#merthurficrecs

[merthurao3recs]

To: Future Arthur, From: Past Arthur

Arthur: supercalvin

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences

Word Count: 4,339

Details: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Alternate Universe - Future, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Post-Episode: s05e13 The Diamond of the Day, slight crack, Humor, Getting Together, Happy Ending.

Summary: “How can you make me believe that I’ve been reincarnated for thousands of years and you’re an immortal wizard?” Arthur pretended to think about it as he tapped his chin. “Oh I know!” He snapped his fingers. “You can’t. "

Or Past Arthur leaves a video for Future Arthur to watch.

[ghostieblr]

Definitely Not Adorable Behavior

based on a reel i saw on instagram lol. changed the narrative a bit to fit the characters.

Stiles' eyes track Merlin's, towards the corner of the massive ballroom, where two men are standing with their hands crossed against their chest. Their side-profile are almost identical: crisp, tailored black suits, accentuating their biceps, broad shoulders, and tantalizingly shaped body figures. Even their heights seem to be the same; the only notable difference from this angle is the color of their hair: a dark, deep, raven onyx versus a golden halo.

"They're arguing about something."

"Yes," Merlin sips his drink, the one he's claimed several times into the evening to be a disgusting piece of beverage, and winces. "I don't know why I keep drinking it."

"That's because Arthur brought it for you," Stiles tells him with a knowing smile. "And you won't deny him the pleasure of serving you, no matter how awful the taste might be."

Merlin looks at the gaudy, unneeded, and entirely unnecessary piece of diamond ring that Derek gifted him for this evening. It's almost the same size as his engagement ring, and it sits prettily enough on his left hand's pointer finger. Merlin catches his eye with a gentle smile on his own face.

"Arthur and I share something special," he begins, voice lilting into the foreign accent Stiles hasn't been able to place yet. It sounds like Welsh, but different than the one he knows. Older. "For a long time I thought my devotion to him wouldn't be reciprocated, and it was fine. I was fine with it. But as always, the clotpole had other ideas." Clotpole. What the hell does that even mean? Merlin's chuckle brings him back to what he is saying, "—told him, and so, now Arthur thinks he must make it up to me."

"Or he just loves you very, very much, but has awful taste."

"That, too."

They'd turned towards each other for the conversation, the din of the hall loud enough to keep it private from prying ears, but now they turn. Someone just gasped, and they're both most definitely into drama from the sidelines.

"Oh my god."

"Are they— ARTHUR!"

"DEREK SEBASTIAN HALE!"

Both men freeze. The old lady who gasped turns to look at them, as does the rest of the room, but Stiles isn't paying them any heed, and neither is Merlin. No. Their focus is entirely on their idiots.

Arthur's left hand is fisted at Derek's tie, and his right hand is frozen near his waist, crooked fingers looking for purchase. Weirdly, Stiles likens this action with looking for a sword in its scabbard, tightened securely near hips.

On the flip side, Derek's got his right hand centimeters from Arthur's nose, while his left one must be aiming to intercept Arthur's sword-hand or whatever.

And their faces. Oh Jesus Christ, their faces.

Red with anger. Mouths open in a feral cry of war. And eyes? Stuck on Stiles and Merlin, fear melting their rage.

Both him and Merlin stride towards them, Merlin's glass of questionably purple drink handed to one of the catering staff, and it's as if their movement reminds Arthur and Derek that they're caught. They jump apart, though they do share a look of commiserating grief over being caught.

Bastards. United against spousal anger.

Merlin and him don't say anything in this hall with interested ears and human eyes and multitudes of equipment ready to immortalize this scene; they simply take their respective husband's hands in their own and drag them out towards the parking lot, which happens to be mostly empty. Still, they go in deeper towards a secluded corner.

Once there, Stiles stares their Derek down, hands back at his sides. Merlin does the same.

"So? Care to elaborate what the fuck that was about?" His question is met nervous breathing and another commiserating look. "Oh, so now you're both buddy-buddy, but inside the hall you two were — what, enemies?" He snorts. He can't help it; Derek and him have faced literal monsters, and yet Derek was about to fight a posh, young man for... some reason?

Before either of them can speak, Merlin narrows his eyes. "Wait. Was this a ruse?"

