Details: Arthur Pendragon Returns (Merlin), Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Post-Canon, Post-Episode s05e13 The Diamond Of The Day (Merlin), Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Humor, Banter, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), In Character, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Modern Era, Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arthur Pendragon Knows About Merlin’s Magic (Merlin), POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), POV Merlin (Merlin), Multiple Perspectives, Post-Season/Series 05, Post-Finale, Soft Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Oblivious Merlin (Merlin), Pining Merlin (Merlin), Merlin Needs A Hug (Merlin), Caring Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Pining Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Kissing, Boys Kissing, First Kiss, First Time, Near Death Experiences, Asphyxiation, Sassy Merlin (Merlin), Worried Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon Has Self-Esteem Issues (Merlin), Romance, Mutual Pining, Sharing A Bed, New Relationship, Mentioned Arwen, Camping, Banter, Merlin Whump (Merlin), Angst With A Happy Ending, Getting Together, Angst, Happy Ending.
Summary: Arthur wakes up in modern Glastonbury and to his unfathomable relief finds Merlin. But nothing is simple. Everything he knew is gone, for one. He wonders what of his achievements were actually his own, and not just Merlin's magic, for another. Arthur also has to face the fact that he kept the ban on magic going. Was he ever truly a good king?
There is also the “I love you” he mouthed to Merlin before dying. Something he cannot afford to focus on, because, as Merlin tells him, Albion’s time of greatest need is upon them.
Then comes the unthinkable. Merlin’s magic, which has been growing over the last thousand years, is suddenly too strong for the sorcerer's human body to handle. Faced with the prospect of losing Merlin, feelings suddenly come out and Arthur realizes that if he can save the man he loves and the land of Albion, he might be able to forgive himself for his mistakes and everything he is not.
Voldemort is sitting in his office, minding his own business, when he hears a scream. Then he hears a banging on his window. When he pulls the curtains back, he sees Delphi upside down, tied up in some rope, head going red from the blood rush. The rope is wrapped around the window above the room. "FATHER! FATHER, HELP!"
Fear is learned. (warnings for references to past child abuse -- reader is very early teens here)
You weren’t used to the idea of fearing Omnics and Junkrat never thought to explain why you should.
The first time, you were hanging out near the entrance of the building Junkrat has currently scrounging in. It had been a long day, but at least you could sit in the shade this time while you waited. The sun was starting to go down and you knew your junker would be back soon.
You caught movement from the corner of your eye and flinched. Junkrat had told you over and over how dangerous other junkers were. You already knew how depraved “civilized” people could be, you didn’t want to see what might happen if some crazed, radioactive fuck got ahold of you. You scrambled to your feet and started to whistle out the alarm, but stopped yourself when you saw what it actually was.
It was an omnic. The model was different - it looked a little bulkier than you were used to and a lot more weathered, but it was still an omnic. It wasn’t a threat.
You watched as the omnic slowly approached you - it was missing one of its arms, the poor thing - and it never took it’s gaze from you. You wondered if it needed assistance and why it wasn’t speaking to you.
“Songbird?” From within, Junkrat sounded closer than you thought he’d be.
“It’s okay,” you called back softly, hating the way your voice echoed off the empty walls of places like this. “False alarm.”
He muttered as he made he way to you, but he sounded relieved under the frustration. You smiled a little. Junkrat was an odd one, but easily one of the coolest people you knew. He was -
Your thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of sun heated metal clamping around your upper arm. You yelped and tried to jump away, but the unforgiving grip held you in place.
It stood there, holding you prisoner as it did the omnic equivalent of staring you down. A whine started up from it’s chest area, like an engine reving up, and you answered it with a whine of your own, starting to feel panic build at the back of your throat.
“Oi! Hands off!” You had never heard Junkrat sound that viscous before and it only fed the fear building within you.
The omnic turned to face Junkrat and, as if it was responding to the aggression in his voice, its grip on your arm tightened painfully.
Junkrat skidded out into the open just as you cried out. There was something feral in his eyes and he only hesitated a moment before he launched himself at the machine.
The omnic released you immediately and the momentum of Junkrat’s impact carried both of them into the street a few feet away from you. You scrambled back into the doorway of the building you’d been waiting by before, eyes searching the streets for any signs of further threats.
Junkrat snarled and cursed as he tumbled with the machine, finally pulling himself free and flinging himself in your direction.
