So this is from a request/prompt made by AnnaStormRogers

Request: Maybe you could do a teenage Merlin as Arthur's younger brother with all the round table knights making an appearance?

Maybe keep a difference of 5 years between Arthur and Merlin. And I love protective Arthur and knights. And I might be really mean to poor Merlin when I say this but I love Merlin whump. Bromance works best with whump I think. And if you could, a modern AU would be really nice. I like it when Merlin is the youngest and has a naive, innocent personality.

So, this is part one of a multi-chapter fic. I'm not sure how many, maybe three? We'll see.

When Merlin woke up on Saturday morning, he figured he would go about his day as usual. That being that he'd be relatively uninterrupted. After all, on Saturdays his mom was working at the hospital and his dad was off selling vegetables at the farmer's market in town.

As usual, Merlin woke up bright and early, wiping the sleep from his eyes and tearing a page off his daily calendar. It wasn't until his eyes fell upon the date that his heart soared and he rushed to hurry up and get dressed. Today wasn't just any old Saturday; today his brother, Arthur, was coming home for a short break from college. Not only that, it had been arranged so that a group of his friends would be coming to visit as well. Merlin couldn't wait to meet them.

Arthur, who had turned 21 just a few days ago, had been sending Merlin emails about his adventures with his friends for some time now. Some of his friends Merlin remembered from the summer before when they'd come to visit, some were completely new faces, and one Merlin had known since he could remember.

Lance, a boy the same age as Merlin's brother, had lived in town and grown up with the boys. He and Merlin had always been quite close, and Merlin couldn't wait to see him again. In fact, he couldn't wait to see any of Arthur's friends! He had been looking forward to this day for months- he was so excited.

Pulling on a blue hoodie, Merlin hurried around to tidy up the house and make sure it was in top shape before Arthur arrived. He'd just finished arranging the curtains when the door swung open and in marched Arthur, a familiar grin lining his face.

Merlin dropped the cushion and rushed to hug his brother, laughing joyously.

"Woah, Merlin," Arthur chuckled, putting his brother at arms length. "Missed you too."

"How've you been? How's college? Lance!"

Merlin interrupted himself and grinned as Lance gave Merlin a short, happy hug.

"Not as interesting as in the movies, and I'm glad to be home," Lance smiled at his younger, overly enthusiastic friend. "16 now, right?"

"Yeah," Merlin smiled as he blushed. "Seems old to me, but not nearly college age!"

"You'll get there. Hey, you need help carrying anything?" Arthur called out to the two cars parked in front of the house, and he laughed as a huge man came in with arm loads of random luggage.

"I think Percy's got it all covered," a familiar dark haired man laughed, and Merlin's face lit up once again.

"Gwaine!" Merlin smiled. He'd met Gwaine last summer, as well as Percy. "I'm glad you could come!"

"Me too, kid," Gwaine grinned toothily. "It's been a while."

A few more people filed in, each carrying something small. First came Leon, an older boy, who exchanged a warm hello with the smiling, younger lad. Elyan followed, nodding to Merlin and asking him how he'd been.

"I've been good," Merlin chirped. "School is more fun because I get to take classes I want this year. I really like music class, and I have German which is more fun than French was. I've been really looking forward to Arthur coming home and all of you visiting. Who's that? Are they new?"

Merlin pointed to a group of boys who were bringing in some tent poles. The boys all planned on camping in the backyard, and he smiled at the newcomers. For the moment, all three boys ignored Merlin, and they laughed amongst themselves.

"Arthur met them on the university rugby team," Lance walked up to stand beside Merlin. "Being the star, he's been meeting lots of new people this year."

"There's no need to pay attention to them, though," Elyan chimed in. "You want to help put up the 'fort' in your backyard?"

"Sure!" Merlin smiled. "Let's go!"

