#modern merwaincelot

[lit-in-thy-heart]

catch me thinking about the size of merlin's wardrobe after 1500 years and the sheer delight on his face as lance and gwaine claim clothes that haven't been touched for centuries and manage to forge the pieces of merlin crafted in loneliness into a whole new shape

[purplesuitsyou]

haven’t gotten anywhere near finishing mergana besties fic (i hate dialogue i can’t get it right or natural ://) and already i’m planning modern with magic merwaincelot ft former figure skater merlin

[merwaincelotweek]

[ID: a gif of Camelot castle and the Lower Town, edited with a blue and orange sky and purple Lower Town. Three circles run vertically down the gif with smaller black and white gifs. The first circle is Lancelot from 4x01, smiling at Merlin in the firelight. The second is Merlin laughing as he stirs in a cell from 5x07. The third is Gwaine grinning as he greets Merlin in 3x04. The text on the gif reads 'Merwaincelot Week 2022'. End ID.]

Mark up your calendars: Merwaincelot Week is returning from August 29 to September 4, 2022!

The prompts for this year are as follows:

DAY 1: MAGIC

DAY 2: CHANGE

DAY 3: FATE

DAY 4: WHUMP

DAY 5: BELONGING

DAY 6: PERIOD AU (to clarify, any period - including modern - that isn't the canon era)

DAY 7: FREE DAY

You're free to interpret them however you wish and if you have any questions or concerns then feel free to send us an ask (anon is on). Happy creating!

(For further info, check out our FAQs and tagging guidelines.)

[mumble-muse]

modern/fresh-out-the-lake!merwaincelot my beloveds 

inspired by @donttouchtheneednoggle‘s post 💜 | merlin fashion series

[donttouchtheneednoggle]

💖, 😈, 📊, 💻, 💭 for the fanfic asks? <33

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

it's just a way for me to ramble project and scream to my heart's content :') and writing aspec trans and adhd perspectives especially and ofc making rarepair content for anyone who may enjoy it :'))

😈 Is there anything you enjoy doing that you think your readers hate?

not hate but i know a lot of people would rather i just did stuff like ADHD Gwaine (it's not abandoned i promise most of the next one is done!) and more merwaine and mercelot but i usually much more enjoy the rarer pairs so i'm mostly gonna do that even though it gets way less notes :')

📊 Current number of WIPs

...86

💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done?

ndsjkfkgkh i do like. the barest minimum of research 🙈 i do more if i'm writing any kind of minority i am not a part of but in terms of historical accuracy etc i just wing it most of the time 🤣

💭 What is a headcanon you have about your own work?

like a specific work? hmmm in the six days au percival has got it on with two thirds of merwaincelot at various points back in the day, most of my early perelyaine fics where elyaine are more qpr can be read as in the same series which is not really a happy thing, and merlin diiid kiinda actually use necromancy to get them back in modern polycule chaos bc he got tired of waiting 😳😬 read the shirt people!🤪

thanks for the ask! 💕

send me fic asks!

[lit-in-thy-heart]

thanks for the tag @zoingfandom and @donttouchtheneednoggle <3

How many works do you have on AO3?

i have 22 works on ao3, with the first posted in may 2020

What’s your total AO3 word count?

maths my unbeloved...my total word count is 262,549. i think. i don’t want to have to double-check that so i’m going with it.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

on ao3, it’s just merlin. i am still on another site (though now basically inactive) where i wrote a lot of marvel fics, a few harry potter ones and the odd simon snow/carry on fic with a little of shadowhunters. oh, and a httyd one. but that was before merlin once again got its wonderful claws in me.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

exile (190)

open wounds (157)

surprise attack (140)

the hearts of men (111)

forget-me-nots (92)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

i do try to respond to comments! even if it is just to thank someone for taking the time to read and talk about the fic. and sometimes if they’ve picked something out that they liked i usually take that as an indicator to continue talking about the fic :D

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

ooohh! most of them have an ambiguous ending or semi-happy because i need the comfort but i do distinctly remember being yelled at in the comments for the ending of marigolds so i would say that one! i’d also say that don’t stay in my sleep is less hopeful than most of my other fics...

Do you write crossovers? if so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

i have not written any crossovers and i probably won’t. i don’t have any planned, at least. do have many aus though!

