Archive of Our Own

Gwaine never really cared for jousting. Despite that, he’s rather interested in watching this new knight train for the upcoming tournament.

The knight.

Gwaine still can’t believe it – Merlin is a knight now. That scrawny, gangly boy he met years ago is now a knight – and also not that scrawny anymore. It’s hard to see with the armour Merlin is wearing whenever Gwaine sees him lately, but the man has definitely gained some muscle – how could he not with all that vigorous training Arthur has been putting him through.

Gwaine sits down on one of the crates at the edge of the training field. He polishes the apple he brought as a snack on his sleeve before taking a bite as he takes in his surroundings.

There’s no one around, except Merlin and Arthur, which means Gwaine has the chance to look at Merlin without being interrupted. Perfect.

Arthur is making Merlin put a lance through a hoop again and again. By now it looks like he’s successful about half the time. That means there’ll probably still be a lot more training sessions for Merlin, but Gwaine won’t complain. There’s something about Merlin in armour, and on a horse, that is incredibly sexy. Gwaine can’t keep his eyes off of Merlin’s hips, moving back and forth in the saddle as he ushers his horse into a fast gallop while aiming the lance at the centre of the hoop again and again and again.

He’s almost disappointed when Arthur calls the end of the training session and Merlin dismounts his horse.

When Merlin takes off his helmet, Gwaine can’t help but chuckle at the mess that is Merlin’s hair. It’s a bit longer than it used to be – curlier, as well – making it stick every which way by taking off the helmet.

Gwaine keeps his eyes on Merlin, looks him up and down. The armour is definitely making him look bulkier than he actually is, but there is something about the way he holds himself – it’s like Merlin is a lot happier than he used to be. More relaxed, too.

Merlin stands in front of his horse, stroking her nose, when Arthur approaches him. Training debrief. He’s probably going to tell Merlin everything he’s doing wrong and should improve on – because that’s usually the gist of every training debrief the king gives.

Gwaine can’t hear what they are talking about, but he doesn’t mind. He gets to watch Merlin a bit longer – the still gangly, but obviously more muscled, Merlin.

Gwaine wouldn’t mind seeing exactly how muscled Merlin has become.

Now, there’s a thought – maybe Gwaine could convince Merlin to have a tumble in the hay sometime. He’ll have plenty of opportunity to discover Merlin’s body that way. Gwaine smirks as the idea forms in his head.

When Arthur reaches out to fix Merlin’s hair, Gwaine cocks an eyebrow, because that’s curious, right?

Arthur combs his fingers through Merlin’s hair, trying to flatten it back down a bit. And Merlin lets him – he doesn’t step away, doesn’t swat at Arthur’s hand. It’s not something Gwaine would have expected of these two. But then again, Merlin has been Arthur’s manservant for years. He probably knows more about Arthur than anyone else in the kingdom, so the other way around might be true as well. Who knows how often Arthur fixed Merlin’s hair when no-one else was around to see. It’s probably just a thing they do. They’ve always had a special way of treating each other. This is no different.

When Arthur stops fixing Merlin’s hair, Merlin nods at something Arthur says before grabbing his horse’s reins to guide her back to the stables. Arthur joins him and Gwaine watches them walk away, wishing the chainmail wasn’t covering Merlin’s arse, because he would love to see what that looks like now.

It’s already late at night when Gwaine walks back home from the tavern. He had a great night! Maybe a bit too much to drink, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.

He’s surprised when he sees someone crossing the courtyard. Usually there is no one else out and about at this time.

Gwaine is even more surprised when he’s close enough to see who it is.

“Merlin!” he shouts enthusiastically. “Merlin! What are you doing out here?”

Merlin stops in his tracks, looking as surprised as Gwaine felt about seeing Merlin.

When Gwaine is close enough, he slings his arm around Merlin’s shoulders. “Well? What brings you out here this late at night?”

“I was running an errand for Gaius,” Merlin answers quickly.