Elyan, Percy, and Lance trailed after Merlin, talking quietly to each other. Percy carried all of the tent supplies. When they got out to the backyard, Percy dumped everything on the ground, and Merlin hurried to extract the poles from the mess. Percy grabbed a tarp and looked for a branch from the tree to hang the tarp over. Merlin remembered last summer the boys had created an elaborate 'fort' by using various tarps, poles, and the tree for support. Apparently they'd be trying something similar again.

A few minutes later, Leon and Gwaine came out of the house, Gwaine laughing despite his frown.

"Hey!" he told Percy and Merlin. "Don't start without me, you'll get it all wrong and we'll have to start over!"

"Allow me," Leon took a tarp from Merlin and draped it over a branch which the smaller boy hadn't been able to reach.

"Where's Arthur?" Merlin asked, standing back, and Gwaine laughed.

"Probably talking with his sports buddies," Gwaine glanced back over his shoulder. "He's probably missing the thrill of tackling people, but he figures talking about tackling people is at least marginally better than nothing."

"He tells me a lot about rugby," Merlin smiled. "Seems like I could practically play it now, considering how much he tells me."

"I think you're more fitted for cricket," Lance laughed good naturedly, patting Merlin on the shoulder.

"I used to, when I was little, remember?"

Lance smiled and nodded.

"Here they come," Merlin heard Percy mutter to Elyan, who nodded. Leon quickly stepped aside so Arthur and his other friends could examine what had been built thus far. Arthur nodded in approval, a smile on his face, and his friends followed suit.

"Looks good, boys," Arthur grinned. "Just a bit more to put up and then we'll be good, unless it rains."

"Like last year," Merlin giggled quietly. The three new boys turned to look at Merlin, one asking Arthur who this younger kid was.

"Oh, sorry mates. This is my little brother, Merlin. Merlin, meet Callahan, Orson, and Roland. They're some more star players on the university rugby team."

"Oh yeah, Arthur talked about you in an email. It's awesome to meet you all in real life! I'm so glad you could come!"

"Us too," Orson seemed to smirk lightly as he shook Merlin's hand. "We've hear a bit about Arthur's little brother as well."

"Well," Arthur moved on, oblivious to Merlin's slightly downhearted face at the way Orson had emphasized little. "Let's finish this up!"

"Don't you think we should set up some brunch?" Roland spoke up. "After all, we aren't sleeping until tonight; shouldn't we deal with our hunger, first?"

"Why not?" Arthur grinned. "Hey, Merlin, could you get up some sandwiches or something? Come on, we'll sit on the patio."

Arthur walked off with all of his friends except Percy and Lance, who shrugged slightly and gave Merlin apologetic smiles.

"I'll help get the sandwiches, if you'd like," Lance offered, however Merlin shook his head.

"No, it's fine! You go be with your friends, it'll only take me a sec!" And with that, Merlin hurried inside and busied himself with making sandwiches. He'd only been there for about two minutes when Roland and Callahan marched in the house.

"How are the sandwiches coming along?" Roland asked conversationally as he and his friend approached Merlin. Merlin turned told the two older boys that he was almost done.

"That's good," Callahan nodded, his eyes flicking to the sandwiches for only a moment. "So, I heard you like rugby?"

"Well, I mean, Arthur says it's really fun," Merlin smiled.

"Arthur does enjoy it," Callahan nodded dramatically. "It takes a lot of... Coordination."

"Yeah, that's what Arthur says," Merlin turned back to the sandwiches and finished making the last one. "There, all done! And I've got this dip on the side."

"Lovely," Roland droned. "Better get that outside."

Merlin nodded, and he hurried toward the door, however suddenly he tumbled and fell, the sandwiches and dip flying all over the floor and his shirt. Behind him, Merlin heard laughing and he flushed, completely embarrassed.

"Oops, forgot to tell you, we spilled some water a bit earlier. Sorry chap," Roland snickered. "Here, let me give you a hand!"

Slowly, Roland approached Merlin, however before he could Arthur stormed him, an angry frown plastered on his face.

"Merlin!" Arthur groaned.

