That First Moment
Characters: Arthur/Gwen
Summary: This is set during the last night of Arthur staying in Gwen's house in the episode The Once and Future Queen. One of my favourite episodes with this little scene I hope I've done it justice.
Sun was flooding in through the small window as Arthur slowly stretched himself and carefully stood up. The make shift bed was not as uncomfortable as he had first feared, when he insisted that Gwen had used her own bed for the night.
Ah Gwen. Suddenly the mention of her name, was making him feel strangely excited. When he had first taken on the task of disguising himself, it had been mainly for his own vanity. In fact a part of him now squirmed at the reasoning he had given, when Gwen has asked him why he was actually doing it. He remembered the look she gave him after he gave his explanation, at the time he had felt unable to read it. But now having spent the last few days with her, he could take a calculated guess that she did not really understand.
He sighed maybe you had to be born a royal to appreciate the reasoning behind it. All through his life people had treated him a certain way. Yes it was fine most of the time, and yet at times he almost craved to know what it was like to be, well to be normal like everyone else. How could he really explain that to Gwen, or Merlin even as he knew his servant too found it hard to understand.
One thing was clear though through the last few days he had an attraction to the woman whose house he had hidden in. He shuddered at how inconsiderate he'd been on occasion. He could blame it on his upbringing, but he knew deep down that Gwen was right. He had acted like a spoilt Prince, put his own needs before others, and as a result treated the young woman like his own personal servant. He wondered how he had managed to get it so wrong. He knew he now had just one morning to get it right, and to make it clear to her just how he felt.
They had made small talk over the breakfast table, she had smiled at him as she fussed around. He had attempted to help and she let him clear the table. He noticed her smiles appeared to become more and more shyly given. As if she was afraid to stare at him for too long. He wondered why she had suddenly changed, when before she'd been so bold with him in conversation. There was no doubt about it the mood between them had suddenly changed, become more intimate he could sense it.
She had asked him if he would wear the ribbon in her honour. For a second the question had touched him in a way he'd never known before. Such a simple request but somehow it seemed a really intimate thing but also the right thing to do. It was as if it had cemented an understanding between them. She could barely look him in the face, but he determinedly stared at her, and then out of no where he had learnt over and kissed her.
For a second he had panicked thinking she may push him away but as the kiss went on he relaxed feeling suddenly both thrilled and overcome at the same time. As the kiss ended they had moved away slowly from each other, both staring at the other as if wanting some sort of reassurance. He had given her a little tight smile before suddenly remembering that Merlin would be on his way to meet him. With one last look at her, he had said goodbye.
As he closed the door he had stood there for a second trying to remember the kiss again. He briefly smiled as he could still remember the feel of her lips on his. He had remembered a friend of his saying "you always remember your first kiss, it's the best one of all." As he stood there he agreed. He had started this crusade to get people to judge him as an individual. As he walked down the street towards Merlin he realised he had found something far more important.