Ten Things Merlin Loves About Arthur’s Hands

[marguerite_26]

For hermette – A very quick something as a thank you for my lovely new icon. ♥ I tried to write a 30-word tiny ficlet but ended up with this instead. :)

Title Ten Things Merlin Loves About Arthur’s Hands
Rating: G
Word Count: 400

Ten Things Merlin Loves About Arthur’s Hands

They never stop moving while he talks to his knights by the campfire; they are on his jaw, his cheek, his lips. It’s too much, and Merlin must look away and focus on turning the spit or the rabbit will burn.

One moment they can clench the hilt of a sword like the safety of all Camelot depends on their skill and the next they can stroke the dirty cheek of a child whose father lies dead only a few feet away.

The way they tremble sometimes after Arthur's spoken to his father. Merlin has to stop himself from taking hold of them and whispering, “You are not him. You will never be him.”

On lonely winter nights, when Arthur thinks Merlin is distracted with the filth of the hearth or the endless piles of armour to polish, he takes out his mother’s locket – the one, Merlin discovered, Arthur had stolen from the king’s chambers – and he strokes a finger up and down the ivory with such longing that Merlin’s heart aches.

The familiar weight of them on Merlin’s shoulders as Arthur stands close and whispers something important or something ridiculous.

The way he rubs his ring across his bottom lip back and forth as he stands on the barracks, watching his people. Merlin thinks he can see the king inside, taking shape right before his eyes.

The silver line of the scar on his left index finger that Arthur tells visiting noble women was the result of a bite from an angry boar, but Merlin knows Arthur’s knife had slipped trying to cut the laces of his breeches when he’d needed his chamber pot too badly to fiddle with the knot.

The soft beat Arthur’s fingers drum on the side of the tub while Merlin washes his hair. Merlin figures it's a prince's equivalent to purring.

The way they run through Merlin's hair to pluck out a blade of grass or hay only to hold it out, accusing, in front of Merlin nose while Arthur says, “Idiot,” with his cheeks pink and eyes soft.

Best of all, Merlin sees in his dreams the way, someday, Arthur’s hand will fit into his, strong and gentle. Together their hands will be puzzle pieces slotting into place, perfect and invincible.

Comments

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

That made me smile. :)

(Also, my first thought was "Word Count: 400", that can't be right. Shouldn't it be 40,000? Heh. Too much Big Bang! *g*)

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

Thank you! and ahaha!!! The only way I could manage a big bang would be if it allowed 400 word entries. :DDD


Also- GAH!!! I've been seeing your recs!!! But I don't know what you are saying!!! *cries* I wanna know. *vows to learn German* :D

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

The one outside the cut is a rec, all the links behind the cut aren't recs, they are just the stories I've read and didn't rec. Tastes are so different that one person's rec is another person's do not want! I thought saying something about the stories I didn't like all that much (or not enough to rec them) could still be helpful for someone else. :)

The latest rec basically says that the story is a historical AU set in the 6th century, meaning it transfers the canon verse into the historical Arthurian Legend verse, and it's epic and good and makes me happy.

[marguerite-26.livejournal.com]

hee! Thanks for the translation. :)

I will certainly add it to my list. I've got three more recs I'm writing up for tomorrow. I'm currently loving Missed Connections. I was a bit afraid it would be 30k of nothing but smut, but it's turning out lovely.

What are you on next?

[frogspace.livejournal.com]

I'm currently loving Missed Connections.

I liked Missed Connections but more as original slash than as Merlin fic so it didn't end up on my rec list. That's a problem I usually have with modern AUs in Merlin fandom; just not my cup of tea.

What are you on next?

I've read The House On Castleview Road. Modern AU, enjoyable romance with a bit of domestic fluff and just the right thing to get a bit of distance to the intensity of the canon 'verse story I read before that. Probably won't rec it (see my issues with modern AUs, but there wasn't anything wrong with it and someone more into modern AUs will probably love it).

I've also read The Colour Of Cartoon Sunshine. Wrong Merlin Big Bang, I know, but I couldn't resist long Bradley/Colin fic and this one had the right combination of angsty, delicious and happy-making boys in love.

Next on my list are A Warlock's Worth, Drawn to Any Good, The Sorcerer and the King, and The Wheel's Always Turning. Will probably read more modern AUs between the canon 'verse fics. :)