Merlin (BBC Version), Arthur/Merlin (can be read as either slash or friendship), 'R' overall I think
Fandom: Merlin (BBC Version)
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Theme set: Alpha
Title: Untitled
Rating: Difficult one for this. I'm going to go with R/NC-17 overall because of one sentence which mentions blood/death in it and could be considered a bit gory(Feel free to correct me if you think I've got the wrong rating.)
Warning[s]: Graphic imagary in one and spoilers for episode 2-13, if you've not seen the second season finale yet, in another.
Notes: Betaed (yes I really needed a beta for this - it's my first challenge and first time posting fic) by the wonderful and patient tacitus_3. Thank you so much hun. I really appreciate it! Any remaining mistakes are mine and mine alone.
1) Comfort - The day Morgana leaves Camelot forever with Morgause, Merlin is the only one to offer condolences to Arthur; everyone else is too busy avoiding Uther and offering sympathy to Gwen to notice how the Prince is affected.
2) Kiss - It all happened so fast, and Merlin knows reviving Arthur would be a lot faster with magic, but now, surrounded by Uther, Geoffrey of Monmouth and various courtiers, knights and servants, Merlin is glad he was taught the "kiss of life" before coming to Camelot
3) Soft - Merlin admires Arthur's luxuriously soft looking bed and cricks his back after a night in his own lumpy one before he wakes the Prince to tell him the bad news and to let him deal with the hangover from last night's feast.
4) Pain - A physical injury could probably be fixed but Merlin can see that an act of betrayal like this brings a type of pain that will haunt Arthur until he can find a way to get his revenge.
5) Potatoes - Merlin thinks it was probably Arthur who banned the throwing of potatoes at people in the stocks after he, Merlin, ended up concussed for three days, which Arthur had ranted about for a further week, pointing out that a servant is no use to his master when he can't work.
6) Rain - It rains day and night for a week after Arthur returns Mordred back to the Druids and Merlin can't tell if it's nature herself or his own subconscious at work; he wonders if he's sealed Arthurs fate with his actions.
7) Chocolate - Arthur was told that it comes from a land far away and no one is quite sure how it got to Camelot but the big piece of chocolate, which Arthur keeps well hidden after Gwen and Morgana got hold of some, is one of his most prized possessions, and Merlin gave it to him as a Yule gift.
8) Happiness - Not even Merlin knows for sure why he's so happy the Royal Prat is okay after his battle with the Questing Beast but he tries to tell himself that it is just something to do with their shared "destiny" and how Arthur is still around to unite Albion.
9) Telephone - Sometimes having magic can be a pain and one of those times is when it makes him dream he can conjure things which haven't been invented yet, such as something called a "telephone," which, when he awakes, he realises is an utterly foolish notion and so he doesn't try.
10) Ears - Merlin couldn't understand why Arthur was in fits of laughter until he realised that maybe he shouldn't have said "I'm all ears, Sire!"
11) Name - Merlin didn't realise just how powerful a name could be until he found himself doing several tasks he wouldn't ordinarily have done if Arthur hadn't used his name like that when asking him.
12) Sensual - Merlin could neither explain why he randomly kept getting flashes of short blond hair and a wicked smile which fitted the description of none of the maidservants nor why said flashes left him reeling from the effects.
13) Death - Merlin would never forget how certain he had been that Arthur was dead when he'd seen the Prince being carried in Uther's arms
14) Sex - Merlin choked on his dinner when, with a loud bang, Arthur shoved the door to Gaius's chambers open and demanded to know which of the chambermaids Merlin had been sleeping with this time.
15) Touch - Arthur muses why he touches Merlin more than he has any other servant and comes to the conclusion that Merlin is just that much of an idiot that he needs all of the help and encouragement he can get.
16) Weakness - Merlin was the only one who knew of Arthur's weakness for a certain servant girl and he was still debating, on his way back to said Prince's chambers, whether he could barter time in the stocks for his continued silence on the matter.