That was rather quick to answer. Too quick? Nah, Gwaine is probably just a tad too drunk to judge timings. He’s not too drunk to see the moon reflected in Merlin’s beautiful blue eyes though. Why did he never realise how beautiful Merlin was?

“At this hour?” Gwaine asks after clearing his throat. It’s probably best not to comment on Merlin’s beauty. Gwaine might scare him away and then he would have completely lost his chance to see Merlin naked. He wasn’t too drunk to realise that.

Merlin shrugs, making Gwaine’s arm rise and fall with the movement of his shoulders.

“Anyway,” Gwaine decides to change the subject. He’s not really interested in hearing about the reason Gaius sent Merlin out at this hour to deliver whatever potion, or whatever else a physician makes, to someone in the citadel. It doesn’t matter. What does matter are Merlin’s current plans. “So, what are you doing now?”

“I’m off to bed,” Merlin gestures in the direction of Gaius’ chambers.

Gaius’ chambers. Why is Merlin still sleeping there? He’s a knight now, he could sleep in the knight’s quarters. Not only are the rooms larger, the bed is too – and more comfortable. Why on earth would someone want to stay in that tiny room behind the physician’s chambers with that poor excuse for a bed when they could have a larger room with a better bed?

“You’re still sleeping at Gaius’ chambers?” Gwaine voices his confusion.

“Yes,” Merlin answers carefully, brows slightly furrowed.

“Why?”

“Why not?”

“Well, the knight’s chambers are way more comfortable for one. Bigger bed too,” Gwaine waggles his eyebrows.

“Yeah, right, okay,” Merlin reacts, his brow furrowing a bit more. “I guess I don’t want to leave Gaius all on his own?”

“He was on his own before you came here, though, wasn’t he?”

“Yes?”

“Well, then he could do so again,” Gwaine nods like it’s the most obvious thing in the whole wide world. “Come. I’ll show you my chambers. Then you can see what you’re missing out on. You can even try the bed if you want! It’s really comfortable.”

“Thanks,” Merlin shrugs out from under Gwaine’s arm. “But I should really go get some sleep. Arthur wants me to do more jousting training tomorrow.”

“Agh! You don’t have to listen to Arthur. You’re not his servant anymore.”

“Good night, Gwaine. Go sleep,” Merlin ends the conversation and starts walking backwards towards the physician’s chambers.

“Fine,” Gwaine grumbles. “But if you change your mind about testing out my bed, just let me know!”

He turns around and waves at Merlin over his shoulder. He should probably get some sleep too. He’s rather tired actually.

When Gwaine reaches his room, he belly flops onto the bed, not even caring to take his boots off.

It’s a nice bed. It’s a really nice bed. It would’ve been nicer to have Merlin next to him now though.

The week goes by quickly. Training and patrolling keeps Gwaine busy and when he has some free time, he can’t find Merlin – not on his own at least. Every time Gwaine sees Merlin, he seems to be talking to Arthur.

It’s absurd how close those two still are after Merlin became a knight. Gwaine doesn’t know what he expected, but he did not expect Merlin to still stand next to the king most of the time. He’d expect his new manservant to be where Merlin stands. But instead, it’s still Merlin fastening the king’s armour, it’s Merlin handing the king his sword, it’s Merlin checking on the king when he takes a hit. The only difference now is how Arthur also fixes Merlin’s armour, how he hands Merlin his weapons, how he checks on Merlin as he falls off his horse during a jousting training, how he wipes the dirt of Merlin’s cheek with his thumb.

Yes, Merlin becoming a knight has put no distance between those two. Old habits die hard, apparently.

So, when the jousting tournament is about to start, Gwaine finds himself heading towards Merlin’s tent. Merlin is bound to be there at this moment – and more importantly, Arthur is in the stands already, so Merlin might even be alone this time.

Gwaine carefully opens the flap of the tent, as not to startle Merlin, only to find a squire helping Merlin into his armour.

The boy fastens the last strap and hurries out of the tent, leaving Gwaine alone with Merlin, finally giving him the opportunity to talk.

