Merlin rec 4
Just one of Those Things by Lady Ragnell
A fun modern au.
Here
They pick each other up in a bar first, then gradually move into a relationship. Sweet and funny.
Excerpt:
The next time Arthur sees Merlin, he doesn’t recognize him right away, because he actually hasn’t seen him in broad daylight before. They’re both at the pharmacy and Arthur, awkwardly enough, is picking up condoms, having realized that there are only two left in his stash. Merlin has the far more innocuous purchase of cough syrup, damn him. When they both clue into exactly who is standing next to them, they freeze. “We’d run through most of mine,” Arthur blurts when Merlin’s gaze becomes riveted on the box he’s holding with ten-foot letters over his head proclaiming Oh God, I’m the other woman or something equally ridiculous.
“You left a love-bite,” says Merlin, who is apparently having a completely different conversation. “I had to go to Sunday dinner with my mother and you left a love-bite.”
Arthur winces. The pharmacist, who has been running this shop since before Arthur can remember, raises his eyebrows. “You weren’t complaining at the time,” mutters Arthur, unwilling to apologize when they have an eavesdropper.
“I definitely recall mentioning vampires.” The pharmacist clears his throat, looking pained. Merlin looks, if possible, even more pained. “Sorry, Uncle Gaius.”