I don't own Merlin.

The Gambler is by fun.

/

Riiiing.

Riiiiiing.

RIIIIIIING.

Merlin's hand fumbled for the phone angrily ringing beside the bed. Gwaine groaned, rolling over to glare at the clock with bleary eyes. 5 AM.

"If that's anything but an emergency, I'm going to kill whoever called," he growled, rolling back over and watching as Merlin put the phone to his ear before closing his eyes again and wrapping his arms around the man's stomach. It was too early for this, he thought miserably. He wanted to have a nice lie in, sleep, cuddle, maybe even get up and force himself to make pancakes for a breakfast in bed, but none of that was supposed to happen before 7 o' clock at the earliest. Not after yesterday, and not after he'd been sleeping the sleep of the well and truly sexed.

"What?" Merlin growled into the phone. There was a pause, then, "'Garrah, couldn't this have waited until a more humane time of the day? Such as when it's actually day- Yes, I'm aware that you get up at the butt crack of dawn. That doesn't mean that I have to or intend to, ever. It's an evil time to expect me to be awake- GARRAH. I don't indulge on that sort of thing this early in the morning!"

Gwaine smirked into Merlin's back, clinging tighter to him. "If he suggested morning sex, I'm totally agreeing with him."

Merlin elbowed him. "Shut up. No, 'Garrah, not you- no you are not interrogating him this early- he'll say something and you'll have heart failure or come and try to kill him. I know you, 'Garrah. You'll get to talk to him on Sunday. What? Oh. I told Freya too. Yes, she's coming. She's as much a part of the family as Gaius and Arthur, you know that- yes, she'll bring Nimue. They're all but attached at the hips. Garrah! And Arthur will probably bring his new girl- Morgana and Morgause are in town too, we may as well just have a reunion or something. Alice? I'm sure if he asks- No, Uther won't come, not after…Not after the stuff with Dad. Look, I'll call you back. I've got work today, and I'm dead tired, alright?" A pause. "Yes, I love you too." Another pause. "And…Garrah? I'm glad we're talking again."

Gwaine smiled, nuzzling his face into Merlin's back, pausing to press kisses to his bony spine. He felt Merlin shift slightly, and a soft chuckle spun through the air.

"Yes. I'll talk to you later, 'Garrah, promise. Zai jian." Merlin dropped the phone on the bedside table and groaned, rolling over in Gwaine's arms, burying his face in Gwaine's chest. "Ugh."

"Sleep, love."

"Not a proble…"

Gwaine grinned as a tiny snore sounded. Still smiling, he closed his eyes and slipped back into sleep.

/

"Ooooh, are those Belgian waffles I smell?"

Gwaine smiled to himself as arms snaked around his waist, and Merlin's chin rested on his shoulder. The waffles stared up at him mournfully, and he neatly swirled syrup on them. "Yes, dear."

"Fantastic," Merlin murmured, turning his head to lightly kiss his cheek. The morning was warm, sunshine streaming through the windows and lighting up Merlin's skin, turning it to a soft, warm gold. He gleamed, sensual and beautiful as Gwaine turned to press lazy kisses to his lips. "Strawberries?"

"Already in the bowl."

"Cream?"

"Whipped and next to the strawberries," Gwaine told him, turning back around to examine the waffles once more.

"I love you."

"I love you too, pet." He turned and lightly kissed Merlin's forehead. The slightly smaller man smiled at him, turning to walk to the table-

His world imploded as an explosion ripped through the window and Merlin turned; face being ripped apart as flames licked over his body.

/

"Gwaine!"

Gwaine bolted awake, lashing at the thing that had come at him, his brain shattered from the image that was lingering. Something caught his arm easily and pinned him. His eyes burst open to see Merlin's worried face. He gasped, shuddering in Merlin's arms and going limp.

Merlin stared worriedly at him. "You were screaming."

"You were dying- It was a natural response," he managed weakly, reaching up to grab Merlin's face and pull him down into a bruising kiss. Merlin fought for a few fractured seconds, and then lowered himself to kiss him softly and sweetly enough to nearly melt them both.

Merlin finally pulled away, the need for air overcoming pleasure. "Dying?"

"Yes. I'd made breakfast, things exploded, you died in front of me. It wasn't pretty to say the least."

