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The knights of Camelot, their king, and his servant were on the trail of an evil beast. According to the scanty information they had, the beast they were looking for was a snake that had the size of a man, arms, the ability to speak, and sharp teeth. The beast woke up every 50 years to drink human blood before going back to sleep for another 50 years. The imperative was therefore to find the beast and kill it before it go back to hibernate.
And according to Gaius, the beast, in addition to being a bloodsucker, was also venomous.
It wouldn't be Gwaine who would say that the old man was wrong because he felt it deep inside him: the closer they got to the beast, the worse he got. The knight could feel the fever making him sweat and the cough trying to escape his lungs. However, he said nothing and continued walking, talking about other things since killing the beast was more important than his state of health, and Leon and Arthur were in a worse state than him.
The other knight and the king coughed continuously, had their foreheads shining with fever, and found it increasingly difficult to keep up. Merlin and Lancelot had already asked them several times if they were okay but Arthur had threatened to kick his ass if Merlin asked him again.
On the one hand Gwaine was delighted that Lancelot and Merlin's attention was not focused on him but was sorry that it was at the expense of the health of his two friends. But the king and his knight were determined to press on despite the worried looks they were getting.
They only stopped to make camp for the night. They all divided up roles to go faster and Gwaine was more than glad to go to the river to fill their water bottles. Thus, he could finally cough as much as he wanted and could also refresh his fevered forehead. No one suspected anything when he returned.
"Why are we the only sick ones?" finally complained Arthur as he was lying on the ground, shivering every minute. And the king looked more sick than Leon since he was paler than his knight.
"I probably have a theory..." Merlin began. The wizard expected to be cut off by Arthur, but the king was listening intently for once.
"Go on, Merlin," Lancelot said to make Merlin talk
"Gaius told us the serpentia was poisonous but he never said for whom. Chances are only nobles will be affected by the creature's venom," Merlin looked directly at Gwaine as he said this. So he hadn't been as discreet as he had thought...
"That's silly," Arthur replied coughing.
"Not at all, all the knights you sent were nobles and they died," Merlin reasoned while frowning a little at Arthur's lack of faith in him. "And now only you and Leon are sick while the rest of your knights, who are commoners, and I are fine."
"So what? Do we go back to Camelot?" Leon asked, looking towards his king.
"No way," Arthur replied immediately.
"Yet it is the wisest course," Lancelot interjected since his goal only was to protect the people he cared about, "if Merlin is right then your condition will worsen and you could endanger us all by coming along."
"Isn't there another solution?" the king asked in the direction of Merlin since he was Gaius' apprentice.
"Well, Gaius gave me herbs to beat the serpentia so giving you some might make you immune."
"So what are you waiting for? Give us some!"
"I was just waiting for the water to be warm enough, sire," Merlin replied sarcastically, handing each of the sick a cup.
"But why is Arthur more affected than Leon?" Percival asked as they were all eating. Leon and Arthur had regained some color and their coughing had subsided. So the herbs had worked a bit.
Gwaine was grateful when he realized that Merlin had slipped herbs into his stew. The taste was awful as Arthur had said but Gwaine felt his lungs calm down so he finished it.
"Arthur is the king," Merlin replied simply which was explanation enough as the others changed the subject.
They fell asleep one after the other except for Lancelot who was on guard. Gwaine didn't fall asleep right away either. He had laughed a lot during the evening but now his throat was literally killing him. The effects of the herbs were short-lived in addition to being almost useless. Arthur and Leon would never make it to the beast's hideout with only the herbs to soothe them. And if he was being honest, Gwaine knew that he too was going to suffer the effects of serpentia's venom. But luckily Merlin was there.
Gwaine heard his friend talking to Lancelot before he heard movement in the camp. He opened his eyes to see Merlin leaning over Leon and Arthur. The young man recited an incantation, his eyes turned yellow and a glow came out of his two open palms. Did Merlin just use magic in front of Lancelot?
What was most surprising to Gwaine was that Lance made no gesture of surprise at Merlin's power. So Lancelot also knew? Gwaine eventually fell asleep with a smile on his lips knowing that Merlin had another ally in Camelot.
During the night, Gwaine felt a yellow glow shining above him and his sleep was even more comfortable thanks to Merlin. He'll have to thank him when this is all over...
