A/N: no own-y by me.
Merlin woke freezing and curled up against a warm body.
If it wasn't for the cold, he might not have questioned anything, because it was definitely Gwaine he was curled against. He knew the sleeping form too well.
He was so cold.
He let his eyes fall shut again.
.
.
.
After hours and hours of running, they stopped to make camp.
They were quite a way away from Colthersea and as far as they knew they'd lost the bandits, taking a shortcut through a cave system and over a lake, paying the ferryman generously not to tell anyone they were here.
Lancelot had ended up with firewood duty alongside Leon. Gwen had cooking duty, Arthur was on watch and Elyan and Percival were asleep. He and Leon were also on watch, but it was called firewood duty because if they needed more firewood they were the ones to go.
Gwaine was half sitting half lying near the fire, with Merlin lying curled into him. He wasn't sure if Gwaine was asleep but Merlin definitely was. The fire was built to be roaring, because they needed the warmth, because attracting danger was worth the risk.
Merin would not last the journey back to Camelot, would not last the night, if they could not warm him up. He now had his jacket on, and a spare pair of trousers, but he was still wearing Gwaine's shirt. The rouge had joked to him that he wasn't giving Merlin his knife back until he got his shirt back, but that Merlin didn't need it at the moment anyway.
He just shook his head and smiled.
Besides Gwaine got a chance to curl up with Merlin without it being obvious.
He knew they'd be trading off 'warming up Merlin' duty throughout the night like they did all their duties, but for now it was nice to see them relaxed together.
There were a few false alarms through the night, but no actual attacks. He'd traded with Gwaine, and Arthur had then taken his place, followed by Percival. He was glad to see the blue hue of Merlin's lips had left with the night, leaving them their usual hue.
He still looked a mess, but he was a better mess than yesterday. Hopefully, once he slept off his exhaustion and coldness, he'd be fine.
Again, vote still open for ships (including any others you'd like to see).
Please R+R.
Sorry again when chapters are short. They feel longer when I'm writing them.