#At least when Arthur will come back in this AU he will hug Merlin as tightly as Merlin hold him! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

merlinbingo · 1 year

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Feels like it's only yesterday I did one of these, but here we are again, another month down.

We're halfway through the year and through the round, and so far we've sent out 149 cards. 71 participants have created at least one fill, nine have a bingo, and two have filled every square on their card and come back for more!

June is always a busier month for fills, and this year is no different - we got a fabulous 72 fills by 29 wonderful participants. 52 were fics, 14 were artworks, two were fics and art, and then we also got a podfic, a reclist, a gifset and a playlist!

Just as June tends to be busier, we tend to get a wider variety of ships this month as well, which I for one think is an excellent thing. There's the usual suspects at the top of the list (merthur at 29 and gen at 17), the rarer-but-still-reasonably-common-for-bingo pairs (Gwen/Lancelot, Merlin/Gwaine, and Merlin/Lancelot all at three, then Arthur/Gwen and Merlin/Morgana both at two), and then 13 different ships with just the one fill, which you'll find with other the other fills below the cut!

As always, fills are sorted by ship and then by rating, and we encourage you to check out the warnings and practice self-care before clicking on anything that might not work for you. Now, go give these lovely people some love!

Gen/no ship

Merlin's new clothes by Ace_Teagirl Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Gift giving, arguing, apologies, emotional hurt/comfort, canon era Summary: Arthur offers Merlin new clothes to celebrate the third anniversary of Merlin becoming his manservant and best friend. But things don't go as planned, when Arthur makes a rude comment about Merlin's current clothes.

black swan morgana by kairennart Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: digital art, black swan (movie) au Summary:

the weight of the world by mechup Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: panic attacks, hurt/comfort Summary: Merlin always deals with his panic attacks alone, until one day Arthur finds him in the middle of one.

[Podfic] Some Angels Don't Have Wings by Milky_Etoile Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Introspective Arthur Pendragon, Sick Merlin, Post-Episode: s02e13 The Last Dragonlord, Arthur Pendragon-centric, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes Summary: Arthur always has the best luck in life-and-death situations. He was aware of exactly why this was the case. - Set after s02e13, in the aftermath of the dragon's attack on Camelot.

Untested Fear by TheManTheMythTheLazy Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Canon compliant, POV Arthur Pendragon, Introspection, Light angst Summary: Arthur's relationship with his father was doomed from the start, but not for the reasons he thinks

4th Entry-M3 by theartsylillipad Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: merlin, bbc merlin, merlin bingo, mordred, Summary: For this prompt I depicted Mordred with a dark green background for the villain color motif. I combined dark colors with one of Mordred’s quotes and used that as a subtle second light source to the backlighting.

5th Entry-M4 by theartsylillipad Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: merlin, bbc merlin, merlin bingo, morgana, blueprint Summary: For this prompt I created a blueprint of Morgana’s hut.

I believe you by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Canon compliant, Gwaine protective, POV Gwaine, POV Merlin, Merlin needs an hug Summary: Why did Gwaine look for Merlin, when he was searching any clues for finding Gaius? This is the scene we were robbed of.

Main Character Syndrome by Sage_Owl Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Canon Era, Crack, Breaking the fourth Wall, inner dialogue Summary: The most important character in BBC Merlin tells a little of their story.

ace gwaine by kairennart Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: digital art Summary:

Dinosaurs have feathers (and other things that shouldn't be real) by TheManTheMythTheLazy Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Modern Era, Alternate Universe - Modern Era, angst, immortal merlin Summary: Merlin was sentenced to life in prison before the Saxons conquered Camelot. Now in the modern age, he has been released on parole in the middle of a policy v. human rights shitstorm. While everyone debates the merit of a life sentence for an immortal, Merlin is realizing he must live in a world he's only seen through a window.

If I Just Lay Here by Sage_Owl Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Daemons, Self-reflection, nightmares, period-typical violence, POV Morgana Summary: Morgana contemplates her future.

1st Entry-C5 by theartsylillipad Rating: Teen Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence Major tags: bbc merlin, merlin fanart, famous art recreation, bbc morgana, uther pendragon Summary: For this prompt I used the painting Jael and Sisera by Artemisia Gentileschi, and chose Morgana and Uther as the subject matter. I’m super happy with the final product as the prompt, artwork, and original painting all work cohesively and translate really well to Merlin.

Who pays the price for revenge? by archaeologist_d Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: canon, dragon's call, introspection Summary: Mary Collins plots revenge for what Uther has done, and if Helen of Mora got in the way, so be it.

No Match for Morgana by archaeologist_d Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: pre-canon, canon compliant, BAMF Morgana, swordfighting with Arthur, kidfic Summary: Morgana had had enough of that prattish squire, Prince Arthur, and his hangers-on. She might just be a girl but she would show them what a real swordswoman could do.

Lightning Strike by archaeologist_d Rating: Teen Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence Major tags: angst, percival as a kid, pre-canon, grief, thunderstorms Summary: Percival’s village was slaughtered and him the lone survivor. Every time a storm hit, he remembered it all.

His Second-best Sword by archaeologist_d Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: angst, modern era, swords, merlin remembers Summary: The other archaeologists were all excited. They’d found a sword in the Welsh hillfort, brilliant and beautiful, associated with the Dark Ages and a time of legend, and wondered about whose sword it was. But Merlin knew. It was Arthur’s second-best sword.

Gwen/Morgana

Avalongate (aka She Sells Sidhe Spells) by Malu_3 Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic; Based on S1:e07 The Gates of Avalon; BusinessWoman!Morgana Summary: Morgana, on the eve of a big launch for Pendragon Cosmetics, has a dreadful dream about Arthur being attacked by a strange woman. Is it the result of too much Blue Stilton, or a true vision of peril to come?

Elena/Mithian

I'll be your Emmylou by willowsmarika Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: autumn, changing of the seasons, modern!au Summary:

Elyan/Mithian

Merlin Bingo Round Three - Prompt: Elyan/Mithian - Fill: 3 (+1) Recommendations by Malu_3 (but I'm @penaltykeks on tumblr where this is posted) Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Summary:

Merlin/Gwen

Mergwen as a Playlist by Crimson_Fanfic_Writer_7 Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Playlist, Platonic Feelings, Romantic Feelings Summary: It's just a playlist lol

Arthur/Gwen

spectacles of brilliant burning lights by Milky_Etoile Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Magic Reveal, Caring Arthur Pendragon, Everyone Loves Merlin, Golden Age Summary: Almost a year after Merlin revealed his magic and months after the repeal of the ban, Arthur wonders why Merlin still rarely does magic outside of combat situations and direct requests. The answers lead Arthur to arrange for magic lessons–for himself and for Merlin. This is a story of acceptance and of a love that nurtures like a warm, guiding light.

The Cool Kids by queerofthedagger Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Modern Setting, Bi4Bi Arwen, Pride Parades, Coming Out, Minor Internalized Biphobia Summary: Eventually, she pulls pack, holds the face paint up in question. He’s always beautiful, she thinks as he nods, but never more so than when he is brave. The blue and pink and purple suit him as if he was always supposed to wear them.

Merlin/Morgana

A puppet in your hands by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: Teen Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Redeemed Morgana, Mind control, Merlin &Morgana friendship, cour sorcerer Merlin Summary: Morgana kidnapped Merlin and controlled him. What will happen to the future of Camelot?

The Prophecy, Ch. 103: Courtly Love by VikingSong Rating: Teen Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, Contains mentions of blood and injuries (not particularly graphic), references to past torture (also not particularly graphic), and a nauseatingly cheesy ‘love letter’ Major tags: Slow-burn romance; fake love letters; political intrigue; hurt/comfort; everyone knows about Merlin’s magic Summary: The latest chapter in this long S2-divergent fic contains a coded message disguised as a love letter which Arthur (who’s a disinherited fugitive) sends to Gwen in Camelot. Gwen and Morgana are working on an escape plan for Merlin (who is currently imprisoned in Camelot’s dungeons for sorcery and treason after being captured while protecting Arthur). Meanwhile, Merlin is recovering from serious injuries and having telepathic conversations with Morgana in which they dance around their unacknowledged feelings for one another.

Gwen/Lancelot

but thinking is a dangerous thing by lit-in-thy-heart Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Canon Compliant, Missing Scene, Light Angst, Hugs Summary: Following Lancelot's flight after he and Gwen are rescued from Hengist, Gwen allows herself to finally reflect on what could have been.

2nd Entry-M1 by theartsylillipad Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: merlin, bbc merlin, merlin bingo, merlin fanart, gwen/lancelot, Summary: For this prompt I based the style off of Disney’s Sleeping beauty, and used Gwen and Lancelot as the main pair.

A sunny day with friends by Laevateinn Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: slice of life, Modern AU, Pride, fluff Summary: “Stop moving, you idiot!” Chuckles resonated around Gwen, and she shook her head. She looked around at her friends, scolding them wordlessly, then turned around to face Gwaine and try to apply the finishing touches to his makeup. The sun was high, the air was crisp, Gwen and her friends were at Pride, currently sitting on the grass, waiting for the parade to start.

Ygraine/Uther/Nimueh

kingdom come undone by mechup Rating: Mature Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: pre=canon, power play, tentacles, bondage Summary: She felt her most powerful in moments like this one. How could she not, when she had the king and queen of Camelot on their knees before her, completely at her mercy?

Merlin/Arthur/Gwen

Not a girl, not a man either by Ace_Teagirl Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Non-binary merlin, queerplatonic Merlin/Gwen/Arthur, fluff Summary: Merlin comes out to Gwen and Arthur

Gwaine/Merlin/Percival

Sleepover by KingAni Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Summary:

Merlin/Arthur/Knights

Becoming Melody - chapter 3 by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: Teen Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Queer Themes, Morgana is a good friend, BAMF Merlin, Protective Gwen, Merlin & Morgana friendship, Summary: Merlin is tired for all the jokes the knights made about him Morgana had a simple solution

Arthur/Elyan

Queers of Camelot by King Ani Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Summary:

Mordred/Percival

Treasure by Malu_3 Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate Universe - Canon; First Meetings; Episode s05:e02 Arthur's Bane Part 2; Post-Episode s05:e01-02 Arthur's Bane Summary: For most men, the mines of Ismere yield nothing but misery and despair, but that is about to change.

Gwaine/Lancelot

Pride and Liberty Guiding The People by Stelle Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: fanart, pride art Summary:

Gwaine/Percival

Can't help falling in love by Ace_Teagirl Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Falling in love, first kiss, not actually unrequited love Summary: Percival reflects on how his love for Gwaine is unrequited, before he is proven wrong and they kiss

Merlin/Leon

What's Presented in the Mirror by thetreeofwillow Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Pride, Trans Merlin, Ace Leon, body image issues, Modern Era Summary: Pride reminds Merlin of all he has to love about his appearance.

Merlin/Lancelot

lancelot helping merlin get aithusa by kairennart Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: digital art, canon au, mercelot week Summary:

shade lancelot by kairennart Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: digital art, episode: lancelot du lac, angst Summary:

and the ghosts that we knew by Imagined Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Episode Fix-it, Angst, Happy Ending, Magic Revealed, Canon Divergence Summary: “I lost him,” Merlin says quietly, and bows his head as the tears prickle annoyingly at his lashes. One of them drops into his stew; it ripples for a moment, and he stares at the dish. He isn’t hungry, really. “He would have wanted for you to be happy,” Gaius says, his voice kind and low. Merlin feels as though he’s a wounded animal, hiding away in the corner and shying away from all hands that want to help him—he can’t be helped. Lancelot was his friend, and Merlin couldn’t lose him, but he did. Or: Lancelot walks through the veil and towards his death. So everyone thinks, at least, until Merlin finds him trapped in the world between life and death. And there's very little Merlin won't do to get him back.

Merlin/Gwaine

6th Entry-M5 by theartsylillipad Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: merlin, bbc merlin, merlin bingo, merwaine, merlin/gwaine, Summary: Merlin and Gwaine huddling for warmth

A day together by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Surfing, Established Relationship, Gwaine being Gwaine, Modern Era, Fluff Summary: Gwaine and Merlin enjoy some time together

Call me your friend, treat me like one by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Dysfunctional Relationships, POV Gwaine (Merlin), Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Episode: s05e07 A Lesson in Vengeance (Merlin), Ambiguous/Open Ending Summary: Gwaine had only had one great friend in his life, Merlin. But had he been an equally true friend to him?

Merlin/Arthur

3rd Entry - M2 by theartsylillipad Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: merlin, bbc merlin, merthur, merlin bingo, Summary: For this prompt I depicted Merlin healing one of Arthur’s wounds.

Not Mine to Keep by Stelle Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: flowershop au, art with story Summary: After that, it became a regular thing. Arthur was visiting once a week, asking questions about flowers at first then it turns into them chatting, insulting each other sometimes and joking, laughing.

If you love me let me hear you by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: AU Lawer, Pining Arthur Pendragon, Getting together Summary: Merlon has a problem with notes. Arthur has a problem

And If It Isn't My Love by Sage_Owl Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Modern Era, Demisexuality, feelings realization, Evil Uther Pendragon, first dates Summary: Merlin, fed up with a string of miserable first dates, decides to put his feelings first and take some time for himself. His feelings have other plans.

Back on Track by kirani Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: idiots to lovers, mutual pining, modern au Summary: Everyone knows Merlin and Arthur have been dating for ages, though no one is exactly sure when they got together. But suddenly Merlin is giving some guy at pub night his number and Arthur is clearly trying not to freak out and Gwaine has no idea what is going on! Or: Gwaine resists the urge to smoosh his best friends' faces together like Barbies when he finds out they haven't actually been dating for the last five years

if you were just to hold me by Imagined Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Sickfic, Hurt Merlin, Getting Together Summary: “I think he’s awake,” Arthur calls out, and the noise bludgeons Merlin’s head like a hammer, and he presses his eyes closed as if to force away his ability to hear as much as his ability to see. It doesn’t work well for him, and he chokes on a breath. His throat is on fire as he starts coughing. Gods, he’s ill. He thinks he’s very ill.

When the Abyss stares back by feuxx Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: merpeople!au - size difference Summary:

The Poet Arthur Pendragon by diaryofamadtheatermajor Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love Summary: Arthur writes Merlin a poem

A Burst of Love That Blinded Every Angel by Mischel Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: established relationship, fluff, light angst, alternate universe - angels Summary: Angel!Merlin canon AU. In order to be with Arthur, Merlin had given up everything. He’d given up his magic, his wings, and even his voice. The last one seemed like a cruel joke from his brothers and sisters in the sky, but Merlin loved Arthur more than his ability to speak, so he’d accepted it and kept the sadness to himself. For years, he’d lied to Arthur and pretended to be a normal human, but he can’t pretend anymore. Today, a month and a half before their wedding, he finally tells Arthur the truth.

it bent in the undergrowth (the road less taken) by Imagined Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Found Family, Modern AU, Demisexual Arthur Pendragon, Getting Together Summary: “We have a system for borrowing books, you know,” the librarian says. Merlin, his name tag reads. There’s a little smiley face behind his name, and Merlin leans over the counter to take the book out of Arthur’s hands. Arthur stares back, stone-faced, as Merlin looks at the cover. “I hope you enjoyed it, at least, if you went to all the trouble of stealing it.” “I don’t—” Arthur says, and presses his lips together. “It was fine, I suppose. If you like that sort of thing.” Merlin snorts. “What’s that, gay people?” Or: When Arthur comes out to his father, he loses everything. And then he meets a messy-haired librarian, and learns that there’s so much he never had.

A Non-Believer’s Guide to Magic by Sage_Owl Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Circus, modern with magic, angst with a happy ending, powerful Merlin, Bad Parent Uther Pendragon Summary: Arthur's experiences with magic, and how one pair of gold eyes ends up changing his life.

happiness blooms from within by slantedknitting Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Love potion, hanahaki Summary: On a hunting trip, Arthur and Merlin save a young princess and her father from bandits. Under pressure from his father to prove himself worthy of the throne, Arthur decides to pursue the princess, but she has plans of her own. When those plans unravel, it’s Merlin whose life is at risk.

Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match by archaeologist_d Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: fluff, canon era, fairies as matchmakers, Merlin is not amused Summary: Two fairies, the evil twins Merlin called them, were hell-bent on matchmaking their way through Camelot. Unfortunately, their first targets were Merlin and Arthur.

All That I Can (And Can't) Have by lavender_spice Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Soulmate AU, Self-Discovery, Mutual Pining Summary: When he was just a boy, Arthur was made to cover up his soul mark by his father. Soon, everyone else in Camelot followed along the trend, and by the twentieth anniversary of Arthur’s birth, there was nary anyone in Camelot who showed off their soul mark. And then a village boy with far too much righteous confidence for his own good tried to fist fight Arthur in the lower town and somehow, that changed everything.

Spit it out (Jot it down) by kirani Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: epistolary, mutual pining, court sorcerer merlin Summary: Arthur and Merlin make an attempt to be more appropriate in the eyes of the court by turning to notes instead of arguing out loud as much. It goes about as well as you’d expect.

No one and nothing, chapter 9 by archaeologist_d Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence Major tags: canon au, magical reveal, BAMF Merlin Summary: Merlin saves Arthur’s life in front of the whole court and has to run for his life. But when Arthur shows up, asking for help, what was Merlin to do, say no?

So Take Me Somewhere by queerofthedagger Rating: Mature Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Modern AU, Friends with Benefits, Breaking Up & Making Up, Queer Themes, Angst with a Happy Ending Summary: Arthur has known for a while that he's bi. He's known for about as long that he finds Merlin attractive, too. They are friends though, and there are a hundred reasons why they cannot happen, no matter what Arthur otherwise thinks about it. Alternatively: a beginning, a fuck-up, and some hard-won reconciliation, told over the course of four weddings and one funeral.

Solstice by archaeologist_d Rating: Mature Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: modern au, solstice, stonehenge, arthur wants to take the edge off Summary: Merlin takes Arthur to Stonehenge to watch the sun rise on the Solstice. Never mind that Arthur had some ridiculous notion about orgies and standing stones and the rising sun.

match made in (heaven) by radioactivesunflower Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: idiots in love, attempt at humor, one night stands,masturbation, arthur pendragon is a little shit Summary: the one where merlin is a matchmaker and a big fat lair arthur likes to spend most of his time annoying merlin a love story between a matchmaker and client that share a past only one knows about

Worshipping You From The Darkest Of Corners (Like I'm Practicing My Own Private Religion) by lavender_spice Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Cyberpunk AU, Priest AU, Explicit Smut Summary: In a world ruled by the authoritarian organization who call themselves The Church, cold and emotionless PRIEST agents keep the public pure and obedient. But when Merlin and his group of rebels capture one of said agents, a special bond forms between Merlin and their captive. A bond that might lead to something previously thought impossible – turning one of The Church's most loyal servants to the rebel side.

Knots of Blood by SauraUnderscore Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: A/B/O Dynamics; Parenthood; Mystery-AU; Drowning; Angst with Happy ending; Explicit Sex; Knotting; Summary: Mordred’s birth was difficult. The first few weeks of their son’s life were the most challenging in Arthur and Merlin’s own. Not only did Merlin and Modred share the most powerful magic ever seen until now— but the pup hates his father’s Alpha smell. He yells and cries every time Arthur is near. So when Modred disappears one night from his cradle, Merlin accuses Arthur of murdering his own child.

The Symbols of Life and Death by SauraUnderscore Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Serial Killer AU; Dystopia AU; Mild torture; Corpses; No real Bloody descriptions; Minor Character Death; Explicit Sex; Hurt/Comfort; Mentions of earlier Prostitution (Merlin); Soul Bound; Magic Sex; Summary: All Arthur wants is to protect Merlin from the serial killer that is threatening the magical community. But Merlin doesn’t need Arthur’s protection. Who does Pendragon think he is? Just because when Merlin needs a lawyer, he pays his debt fucking him, doesn’t mean he’s going to get attached to no one else but the son of the one who started this fucking nightmare for the magical kin.

when doves cry by radioactivesunflower Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence Major tags: dark merlin, dark arthur pendragon, mob boss arthur pendragon, serial killer merlin, dark power couple Summary: when vigilante but mostly serial killer merlin is kidnapped by the all powerful mob boss arthur pendragon he is given a deal he can't refuse

In the Car by diaryofamadtheatermajor Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Anal Sex, Porn With Feelings, Oral Sex, Car Sex Summary: Merlin and Arthur have sex in their car

A Balanced Equation by SauraUnderscore Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Oblivious to lovers; Modern AU; Slight Sickness; Protective Arthur; Fluffy Fluff; Explicit Sex; Summary: When an informatic problem erases half the data of the most important project of Pendragon Co., Merlin and Arthur stay three days to recover their work. It does no good to the recurrent rumours of them being dating. Which is not true. Not at all. They are too immersed in their job to realise how stupidly in love they are with each other.

The Pool Boy by SauraUnderscore Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Explicit Sex; Unsafe Sex; Slight Non-Con; Dirty Old men; Morally Grey Arthur; Could be seen as Prostitution (Arthur) Summary: Cenred believes everything in his mansion belongs to him and exists for his pleasure. Business is done on the terrace, eating delicious foods, drinking expensive wines and ogling the young, almost-naked employees. One day Merlin, Cenred’s pool boy, has company at the pool. A young, half-naked blond: Arthur Pendragon.

What a Stud by mooonwaffle Rating: Not rated Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: mutual pining, crushes, flirting, nose piercings, tattoo parlor Summary: After years of waiting, Merlin finally schedules an appointment to get his lip pierced. Though, crushing on the body piercer was not part of the plan, nor was walking out with his nose pierced instead because a hot guy claimed it would look cuter on him.

#bbc merlin #merlin bingo #round three #round up #june round up #so many beautiful fills #i love you all #sign ups are still open if you want to join us

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sherlockruiningmylife · 1 year

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I think that at the moment I could come up with a merthur fic idea for just about any song. Every song I listen to at the moment becomes merthur coded to me.

Anyway though, I say this because I've got 2 songs currently stuck in my head as fics. The first is called Empress by Morningsiders.

For this song I imagine a modern day, maybe university au. Where Merlin and Arthur have been friends forever growing up and they room together at university, sharing an apartment. They go out on the weekends together, with regular friend dates at coffeeshops or movie theaters. They even go shopping for home decor much to Arthur's dismay. Throughout Arthur dates Gwen for a while, it started in high school, but eventually they meet Lancelot. Arthur and Gwen try so hard to make it work between them but they both know something is off, they just can't understand what.

When Arthur sees Gwen talking to Lancelot he realizes that he didn't really know what love was meant to look like. He loves Gwen, no question, but it's not that all consuming romantic soul bearing love that it should be. And its not the easy effortless love that it should be either. It's more of a love between friends. And he sees that, if he just let go, Gwen could find that with someone else, possibly Lancelot.

As Arthur comes to terms with the fact that he doesn't know how to love Gwen the way she deserves, Merlin pines over Arthur and slowly starts to pull away from him. It comes to a point, while Arthur and Gwen are still together, that Merlin realizes he's just hurting himself staying roommates with Arthur. He decides that he is going to move out. While Arthur is out on a date, Merlin packs a bag and goes to Gwaine's place to crash on his couch.

Arthur is out late on his date with Gwen. He had been nervous before the date like he hadn't been in ages. They go to dinner and chat as old friends would and it solidifies to Arthur that whatever passion they had, if they had any, is now gone. There is no animosity between them which makes it that much harder to tell Gwen why they should break up. Gwen, much to his surprise seems to understand. She looks at him sympathetically and wonders aloud why it took them this long, the signs had been there for at least a year. Arthur agrees, nodding along, until Gwen says something that stops him in his tracks.

"Have you told Merlin yet?"

Arthur puzzles and responds, "Er, no, why would I. This is our business not his, of course I'll tell him later that we've separated but no not yet."

"Oh." Gwen seems genuinely confused, "I didn't mean about breaking this off. I meant have you told Merlin about your feelings yet?"

Arthur continues to not understand and says so in as many words. Gwen sighs and mutters something about men and their emotional intelligence. Then she takes Arthur's hand and explains how she knew this was coming soon. That she had realized and tried to ignore for quite sometime that what Merlin and Arthur had was more of a relationship than the two of them had ever had. As she lays out all her observations, Arthur realizes she is right. That's what was missing, it was Merlin.

He stands up quickly from the table and drops a few bills to pay before saying goodbye as he runs out the door. When he makes it back home he hesitates, half hoping Merlin will just be asleep so that he doesn't have to admit his feelings just yet. But also wanting to see him, and hug him, kiss him even as he professes his newly realized feelings.

When he works up the courage to go inside, the place is silent. All lights are off and there isn't a single sound. Arthur calls out and there is no response so he knocks on Merlin's door. Opening it slightly he sees a neat, tidy, and more importantly empty bed.

Maybe Merlin is just out with some of their friends, Arthur rationalizes, he'll be back soon. So Arthur sits up for a couple hours waiting, but he grows restless. He'd already texted Merlin asking where he was at but didn't get a response, so now he tries texting both Gwaine and Lancelot.

To his surprise, Gwaine calls him immediately.

"Gwaine! Have you seen Merlin, he's not home and isn't responding to my texts and I'm a bit worried."

"What did you do this time princess?" Gwaine responds.

