AN: Originally posted as a comment fic for cinnatart's Kiss Meme 4.0 back in March. Just getting around to transferring it to my account.
Gwaine was an expert on kisses.
There were the bad kisses including but not limited to awkward social pecks on the cheek, bad breath, and one memorable girl in a back tavern whose kisses were more like a tactical pursuit in drowning. He'd been kissed with bruising force, gentle touches, innocently, recklessly and once even underwater. He had become so used to kissing that the very act seemed so basic. It was what led to other more exciting things.
He changed his mind when he met Merlin.
Merlin had wonderful lips. Every time he spoke or smiled or laughed or frowned, Gwaine's eyes were drawn to those lips. At night, long after he had left Camelot behind him, those lips haunted him. He would dream of kissing Merlin, just kissing, and wake up painfully aroused. It was so juvenile and Gwaine was supposed to be an expert at such things. He shouldn't be so turned on by the mere thought of kissing. If any one had asked him he would have given them a much more sensual account of the dream. Not that any one asked. Merlin might have, but he was back in Camelot.
By the time Gwaine was a knight the thought of kissing Merlin had reached an all new level of obsession.
He would give Merlin some of the food off his plate during dinner, partly to make the princess frown at Gwaine's complete lack of social manners, and also for the preverse satisfaction of seeing Merlin bite into the apple. He would always suck a bit of the juice out after each bite to keep it from dribbling down his chin. His lips pursed and cheeks slightly hollowed, eyes dancing with amusement. It should be illegal the way Merlin ate apples.
Gwaine tried to plan how he should kiss Merlin for the first time. Quite a few times when Merlin would be helping him make his way back to the chambers after a night of drinking Gwaine would almost kissed him, but he didn't want alcohol to dull one minute of their eventual first kiss. So he sometimes kissed Merlin's cheek or ear or forehead on those nights, too far gone to not give kiss him but disciplined enough not to ruin the main event. He also didn't want to kiss Merlin in front of anyone else, because he very much wanted a lot of nakedness to happen whenever the kiss did occur. Unfortunately being Gwaine and a knight, meant that almost every time Gwaine and Merlin were alone were those long drunken walks back to his room after a night of drinking.
It was during one of those walks home that Gwaine almost tripped over a step. Merlin managed to catch and steady him from falling backwards. He really was surprisingly strong for such a wiry build.
"Thank you," Gwaine said jovially, kissing Merlin's jawline in gratitude.
"Stop," Merlin huffed, pulling his face away. He bit his bottom lip. He shouldn't be allowed to bite his bottom lip.
"Why?" Gwaine asked, not quite sure what he had done wrong.
"Because you don't mean it," Merlin said, his eyes straight ahead. Gwaine frowned and tried to think past the thrum of alcohol in his system.
"I mean everything," Gwaine announced, not sure what Merlin was talking about but willing to say just about anything to make him smile again. "Everything I say and do. Right? I mean it all."
"Not when you kiss me," Merlin whispered, but Gwaine was still leaning on him, too close not to hear.
"I haven't kissed you," Gwaine said, breaking free of Merlin because, damnit, how could he forget kissing Merlin? What drunken stumble home had robbed him of the one thing he had been dreaming about for over a year.
"It's alright," Merlin tried to calm him down. "I know you don't mean anything by it. You're just very ... affectionate when you've been drinking."
"No," Gwaine argued, too upset about missing the kiss to be calmed down. "I've been trying so hard not to kiss you! Our first kiss was supposed to be amazing. How could I have forgot it?"
Merlin was staring at him on the other side of the stairwell.
"When did I kiss you?" Gwaine asked, feeling irrationally jealous at his drunk self.
"Right now," Merlin said. "You kissed me right now."
"No I didn't, I kissed your jaw, that doesn't count," Gwaine waved it off.
"Yes it does," Merlin argued. "And you've kissed my forehead and ear and-"
"But no actual kiss, right?" Gwaine asked.
Merlin stared at him intensely before launching himself at Gwaine. Wrapping one hand around his neck, he gently nipped at Gwaine's bottom lip before sinking into a kiss. Merlin took full posession of the kiss, slanting his lips for better access. He was a full-body kisser, pressing his full body up against Gwaine and rubbing in time with the kiss. Never, in Gwaine's entire life, had a kiss ever turned him on so fully or so suddenly.
"You should have just kissed me," Merlin said as he leaned away enough to draw in a breath. Gwaine couldn't disagree as he felt a hand under his shirt and Merlin was back to kissing him.
Over years Gwaine experienced some bad Merlin kisses including but not limited to kissing too soon after one had been ill, sloppy ones that had been too rushed, and the dreaded goodbye kiss when the chances of seeing each other again were at a minimum. There were also the spectucular ones; such as when Merlin's magic was finally not a secret, deep lazy goodmorning kisses, and that kiss when they saw each other again after thinking they might die. Gwaine loved the pecks on the lips, the moist brushing of lips mid-love making, and the way Merlin would kiss his jawline. Not that kissing the jawline counted, no matter what Merlin said.
Gwaine was an expert on Merlin kisses. And the first one was still his favourite.