"I hate the word servant," Gwaine decided as Merlin carefully peeled back the bandage.
The man barely flinched, even as the bandage stuck to the open wound beneath. Merlin tried to be as gentle as possible, but Gwaine seemed unfazed. Used to pushing through the pain then, Merlin thought.
"It's not particularly flattering," Merlin agreed. "But I couldn't have asked for a better man to serve."
Gwaine's eyes searched Merlin's, but they didn't give anything away as he was still focused on his task.
"You care about him," Gwaine observed.
Merlin's movements paused for a moment and he smiled up at Gwaine, "I do."
And those words were stated with such surety, such devotion that Gwaine felt a pang in his chest. Perhaps they were even more involved than he'd feared.
"Are you together?" He blurted before he could bite his tongue. Merlin's mouth dipped open in surprise, before he burst out laughing.
"He's a prince! I'm a servant!" He laughed, holding his stomach as tears of laughter formed in his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous."
"Well that's a relief," Gwaine grinned as Merlin wiped the tears off of his face. He removed the rest of the bandage and smiled crookedly at Gwaine.
"And why would that be a relief?" He wondered with a curious glint in his eyes.
"It makes my chances much more realistic," Gwaine stated as he squared his shoulders and sat up a little straighter.
Merlin's eyes snapped up to meet Gwaine's, and they stared at one another for a breathless moment. Merlin bit his lip to hide his smile as he processed what the man had said, and that he appeared to mean it. Then again, they barely knew one another. How could Merlin possibly know his intentions were positive? Perhaps he was just looking to seduce him and move on. They had yet to know each other properly, for him to be able to judge.
"There's no chance at all until we get to know one another," Merlin smirked, grabbing a clean cloth and dipping it into the fresh water.
"Ah, playing hard to get," Gwaine smiled a devilish smirk. "I like the odds of that game."
"Is it a game you play often?" Merlin rose a brow and watched his face carefully for any hints.
"I never stay in a place long enough to try," Gwaine shrugged, a playful mask plastered on his face.
"That must be lonely," Merlin observed as he softly cleaned the wound on his leg. Gwaine only hummed, offering no other response.
They fell quiet as Merlin worked, his movements gentle and thorough. He'd picked up many things from Gaius over the years, and this was one of them. Gwaine didn't so much as hiss or flinch throughout, only watched the quick and careful fingers of Merlin. One of his hands rested gently on the bare skin of Gwaine's thigh, holding him steady and successfully distracting him. Because god, did Gwaine love the feeling of those calloused, yet soft hands on his skin. In fact, he loved it a little too much. He became painfully aware of every touch Merlin administered. Each time their skin came into contact was like a small strike of lightening through his veins.
He swallowed thickly as he realized he hadn't been paying attention to controlling himself, and was beginning to get hard. And his crotch was very much in Merlin's line of sight. He leaned his head back against the wall with an audible groan, biting his lip and shutting his eyes. He knew his inner thighs were sensitive, but it had never been a problem before. At least not until now.
Merlin, on the other hand, was thoroughly distracted himself. He immersed himself in his work, like he so often did, becoming oblivious to the world around him. He cleaned the wound and applied the salve in a way that showed his attention to Gaius's detailed work. After that was done, he glanced up to Gwaine.
It was as if the man was placed here in Camelot simply to make things stir in Merlin's abdomen and a blush rise to his face. With his head leaned back against the wall and his chest pushed out... dear lord, Merlin needed to get him into a shirt as soon as possible before the warlock embarrassed himself in front of the beautiful man. He was downright godly, perfectly muscled in the chest, leading up to defined collar bones and a flawless neck that Merlin wanted to taste. The stubble of his face spilled partway down his neck, and his teeth held his plump bottom lip firmly, as if he was holding himself back from something. With his eyelids shut again, Merlin noticed how long his dark lashes were, fanned out across his tanned skin. Gwaine took a deep breath, and Merlin watched the rise and fall of his chest as if in a trance.
"Like what you see?" Came the voice of Gwaine a few seconds later. Merlin snapped himself out of it, blushing and coughing to try and recover some of his dignity.
"Can you raise your leg for me?" Merlin asked, carefully not meeting his eyes.
"It would be my pleasure," Gwaine smirked.
His slid his body further down the bed, stretching out onto his side as he placed his elbow on the pillow and propped his head up. The blanket slipped off the rest of his body, and he brought his knee up. The pose was very near erotic, and Merlin gulped nervously as he grabbed the clean bandages and his eyes flickered over Gwaine's very prominent abdomen. Do not look at his crotch, do not look at his crotch, do not look at his crotch, he repeated the mantra in his head as he reached forward. And Gwaine knew precisely what he was doing posing like that.
Merlin gingerly began to wrap the bandage around his leg, holding the end against his warm skin to keep it in place. He wrapped him tightly, but loosely enough to allow some air to get in and keep things dry. Dampness breeds infection. Gwaine made a small noise in the back of his throat, and Merlin's head snapped around to look at him.
"Did I hurt you?" He asked in concern, stopping immediately.
"Quite the opposite," Gwaine admitted, biting his lip again. Merlin frowned in confusion, and Gwaine smiled. There was a very light blush across his cheeks, but Merlin noticed it. "You're driving me crazy," he murmured, his voice husky and his eyes intense.
"Oh, I- sorry, I..." Merlin stuttered as he grew more and more flustered at Gwaine's admission, his insides growing hot and his heart fluttering wildly in his chest. His mind was conjuring up several very enticing images of Gwaine's bare body...
