Gwen/Arthur/Merlin, coda to 3x03 (spoilers, obviously), pointless fluff, set before Arthur is freed of the enchantment.
Disclaimer: I don't own BBC's Merlin, I make no money with this.
Ears
They had managed to coax Arthur up from behind the bed – well, she had; Merlin had mostly stood back and tried not to laugh; but now Arthur was sitting next to her on the bed, still pouting, arms stubbornly crossed.
"Don't worry," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "I'm sure Gaius will find a cure soon." She glanced up at Merlin. "Right?"
"Yeah, definitely," Merlin confirmed, with a big grin on his face, which looked adorable; Arthur gave him a dark look. "Really soon." His grin grew even wider. "If you're sure you want one?"
"Merlin," Gwen snapped, and held on to Arthur's arm when the prince moved as if to stand up.
"What?" Merlin said; it looked like he was never going to be able to stop grinning. "It's something we need to know first!"
She half-shook her head at him and turned her attention back to Arthur; the latter made an unhappy sound and flicked his ears.
"It's not so bad," Gwen tried, and raised a hand to one of the ears carefully. "They look cute." Arthur turned his head to her slowly and stared at her. "I mean," she said, drawing her hand back, leaving it hanging in the air. "Not that you're cute." Arthur continued to silently stare at her. "Not that I'm saying you aren't. Oh God." She hid her face in her hands. Merlin's repressed splutter of laughter wasn't helping.
She glanced back up when someone gently touched her shoulder, to find Arthur looking at her intently; he opened his mouth, then closed it again with a sigh and a roll of his eyes. She smiled weakly.
"It's just –" she tried. "They're..." She raised a hand to one of the ears again. "May I?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes at her, and made one of these weird, animal sounds. His ears twitched again. Then he nodded.
She lightly caressed the tip, drawing small circles, then slowly moved downwards, stroking with a little more force; the ear was warm and soft under her hand, and Arthur leaned into the touch, eyes going half-lidded and distant with pleasure.
"Wow," Merlin said, making Gwen's head snap back up; Arthur didn't move, but glanced up, a suspicious look in his eyes. "That – wow." He stepped forwards. "Can I too?"
"Hee-hawwww!" Arthur said angrily.
"I don't think so," Gwen said, with a slight shake of her head, her hand stilling on Arthur's ear.
"Aw, come on." Merlin held up his hands. "It's not like you've never made fun of my ears."
"Hee-hawww, hee-hawww, hee-hawww," Arthur made, while gesturing expressively to where his human ears would be, then at Merlin.
"You have donkey ears," Merlin shot back, though Gwen couldn't tell what, according to him, Arthur had just tried to say.
Arthur huffed at him, then rubbed his ear against her palm and she returned to stroking it; Merlin stood in the background looking unhappy, and eventually Arthur, whose eyes had gone half-lidded in obvious bliss again, glanced back up, and gestured at Merlin to come closer.
Gwen paused as Merlin obeyed; Arthur grabbed his hand and authoritatively placed it on his other ear.
"Huh, right," Merlin said, sounding a little dubious, and carefully trailed two fingers over the ear; Gwen smiled at the image, and returned to tenderly stroking her ear.
Arthur made an indistinct yet still clearly dissatisfied sound, grabbed Merlin's hand again and moved it up and down with force; Gwen stifled a giggle.
"Okay, okay," Merlin snapped; he encapsulated the ear between his fingers and rubbed up and down almost violently twice. "Better?" Arthur huffed and flicked his ears, softly tapping against the palm of her hand. "Demanding prat," Merlin muttered, and returned to stroking a little more gently.
Gwen smiled and continued her ministration; Arthur leaned back a little and, catching her eye, smiled back happily.