A bomb went off with a bang that reflected off the empty walls of the city, followed by the faint tinkling of metal bits raining down to the ground, and then the only sound left was the two of you panting for breath.
Junkrat scrambled to his feet and launched himself at you. His eyes were still wild and you couldn’t help but flinch away from him. He backed you up against the nearest wall, but the hands that ran over you were gentle. He lingered over the bruise forming on your upper arm, but seemed satisfied otherwise.
“You said it was clear. You said false alarm.” His voice was tight, his words were stilted. It was so unnatural for him to be so quiet.
“I - I - I didn’t -” Your words choked up in your throat, your pulse just as rapid now as it was when you first realized that the omnic meant you harm. Was Junkrat mad at you? Was he going to hurt you? You didn’t know! You didn’t -
Junkrat jerked you into his chest and closed his arms around you. Your hands clung to his harness and you released a shuttering breath.
“I didn’t know.” Your voice sounded so small. You had to make him understand. You wouldn’t survive out here without him. You didn’t want him upset with you. You didn’t want him to leave. “I thought... I thought it was just - just an omnic.”
“It was.” One hand, his soft, human hand, released you and started running through your hair. “Was an omnic. It’s dead now.”
“I didn’t know,” you whispered again, desperate to understand.
“I know,” Junkrat’s voice was a little more calm now, but his grip was still tight. “You do now, though. Next time you see one of them death bots, you high tail it out of there, you got me? You send up the alarm and you do whatever you have to do to get out.”
You nodded and shivered in Junkrat’s arms, tightening your grip on his harness. You weren’t used to the idea of fearing Omnics, but you were always a fast learner.
Summary: Ranma is fighting for his life, and for the lives of his fellow students, in the Battle for Hogwarts. It is only the beginning, in the first half of the fight just after the death eaters broke their way into the castle. Being an adult wizard and capable duelist, Ranma feels more than up to that challenge of fighting back, but what happens when there are more people to protect than he had been prepared for?
He was constantly on the move, dodging curses while throwing up guard spells for others. The crowd of death eaters never seemed to end, every time Ranma turned around there was another foe to battle with another coming up behind him. This last duel was a close call, his haphazard shout of ‘protego!’ was the only thing that had saved his behind.
“This is ridiculous,” Ranma gasped out between breaths, everywhere he looked, he couldn’t help the feeling they would lose just from being outnumbered. There was no way they had enough students to fight the constant influx of opponents. He jumped behind a pillar to get away from a rather mean looking death eater, and two quick hexes gave Ranma a moment to catch his breath and regroup. What he really hoped for was a strong ally he knew he could rely on, like Ryoga or Mousse to watch his back, but at that moment he wasn’t sure his friends were even still alive. All he could do was wipe the sweat off his brow and move forward, so that is what he did. At least he could be thankful Akane made it safely out of the castle with the other underage wizards. After whipping off his dusty, sweat covered robe, Ranma jumped back into the fray.
Never being one for disarming spells, he tried his best to stun, petrify, or knock out every death eater he fought to hopefully keep them out of commission for as long as possible. Even though he was accustomed to being kept on edge for quidditch games, every stressful minute of life or death was wearing him thin. All there was before him was a constant fight, and Ranma did whatever he could to keep moving and help the students around him. He would jump from battle to battle, sometimes taking those he helped with him, but they would always become separated, either through overwhelming fights or escaping from falling debris as the castle itself was being attacked from outside. Each duel increased the tightening in his chest, the fear of death rising more and more, despite having won every match so far.
Without even realizing it, Ranma had moved even farther into the castle, effectively cutting off his escape routes. He was now near the entrance to the dungeon, and his house’s currently empty common room. Only allowing himself to panic for a moment, Ranma mentally mapped out the layout of castle, trying to plan his way back toward an exit. Before he had a chance to follow his new path, there was a sudden yelp of surprise, a grunt of attack, and a cry of fearful outrage coming from the stairs leading down into the dungeons. There was no way he could ignore those who needed help, Ranma decided with no hesitation before he abandoned his plan and turned around to dash quietly down the stairs.
