It had been a long day hunting in the woods of Camelot, though Arthur and his knights had come up empty handed. The trip had mostly been an activity of sorts to distract from the somber mood in the castle following Lancelot's recent sacrifice and the King's ever declining health, though Arthur would never admit it. The Prince had decided that he would take only one day for himself, and then return to his growing responsibilities at court. However, stubborn as he was, he had chased game deep in to the woods too late in to the evening hours to make a safe return to the walls of the city.
Thus, the five knights, plus Merlin, had set up a hasty camp in a small clearing that would do them for the night until they could return home in the morning. The fire was roaring and they had just finished dinner when Gwaine decided it was a good time to break out the ale. To Gwaine, it was always a good time to break out the ale. How he had managed to carry that much on him, though, would remain a mystery.
Everyone drank and was merry. Though, as the conversation veered off in it's usual inappropriate manner, Merlin had taken it upon himself to subtly suggest more wood for the fire, and had stumbled off in to the bushes.
"Merlin hates collecting firewood," Arthur pointed out to no one in particular. He was sprawled on the ground, using a log as an uncomfortable pillow.
"Sire, you know he's just trying to get out of having this conversation, poor lad," Leon replied before downing another mouthful of his drink. Beside him, Gwaine cleared his throat.
"Back to my story about Elsie-"
"Eliza." Gwaine was cut off mid-sentence by Percival.
"Excuse me?" Gwaine glanced over at the bulky knight across from him.
"At the beginning of your story you said the lady's name was Eliza," Percival explained in his low, even tone.
"Oh she was far from a Lady, mate, if you know what I mean." Gwaine gave a sly grin. "But thank you, Percy. Anyways, if you'll let me continue-"
"Enough, Gwaine! We get it. You've had many a... conquest." Gwaine was once again cut off, this time by the usually silent Elyan. It seemed all it took was a little alcohol to liven him up.
The camp was cast in to silence, everyone but Gwaine grateful for the peace and quiet. Arthur let his mind wander to Merlin, who had yet to return, though he couldn't force himself to do anything about it. His mind was concerned but his body couldn't be arsed to even move. And thus, that concluded the moment of silence they had been granted.
"So, Arthur," Gwained called. "I'm sure you're just dying to share your stories."
"I'm sorry?" Arthur craned his neck to glare at the brunette across from him.
"Oh come on, mate, you're the Prince of Camelot. Even Percival here admitted a tale or two, no matter how romantic and chivalrous they were. I'm sure there's been some exciting events in your royal chambers," Gwaine teased, filling his cup.
Arthur glared. "That is entirely inappropriate, Gwaine. I am your Prince."
"Oh, I understand. A bit of a dry spell, eh?" Percival gave Gwaine a playful shove in Arthur's defence.
Another moment of blissful silence passed through the small camp.
"We really need to find poor Merlin a bloke so he can be a more active participant in these conversations. It'll make him feel more included!" Gwaine voiced, refilling his cup.
"Hold up, who says Merlin would fancy a bloke?" Leon glanced to his right, raising an eyebrow at his fellow bearded brother.
"Well, he's just..." Gwaine made frantic hand gestures to try and encompass what it was he was trying to express.
"He's just a tiny little thing," Percival piped up, swirling his ale in his goblet. Gwaine clapped his hands together.
"There! That's it. Merlin's just not the type to play the dominant role that gentlemen such as ourselves regularly exude-"
"I'll have you know that Merlin is more than capable of being dominant when he wants to be."
Gwaine, Leon, Percival and Elyan all slowly turned in Arthur's direction. Their prince was still propped up on a log, staring at the stars above him. The silence lingered, until finally Arthur let out a puff of air. "I shouldn't have said that."
"And you certainly can't take it back now!"
"I can take back whatever I choose."
Gwaine raised an incriminating eyebrow. "Come now, Arthur, we aren't blind. We're forced to spend all of our time with you, and by default Merlin, so don't sit there and act the fool. It's no news to us."
As Arthur's eyes swept the group, the rest of his knights gave him sympathetic looks, though none of them spoke against Gwaine's observations or defended the Prince's honour. Arthur sighed.
He hadn't realized that he was that blatantly obvious. He did spend an awful lot of time with his knights, though his relationship with Merlin had only recently developed in to something physical. They tried to be discreet, and they acted no differently towards each other out in the open.
"Hang on," Arthur finally spoke. "How long do you think this has been going on?"
