Pairing: Merlin/Gwaine
Genre: angst and fluff

it started off as a normal day for Merlin. He had to help Gaius with patients because of an outbreak of sweating sickness. as they treated a patient the King came to ask the older physician for help, a friend of Gwen's had come to him because of an outbreak in her village and he wanted to send as much help as he could.

Gaius unfortunately could not leave his patients as he feared the sickness would spread and that he would have too much work to be able to leave, so he suggested sending Merlin in his place. Arthur was skeptical and making fun of his servant because of the suggestion, but he agreed at last.

Merlin was anxious about going alone, not wanting to disappoint anyone or fail in healing the sick but after a long talk with his father figure he felt ready to take this on so the next morning he set off on his journey with the Knights of the round table, Guinevere and the woman who came to ask for help.

"Where's Gaius?" one of the villagers had asked as they arrived "i'm sorry, he was needed in Camelot but i will help in any way that i can" Merlin replied but that did nothing to ease the worry of John, the village elder as he turned back to Gwen "we're living in fear for our lives, we need a skilled physician, not a boy" he told her.

Merlin felt like the man was right, but before his insecurities could get the best of him he heard a voice from behind him as Elyan stepped forward to grab his shoulder "his name is Merlin" he smiled at his friend for coming to his defence but the man still didn't look convinced until Gwaine walked up "he was appointed acting physician by King Arthur himself and as someone who has been injured plenty, i can tell you that there's no one else i would choose to help me"

the man nodded at the words and told the young warlock to follow him, which he gladly did but not before kissing the knight on the cheek and quickly whispering "thank you my love" as he ran off to catch up with the other man, leaving a slightly blushing Gwaine behind.

later that night, as Merlin read more of the book Gaius had given him to try and find more ways to help these people, he heard a hissing sound coming from outside and decided to investigate it. he picked up a fishing pole and followed where he thought the sound was coming from, he rounded a corner with the pole lifted and ready to hit something when he caught a glimpse of who it was just in time.

"Gwaine!" he exclaimed, surprised as the knight came into view."Sorry to scare you, darling, call of nature, " the other man laughed."i could have killed you!" the young warlock said angrily as he lowered his weapon "with a fishing rod?" he asked his beloved in a mocking tone before adding a short poem.

"Sir Gwaine was slain with a fishing rod," he said with a big smile as they both started laughing. "That's the stuff of legends, eh?" he asked jokingly but Merlin responded with a short kiss to the older man's lips "please be more careful either way my love, i don't know what i would've done had i actually hurt you" he whispered with a frown as he thought of the idea.

"Hey, it's alright. You stopped in time, and i know you would never hurt me on purpose. except of course you calling me by my first name when i scared you, now that was truly painful" he put a hand on his betrothed's cheek when he started and added the last bit to get a smile out of him "it won't happen again my love" he said with a big smile which was easily returned "much better"

they shared one last kiss before exchanging goodnights and going their separate ways to where they slept. the next morning, they had to set off again to return to Camelot and get Gaius because Merlin had concluded that the sickness was most likely brought on by some form of sorcery.

on their way, Leon told them all to stop when he spotted smoke coming from behind a tree, deciding that they should investigate. his suspicions were confirmed when they spotted a camp of bandits at the source of the smoke, they were planning on leaving unnoticed until Gwaine spoke up "over there" he said while motioning to a girl being abused by some of the bandits.

he unsheathed his sword and rushed to help before anyone could stop him, forcing the rest to follow him into battle while Merlin and Gwen stayed behind. Merlin shook his head at the knights antics, making his best friend laugh. "Is that really who you want to marry?" she joked, though they both knew she thought they were the perfect couple "with all my heart, " he replied before walking down to see where he could discretely help.

soon they defeated all the bandits without a single scratch on them and celebrated their small victory "you're an idiot" Merlin told his fiancé with an eyeroll as he arrived next to him "oh but that's why you fell in love with me darling" he replied with a wink, before the warlock could come up with a retort they heard Percival calling them over to a tree with the girl from before laying unconscious behind it.

