#ynnealay's fic

[thefollow-spot]

Taking Measures

|| Merlin & Arthur ● G ● WC: 500 ● No Warnings ||

Summary: This is supposed to be about Morgana, and how not to lose her. // Written for @merlinmicrofic, for the prompt, 'Library'. // Part 4 of No Verdict

---

“You told her what?”

Arthur never thought Merlin of all people would remind him of his father, but he does now; Merlin the Sorcerer proves at every turn to be different: harsher, angrier. Intimidating. Arthur crosses his arms, pretending Merlin hasn’t taken that tone.

“I said,” he repeats, “that I would free her. So, I need you to work out how that can be done.”

Merlin screws up his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know—” Arthur is impatient, arguing with this strange, dangerous version of the friend he would’ve once said he knew best. “Isn’t there a way to—to strip her of her magic? Extract it somehow and… get rid of it? You’re powerful—there must be a way.”

He thinks the solution is neat, but Merlin’s face only darkens in the dim, stale air of the library—where he’s sitting, pouring over tomes of the Old Religion, in that new jacket: the one he got abroad, with arcane runes sewn into the lining, indecipherable.

“I won’t be part of that,” Merlin says.

“But surely—”

“Find some other sorcerer.”

Arthur scowls; Merlin knows he doesn’t have other sorcerers. And—what exactly is his issue? Hadn’t Merlin helped capture Morgana? They’d thought, going out after her, that she’d need to be killed. He doesn’t want to think it of Merlin, but—

“What, you’d rather see her dead, is that it?”

Merlin’s eyes flash at him, glinting steel. “What’s it supposed to matter what I want to see—you’re the king!”

“And you’re the one who knows about magic!”

“How advantageous for you.”

Arthur can’t figure that nonsense, so he ignores it. This isn’t about Merlin, or their friendship off-kilter ever since Merlin returned. This is supposed to be about Morgana, and how not to lose her.

“It’s—it’s simple,” he says. “If you remove her magic permanently, she can’t harm anyone. And Guinevere says she’s coming around to… amends. Can it be done?”

Merlin takes the book in front of him and snaps it shut. The CLAP echoes through the entire library as he picks it and himself up, marching for the door.

“I’m not going to talk about this,” Merlin decides, leaving Arthur speechless behind him.

“Merlin, stop—”

To his surprise, Merlin does: slowly spinning to face Arthur again from the end of a shelf. His expression twists in disappointment. No—disgust.

“I…” Arthur flounders, “I haven’t dismissed you.”

Merlin makes a bow so mocking and insolent that Arthur is furious; yet, somehow, he knows from it that his friend is still there, in that glowering.

He straightens. “You want to know what I think?” Merlin goes on without waiting for an answer, “I think you don’t even know what it is that you want with Morgana. You believe severing her magic will be an easy solution, but it won’t be.” Arthur begins to respond, but Merlin cuts him off: “Really think about it, Arthur. And ask again if you want me to perform a maiming.”

[illogicalvulcans]

[Fic Book Covers 10/?] A Leap of Faith by Misery_C_Epicaricacy and Ynnealay

Merlin confesses his magic, upending the trust between him and Arthur; when he goes missing from Camelot, a conflicted Arthur must reckon with his fears and prejudices as Merlin’s life is put at stake. “You were never going to renounce magic, really, were you?” “I was going to try,” Merlin said. “Were you? Or are you lying again?”

Image via Dale McCready

[camelotremix]

