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A Comfortable Exile by Merlinfirstlastalways
Fandom: Arthurian Mythology, Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms, Merlin (TV)
11 Sep 2025
- Words:
- 84,876
- Works:
- 4
- Bookmarks:
- 168
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Summary
“Please fire me,” Merlin laughs. “I dare you to sack me for longer than two days.”
“You don’t think I can make it two days without you?” The idea is absurd. As if he needs Merlin of all people.
“You haven’t yet.”
. .
Or: Arthur doesn’t know what the point of his manservant is. (Until, of course, he does.
Series
- Part 1 of All That Your Love Can Bring
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 9,349
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 59
- Kudos:
- 750
- Bookmarks:
- 120
- Hits:
- 6,459
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Bookmark Notes:
iybitu4tf bh
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Leather Means Assassin by Katasstrobee for Isthisusernameavailableornot
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
21 Apr 2025
Tags
Summary
By some magical accident, an older Merlin steps into Camelot, 10 years ago. Only now, he's buff and good with a sword, looks good in armour, is a fucking assassin, and claims to be Arthur's husband.
Or
"The crest on it means you're a member of the royal family." said Leon, red-faced and about to burst a vein or two, making them all jump.
"Something like that." Merlin grinned.
"What?" Arthur choked out.
"Oh we're married. Did I forget to mention?" Merlin asked with an innocent tilt of his head
Or
"Relax, darling. I've been begging His Royal Prat-ness for a vacation for ages. I'm starting to think you actually want to see me on my hands and knees."
Arthur dropped his sword with a clang, felt the need to lie down for a while. Merlin laughed and took a hold of his bicep. "Come." He said. "I'm dying to see everyone."
And Arthur let himself be man-handled and dragged along like a boy toy. Because this was his life now.
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Summary
When a noble visits Camelot with her servant-turned-lover, Merlin thinks he and Arthur may actually have a chance. But when Arthur uses the visit as inspiration to instead court Gwen, Merlin develops a tickle in his throat. Then a cough. Then flower petals.
Beltane is a time for celebrating new life and new births, but Merlin will be lucky to survive until the festival, since the only cure for Hanahaki is to have one’s love returned…and Arthur doesn’t love him.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 18,757
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 7
- Comments:
- 293
- Kudos:
- 7,494
- Bookmarks:
- 1,515
- Hits:
- 66,579
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Bookmark Notes:
I will always love this one. Oh the pain is just nice
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Never Knew What We Had (Until He Was Gone) by Merlinfirstlastalways
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
29 Jun 2024
Tags
Summary
Arthur was at his wits' end when he caught Merlin walking out of the tavern, which led him to make a horrible mistake, one that proved to be the last straw for Merlin, who decided there was nothing else to do but publically quit his job and leave Camelot in a huff.
Arthur never realized how much Merlin did for him-- or for Guinevere-- until he was gone; neither he nor his wife realized just how integral Merlin was to Camelot... and to their marriage.
*Story is complete apart from final editing and will be posted in full over the next few days. Currently clocking in at about 20k. Explicit in the fifth chapter.*
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 25,932
- Chapters:
- 6/6
- Comments:
- 175
- Kudos:
- 1,505
- Bookmarks:
- 366
- Hits:
- 17,308
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- Words:
- 12,466
- Works:
- 3
- Bookmarks:
- 13
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Bookmark Notes:
“ Their leader struck me,” Leon explained. “A punch, nothing serious, just enough to show us what was to come. But then Merlin… he said that he hadn’t signed up for this, that he was just a servant and he wasn’t going to die for a king who didn’t appreciate him.”
That… didn’t sound like Merlin. Arthur frowned, his confusion only barely overcoming a spike of distress at the words didn’t appreciate him.
“Merlin wouldn’t say that,” Gwaine said fiercely.
“That’s what I thought,” Leon said. A small grin quirked one side of his mouth, and something like pride gleamed in his eyes. “Then he started talking.”
“They asked about you,” Elyan cut in. “Your weaknesses, how to breach the city. Merlin told them what you eat for breakfast. They asked for the size of your army. He talked for half an hour about polishing your boots. ”
^^ the first story of very many very good ones. Currently at 5 works, all incredible. They read as all being within the same canon, interweaving and self-supporting
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Summary
“Gwen, it’s terrible,” Merlin said. “He’s polite! He’s kind, even!”
