rec50 | Merlin/Arthur rec: "Quickening Days"

Here is my table.

Claim: Merlin (BBC), Merlin/Arthur
Prompt: #28, Dream
Title: Quickening Days
Author:

mercurial_wit
Rating: R
Length: Long (22,174 words)
Brief summary:I've got a thing for Groundhog's Day-esque fics where characters live the same day over and over again. This is one of the best I've read. Arthur and Merlin grow believably closer to each other as they struggle to make sense of their predicament, and

mercurial_wit lets Gwen and Gaius shine as well.

Arthur settled himself in a chair and watched Gwen's easy bustle and Merlin's slightly less graceful efforts to help her. Years ago in his first real fight he had discovered what every soldier learns, which was that danger and battle-dust throw people together in a way that no peacetime friendship could ever match, and there had been something briefly glorious in the way the four of them had faced down Kanan's men. Something in the sure grip of Gwen's hand around a sword's hilt and the unladylike cries rising from Morgana's throat as her hair made dark untidy whips in the air, something about the way Merlin fought with little skill but fierce courage, that had made Arthur feel that maybe being King wouldn't be as lonely as all that. Not if he had people like this to rely on.

Link:http://mercurial-wit.livejournal.com/45235.html