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

i don’t think so? i did get a comment saying that one fic felt unrealistic in places and didn’t quite flow well, but i think that’s been the extent of it

Do you write smut? if so what kind?

i do not write smut. i make a lot of dick jokes and sex references, but i’ve never gone all the way when writing it (and even when i’ve thought i have, i have been informed that i have, in fact, not). i’m not sure if i ever will, mainly because i much prefer writing hugs and casual touches outside of a smut setting

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge, no

Have you ever had a fic translated?

i have not

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have co-written a harry potter one before but, in terms of merlin, only this one with neednoggle and the knife thrower elyan/pirate gwaine au (the piercings are an integral part of that fic you can absolutely claim co-authorship 🤣). a lot of fics have been inspired heavily by some of my mutuals, though, so i don’t know if that counts as co-writing...?

What’s your all time favorite ship?

i mean, i can’t have my pfp and not say merwaincelot, can i?

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

*opens google docs* man, this is a graveyard and a half. i have a perelyainecelotlin wip from april that has barely been touched, so i would probably say that one. i’ll probably absorb some of the ideas for other fics, but i might have to pen a different fic for that ship...

What are your writing strengths?

i’d probably say description and the imagery used in that? i just like similes, okay?

What are your writing weaknesses?

action. in terms of devising a plot, too, but mainly actually writing action like combat scenes and stuff. it feels very wooden a lot of the time, which is something i did struggle with in mortality clings to butterfly wings (though staying up very late to finish the chapter probably did not help self-belief lol) but i’m trying to get better with it

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

i don’t think there’s anything wrong with doing that! especially in the merlin fandom, where a lot of the spells are not in modern english

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

time of posting: how to train your dragon. time of writing: harry potter.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

i know i don’t shut up about it, but mortality clings to butterfly wings. i just really enjoyed exploring the dynamics and camelot itself after camlann and had so much fun messing with the symbolism of each chapter title and scattering small details throughout the fic and mergwen rights and throwing in aithusa and letting characters deal with their trauma and yeah. also actually writing plot! i do still want to write a partner fic for it, which might be a summer project, but we’ll see...

tagging (if you want) @sirwilliamofdeira @tcs-main and @oncefutureemrys

Ask game that @bbcfandomsuniverse recently did (hope you don’t mind me jumping in 😊)

Their post is over here in the larger font like above with the questions if they are easier for you to see! But from here on the text will be in the standard regular font, Thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3?

-Nine? And far too many WIPs that are like two paragraphs from being finished

What’s your total AO3 word count?

-92,277

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

-On AO3, 4 but In my little book of things and my docs a lot more…

BBC Merlin, Mortal instruments fandom, Durarara, The Umbrella Academy (*ones not posted* Penny dreadful, Robin of sherwood, BBC Atlantis… And other horribly written things for many many anime and manga series)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

• Rain Before The Rainbow- 146

• Snow and Powdered Sugar- 49

• Broken Raven- 39

• The Ingenuous- 21

• I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You- 20

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! I always try to respond to comments and continue what whatever they talked about or just give my thanks.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

It’s not currently posted but it’s another one of my fics that is almost finished and pretty much is a retelling of the Diamond of the day of BBC Merlin if events had gone differently with saving a bunch of characters including mordred, daegal, kara, sefa, Gilli among many others and it’s very angsty. Like tears and sobbing angsty…

Do you write crossovers? if so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

I actually wrote ONE crossover that I never posted and it was a disaster… I will never mention it again.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn’t call it hate but it was simply someone voicing their opinion on the fic which yeah… Kinda you know hurtful to me but i’m just a stranger to them that’s writing fanfiction so…

Do you write smut? if so what kind?

Nope no nopitty no

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

To my knowledge no. And also who ever does steal my fics you picked the most worst person to do it from XD. (But in all seriousness if someone ever finds one of my fics posted anywhere else or under a different user name please message me here on Tumblr 😊)

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but again I’m completely open to it and would love for my fics to branch out to all of the non-english speaking audiences.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I would love to work with another writer on a fic! I actually really want to but have no clue how to even go about it.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oooo, I’m gonna go back to my beginning fandom roots and say a platonic relationship I love is from an anime called Princess TuTu and it’s Fakir & Muto… I watched the anime along with another one called Sugar Sugar Rune when I was like 4 and they will always hold a special place in my heart along with the Original Fruits basket and the Manga…

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Probably one of my Umbrella Academy fics that I had started to write. Mostly because when a lot of stuff happened with the very strong opinions in certain comments it made me loose inspiration and hope in writing for the fandom in a way. But it was my favourite idea and now I can barely look at it anymore…

What are your writing strengths?

