Merlin's magic (Oneshots) 1

The tingle

Summary: Arthur has spent the last years of his life trying to be everything his father expected. As an anti-Pride protestor, he has made it his mission to tell people that "Pride is a sin". Then he meets Merlin and his world is turned on its axis. What starts as an unlikely friendship full of preconceptions and misunderstandings turns, little by little, into more. No one gets it till the end.

Ships: Merthur, Gwencelot, Perwaine, (past) Leon/Morgana

Trigger warning: 

Abortion, Homophobia, transphobia, harsh language, internalized homophobia, biphobia, acephobia, TERF-language, sexism, (DM me, if I forgot something)

This is completely self indulgend, but based on real life topics, problems and misunderstandings seen in real life, social media, religion, you name it. I've been exposed to too much hatred lately and needed to take of the edge.

I hope you can enjoy this story anyway :)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first time Arthur met his best friend, he hadn't expected them to ever get along. They had met at the local Pride Parade that walked down the main street of Camelot. Merlin had been wearing a rainbow flag as a cape, dozens of colors smeared on his face, wearing a shirt calling for 'trans rights' as he argued with Arthur.
Arthur stood on the other side of the road, behind the barrier, holding up a sign that he had worked a whole hour on making: 'Pride is a sin."
Perhaps it could rather be considered screaming rather than arguing. And technically, it wasn't the first time they had met, since they went to the same public school. The point is, that's when they first noticed one another.

Arthur wouldn't be able to later recall what they had been shouting at each other. He remembered the crowds screaming so loud that his side couldn't be heard. He remembered people so close up in his face, that they nearly spit at him. He remembered same sex couples kissing in front of them, just to taunt them. He remembered Merlin's eyes, those bright blues, narrowed in hatred. The black hair a mess, color stuck to the strands and that voice growingly loud, as though he tried to command a dragon.
Arthur recalled shouting back. He didn't fully remember what. Reasons, perhaps. Opinions, most likely. He didn't understand a word that anyone was saying. He could only feel that deep rage within him that made him want to punch Merlin in his stupid face. Pride and Wrath couldn't be friends, it seemed.

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Arthur met Merlin again the next day on school grounds. The boy looked tired, his head hanging low as he yawned. His hair was a black mess, as if he had forgotten to brush it. His skin was pale, but you could tell that he spent a lot of time outside. Right now, he was apparently walking to a science lesson, considering the direction he was headed. Arthur didn't know much about him. Only that the boy was in a parallel class. Arthur had seen him around and there had been events between the years where he had seen him walking past. Now, it seemed, Arthur would only notice him more from now on. That was a fact that extremely annoyed him. Because Merlin was gay. And that was a fact that enraged Arthur more than anything else.

"OI!" Arthur yelled in his direction and watched as Merlin turned around. His eyes widened before his expression morphed into an equal frown. Arthur marched towards him, until they were only an arm's length apart.

Merlin didn't even pretend not to know Arthur. "The hell do you want!" It was not a question, it was a challenge. It was an invitation to a fight. Arthur knew he was on school grounds and he couldn't very well risk an actual brawl out in the open. His father would kill him, no matter what Merlin was. But that didn't mean he had to back down from this.