Here's the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed.
And just because I loved your "threat" to pieces, Sand Assassin I hope you are appeased and will leave my poor socks in peace!
-ooo-
"Here you are, Gwaine," Merlin piped as he set the plate down in front of the knight. The brunette offered him a small smile, having become used to his presence. For the past few weeks, after ignoring him for a while, the servant now spent every other waking moment with him. Arthur had allowed it, for some odd reason; in fact, every time he caught his servant fussing over Gwaine, he would wear a mischievous smile before walking away.
"Thanks," he murmured, "It looks great." His friend looked pleased with this and simply stood to the side.
"I'm glad. Do you need anything else?"
"Uh…no, I really appreciate all this but…I think you've covered everything, Merlin." He turned to look up at the face he'd fallen for all that time ago, and was surprised to see the returned expression.
"Then I guess…I guess I'll leave you," he said, toying with the now empty serving plate in his hands. The warlock stood there for a moment, perhaps two, before he finally strolled toward the door. Gwaine had already taken a few bites of the food, and was making sounds of approval to Merlin's back.
"Mm, Merlin. You should try this," he worded around a mouthful of food. The servant paused, but didn't turn around.
"I have other duties to attend to, Gwaine," he retorted, though his response wasn't nearly as sarcastic as the knight had expected it. He thought about insisting on him staying, but knew better. He was the personal servant to the king, of course.
"Then I'll see you later," he said, offering the warlock a charming smile. For that, he turned. For a second, for a heartbeat, the world seemed to stop. The man had always had a particular effect on him, but before recently it had only been calming. No matter what the situation, Gwaine would smile at him and all his troubles would melt away. There would be nothing left but their friendship and the fact that they had complete trust in the other.
Now though, after what they had done, an entirely new feeling flooded his body. It was warm and reminded him of the sensation of Gwaine's body against his own.
"Yeah," he muttered while grinning back at the knight. He then walked out of the room, his speed turning to a scurry as he rushed to Arthur's side. Little did he know, the other man was still watching the door, willing his friend to return and grant him with that smile again.
Merlin did no such thing, but rather entered the throne room. He closed the doors behind him, noticing that Arthur wasn't in sight. The brunette leaned against the oaken entrance while he sighed. More than anything, he wanted to be with Gwaine, to relive what they had experienced, to possibly enjoy a life with the knight – if that was even possible. But even though he had started it, Gwaine couldn't remember what he'd done.
And what could he do about it? He couldn't contain himself forever, didn't want to carry that burden on top of his own.
"Visiting with Gwaine, I suppose?" a voice called. He looked and saw Arthur standing behind his throne, smirking at the other man. Merlin frowned.
"What? No, that's…sire, what are you doing there?" he countered, crossing his arms. The king looked as if a blow had been struck. He would not answer, though. How could he admit to playing with his crown and dropping the darned thing behind him? It was unkingly, undignified, and inexcusable.
"That is no concern of yours, Merlin. And don't lie to your king."
"What are you going to do? Throw me in the dungeon?" he mocked in return. Arthur walked around to the front of his throne.
"No," he said, "You're just a terrible liar. Now, what happened?" The warlock watched his king sit down, looking as concerned as he could manage. The brunette dropped himself into a chair at the long table, emitting a sigh.
"He still doesn't remember what happened that night," he admitted, "But I know he still has those feelings for me-"
"And you for him."
"…well, yes. But I don't know what to do. Should I tell him what happened or…what do people even do in this situation?" he wondered, showing his exasperation. He hardly ever asked Arthur for advice, though it was quickly becoming a bad habit of his. The king seemed to contemplate his friend's trouble for a moment, stroking his chin in what he hoped to be a wisely manner.
"You can try to tell him what happened…but perhaps you should tell him how you feel," he said, "Yes, that's exactly what you should do. That way, you can't lose. He'll simply confess right back to you." Merlin regarded him cautiously – not that he doubted his king's advice, but that he wasn't sure how to do that. But if he asked that, Arthur would probably laugh at him. So he would have to figure out the rest for himself.
"Thank you, Arthur." He stood from his seat, ideas already running through his mind. The king's expression brightened into something jovial.
"Any time, Merlin. Glad I could help," he chirped. It was nice to feel useful – of course, he was king so he was extremely important, but his manservant hardly ever asked for his help, though he had saved him in countless occasions. Come to think of it, he was a little too useful. There was no way the brunette could survive without him if he kept codling the man.
"Oh, and Merlin?" At the sound of his name, he spun around.
"Yes?"