Figurative language my beloved… I mold and bend works like clay to my will and abuse them for the sake of art. I sometimes place words that have no correlation besides each other but with their surrounding pears have all the meaning of everything I mean for them to say. My teachers all throughout school loved and hated my writing all the same but i always counted it as one of my strengths.

What are your writing weaknesses?

That I get distracted in words and go off on off topic tangents. I always do this and I have to stop myself. And like I’ve said before this just end up a old tangled yarn ball of metaphors that in another persons hands, the knots are yanked at and pulled so impossibly there’s no chance to get it undone. But in mine, the twist and turns of yarn become limp and fall so incredibly loose between my fingers. So I want to make my writing able to be untangle without too much of a yank or tug.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ve done it myself with Raphael Santiago from Mortal instruments in Spanish and Small dialogue bits I’m okay with. But if it’s like a full speech I’m not too keen on it even if I understand the language.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Wait funny story real quick, I recently found my old notebook I used to write fanfiction in when I was like 8 and it’s atrocious. But if I remember correctly the first fanfic in their is with Magi (another anime and manga series very dear to my heart) but if i’m correct the first piece of actual fanfic I wrote was a bit earlier and it was Pandora Hearts maybe? Or even around the time that shows like Avatar and Teen Titans aired…

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I have to go with “The Ingenuous” mostly because I remember many years ago thinking those two would be good friends but completely abandoned the idea because it was like 2015 and I thought the fandom was dead… And also because these two don’t have a canon relationship I have taken free will with it and halfway through writing it I realized their relationship has elements of practically me and one of my friends I’ve known my whole life. And that person is very near and dear to me and I’ve always held them close to my heart… So really that fic just has everything of me and I’ve given my all into that fic.

I’m tagging

@zoingfandom and @ohanahoku-ao3 and thats It because I feel awkward tagging other people I know are Ao3 writers XD

Zoing & Ohana please save me from my awkwardness and tag more people please, I beg of you. But also Anyone else if free to join in!

[lit-in-thy-heart]

gwaine: *walks through what seemed like a shallow puddle, only for water to soak his foot and ankle*

gwaine: f u c k

lancelot, voice muffled from his hood: see, this is why you cuff your jeans

gwaine, raising his leg in the air: i did cuff my jeans, just because you decide to have your calves constantly out--

merlin, knowing full well that he could dry gwaine but electing to be a little shit instead: or you could do what i do and just wear shorts all the time

gwaine and lancelot: *turn towards merlin*

lancelot, voice still muffled: merlin, it's raining and it's windy and it feels like six degrees. it may be may but it's also fucking cold, how are you not freezing to death?

merlin: immortality babe ;)

gwaine: i can see you've got goosebumps

merlin:

gwaine:

lancelot:

merlin: shut up

[lit-in-thy-heart]

The first thing Gwaine registered when he walked through the door was the potent smell of something burning. Wrinkling his nose, he set down the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter and followed the scent into the living room, where both Lancelot and Merlin were occupying themselves.

'I'd ask if one of you decided to set fire to my socks but that is definitely a better smell than my socks,' he stated, not bothering with a conventional greeting.

Merlin, lying upside-down on an armchair with a book in their hands, looked up. 'What?'

'Something's burning.'

'Something has burnt,' Merlin clarified, eyes moving back towards the page.

Gwaine recaptured his attention with a quick kiss on the forehead. 'What is it?'

'It's not burnt,' mumbled Lancelot, mouth covered by the rim of a bowl.

'It so is,' Merlin argued. Shaking their head as Lancelot raised a spoonful of what looked like crumbled flapjack to his lips, they turned to Gwaine. 'You know the cookie dough Lance ordered the other day? He decided to heat the rest of it up but put it in the microwave for too long and the creme egg on top has become burnt caramel. It's inedible.'

Stifling the urge to make a remark about him not being the disaster for once, Gwaine frowned. 'So why is Lance eating it?'

'Because of his principles.'

'Listen,' Lancelot cut in, mouth full, 'I paid good money for this and I'll be damned if I waste three twenty-five or whatever on this half because it's slightly overbaked.'

Gwaine snorted. 'You sound like you're on Bake Off.'

'And you sound--Oh, shut up and leave me with my c--'

'Incinerated mess.'

'You're an incinerated mess, Merlin,' replied Lancelot, glaring at him as he shovelled yet more of the damaged dish into his mouth.

