The Most Adorable Army The World Has Ever Known (4)
Title: The Most Adorable Army The World Has Ever Known
Warnings: Spoilers for S4 character(s). No references to S4 plot lines, though.
Rating: g
Summary: Young Merlin, Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan, Leon and Percival vie for Teacher Arthur's attention. Here be knights, tissues, cats, missing fathers and an exasperated teacher who is not fond of his children in the slightest, thank you very much.
A/N: Please note that this chapter is not a continuation of what happened in the last chapter. These stories will be posted in no particular order; they take place in the same universe and anything you learn will still apply in other chapters, but since the order is not chronological, some events may not yet have happened in future chapters.
4. Of Ties and Tissues
~*~
Merlin's father was missing.
Hunith had called Arthur two days ago, telling him Merlin would be unable to come to school because they had family matters to attend to. Arthur wished her the best of luck and spent the rest of the day making clumsy mistakes and being stricter than usual (causing even Gwaine to keep his mouth shut), his pupil's welfare constantly at the back of his mind. The day after that, Hunith had called again, telling him Merlin's father had disappeared. He'd taken his most precious belongings with him, indicating he'd left of his own free will. Arthur had been too shocked to think of a proper response, but she still thanked him for his support and told him Merlin would be coming back to school tomorrow.
Tomorrow was today. And Merlin was sitting in his usual seat.
Arthur had gently squeezed Hunith's shoulder when she came by to drop off her son. He'd told her his thoughts were with her and Merlin, and she'd sent him a watery smile and asked him to look after her boy. Arthur hadn't even responded to that; he'd just nodded, hoping his eyes could convey that he always did so, regardless of family matters. She'd seemed to understand.
Gwaine was sitting next to Merlin. His usual seat was on the other side of the classroom, but Arthur had asked George and Gwaine to switch seats for the day. George had frowned at him in confusion for a moment before hurriedly getting to his feet to obey Arthur's orders (as he often referred to Arthur's remarks), but Gwaine had taken the request in stride, barely pausing to look at Arthur as he marched over to Merlin and wrapped his arms around him, pulling his friend into a hug.
Merlin's other friends were shifting in their seats, their gazes locked on Merlin, and even the children who didn't know Merlin very well looked unsettled and concerned.
Arthur sat down behind his desk and surveyed his group. He couldn't start the day like this; no one seemed to be able to focus on Arthur's words - and Arthur himself was no exception. He'd have to have a talk with Merlin first, give the boy the chance to tell him what he wanted Arthur and his classmates to know.
"Leon, can you get the Headmaster for me?" he asked, and Leon reluctantly tore his gaze away from Merlin and got to his feet.
"What do I tell him, Mr Pendragon?"
Arthur rubbed his chin. "That I'm going to need him to take over my class for a couple of minutes."
Leon nodded and left the room.
~*~
Gaius was remarkably understanding of the situation. "I know Hunith," he cut Arthur off when Arthur opened his mouth to explain why he was going to have to step out for a moment, "take Merlin with you and go to my office."
Arthur thanked him, gently disentangled Merlin from Gwaine's embrace and told his class he'd be back in a few minutes. He could have sworn he saw Elyan bow his head at him as he passed, but that must have been his imagination.
~*~
There were probably rules against taking your pupils in your lap, but Merlin had launched himself at Arthur the moment he sat down, and Arthur didn't have the emotional strength to push the boy away. His little hands were fisted in Arthur's shirt and his face was pressed against his chest, his cheeks thoroughly wetting the red fabric.
Arthur gently stroked Merlin's back, waiting for the boy to speak up. When he didn't, Arthur quietly asked him if he wanted to talk about it.
Merlin hiccupped and trembled in Arthur's arms. "He said . . . he was in my room and I was sleeping but then I was awake and he said he was . . . proud of me. And then I slept again. And then he was gone. And mommy was crying. And . . . and he didn't come back. I cried for him, but he didn't come. He told me he'd come. He said he'd always . . . he promised . . . but now . . ."
That was as far as Merlin got. He buried his face even further in Arthur's chest and cried, small distressed sounds escaping his mouth.
Nimueh hopped down from her pillow and wandered over to where they were sitting, rubbing her head against Arthur's leg. Arthur squeezed Merlin's shoulder. "Look, Nimueh's here to make you feel better."