17) Tears - Arthur waited a couple of minutes after he was out of the room before doubling up with laughter and letting tears of mirth stream down his face at the memory of Merlin holding the dress in front of himself.
18) Speed - Time is of the essence as Merlin's horse races across the terrain to bring Arthur back to Camelot safely whilst the poison from the dog's fangs turn Arthur's skin a bluish colour.
19) Wind - Merlin's not so sure he and Arthur huddling up together so that Arthur can protect him from the sudden freezing wind, because as Arthur says he's all skin and bones and wouldn't survive if they didn't, is such a good idea because castle gossip has started from less than this and the knights smirking in their direction are a sure sign this idea probably won't end well.
20) Freedom - Merlin is the first person Arthur sees looming over him on a muddy bank and he wonders at the strange sense of freedom he suddenly feels, almost as if he's been released from some kind of spell.
21) Life - The "life flashing before your eyes" adage didn't really count when all Arthur could focus on were the teeth heading for his face before he was suddenly pushed out of the monsters' way by an invisible force and; as his sword flew out of his hand with the impact of landing, he noticed Merlin had been standing behind him.
22) Jealousy - Arthur hates to admit that despite all the riches he has and all the wealth and land he's entitled to he's incredibly jealous over the freedom Merlin has, and his ability to make friends, and not have any responsibilities outside of his duties to Arthur and Gaius.
23) Hands - Merlin's hands, Arthur thinks, are as big as his ears so he wonders how his manservant can be so clumsy with hands that are obviously big enough to catch everything.
24) Taste - Merlin takes a quick look around him to make sure Arthur isn't looking his way before sneaking a taste of the sweet fruits left over from the prince's dinner then collects the plates and dishes and leaves Arthur to his sulking once again.
25) Devotion - Arthur thinks his manservant has finally learned that a prince deserves respect and devotion at all times as his lord and master, which lasts all of five minutes before Merlin insists that he is a prat once again.
26) Forever - When he was first appointed Arthur's manservant, a lifetime of service to the Prince had felt like it would last forever, but as he prepares Arthur's body to be sent on to its next life Merlin doesn't think this lifetime was long enough for Arthur to accomplish all he wanted to do before he died.
27) Blood - Merlin closed his eyes briefly against the sight and stench of the blood and bodies strewn across the battlefield and prayed to all the Gods that he had arrived in time to ensure Arthur was still alive and unharmed.
28) Sickness - Merlin felt a wave of nausea almost consume him at the sight of what was left of the knights' body and Arthur was behind him in an instant catching him as his legs buckled and he fell to the ground.
29) Melody - Merlin hears the strange melody only the clashing of swords in practise can produce but his jaw drops when he rounds the corner to find Arthur and Morgana duelling instead of the knights he expected.
30) Star - Years later the most vivid memory Merlin had of the night Arthur discovered he was now the new king of Camelot was of being summoned back from the fields where he had been gathering a type of herb for Gaius, which could only be found at night, under a canopy of the brightest stars he ever remembered seeing.
31) Home - On his rare days off Merlin likes to find a quiet place, far enough away from the castle that no-one would bother coming looking for him unless for an emergency and daydreams of life back home, wondering what his life would have been like had he never come to Camelot and met Arthur.
32) Confusion - Arthur wishes he could put his finger on just what it is about Merlin that is intriguing enough to keep him around because really he's the worst manservant ever, he thinks, as he stares and wonders how Merlin has somehow managed to turn his favourite pair of brown breeches orange.
33) Fear - "You don't want to do that, you don't even want to consider it," Arthur thought as he watched Merlin from across the crowded hall and felt a sharp spike of fear run through him.
34) Lightening/Thunder - As the thunder boomed around him, and the lightning lit Nimueh's evil smirk into sharp focus, Merlin knew that he was making the right choice in laying down his life so Arthur could live to be the great king he was destined to become.