"Nothing! I swear, I was out on a date with Gwen is all and came back and Merlin's not here!"

"Ah."

"What? What does that mean, Gwaine, please tell me if you know where he is."

"He's at my place, crashing on the couch," Arthur hears an affronted yell in the background from Merlin, trying to get the phone away from Gwaine, Gwaine obviously gets the upper hand as he gets back on the line, "he wouldn't tell me what was going on so I just assumed you'd had some sort of tiff. But I see now why Merlin was sulking."

Arthur didn't really know what to make of whatever Gwaine seemed to be implying so he just said, "I'll be there soon." And hung up.

Arthur rushes over to Gwaine's and the man let him in. Merlin looks affronted at Arthur and complains that Arthur just has to go around rubbing it in, Arthur looks on confused. They wind up in a heated argument before Arthur finally breaks and admits, "I broke up with Gwen."

"What! You idiot, why would you!?"

"Because Merlin, I finally admitted to myself that we were holding each other back, and what's more she helped me realize how much of a complete and utter fool I've been."

"I'm not following you Arthur?"

"I-I, she helped me realize, that I'm in love with someone else, have been for a long time."

Merlin begins to shut down, angry at Arthur for telling him this, but then Arthur stops him and says, "she helped me realize what I've taken for granted, every coffee date and movie night, and cooking together in the kitchen. That love I've been trying to create had been right in front of me and I was a fool for, for loving her over... you."

#anyway #that last line is the line from the song #lmk if you want to see my other song inspiration merthur fic idea #or if you want me to actually write this out into a full fledged fic #merlin #bbc merlin #merthur #arthur pendragon #fanfiction #my writing #merlin fanfic #merlin bbc #merthur fanfic #empress morningsiders

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bitsandbobsofwriting · 3 years

Text

Twin!AU Part 2:

Gwaine is ecstatic to find that he’s technically dating Royalty (Arthur still isn’t best pleased), and Merlin begins to recover his true heritage.

Part 1 Part 3

Gwaine stares at the two of them open-mouthed from where he sits on the edge of the bed.

Re-telling the story had re-ignited Merlin and Arthur’s anger, but they do a good job of keeping it in as Gwaine tries to process that his partner and The Prince of Camelot are... twins. Gods this sounds like something out of one of Leon’s ridiculous fiction books: long lost royal twins and insane Kings and emotional reunions with long-dead, ghostly relatives. But to be fair, Gwaine has found that in all of his travels, Camelot has definitely been the weirdest place he’s ever been. Or perhaps it’s just the people.

He finally shuts his mouth, nodding slowly as he takes a deep breath and stands. He wipes his sweaty hands down his trousers briefly before stepping forward and pulling Merlin into a hug, making pointed eye-contact with Arthur over his shoulder. The only thing that Gwaine and Arthur had ever agreed on was that Merlin’s safety was of the upmost importance; this whole ordeal had just strengthened that agreement:

“That’s... you guys have had one hell of a day, huh? You said Gaius, and your mo- Hunith, and that bloody Dragon knew?”

Merlin tenses in his arms before pulling away, and Arthur’s expression turns stormy once more as he nods. Gwaine frowns, keeping one hand on Merlin’s shoulder as the servant (Prince?) responds bitterly:

“Hmm. We haven’t spoken to Kilgharrah or Hunith yet, but they’ll be getting a bloody mouthful from me, when we get time.”

Gwaine nods sympathetically, muttering his reply more to himself than the others:

“...Bastards.”

Arthur nods, but takes a deep breath as he puts his own hand on Merlin’s other shoulder:

“Agreed, but we’ve been gone too long; Leon’s been dealing with the council for at least half an hour and we need to go explain things sooner rather than later. News of my- The King’s arrest will spread like wildfire once it gets out.”

Merlin sighs, sagging slightly where he stands, and Gwaine steps even closer to him, moving his arm to be over his shoulder in a side-hug:

“Hey, I’m sure Arthur and Leon can deal with this if you’d rather hide out in here for a little peace. We could always set Morgana loose on the council, she’s bound to whip them into shape.”

(Yes, this fic is ignoring the timeline both in terms of the knights AND Morgana. She knows about Merlin’s magic, and Merlin, Arthur, and Gwaine (and Lance) know about hers.)

Merlin lets out a quiet huff of laughter, leaning into Gwaine’s side slightly as he looks up:

“No, I can’t. Arthur’s right, we need to sort this out sooner rather than later. I’d be perfectly content to not tell anyone about who I really am-”

Gwaine raises an eyebrow and Arthur narrows his eyes, ready to protest, but is interrupted by Merlin’s loud continuation before he can say anything:

“-but I know neither of you will let me get away with that so... here we are.”

Arthur nods decisively and Gwaine hides a grin, clearly thinking about how he’s technically courting a Prince. Arthur rolls his eyes at Gwaine’s expression, a small part of him cursing himself for letting the drunkard stay in Camelot, but the rest of him is grateful, knowing that Merlin needed more than Arthur on his side, especially now he had lost, or partially lost, Gaius, Kilgharrah, and Hunith.

The blonde Prince lets out a deep sigh, looking towards the door despondently as he decides that they really can’t leave Leon to fend for himself any longer. The three of them make their way from the room wordlessly, but Arthur halts the group again at the end of the corridor, turning to Gwaine with a thoughtful frown:

“Go find Elyan, Percival, Lancelot, Morgana, and Gwen. Gaius is a member of the council so he should already be there but double check he isn’t in his chambers, and Leon may have fetched Morgana himself, but I don’t know.”

Gwaine turns to look at Merlin and speaks quietly:

“What should I tell them?”

Merlin’s frown deepens and he glances at Arthur, but he just shrugs slightly, giving the choice to Merlin:

“They’ll all find out in the meeting anyway, so it might be best to pre-warn them so they aren’t blind-sided. Tell them the truth, I was born with magic, and am Arthur’s long lost twin brother, confirmed by Igraine’s ghost and then Gaius.”

He looks bewildered as he says it, almost as though he doesn’t fully believe it quite yet; Arthur nods in agreement and continues his instructions to Gwaine:

“Have everyone meet us there as soon as possible, I want to get this sorted now and I’m going to need as many people on my side as I can get.”

Gwaine nods seriously, pressing a brief kiss against Merlin’s forehead before rushing off in the other direction, hurriedly knocking on the knights’ doors down the corridor as Merlin and Arthur turn the corner.

They make quick work of the journey back through the castle, stopping just outside the doors to the Throne Room with sweaty palms and shivering lungs. The two of them listen to the annoyed sounding murmurs coming from inside for a few moments and the guards try not to give them odd looks as Arthur glances to Merlin—stood at his side instead of behind him—with a fond, though nervous smile. He puts his hand on the other man’s shoulder:

“We’re about to cause one hell of an argument, you ready?”

Merlin takes a deep, calming breath, smiling briefly as he hears Leon pleading with the council to be patient for just a little longer, looking to Arthur with anxious eyes and pale cheeks:

“Yeah. Come on, I think Leon might hurl himself from the window if we make him wait much longer.”

Arthur chuckles quietly, and the guards quickly divert their gazes when he looks back to the doors, taking one last fortifying lungful before walking forward and pushing them open with a bang, Merlin at his side.

The room goes suddenly quiet and Leon visibly relaxes when they walk in, bowing briefly before stepping aside and allowing Arthur to take his place in front of the thrones. There is no table in the Throne Room, so the council stand gathered in the middle, staring up at Arthur incredulously as he runs a hand down the arm of The King’s throne absent-mindedly. He was grateful to see Gaius present, despite not being in any sort of mood to talk to the man; he holds a smirk in when he sees several of the councilmen raise eyebrows at Merlin, still stood at his side when he technically shouldn’t even be in the room. There was even further incredulity as Sir Leon moves to stand guard behind him, as opposed to The Prince.

One of the Lords nearer the front of the small crowd finally breaks the tense silence:

“My Lord, what is the meaning of this? We were told it was an emergency, that we were meeting in the Throne Room as opposed to the council room, and were then made to wait for almost a candle-mark. The King has yet to arrive, what is going on?

Arthur turns to look at them with a raised eyebrow, back straight and face impassive:

“Patience, Lord Angar, The King will not be joining us, though we are waiting for a few more-”

The doors open before he finishes and every head turns to see the remaining knights, Gwen, and Lady Morgana enter, led by a serious looking Gwaine. All of them give Merlin a small smile and a bewildered nod, bar Morgana, who looks nothing short of furious as she moves to stand protectively at his side, glaring at any councilman who dares to look their way. The knights spread out, standing to attention with hands on their swords around the edge of the room, whilst Gwen moves to stand against the wall behind Morgana, Merlin, and Leon. Only Gwaine, Leon, and Lancelot are in full armour, but all the knights are armed and angry looking.

The councilmen, looking more confused and annoyed, look back to a still impassive Arthur. He fixes a short glare on each and every one of them before turning to face them properly and speaking confidently, his tone inviting no argument:

“The King has been arrested and confined to his chambers for the murder of the late Queen, and gross crimes against the Kingdom.-”

The room immediately explodes into angry and incredulous yelling, and Merlin flinches away from the sudden noise. Morgana squeezes his wrist comfortingly, knowing that it was only going to get worse when the rest of the truth is revealed, and Leon steps out from behind him, moving to be at his side with his sword halfway out of it’s sheath.

The other knights and Gwen all tense in place and Gwaine has to resist the urge to run to Merlin, knowing that the council’s disdain for both him personally and his courtship with Merlin would just make things worse. Arthur rolls his eyes at the cacophony of noise and slams the metal part of his gauntlet against the arm of the throne with a bang:

“ENOUGH! You’ll find, gentlemen, that remaining calm and quiet will make this conversation much easier.-”

He glowers at everyone until the hall is drowning in another tense silence before taking a deep breath, forcing himself to keep his hands from fidgeting as he continues:

“-It has come to my attention, through the Witch Morgause-”

A few murmurs of dissent go around the room, but they quickly cease when even the ever-calm Sir Leon begins to glare at people:

“-and further confirmation by The Court Physician, that King Uther used sorcery, against The late Queen’s wishes, in order to conceive a child. He was warned of the dangers, and went ahead with his plan anyway, which resulted in not only the birth of twins, one of whom was magical, but the death of the Queen.-”

At the mention of Gaius, the elderly Physician gets a few confused glances, and even more glares; no one likes being kept out of the loop, especially when everyone there is a Lord except Gaius. At the mention of twins, everyone’s attention is abruptly back on Arthur, and the knights have to resist the urge to look at Merlin, in fear of giving anything away too early.

Before he can continue, Arthur is interrupted by Lord Angar again:

“My Lord, I very much doubt the validity of anything you have just said, but either way, is this really the sort of meeting to be had with servants, a Lady, and your peasant knights present? I know you’re oddly fond of them but-”

Arthur, Leon, and Morgana have to resist the urge to punch the Lord in the face at his words. Gwen, Percival, Lancelot, and Elyan manage to keep their faces neutral, though Gwaine glowers openly. The knight does however hold in his smirk when he notices the fury on Arthur’s face. The Prince takes a threatening step forward but doesn’t lower himself from the dais as he speaks, his tone cold:

“Lady Morgana, Guinevere, and Merlin have proven to be better advisors to me than you ever have Lord Angar; Sirs Percival, Elyan, Lancelot, and Gwaine are amongst the best knights this Kingdom has ever seen, and you will show every one of them the respect they deserve, or you will excuse yourself from this room, and this council. Am I understood?”

The red of Angar’s face gets more severe as he splutters:

“My Lord you can not be-”

“Am I understood?!-”

Arthur’s voice cuts through everyone in the room, despite it’s low volume, and where Leon hides his proud smirk, Morgana doesn’t hold back at all, especially when Angar takes a deep breath and nods his purple head in embarrassment. The rest of the council seems to finally have grasped the seriousness and severity of the situation and play close attention to Arthur as he continues, no one daring to interrupt again:

“-This information changes everything we know about sorcery; my father started a genocide against an innocent group of people because he was too much of a coward to admit his mistakes and refused to take the rightful blame for killing his wife. I will not stand for this, and things will change very soon. If you are not outraged at the unjustness of his actions, at the death and suffering he has caused our people, the people we are meant to serve and protect, then you are more than welcome to leave. Meetings to organise and begin the process of legalising magic will start early tomorrow, and I will be accepting no excuses, this is non-negotiable. As for the matter of my twin brother...-”

Arthur glances back to Merlin, and at his slight nod, Arthur shoots him a small smile and holds his hand out to him. Merlin walks slowly forward to the sound of the council gasping and muttering to themselves, Leon stays barely a hair’s breadth behind him with his sword fully drawn:

“-may I present Prince Myrddin Pendragon.-”

Lord Angar, among others, looks seconds away from bursting once more, so Arthur hurries to continue, though still manages to keep his voice forceful and confident:

“-This information was unconfirmed for both of us until around a candle-mark ago; I have never believed in fate before now, though I think we can all be grateful that The Prince managed to return to Camelot all on his own.-”

He settles his hand on Merlin’s shoulder, but doesn’t pull him forward too much, understanding that his serv- his brother, probably wants to be as far away from the centre of attention as he can get.

“-I want him presented to The Kingdom and crowned before the month is out, this matter is also non-negotiable. Any questions?”

Lord Angar looks desperate to start yelling, but he also seems to have finally accepted that his influence over this room, and now the council in general, was tenuous at best. One of the newer councilmen, a young Lord who Arthur has a slowly growing respect for, steps forward slightly, bowing his head before meeting Arthur’s gaze and quietly asking:

“And The King, My Lord? Should we plan for your coronation as well?”

It was clear that the question was unexpected and Arthur frowns at the realisation that he had... arrested The King. Uther may have deserved it, but Arthur couldn’t bring himself to order his execution, and knowing Merlin he’d argue against it endlessly anyway.

Morgana senses Arthur’s hesitation after a second or two, thankfully before the council becomes restless and annoyed:

“You could always take over as Regent whilst we sort all of this out; that way we can revisit the issue of actually crowning you King later. Though we can’t confine Uther to his chambers forever, we’ll have to deal with him at some point.”

Arthur hums and nods, giving her a thankful smile before looking back to the young Lord:

“Lady Morgana’s suggestion is sound. I’ll take over as Regent,-”

He nods at Geoffrey of Monmouth, who takes a note down in the giant leather tome he perpetually has under his arm. If Arthur thinks about it for too long, he might come to the conclusion that the older man looks proud:

“-and we can revisit the issue when the dust has settled.-”

He rubs his eyes tiredly, as though the last day or so of drama had finally landed with it’s full weight upon his shoulders:

“-I think it goes without saying that, for now, none of this is to leave the room. I trust only Sir Leon with assigning who is to guard The King,-”

He glances to Leon, who nods seriously at his words:

“-keep it discreet Leon. I want to keep as much of this under wraps for as long as possible to avoid public panic; this is going to be a lot of hard work gentlemen, but I mean to see it through with or without your support, the choice is yours. The first meeting will take place in the normal council room tomorrow, two candle-marks after dawn. You’re all dismissed.”

The councilmen—including Gaius, after he sends a forlorn look Merlin’s way—slowly trickle out of the room, some looking angry, most looking resigned, but a few looking rather content, happy even (Arthur and Morgana take mental notes of who is who). The door shuts quietly behind the last man, leaving only Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, Gwen, and the knights left, all of whom understanding that the dismissal did not include them. Arthur lets out a deep sigh when the room quietens, looking back up to Merlin with a tired smile and even more tired eyes:

“Ready brother?”

He quirks an amused, but hugely pleased eyebrow as he says it and Merlin grins, rolling his eyes fondly:

“Not even close, but that’s never stopped me before.”

Arthur chuckles as the others all move closer, an odd mix of exasperated, because Merlin turning out to be Arthur’s long lost magical twin is exactly the sort of insanely dramatic thing that’s likely to happen in Camelot, and hesitant, because... how do they even deal with that? Other than with a great deal of confusion?

Gwen is the first to reach him, pulling Merlin into a tight hug that is very well received:

“I’m sorry Merlin, I can’t imagine how difficult this must be, and I’m so terribly sorry for all the horrible things I’ve said about magic.-”

She pulls back but doesn’t let go of his shoulders, staring up at him with tears in her eyes and a desperate look on her face:

“-You know that we all love, and trust you, don’t you??”

Merlin rolls his eyes fondly and pulls her back into a hug with a wide smile on his face:

“Of course I know that, I love you too Gwen. And don’t worry about it, you believed what you were taught, it’s not your fault.”

She looks like she wants to argue again when she pulls back, but Merlin just pats her cheek softly and gives her a warning glare. She huffs but dutifully steps back, allowing Gwaine to take her place as the rest of the knights pat his shoulders and run soft hands through his hair as way of apology and comfort.

Merlin smiles at them, but sobers quickly when a particularly horrible thought re-occurs to him. Gwaine squeezes his shoulder in question and Arthur furrows his brows:

“Merls?”

Merlin just sighs and leans into Gwaine’s side slightly:

“I need to talk to my... Hunith. And Kilgharrah, but I really don’t have the energy for him right now.”

Arthur nods in understanding, thinking for a moment before looking up to the huddle of knights (most of whom look marginally confused at the mention of whoever the hell Kilgharrah is):

“Percival, Lancelot, you know where Ealdor is?-”

The two of them nod, remembering the route from visiting with Merlin a few months ago:

“-Leave at dawn, take an extra horse and bring Hunith back with you. With all that’s going on, me and Merlin can’t afford to be gone for even a day and it’s a four days’ journey there and back.”

They nod, but Lancelot quickly responds with a quiet:

“We can leave now if you like, it’s not like the journey will take much prep. What should we tell her?”

He looks to Merlin, who frowns slightly as he replies, his words slow:

“Don’t tell her anything, Arthur and I need to have that conversation with her. She’ll panic when you turn up without me so feel free to tell her that we’re all alive and uninjured and not in any danger but... just don’t tell her the real reason.”

Their smiles are understanding, and just a little pitying, but they turn and march off the moment Arthur nods at them in approval, determined to do everything they can to make things go smoothly and easily.

It’s Elyan that breaks the now slightly uncomfortable silence a few moments later:

“So... do we still call you Merlin? Or is it Prince Myrddin, My Lord?”

Merlin grimaces the moment Elyan mentions what would soon be his official title, and the others grin at his reaction, chuckling as he runs a hand through his hair:

“No one’s called me Myrddin since I was about five, and I think it would be a little odd if that changed now, so Merlin is just fine.”

The others nod in agreement, though Arthur sighs as he responds, faux annoyance in his tone:

“Paperwork’s going to be bloody confusing.”

It takes Merlin all of three hours to figure out that Arthur had subtly assigned him a constant guard. The guard consists of Sirs Leon and Gwaine, so he isn’t... complaining, per se, but it's annoying, to escape company for a quick piss to find his partner and friend casually hovering right outside the door.

But to be fair, Merlin only notices when his brain registers that Gwaine isn’t there, and how odd that is. Whilst Merlin is interrogating Leon, Arthur is cornering Gwaine in a seldom used corridor, though the rambunctious knight beats Arthur to the punch:

“I think we’ve been here before, Princess.”

Arthur raises an amused eyebrow at Gwaine’s teasing grin, before sagging slightly in place and sighing. Gwaine sobers immediately, putting a hand on the blonde’s shoulder and trying to meet his gaze:

“Arthur?”

Arthur sighs again, looking up to him with tired eyes:

“This goes without saying, but Merlin.... he is everything to me. As far as I’m concerned he and Morgana are my only family, though I suppose I believed that before all of... this; but that’s besides the point. I know you won’t ever mean to hurt him, and I do trust you, as... difficult as that is to admit, but I need to you understand, Gwaine,-”

Gwaine nods in understanding and agreement:

“I do understand, Arthur. He’s everything to me as well.”

Arthur shakes his head and steps back, bringing himself to his full height:

“No, you don’t. He is my brother, and he was taken from me. He has suffered, more than I think either of us will ever know, and that stops, this Kingdom is now being built for him. But I would burn it all down if it would make him happy. Everything is for him, for Morgana, for my family. Do you understand?”

Gwaine nods, only once, before holding his hand out. Neither his hand nor his voice shakes as he responds:

“I’ll pour the oil, you light the match.”

Arthur pauses for a moment, as if trying to gauge his own trust in the other man, before clasping Gwaine’s hand strongly.

The seriousness of the moment ends when Gwaine lifts his other hand to tug sharply at Arthur’s hair before ducking under his arm and skipping down the corridor towards where they’d left Merlin and Leon. Arthur just huffs and follows him, definitely not sulking.

Merlin turns to them both with a scowl when they enter, immediately taking note of the residual gravity in the tightness of Gwaine’s shoulders:

“And what have you two been doing all of sudden?”

Leon bites his lip to stop himself from snorting in amusement, but fails miserably the moment Gwaine shrugs and opens his mouth:

“I don’t know, some sort of mutual arson pact I think.”

Arthur rolls his eyes first at Gwaine subtly, then at Merlin, far more obviously:

“Honestly Merlin, we’ve spent practically every second with you all day, you can’t go a few minutes without us?”

Merlin huffs noisily and turns around to grab Leon’s wrist, dragging him from the room and not looking over his shoulder as he snarks:

“Leon’s always been my favourite knight anyway.”

Gwaine and Arthur just look outraged, both speaking at the same time:

“Hang on, what about me?!”

They fix each other with narrow-eyed glares before shoving each other childishly, fighting over who could shoulder their way through the door first.

The next conversation, a few days later, is... a lot harder.

With Kilgharrah’s odd ability to seemingly know about everything that happens in Camelot, Merlin couldn’t get away with putting off speaking to him for long, especially with how The Warlock could feel the way he was angrily clomping about in his cave.

The short journey down through the dungeons, made by Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine, was made mostly in silence. The oppressive feeling of Kilgharrah’s mishmash of emotions bouncing around in Merlin’s head made focusing on any other strain of thought impossible, and Gwaine and Arthur were too busy stewing in their own anger and worry to want to disturb him.

They pause momentarily outside the large iron gates leading to Kilgharrah’s lair, none of them looking to each other as they take deep breaths in an attempt to gather some bravery. Arthur and Gwaine have never said anything, but Kilgharrah terrifies the shit out of both of them; Merlin normally takes these trips alone—Arthur and Gwaine’s fear wasn’t difficult to pick up on and he never wanted to make them uncomfortable—allowing the other two their blissfully ignorant beauty sleep as he sneaks away to argue with a Dragon. But that’s obviously not in the cards today; no way either of them would let him face this alone.

Kilgharrah is waiting for them when they push open the gate and stalk out onto the ledge, and he raises himself to his full height, sparing barely a glance in Arthur’s direction and sparing Gwaine even less as he stares at Merlin with aloof, golden eyes:

“You have discovered who you are, Young Warlock, at long-”

Merlin interrupts him with a scowl and a held up hand:

“You had no right,-”

His voice is echoingly deadly, and the two knights find themselves being reminded of Merlin’s seemingly endless power. Merlin being angry at Gaius was... was like a child being heartbroken at a parent’s betrayal, which it was in some ways. But Merlin being angry at Kilgharrah... that was much more; like a God being angry at a creature of His own design. Merlin stands before The Great Beast, centuries old, full of unimaginable knowledge, and he stands tall, and proud, and angry.

“-no right, to keep this from me. You claim that no one can know their destiny, and then proceed to prattle on about mine in riddles. In my search for answers, you gave me more questions. In my search for comfort, you gave me fear. In my begging for help, you gave me nothing but pain. I’m done, you’re just as bad as Uther.”

Kilgharrah bristles, flaring his arched nostrils as his furious reaction ripples across his hardened scales:

“How dare you compare me to-”

Merlin interrupts him with a yell, his voice growling in it’s reverberation, a hidden power more ancient than the mountains themselves echoing in his words:

“You separated my brother from me and you had no right! You whine about how Uther took your kin from you, but you took my kin from me! You suffered so you made it your greatest goal to make everyone else suffer just as much. You are cruel, and cowardly, and I am done. You will not manipulate me anymore, you will not lie to me, or mislead me. You tried to get me to kill the boy, but I didn’t, and I forgave you. You tried to get me to kill Morgana, but I didn’t, and I forgave you. You keep trying to get me to free you, but I won’t. You will rot in here until you can tell me the truth, a truth I deem worthy, on why you kept my heritage from me.”

He doesn’t wait for a response, turning on his heel and marching out of the gate without another word, Gwaine following closely behind. Arthur stays, just for a few moments, though with Merlin’s sudden display of power over the beast before him he finds himself significantly less frightened:

“He’s right, you know. Every one of my brother’s successes has come to pass because he ignored you. You have haunted him every step of the way, causing nothing but grief; you should be grateful, Merlin has offered you a chance of redemption that I would not have.”

Arthur doesn’t wait for a response either, jogging up the steps to catch up with the other two just exiting the dungeons.

Merlin doesn’t ask what was said, though Gwaine does raise an eyebrow in The Prince Regent’s direction; Arthur gives him a short nod, acknowledging Gwaine’s need to know, need to keep a tight hold on everything so he could keep Merlin safe and happy. Or as happy as he can keep him in this situation. Gwaine relaxes when he understands Arthur’s promise to tell him later, trusting the blonde to have Merlin’s best interests at heart.

