#bran killson

process

Trying to force myself to finish a fic I conceptualised back in 2015. I have now put a chapter into the world, so hopefully it will force me to finish it.

(but also character study or h/c just Will realising that there are some things (the bad - spending time growing up living on the streets - and the good - magic) that he will never share with Bran or Kay and they know each other better than Will can ever know them because of it)

i meeeaaaan, hit me up with it anyway, i’m very down for post-canon Killson hcs.

and YES, i love the bittersweet angst of that. i can’t decide if Kay would be more or less likely to catch on to Will’s feelings of alienation in their little family. because Kay is intimately familiar with that feeling, and with craving personal connections in order to feel properly bonded into a group. would that experience make him more sensitive to Will feeling the same way? or would finally having connections like that with Bran, and with knowing Will primarily as a more confident (and self-sufficient, overall less needy) person blind him a bit to how Will is pulling away from them?

if the latter, how long would it take for someone to notice?

would it be Kay, finally after the third time that Will blew off an invitation to join him and Bran on something because Will doesn’t want to intrude or be a third wheel in their obviously closer relationship? would it be Bran, noticing the way Will gets quiet and weird whenever Bran tries to share magic-related things with him? would it be Merlin, asking Will why the fuck he’s pushing away the best relationships he’s ever had in his life and when his self-sabotaging tendencies made a resurgence? maybe even Arthur, calling Will out in the bluntest possible way because he knows that Will would find a way to rationalize it if he’s any more tactful about it?

someone has to get through to him about it. bang it into his head that Kay and Bran love him, even if he wasn’t a street rat and doesn’t have magic. believe it or not, that isn’t the sum total of any of their experiences.

Without Will, who would help Bran with his maths homework? who would join him in taking the piss out of Kay for liking bodice ripper romance novels? who would watch saturday morning cartoons with him? who would teach him how to count cards in poker and also the best bluffing methods for talking himself out of trouble when he gets caught counting cards in poker?

Without Will, who would keep Kay endlessly entertained by being easily flustered by public flirting? who would spar with him, no holds barred, in a way that somehow also makes him laugh? who else would always remember to get the off brand of biscuits because Kay grew up on those and thinks the expensive brand tastes like bullocks? who else would understand exactly how terrifying it is when Bran looks at him with tears in his eyes, expecting and trusting him to fix things? 

Will doesn’t have to share their pasts as long as he’s willing to share their future, and not having magic doesn’t mean that they love him less for it. Kay and Bran will never be able to share the bizarre contradictory comradery that Will and Gwaine share as snipers, or that Will and Arthur share as statisticians, or that Will and Merlin share as childhood friends. what does any of that matter when Will is theirs, huh?

I think we don't talk enough about Lucan sharing a room with them as Kay and Will navigate their accidental baby teenager acquisition.

"You watched a building come down," Kay said.

"There's riots in the streets," Will said.

"Pretty sure there was a train wreck somewhere in there," Kay said.

"Wasn't there an assassination attempt, too?" Will asked.

"And then there were the suits from MI-6," Kay said, tapping the remote on the sofa arm.

"Magic storm," Will said, flapping a hand in the air.

"Half the city on fire," Kay said.

Bran groaned and slumped deeper in the pillows, banging his head back before sinking against Merlin. "Do they ever shut up?"

Merlin didn't look up from his laptop. He pointed at Will. "That one? Not really."

Bran gestured at Kay. "What about that one?"

"Not when Will's in the room," Pellinor said, walking past to drop into the plush armchair.

Kay walked by, reached down, and split them apart