"A ruse? What do you mean, Merlin?"

"Your royal pratness, by that I mean a very elaborate scheme to leave that dull place with questionable drinks and—"

Arthur's face goes from confused to dull. "Did you not like the Favor?"

"Favor?" Merlin question's, and Stiles shoots Derek a look to shush. Why the hell is he finding this so funny?

"That's what the drink was called. And it was purple. It wasn't nice? So I..." Arthur's gaze turns wide. "And you still drank it all! I even brought you a second glass of it, why didn't you tell me you didn't like it?"

Merlin rubs the back of his neck, a sheepish gesture. When no answers seem forthcoming from him, Stiles steps in.

"It was thoughtful, I guess, since I'm gonna assume purple and that name means something to you both?" They nod in assent. "Right. See, thoughtful gifts are nice... but not always. Like, maybe you like it, but Merlin wouldn't. And it's not a bad thing at all, you just need to communicate."

Merlin rolls his eyes. "Says the man who hates the diamond ring gifted to him."

Stiles hisses, "Hey!" at the same time Derek asks, voice small, "Stiles?"

He turns towards his husband, moves closer. "Hey, it's nice. It's a very good gift."

Arthur says, weirdly with glee, "Which you don't like!"

"I love the thought behind it though!"

"But you don't like it," Derek repeats, eyes on Stiles', daring him to lie again.

Stiles cups his face, rubs his thumb against his stubble. "No," he admits. "I don't."

"I think we have gone a bit off-track here," Merlin says, after a while. Stiles turns to see the other couple in a similar position: in an almost-embrace, an intimate moment shared. "Why were you two at each other's throats?"

A third look is shared between Derek and Arthur. Then, Derek says, "It was about what that lady asked us."

"Yeah."

Merlin and Stiles wait for further elaboration, one which doesn't come. Now they share a look, and take a step to move away from their respective embraces. That, apparently, does the trick, and Arthur continues from his monosyllable answer, neither of the men letting Merlin or Stiles leave their personal space in the process.

"She asked us, 'What's the most expensive thing you've ever eaten?' and we told her. We disagreed at each other's answer, though."

"This was done over a trivial question? Derek. What the hell."

"I wonder how bigger your head can grow, Arthur. Really?"

Derek leans in close to him and tells him, in almost his Alpha voice, "My answer was you."

Stiles blinks. Huh? "Huh?" And then, "Oh my god—"

"And I said you," Arthur adds. "Of course, my Merlin is more expensive than your husband."

"I said this, and I'll say this again: Stiles is literally wearing the most expensive set of clothes right now on this side of the coast, he's wearing two diaomond rings, and that's just today's outfit."

Both Derek and Arthur push him and Merlin behind them, and move closer to each other, gearing up for a fight. Again.

"Unappreciated gifts don't count, and my husband is wearing a neckerchief made of the most pure gold, and that's just one of them!"

Stiles and Merlin look at each other.

"I had no idea this suit was that fucking expensive," he tells the man, who is eyeing up his own neckerchief in betrayal.

"You said this was just the color gold!"

"Merlin, we're leaving. Let's go."

"Yes. They can duke it out between themselves, while we enjoy this evening with people who tell us the truth."

They turn around, and start walking back towards the ballroom. Behind them, the fight never occurs. Instead, pounding footsteps follow them, and really, this evening did not go how Stiles had envisioned it to be.

(Lydia tells them a week later that "Derek Hale and Arthur Emrys begging their partners for forgiveness in the charity gala" is still a solid opening hit for a conversation, and Merlin rolls his eyes before his eyes glow gold and his favorite chips appear in his hand.

Because apparently, they're the Merlin and Arthur: Magic itself, and the Once and Future King.

Stiles' own eyes glow a deep purple, and both him and Lydia now have their favorite drinks in their hands.

Meanwhile, Derek's authority and Arthur's ego clash over something else equally trivial in the kitchen. Hopefully their bickering won't get in the way of dinner.

If it does... oh well. A Spark and The Sorcerer can cook something, can't they?

And no, both him and Merlin have decided that in no way, shape, or form, are they telling their husbands that the fact that their arguments occur mostly over being the 'better husband' is adorable. Nope, never, ever.)