"Oh, I figure you've been buggering for at least a year now. As long as I've known you," Gwaine replied, very matter-of-fact.
"I believed longer than that," Leon piped up, and Arthur was almost hurt at his willingness to participate in this conversation. He felt rather betrayed.
The Prince cleared his throat. "I'll have you know that we – Merlin and myself, have only started... sharing a bed very recently. A few months, maybe," Arthur avoided everyone's eyes. His cheeks were burning, though he was unsure whether that was cause from the ale, or his embarrassment.
Gwaine was once again all ears. "So you admit to it? Oh, that's just fantastic. Merlin always plays the blushing maiden, but I bet he's really pretty wild, eh?"
Arthur stared at his knight for some time, completely bewildered. Gwaine was a complete dog.
"I am not nearly drunk enough to be having this conversation," Arthur announced. There were murmurs of agreement around the circle, and the bottle was passed around once more.
The companionable silence lingered for a while as sips were taken. Sounds of the woods filled the small clearing, a steady tune of branches creaking and wind whistling through leaves. Arthur cleared his throat.
"He likes to be... restrained."
The silence lasted a moment longer.
"God have mercy," Leon mumbled, massaging his forehead as if he were trying to erase a terrible mental image.
"Well, not quite 'restrained'... more like held down. He likes to be over-powered, though he puts up a good fight," Arthur continued. "It's similar to our normal relationship. He doesn't listen to a word I say, is defiant, and I have to force him to do things. Seems he quite likes it." Everyone could hear the smirk in Arthur's voice.
"After I put him in his place his resolve sort of disappears and he becomes this eager mess. I can't decide which side I enjoy more."
"More ale?" Elyan suggested, presenting a new bottle from seemingly no where. The knights eagerly accepted as Arthur continued to babble on.
"In order to win the fight you have to know how to subdue him, which I, of course, know. Any guesses? Okay, I'll tell you. He tries to hide it but it's his neck that is the most sensitive. Drives him crazy!
"Seems the breeze has disappeared," Elyan murmured, tugging at his gambeson.
"Merlin is surprisingly loud, too. Well, I suppose that isn't very surprising considering he never shuts up any other time. But yeah I honestly worry." Arthur tipped his head back, downing his drink. Gwaine crouched forward and eagerly refilled it.
"So where's the worst place you've-"
"Gwaine!" Leon interjected.
"Probably Gaius' work table."
The four knights stared at their Prince.
The next few minutes were filled with a babbling, inebriated Arthur regaling his team with all of the nitty, fine details of his and Merlin's intimacy. By the end of it, he knights had very vivid images in their heads, things that wouldn't easily disappear. Merlin had essentially been mapped out for them, down to the tiny birth mark he had on his right hip.
Things came to an abrupt halt, however, when there was a rustle nearby. Silence fell over the five men as Merlin tripped in to the clearing, carrying an armful of branches.
"Merlin!" Arthur called happily, raising an arm.
"Ar... thur?" Merlin replied hesitantly.
"We're surrounded by trees, don't tell me it took you that long to find branches?" Gwaine chuckled, as if he didn't now know that Merlin was a screamer who liked to be forced in to submission.
"What?" Merlin turned his attention away from Arthur. "Oh! No. I headed down to the stream, actually. It was warm enough so I had a wash."
Everyone held their breath. Except Arthur. Arthur was singing to himself.
"I'm... I think I'm going to go... do... things-" Percival stuttered.
"Nature calls!" Leon chimed in quickly, pulling Percival up with him.
"The call of nature," Elyan seconded, rising unsteadily to his feet.
"Hell, if we're making a party out of it," Gwaine rose as well and barely avoided stumbling over the rock he had been seated on.
Merlin threw his branches on the dying fire, watching the knights skulk away in to the darkness. He then rounded on Arthur.
"What was that about?" He asked, sinking down on to the log next to Arthur's head.
"Oh nothing," Arthur sighed, nuzzling his rather flushed cheek in to Merlin's leg.
"What did you talk about while I was gone?" Merlin carded his fingers through his Prince's blond hair, thinking about how grumpy and intolerable he would be in the morning.
"Manly things," Arthur replied. Merlin slid down on to the ground and stretched out, placing his head beside Arthur's. In response, Arthur wiggled closer and threw an arm around his manservant.
"You told them all about our sex life, didn't you."
Drunken Arthur grinned in to his neck. "Yes, I did.