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After one of the harshest winters Camelot had ever seen, the snow slowly turned to flowers, the bitter wind eased into a cool breeze, and the dead trees grew new leaves. It was now appropriate for Merlin’s usual attire, the shirt, neckerchief, and jacket being just enough to keep him warm. Spring had arrived.
Along with spring, came the tournament. Knights from far and wide came to compete, to prove they were the best. All of Camelot’s knights were competing, except for Arthur. Now that he was king, he wasn’t eligible, but he had high hopes for all of his knights, giving them ample time to train and whatever they needed to succeed.
Merlin was busier than ever as the tournament began. On top of his usual chores for Arthur, there were plenty of bloodied knights that needed healing, and he was also helping his friends whenever they needed so they could perform well. Even when the sun was beginning to set, and he should have been grabbing dinner for Arthur, he was instead lugging laundry around, the heavy load balanced precariously on his hip as he made his way outside to hang them to dry.
Halfway through his journey, he felt a presence coming from his right, and suddenly Gwaine was standing next to him. Immediately, Merlin was biting back a smile.
“What is a fine gentleman like you carrying laundry around for?” the man asked, a flirty grin on his face. Since the day they met, there had been an odd air between them. When Gwaine flipped his hair with a smile and said ‘Such a watse, eh?’, Merlin had been smitten with the man. It was nothing, really. Just a stupid crush, but it was the realest thing Merlin had felt in years. And Gwaine…it was hard to tell with Gwaine. He flirted with everyone, regardless of gender or status, so Merlin would always remind himself that he was no one special.
“You mean my job?” Merlin snarked back with a raised eyebrow. “And, if I remember correctly, half of this basket is yours.”
“Well, then it’s only right that you let me carry it.” Before Merlin could protest, Gwaine was sweeping the basket out of Merlin’s arms, holding it to his hip with one arm. Merlin allowed himself to admire his strength before running those thoughts away.
“I am very capable of carrying my own laundry basket,” he mumbled stubbornly, though he made no move to take it back. It was pretty heavy.
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should,” Gwaine replied with a smirk. “Let a friend help you, Merlin. I have nothing better to do anyways.”
Merlin raised a brow at that. “So you don’t have training you’re supposed to be at right now?”
In response, Gwaine simeply grinned over at him, making Merlin shake his head with a laugh. Then exited the castle out the back, where they had lines strung up to hang laundry on. Gwaine set the basket down on the ground, and, to Merlin’s surprise, started pulling clothes out.
“What are you doing?” he asked, watching as he shook out a shirt and hung it on the line.
“What does it look like, Merlin? I’m helping you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. I want to.”
That made Merlin’s heart flutter. Gwaine was helping him with his chores just because he wanted to, to be a good friend. It was moments like this when Merlin felt like he could believe that he was someone special to the mysterious man.
“It’s nice, getting a break from training,” Gwaine mused, hanging a pair of pants next. Merlin knelt and began to do the same.
“The training is necessary, Arthur has high hopes for all his knights. You must perform well.” Not that Gwaine actually needed the extra training, he was easily one of the best knights, and he slacked off all the time. No, he had natural talent.
“Are you doubting that I will perform well?” Gwaine asked, though he had a smirk on his face that showed Merlin that he was teasing. So, he teased back.
“I don’t know, the tournament isn’t a bar fight, I’m afraid you may be out of your element.” Gwaine laughed at that, the sound a glorious ringing to Merlin’s ears.
“You may just be right, Merlin. But I’d still much rather be here with you than listening to Arthur nag all day.”
Merlin didn’t even try to bite back his smile this time. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine, Gwaine, you’re a wonderful knight.”
Gwaine hummed. “I’m glad someone has confidence in me, because Arthur surely doesn’t.”
“Arthur knows how talented you are, I’m sure he pushes you because he sees your potential.” In every situation, Merlin felt the need to defend Arthur. He was a good man, perhaps misunderstood, but a good man nonetheless.
“Well, no one has given me a favor yet. Seems as though no one believes in me like you do.”
At that, Merlin looked up from his work, watching Gwaine hang another shirt. During the tournament, women often gave cloth favors to the knights they hoped to win, which were tied around their biceps as they fought. Gwaine had many partners, but none had given him a favor? Did no one expect him to win? As Merlin pondered his thoughts, Gwaine hung up the last of the clothes and picked up the empty basket.
“Here, I’ll take this back to the laundry room for you. It was nice seeing you, Merlin,” he said, clapping the raven on the shoulder and walking away.
With the laundry now done, Merlin headed into town to pick up some things for Gaius. He desperately needed new cloths for bandages, with the influx of knights coming in with cuts and scrapes. Merlin found the stands that sold the cloths, and bought an armful before heading back to the castle. As he left, he noticed a group of maidens standing around another stand, selling favors. Suddenly, Merlin had another idea, and he made one more stop before returning to Gaius.
