A.N.: This is a spin-off scene from the Friday Knights series that I am writing with May Glenn and Caitydid. Lady Elaine of Ascolat is a canon character of Arthurian legend, but since she's not in the show I think she's considered the OC here. Essentially she is his girlfriend, when he can get up the courage to ask her on dates. :P
Ooookay. No problem. This is—fine. She needs your help. It's the least you can do since she saved your life. But all the inner encouragement he was giving himself could not make him feel any more uncomfortable.
It all started when Arthur invited everyone out for a nice picnic. Fine. Leon invited Elaine, seeing as how some of the other knights also invited their sweethearts. He just started courting her, and it seemed a perfectly acceptable second date to take her on. Even Gwen was coming along. But as soon as the whole group arrived at the glade, just moments before Merlin and the other servants were about to set out the blankets, Arthur spotted a deer. Not just any deer—a roe deer. No one, not even Gwen could dissuade him from jumping on his horse and riding off after it, most of the others in his wake. Leon himself barely managed to contain his hunting instinct and stay with Elaine. Well, with Arthur gone most of the ladies returned to the castle angry and disappointed. But Elaine asked if he wanted to go for a walk instead, and, considering that the day was really quite beautiful, he agreed, careful to head off in the opposite direction of the hunt. For about an hour Leon thought things were going wonderfully.
Until the hunt came to them.
The deer had apparently doubled back, and Leon and Elaine happened upon it completely by accident. Arthur and the rest of the hunting party weren't far behind. Leon was oblivious to all of this, bending down to pick a flower he saw growing in the undergrowth. Before Leon knew what was happening he heard the sound of a crossbow bolt being released as Elaine shoved him into a tree. His cry of surprise completely covered Elaine's cry, and the knight who had fired at the roe only shouted, "Sorry, Leon!" and rode off. Apparently the knight thought that Elaine had shoved him out of the way of the arrow, just in time. And she had—at the expense of herself.
Now he was kneeling before her, watching blood pour down her leg. As soon as he had realized that the crossbow had hit her instead of him, he shouted for the knights to return, but they were too busy shouting after the deer and did not hear him. Now, his mind was racing as he tried to figure out what to do.
"Would you—lift your dress up a bit?" He knew he was blushing horribly, but apparently his embarrassment distracted her from the pain, and she smiled as she lifted up the dress up above the knee. Carefully he rolled her stocking down around the wound, around her ankle…it caught on her toes as he pulled it off. The fabric was soft and silky to the touch, but not nearly as silky as the skin of her beautifully shaped legs. They were so pale—almost white, with the blood so dark against them.
"You blush very handsomely," she said. He blushed all the more for it, but could not find anything to say to that.
The stocking wouldn't do for a bandage—nor did he feel it right to use her own stocking for such a purpose. Instead he handed the stocking to her and pulled off his linen shirt.
"Oh—!" she began to say, but she caught Leon's glare, daring her to say anything about his narrow chest or bony arms. She looked amused, but not unimpressed. She went silent at the look in his eye, but couldn't help smiling at him.
He ripped the shirt to shreds with his knife, painfully aware of unfamiliar smoothness as his arms rubbed against his sides. He dressed the wound carefully, trying not to show how much he relished in doting over her like this. He wondered if the uncertain look on her face indicated that she was trying to look like she wasn't enjoying the attention.
She winced as he tied the knot. "I'm sorry—is it too tight?" he said.
"I don't think so," she said with a shrug. "But I don't think I'll be walking anytime soon, either. Perhaps I could manage with a stick until we reach the castle."
He found one presently, and with that in one hand and Leon's arm in the other, she stood up, and took a few steps. It was slow going—every time she put any weight on the injured leg he felt her dig her nails into his naked arm. They must have looked pathetic, him escorting her only by the arm though she certainly needed more than that.
A wonderful, terrifying idea sparked in Leon's mind. "May I carry you?"
She turned very red, apparently just as uncomfortable with the suggestion as he was. "Well, I—I'm sure I'd be much too heavy."
"I don't think so," he said, and knew better than to add any more, lest he offend her.
Elaine appeared to weigh her options for a moment, while Leon regretted that he even mentioned it. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause her any more embarrassment. But eventually she said, "Let's try it, I suppose—if I get too heavy, you must put me down."