Quickly realising that the only way to settle the matter would be by exposing his own mouth to the remains of the cookie dough, Gwaine walked over to Lancelot and motioned for him to pass the spoon. Lancelot handed both spoon and bowl to him and Gwaine dug into it, raising it to his mouth. There was a decided crystallised sweetness to it, significantly harder than it should have been and, when he bit down on it, Merlin winced from across the room.

'That is a health and safety hazard,' they declared.

Chewing thoughtfully, Gwaine handed the bowl back to Lancelot. 'I've definitely had worse. It's not inedible though. Unpleasant, sure, but not inedible.'

Merlin stared at them, open-mouthed, for several seconds before shaking his head and returning to the book. 'You’re both absolutely absurd,' they muttered. 'Absolutely absurd.'

As Lancelot offered Gwaine the bowl again, Gwaine threw himself down on the sofa and picked up a particularly tough chunk with his hand, crunching happily on it. Definitely could be worse.

[lit-in-thy-heart]

Merlin: Gwaine, why are you grinning?

Lancelot, looking in the rear view mirror: because he's looking at you, of course

Gwaine: no, I'm grinning because the road sign frames, traffic cone bases and sandbags are all bright pink

Merlin:

Lancelot:

Gwaine:

Merlin: yeah okay that is pretty cool

Lancelot: hang on I'll pull over, I want to see

[lit-in-thy-heart]

thanks for the tag @emilyhufflepufftlk 💕 my wips are not all in one place because i can be a disaster when it comes to organising ideas but i'll just stick them all here in their various forms...

catch my hand (and i'll entrust you with my sword, my heart, my life)

Merwaine RIMD (untitled)

Untitled Gwaincelot Bridgerton AU

Untitled mini fic series (knights-centric)

Untitled knife Merlin series

My Pages Bleed

Things Fall Apart

Untitled modern Merwaincelot

The Hearts of Men

Pieces

Protect You (abandoned idea from five years ago that might be revised)

Morgana/female oc fic (another abandoned idea that might be picked up and revised)

...yikes. apparently i have many thoughts but no words. it's fine. okay, in that case, i'll tag (if you want to ofc, no pressure) @little-ligi @donttouchtheneednoggle @zykamiliah @shut-up-merlin @gremlinbehaviour @botanicallyinclinednerd @night-faye @rainbowvamp @oncefutureemrys @tcs-main @maethepencildragon @notquitehumanwrites

WIP Tag Game

Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Thanks @lauwrite1225 for the tag 💕

You’ll never have to be alone (chapter 14)

Wondering if you were ever coming around

As yet untitled fic for #hayleys2k challenge

Blood Feud

Sorry if any of you guys have already been tagged; @morosemagick @lit-beyond-measure @naps4bats @mrsalwayswrite 🥰

[lit-in-thy-heart]

merwaincelot and dumb things

merlin: pulls an umbrella cover over an umbrella and starts laughing

gwaine: gets temporarily trapped in the bathroom at half twelve at night and immediately begins to feel claustrophobic despite it being a reasonably sized bathroom

lancelot: grazes palm when trying to open a small bottle of apple juice

[lit-in-thy-heart]

Gwaine: I made the mistake of watching Midsomer Murders in an empty house and didn’t want to go upstairs to sleep

Gwaine: so I just sat downstairs for half an hour and listened to the dishwasher instead

Gwaine: until that stopped and made my ears weird because of the silence

Gwaine: don't ask me how I ever coped living on my own

Merlin, on the other end of the phone: Gwaine, Lance and I are only at the pub, we can come home if you want

Gwaine:

Merlin:

Gwaine: can you bring me back a packet of crisps?

[lit-in-thy-heart]

Lancelot was never quite sure why he always ended up leaning against the sink he was spitting into, tears clinging to his cheeks as he closed his eyes, after suffering from bad chest pains, but leaning against the sink and wanting it all to end he often was.

There had been an ache in his chest for an hour before he'd dragged himself to the kitchen, trying to take deep breaths, to get a glass of water to keep the next stage at bay. It hadn't worked. Within minutes, Lancelot had felt the familiar urge to gag and had done so, several times over, bringing up nothing but the odd burp and string of saliva that slid down the plughole. Pushing his weight into the cupboards below, Lancelot stretched out his chest as best he could and reached out for the water with a shaking hand.

It had never happened to him in Camelot. Of course, he'd suffered many other inconveniences in Camelot -- mostly involving some kind of weapon -- but at least he had been able to explain that and understand how it occurred. With this weird ritual all Lancelot knew was that if he was struggling for breath and had an ache in his chest then his body would decide to eject something and force his stomach to turn and his throat to become raw for no good reason at all. It was exhausting.