35) Bonds - Merlin had often heard the Dragon talk of how he was bound by destiny to protect Arthur, at least until he became a great king, but really Nimueh had taken this "two sides of the same coin" business a little too literally he thought as he felt Arthur plastered to his back from head to toe.
36) Market - Arthur wanders through the marketplace, amazed that everyone seems to be ignoring him and even debates stripping off, given that yelling and gesturing aren't getting him any notice, when he feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns to find a very red-faced Merlin reaching out again to indicate that they should go back inside.
37) Technology - That night Merlin dreams of computers and televisions and other bits of technology and he doesn't know how he knows what they are, nor exactly when the time he's dreaming of is, but he knows that Arthur's not finished with this world yet and that one day he will come back.
38) Gift - If he hadn't known better he might have thought Arthur was trying to be nice to him and give him a present but he did know better so he treated the box, which had been left by the prince himself according to Gaius, with deep suspicion.
39) Smile - Although Merlin is nearly always cheerful - and doesn't Arthur hate him just a bit for that - there is one particular smile that makes Arthur incredibly suspicious and start checking to see if Camelot has been cursed with another famine just so that he will be prepared for any bowls of rat stew Merlin may try to feed him again.
40) Innocence - Arthur has learned to dread that look of complete and utter innocence on Merlin's face as he's convinced it will mean the end of the world one of these days.
41) Completion - As Merlin took Excalibur from the hand of the lady of the lake and handed it to Arthur he felt a strange sense of completion come over him; as if things were coming full circle and it wouldn't be long now before Arthur got the recognition he deserved for what he had achieved of his own accord rather than by birthright.
42) Clouds - The black looming rain clouds seemed to reflect Arthur's mood as he looked at Merlin, sighed, turned back to look out of the turret of the castle and said, "One day I will rule over all of this, as far as the eye can see, but some days I'm not even sure that I want it like this."
43) Sky -For once Merlin is glad the Prince over indulged on alcohol at that night's feast because he's really not up to explaining just why the Prince's room, which has several floors above his chambers usually, is bathed from above in light from the moon and stars in the sky.
44) Heaven - Merlin has been taught about the Old Religion when he was young and so he sometimes wonders if Arthur's version of Heaven is the same as the Summerlands he has been taught he will see after he dies.
45) Hell - This was his idea of Hell and, as Arthur races through the ruins looking for survivors amongst the charred and twisted remains of what were once people and animals now flung across the blackened courtyard and into one wing of the castle, he prays to a God he's not even sure he believes in that Merlin has followed his orders and got as many people as he could out in time whilst Arthur had helped battle the flames.
46) Sun - On the eve of battle Merlin hopes desperately that the blood red rays streaking across the sky are not a foreshadowing of what will happen to Arthur on the morrow.
47) Moon - The full moon casts a bright light over the field through which Arthur wanders, trying to avoid the heat of the castle and its inhabitants, but when he stops to take in his vivid surroundings, Merlin stumbles into him and he realises he hasn't totally escaped.
48) Waves - Arthur hadn't pick up on Merlin's aversion to large expanses of water, despite the number of times Merlin hung back when the knights and their servants threw themselves into the lakes around Camelot after some successful days' hunting in the summer, until one day on a ride they came to a cove where the waves were lapping at the beach and Merlin refused to go any further than where he was.
49) Hair - Whilst everyone in the castle knew, or at least expected Arthur to be vain and immaculate over how he looked and how he dressed what no-one but Merlin knew was that it was not choosing his outfit that the Prince took ages fussing over; it was his hair.
50) Supernova - Arthur lies on his bedroll and wonders if this is the only world ever to have bad things living in it as he watches a star shine brighter than all the others as it goes supernova above his head in the night sky but soon forgets about such matters as he kicks Merlin to force him onto his side and stop his snoring.