Their group was forced to separate the next day because they were attacked by brigands. They were separated into two groups: Arthur, Leon, Elyan and Merlin on one side, and Percival, Lancelot and Gwaine on the other. Gwaine counted it as a good thing that Merlin was with Arthur and Leon but he was sure his friend would have liked him to be with them too. At least Merlin could have kept taking care of the three of them in the same time. In a hurry, Gwaine hadn't really had time to think about which group he should follow. Lancelot pulled him back and ordered him to run and Gwaine obeyed. It was smarter to run away with Percival and Lance than to abandon them to find the safety of Merlin's magic against the Venom.
And now that they no longer had their horses, the only thing Gwaine could do was to endure the torment the venom was causing him in silence and keep walking since the only way to find the others was to get to the serpentia's hideout.
So Gwaine had to force his feet to cooperate in order to move forward but each step towards the beast's hiding place only made his ordeal worse. Yet Gwaine continued to advance one step after another, trying to keep up with his two friends so as not to be too far behind them. The situation was a real paradox every step he took made him suffer the martyr yet if he wanted to be saved he had to keep moving forward.
In a way, the dying knight was really glad it was Leon and Arthur who were with Merlin because even though the knight and the king were extremely strong, they were also weak. Gwaine didn't question the strength and will of his king and friend but he was undeniably more resilient to pain than them. He had spent three-quarters of his life relying on himself, wandering from village to village, having to tend to his wounds alone and relying only on himself. Not like Leon and Arthur who had always had servants who cared about them. So, yes, Gwaine was relieved that Merlin was with them because he could take the pain easier than them.
No, the real problem wasn't the pain of the venom, that Gwaine could handle it, the worst was the suspicious looks Lancelot was giving him more and more frequently. Percival was worried about him too, Gwaine could see that, but it was easier to send the big man away with a good joke. Percival would leave him alone as long as Gwaine could still smile and laugh at him. But Lancelot was not so fooled.
The brown-eyed knight had always been protective of the other knights but especially of Gwaine. His mate always said it was because Gwaine was more prone to hurting himself and hiding his injuries than the others. Which was partially true.
So, almost every five minutes now, Lancelot turned back to look at Gwaine. His eyebrows were frown and his eyes scanned the younger's body with curiosity and concern. Lancelot knew Gwaine was more than capable of keeping up. In fact, it was usually the knight who led the march. Being behind was not like him at all.
Gwaine knew he was done for when Lancelot stopped and waited for him to catch up. Only then did Lancelot walk again, following Gwaine's cadence.
"Can I ask you a question?" Lancelot finally asked him, once he was sure that Percival couldn't hear them. "And you answer it honestly."
"You can always ask," Gwaine replied with a smirk.
Lancelot was not fooled by his friend's nonchalant demeanor, "Were you injured in the attack?"
Well, at least that question was easy, "No, you've done an exceptional job protecting me, Lance."
Lancelot squinted since he didn't believe Gwaine so the youngest opened his arms and spun around, "See? No injury." Nothing apparent anyway, but that Lancelot didn't have to know.
Gwaine lowered his arms and resumed walking as he had proven he had escaped the attack unharmed but a large hand on his arm prevented him from moving forward.
Lancelot forced him to establish contact with him and asked seriously, "Do you suffer from venom?"
If there was one thing Gwaine couldn't do was lie to Lance. His friend was the first in a long time to want to protect him. It wasn't like with Arthur who had protected him from Uther because the prince was indebted to Gwaine. Lancelot did this out of sheer goodness of heart, because he is naturally selfless and expected nothing in return. In many ways, Lance acted like a big brother to him and in many others, there was this red line between them with those smiles, looks, and touches that were meant only for them.
"You said one question," Gwaine reminded him playfully, patting his chest twice. If he couldn't lie to Lancelot he could still dodge the question.
He didn't get far as Lancelot pulled him back again. Gwaine almost lost his balance with nausea that refused to leave him and the unexpected gesture but Lance caught him easily with a hand on his hip.
"I'm not asking you to tell me what's going on with you if you're not comfortable with it but at least take this," Lancelot placed a small leather bag in his hands.
Gwaine opened it to see the herbs Merlin had used to calm the effects of the venom, "how?"
Lance gave him a small smile, "Merlin gave me some of it in case something like this happened. Please ease my worries and take some if it helps you."
"You're a real mother hen," Gwaine sneered even though he clipped the pouch to his belt so he wouldn't lose it.
