Title:
Tug of WarAuthor:
herbeautifullieWords: 30,000+
Summary: They are divorced and with child; the child lives with Merlin because he can look after him while Arthur has to work all day. Everything works smoothly: the child can stay with Arthur thrice a week and the rest of the days he stays with Merlin in their house.
When Merlin gets a partner though Arthur causes troubles: the apparent reason is that he doesn't want a stranger to be near the child, but the more evident truth is that he finally realizes he doesn't have Merlin anymore.
Warning: Character Death (not Merlin or Arthur, but significant), homophobia
Pairings: Arthur/Merlin, Merlin/Gwaine, Arthur/Mithian
Rated: NC-17
on AO3 For such a simple prompt, this KMM fill packs a hell of a punch. There's years of backstory, and every character has something to contribute to the story. It's clear author anon has thought this all through and it shows in every bit of it. Arthur and Merlin meet, fall in love, then slowly fall apart when Shit Happens, and Uther's hold on Arthur's life makes it worse. Between them though, is their child whom they had through surrogacy. He's the one thing that's keeping them in contact and the both of them try to move on with other people despite still having feelings for each other.
Most of this is written in Arthur's POV, so you really see him deal with his hurts and relationships with people. And you know I'm a sucker for those. :)
Warning: You'll probably need tissues.
(But the epilogue more than gives a satisfyingly happy ending.)