Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.

Of cleats and cheats and surprise treats

A rough footie match gets a happy ending…

It was the last match of the season and it sure as hell wasn't a pretty one. Both teams were clearly intent on winning and, after two early goals from the Knights, desperation started to shine through for the Wyverns and they swiftly went from playing rough to playing downright dirty. Sharp elbows were jabbed into ribcages, shirts were pulled and blood dripped steadily from bruised lips and noses. The referee seemed content with overlooking the constant rule breaking as long as no one was actually killed on the pitch. Somehow the Knights still managed to hold their own and when the whistle was blown to signal half-time the score was still 2-0 in their favour.

The second half of the game was no better than the first.

"Oh, come on!" Gwaine shouted angrily, slamming his hands into the ground as he was brutally tackled for the second time in mere minutes. "Are you fucking blind?" The referee ignored him and awarded the free kick to the other team. Gwaine gestured furiously to his team captain but Leon only shook his head.

"Just drop it" he said, reaching out a hand and pulling Gwaine to his feet. "It's not worth it." But it was clear that both Leon and the rest of the team felt as frustrated as he did. It was no use trying to follow the rules when their opponents didn't, and the referee clearly turned a blind eye. Gwaine opened his mouth to protest but Leon had already anticipated the reaction and shoved him towards the goal.

"Get moving" he shouted to the whole team and Gwaine jogged up the field, Elyan turned to get the back line organised and Leon took charge of the midfield.

"Come on, let's do this!"

Half an hour later it was over. They'd won the match but it came at a cost.

Elyan was led off the field, pale and sweating and disappeared into one of the bathrooms before anyone had the time to ask him how he was feeling. Gwaine pressed a bloodied towel to his face and Leon grimaced when he flexed his right wrist. Arthur limped quite badly and had to lean on Percival to get off the field. Most of the team sported bruises and cuts and the shirts that had been clean at the beginning of the game were now muddy and grey. In fact, the only one without any visible injuries was Percival, probably because none of their opponents had the guts to have a go at him, but still he complained that he'd been over-exerting himself between the goalposts, trying to save their asses when the back line didn't hold up. This made Elyan scowl and point out that he'd just vomited from exhaustion and Leon decided to take charge before it escalated into a full scale brawl. A sharp wolf-whistle tore through any conversation and those closest to the captain winced.

"Shut up!" The command was hardly necessary since everyone knew that Leon meant business just from that whistle and had stopped talking immediately. "Stop complaining. We won. We won as a team. And we got injured as a team as well."

"Leon, mate, my face begs to differ" Gwaine interrupted, indicating his bruised cheek and split lip, but Leon ignored him and carried on.

"It doesn't matter who got the worst bruise or who got the most tired. We fought as a team and we won as a team and we fucking showed that cunt of a ref that that the Knights don't back down. Ever. Alright?" An answering roar came from the rest of the team and Leon turned back to his locker and continued undressing.

"Good. Then hit the showers so we can get out of here and have some beer." Leon slammed the locker door closed. "And stop being such a bloody diva, Gwaine" he added and the rest of the team hollered and laughed.

"Admit it, tough guy, deep down you want me" Gwaine pouted.

"When hell freezes over, then I'm all yours, babe" Leon promised, smacking Gwaine's ass with his towel as he passed on his way to the shower.

"I'll hold you to it" Gwaine called out after him and had the team laughing again.

When they came to the pub Leon bought the first round and kicked off the celebrations. The rest of the team members then took it in turns to ensure that the glasses were never empty and soon the alcohol had soothed aching bruises and sore muscles and as the level of intoxication rose, so did the sound volume. After being so loud that they disturbed the other patrons, (the impromptu wrestling match between Mordred and Elyan probably had something to do with it as well), they decided to call it a day and head home, rather than forcing the poor bartender to have them thrown out. Since duty never rests, Leon made sure that the others were sober enough to get home on their own or had someone drive them, whether it was a cabbie, a flatmate, a less than amused girlfriend or, in Mordred's case, a pair of very protective parents. This lead to uninhibited amusement from the rest of the team as soon as the car had disappeared around the corner and the young striker definitely had some serious teasing to look forward to on the next practice.