The slight relaxation doesn’t last long however; Merlin heads up through the castle towards the large doors leading into the courtyard. The other two follow him, knowing that the younger man likely needs some fresh air to recover from the pressing darkness and power and heaviness of Kilgharrah’s presence, but they quickly tense when he suddenly halts on the steps just outside the doors.

When they peer over his shoulder, they are abruptly reminded of the amount of time that had passed since Percival and Lancelot had left. And apparently returned.

Hunith dismounts her horse quickly, her mouth stretching into a relieved smile as she runs towards him. Merlin doesn’t move, just stares at her with blank eyes, and Gwaine’s eyes shift nervously between the two of them. Hunith’s relief is quickly dropped when she notices Merlin’s non-reaction, and she slows just before she ascends the steps, looking up at Merlin with her brow creased in worry:

“Son?”

Merlin’s expression hardens; his hands clench and his eyes and tone turn icy as he responds:

“I’m not your son.”

END of part 2!!!

Sorry to be a teeeaaasssee :))))) (Not really)

I’ve recently got a BUNCH more hours at work (which is like... good for me personally but not so great for my social life or hobbies lol) so things might take a little longer to come out from now, but I promise this blog is still ultra active and going!! I’ll just only have time to write in the evenings nowadays.

I’m not sure when part 3 will be, but it’s in the works and won’t be too long!! Two weeks at absolute MOST I imagine :D

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help-i-need-a-cool-username · 3 years

Text

Been thinking about what Mordred's life in Camelot would've been like if Merlin didn't hate him and then thought about how if Morgana was around she would probably always give him her favor at every tournament (until he married) and the other knights would tease him for that so have a broad outline for a Beloved Characters Dont Turn Evil AU

Morgana discovers her magic and Merlin swears to her that he'll protect her. He comforts her when she's scared and Merlin begs Gaius to share his knowledge and suspicions about Morgana to Morgana herself. One night Morgana bursts into their quarters in hysterics, waking them up, screaming and sobbing, and it feels like Merlin's hug is the only thing holding her together but its not enough. Glass starts shattering, candles flare, chandeliers fall to the ground. Gaius decides at this point not telling her will do considerable more harm than not, to both herself and others. They stay up through the night. Gaius speaking and Morgana asking questions, Merlin with a supportive hand on Morgana's shoulder. At one point Morgana tearfully asks the question Merlin asked Gaius long ago, "am i a monster?". They all fall asleep at the table, and that morning when Gwen arrives to wake Morgana only to find her absent with her blankets thrown over the bed and several things knocked over she runs and alerts the guards. The guards initiate lockdown and the commotion reaches Uther and wakes Arthur (Merlin is once again late), and they proceed to fear she was kidnapped right under their noses without anyone knowing. Arthur runs down to get Merlin so he can prepare him for the day only to open the door to find the three of them asleep on the table.

Later Merlin organizes for Morgana to learn more than Gaius can tell her from the Druids, but she intends to stay the night at least, if not then significantly longer (anywhere from a week to several months), and they have no good excuse for her to use that would allow her to leave without Gwen and guards. They come up with some very convoluted plan, which does not end up in the raid that occurred in canon, and when Gwen catches her sneaking back she lies and says she wanted to check up on Mordred (who she did run into), to see if he was with the Druid encampment that was rumored to be nearby (which he was). She didn't learn nearly as much as she hoped in those few hours, but they at least pointed her in a direction.

Morgause comes to town, and leaves Morgana her bracelet. After discovering it stops her visions Morgana takes it to Gaius, who reveals it was enchanted and looks similar to the one Lady Vivienne used to wear. Morgana states Morgause got it from her mother, but that Lady Vivienne was Morgana's mother and wonders how the bracelet ever got to Morgause. Gaius says there was a rumor that Lady Vivienne had a baby that displayed a affinity for magic, but Gorlois told Uther their baby had died before they even named her. Gaius reveals that the baby was smuggled out of Camelot and given to the High Priestesses, and Morgause might very well be that baby. Morgana begins to long for a connection with Morgause, to meet the sister she never knew of and recover something of her dead parents. When she begins secretly meeting Morgause, she tells Merlin and then asks him to come with her when she begins receiving lessons from her. Morgause tries to convince them that killing Uther is the right thing to do, but Merlin keeps reassuring Morgana that all they need to do is convince Arthur to change the law for when he is king, and he's not ready to do that now so theres no use in killing Uther before he's ready, and that she does love Uther and Uther does love her and would try to "fix" her well before he ordered her death. Morgause still wants him dead, to rush the prophecy of magic's return. Them sneaking out every few nights cements the idea that Morgana and Merlin are secretly dating in castle gossip.

Im not sure what happens with Morgause, but i think she would still take Camelot at some point and she would spare Morgana and by extension Merlin. Morgana and Merlin make sure to get Arthur out (and Merlin probably goes with him) because they dont trust Morgause to not kill him. Morgause reveals her heritage (and makes Morgana a Princess and her Heir) despite claiming the throne for people of magic and not the House of Gorlois, and the knowledge that Vivienne and one of her daughters were sorceresses leads Uther to believe he can not save Morgana from magic that is likely in her blood and THAT is what breaks his mental state. Morgana's real heritage is revealed soon after, with Uther informing Gaius that Morgana being a Princess is actually within her birth rights. Morgause continues Morgana's training because at some point Morgana has to become a High Priestess because canon. That or Morgause switches sides (this is a Beloved Characters Dont Go Evil AU might as well make it No Beloved Characters Are Evil AU) and she trains Morgana later after Arthur is a established King.

Morgause is overthrown and the Round Table formed. Arthur as well as several people in the castle know of or suspect Morgana of being a sorceress but he refuses to banish her, first believing it to have been out of her control (forced by Morgause) and later learning that her nightmares had been magic all along (how could he punish her for something he knows she had tried to get rid of for over a decade?). Perhaps he lets her keep the title of Princess, having always seen her as a sister (and someone who is compassionate for the people in a way royalty should be) and armed with the new knowledge of her being his actual sister. Everyone expects Regent Arthur to crack down on magic, its what Uther would have done and what the people want, so he does. Morgana becomes a advocate for magic, as she had been for Arthur in private as a Prince, and it scares people in the castle. They believe her to be working with Morgause, despite her arguments being for individuals' wellbeing and how punishments fuels hatred for Camelot. Several attempts are made on her life, many stopped by Merlin and Gwen and sometimes Lancelot. Arthur often "asks" Merlin for his opinion on magic and with Morgana's voice being public he feels okay with being straight with Arthur on what he thinks. Uther dies same as he did in canon: protecting Arthur from a assassination.

Mordred becomes a Knight because canon. Morgana is ecstatic to see him again and acts like a mother who hasn't seen her child in ages when she first sees him. Merlin has learned you often make the enemies that are destined to kill you (ex. trying to stop Morgana's visions from coming true) so he ignores Kilgharrah and doesn't hate Mordred (he is always wary though). Mordred alternates between childlike eagerness around the knights and following Merlin around while hero worshiping him (no one can figure out why. Their best guess is that Morgana is a mutual friend). In the beginning he kept messing up his name (calling him "Merlin" is just weird) and they often talk in their heads and therefore just stare at each other which has led to two conflicting rumors: theyre in love or they hate each other. Morgana often invites him to dinner, and when they dine with Arthur they easily slip into mind-talking (because chewing) and Arthur is convinced that they're making fun of him every time they do it. He protects Arthur when Merlin can't, often runs off to do side quests Merlin needs to do but cant get away to do, and often tags along with Merlin on his quests. Being able to share the knowledge of his destiny since Lancelot died (if he dies in this AU) relaxes Merlin's caution and allows him to be emotionally closer to him. Mordred enjoys being around Merlin and Morgana not just because he's Emrys and she's Morgana, but because they are the closest thing to home he has: they know what he is, they understand (bits) of his culture and make it possible for Mordred to share it with them, their individual magic sings strong enough to remind him of when he lived surrounded by it. He quickly grows to love them so very much and no one understands WHY. The knights tease him about it, and Morgana forcing Arthur to take Mordred on certain missions he isnt qualified for "so he can learn" does not help. Gwaine and Percival were planning to convince him that he couldnt compete in a tournament without a lady's favor because he's the rookie and his panicked look greatly amuses them only to find Morgana giving him her's before kissing his cheek. They were relentless after that, alternating between "lady's favors dont count if they're from your mom," "Mordred has a girlfriend," and whatever the medieval version of affectionately calling him "Bambi" is. Morgana sits in the stand's throne (since Arthur is competing) or besides it if Gwen is queen, and she flashes a smile at him when he comes out (Gwen too. He's a sweet kid with a baby face, of course he's one of her favorites. He also reminds her of Merlin when she first met him: kind, awkward, cute). This settles Mordred's nerves but has the unfortunate side effect of increased teasing. Merlin doesn't let it go to far, he never does, and gives them a distraction before running back to Arthur.

And then magic is brought back to the land and Morgana continues the work of the High Priestesses and helps the rebuilding efforts and they're still adventures and problems, but everyone Lives Happily Ever After

#hinacu merlin #bbc merlin #morgana #mordred #merlin #morgause #au #morgana is good au #mordred is good au #to clarify merlin and morgana never date #its just castle gossip and arthurs assumptions #mordred has familial love for morgana and no you dont need a family dynamic for that #people make mom jokes but its not like that #morgana cares a lot about people and wants to protect them but mordred is ''new'' and ten years younger than her #so mom jokes are too easy #morgana tells merlin of her visions and he sets out to stop them like when kilgharrah tells him stuff #and then she gets her bracelet and that stops but its not like merlin can ask her to take it off #idk when morgana finds out about his magic #maybe he tells her about the whole dragonlord thing but i dont trust her not to NOT say something about it when defending him #he def would have kept it a secret around morgause and in canon she didnt seem to know his power but nimueh did so who knows #i like to think she has no idea that he has powerful magic that hes actually super weak with it since he almost never does magic #big fan of mordreds silent hero worship

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darthwheezely · 4 years

Text

i walk the line - f.w. - 1

1950s american carnival! au

Summary: The Weasley Bros. Circus has always been a family affair...until they pick up a highly unusual girl with wicked talents...

Warnings: 1950s America and all the shit that comes with it, NSFW/SMUT MINORS NO INTERACTING :) , alcohol usage, cussing, tw violence (fights), carny folk, contortionist, language and desc of intense circus acts, clowns, sad boy George, GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF BULLYING IN THIS CHAPTER, angst

taglist or people that may like this! DM to be added or removed @cappsikle @lumosandnoxwriting @whizboingies @virgohufflepuff @officialwizardwheezes @amourtentiaa @softlyqoos @breadqueen95 @thehufflepuffwife @george-fabian-weasley @lupinsclassroom @haileymorelikestupid @sarcasticallywitty15 @band--psycho @gcdric @vogueweasley @harrysweasleys @slytherinsunrise @thisismynerdyself @loony-loopy-lupinn @writingsomewrongs @pineapplesandpinas @valwritesx @amxrtentias @theweasleyslut @oh-for-merlins-sake @alyssamalfoy @bisou-doux

“...welcome to our home!”

George listened as the crowd erupted before his father. He had always admired Arthur “Art” Weasley, for many a reason. The way he could walk in and command a room, the way he could silence an entire audience with a simple flick of his wrist of wave of his hand, the way his voice alone could stop his cries in the night, the way he would come up behind him when taking care of the animals was too much and say, “Georgie, go to sleep, son.” but most of all? The way his father noticed him.

Baltimore, Maryland. 1933.

George Weasley was on the run. Again. Charlie Dooley, a boy from his class, and his gang of (as Fred said) “chickenshit babies” had made it a habit of following George home from school and doing one of the following: a) chasing him on bikes, b) cornering him in the bathroom, or c) sprinting after him on foot.

Today, it had been on foot.

“C’mon monkey boy!” Charlie howled, the other boys closing in on him. George sprinted a quick right realizing he dropped his lunch box and thinking a violent but rapid mom’s gonna be so mad, oh no oh no-

George barreled down the street, his house in sight, tears stealing on his cheeks from the sheer speed and necessity to get home. His feet seemed to be operating without him knowing, his body throwing itself backwards and forwards with the blinding need to be home, to hug his dad and say he wasn’t going to school anymore, to ask his mom to stop packing bananas in his lunchbox even though it was his favorite snack because mom don’t you know they call me monkey boy-

“Thought you could really get away from us this time huh, Georgie boy?” Charlie had pinned him to the concrete, George’s heart screaming in his ears. He could barely register that his lip was bleeding, and that maybe if he focused on the sky, his eleven year old shrimp of a body wouldn’t feel-

Pow.

Isn’t that what superheroes say? Pow? Let’s think about superheroes, Georgie, Charlie doesn’t last long with punches anyway just keep lookin’ at the sky, he thought wildly before-

Pow.

He vaguely felt his eyes roll back into his head, but he made a very clear rule to himself that he wouldn’t cry, Fred wouldn’t want him to cry, not that Fred was mean, Fred just hates seeing him cry-

Pow.

P-

And suddenly there was something off his body. He could hear punching noises but they were not aimed at George, but rather someone else. When he was able to open his eyes he saw his brother, Fred, landing blow after blow to Charlie Dooley, Charlie mewling under Fred.

“Touch my brother again, and I promise I won’t just break your nose next time, yeah?”

Art Weasley sat with his son George in the red chair in his caravan. It was George’s favorite chair, as he learned the word “red” from that chair and then equated “red” to his own hair.

Arthur had known his son would have it harder. It wasn’t his fault the boy was different, he loved him just the same for it if not slightly more so for the way he was a bit quieter, the way he listened and thought and thought and then wanted to make choices. The way he asked his mom if he could pack Fred’s lunches for school because only George knew Fred hated crunchy peanut butter sandwiches with white bread.

But more so for the way George wasn’t afraid to show love. To cry. To feel things Art sometimes couldn’t articulate.

George was curled into his father, tears staining his button up shirt and his body shuddering with every anxiety laden breath. Art put a hand on his son’s back and put his lips to his hair.

“George, you have to breathe for me or you’re gonna get sick.” He rubbed his son’s back soothingly.

“I’m sorry, dad, I promised I did what you said and tried to protect myself and when I couldn’t do anything else I just didn’t look at h-him I p-promise, dad p-please don’t be mad at me...” he took another shudder and released a cry into his father’s shoulder. Art was not a helpless man, but there was something that destroyed and cracked his very soul at the sight of his most vulnerable child, the most angelic of his seven children. The one that everyone protected. And at times like these, sometimes all a father can do is hold his child. So that’s what he did.

“I know, son...I know...”

“George?”

George jumped out of his thoughts, his palms sweaty from the inevitable stage fright that always accompanied him before a show. It was no matter how many times he grazed the trapeze with his sister Gin and his brother Ron, the nerves were always the same.

At least this time, no pows would be administered from anyone besides himself.

He heard his name again, the daze breaking as he looked at his oldest brother Bill.

“George. You’ll be fine. You always are, baby brother.” He said softly, placing his hands back on, Cora (short for Corazon) the lion. George gulped and nodded, and Fred patted his back, giving a hearty wink. George smiled a small smile, clapping Fred’s forearm.

“Ready, Fred?”

Fred grinned.

“Ready, George.”

George belonged to the trapeze. The way his body seemed to elongate with grace and dexterity when he grabbed his sister, the way he gave flirty winks at the girls in the crowd, the way he never dropped a muscle unplaced-

The way their father always noticed.

Fred saw these things in his younger brother and couldn’t help the fit of jealousy in his stomach. Don’t get your tightrope in a twist, he was possibly the most proud of his brother, and his hand to God if he didn’t say he hooted his name the loudest watching him do his thing.

But he never felt like he could ever match that.

He knew his hands were meant for something greater, same as his mind. Juggling came almost as easy to the older twin as breathing, smoking cigarettes, witty banter, and sex (in no particular order). But George had something Fred didn’t have.

Approval.

Fred was, for all intents and purposes, a good person. A great person. But his habits could’ve said so much otherwise.

Fred had a nasty habit of letting his temper get the best of him. Ever since he could talk, he had taken on the role of protector to not only George, but to Ginny and Ron as well. Frequently, his hands always seemed to have more things to say than he could which says a massive fucking lot. At the ripe age of 20, he’d gotten into more bar fights and straight up blacked out sober more than his own father, and all of his other siblings. He’d been in and out of detention when he did go to school, and in and out of-

Well, you get it.

The one thing that always seemed to follow him? His charm.

Fred Weasley was a charismatic motherfucker.

And he knew it.

It was simple. All he had to do in between acts was make a couple jokes, a few magic tricks, and by the end of his little charade? He’d have at least 3 girls lined up for that night. And if he was in a particularly bad mood?

Well, it could get a little more than that.

On nights like this, he was fine with just two.

I mean...Fred knew what he was doing.

And on a night like this - he was damn proud of it.

Until he saw you...

Last night.

Fred’s dessert was named Candy. He honestly couldn’t remember what her actual name was, but he did remember she said:

“Call me Candy. I taste like it, too.”

And honestly? That was really all he needed.

It didn’t take him long to press her small body against his caravan. She wound her arms around his neck and fisted into his flame colored hair and yanked, his hips rolling as he moaned into her lipstick stained mouth.

Fred always did have a thing for gals in red.

Fred realized his pants had begun to be a tad too tight, as Candy’s tongue licked into his mouth. his hands found their way under her dress, fingers kneading at her thighs and she squeaked. He lifted her legs at her noise and he wrapped them around his body, his bulge pressing into where she needed him the most.

“Fred, please” she whined, his mouth attaching to the valley of her breasts, the exposed skin of her dress warm and inviting.

“Please what, doll?” He teased roughly, his free hand sliding to cup her ass and squeezing. She gasped at his rough touch and he bit her collarbone.

“Fred, please, fuck me” she said airily. He smirked before pressing a quick kiss to her mouth.

“Absolutely, baby, see how easy that was?” He licked her bottom lip and bit, before pressing his forehead to hers, the sheer strength of his body pressing her against the van enough to use his hands to pull her panties down enough for her to kick them away. She reached down to unzip his pants when he motioned for her to do so, his hard cock free of his boxers.

“You ready, pretty girl?” He growled against her earlobe. Candy whispered a breathy “please” and Fred slid into her cunt, her wetness echoing sinful noises at the contact. They groaned at connection, and Fred continued to go deeper into her until he bottomed out. He looked at her for confirmation to keep going and she nodded. He pulled out and slammed back into her, beginning to set a rough pace against the van.

“Freddie, fuckfuckfuck you feel s-so good” she sputtered, Candy’s back hitting and arching against the van, causing it to move slightly against her. Fred nipped and sucked at her neck, determined to always leave a map of where he left his treasure behind...

“Look at you, unraveling like a ball of twine. Never had cock this good, doll?” He reached a particularly good angle in her causing her to claw deeper at his back, biting in a scream.

“Thereeee it is, baby. You like that don’t you, c’mon be a good little cock slut and tell me what you want, want everyone in this whole fucking camp to know I’m fucking you so good.” His hand went to her clit, circling it harshly. He wanted her to finish, his dick was twitching all to hard in her and he needed her to release before it was his turn. Her moans and gasps and mini clawings were getting sloppier, losing their tempo.

“Fred-Fred-“

“Yeah, baby, I’ve got you” he groaned against her mouth at her clenching pussy. She gave a final sputter and screamed into his shoulder, a hot electric wave coursing over his cock, with one, two, three harder pumps, he released into her as well. He leaned his forehead against hers and kissed it lightly. But when he looked back at her face, she was already losing interest. Just like the others. But it didn’t bother him...at least not anymore, right?

Just another night.

Memories of Candy and Janie and Jessica and Portia and all the other girls seemed to wash away at the sight of you waiting after the show. Your eyes were full of life but somehow had something tired behind them. The way your hair wasn’t perfectly coiffed but still looked like you had tried to, the way your dress was crinkled at the bottom like you didn’t give a shit if it was crumpled in the bottom of your dresser.

And then you looked at him.

Fred Weasley could have sworn time stopped at the way you walked across the hay to him, your body positioned in a way that would’ve given him every reason to hold you. he realized his face began to flush at the sight of you getting closer.

That, he thought, was an alien feeling.

“Hi.” You said warmly to him.

“You’re Fred, right? I loved your act.”

He blinked twice and then returned your smile.

“Yeah. Thank you so much, I...I really try, I am so sorry but what is your name?” His eyes scanned your face. You stuck your tongue in your cheek and returned the search on his face.

“Y/N. Y/L/N. I’m looking for a job.”

#fred weasley #george weasley #Fred weasley smut #Fred weasley x reader #bill weasley #charlie weasley #Ron weasley #Harry Potter #Ginny weasley #arthur weasley #molly weasley

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supercalvin · 4 years

Note

Possible prompt. Modern AU were Merlin and Arthur are married, but Arthur's colleagues have never met or heard about Merlin in a few stories because Arthur is a Consummate Professional ™. Merlin interacts with the colleagues in a BAMF sort of way before they know who he is to Arthur, only for that sweet sweet relationship reveal.

I’M SO SORRY THIS GOT LOST IN MY INBOX BECAUSE I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I went with a little different POV, so I hope you still like it. Thanks for the prompt!

Prompts + Ficlets

***

Aredian had been close friends with MP Uther Pendragon in the 80s. (Those had been the good days, at the height of Pendragon’s political career, when sorcery had been in its proper place.) At first it had appeared that Uther’s son would follow in his footsteps, as he had been working at the same law firm as Uther had before he ran for office. But then Arthur had abruptly left. Aredian wasn’t the only one surprised, as Uther had been caught publicly berating his son for his actions in the weeks following his sudden departure.

Now it appeared the young Pendragon was working at a small pro-sorcery not-for-profit organization. What a pity.

Aredian had been hired by Amata Corp, a frequent client of his since the 80s, to handle a simple case that Aredian had seen a thousand times. It was a sorcerer claiming a discrimination lawsuit against their employer, claiming he was fired for his magic. Although laws had been passed at the turn of the century against magical discrimination, Aredian had easily found loopholes for cases like these.

But when he arrived at the Camelot City courthouse, he had been thrown off by the sight of Arthur Pendragon as the opposing attorney.

“Hello, Aredian,” Arthur had said, holding out his hand. Aredian had shaken his hand, but did not respond, so surprised to see his friend’s disowned son.

To say that Aredian had been caught off guard would be an understatement. The case had lasted longer than he had anticipated. Arthur was a better lawyer than he had expected. And the judge had been more favorable to sorcery than any of the judges he had met before.

The judge had ruled in the young Pendragon’s favor. The sorcerer, a young lad who looked like a washed-up criminal in Aredian’s opinion, burst into tears and Arthur bent down to engulf the man in a hug. For a moment, Aredian was reminded of Uther’s late wife, Ygraine. She had always been a soft caring woman.

As they exited the courthouse, Aredian stopped Arthur out on the front steps. It was a warm day in Camelot City and people were milling about, eating lunch in the sun or rushing into the court house before they missed their appointments.

“Arthur. I wanted to say congratulations today.”

Arthur looked suspiciously at him, but took his hand in a firm grip, “Likewise, Aredian. You did well.”

Aredian nodded, “I must say, I was quite surprised when you left to work for that little organization.”

Arthur raised a brow, “Albion Rights isn’t exactly small, but I suppose it’s small compared to some of the corporations that hire you.”

“Hm,” Aredian said, “We used to be great friends, but I haven’t spoken to your father in so long.”

“Funny, neither have I,” Arthur said, obviously not taking Aredian’s attempts at getting information out of him.

Aredian was about to ask Arthur more about his work, just to see what he would say, but they were cut off by a loud commotion at the bottom of the courthouse steps. It wasn’t uncommon for news crews to gather around the Camelot City courthouse, especially if a politician was scheduled to be there sometime that week.

They both turned to see who it was, and in the back of Aredian’s mind he wondered if Uther would suddenly appear.

Instead Aredian felt his lip curl as Merlin Emrys stepped out of a black car. Aredian didn’t know much about MP Emrys, besides the fact that he had taken the young people of Camelot by storm, running as a pro-magic candidate. In the 80s, Aredian had remembered his father, Balinor, constantly causing riots and protests. It appeared his son would be the same kind of ruffian, except he opted for a law degree and a political career rather than a rebel rouser.

The young politician spoke with the news crew for a bit, and Aredian turned to Arthur to get his opinion. “You know I met Emrys’ father a few times.”

Arthur didn’t look amused, “I’m fairly certain you mean that you were the prosecutor against him.”

Aredian shrugged, “That is beside the point. He was always a… well, anyways. Do you know much about his son?”

Arthur’s lips twitched upward, and it was as Aredian had thought, the young Pendragon was fully in support of sorcery. He had obviously been late in his rebellious phase. No wonder Uther had reprimanded the boy.

“A bit,” Arthur said, “He worked at Albion Rights before running for MP.”

“Ah, I see. So you’ve worked together?”

They were interrupted again when the news crews disbanded, leaving Emrys to walk up the steps of the courthouse unhindered. He was dressed in a navy suit, but his undershirt lacked a tie and the first button of his shirt was unbuttoned. It was unprofessional in Aredian’s opinion.