"Sorry," Merlin picked himself up quickly. "I slipped; it was just an accident!"

Arthur groaned again, however he nodded.

"Well, clean it up then, I suppose. Roland, Callahan, I wanted to show you something outside."

"One moment," Callahan replied, and Arthur marched out.

"Sorry, again," Roland didn't sound sorry in the least. "Best make some new sandwiches while you at it, eh?"

"Yeah," Merlin nodded quickly, still flushing a bright red.

"Here, let me pick up that mustard for you. I see the jar has fallen on the ground. See you outside," Roland told Merlin.

"Guess you'll need a bit more work before you get on a rugby team," Callahan snickered. "Best of luck, mate."

The two boys hurried outside, Merlin staring after them forlornly. There went his chance of looking cool in front of Arthur's new friends. Perhaps he'd have the chance to impress them with his new sandwich recipe, though. He was very proud of it and had been working on it since he heard Arthur was coming home. He was sure that once his friends tried his sandwiches they'd forgive him for dropping the first batch. After all, Arthur coming home was supposed to be a momentously fun occasion during which he would get to know the friends Arthur was always telling him about in his emails. Sighing, Merlin grabbed some bread and began to make more sandwiches, humming in hopes of restoring his previous good spirits. Soon everything would be normal and he'd be fitting in with the college kids just like last year.

Outside, Gwaine was laughing loudly as he told a variety of jokes to the other boys, who laughed in turn. Arthur arrived outside, and Leon asked quietly what was happening.

"Oh, Merlin was just being clumsy," Arthur sighed. "He dropped the sandwiches, but he's making more."

"Dropped the sandwiches?" Orson raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's unfortunate. He's a funny little tyke, your brother. Does he enjoy practical jokes?"

"Well," Arthur laughed slightly. "Doesn't everyone?"

"Why do you ask?" Gwaine spoke up, a mischievous sparkle in his eye.

"I remember I used to play a few practical jokes on my younger brother is all. He took them quite well; I just wondered if you and Merlin had such fun?"

"Well," Arthur laughed again. "We were rather practical jokers together when we were young and we didn't want to do something for our parents. Lance would remember that, eh? I shiver to remember."

"But you never played tricks on your little brother?" Orson looked surprised, and Arthur shook his head with a grin.

"Well," Lance tried to change the subject. "What should we do once brunch is over? Finish putting up the tent?"

"I rather had other ideas," Orson grinned as Roland and Callahan rejoined the group. "Why don't we plan a little practical joke? Nothing serious, just a bit of fun to diffuse the tension after finals."

"I like the sound of this," Gwaine laughed good heartedly. "Always did like a good practical joke myself. Nothing serious, though, just a bit of fun?"

"Of course, just for a laugh. We're planning a practical joke for Merlin," Orson turned to Callahan and Roland. "That is, if it's alright with his brother?"

Arthur was about to respond when Merlin hurried out with some sandwiches. He gave everyone a plate, and then announced that he hoped they all liked his sandwiches because he'd made them extra special with a brand new recipe he'd created himself. Arthur was quick to bite in, his face puckering moments later as he grabbed for his water.

"What do you think you're doing?" Arthur exclaimed, fanning his mouth. "Why'd you put hot mustard all over these?"

"I- I didn't! I just put a smidgen of normal mustard," Merlin stammered.

"Looks like a bit more than a smidgen to me," Callahan snickered.

"What was it, a recipe for disaster?" Roland raised an eyebrow.

After taking several gulps of water, Arthur glared angrily at Merlin.

"You try one and tell me it's normal mustered," Arthur glared at his rather confused and beginning to grow upset little brother. "Next time you make sandwiches, I think it best you be the one to taste them first! Go get rid of them! And bring us some biscuits or something from inside. Anything to get rid of that awful taste!"

Merlin flushed, thoroughly embarrassed, and he stared at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. After Arthur finished admonishing him, Merlin grabbed the tray of sandwiches and hurried inside to the sound of snickers from Orson, Roland, and Callahan.