Merlin quickly went to see if she was injured, but she soon woke up and started screaming. He quickly backed up, and Percival brought the girl closer. he tried to bandage her hands, but she flinched away from him again, and Leon put his hand on the physicians shoulder to stop him from continuing.

Leon decided to take her with them as she said she was strong enough to ride and it wasn't safe for her to stay there on her own, they walked a further distance before deciding to make camp. as they arrived at the clearing, Merlin tried to help the girl, Lamia they learned, down from her horse, but she just flinched away from him, which she had not done with anyone else.

"Get away from her, Merlin," Percival said angrily as he pushed him away and helped her down himself. "And stay away," he finished. he let himself believe Gwen and just chalked it up to the knight being tired, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong as he fell asleep next to Gwaine that night.

he awoke in the middle of the night extremely thirsty for some odd reason, so he went to fill up his bottle, though on his way back he heard noises and decided to investigate. when Percival was rude to him yet again and weirdly protective of the stranger, he again reminded himself that it had been a long few days and he was probably just tired.

as they all woke, Gwen decided to make breakfast for everyone, but Merlin chose to just eat an apple. He had started eating quite a bit of them when him and Gwaine got together. he was still thinking of the weird things that had happened the night before when Leon had returned and told them that they were riding east instead of west towards Camelot, Elyan adding that it was because they were taking Lamia home.

"no we need to get Gaius" he had reminded them "Gaius can wait" his beloved replied, with a cold tone that he had never used with him before, he reminded them of why they came in the first place but he never expected the answer he got from someone he thought was a close friend "you dare to question our judgement? you are not a knight. you're not even a physician, you're nothing but a servant, " Leon had told him as he started walking back.

he was hurt by his words but that was nothing compared to what he felt when he looked at Gwaine, waiting for him to say something but instead all he saw was him nodding in agreement before rushing to Lamia's side to help her up. the worst part was that he had told himself those same words hundreds of times, but he never thought he would actually hear them all confirm it.

he was mostly quiet as they rode on, ignoring Gwen's reassurances that they probably didn't mean what they were saying and constantly asking if he was okay when he didn't answer her or acknowledge her words. they stopped to take a break, and the servant watched as Sir Leon went to offer the suspicious stranger some water only for Gwaine to push him and take the bottle.

"Why don't you watch what you're doing?" the Knight said which caught the attention of everyone else "why don't you watch your damn tongue" the drunk replied aggressively "you'd do well to learn some manners" he answered menacingly "nothing i can learn from you, Leon" he said as he pushed him back, getting a push in return as well.

the fight was about to escalate when Merlin decided to finally speak up. "Enough!" he yelled."What's got into you?" he asked disappointed they didn't answer as they turned away but after Leon purposely bumped into Gwaine they both pulled out their swords and started fighting with them, Percival and Elyan soon joining to stop them as Lamia watched with a smirk that no one noticed.

they kept going until Gwaine got cut on the arm, and the other two knights managed to pull them away from each other "great" Merlin said, annoyed as he saw what happened. he pulled his knight aside to check on him and wrap his wound. "Why are you doing all of this?" he asked when they were finally alone "doing what" he answered roughly.

"you're being rude to me and Gwen, ignoring your duties, you didn't say anything when Leon told me i was just a servant and you just fought with one of your brothers to give some girl water even though you are already betrothed to another or did you forget about that?" he told him,"she's not just some girl as you say Merlin, her name is Lamia, and i care how you speak of her. there's no need to be rude just because you feel threatened, " he replied angrily.

