealing a group of children gathered around a round table, with a large cake with candles sitting at the very centre. And standing from his seat in the middle of the group was none other than the blonde himself with his little sister, prodding him to blow out the candles and to make a wish.

At that moment, Merlin held his breath and froze, gradually retracting his hand away from the door,

For so long he'd been with his best friend, spending so much time together that one would think that the world could as well revolve around just the two of them. But in reality, it didn't—and the raven instantly felt a twinge of pain deep inside his heart as he pictured the very idea of him preventing the young Pendragon from having a happy, normal life of his own—one that Merlin knew painfully that he himself would never be able to have due to the condition that he was born with.

And so the raven slowly backed away from the front door, tears welling up over his cheeks as he peered through the frosted glass and as he realised just how much time he must have taken away from Arthur to that point—each day he would spend taking care of him instead of playing with his other friends from school or tending to his own sister who had a much better chance at life than he ever would...

Merlin shook his head desolately, turning to walk off in the pouring rain.

~o~

"C'mon, Arthur, make a wish," Morgana offered, poking his older brother on the shoulder.

But Arthur only let out a sigh, thinking how his best friend would have loved to be there at that moment instead of being locked up sick in his room at home. He frowned at the candles, then briefly glanced over at the window to see the raindrops accumulate on the foggy glass.

For a moment, he thought he'd even seen the young raven himself standing outside on the front porch staring at him from afar...but when he looked again after another instant when Gwaine made a show of dipping a finger into his birthday cake, no one was there.

~o~

Merlin sniffled as he clutched his backpack and pulled the blue hood of his sweatshirt over his drenched hair.

At that point, he knew that he would be all alone, and no one would be there to help him this time. He had no idea where else to go or what to do, and even if he thought of going back home to his mother who was probably worried sick about him now, he hadn't a clue of how to return.

The raven held back a sob, reaching into his backpack to search for the one thing he knew would at least cheer him up a little...but stiffened when he realised the latter was not there.

"Aithusa," Merlin whispered anxiously, digging frantically into his bag—until he remembered the last time he'd had the dragon plush with him in his possession.

Immediately, he ran for the local park.

~o~

The blonde's face grew sombre as he turned away from the window, only to see his mother enter the crowded room with the wireless phone in her hand.

"Arthur," Ygraine spoke in a soft voice, stepping carefully into the sea of children. "Arthur, honey, it's Gwen. I think she wants to speak to you."

In that instant, her son nodded once, moving past his other friends to grab the phone from his mother's hand and step outside into the hallway.

"Guinevere," he spoke evenly, clearing his throat.

But on the other line, the brunette's voice was distraught and full of apprehension. "Arthur, you've got to help."

Immediately, the Pendragon's eyes became intent. "Guinevere, what's wrong?" he asked in a troubled tone.

There was a sob, then a sniffle in response. "Arthur...it's—it's Merlin. His mum came over here all worried sick. Turns out he...ran away from home."

At that moment, Arthur's face grew rigid, and he almost dropped the phone.

"Where did he go?"

~o~

When Merlin made it back to the park, he searched aimlessly for his stuffed companion—on the bench where he was last seated and even behind the trees

But unfortunately, Aithusa was nowhere to be found.

The raven let out a sharp exhale, eyes darting worriedly for his little friend.

That was when he heard a low chuckle from behind, and turned around to see Cenred and his gang standing a few feet away from him, the tall, brown-haired brute clutching the small white dragon in his hands.

"Looking for this?" Cenred taunted, raising the plush toy up in the air over Merlin's head.

The young raven only sniffled, reaching desperately for his treasured toy. "Give him back, Cenred," he pleaded, in a soft voice. "Please...I'm begging you. He hasn't done anything wrong."

But before long, one of the older boys had shoved him to the ground and looked down at him with malevolent expressions on their faces.

Cenred chuckled darkly. "And you? You should have thought twice before sticking up for your good-for-nothing friend," he drawled, stuffing Aithusa in his pocket and kicking Merlin hard in the stomach.