“And that’s a problem?” Gwen asked, dryly.
"I’m going to have to go through an entire week serving the perfect Golden Prince, and then go back to my Prince Prat, and I think it’s going to break me, Gwen. He’s going to get me used to it, and then it’ll be back to mile-long lists, and being called stupid instead of spectacular and how am I supposed to handle that?”
Gwen said, hesitantly, “I thought you liked Arthur?”
“I do,” Merlin said, sounding even lower than before. “I have to.”
* * *
When a visiting Prince visits Camelot, and takes Merlin as his servant during his negotiations with The Crown, Merlin finds himself being seen in a way he'd always wished Arthur would see him, and doesn't know what to do with any of it.Series
- Part 1 of The Grail Knight
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 33,135
- Chapters:
- 6/6
- Comments:
- 322
- Kudos:
- 3,324
- Bookmarks:
- 736
- Hits:
- 51,426
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Summary
When Hunith falls ill, Merlin returns to Ealdor expecting quiet farm work and his mother's terrible herbal tea. He did not expect:
1. Arthur inviting himself along ("supervising servant productivity")
2. The knights, Morgana, and Gwen inventing increasingly ridiculous excuses to join
3. His own childhood nickname ("Emrys") resurfacing at the worst possible momentBetween delivering foals, terrifying local bullies, and spinning firelit tales that suspiciously glow, Merlin's carefully constructed "clumsy servant" persona starts crumbling. And Arthur—well. Arthur's too busy having a quiet existential crisis over why his manservant looks right with village children hanging off his arms and sunlight in his stupid hair.
Featuring: Gwaine as protective chaos incarnate, Hunith's knowing smiles, and at least three knights realizing they've been outclassed by a man who talks to livestock.
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Bookmark Notes:
Captured quiet longing perfectly
Fills the heart with a steady and calm warmth
Favorite of the quatre - perhaps year.Re-read anytime.
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Summary
When Arthur decides that he should humor his Council and at least make an effort in finding a bride, he enlists the help of Morgana. Her solution? A list of questions about Arthur's favorite things: if one of his possible matches could answer them, well, that would mean he had a chance at happiness with them, right?
At first, Arthur thinks it's a ridiculous idea.
Then he discovers that Merlin, who has no idea what the questions are for, somehow knows all the answers
Series
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Summary
In which Merlin wakes up and chooses violence, and decides not to rethink that choice.
Or: Merlin realizes that, if he's going to keep Arthur safe and keep his magic a secret, he will have to get a little bit physical. Arthur has to rethink everything in existence when he's suddenly forced to confront the fact that Merlin can fight, and is in fact, bloody dangerous
Or: The author randomly thought "Murder Twink Merlin" while re-watching the show, and decided it was his mission in life to make that a tag.
Series
- Part 1 of Murder Twink! Merlin
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 13,802
- Chapters:
- 9/9
- Comments:
- 610
- Kudos:
- 8,547
- Bookmarks:
- 1,847
- Hits:
- 76,479
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Summary
“Galiad, fifth son of Chrockland, former Knight of Camelot, for your grievous crimes against the crown, I hereby sentence you to execution, death by beheading–”
Galiad fell to his knees, ears ringing. He never should have tried to kill the King. It had been a stupid, reckless decision, and he could not believe he’d been so easily bribed into it.
He had let his ego get the better of him, and now, here he was, on his knees in the throne room, fighting back tears, trying not to throw up all over the stone floor, begging for his life to be spared.
And here’s the real kicker; he wasn’t even on trial for the attempted murder of his King. His Majesty didn’t know about that.
No, Galiad was on trial for the crime he’d committed against King Arthur’s manservant.
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- Words:
- 13,802
- Works:
- 1
- Bookmarks:
- 206
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Bookmark Notes:
Merlin has skills and Arthur discovers how much of a simp he really is
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Summary
Assassins, just a daily mild annoyance.
or
Elyan happens on Merlin taking care of business as usual and is shook.*Unrelated one-shot*
Series
- Part 2 of ARP’s Powerful Merlin fics
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Summary
It's just Merlin's luck to get trapped in a castle with the knights and a crazy fae who wants to see how well he can lie. Fortunately, he's very good at lying.
