Journeys [Merlin/Arthur - G - 629 + PODFIC]

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Title: Journeys
Author/Artist: rowanbrandybuck
Pairing(s): Merlin/Arthur
Prompt: Angst/Original Prompt
Word Count: 629
Rating: G
Contains (Highlight to view): * Angst and non!villain-but-still-imperfect-Uther *
Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Thank you cricket for the speedy beta, I hope you enjoy! Also Velvett Penn is a tip of the hat to Velvett Fogg.
Summary He had found out about FM 104 by tracing his son's… by contacting Merlin. Arthur didn't want his father to be a part of his life anymore, but Merlin understood the pain that he was going through and decided to give him this tentative link.

LINK TO PODFIC: LISTEN+DOWNLOAD HERE


The glow from the fireplace was enough to set the mood for the sonorous tones coming from his radio, but Uther did not feel its warmth. It was December 19th, the anniversary of several events. The anniversary of Ygraine's death, of his son's birthday, the day each year that he spent cutting down their Christmas tree so he would have an excuse to be alone and escape everything. When his son grew old enough that he too wanted to help with the tree, Uther always managed to keep him busy; either with coursework, helping his sister unpack the tinsel or some such task. Eventually Arthur took the hint and stopped asking.

December 19th was also the day he had caught Arthur cradling his arm on his eighteenth birthday, and upon inquisition discovered his boy had gotten a damned falcon tattooed on his shoulder. A falcon that was clutching a heart in it's talons with an A & M artfully inscribed within. An 'A' that stood for Arthur, and an 'M' that stood for… Marilyn? Maria? … … MERLIN?!! The shouting match that ensued was something that Uther did not want to revisit.

He swirled the ice in his single malt scotch and let the soft tones of Deep Purple carry him away.
Away from his empty mansion so frail now that his family was gone. He used to think of himself as a family man, the husband who worked long hours to spend weeks on holiday with Ygraine each summer, the father who made sure Arthur went to the best school, ensured that little Morgana got the patent leather shoes she thrust into his arms as she waddled her way through the children's section of the department store. But then something changed. Morgana stopped laughing at his jokes, Arthur stopped returning from uni for the holidays, and didn't even tell him about his new internship. One day he saw a moving van collecting his son's belongings from the mansion and that was it.

Uther took another sip, as the complex guitar riffs faded to silence.

"You just heard "Tales of Brave Ulysees" from Cream, and this is Velvett Penn here at FM 104, your home for the psychedelic. Tonight's theme: journeys. Tell me about the time you got lost in a town you've never heard of, that time you kipped on your friend's questionable sofa. Perhaps horrid first date stories. Give me it all, and maybe I'll tell you about that time Gwaine was found in the back of a bar with— Oi! Don't throw pens at me! Listeners tweet your tales and let's get back to the music—here is Skip Bifferty."

Piano arpeggios swelled into "Follow the Path to the Stars" and Uther threw back the rest of the contents of his glass, setting it down with an emphatic thump.

He had found out about FM 104 by tracing his son's… by contacting Merlin. Arthur didn't want his father to be a part of his life anymore, but Merlin understood the pain that he was going through and decided to give him this tentative link. Graveyard shifts at the local rock station, that's the life his son had chosen for himself. He could have been CEO one day at Camelot INC. but instead he was crooning to stoners about useless rock trivia, and Uther couldn't be more proud. That did not make it any easier as he looked forward to another Christmas dinner spent next to an unadorned spruce that was his extent of decorating.

He would go to the office tomorrow and he would talk to Agravaine about strategies for the next fiscal term and then tomorrow night at exactly 3am he would be in his study with a glass of scotch, awaiting family time with his son.