Same Men, New Tricks
There was blood in the water.
His blood.
He was going to die on this god forsaken place, for he felt too weak to even heal himself.
Merlin couldn't even bother to worry much about it – he was too far gone, his blood spilling on the lake, his magic slowly leaving him to fuse itself with the nature around.
He could barely feel it when rough hands pulled him back.
"Don't you die on me!"
The voice was angry, but full of concern as well. He wanted to answer, he really did, but he couldn't. There was little strength left – and then all became black.
Merlin woke up later – much later. The sky had turned dark, and someone was forcing soup down his throat. He coughed and tried to release himself, only to feel the person helping him to sit a bit more, so he wouldn't choke on the soup again.
There was a fire near, he could hear it, but still couldn't warm him.
"I'm cold" he managed to say, and there was no answer before he feel unconscious again.
When Merlin woke up again, he was feeling incredibly hot – and heavy. Slowly, he noticed that the heaviness wasn't his, but someone else's – an arm kept him close by. He tried to get out of its grip, but the man was strong and his skin was so deeply wet with their sweat, since they were really close to a fire, and it made it even more difficult to get hold of the arm.
Merlin managed to at least look behind to find out two deeply unsettling things:
One: it was Gwaine that had save him, cared for him, and was now holding him close.
Two: they were both stark naked.
He couldn't avoid a squeak when he noticed it, and it woke Gwaine out of his sleep.
"Don't be a fool" he said, his voice groggy from sleeping. "You lost a lot of blood, you have to stay warm. You'll freeze if you move away."
"Clothes?" he asked, deeply embarrassed.
"They are drying" offered Gwaine, clearly trying to get back to sleep. "Hush now."
But Merlin knew it would be more than a bit hard to sleep with Gwaine naked behind him – his mind was racing against his will, and clearly, there was no way out of this but embarrassing Gwaine out of the situation – something easier said than done.
He allowed Gwaine to pull him close, setting himself against his shorter frame. After a few seconds, Merlin moved again, looking for Gwaine's hips with his body – easy to find, really, for it was warmer than the rest. He moved again, knowing he was risking his friend becoming really angry, and stopping when he felt the man hard against his tight.
"Oh, Gwaine, I never knew you cared" he teased, as Gwaine would often tease the other knights.
That made his friend move away quickly. He had expected Gwaine to joke, or maybe become angry, or somewhat sorry about it, but nothing had prepared him to the deep flush in the Knight's face.
"I… don't" he spluttered. "It's… Sleep, you know, what it is like."
But there was something on his voice, something edgy and nervous.
"Gwaine?" he asked, tentatively. "I was just teasing you so you'd let go of me."
"Fuck, Merlin" was all Gwaine said, and turned around before speaking again. "Teasing me, yeah, that you were."
Merlin's head raced against his will, he couldn't believe his ears. He touched his friend's shoulder, trying to turn him around, but he didn't move.
"I'm sorry."
There was no answer. No sound over their little camp, and he didn't know what to do.
"It's an awful way to thank for you saving me, I know" he said, after a while. "Look, let's forget this…"
"How?" asked Gwaine, now looking at him. "How can I forget… All that I do is trying to forget it."
Merlin looked at him, at loss for words.
"You can't… You can't possibly… Not me" he said, finally, looking bewildered. "I'm just…" he gestured to himself and then. "You're too gorgeous for me."
The answer wasn't what he was expecting – it was better, far better. Gwaine was angry, he could feel it, and he made it clear in a deep, strong kiss, his stubble hurting Merlin's jaw, his teeth sinking on Merlin's lower lip, his arms pulling Merlin closer, not caring for his hard edges and weird limbs.
"Always you" he whispered, finally, letting go of him.
But Merlin wasn't ready to let go – not after that, not after he had fantasized about it so often, so he pulled Gwaine back, kissing him once again, feeling his body sliding onto the knight's, dizzy with the pleasure of their touch.
When the sun came up, their damp clothes had dried and the dried bedroll was sunken wet.