When Emrys caught sight of Arthur, he immediately smiled and changed course. Emrys seemed to hesitate when he caught sight of Aredian, but he still stepped up to them.

“I forgot you were scheduled to be here today,” Emrys said to Arthur, with a soft smile. He was nothing like the politicians of Aredian’s day, so soft and kind.

“Of course you did,” Arthur laughed, turning to Aredian, “Merlin, this is Aredian Hopkins.”

“Ah, of course,” Merlin nodded and held out his hand, “My father has mentioned you before.”

Aredian doubted it was in good terms, but he took the offered hand, nonetheless. As Emrys’ hand was outstretched, Aredian caught sight of the small rainbow cufflinks and the Druid tattoo on the inside of his wrist, a triskelion with an interwoven dragon. Unprofessional, indeed.

“I’ve heard much about you, Emrys. You’ve certainly taken everyone by surprise,” Aredian said diplomatically. “Arthur was just telling me that you worked with him previously.”

“Did he?” Merlin turned to Arthur, and they seemed to have a quick silent conversation. They must have come to some sort of conclusion because Emrys said, “Yes, I was the one to encourage him to join Albion Rights.”

“Ah, is that so?” Aredian said, so Arthur knew Emrys fairly well. He had been playing coy, to Aredian’s surprise. He didn’t think he had it in him and Aredian found himself to be mildly impressed by Arthur.

“Yes, I had met Merlin briefly in law school and then again at a law conference. We started talking. Arguing mostly.” Arthur said, a lilt of fondness in his voice.

“I would say I won most of those arguments,” Merlin said with a smug grin that Aredian didn’t take too kindly to. “But I can’t stay to reminisce. I’ve an appointment in a few minutes. It was nice to meet you, Aredian.” He turned to Arthur, “Are you headed to the office?”

Arthur nodded, “Then I’ll be home.”

“Dinner?” Merlin asked.

“I’ll make it,” Arthur promised, “My treat.”

“Perfect.”

Then, to Aredian’s surprise, MP Merlin Emrys leaned forward and pecked a kiss to Arthur’s cheek, right next to his lips. It could have been a friendly kiss on the cheek, except Arthur smiled fondly and said, “See you tonight, love.”

As he left, Aredian did not compose himself in time, and Arthur caught him looking gob smacked.

Arthur’s smug grin was irritating to say the least.

“Did I not mention MP Emrys is my husband?” Arthur said, obviously delighted over it. “Perhaps you should do some more research on your local MP, Aredian.” He patted Aredian on the shoulder, a little too friendly for Aredian’s tastes.

“I look forward to seeing you in the court room again,” Arthur said, and turned to leave.

Aredian was fuming for the rest of the day.

***

Prompts + Ficlets

#merlin #merthur #merlin fic #merthur fic #ficlet #Anonymous

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magics-protector · 4 years

Text

Mountain Sound

Soulmate AU: Soulmates have one song that connects them - when one soulmate listens to it, they both can see each other.

The Song: Mountain Sound - Of Monsters and Men

(which I think fits Merlin absolutely perfectly)

Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube

A small kind of crack fic from my Everlast series - which will start up sometime this week because it’s Reading Week and I finally have time to write it!

With a soft sigh leaving her lips, Y/N fell into her chair, dropping the books she carried down onto the table. A long start to an already long day, if you asked her.

First, she had to help Jack get his hand out of a cookie jar (because apparently her adopted little brother couldn’t just ‘magic’ his way out of it). Then, her Uncle asked her to “help” with work on Baby’s engine - and by “help” she meant that he made her stand there while she held all his tools and wasn’t allowed to touch the engine itself.

Not that she could complain. It was nice having everyone home for once - not that it was going to last long. Hence the reason for all the books. A new day would bring new cases and as always, Y/N was responsible for research - being her father’s daughter had it’s disadvantages in that way.

Speaking of her dad, he sat across from her, eyes trained on the laptop in front of him as he searched and typed, falling into the same pattern quite easily. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Y/N opened the first book on her pile and began to research - so it seemed Dragons were the big enemy of the day.

As she read, Y/N started to notice writing she hadn’t seen in over a year. Language she hadn’t seen since she disappeared. It was the old language of the Druid People. Something she had learned to read over the years.

As she read on, Y/N noticed the old phrasing of the common Soulmate connection: “Songs and stories of different melodies and tunes. That is what shall lead thy heart to its destiny”.

“Huh, well that kind of sucks.” She said, meaning to think it but it just came out.

Sam pulled his head out of his computer and looked up. “What sucks?”

Y/N looked up from the book, motioning to the page. “The language in this book. It talks about the soulmate connection. You’d expect it to rhyme, but it doesn’t.”

A laugh like breath came from Sam as he shook his head. “Not all old texts have to rhyme, you know?”

Y/N scoffed with a smile. “I know that. I just think it would have been funnier and more romantic if it did.”

Then Y/N’s smile faded. “Hey, Dad?”

He hummed in acknowledgement as he looked down at his laptop again.

“What was your song? You know, your song with Mom?”

Y/N could see Sam tense at the question. Y/N had known for so long that her parents were in fact soulmates, but Sam never talked about her. The memory of Will was almost to painful for him to remember. Not the relationship itself, but what happened to her.

He shifted in his seat, looking down as he nodded before he stood up, moving around the table to sit next to Y/N, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “It was Rebel Rebel. That was our song.”

Y/N turned her head, her face shocked. “Your song with Mom was Rebel Rebel? Dad, I did not take you as a David Bowie fan.”

Sam chuckled, moving closer to the edge of the chair and placed Y/N’s head on his shoulder. “He grew on me, only because of your mother. She loved to listen to his stuff. Rebel Rebel may have been our song but I can still remember her screaming the words to Space Oddity like there was no tomorrow.” He moved his head to look down at her, placing a small kiss on her head. “You remind me of her. Everyday I can see her in everything that you do and I know how proud she’d been if she could see you.”

Y/N smiled sadly. “Have you ever tried to see her again? Maybe if you listened to the song again you’d see her..”

“It doesn’t work like that, Bug.” Sam chuckled sadly. “Your mother has been gone for a while. I don’t think it’s possible to see her again until I get to her myself.”

Y/N could sense that the conversation was getting to him, so she stopped. She would have much gathered leaned in and enjoyed the moment, which is what she did.

“Woah, didn’t realize we were interrupting a moment.”

Sam and Y/N looked over to the archway of the library where Dean walked in, followed by Cas and Jack.

“Where the hell have you been, Dean?” Sam shook his head. “I called you like an hour ago to help with research.”

Dean scoffed, taking Sam’s old seat. “Yeah, well, I had to pick these two up from the Gas Station.” He pointed at Cas and Jack with his thumb. “And what’s this about research? You two obviously aren’t doing any - OW!”

Cas whacked Dean across the back of his head. “Don’t be rude, Dean.”

Dean didn’t argue, he couldn’t argue with Cas, so he just grumbled.

Y/N giggled as she watched her Uncles interact - it was honestly so surprising how long it took for the both of them - well mainly Dean - to come to terms with their connection.

“Hey, Dee?”

Dean looked at Y/N with a hum.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your song?”

Dean sat up, leaning back in his chair while Cas took a seat next to him. Cas had a smile on his face while Dean gave off a rare cross between a smirk and a smile. “Well, that’s easy. It’s --”

“You Shook Me All Night Long.” Both Dean and Cas said at the same time, which made the both of them smile at each other.

Y/N nodded her head, almost as if in agreement. “How did I know?” She giggled.

Jack smiled too - he hadn’t found his song yet, but he was waiting, knowing he’d find it one day. He looked over at his ‘sister’ with a curious face. “Why do you ask, Y/N? You’ve never been interested in Soulmate songs before.”

Y/N felt all eyes on her. She thought for a moment, before she answered. “Well.... I kind of want to find my song.....”

Dean looked at his niece with that bothersome uncle look. “I thought you had no interest in finding them.”

Y/n looked down at her hands, rubbing them together. “But I did. At least, I’m 99% sure I found him.”

Everyone’s faces erupting with smiles and cheers - Sam gripped her tight in a side hug. “That’s amazing, Y/N!”

“What’s the kid’s name?”

“Where’s he from?”

“What’s your song?”

Y/N put her hands up to stop them.”Woah! Woah! I never said I found my song. I just said I think I found him.”

Cue the confusion. “But,” Jack tilted his head. “if you haven’t found your song, then how do you know?”

Y/N took a breath before she stood up, walking towards a pillar of the archway and leaned against it. “I just feel it.” She laughed with a smile. “When I was with him, it was like.. nothing else mattered....” She shook her head. “What we went through was a lot for two people to handle, but with Merls, it was like.... it was like we could take on the whole world and no matter what the outcome was, as long as I had him, I won.” She seemed so lost in the memory, so lost that when she came back she went pink with embarrassment and she held her arms. “If that makes any sense....”

Sam, Dean and Cas looked at each other with knowing looks. “Well then,” Dean said. “Looks like we have a song to find. After all,” Y/N looked at her uncle in confusion. “We don’t want to leave him waiting.”

*******************************************************************************

“Ugh, this is hopeless!”

Hours and hours of music and nothing. They tried it all - Bon Jovi, Hozier, My Chemical Romance, Lana Del Rey and countless other bands and still nothing.

The team sat there for hours, playing music from Dean’s collection, random bands they found on YouTube, but nothing was working.

Y/N slumped in her chair, defeated. She ran her hands over her face before she stopped and sat up quickly. “Wait!” She looked at her dad. “Dad, you said you weren’t very fond of Bowie but Rebel Rebel was your song with Mom. How did you find it?”

Sam sat for a moment, his hand over his mouth as he thought, before his eyes went wide. “There was something that connected it to me. I would see the record or hear it faintly on the radio and that’s basically how I found it.” He leaned forward to pull his laptop towards him. “Is there any song that just stands out to you, Y/N? One that you can think of without hesitating? Like you’d see the album and feel a pull?”

Y/N thought for a moment when her eyes went wide. She raised her head slightly and mumbled under her breath.

“What?”

She looked up at her family. “Mountain Sound. It’s a song by Of Monsters and Men. I’ve never really thought about it til now, but there’s something about it.”

Sam quickly typed it into his search engine and pulled it up, handing it and the headphones over to Y/N.

With shaky hands, Y/N put the headphones on and started the song and it was like the world had stopped. Swirls of gold filled the void in the archway capturing her gaze and she smiled. Those golden swirls soon started to form the shape of a man sitting with a book on his lap. That man, Y/N knew him better than anyone did. Tears pooled in her eyes as her smile grew wider. “I knew it.”

Sam, Dean, Cas and Jack all smiled. They did it.

As the swirls finished forming the boy, Y/N moved to the floor, carrying the laptop down with her as she moved closer to his form. The boy seemed to enticed by his book until he looked up and over her way. He looked around hearing the music himself and then he looked at Y/N and a smile broke out on his face, tears in his eyes.

“Y/N?” His voice was eery, but that was normal for this kind of thing.

Forgetting she was in the presence of her family, Y/N laughed, tears streaming down her face. “Hey, Merlin.”

The young Warlock smiled, lunging forward to touch her, and through the power of their song, he hugged her for the first time in over a year. “I never thought I’d see you again, My Love....” He lamented.

Y/N held him close. “Takes a lot more than a glassy portal to keep me away from you, you Cabbage head.”

Merlin pulled back, but made sure to keep a hand on her shoulders. “Where are you? We looked everywhere for you. I thought Arthur was going to take off my head if you weren’t found.”

Y/N looked up at her soulmate and smiled. “How badly did you irritate him this time?”

With a look of pride, Merlin answered. “I going to be honest, I nearly had the Knights turn on him.”

“Pft, hahaha! Merlin! You can’t just lead a coup against Arthur! That’s my job!”

Merlin laughed, he laughed so hard that he leaned forward and turned, resting his head on Y/N’s legs. “Honestly, to be fair, it wasn't his fault. All those Lords had been quite vocal about their disapproval over your rescue mission. I thought Gwaine was gonna tear off someone’s ear.”

Y/N giggled, playing with Merlin’s blackish brown locks which had grown out since the last time she saw him while her other hand ran over his cheek, where a small stubble had grown as well. “I wouldn’t put it past him to do that.”

“No. But I think the others would have let him if Arthur hadn’t been in the room.”

Y/N looked down into his eyes and smiled. “It’s just nice to know I’ll have a huge welcoming when I get back.”

Meanwhile, as Y/N and Merlin continued to ramble and talk away as the song repeated and repeated over and over again, Sam and the rest of Team Free Will decided to leave Y/N alone with her soulmate and as they left through the back door, Sam watched as Y/N smiled the brightest smile he’s ever seen. Silently, he vowed that he’d make sure Y/N got back to wherever she had disappeared to.

#BBC merlin #bbc merlin imagines #soulmate #soulmateau #soulmate au #spn #supernatural #supernatural x reader #bbc merlin x reader #merlin #merlin x reader #sam winchester #dean winchester #castiel #castiel winchester #jack kline #jack winchester #destiel

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magicitselftm · 3 years

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@forrkeeps asked: [ SIDE ] - sender gives receiver a side hug (aka pulling their arm around them and pulling them into their side.) [sigil or modern au?]

Hugs were something of a foreign thing for the young Pendragon heir. Regardless, Merlin found himself sidling up to him after a rough day at uni and pulling him close. “Hey,” Merlin said gently with a soft, warm smile. If they weren’t in public, he might have nuzzled against him too, but this was enough. Arthur was comfortable to have close and he wondered if he might be able to convince him to go back to his loft with him. Junior and seniors were fortunately allowed to have them, thank goodness, because a dorm would be awkward. Gwaine had been insufferable when he’d had him for a roommate. Though they still hung out often either way.

“What do you say to coming back to my loft with me? It’ll be quiet and I could cook you dinner? Or there’s always take out.” And truth be told, he just wanted to hold Arthur close for the rest of the evening. Their days were always so busy between school and work and Arthur keeping up with whatever his father wanted. He thought at least that his boyfriend could let off that weight of his shoulders when he was alone with him.

#( I saw modern au and went with it )#forrkeeps #v: alternative reality #v: a healers heart #; answered meme #; answered ask #; answered

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mythologyfolklore · 3 years

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We're adopting you, sign the papers - introduction

(A/N: A modern AU for Arthurian mythology, where Arthur is a temporarily blind pop star, the Knights of the Table Round are his band, body guards and friends. Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot are in a romantically supportive polyamorous relationship (there are not enough threesomes out there). Morgan Le Fay doesn't dislike Arthur, she's just not so fond of Guinevere (doesn't hate her either, though). Mordred (Arthur's nephew, not his son) is a scarred teenager with abusive parents, who has a parental relationship with Arthur and Gwen. Also, Morgan and the Lady of the Lake are still Fae and Merlin is now one too, because why not, and Avalon exists. And Mordred is transgender. Deal with it.)

In a big mansion near the Welsh town of Newport, Lancelot was standing at the hearth, cooking and making tea for Arthur and Guinevere, who were out for groceries. No thanks to the Table Round, the previously stuffed fridge had gone empty within less than a week, so his two lovers had gone out to refill the supplies. And Arthur's half-sister Morgan was coming along to help, because there was going to be a LOT of stuff to be carried.

Lancelot silently prayed that Gwen and Morgan would not engage into a spat like they did almost EVERY TIME THEY WERE TOGETHER!!!

The water boiled and the Frenchman poured three separate cups, Darjeeling for Arthur, peppermint for Guinevere and coffee for himself. Also a glass of vodka for Morgan, because nothing cheered the crazy, headstrong Fae up like hard alcohol (she didn't get drunk easily either, so Lancelot wasn't too concerned).

Just as Lancelot had set the table in the living room, someone rang at the door. He frowned; there was no way they could be back so quickly.

“Coming!”, the brunet Frenchman called out, before setting down the tablet and going to answer the door. One the way he picked up his gun; one could never know if it wasn't some stalker here to creep on Arthur or Guinevere. Or him, for that matter.

But when he looked through the spyhole, he sighed in relief and opened the door to reveal a flaxen-haired teenage boy with silvery eyes, who was wearing an over-sized grey hoodie and worn-out jeans and looked like he had run the whole way here.

“Hello, Mordred”, he greeted kindly, but his smile vanished instantly, when he saw the kid's state: his face was flushed from running, he clearly couldn't breathe and was on the verge of passing out and his eyes were red and filled with grief.

“Hey … Lancelot”, he gasped hoarsely, “Is … uncle …?”

“Come inside first”, Lancelot said and supported the boy's weight with one arm. “Warm up and catch your breath, before you faint on me!”

Mordred was too out of breath to protest or agree. He just let the older man help him into the nearby kitchen, only to collapse before they even neared the table.

“Merde!¹”, Lancelot cursed and laid the teenager down on the floor.

“I'm really sorry for this”, he apologised, then stripped the younger of his hoodie and shirt, then undid the bandages around his chest (bandages! Why was the boy not wearing a binder?!), before administering first aid.

At last Mordred's eyes fluttered back open.

“What …”

“You fainted!”, Lancelot snapped – and instantly regretted it, when he saw the other wince. He sighed and continued more gently: “Pardon. I mean, you collapsed and fainted, because you couldn't breathe. Come on. I'll help you into the living room and you can lie down on the couch.”

Lancelot had to help him put his shirt back on, because Mordred was still a bit too out of it. Then he helped him into the living room and onto one of the couches, then folded the boy's hoodie and placed it on the table.

“Stay here and breathe deeply”, he told Mordred, “I'll be back.”

And hurried back into the kitchen, this time to make the other some hot chocolate, heat up the tea for Arthur and Guinevere and gather his own nerves and thoughts.

This was the third time this week that Mordred had run away from home. It was nothing uncommon (unfortunately) and often Mordred's older brother Agravaine would be with him, when things became too much at their parents' home.

Lot and Morgause Orkney led one mess of a family life. Lancelot didn't know details, but it had to be awful. When their eldest son Gawain had left home, he'd taken Gareth and Gaheris with him (they had been nine and seven at the time). But he hadn't been able to take Agravaine and Mordred with him too and neither had forgiven him for leaving them behind.

The two never specified, what happened at home.

Lancelot wished Mordred and Agravaine would trust them enough to tell, but to pressure the boys into doing so would do no good.

He sighed and returned back to the living room to bring the boy his hot chocolate.

Mordred smiled just a little bit, when he accepted the cup.

“Arthur is out shopping with your aunts Gwen and Morgan, they'll be back soon”, Lancelot informed the flaxen-haired boy, who nodded in acknowledgement.

“Until then”, the Frenchman continued and put a chair next to the couch, “you and I will have a little talk, jeune homme.²”

Mordred tensed up, clearly afraid. It made Lancelot's heart crack a little.

“Easy, mon cher³”, he cooed. “I'm not angry. It scared me a bit, when you suddenly dropped back there, but I'm not angry. I promise.”

Mordred relaxed and finished his hot chocolate.

“Still though. We need to talk about your bandages.”

“I …”

“Listen, I know you have … uhm, what's the English term for it?”

“Gender dysphoria?”, Mordred supplied.

“Oui! That! Anyway, I won't pretend to know how that feels like. I can imagine that your breasts make you uncomfortable, but … bandages?! Sacré, Mordred, mais á quoi pensais-tu?!⁴”

“… English please?”

Lancelot sighed in frustration; sometimes his brain refused to supply even the simplest English phrases or words, so he'd say it in French instead. He took a deep breath to sort his mind and remember the translation.

When it came to him, he tried again: “I said: Dammit, Mordred, jus what were you thinking?! Surely you must know that there are binders for that and you use bandages to flatten your chest?! That's dangerous! I have seen the scars where they cut into your flesh! They were so tight they cut off your air supply too! You're lucky I knew CPR, because an ambulance wouldn't have made it in time! You could have suffocated, Mordred! Are you aware of that?!”

The flaxen-haired boy let out a small whimper.

Lancelot sat next to him on the couch. Then he hugged the younger tightly and they both cried.

After they had calmed down, Lancelot gave Mordred a pack of tissues to wipe his face.

“I will make us both some tea”, he said. “Chamomile is good for the nerves and we need it. Do you want more hot chocolate?”

Mordred nodded, smiling. “Yes. And thank you, Lancelot. You're an amazing uncle.”

Lancelot couldn't help but grin like an idiot.

It was nothing new, that Mordred and his siblings called him “uncle”, but being reminded that he was seen as part of the family felt good every time.

At first the children of Morgause had been apprehensive towards this outsider. But after seeing his loving and functional relationship with their uncle and aunt-in-law and how genuinely he cared about them all like they were his own children, they had quickly warmed up to him. And before he had known it, he was part of the family. One day Mordred's oldest brother Gawain (who was only twelve years Lancelot's junior) had just strode up to Lancelot and declared, that he was their uncle now and there was nothing he could do about it. The younger four Orkney brothers had followed suit (it was one of the few things they all unanimously agreed upon) – to their uncle Arthur's great delight and their parents' chagrin.

Lancelot gave Mordred another brief hug and went to make more tea and chocolate.

With chagrin he noted, that his coffee and Arthur's and Guinevere's tea had got cold and he had to warm the latter two up for the second time (his coffee could stay cold, he didn't mind that). Oh well, at least the stew hadn't burned, while it had been left by itself.

As he came back into the living room, he saw that Mordred was reading one of his uncle's books.

“What are you reading?”

“A collection of poems by William Blake”, Mordred replied. “I want to get better at reading Braille, for uncle Arthur.”

“That's sweet of you. He'll appreciate it.”

Arthur had gone blind ten years prior and hired Lancelot for help. They had become friends quickly. But then Lancelot and Guinevere had fallen for each other, complicating things. After a year of secret and shameful pining, they had chosen to come clean in front of Arthur – both of them loving him too much to want to go behind his back. To their surprise he had taken it well, especially after Guinevere had assured him that she loved them both equally. That was how they had ended up in a polyamorous relationship. Along the way Merlin and Morgan had offered to magically restore his eyesight, but Arthur had made clear, that he didn't want to rely on their magic to fix everything. Instead he had adjusted to his blindness, acquired books in Braille and learned to read them. But he was going to have an eye surgery in a few months and hoped that soon he'd be able to see his wife again and “get to know Lancelot's colours”, as he'd put it.

Back to the story, Lancelot had just turned off the stove and Mordred had struggled through the Auguries of Innocence⁵, when they heard the front door open and close, two women's voices bickering and the next moment three people came into the room, each of them carrying two heavy, over-stuffed shopping bags.

First a tall woman with purple eyes and purple extensions in her long raven hair, clad in black from head to toe and with an air of mystery around her. That was Morgan Le Fay.

Then a petite woman with auburn hair and brown eyes, who was struggling with her bags. That was Guinevere.

And finally a stocky man with short flaxen hair (just like Mordred's), who evidently had no problem with the heavy bags, but clearly relied on the voices of the two women to orientate himself.

“We're back~”, Arthur announced.

Lancelot laughed: “Bienvenu⁶. I just finished dinner, so bring the stuff into the kitchen and sit down with us.”

Arthur immediately listened up. “Us?”, he echoed.

Now Mordred quietly spoke up: “Hello.”

The older man beamed: “Mordred! What a nice surprise! What are you doing here?”

“'Sup, nephew!”, Morgan said flatly, though her eyes betrayed her pleasant surprise.

Guinevere greeted the boy with a smile.

Mordred smiled weakly and waved back, but apparently didn't want to speak. So Lancelot waited, till they all had stored the food, then chose to brief Arthur on the situation: “He came about half an hour ago and looked like a complete mess, but he didn't tell me what the matter was, so I made him some hot chocolate.”

The boy only lowered his head, sighed and hid his face behind his long and messy flaxen hair.

Arthur stopped smiling, felt his way over to where his nephew's voice had come from and found him, carefully feeling down his arms and crouching down before him.

“What happened, Mordred?”, the blind man asked concerned, “You're so quiet. Who hurt you?”

Mordred mumbled something that sounded like: “My father.” Then he bit his lip, obviously trying to hold back a sob.

Now Morgan stepped forward, her brows furrowed, but her eyes soft with concern.

She knelt before him and asked him to show her his arms.

Lancelot wanted to object, as it was obvious that the teenage boy didn't want to do as she said, but there was no arguing with Morgan Le Fay.

Her nephew hesitated, before rolling up his sleeves, revealing direly bruised and scratched arms. Guinevere looked deeply disturbed and hurried to get a first aid kit to tend to the bruises and cuts.

Mordred winced, as his aunt-in-law applied the disinfectant to the sore wounds. Once she had finished cleaning them, she allowed Morgan to magically heal them.

“There”, the Fae said. “Can't do anything about the psychological hurt though, that's old man Merlin's thing. Shit, Mordred, what did your father do to you?!”

“I …”, the boy swallowed, “… he hit me with a chair. Kicked me some. Choked and punched me … called me things …” He trailed off.

“Does this happen a lot?”, Arthur questioned, frown increasing.

“… Yes.”

“And your mother doesn't intervene?”

“Never.” A sniffle. “She thinks it's right … that he disciplines us, my brother and me.”

“Where is Agravaine anyway?”

“He's staying over at one of his friends”, Mordred told his uncle. “I have to call him later and tell him I'm here.”