"Someone has to take care of you," Lance answered with a wink.
He mixed some of the herbs in his water as soon as Lance and Percival had their backs turned. The taste was even worse than before without the stew to mask the smell and the water hadn't been heated but Gwaine forced himself to drink. A few seconds later, he could easily catch up with his friends and even beat them. Gwaine ignored the smirk on Lancelot's face as he walked past him. He was certain that Merlin hadn't betrayed his secret by telling Lancelot and that his knight friend was just very shrewd. The effect the herbs had on him only proved to Lance that his theory was correct.
Against all expectations, it was their group that arrived first in front of the hiding place. Gwaine had however been certain that Merlin and the others would have arrived first since he had delayed his group. But Merlin, Arthur, Leon, and Elyan arrived an hour after them. Gwaine had managed to convince his two comrades to wait for the others a little further from the cave to get away from the feeling of serpentia's venom. Lancelot didn't say anything even though his eyebrows were furrowed in concern and he even sat next to Gwaine so Percival wouldn't suspect anything.
Gwaine's nausea intensified as they entered the large cave. Leon and Arthur didn't have the same problem since Merlin had given them temporary magical protection. It was like a health walk for them while for Gwaine it was real torture. Merlin, who must have sensed his discomfort, tried to approach him but the knight dissuaded him. The cave was too plunged into darkness and everyone would easily see the yellowish glow coming out of the servant's palms. Gwaine's ordeal would soon be over anyway.
They walked for a long time on a narrow path where they had to pass one at a time. All the knights, the king, and the wizard were energized and ready to fight. Gwaine found the path disgusting with little skeletons everywhere, the cobwebs, the darkness getting deeper and deeper, but the worst was the lack of air that he was the only one to suffer. The noxious gas of the venom was getting stronger and stronger...
Gwaine's thoughts were cut off when they all heard a treacherous voice hiss, "I smell nobleryy...". The voice of the serpentia was exactly what Gwaine expected for a giant bloodsucking snake. Gwaine continued to advance despite the ominous omen. He had the impression of running into the mouth of the wolf, especially since they were bringing a meal of choice to the serpentia: a king.
However, Gwaine felt much less serene upon hearing Merlin's warning behind him, "it's not Arthur and Leon it smelt."
The knight wanted to turn around and thank Merlin for his encouraging words when Arthur warned them that they had come to the end of the road. Gwaine would have been delighted if his nausea hadn't doubled in a second. He really felt like he was going to vomit in a few seconds. But the others taking action stopped him. Gwaine was therefore forced to straighten up, draw his sword and fill the formation in a semicircle around the beast.
And Gaius hadn't lied when he said the serpentia was huge. She was twice the size of a normal human, and its tail was even bigger and thicker. The huge tail snaked and passed from one knight to another.
"Which of you is my breakfast?" she asked them, hissing and running her serpent's tongue over her sharp canines.
Gwaine felt Lancelot and Merlin take a small step towards him as if the two were ready to protect him if the giant serpent got too close to him. The beast first passed Arthur and Leon without attacking them, proof that Merlin's magic protected them, before continuing on its way in front of the other commoner knights. Then the snake passed by Lancelot who did not move an inch. Gwaine knew before the snake laid eyes on him that plants wouldn't be enough to camouflage what was in his blood. The serpentia's smile confirmed his fears.
Anyway, the knights weren't there to let the beast smell them and leave it alive thought Gwaine when he raised his sword and struck the serpentia in the head. Arthur would surely put his gesture on his impulsiveness more than a survival instinct. However, Gwaine didn't expect his sword to ricochet off the beast's scales without slashing it. He would have fallen backward if Lancelot hadn't caught him from the force of the impact.
The rest of the battle passed in a blur to Gwaine's cloudy mind. Getting hit in the abdomen by the beast's tail didn't help him figure out what was going on. Yet the situation was quite easy to understand: they were losing. The knights were all tired and injured and if the fight continued: there was going to be a death. Lancelot was still stunned from the blow he had just taken and Merlin was unconscious.
Gwaine walked over to the wizard to see if he was okay when his gaze fell on a familiar sachet of herb. Despite the situation, he was still more worried about his friend than his life. The knight had finished his sachet before entering the cave but Merlin still had one filled which he had tried to use against the giant snake. The sorcerer had told them that they should try to make the beast ingest it or at least use it against it, but they hadn't managed to get close enough to the beast to use it.
