Somewhere between contemplating his life and making himself miserable, Arthur fell asleep.

It was far from a peaceful slumber as he began to dream. Flickering shadows and blurred faces swam into his vision. It grew darker until he could see nothing at all. In desperation he reached out, hoping to find a wall or something to guide him. As he stumbled around he could find nothing to hold on to. He wanted to escape, to be free of the darkness. Yet every time he tried to get away hands that belonged to someone invisible grabbed at his clothing, pulling him further down.

He couldn't scream for no sound came out. The only noise was someone yelling his name.

Arthur, Arthur...

"Arthur!"

He jolted awake, his heart beating feverishly.

"Jesus!" he cursed, seeing that someone was standing above him.

His dormmate grinned and shook his long hair out of his face. "Sleep well, Princess?"

"Oh bugger off, Gwaine," Arthur groaned as he looked over at his clock. "Shit! Why did you let me sleep so late?"

Gwaine shrugged. "Since when is it my job to wake you up? I only came in here cause your music was driving me nuts. But you were having a fit or something. "

Arthur frowned, thinking about his nightmare, and stood up. "Let's go to the pub," he declared.

Gwaine's eyebrows shot up. "That's normally my line. You feeling alright?"

Arthur nodded, still frowning. For some reason he couldn't shake his nightmare. It had been different than the ones he normally experienced. Normally he relived previous battles or painful memories. But this time- he shivered, and tried to push the thought aside.

Gwaine didn't notice, he was too busy checking out his reflection in Arthur's mirror.

" You look fine. It's just going to be you and me, anyways." Arthur grabbed Gwaine and started pushing him toward the door.

"No offence mate, but I hope the person I go home with tonight is a lot prettier than you."

By the time they had gotten to the pub it was decently crowded. Gwaine made a beeline for the bar while Arthur managed to grab one of the lasts tables.

As he waited for Gwaine he watched the people in the pub. Almost everyone there he recognized from around campus. A group of girls a few tables over kept glancing at him and giggling to one another. He looked away quickly, not wanting them to come over. Not only was he not in the mood that night, but he also didn't have any real interest in girls from this lifetime anyways.

Most of the other guys in the bar did not share his opinion Arthur watched as some girl smiled and laughed at whatever the guy she was talking to said. The guy had his back turned towards Arthur, but there was something about his big sticking out ears that made him stare at him. He felt as those ears were important. But of course that would be ridiculous.

"Hope you're thirsty," said Gwaine, putting multiple beers down on the table

Arthur broke his gaze away from the man and began to chug.

"Whoah, there mate!" Gwaine exclaimed. "You must have had one hell of a day."

Arthur finished off the beer and made a grab for another, but then thought better of it. The last time he had gotten smashed he had apparently spent the rest of the night talking nonstop about Camelot. And while everyone had thought it was just the shenanigans of a drunk Arthurian legend enthusiast, Arthur didn't intend to repeat the incident.

So instead of drinking, he rolled the bottle between his palms, letting his mind drift.

"You've got that look again," Gwaine commented, as he watched Arthur. When all he got in response was a confused look, he continued, "Sometimes when you zone out, you get this expression like the weight of the world is on your shoulder."

Arthur raised his eyebrows at him. "How perceptive of you," he muttered.

Gwaine smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I have my moments. Now seriously, what's bothering you?"

"I'm not drunk enough to spill my feelings to you." Though his tone was mostly light, there was enough of a bite to it that prevented Gwaine from asking again. Instead he decided to change topics.

"So there's this huge asshole at the bar who stole the girl I had my eyes on."

Arthur snorted. "Rough life you live."

Gwaine ignored him. "It's like the fourth time too. Every time I come here, he's here, picking up my target." He gestured to the bar where the guy with the big ears stood, his back still turned toward Arthur.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Arthur replied dryly. He continued to stare at the guy, noticing how his hair stood up in the obnoxious way that meant he had obviously used gel. Arthur had the sudden desire to stand up and run his fingers through that hair.

Realizing what he had just thought, he snapped his attention back to his friend and took a long sip of beer.

Gwaine frowned at the guy, but didn't continue the subject. Instead he began to prattle on about a girl in his Chem lab. Despite not being interested, Arthur did his best to engage in conversation, only so he wouldn't think about the guy at the bar. The two of them sat there talking for an hour before Arthur stood up, declaring he needed fresh air.

As he made his way through the now very crowded pub he found himself searching for the mysterious guy. He couldn't understand why he felt compelled to. The beer was making his brain feel fuzzy, but he knew it wasn't the primary cause of his confusion.

It was a relief to get out of the pub and feel the cold air. Leaning against the wall, he contemplated just going home. Gwaine wouldn't miss him. In fact Arthur was sure that if he did go back inside he'd find Gwaine seeking out female company.

Just as he was about to head in the direction of his dorm, shouts came from the alley next to the pub. It was stupid of him to investigate. He was tired and tipsy. Yet the inner King and protector in him knew that someone could be in trouble and Arthur was never one to forgive himself for ignoring a problem.

"Hey!" He shouted as he turned into the alley.

Two guys stood there, opposite of one another. Neither acknowledged Arthur. Though he didn't recognize the boy facing him, he certainly did the one with his back turned.

The boy with the big ears.

The other boy's nose was dripping with blood, but he didn't seem concerned by it. "What the hell do you think you're doing, making out with my girl?" he yelled. He sprang forward.

Mystery Boy did not answered. With reflexes that rivaled Arthurs' he flipped his opponent on to his back and began punching him.

Up until the point Arthur had been frozen, too shocked by seeing this boy again. He ran forward and grabbed him, trying to tear him away from the boy cowering on the ground.

"Hey, that's enough," he grumbled, unsuccessful in his attempt. "You've had your fun, my friend."

The guy stopped struggling with him and stood up. He whipped around angrily, glaring at Arthur.

Arthur stumbled back, his eyes wide.

Memories hit him like a wave. This man helping him defeat dragons. Saving him. Dying in his arms.

It was overwhelming and he began to shake.

"Merlin," he gasped.

It was the first time he had said the name in this lifetime.