As he neared the battle, each sound gave him much needed clues as to what danger he was about to great. To Ranma, it sounded like two attackers against three victims, who he decided had to be all female, even though he had only heard two of them actually speak. The other seemed to have been taken out early on, but based on the yelp that had first caught his attention Ranma was almost positive that had been a girl’s voice. It angered Ranma to think that three girls had to defend themselves against two adult males, but he wasn’t about to ignore the fact they had gotten this far without being taken down; there had been a death eater he passed back down the hallway who they had expertly stupefied. Plus, he reminded himself, being angry wouldn’t make the duel go any better. It was best to have a clear and level head, no matter how exhausted he was-
That was the last thought he had before taking a look into the room the fight was in, Ranma immediately had recognized the girl that was injured and passed out as Sayuri, a sixth year Hufflepuff that he knew, who was being shielded by her best friend Yuka. The moment he saw them, there was no question in his mind as to who the third girl fighting was; which is why he gave up on his sneak attack to aggressively run into the room. It was like his brain had tunnel vision before he even saw her, everything in Ranma’s brain pulsed her name like saving her was his sole motivator for living in that moment. Akane… Akane!… AKANE!
“Akane!” Ranma hadn’t realized that he had shouted her name, or that he had solidly shocked everyone in the room, all he noticed was Akane, strategically hiding behind a desk to avoid the curses being thrown at her from across the room by two death eaters, and the bleeding cut on her forehead that had her squinting her right eye. Taking advantage of the momentary pause he had caused in the battle, Ranma dashed to her side, trying to become her human shield as he took over the fighting for her. He was too terrified and in a seething rage to even think about reprimanding Akane at the moment, all Ranma wanted to do was destroy those who had hurt her.
Akane blinked up at the man who was suddenly beside her, momentarily too shocked to do anything else. She felt an odd sense relief at his presence she almost forgot that she and her friends were currently in a deadly situation. A second later she turned back to the action and joined back into the fight, filled with a renewed sense of determination. As Ranma sent out a silent spell, Akane spoke hers out loud clearly and strongly, “Reducto!” They hit each death eater only a few moments apart, with only one of their opponents getting a spell off that thankfully went wide. Wasting no time, Ranma finished the fight with one spell to each death eater, putting both of the attackers in a full body binding hex and confiscated their wands. Akane was so thankful the encounter was over, she almost didn’t notice the rage rolling off Ranma. She could only guess it was aimed at her, so she thought to quickly scamper over to her injured friend to avoid the reprimanding she was bound to get.
She made it not even two steps before she found her body swiveled around and caught in a tight hug from whose form she easily recognized to be Ranma’s. Before she had a chance to relax into his hold, suddenly he was pushing her back by her shoulders and looking deep into her eyes. Ranma’s face had something that she had never seen before: fear. His eyes were shining like he was about to cry, his eyebrows were tightly knotted together but not angry, and his mouth was in a tight, stressful line. After some time looking her over, Ranma gave a look of minor relief before finally let go of her shoulders. Without speaking, he started to wipe his sleeve on her forehead to help get some of the blood out of her eye and she gave him a small, thankful smile. This caused his mood to change again and she idly wondered how he didn’t have whiplash from the torrent of emotions he had gone through in less than five minutes. His face changed back to anger as he stepped away from her and Akane readied herself for the ridicule that didn’t come, it was almost like he didn’t know what to say to her, which was somewhat odd.
“We will talk about this later, I promise you that.” Ranma spoke tensely as he grabbed her hand and led her over to where Yuka was trying to wake up the unconscious Sayuri. Seeing her friend unresponsive sobered Akane, she knew her drama was not at all important at that moment and made her feel guilty for forcing her friends to help her join the battle. Akane and Ranma crouched down to help take a look at their injured friend.
“What happened to her? Do you know what curse she was hit with?” asked Ranma, looking very serious. Akane could almost tell he was considering how much help he could be if he also had to carry someone as they tried to escape.
“I-I’m not sure,” Yuka sniffled, “we were taken by surprise as we were checking the room. Sayuri walked in first and we barely noticed those guys before she was hit with something.” She paused a moment to wipe her eyes before she went back to checking for more wounds, “She’s still breathing, that’s all I know. Oh Akane! How could we let this happen? She’s our best friend!”
Ranma quickly shushed her, trying to avoid calling more attention to them any near by death eaters. “Don’t blame yourself, it’s not going to help her. Here, let me take a look.” He sat Sayuri up and checked the back of her head, her eyes, and where the two girls remembered seeing her get hit with a spell, her left shoulder. Afterward, he gently laid Sayuri back down and looked calmly at them.
