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1. The Bear, the Warlock and the Wheelbarrow by litinthyheart

   Fandoms: Merlin (TV)  

   • Mature
   • No Archive Warnings Apply
   • Multi
   • Complete Work

   21 Sep 2025

   Tags

   • No Archive Warnings Apply
   • Gwaine/Lancelot/Merlin (Merlin)
   • Gwaine/Lancelot (Merlin)
   • Merlin & Nimueh (Merlin)
   • Hunith & Merlin (Merlin)
   • Lancelot & Nimueh (Merlin)
   • Merlin (Merlin)
   • Gwaine (Merlin)
   • Lancelot (Merlin)
   • Nimueh (Merlin)
   • Hunith (Merlin)
   • fairytale AU
   • Fluff
   • Crack
   • Getting Together
   • established gwaine/lancelot
   • Light Angst
   • only like a sprinkling
   • Dancing
   • Animal Transformation
   • Injury
   • deriving from ridiculous circumstances and stupidity
   • Hurt Lancelot (Merlin)
   • Hurt Merlin (Merlin)
   • Innuendo
   • Undressing
   • Nudity
   • magic lancelot
   • Artist Lancelot
   • based on the fairytale the bear collected by andrew lang in the grey fairy book
   • ignore the fact that the surname i've given gwaincelot does not mean what i thought it meant
   • but sounds cool so i've kept it anyway
   • this fic does not take itself seriously for the first few chapters
   • many bear puns
   • this has taken me 3 years to write but was so worth it
   • wtf do you do when you think a talking bear is coming on to you
   • inspiration ranges from brave (2012) to paddington
   • calling them princes in the fairytale way not necessarily the historically accurate way
   • watch them all fumble over etiquette
   • alternative title could be 'heart eyes'
   • is it realistic? no
   • did i enjoy writing it? yes
   • taking the simple joy that merlin has in s1 and running with it
   • Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin)
   • sorry about hunith she kinda fell victim to the fairytale element

   Summary

   Merlin was not about to go falling in love with the first person they clapped eyes on. That was what happened in fairytales and a multitude of unpleasant events usually occurred between falling in love and the ending of the tale. Besides, Merlin was there to see the world, not the inside of other people’s mouths.

   Escaping from the tower they've lived in their entire life, Merlin has a chance encounter with a stranger in the forest that uncovers a path they'd always been told would end in a sheer drop. In tentatively following it, they begin to realise that there is more to survival than fear and that, to truly live, sometimes you have to take a few risks. And pull a few legs along the way.

   Written for Merwaincelot Week 2025 (day 7: mistaken identity)

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   50,670

   Chapters:

   5/5

   Collections:

   1

   Comments:

   12

   Kudos:

   6

   Bookmarks:

   1

   Hits:

   168