Chapter Text
Arthur paced back and forth incessantly, running his hands through his hair and sighing approximately every 3-4 minutes.
“I might be way off here,” Gwen smiled crossing the room toward him. “But I feel like something is bothering you?”
“Where the hell is Merlin?” He was so frustrated with this. Every other week Merlin seemed to vanish off to who knows where, and he simply couldn’t accept it any longer. “How am I meant to get ready in the morning without him?”
Gwen raised an eyebrow at him and grinned. “I am sure you can cope.” She said, “after all I think the mighty King of Camelot can button his own shirt if he really tries.”
“Shush.” Arthur pouted at her and folded his arms in protest.
“Have you asked Gaius?” She suggested more helpfully.
“Gaius will say the same thing he always does.” Arthur groaned. “Always trying to cover for him, I bet you he’s in the tavern again!”
“And why would he be there?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Arthur grumbled. But then an idea dawned on him so he continued, “But I do know how to put a stop to it!”
——
Gwaine strolled casually along the corridor towards the kings chambers. He had no clue why Arthur had summoned him, but as he was convinced he hadn’t done anything (well anything serious) wrong recently, he figured he had nothing to worry about. Besides Merlin would probably be around and it had been a while since he had gotten a chance to see his old friend. Somehow all his knightly duties were getting in the way, but it was probably worth it to get to stay in Camelot. It was weird how meeting Merlin had lead to him having a home for the first time in forever. Although if he stopped to think about it maybe it wasn’t that strange at all.
“Princess,” he declared, strolling into the room. “I believe you summoned me? Is my favourite damsel in distress again?”
“Gwaine...” Arthur sighed, “do try and remember I am your King. At least occasionally?”
Gwaine shrugged and grinned at him.
“I have a favour to ask.” Arthur said calmly.
“Alright, shoot.” The knight replied.
“Next time you feel the need to go snog my manservant could you please wait till he’s off duty. I do have things to get done and it’s practically impossible when Merlin keeps vanishing every few days like a stray cat.”
“I’m sorry?” Gwaine searched his kings face for some sign that this was all a big joke, and found nothing. He felt his heart rate speed up to an unhealthy level. Sure, Merlin was cute, and the best friend he had ever had, but why on earth did Arthur think he was going around snogging him? That would be crazy right? I mean probably would feel brilliant, but it was completely crazy. “I have no idea what you’re on about my Lord.”
“Come on I don’t have time for this.” Arthur sighed before Gwaine’s words caught up to him, specifically the use of ‘my Lord’ as opposed to ‘princess’. “You actually don’t have any idea do you?”
“Not. A. Clue.” He said slowly. “Why would Merlin be with me and not you? After all he is your servant, makes no sense.”
“Well he’s never here, so I assumed he was in the tavern because that’s where you-...” he cut himself off. “We’re going to pretend I didn’t say that. Probably not a good look for a king to be too involved in gossip.” Arthur said slowly. “Yeah I didn’t say that, and that’s an order.”
“I’m going to leave now...” Gwaine slowly started to walk backwards, heart thrumming in his chest. “Good day princess.” And with that he turned on his heel and left as fast as he could, trying not to let it show on his face how confused and maybe secretly happy he was. One thought did cross his mind though, Merlin could not know about this. If he did Gwaine doubted they would ever have a normal conversation again.
——
Merlin sat awkwardly on the corner of a bench, searching for an excuse to leave. Elyan and Percival had been desperate for him to come out with them earlier and now he found himself sat in the tavern... He had actually been doing work for Gaius this time as well! He had almost resigned himself to the punishment he was sure to face tomorrow, and he suspected Arthur never would have believed him anyway. Why did that infuriating man always assume the worst of him?
“You alright there mate?” Percival asked, giving him a sideways glance.
“Arthur is going to kill me...” he groaned setting his head down on the table. “I’m blaming you two.” He mumbled.
“Right then.” Elyan announced. “We’re getting some drinks in you. With any luck you’ll forget it’s our fault at all.” He grinned.
“I really shouldn’t-“ Merlin started to protest before Percival slammed a tankard down on the table in front of him. He considered it with some suspicion and figured that they had bought it now... couldn’t hurt to have one drink?
Four drinks later the pub door swung open and Gwaine strolled in. An accidental smile crossed Merlin’s face.
“Damn do I need a drink!” He declared loudly searching the room for his friends. His eyes locked with Merlin for a second and his face paled. They stared at each other for a few seconds. “Onsecondthoughtsimgood.” He mumbled quickly, before spinning around and heading to the door.
Elyan raised an eyebrow at Merlin, who shrugged, exceptionally confused. Percival stood up.
“I’ll get him.” He offered, crossing the room in a handful of long strides and grabbing Gwaine by the wrist, dragging him back to the table like a pouty child.
“Drink,” Elyan said sharply, placing a tankard (where did he keep getting them from?) in front of Gwaine. “And then you can calm down and explain yourself.”
