When Emrys returned, Arthur had nearly completed another box. He was finding it quite easy to part with these old things without much thought, anything involving his parents, however, he tossed aside into the previous box. While he was sure there were things of import in there, he refused to give them more than passing thought for fear he would toss or donate something and regret it later.
"I was wondering," Arthur started, feigning nonchalance. "Have we met before the other day? I have this nagging feeling. Perhaps we met at the lake house I talked about earlier? It's the only thing that seems close to fit."
"I find that highly unlikely." Emrys muttered, "I've always been a, ah, a vagrant. Never stayed in one place too long."
"Shame." Arthur muttered, unconvinced. He was sure of it, even if Emrys couldn't remember. "I've been thinking, if I finish these boxes today, how about we go to the lake house? My parents still own it, I'm sure, been in the family for decades. Might as well have a place to drop off the old family photos. It's not like I have the space to leave it laying around here."
"You mentioned a lake house, but I'm not sure which lake you mean. There is more than one, you know." Emrys sniped, laying back on the bed to play with Wade's fluffy ears.
This aroused Arthur's suspicion again, how could he be sure they didn't meet if he wasn't even sure of the name of the lake?
"It's at the Lake of Shallot. Or, at least, that's what locals used to call it. They've changed the name at least a half dozen times now." Arthur shrugged, finishing the box before opening the last one (and upon seeing it filled primarily with old clothes) set it aside for donation without much thought.
"I don't think travel is a good idea right now. It would be too far from a hospital should something happen. " Emrys countered, ever the pragmatist.
"It'll be just for one day. I need to get this... stuff out of here." Arthur assured, "Going with or without you."
"Of course you are, you stubborn ass." Emrys scoffed. "Well it'd better be today then. Get it out of the way."
"Fine," Arthur conceded. "But I'm bringing Wade, he's never been and he would love the water."
Emrys rolled his eyes, flopping Wade's ears back and forth in silent retaliation. "Right."
...
The drive had been silent between them except for a pit stop at a petrol station halfway along the route. During this stop, Arthur asked if Emrys needed anything, he shook his head, and Arthur came back with a bag full of items and set it in back with Wade. He didn't ask, Arthur didn't offer information, so the drive went quiet again. The dodgy radio going in and out before settling on static.
...
They arrived close to noon, Arthur pulling a hidden key from under a hole in the deck's foundation. Wade was excited as all get out, wagging so hard Emrys was sure his tail would sprain. The small cabin was coated in dust, but power and water still connected.
The dog bounded through the open doors of the cabin with glee, barking his excitement. Arthur watched him in fondness, letting the dog bound through the house. Coughing at the stirred dust and musty air, he opened a few windows to make it more tolerable. Emrys, however, was uncomfortable thanks to the drive itself.
"We're here, let's drop it off and get on shall we?" Emrys tutted, hacking as he harumphed onto a dusty couch, old particles causing him to sneeze. "I wouldn't be surprised if the water ran brown out of the tap. This place has really been let go."
Arthur grit his teeth, attaching a leash to Wade's harness, "We drove all the way over, I plan on enjoying myself just a little bit. This place holds the happiest memories of my entire life, so excuse me if I'm a tad attached." He calmed down and cleared his throat, "I'm going for a walk around the lake, sulk if you want."
"And if you were to have a brain aneurysm while you're out there?"
"Then I die alone, and Wade will eat me once he gets hungry." Arthur rolled his eyes so hard he actually gave himself the start of a headache.
Emrys looked furious but stood and followed them, allowing Arthur to lock the door behind them. He lightened up a little as they walked along the forest path, reaching out occasionally to touch the bark of the trees. He even watched the sky through the canopy of the trees.
"Seem to be in a better mood, hm?" Arthur mentioned offhandedly.
"The woods relax me, I miss them. Don't see them much where I live, if I go outside at all..."
Arthur related, but felt again like there was more to what he was saying. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more that strange thought came into his head. The thought that Emrys was not telling the whole truth.
