AN: In honour of today's iZombie episode in which Bradley James does not wear a shirt at all, have an old fic.
I.
She is walking past the training ground, her arms full of laundry, when her friend Sarah suddenly squeals and stops. Taken by surprise, Gwen looks in the direction that Sarah is facing and sees the prince striding across the field, one hand pulling off his linen shirt. Unsurprisingly, he is berating his manservant as he does so. Gwen rolls her eyes. It's a natural instinct when it comes to that rude, selfish prince.
Still, Gwen allows her gaze to stay on him a while longer. A part of her acknowledges that the way his muscles move as he walks and the way the sun gives his skin a golden glow makes him look a lot more desirable than he deserves to be.
"Sarah, let's go." She doesn't want to be caught staring by the prince. He would take it as a compliment and his head would get bigger. When Sarah continues to ogle at the prince, Gwen sighs and gives her a light shove.
"Oh fine," pouts Sarah, "you're no fun Gwen."
Gwen shakes her head. She can't imagine why so many of the maids in the castle were so interested in the prince.
II.
A sense of loss and fear permeates the whole of Camelot. Gwen is no different. Slowly, she pads to the prince's chambers. When she steps in and sees Gaius dozing off and the prince all bandaged up, her worries grow. Camelot cannot afford to lose their prince.
"Gaius? You should get some rest." She keeps her voice down and persuades Gaius to rest.
Her heart clenches when she sees how pale the prince looks. As gently as she can, she removes the cloth from his head and washes it before lowering herself onto the bed next to him. She tries not to think about it but she's very aware that he is topless and she takes extra care not to touch his bare skin with her hand.
"You're not going to die, Arthur. I'm telling you. Because I know that one day you will be King." She feels herself choking up a little as she talks to him. She's not sure why she's talking to someone unconscious. It's not like he could hear her. Yet she continues. "A greater king than you father could ever be. It's what keeps me going. You are going to live to be the man I've seen inside you, Arthur."
It is at this point that Gwen realises that she really believes that Arthur can bring about a better Camelot. A year ago, she would not have been so sure but after everything that had happened this year, she has seen a different side to the prince. He is more than the arrogant prat she used to think he was.
Her eyes start to tear the more she thinks of all that would be lost if Arthur dies. " I can see a Camelot that is fair and just. I can see a king that the people will love and be proud to call their sovereign. For the love of Camelot, you have to live." Without thinking, she holds his hand and presses her lips to it. When she lets go of it, her fingers brush against the side of his chest and she pulls away as if stung. Something flutters in her stomach and she quickly gets off the bed.
For the rest of the night, she stays a safe distance from the prince.
III.
Merlin never thinks. What will her neighbours think if they discover she has a strange, hooded man living with her? She stares at the ceiling of her house and sighs. Maybe one day she will learn to say no to Merlin.
It takes her forever to fall asleep. The floor is hard and a bag of wheat pretending to be a pillow is not the most comfortable. Arthur's snoring doesn't help. It amuses her at first, but later it starts to annoy, not because it's disruptive but because he is clearly sleeping comfortably in her house, while she is not. She does eventually, when exhaustion takes over, fall asleep.
Footsteps wake her up and her first instinct is to reach for the candlesticks next to her bed. Except her hands feel only rough cloth. Then it comes flooding back to her - she's sleeping in her pantry because the prince is in her home. It must be him pottering about outside. Straightening her dress, she peeks out and just manages to stifle a gasp when she realised that not only is the prince wandering around her house and touching her things, he's doing it without his shirt on.
She stares despite her brain telling her to stop it. She stares at the scars that tell of the battles he has been in. She stares at how his back muscles move as he paces. She remembers how his skin feels under her hands. Heat rises in her cheeks. Her father would be appalled at her behaviour and she quickly lies back down on the floor.
This time, before she gets up, she yawns loudly.
There is both disappointment and relief when she hears him rush to pull on a shirt.
IV.