Camelot Remix 2024 - Week 1

FIC: Standing still; for six months and two weeks for MerlinLikeTheBird (Merlin/Arthur, Gwaine/Percival – Gen – 2605w) Summary: We all know Percy influenced Arthur to finally undertake action with Merlin. But what if he had underlying motives? And what if Gwaine has something to do with it too? Eventually all knights get involved. FIC: This Song and Dance (The 'Balancing Act' Remix) for polomonkey (Merlin/Arthur – Teen and Up – 1200w) Summary: The thing is, Merlin has been thinking about it. About Arthur and the grief that he wears like penance, how he fits so easily into the spot beside Merlin. How he always has, and how, for all his talk about leaving, he does not seem to be in a hurry. --- Between circus shows and late nights, Merlin and Arthur figure themselves out, one step at a time. FIC: wandered out in the world for years (the king and the knight remix) for HadrianPeverellBlack (Gwaine/Merlin – Gen – 800w) Summary: Gwaine doesn't like Arthur. Respects him, sure. Admires his fighting prowess, yeah. Envies his freedom and pities his lack of it in equal parts. He'll follow him into battle and mostly follow orders as he does so, because chances are Arthur’s on the right side of a fight, and even if he isn't he's got Merlin to push him until he is. But he's more than capable of all that without actually liking the man. Or: Arthur and Gwaine search for Merlin during the deleted scene from A Servant of Two Masters. FIC: A Time to Mourn, and a Time to Dance [Remix] for scotscookie (Merlin/Arthur – Explicit – 1478w) Summary: After a night of drinking with Morgana, Arthur goes home to wind down. FIC: The Best and Terrible (An Extended Remix) for linorien (Gen – Teen and Up – 30,691w) Summary: After meeting the Druids, Morgana cannot sit idly by while Uther’s tyranny against magic continues; but, taking action may put her in more danger than she can get out of alone. Meanwhile, Merlin struggles under the loneliness of his secret, and wonders who he’s destined to be. A story about working together, magic reveals going better than expected, and Uther Pendragon being the worst man ever. FIC: Where We Find Our Peace for queerofthedagger (Merlin/Arthur – Gen – 2687w) Summary: Arthur looked the most relaxed Merlin had ever seen him; his hair was a golden mop, glistening droplets of water traveling down the planes and angles of his face. Merlin’s eyes followed one, down the side of Arthur’s sculpted nose, reaching his plump lips where Arthur’s tongue darted out to catch it. Merlin tore his eyes away and let his face break out into a bright grin as he looked into Arthur’s eyes. “You could’ve told me that we were going for a swim; I would’ve complained far less.” Arthur rolled his eyes slightly. “I was going for a swim,” he replied, “you simply decided to follow me.” A remix of Bad Choice of Words in My Alibi by queerofthedagger ART: Reluctantly in Love for chaosgenes (Merlin/Arthur – Gen – Digital Art & 127w) Summary: Arthur has waited for Naming Day all his life, but could not be more disappointed when he finds out who the Soul Stone names for him. It isn’t the prisoner he meets in the dungeons, but his heart aches for him anyway. Merlin has never thought about soulmates until they come knocking at his door in Ealdor. Convinced that there’s something wrong with the Soul Stone, he travels to magic-banned Camelot to end its influence. He never thought that he would be enraptured by the crown prince who comes to interrogate him. FIC: Disillusion (a remix of Light Pollution) for Ynnealay (Gen – Gen – 1041w) Summary: Some of Merlin's letters to Arthur over the years.

[merlinrarepairfest]

Weekly Round-Up 2

With another week of posting coming to a close, find the amazing works beneath the cut! <3

Title: Caged Prince AO3 username: cynthia1314 | @cynthia39100 Rating: Explicit Warnings: Rape/Non-Con Medium/Word Count: fic/11869 words Pairing/main characters: Arthur/Gwaine, (one-sided) Arthur/Cenred Up to 10 tags: Arthur Whump, Essetir Knight Gwaine, Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Non-Con Content, Referenced Drug Use, Hopeful Ending

Summary:

Arthur was forced to marry the enemy king Cenred in order to stop a war. Gwaine, never lost his father, is a reluctant knight of Essetir. Knowing the danger they're in, the two of them still fall for each other. 

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60030565/chapters/153162175

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Title: Conium maculatum AO3 username: twistedshipper | @twistedshipper Rating: Mature Warnings: Chose not to warn Medium/Word Count: Fic,5,933 words Pairing/main characters: Morgana & Morgause Up to 10 tags: Post-series 2, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, The Dark Tower, Witchcraft, The Old Religion, Sister-Sister Relationships, Poison, Dissociative Identity Disorder

Summary:

When Morgause's plans to overthrow the mad King Uther come to ruin and all on account of a young boy and a flask of poison hemlock, she whisks Morgana away to the Isle of the Blessed whereby to bring her back from the brink of death, and from there to the Dark Tower to subject her to the hallucinogenic mandrake root in order to win her over to her side once and for all. All goes according to plan, and Morgause is more certain than ever of her sister's loyalty to her and her cause, except what if what she brought back is not entirely the Morgana she once held dear and loved?

