Little Wooden Boy and the Belly of Love by new_kate (NC-17)

[valderys.livejournal.com]

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Length: 14,925
Author on LJ: new_kate
Author Website: AO3
Warnings: Mild drugs and alcohol use, pegging, mention of mental illness, transgender issues (one of the characters is pre-op ftm)
Why this must be read:

Modern AU. Arthur moves to a a different city to start a new life and become a new man. On a whim he decides to share a flat with an attractive stranger, and quickly gets drawn into Merlin's odd little world.

God, I love this. I can't explain - the title says it all in a way. There is so much love in this fic, I can't tell you. The transgender issues are handled so sensitively and so brilliantly, I felt I'd learnt a lot just by reading it. Arthur is so heartbreakingly brave here, much more so than when he waves a sword around in other eras, imo. The emotions are all pitch perfect, the supporting characters all so real and Merlin is the caring centre of it all. Brilliant stuff.

Little Wooden Boy and the Belly of Love