And thus ends my hold on this pairing. I had no idea it would take this long but I just couldn't think of anything for some of them for ages.
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Theme set: Alpha
Title: Untitled
Rating: Difficult one for this. I'm going to go with R/NC-17 overall because of one sentence which mentions blood/death in it and could be considered a bit gory(Feel free to correct me if you think I've got the wrong rating.)
Warning[s]: Graphic imagary in one and spoilers for episode 2-13, if you've not seen the second season finale yet, in another.
Notes: Betaed (yes I really needed a beta for this - it's my first challenge and first time posting fic) by the wonderful and patient tacitus_3. Thank you so much hun. I really appreciate it! Any remaining mistakes are mine and mine alone.
1) Comfort - The day Morgana leaves Camelot forever with Morgause, Merlin is the only one to offer condolences to Arthur; everyone else is too busy avoiding Uther and offering sympathy to Gwen to notice how the Prince is affected.
2) Kiss - It all happened so fast, and Merlin knows reviving Arthur would be a lot faster with magic, but now, surrounded by Uther, Geoffrey of Monmouth and various courtiers, knights and servants, Merlin is glad he was taught the "kiss of life" before coming to Camelot
3) Soft - Merlin admires Arthur's luxuriously soft looking bed and cricks his back after a night in his own lumpy one before he wakes the Prince to tell him the bad news and to let him deal with the hangover from last night's feast.
4) Pain - A physical injury could probably be fixed but Merlin can see that an act of betrayal like this brings a type of pain that will haunt Arthur until he can find a way to get his revenge.
5) Potatoes - Merlin thinks it was probably Arthur who banned the throwing of potatoes at people in the stocks after he, Merlin, ended up concussed for three days, which Arthur had ranted about for a further week, pointing out that a servant is no use to his master when he can't work.
6) Rain - It rains day and night for a week after Arthur returns Mordred back to the Druids and Merlin can't tell if it's nature herself or his own subconscious at work; he wonders if he's sealed Arthurs fate with his actions.
7) Chocolate - Arthur was told that it comes from a land far away and no one is quite sure how it got to Camelot but the big piece of chocolate, which Arthur keeps well hidden after Gwen and Morgana got hold of some, is one of his most prized possessions, and Merlin gave it to him as a Yule gift.
8) Happiness - Not even Merlin knows for sure why he's so happy the Royal Prat is okay after his battle with the Questing Beast but he tries to tell himself that it is just something to do with their shared "destiny" and how Arthur is still around to unite Albion.
9) Telephone - Sometimes having magic can be a pain and one of those times is when it makes him dream he can conjure things which haven't been invented yet, such as something called a "telephone," which, when he awakes, he realises is an utterly foolish notion and so he doesn't try.
10) Ears - Merlin couldn't understand why Arthur was in fits of laughter until he realised that maybe he shouldn't have said "I'm all ears, Sire!"
11) Name - Merlin didn't realise just how powerful a name could be until he found himself doing several tasks he wouldn't ordinarily have done if Arthur hadn't used his name like that when asking him.
12) Sensual - Merlin could neither explain why he randomly kept getting flashes of short blond hair and a wicked smile which fitted the description of none of the maidservants nor why said flashes left him reeling from the effects.
13) Death - Merlin would never forget how certain he had been that Arthur was dead when he'd seen the Prince being carried in Uther's arms
14) Sex - Merlin choked on his dinner when, with a loud bang, Arthur shoved the door to Gaius's chambers open and demanded to know which of the chambermaids Merlin had been sleeping with this time.
15) Touch - Arthur muses why he touches Merlin more than he has any other servant and comes to the conclusion that Merlin is just that much of an idiot that he needs all of the help and encouragement he can get.
16) Weakness - Merlin was the only one who knew of Arthur's weakness for a certain servant girl and he was still debating, on his way back to said Prince's chambers, whether he could barter time in the stocks for his continued silence on the matter.