"Yes, my lady," Leon said, wondering if it was really the truth or not. She nervously put her hand on his shoulder as he turned to her, and he tried to lift her up as gently as possible into his arms. Suddenly she was very close to him, one of her arms wrapped around his shoulders. She was very light, much lighter than the sword box which he had to carry every day in much a similar manner. She seemed at a loss of where to put her other arm, setting it for a brief moment in her lap, before she settled with putting it around his neck to keep herself upright. He felt a rush of pleasure from having her put her entire support on him—and from having her so close.
"Alright?" she said, softly.
Leon nodded, and started to walk through the forest towards the castle. At this rate it would take them about an hour or two.
"If you get tired, you must stop," she said.
"As you wish, my lady," he said, thinking it best to keep things formal. He was glad she could not see him below the waist, but the fact that she could observe his "handsome blush" in detail was equally embarrassing.
"You were very brave," he said suddenly.
"You are a valued knight of Camelot," she said. "I could not let you come to harm." Her arm was apparently getting tired from holding onto his neck, and it drifted toward his collarbone. He was painfully self-conscious of its boneyness, but she didn't seem to mind. "Besides, it's better that I get hurt instead of you."
"My lady, I am a knight of Camelot," Leon said quickly, "It is our business to get hurt so other people don't have to."
"You're going to regret that," she said. "Light or no, your arms will be sore as hell tomorrow."
Leon giggled, probably from the adrenaline of having her so close to him. She laughed too. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. He realized he didn't laugh often enough.
"You may very well have saved my life," he added after a moment or two. "Thank you."
She bit her lip, but could keep from grinning from ear to ear, and she carefully put her head down against his shoulder. Her hand found its way to his chest, and her fingers gently began stroking his chest hair.
"Stop," he said, giggling again and squirming.
She only tugged on it, and the rest of the journey she distracted him from the work by asking about what all his various scars were from, making him feel eighteen years old all over again.
Well, he got her to Gaius's apothecary alright, carrying her all the way without a rest. He stood there in the infirmary as Gaius went to fetch bandages, hovering uncertainly over the bed. He ought to kiss her, oughtn't he? He certainly wanted to, and he wouldn't have another chance like this. His body almost ached with longing to do so. But embarrassment held back even the strength of that longing. Kissing someone out of the blue didn't seem like something that he ought to do. What if he offended her? It had to be the right moment and everything. Maybe he should just thank her for the privilege of carrying her? But that didn't sound right—
Elaine shifted in his arms, and he moved to support her, when suddenly her velvet hands were immersed in his beard, her thumbs were stroking his cheekbones, and, most importantly, she was kissing him on the lips. Her lips were larger than his, and had perfect control and poise against his, moving his lips where she liked. They seemed to ignore the inability of his lips to adequately rise to the challenge, for he was so surprised and frightened that he felt paralyzed. But she felt so soft-! It was like being kissed by a rabbit, or a cloud…or a woman. He'd hadn't been kissed by a woman in a long time. He felt his eyes beginning to slip shut, his vision rimmed in his eyelashes, his unfocused gaze on her pale cheek, his nose pressed into her skin. After the initial shock his lips began to answer hers, and for a second he forgot that he wasn't a very good kisser and his mouth did the rest. His arms tightened around her instinctively, wanting to aide her in any way he could as she poured pleasure into him.
It didn't last nearly as long as it should have. She pulled back almost as soon as it had begun. Leon stared, then slowly blinked and sucked at his bottom lip, somewhat dazed.
"Thank you," she said. She looked a little concerned. Well, what the hell was he supposed to do now?
"You're welcome," he said, which he thought was a pretty lame reply, especially when he said it so quietly it sounded like a croak. He looked away, feeling very confused.
"Well, don't just stand there like great tree, Leon! Put her down!"
Leon almost dropped Elaine from fright as Gaius returned, and he quickly put her down on the bed. His elbows had locked in position from holding her, and he rubbed them without thinking. Elaine just grinned at him.
The moment was ruined as Gwaine traipsed into the room. When he saw Leon he laughed. "Get a shirt on, Leon, you're blinding me!"
Leon didn't think he could get any more embarrassed, but at these words a blush bloomed across his pale chest, and he fled to the sound of Gwaine saying, "Well, Elaine, you certainly showed him a good time!"