Wade, upon seeing a squirrel in the flesh, bolted and wrenched himself loose from Arthur's grasp, galloping ahead. Arthur rushed after them, and Emrys after him. After a minute or so, Arthur was worse for wear.
"Arthur! Stop! I'll get him! Your heart rate--! Lie down!"
Arthur was near collapse, severely out of shape on top of recently injured, his head pounding. He nodded in defeat while Emrys continued to run at a surprisingly quick pace after the dog. He did as Emrys said, lied down, desperately trying to regain his breath.
...
With his eyes closed, he could see a sight of Emrys standing at the shore of the lake, weeping. His voice silently yelling a name, reaching out to the sky, then collapsing and pounding his fists into the ground.
He had such a strong need to console Emrys, to tell him everything would be okay-- but he woke up before he could.
...
He must have fallen asleep for a moment, waking up to a dog tongue on his face and Emrys fussing over him checking his vitals.
"Don't cry, Emrys..." Arthur whispered, half out of it.
"Arthur, cut the nonsense. Did you fall asleep or pass out? This is important."
He groaned, feeling as though he hadn't slept at all, "Sleep, pretty sure. Had a dream. The lake, you were by the lake."
Emrys slowly sat Arthur up, clearly irritated, "We need to go back to the cabin and go back to your place. This place is clearly effecting you negatively."
"I want to go on the lake, before I go. Can't leave before I do." Arthur was insistent, "Wade can stay in the house. We have a row boat, in the-- in the boat house."
"A row boat?"
"They sold the yacht when we were still coming here. Said it was more trouble than it was worth. The row boat is mine. Please, Emrys."
Emrys, seemingly losing all his resolve at Arthur saying his name so pleadingly, he nodded quietly. He helped Arthur to his feet and took the leash himself as they walked back together.
...
And so, they pulled the boat from its storage rack and lowered it into the water. Wade, safely in the house, was tired from his run and took a nap on the living room couch.
"I'll go in first, since I am to assume you have little experience with boats." Arthur smirked, lowering himself carefully into the boat.
"Right," Emrys muttered, following in gingerly. He took the oars himself and began to row them out, Arthur offering to take it himself but Emrys refusing to do so.
Emrys tried stopping 3 meters or so from shore, but rowed out further at Arthur's insistance. Emrys began sighing more frequently, as though he was caught between exasperation and breathless fear.
"You said we had never met before, but I think that's a lie. Isn't it? The dream I had, I'm sure it happened. I know it's true, I just can't prove it."
"What did I say?" Emrys asked, his expresion dark as he pulled the oars in, skeptical. They floated as he shifted his wait on the bench. "In this dream, what did I say, how did I look? How can you know if it ever happened?"
"I can't remember details. But you were upset, you were at shore, I could see you but I was sort of far away. I couldn't hear you."
"It was a dream, nothing more." Emrys muttered, going to grab the oars.
"Emrys. Why do I keep getting the sense that you're lying to me?" Arthur asked, grabbing one of his hands reaching for an oar. "If we met before, why won't you tell me?"
Emrys had a conflicted expression, his eyes flitting around until they found Arthur's hand on his, pulling the hand from his grasp he crossed his arms, "You'll think I'm crazy."
"Little too late for that." Arthur joked.
"Do you believe in past lives? You know, reincarnation?"
"Never thought about it, really." Arthur admitted. "That's what it is, then? We met in a past life?"
"Uh..." Emrys could feel his face pale before the words even left his mouth, "more than one, actually. Several."
"Several." Arthur was surprised, so the question came out more like a statement. "It would explain the deja vu, I guess."
"There's a theory, you know, that through reincarnation you will always gravitate towards the same people over and over, even if they look or sound different." Emrys was blushing now, quite sure that Arthur found him worthy of a padded room.
Arthur, shocked and confused, took Emrys's face and held them between his hands, gripping the ends of his hair, looking at him intently. Emrys met his eyes and tried to squirm from the grasp, Arthur relented and let go.