17) Tears - Arthur waited a couple of minutes after he was out of the room before doubling up with laughter and letting tears of mirth stream down his face at the memory of Merlin holding the dress in front of himself.
18) Speed - Time is of the essence as Merlin's horse races across the terrain to bring Arthur back to Camelot safely whilst the poison from the dog's fangs turn Arthur's skin a bluish colour.
19) Wind - Merlin's not so sure he and Arthur huddling up together so that Arthur can protect him from the sudden freezing wind, because as Arthur says he's all skin and bones and wouldn't survive if they didn't, is such a good idea because castle gossip has started from less than this and the knights smirking in their direction are a sure sign this idea probably won't end well.
20) Freedom - Merlin is the first person Arthur sees looming over him on a muddy bank and he wonders at the strange sense of freedom he suddenly feels, almost as if he's been released from some kind of spell.
21) Life - The "life flashing before your eyes" adage didn't really count when all Arthur could focus on were the teeth heading for his face before he was suddenly pushed out of the monsters' way by an invisible force and; as his sword flew out of his hand with the impact of landing, he noticed Merlin had been standing behind him.
22) Jealousy - Arthur hates to admit that despite all the riches he has and all the wealth and land he's entitled to he's incredibly jealous over the freedom Merlin has, and his ability to make friends, and not have any responsibilities outside of his duties to Arthur and Gaius.
23) Hands - Merlin's hands, Arthur thinks, are as big as his ears so he wonders how his manservant can be so clumsy with hands that are obviously big enough to catch everything.
24) Taste - Merlin takes a quick look around him to make sure Arthur isn't looking his way before sneaking a taste of the sweet fruits left over from the prince's dinner then collects the plates and dishes and leaves Arthur to his sulking once again.
25) Devotion - Arthur thinks his manservant has finally learned that a prince deserves respect and devotion at all times as his lord and master, which lasts all of five minutes before Merlin insists that he is a prat once again.
26) Forever - When he was first appointed Arthur's manservant, a lifetime of service to the Prince had felt like it would last forever, but as he prepares Arthur's body to be sent on to its next life Merlin doesn't think this lifetime was long enough for Arthur to accomplish all he wanted to do before he died.
27) Blood - Merlin closed his eyes briefly against the sight and stench of the blood and bodies strewn across the battlefield and prayed to all the Gods that he had arrived in time to ensure Arthur was still alive and unharmed.
28) Sickness - Merlin felt a wave of nausea almost consume him at the sight of what was left of the knights' body and Arthur was behind him in an instant catching him as his legs buckled and he fell to the ground.
29) Melody - Merlin hears the strange melody only the clashing of swords in practise can produce but his jaw drops when he rounds the corner to find Arthur and Morgana duelling instead of the knights he expected.
30) Star - Years later the most vivid memory Merlin had of the night Arthur discovered he was now the new king of Camelot was of being summoned back from the fields where he had been gathering a type of herb for Gaius, which could only be found at night, under a canopy of the brightest stars he ever remembered seeing.
31) Home - On his rare days off Merlin likes to find a quiet place, far enough away from the castle that no-one would bother coming looking for him unless for an emergency and daydreams of life back home, wondering what his life would have been like had he never come to Camelot and met Arthur.
32) Confusion - Arthur wishes he could put his finger on just what it is about Merlin that is intriguing enough to keep him around because really he's the worst manservant ever, he thinks, as he stares and wonders how Merlin has somehow managed to turn his favourite pair of brown breeches orange.
33) Fear - "You don't want to do that, you don't even want to consider it," Arthur thought as he watched Merlin from across the crowded hall and felt a sharp spike of fear run through him.
34) Lightening/Thunder - As the thunder boomed around him, and the lightning lit Nimueh's evil smirk into sharp focus, Merlin knew that he was making the right choice in laying down his life so Arthur could live to be the great king he was destined to become.