“So, how’re you feeling?” Gwaine asks. “First tournament!”

Merlin pulls a face. “Yay,” he reacts sarcastically.

“Oh, come on,” Gwaine says. “Tournaments can be fun...if you win.”

“I’m not going to win though, am I?” Merlin sighs. “I can’t even get the lance through the hoop most of the time. How on earth am I going to knock another knight off his horse?”

“Ah, you’ll be fine.” Gwaine slaps a hand on Merlin’s shoulder. “And if you get knocked off your horse, I’ll come and take care of you, alright? Make you feel better again,” he winks.

Merlin furrows his brow, confused.

So, he didn’t understand what Gwaine meant. Gwaine will just have to be a bit more obvious then. He lowers his voice and says with a grin, “I know a lot of ways to make you feel better, preferably with both our clothes off.”

Merlin’s eyes go wide. Okay, he definitely understood now.

“I– Uh–” Merlin stammers. “Gwaine, I–”

Before Merlin can continue, the tent flap opens again and Gwen enters the tent.

“Merlin!” she says as she passes Gwaine to swing her arms around Merlin’s neck. “I can’t believe you have to do this tournament already. You’re not even a knight that long! How are you feeling?”

Merlin pulls that same face he gave Gwaine when he asked the same question.

“You’ll be fine,” Gwen says. “Right?”

“We’ll see in just a few moments, I guess?” Merlin says as Arthur’s voice drifts into the tent, announcing the start of the tournament.

“Right, I’ll go find a seat. Good luck,” she says after giving Merlin another quick hug.

“Remember,” Gwaine says the moment Gwen is out of the tent. “I can make you feel better again.” And with another wink, he leaves the tent, not giving Merlin the chance to react now, terribly enjoying the baffled look on his face.

Even though Gwaine doesn’t like jousting, he is terribly pleased when he manages to knock the other knight off his horse – all tournaments can be fun if you win after all.

When it’s not his turn, he watches the other jousting matches from the sidelines – though let’s be honest, he’s not really paying attention, he’s just waiting for Merlin’s turn. So, when Merlin’s name is announced – Sir Merlin – Gwaine’s attention is immediately drawn to the match.

Merlin is on the other side of the field, which means he’ll be heading in Gwaine’s direction when the signal is given. His helmet is already on, so Gwaine can’t see his face, but he imagines Merlin is pretty nervous right now – he looked incredibly nervous in the tent earlier anyway.

Lances are given to both knights – the way Merlin accepts the lance makes it painfully obvious he is still learning how to hold one properly – and the signal is given. Merlin and the other knight both get their horses into a gallop and ride towards each other, lances held into the right direction. Well, the other knight is holding his lance correctly; Merlin’s lance is slightly off center and it shows when they meet in the middle. Merlin’s lance just grazes the other knight’s armour, while Merlin gets hit straight in the chest and gets sent flying off of his horse, landing onto the ground with a loud thump – and he stays there.

An audible gasp goes through the crowd shortly before applause comes for the winning knight.

Gwaine doesn’t get the chance to check on Merlin, because a squire jogs up to him with the message that he’s asked to get ready because it’s soon his turn again.

With a last look at Merlin, who is still on the ground, Gwaine follows the squire to get ready, assuming – and strongly hoping – that Gaius will take care of Merlin until Gwaine can go check on him.

Gwaine manages to win his next match as well, though he doesn’t stay to take in the applause. Instead, he hands his horse to the nearest squire, jerks off his helmet and hurries towards Merlin’s tent, guessing he’ll be there now.

When he nears the tent and hears Merlin’s voice, relief fills Gwaine’s chest. If he’s talking, he’s alright.

He’s about to enter the tent when he hears another voice.

“I don’t care if you tell me you’re fine. Let me see.”

It’s Arthur.

Arthur is in Merlin’s tent?

Gwaine has never known Arthur to check on his knights after taking a fall – well, he did check, just not this soon after, not in their tournament tents. Must be because Merlin has been his manservant for so long then.