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60034450

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Title: sweet like honey AO3 username: kairennart (personaje) | @kairennart Rating: Mature Warnings: Choose Not To Use Warnings Medium/Word Count: Digital art Pairing/main characters: Lancelot/Arthur Pendragon Up to 10 tags: Shade Lancelot

Summary:

Lancelot's lips don't leave Arthur's as he slides his hand under the pillow and grabs the dagger. He sits up, feeling the way Arthur shifts underneath him, and with both hands drives the dagger to his King's chest.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60072397

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Title: The Talking Treatment AO3 username: PierrotPatroclus | @pierrotpatroclus Rating: Gen Warnings: None Apply Medium/Word Count: 3663 Pairing/main characters: Leon/Gwaine Up to 10 tags: Childhood friends, soulmate au, miscommunication

Summary:

They've been friends forever, but an offhand comment at a bar causes a complete re-evaluation

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60049156

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Title: Figures On An Urn AO3 username: Ynnealay | @thefollow-spot Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Medium/Word Count: 2,041 words Pairing/main characters: Leon & Arthur Up to 10 tags: Some angst, Relationship Study, Character Study, Druid Raids, One Shot

Summary:

Arthur is shaken in the aftermath of his first Druid raid. Leon is there for him.

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60053725

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Title: keep the windows open A03 Username: Sage_Owl Rating: teen and up audiences Warnings: no archive warnings apply Medium/word count: fic/4,806 Pairing/main characters: Ygraine/Nimueh Up to 10 tags: modern era, soulmate-identifying marks, college, weddings, not actually unrequited love, arranged marriage, first kiss, getting together, happy ending, everyone hates Uther Pendragon 

Summary:

Nimueh knows she can't ever have Ygraine in the way she wants- but that doesn't mean she's willing to lose her, either.

A03 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60055756/

[merlin-slut]

hi so i read another fic, this one is a magic reveal where arthur is, obviously, very wary and skeptical of merlin’s magical ability and it doesn’t go the normal way other fics handle reveals. but when merlin goes missing, arthur’s entire view on magic gets turned on it’s head and he questions, even more than he had before, about how evil having magic can be.

it’s a very interesting character study of how deep can their friendship and loyalty go against something that is so ingrained in their worldviews.

this one is “a leap of faith” by Misery_C_Epicaricacy and Ynnealay

[danceofthebloodypetals]

Hey—I was the anon who sent you a note about reading my fic on fanfiction.net! I go by Ynnealay there (and on AO3 now, where I’m posting more recently). You read my very first fic, ‘The Prince and the Ranger,’ and a few others. Glad to hear my note was kindly received 🙂

Oh, hi! I remembered now! Thank you for letting me know! Unfortunately, I am not on ao3 since I do not have an account on there but I am glad to hear that you are still writing fanfics. ^^

[thefollow-spot]

I wrote this in present-tense, alack!

This is my self-indulgent pre-canon, Mordred-centric one-shot which served as an excuse to think about Mordred and develop some headcanons.

Mordred oft appears in Merlin fics as the antagonist (no surprise why, obviously)—characterized as harsh, cruel, or otherwise inherently villainous. I try in this fic to flesh-out/play with tragedy, fantasy prejudice, Mordred's youth, and the volatile relationship he has with Druid culture.

Hooded Vagrants by thefollow-spot Ship: No ships/gen Main Characters: Mordred, Original Male Characters Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Pre-Canon, Mordred-centric, Dark Past, BAMF Mordred, Short Fiction Style Summary: Ever since his father died, Mordred has been running. He has been hunted. The world is a turbulent ocean and he’s been tossed about in it.

[lapzoli]

miraculous fic recs: stories

are ya ready kids? again, my own quick summaries added here (and some commentary...) oneshot recs here

[ COMPLETED ]

A Spot of Tea by @gabriel-fucking-agreste

what do you do when your worst enemy is your best intern? you keep on being a fab villain // identity reveal // aged-up // tbh i don’t remember the first half all i know is that it’s fantastic

Bare Necessities by @reyxa

art school au where marinette gets to see her crush naked in a completely different context than what she probably imagined // identity reveal // aged-up

Bee-nevolent by TwinklingCupcake

a bee holder with no stinger can still be a hero, as sabrina learns // identity reveal // sequel, The Healing of Honey, now up (incomplete)