"Wonderful cook, is he not?" Orson commented snidely.

"I think a practical joke is a jolly idea," Arthur ground his teeth. "What did you have in mind?"

Merlin shut the kitchen door the moment he entered the room and angrily threw the sandwiches in the garbage. After a moment, he crumpled into a chair and bit his knuckle to keep his emotions under control. He knew his sandwich recipe was good, his parents had tried it many times, unless they'd be lying to him… He'd tried it, though, in the past, and he'd thought it was delicious.

Besides, why did Arthur have to embarrass him in front of all the others, anyway? If he didn't like them, he didn't have to yell about it! It had been blatantly mean, and it wasn't like his brother. Unless, had Arthur changed while he'd been away?

Merlin shook his head fiercely. Of course not, Arthur wouldn't ever do anything really mean to his brother. He must have been joking, though in Merlin's opinion it had been a very mean-spirited joke. Still, no harm done, right?

Merlin forced himself to stop rocking back and forth, and he angrily wiped at his cheeks. He sniffled once or twice and then swallowed hard. After several more seconds of sitting there, trying to escape his sudden dark cloud of misery, Merlin stood and walked over to the cupboard. He got out another platter and lined it with biscuits from the biscuit jar. Taking a very deep breath, Merlin arranged the cookies in a sort of pattern, just for decoration, and then hurried outside, a smile once again plastered on his face, albeit a weaker one.

"Here, straight from the jar," Merlin placed the biscuit tray on the table. He backed up quickly and stood off to the side, eyes flickering to his brother.

"Thanks," Arthur nodded. "So, we've decided what we're going to do the rest of the day."

"We're taking a train to Liverpool," Roland spoke up when Arthur dropped off.

"It'll be a short trip," Gwaine grinned. "You're invited of course, so long as you buy your own ticket!"

Merlin brightened up, his gaze flickering to Arthur's friends hopefully. Elyan and Percy busied themselves with their biscuits, their eyes not meeting Merlin's. Lance caught Merlin's eye purposefully, however Merlin's only reply was a happy smile in Lance's direction.

"When do we leave?" He asked Arthur, his eyes shining and excited. Under Merlin's cheerful gaze, Arthur shifted slightly, his eyes flickering to his friends.

"As soon as you want," Gwaine spoke up with a grin. "Might want to pack a jacket- heard it's going to be cold. And perhaps change..."

"Oh, yeah, right. Okay, be right back!" Merlin smiled, and with that he hurried away into the house, his spirits once again lifted.

As soon as the door was shut, Lance shook his head angrily.

"I can't believe we're going through with this!" Lance spoke up.

"It's just a bit of fun," Gwaine laughed. "Nothing'll come of it!"

"Are you sure this won't really hurt his feelings?" the normally quiet Percy spoke up, and Roland was quick to reply.

"Course not! He might be a little upset at first, but the kid should get used to the occasional prank. It'll be good for him in the end, and he did pull a prank on us, right Arthur?"

"What do you think, Leon?" Arthur turned to the older boy, who looked uneasy now that the attention was on him.

"Well I," Leon hesitated. "He's your brother, whatever you think."

"He's been particularly clumsy since I got home," Arthur admitted.

"Exactly," Callahan agreed. "So, now we'll show him not to pull pranks like hot mustard sandwiches on the likes of us!"

"Alright," Arthur nodded, his grim face turning into a bit of a grin. "Merlin does deserve a prank in return for that!"

"I can't believe this," Lance shook his head. "You're going to break the poor kid's heart at this rate. You saw how excited he is to do something with us; this is just mean."

"I'm here, let's go!" Merlin suddenly appeared at the door. "Why're you all sitting here talking? I thought we were leaving now?"

"We are," Arthur stood. "Come on Merlin."

The others followed after Arthur as he lead the way outside, a strong wind tugging at them as they made their way to the two cars.

