Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or this song! All rights go to their respective owners!!!

(Author's Note: So this is the other request I was working on, and I promise it'll be a little more light-hearted than the other one. Also, this is the first time I've done a modern-au, so constructive criticism will help me out if you want more modern-au's in the future. Hope you enjoy it!!!)

Over a thousand years Merlin has waited, and a thousand more years he will willingly wait. There were points where he almost gave up, where he sunk so terribly low that all hope seemed lost. But he kept going, and he always will. The world has changed over his thousand-year life. Science has prevailed in so many ways that Merlin is still awed by technology. Some things, however, still remain relatively constant for him. Every day he visits the lake and talks about the world. He talks, believing that Arthur, Freya, and everyone he has ever loved is listening on the other side. He'd talk about wars, plagues, technology, and just about anything he did. It helped him cope with the burden of immortality.  

Another constant, granted only became consistent about a hundred and fifty years ago, was that he would visit a small bar once every ten years. There wasn't anything significant about the pub, really; it was small, shabby, and tucked away snugly in the corner of the town where people would visit after their 9 to 5. The first time he came, he had sunk into a deep depression and had lost faith once more about seeing his loved ones again. However, something about the little bar sparked something in him, and he sang his sorrows away. Perhaps it was the beer, though Merlin has found that it's really hard for someone like him to get drunk. The people loved him and asked him to do it again, but Merlin had to go. When he left, however, he gave them a promise. Every decade on that day forth, he'd come back, and he'd sing once more.

Merlin was a man of his word. He soon became the town legend. People would tell stories about a man who never aged and visited them every ten years to sing to them. They would say how his voice seemed to enchant them, and the very room felt as if magic was coating it. Merlin usually ends rumors like that quickly, but he never ended that one. He felt...comfortable with the townsfolk, and they seemed to trust him. They reminded him of the druids, in a way. Very peaceful, and always welcoming. They never even questioned who he was, where he's from, or why it seemed like he never aged. They just gave him a drink, and would politely ask if he'd sing for them again. It made Merlin smile, and few things really made him smile nowadays.

Merlin walked peacefully through the snowy sidewalk and nodded politely to the few he passed that waved and greeted him. As he reached the tavern, he opened the door slowly. Adam, who had looked over at the door in anticipation, smiled brightly and gestured him over. Adam was the bartender of the pub, serving for about 32 years. He met Merlin when he was a little boy that had sneaked in to see if the rumors were true. He had gotten in trouble for being in there while underaged, but he still remembers seeing Merlin wink at him. Today would be the fourth time he'd see Merlin sing for them, and every time he's just as excited. He brushed his ginger-brown hair away from his hazel eyes and greeted Merlin.

"How do you do, stranger?" Adam asked politely as he poured Merlin a drink, already knowing what he would order.

Merlin chuckled. "As good as any man, Adam," he said while he took the mug that Adam set down.

Adam smiled. No one knew Merlin's name, so everyone just calls him "stranger." Never in a mean way, and it seems like Merlin enjoys it. He also marveled about anything Merlin said because there was always a pearl of wisdom to it that sounds too ancient to be with any man.

Adam waited until Merlin finished his drink before asking the traditional question that he and every other bartender ask Merlin when he comes.

"There's rumor of a lost singer, wandering around, waiting to come home and sing once more."

Merlin, knowing where this was going, set his mug down as an amused smile danced on his lips. 
"Oh? Why hasn't he gone home yet?"

"No one knows, but with a town as small as this one, we were hoping he could stop by and have a drink with us."

"That would be a wondrous thing indeed. I am but a lone traveler, only stopping by, for I cannot settle down-not yet."

"Perhaps then, dear stranger, you could sing your tale of travel and sorrow to us?"

Merlin smiled, knowing that all of the people in the inn were watching from behind. "Very well, but I warn you, it's been 10 years since I last sang."

Adam laughed. "I'm sure your voice will be as magical as ten years ago, stranger."