By Their Covers - The Scriptor by Ynnealay

you don’t need your miraculous to be heroes...but it would be nice if they could get them back, thanks // identity reveal

Chasing the C/h/atwalk by @runningoutofink

she’s on project runway and her childhood crush is her model...yeah, you bet alya is recording and saving every single episode // identity reveal // aged-up

Cinderella, She Seems So Easy by abandoned_sock

cinderella au...that’s it. that’s all you need to know

Curiosity and Satisfaction by @imthepunchlord

he was a good son, wanting to help his father. he just wanted his family whole again. but is he really on the right side of things? // enemies au // identity reveal

Fooling the world (and maybe ourselves) by @fullmetalpotterhead

nothing can wrong with fake dating! especially when you’re fake dating your partner! and especially when you’re both in love with each other but you don’t know it!!! nothing!!! except what??? now they have to get fake married!! how can that go wrong??? // post reveal // fake dating // aged-up

It’s Complicated by @konekat

a love confession goes wrong, another goes right, and adrien learns moving on isn’t the easiest thing to do // identity reveal

Le Chabanais by makahadoma

brothel au in the 1920s where everything is not what it seems // nsfw // blood & violence // rape/sexual assault // identity reveal 

To Be a Hero by AmyEatsCake

thrust into the future, adrien, marinette, and alya come to realize the world is not all good and even heroes can rot in this new hell // identity reveal // time travel 

[ INCOMPLETE / ONGOING ]

All The Time You Need by GrimRevolution

she passed off the earrings. ladybug and chat noir are doing so well together. but if you’re fated for a miraculous...well, you can’t escape fate //  alya is ladybug // threats of sexual assault // PTSD // partial identity reveal

Back To Us by @insanitysscribblings

hawkmoth is dead, years have passed, and not everything is what it used to be as victims protest, citizens lash out, new holders emerge, and relationships change // identity reveal // aged-up

#BonAnniversairePrincess by @my-insanity-is-an-artform

chloe would do anything to make marinette miserable...even hijack her birthday. but luckily chat noir is there to give the princess a royal day! // marichat // am bias because it was based off my post tbh

Guardians by @wintermoth

being a holder comes with a price...and it may end up being too heavy for these two teenagers // immortal au // identity reveal // this is painful in like twenty different ways

How not to propose - Agreste edition by @sweetprincessluck

adrien just wants to put the ring on her finger but his luck stinks more than plagg’s breath // post reveal // post relationship // aged-up

Lucky Fox Paradox by @imthepunchlord

she was sure alya would be a better ladybug. the miraculous was passed on. but she was wrong. there is a great imbalance, and now chat misses his ladybug, alya is determined to follow the comics, the guardian watches over, and some people realize you were chosen to be a hero for a reason // alya is ladybug // partial reveal 

Something in the Night by @konekat

everything went wrong that day from the moment the battle was over. misunderstandings occurred, relationships fractured...and seven years later, she reappears again // identity reveal // aged-up

to you, i thee wed by @miraculousturtle

some people go on blind dates. no, no. they went straight to the wedding. and everyone knew but them. // married at first sight au

You Don’t Know Me by @ferisae

the story that makes the strongest of them all weep - no, really. ladybug is out of commission and adrien can’t survive much longer, physically or emotionally // partial reveal // akuma-poisoning // great, now i have to re-read it to remind myself of this angst

[thefollow-spot]

Feinting

|| Morgana & Arthur ● G ● WC: 500 ● No Warnings ||

Summary: She hates him; it infuriates her that he looks sad: as if this isn’t his fault. // Written for @merlinmicrofic, for the prompt, 'You wouldn't'.

---

It’s inevitable: Arthur will always seem a boy king; Morgana’s memories of his ungainly youth are too vivid. Years pile on them both—it doesn’t help. As he sits across from her cell, his robes bunch around him like a bleeding carnation, and he seems small.

“What if I set you free?” he says, at last. Morgana scoffs, then sees he’s not joking.

“…You wouldn’t be so foolish.”

“I might be,” Arthur says.

Today, he speaks to the space between his heels, bows his neck like he’s the one chained. Why he’s still trying is beyond her. Perhaps he’s just out of his depth—each time he makes this descent it becomes clearer. Chipped stone; stale air; Morgana loses track of the weeks.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already run out of inane conditions,” she says.