“The phone is all yours”, Arthur offered and his nephew mumbled a thank you.

Then Lancelot asked tentatively: “What about the cuts? Why did you do this to yourself?”

“…”

“Sweetie”, Guinevere spoke gently. “It's awful enough that your parents hurt you. Why do you feel like you have to hurt yourself too?”

“…”

Lancelot felt his heart crack.

He had known that it was bad, but he never would have imagined that it was this bad! What more happened at Mordred's “home”, that he was too ashamed and Agravaine too proud to mention? How long had they gone through this and none of the four adults here had known?!

Guinevere sighed sadly: “Why didn't you tell us sooner?”

“Because I … I …”

The rest was cut off by a whimper and Mordred curled in on himself, sobbing hysterically. Arthur embraced his nephew loosely, mindful of his state. Guinevere, Lancelot and Morgan made it a group hug.

They waited until he had calmed down, before letting go.

Arthur cleared his throat: “I think that's enough questions for today. Either way you're staying here, Mordred. I know you're not comfortable with hiding away here, but we're not letting you go back there. I will not stand for that. Not with how terrible people they are. One should expect that Morgause – my own sister! – would've had the common sense and decency to dump that scumbag and take you with her. But no, she just stands by and lets him hurt you and your brother in the worst ways possible. That's unforgivable. You deserve better, Mordred. I promise, you do.”

Mordred sighed shakily. Clearly he wasn't believing it.

Lancelot deduced, that the boy had been made to believe the opposite for pretty much his whole life, that his parents had drilled into him, that he was worthless, useless and whatnot. Agravaine likely had to deal with the same shit.

This was wrong, so terribly wrong.

Family was supposed to be a safe haven, loving, nurturing and supportive. Not … this.

The Frenchman felt his blood boil and it took a lot of self control not to show in Mordred's presence just how angered he was.

Instead he took a deep breath and stood back up. “It's dinner time. We're having stew. Later you can call your brother and we'll give you a room where you can sleep. You must be tired. We also should find you some spare clothes, since you had none with you.”

The boy shuffled awkwardly at the reminder, that he had run away from his parents' home without thinking to pack spare clothes.

“We'll worry about that later”, Arthur decided. “Personally, I'm starving!”

“As usual!”, Morgan scoffed.

“Oh shut up, you eat more than I do!”

“Hey, magic takes a lot of energy! I need to eat as much as possible to keep my magic and body functioning!”

“Excuses! You just don't want to admit, that you have a black hole for a stomach!”

“You take that back!”

“Never!”

Guinevere chuckled: “When you two are done, let's sit down and eat already, before dinner gets cold.”

Later, after Morgan had washed the dishes (meaning she had magicked them clean and levitated them back into the cupboards), Guinevere showed Mordred one of the guest rooms.

“One of your cousins was here for a visit last weekend”, she said and handed him pyjamas. “These are Yvain's. He's your age and currently at boarding school, so you can wear his spare clothes for now. You take a nice, relaxing bath and get some rest. Tomorrow we will get you new clothes. The ones you wear are atrocious.”

“And good binders”, Morgan added, “Lancelot told us about the bandages and you gotta stop. We'll find some binders that won't cut off your air supply at the slightest physical activity. What do you say?”

Mordred swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, smiling weakly.

“Sounds good”, he mumbled.

Guinevere smiled gently and gave him a hug, before handing him the phone. Then she and Morgan left to give him privacy, while he talked to his brother.

Mordred took a deep breath, before dialling Agravaine's mobile phone number.

A few anxious seconds later, a gravelly voice answered the phone: “Hi, uncle Artie. What's up?”

“Aggie, it's me.”

“Momo? What are you doing at uncle's place?”

“I …”

Three seconds of trying to come up with an answer were too long, apparently.

Agravaine started freaking out: “Mordred, what happened?! Are you okay!? Are you hurt?! Wait, of course you are, that's why you're at our uncle's place! Shit, answer me, what's wrong?!”

“Bro.”

“Are Artie, Gwen and Lance taking care of you? Are you in pain? Who hurt you?! I will fucking kill-”

“Agravaine!”

“What?!”

“Calm down. I ran away, but now I'm safe at our uncle's home. Our uncles and aunts fixed me up.”

Mordred heard Agravaine sigh: “Alright. But still, what happened?”

He was hesitant, but he also knew, that he couldn't lie to his older brother.

“Father happened. He got mad and beat me up.”

For a few seconds, there was silence.

Then: “He whaaaaat??? That's it, I'll murder him! … My friend here says he'd help me hide the body and get rid of the evidence.”

“Aggie, no! He isn't worth going prison for murder! And our uncles and aunts promised, that I won't have to go back there and neither will you. They'll sue him, Arthur said.”

“… Fiiine. Say hi to them from me.”

“Will do.”

“Love you, little bro.”

“Love you too. I'll get some rest. You and your friend have fun.”

“Thanks, bye. I'll come by tomorrow.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Mordred hung up and went to return the phone.

He was looking forward to a warm bath and a good night's sleep.

1) "Merde" - French: "Shit!" 2) "jeune homme" - French: "young man" 3) "mon cher" - French: "My dear" 4) "Sacré ... mais á quoi pensais-tu?!" - French: "Damn it ... what were you thinking?!" 5) The Auguries of Innocence is a moralistic poem by William Blake that was published after his death. 6) "Bienvenu." - French: "Welcome."

A big thanks to @saemi-the-dreamer for her help with the French. <3

#arthurian mythology #king arthur #lancelot #guinevere #morgan le fay #mordred #agravaine #tw: child abuse #tw: self harm #tw: gender dysphoria

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rainbowvamp · 3 years

Note

(for the fic prompt thing) Mordred and an altar if thats okay??

This is... so long. It barely has anything to do with an altar. I didn't edit it. I've been trying to finish this for days. I hope you enjoy.

Mordred is Morgana's adopted son. Magic is known. Modern Reincarnation AU. Mordred buys a good fortune spell and it's not a good thing.

--- Mordred buys a spell off the internet. Morgana is furious, naturally. He's grown up in magic, he should know better than to buy spells written by unknown people with unknown intentions. He's already done it, so it's too late to just burn the damn thing. They have to take it to Merlin to see if they can undo it.

It's a spell for fortune, not so out of the box, but fortune is a fickle thing. She comes and she gives, but she also takes. The wheel must turn round and round, up and down. It cannot be stilled. When Merlin sees the spell he sucks air in through his teeth, and Morgana's worst fears are confirmed.

"I can't undo this. Not without hurting him, maybe even killing him. He's used himself as a binder. Usually-" Merlin turns his gaze to Mordred, "If a spell needs binding, we bind it to an object, not a person. Unless you're a cruel and terrible woman." He turns his eyes to Morgana, who shrugs.

Arthur had deserved it.

"So, what's going to happen?"

"Your spell was to bring good fortune. It will come, but it will also go. Your life will be very interesting, Mordred." Merlin dropped the printed piece of paper on the table and got up, going to a line of spell books that were older even than the warlock himself. His back is tense and his voice is lower than it usually is, almost absent. "I'm sorry to say so will Morgana's. The spell specifies your family. Most spells don't differentiate between the blood ties and the love ones. Morgana is your mother by rights, even if not by birth." Merlin pulls a book off the shelf, flips it open and brings it back to them. The tome smells old, and Mordred can feel the magic pouring off it.

"You can't be serious." Morgana says before Mordred can even start to digest the spell, written in the old tongue that he'd been forbidden to learn until he was old enough to understand the consequences of speaking it. "This could kill him."

"So could an over abundance of bad luck."

When Mordred looked back up at Morgana, her grey eyes were thunderous, her mouth pulled into a harsh line that Mordred had only seen a few times before.

"No. I won't allow it. I'll do it."

"You can't-"

"I can. Don't deign to tell me how powerful I am, Merlin."

"However powerful you are, I can't even undo the spell. The only one with any chance is Mordred. If you try it you'll just kill yourself and he'll still be cursed."

"I'm not cursed. Curses are things someone else does to you." Mordred tried to defend himself, but Morgana turned her glare to him.

"Someone has given you a spell to do that will probably kill you. They cursed you."

Mordred glared at her in a way that would usually made Morgana proud. "Well, I'll live with it then. I'm not going to let you die, and you obviously don't want me to reverse it."

“I don’t even want you to try.” Morgana’s eyes are hard, furious, as she turns back to Merlin. “And if you even think about helping him, so help me, Merlin, I will figure out how to end your immortal life and torture you before I kill you.”

“I understand.” Merlin says with a smile and closes the book. He waves one hand and the book disappears. “Best keep that somewhere Mordred can’t find it. He’s got the same look Arthur used to have. All royal and determined.”

“Who’s Arthur?” Mordred asked, and Morgana rolled her eyes.

“He died 1500 years ago. Don’t worry about it.” She takes her son by the shoulder and turns him to go. “I’ll ward the house against the worst of it when the down cycles start. Merlin, I’ll pay you three times your normal rate if you can calculate how long the cycles will be.”

“PayPal me. I’ll have it by the end of the week.”

When Mordred looked back, Merlin was going back to doing whatever unstable 1500 year old warlocks do, looking entirely unconcerned, but the way Morgana clutched his shoulder Mordred thought that was more because of the 1500 year old thing, not because there was no reason to be.

—

“Show me the altar where you performed the spell.” Morgana said as soon as they got home. “If we’re lucky, the magic might have latched onto something besides you that we can destroy. It won’t reverse it, not even close, but it will mitigate the worst of it.”

“I’m sorry.” Mordred said as he got out of the car and followed Morgana inside. “I just wanted us to have good luck for once.”

“We have good luck, Mordred.” Morgana’s voice was higher than normal, almost breathy while she fumbled with her keys to get the door opened up. “I have a house, and you, and a stable, steady job. I know you want to be able to join Lancelot’s silly little crowd of vigilantes, and you want to be the next great Druid Sorcerer, but that’s just not the sort of thing you can wish for.”

“Yeah, you do have a steady job. And I barely get to see you. And when I do see you, you’re always tired. I’ve applied at 8 places, and I haven’t heard a single call back. I was just trying to… I don’t know, get a job, get you a promotion, give you back your damn inheritance, something!” Mordred kicks a rock and Morgana stops trying to open the door and looks solemnly at her adoptive son.

“I know this isn’t the greatest life.” She whispered, her softness forcing Mordred’s mind out of itself and back into the present moment. I wish I could spend more time with you too, and that I didn’t have to work so hard, and that Uther hadn’t left me in the cold when I was sixteen with none of my father’s money and nowhere to go, but I have made something good for us here, and this spell. Mordred, I don’t know what it’s going to do to us.”

“I’m sorry.” Mordred repeats.

“I know.” She smiled softly and pulled him into a hug. “I know. I know you just wanted to do good, and help, but you can’t wish your way to a better life. Magic doesn’t work like that. You’re a good boy, Mordred.” She kisses the top of his head. “And we will figure this out together. Whatever happens.”

Mordred nods and the pulls away, unlocking the door with magic. “I left the altar in the attic.”

Morgana smiled, “That’s where I used to hide my magic from Uther.”

“I know.” Mordred shrugged, and Morgana’s smile became nearly beaming.

“I’ve raised you well.”

“You didn’t raise me. I was already this height when you got me.” Mordred couldn’t keep the smile out of his eyes when he said it, and he was glad for Morgana’s laughter.

“You’re still growing emotionally. I raised you. Grab the salt and I’m going to get an athame. Let’s see if there’s anything up there I can break.”

“Matches?” Mordred called from the kitchen, and he heard her proud exclamation from the next room.

“Yes! And grab a couple newspapers from the recycle bin. It’ll make good kindling.”

“If we set the house on fire, is that the start of our misfortune?” Mordred asked, and Morgana laughed, brandishing the sheathed dagger he was pretty sure she’d told him she had used to try and kill her foster dad.

“Maybe. If it is, then at least I won’t have to pay Merlin to know how long the cycle is.”

—

fin

#lysa answers asks

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mertronus · 4 years

Text

Secret Mission - Chapter 1

I’m ripping off the band-aid...this is actually the newest piece I’ve been working on, as the plot is inspired by a Christmas movie (though my story won’t deal with Christmas...also it’s AU, no Voldy and you’ll notice many favorites still alive).

Here’s Chapter 1. Holy crap I’m nervous!...holds breathe and hits share

Read it on AO3 or FFN

----------

With a soft pop, Ronald Weasley apparated just outside the boundaries of the protective wards surrounding The Burrow, his family's home. He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of the warm, crooked house, and listening out for any sign that his arrival was noticed. When no such indication came, he began his trek to the back door, his copper red hair glistening in the late morning sun.

He knew that as it was Sunday, his mum would be serving brunch, which was pretty much mandatory since Molly Weasley's children were almost all out of the house. It was how she brought her children (and now grandchildren) home each week so she could see them, love on them, and make sure they got at least one decent meal in them for the week (and send them home with leftovers, of course). If you were a child of Arthur and Molly Weasley, or a partner or child of one, and you were in apparating or floo network distance from Devon, you came to the Burrow on Sunday. He smiled thinking about how Ginny, his only sister, likely looked forward to Sundays the most. As the last Weasley living at home, she adored the chance to share their mum's sometimes overbearing attention a bit.

He stood outside the back door and listened to the voices seeping out of the open kitchen window, still thankfully unnoticed. As he suspected, he heard the telltale sounds of his family tucking in to brunch. He listened intently, his auror skills at play, and he immediately recognized the voice of his mum and dad, Ginny and her fiance (Ron's own git of a best friend Harry Potter), his oldest brother Bill and his wife Fleur, as well as his niece Victoire and the babbles of their second child, who Ron was looking forward to meeting as Fleur had just announced her pregnancy when Ron was about to depart for his extended mission the previous year. Soon he heard the laughter of his troublesome twin brothers, Fred and George, and the reprimanding tsks of Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson - their respective girlfriends - as they tried to keep their antics in line. He paused, waiting for another voice. A smile crossed his face when he finally heard the monotone drawl of his dear brother Percival - Percy - as he regaled the crowd with a no-doubt boring antidote regarding his work at the Ministry. Ron, knowing that the presence of Percy also meant the presence of his quiet wife Audrey, now knew that once he walked through the door, fourteen pairs of eyes would stare back at him; exactly half of them from under ginger red locks similar to his own. The only Weasleys missing, himself and his brother Charlie. Ron made a mental note to send an owl to his dragon-taming brother in Romania as soon as he could, and hoped he planned to come home for the holidays.

Holding his hand on the doorknob, ready to push it open, Ron paused to take in the significance of this moment. He had been away from his family for a full fifteen months, with no contact. Unlike his years at Hogwarts, while he was away on his extended mission with the Ministry's newest Auror branch, the Auror Missions Abroad Corps, or Auror MACs, he could not come home for summer, Christmas and Easter hols. He couldn't even send owls or have any communication. His family couldn't even know where in the world he was as he was essentially in hiding with his team. The only one in the Burrow who knew his general whereabouts was Harry Potter.

Harry, having joined the Auror Corps with Ron, enjoyed being Ron's partner for their first two years. When they were approached by Head Auror Robards and offered to train on the new branch, only Ron pursued the chance. Harry, understandably, chose to pursue the officers training route, hoping to someday succeed Robards. (Though, Harry didn't say this to Robards face. That wouldn't have ended well.) Ron knew that back then Harry's decision was also driven by his desire to stay close to home and to Ginny, who he was preparing to propose to at the time.

Harry being a part of the Auror Corps at least knew what country Ron's team was in, though not much else. He could not share that information with the family, but he at least knew the only piece of information that he was able to bring home to the Weasley's each night - that their youngest son was alive as all injured aurors are reported to the department immediately.

Harry did not, however, know that Ron was already home.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ron finally turned the knob of the back door and swung it open stepping inside. Immediately the chatter ceased as all fourteen heads whipped to his direction. They were obviously surprised at the door opening, being that all but two of the people who could pass through the wards undetected were already in the house and the missing two, Ron and Charlie, were not expected. Harry, Ron even noticed, was standing with his wand drawn in record time, even for the best auror in the corp - which he undoubtedly was.

"I'm home," Ron said with a wide grin.

Chaos. Total and utter chaos.

Chairs scraped the wood floor as everyone else leaped to their feet to join Harry, and yells and squeals escaped their lips.

"What?!"

"Ron!"

"Mate!"

"Oh thank Merlin!"

Though the furthest from him, Molly was first to reach him - likely due to the combination of a mother's need to get to her child, as well as the family's understanding of that need thus making way for her to fly by them all and reach Ron first.

"My boy!" she cried as her arms wrapped around his waist. "Oh, my boy!"

"Hullo mum," Ron embraced her back and kissed the top of her head. "I missed you." And he did. Ron loved his entire family, but Molly Weasley, the matron of the Weasley's, his mum, he definitely missed the most.

She pulled back and looked up at his face as her hands reached up and cupped his cheeks. "Not as much as I missed you, my boy," she choked out as tears pooled in her eyes. She pulled him into her one more time before finally releasing him to his father. "I'll make you a plate while you say hello!" She stepped away wiping her eyes on her apron as Arthur stepped forward to his youngest son.

"Dad," Ron said as he wrapped his arms around his father.

"I'm so glad you're home son." Arthur squeezed Ron then stepped back to look him over, his hands on Ron's broad shoulders. "All is well? No injuries? Mission was a success?" Ron chuckled and answered affirmatively to all. Satisfied Arthur clapped his back then stepped aside, but he continued to watch Ron beaming.

One by one the Weasley siblings embraced their brother. Bill slapped his back much like their dad and told him how proud he was of him. Fred and George took the mickey, of course, at his ability to drop of the face of the earth. Percy seemed tearful as he greeted Ron, but quickly stole himself and quite professionally welcomed him home. Ginny threw herself at her closest brother. It was quite a while before she let go and all she said to him was, "Don't ever do that again."

"Part of the job m'afraid," Ron shrugged. "But I'll see what I can do."

Finally it was the turn of the partners to welcome Ron home. Angelina and Katie, who played Quidditch with Ron for several years, expressed their delight that he was home and well, Audrey politely hugged Ron and expressed how happy she was to see him safe, then Fleur approached Ron flanked by his beautiful blonde niece Victoire, and the newest Weasley that he had yet to meet.

"This is Dominique," Fleur cooed in her husky French accent after Ron greeted her and Victoire. Ron smiled to himself reminded of the days that the presence and voice of this very girl actually did things to him he couldn't control. He was happy to notice that the part-Veela's powers no longer effected him. I wonder why? he thought with a small chuckle. He knew exactly why.

The beautiful wide-eyed infant in Fleur's arms smiled at Ron from under short Weasley-Red locks. She didn't know this uncle, but Ron could see the recognition in her eyes. She knew he was family. It's probably the hair, he thought to himself as he bent to greet her. "Hi Dominique, I'm your Uncle Ron." He extended his long finger to her which she grasped gladly and gurgled her greeting in response.

As he straightened up, he noticed that one last person had held back, waiting for his turn; preferring to be last.

"Auror Potter," Ron said, a glint of playfulness in his eye.

"Auror Weasley," Harry nodded in response. Seconds later a smile crossed Harry's face as he strode in to hug his best mate. Everyone grinned as the two men held one another. Having spent almost every waking moment together since they were 11, the last fifteen months were the longest the pair had gone without any communication in over ten years. Next longest was likely a week or so.

"Mission complete?" Harry asked as they finally dropped their arms.

Ron nodded. "For now. We made a lot of progress so, we'll see. The captains will be filling Robards in this week then decide if and when we'll need to return."

"I should hope not!" Molly called out. "You just got home!"

"Molly dear," Arthur placed his hands on her shoulders as she set Ron's heaping plate on the table. "This is the life of an auror, especially one as accomplished as our boy." Ron basked in the evident pride in Arthur's voice. "Let's not think about what may be and when, let's enjoy having our Ronnie home for as long as we have him!"

With that everyone sounded off their agreement and returned to their seats. As Ron headed to the place his mum just pulled together for him, next to her own seat of course, Ron wordlessly told Harry they would talk more in detail later. Harry nodded his understanding.

Ginny shook her head. "Not even five minutes and you two are having your silent conversations."

"As if you two don't have your own secret word-less language!" Fred quipped, referring to Ginny and Harry.

"Yeah," George piped up. "Entire eye conversations-"

"-and more, I'd say." Fred finished. Molly tsk'd to her mischievous duo and turned to Ron.

"You'll be staying here, right Ronnie?"

Ron, who was shoveling his mum's fantastic eggs in his mouth paused and shifted uncomfortably. "Erm..." he swallowed. "I'll actually, uh, be staying with the other aurors in my unit for the time being. Just so we're, you know, close in case of anything." He glanced at his mother's expression, relieved to see she believed him, but feeling badly as her face fell.

"Oh, yes...o-of course. That makes sense."

"I'll be here loads though mum, don't worry."

"Around mealtimes I reckon," Harry teased. Ron looked up at Harry and smiled, but was surprised when Harry's smiled changed to one of curious accusation. *Bloody hell...he caught on to my lie. Just don't say anything you prat.*

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "among other times of course." He smiled back at his mum as she continued to shower him with attention.

Brunch continued with light, happy conversation. Ron learned that George and Angelina were now engaged and got the impression that Fred was not too far behind. Audrey timidly announced to Ron that he would be an uncle again, having told the family with Percy just the week before. Fleur told the tale of baby Dominique's frantic birth as Victoire climbed into Ron's lap and reacquainted with her long lost favorite uncle.

Ron turned to Ginny and Harry. "So, I didn't miss the wedding did I?" He was teasing but also a bit hopeful.

Harry got a serious expression on his face as he leaned forward onto the table. "You know good and well there was no way I was getting married without my best man."

"And you better believe that all of my brothers will be at my wedding Ronald Weasley. We were waiting for you."

"Gin, Harry," Ron started to protest, guilt building inside him.

"No, don't," Harry interrupted him. He took Ginny's hand. "We discussed it and there was just no way. Molly and Arthur were behind us too," he nodded at Ron's parents who showed their agreement. "There was no way we were getting married without you."

Ron smiled at his best mate and baby sister, but his stomach twisted at Harry's declaration. He dropped his left hand under the table subconsciously even though he knew it looked bare to them and winced as Harry's words repeated in his mind. There was no way we were getting married without you.

All this time as he prepared to come home, his mum was his biggest concern. How would he tell her about all that happened since his departure early last spring? How would he explain the decisions he made while he was away? How angry would she be?

But now, he realized, he also had Harry to worry about. He would bloody well be upset.

Ron moaned internally as he made up his mind: he couldn't tell his mum today about his year abroad. It was too soon. As he looked around at his family, he knew he needed to give them a day to adjust to and enjoy his homecoming. For me to enjoy it too. He would tell mum tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. He just hoped someone would understand.

#Ron Weasley #ROMIONE #romione fanfic #au harry potter #auror ron weasley #auror harry potter #hermione granger #ron and hermione

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bgnmagic · 3 years

Text

Frozen Dreams - Merlin Fanfic

Summary: MODERN AU

Arthur, Merlin, and the boys (the knights) rent a cottage by the sea during winter to take a break for a bit. The only problem is when Merlin discovers the heat in his room is broken and he nearly freezes to death on the first night. Arthur comes to the rescue and helps him warm up.

Notes:

All I wanted to do was whump my boi Merlin. Hence this odd premise of renting a cottage by the sea with malfunctioning heating, in winter no less. Places can be fun to visit in winter too! lol I also wanted more bromance, they are so soft with each other I just can't help it. Pretend it's shippy if you want but I'm all for them being nice and sweet cause they are besties.

----

A heavy thump roused Arthur from sleep. Unsure if what he’d heard was merely part of his dream, he waited. Turning over to face the door Arthur shivered despite being covered in a down comforter. This place felt abnormally frigid; hopefully the rest of their trip would still be fun. After a few minutes Arthur didn’t hear anything else and decided to go back to sleep. It was far too cold to go outside in the hallway to investigate anyway.

Burrowing down into the bedding Arthur let his eyes slip closed. Then, he heard it again; there was something or someone in the hallway. Who in their right mind would be out in the middle of the night trying to break into their rental cottage? Everyone had drunk enough at dinner to be passed out right now. Easing out from under the covers Arthur bit back a hiss at the cold floor. Even wearing socks didn’t help dampen the sensation.

Sneaking over to the door he listened, but it was silent save for an odd chattering noise. Great, did they have a mouse problem to deal with as well? Unfortunately, nothing prepared Arthur for what he saw when he slowly pulled the bedroom door open.

“Merlin?!” he half whispered in shock. His friend was sitting partially crumpled on the floor, hugging himself and shaking. Upon hearing his name Merlin lifted his head and looked about ready to cry. It was too dim in the hallway to really see clearly but it seemed as though Merlin was wearing his coat over his pajamas. “What’s happened? Are you hurt?” Arthur tried again. Merlin shook his head and attempted to shrug, although it looked more like an invisible force was shaking him violently.

Springing into action Arthur grabbed Merlin by his arms and hauled him upright. The younger man barely held his own weight as Arthur dragged him into his room and set Merlin down on the edge of the bed. Reaching out Arthur nearly knocked over the bedside lamp fumbling with the switch. When a soft yellow light set the room aglow, Arthur felt his insides twist. Merlin looked terrible.