He cleared his throat, getting ahold of himself and finishing his work as quickly and gently as possible with this new knowledge. Although, he couldn't help smirking a little at the fact that Merlin affected Gwaine as much as the man affected him.
"So why do you hate nobility so much?" Merlin asked, purely as a distraction for them both.
"Besides my previous mentions? My father was a knight," he admitted, and Merlin could detect the undertone of resentment. "He was knowingly sent to his death without a second thought, and did as he was told knowing he would die anyway. Tell me, what person is worth such loyalty? Is worth dying for?"
"Arthur is," Merlin murmured quietly. Gwaine scoffed disdainfully at the response, and Merlin sat back to meet his eyes. He looked genuine and entirely resolved on the matter. Gwaine knew instantly that the man would risk his life for the prince. "I'm not saying you're wrong- there are many noblemen not worth the dirt we walk on. But there are a few rare, good men among them. Arthur is one of those men. He'd die for his knights just as they would die for him. And your father sounds as loyal as the knights of Camelot, and that is something to be proud of."
This was said with such conviction that Gwaine couldn't find it in himself to argue. He'd already realized that Merlin was good people, he'd thrown himself into the bar fight his prince had started without thought... and somehow Gwaine trusted his judgement. If Merlin believed that firmly in the man, who was he to argue when he knew so little about Arthur? He did, however, feel a swell of pride in his chest at Merlin's observation about his father.
"If you stick around, you'll see," Merlin said with a hopeful smile. "Maybe you could become a knight of Camelot yourself, follow in your fathers footsteps." He wiggled his eyebrows before rising from his seat and gathering the dirty cloths and bandages.
His words rebounded in Gwaine's head, bouncing around enticingly. Stick around, follow in your fathers footsteps, become a knight. It was so very, very tempting. But he never stayed in one place for long- ever. Never took anything seriously. So why was he considering it now?
As he watched Merlin walk away, his eyes firmly focused on his ass, of course he knew why.
"Thank you for breakfast," Gwaine called after him, and was rewarded with a blinding smile from the warlock before he disappeared into the other room.
How on earth had Merlin managed to get under his skin so quickly? It was preposterous. But he couldn't help how the man was making him feel either.
Merlin collapsed at the table after getting rid of the soiled fabrics, putting his head in his hands and sighing with thoughts of Gwaine's bare skin. What had gotten into him?
"What is it, Merlin?" Gaius asked in annoyance from where he was concocting a potion at his work station.
"Nothing, Gaius," the warlock answered too quickly. He changed the subject before Gaius could pry. "How soon can Gwaine be up and about? I have a feeling he'll be getting restless soon."
"He'll need at least another days rest, we don't want that wound to open up again," he answered, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at his charge.
Merlin nodded, leaning his elbow against the table, smiling at the simple act of doing nothing for a second.
"Well don't just sit there!" Gaius scolded, throwing his hands up. "Just because we have a guest doesn't mean you get a day off! Here, take these to Mrs. Eldridge and remind her to only take half a day. I might as well make use of you while I have the chance, I'm sure Arthur will be monopolizing your time with the beginning of tomorrows tournament."
Merlin sat up a little straighter as he remembered the Mêlée. Couldn't he just have a moment to sit? Did the work never cease? He groaned and rose from his seat, taking the offered items from Gaius and noting that the haul had grown to four other stops as well.
He popped his head in to check on Gwaine, but the man was sprawled chaotically across the bed fast asleep. Merlin smiled at the peaceful scene before quietly shutting the door and making his way out into the street.
He took his time between deliveries, and not even an hour later ran into none other than the man that was supposed to be resting in his bed. Gwaine smiled widely as he caught sight of Merlin, and quickly plucked a pretty little flower that was growing along the side of the street. The man swaggered up to the warlock, and Merlin rolled his eyes.
"You're supposed to be resting!" He exclaimed, his eyes immediately moving to where he knew the bandage was beneath his trousers.
"But my entertainment left," Gwaine pouted his lip adorably.
"Some of us have to work for a living," Merlin scoffed. "Besides, you were sleeping! Now get back to my bed and rest," he demanded in the best commanding voice he could muster.
"Yessir," He saluted him sarcastically, then he smirked, "If you joined me we could do the opposite of rest," Gwaine rose a playful brow at him and the insinuation.
Merlin bit his lip to hide his grin as his face lit with a deep blush.
"You're beautiful when you blush," Gwaine murmured close to his ear.
Merlin couldn't hold back the smile now, and he shivered at the feeling of his breath against his skin. Smiling back and presenting the flower to Merlin, Gwaine swung himself down onto one knee in front of him.
"For you, my handsome caretaker," he proclaimed, and Merlin couldn't help but giggle at his antics as he bowed deeply.
"Alright, alright, you fool," he laughed, reaching down to pull him up from the ground as people began to stare.
Merlin clumsily threw them off balance, and Gwaine somehow managed to catch the warlock in his arms. One arm was wrapped around his waist, and held Merlin steadily against Gwaine's broad chest. Merlin's breath caught in his throat at their close proximity, and he realized Gwaine's eyes were two different, very beautiful, warm shades of brown. Like chestnut and chocolate, blending together.
"Well, if you're always this clumsy, I look forward to catching you in the future," Gwaine smiled, and Merlin would be lying if his heart didn't melt a little bit at the sight.
"My knight in shining armour," he joked, and Gwaine winked cheekily.