Quick Merlin/Arthur Rec

Chosen by archaeologist_d [NC-17, infidelity] (6k)
Summary: Sometimes when all you have is love unrequited, you'll take what you can get.

This fic has so many elements I enjoy, great use of POV where we are deep in Merlin's POV while still understanding Arthur's as much as Merlin's POV allows and no more (as it should be). The tension and emotion in this fic are wonderfully done. Great imagery and just the kind of post-S3 fic I'm desperate for at the moment.

Okay... back to Getting Shit Done. If all goes as planned, the final bit the fic I am working on will be off to beta before the end of the day. \o/

ETA: oops... failed at going to Get Shit Done, and got caught reading the comments in this old post about Why are there not a lot of infidelity fics in Merlin fandom and I remembered a fic that I had wanted to rec and forgot!

Together But Sometimes Apart by pepperlandgirl4 Merlin/Lancelot, Arthur/Gwen, (eventually Arthur/Merlin, Lancelot/Gwen) [NC-17, infidelity] (20k+)
Summary: They had been brave all day, watching with blank, neutral faces as King Arthur wed Guinevere. Merlin had known Lancelot wouldn’t do anything as unbecoming as shed tears in open court, but he didn’t have so much faith in his own ability to mask his emotions.

A future fic, Canon verse, going through the complicate relationships of Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot and Gwen. A really fascinating piece that has Merlin and Lancelot looking to each other for comfort after Arthur and Gwen's marriage. But as time goes on, Merlin must deal with the fact that Lancelot and Gwen haven't seemed to have given up on each other. This is a hard read in a lot of aspects. Probably why it's taken me so long to rec it after reading is that I wasn't sure what to think. But this fic truly made me think. The characterisation of Arthur is hard to love, but in the end, I believe he was believable. Not a happy fic, but the ending (which I read before starting the fic - heh) sat comfortably with me.