The impulsive knight didn't give it much thought when he pounced on the leather pouch, opened its contents, and swallowed it. The herbs were even worse without water and had an unpleasant pasty taste. Gwaine would have spit it all out if the situation wasn't so desperate. His discomfort was worth nothing against the possible death of one of his new brothers. He struggled to his feet when he was sure he wasn't going to vomit right away.
Immediately after, Gwaine grabbed the dagger from his belt and slashed the palm of his hand so that his blood flowed. The effect was immediate on the beast which left Leon to turn towards Gwaine.
"Did someone ask for breakfast?" he asked as he wanted to have said a memorable remark before he got killed.
And Gwaine felt death approaching as the tip of the giant serpent's tail passed behind him and nudged him so that he was slammed against the foul beast. He was cut off from any escape when the serpent's tail coiled around him. The pressure grew uncomfortably against his ribs as the tail tightened around him. Gwaine couldn't help moaning as he felt two of his ribs crack on the spot.
He could hear his brothers screaming around him but Gwaine was mesmerized by the magical animal's big teeth and swirling eyes. The head of the serpentia approached him and the beast's tongue licked his face.
As he felt death coming, Gwaine heard his name being shouted as he turned his head to see Lancelot. But in doing so he gave free access to his throat to the snake who took the opportunity to plant his fangs there.
The pain was immediate and unbearable. It was as if his body was on fire from the inside but the burning was huge and quickly spreading throughout his body. Gwaine also felt like the huge fangs were piercing his throat right through and his head was going to fall. But unfortunately, his head was still attached to his body since he could still feel the fire going through him.
The worst was surely the screams that flooded the cave. The screams sounded like those of a dying beast that was soon to die in excruciating pain. Gwaine had a hard time recognizing his own voice in those screams.
But gradually the fire inside him subsided, leaving only a faint hum like the ones Gwaine had when he was drunk. Except that he hadn't had a drop of alcohol since the beginning of the trip, so this feeling couldn't be a good omen.
And then, just as Gwaine felt his eyes shut forever, the sharp fangs erupted from his neck and a scream much louder and more painful than his own shook the walls of the cave.
For a long second, Gwaine felt like he was flying before his body made contact with something hard.
Then there was nothing.
***
His body was immensely heavy when Gwaine woke up and he would have fallen back asleep if his nightmare wasn't worse than the pain he was feeling. He forced his eyes open to see a blue sky and the branches of the trees above him. And if Gwaine concentrated hard enough he could hear the sound of birds chirping happily. The scene looked like heaven compared to the hell that the cave had been.
Gwaine went back to sleep since he knew he was safe when he was called out softly, "Gwaine?"
He opened his eyes and turned his head to see familiar brown eyes. Lancelot looked at him with far too much worry and relief at Gwaine's taste. Still, Gwaine didn't care for now because he was equally relieved to see Lancelot again. He had truly believed that he was going to die and he had been happy about it. Because Gwaine was ready to sacrifice himself and suffer the worst torment if it meant his brothers would live.
Tears involuntarily welled up in Lancelot's eyes and Gwaine reached out for him. Just moving his hand hurt like hell, but he felt better when a warmer hand wrapped around his own. It was as if Lance took some of Gwaine's pain by holding his hand.
His head had just fallen back against the soft thing that served as his pillow when a new voice kept him from falling asleep again.
"Stay awake, Gwaine."
"Can't a man sleep?" Gwaine groaned as he watched Merlin approach him, his voice low and hoarse, barely above a whisper.
The young man smiled cheekily at him, "Not when they're idiots like you."
Merlin put his hand on Gwaine's forehead and the knight felt his pain magically go away. He opened his eyes just to see Merlin's bright ones.
"No!" he grabbed Merlin's hand to stop him from continuing, "don't betray your secret for me."
"It's already done," an angry voice interjected. "How do you think you're still alive?"
Gwaine tried to get up to stand in front of Merlin to protect him from the king's fury but his body was too weak and he fell back. Merlin and Lance both caught up to him and stood on either side of Gwaine.
"I can explain," he said even though his attempt to protect Merlin had failed because of his own traitorous body.
