Something Old, Something New

6

LONG ASS CHAPTER TIME. Seriously I have no idea how I managed to write this many words in one sitting. It might suck.

Iris' mouth hung open. Merlin wasn't quite sure what to say to her. He no longer felt like he was going to set the world on fire, and he hadn't killed anyone, but he had levelled quite a few trees. Smith and Johnson would be looking for them soon, if they weren't already.

"You just...you...what....how?" She was doing better than Merlin was in the words department at least. Merlin waved a hand and the trees righted themselves. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He took it out and answered it.

"Hello?" His voice sounded bright and clear. Clearer than it had in weeks. 

"Where the hell did you two disappear to?" Smith said.

"I thought I saw something in the trees, but it was nothing. We're on our way out now."

"Hurry up. We need to talk about you're CI, considering they just led us to a bunch of dead bodies." Merlin made a noise of vague agreement and then hung up. Iris had picked her jaw up off the floor, and Merlin could no longer read her expression, which was a little bit frightening.

"They're waiting for us," he said. She nodded vaguely and set off in the direction of the warehouse. Merlin ran a nervous hand through his hair and followed. They were going to need to have a conversation, but that would come later. Right now, Merlin needed to think of a plausible story to feed to Smith. Smith and Johnson were waiting outside of the warehouse. Smith immediately jumped into it.

"Who's your informant? We need to bring them in."

"That rather defeats the purpose of a confidential informant, doesn't it?" Merlin's tone was icy, dangerous. He wasn't in the mood for this right now. Johnson looked nervous.

"You're confidential informant led us to a warehouse full of bodies. I have played along with you thus far but this is getting ridiculous. You know something that you're not telling us and it ends now or I will arrest you for obstruction of justice." Merlin almost laughed.

"You can't arrest me without prove, and you don't have any of that."

"No, I'm not, because you never asked."

"Excuse me? What are you-" His eyes went glassy at the same moment that Merlin's went gold. Merlin hated doing this to people, but was necessary. When the gold faded from Merlin's eyes, Smith was back to normal, sort of.

"Did you call it in?" he asked gravely.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry you're informant died for nothing." Merlin glared at him, but it was all show.

"Me too." Smith turned away and went a little ways up the road, presumably to wait for the officers that would be arriving. 

"What did you do to him?" Iris exclaimed. Merlin was just glad she had held her tongue for as long as she had.

"I just altered a few parts of his memory. He's fine."

"Fine? You just fucking bewitched him!" Merlin rolled his eyes.

"He doesn't know that."

"What are you?" Iris asked, and he could hear the betrayal in her voice. It send a stab of sadness through him, but he wasn't surprised. Arthur had sounded the same way at first.

"I'm just me."

"And who is that, exactly?"

"My name is Merlin. I'm your best friend, and you're mine. I enjoy tequila and Harry Potter, and the occasional rom-com, but only when you force me to watch them and when I'm much too drunk to refuse."