"I wasn't about to let anything happen to you." His voice is low and soft and it makes her already pounding heart beat even faster. Suddenly shy and realising that her hand is resting against his bare chest, she pulls away. But he gently takes her hand and holds it against his bare chest.
She wonders if he can hear her heart because it's the only thing she can hear. Everything else is drowned out. There's a message in his eyes she doesn't want to unravel. She's learned a long time ago not to want things that can never happen. It's a lonely road to disappointment.
Yet as he gazes at her, eyes full of affection and his warm hand pressing hers against him, she can't help but smile and think that maybe, maybe things aren't so impossible.
V.
"I wish Arthur would keep his shirt on more," grumbles Merlin one day. "I don't mind the toplessness. It's that he keeps tossing his shirt all around and then picking up a new one to wear. If he kept his shirt on more, I would have less laundry to do."
Gwen ignores the images in her mind and deftly changes the subject.
Things are a little strange after Princess Elena leaves. It's like she and Arthur are on the cusp of something but neither of them are willing to take that one step forward. And so for weeks, they seem to be trapped in a dance neither knows how to stop, flirting between reality and dreams. Gentle touches, heated looks, whispered words in hidden corners of the corridors and in his room maintain their connection with each other.
It's terribly silly but her heart jumps a little as she knocks on Arthur's door. Merlin has something important to do and begged her to bring Arthur his daily correspondence. One day, she tells herself she will say no to Merlin.
"Come in!"
Taking a deep breath, she pushes the door open and steps into his chambers. The first thing she notices is how clothes are strewn all over the place, on his bed, on the floor, flung on the chair. The second thing she notices is that Arthur is standing at the window without a shirt on.
She clears her throat. "My lord?"
Arthur squeaks and jumps. "Guinevere?"
"Arthur," she says, unsure of where to look. There's a temptation to let her eyes linger on his chest and it is with great determination that she focuses on his face instead. Arthur seems to be unconcerned with his state of undress as he approaches her, a smile on his face.
"This is a nice surprise." He reaches out and cups her face. She stops herself from resting her hands on his bare skin.
She badly wants to. Instead, she smiles and backs away. He doesn't push. For a while, she lingers as she packs his room and chats with him. Before she leaves, he brushes a kiss across her cheek.
He never puts on a shirt.
VI.
After Arthur kisses her in the middle of the courtyard, their relationship suddenly become more real, as if they actually have a future. She isn't completely convinced but she doesn't want to think too much about it. She tells herself to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
Sometimes, when things in the castle were slower and when Uther is resting and doesn't need her to tend to him, she and Arthur will have a meal together. Merlin, always invited, always begs off, leaving them alone. It is these moments she treasures. Some days, they speak of politics and the future of Camelot. Other days, they simply eat in silence, enjoying the fact that they have each other and the comfort that brings.
"Of course this was all Gwaine's fault. I have no idea what I was thinking when I knighted him," complains Arthur good-naturedly as he gestures with his hands, one of which is holding a goblet filled with wine.
Gwen can already imagine what could happen, especially since he is dressed in her favourite white tunic.
" - Arthur," she starts to warn him but it's too late. One vicious swing and the Gwen watches in horror as the wine splashes onto his tunic, the wet, purple stain spreading quickly. The goblet clatters onto the table and Arthur jumps up.
Quickly, Gwen grabs a nearby cloth and dabs his tunic but it does little except make the stain spread even more.
"You should take your tunic off. It's ruined." She tugs at his tunic as she says those words before she realises that she's basically trying to strip Arthur. Immediately her hands drop and she feels the heat rise in her cheeks.
Amusement in his eyes, Arthur pulls off his tunic in one movement, tossing it carelessly onto the floor. Before she can reprimand him for this, he drags her to him and kisses her. Her hands rest against his chest. For a moment, she keeps still but when he deepens the kiss, she moves her hands, feeling his hair under her palms and then his hard nipples. Giving in, she moans and allows herself to run her hands freely over him.