His friend was pale and his lips almost looked blue. Panicking for a moment that Merlin had gone outside Arthur began checking for injuries. Maybe he’d been sleepwalking? However, they’d been friends for years and Merlin had never admitted to such behavior. Finding nothing out of place after a cursory check Arthur decided to address the most pressing matter, Merlin was freezing.

“Come on let’s get you warmed up okay?” Taking stock of what Merlin was wearing revealed a thin pair of cotton pants and a button down flannel shirt. All of this had been topped off with Merlin’s ridiculously large puffy down coat. “Um, can we switch out the coat for something less bulky?” Arthur asked as he held Merlin by the shoulders. The lack of response was beginning to concern Arthur. It was almost as if Merlin had checked out mentally.

Too focused on Merlin’s well-being Arthur flinched when the door suddenly creaked and opened. Lancelot poked his head in looking a little worse for wear, “Wha’s going on?”

“Merlin’s not well, you can help actually,” Arthur replied reaching out and dragging Lancelot into the space. “I found him in the hallway a few minutes ago and he’s nearly frozen. What’s the best way to help him warm up?”

Lancelot sobered immediately once he laid eyes on Merlin’s still shaking form; he took his job as a nurse seriously even when he wasn’t at work. “Do you have a spare jumper? Extra layers will help considerably. Then we can get him back to bed with some more blankets.”

“No, no, no, m’n-not going b-back in that ice b-box,” Merlin exclaimed, shaking his head vehemently.

Relieved that Merlin was at least communicating with them now, Arthur was still confused. “What are you going on about?”

“My r-room, is fre-freezing, c-can’t sleep.”

“I’ll go check, you help him change okay,” Lancelot offered before he disappeared through the door.

“P-please don’t kick me o-out,” Merlin begged.

“Idiot, I’m not going to kick you out. My bed is big enough, we can share.” Merlin slumped in relief and nearly fell off the bed in the process. Scrambling to catch him Arthur sat down and put an arm around Merlin’s shoulders. “Get that lumpy coat off and I’ll give you a nice cozy jumper instead.”

Merlin nodded and shrugged out of his coat. Arthur was already in motion, peeling off his own jumper; it was warm and just what Merlin needed.

‘C-can’t take this, it—it’s yours,” Merlin protested weakly.

“Shut up and put it on, I’ve got more.”

Merlin didn’t argue as he took the garment and quickly tugged it over his head. The small smile that graced Merlin’s trembling lips was enough to spur Arthur onto his next plan.

“Get under the covers, no need to be sitting here when you could be getting even warmer.” Guiding Merlin backward Arthur pulled the covers aside and watched as his friend burrowed into the bedding.

“R’thur, this is s-so warm,” Merlin mumbled quietly.

“I know, I’ll grab another blanket, just stay there,” Arthur was happy he’d thought to tuck Merlin into his side of the bed. It was already warm from earlier. Lancelot came back when Arthur was unfurling the last extra blanket he could find over Merlin. The look on Lancelot’s face was worrying. “What’s wrong?” Arthur asked.

“The heat stopped working in that room, plus I found a draft. A whole chunk of one of the window frames is missing. The curtain was hiding it!” Lancelot hissed. “No wonder Merlin was freezing, that room really is an ice box.”

“Shit, he could have frozen --, “Arthur trailed off, he didn’t want to think about the worst case scenario if Merlin hadn’t woken up in time.

“Keep an eye on him tonight and make sure he warms up, if anything changes come get me,” Lancelot instructed.

“Should we be worried about Merlin getting sick or anything?” Arthur asked.

“Merls, how ya feeling bud, any better?” Lancelot asked of the lump on the bed, by way of an answer.

“M’warmmmm,” was the garbled response.

“Tell us if you need anything okay?”

“Mhmmm, m’good now, m’warm.”

“I think you found him in time, we can talk more in the morning. One thing is certain no one is sleeping in that room. It’s not habitable in this weather,” said Lancelot.

“Oh, I’ll be calling about that in the morning, this is unacceptable,” Arthur huffed.

Lancelot nodded and went back to his room. It appeared they’d not woken anyone else up, that was a blessing. Arthur knew Merlin hated to be the center of attention. Turning back to his friend all Arthur could see what a tuft of black hair sticking out. Merlin had made himself a cocoon with the blankets, guess he was feeling better.

Quickly grabbing another jumper Arthur wasted no time in crawling back into bed and turning off the light. No sooner had the room plunged into darkness did Arthur feel something cold touch his hand under the covers. “God Merlin your fingers are still ice,” he hissed. Taking Merlin’s hand in his own he held it tight. Merlin didn’t say anything but Arthur felt him squeeze back once or twice.

After a few minutes Arthur deemed his job complete and let go only to have the other hand thrust his way. Smiling Arthur took hold and warmed it up as well. “I’m not holding your feet, so don’t get any ideas,” he teased. Merlin snorted softly but kept quiet.

When Merlin’s hand wasn’t ice cold anymore Arthur assumed they’d both go back to sleep, but the younger man kept fidgeting next to him. Something was still on his mind. “Are you warmed up yet?” Arthur checked.

“Mostly, but can I um, can we um, sleep back to back?”

“I’m onto you Merlin, you’re trying to leach more of my body heat off me,” Arthur complained halfheartedly as he turned around in the bed to do as Merlin asked. The minute Merlin’s lithe frame leaned into him Arthur heard a content sigh. When two cold feet started to tangle with his own legs Arthur flinched but stayed put. “How are you this cold?!”

“Dunno, but this feels really nice.”

“Think you can sleep now?”

“Yeah, thanks for helping, I was so cold I didn’t know what to do,” Merlin admitted.

“Don’t worry about it, you know you can always come to me for help, you’re my best friend Merlin.”

“I know, I didn’t want to bother you though, I --,” Merlin paused to yawn loudly before he went quiet.

“You what?” Arthur asked, “Did you fall asleep over there?”

“Hmmm, ur’warm.”

Chuckling Arthur shook his head and gave up trying to continue the conversation, Merlin was clearly very tired. “Go to sleep, we’ll talk more in the morning.” A faint hummed acknowledgement was all Arthur received followed by the sound of Merlin’s breathing evening out. Thanking god he’d found Merlin in time, Arthur pushed back a little more and wrapped the blanket tightly around his shoulders. The extra warmth from Merlin helped lull Arthur back to sleep.

Something heavy on his chest prevented Merlin from taking a full breath. Struggling to move he soon realized the great weight he was feeling was Arthur. The man was tucked neatly under Merlin’s chin with most of his upper body pinning him in place. Their legs were tangled together and if Merlin were being honest, he’d have to say this was the best way to wake up, warm.

Wondering if Arthur would agree with this sentiment he stopped moving and enjoyed the feeling. Last night had been terrible; this little moment of bliss was well deserved. The room he’d picked seemed fine during the day but once the sun had gone down it got down right unbearable. Stupid cottage by the sea, this was supposed to be a fun getaway with his friends, not a death wish.

A soft knock on the door roused Merlin from his thoughts. Answering back he waited to see who would appear. Lancelot came into a view a second later and smiled when he saw them. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

“So much better, I don’t ever want to go through that again, I’ve never been so cold in my life.”

“Do you need some help moving him?” Lancelot laughed pointing at Arthur.

“Noooo, he’s my human blanket at the moment, if you take him away I’ll get cold again,” Merlin whined.

“He’s not gonna stay that way forever, I think he was really wanting to explore the cliffs down by the beach later today.”

“All well and good Lance, but I’m not waking him up.”

Lancelot laughed and shook his head, “you’ve been warned. I’m going to go see about getting some breakfast started, I’m hoping Leon will get up soon and come help. Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival probably won’t be getting up anytime soon after all the shots they had last night.”

“That’s what they get for playing a drinking game!” Merlin huffed. “They’ll be in bed till noon most likely.”

“Hey don’t pick on them too much, it’s nearly eleven and you’re still in bed.”

“Is it really that late? Wow, I guess I was more exhausted than I realized.”

Arthur suddenly groaned and lightly pinched Merlin in the side, “Shut up, m’tryin to sleep. Lance, go away you’re makin’ my pillow move!”

Merlin rolled his eyes for good measure even though Arthur couldn’t see. After sharing a look with Lancelot he kindly waved him off and settled back into the pillows. “Can I sleep in here for the rest of the trip? I’m worried it’ll be cold downstairs if I try and sleep on the sofa.”

“Merlin, what did I just say? Shhhhhhh, and where else would you sleep, idiot, it’s ten times warmer when we share anyway.”

“Prat,” Merlin mumbled softly already drifting off again.

“Clotpole,” replied back Arthur fondly.

Merlin was far too gone to argue that ‘clotpole’ was his word. That conversation would have to wait until breakfast, or lunch for that matter. He was warm and relaxed. Maybe this little vacation wouldn’t be so bad after all. https://archiveofourown.org/works/33627802

#merlin #fanfic #bromance

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wildest-dreams-at-midnight · 4 years

Text

SDS High School AU Chapter 1

Meliodas yawned and Zeldris snickered in response. “School hasn’t even started yet,” Zeldris reminded. “How are you already tired?”

“This year’s going to fucking suck,” Meliodas complained. “Dad’s more insane than usual and I’m a junior.”

“You have the Sins, I’m sure you’ll get into plenty of trouble,” Zeldris said. “And besides, it’s not like you can really get punished.”

“You’re surprisingly optimistic this morning Zel,” Meliodas pointed out. “You’re usually a nightmare this early.” He was slightly annoyed his younger brother was in such a good mood at eight AM. It should be illegal.

“I’m excited,” Zeldris defended.

“About seeing your girlfriend again?” The two brothers laughed as they walked through the wrought iron gates of the school grounds.

“You too, you haven’t seen Elizabeth all summer, you must miss her like hell.” Meliodas huffed and bumping into his brother so he stumbled slightly to the side. Zeldris simply smiled.

A plaza paved in red bricks was dominated by a copper fountain, the water catching the light of the rising sun. Manicured green lawns sloped up to red brick and marble buildings. Students were milling around and stretching out on steps, avoiding the grass so as to not stain their uniforms. Flowers hugged the diameter of the trees scattered across the grounds. Meliodas noticed the rest of the Sins were sitting on the lip of the fountain.

“Do you know where the rest of the cousins are?” Meliodas asked Zeldris.

“Yeah they’re sitting on the steps of the science building,” Zel pointed to the building that was farthest away where a small group of other students were all lounging around, looking completely unenergized. Nobody was going near them either.

“Are you going to look for Gelda?” Meliodas stretched out the syllables of the name, taking enjoyment in how Zeldris’s face lit up red.

“Shut up! You’re just jealous you haven’t worked up the nerve to make a move with Elizabeth,” Zeldris argued.

“Gelda was the one who asked you out,” Meliodas reminded as he turned towards the fountain. It amused him to no end that the rest of the student body was keeping as far away from the Sins as possible. “I’ll see you later.”

“Meliodas!” a tall girl with brown pigtails and purple eyes yelled and waved furiously.

“Yo Diane!” He waved at his brother again before heading to his friends.

“Were the last two weeks good for you Captain?” Before Meliodas could answer a very loud “captain!” was yelled out.

“Ban!” They ran up to each other and gave rapid high-fives before slamming their arms down on the fountain edge. “King, referee.” He rolled his eyes but complied.

“Go,” he said unenthusiastically. The arm-wrestling match was over quickly, with Meliodas forcing Ban’s arm down.

“I win for the tenth time in a row,” Meliodas boasted with a grin. “Better luck next time, bastard.” Ban snorted in response.

“Will you two ever grow up?” King asked.

“Why would they do that?” a soft, sweet voice asked.

“Hey Elaine,” Meliodas waved at King’s younger sister and Ban’s girlfriend. Elaine gave Meliodas a hug before she sat next to Ban.

“Besides, you’re all juniors,” she said. “What else are you supposed to do this year?”

“Exactly, this is the year for having fun,” Ban argued. “Besides, Cap’n can get us out of any trouble, right?” Meliodas huffed but didn’t disagree.

“Did you have a good summer Captain?” Diane repeated, not at all pleased that her question was ignored.

“It was ok. Zel and I had to go to some conference for private schools in the area because of Dad and it was boring as fuck.”

“Did you meet Arthur while you were there?” Merlin asked.

“He didn’t want to get into any trouble with the two of us, but he was nice enough,” Meliodas answered. “He talked about you a lot actually, Merlin.”

“What did he say?” Gowther asked. Merlin simply raised an eyebrow and smiled a secret smile. It didn’t escape Meliodas’s notice that Escanor looked slightly hurt at that. The group of seven continued reminiscing about their summer escapades but fell silent as the group they referred to as ‘the Archangels’ walked by. Meliodas grinned and waved at them, smirking when he was given a twisted expression full of disdain. Meliodas’s face fell when he noticed Elizabeth was sandwiched between them.

“Elizabeth!” Diane cried and barreled through two of them to wrap her friend in a giant hug.

“Hi Diane,” she choked out. Diane heard the strain in her voice and pulled back. “Did you all have a good summer?”

“We did, why weren’t you able to come with us this year?”

“Elizabeth.” Ludociel’s voice was severe. “You’re not allowed to talk to them.”

“What the fuck?” Ban demanded. “She’s been with us for ten goddamn years, why the sudden change, Goddess?”

“That’s none of your concern,” Mael snapped.

“It actually is.” Meliodas broke his silence and walked forward to stand next to Diane. “You’ve acted like she didn’t exist for years. Why the sudden possessiveness?”

“It’s not being possessive!”

“I didn’t know you were so desperate for attention Mael,” Meliodas sneered. “You’re holding people hostage now?” Meliodas could feel all the blood rushing to his head. His temples were throbbing with anger and breaking Mael’s neck was sounding like a better idea each second.

“I’m not going to waste my time responding to you.” Apparently Mael was trying to take the high road but Meliodas wasn’t willing to let that happen.

“You just did.” Mael spluttered and Tarmiel cleared his throat.

“Come along Elizabeth,” Ludociel ordered.

“You can’t tell her—” Elizabeth interrupted King.

“It’s ok. Really. I don’t want a fight breaking out.” She gave Meliodas a glance and he could see the pain in her eyes. If she had been in tears, he would have gone on a rampage. When the Archangels were out of earshot Meliodas snickered.

“What’s so funny Captain?” Escanor asked.

“Elizabeth and I may or may not have all the same classes,” Meliodas explained.

“Your Dad wants the two of you to get together almost more than you do,” Merlin commented.

“it does seem that way,” Gowther agreed.

“But the archangels are also in your year,” Elaine said. “Couldn’t you have classes with them?”

“Dad made sure to keep them separated from Elizabeth. They’re all in the same classes, and I’m sure some of you can’t avoid them, but there’s only one class we have with them and it’s with a teacher who does seating charts religiously.”

“Denzel?” they all asked in unison, which Meliodas nodded at.

“Your Dad’s keeping us separated?” Diane pouted, changing the subject.

“Not without good reason,” Merlin pointed out. “I’m sure he doesn’t want any more teachers complaining. Especially after freshman year.” The group laughed at that. Meliodas kept an eye out in case they approached the science building, which was likely since Elizabeth’s first class was physics, like his. Thankfully, they hadn’t reached the Commandments, a group of people who answered to his father which consisted of Zeldris and their nine cousins, either by blood or in name. On cue, bells rang through the air and the groans from all the students were audible.

“I have Dreyfus first,” Diane said. “What about all of you?”

“I do too,” Meliodas added. “I think Ban and King do also.”

“How do you know that?” King demanded.

“Also Elaine, you’ll probably have some classes with Zel, keep an eye on him?”

“Of course Meliodas,” she agreed.

“Hey answer me,” King demanded.

“I looked up what your schedules were before school started,” he replied as the group started to walk to the cluster of structures.

“Seriously?”

“No. You were holding your schedule and I saw it when I went to arm-wrestle Ban.” King groaned and went to follow the other three. “See you all later!” Everyone parted to make way for them, not wanting to be on their bad side. Rumors had swept through the school about what happened to people who had been bullying those that weren’t defendable and Meliodas’s wrath was legendary. Everyone knew what had happened to the people who had dared to make fun of Zeldris. Naturally Meliodas had gotten away with it. His father could be a pain in the ass, but at least he turned a blind eye to the trouble they got into. Being the son of the school’s headmaster had its perks, he supposed.

He slowed his gait as they approached the science building where Elizabeth was shooing her new bodyguards away. When they had left Meliodas approached with a wave.

“Elizabeth!” Her face lit up, the happiest he had seen from her so far and they all hurried inside. After making sure the hallway was empty, Elizabeth flung herself at the blond with a tight hug. Meliodas heard her heartbeat and the rhythm soothed his fire from earlier.

“What’s your schedule?” she asked after pulling away and hugging Ban and King.

“We have all the same classes,” Meliodas said with a wide grin. “And better yet, we only have math with the Archangels.”

“Really? That’s amazing!”

“You can thank Dad, I had nothing to do with it.” As they made their way through the building, it was easy to see that classes had already started. Through windows of some doors, teachers were lecturing, in others students were working at lab stations. Meliodas noted with some amusement that one of the flasks already looked like it was smoking.

“Wonder how long it’ll be before the first fire alarm goes off this year,” Diane said as they passed by a lab room. “I think it’ll be two weeks.”

“I give it a week at most,” Ban said.

“I’m saying a week and a half,” King countered.

“I’ll bet three days,” Meliodas called behind him.

“You’re not planning on starting another fire are you Captain?” King asked. Meliodas rolled his eyes but a grin present on his face.

“That was Ban’s fault.” Ban spluttered in protest but Meliodas just laughed and ignored him. The bell rang as soon as they slipped into their classroom. All the light in the room came from the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the right wall of the room. Nobody was outside, everyone already in their first class of the year. Meliodas was pleased to see that the seats in the back of the room were empty and the other students had given them a wide berth. Melascula and Galand were already there, looking as bored as ever. Meliodas waved to his cousins. Melascula jumped up and gave Elizabeth a hug.

“We missed you this summer, Lizzie,” Melascula said. “Without you, there were only six girls. And no one could keep this one,” she jabbed her thumb at Meliodas, “in line.”

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth apologized. “I really wanted to, but I moved in with my mother and she, well, to say she dislikes everyone is putting it lightly.”

“You mean you live in that stuffy old mansion now?” Galand asked, perking up now that there was some form of drama. Elizabeth nodded and Galand let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Remember when we were younger, and we got into that huge pillow fight there?” In a rare display of mischievousness, King high-fived Ban enthusiastically.

“And then we slashed the rest of the pillows open,” Meliodas finished.

“Everyone, settle down,” Dreyfus said as he came into the room. “I hope all of you had a good summer.” He took attendance and had everyone go around the room and introduce themselves and say what they did over the summer. Ban was called first from their group. He didn’t bother standing up instead raised a hand in greeting. “Name’s Ban. This summer we,” he gestured to the people around him, “spent a month at the Captain’s beach house.”

“Where you almost set the palm trees on fire,” King reminded.

“It’s not like we didn’t have the water to put it out with,” Ban argued.

“We also went snorkeling,” Diane added.

“And ziplining,” King continued.

“Lots of bonfires,” was all Meliodas said.

“Galand tried to surf and ended up wiping out for a solid half hour,” Melascula said with a dry smile.

“You got stung by a jellyfish,” Galand retorted. Then it was Elizabeth’s turn.

“I’m Elizabeth, and I moved in with my mother this summer since I grew up at my uncle’s house.”

Then Dreyfus started talking about what physics for the year was going to be like. “We will be doing physics experiments with things that can’t be blown up,” he informed with a pointed look at Meliodas and Ban. The two boys grinned and high-fived each other “Challenge accepted,” they said in unison. Dreyfus just sighed and continued through the rest of class. When the bell rang the group of five wandered outside and Elizabeth looked down at her schedule.

“It says we have math next.” A chorus of groans immediately followed.

“Denzel is the worst,” King complained. “Remember that time he docked points on an exam because I forgot to turn the study guide for it in?” Meliodas bumped Elizabeth’s shoulder in reassurance.

“Elizabeth, you should walk ahead of us,” Merlin called with Escanor and Gowther in tow. “So the four righteous do-gooders will give you a break and not bother you.”

“Do the seven of us all have math together?” Escanor asked.

“I believe so,” Gowther replied. Ban and Meliodas gave wicked grins.

“You going to get us out of trouble Captain?” Ban teased.

“We’re probably going to be seated away with each other,” Diane mentioned.

“So we’ll just use our phones,” Merlin answered smoothly.

“Sounds like a plan,” Meliodas agreed.

“Did you stay away from them?” Ludociel demanded of Elizabeth as the group of four stopped her in the middle of the path.

“It was difficult since we had the same class,” Elizabeth responded. “And the only seats were in the back. Where they sat.”

Sariel exhaled through clenched teeth. “Try to stay away from them in the next class please.”

“But we all have math together,” King said. “With Denzel who, if you’ve forgotten, religiously follows his seating charts. So it’s not really up to her.”

“Did your father plan this?” Mael pressed.

“You’ll have to ask him,” Meliodas deadpanned. “He doesn’t tell me this shit.” Meliodas and the rest of the Sins swept by the four of them before Gowther stopped and turned around.

“There is also a good chance that some of the Commandments are in the class as well. Ta-ta.” Ludociel’s face was burning red as they moved to the math building.

“Captain, can we bring her on the camping trip this weekend?” Diane whispered. After the first week of school, all of the Commandments, the Sins, and Meliodas’s father would go camping on private ground the Blade family owned. It was something they did every semester. Not to mention the copious amounts of alcohol they all drank over the course of two nights. Elizabeth would only have a few small sips but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

“I think we can sneak her out with Gil’s help,” Meliodas replied. Gilthunder was one of the people who was over at Elizabeth’s mother’s mansion a lot and was a year younger than them. He had idolized Meliodas when he was younger, and he still respected him. He also cared deeply for Elizabeth since his girlfriend was her cousin. Meliodas knew he could count on him for help.

“Oh, good thinking,” Diane said. They stopped in front of a building that had a brick path leading up to another brick building. Honeybees were lazing above the blue and purple morning glories that grew along the white metal archway at the beginning of the path.

“If I remember correctly Tarmiel and Sariel, your next class is history,” Meliodas pointed out when they were still hovering around Elizabeth. “I wouldn’t want you to be late on the first day of class.” Of course, everyone saw through that in a second.

“Just because you’re the Headmaster’s son doesn’t mean you’re above everyone else,” Ludociel snapped. Meliodas raised his hands in response.

“I just stated a fact, you’re the one who read into it.” Meliodas heard grumbling but ignored it as he pushed open the front door to the building. The windows of the classroom were thrown open, allowing fresh air to make the room feel more relaxing. The seating chart was up on the whiteboard. Meliodas resisted the urge to cheer when he saw he and Elizabeth were sitting next to each other. The rest of the Sins were spread out around the room, so texting, as Merlin suggested, would have to be used. Meliodas’s mouth twisted when he saw Mael was sitting behind Elizabeth. Ludociel was sitting next to Meliodas, which he could deal with. Melascula and Galand were seated next to each other, close to Diane and Escanor. Gloxinia and Drole were seated at opposite sides of the room, not close to any of their friends.

Once again, they had to go around the room and say what they did over the summer. The Sins happily repeated what they had said in physics, with Merlin adding “shooting off fireworks.”

“And then watching Monspeet trying to keep the house from setting on fire,” Escanor continued.

“Derieri helped,” Gowther piped up.

“Of course she did,” King muttered. The Sins all snickered at that knowing the two were inseparable. Gloxinia had said that he had almost gotten a concussion diving into their pool while Drole talked about jumping off of rocks into the ocean. When it was Mael’s turn, Meliodas tuned out, not at all caring about what they had to say. The others would be making fun of it anyway. A quick glance at his phone screen showed that the two of them only took classes and “got to know Elizabeth better” since she was living with them now. Despite the jealousy, he fought past it and when Ludociel cast a triumphant look at him, Meliodas remained blank-faced.

The class passed agonizingly slow. Math was difficult to make fun and Denzel had the most monotone voice Meliodas had ever heard. He only used black whiteboard markers and the few times he asked questions only a handful of people ever answered. Meliodas could see Ban crumpling small balls of paper and threw them at Mael’s head, while King was drifting in and out of sleep. Elizabeth was taking notes but her eyes seemed slightly glazed. Meliodas ripped off a piece of notebook paper asking if she was ok and passed it to her when Mael was looking at his notebook. Elizabeth slipped the note back and he saw that she had written she was ok, just bored and zoning out. Mael hissed but the two ignored him, happily passing notes throughout the rest of the class.

When it was time for lunch, Meliodas lead the Sins and Elizabeth to one of his favorite spots on campus: the roof of the social studies building. They went up a staircase that was designated as ‘Roof Access: Employees Only’ but Meliodas picked the lock with ease. The staircase ended in a cramped concrete room full with maintenance and janitorial equipment. He shoved the door open and reflexively blinked in the bright sunlight. Stone railing lined the perimeter of the roof with stone planters overflowing with pink and purple flowers. They all sat down on sun-warmed, smooth stone.

