One shot. One that came from a pseudo-challenge as well as a line said by Gwaine the awesome fic 'Hunger' by EachPeachPearPlum.
Reviews are most welcome and induces great levels of excitement and happiness.
Merlin belongs to all of us. And I miss it very much.
There was an intense game of chess taking place between Merlin and the combined strengths and mental facilities of Mr and Mrs du Lac. Merlin had suggested the game to Lance, out of the blue, as they were cleaning up after dinner. The rest of them had been surprised; no one takes on Lance on any sort of game that requires a clear winner when Morgana was in the same room. There was a silent consensus that this is not going to end well for Merlin, the stupid fool.
But then again, Merlin might just pull off a miracle…
But it was highly unlikely, if the devastating move Lance made that took out one of Merlin's knights and placed his queen in danger was any indication. That and the positively shark-like smile Morgana gave Merlin. She was draped elegantly on the sofa Lance was seated at, sitting on the arm of the sofa, her head on Lance's shoulder, making them looking like the universe's most beautiful two – headed monster. Gwaine was seated on the floor next to Merlin's arm chair, offering no support whatsoever to his boyfriend, because he was smart enough to know how futile that would be. He was tossing birds at green pigs using the app in Merlin's phone. Arthur was in the kitchen, waiting for his son to finish his chocolate ice – cream. Guinevere was out for the evening with colleagues from her former work place. The television was on, muted, showing highlights from the weekend's football matches.
Tristan was the first to emerge from the kitchen. He bounded over to Gwaine and they wrestled for a bit, Gwaine feigning excruciating suffering and pain while trying to be mindful of the level of boisterousness that would be acceptable to Tristan who just ate a meal. Arthur sauntered out soon after, making his way to his favourite armchair. He barely sat down when Tristan bounded over to him.
"Story, Papa!" Tristan says, as he climbs unto Arthur's lap.
"Right. A story it is." Arthur settles himself comfortable in the chair. "How about one with a prince?"
Gwaine, with his back to Arthur, rolls his eyes. Morgana sees him and suppresses a smile.
Arthur begins his tale. "Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince…"
"Sure, he was du…not the sharpest tool in the box, but no one could deny he was nice to look at…" Gwaine's voice was soft enough not to carry towards Arthur was seated a bit further from his little group.
"Didn't know you were into blonds," Morgana says, smirking.
"I'm not. But you know…pecs."
"Should I be worried?" Merlin asks, almost as if he is musing really, not looking up from the chess board. He moves a bishop and takes out Lance's queen. Morgana hisses.
Gwaine clicks his tongue. "Nope. I am safely into pale blokes with killer cheek bones now." He gives Merlin's knee a squeeze.
"Good, good," Merlin replies, almost off handed, though he did hold on to Gwaine's hand on his knee.
"Sure he was nice to look at, but what were exceptional about him were his awesome friends…" Gwaine continues, as Arthur tells his version of the story to his son.
"And as awesome as his friends were, none could be more awesome than his sister," Morgana picks up the story, examining her nails.
"Who everyone thought was cold and manipulative, but she really was not." Lance's contribution to the story brought gasps of disbelief from Merlin and Gwaine. Morgana, however, smiles widely, and kisses Lance's cheek.
"And she was in love with the gorgeous, sweetest man ever," Morgana continues, looking at Lance.
Gwaine glances at Merlin, as if to ask for confirmation to what Morgana had said. Merlin shrugs. "I think you are way hotter than Lance. Roguish charm."
"I beg to differ." Morgana was primed for a debate. Lance pretends to be completely engrossed in his chess game. The last time he got into one of the 'who is the hottest' debate, he was told to take off his shirt and was paraded in front a band of raucous friends of Morgana. Some insisted on touching him. Gwaine did not mind, the lech, but Lance did.
"I agree with Merlin," Gwaine says, grinning. One would be forgiven if they thought Gwaine was more than ready for another round of debate.
"Back to the prince, yeah?" Arthur was saying to Tristan. Which made the rest of them realize that Arthur has been listening to their story as well. "Great bloke. Not as foolish as people thought he was. And well, his friends were passable enough."
"Did they have adventures, Papa?" Tristan asks, cocking his head in manner that was not unlike Arthur's.
"They did," Arthur replies, his voice a matter of fact, as if he was discussing finance with one of his executives. "Especially the brave Prince…"
"Who always got into scraps..." Merlin contributes.
"And his awesome friends always saved him…" Gwaine adds, with a grin. He went back to his game and gave a shout of disbelief when he saw one tiny green pig laughing at him. Merlin slapped his hand over Gwaine's mouth to prevent the string of swearwords from polluting Tristan's ears.
"And the day…" Lance wants to have a say.
"And the damsel…" Gwaine recovers enough to put in another opinion.