"…Breakfast?"

Gwaine nodded weakly, grunting as Merlin rolled off of him and onto his side, gently resting a hand on his bare chest. "Belgian waffles. Strawberries. Whipped cream."

Merlin stared. "That's my favorite."

"…Creepy."

"Oh?" Merlin said dryly.

"Just a bit," he murmured, leaning in to delicately kiss Merlin's forehead again. The man smiled, and lightly patted his shoulder.

"C'mon. Time to get up."

Gwaine watched as the man rolled out of bed, stretching his long legs shamelessly for a moment before he strolled to the closet, stark naked. Gwaine grinned, shamelessly admiring the flex of his back as he moved, swaying back and forth in his hunt for clothing. Merlin paused, and then glanced over his shoulder, smirking when he saw the look Gwaine was giving him.

"You're insatiable," he said sternly, but he smiled as he did. Gwaine hummed in response.

"Got a taste for it young, I suppose. Besides, you make things entertaining- and that's to say the least."

Merlin snorted, and threw a shirt at him. "Tough luck. I'm not big on mornings as is, and we're going to be late anyway."

"Like anyone's even going to be there…"

/

The day was warm and bright, and it seemed an honest shame to be driving to work. Fall was in the air- leaves were slightly turning now, and faint whisper of a bite in the wind. People strolled down the city streets, jackets hanging loose on their bodies. Business men and women, with their coffee in hand, paused as they reached for the car keys. Many of them left them on the table, and headed out the door to walk, or take the bus. The day was just too nice to be restricted to a car.

Clearly, Gwaine thought miserably as he stared out the window of Merlin's Desoto, Merlin didn't think so.

When they got into the building, Merlin made a bee-line for his desk, and Gwaine made a bee-line to his, already flocked by about twenty fluttering, fearful underlings with a million questions that they had to answer for the press. He got the feeling that it was going to be a very long day.

/

Mordred wasn't at work, to no one's surprise, but Merlin found himself missing his friend (alright, he admitted it, was the world happy now?) as the day wore on. The time wore on, and the lack of Mordred's sarcastic and yet charming comments was distracting. So when Sanchez came in with a small folded paper, he barely paid attention, trying to file it.

"Boss, that's for you. Mr. Noble sent it."

Merlin blinked, and focused on the paper. It did indeed have his name on it, he noticed vaguely, and it was Gwaine's overly pretty handwriting. He fumbled it open, rubbing at his eyes.

It was a sketch, simple lines and curves that were oddly perfect. A park scene done in black pen, he noticed curiously. A lamp, a bench, small trash can, trees, some stick like people that were oddly natural looking, and a grassy hill made up the picture. Underneath it was another sketch- a coffee mug, with a question mark next to it and steam rising from it.

He couldn't help it. He smiled.

Folding the paper, he put it in his jacket pocket. "Tell Mr. Noble yes, one o' clock."

/

They met up at 1:00 outside of the building. Lunch, and surprisingly good coffee, was found in a small, slightly run-down deli run by a Romanian couple who didn't speak much English. Gwaine instantly adored them and their food, and they adored him, especially when he handed over nearly triple the needed amount and explained through a series of gestures to keep the change. And on his way out, just to see their response, he turned back around and handed them another hundred. Their grateful cries followed him and Merlin, who was grinning like a small sunbeam, out onto the street.

"That was sweet of you," he said softly, and Gwaine grinned, leaning over to kiss his forehead.

"They deserve it."

Merlin linked his arm through Gwaine's, and the two strolled down the street. Merlin's long black trench coat swung back and forth, and Gwiane's thick wool one sat neatly against his legs. They cut an interesting pair- about the same height, business dress, heads inclined together like two people with a secret. Couples passing on the street smiled when they saw them, murmuring to each other, "Remember when we were like that?"

They reached the park in record time, and sat comfortably on a bench, looking out at the people who wandered along the street.

Gwaine sipped at his coffee, eyes following a thin young man with his girlfriend. Merlin, following his eyes, leaned against his shoulder for a second before righting himself and going back to his sandwich.

Gwaine reclined against the back of the bench, and then looked appraisingly over at Merlin, who glanced over at him and raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"You know," he said almost introspectively, "I had plans."

"Plans?"

"Oh yes. Plans with a capital "P". There would be this girl, and she would be beautiful."