The raven let out a cry of pain, writhing on the blacktop.

~o~

"Merlin!"

Arthur sprinted out into the rain, searching frantically for his best friend.

"Merlin, where are you?" he cried anxiously.

No answer.

The blonde took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, running instantly to the one other place he knew the raven would go besides the Pendragon home. But by the time he had reached the front entrance of the local park, his attention was caught immediately when he saw Cenred and his goons goofing off just outside the gate, throwing around something that seemed oddly familiar to him that very instant:

A small white dragon plush toy who he'd only known by Merlin's past words to be named...

Aithusa.

Quickly, the young Pendragon rushed over to where they were standing, facing the schoolyard bully with vicious eyes.

"Cenred," he spat out bitterly, sharpening his glare on the tall brunette. "Where's Merlin?"

At that moment, Cenred laughed raucously, rolling his eyes at the shorter blonde. "Why on earth should I tell you?" he chuckled, stuffing the plush into his pocket again. He narrowed his eyes. "After all, he got what he deserved...for your sake."

The rest of the boys jeered and gibed at Arthur.

But the Pendragon would not have any of it this time. At that point, he no longer cared how dreadfully outnumbered he had been, for out of instinct and concern of his one and only best friend, he clenched his fists tightly and tackled Cenred head-on with all of his might, avoiding and completely avoiding the rest of his gang who'd immediately tried assailing him from behind.

~o~

Meanwhile, Merlin was lying face-down in the tall grass among the trees, not having any idea where he was at that point. All he knew was that he was alone, and every part of his body hurt so much.

Slowly, he struggled on his hands and knees, searching hopelessly for help—for someone who could get him out of the pouring rain.

But after a few seconds, he suddenly felt a sharp jolt inside his beating heart and inhaled sharply, and soon enough, he found himself on the ground again, weak and unable to move.

~o~

Arthur let out a cry in frustration, giving Cenred a final kick in the stomach, then sprinted off into the park with Aithusa in hand.

"Merlin!" he shouted again, looking aimlessly for his beloved friend. But there was still heard nothing of the young raven, and so the blonde continued to run—up to the point where he dashed past the taller trees of the wood he'd taken him to the other day which now seemed almost an eternity ago.

...and it wasn't long before he'd found a crumpled Merlin lying face-down in the grass, motionless in the lower part of the big hill overlooking the vast cityscape.

~o~

That was it, the young raven thought crestfallenly to himself, feeling his heartbeat become fainter and fainter as the seconds passed. They would find him out here in the middle of the wood, wondering what such a small, stupid boy was doing so far away from home without his parents.

At that point, he could hear his mother crying bitterly for him...and Arthur—Arthur would be terribly heartbroken.

But in a few days, he would still probably be better off—playing with a new best friend better than he was. Perhaps this time, it would be a girl, and he would forget all about him so he wouldn't feel any more pain...

Merlin closed his eyes and let hot tears roll down his cheeks as images of the blonde began to flood the dark corners his mind.

But suddenly, he held his breath as soon as he'd felt a warm hand on his shoulder and heard a soft, familiar voice.

"Merlin."

~o~

After a moment, the raven looked up to see Arthur looking down at him with pained eyes, and judging from the other's expression, he knew that the blonde fully understood what was going on. The young Pendragon carefully took him into his arms at that point, kissing his forehead and holding him gingerly as they made their way up the big hill and settled under one of the tall trees.

By that time, it had finally stopped raining, and the sun was about to finally sink into the horizon.

Merlin could see clearly that his best friend was trying very hard not to cry. He softened his gaze and gave the other's hand a gentle squeeze. "Arthur," he uttered faintly.

The blonde took a deep breath, holding him close to his chest. "Shh...don't speak," he managed to murmur, just above a hushed whisper.

But the raven only closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. "How did you find me?" he asked in a small, ragged tone.

At this, Arthur swallowed hard and stared straight into his dull ocean blue irises. "Gwen called," he replied hoarsely. "She told me everything that happened." He stopped for a moment, exhaling unevenly. "Your mum's awfully worried about you...you know?" he spoke, his countenance going tense as his voice began to falter. "And then I found Cenred with..."

