#pining!arthur

1. That Awkward Age by i_know_its_0ver 

Arthur is secretly in love with Merlin but can't tell him, so he comes up with a plan to get Merlin to help him "practice" his kissing.

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oh arthur is such a charmingly clueless fool in this fic. the fic utilises the premise of arthur and merlin growing up together, so we have the childhood friends trope going on and they’re only in their teenage years during the events in this fic, and i am very soft about these literal babies.

2. When Your Love Wakes You by Fantasy_lalaland

"Only the person Merlin loves most can wake him." The girl took on the air of someone who held the upper hand over their adversaries. "Only a kiss from the person he desires most can break the curse."

"Why?" Mordred questioned, "Why lay such a curse on him and offer the chance of a cure?"

But Arthur knew the answer even as she said it. "Merlin desires no one. It isn't within his capability to."

Takes place a year after 5 x 6, The Dark Tower

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this fic has the season 5 ot4 we deserved. merlin is unfortunately in coma throughout majority of it, but we got bamf!gwen, redeemed!morgana and arthur finally getting his braincell time.

3. A Marriage of Convenience by YulianaHenderson

Arthur knows he has a duty to marry strategically. His father had always taught him that. Arthur can't help but wish, however, that things were different.

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1. Where flowers bloom. by Michaelssw0rd

There is a myth that says: if you hold a buttercup under someone's chin, and their chin glows yellow, it means they are in love.

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this is such a cute fic!!!! it’s so in character and there’s banter ~~~

2. So Where Are My Flowers? by tehfanglyfish

A question asked as a joke leads to years of fresh flowers waiting for Arthur each morning until the one day he almost screws things up.

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this is cute too! i love how this fic basically fixed bbc’s mistake of not having merlin deliver flowers to his very jealous boyfriend.

2. vignettes on the art of subtlety by deadmemewalking

The evolution of Merlin and Arthur's relationship as told in vignettes and Victorian flower language.

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1. Mistakes Well Made by TheCourtSorcerer

Arthur Pendragon is a famous Prosecuting Attorney, known for his dedication and success in his work. He is also the Pendragon of the newly re-named and re-branded Pendragon & LeFay Law Firm, he and Morgana LeFay, his half-sister and equally famous Family Law Lawyer, having become partners in the Firm after their father Uther Pendragon (the well-known if not famous Defense Attorney) retired and passed the Firm that his father founded to the two of them.

Merlin Emrys is the minorly overworked, but insanely well-paid, Personal Assistant to Arthur Pendragon. He is well-known to the public, due to being seen frequently with the man in question. They are rarely seen apart, even in the courtroom, where Merlin tends to sit in the back row and watch his boss work his hardest and simultaneously charm the court.

Morgana LeFay is "a cold-blooded she-devil who wants nothing more than to see me squirm, Merlin." She is also quite sick of seeing her married-to-his-work brother pine over his PA, and equally sick of seeing her overworked friend pine over her brother.

It takes only one accidental tweet to ruin Merlin's life.

Or does it?

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this fic is so cute. i loved the author used text messages and tweets to tell some of the story, and the ending is pretty cute TT

2. Message Sent [A Minor Technical Error] by TheCourtSorcerer

Merlin stared in speechlessness at his desktop screen. His brain effectively short-circuited after reading ‘I’m madly attracted to you’ and he’d been re-reading the email for the past five minutes.

This email was not meant for him. He knew this email was not meant for him. It was very clearly not meant for him.

In fact, it stated multiple times, it was in fact meant for Morgana.

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it’s another fic from the same author above, so you just know it’s going to be short and cute. enjoy!

3. Mustn't Flirt with your Assistant by Ivalee

Arthur knows he shouldn't flirt with his assistant. But that doesn't stop him doing it.

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1. most beloved by junekiss

At first, it hadn’t crossed his mind- not really- that Merlin may have such a distinct and specific taste in men. It had all fallen into place when one fateful afternoon, Merlin spoke about some Greek hero, some ancient, Hellenic lad by the name of Achilles.

or,

In which Arthur wants to look like Achilles to win Merlin's heart, but of course, he's missing the whole point.

Written for Scruffy Pendragon Fest 2020.

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hello i love this fic so much TT

2. baby, give me a sign (that you want to be mine) by schweet_heart

Arthur is under the (mistaken) impression that Merlin's neckerchief is a token of love. Merlin is under the (mistaken) impression that Arthur is in love with somebody else. It's a good thing neither of them is the jealous type, otherwise things could end up getting pretty awkward...

Written for Merlin Holidays 2020.

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pining!arthur trying to woo a pining!merlin who understandably does not understand what arthur is trying to do and the both of them being jealous and the misunderstandings. i love this fic so much you don’t understand.

3. inhiare ardens by microcomets

Merlin starts a courtship, and Arthur’s fine with it. Completely fine with it.

In which Arthur discovers that he’s not fine with it, and some other things about himself.

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summary: Arthur was just waiting for his manservant to crack, to show some measure of disloyalty but, besides the occasional grumbling and his inability to address Arthur with the proper title, he was…not a model servant because he was still crap, but he was just as good as he had always been. Arthur wondered how long it would take his magic to corrupt him.