Ship: GwenxArthurxLancelot
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Threesome, slight sexual content, future fic
Disclaimer: I own nothing in connection with BBC's Merlin, nor do I make any money writing this fanfiction.
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The Way Of Things
Routine is something Gwen likes. With routine she knows what she's doing, so it feels safe. When Merlin arrives in Camelot, routine starts to change. It begins to involve going to the dungeons for various reasons, helping with plans to get people out of Camelot and the occasional need to wield a weapon. When Arthur starts to notice her, routine changes a bit more, but not as much as she first thought it may. It still involves the need to sneak around and the dungeons but also the loss of her temper a bit more than she thought she might. Things change drastically when she finds herself with the title of Queen of Camelot. Her daily life starts to include people who bow their heads in her direction and she isn't as nervous when she gently prompts Arthur in what is right for the kingdom's people. Then routine doesn't change as much as she thought it may have when Lancelot comes back. They just continue and find a way to include him. Particularly as far as Arthur's chambers are concerned and there has been no complaint about it.
Even when routine changes it feels okay and Gwen finds she's surprisingly adaptable. That makes her comfortable with it.
But the fact she's comfortable with routine is no reason for her to like all of it. And she doesn't. She doesn't like how tentative relationships with other kingdoms can actually be sometimes. She hates that Arthur and Lancelot sometimes need to go out and fight, although she understands. Most of the time she understands while she and Merlin pace together and make unsuccessful attempts to cheer each other up. Calming down a little often tends to come in the form of Morgana and some wine swiped from the kitchens.
Gwen is only ever really happy when they come back. If the wounds Arthur and Lancelot have aren't too bad, and if Gaius and Merlin find themselves with quite a few injured men to see to, Gwen takes a bowl of water, some ointment and some bandages. Then she steers the pair of them towards Arthur's chambers so she may see to them herself. Merlin often catches her eye and gives her a smile while his arms are full of bottles and bandages. She isn't sure if Merlin knows, (although she finds she wouldn't be that surprised if he did), but he at least understands.
They're easy patients because they don't squirm and whine while she cleans and dresses their wounds. Instead they keep reasonably still, but their mouths continue to move as they talk about the battle they've just returned from and what it included. Almost as though it had been nothing. As though they didn't nearly die.
More often than not she wants to hit them- not on their wounds, but somewhere near them to make sure she grabs their attention- and call them idiots because she doesn't understand how they can be so casual about their own mortality. Sometimes she forgets herself and actually does, but never enough to cause pain because it just isn't in her at that moment, no matter how foolish she thinks they were. After that, Arthur looks uncomfortable in his own skin, keeps shifting and has to clear his throat more than once as he softly admits that she's right. Lancelot apologises and gives her a look which strongly resembles that of a kicked puppy.
And, dammit, in a way she wishes she could stay angry at them for a little while longer. But she settles for just pulling their bandages a little tighter than they need to be and smiles as she watches them try not to wince.
When her work is finished, what remains of the supplies she took often sit against the wall until morning. There's no reason for them to leave the room. By then Arthur and Lancelot are beginning to become tired and the rest of the knights will be fine under Gaius' care. The ones who don't need to stay will want to see their families. While Gwen, at first, finds herself a space on the bed where she won't touch and aggravate their wounds, Arthur doesn't appear to think too much of leaning some of his weight into Lancelot, but not where he might cause pain. When Arthur bites at the cut on Lancelot's lip, opens it and licks at the blood, Gwen sees the flash of his tongue and feels something hot plunge right into her body. She edges towards them, until she's close enough to easily reach out, run her hand over Arthur's back and feel the change in texture when she touches the bandages around his body and then his flesh. Gwen reaches just a little more to squeeze at Lancelot's fingers where he's gripped Arthur's arm since they've been able to lay down to get his attention as well. When Arthur kisses her, she can still taste Lancelot's blood on his tongue and it sends a shudder down her spine. The sort she seeks more of with their fingers on her body, hot mouths on her flesh and by watching how quickly they both pick up on which parts of each other's body hurt.
Before she falls asleep, Gwen makes sure she's between them. It doesn't matter who is where, she just wants to feel both of them against her. From that moment things swing back into the routine which doesn't involve Arthur's and Lancelot's lives being at risk and that's the sort she's just fine with.
END