Gwaine reaches for the tent flap, when he sees Merlin through the gap. He’s standing upright and there is someone helping him out of his armour. At first Gwaine assumes it’s a squire, but then the person helping Merlin steps into view...and that is definitely not a squire. It’s Arthur helping Merlin out of his armour.

“Arthur, I’m fine.”

“You got knocked off your horse and you didn’t get up for quite some time.” Arthur continues loosening the straps, taking the jousting armour off piece by piece.

“Just because I got the wind knocked out of me. I’m fine.”

“I shouldn’t have made you participate in this tournament already. You’re aren’t a knight that long. I could’ve given that as an excuse. I should’ve said you needed more time to practice, that you weren’t ready.”

“Arthur,” Merlin grabs Arthur’s face and makes the man look him in the eye.

Gwaine knows that those two have a unique way of handling each other, but this is definitely strange, isn’t it?

“I’m fine,” Merlin articulates.

Gwaine can’t see Arthur’s face, but his shoulders visibly sag.

“Just let me see,” Arthur pleads. His voice sounds so small, so worried. Gwaine has never heard the king talk like that. Sure, he wants his knights to be in shape, to not be hurt, but that voice...that’s the voice someone uses for someone they truly care about, for someone they can’t stand seeing hurt.

Oh.

Gwaine suddenly remembers the time Merlin got shot by an arrow – how he’d fallen off his horse when he lost consciousness on their way back to Camelot, how Arthur had held Merlin, how he had panicked, not known what to do.

Are these two more than friends? Nah, that’s not–

“Fine,” Merlin’s voice interrupts Gwaine’s train of thought, drawing his attention back to the men in the tent.

Merlin leans in and...kisses Arthur?

Yes. That’s definitely a kiss. Okay then...they are definitely more than friends.

Why didn’t Gwaine know? Does anyone know? Maybe their relationship is a secret. Why would they keep it a secret?

There’s more movement in the tent. Arthur takes the last of Merlin’s armour off, before getting rid of the padded jacket and Merlin’s tunic.

Well, at least now Gwaine knows what Merlin looks like halfnaked – and he might not have a reference to what he looked like before, but Merlin is definitely not scrawny now.

Gwaine watches as Arthur lets his fingers roam over the fairly defined muscles of Merlin’s chest, down to his abdomen and sides. His hand lingers at the spot where Merlin was hit by the arrow, tracing the scar gently with his fingertips.

“I’m fine,” Merlin whispers, making Arthur look up from the scar to Merlin’s face.

After a few moments where they stare into each other’s eyes, Arthur lunges forward to place a very passionate kiss on Merlin’s mouth.

Gwaine knows he should stop watching, but he can’t. He wants to see it all. He wanted to know what it would be like to kiss Merlin, to touch Merlin. But, seeing as he is the king’s lover apparently, Gwaine will never get to have the real deal, so watching Arthur touch Merlin, watching Arthur kiss Merlin, is the closest he’s going to get to doing it himself.

When someone clears their throat behind him, Gwaine nearly jumps. He quickly turns around to see Gaius standing there.

“Gaius!” Gwaine reacts loudly.

“Gwaine,” Gaius just says his name back, raising his eyebrow. “Might I–” he gestures towards the tent’s entrance.

“Uh–” Gwaine tries to think of what to say. He can’t say Arthur is in there with Merlin, can he? Definitely not after Gwaine saw them kiss. And since he didn’t know about the two of them together, Gwaine assumes their relationship is a secret. So, he can’t let anyone else know – he shall do his very best to keep it a secret.

“I don’t think now is a good time,” he manages to say.

Gaius’ eyebrow only rises even higher. “And why would that be?”

“Uh–” Gwaine stammers again.

“He fell off a horse. I think it’s only prudent I check on him.”

Except Arthur is already checking on Merlin, isn’t he?