Merlin looked up, tears staining his cheeks, and stared at the cat for a moment before tentatively reaching down and stroking Nimueh's head. The cat purred and pressed her head into Merlin's questing fingers. The purring got noticeably louder whenever Merlin scratched a particularly sensitive spot behind her ears.
"Maybe he doesn't love me," Merlin said suddenly.
Arthur almost didn't hear him because his voice was so soft. When he realized what Merlin had said, he immediately tightened his hold on the boy. "Of course your father loves you, Merlin." He'd seen the way Balinor looked at his son, and there was no mistaking the soft look in the man's eyes. "I don't know why he left, but I do know that he loved you very, very much. Don't ever doubt that." He didn't dare tell Merlin Balinor would come back to him one day, because he wasn't sure the man would, and lying to kids was something that should never, ever be taken lightly, but Arthur was absolutely certain the man would come back if he could.
Merlin appeared to take comfort from his words, and Arthur smiled when the boy tilted his head back to look at him. "Do you want to tell your classmates what happened?"
Merlin bit his lip. "No."
Arthur nodded. "All right. That's all right, Merlin."
A small frown appeared on Merlin's face. "Everyone has a father." His cheeks were still wet and Arthur resisted the urge to brush away his tears. "But now I don't. That's weird. Does that make me weird?"
Arthur let out a small laugh. "No, Merlin, of course not."
"Will you be my father?"
Arthur swallowed, taken off guard, though he suspected even years of planning couldn't prepare a man for such a simple yet complicated question. "I . . . I don't think that would be a good idea, Merlin. For one, you already have a father."
"But-"
"And for another, parents are not allowed to teach their children." Arthur reached for the tissue box on Gaius's desk, keeping a tight hand on Merlin as he leaned forward. He carefully wiped the tears off Merlin's face and offered the kerchief to Merlin. "You want to see if you can throw it into the dustbin from here?"
Merlin nodded eagerly. He turned around in Arthur's lap and carefully took aim. The crumpled tissue sailed through the air and only missed the dustbin by twelve inches or so. Arthur vowed to clean it up later; Gaius wouldn't be pleased if he found out Arthur allowed his pupils to hurl used tissues through his office.
"But you will be my teacher?" Merlin turned around again to face Arthur.
Arthur ruffled his hair. "Of course."
"And you are not going to run away?"
Arthur solemnly met Merlin's searching gaze. "I wouldn't dream of it."
"Not even when I'm being bad?"
"Merlin." Arthur reached out and placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder. There was something terrible wrong about Merlin's expression, his gaze bearing the weight of that of a child who takes on its parents' troubles. Arthur's heart ached for him. "You are not responsible for what your father did. You did nothing wrong. Merlin? Do you hear me?"
Merlin nodded slowly.
"Good." Arthur briefly hugged the boy, then carefully positioned his hands under his armpits and lowered him onto the ground. Nimueh immediately rubbed her head against his legs and Merlin sank through his knees to stroke her fur.
Arthur allowed Merlin a few minutes of playtime with the school cat before he told him they needed to be getting back to the others. He almost forgot to pick up the tissue, but Merlin remembered and threw it into the dustbin for him.
Merlin wasn't all right, wouldn't be all right for some time to come, but Arthur had every faith in the boy and his friends. Together, they would be able to pick up most of the pieces. And if the boys needed some help along the way, Arthur would be there for them for as long as they needed him - and probably beyond that time.
~*~
Merlin didn't mention his father again after that day.
~*~
On a sunny day in November, Headmaster A. Pendragon received a neatly written letter.
I lost my father thirteen years ago, it said, but I lost him a second time last night. I apologize for bothering you with my problems; I daren't presume you remember me, but you're the first person I thought of when I saw him again. He died in my arms told me he loved me, and that he was proud of me. And then he died in my arms. I can't recall exactly what you said to me all those years ago, but I know now you were right. I think I knew it then, too, because teachers are all-knowing, aren't they? I must have lost faith over the years. But a little bit of that's been returned to me. I thought you might like to know. I hope you're well, Mr Pendragon. And I wish you all the best.
The letter wasn't signed. But that didn't matter.
Arthur knew exactly who the writer was.
~*~
FIN
Chapter 5 >>