"Can't you see that there's something wrong here? you have never talked to me in such a way before, not even when you're drunk or mad. What has changed in the last day for you to become like this?" he asked as he put a hand on his love's cheek, not knowing what else he could do "maybe-" he started angrily as he pushed the hand away "i should talk to you like this more often, make sure you know your place, servant."

he felt tears come to his eyes at the reply but refused to let them fall. "If you truly feel that way, why did you ask me to marry you?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper in fear of it cracking."i wish i hadn't, " the reply broke Merlin, he couldn't believe his ears. there was no way that Gwaine felt this way so suddenly when they were perfectly fine two nights ago, if he wasn't so heartbroken he would have realised that this all started when Lamia joined them but he couldn't think of anything other than the words he had just heard and the cold stare that came with them.

wordlessly he took off his ring and placed it into the knight's hand "your wish is my command sir Gwaine, let me know if you require anything else sir" he replied in a professional tone with his head bowed to the floor, exactly as a servant should act towards people of higher status. he walked back to the others as Gwaine put the ring in his pocket and followed him. he ignored the questioning looks Gwen sent him as he wiped away the single tear that rolled down his cheek.

as he set up camp he watched his supposed friends gather around Lamia, coddling her in every way possible as who he thought was the love of his life wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, that's when it hit him and he motioned for Gwen to come sit next to him. he told her of his suspicions that the girl was causing the strange behavior in the knights and at first she didn't believe him but then he said something she never thought she would hear.

"Gwaine broke off the engagement," he told her, and her hand flew up to cover her mouth in shock. "What?" he nodded in reply."He told me he wished he had never asked me in the first place, and he said i should be reminded of my place. tell me, would he ever say such things if there wasn't something else going on?" she finally agreed with him, and they continued setting up camp while keeping an eye on the stranger.

they arrived soon after to an abandoned castle that Lamia had led them to so that they could tend to an infected Elyan. Merlin couldn't find the courage to speak to Gwaine again so he decided to try Sir Percival but the large knight intimidated him with his height and threatened him unless he stopped talking, as none of them cared for his opinion.

he tried to reason with all the knights when they found hundreds of skeletons in a part of the castle while looking for a 'lost' Lamia but they all shut him down and Sir Leon pushed him to the floor roughly, as he hit his back on the door he could already feel a bruise forming. with a plea from Gwen to help her brother, they went in search of somewhere warm.

"You will stay here, and you will do as Gwaine says. Do i make myself clear?" Sir Leon told Merlin before him and Sir Percival left to look for Lamia, leaving Merlin, Gwen, and Sir Gwaine alone with a still unconscious Sir Elyan. Merlin wished they had left him with anyone else, he had to still try to convince them of Lamia's enchantment and he really didn't want to talk to him right now, he wasn't sure he could get through a conversation without crying.

"we need more wood" the knight announced "i'll go and get some" Merlin replied, needing a breather but also wanting to search for the missing girl himself before she hurt anyone else "you stay where you are, i'll get it myself. you're not going anywhere, " he replied with a laugh, but it sounded so unlike the laugh Merlin loved so dearly. It was cold and cruel.

he always loved the touch of his beloved but now as Sir Gwaine put his hand on his chest, he knew it was meant as a threat rather then the usual comforting touches "Gwaine please listen to me, it's not safe for you out there" he told him, as much as the man had hurt him he still loved him and he couldn't bare the thought of him leaving alone.

"are you trying to tell me my business" he asked "no i'm just saying that-" he tried to answer but was cut off when the knight came closer, making his breath hitch "what?" he asked "nothing" he nodded and swung his torch towards the younger man to intimidate him, not realising that he had gotten too close and actually burnt Merlin on the cheek with the fire. though as he pulled away and realised what he did, he didn't even bat an eye and just kept walking.

the young servant wiped away a few tears as he watched him walk away. He missed his Gwaine so much. the man he was going to marry would have broken a table if Merlin stubbed his toe on it because it dared to hurt his love, but now he injured him, and he couldn't care less. Gwen gasped when he walked back, and she saw the big red mark on his cheek, but he refused to answer any of her questions or let her tend to his wound.

after all the knights got infected by the snake-woman, she tried to go after the two servants in her monster form, but right before she could strike, she was killed by the king of Camelot "Arthur!" Gwen yelled excitedly as she jumped into his arms."You carry on, don't worry about me, " Merlin joked from the floor "sorry" Arthur replied as he helped him up.

"it's almost good to see you, Merl-" he stopped in the middle of his joke when he saw his servant's face. "What happened to your cheek?" he asked worriedly, not even bothering to hide his concern "didn't know you cared, my lord" he said to try and change the subject but the king wouldn't let him this time "who burned you Merlin? was it the creature?" he looked down, trying not to let himself get emotional in front of his best friend as he shook his head.