“Come on, boy, let me pass,” Gaius impatiently steps forward, intending to pass Gwaine to get into the tent, but Gwaine steps sideways to block Gaius’ path.

“Gwaine,” Gaius grumbles.

“He’s not alone, okay?” Gwaine whispers urgently.

“He’s not–” Gaius repeats questioningly before raising both eyebrows in understanding and heaving out a deep sigh. “They’ll never learn, will they?” Gaius mutters – or at least, that’s what Gwaine thinks he says.

Gaius clears his throat and raises his voice a little before calling out, “Merlin, can I come in?”

“Yes,” Merlin calls out, but not before he snorts out a laugh and Gwaine is pretty sure he heard Arthur giggle – and that’s a sound he never thought he’d hear the king make.

Before, finally, entering the tent, Gaius turns towards Gwaine one last time. “I assume you know. Keep your mouth shut until they make it official. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Gwaine nods.

Gaius turns his back and enters the tent, leaving Gwaine behind, baffled.

So, Gaius knows. Who else knows? It’s possible only Gaius does. It doesn’t matter how much he wants to know more, how much he wants to know who knows about their relationship and who doesn’t. Merlin is his friend and Gwaine will keep any secret Merlin would want him to keep.

He turns away from the tent to get back to the tournament. He’ll be up again soon probably anyway.

Gwaine doesn’t see Merlin again until the day after the tournament.

Merlin is sitting on a crate next to the training fields, where he’s watching the fight between Arthur and Percival – or maybe he’s just watching Arthur, who knows at this point?

Gwaine sits down beside him.

Merlin glances at him and greets him with a smile before turning his gaze back to the fight – or Arthur.

“How are you?” Gwaine asks.

“A bit sore,” Merlin answers, not taking his eyes off the fight – or Arthur. “I’ll be fine.”

Gwaine is silent for a moment as he watches how Percival tries to hit Arthur and how Arthur parries the blows easily.

“So,” Gwaine starts after making sure no one is near enough to hear them. “You and Arthur, huh?”

Merlin’s head snaps up to look at Gwaine, his eyes wide.

“I saw you, right before Gaius came to check on you yesterday,” Gwaine explains. “The tent flap wasn’t properly closed.”

“So Gaius was right,” Merlin groans as he hides his face in his hands.

“‘M not going to tell anyone, mate,” Gwaine claps Merlin’s shoulder, unable to keep in the laugh at Merlin’s embarrassment. “I’m happy for you. It’s about damn time the two of you got together anyway.”

Merlin turns his head again to look at him, utterly confused now.

“Oh, come on,” Gwaine laughs. “Everyone knows the two of you have been head over heels for each other for so long already! Well, except the two of you apparently. I’m only a bit disappointed I won’t get a chance at a tumble in the hay with you now...or will I?” Gwaine waggles his eyebrows, pleased with the shocked expression on Merlin’s face, who’s opening and closing his mouth as if looking for words. “Just kidding,” Gwaine chuckles and nudges Merlin in the side with his elbow before leaning backwards to look at the fight again.

“I guess Arthur’s alright,” Gwaine shrugs. “If you like blonds. And bossy royals.”

Merlin’s bewildered look makes Gwaine chuckle again.

“He’s not that bad,” Merlin mutters, causing Gwaine to raise an eyebrow.

“He’s not!” Merlin insists. “Well, maybe he is, but–”

“Yeah, he’d do anything for you,” Gwaine saves Merlin from finishing his sentence when he notices Merlin doesn’t know which words to use to describe what Arthur means to him. “I’m happy for you,” Gwaine claps Merlin’s shoulder again. “Just know, if he does anything to hurt you – I don’t care that he’s the king – he’ll have to answer to me.”

Merlin laughs. “Thanks, Gwaine.”

“Gwaine, you’re up!” Arthur’s voice sounds over the training grounds.

“And I’m not going to hold back because he’s your boyfriend now,” Gwaine says as he stands up.

He smiles at Merlin’s amused snort before picking up a sword and getting ready to win a fight against the king.