Not the Ubiquitous Hoodie
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One of the mistakes Merlin kept falling prey to when trying to acquaint the newly arisen Round Table with the modern world was assuming they would understand things right from the first explanation.
For instance, initially his friends seemed to have little problem with modern attire - jeans and long-sleeved tees not being that far off from breeches and tunics, after all. Certainly they looked a trifle askance at the canvas trainers he gave them to wear on their feet, but, apart from that, dragging Gaius out of his robes and getting Gwen over the constant blush on her face at showing her bare calves in a skirt (as well as Arthur's possessive reaction to same) seemed to be the warlock's biggest hurdles.
Well, at least that was what he thought until he caught Arthur planning to go into the village wearing his hauberk and bevor over a red top Merlin knew said, "Come to London!"
"What does this emblem represent, Merlin?" Arthur asked, pointing a thumb chestwards to indicate the picture hidden by his mail shirt. "Is it your coat of arms?"
Merlin's sholders slumped a tad as the entirety of the problem began to sink in. It struck him that bringing his friends up to speed wasn't just going to be about tossing something at them with a quick one-off lesson, but making sure they understood the context that came with it. As he tried to get Arthur to take his scabbard and sword off ("I know you're King, prat, but we're only buying some chops for dinner!"), he suddenly grasped that, to Arthur, wearing his armour over his modern clothes would seem perfectly natural. There was no conception in the King's head that the two elements wouldn't go perfectly well together, not to mention how inconceivable the idea would be to him that upper class men didn't wear armour anymore. It was even possible, Merlin reflected, that Arthur was unaware fashions changed at all; before the Renaissance, people didn't understand that the past hadn't been exactly like their own time.
So, as the weeks and months went on, Merlin tried to explain the best he could (never having dreamed in the nearly fifteen hundred years leading up to this point that he'd be giving lectures on haute couture), which lead to him going into the attic one day and digging out an old suit of evening dress. Sprucing the "white tie and tails" up with a quick wave of his hand - restoring the fabric to its newest black, putting a gleam to the buttons of the waistcoat, repairing the worn parts of the stiff wing collar - he walked into the kitchen in full display, standing tall.
Only to be met with the sound of six buffoons howling with laughter.
"What is that?" Arthur demanded with a snort.
"Oh, don't you look pretty with your little neck bow!" Gwaine taunted, pulling at Merlin's white silk bow tie. "Just like some tiny maid's dolled-up pup!"
Even Lancelot, the constant noble gentlemen, was having a hard time keeping his mouth from twitching. "It's not...well, it's not very colorful, is it? Shouldn't dress clothes be more...splendid?"
"Not every era was into being as gaudy as possible," Merlin replied tartly.
"And how would you fight in such garb?" a snickering Elyan wanted to know.
"For six nobles, you lot have surprisingly little knowledge about class," the warlock argued back.
His audience hooted. "Seriously though, Merlin," Arthur scoffed, "Why in the world would anyone sensible ever wear such an outlandish set of clothes?"
Merlin had a sharp retort on his lips when suddenly Gwen walked in.
"Oh, there you all..." She stopped and regarded Merlin. "Oh," she repeated, but with a rather noticeable difference in tone.
As her husband, brother and friends gaped, Gwen's stunned eyes travelled down Merlin's sleek form from top to bottom, a most definite look of appreciation on her face. She blinked and Arthur would have sworn her breath hitched a little. "Merlin...you look...Oh, my!"
Arthur stepped towards her. "Gwen?"
"Yes, Arthur?" she answered distractedly, her eyes never leaving Merlin as she bit her lower lip and appreciation transformed into a gaze of outright womanly speculation.
"Gwen!" Arthur cried again.
Gwen didn't seem to hear him. Another deep breath raised her bosom quite fetchingly. "Merlin, you look... Mmm, yes...well now..."
Arthur rapidly grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the room, while her attention remained locked on her examination of Merlin as she stared back over her shoulder.
Merlin turned to the still open-mouthed spectators. "And that, my friends, is why you wear an outfit like this," he informed them smugly.
Needless to say, six white tie ensembles were swiftly requested, and, Merlin, being the generous individual he was, promptly acquiesced.
However, he realized he still had many lessons to teach when he caught the knights wearing their new tailsuits to go round the village shops on a Sunday afternoon.
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Author's note:
Well, there you go. I actually had a sad piece planned for today, but after FINALLY seeing the series finale I was incredibly depressed and decided to go for a pick-me-up instead. I hope no one takes the title the wrong way; I don't mind the hoodie, but today's a special day for me and so I wanted to dress the knights up all fancy!