[ianxgallavich]

Then, and Everything After, Ch. 3 snippit:

"There's something that I have to tell you."

Her smile is all gone now, replaced with a neutral frown and worried eyes.

"What is it?"

Merlin tries to get it out, not wanting to prolong it any longer.

"Arthur, he's-" Merlin stops himself before the unsuspecting sob erupts from his throat.

He wasn't supposed to fall apart like this, he told himself that he wouldn't.

Just posted Chapter 3!!!

[pendemrystiel]

10/10 merthur fanfics

my 6 all-time favourite merthur fanfics. you guys don’t understand- these fics and their authors deserve aLL the good in this earth. pls be sure to read additional tags on the actual link. all fics can be found on ao3. all summaries shown here are my own- be sure to read the aCtual summaries on the site. all comments are safe to read- no terrible spoilers.

in spite of everything, the stars

by polomonkey and mushroomtale

82, 243 words | Mature

summary: modern au. arthur is the son of anti-magic politician uthur. merlin is a Magical Rights activist and advisor. tension between magic and anti-magic supporters is high, and arthur is ordered to kidnap merlin.

comments: so much pain in this one. just so much pain and sadness i love this fic. a lil bit of enemies to friends to lovers. arthur protecting merlin- which i honestly love due to watching 5 seasons of merlin mostly protecting arthur- it’s fun to read the opposite now. and a lOT of pain.

pianos are made for falling

by fishwrites

103, 679 words | Teen and Up

summary: modern au. arthur is a renowned violinist, and morgana, his accompanist, is a pianist. when morgana breaks her wrist two weeks before the recital, merlin replaces her. merlin emrys, the man that plays by ear and just really wants to be a kindergarten teacher.

comments: this is the one, guys. i know- the summary might not sound super exciting- but read this. i can’t stress this enough- this fic is perfection. how the author writes their personalities and all the plot and the friendships and tears and sadness and happiness i just love this fic so much. one of the only fics to ever make me cry. this fic wiLL affect you.

we are all diamonds

by footloose

134, 304 words | Mature

summary: modern au. arthur is deaf and is heir to a diamond company. merlin is an opera singer has-been, and is a translator with magic. when arthur’s translator doesn’t show up for the most important speech he’s ever gonna make in his life, he’s about to let his not-trustworthy uncle make the speech instead of him. luckily, lancelot brings merlin.

comments: pining. a lOt of pining. how the author shows and writes how merlin’s singing voice feels is just so pUre. i was sold to this fic the second merlin and arthur met.

pink and black and blue (for you)

by polomonkey

7, 508 words | Mature

summary: modern au. soulmate au. some people are born with soulmate connections, and arthur’s one that has a rather unfortunate one- they share bruises. and his soulmate just happens to be the clumsiest person in the world. luckily, he has the friendly IT tech Wizard to keep him sane.

comments: i shit myself laughing over this one scene in the fic. a good thing to read if you wanna be take a break from all the sadness from reading my other fic recs. no terrible angst or bad emotional pain in this fic.

shelter

by sinestrated

39, 504 words | Teen and Up

summary: 8 years have passed since merlin fled Camelot after revealing his magic. now, with his kingdom crumbling under a sorcerer attack, arthur reaches out to sorcerers across his land to find a solution.

comments: one of the first ever merthur fics i’ve read and i spent so much time trying to find this again. a take on the what-if-merlin’s-magic-was-revealed-and-he-was-sentenced-to-death au. i fuckin love reunion scenes so this was just blEssed.

time forward

by kianspo

23, 180 words | Teen and Up

summary: college au. merlin, gwen, and arthur are best friends. arthur falls in love with one of them, but marries the other. but this isn’t arthur’s story to tell- it’s merlin’s. and merlin will always remember he saw arthur first.

comments: a bit different from all my other recs, but still vEry good. lil bit of a love triangle going on. i don’t usually go for these college au’s, but this fic still made my top 6. a lot of pining in this one. some angst. kianspo is deFinitely one of my fave merthur fic authors.

___________

side note: as you can probably tell, i am a complete sLUT for fics that are hella painful. if you know of any fics that made you cry oR any fics that have the childhood-friends-but-then-falling-out-but-then-meet-again-like-10-years-later-and-have-to-deal-with-their-history then pls pls pls reblog with those fics. also any fics with beautiful first meeting scenes or reunion scenes would be nice.