"Who is the damsel, Papa?" Tristan asks, turning to look at Arthur.
"She is the most beautiful maiden the Prince had ever seen…" Arthur replies with a fond smile.
"Yes. Indeed she was," Gwaine picks up the tale again. "But it was rather vague in the beginning. The Prince was sort of ambiguous about his preference…"
"Which lead to plenty of confusion…" Morgana was looking at Arthur and smirking.
Arthur glared at them, before turning to his son with the same smile he had before. "But there was NEVER any doubt that the prince only loved the maiden…"
Naturally, Gwaine pounces into the tale when Arthur stops for a breath. "For which his awesome friend…the most awesome of the lot really…is grateful for because the person the Prince was always sort of linked to was gloriously gay and available…"
"Papa, what is gay?" Tristan asks.
The game of chess and bird – tossing were abandoned for the moment as the rest of them turned their attention to Arthur and his response to Tristan's inquiry. "It's what Uncle Gwaine and Uncle Merlin are." Arthur says.
"Silly? You always tell Mummy Uncle Gwaine and Uncle Mewin are silly."
"Arthur!" Morgana's voice was the loudest in their combined protests.
Arthur winces and mouths an apology. As well as a protest of his own. "I call you guys silly affectionately." An answer which managed to placate them, for the time being. Arthur turns to his son. "It's like…your Mummy and I. I love Mummy and she loves me back. Uncle Merlin loves Uncle Gwaine and Uncle Gwaine loves Uncle Merlin back."
"Eloquent." Gwaine looked as if he was trying not to laugh; Lance and Morgana looked rather proud of Arthur.
"You buy flowers for Mummy…"
"And Uncle Gwaine buys flowers for Uncle Merlin."
"Okay."
"So, the Prince…" Arthur picks up his story again, only to have it interrupted.
"The Prince is boring, Tris. His awesome friends, however, are…" Gwaine's story was halted because Arthur felt it was his turn to interrupt.
"Awesome?"
"If you insist," Gwaine replies, without missing a beat.
Arthur opens his mouth, to tell Gwaine off in a most polite manner when Guinevere walks into the flat, her coat and bag in one hand and her shoes with the hazardously high heels in another. She puts her shoes in the closet by the door and drops her bags and coats on the table in the hallway.
"Is my son getting his bedtime story?" She asks, as she kisses the top of Arthur's head and picks up her son.
"Absolutely," Morgana replies, smiling.
"Good, good," Guinevere remarks, pushing a strand of hair out from Tristan's forehead. "What awful story was it this time?"
"The awful bit was when Arthur was telling the story!" Gwaine's indignation matched the look on Morgana's. Lance and Merlin were too engrossed in the game to give any attention to trivial matters. They also looked poised to kill each other, but that is the natural reaction any one of them gets while playing chess with each other.
"He is four," Guinevere points out. "He does not have to know what the Prince's awesome friends do at a tavern."
Sometimes, they wondered if Gwaine only pretended to be oblivious for the sake of comedy, or it was for real. "Hah! See? Even Guinevere agrees the friends are awesome." Morgana, Guinevere and Arthur gave an eyeroll and a long-suffering sigh so alike that it was unnerving. Gwaine shoots them a salute.
"Well now, my darling," Guinevere says, as she took a seat on another armchair beside Arthur's. "Shall I tell you another story?" Guinevere emphasised the 'I' to make sure everyone understood that she will be the only one telling the story.
Tristan looked thoughtful for a moment, about as thoughtful as a three year old could get. "I liked Papa's story. Can he finish it?"
"Just Papa alone then?" Guinevere asks.
"And Uncle Mewin and Uncle Gwaine and Uncle Lance and Aunt Morgana," Tristan replies. "She didn't tell the story, but she can sit and hold Uncle's Lance's hand. Because she is gay. Like you and Papa. And like Uncle Merlin and Uncle Gwaine."
"We are not exactly gay…" Morgana began, but then decides that Tristan was not too far off the mark. "But, it's fine, my darling. It works."
"Story, Mummy?" Tristan turns back to Guinevere.
"How about one of a beautiful maiden?" Guinevere asks.
"A prince?" Arthur suggests, edging close to his wife and son.
"His awesome friends?" Gwaine has abandoned his quest to decimate pigs.
"How about the one where Prince's sister saved a kingdom, the Prince, his friends and married a handsome knight?" Morgana asks.
"An ordinary boy with magical powers?" Merlin's suggestion came in the heels of his king trapped into a checkmate, which, if was orchestrated by anyone else but Lance, Merlin would have been convinced it was the result some sort of cheating. But Lance won the game fair and square. And Morgana was happy.
Again, Tristan was in deep thought. He finally gave his answer. "I think I want a story with Tigger and Winnie."
- THE END -