"Aithusa," Merlin whispered, immediately spotting the small white dragon under the blonde's arm and affectionately patting the plush toy's head. He smiled weakly. "You shouldn't have gone to look for me," he answered softly. "Now your mum's probably worried about you, too."

Arthur sniffed, sucking another gulp of air. "At least she saw me leave, you..."

A tear rolled down Merlin's cheek. "Happy Birthday, Arthur."

At that moment, the young Pendragon's eyes widened, and tears began to well up under his eyes. "Merlin..."

The raven chuckled weakly, coughing a little as he spoke. "I'm sorry...that I took so much time away from you...from having your own normal life with better friends..."

Arthur let out a sharp exhale and pulled the latter closer to him. "Don't say that," he spoke in a clear tone. "You know you'll always be my best friend...no matter what happens."

At this, Merlin's expression lit up at just the slightest. "You're too good of a person, you know that? Even if you are a prat sometimes."

Arthur laughed half-heartedly, feeling a lump begin to form in the middle of his throat.

Merlin lowered his gaze, delicately intertwining his small fingers with his best friend's. "I don't regret...any of the moments...you chose to spend with me," he whispered, blinking back his own tears. "Till there was you...I—"

The blonde sniffled, giving the raven's hand a gentle squeeze.

Merlin swallowed and looked up into Arthur's pained eyes. "I'm glad I finally met someone," he sighed, "who'd accepted me right from the very start."

The lump in Arthur's throat started to swell as he looked into Merlin's eyes. "Merlin...don't..." he started to speak, his voice faltering at that point.

But at that point, he could only watch his best friend as he smiled his trademark grin, for what now would be the very last time...

"Thank you for being my friend..." Merlin murmured, sapphire irises glimmering under the faint light. "I love you."

At that moment, tears fell down Arthur's cheeks as he pressed his forehead against his best friend's and sniffled. "I love you, too, Merlin...so much..." he sobbed quietly, pained as he gradually felt the other's warmth eventually begin to fade away.

In response, Merlin chuckled softly, gazing dreamily at the young Pendragon one last time before finally letting his eyes slowly close shut.

After a while, the blonde's breath abruptly stilled. "Merlin?" he whispered in a hoarse tone before lifting his head up to shift his eyes towards his best friend's peaceful expression.

No response.

Arthur let out a choked sob, cradling Merlin's head against his chest. Then he looked out at the colourful cityscape below them which was now dazzled with its numerous bright lights. By this time, night had finally fallen, and soon beautiful fireworks could be heard exploding up in the sky for all to see.

The young Pendragon swallowed hard and closed his eyes as he took a deep, ragged breath.

~o~

On Monday afternoon, two days since the funeral, Arthur stopped by the Emrys home after school to find Merlin's mother sitting outside on the front steps with boxes of things surrounding her feet.

She'd had a handkerchief in her hand and quickly wiped her eyes when she saw the young blonde approaching her from afar.

Arthur looked at her with a meaningful countenance and respectfully bowed once. "Mrs. Emrys."

Hunith nodded back and sniffled, putting the handkerchief in her pocket. "Arthur. What brings you here?" she asked in a cordial tone.

At this, the young Pendragon reached into his backpack and took out his best friend's white dragon plush, handing it to her.

Mrs. Emrys eyed the little treasure with sad eyes and shifted her gaze back to Arthur as he spoke in a hushed, sympathetic voice.

"It's not your fault he ran away...Merlin said he loved you very much," he began, looking straight into her pained, chocolate-brown irises. "He even told me how he knew you'd be worried and how bad he'd felt about leaving home..."

Hunith took a deep breath, lowering her eyes. "He just couldn't stand to be apart from you," she replied softly. "I was so wrong to think that taking him away from this land would be best for him...no doctor could have given him as much as you have in your heart, Arthur Pendragon."