“She seems stunned, but I think she hit her head after being hit with the spell, that’s why she’s being unresponsive. She may have a concussion-” this caused a sharp intake of breath from Yuka. “Don’t worry, it’s no worse than one Akane or I would get from Quidditch.” He was trying to give some relief, but Akane knew how serious those could be. They didn’t have much time or many options.
“We need to get moving,” Akane looked into Ranma’s eyes, “do you have a plan?” Ranma nodded and they got ready; he was going to carry Sayuri on his back while Akane took front and Yuka took up the rear. He was almost going to argue that he could carry a girl and still take their first defense, but Akane knew that it was just him putting her safety ahead of Sayuri’s. What they needed to do was trust each other to protect everyone, and Ranma having mixed up priorities were bound to get all of them hurt.
The plan was to get to the Slytherin common room, since it was the closest and most secure area they could think of, and hide in there until Sayuri woke up. Ranma, being a Slytherin, easily got them in and they made quick work of checking for any enemies. Once they were clear, finding no one, they set Sayuri on a plush couch and Yuka did everything to make sure she was comfortable all while still trying to get her to wake up. With the limited sense of peace they were given while in hiding, Ranma apparently decided it was time for him and Akane to have their talk since he took her hand again and lead her to his dorm room. She offered little argument now that she had time to be overtaken with guilt for putting her friends in this situation. Once alone, he let her go and they turned to face each other.
“Ranma, I-”
“Akane, ar-?”
They both said at the same time, causing both of them to cut off and look embarrassed. Akane was bursting to say how sorry and guilty she was, but she paused to study Ranma’s face. He looked tired, almost a little sad, and he wore a serious frown that didn’t suit him. She reached out and touched his chest with both of her hands and looked away from is gaze, very self conscious about how her actions had greatly affected him and her friends. Before she had a chance to speak again, Ranma let out a deep sigh that Akane felt through her hands as it left his lungs. She looked up to him as he started to touch her face, examining her cut forehead again. It had stopped bleeding, but it had barely began to clot; she felt it sting every time she moved her brow or her bangs moved across her face. Again she gave him a small smile, to show that she was okay, but it just made him look more pained.
“Hold on, I might have a bandage for that. Let’s clean it up.” Ranma stepped away from her touch and went to look through his belongings. Akane decided this was the best time to get everything off her chest, while he couldn’t interrupt her.
“Listen Ranma, I’m sorry. I did exactly when you told me not to do. I felt like I could do something to help but I know all I did was put everyone in more danger. I never should have brought Yuka and Sayuri back like that.” There was no reaction from Ranma and he continued to look through his trunk. Akane swallowed slightly, her throat starting to feel thick with emotion, “I don’t know what would have happened if you or someone hadn’t’ve shown up and saved us like that. I know you’re angry that I didn’t listen-”
“No, you didn’t.” This is where he interrupted her, turning back to her with a towel and a bandage. Ranma’s face only looked tired, but his voice had an intentional indifference sound to it, like he found her explanations boring. “Look up at me so I can clean all that blood.”
She didn’t know what else to do, so Akane just followed his instructions as he lead her to the bathroom to wet the towel and clean her face. She wanted to offer to clean his face as well, since it was covered in dust, sweat and whatever else, but he wasn’t really looking at her. Gradually, she moved from feeling regretful and indebted to insulted and miffed at the way he was treating her. After he had applied the bandage, while somehow still not looking her in the eye, Akane decided she was officially angry. She knew she had made a mistake, but she had owned up to it! The way he was acting made no sense to her, but she wasn’t about to stand there, being ignored. Huffing after he stepped away, she muttered a thanks and went to stomp back to the common area. Akane had barely stepped away, just within reach, before she was stopped again. He couldn’t ignore her and then not let her leave, that was cruel, Akane decided as she whirled around to smack him, but he was ready for that.
Both of her hands were captured and Ranma still had a weird look on his face, making Akane completely confused. He pulled her closer, finally looking at her, but it did nothing to soothe her. She wanted to yell and stomp and hit him, but the movement of his hands from her hands, up her arms, over her shoulders, on her neck and head, and then spinning her around, caused her anger to dissolve as she tried to figure out what he was doing. Actually, she was going to ask him what was going on, but Ranma spoke before she got a chance.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” His hands moved over her back and she felt a tingle travel down her spine, causing her face to heat up.