"Looks like a storm is coming," Elyan remarked, and Lance nodded stiffly.

"What are we going to do in Liverpool?" Merlin hurried to walk beside his brother, who turned away and walked faster.

"We'll be seeing a movie," Roland spoke for Arthur. "At the theater in downtown."

"Why are we going all the way to Liverpool to see a movie?" Merlin asked, and Roland laughed at him.

"Because it's fun to go far away, why else?"

Without waiting for a response, Roland hurried to catch up with Orson and Callahan. Lance walked with Elyan and Percy, and Leon seemed to be isolating himself at the very back of the group. Before Merlin could find someone to talk to, Gwaine and Arthur arrived at the cars and determined who was riding with who.

"Remember, you're buying your own ticket!" Gwaine laughed, and Merlin shrugged. Gwaine hesitated, before shutting the door and driving off. Merlin got in the back of Arthur's car next to Leon, who began to fiddle with his cellphone and ignore Merlin. It surprised Merlin, as last year Leon had been quite nice to him, however he decided to look out the window at the trees which were beginning to lose leaves to the wind.

"It looks like a storm is coming," Merlin spoke up. Orson, who was sitting next to Arthur in the front, hummed in agreement.

"Indeed," he agreed. "Just right for a jaunty trip into Liverpool. Maybe we'll even go for sandwiches afterwards."

Roland, who was sitting on the other side of Leon, snorted, making Merlin turn his head once more to the window as he felt himself blush, once more embarrassed.

From the row of seats behind Merlin, Lance sighed loudly before speaking quietly to Percy. Merlin tuned everyone out, happy just to get to participate in Arthur's friend's activities.

When they arrived at the station, the boys piled out of the cars and Gwaine shared a playful look with Arthur.

"See you on the platform," he told Merlin. "Wait for us, okay?"

"Go buy a ticket," Callahan told Merlin with a grin.

"We'll see you in a bit. We're getting some food before we buy our tickets," Arthur added after a beat. "See you on the platform."

Merlin nodded, scampering off to get a ticket for himself. He was surprised that the tickets were rather expensive. He ended up spending all his money, save a enough to get him a salad at school, and so he clutched his prized ticket close. He wouldn't have enough money for another. He was about to go out onto the platform when Callahan, Orson, and Roland wandered in.

"Hey Merlin," Roland said, leading the others over to the teen. "Arthur changed his mind. We got our tickets at the machine outside, so we're getting on the train now."

"We'll meet you there," Callahan added. "No need to wait for us at the platform."

"Be a good lad and fetch us three some waters from the vending machine before you come. I'm parched," Orson smirked.

Merlin surveyed the three older boys for a moment before he nodded.

"Okay," he said after a moment. "Do you have any coins to get the water or anything?"

"Arthur said you'd have some," Callahan shrugged.

"See you on the train," Orson told Merlin, before the three boys sauntered away. For some reason, Merlin had a sinking feeling in his stomach, however he cleared his head and pulled out a few spare coins. Why was he uneasy? There was no reason to be. After all, Merlin trusted Arthur with everything, there was no reason for the strange feeling that weighed down his feet as he walked outside and bought three waters. He considered getting one more for himself, but then he realized he had no more money left.

Merlin suddenly heard the train whistle, and so he hurried to get on the train before it departed. Once he was inside, Merlin looked around for his brother as the train left the station.

Gwaine's and Arthur's cars arrived back at the house just as some raindrops began to patter to the ground. Gwaine laughed quietly, frowning when he noticed that Arthur didn't look quite as amused.

"What's wrong?" Gwaine asked. "It's not as if he'd actually get on the train, right? We told him to wait for us at the station. He'll have to walk home in the rain, but that's not so bad, right?"

"Course," Arthur grinned, nodding in agreement. "He wouldn't get on the train. Come on, let's see if we can build our fort. If it rains we can stay in the living room tonight."

AN: So, Merlin's off to Liverpool... Please review and tell me what you think so far! More reviews means faster update :)