He knew it would pass, knew that in half an hour he would be able to sit down without panicking about the crushing weight that seemed to be pressing down on his chest, but he could feel another gag coming and his head was beginning to ache from the strain of it all. Bowing his head, Lancelot spat violently into the sink again. He hadn’t even been drinking that night, which was what had set it off in the first place, several months before. He just wanted to sleep.

'Lance? You okay?'

Gwaine, shirtless, had stumbled into the kitchen for a glass of water. Blinking in the bright artificial light, he squinted towards his partner, trying to assess the situation and just about caught a nod before Lancelot spoke.

'I will be. It's just a stupid thing that happens sometimes, it'll pass.' Lancelot opened his eyes and, noticing the glass in Gwaine’s hand, pulled away. 'Sorry, I'll move out of your way.'

Waving his hand flippantly, Gwaine watched as Lancelot lowered himself to the floor, leaning against the dishwasher with his legs outstretched, and then squatted down beside him. His hand fumbled across Lancelot’s clammy forehead, fingers skittering to exile the tears on his cheeks, and Gwaine bit his lip. 'Are you sure you're okay? You look exhausted.'

'I'll be fine, honestly.'

'Do you want me to get Merlin?'

Lancelot shook his head firmly, regretting the action as his head spun. 'No, it's alright, I wouldn't want to disturb them.'

'Lance, don't be daft. He might be able to help.'

'You know he sucks at healing spells.'

Gwaine quirked an eyebrow. 'I do, but they might be better at soothing spells.'

Closing his eyes, Lancelot's hand fell to his chest. 'I don't need soothing, I just need time. I'll be fine.'

Gwaine had just sat down beside him when Lancelot’s stomach turned and he hauled himself up using the cupboard handle, leaning over the sink once more. He was faintly aware of Gwaine making a hasty exit between his retching but he was too preoccupied with focusing on the shape of a stray noodle in sink to ask where Gwaine was going. He hated this. Retching again, he closed his eyes

A gentle hand touched his back and, taking deep breaths, Lancelot opened his eyes and turned his head slowly. Merlin was watching him with concern, eyes carefully roving across his face as they tried to distinguish any injury. Lancelot gave him an attempt at a reassuring smile, which Merlin was not having. They teased him away from the sink after several minutes of silence, guiding him to the floor, and Gwaine filled a glass with water and settled beside them both, biting his lip as he watched Lancelot.

'Has this happened before?' Merlin quietly asked, brushing Lancelot’s hair from his eyes as Gwaine traced circles on Lancelot’s calf.

'Many, many times,' Lancelot wearily replied, hand jumping to his chest again. 'But not for a little while, so I thought I was past it all. Clearly not.' Gwaine held out the water and Lancelot took it gratefully, swallowing down the building saliva. 'I'm sorry to have woken you both.'

Gwaine shrugged. 'I'm a light sleeper anyway.' They all knew why and, sparing a shared moment to reflect on Gwaine’s early life, silence lingered briefly before he continued. 'And I wanted water.'

'And you don't need to apologise,' Merlin added, delicately kissing Lancelot’s temple. 'We're always here for you, okay? Whether you're actually throwing up or just feeling like you're going to.' His hand found Lancelot’s chest and, discreetly, they pushed a small amount of heat into the affected area, stopping when Lancelot screwed his face up. 'It's not helping?'

'Not really, no, but I appreciate the effort,' groaned Lancelot, handing the water back to Gwaine and then letting his hand drop on Gwaine’s body to push himself upright, moving again towards the sink.

This had to be the last one for the night, because he couldn't take any more of it. He retched three times with nothing surfacing, waited for three minutes or so, then wiped the tears from his eyes as he turned back to his two significant others. They stood up, hands crawling to his limbs to support but not crowd him, and Lancelot rested his head against Gwaine’s shoulder, holding Merlin’s hand.

'I think you need to sleep,' Gwaine murmured.

Lancelot breathed in his reassuring scent of overbrewed coffee. 'I don't know if I'll be able to. Not when I'm constantly wondering if I'm going to have to get up again to get to the sink.'

'Both of you can sleep in my room tonight,' Merlin decided, wordlessly indicating for Gwaine to bring the water up. 'We can put on a film or something for a bit and then see if the pain has subsided afterwards, yeah? I promise I won't set either of you on fire again,' they added, gaze drifting to the faint scar across Gwaine’s chest. 'Sorry again.'

Gwaine waved his hand. 'Again, Merl, it's fine. You'd been sleeping alone for over a thousand years, three of us in one bed was never going to work immediately.'