“I’m fine!” Gawaine protested, punching Percival lightly on the arm.
“I have never seen you run out of a tavern before.” Elyan pointed out. “No one would believe me if I told them either. Something is clearly wrong.”
Gwaine seemed frustrated by this and instead of doing as he was told, he seemed to opt for simultaneously drinking and explaining, resulting in a series of slurred words such ‘princess’, ‘how dare’, ‘tavern’, and ‘idiot’.
“Sorry?” Merlin laughed, unable to understand a word. Gwaine glanced at him before grabbing Merlins drink and downing that too.
“Not today guys.” He said giving them all a look.
“You ok?” Elyan asked, both him and Percival now dropping the teasing.
“It’s not important.” Gwaine laughed shaking his hair out. “What have all you been up to?”
“Alright then,” Elyan smiled. “Merlin needs help,”
“I need ideas to get me out of trouble with Arthur?” Merlin requested.
“Just don’t tell him you’ve seen me.” Gwaine groaned, searching with his eyes for the waitress.
“What did you do now?” Merlin had a exasperated smile on his face. He was always bailing Gwaine out of trouble. Not that he minded, hearing about the knight’s latest escapades was always fun.
“Nothing,” Gwaine assured them. This was followed by a dead silence and an atmosphere of disbelief. “I swear!”
“Ok if you say so.” Merlin replied, shaking his head and laughing, resulting in a weak smile from Gwaine. He grinned back at him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“You’ll be fine, I am sure whatever Arthur thinks you did can’t be that bad. I can ask him about it tomorrow if you like?” He offered.
“Nah don’t bother.” Gwaine tried to say casually, a nervous chuckle betraying him.
“Sure, ok.” Merlin decided now would be an appropriate time to stare into the bottom of his tankard. It felt really strange knowing Gwaine didn’t want his help. Like a strange emptiness? He didn’t even seem to want to talk to Merlin at all, like he was avoiding him for some reason...
Another unknown number of drinks later and Merlin was honestly not even sure what the time was. The knights were in the middle of some muddled conversation about a funny hunting trip... maybe? He wasn’t sure.
“I should... home... Arthur...” he murmured, and thought he saw some concerned looks. Maybe Gwaine did care. Then the table came rushing towards his face.
——
When Gwaine woke up he was hit by a strange sense of Deja vu. Between a painful headache and blurry eyes it took him a little while to work out exactly where he was. And when he did he sat bolt upright, adrenaline racing through his veins. He knew this room, this was Merlin’s room. This was Merlin’s bed... oh sh-!
He leapt up and raced towards the door, then realised he could hear a noise on the other side. Probably just Gaius. This wasn’t the first time he had woken up in Merlin’s bed unsure of why, but this time it mattered a lot more. Sleeping with some random stranger by mistake was nowhere near as terrifying as sleeping with his friend. His closest friend. Maybe he should just flee? He could leave Camelot, go back to a life on the road, roam the world alone again. But he didn’t want to be alone, not really.
Deciding it would be better not to risk going out through the door incase someone was there, he hoisted himself up and out the window, then clambered down the wall on the other side, before making a beeline back to the knights quarters. When he was back in his room and had taken a few deep breaths, he started to see things more clearly. The good news was he still had his breeches on, which was more than he could say for some drunken adventures in the past. However that did not change the fact that he had no idea where his shirt was, and had woken up in Merlin’s bed. Alone...
He sank down onto his bed, head in his hands. What on earth had happened last night?
——
“Merlin,” Arthur called across the room.
“Yes?” He looked up.
“Are you alright?”
“Quite alright,” he gritted his teeth together and went back to scrubbing the floor.
“Are you sure about that?” Arthur was smiling, a slightly evil looking smile to be honest.
“Leave him be.” Gwen chided.
“He’s been scrubbing the same tile for fifteen minutes now.” Arthur stated with a sigh. “I figured if he was quiet he would at least be productive.”
“Why don’t you take some time off Merlin?” Gwen offered.
“No thank you.” He replied possibly a little bit too fast. “Unless... which knights are on patrol right now?”
“Leon, Percival, Kai,” Arthur started listing. “Wait why do you care?”
“No reason.” Merlin replied, “I’ll go do the laundry.” He said calmly standing up, and walking across the room to grab the basket of clothes. “Feel free to call me any time you need me. Any time at all,” he offered knowing Arthur would find a multitude of ways to keep him busy, then he left.
Once he had made it out the room he strolled quickly down the corridor back in the direction of his own room, checking round each corner quickly to make sure he didn’t run into the wrong person. When he did reach his room his heart rate started to pick up. Gaius was out so there was no way to ask if anyone had left his room that morning, he just had to hope. He slowly counted to three, and then swung the door open. It was empty... perfect. Just what he had wanted...
He had left in such a hurry that morning that he hadn’t had time to grab a clean pair of clothes, and was glad for a chance to change. Just as he was leaving he spotted a pile of blue fabric in the corner of the room. Gwaine’s shirt.
