Mostly Merlin, some random Harry Potter (no spoilers) and other stuff. As usual, I don’t really know anything about the fandoms/canons of the original work, so you should be able to enjoy these even if you don’t, either.
Alphabetical order because I’m too lazy to do anything else. I am not adding content warnings — they are in the tags of the fics themselves, so keep an eye out if there are things you avoid.
You seriously need to read pretty much every one of these, because as I was going through the bookmarks, I kept thinking, “I should delete everything and just tell the word to read JUST this one!” and then I would think it about the next one, and the next one, and the next one…
Architecture and Authority (Merlin) His magic burns, false-starting again and again and again like dry heaves as the neutralisers clamp down on each effort to push the men away.
All of These Moments I’ll Never Replace (Merlin – American Gods AU) It’s been centuries since Merlin knew what it felt like not to have the itch in the back of his skull that told him that Arthur wasn’t there. But they’re better apart. When things throw them together, that’s when the world starts going wrong.
Black Out/Swear to God (the OC) Seth’s heart was jackrabbiting away, too much for his poor tired ribs to take, his eyes full of silver and purple and neon blue. He remembers thinking, ‘oh what a pretty boy,’ and for once it wasn’t a joke at all, and also not at all true. Ryan wasn’t pretty, terrible word for it.
Call it Love (Merlin RPF) I want to kiss you, he thought, looking into Colin’s fond eyes, as his own pulse thrummed faster all of a sudden. Only it was not as crystalline a thought as that; it was more like a split-second whoosh of recognition, like he was finally recognising every feeling from the previous few years for what they truly were — that tug in his chest when he’d make Colin laugh, those lingering looks at Colin’s lips, throat, eyelashes, hands — and it all focused into the feeling ofI want to kiss you. It was a sense of home mingled with want so dizzying Bradley couldn’t look at Colin that closely anymore without doing something he was sure he’d regret right then.
Favorite (Merlin) Arthur wavered a moment longer, struggling; but indecisiveness was a sin Uther had cured him of by age thirteen, so he said, “All right, bloody come here already,” and Merlin nearly tripped over his own feet, trying to get across the room and take off his tunic and his trousers and his boots all at the same time.
First and Lasts (Merlin) Summer nights smelled like lilacs and freshly cut grass and Arthur stained the knees of his jeans green when he knelt to peer through the small hole in the wall. “Hey, Merlin,” he whispered. “Want to come out and play?”
Higher Education (Merlin) Merlin meant to point out that Arthur could leave the hippy to his music and his weed any time he wanted, but then Arthur had licked the ball of his thumb before rolling the joint and Merlin had thought fuck.
Hypothetically Yours (Merlin) Arthur’s too dizzy to say anything like I liked that or I like you. This is bigger than any of that, and Arthur thinks he’s going to burst with it; suddenly Merlin’s presence isn’t soft, but something large and powerful inside him, squeezing hard at his chest but leaving him light, uplifted. He goes to rehearsal with emotions stuffing him full, and thinks that this is enough for him. Magic Club isn’t like this; he doesn’t need it anymore, not like he needs this.
Keep Your Secrets (Merlin) “They think I can do something they want,” he said. “I keep telling them they’re wrong. It’s just a rumour that I’m – that I can do it. You know how rumours are. They’ll get tired of this eventually. If they see I’m useless, they’ll let me go. Maybe.”
Kissing Back (Merlin) “Haven’t you ever kissed a cat before?” Merlin’s shoulders eased slightly as he crossed his legs between them on the bed. “They hate it. I thought you liked torturing helpless creatures.”
The Middleword (HP/Marauders) This is it, Remus thinks- he has pulled apart the last year they were together with painstaking care so many times, to see what went wrong, where things went awry, what he could have done to change what happened, and has never found the moment- that beat of time in which he could say there, that’s when it all went to shit. He squeezes Sirius’s hand, trembling a little on the brink of knowing, finally.
