1 - 20 of 168 Bookmarks by Buffan
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“I never believed that you would betray me,” Arthur says, because Merlin knows him, even if the same might not be true the other way around. Merlin could tell when he was lying, when he was lashing out to protect himself, long before a bond tore down all the defences Arthur so carefully erected around himself. “Do not pretend that you ever believed me capable of truly hating you. I could not, no matter how much I may want to.”
The way Merlin’s face twists reveals that there is another story there, and words echo within Arthur’s head, guttural and ancient—a half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole.
He wants to laugh at the truth of it, at the absurdity of it all. Here they are, a prince and a servant, Uther Pendragon’s son and one of the most powerful sorcerers to ever walk the earth—caught up in a fight over who possesses more devotion, who is going to ruin themself for the other’s sake first.
One hot summer day and an ill-advised kiss leave Arthur with an incomplete soul bond, panic about all his secrets coming to light, and the question of why Merlin is so afraid of Uther. Actually, scratch that—why is Merlin afraid of him?
Series
- Part 42 of Merlin Stories
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 22,200
- Chapters:
- 2/2
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 352
- Kudos:
- 4,808
- Bookmarks:
- 1,109
- Hits:
- 46,101
Bookmarked by Buffan
02 Jan 2026
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Arthur is cursed to speak his honest thoughts aloud. Hijinks ensue.
- Title from Cherry Hearts by The Shins
Bookmarked by Buffan
18 Dec 2025
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In which if Merlin has to see the cracked gray of his bedroom ceiling one more time, he’s gonna scream. Or punch someone. Maybe the wall. Definitely Arthur, who can’t seem to find the words to say what he wants to, but after the morning Merlin’s had, whatever it was can’t possible help.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 20,653
- Chapters:
- 6/6
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 126
- Kudos:
- 2,317
- Bookmarks:
- 411
- Hits:
- 20,846
Bookmarked by Buffan
28 Nov 2025
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Arthur needs a date for Gwen's wedding. The rest is history.
Bookmarked by Buffan
27 Oct 2025
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Bradley and Colin accidentally share a cuddle nap, and it turns out to be the best nap they've ever had.
Bookmarked by Buffan
20 Oct 2025
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Arthur discovers Merlin's magic, but no matter how hard he tries he can't tell him that he knows - even when he starts having nightmares about Merlin's death.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 6,469
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 5
- Comments:
- 88
- Kudos:
- 7,797
- Bookmarks:
- 1,123
- Hits:
- 75,207
Bookmarked by Buffan
21 Sep 2025
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Arthur felt the cold steel slide between his ribs, shred his heart and tear through his lung.
Series
- Part 3 of Safeguard
Bookmarked by Buffan
21 Sep 2025
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Arthur is not amused when his (probably insane) father decides to hold a Secret Santa exchange for the entirety of Pendragon Corporation. He's even less amused (and more than a bit panicky) when he draws Merlin's name.
Bookmarked by Buffan
21 Sep 2025
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Merlin spent the week and a half that Arthur was gone splitting his time between crafting careful explanations that never ended up explaining the important things, the things that would make Arthur listen, and making half-baked plans to escape to Ealdor. He found a number of fire-proofing spells that would have no effect if they decided to cut his head off, and figured out how to adapt an invulnerability spell he had been trying to find a way to cast on Arthur without him noticing so that it would protect him from being decapitated, but it would have no effect on anything but metal. Despite all his frantic searching, he did not find a teleportation spell, because that would have been too simple and if there was one thing Merlin had learned in his years at Camelot, it was that nothing was ever simple.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 6,298
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 7
- Comments:
- 204
- Kudos:
- 17,761
- Bookmarks:
- 2,758
- Hits:
- 165,120
Bookmarked by Buffan
06 Jul 2025
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When Merlin is away from Camelot, Arthur misses him much more than he should.
Bookmarked by Buffan
08 Jun 2025
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“I just mean your—uh—princely decorum is not all it can be right now. It’s a little wine-drowned. Wine drunk. Wine,” Merlin tries, the words sticking in his throat. His mouth is dry; it does that when Arthur arches his back like he’s doing now, stretching himself like a fucking lion across the bed, all royal and beautiful.
“Merlin,” he sighs, waving a hand messily in the air beside him before letting it drop heavily to the mattress. “Kiss my ass.”
And Merlin is really, really not sure what comes over him, but he. He does.
Bookmarked by Buffan
08 Jun 2025
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Arthur never asked to be obsessed with Merlin’s stupid little neckerchief. It just happened.
Bookmarked by Buffan
08 Jun 2025
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Merlin is very glad Arthur’s back is turned to him, because he’s quite certain he’s just made a violently affronted face. He tries to school the expression, nose still wrinkled up dual fondness and disgust as he towel dries Arthur’s shoulders and blurts, “are you offering me your dirty bath water?”
Arthur reels around and glares at him. “Well, I suppose when you put it that way it hardly sounds generous. Or sanitary.”
Bookmarked by Buffan
07 Jun 2025
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Arthur gets very cold and Merlin has to warm him up (with naked snuggling).
Bookmarked by Buffan
03 Jun 2025
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Arthur wakes up changed - and that changes everything else.
Bookmarked by Buffan
03 Jun 2025
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Merlin was a sincere little puzzle-box, and Arthur wanted nothing more than to take him apart, and perhaps even see how best to put him back together. He didn't realize that Merlin might be the key to his own heart.
An anti-reveal/pre-reveal fic. There is also fun with an enchanted boar, pre-Round Table Knights, and more fallout from The Curse of Cornelius Sigan. Oh, and smut. Lots of smut.
Series
- Part 2 of Falconry
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 28,687
- Chapters:
- 4/4
- Comments:
- 154
- Kudos:
- 2,788
- Bookmarks:
- 303
- Hits:
- 81,014
Bookmarked by Buffan
19 May 2025
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“I wonder what it’s like.”
Merlin looks at him then, surprise evident on his face. For a moment he just stares, like he’s seeing Arthur for the first time.
“Would you like me to show you?”
***
In which Merlin is vanilla and Arthur can't imagine how that would feel good- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,244
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 94
- Kudos:
- 1,502
- Bookmarks:
- 227
- Hits:
- 13,459
Bookmarked by Buffan
15 May 2025
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Merlin never comes to Camelot. Uther dies and Arthur becomes King. He immediately legalises magic and faces backlash that sends him into war right away. Merlin decides to find out the true intentions of the young Pendragon King for himself.
Arthur and Merlin fall in love during a siege.
Bookmarked by Buffan
27 Apr 2025
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Things are going pretty well for Merlin and Arthur. They've brought peace to the five kingdoms, magic is no longer shadowed by tyranny, and everyone is generally having a good time. Only, Merlin is pretty sure Arthur's going to pack his bags and run away in the middle of the night if one more person asks him why he hasn't taken a queen yet.
They decide to take a few days and travel to Ealdor so Arthur can get away from some of the pressure of being Camelot's king. But little does Merlin know, the revelations they'll have while they're there will follow them back to Camelot and beyond.
In which Arthur tries to be a farmer but ends up more as Merlin's slightly useless house husband.
One-shot
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,606
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 60
- Kudos:
- 2,385
- Bookmarks:
- 369
- Hits:
- 14,540
Bookmarked by Buffan
22 Apr 2025
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'Arthur saw you, yet you will heal him anyway.'
Merlin saves Arthur's life once more, but this time, Arthur knows.
Bookmarked by Buffan
16 Apr 2025