“Hey!” She snapped while turning to face him, “Just what do you think you’re doing? I’m not in some state of shock or fear where I’ll let you get grabby!”
“That’s obvious, not like I would try.” Ranma was tense, but he was trying to keep his face disinterested. They were at their regular fighting routine already and It made him frustrated. ‘Why aren’t you answering the question?”
Before she was given a chance to think of a snarky reply, Akane was thrown by his demeanor and contrasting comments. Question? She wasn’t avoiding anything. Obviously he was the one being evasive. She glared at him, “What is wrong with you, Ranma?”
“I was just wondering the same thing about you, dummy. Is your forehead the only place you’re hurt?” He gave her a serious look and pointed at her face. Her anger broke at that moment, letting guilt creep back in. Her face showed as much and Ranma steadily calmed down as well. In a quiet voice she let him know that she was fine.
“It was a small mistake, just a piece a flying rubble hit me. I doubt that it would have happened if his spell had deflected back instead of up at the ceiling off my shield spell.” Akane let out a small sigh and looked around the bathroom in embarrassment, almost missing Ranma’s sigh of relief. Looking back to him, she saw another odd mix of emotions on his face again. His eyebrows showed that he was relieved, but his eyes where shiney again and his mouth was clamped shut. It was almost like he was happy to let got of the concern he had about her, but he was afraid again and also so very angry. Akane was trying to figure out his mood when she noticed a tear roll out of his eye. Ranma roughly wiped it away and grabbed her shoulders.
“I’m so mad at you!” He started fierce, but immediately switched to another emotion. “I don’t know that I would have done… What if I hadn’t found… What were you doing down there?” He grew angry again, but Akane was too overwhelmed by his worry for her to react. “You weren’t even supposed to be in the castle! You aren’t seventeen and neither are your friends! I was so happy- relieved- when you said you would leave with the underage wizards of your house… It was easier when I knew I didn’t have to worry about you, when I knew you were safe.” Ranma trailed off, unable to find more words, barely paying attention since he was too far into his own head.
Akane quietly settled into him at the end of his rant, and she tried to not be too disheartened when he didn’t embrace her back. She had started crying at the sound of pain and worry in his voice. It wasn’t that she didn’t expect to be told everything she did wrong, but Ranma had never given her such an emotional response to anything between them. She knew they weren’t dating, but Akane wished she had more moments like these to validate the connection she felt to deeply between them.
Ranma cleared his throat and spoke like he hadn’t just been stuck in his own thoughts. “I keep thinking about how if at the end of this battle, and I would go to rejoin you when everything was finally over… And you not being there, people telling me that you went into the battle… Having to find you-” He couldn’t say it. Akane could feel the word get stuck in his chest, so she supplemented it for him.
“Dead.”
He noticeably recoiled like, like she had hit him, his breath became slightly labored. Ranma finally put his arms around her, almost as to assure himself that she was actually there talking to him, and tucked his head into her neck. Akane wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him, murmuring in a light, comforting voice.
“Ranma, it’s okay. I’m here, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” She nuzzled against his head, “Ranma, I felt the same way about having to find you. I couldn’t leave you to do this all by yourself. I’m sorry I broke my promise to go with everyone else. Ranma I swear I’m sorry, please-” She was cut of by a loud, terrifying voice that almost seemed to echo off their skulls that caused both of them to flinch. It was loud and clear but at the same time painful to hear; it called for the end of the fighting and for the surrender of the chosen one, Harry Potter.
How To Survive Life In The Scale House Tips: Tip #7
Dangerous situations are scary. Panicking is even scarier. Don't panic is the single most important thing to remember. Best thing: make sure your boss knows what's going on. Have a fire extinguisher nearby. Hold on tight to the metal beam keeping you on top of the elevator. Most importantly pray to whatever or whoever you believe in earnestly and with abandon.
Drink lots of water afterwards. Hydrating after an adrenaline rush is extremely important. Eat something too, and then get back to work with new knowledge of safety and protocol.
I’m not very observant! How do I know this? It was brought home to me one day, many moons ago, while out shopping on my own.
Minding my own business walking to the next shop I wanted to visit in the high street of a busy town, a lady with a clip-board and pen blocked my progress and spoke to me.
“Tell me everything you’ve just seen and what you think just happened,” she said, her pen poised…
