'This is going to be so exciting!' Gwaine clapped his hands like a child, a gleeful expression that was replaced with a pout when Lancelot hit his arm.
'You'll freak him out. It's taken us over a year to convince him to show us this.' The Knight chided his friend, who solemnly nodded his head, looking back to where Merlin was pacing. It had been a big reveal, last year, when Merlin finally admitted his Magic to Arthur. A very terrifying thing, filled with Merlin's puppy-dog eyes and Arthur actually showing some emotion. Of course, he shut that down quickly, saving it for rare moments with Merlin and when Gwen was annoyed with him.
The Queen could be terrifying, when she wanted to be. Much like Morgana, he mused, the woman he was attempting to court. She had a fierce tongue, a quick-wit that left him baffled and tripping over his words like a teen again.
Back to the topic at hand. Merlin may have admitted his Magic, but he kept a little secret, for just him and Gwaine to know.
The fact he was a Dragonlord, that he had a hatchling he was raising. Not only that, but according to Merlin, Dragonlords had the ability to retain some of the features that their kin had. Merlin had sat them down, slowly explained that he was slightly more powerful than most, could fully shift into a Dragon-form if he wanted.
They would work up to that bit, for now, they just wanted to see the beginnings of his transformation. Hence why Merlin was currently pacing the clearing in the forest, before he halted.
'Okay. Okay, I can do this.' He muttered to himself, and Lancelot felt sad for his friend. It had to be hard, to trust them with something that was certainly not normal. He didn't have to worry about Gwaine reacting badly, the Knight would love Merlin no matter what, even if the manservant was oblivious to how Gwaine felt about him. In fact, Merlin seemed to be the only one that wasn't aware Gwaine was pining for him.
Merlin sighed, screwed his eyes shut in a look that Lancelot found funny, but from the muttered "adorable" that came from Gwaine, he figured it was a personal thing.
That's when he began to change. Lancelot watched in shock as claws seemed to form at Merlin's hands, horns peeking out from his black hair. Merlin gasped, bent over like he was in pain, and his shirt split as leathery spikes pointed out, before they began to unfold. Wings, he had wings!
When Merlin opened his eyes, they were burning gold, the black no more than slits in his gaze. He looked... incredible. Powerful, far beyond anything the Knight had expected, and if Gwaine's stunned silence was anything to go by, he was just as shocked.
Gwaine rose first, but Lancelot was quick to follow, walking towards a clearly scared Merlin.
'Can... Can we?' Gwaine's hand was creeping out, and Merlin nodded. Lancelot first reached for his hand, to admire the claws, the faint shimmer of black scales that he could see. Gwaine was not as held-back, went straight for the wings. They were huge, and when Lancelot dared to reach for the horns on his head, he noted that the wings flexed slightly.
'Sorry, sensitive.' He chuckled weakly, but didn't stop them from continuing to explore. The wings were actually soft to touch, with spikes at the top, the same dark black and gold pattern.
'Should've known you'd be partly the colour of the Pendragon emblem.' Lancelot joked, and Merlin grinned. It was then that he noticed the teeth, slightly sharper and pointed, and focused on the eyes.
'Thank you. For trusting us with this.' Merlin blushed, shrugged and then hesitantly looked up.
'If... If I transformed fully, would you want to see Camelot?' He realised that Merlin meant from the sky, and the Knight gasped at the possibility. Gwaine was already grinning, Lancelot quick to join.
'Only if you're comfortable.'
**
Gwaine whooped, Lancelot laughing from behind him as they soared over the Kingdom. Beneath, thick forests stretched out, the clouds almost close enough to touch as Merlin kept them steady. Black, with gold at the tips of each scale, around half the size of the old Dragon, yet far bigger than Merlin's hatchling.
He let go of his hold on Merlin's neck, let his arms stretch to the sky and cheered. Lancelot wasn't as confident, but Gwaine had always lived dangerously, and how better than to ride on the back of a Dragon?
The forest changed to a deep blue sea, the edge of Albion, and Gwaine wondered how long it would take Merlin to reach the other lands. He then quickly focused on the fact that Merlin was tilting, wings stretching out, and he returned to gripping.