[mix-and-no-match]

Merthur Fic Rec

Saving Merlin by wordsaretrulybeautiful

Summary: A prompt given to me via my ask box on Tumblr: Season one, The Poisoned Chalice. Arthur is in the room when he thinks Merlin has died and instead of Gwen kissing Merlin, Arthur does.Challenge accepted.

Rated: Mature

Word count: 10k

[merthurao3recs]

I Owe You a Love Song

Author: lady_ragnell

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences 

Word Count: 10,193

Details: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Guinevere/Arthur Pendragon, Guinevere/Lancelot du Lac, Freya (Merlin), Gwaine (Merlin), Elena (Merlin), Mithian (Merlin). Summary: In which Arthur's courting Gwen by mix CD (and other means) and Merlin is a backwards Cyrano de Bergerac who builds robots.

[merthurao3recs]

I Feel Love

Author: Polomonkey 

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences 

Word Count: 5,841

Details: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Gwen/Morgana, Merlin (Merlin), Morgana (Merlin), Gwen (Merlin), Knights, Pride, Fluff, Humor, Pining, Light Angst, Contains Pictures, Queer Culture, Everyone is Gay, Or Bi/Pan, Or Ace! 

Summary: It's Pride! Arthur wants to enjoy his favorite day of the year. Merlin wants to finally lose his virginity. Morgana wants to tell Gwen how she feels. And Gwen just wants to dance...

[merthurao3recs]

Heartbreak, Secret Friends, and Stupid Doodles

Author: i_know_its_over

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 35,842

Details: Modern university AU. Sticky notes. Doodles. Weirdos in love.

Summary: Modern uni AU: Merlin has a secret crush on Arthur, who has no idea who he is. When Arthur has a bad break up, Merlin takes it upon himself to cheer him up. Secretly, of course.

[merthurao3recs]

The Games We Play

Author: eldee

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 7,321

Details: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gilli (Merlin), Freya (Merlin), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Magic Modern AU, Community: glomp_fest.

Summary: This is the day that Merlin is going to seduce Arthur Pendragon to the back of the pub so that he can get on his knees and give him a blowjob. Merlin is determined in this quest.

[mix-and-no-match]

Merthur Fic Rec

The secrets we hide on our skins by michaelssword

Summary:  Merlin had a penchant for wearing ugly neckerchiefs, and Arthur had a tendency to become obsessed with everything related to his manservant. It didn't help that they both had secrets they wanted to keep hidden more than anything else.

Rated: Mature

Word count: 13k

[mix-and-no-match]

Merthur Fic Rec

In the Winter of my Soul by ZairaA

Summary: When Merlin reveals his magic and then gets cursed in an attempt to save Arthur, he runs away - the idiot. To find him, Arthur has no choice but to take up with an unlikely ally. But to save him, he not only has to face and understand what Merlin really means to him, he has to get Merlin to believe him, too.

Rated: Mature

Word count: 26k

[mix-and-no-match]

Merthur Fic Rec

Ebb and Flow by orphan_account

Summary:  Merlin was born a creature of magic, and is so in touch with nature he can feel the earth's power with every step he takes. Unfortunately, when the gods instilled him with powerful magic, they also gifted him with gills. There's no way Prince Arthur could find a freak like him attractive...right?

Rated: Mature

Word count: 36k

[mix-and-no-match]

Merthur Fic Rec

Bird of the Gauntlet by versaphile

Summary: It's hard enough being a powerful sorcerer in Camelot, but being in love with the Crown Prince has its downsides. More than anything else, Merlin wants to earn Arthur's respect, yet without his magic he is nothing. But if he can learn to fight with a sword, if Arthur will teach him to be a knight, Merlin is certain that he can have it all. He can keep Arthur safe and earn his respect and his love. He won't have to lie to Arthur about his magic if he doesn't have to use it.But life in Camelot is a long gauntlet to run, with new threats at every turn. War looms on the horizon. And in the balance between love and duty, Merlin may have to make the hardest choice of all.

Rated: M

Word count:183k (yes, you read that right)