35) Bonds - Merlin had often heard the Dragon talk of how he was bound by destiny to protect Arthur, at least until he became a great king, but really Nimueh had taken this "two sides of the same coin" business a little too literally he thought as he felt Arthur plastered to his back from head to toe.
36) Market - Arthur wanders through the marketplace, amazed that everyone seems to be ignoring him and even debates stripping off, given that yelling and gesturing aren't getting him any notice, when he feels a hand on his shoulder and he turns to find a very red-faced Merlin reaching out again to indicate that they should go back inside.
37) Technology - That night Merlin dreams of computers and televisions and other bits of technology and he doesn't know how he knows what they are, nor exactly when the time he's dreaming of is, but he knows that Arthur's not finished with this world yet and that one day he will come back.
38) Gift - If he hadn't known better he might have thought Arthur was trying to be nice to him and give him a present but he did know better so he treated the box, which had been left by the prince himself according to Gaius, with deep suspicion.
39) Smile - Although Merlin is nearly always cheerful - and doesn't Arthur hate him just a bit for that - there is one particular smile that makes Arthur incredibly suspicious and start checking to see if Camelot has been cursed with another famine just so that he will be prepared for any bowls of rat stew Merlin may try to feed him again.
40) Innocence - Arthur has learned to dread that look of complete and utter innocence on Merlin's face as he's convinced it will mean the end of the world one of these days.
41) Completion - As Merlin took Excalibur from the hand of the lady of the lake and handed it to Arthur he felt a strange sense of completion come over him; as if things were coming full circle and it wouldn't be long now before Arthur got the recognition he deserved for what he had achieved of his own accord rather than by birthright.
42) Clouds - The black looming rain clouds seemed to reflect Arthur's mood as he looked at Merlin, sighed, turned back to look out of the turret of the castle and said, "One day I will rule over all of this, as far as the eye can see, but some days I'm not even sure that I want it like this."
43) Sky -For once Merlin is glad the Prince over indulged on alcohol at that night's feast because he's really not up to explaining just why the Prince's room, which has several floors above his chambers usually, is bathed from above in light from the moon and stars in the sky.
44) Heaven - Merlin has been taught about the Old Religion when he was young and so he sometimes wonders if Arthur's version of Heaven is the same as the Summerlands he has been taught he will see after he dies.
45) Hell - This was his idea of Hell and, as Arthur races through the ruins looking for survivors amongst the charred and twisted remains of what were once people and animals now flung across the blackened courtyard and into one wing of the castle, he prays to a God he's not even sure he believes in that Merlin has followed his orders and got as many people as he could out in time whilst Arthur had helped battle the flames.
46) Sun - On the eve of battle Merlin hopes desperately that the blood red rays streaking across the sky are not a foreshadowing of what will happen to Arthur on the morrow.
47) Moon - The full moon casts a bright light over the field through which Arthur wanders, trying to avoid the heat of the castle and its inhabitants, but when he stops to take in his vivid surroundings, Merlin stumbles into him and he realises he hasn't totally escaped.
48) Waves - Arthur hadn't pick up on Merlin's aversion to large expanses of water, despite the number of times Merlin hung back when the knights and their servants threw themselves into the lakes around Camelot after some successful days' hunting in the summer, until one day on a ride they came to a cove where the waves were lapping at the beach and Merlin refused to go any further than where he was.
49) Hair - Whilst everyone in the castle knew, or at least expected Arthur to be vain and immaculate over how he looked and how he dressed what no-one but Merlin knew was that it was not choosing his outfit that the Prince took ages fussing over; it was his hair.
50) Supernova - Arthur lies on his bedroll and wonders if this is the only world ever to have bad things living in it as he watches a star shine brighter than all the others as it goes supernova above his head in the night sky but soon forgets about such matters as he kicks Merlin to force him onto his side and stop his snoring.
And thus ends my hold on this pairing. I had no idea it would take this long but I just couldn't think of anything for some of them for ages.