Faintly smiling, Lancelot allowed himself to be guided to Merlin’s room, stretching himself out across the bottom half of the bed. As Gwaine and Merlin tossed aside the numerous cushions scattered over the duvet, Lancelot rotated his position to try and find the one with the most comfort. Which was apparently lying on his back.

Gwaine settled himself behind Lancelot’s head and the latter decided that additional comfort could be gleaned from Gwaine’s lap, pushing his head over the other's limbs. With a gentle smile, Gwaine buried his fingers in Lancelot’s hair and waited for Merlin’s head to also join, his other hand reaching out when the warlock stretched himself out alongside Lancelot.

The disc was in the DVD player and the menu was on the screen, but Lancelot couldn't summon the energy to remind Merlin. Instead, he closed his eyes, listening to the gentle conversation between the two people he loved most in the world and tethering himself to the movement of Gwaine’s fingertips and the steady breaths of Merlin beside him. And gradually, ever so gradually, the pain ebbed away as Lancelot slipped into a peaceful slumber, waking with the dawn and finding himself entangled in Merlin and Gwaine, as it always should be.

[lit-in-thy-heart]

The pole had been an impulse buy on Gwaine’s part. Granted, he hadn’t quite comprehended its exact function, presuming it to be a lance with a stand, but he'd bought it anyway, intending to surprise Merlin and Lancelot with it when he returned home.

And surprise them he did.

Merlin was quietly reading, his legs thrown over one arm of the chair in the corner of the living room, drifting in and out of listening to the reassuring sounds of Lancelot making his signature cinnamon hot chocolate in the kitchen. The familiar racket of swearing and raspberries signalled that Gwaine had arrived home and was caught in his usual struggle with the lock on the front door and he kicked off his shoes before making a pointed entrance by very loudly setting down the immense case that the presumed lance was stowed away in. Merlin, having been absorbed entirely by their book, said nothing, only regarding their partner over the top of his book, glasses sliding down their nose, with the mild interest that always accompanied any of Gwaine’s actions.

As Gwaine assembled the platform, Merlin’s brow furrowed and they closed the book, thumb forming a makeshift bookmark, as he struggled to work out what exactly Gwaine had purchased. They could always ask, but when Gwaine became focused on something it was very hard to draw out a coherent response to anything outside of the task at hand. Then the pole was put together and the penny dropped.

Lancelot rushed in, armed with a whisk, as Merlin burst into a fit of hysterical laughter and fell off the armchair and loudly into the fireplace. Reassured that Merlin was not dying -- at least not imminently -- Lancelot’s gaze swivelled to the pole and to Gwaine, who was looking at the warlock in confusion.

'What in the name of sweet Albion is that?'

Gwaine was now frowning at him. 'It's a lance. With a fancy stand.'

'That's not a lance,' Merlin choked out, wiping tears from his eyes.

'Course it is, what else would it be? Long stick equals lance.' Gwaine winked at Lancelot, gaze dropping to the lower half of his body. 'As you should both also know.'

Lancelot threw the whisk at his head. 'That’s the third pun of that ilk you've made today, could you please come up with something a bit more original?'

'Gwaine, this is one of those rare occasions where something is exactly as it seems,' Merlin said, hauling themselves up and pushing his glasses on top of their head, retrieving the book from the floor. 'That is a pole. And it's meant to stay in the stand.'

'Why?'

'You dance on it.'

Now Lancelot was frowning. 'How? You might be able to walk through the air, Merlin, but not all of us are capable of such feats.'

'From what I've seen before, you just manipulate your body around it.' Walking up to Gwaine, Merlin took the pole from him and shoved it into the centre of the platform. 'It requires a lot of core strength, which I do not have.'

'I do,' Gwaine said, approaching it and wrapping his legs around it as his hands gripped it tightly. He looked over his shoulder. 'Like this?'

'Merlin said dance, not look like you're trying to escape a wolf,' Lancelot interjected, folding his arms. 'I think you need a bit more movement, my love.'

Gwaine scowled at him, letting go and falling to the floor with a decisive thud. 'You try then.'

Shaking his head, Lancelot put one hand on the pole and looked across at Merlin, who gave him an encouraging nod. Slowly, he wrapped a leg around the pole and tilted his body so it was upside down, trying to recall the various acrobatic tricks he and his sister had experimented with as children. Tensing his core muscles, Lancelot spread himself out along the pole and, ignoring the blood rushing to his cheeks, moved his eyes to his partners.