When they landed, his legs wobbled slightly. Lancelot looked the same, thrilled and with wind-swept hair that was messy. Merlin was already moving away from them slightly, and both Gwaine and Lancelot turned to give some privacy. Although the Warlock had told them it didn't hurt, the cracking of bones sounded painful, and they waited until Merlin cleared his throat to turn.
Back in the clothes he'd left in a pile, looking flushed but otherwise pleased. Gwaine wasn't sure what overcame him, why he found himself striding across the distance and promptly tugging Merlin forwards, daring to kiss those plush lips.
Merlin looked dazed, then smiled warmly, if a little shy.
'About time.' Lancelot huffed, and Gwaine blamed his actions on the fact he'd been flying.
**
It was, as usual, a bandit attack that ruined everything. Merlin was panicking, because they were clearly outnumbered, and Gwaine wasn't wearing his full-armour. They had been relaxed, chatting and eating stew when they had attacked, and now there was chaos. His Magic was bubbling under his skin, ready to lash out, but it was risky. There was always the chance that one of the Knights would accidentally step in front, and he didn't want to harm them.
Then, Merlin heard Gwaine's gasp. It drew the attention of the others, the Knight was staring at the sword that had just gone through his side, and Merlin broke. The scream turned to a growl before he could stop it, and he vaguely heard Lancelot telling the others to get to cover.
He'd never shifted so quickly, the blood rushing as he called on his Dragon to protect his Knight. The good thing being that swords definitely couldn't harm him, his scales were far more resilient than skin, and he curled protectively around Gwaine. Fire raced before he could stop it, the ground trembling as he the remaining men either burnt or fled, until Merlin felt sure they were safe.
Lancelot came out carefully, hands out placatingly, and Merlin drew his wing back to reveal Gwaine, who had managed to prop himself up against one of Merlin's legs. He turned his head to study the man, whining when he saw the blood.
'It's not that bad.' Gwaine huffed, even if he was pale, and in pain.
'Merlin, can you do anything for it?' Yes, yes he could do that, focused his energy and then slowly breathed out fire over him. It raced over his clothing and armour, not harming him, instead healing the cut that would probably have seen him bleed out, otherwise.
'Bloody hell.' Gwaine swore, fingers tracking the scar where the wound had been. Lancelot looked impressed, gave the Knight a hand up, and Merlin turned with enthusiasm, narrowly avoiding knocking Leon over.
He hadn't yet learned how to speak in this form, so he had to settle for an apologetic stare, Gwaine translating for him.
'Sorry, Merlin forgets how big he is in this form.' It was actually quite funny, to see the shock on the others' faces.
**
Gwaine leant against Merlin's leg as Lancelot explained, before Merlin nudged at his head affectionately. Right, he wanted to shift back, and had successfully managed to rip his clothes apart when transitioning last time. Gwaine moved to their packs, pulled out a spare shirt and some breeches, and a belt considering Merlin was tiny compared to him.
'Right, eyes away from Merlin.' Gwaine remarked, while Arthur looked puzzled.
'Why?'
'Because he doesn't transform back fully-clothed, Princess.' That had most of them blushing, before Merlin's bones began to crack. Gwaine looked away, put down the clothes as Merlin sank to the ground. Just because they were dating, it didn't mean that he was going to look. Plus, the others didn't know that yet, apart from Lancelot.
'Done?' Merlin replied with a brief yes, the Knights turning to face him. Gwaine didn't wait for Arthur's opinion, honestly he didn't care much for it anyway, moved across to check Merlin over. The Warlock allowed it, before tilting his head for a kiss, and Gwaine was more than happy to enthusiastically respond to that ask.
'I have so many questions.' Arthur muttered under his breath, while Elyan cheered and Percival offered a thumbs-up, Leon grinning at the two of them. Eyes turned to Lancelot, who smirked.
'I already knew.'
'Of course you did.' Arthur stated, looking utterly lost, and Gwaine wrapped an arm around his Warlock.
'Back to Camelot. I don't want any more close encounters.