He picked it up , smiling ruefully as his thoughts traveled back to last night.
They had had too many drinks by far, and he had passed out after a while. When he woke he was being carried along the corridor by Gwaine who had grinned down at him.
“Glad to see you’re up.” He had said, dropping Merlin back into his feet.
“Huh?” He had responded, probably trying to say something profound but slurring his words.
“Let’s get you back to your room.”
He helped Merlin through the door and sat him down on his bed, then brought him a glass of water, stumbling slightly as he crossed the room and spilling some down his shirt. He chuckled lightly and handed the glass to Merlin who sipped it slowly.
“Thank you,” he mumbled.
“No problem mate.” Gwaine grinned and turned for the door.
“Wait... Gwinn,” Merlin called, mumbling over his name. “Do you hate me now?” He asked, staring up at his friend.
“What? No!” Gwaine smiled sadly at him. “I could never hate you Merlin.”
“But you’re upset,” Merlin got up and staggered across the room to Gwaine, grabbing his face clumsily in his hands. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Erm... no,” Gwaine replied with a slight chuckle. His face was turning red but at the time Merlin had assumed it was the alcohol. “Do you hate me Merlin?”
“Never,” he shook his head furiously.
“Then I can’t be upset can I?” Gwaine grinned.
“Mhm,” Merlin felt himself start to fall again and grabbed hold of Gwaine’s shirt to stop himself falling over. “Ew, you’re all soggy.” He laughed, wiping his hands on that same shirt.
“I’ll fix it,” the knight grinned back, walking Merlin back to the bed to stop the young warlock falling over again. Then he grabbed the offending shirt and took it off, throwing it into a corner. “Problem solved.” He declared with a smug expression. Merlin didn’t say anything and only stared. In his defence who wouldn’t...
“What you looking at?” Gwaine asked with a laugh. He sat down next to Merlin and stared at him, as if he was trying to figure him out.
“You’re hot.” Merlin said bluntly. Then gasped realising what he had just said.
“You’re hot,” Gwaine replied with a smirk.
Merlin didn’t know what came over him in that moment, it wasn’t a smart move, he shouldn’t have done it... but he couldn’t seem to stop himself leaning in and kissing Gwaine very gently on the lips. And Gwaine kissed him back, surprisingly just as soft.
“That was very nice.” Gwaine grinned, before giggling slightly.
“You’re very nice,” Merlin responded lying back on his bed and grinning ear to ear and gazing up at the ceiling.
Gwaine lay back next to him and kissed him again happily.
He had been so stupid. Stupid and drunk, and Gwaine must have been drunk as anything too. And as much as he hated to admit it, with Gwaine’s reputation the chances were that this really was all one horrible mistake. And even if it wasn’t... he couldn’t start something now. It wasn’t that Gwaine was a guy. He had had a crush on Arthur for a short while when he first came to Camelot, and honestly things with Gwaine were much easier and more relaxed than they had ever been with Arthur.
No, this was more about his secrets. Between prophecies and magic and all that deception and nonsense, he just didn’t have time to start something with someone. He didn’t want anyone to get hurt again. Even if that someone made him feel happier than he remembered being in a long time. Even if that someone was someone he really did care about in that way. It just wasn’t possible
——
“Let me get this straight,” Lancelot said with an audible level of exasperation. “Arthur thinks you like Merlin?”
“Yes.” Gwaine replied eyes glued on the floor. His head was still whirring.
“And you got drunk and kissed him?” He asked again. Gwaine had remembered what had happened eventually. Not all of it but bits and pieces, and after a few hours he realised he couldn’t possibly keep it all to himself anymore. So he went looking for the only person who was as close to Merlin as he was (besides the princess of course.)
“I mean technically he kissed me,” Gwaine said very slowly.
“Then what’s the problem?” Lancelot asked, seemingly very confused. “I mean you could kiss anyone drunk at a bar,”
“Oi!”
“It’s true.” Lance said pointedly. “But Merlin isn’t like you. Even drunk I don’t think he’s the sort of person who would just kiss someone he didn’t even have feelings for.”
“You mean he likes me?” Gwaine asked, his doubts clear in his tone. “Nah ah, no way.”
“And why not may I ask?”
“Because.” Gwaine replied defiantly. “A guy like that deserves much better than me, and you know it.”
“His poor choice in crush is hardly my fault,” Lancelot laughed, receiving a scowl from his friend.
“It doesn’t matter,” Gwaine sighed, standing up and dusting off his breeches. “Princess likes him, even I’m not gutsy enough to try win that fight.”
Lancelot shook his head and laughed.
“It’s not funny,” Gwaine protested.
“Oh it is very funny,” Lancelot said with a grin. “Who would have thought it, the rebellious Sir Gwaine actually in love for once.”
“Shut up...” he groaned throwing a gauntlet across the room at Lancelot.
“Think about it,”