From what he could make out, they both appeared impressed. Gwaine had moved closer to Merlin and they were both regarding Lancelot with folded arms and expressions of professional judges. A smirk was playing on Gwaine's lips and Lancelot knew exactly what was coming next.

'You're finding this kind of hot, too, Merl, right?'

'Oh, yeah, absolutely,' grinned the warlock.

Lancelot sighed. 'There's no way I can convince you to return this, is there?'

The reply was simultaneous and shaped with identically wicked smirks. 'Absolutely not.'

[lit-in-thy-heart]

‘I did go before we left. But Merlin decided to stop at that Costa drive-thru and you know I’m a slut for their gingerbread lattes.’

[lit-in-thy-heart]

It was a sunny day and Lancelot was fighting the urge to hurl himself into the lake.

A walk to the nearby park, that was meant to have lasted no longer than twenty minutes, had quickly transformed into a completely unnecessary rescue mission and Lancelot was watching with growing despair as Gwaine waded into the water. Despite being told that the ducklings would be able to get up onto the grass by themselves, Gwaine had complained about the bad parenting from the two ducks serenely looking on as their offspring drifted aimlessly along an invisible path and had promptly decided to intervene himself. Merlin had gone to get coffee, so was no help whatsoever, and Gwaine was attracting stares that were not the usual stunned and admiring ones always shot his way.

Struggling in silence for several moments more, Lancelot took a breath and, casting a glance towards the coats they'd left strewn across the bench, advanced towards Gwaine. When Lancelot approached, Gwaine turned around, his hair obscuring one eye but not quite concealing his grin. In his palms was a duckling and Lancelot felt his internal tension melting away at the beauty of the image before him, fingers itching for something to sketch with. Instead, he fumbled with his phone and captured Gwaine with his camera just as a flower of blossom stumbled down from an overhead branch and dusted Gwaine's hair. It adorned his head like a statue of a deity from antiquity and Lancelot lowered his phone, soft smile flickering on the corners of his mouth.

The duckling had started to make noises and Gwaine tore his eyes away from Lancelot to address the small creature, bringing his hands closer to his face. 'What is it that you want, buddy? Because if it's love that you're after, I can give you endless supplies. I'm sure Lance and Merl won't mind me drawing some stores from theirs because you are absolutely adorable.'

'They probably want to be put down, Gwaine,' Merlin chipped in, picking his way through the grass with his eyes fixed on three levitating cups. 'Poor things haven't learnt how to fly yet; this is probably the most terrifying experience that they've had.'

Taking the closest coffee cup to him, Lancelot removed the lid, took a sniff, and hastily put it back on again. 'I believe that's yours, Merlin,' he said, holding it out to them.

Merlin, dropping the spell and catching the other two cups in their hands, delicately frowned as he snatched a sample of the scents issuing from the slots in the remaining cups. Then, deciphering the caffeinated code, they passed one drink to Lancelot and accepted the one that Lancelot had been so offended by. 'What is Gwaine doing?' asked Merlin lowly, taking a sip of his black coffee.

'Rescue mission. Ducklings couldn't get up onto the bank and Gwaine thought they were going to drown.' Lancelot ignored the burning sensation in his mouth -- it would be the perfect injury for Merlin and Gwaine to kiss better later -- and pulled an impressed face. 'This isn't half bad. Though what syrup did you get?'

'Take a guess.'

Wrinkling his nose, Lancelot took another sip. Then, for good measure, he pressed a kiss to Merlin’s skin with a frown, pulling away. 'Well, it's not cinnamon.' He took another sip. 'Vani--No, caramel?'

With a grin, Merlin nodded. 'Soft and sweet, like you.'

'And what did Gwaine get?'

'Gwaine got a mocha with two espresso shots.'

Thinking for a moment, Lancelot smiled. 'Richly warm and sweet with a bit of a kick? Perfect.' Then he glanced over at Gwaine, who now seemed to be berating the two ducks who were doing absolutely nothing. 'I mean, proof right there.'

Laughter sharply reverberating through the air, Merlin raised their own cup to his lips. 'So what does that make me, then?'

Gently, Lancelot wrapped an arm around Merlin to draw them close, kissing the nose that wrinkled at him. 'That makes you a shot of pure energy and undiluted strength. Now, are you going to help me entice Gwaine away from the ducks?'

'As long as I don't have to get in the water,' murmured Merlin. 'This skirt is vintage, I'll have you know.'