They stop eventually, aware of unspoken boundaries that cannot be crossed.
VII.
The only thing on her mind when she and Gaius make their way towards Arthur's chambers was Arthur's safety. It did not occur to her that Arthur would be standing completely naked in front of her.
"Guinevere!"
"Arthur!" Her eyes drop to below his waist and immediately she looks up again. There is a little voice in her head chanting: Don't look down.
She cannot remember what happens next. Probably she chatters nonsense so he would not take the bath and then some time later, Arthur disappears awkwardly behind the screen, allowing Gaius to drag an unconscious Merlin out of the room.
All Gwen can remember is that for a brief moment, she saw Arthur naked and for the next few days, that image would appear whenever she closes her eyes.
VIII.
Gwen is walking down one of the castle corridors when she hears Arthur's raised voice from his room. He sounds angry and she hurries to his room.
"I can't trust you with anything!"
Poking her head into his room, she sees Arthur, shirtless, and tossing what looks like his shirts at Merlin.
"What did you do? Why are all my shirts so tiny?"
"I have no idea. Did it ever cross your mind that you might be getting fat?" There is a tinge of annoyance in his voice as he gathers up the shirts Arthur is throwing at him. "This is what happens when all you do is feast every day. I mean, when was the last time you went to train with the knights?"
"Merlin -" Arthur grabs his pillow and flings it at Merlin, who dodges it easily.
As much as she enjoys watching Arthur physically exerting himself while shirtless, it's probably time for her to intervene before they kill each other. "Arthur! Merlin! What happened?"
The two men stop glaring at each other and turn to her, fingers pointing at the other. "It's his fault."
As it turns out, it really is Merlin's fault. Somehow he managed to shrink most of Arthur's shirts in the laundry. Gwen doesn't say it but she doesn't quite mind the fact that Arthur spends most of the day with her in his chambers shirtless while Merlin goes off to fetch some other shirts. When he's kissing her, Arthur doesn't seem to mind either.
IX.
It is Hunith who tells her, worry creasing her brow as the words spill from her lips. She has no response. The wound is too fresh, too painful. Her first thought is to leave. Find another village away from Arthur and from the past she wants to forget.
In the end, she cannot resist a peek at Arthur. His breathing is shallow and in the candlelight, he looks pale, tension lines his face. She knows she shouldn't but she moves to the bed and sits on it, watching his chest rise and fall. It brings her back to a happier time, when she was just a simple servant wishing her prince would live. Tears gather but she wills herself not to cry. She's done all her crying in the weeks past. It is time to move on.
As she allows herself the indulgence of looking at him, of committing his face, his body to memory, she notices his bandages have come loose. She hesitates a little before reaching over to tuck them securely. She's not sure if she does it on purpose but her fingers skim his bare skin.
He moves, his eyes open and her heart stops.
"Guinevere." His voice is like a balm, soothing the pain she has been carrying all these weeks.
"Hello Arthur."
Later, when he buries his head in her neck and she clings on with all her life to him, she allows herself some foolish hope.
X.
She is naked and he isn't. And that, Gwen decides, is a big problem. Arthur, however, is far too busy covering her body with kisses to worry about his state of undress, or lack of undress. So she shoves him away.
"What?" He sits up on their bed and looks curiously at her. "Did I hurt you?"
"You have too much on," she says as she reaches for his tunic.
A grin spreads on his face and she knows what he is about to say. "Are you going to tear my shirt off me like you did last week?"
She rolls her eyes and tugs at his tunic, forcing him to life his arms so she can pull it off him. Last week was a combination of many things - Arthur being away for a long time, Arthur wearing one of his most worn out tunics and Arthur spending too much time teasing her and refusing to let her come.
Tossing the shirt to the floor, she runs her hands over him, running her thumb over his nipples before letting her mouth take over.
He groans in appreciation. "I love you Guinevere."
She smiles against his bare chest.