There was a beauty in the situation all the same since Gwaine, Lancelot and Merlin were united against Arthur, Elyan, Leon, and Percival. Merlin would be executed for being a wizard, and he and Lancelot for being traitors. Strangely, Arthur laughed and even Merlin was smiling instead of being scared. Gwaine turned to Lance but the latter took no defensive stance. Suddenly, Gwaine felt like he had missed a chapter of the story or even several. He looked again at his new friends and saw that they looked a little shaken up with bruises and cuts on their faces but their clothes were clean, as well as their faces, and the cuts looked old from a few days ago.
"How could you explain something that doesn't concern you?" Arthur asked him when he had stopped laughing. And it hadn't even been a mean laugh, just a real laugh full of amusement and something like relief.
"I... I don't understand," he confessed after looking at each of his brothers but none of them looked ready to attack Merlin because of his magic.
"You slept for three days, Gwaine," Lance told him, a small smile on his face, "Arthur's anger had had time to subside in between."
The knight turned to his wizard friend, "Did you really use magic to save me?"
"You were dying!" Merlin chided him. The young man and Lancelot helped Gwaine to sit down properly against the tat of the cape which formed his makeshift bed. A cape was even put on him to prevent him from catching cold. The smell told him it was not his own but Lancelot's. Not that Gwaine knew how Lancelot's cape smelled. "What was I supposed to do? let you die?"
"Yes !" he replied automatically, "you shouldn't have revealed your secret for me."
"Merlin couldn't have been deterred, Gwaine," Lancelot said calming him down and the hand that returned to his did a lot to soothe him and ground him in the present moment rather than what could have happened while he was sleeping.
"You should be worrying more about yourself," Percival warned with a laugh.
Leon, Elyan and Percival all kept their distance from the foursome because they found the situation far too funny to interfere.
Gwaine's eyebrows rose in a silent 'why' but the answer didn't come from his tall friend.
"The Serpentia is noxious to nobles and it has targeted you, Sir Gwaine."
He shrugged and gave Arthur a bright smile, "Maybe giant snakes are also attracted to alcohol and my natural charm."
The joke didn't make Arthur laugh since the king just crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Gwaine's explanation.
"My father was a knight," he confessed, squeezing the hand that was in his involuntarily.
"And you didn’t tell us because…"
"You didn't have to know that! It wasn't important so far."
"My father would have had you executed if I hadn't intervened! And you didn't even think to reveal this slight detail?"
"I tried to convince him," Merlin muttered with a silly smile on his face.
"But it didn’t go that far," Gwaine added to remind them that he had only been banished, "and I became a knight on my own merits despite that little omission."
"An omission?" Arthur huffed, "that thing almost killed you! If I had known… "
"If you had known what, princess? You yourself were ready to stay despite the risks that you also incurred. And you didn't force Leon to stay back either."
"But I'm not one to throw myself into the mouth of the beast like an idiot," Leon interjected, speaking for the first time.
"This thing was going to kill us all…" Gwaine muttered, feeling embarrassed because he was going to say, "I don't want to lose any of you."
"There's always another way," Lancelot reminded him softly.
"Which?" Gwaine asked him with a broken voice. He hadn't realized until then that his throat was still hurting. How far had the fangs of this damn beast gone? "You would have done the same in my place."
Lancelot doesn't contradict him, "but I don't want to lose you, either."
"None of us want that," Merlin chimed in, rubbing Gwaine's upper back to soothe him.
Percival approached them, "the worst was your screams..."
"It looked like you were sent to burn in hell," Elyan finished as Percival couldn't finish his sentence.
Gwaine chuckled, yeah, "that was almost it."
"Merlin, get up and leave him alone," the king ordered as he went to sit on a log by the fire.
"But why ?"
"You said Gwaine still needed to rest before he could get back on the road and you three have chores waiting for you. I have a huge list in mind."
Merlin got up to go and bicker with Arthur about the list and the chores he already had to do.
“Do I want to know?" Gwaine asked Lancelot.
His friend shook his hand and laughed, "You better stay in the dark for now. But be happy we don't get executed for treason."
"You're probably right," Gwaine conceded. He swallowed the water Lance offered him to soothe the pain in his throat. The fangs hadn't slit his throat in half in the end, but Gwaine still felt like he had those horrible things digging into his neck.
Lance helped him down and Gwaine tugged on his hand to force him to lie down next to him. The other knight relented but rolled onto his side with a hand under his head so he could keep watching Gwaine. Their clasped hands rested in the small space between them.