"Mmhmm."

"And make really good mincemeat pies. Like, the best pies in the world. You have no clue. She would be smaller than me, maybe, oh, 5 foot 3? And not beautiful. Just pretty. I have this thing against bombshells, you see. And she would cook, and I would cook, and we would move out to a tiny little cottage by the sea. It would be white, with a thatch roof, and a green door and blue window boxes with pansies in them, and it would be wonderful…so very wonderful. And every night I would fall asleep to the sound of waves on the shore. Every morning I would wake up to a pointed ceiling and pale walls, and I would make breakfast. And there would be all sorts of wonderfulness in my life, and I would have a good job, and I would be so perfectly happy, and who knows, maybe I'd have kids."

Merlin stared at him, looking oddly apprehensive.

"But no. It's not going to happen. I knew that a long time ago." Gwaine sighed, reaching over and twining his fingers with Merlin's, and smiling when the younger man clutched back. "Besides, you've ruined me. I like the adventure too much, and, you know…I seem to have fallen madly in love with you. I mean, it's not fair. Can you honestly say that you love someone when you've known them for barely a few months? But it's true. I love you."

"Gwaine-"

Gwaine kissed him.

/

Sunday, for Gwaine, came much too soon.

"Merlin!"

"What is it?"

"Do I wear a suit or something less formal?"

"…I really don't think he'll care."

Gwaine made a whining noise of terror and fled the room with his bundle of clothing. Merlin returned to where he'd been channel surfing.

/

"Merlin!"

"Yes, dear?"

"Blue tie, red tie, green tie, no tie!"

"…no…tie?"

"Don't say it like a question!"

"No tie!"

Another whimper of terror from the bedroom. Merlin glanced at his watch, sighed, and returned to his oogling of the rugby players darting about on the television's screen.

/

"Mer-"

"Gwaine, I swear, I'm going to shoot you if you ask me another question about clothing!"

"…Should I wear cologne?"

"No. He's allergic to perfumes and stuff."

"Thanks, dear."

Merlin rubbed his forehead and went to pour himself a glass of brandy.

/

"He's going to eat me. Seriously. He's going to take me, and eat me, and swallow me whole. Like a python or anaconda or- or whatever those snakes are that can eat whole cows in one gulp. He's going to kill me. Violently. Possibly with a spoon, or a squirrel, or a talking dog-"

"He's not going to kill you." Merlin turned down the street to where Kilgarrah's townhouse was. The man liked to keep up appearances for Gaius, and had kept it in good repair. Merlin had only been there a few times, mostly when Kilgarrah needed to check on something he had stashed there, and the occasional "family dinners" the man hosted.

"He's your foster-father-kung-fu-teacher-guy, I'm the interloper who's sleeping with you and loving every second of it. He's going to kill me. And he's going to make it very, very painful. I'm sure he knows a million ways to kill me with his thumb, let alone just a foot!"

"Babe. Breathe."

Silence, then,

"I'm so dead. And since when do you call me babe?"

/

They parked the Desoto in Merlin's designated spot, next to Kilgarrah's Rolls. In honor of the other restored cars, Arthur's Mercedes-Benz 504K Special Roadster, sleek black and chrome gleaming, was parked out front. Gaius's pet, a gift from Uther (whose love of old cars Arthur had inherited), had pulled up as well and was in front of Arthur's- a ridiculously expensive 1933 Pierce Arrow that had every man in the vicinity drooling like a Pavlovian dog. The Pendragon's, to say the least, liked their cars, and what made Merlin extremely happy was that they liked sharing them as well.

In contrast, Morgana and Morgause's pretty, dark blue '68 Mustang was parked behind the Rolls, looking humble in the midst of the gleaming, glamorous other cars, and Freya's Ducati Monster had been dragged up to a comfortable spot on the grass where it would hopefully not be too damaging. Nimue's bike, a Harley that made the average man quiver in fear, wasn't there though, and neither was Mordred's battered Geo Metro.

Gwaine climbed out and stared around in awe.

"This…is insane. I mean, I knew the Pendragon's were rich, but…"

"You didn't know you'd be stuck with a family of carophiles?"