"…my floors still need scrubbing and my armor needs polishing." Merlin grinned, surprising the both of them.
"Yes, sire. I'll do that now," he assured before leaving the throne room and a pleased Arthur Pendragon. If being with Gwaine made his friend an obedient servant, then he certainly approved of whatever was going to happen between the two.
Meanwhile, Merlin set to his daily chores; if he wanted to spend time with Gwaine, then he would have to ensure he didn't slack in his duties. They did, however, create a problem of their own. All day, he was too busy to try and catch up with the knight. When his tasks were finished, it took him the better part of the evening to find his love interest. He was about to give up for the day when he rounded a corner and caught sight of the man himself.
"Gwaine, I'm glad I caught you!" the warlock breathed as he jogged down the hall. He had hoped to find him by his room in case things became similar to their other "encounter," but the knight had been training all day and outside the weapons room as Merlin's best option. He just hoped they could stick to words and refrain from the more physical parts – at least, for the moment.
"I'm glad you caught me too," he replied without a moment's thought. He ran a hand through his hair, wishing he could have washed up before seeing the servant. Merlin, of course, had seen sweating men and had been unaffected by them for years now, but Gwaine still liked to keep up his appearance for the warlock – just in case he ever noticed.
"Really?" Merlin's smile didn't falter, but rather widened slightly, "Why?"
"Oh, I…" he hadn't expected such a blatantly excited reaction; it took him a moment to respond, "I always like talking with you, I suppose." That was it. If Merlin had approached him with even an inkling of indecision, he knew now that he had to tell the knight.
"Me too, Gwaine. I…" One of the other knights came walking by, offering a polite greeting to Gwaine. He replied with a small smile and a nod of the head. Once they passed, the knight returned his attention to the warlock. Merlin thought it would be easier if they did this in private, especially since he was sure it was against some sort of code to be with another man. This would have bothered anyone else, but Merlin was too well-versed in breaking the law of the lands.
"Yes?" the older man prompted.
"A-actually…could we talk somewhere private?" he requested with a slightly nervous expression. Gwaine barely hesitated before pushing open the door to the weapons room.
"I was the last one out there today, so it should be empty. Except maybe some ghosts," he said this, teasing. Merlin caught himself hoping it was at least friendly. After all he'd been through, ghosts would hardly surprise him. He paced into the room, waiting until the door was shut behind the both of them to speak.
"Gwaine…do you…do you remember the feast held a few weeks ago? You drank too much and Arthur had me escort you to your room?" Merlin sat down on one of the benches, hoping he had the courage to go through with this. Though the sudden turn in conversation confused him, the knight hid it well beneath his customary smile.
"Yes," he replied, "And you tucked me into bed. I don't know what you did, but I haven't slept that well in years." It was true, and he was sure Merlin deserved praise for his efforts every now and then. The warlock laughed, though it was broken enough to seem forced.
"It wasn't anything I did, Gwaine. You don't remember, but…you took me into your room that night and you…we…" This wasn't how he had planned on saying this, but it tumbled out anyway, "Gwaine, y-you kissed me and you did so much more-"
"Merlin, I-"
"-and I was so confused at first, but now I get it-"
"Merlin."
"Gwaine, I want you. I…I like you…I might even love-"
"Stop!" he barked. The servant froze, never having been yelled at by his friend before. With wide eyes, he looked towards him only to see his back. He was afraid to speak again, but he was equally afraid that the man would say nothing and would just walk away. Yet, Gwaine made no move. He simply stood there, facing away from the warlock, unbelieving of what was happening.
"Who put you up to this?" he muttered.
"No one did, I-"
"Don't lie to me," the knight threatened, his hand automatically moving towards the hilt of his blade. Merlin shot to his feet, fists clenched.
"I'm not lying, I swear! No one told me to do this, Gwaine! You…you did things to me…and I don't know what to do about it!" he admitted not only to the knight but to himself. He had come to him with a plan; now though, his mind was racing a mile a minute and he couldn't get it to stop. The servant had expected this to go smoothly, without a hitch of any sort. Instead, it was taking a turn for the worst.
"If you're telling the truth – and let's just say you are – then why bother telling me? What did it matter?"
"It matters a great deal, Gwaine."
"Didn't to me," he scoffed, though he still couldn't recall what had happened that night.
"You liar!" he called, "You said you loved me!" Suddenly, Gwaine turned around and his eyes were burning fiercely into blue hues. He took a few steps closer, his attitude completely different than his usual friendly, flirtatious self.
