Chapter Fourteen
"Merlin? What the hell are you doing here?" A familiar voice said behind him.
"Gwaine?" Merlin swung around. "Gwaine! You've no idea how happy I am to see a friendly face!"
"Merlin! It is you! Why're you in a dodgy place like this all alone? You know, with a pretty face like yours, you need to be careful."Gwaine chortled, pinching Merlin's cheek. Merlin flushed, looking awkwardly away.
"Well..." Merlin's voice drifted off softly, not sure where to begin.
"Look, why don't we go upstairs to my room and you can tell me all about it?" Gwaine suggested, recognizing Merlin's distress.
Upstairs, Merlin found himself sitting across from Gwaine on the single bed, fidgeting silently with a loose thread on the quilt.
"So where is Arthur?" Gwaine asked bluntly.
Merlin choked for a moment. "A-Arthur?"
"Well you don't normal travel without him. I'm thinking either you are on some mission from him, or something happened. Am I right?" He smirked.
"You're right." Merlin sighed. "He - we - things changed. Between us, I mean."
"Ah," Gwaine crooned with understanding. "So you two finally wizened up, eh?"
"What on earth do you mean, Gwaine?" Merlin looked shocked.
"Look, Merlin. Just about everyone else could see that there was more than a normal manservant-master relationship between you two. Hell, the way you two look at each other made me wonder if I should leave the room or take my pants off!" Gwaine laughed, flashing a bright smile.
Merlin blushed furiously and look away from the beaming Gwaine. Sheepishly, he eked a simple "Oh".
"So, Merlin, tell me what happened between you two, and don't spare me any details." He said with a wink.
"Oh gods, Gwaine, it was nothing but it felt like everything. I had to leave, though. Uther found out and fired me. Then I realized that Uther was right. Arthur needs to be king one day, and he needs to marry and make lots of little Arthur babies to be king after him, and he can't do that with me."
Gwaine moaned. "Uther! To be perfectly honest, Merlin, Uther is not exactly my favorite bloke."
"I don't blame you." Merlin mumbled.
Gwaine laughed again, good-humored as always. "Merlin, Merlin! You deserve to be happy too, you know?"
Merlin let out a quick guffaw. "Oh, yeah? When did you get so wise, you miserable drunk?"
"Oh you know I picked up bits and pieces here and there. I've been around enough to learn a few things, if you catch my drift."
Merlin laughed whole-heartedly this time. "I've missed you, Gwaine."
"I've missed you as well, Merlin." Then, smiling fondly, "Come here, you!"
Merlin laughed as Gwaine pulled him into a tight hug. He supposed this was what he needed: a friend that he could just talk to.