“So Elizabeth,” Diane began as she sat down and pulled some food from her backpack. “What did happen this summer?”

“Do we have to talk about this now?” she pleaded. “I haven’t seen my best friends all summer and I just want to spend time with you now.”

“Sure thing,” Meliodas agreed before anyone could say anything. “You can tell us, all of us, about it this weekend.”

“How are you going to get her out of that prison?” Ban asked.

“Gilthunder and Griamore. Right Captain?” Merlin answered.

“Exactly. We’ve all been over there often enough to know the place like the back of our hand, breaking her out will be easy. Especially if we have the Commandments there too.”

“Will they want to help though?” Escanor asked.

“Estarossa definitely will to get back at his brother,” Gowther replied. “He seems to enjoy antagonizing him.”

“Melascula will too,” Diane added. “She kept going on and on about how she missed having you around.”

“Zel will too. We can pull it off,” Meliodas stated and pulled out his phone. He set up a group chat with the Commandments, the Sins, Elizabeth, and the two sophomores. By the time lunch was over a pretty good plan was in place for this weekend. It was much less elaborate than what Meliodas had originally thought of, but it was just as effective if not more due to its simplicity.

“I think this will work,” Diane cheered and Elizabeth threw herself at Meliodas.

“Thank you so much Meliodas!” Meliodas held her just as tightly.

“Anything for you, Princess.”

@zorria @gsunny6

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bitsandbobsofwriting · 3 years

Text

Soulmate AU Part 4 (final part):

Uther continues to be very OOC and Merlin is presented to the Kingdom; luckily enough, everyone already loves him. The Future starts to come together...

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

The summer passed in much the same way the previous year had; awkwardly polite conversation between Merlin and Uther, Leon panicking at everything, Gwen being exasperated, Morgana and Merlin pissing about, and Arthur watching it all with exponentially growing fondness.

Eventually, it was Yuletide again. Yuletide meant Arthur’s 18th birthday. Arthur’s 18th birthday meant revealing Merlin to the Kingdom; announcing him as The Crown Prince’s Soulmate.

There was an odd mix of feelings surrounding the upcoming event. Both Arthur and Merlin were ecstatic at the idea of not having to hide and sneak around anymore, but Merlin was a foreign peasant boy. The common people would love him, Nobles and Foreign dignitaries? Not so much. Granted, Arthur had a powerfully intimidating presence, when he chose to display it, Morgana could glare anyone into submission, and even Leon was known to be passive aggressively threatening when it concerned Merlin’s safety and respect, but not all could be daunted into compliance. Merlin would surely face discrimination.

That, and the growing spotlight meant that it would become much harder to keep his magic a secret. With Uther’s insistence that Merlin be... part of the family, they’d already had a few close calls.

Thankfully, not much else had changed, or it had changed for the better. Arthur and Merlin still scared everyone else shitless when they popped up to each other, but Morgana’s visions seemed a lot less terrifying now. Leon still had heart palpitations when Merlin and The King were in the same room, but Gwen, Gaius, and Hunith relaxed more; the Physician especially could see the pride glowing in Uther’s eyes, and the awkward fondness he held for Merlin (even if that wouldn't protect him if Uther discovered his magic).

Nevertheless, no ones’ fears or aspirations stopped the passage of time (though Merlin, in his increasing power, had put it on his “List of Things to Try Before I Die”), and Arthur’s crowning ceremony crept closer, day by day.

Hunith, Merlin, Leon, Gwen, and Gaius were gifted front row seats to the event, and as annoyed as Uther was at having the front row taking by commoners, a servant, and a young knight, he didn’t dare argue; he’d learnt that it was pointless now. Morgana was stood behind Uther’s throne at her own seat, giving Arthur a rare smile, not a hint of teasing in her expression, and Arthur returned it easily, comforted by the dream she told him she had the previous night (of adoring crowds and a grinning Merlin) despite his nerves.

The ceremony of course went of without a hitch, a rare smile on Uther’s face, and tears on all the faces of Arthur’s front row.

After an uproarious round of applause and chants of “Long Live The King, Long Live The Prince!”, the room cleared, leaving only Uther, Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, and a few faceless guards.

(Gaius, Hunith, Gwen, and Leon rushed off, wanting to be at the front of the crowds in the courtyard when Arthur and Merlin were presented to the Kingdom.)

Merlin didn’t hesitate in rushing up the steps to Arthur, wrapping his soulmate in a tight hug and whispering his pride into his blushing ear. For once, Morgana didn’t roll her eyes at the display of affection; Arthur may have occasional spurts of arrogance, and the two of them still acted like immature children occasionally, but she loved them both dearly. Uther did roll his eyes, though he could not hide his fondness from Morgana, who raised (yet another) teasing eyebrow at him. He glared at her half-heartedly before clearing his throat, and the boys jumped apart with a start.

He wordlessly nodded towards the door of the Throne Room, and walked out regally, his steps fast and heavy and his cloak billowing behind him. Merlin and Arthur followed quickly, hand in hand, and Morgana walked closely behind them, the guards bringing up the rear. The group finally made it to the large double doors that opened out onto the balcony above the courtyard, though it was two corridors previously that they began to hear the cheering and festivities below.

Arthur could feel Merlin’s hand shaking in his own, and squeezes it comfortingly, giving him a reassuringly soft smile as he murmurs, so Uther can’t hear them:

“Don’t worry, it’ll only be a few minutes, then we’ll come back in. You’ll be introduced to nobles and such during the feast,-”

When Merlin begins to look even more distressed, Arthur rolls his eyes good-naturedly and continues before his Warlock can interrupt him:

“-yes, I know, we’ll have to mingle, but this evening, it’s just us and the others. We’ll take some food and wine back to yours, and we can have some fun and all fall asleep in front of the fire together. Alright?”

Merlin takes a deep breath and nods, but before he can say anything, Uther stops his conversation with one of the guards and abruptly turns around, his face tersely concerned.

He takes one look at the boys before tutting and stepping towards them. Arthur freezes in shock as Uther begins to run a gloved hand through his hair, neatening it out and flattening it properly under the newly placed crown before stepping back again with a satisfied nod of the head. Arthur’s wide eyes stare straight ahead, and Morgana (having snuck in front of them to watch the whole ordeal) has to stop herself from snorting at his face. If she thought that was funny... well.

Next, Uther’s eyes move to Merlin, where he gives an even more disapproving tut and steps forward once more. He removes one of his gloves quickly, wetting his thumb with his tongue before wiping it just a little too harshly along Merlin’s nose, muttering-

“How the hell are you always so Godamn grubby?”

-to himself. Morgana doesn’t manage to hold in her giggles at that, clamping a hand over her mouth as she dedicates this whole scene to memory forever. Arthur is staring at his father with not even an attempt to hide his bafflement, but at this point, Uther is too busy brushing invisible lint off of Merlin’s shoulders to notice the incredulous stares from the three teenagers (and all the guards).

He finally steps back, huffing out a sigh, and muttering-

“That will have to do, I suppose.”

-before turning back to the doors and gesturing to the guards. Morgana, and Arthur have only a moment to regain their composure before they are ushered out on the balcony; Merlin staying back as he had been informed to do that morning, though he can hear the cheers get impossibly louder as the three royals greet their people.

Arthur glances back, just quickly, giving him one last smile before facing his people and standing in support of his father’s kingly speech:

“My people! Today, on this year’s Winter Solstice, my son has come of age!-”

The crowds had quietened significantly when Uther began, but another cheer went up at his words, and he paused, holding a silencing hand up:

“-I now present him to you, as Crown Prince Arthur Pendragon, heir to the throne of Camelot, my successor!”

His hand moves to gesture at Arthur, and the Prince steps forward as The King steps back, a wide smile on the blonde's face as his people cheer for him. He waves back, eyes searching the crowd for Hunith, Gaius, Gwen, and Leon; they meet gazes just as Uther steps forward once more, holding his hand up again:

“There is other news! It is...-”

He looks to Arthur, settling a hand on his shoulder and giving him a small smile. His voice quietens a little, but it can still be heard by the crowd:

“-it is with great pride, that I announce-”

The moment ended as quickly as it had started as Uther turns back to the crowds below, raising his voice again:

“-that my son has found his soulmate!!-”

Arthur had been expecting loud cheers, but their audience grows quiet and still at the announcement, as if frozen in suspense. As he peers over the stone barrier, he can see almost everyone in the crowd pairing off slightly, pulling their soulmates closer as they wait with baited breath to see their Prince’s partner.

Inside, Merlin takes a deep breath, but relaxes slightly when he sees Arthur unclench his own nervous fist, holding it behind him in preparation, invitation, for Merlin to take it in just a few moments:

“-I present to you, a close family friend of the royals,-”

(Morgana scoffs and rolls her eyes, but thankfully no one is paying her any attention.)

“-a skilled physician in training, and a trusted citizen of this Great Kingdom,-”

He gestures towards the door behind him, and Merlin takes his first shaky step forward, coming into line with Arthur as Uther finishes:

“Merlin, of Ealdor!”

Arthur and Merlin walk to the front of the balcony, hand in hand, as the loudest cheers Merlin has ever heard explode from the crowd. Despite the thunderous noise, Merlin can still pick out the cheers of his mother, uncle, friend, and older brother, and the leisurely applause from Morgana behind him, and he smiles in spite of his nerves. Arthur squeezes his hand once more, and they raise their joined fists to the crowds as they grin, struggling to hold in their laughter at the sheer amount of joy on the faces of everyone (bar Uther, of course, he just looked marginally happy) present.

Merlin has become even more recognised around the kingdom; normally seen trailing Gaius (who is also well-known, and well-loved) or, as inappropriate as it might be (at least according to Uther’s council), hanging around with Morgana and Gwen during the day. The castle’s servants and the majority of the knights had guessed that Merlin was the soulmate of either Prince Arthur or the Lady Morgana, what with how often he was with them and the way King Uther was apparently ok with that, and gossip spread like wildfire. But the loud cheers just drive home how well-loved Merlin is, and he tears up in response.

Merlin and Arthur finally step away from the edge of the balcony, and Uther continues his address of the people, though it passes by in a bit of a blur for Merlin, and he tunes out fairly quickly. He’s vaguely aware of Arthur running a soft thumb over his knuckles, and Morgana stepping towards him to clutch the edge of his tunic (loud crowds had never been her thing), but the speech and the cheering are drowned out by his racing thoughts.

Uther’s speech finally came to an end and the crowd dissipated. The King rushed off immediately, after sending what could almost be described as a respectfully fond nod in Merlin’s direction, but Morgana, Arthur, and Merlin luckily had nothing pressing to attend to before the feast, and had around an hour of time to waste (read: relax).

Despite Leon escorting the three of them to Merlin and Hunith’s home dressed in full armour, sword strapped to his hip, the journey took twice as long as it normally did, with various nobles and citizens alike wanting to stop them in the street and congratulate them. Arthur and Merlin were endlessly polite and extremely grateful for the support of their (now shared) people, but Leon’s forceful insistence that they “have somewhere important to be, My Lords, My Lady” went quietly thanked.

Hunith, Gaius, and Gwen met them at the house, and a round of tight hugs was shared; all staring fondly when Hunith wouldn’t let Merlin go for love nor money, whispering tearful exclamations of pride in his ear.

The hour felt like it passed in mere minutes, but it was enough time at least for Merlin to relax a little. Morgana and Gwen helped Hunith get ready, and Merlin definitely did NOT tear up when she came out of her room dressed like royalty, a string of Morgana’s pearls around her neck. Arthur and Morgana had deliberately stored a spare set of clothes here so they didn’t have to go back to the castle to change, and the Prince just about managed to force Merlin into a new jacket and cloak (”Why?!” “Because you have to, it’s protocol, you have to be dressed differently.” “That’s fucking stu-” “Merlin, I love you, but shut up and get changed.” “...Prat.” ) .

The seating arrangements weren’t too terrible. As per normal, Uther sat at the head of the table, with Arthur around the corner on the King’s right and Morgana to his left. Merlin sat in between Arthur and his mother; Leon was, unfortunately, on guard duty, though thankfully he was being assigned to Prince Duty (training, hunts, patrols, bodyguard, etc) more and more, meaning he was stood at the wall behind the two boys.

Thankfully, the only stranger anywhere near Merlin was a respected Camelot noble seated opposite him, and he seemed far more interested in boasting about his son to the King in the hopes of winning him a knighthood than he was in Merlin, and payed barely any attention to him other than the occasional distasteful glare (they did not go unnoticed by Arthur, and simply guaranteed that his prick of a son wasn’t going to end up anywhere near a sword).

So all in all, the feast wasn’t too bad. Merlin’s stomach was turning a little, but Arthur’s hand on his thigh under the table and his mother’s shoulder occasionally brushing against his own calmed him right down, though he still kept well away from any alcohol or too-rich foods, worried about making a fool of himself or turning his stomach even more.

The Gang also had Gwen serving them. Morgana had given up on her pleas to have her join them at the table fairly quickly; she could argue with Uther endlessly on many things, but she knew she was never going to win this one. At Guinevere’s insistence that today wasn’t about her, and Morgana shouldn’t ruin Uther’s tenuous good mood on Arthur’s birthday AND coronation AND soulmate-reveal-day, she gave in. But Merlin appreciated the feeling of friendly eyes, both Leon’s and Gwen’s, on his back for the course of the feast.

Just like during the celebrations of Arthur’s knighting ceremony, the tables were cleared from the room to make way for music and dancing, though this time Arthur and Merlin didn’t have to hide their partnership.

Merlin’s stomach turned more at the mingling he was forced to do, answering awkward questions about the purity of his blood and where he came from and his education and his understanding of social etiquette, almost all of which were phrased in condescending and/or downright spiteful ways. But the way Arthur’s arm, looped through his, tensed, and the scowl the Prince sported when Merlin couldn’t bring himself to, partnered with Leon’s comforting shadow (and even Uther’s, when the question’s strayed into cruelty) made him feel at least justified in his discomfort.

Morgana, at the quiet request of Merlin, spent the entire night by Hunith’s side, shielding her from the malicious glaring of nobles who felt cheated by her accidental winning of a position in the royal family. She was granted at least a little respect due to her being a relation of Gaius, who was highly respected and close to the King, but that was about as far as her favour went, and she was eternally grateful for Morgana’s steadfast presence and silent-but-deadly brand of defence.

The night passed slowly, but not so unpleasantly that Merlin was too desperate for it to end, though that changed rather jarringly when he found himself without Arthur for the first time. The Prince and Merlin had been stood next to each other, though involved in different conversations; thankfully for Merlin, he had been having a rather lovely chat about country-life with the wife of a knight. It was when she was pulled away by her husband to converse with another that Merlin realised that Arthur had also been pulled away by whoever it was he had been talking to.

Merlin tensed when he couldn’t immediately spot his soulmate through the crowd, but took a calming breath when he did spot Leon stood dutifully against the opposite wall, Guinevere next to him. That was fine, it wasn’t Arthur, but it was better than nothing, and he allowed his anxiety to swirl in his lungs for only a moment before he began his soft-stepped journey across the hall.

He caught Leon’s eye, thankfully, and the knight frowned slightly at the empty space next to him before sending a reassuring smile his way, nodding in encouragement and understanding.

Alas, he only made it halfway when he was stopped by a rather harsh hand on his shoulder.

He turns around, barely swallowing a gasp and a flinch, only to come face to face with the noble he had been sat opposite during the feast. The hand was uncomfortably tight on his shoulder, and Merlin wanted more than anything to push it away, but instead he forced a smile on his face and bowed his head respectfully, hoping beyond hope that Arthur would make a reappearance or Leon would see his discomfort and be able to come up with an excuse to abandon his post:

“Lord Otto, a pleasure to see you again.”

The drunken Lord let out a huff of sarcastic laughter, pressing his thumb even more severely into Merlin’s collarbone:

“Hmm, a pleasure indeed. Tell me boy, how is it that you, a peasant, think yourself worthy of such a magnificent soulmate?”

Merlin’s eyes widen in shock. No one had been so obviously disdainful, but the over-indulgence in alcohol, the Lord’s privileged seat at the table, and Merlin's lack of any sort of protector had evidently given him a boost in confidence. Merlin stuttered for a few moments, not quite sure what to say, before quietly coming out with:

“Well... I... don’t really know, I-”

He’s interrupted by a far softer hand on his other shoulder, but is even more shocked when, instead of Leon or Arthur, he found The King stood by his side, flicking an incredibly scornful gaze between Lord Otto’s hand and face. It does nothing to dissuade the Lord, and Merlin can’t disguise his wince this time when the hand once again tightens it’s grip.

Merlin had hoped he’d been subtle, but the clenching of Uther’s jaw tells him he had not been; before he can worry about what social rule he had broken and how Uther was going to punish him for it, The King finally settled his glare on Otto’s face:

“I must insist that you remove your hand from my boy’s person, and refrain from making such improper inquiries.”

His cold tone almost sends a shiver down Merlin’s spine, but the confusion of having Uther being in defence of him (a Warlock) stops the reaction before it even starts. The Lord glances up at the crown sitting strongly on Uther’s head, seemingly reminding himself of his company, before dropping his hand from Merlin’s shoulder as if he’d been burned.

He bows his head shallowly, making himself look as subservient as his pride could manage, and Uther gives him a barely restrained look of disgust when he looks up again, interrupting any quivering apologies he might have made:

“It’s getting rather late, and you’ve indulged enough for one night, do you not think? I suggest you end your evening here, Lord Otto.”

All three knew that it was not a suggestion, and Otto bows once more before muttering a humiliated, red-faced “Right you are, Your Majesty” and waddling out of the hall, towards the guest chambers.

Merlin let out a breath, his face just a little flushed as Uther spares him a quick, concerned glance before pushing him gently towards an on-going conversation between Arthur and a group of knights on the other side of the band. Merlin lets out a relieved breath when he sees his partner, but quickly frowns in concern when he then sees the tense line of Arthur’s shoulders and the way his eyes were darting around the room. He’s obviously paying only the shallowest of attention to the conversation at hand; but then they meet gazes, and the tension drains out of him as he sends a relieved smile Merlin’s way.

Arthur politely excuses himself from the conversation, using the blinding smile that only made an appearance when he was manipulating courtiers and nobles, before making his way through the crowd towards Merlin, evidently trying to disguise his desperation. Merlin was absent-mindedly aware of Uther keeping pace with him, the supportive hand on his shoulder-blade not leaving even when Merlin sped up slightly.

(If Merlin had been thinking about anything other than just being at Arthur’s side again, he would’ve found the odd mix of disgust and gratitude for Uther’s presence very confusing.)

They finally reach each other and Arthur grabs Merlin’s hand gently, pulling him to his side and landing a soft kiss to his cheek. Uther finally removes his hand from Merlin’s back, and it’s the absence of touch that reminds Merlin of The King’s presence. He turns quickly, hand safely in Arthur’s grip, to give Uther a flushed, timid smile:

“I... uh... thank you, My Lord.”

Uther gives him a tight smile, though you’d have to be blind to miss the slight fondness in his expression as he shakes his head:

“Hmm, I’ve been looking for an excuse to get Otto out of here for at least an hour, the man is intolerable, his incessant rambling about his unremarkable son even more so.”

Merlin nodded awkwardly and tightened his hold on Arthur’s hand, but before either boy can say anything, Uther lets out a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders and settling hesitant hands on one of their shoulders each:

“I... am proud of you both, and I wish you all the happiness in the world. One day, this Kingdom shall be yours, and it will be golden under your rule.”

Merlin almost manages to forget the whole... unforgivable genocide thing, and gives The King a weak, though grateful smile, running his thumb over Arthur’s knuckles when he feels the blonde shake slightly. Arthur tears up at Uther’s words, but thankfully manages to keep his voice steady as he quietly replies:

“Thank you, father, we will do everything in our power to live up to your legacy.”

(An utter lie, considering they plan on undoing pretty much everything he’s known for the moment they come into power, but Uther doesn’t need to know that, and the sentiment remains.)

Uther gives Arthur one last gentle smile, before lowering his hands and straightening his posture, going from awkwardly doting father to detached mighty King within a second. He nods at each of them before turning and walking regally away, his cloak billowing behind him and his golden crown shining atop his head.

Arthur tilts his head in question and tugs Merlin’s hand slightly when he sees the small frown on the younger’s face:

“Merls? What did Otto do? He didn't hurt you, did he?!”

Merlin looked up at him in shock before blinking away the surprise and chuckling:

“Ah, no, nothing like that, just asked how a peasant ended up with such a magnificent soulmate.-”

Arthur looked like he wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or offended on Merlin’s behalf, so he settled for an odd mix of the two:

“-That didn’t bother me though, it was... Uther called me his boy.”

Arthur dropped his chin slightly in shock:

“He what?”

Merlin shrugged:

“He said “I must insist that you remove your hand from my boy”. It was very... disconcerting, and oddly endearing considering what he’d do if he knew what I was.”

He whispered the last part quietly, and Arthur raised his eyebrows in surprise before chuckling quietly:

“Wow, never thought I’d see the day. My father being protective of a commoner and telling me how proud he is all in one evening, perhaps the world is ending.”

Merlin snorts, rolling his eyes and softly responding:

“Hmm. He may be a bit of a prat, but he does love you, and he has his moments.”

Arthur narrows his eyes at Merlin good-naturedly, a smirk dangerously close to breaking out on his face:

“You know Merlin, you may be right, but you’re still the only person I allow to say it aloud without sanction.”

Merlin just smirks and raises an eyebrow; Arthur laughs, and the world feels right.

It was late by the time Arthur and Merlin finally decided to call it quits. Morgana, Gaius, and Hunith had left around an hour ago, Gwen following them the moment her shift ended. Technically, someone had come to take over from Leon about halfway through the night, but he stuck around, patrolling the shadows of the room with one eye on Merlin always.

(The boys had insisted that he should go home and relax, but were quietly grateful when he stayed.)

They had been wanting to leave for hours, and normally they could easily get away with such an absence, but this particular celebration was in their honour, it wouldn't do to leave too early, so they finally made their way out of the hall when the crowds had halved and it was approaching midnight.

Uther gave them one last pat on the back when they said goodbye, and the tension practically melted off them when they stepped foot outside, despite the freezing temperatures of winter in the dead of night.

Leon stepped out just a moment after them, and the three of them make quick work of the journey to the house, not wanting to dally in the frigid air and just a little desperate to find themselves in the comforting presence on the family they had built.

They arrive just in time to find Hunith pouring out mugs of hot chocolate (a luxury that Merlin and Hunith never had in Ealdor), and Gwen adding another log to the fire. The next round of hugs was quicker than the last; everyone was tired and eager to settle down, to push the insensitive questions to the back of their minds and revel in the positive feeling of things moving forward.

Arthur had removed his cloak immediately upon entry, folding it precisely and leaving it on the table in the hall, his golden circlet following shortly after, cushioned by the soft fabric, but Merlin excused himself to their bedroom, changing into comfier clothes and washing his face. He had been looking forward to leaving all night, but now that he was home, he found all he wanted to do was collapse in bed and sleep, Arthur securely in his arms.

A knock at the door broke him out of his slow moving thoughts, and he frowned slightly, Arthur wouldn’t knock:

“Come in.”

It was Leon that opened the door, having rid himself of his sword and most of his armour (a pain in the arse, considering he’ll have to wake up early to put it all on again, but oh well), and he stepped into the room, quietly shutting the door again behind him. Merlin sent him a tired smile, but Leon saw through it and raised an eyebrow:

“You alright, Birdy? Anyone in particular you’d like me to embarrass during training or council meetings?”

Merlin laughed and shook his head:

“No, that definitely won’t endear me to people. Honestly, it was a lot better than I was expecting, and having Arthur scowling at people and Uther defending me was rather entertaining in the end.”

Leon snorted, muttering a quietly amused “yeah, I bet” before stepping forward and enveloping Merlin in a tight hug, one hand on his back, one in his hair, holding him close. Merlin melted into the embrace, clutching the back of Leon’s tunic tightly as the older man swayed on his feet slightly, murmuring:

“I’m proud of you, little brother. You handled everything just fine, the kingdom loves you; you’re doing great.”

Merlin lets out a deep breath and steps back, though was grateful to feel Leon’s hands still on his shoulders as he replies:

“Thank you. Honestly, I’m just exhausted, I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this for the rest of my life, and I... I don’t want to disappoint Arthur.”

Leon rolled his eyes good-naturedly and ruffled Merlin’s hair:

“You could never. He loves you more than anything in this world, Birdy, you’re made for each other, after all. He would abandon all of this in a heartbeat if he thought it would make you happy.”

Merlin frowns slightly, clenching his jaw:

“Yeah, I know, that’s what worries me. We’re meant to... bring about a golden age or whatever, and we can’t do that if we leave, but I’m not sure I’m going to be any good at the... politics, or the court manipulation or anything that comes with... with running a Kingdom. I know it’s a long way off but...-”

Leon nods in understanding and squeezes Merlin’s shoulder softly:

“You’ve got plenty of time to learn. And hey, if you want to stay away from the politics? Fine, Arthur and Morgana have plenty of expertise in that area. You’re a physician, Merls, not a courtier, and the kingdom already loves you, not because you’re a good politician or anything like that, but because you’re a good person, and you’re worth loving. Just keep being yourself and you’ll be absolutely fine. And besides, you’ll always have us lot to fall back on when you’re unsure; you’ll never be alone, little brother, I’ll make sure of it.”