Soon only Gwaine and Leon were left outside the pub. Leon stuffed his hands into his coat pockets to keep them warm, wincing as he jostled his sore wrist, and turned to his friend.

"You'll be okay getting home alone? Or am I going to have to haul your drunken ass over to mine as usual?" he asked, smirking slightly. Of all the lads on the team, Gwaine was the one that more often than not ended up somewhere else than his own bed after a night out. Mostly it was Leon's flat that found itself honoured, or burdened, with a house guest since he lived quite close to their regular pub and also was one of the few that actually had the strength to haul a sloshed Gwaine anywhere without toppling over. This time however, Gwaine shook his head.

"No, I'm good" he answered and Leon looked a bit surprised. Gwaine normally didn't hold back on the celebrations after a win but tonight his friend looked completely sober. "Actually I wanted to talk to you" he continued and now Leon definitely knew something was up.

"Who are you and what have you done to the real Gwaine?" he asked, mock-suspiciously, and Gwaine shrugged his shoulders.

"Look, can we just…?" He gestured in the direction of Leon's apartment. "I'll tell you about it."

"Yeah, sure." Realizing that his fried was serious Leon started walking.

When they'd entered the apartment Gwaine fidgeted around nervously until Leon gripped his shoulders and pushed him down on the couch.

"Out with it" he said firmly and Gwaine squirmed uncomfortably.

"Are you drunk?" he suddenly blurted out. "Because maybe we should talk tomorrow when…"

"I'm not drunk," Leon said impatiently, "or anything else, for that matter, so why don't you just stop with the stalling and tell me what's going on?" Gwaine took a deep breath and looked down on his feet.

"You know that stuff that we do?" he asked and Leon barely resisted the urge to groan at the question.

"What?"

"At the games?"

"Play football? For Christ's sake, Gwaine, you have to be more precise" he said exasperated.

"I mean the teasing" Gwaine continued, still not looking up. "You know, when I say that you want me and stuff like that?"

"Yeah?" Leon said, not really certain where the conversation was heading. "What about it?"

"Well, if it… if it was true, what would you say? I mean, not that it's true that I tell you that you want me, but that I actually do? Want you I mean." Leon stared at Gwaine for ten seconds straight before he barked out a laugh.

"Good one, mate" he chuckled. "Almost had me there."

"You know what, I shouldn't have said anything, I'll just go." Mortified Gwaine fled the room.

Gwaine was halfway out the door before Leon reacted and got to his feet. He only just managed to snag hold of Gwaine's jacket and stop his friend from leaving.

"Wait, what?" he demanded as he tried to catch up with the situation. "You were actually serious?"

"Never mind! It doesn't matter." Gwaine tried to pull free but Leon wasn't about to let him. When he'd managed to wrench Gwaine back in and close the door behind them both he leaned back against it, a little out of breath.

"No, we'll settle this right now." He released the hold of Gwaine's jacket and tried to collect his thoughts. "Ok. All right. I'm sorry for my reaction but you caught me by surprise" he said and Gwaine stiffened.

"It's fine, whatever, let's just not mention it ever again, ok?" he mumbled. "I'll just go home and we don't… mmmpf."

"You idiot" Leon said, pulling back slightly from the kiss but not breaking their eye contact or taking his hand away from the back of Gwaine's neck. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I never really dared to hope that you'd actually, you know…" His gaze flickered down from Gwaine's eyes down to his lips and then back up again, unconsciously licking his own lips, and Gwaine smiled when he noticed.

"Now who's the idiot?" he murmured, moving in closer. "So many wasted opportunities" he continued, shaking his head. "Let's not waste any more of them, yeah?" Leon agreed wholeheartedly as Gwaine claimed his lips in a kiss that was very far from the innocent one they'd shared just a moment ago.