“Well, you won’t agree to any conditions, will you?”

Yes, she’s proud of that.

They meet eyes: he’s like sun-dappled leaves, like rich cloth. She can only imagine herself in his eyes: festering and deathlike. She hates him; it infuriates her that he looks sad: as if this isn’t his fault.

She spits, “I’m not Merlin.”

His face puckers. “What the hell does that mean, Morgana?”  

She’s uninterested in being kept. Merlin: Arthur’s decorated hunting hound, whom she hasn’t seen since her capture—pleased to be a pet.

“With my freedom,” she says, glowering, “I would snap your neck and slaughter your queen in the courtyard.” Theatrical? Perhaps. But it’s the rhetoric she wants.

Arthur straightens like she’s tossed a gauntlet. They’re sparring in front of his father, and he’s got everything to prove. His face is flushed, trying hard to predict her flawless feints. Finally, he takes a gamble so smug that she wants to strike him across the face:

“You wouldn’t.”

“Don’t presume to know what I would or wouldn’t do.”

“It’s Guinevere.”

They stare at each other through bars, but he’s caught her. Gwen, perhaps, is the only one Morgana is certain she would spare. Down here: silence and cold. Once, rain leaked in and put her wrist-deep in water. Gwen stayed with her all evening. Waterlogged skirts, wrinkled fingertips. Of course, for her, Morgana’s resolve is an atrophied thing.

“I don’t understand,” Arthur’s voice is strange. “Don’t you want to come home?”

Last night, she wept for the first time in a year.

She keeps having this dream: where Gwen has kept her chambers all this time. They wait ready for her, with the sheets fresh and made. She won’t give Arthur the satisfaction of hearing this.

“What would you say?” A challenge. “The council won’t allow it. The people would riot.”

She remembers Arthur just before he matured, in the years when he and his insufferable friends would traipse around shouting, jumping to touch the tops of castle archways: impetuous, entitled. Absurd, and easy to love.

She thinks, What fool put a kingdom in that boy’s hands?

“I don’t know, Morgana,” Arthur says. “I don’t know what I would say.”

---

Part 3 of No Verdict

Heyyy do y'all remember those two drabbles where Morgana is in the dungeons, and Gwen is visiting her? It's a series now 😎

[thefollow-spot]

"Untitled" (Idol)

Merlin & Arthur ● General Audiences ● WC: 200 ● No Warnings // Written for @merlinmicrofic 2024, for the prompt 'Sunlight'.

---

[thefollow-spot]

"Untitled" (Paramour)

Merlin/Arthur ● General Audiences ● WC: 100 ● No Warnings // Written for @merlinmicrofic 2024, for the prompt 'Tell Me'.

---

Arthur’s courtship began suddenly, kindled of quips softening and glittering laughter. Unexpected, but Merlin wasn’t surprised. Still, he wakes aghast: nightmares echoing in syrupy dark.

He gropes for the edge of Arthur’s vast bed—hunches over, shivering. Sleep-ridden Arthur drags awake, kisses Merlin’s exposed ribs, soothes his ragged breathing.  

“You’re keeping secrets from me,” he troubles, and doesn’t know half: Mordred’s prophecy-blade liquid-red; gold in Merlin’s fibre. Lies and lies. Intimacy’s a noose.

“Yes,” Merlin croaks.

“Tell me.”

“Can’t.”

Arthur brings him down—dry palms, easy strength; his trust cloys Merlin to sleep, and his next dreams are of fire.

[thefollow-spot]

"Untitled" (Dusk)

Lancelot/Merlin ● General Audiences ● WC: 100 ● Warning: MCD // Written for @merlinmicrofic 2024, for the prompt 'Nightfall'.

---

He said, I need somewhere to learn this spell.

And you replied, come to my chambers.

It began that way, incidental. Soon, all your nights belonged to him.

You wonder if he—like you—started counting the hours until dusk. If his best parts of Camelot’s peace were inside jokes, confessions deep-blue, secrets confided and kept. You should’ve recognised love; you should’ve courted him.

Standing now before a gash of screaming-black, you hope death’s maw is sweet—an endless night. You think, how will he grieve?

When you enter the Veil, the unspooling of him comes down like the dark.