Merlin nods and sniffles slightly at Leon’s words, giving him another tight hug. They step back into the hall, and Leon gives Merlin’s hand a gentle squeeze:

“Ready? I can tell them you headed to bed, if you just want some sleep?”

Merlin smiles and shakes his head, pulling Leon to the living room, where everyone is undoubtedly crowded around the fire surrounded by blankets and pillows.

From that day forth, Merlin’s life becomes a lot more... official.

He was officially given sword-fighting lessons by a few of the older knights, though thanks to the lessons Leon, Arthur, and Morgana had given him already, he held his own pretty well, and they were more than impressed with the skill level of someone they had assumed was a complete beginner.

He was officially invited to the occasional council meeting (at least the boring, everyday ones). He was always a silent spectator, his participation discouraged, though his presence expected; Arthur always made a point to ask his opinions afterwards though.

His new duties and lessons, on top of his pre-existing duties as the Physician’s Apprentice, AND having to keep his magic hidden and his reputation intact, was all somewhat overwhelming for Merlin, but the steadfast support of Arthur and Morgana when it concerns politics, and Gaius talking Uther down when The King wants Merlin to be more involved in court life, definitely help him in everyday life. Gwen’s hugs and Leon’s hair ruffling are certainly God-sends as well.

The oddest thing was the way people addressed Merlin now. He wasn’t even of age yet, but people were calling him Lord, and servants bowed at him in the corridor. There wasn’t much he could do about the nobles without making some incredible social faux pas, but he always flushed at the servants and insisted they stop bowing and just call him Merlin, at least when no one else is around.

Thankfully, both visitors to the Kingdom and local nobles tone down the snootiness, especially when Uther publicly shows Merlin respect and rumours (correct rumours) spread of Arthur and Morgana’s protectiveness.

Merlin’s birthday was celebrated minimally, though there was, once again, a mix of feelings upon the realisation that he was now only one year away from being of age, and things would surely get even more intense when that happened. But they all tried to push it from their minds, at least for the time being.

As winter broke and the sun came up on what was undoubtedly a Spring day, Merlin felt the most refreshed he had in a long time, though his mood dropped instantly when he, Arthur, and Morgana were summoned to Uther’s private study... only to be given another mini, awkward “I’m proud of you” speech, and given a week off.

Of course, Arthur was still somewhat expected to keep up with his training at least a little, but really, there was nothing forcing him to.

They exited the study flushed with pride and excitement at the prospect of doing whatever the hell they wanted for a week, and met Gwen in the hall. She was worrying her lip between her teeth when they saw her, but she instantly relaxed and raised a questioning eyebrow when she saw the grins on their faces, and Morgana explained what had happened.

It was that evening, whilst relaxing in Arthur’s chambers, that Merlin heard the dreaded echo of “Emrys...” in his head.

He groaned, dropping his head in his hands, out of both frustration and the pain of another’s voice unexpectedly materializing on the inside of one’s skull.

It was just Arthur and Merlin in the room, and the Prince immediately moved from his own chair to kneel in front of his soulmate, running his hands up and down Merlin’s arms as he shakily asks:

“Merls? What’s wrong?”

Merlin just looks up at him blearily, one hand taking Arthur’s and the other rubbing his temple:

“Fucking... scaly arsehole.”

Arthur tenses and frowns as he answers:

“I thought he had given up months ago? Why is he calling you now?”

Merlin shrugs, slumping back in his seat:

“Who knows, he didn’t say, he just-”

“It’s important, bring your little... friends, if it makes you feel any better.”

“-never mind. He just said it’s important, and I can bring my “little friends” if I want.-”

He snorted in dry amusement before continuing:

“-as if I would’ve listened if he told me to go alone anyway. I really thought that me thinking “Fuck Off” as loud as I could helped him get the hint. Apparently not.”

Arthur rolled his eyes before looking to Merlin in concern:

“Well... do you want to go? Or do you want to just hope he goes away again?”

Merlin sighs, but before he can answer, the voice echoes once again:

“I will not go away this time, young Warlock. This is important, and I have very little else to entertain myself with, other than being an annoyance to you. Come.”

He huffs in frustration, standing abruptly and taking Arthur’s hand, dragging him to where their swords are kept as he grumbles:

“He’s not going away this time. Let’s fetch Leon and head down.”

Arthur dutifully follows, strapping his sword to his hip and locking the chamber doors behind them, not speaking until they were approaching Leon’s door:

“No Morgana or Gwen?”

Merlin halts, clenching his hands tightly as he thinks for a moment:

“Hmm. No, I don’t want to freak them out. We can tell them what happens later, but I don’t want Morgana to have to face him again.”

Arthur nods, and knocks quietly on Leon’s door. He opens quickly, and Arthur and Merlin are thankful that they didn’t wake him, though quickly notice his panic when he sees their grave faces and swords.

The explanation is quick, and within a few minutes the trio are making a stealthy journey down to the Dragon’s Lair. There are no dramatic appearances this time, the great lizard is already perched regally on the edge of the platform, waiting for them.

He tilts his head when he sees their tense forms at the gate:

“I’m grateful that you did not bring the Witch.”

Arthur and Leon look to Merlin in confusion as he bristles, tightening his grip on the sword at his hip as he speaks:

“Yeah, well, I didn’t fancy you trying to kill my best friend again. What do you want?”

The dragon does what the trio guesses is the closest to an eye roll and dramatic sigh that his great form can manage, before lowering his head and speaking in English:

“If you won’t listen to me, I suggest you use your new found, though temporary freedom to meet with the Druids. They have all relevant information on the prophecies, you can learn of your destinies from them. The closest camp is a day’s ride from the Eastern border of Camelot.”

Merlin raises an eyebrow, but Arthur beats him to it:

“And how would you know that? How did you know we had time off?”

The dragon tilts his head and huffs out a dry laugh, the hot air making the trio sweat under their thick cloaks (it may have been Spring, but it was still cold) :

“I know a great many things, young King.”

Merlin and Arthur can practically feel the way Leon tenses, even from a few paces away. The man, ever the knight, was obviously incredibly uncomfortable with the idea that this dragon knew the goings on of the world, could listen in on conversations, all while being chained in the basement. Before either knight can say anything, Merlin tilts his head, a challenging look on his face as he regards the dragon:

“You... you keep saying destiny, but destiny is pre-written, the whole point is that it’s going to happen no matter what anyone involved does, no matter the interference. So why are you so desperate to have us know it, and work towards it? Us knowing or not knowing won’t alter things either way, unless it’s all a pile of shit and you’re manipulating us.”

Arthur smirks at Merlin’s quick mind and Leon looks impressed, the two of them turning their own challenging gazes on the rather thoughtful looking reptile. He mutters something along the lines of “you weren’t so bloody clever last time,” before lowering himself even closer to the ground, closer to Merlin:

“If I were manipulating you, then I wouldn’t send you to a third party known for being pacifist and unbiased, would I? Destiny isn’t completely certain, it is simply one of many likelihoods, the most... benefitting likelihood, is the destiny of you and your soulmate.”

Merlin scowls:

“Benefitting for who? Something tells me that one day you’re going to ask us for something, and we’ll be powerless to say no, thanks to all this... help you’re giving us, and it’ll be a mistake. So, benefitting who?”

The dragon shifts his jaw in such a way that resembles a smirk, speaking once again in the rasping language that Leon and Arthur don’t understand:

“Do you not want magic, yourself, your people, to be free, Emrys?”

He raises himself to his full height, stalking towards the ledge and stretching his leathery wings out. The trio manage to hold their ground in his dauntingly large presence, but their hands do tighten around their weapons:

“Go to the Druids, tell them Kilgharrah sent you.”

With that, he tips himself over the edge, falling for a second before snapping his wings out once again and shooting upwards towards the shadow-bathed ceiling, thick chain clanging loudly with the sudden movement.

Merlin huffs and turns to ascend the steps without another word, grumbling to himself about “stupid fucking dragons” and “my one week off and I have to deal with this shit” . Leon and Arthur look to each other with a shrug and a mix of genuine concern and mild amusement on their faces, before hurriedly following Merlin back through the castle.

Thankfully, it took almost no effort for Arthur and Morgana to get Uther to allow them to leave the Kingdom on their little vacation. It being under the guise of “visiting Ealdor” meant that it was perfectly within the realm of reasonable requests to have Leon tag along as “protection” as well. Guinevere was coming because they of course would need a servant whilst they were out and about (though Uther was definitely beginning to suspect that something more was at play between Morgana and the serving girl).

Unfortunately, Hunith was unable to get the week off work at such short notice (mother of the Prince’s soulmate or not), and there was no way they’d be able to justify asking The King for Gaius to tag along, so they didn’t even try. But they set out the next afternoon, having filled Gwen and Morgana in on Kilgharrah’s rather vague and annoying directions.

Neither of them were particularly happy that they had gone to see the Dragon without them or that they were just... doing what he said, but destiny or no, consulting the Druids on Morgana’s visions and Merlin’s magic was still a good idea, and they’d never get a better chance.

Just like Kilgharrah said, they found the Druid camp two days into their journey from the city, almost a day’s ride beyond Camelot’s border. They had to be careful, wear disguises, but they were travelling through virtually untouched wood so they didn’t run into anyone, not even a pesky group of bandits made an appearance.

When the first tents came into sight through the trees, the group stopped to take a breath and prepare themselves, giving each other one last round of dubious looks before beginning to walk again.

They barely make it to their third step when Merlin pauses and takes a stuttering breath, clenching his fingers around Arthur’s sleeve in a white-knuckled grip. The others crowd around him worriedly, but relax (only slightly) when he looks more confused than anything else. Before they can ask what’s wrong, he peers between them towards the tents:

“Uh... how are you- are you Druid? Is this one of you?”

Arthur’s eyes widen as he realises:

“Someone’s in your head again?”

Merlin nods distractedly but doesn’t move his gaze, speaking louder:

“Hello??”

Finally, a middle-aged man steps out from the camp; he wears floor length, dark green robes, and his silver hair almost falls to his shoulders. He gives the group a kind smile before finally focusing in on Arthur and Merlin, bowing his head slightly:

“My Lords. Our seers saw you coming some days ago, and we felt your presence the moment you entered our wood, Emrys.”

Merlin clenches his jaw slightly:

“Please don’t call me that, my name is Merlin... and... Kilgharrah sent us?”

He says it as if it’s a question and the Druid gives Merlin an assessing gaze, before nodding slightly. Before he can verbally respond, Leon steps subtly in front of the others. Morgana rolls her eyes at his protectiveness and Arthur huffs, but before they can challenge him, he asks:

“What do you mean, you felt his presence?”

He tilts his head again and smiles slightly, as though amused:

“Em- Merlin is rather powerful; we can sense him from miles away, his magic is incredibly... distinctive.”

Merlin frowns, holding Arthur’s hand protectively in his own as he side-steps Leon:

“What does that even mean? I’m not that powerful.”

The man shakes his head slightly and gestures behind him:

“Come. I imagine you have many questions about many things. The camp awaits your presence, My Lord.”

Merlin frowns at the title, but the Druid turns his back and begins walking back into the centre of the camp before he can challenge it. He gives a small shrug and a quiet “well, here we go” to the others before following his trail, Arthur’s hand still clutched tightly in his.

They all receive peculiar looks as they walk through the camp. Life seems to stop as everyone pauses what they’re doing to stare at the intruding teenagers (and Leon), but they keep their heads down, all letting out a relieved sigh when the man leads them to a tent, gesturing for them to sit around a table, and closing the fabric gently behind him.

He turns around with relaxed shoulders and an easy smile, not acknowledging that none of them are sat down and are instead gathered in a huddle by the table:

“My name is Iseldir. Druids don’t have strict hierarchies, but I’m considered the chieftain here, welcome.”

He looks at Merlin as he speaks, and the young Warlock nods slightly. He opens his mouth to speak, but shuts it again with furrowed brows; Iseldir raises an eyebrow and Merlin hums thoughtfully before trying again:

“I was going to introduce everyone, but something tells me that you already know who we are.”

Iseldir smiles again and nods, the expression on his face looking something similar to pride:

“Yes, I know who you all are. I see that you are learning to trust your instincts, My Lord.”

Merlin grimaces:

“It’s just Merlin, please. It’s bad enough that everyone at the castle calls me Lord now, I’m not even of age yet.”

The Chieftain’s smile widens in amusement as he nods, and Morgana is the next to speak up, her hand clutched tightly in Gwen’s as her voice shakes only slightly:

“We were sent here to learn about our... destinies?”

Iseldir nods, politely ignoring the way Merlin reaches behind him to grab Morgana’s wrist comfortingly, and how Leon and Arthur rest their hands near their swords:

“I have everything we need laid out here; it isn’t too complicated and we should get through all of it by this evening.”

The teenagers finally move to the seats, but make no effort to hide the way they shuffle the furniture to be sat closer together. Morgana and Merlin are sat in the middle, Arthur and Gwen flanking them protectively; Leon remains standing, a hand on each of his magical kid’s shoulders and a blank, though slightly challenging look on his face. Iseldir raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t comment, moving to sit on the opposite side of the table and shuffling a few papers around before looking up with a smile:

“Let us begin.”

The general mood of the room could be judged accurately by how tense Leon was at any one moment. Though he remained standing, he was relaxed and curious when Iseldir told them about the extent of Merlin’s powers (which Merlin looked incredibly dubious at), and he smiled proudly when they were told of Merlin and Arthur’s intertwined destinies (the nature of their soul-bond means he already knew they had some sort of great future, and this only proved it).

It was when Iseldir hesitated slightly as he gave Morgana a pitying look that Leon tensed up, and tightened his grip on her shoulder.

“You must all remember that destinies are... tricky. They are incredibly difficult to avoid, but it isn’t impossible; the future is not set in stone.-”

Morgana takes a deep breath and straightens her back, taking Merlin’s hand in her own and settling her face into a determined grimace:

“Just come out with it. Just tell me.”

Iseldir gives her a comforting smile as he nods, turning a sheet of incredibly ancient looking paper over and pushing it across the table towards them. On the scroll is a old, rough charcoal drawing of a woman with long, dark hair, her clothes somehow elegant and tatty at the same time. Her face is covered by a hood, but her arms are outstretched and violent looking flames extend from her hands, burning and destroying all the foliage drawn around the edge of the paper.

Morgana reaches a shaking hand out to touch the drawing but withdraws her hand before she makes contact, ignoring the tears gathering in her eyes as she looks up at Iseldir again:

“That’s me, isn’t it? Burning things?”

Iseldir nods slowly before speaking, his voice low and gentle, understanding:

“It is said that if you come into your full power, you will unite with The Once and Future King’s Bane. Your heart will freeze over, you will become consumed by hatred and fear and bitterness, and you will work tirelessly to bring about the downfall of Camelot, the downfall of Albion.-”

Arthur interrupts:

“Albion?”

Iseldir moves his gaze to the Prince, giving him a tight smile as he explains:

“The Kingdoms to be united under one name, Albion, with yourself as King.-”

He looks back to Morgana, his smiles turning just a little encouraging:

“-Like I said, the future is not set in stone. Arthur’s Bane came into existence several years ago, we’re keeping close watch on him; he has yet to show any... troubling, signs, nor have you.”

Merlin scowls slightly in though, before slowly saying:

“Arthur’s Bane is... a person?”

Iseldir raises an eyebrow and nods, letting out a breath of subtle relief when Merlin seems more genuinely worried than murderous.

Gwen is the next to speak up, her voice strong and her face determined:

“None of that is happening,-”

She reaches forward and aggressively turns the scroll over, squeezing Morgana’s hand as she continues:

“-not ever.”

Leon’s gasp has everyone’s eyes drawn to the overturned sheet, only to see a colourful image appear on the paper. The first figure to materialize is clearly Morgana, though in this drawing she is grinning, hood down, eyes golden and flowers in her hair. Next, Merlin and Gwen appear either side of her, Merlin’s eyes also glowing as he summons matching flowers in Gwen’s hair, Gwen who is pressing a kiss to Morgana’s cheek. Leon and Arthur appear next, in full armour with bright grins, a golden crown on Arthur’s head.

Iseldir chuckles, looking up at Merlin who is giving himself a satisfied nod as the golden glow fades from his eyes:

“Trusting your instincts indeed; you didn’t even need an incantation, very impressive.”

Merlin shrugs before turning to Morgana with a grin. She returns it with a shaky one of her own, once again feeling not-quite-so-scared thanks to the ever-comforting presence of her family.

They slept that night in a large tent that had been prepared for them, and were woken up early the next morning. They were given a proper tour of the camp and introduced to a few people.

Leon had questions about how the camp was run, in terms of enforcing rules and staying safe, so he was quickly introduced to a few of the elders. Whilst he had been reluctant to leave the others at first, Arthur’s teasing laughter and Morgana’s rolled eyes convinced him to spend the day away from them, learning about as much of Druid politics as he could.

Merlin and Morgana were quickly introduced to the strongest magic users, and whilst Merlin was taken aside to be given some lessons on healing using magic, Morgana was taught meditation techniques and breathing exercises by the camp’s most respected Seer.

Gwen sticks mostly with Merlin; whilst she had no magic to heal with, the herbal knowledge that was being shared was fascinating and she was eager to memorise as much of it as possible. She of course wandered over to check on Morgana occasionally, at first out of concern, but then out of pride, out of a desperation to never forget how relaxed and happy and at-home her soulmate looks.

Arthur spends the morning with Merlin, but quickly grows bored. Perhaps he should take more interest in healing considering how often he and the knights get injured, but he’s already got Merlin, Gaius, and now Gwen, so why waste the effort? Instead, he finds Morgana and the Seer. The sense of relief he feels to see his sister looking so at ease with such an easy smile gracing her face is almost overwhelming, but he doesn’t disturb them, sitting a little way away and silently watching them.

The Prince didn’t even realise he had fallen asleep until the tell-tale pop and the sudden shadow of someone stood above him jolts him from his nap. He opens his eyes blearily to see Merlin crouching next to him, an amused smile on his face and his hand out-stretched:

“Come on sleepy head, the others are waiting for us, it’s time to eat.”

Arthur takes a deep breath, allowing Merlin to pull him up before he stretches and rubs the sleep from his eyes. The sun was only an hour or so away from touching the horizon and he could see no one else in the little patch of woods Morgana had previously been sat in:

“Morgana?”

Merlin smiles softly, taking Arthur’s hand and leading him back towards the tents:

“Happy. She joined me a couple hours ago and we were practicing some simple spells, turns out she has more magic than just visions-”

At Arthur’s slightly affronted expression, Merlin chuckles and rolls his eyes:

“-You were exhausted, Arthur, don’t deny it. You got this holiday because of how hard you’ve been working, we didn’t want to wake you. We’ll show you a few tricks tomorrow alright?”

Arthur pouts and huffs slightly, fighting the smile trying to appear on his face as he nodded his agreement. Merlin just laughed at him again as they entered the meal tent, finding spaces with the other three.

The next morning was just as relaxed, though this time the five of them stayed together.

Leon, Arthur, and Gwen sat against a fallen log as they watched Merlin and Morgana show their magic off. A small audience of Druids had gathered as well, on account of Lord Emrys’ presence, and whilst Morgana tired quickly, not used to having such free access to the magic that had been inside her for years, Merlin could go for hours. He used few actual incantations, manipulating water and flowers and floating lights with just a little concentration and some imprecise waving of his hands.

Noon, unfortunately, came rather quickly, at which point Leon sighed and stood up, giving Merlin a sad smile before looking to Arthur:

“If we want to be home with a day to spare, we should start the journey soon.”

Arthur nodded in agreement and the rest of the group joins Leon in standing. The Druids disperse fairly quickly, but Iseldir stays with them, giving Merlin a pat on the back and a wide smile:

“It was a pleasure to have you here My Lor- Merlin.”

Merlin snorts in amusements but nods his appreciation, and the five of them wander over to their tent to gather their belongings whilst Iseldir collects the horses.

It’s only half a candle mark before they’re riding back out into the forest in the direction of Camelot. The teachers and elders, including Iseldir, wave them off with proud smiles, and whilst Merlin and Morgana are sad to leave this sanctuary behind, they were grateful for the freedom and safety and lessons they’d had, even if it was less than two days. Their utter faith that things would change when Arthur took the crown, that one day Camelot would feel just as safe, gave them something beautiful to look forward to as well.

Their journey home was just as uneventful as the journey out. When they finally pulled up into the courtyard with a day and a half of their free week left, Leon took everyone’s horses to the stable and informed a servant to tell the King of their arrival, whilst the others headed straight to Merlin and Hunith’s house. They had to wait for Hunith and Gaius to finish their actual jobs, but soon enough the whole group was crowded around the kitchen table.

Arthur and Gwen (who, though no one else would admit it, has the best memory of all of them) re-tell the prophecies and destinies.

Both Hunith and Gaius were furious once again at Morgana’s so-called destiny, but smiled proudly at her determined disposition, and the obviously magical drawing (the flowers seemed to move and the golden eyes definitely glowed off of the page) that Merlin pulled from his pocket. The others hadn’t even realised he’d kept it, but are grateful.

Next, Merlin and Morgana talk about their lessons. Gaius was intrigued by the healing knowledge Merlin and Gwen had gained, and after double checking that the door was locked and the curtains were drawn, they even showed off a few spells to their captive audience.

(There were times that Merlin showing off even the slightest bit of magic would give Hunith a heart attack and nightmares for days; she finds it doesn’t bother her so much anymore. She knows that Arthur, Morgana, Leon, and Gwen would never let anything happen to him, and the new stories of his apparent great power certainly helped ease her mind as well.)

Finally, Leon spoke about what he had learned from the elders; all bout how they keep camps running, their democracy, and how knowledge is preserved and passed on. It was a little boring, if any of them are being honest, but the bright grin on the knight’s face kept them from interrupting him.

Eventually, it came time for everyone to head to their respective beds and sleep. There was no denying that they’d had an amazing few days, but it was also a few days of constant activity and sleeping rough... they were all exhausted.

As Arthur and Merlin curled up under the covers, grateful for the slightly chilled night making cuddling easier, they let out simultaneous breaths of relief.

Arthur ran a hand through Merlin’s hair softly as he quietly spoke, aware of Hunith asleep in the next room:

“You think we’ll be alright?”

Merlin sighs and Arthur tries not to let the anxiety in his stomach swirl too violently at the lengthening silence. Finally, Merlin turns over to face his soulmate, shuffling even impossibly closer and giving Arthur a small smile. Arthur doesn’t comment on the nerves in the younger man’s eyes:

“There’s all this pressure on us to fulfil our destinies, to save the world, it’s a little... overwhelming. My whole childhood I tried to forget the fact that being Prince Arthur Pendragon’s magical soulmate would mean... everything, in one way or another, some day. And now that day is fast approaching, I can feel it, and I still have no clue what I’m doing. And that’s not even considering Morgana.-”

Arthur’s hold around Merlin tenses at the mention of his sister, and Merlin presses a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw before continuing:

“-I would give up all of it, everything, to save her. To see her happy. But... do I really have the right to make that decision? My people are counting on me, but you and Morgana and Leon and Gwen, you come first, and you always will.-”

Merlin rolls onto his back again, staring at the ceiling with furrowed brows as Arthur watches him mournfully:

“-I’ve spent so long being terrified of the fact that I know you would give up your crown if I just asked you to, and now I’m close to making the same decision myself; giving up everything for one person, to the detriment of the world.-”

He turns his head to face Arthur again, tears in his eyes:

“-I don’t know what to do, Arthur.”

The Prince clenches his jaw, having to push down the swell of anger at... everyone really. Kilgharrah, the Druids, the Gods, whosever idea this whole destiny shit was. Arthur often thought of himself as a fully matured adult whose place in the world was clear, but at times like these, he’s reminded of how young he is, and how Merlin is even younger.

He pulls the Warlock into a tight embrace, tucking his dark hair under his chin and running a soft hand over his back:

“I will stand by you, always, and we’ll figure it out, we always do. The future is fluid, Merls, we just have to keep an open mind and push through. We’ve all been through a little bit of hell, but that day? That you can feel approaching? That’s the day we change the world. I’ll force my father from the throne if that’s what it takes,-”

Arthur feels Merlin tense to argue, but rushes on before he can say anything:

“-not just for you, but because it will be the right thing to do, one day. This Kingdom, and then the world, will be golden, and the five of us, and Gaius and your mum, will be together every single step of the way. Ok? You don’t have to do anything, Merlin, not alone, not ever.”

Merlin relaxes again, and Arthur can feel his sigh of relief across his collarbones. The room goes silent for a while, and Arthur only just hears Merlin’s quiet words before he slips into a sleep filled with peaceful dreams full of meadows and flower crowns and golden eyes:

“Yeah... I think we’ll be alright.”

THE END!!

After thinking about it for a few days, and re-reading the series, I’ve decided that I actually like the ending here!

I hope y’all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, thanks anon for sending the idea to me all those months ago! :)

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