Merlin turned so he was facing everyone in the small tavern, and took a deep breath and closed his eyes as memories started to flow through his head. He saw everyone in his head, standing there, comforting him. When he opened his eyes, he smiled and began to sing.

"Here's to the ones that we got

Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

Of everything we've been through"

Merlin, though his glass was empty, raised it high, and everyone raised their cups as well.

"Toast to the ones here today

Toast to the ones that we lost on the way

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

And the memories bring back, memories bring back you"

He lowered his mug, and the room echoed his movements. Merlin's eyes glazed over with memory when he sang, memories of when he was just a boy chasing his friend Will around in the forest.

"There's a time that I remember, when I did not know no pain

When I believed in forever, and everything would stay the same"

A tear slowly moved down his cheek as his memories moved onto his time with Arthur. He sang of the pain of hearing his name when people speak of their legend, and how it pains him that he can't speak to him anymore.

"Now my heart feel like December when somebody say your name

'Cause I can't reach out to call you, but I know I will one day, yeah

Everybody hurts sometimes

Everybody hurts someday, ayy ayy"

The bar watched as he looked onwards to them with hope-filled eyes, and they felt the magical presence fill the room. If you looked very closely, you could see that Merlin's dazzling blue eyes had flecks of gold in them when he sang.

"But everything gon' be alright

Go and raise a glass and say, ayy

Here's to the ones that we got

Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

Of everything we've been through

Toast to the ones here today

Toast to the ones that we lost on the way

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

And the memories bring back, memories bring back you"

Adam, who had the rare luxury of being near the singing stranger, watched with awe as the stranger's face filled with such passion, sorrow, and hope all together. You could hear it all clearly in the song, but it seems intensified a thousand times over if you study his face as well. He wondered what the strange man had gone through, but knew it was not in his place to ask. Instead, he continued to watch quietly as the stranger sang on with his heart shining through his voice.

"Doo doo, doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo

Memories bring back, memories bring back you"

Merlin remembered his rough times during Morgana and Mordred's reign, and all that he suffered during that time. He remembered how he still carried on for Arthur, even as the royal prat kept only seeing the bad in sorcery.

"There's a time that I remember when I never felt so lost

When I felt all of the hatred was too powerful to stop (ooh, yeah)

Now my heart feel like an ember and it's lighting up the dark

I'll carry these torches for ya that you know I'll never drop, yeah"

He shook the painful memories out of his head and kept going for his audience, who were still watching will the most caring intensity.

"Everybody hurts sometimes

Everybody hurts someday, ayy ayy

But everything gon' be alright

Go and raise a glass and say, ayy"

Merlin spoke a little clearer and looked at them all, smiling once more.

"Here's to the ones that we got (oh)

Cheers to the wish you were here, but you're not

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories

Of everything we've been through (no, no)

Toast to the ones here today (ayy)

Toast to the ones that we lost on the way

'Cause the drinks bring back all the memories (ayy)

And the memories bring back, memories bring back you"

Merlin closed his eyes and finished the song, swaying a little to his own tune.

"Doo doo, doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo

Memories bring back, memories bring back you

Doo doo, doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo

Doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo (ooh, yeah)

Memories bring back, memories bring back you

Yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, doh, doh

Memories bring back, memories bring back you"

As he finished, the inn exploded in cheers and applause. Merlin blushed a little, he was never comfortable with a lot of attention. Adam smiled at him and refilled his mug with beer. The room still had the magical feel to it, and everyone was cheerfully talking with each other. As Merlin closed his eyes and took a sip, he felt at peace. And, just for a moment, he was happy.

BONUS:

Merlin opened his eyes and looked at Adam, who pulled out his phone when it made a ping and made a confused "huh."

"What is it, Adam?" Merlin asked.

Adam shrugged and put his phone back in his pocket. "Apparently some blonde idiot in armor climbed out of a nearby lake and has started shoving his sword in any car that passes."

Merlin choked on his mug.

"WHAT?!?!"