"This isn't funny, Merlin," he murmured, surprised when the servant closed the last of the distance between them. He then tried to control himself, anger as well as elation, as the servant pressed a few chaste kisses along his jaw down to his neck, then his shoulder.
"No, it isn't…I'm sorry I couldn't notice…but when you told me how you felt…and when you showed me," he began, his body now pressed against the other man's. His nerves were beginning to drive him crazy, assuring him that his advances were foolish and he was just making an idiot of himself. But he had to continue, had to show the knight that he was willing to go this far with him, that he wanted him enough to do this sober.
"Merlin, we never…I would never have done that to you," he spoke gently, his intimidating act now a lost cause. The warlock slipped a hand down to cup his friend's already stirring groin.
"I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't sure. You were drunk, Gwaine, but I remember…the way you treated me, that love…" He dropped to his knees, his fingers deftly undoing the man's britches. His words weren't helping, but perhaps he could show the knight. Merlin could show the pleasure he had felt those weeks ago. The servant was met with a half-filled erection, finally, and tentatively wrapped his fingers around the base. Fear was coiling itself around his stomach while anxiety sent jolts of electricity through his body. Despite this, the younger man struck his tongue out against the hot, salty flesh.
"M-Merlin, stop," Gwaine moaned. There was obviously something wrong with the servant; he wouldn't normally do this, not of his own accord. But the warlock simply continued, licking along the already erect shaft slowly. He didn't want to rush it, wanted everything to be perfect. Not to mention that he loved the knight's tortured expression. As he stared up at that irresistible face, the man's eyes locked with his.
In that instant, he wanted to shower Gwaine with kisses, hold him close in his arms, laugh at his flirtations, and to make him feel that blessed pleasure he had felt weeks ago. As he could only one, and his mouth being where it was, the latter of the options seemed to be first. He changed his licks to kisses, leading them up to the tip. He placed a few exploratory kisses before licking along the slit, just as Gwaine had done to him.
"I know….you don't believe me," he breathed, "But let me do this for you." His mouth then descended on the erection. He sank further and further until it nearly made him gag. No matter how much of Gaius's food he ate, he would always have an excellent gag-reflex. To mark how far he could go, he wrapped his fingers around the erection and began to bob along as much as he could.
Gwaine was currently conflicted with himself. While he was enjoying the mouth of his beloved, he doubted there was any way Merlin was in his right mind. But the servant was persistent and it was hard to fight it while he was getting sucked off.
"Your tongue…use your tongue," he muttered. The warlock did as he was told, glad that the knight had finally accepted the situation.
As he pleasured him, Merlin's own body began to react until his erection strained against his pants for attention. His unused hand slid towards his crotch, tugging his trousers down enough to free the cock. Then, as he gave Gwaine the best blowjob he could manage, he began to stroke himself – though it quickly turned to pumping. After a moment or so, the servant started to moan against his friend's shaft, resulting in responding moan from him. He could hardly notice the extra pleasure it caused him, as he was all too quickly nearing his own release. Merlin was vaguely aware of the man's grunts, of his hand buried in his dark hair, of the eyes that drank in this sight hungrily…
"I'm…Merlin, I'm…I can't last…" he panted, his eyes fluttering closed. The muffled sound that replied made him look down again to what he supposed could be called his lover. He saw the warlock's state, saw the pre-cum drooling from his tip and onto the floor. Yet, while he remained fixated on this, a sound from elsewhere in the room caught him off guard. The knight turned to the sound, hoping against hope that someone wasn't in there with them.
No, they were all alone.
But several swords as well as a shield were slowly being lifted into the air. Actually, as Merlin continued his ministrations, most everything seemed to rise from its place as if by magick.
"M-Mer…Merlin," Gwaine breathed, unable to express his concern and curiosity. Instead his hips jutted out, burying more of his length inside the servant's mouth. Panicking at first, his friend managed to relax his throat and focused on his own pleasure. The knight gave one more thrust into his mouth before he let loose a growl and came. His seed shot down the warlock's throat, regretfully nearly suffocating him. Merlin tore away, gasping for breath as he pumped himself to his own orgasm. When it finally began to roll over his body, all the floating objects instantly dropped to the floor in a unifying crash. He shuddered as he came, hardly caring that the last of Gwaine's hot cum was spurting onto his face.
"Merlin…Merlin," he murmured, "Merlin, what was that?" The warlock, as he fully regained his senses, realized that the entire room was now in disarray. Blue hues looked up, wondering how he could possibly explain this away from the truth.
It seemed for whatever this was turning into, it was only the beginning.