"That's one way to put it. Now I feel really underdressed…"

Merlin surveyed him. Basic suit, open at the throat, no tie, and a pair of cufflinks that had been borrowed from Merlin. "You'll be fine," he said soothingly, walking over to gently grip his arms and pull him into a quick kiss. He marveled at how open he was already with the other man, when not two weeks ago he would have killed him for merely thinking about killing him. Pulling away, he smiled as a bit of the anxiety faded from Gwaine's eyes.

"Come on. You're less underdressed than me."

Merlin's outfit consisted of a pair of decently nice black jeans and a comfortably worn gray buttoned shirt with pockets and a distinctly military look. His shoes- steel toed brown boots- had clearly seen better days.

Gwaine smiled, pulling him into a quick hug that was only slightly tinged with terrified desperation. "Alright, alright."

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be…"

Merlin grinned, taking his hand and leading him to the door. He wasn't surprised to see Kilgarrah already leaning against the frame with the door open, watching them approaching with sharp eyes. The pince-nez were gone, and he was in surprisingly simple attire today- white oxford shirt, silver slacks, hair pulled into a million and one tiny braids woven with small silver characters for health and protection. Merlin resisted the urge to smirk at Gwaine's wide eyed staring. The Dragon looked especially exotic today- probably purposefully to scare his foster-son's possible mate. Merlin shook his head, amused.

"Gwaine, this is James Kilgarrah Drakon, better known as Kilgarrah. 'Garrah, Gwaine Noble."

Kilgarrah nodded shortly, still eyeing Gwaine with careful intent. Gwaine wisely remained still as he pushed off of the door and began prowling around the two, inspecting him closely. Merlin stepped away from Gwaine, letting Kilgarrah circle him with a critical eye. Once he was done, he nodded.

"Welcome."

Gwaine smiled nervously, and they went inside, Merlin's hand brushing against his every few steps.

/

The table was huge. Made of cherry, solidly thick and currently laden with cutlery, it was the focus of an enormous dining room. The place had once been both a bedroom and a small dining room, but after the family parties began getting steadily larger, Kilgarrah had ordered the bedroom removed and the dining room expanded. The entire place was carefully decorated to be understatedly elegant, and Gwaine was impressed. There were also a variety of dishes that ranged from curry to a rather dangerous looking manicotti set on the table. Two salads, a bunch of breads, and eggdrop soup sat next to something that might have been chow mein.

The others were already all there, and Gwaine quickly absorbed the seating arrangements with interest.

Kilgarrah and Arthur had taken the heads of the tables. On Kilgarrah's left, a thin young man who looked like he'd died and gone to heaven (Merlin whispered that his name was Christian, so far as they could tell, and he was a former Dorocha). Two women (Morgana and Morgause, Merlin murmured) sat beside him, two empty seats on their side as well. Arthur was next, with Gwen on his left, and Gaius, Freya, Nimue, and Mordred following, Mordred on Kilgarrah's right. Gwaine pulled out Merlin's chair (at Arthur's right hand, very symbolic) and then took his own next to the blonde Morgause.

Kilgarrah, once he was pleased that everyone was settled properly, surveyed the table with approval. His eyes rested on Gwaine and Gwen for a bit longer than either of them liked, but he was smiling.

"For the first time," he said softly, "In four years…we are having family dinner. Morgana, Morgause, we're pleased to have you back with us, and Gwaine and Gwen, it's a pleasure to meet you both."

Christian's bald head peeked out, and Gwaine smiled as wide eyes met his. Christian stared at him curiously, then beamed at him, head whipping back away. Gwaine shook his head, grinning.

After what was probably a traditional Chinese prayer, dinner commenced, and the food began to move as chatter broke out. Unsurprisingly, Gwaine was the focus of the Dragons scrutiny, and as things continued, he gradually became the focus of everyone's questions- Including his own secretary's.

"Where were you born?" Mordred started the interrogation.

"Hospital in Soho."

"What's your family life like?" There went Nimue.

"Well, my father is gone to some hole in the world, my mother is hopefully either dead or in rehab, and my brothers are doing well in mechanics, writing, and school- Gareth, the youngest, is working on a doctorate."

"Names of your family?" Freya, eyes dark and wary. He had no doubts that the group would go and check over all of his words later, so the truth was the best in this situation.

"My brothers are Agrivaine, Gaheris, and Gareth. We each have two years between us."

