This story starts out as canon with the show (the whole Lancelot sacrificing himself to heal the veil thing) but he won't be coming back as a shade for Morgana (I could barely watch that episode, let alone write about it). Something else will happen instead.
Gwaine laid on his back and stared up at the stars. Him, Arthur, Merlin, Elyan and Percival were out hunting for a few days, much to Merlin's complaint. They'd all just settled down for the night and Elyan was on watch, but he was also slowly falling asleep. So Gwaine took it upon himself to keep watch while Elyan drifted off, but he was doing this from his position on the ground. As he looked over to the forest surrounding them he felt relieved. At least here he didn't have to constantly be reminded of Lancelot by every little thing. He still thought about him, but it was at least a bit easier.
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Gwaine waited by the horses impatiently. Merlin was trying to pack up their temporary camp but Arthur kept shouting at him, which made Merlin say some insult back, which meant he couldn't keep gathering everything he needed to, which meant Gwaine couldn't get back to Camelot. The reason he was so eager to get back to Camelot? This three day hunt hadn't included Lancelot, he was busy helping some of the trainees. Gwaine wouldn't have thought he'd miss the other knight so much after just three days but he did and now everyone was moving too slowly. He started that race on the way back for a completely unrelated reason though.
By the time they arrived back at the castle it was late afternoon and Lancelot would probably still be out with trainees. Gwaine dismounted his horse and let one of the servant's take it to the stables. He could see the others giving him suspiscious looks, most likely because he'd been so eager to get back, so he walked at a slower pace into the castle, pretending he hadn't noticed them. He walked straight up to his chambers and changed into more comfortable clothes before making his way down the hall to Lancelot's room. He snuck in as silently as he could and was surprised to see Lancelot sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, reading.
"I thought you'd still be out training."
Lancelot jumped. He looked up and was instantly grinning.
"You're back!" He exclaimed as he scrambled away from the bed, his book lying forgotten by a pillow, and hugged Gwaine tightly.
"So you missed me?"
"Of course I missed you! And I was worried! You were supposed to be back hours ago!"
"We lost track of time and then princess kept distracting Merlin when he was clearing up so it took longer than we thought to start heading back."
Lancelot pulled back and studied Gwaine, eyes narrowed, trying to figure out whether or not he was telling the truth. Gwaine rolled his eyes and kissed the tip of Lancelot's nose, which brought a grin to both their faces as they laughed and embraced again.
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Gwaine let out a quiet sigh as he sat up. He wasn't looking forward to going back. After all, he didn't have much reason to go back now. Nothing to look forward to doing, no one to look forward to seeing. He considered leaving. He could just walk off right now if he wanted to and never come back. Elyan was all but fast asleep by now and everyone else wasn't waking up any time soon, nobody could stop him. Except Lancelot. Even though he wasn't there, he still somehow kept Gwaine sitting there between all the trees, on the outskirts of the camp. It was stupid to think, but Gwaine wanted to stay a little longer, just in case his beloved knight came back. He wouldn't, couldn't, but thinking that somehow convinced Gwaine to stay. It didn't make any sense, even in Gwaine's own mind. Lancelot could never come back, so he shouldn't be able to make Gwaine stay there and wait for him to, but he did.