Arthur paused, watching her as she stood up from her seat and cleared her throat. "I'm sure that Merlin mentioned to you that he had a brother," Mrs. Emrys spoke sadly.

The blonde solemnly nodded once.

She blinked back a couple of tears, then went on. "Another one I couldn't save...a very long time ago..." She gazed at him with meaningful eyes. "But they were both immensely close to each other when Merlin was still tiny. I am sure Merlin might have thought about him when he decided to make the choice of running away from home just as he did...but he was still able to live a very different life."

The blonde's eyes softened, wincing as he noticed the pain in Hunith's eyes as she spoke. "How so?" he'd managed to murmur.

Mrs. Emrys sniffled and cleared her throat, smiling at the young Pendragon. "He always had you to turn to—a hand to hold when he needed it." She sighed, taking her handkerchief back out and wiping her eyes. "For Cathal, it had all been too late."

Arthur thought for a moment, frowning as he'd remembered just how hurt Merlin had been in speaking about his older brother.

But then Hunith bent down, softly putting a hand on the young Pendragon's shoulder. "You're a good friend, Arthur," she whispered, expression warm and meaningful. "Don't ever change." She let out a small sigh, then stood up, silently making her way back inside the house and shutting the door behind her.

The blonde stood there for an instant, thinking of the heavy burden she now dealt with at that point—having to lose both her husband and her children without getting to say goodbye to either of them beforehand. Images of Merlin soon began to flood his mind, and he tried very hard to hold back his tears. Then he looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun was about to set.

~o~

Later on that afternoon, Arthur stood solemnly in front of his best friend's grave and stared longingly at the inscription, remembering all the joyful evenings they'd always spent together at the duck pond up until that final moment where they'd held one another in each other's arms...

"Thank you for being my friend...I love you."

The young Pendragon let out a sob, watching the sun go down from afar, and looked up at the great tree that guarded Merlin's resting place.

A slight breeze of wind blew by, and slowly, a bright orange leaf from the branch that was just within the corner of Arthur's vision sank gracefully, landing on the very top of Aithusa's little head.

At that moment, the blonde looked down at the small dragon in his hands, feeling the hot tears roll down both of his cheeks. Then he exhaled sharply and closed his eyes as he put the young raven's beloved treasure in front of the white camellias Gwen had put out for him.

Arthur took a deep breath and finally brought himself to turn to leave, even though for a brief instant he still felt his heart being tugged back towards the direction of his one and only best friend.

~o~

That night, the young Pendragon had cried himself to sleep for the fourth time, but not without his mother coming in occasionally to sit beside him and comfort him as much as her son had needed it.

Eventually, Arthur had fallen into a deep sleep, sombrely finding his world empty as he looked around in his dream and only found oblivion everywhere he turned.

But that was not until a bright light suddenly swam out from beneath the darkness and illuminated the blonde's surroundings with its dazzling radiance.

It was not long before Arthur felt a warm hand touch his shoulder and immediately looked to see familiar, shimmering sapphire eyes staring back into his.

In that instant, the young Pendragon froze, his mouth gaping as he gazed at the little raven that was now standing shyly before him.

"Merlin?" he gasped, instinctively placing his palm over the latter's on his left shoulder.

At that moment, Merlin lowered his eyes and smiled at his best friend. "I missed you already," he replied softly, raising his head to smile timidly at the blonde.

Arthur exhaled slowly, taking both of the younger boy's hands into his, and winced. "So have I," he managed to speak, voice faltering. Then he swallowed. "But how did you—"

The young raven paused for a minute, staring longingly at the blonde. "They decided to let me have a bit more time...to say goodbye to you," he murmured with a small smile.

In response, the Pendragon's heart sank, and immediately he stepped forward to wrap his arms warmly around his friend in an earnest embrace as if he would disappear any moment.

Merlin placed his hands over Arthur's upper back in return and sighed into the other's shoulder. "Don't forget me, all right?" he spoke in a hushed voice, closing his eyes. "Promise you won't."

