There can be no place for magic in Camelot

Talk is overrated

Gwaine's breath caught, but he stepped forward and entered the cave. There, lounging in front of a fire was Merlin. He was leaning back on a boulder, knees slightly bent, fire light dancing in his eyes. Gwaine felt like he was glimpsing a young god. Something not meant for mortal eyes. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he caught Merlin's eyes. The air rushed out of him as their gazes locked.

"Merlin", Gwaine breathed.

"Gwaine." Merlin spoke softly. "I guess you drew the short straw so to speak if you're out here."

"Merls." Gwaine was rushing forward and dropping to his knees wrapping his arms around Merlin as tight as he could, afraid if he'd let go, the man would disappear.

"Gwaine, can't breathe!" Merlin gasped out. Gwaine laughed and loosened his grip, though he didn't let go.

"I can't say I'm sorry, Merls. I'm not." Gwaine said, still not letting go of Merlin.

"Are you going to let go of me? Or just kneel here clutching me?" Merlin asked, low and breathy in Gwaine's ear. Gwaine felt hot all over, all of a sudden.

"Merlin, would you, please, not use your magic on me currently? I'm already wanting to jump your bones, so adding your magic won't help any." Gwaine chuckled. "Also, I volunteered, no straws necessary." Merlin laughed, then bit his lip, looking into Gwaine's eyes; though to Gwaine it felt like he was looking into his soul.

"Maybe I don't want you to hold back, eh? Maybe I'm tired of being careful and hiding from everything." Merlin said low and soft. Gwaine groaned. Twisting a hand in Merlin's hair, he pressed his lips firmly to Merlin's. Merlin's arms wrapped around Gwaine's waist, pulling him in until he was straddling Merlin's lap. Gwaine deepened the kiss, desperate to get his feelings across. His tongue searching out Merlin's, twisting together. Merlin's hands ran through Gwaine's hair and pulled at his hips.

"Wait. Wait, Merlin, we should probably talk, yeah?" Gwaine asked breathlessly, realizing where he was and how tight his clothes felt. Not to mention how he could feel Merlin's own desire.

"Talk? Talk is overrated. I don't want to talk. For once, just stop talking." Merlin told him and pressed their lips together again. He pulled on Gwaine, running his hands up under his shirt as if he couldn't get enough of touching the other man. Gwaine opened his eyes looking at Merlin, searching for something in his eyes for, something...brown eyes facing blue. Gold flickered through Merlin's eyes, which only turned Gwaine on even more. Before long they were both missing clothes and laying quietly in front of the fire, sweaty and exhausted.

"Merlin?" Gwaine said hesitantly.

"Gwaine?" he responded, rubbing Gwaine's back absently.

"Why, the hell, have we not done this sooner, eh?" Gwaine asked, causing Merlin to laugh.

"Surely you've guessed? I didn't want to lose you. I didn't want to get attached, to share myself with you, and then lose you." Merlin murmured in Gwaine's ear. Gwaine's breath caught as he felt Merlin's breath against his ear. They'd only just worn themselves out, but he was already warming back up.

"Merlin, you can't say things in that manner." Gwaine whispered, dragging a hand across Merlin's chest. "You knew I'd search you out?" he asked quietly. Merlin sighed, running a hand through Gwaine's soft, lucious, brown locks.

"I hoped, I guess. I knew either you would, or a group would. I only hoped it would be just you. Then maybe we'd get some time alone before I went on." Merlin said, resignedly.

"Merlin, we have some things to talk about. All good, but, still need to be said. As much as I want to keep this going, we should talk first." Gwaine stated. Merlin huffed.