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They’ve discussed it before of course. At first jokingly, ’Hey look another one’ and ’Heh, well, we all know what’s happened there’ nudge nudge wink wink. Now though, it’s all gotten a little too real.
“How many is this now?”
No one answers Gwaine’s quiet question, too busy listening to the news. Elyan, Kay and Gwaine are all sitting on the couch, and all leaning forward toward the TV. Perc is standing behind the couch, face in hands, elbows on the couch back, body bent double. Arthur was on his way to the kitchen, but he stopped when the report started, the word ‘missing’ having caught his attention.
A point is made of the man having been quiet, no trouble, active with his local community group. Arthur’s brow furrows as all the keywords come out. At the mention of the community group, Kay practically growls.
“Not another one into the kiddies.”
And he’s right. When the police broke into the missing man’s house after concerns for his health, they found unspecified materials and would very much like to have a word with the bloke. It’s been like that for months. Ever since Christmas.
“Why are we only hearing about this one now? He seems to have disappeared the same time as the rest?” Perc asks, straightening.
Arthur shrugs. “If it takes time for anyone to notice, then takes time for Police to get worried enough to look, then the news has to catch wind of it. The reports of them are dwindling.”
“Yeah, now,” says Gwaine, “but there was a while there where it all the news could talk about. And they all had something wrong with them.”
“Not all,” Arthur retorts automatically.
Gwaine rolls his eyes, “Alright mister stickler, but there were, like, two that were legitimate missing persons, and they were found. The rest…” His voice fades out, everyone contemplating exactly what he’s not saying.
“You don’t think?” Elyan sounds nervous. “I mean… all up and down the country. Could it really have reached so far?”
“I think I saw a literal freaking Goddess is what I think I saw, so-”
Kay slaps Gwaine to shut him up as Merlin enters the room. On the TV, the policewoman heading up the case is just finishing a very stilted appeal for information from the public and one of the reporters is asking the obvious. “Do you think they’ve fled to avoid justice? Should the public be concerned about a possible paedophile on the loose?”
There’s a very soft snort of derision from Merlin. Who stiffens when everyone else turns to look at him. He stays that way for a moment, then turns on his heel and heads back the way he came. He doesn’t look at them on his way out, but the tips of his ears are discernibly red.
There’s a pause as the implications are processed.
“Well fuck.”