"Yeah, I believe that. I know that face. I can feel it. Mhmm. Definitely." Arthur muttered confidently.
"C-Can I row back to shore now?"
"Sure, sorry." Arthur laughed, looking at the sky as it was beginning to darken. "Looks like a storm is coming."
"Of course there is." Emrys grunted, trying to row faster.
This effort was futile however, as rain came down in sheets right before reaching shore. They put the boat away and used the through door to get to the side of the cabin with the bathroom.
"You can strip first. I'm sure some of the old clothes in that box I brought would fit you. It's from high school but you're small enough."
"Gee thanks." Emrys rolled his eyes, playful but a tad miffed at the situation.
"Hang the clothes in there, I'll bring you something... unless you plan on walking around this many-windowed, non-curtained cabin naked."
"On second thought-"
"Thought so," Arthur laughed. "Be right back."
Emrys stepped in and locked the door, hanging his dripping clothes on the shower curtain rod, his underwear begrudgingly following close behind after a thorough wringing-out did no good.
Arthur knocked on the door, handing the clothes through the crack Emrys opened in the door. After changing, Arthur was already in a pair of basketball shorts, wringing his clothes over the kitchen sink.
"Did you change in here?" Emrys asked, chuckling.
"Yeah, the counters hide my indecency from the neighbors." Arthur joked, dropping the clothes in the sink to lean against the counter nearby Emrys. "I was right. They fit you just fine."
Emrys, remembering he was not wearing his own clothes, flushed, "This is a nice shirt. What does the acronym mean?"
"Oh, something nerdy I'm sure, can't quite remember." Arthur got a odd smile on his face, "It's my old model U.N. shirt. I'm quite fond of it, but it reminds me of my parents." He stepped forward to feel the fabric between his fingers, not even noticing the stark redness of Emrys's face and ears. "I wouldn't even let my ex wear that shirt. Funny how things turn out."
Wade took this moment to wake up, stretching and yawning noisily before pawing at the two of them.
"Think he wants us to sit with him." Emrys smiled, scratching his cheek in an embarassed tic.
"Sure thing, Prince Wade." Arthur laughed, flopping on the couch next to Emrys.
The dog laid across both their laps, relaxed.
"About the past lives thing..."
"Yeah?" Emrys asked, pulled away from his ardent scratching of Wade's stomach.
"How many do you remember? I can't remember much of anything."
"With some version of you in them?" Emrys seemed to drift for a moment, thinking. "Firsthand memories, including now, I'd say... Four? There's four specific time periods with time in between. Some say reincarnation is immediate, other say it takes a while, others say you're not even guaranteed to be human if you do come back. So... Yeah. Plus, it's not guaranteed we meet every lifetime--"
"Would you tell me what you remember?" Arthur asked, remembering his childhood dreams of being someone who transcended space and time, to be a legend. Naïve or not, it could be his way.
"Are you sure that you want to know? It's not all pleasant. In fact, most of it is quite sad. It's why I avoided you at first, all these memories have me in them you know, one starts to wonder if I am the catalyst."
"Tell me. Maybe then I can understand."
"...Okay." Emrys relented, "It started with Arthur, the King Arthur of the round table. That was you."
The memory of the sword in the park came to mind, and any doubt flew from his mind as he listened to the story. King Arthur was the beginning with his death in battle. Then the story of Artie, the man who eventually succumbed to a case of tuberculosis. Lastly, the shortest stort of all: Art the painter who hung himself on this 30th birthday.
Every story, Arthur noticed, stopped there one way or another-- they all died before or at 30. The thought made him really wish he'd bought alcohol when they were at the station.
He was nearing 30 himself, a scary thought.
---
A.N.
Double chapter (almost a double-and-a-half) because honestly it would be dumb to split this up. Plus, plot progression! Woohoo! Finally, right?
Also, if you couldn't tell, this chap was where the cover pic came into the story lol