Merlin recs - Paperlegends

[marguerite_26]

First (unrelated to the fic below) adorable Merlin/Art art by t0teki [Mildly-nws??? depends where you work?]

ugh... I'm getting behind in my PL recs again but so many other folks are reccing so YAY!

The Lonely King by corilannam [NC-17] (56k)
Summary: The Prince of Wales at his school. Merlin was sure it was all just a very bad joke. A modern royalty AU.

Summary==instant click. It wasn’t what I was expecting though! Not Merlin and Prince Arthur go to uni together, but actually Merlin is a teacher whose school is being eco-friendly remodelled through a Prince of Wales ‘vanity project’ … which is clearly an awesome start. While Merlin is anti-monarchy, Arthur is really a pretty nice guy and poor Merlin’s stone heart is destined to soften as Arthur time and again surprises him by being a decent human being. Add on to that classic romcom trope both characters struggling with being in the closet for each their own reasons. The complications and life decisions that need to be made when Arthur unexpectedly needs to take his father’s throne. This fic is charming and romantic and unexpected in all the nicest of ways. The writing makes this such an easy read and impossible to put down.