“Are you mad at me for not telling you the truth about me?" Gwaine whispered to keep their conversation private. He was afraid that Lance would look at him differently now that the truth about his origins was out. Their wandering life had been one of their first commonalities, something only the two of them had truly experienced, and he didn't want Lance to question that.
"No," Lance replied, smiling softly at him. Gwaine believed him since his friend still refused to lie. "But you're not off the hook yet for trying to sacrifice yourself."
"I got away with it, didn't I?"
"Thanks to Merlin," Lancelot reprimanded him sternly. "Percival and Elyan are right: your cries were truly awful to hear. And knowing that you went through this pain for all of us makes it even worse. Not to mention all those things you don't know."
"So tell me."
Lance hesitated for a few seconds, "When the beast began to howl in pain, the others took the opportunity to put it down. I couldn't help them since I was paralyzed until she sent you flying through the cave. I tried to grab you but wasn't fast enough...your body made that horrible crunch as you crashed into the rock face. We all thought you were dead and according to Merlin, you were dead for a split second before he brought you back to us with his magic."
"How did Arthur take the news?" Gwaine asked by cutting off Lance because he really wanted to know what happened between the king and his servant.
"Not well, as you can imagine. Especially when he realized I already knew and Merlin unintentionally admitted that you knew too."
"To believe that we are two secret keepers, huh?"
They shared a knowing smile.
"But Arthur is hurt more by the fact that Merlin didn't trust him enough to tell him than by the fact that he is a wizard. They talked and there were some surprising revelations, for them anyway."
"What?" Gwaine would have gotten up because of his stupor if Lance hadn't stopped him and helped him to lie down again. "These two idiots finally put two and two together after all this time and they couldn’t even wait five minutes for me to wake up…"
Lancelot laughed at Gwaine's disappointed face. He thought Gwaine was cute when he sulked. "You haven't missed anything except a long awkward moment and more awkward revelations."
Gwaine continued to sulk "Always, they could have waited for me..."
"Stop sulking, Gwaine, and look," Lance turned Gwaine's face to the new couple. Merlin was blushing at something Arthur had just said. The king blushed just as quickly moments later.
"They're adorable," Gwaine sneered, shifting his interest to Lancelot. His friend looked at the new couple a little longer before sinking his brown irises into Gwaine's green ones. "Is there anything else I missed?"
"Not really, well, yes, but it's not from today..."
Gwaine frowned as he saw Lancelot suddenly become shy, "What are you talking about?"
"You really are even more oblivious than Arthur and Merlin put together," Lancelot chided in exasperation.
"I'm not like them, I notice when someone is interested in me."
Lancelot laughed, "I've been courting you for three months and you really haven't noticed."
Had Lancelot really been courting him for three months? It's true that there was this game between them since they knew each other but Gwaine had never believed that Lancelot felt the same for him. He was aware of his flaws and had thought that Lance was just being really protective of him. If Gwaine had never done more than tease his friend it was because he didn't want to push him into something he didn't want. He was not afraid of being ridiculous or being rejected. Gwaine could survive this. But seeing Lancelot walk away from him would not have been bearable. Besides, Gwaine had always thought of Lance as too noble of heart to fall in love with a guy like him.
However, he didn't admit his insecurities and just said, "You're way too subtle for me."
Lance easily got into his game, "Maybe I should be less subtle."
For his part, Gwaine moved a little closer to Lance to close the gap between them. He saw Lance lower his gaze to his lips before returning to his eyes to ask permission. Gwaine was happy to give him permission and Lance didn't wait another second before pressing his lips to Gwaine's. And being the dunce that he was, Gwaine quickly turned the tender kiss into something hotter.
Whistles forced them apart and Leon told them to get a room while Elyan and Percival talked about money and betting. Lance tried to pull back but Gwaine didn't budge and kissed him again.
"Don't make me separate you, Gwaine needs to rest and not be kissed," Arthur ordered them in a sadistic voice. Gwaine knew his king wanted him to recover quickly so he could put a lot of drudgery on him.
However, he attempted to ignore the order and receive another passionate kiss but Lance pulled back this time, "You know he's right."
Gwaine sighed knowing that long weeks of forced rest and chores awaited him but it wouldn't be so bad if Lancelot – and Merlin – had to participate in the chores.