Thank you guests, AreiaCananaid, trekmomma, Absent minds, soweroftales & zzzzz for reviewing and thanks to all those who are following! It really motivated me to finish this chapter and upload it fast :) I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! (I was going for plausibility with my story- thanks for pointing that out!
Also, I don't own Merlin :(
Gwaine left his chambers excited to share his revelation with Merlin. He heard voices as he passed Lance's room. Odd, he thought and curiosity got the better of him. Leaning against the door he heard, "Merlin, what is it?"
In a low voice, "I think Gwaine knows."
"Can you be certain?"
Gwaine assumed his friend nodded as Lancelot continued, "How can you be sure?"
"We made eye contact," Merlin paused. "He saw my eyes right after I took care of two men coming at Arthur and Percival today. It was right before I shouted at Arthur. I saw Gwaine's face. He looked horrified."
Gwaine gulped, cursing his transparency. He couldn't let Merlin think that of him!
"Merlin, come on…"
"No, it's not just his look during the fight. He was quiet, almost contemplative on the ride back. It seemed as though something was troubling him. Doesn't it make sense? He was deciding what to do about me, about what he saw!"
"Merlin, It's Gwaine. He's your friend. He will understand."
Gwaine nodded, wondering if it'd be best to put his friend's worries to rest and barge it.
"But he brushed me off earlier and has avoided me tonight. Lance, he never misses out on the chance to go to the tavern; especially when Arthur put the idea out there. No one has seen him all night."
Gwained cursed himself again and prepared to push open the door, but stopped at the next question.
"Don't you think that the fact he hasn't made a move, like telling Arthur is a good sign?"
Before he caught the answer, the spying knight heard footsteps down the hall. Gwaine decided to make himself scarce; this wasn't a good position to be caught in. Once the footfalls quieted, he leaned carefully out of the alcove to see Percival.
The knight knocked, "Merlin. Arthur wants to see you!"
There was a shared chuckle at the manservant's groan. Slowly, the door opened revealing a defeated Merlin, "Thanks Percival."
"Right, now good luck. He seems sour."
"More than usual?"
"Can't tell." Merlin let out an exasperated sigh before bidding goodbye & heading down to the king's chambers.
Gwaine remained hidden. Maybe it was good he hadn't burst in the room. He had more thinking to do. He slowly slunk out of the shadows after the coast was clear and returned to his thinking position on the bed.
Lancelot knows. He told Lancelot before me? Am I not as much of a friend as I thought I was? Granted they knew each other longer, but still. Why couldn't Merlin trust me? Gwaine sighed. Now I sound like a jealous girl! He scoffed at himself then threw a pillow across the room. Unbelievable! I'm arguing with myself!
His mind continued to churn.
Merlin was his friend no matter what. Merlin would never leave him alone with such a heavy burden. It was settled. He needed to show Merlin he indeed didn't care. Maybe convince his friend that he was having a bad way yesterday or maybe was just coming to terms with what he saw. Why does this have to be so complicated?! Gwaine punched a pillow, feeling significantly more manly.
While thinking of the perfect conversation starter to make his friend comfortable, the loyal knight drifted off to sleep.
As they were going out to train the next morning, he acted as the same ol' same ol' Gwaine. Only Lance & Merlin seemed to be keeping eyes on his every move.
The knight had never felt this nervous before. He was determined to not screw this up. He slowly approached Merlin after adorning the respective practice gear, "Do you need help with that?"
"I'm alright, besides, I don't want to be sent to the stock for having someone else do my chores. I believe Arthur will go off again about my laziness."
Gwaine chuckled and ruffled Merlin's hair, "If you say so, lazy daisy!"
Merlin huffed as the other knights laughed at the name. He was going to get Arthur back for sharing that one day. He continued awkwardly towards the knights, hands laden with two times his weight of miscellaneous training items.
Days passed. Gwaine was getting fed up. He needed to tell his friend but didn't know how and it seemed that the servant was never alone. When Merlin was alone, Gwaine had already fallen asleep or was training. Therefore, his room was a disaster. He wasn't good at keeping feelings bottled up. As a result pillows and various knickknacks got thrown across the room. He could handle secrets, not feelings.
Thankfully (in his opinion), later the third day Arthur announced that his trusted circle of knights (including him & Merlin) would be riding out to face some more men wreaking havoc on a nearby village. The men the king had sent out there couldn't contain the savages." It was the king's duty to help the citizens. He wouldn't stand by and watch something like this happen so close to the castle... blah blah blah…" Gwaine zoned out.
He could talk to Merlin. He could see Merlin in action again, maybe if he really paid attention. Gwaine couldn't wait to see what his friend was capable of!
A/N: Wasn't really sure about the best ending point, so I hoped this worked! If you're looking for the Gwaine/Merlin heart to heart, don't worry! It'll be here soon enoughJ Please review- I love the feedback! I can't wait to put up the next chapter!