At this, the blonde exhaled slowly, responding in a calm tone. "Of course," he breathed, resting his chin on the latter's head. He swallowed hard, then shifted his gaze down, only to find a tear fall down the angel's face.

In that instant, Arthur lifted his hand slightly to wipe Merlin's cheek and gazed tenderly into smouldering cerulean irises. "Hey...don't cry. I'm the one who has to see you leave."

The raven chuckled softly. "Prat," he whispered under his breath.

But the Pendragon smiled brightly, not taking his eyes off his best friend once, and softened his expression.

"Goodbyes aren't forever, Merlin. They're just...well, another way of saying 'see you later.' Can you see it like that instead?"

Merlin grinned at the blonde, lowering his gaze to their fingers, which had once again somehow interwoven themselves with each other. Then he began to speak in a heart-warming voice.

"Do you know that place...between sleep and awake? That place where you still remember dreaming?"

At that moment, Arthur quickly held his breath and frowned sadly. "Do you mean this place...where we are right now?" he murmured.

The raven pursed his lips and nodded slowly, staring affectionately into his best friend's eyes. "That's where I'll always love you," he spoke softly to the blonde, gently squeezing his hand with a small smile. "That's where...I'll be waiting."

In that instant, Merlin's fingers started to fade from the blonde's palm, and Arthur watched as his friend slowly disappeared into the bright light.

"Goodbye, Arthur."

~o~

The young Pendragon drowsily opened his eyes, only to find himself back in his room—the first rays of morning sunshine leaking the blinds of the window next to him.

He blinked twice and let out a big yawn, sitting up in his bed to rub his eyes before peering through the clear glass just in time to see all the birds outside begin to take flight in the sapphire sky.

At that moment, Arthur's eyes softened, and he slowly got out of bed to get a closer look.

But that was when he suddenly heard his younger sister call to him from downstairs.

"Arthur, come quick!" Morgana cried.

Immediately, the blonde turned away from the windowsill and put on his slippers before going downstairs to see the young brunette standing out on the front porch with something familiarly small and lively in her palms.

When he approached Morgana to stand beside her, he noticed from a glance that it was the little bird that he and his best friend had gone so far to take care of from the preceding weeks. Because it had now been strong enough to flap its left wing, Morgana had carefully removed the cloth earlier that morning, setting it aside on the kitchen counter.

As she heard his footsteps as he came down the stairs, she turned to look up at her older brother with an eager expression.

"I think it wants to go free with its friends!" she giggled.

At that moment, Arthur watched the tiny creature wriggle around in his sister's hands, then shifted his gaze forward to see another identical bird perched still a few feet away from where they were standing.

"That one's been staring at me for some time now," Morgana murmured thoughtfully, turning to look at her older brother inquisitively. "Arthur, why is this bird staying here when it knows it can fly anywhere on the earth like the rest of them up there?" she asked, gazing up at the morning sky.

In an instant, the young blonde held his breath as he remembered the raven's words to him from before.

"...I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question."

Arthur let out a slow exhale, shifting his gaze from Morgana to the two little birds before them, and chuckled softly.

"It's because that bird has something here that it wouldn't find anywhere else," he replied, smiling at his younger sister.

At that, the brunette's eyes became filled with confusion. "What's that?"

The older Pendragon calmly put his hand over Morgana's wrist, encouraging her to let the creature free, and both siblings watched with awed expressions as the two birds reunited, taking flight together in the vast sky to go off in another direction from the rest of the group.

Arthur let out a small sigh, thinking warmly of his best friend as the couple flew off into the morning light.

~o~

Music on My Mind~ Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift

Notes from the KIT-chan~

Reviews please? ^w^

*blows nose* Dear God, writing that last half nearly killed me. If I made you cry, I'm ENTIRELY sorry, but I did put some hints in my warnings up above... ^^";

And yes, I quoted Tinker Bell in that final scene with Merlin and Arthur because it fit perfectly with what was going on... TT~TT

Lily, Yasmin—hope you guys enjoyed the read anyway. XD

.::.*~Kit Shadow~*.::.