40 Days and 40 Fights, 1/1
Title: 40 Days and 40 Fights
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~26k
Beta: kura_tan
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur; Leon/Morgana; Lance, Owain, Mordred, various others
Warnings: homophobia, elements of bullying, violence & slight gore, maybe underage depending on where you live (Arthur, Merlin & Leon are 17, Morgana is 21)
Summary: High school AU. In which Arthur is (a) the best captain that the volleyball team has seen in ages, (b) too handsome for his own good, and also (c) decidedly not gay; although Merlin agrees with the first two, he's willing to bet that (c) is open for discussion.
A/N: Happy (belated) birthday, hanako_yume!! I hope you like your present, despite its length (I just wanted to write self-confident!Merlin, not 26k of angst!) and the unsurprising fact that I'm now nervous as hell about it. That said, I borrowed the title from the song by Badly Drawn Boy-no copyright infringement intended!-and the song Morgana is listening to at some point is Like You Like An Arsonist by Paris Texas, aka the most awesome band to ever have awesome'd. ♥ And I played around with the timeline a bit, but I hope that the tense makes it clear which sections take place in the present and which are essentially flashbacks. Um. Enjoy reading (hopefully)!
( Despite the pain in his swelled-shut eye and the prickling rush of heat that shoots straight down to his toes, it only takes Arthur about three seconds to push Merlin away. )
Part 2
Part 3
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~26k
Beta: kura_tan
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur; Leon/Morgana; Lance, Owain, Mordred, various others
Warnings: homophobia, elements of bullying, violence & slight gore, maybe underage depending on where you live (Arthur, Merlin & Leon are 17, Morgana is 21)
Summary: High school AU. In which Arthur is (a) the best captain that the volleyball team has seen in ages, (b) too handsome for his own good, and also (c) decidedly not gay; although Merlin agrees with the first two, he's willing to bet that (c) is open for discussion.
A/N: Happy (belated) birthday, hanako_yume!! I hope you like your present, despite its length (I just wanted to write self-confident!Merlin, not 26k of angst!) and the unsurprising fact that I'm now nervous as hell about it. That said, I borrowed the title from the song by Badly Drawn Boy-no copyright infringement intended!-and the song Morgana is listening to at some point is Like You Like An Arsonist by Paris Texas, aka the most awesome band to ever have awesome'd. ♥ And I played around with the timeline a bit, but I hope that the tense makes it clear which sections take place in the present and which are essentially flashbacks. Um. Enjoy reading (hopefully)!
( Despite the pain in his swelled-shut eye and the prickling rush of heat that shoots straight down to his toes, it only takes Arthur about three seconds to push Merlin away. )
Part 2
Part 3