Must Be Drunk (Merlin) Merlin produced his extra special insolent grin. “An order is when you say something that isn’t self-sacrificing and pig-headed and guaranteed to put your life in danger. All the other stuff I presume is just an opinion.”
Precious and Fragile Things (Merlin) It was beyond dangerous to think of Arthur as vulnerable, as dangerous to Merlin as the secret of his magic.
Red and White (Merlin) (The first and last lines of this piece are so fucking perfect) Arthur waits years, but Merlin doesn’t confess.
Rent (the OC) Oh, God. He was going to die out here. He was going to like, get caught in some gang war or sold into white slavery or something. Or maybe Tattoo Guy was just going to cap him, yo. Right in the face. Seth had never been all that fond of his face, but he was kind of attached to it at the moment, so this was just really, really all very bad.
Sacrament (X-Men: First Class) Seminary was the first place he’d ever had to confront how he felt for other men. They lived together, slept in the same rooms. There were whispers about various friendships thought to be too intimate, too secretive. Charles had come to understand what a sexual relationship between two men might be; he had even decided that his personal theology did not demand him to condemn it, were it more than base physical gratification. Surely the smallest and pettiest hate was more a sin than the most misguided love.
Same River Twice(Merlin) “Mi scusi,” he said. “Sono – oh, Christ – sto cercando—”
The boy laughed and lifted a hand. “Yeah, I got you the first time around, mate,” he said, chuckling. “But your Italian is so completely horrible, I just had to hear it one more time.”
Sixth Year (HP/Marauders) (this writer has a series of stories about Sirius and Remus’s years together at Hogwarts, posted as stand-alone pieces. They are all great — and great to read in order — but this is my favorite) He’s not stupid- he’s fairly sure that the two of them are engaged in a dance that can only end one way- but although he thinks he will die if he doesn’t touch Remus soon he realizes he will bollocks it all up if he pushes it faster. It has been the best lesson he has ever had to learn- the art of waiting, of restraint, of patience for the exact right moment, which will present itself sooner or later. It doesn’t, however, mean he has to like it. This Patience thing can join Quiet and Stillness and Nothing to Do and they can all four of them go to hell.
Sort of a Tourniquet (Merlin) Merlin’s not an idiot, despite the frequency with which Arthur calls him one. He knows, he knows that the ring means nothing to Arthur, that Arthur meant nothing in giving it to him. But it means something to Merlin, it’s the only outward sign he has of these feelings that threaten to burst out of him. He belongs to Arthur, that’s what the ring means, even if no-one else can know, even if Arthur doesn’t want him. And if wearing it is the only way he’s ever going to get to feel close to him, well, he’ll take what he can get.
Spartacus and the Open Taxi Door (Merlin) “You can’t talk to me this way. I want to speak to your manager,” Arthur leaned in and squinted at the metallic rectangle on Merlin’s chest. “Does your nametag actually say Spartacus?”
“One day I will rise up and lead all the baristas in rebellion against our coffee shop overlords.”
Ten Things Everyone Should Know (Merlin) Merlin will never admit this, not to anyone, not even under pain of death, but somewhere between the first time Merlin saved his life and the last time he saved his own kingdom from destruction, Arthur sort of became his hero.
Wait (Merlin) (the only D/s anything I have actually liked! freakish!) ”I can’t say I’m terribly pleased at the moment, to be caught off guard like that,” Arthur says, and it’s all that Merlin can do to not look away. An uneasy feeling starts to uncoil in the pit of his stomach; he hates disappointing Arthur. Merlin opens his mouth — he wants to explain more, try to make Arthur see, to apologise – but with the slight twitch of Arthur’s eyebrow, Merlin snaps it shut.
Where Legends Lie (Merlin) “No, I’m in Camelot,” Merlin said. “Not my Camelot, but this Camelot.” He swung his bag off his back, ripping open the front pocket and brandishing his book in the old man’s face.