-
Merlin fiddled with the edge of the favor in his hand as he walked to Camelot’s tent. The tournament started that day, and Gwaine would be the next to compete. If he was going to do this, then he needed to do it now.
He lifted the curatin to the tent, finding Gwaine alone inside. He was adjusting his armor, and looked up when the man entered, a smile on his face.
“Ah, Merlin! Come to wish me good luck?” he asked with a smirk. Merlin stepped forward.
“Yes, actually. I, um…brought you something,” he said nervously, holding out the dull yellow, almost-silk favor he had bought the day before. It was the finest material he could afford, and he spent all night debating whether or not to give it to him. “It’s, it’s not much, but you said no one had given you a favor yet, so I figured…” he shrugged, trailing off as Gwaine closed the distance between them. Once he was standing not a foot away, he stopped, and held out his right bicep.
“I accept.” His voice was soft, serious, and he was looking at Merlin with an almost knowing smirk, but something unreadable in his eyes. He was looking at him like he was someone special.
Nimble fingers wound the cloth around his bicep, tying it in a secure knot so it wouldn’t fall off during the fight. Merlin allowed his hands to linger on his arm before he finally let go, allowing Gwaine to drop his arm.
“I’ll wear it proudly,” he promised, reaching out to take Merlin’s hand. He brought it to his lips and pressed a kiss to his knuckles, holding eye contact. “Thank you, love. I’ll win for you.”
It sounded so much like a promise, and Merlin believed him.
-
Gwaine did end up winning his fight. And the one after that, and the one after that. Before he knew it, he was winning the final fight, wearing his yellow favor around his bicep the whole time. Despite his winning, his opponents were talented as well, landing several heavy blows and littering cuts across his skin. Once the tournament was over and Gwaine was named champion, he was sent to Gaius for a thorough examination, to make sure he wasn’t heavily injured.
Merlin entered the room to find Gwaine sitting on the bench in a loose shirt, looking over the numerous bottles they had sitting out.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, already looking for obvious signs that he was hurt. Other than a small cut on his cheek, he looked fine.
“Arthur demanded I come see you to make sure I’m okay after the fight. Apparently me saying I feel fine isn’t enough for him.”
Merlin chuckled at that, approaching the table. “No, Arthur is very protective, and he knows that you could still have some serious injuries even if you feel fine. Take your shirt off, I know you got hit in the ribs pretty hard.”
Which, maybe that wasn’t the best idea, because then Gwaine was standing and stripping his shirt off, revealing miles of muscled flesh that Merlin hadn’t seen in far too long. He looked like a walking god, straight out of some fairytale.
“Like what you see?” Gwaine teased, flustering Merlin, who sputtered out something that barely sounded like a sentence and turned his head away. “I’m just teasing, love. You can look your fill, I don’t mind.”
Merlin did his best to focus on the task an hand, which of course meant running his fingers over Gwaine’s bruises torso. He hissed as he pressed against a nasty bruise on his ribs, but other than that, he seemed fine.
“Looks like you’re ribs are bruised pretty badly, you might wanna lay low for a couple days, but you should heal just fine.”
“Thank you, Merlin. Your favor must have kept me safe,” he mused, reaching for his shirt. “...By the way, why did you give me a favor?”
Merlin’s cheeks flushed, and he pretended to be more focused on cleaning off the table. “Well, you said no one had given you one yet, and I figured you might like one,” he shrugged.
“Is that it, then? You just wanted to be a good friend?” He sounded disappointed almost, an odd look in his eyes.
“...And other reasons,” he mumbled, not making eye contact. Gwaine was silent for a moment, and then he stood and made his way over to Merlin, stepping right into his personal space. The raven looked up at him, and found a soft look in his eyes once more, the same one he had when he gave him the favor. A strong arm weaved its way around his waist, pulling him closer. Gwaine’s gaze dropped, and suddenly he was leaning in and they were kissing.
Merlin froze for only a second before he quickly melted into his embrace, cupping his jaw gently. Gwaine’s hair tickled his knuckles, and he slid his hands back finally run through that amazing hair.
Kissing Gwaine felt like coming home, in the oddest sense. He felt like this was what he was supposed to be doing, like this was his true destiny. They broke apart far too soon, but stayed close, their foreheads resting together as they each took a moment to breathe and realize what they just did.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” Gwaine mumbled first, breaking the silence.
“Probably not as long as I’ve wanted to,” Merlin replied with a chuckle, making Gwaine smile. They leaned in and kissed once more, still full of passion and love.
Whatever this was that they were starting, it was right, and it was perfect. Turns out, Merlin always was someone special, at least in Gwaine’s eyes.