"Then who was it?" he asked in a tone that couldn't be defied "Gwaine" he replied so quietly that Arthur didn't hear him. "What?" he asked confused, getting a sigh in return "it was Gwaine" he said slightly louder so that his boss could hear him clearly "i'll kill him" he replied angrily but Merlin stopped him and told him that he would handle it when they got back to Gaius, they needed to heal everyone before doing anything else.

hours later, they arrived at the small village they originally journeyed to help, and Gaius gave the knights a potion he had made to help the others who were infected. they soon woke up as the physician was applying a mixture of herbs to Merlin's back to help the bruise heal faster, stopping when they heard a gasp coming from one of the beds.

the second Gwaine saw the injury on his beloved, he jumped out of bed, not caring about the pain it brought him, and rushed over to see him. as he turned to look at the source of the sound, the knight saw the bandage on his cheek and got even more worried. though nothing could have prepared him for what happened when he tried to hug his betrothed.

Merlin couldn't help but flinch when the older knight tried to touch him, regretting it when he saw the angry look on his face and thinking he had done something wrong "sorry" he said quietly "who. did. this." he replied, trying to keep calm but ready to kill whoever dared touch what was his."You don't remember anything?" the older physician asked him, and he shook his head.

"Remember what? Darling, what happened to you?" he asked with concern in his voice, which only grew when he saw tears start flowing down the servants' cheeks. he tried to reach over and wipe them away but he stopped when Merlin flinched again and reached out to stop his hand "i'm fine Gwaine-" before he could finish his hand was turned over "where's your ring?" the knight asked worriedly.

no one answered him for a few minutes and tears were beginning to build up in his eyes "someone please tell me what happened, why is Merlin hurt, why is he scared of me, why won't he even look at me, where's his ring" he almost sobbed as he asked "Gwaine do you really not remember anything from the last four days?" he shook his head."The last thing i remember is finding those bandits in the woods. Please tell me what happened. why won't you look at me and why are you only calling me by my first name? You never do that. please just tell me what happened to your ring?"

"i don't know where it is, i gave it back to you when you told me that you wished you had never asked me to marry you" he said in a quiet voice, still looking at the floor instead of the other man's eyes "i did what?" he asked in disbelief."You have to believe me, Merlin. i don't know why or when i said that, but it's not true. i love you so much, and not a day goes by where i don't thank any god that's out there that you said yes that night. "

they were now both crying and Merlin wrapped his arms around Gwaine in a tight hug "i'm sorry, i'm so sorry" he kept repeating "it's not your fault, you were enchanted by a creature called the Lamia" the younger of the two explained but the knight didn't care, he still broke the heart of the most important person in the world to him.

he pulled away slightly to examine the young warlock's face. "Who did this to you?" he looked down at the question, not wanting him to know that he was the one to hurt him "please darling, i need to know who hurt you" he whispered softly but Merlin just repeated what he had said before "it's not your fault" he said and it took a second but Gwaine understood the implication and shook his head in denial.

"no" he said "no tell me i didn't, please tell me i'm not the one who hurt you" he cried in disbelief they held eachother for a long time after that, neither wanting to let go until Gwaine shifted his leg and felt something move in his pocket. he recognised it and smiled as he let go to pull it out, hearing the younger man gasp as he saw it. "You kept it? i thought you would have just left it in the woods. "

his sentence hurt the knight deeply but he decided not to mention it as he got down on one knee "Merlin Ambrosius, though i do not deserve your love or your forgiveness after what i have done, will you do me the honour of still becoming my husband so that i can spend the rest of my days trying to make up for what i've done?"

everyone else that they had forgotten were still in the room watched with anticipation as slowly Merlin began to nod "of course i still want to marry you my love" it took some time but after many weeks and many apologies Merlin was able to be himself around the knights again and him and Gwaine got married soon after, no one mentioned what happened that week again per the warlock's request and they all lived happily in the united land of Albion.