Avalon

Avalon is the fifth part in the Loaded March series. It was uploaded to Archive of Our Own on October 9, 2011. It consists of 39,568 words.
Read it here.
==Summary==
First the CIA, now the Directory: everyone seems keen on controlling Excalibur.
After the mission in Algiers, it seems as if the Directory thinks they can dictate when the team can eat, shit, and sleep, and none of them likes it one bit. Arthur is willing to play their game only so far, but after he learns that Mister Smith is sitting on a mission that puts people in danger, he decides that he's had enough, and now it's time to teach the Directory just who's in charge. But the matter of magic is still in question, and Merlin needs to make a choice.
==Plot==
Arthur nearly dies, Merlin saves him. They sort of unintentionally but not really kiss.
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Arthur is sick of having his team being pulled around by CIA, MI-5, The Directory--the whole alphabet soup. Arthur knows that Bayard will try to get the team pulled under the Directory's command, and he knows he'll not be able to refuse. And then there is Merlin who is driving him crazy. Arthur wants him so badly and knows that, as his commanding officer, he cannot pursue a relationship with him. Thus, a very very frustrated Arthur and a tense team.
Merlin is in much the same boat. There are more and more people he has to hide his magic from and he really doesn't want to hide it from Arthur and the team--especially Arthur. And then there is the magic testing, which Merlin thinks is utterly ridiculous and is absolutely frightened of. Bayard tests the team, trying to find if any of them would be able to learn magic. Kay wants to be able to do the spell really badly, which is partly because of his foster sister Kathy. Merlin goes off on Bayard and the team, and then purposefully fails the test. Arthur becomes even more certain that Merlin has magic.
Merlin and Arthur have a heart to heart about Magic and the Directory and the lack of trust Merlin has for the Directory. Except, Merlin leaves out the part where he has magic, even though Arthur is mentally telling Merlin to trust him with it.
The team talks about the Merthur UST. Merlin angsts about telling Arthur about his magic and talks about it to the Lance, sort of. Lace thinks Merlin is implying that he wants to tell Arthur about his undying love.
On top of all that, there is  incompetent, annoying Gilli who just won't leave Merlin alone.
Then the team heads out on a rescue/retrieve mission. Some Americans got into some shit with bandits and they need help getting out. Excalibur heads out into NMZ to help out the hurt American agents/soldiers, finding Sophia and Aulfric on the way. Excalibur goes in and extracts the American hostages and blows up the magical weaponry. 
On their way back to base, Sophia casts a compulsion charm on Arthur. They make out quite heavily. Merlin sees. Gwaine then loudly outs Arthur as gay. Merlin is hurt and then suspicious, especially when Sophia leads Arthur out of the campsite.
Aulfric and Sophia try to sacrifice Arthur to appease some gods so that they can return to Avalon. Merlin blasts them with his magic and saves Arthur. Arthur sees. They kind of, sort of kiss as Merlin saves Arthur with CPR.
Merlin and Arthur have a heart to heart and they kind of admit that they like each other.
==Quotes==
"What are they really, Arthur? What do they do? What do they want? How can they be magic users and be hunting magic? Do the people working for them really want to be working for them in the first place? Do they even have a choice?" - Merlin to Arthur about the Directory
Merlin, who argued against whatever Bayard had been doing in the barracks, testing the members of the team for traces of magic. Merlin, who was always there when there was something dangerous and weird and the team shouldn't come out of it alive, but they survived regardless. Merlin, who knew things that he shouldn't know, that couldn't be explained away by someone who claimed their religion as Pagan. He knew too much, mumbled explanations for things that even Bayard couldn't know. He had a book in a language that Arthur couldn't read, and he could say afléotan without a hesitating hitch, without stumble, easy as he pleased. - Arthur about Merlin
"Have you ever wanted to tell someone something so badly, and you had the opportunity but you didn't take it and now it's too late, and if you tell them now it will totally mess things up and they'll never trust you again and they'll never talk to you again and they might even never want you around ever again? Then you had another chance but you couldn't get the words out, but you tried, you really tried, and everything came out wrong, and then you're even deeper in the hole that you were before?" - Merlin angsting to Lance
"When the bloody hell did Arthur start liking girls?" - Gwaine
A hand snaked behind Merlin's head to hold him there, weak and gentle, and the breath of life became a kiss, a firm kiss, a sweet kiss, chaste and gentle, with questing lips begging for him to respond, and he melted into it with a sob of relief -- - Merlin while giving Arthur CPR
There was a sharp, short laugh to his left, and Merlin rubbed his face, dropping his hands to his knees. His voice was low and husky, a sweet whisper that tickled Arthur's senses. "Too late. Far too late for that, believe me." - Merlin (kinda) confessing his feelings to Arthur
==Series Timeline==
Preceded By:	Followed By:
The Jester 	Intermission
Category:Parts