[thefollow-spot]

They Call To Be Heard, They Curse My Return

|| Hunith & Merlin ● G ● WC: 500 ● Warning: MCD ||

Summary: After Arthur's death, Merlin returns to Ealdor to help with the harvest. // Written for @merlinmicrofic 2024, for the prompt 'Home'.

---

“I’m scared I shouldn’t be here,” Merlin says.

Hunith, mending a shirt by the evening fire, looks across the cottage: a bowl of light for the hearth. He’s in bed, speaking to the pillow, gaze still glazed over like he’s got everything at a distance.

“Merlin?” she says. He sounds hoarse:

“I’m putting you at risk.” His face pinches, feeling an old wound. Hunith doesn’t understand.

It’s early summer now; hot afternoons surrender to damp nights smeared with blue. The river is yet swollen. In the long days, youth have grown to till, sow, and harvest wheat. And Hunith’s son returns from Camelot.

“You’re not,” she says, leaving her work over the stool. She goes to him and kneels by his face. His cheekbones protrude; heavy lines hang under his eyes. “Why would you say that?”

This bed—she afforded it on his money. He was rich in Camelot: the King’s dear friend. Always with gold to spare, sending it home wrapped in good leather. Her boy became a man, writing her about beasts, quests, and friends.  

“Something’ll happen,” Merlin says. “Something always happens.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think I’m being… punished.” He sounds puzzled, like the nonsense of the statement confuses even him. “And… and maybe, if I forget that I am, something will happen. To you.”

There was a war, and his king died.

Hunith barely knows what else—tries to read it in Merlin’s face. Whatever he bears, he’s hidden it too far down. Now it eats him alive.

Gaius sent for her, begging her to make the trip:

Merlin is in dreadful need, he wrote. He should see his mother.

So she arrived, and the Queen received her: dressed thunderously in black against the white courtyard stone. She took her up to the physician’s tower where Merlin was shut in his room, staring out the window. He didn’t flinch when the door opened, didn’t turn when she spoke.

“My boy,” she hushes, and touches his brow, smooths back his hair. His skin is cool. “What are you talking about, punished?”

Pain flickers across his face: cavernous, wet.

“I don’t know,” he whispers, embarrassed. His cheeks flush; Hunith barely sees in the bronze dim, but he’s pale, and the colour shows. He turns away to stare at the wall; she strokes his tangled hair.

I’d like you to come home, she said. You know we always need help with the harvest this time of year. He’s always been smart—she’s sure he saw through her.

Gwen needs me. But he gave in when she kissed his forehead and said,

Please, Merlin.

I’ll just come for the harvest.

“You should be here,” Hunith says. Nowhere else, while you’re in such a bad way. “Whether for a season or a year. I’m going to look after you.”

But she’s struck something wrong because he tenses, and trembles, and curls inward. The sun has gone down. Merlin breathes like someone heavy is laying on his chest, and begins to weep.

[thefollow-spot]

From sparks: full-tilt

Lancelot/Merlin ● General Audiences ● WC: 500 ● No Warnings // Written for @merlinmicrofic 2024, for the prompt 'Harvest'. A mix of poetry & prose.

---

[thefollow-spot]

Sonnet: I’m Almost Me Again, She’s Almost You

Gwen & Merlin ● General Audiences ● WC: 107 ● Warning: MCD // Written for @merlinmicrofic 2024, for the prompt 'Almost'.

---

[thefollow-spot]

"Untitled" (Coming Out)

Lancelot/Merlin ● Mature ● WC: 100 ● No Warnings // Written for @merlinmicrofic 2024, for the prompt 'Pride'.

---

Merlin hears boisterous singing outside; midsummer festivities crackle as sun clings to sky, long into the evening. But here, they celebrate secrets in Lancelot’s bed. They’re bare, Lancelot supine, mussed. Merlin claims his lap, laces their shaking hands.

Lips against Merlin’s throat. “Tomorrow, love?”

His magic—tomorrow, he’ll tell. He’s decided, and guaranteed Arthur’s attention. What’s this about, Merlin? Lancelot always swears, I’ll be there. He’s brimming, joy-struck, terrified.

“Yeah,” Merlin gasps, unspooled by a blue-blazing lance. Here is love enough to weather whatever Arthur might say. Merlin moans, rides, and braces against the shifting sun. “Keep me ‘til then.”