Fic: Merlin the Magical Kitty of Magic

Mar 21, 2009 23:51

Happy Birthday, phineasjones!!!

In honor of Phin's birthday, I've written out one of the chatfics we've been telling each other lately. First, maybe a little bit of background for those of you unfamiliar with my favoritest shiny new precioussss:

BBC's Merlin

This is Merlin. He is a wee baby sorcerer and has large ears and an ever-present neckercheif.



This is Arthur. He is a prince and alternates between looking lovely:



And kind of weirdly lovely:



And sometimes just weird:



Merlin has to keep his magic a secret because magic is outlawed in Camelot. Please read "magic" as "gay" - this request brought to you loud and clear by TPTB, who have created this show especially for us.



Merlin is Arthur's manservant and helps him get dressed every day. And fetches his bath for him. And all other sorts of lovely bits of canon.



Canon refers to this and not remotely at all to this.

Side note: Opportunities for RPS abound!

Bradley loves Colin.

image Click to view



Colin loves Bradley.

Bradley the bully, etc.

OMG I HEART THEM SO MUCH. Um. ♥ ♥ ♥. Yup.

So the other day Phin and I were thinking how lovely it would be if Merlin turned into a kitty. Which brings us to...



(Chat!)Fic: Merlin the Magical Kitty of Magic
Fandom: BBC's Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Rating: PG
Notes: ~2000 words. How did that happen? Unbetaed, apologies.

One morning Merlin wakes up, sneezes, and turns into a kitty. He doesn't know how to turn himself back, and kind of mournfully lazes about in his room, trying to read his magic book and twitching his tail a bit in annoyance until it distracts him and he pounces on it and falls off the bed and onto the floor with a thump, which brings Gaius to the door with a frustrated, "Up finally, laze-a-bed?" Fortunately, the moment Gaius lays eyes on kitty!Merlin, he knows it's Merlin. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a quick cure on hand, and after much perusing through Merlin's magic book, determines he needs a special type of flower that grows only in the Valley of Nennius, so he saddles his donkey and departs, cautioning Merlin to "stay put and not get into trouble!"

Merlin stays put for few minutes, but eventually he gets bored. He shreds a little piece of scrap parchment for fun, and finds a ball of twine to roll about the floor, but after about a half hour of batting at it, he starts to worry that his new form may permanently affect his brain, and after another blissful bit of time with the twine, manages to shake himself and square his kitty shoulders to do something. This is when he discovers a new talent, which seems to come from his new form; he can walk through walls. He heads to Arthur's quarters, hoping a little routine might help shake his new twine obsession.

Arthur's not there, so he starts a fire with a twitch of his tail - very neat, that - and draws a bath for Arthur after managing to figure out that his whiskers are the right thing to twitch for that, and then curls up on the hearth to wait. Arthur comes in eventually from practice with his knights, takes in the warm bath and the fire, and gives a pleased sigh that turns into an annoyed snort when he sees Merlin curled up on the hearth.

"Great," Arthur says. "We've taken in a stray. Probably mangy and covered in fleas."

Merlin closes one eye lazily, and then the other, because he is really enjoying this very nice warm hearth stone, and is not really in the mood to deal with one of Arthur's moods.

"Hey, cat!" Arthur says, invading Merlin's personal space with his foot and trying to shoo him. Merlin hisses and takes a swipe at Arthur's boot. There's a satisfying feeling of claws sinking into leather, and then Merlin wishes he hadn't moved so quickly because now he's going to have to take the boot to be mended, and Arthur will manage to blame it on Merlin somehow even though he doesn't know Merlin is actually at fault. Arthur takes a step back.

"My manservant let you in, didn't he?" He leans in to look him over, then gives a long-suffering sigh. Merlin yawns neatly at him, and something in Arthur's gaze softens. "You don't look too flea-ridden. Maybe you can handle my rat problem. Merlin is completely miserable at it."

He starts to strip for his bath, and Merlin closes his eyes again, not because Arthur deserves any sort of respect or privacy, but because the stone is still very nice and warm, and the fire crackles in a rather quiet and nice way, and Arthur smells of outdoors and dirt and perhaps a little blood, and apparently these things are pleasing to a cat's nose, because Arthur smells very nice.

This thought bothers Merlin a bit, so he decides to get up and stalk around the room a while, and while he's doing this, he smells another smell, that smells absolutely delicious and his blood starts pumping, and he crouches low to the ground now as he walks, sidling around the bed and sniffing at the floorboards, and he doesn't realize what he's doing until he hears Arthur give a laugh from the bath.

"Stalking rats, are we? At least someone is earning his keep!" Arthur grumbles some more about Merlin being late bringing him his dinner, which Merlin ignores because ew! He is not going to eat rats!

He goes back over to the hearth in a huff and settles down on the stone, which isn't as warm as it was before. He doesn't dare twitch his tail now to raise the fire, not with Arthur near. Arthur goes through a whole lengthy rant about Merlin's incompetence, and calls a chambermaid for dinner, and also orders a bowl of cream for Merlin, which Merlin thoroughly enjoys - he was most certainly not going to eat a rat! - and then, when Arthur heads to his bed, Merlin realizes he should have left already. If Merlin were to leave now, Arthur would see him walk through the wall, and Merlin could be burned alive at the stake in cat form after all his care not to be discovered, and really this was foolish. Gaius certainly would give him an earful if he knew how Merlin chose to stay out of trouble.

Merlin looks between the door, and Arthur's bed, and Arthur, who is watching him for some reason or other. He decides that if he has to wait for Arthur to fall asleep for him to leave, then he might as well be comfortable. He jumps up on the bed and curls up on Arthur's fine down bedding.