"I have an uncle named Agrivaine…" That was Arthur. The rest of the table collectively shuddered. Everyone had heard of Arthur's extremely creepy Uncle Agrivaine. Morgana hated the man. He'd once been helpful in getting her career started, only to betray her not much later. Thankfully, Morgause had stepped in to help.

"What are your intentions toward Merlin?" Gaius, of course.

Gwaine smiled, neatly spearing some asparagus on his fork. "I'd love to marry him."

Merlin dipped his head over his plate so people couldn't see the enormous grin that had broken across his face at that. Arthur lightly kicked his shin.

Kilgarrah was watching him with sharply curious eyes. "And what then?"

Gwaine's smile went softer. "Well, I'd like to spend the rest of my life with him, wherever and however it may be."

That made Merlin's hand inch onto his leg, where their fingers twined for a moment. Gwaine squeezed them reassuringly.

Kilgarrah's shoulders relaxed. About a millimeter, but that was fine with Gwaine. As long as the Dragon wasn't about to come and try to eat him, he was fine with life.

"I see."

"What kind of music do you listen to?" Morgause, (the music mogul half-sister of Morgana, who'd run away to be a singer rather than a "soulless businesswoman, no offense meant of course") asked.

"Most anything, but I'm partial to classic rock and classical."

"Why do you yell at that yin-yang paperweight you have on your desk?"

Gwen, of course, eyes sparkling with mischief. Gwaine grinned, resisting the urge to flick something at her. The two of them got along well, and he had no doubt that if he hadn't ended up with Merlin, he would have made a move on her. She was sweet and kind, and could keep up with him. (He thought he was pretty easy to keep up with. The other underlings disagreed with him. Loudly.)

"It can't yell back, and sometimes I'm frustrated by those intrusive reporters."

Gwen grinned. "You mean that one who was all but falling out?"

Gwaine groaned, rubbing his forehead. "That was a nightmare and a half."

"What's all this about?" Merlin asked.

"Oh, this girl from the Times. It was the worst interview I've ever had. She wouldn't stop using this horribly obvious innuendo's, and I was so flustered that she was going to lean over and literally fall out of her shirt. It was horrible." He shuddered. "Gwen was there, and even she was worried for the shirt."

Gwen nodded sagely. "I thought it was going to get ugly really fast."

Merlin smirked. "Now aren't you glad that you have an excuse to get away from the clingy people?"

"Oh, you have no idea, caro."

"Do you speak Italian?" Kilgarrah asked from his section of the table, eyes focusing shortly on Gwaine before flicking back to where he was delicately dismembering one of the manicotti's (cooked by Gaius, do not eat if you value your life, Merlin had murmured).

"Enough to get by at the very least."

Kilgarrah eyed him for a minute and nodded his head, looking very pleased. "You'll have to learn Mandarin Chinese as well," he informed him. "All of them speak at least enough to get by."

Later, when Gwaine was resisting the temptation of having any of the wine (he'd already gone through a good deal of liquid courage before they'd left, and he wouldn't put it past Kilgarrah to drug him), Merlin murmured, "What did you call me?"

"Well, translated it's basically "beloved"." Gwaine said softly, watching as Kilgarrah let Christian sneak food off of his plate. He paused when Merlin failed to respond. Looking over, he was startled to see Merlin looked a bit teary. "Caro?"

"Nothing- nothing."

/

Merlin shut the apartment door, and grinned as Gwaine fell face-first onto the couch. "See? That wasn't so bad."

"Your father cornered me and asked if we had, and I quote, "Indulged in amorous activities" yet, and then told me that he would castrate me if I ever so much as left a bruise on you."

"Foster-father, thanks." He sauntered over and dropped onto the couch, rubbing Gwaine's back. "He's just being protective."

Gwaine rolled over and gave him a wry smile. "He was holding a cleaver."

"Yes, well…I can't guarantee he's perfect."

Gwaine just grinned, and took his hand, lightly kissing each finger. "I know, love." He flipped the hand over and began laving attention on the wrist. Merlin shivered, and Gwaine grinned at him. "Bed?"

"Please."

/

Later, when Gwaine lay boneless and beautiful in the moonlight, Merlin watched him with tired, happy eyes, and wondered how exactly he'd stepped into his life.

/