Unfortunately, the fae isn't too pleased about that.The knights are going to have a lot of questions if they live through this.
Series
- Part 1 of The Life and Times of Merlin Emrys
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,262
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 14
- Comments:
- 169
- Kudos:
- 7,802
- Bookmarks:
- 1,354
- Hits:
- 59,181
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Out of the Woods: The Tale of the White Bratchet by Merlinfirstlastalways
Fandoms: Merlin (TV), Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms
19 Feb 2024
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Summary
In which many strange creatures begin to show up in the woods outside of Camelot, and Merlin finds several more reasons to hate hunting.
Starts up after Arthur becomes Prince Regent, but before the events of 4x01.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Gaius,” Merlin started to ask, a bit hesitantly, when he finally reached the tower, late that evening. “What all do you know about faeries?”
Gaius dropped a half-finished potion, turned several fascinating shades of red and pink before moving on to near-purple, and yelled at Merlin for being irreparably foolish for quite a long while before Merlin was able to get a word in edgewise and was allowed to tell him anything more about the afternoon.
Series
- Part 1 of Out of the Woods, or, Faeries in Camelot
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Bookmark Notes:
Silly and creative and awesome, perfection chef’s kiss
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Summary
When castle gossip reveals an old noble tradition, it threatens to break not only Merlin's faith in Arthur, but the Round Table's as well
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 32,542
- Chapters:
- 11/?
- Comments:
- 341
- Kudos:
- 1,621
- Bookmarks:
- 345
- Hits:
- 24,881
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Bookmark Tags:
Bookmark Notes:
11
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Bookmark Tags:
Bookmark Notes:
Ch6
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Bookmark Notes:
ch 11 when bookmarked
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Summary
Merlin is an amazing and loyal friend. He is also a good servant.
Arthur just need to realise he is more than that.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 5,088
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 24
- Kudos:
- 1,116
- Bookmarks:
- 162
- Hits:
- 10,577
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Summary
Now that Arthur has realized just how much his manservant cares for him, he's determined to woo him, marry him, and live happily ever after.
If only it were that simple.
~A direct sequel to A Few Of My Favorite Things~
Alternate title: five times Arthur tried to woo Merlin, and the time he finally got it right
Series
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 17,851
- Chapters:
- 6/6
- Comments:
- 195
- Kudos:
- 2,090
- Bookmarks:
- 246
- Hits:
- 23,587
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Summary
“Kneel,” Arthur said, voice calm and measured in the way it was during official ceremonies.
Merlin paled. He deflated. Shoulders hunched as if the weight of the world rested on them. Gone was the greater than life figure. It had been replaced by a terrified boy who had lived his whole life knowing he could be killed for who he was. He obeyed Arthur without hesitation. Didn’t attempt to flee or beg for his life.
Lancelot, however, revealed himself to be fiercely protective of his friend.“If you want to harm him, you’ll have to get past me first, Sire,” the knight said, coming to stand before Merlin.
Written for Merthur week day 2: Knight!Merlin + protective others
Series
- Part 2 of Merthur week 2023
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 1,517
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 20
- Kudos:
- 1,015
- Bookmarks:
- 94
- Hits:
- 8,846
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If I could hold you for a minute (I'd go through it again) by Merlins_hat
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
24 Jun 2024
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Summary
They were in the Lake of Avalon, where many of his loved ones were buried. Merlin would not—could not—let Arthur become one of them.
Gold enveloped them both, and Merlin knew no more.
Or;
Given a second chance after tragedy, Merlin and Arthur wake to find themselves back where their paths first crossed - with the foreknowledge that may allow them to rewrite destiny and realize Albion's shining future. Bonded in trust and no longer divided by secrets, can the legendary pair steer Camelot towards unity and heal old wounds? Or will new threats arise to test their commitment to shaping a peaceful new era - together?
OR,
The dumbasses go through the entire series again but this time with better communication skills, and more sex. (And hugs, lots of them)- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 28,867
- Chapters:
- 8/?
- Comments:
- 302
- Kudos:
- 1,437
- Bookmarks:
- 421
- Hits:
- 32,284
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Bookmark Notes:
8