"Oy, fleas!" Arthur yells, and tries to get him off, but Merlin yowls and bats at Arthur's hand, though he keeps his claws in this time. Arthur is apparently much less inclined to do battle with small cats than with dragons, sorcerers, or errant knights, because he gives up pretty easily, and lays back again. Merlin settles down carefully on the soft blankets, resting his head on his paws, curling his tail around him, and letting his eyes close until he feels a hand on his head. He cracks one eye open. Arthur has a small smile on his face as he absent-mindedly starts scratching behind Merlin's ear, which feels amazingly and utterly delightful. Merlin leans into the scratch - there, just right there! - and feels a rumbling purr start in his chest.

"You're not so bad, really," Arthur says, and Merlin relaxes even more, and falls asleep just after Arthur's hand stills and his breath grows even and deep.

*

This goes on for a few days; Gaius returns with the special flower and works on a brew to change him back, but to no avail. Gaius fabricates some story to the royal household about Merlin visiting his mother, so no one is worried, although Arthur complains bitterly to Merlin the cat about how hard it is to find good servants these days who don't run off on holiday without even asking permission from their master. Merlin ends up spending most of his time in Arthur's quarters because they're warmer, and there's the nicest ball of twine there that Arthur left one morning on the floor for some reason, and also Arthur always gets a dish of cream for him, and scritches him under the neck and behind the ears, and has even started trying out different cat names for Merlin, and ok, it's very silly and all, but really, Merlin kind of enjoys being a kitty. And at least this way he can keep an eye on Arthur and protect him at all hours of the night; he's gotten really good with this tail-twitching business. And if he catches a nightly eyeful of his royal highness's, er, royal everything, well, he can't help it that Arthur sleeps in the nude.

*

Then Merlin wakes up one morning with three sneezes in a row, and realize to his horror that:

1. he is naked;
2. he is in the bed of the crowned prince of Camelot;
3. he is no longer a cat; and
4. Arthur is staring right at him.

Their eyes meet, and Merlin realizes he's still got the little piece of ribbon around his neck that Arthur had for some reason tied there the night before - "just in case anyone thinks you're a stray" - and Arthur's gaze falls on the ribbon. His eyes narrow, and then they focus and finally take in all of Merlin, and Arthur sits up very quickly, and bellows incredulously, "MISTER CUDDLES?!?"

Merlin opens his mouth to say something, anything to explain, except only "mrrow?" comes out. He sneezes again, and manages to stutter, "Arthur, I--" before remembering that he is completely, utterly naked. He scrambles for a sheet to cover up with, and pulls it to him, which uncovers Arthur. They battle for the sheet, and Arthur wins, pulling Merlin off balance and onto the floor, but Merlin finally, finally lets his eyes go warm and tugs with his mind, handily wresting the sheet back from Arthur. He feels a brief moment of satisfaction at that before his heart drops. Arthur knows.

"Enough!" Arthur spits out, a look of pure fury on Arthur's face. Even naked he looks like proud and dangerous, every bit the future king.

Merlin ducks his head and feels his stomach sink like a stone. "Right," he says, "I'm banished then. I'll go get my things. Or, oh -" he looks up, "unless I'm to be burned..."

"You idiot." Arthur glares at him in the special way that says he thinks Merlin was dropped on his head at birth, which is sadly somewhat reassuring. "How did this happen?"

"I sneezed?"

Arthur gives him the piercing, appraising look that Merlin has seen him give his knights on the practice grounds. "What happens when you do something more purposeful than sneezing?"

Merlin squares his shoulders, reaches out one hand, and rearranges the table, bed, closet, door, and windows, and dresses himself in a dressing gown from Arthur's closet for good measure.

Arthur frown has deepened. "I see."

Merlin puts the room back the way it was. "Arthur - "

"Get out."

Merlin goes.

*

(And then see, um, then they don't talk for a week. Because I feel like this part of Arthur/Merlin fic is always the hardest - the "I'm your master, I'm supposed to protect you!" and "You lied to me!" and "Did you really think I'd let you be burned at the stake? Honestly, Merlin!" speeches. So I think they need some time apart. For Arthur to think through these things on his own. And for Merlin to you know, really hope that Arthur will forgive him because he's in love with him! Er. Because he has to protect him, right, it's his destiny, that's why. )

*

So then Merlin sniffs a lot of pepper, on purpose, and sneezes very hard, and turns back into a kitty and shows up at Arthur's door. He scratches at the door, and then meows, and then waits, because although he could walk through it, he'd really rather be invited. But he's not going to wait here forever, so after a minute or so he meows some more, and when this gets no response either, he lets out a nice long caterwaul or two, and it's kind of lovely the way the sound bounces off the walls. He could definitely do this all night; he's working up a good sound now. And taking little gouges out of Arthur's door is lovely, and very satisfying for his little claws.

Arthur finally opens the door, looking very cross, but he lets Merlin in, and he paces a while but Merlin just goes and curls up by the fire, which he blazes a little higher with the twitch of one whisker. Arthur eventually just sighs and lays down a saucer of cream next to him. So Merlin decides to try his luck, and rubs his side up against Arthur's ankle, and when Arthur doesn't move away, he twines around his legs.

Arthur says, "You really are a complete and utter idiot, you know? I wouldn't have had you sent away. Or had you executed."

And then he scritches behind Merlin's ear again, and Merlin purrs very hard.

*

And so they make up and all is well and then sometime later they realize they are two sides of the same gay coin of destiny and also IN LOVE and they have sex and get married the end! Ps. epilogue includes mpreg kittens option ftw!



\o/

So happy birthday, Phin! May the next year be filled with kitties and magic.

arthur/merlin, lolz, picspam, fic, i made this, primer, birthday, merlin

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