As Lancelot caught part of the material between his fingers, tracing the flowers printed across Merlin's legs, he smiled again. 'I won't make you get in the water, my light, don't worry. I might make you take my coffee again, though.'

'That raises no qualms with me,' Merlin said, eyes transforming into the familiar shade of gold Lancelot was accustomed to as he took the third cup and retreated to the bench that had been abandoned with a muttered: 'Good luck'.

Watching them pick a path through the dying daffodils, Lancelot turned around to observe his second significant other. 'Gwaine. Gwaine.'

Gwaine, who had moved onto lecturing about the importance of families staying together and had seemingly forgotten the alleged fact he'd recited earlier about ducks only being able to count to four, spun around at the call of his name. 'Yeah?'

'Merlin has coffee.'

Gwaine's eyes momentarily lit up. 'Are they going to bring it here then?'

'Not when you're stood in the middle of a lake--'

'I'm not in the middle, I'm right by the bank--'

'Gwaine, the fate of your coffee is in my hands. You do not want to argue with me,' threatened Lancelot. 'Now put the duckling down and carefully get out.'

Holding Lancelot’s gaze for several moments, Gwaine blew the hair out of his face and twisted back towards the ducks. Gently setting the duckling down on the bank, he made an aggressive motion towards the parents that made it clear he would be watching them and began to wade across to meet Lancelot. As he approached the bank, he stretched out a hand and Lancelot took it to help haul him up.

Gwaine, however, was not hauled up. Lancelot was dragged down.

The world blurred as he plunged into the water, Merlin's laughter becoming muffled as Lancelot struggled to find his feet. Spluttering, he emerged from the depths and stumbled slightly before standing upright, completely drenched. Heart in his mouth, his hand jumped to his back pocket. 'My phone. I had my phone in my pocket--'

As Lancelot ducked beneath the water's surface, Gwaine glanced over at Merlin, who had started to stand in concern, having realised that Lancelot was panicked. Gwaine’s hand fumbled for Lancelot’s arm and he pulled him up, pushing the hair from his face with one hand as the other displayed the artist's phone.

'You absolute bastard, Gwaine.'

'Hey, now, would you prefer that I did actually put it in the water?' asked Gwaine, adjusting his grip so the device dangled precariously from his fingers.

Lancelot moved closer. 'If you fucking dare--'

'And I think I'd better take that,' Merlin interrupted, the phone bobbing from Gwaine's grip to his own. 'I was going to ask how on earth you managed to get it so smoothly from Lance's back pocket, Gwaine, but then I remembered that you know Lancelot’s buttocks like the back of your hand and that you are very good at being subtle with your hands when it comes to that region.'

Gwaine threw the warlock a wink. 'I know your buttocks like the back of my hand as well.'

'Oh, yes, I am very much aware,' smirked Merlin. 'Are you actually going to get out this time, or am I going to have to drink three coffees and bounce off the walls for the rest of the day?'

Sparing Gwaine a glare, Lancelot extracted himself from the lake and gave Merlin a gentle smile as they threw a spell in his direction and began to tease the water from his clothing. With a leap, Gwaine followed, taking his drink and scuffing the ground with his feet. 'I'm sorry if I upset you, Lance,' he mumbled. 'It was just too much of a good opportunity to miss.'

Jaw setting, Lancelot faced Gwaine, saying nothing for several seconds, and swept his legs out from underneath him, one hand expertly catching the liberated coffee as Gwaine collapsed to the ground. 'Now we're even,' he announced, taking a sip of his latte, as Gwaine groaned.

'I'll say.' Struggling to sit up, Gwaine groped the air with his hands. 'Pass me my coffee, would you?'

Not wanting to take any chances, Lancelot carefully sat down beside him and passed over the cup, sparing a second to kiss the corner of Gwaine’s mouth. 'It might have been a nasty shock for me, but it made Merlin laugh, so I'm not that mad.'

Grinning, Gwaine returned to Lancelot’s mouth with his lips. 'You taste of lake.'

'And whose fault is that?' remarked Lancelot as Merlin settled between their outstretched legs.

Summoning the coats, Merlin set his coffee down amidst the grass and draped all three of the garments over Lancelot’s shoulders. 'Honestly, I don't understand why either of you are complaining. You spent 1500 years in a lake, you'd think it would be your natural habitat by now.'

'No,' Lancelot said, glancing towards Gwaine, who completed the sentiment.

'Our natural habitat is with you.'

Beaming, Merlin knocked their ankles against the knights' thighs and the rest of the day melted into skittish touches and tentative sunshine.