A Change of Pace by kianspo (R)

[shadowkeeper.livejournal.com]

Fandom: MERLIN
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Length: 54k+
Author on LJ: kianspo
Author Website: AO3
Why this must be read:
The one in which Arthur works in finances and his suits are various (two) shades of grey, Merlin works in advertisement and has no boundaries whatsoever, Morgana drinks rum, Mithian stages a coup, Agravaine is aggravating, and Elena's house is amazing. Also, Andy Warhol is mentioned in vain, and Arthur and Merlin fall in love in Victorian era style.

This fic does what modern day AU’s bring to character development and does it well. Arthur’s leading what appears to be a stable life, if an utterly lonely empty one. And he doesn't entirely realize it until Merlin waltzes into it- a friend of Morgana's who needs a place to stay for awhile and becomes Arthur's flatmate- and brings a whole lot of colour and magic (the creative real world kind) with him.

Arthur has to slowly realize who he is as a person underneath all that repressed work ethic, and Merlin's getting over something in his own past, but when they're together, it always seems like a case of 'the sum is greater than the parts' on display.

A Change of Pace