5 Times Arthur And The Knights Broke Merlin And The 1 Time He Let Them Fix Him

The Time Merlin Saves Them But No One Saves Him

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~

(Same Time Camelot's Outskirts)

There was something gnawing in the back of his mind, a worm twisting in his gut, a feeling on the edge of defining, it was something important. But whatever it was was just out of his reach. Gwaine scowled. It was important! He knew it...

Horse? Check.

Apple bag? Check.

Firey spirits? Check.

That was everything! It was all there- wait...

"Percy, you've still got the King?" Gwaine called from the back of the formation. Percival, who rode the horse charging ahead, gave no response, too far gone to hear. But Leon turned back and glared sternly.

"Gwaine, the King is dying! This hardly the time for your jests!"

Dying Princess? Check.

That was everything important.

Right?

Gwaine mentally shrugged the strange something away, pressing his knees ever so slightly harder into the horse's side.

"Hang in there, Princess, we're almost home...just hold on..."

Beyond Gwaine's impeccible hearing, Arthur whimpered in response.

~

"You couldn't have picked a better time to die, Princess."

Arthur lay still beneath Gwaine, his eyes closed loosely, his face, for once, relaxed. Almost tranquile. So pale and still Gwaine would've actually thought him dead if it hadn't been for the rattling sound that wheezed out of him every time his reluctant chest fell.

Gwaine's heart twitched in silent relief as he watched the King painfully inhale once again. Alive.

"I mean it, seriously. Morgana's dead. Gwen's already Queen so there won't be a messy uprising. You've spent so much time pawing her the whole heir thing should be taken care of-"

"Gwaine!" The good Queen across him gasped, but it sounded more like a surpressed chuckle. He looked up at her, the soft part of him he mentally refered to as Merlin warming at the sight of Gwen, dressed in her regal purple skirts, uncaring of the scarlet staining them, kneeling at Arthur's bedside, pressing a wet cloth to his burning forehead.

Gwaine smiled back, despite the worry gnawing in his stomach and the feeling of something missing twisting in his head. If she could smile than he had better plaster one of his own.

"You're obviously already aware, M'lady. But anyway, Princess, you've got your beautiful terror coming, so the future of Camelot will be secure for many years after the sickening boring peace drives our fair Gwen to retirement. And you've got the best Knights in the world- ahem, yours truly - so things won't fall into complete caos-"

"This is your idea of convincing me to stay?" A husky voice croaked beneath them, barely audible at all- but they heard it.

Gwaine snapped his eyes to Arthur's face, a grin stretching across his face as he saw the parchment pale lids had opened and glazed blue was slowly blinking up at them, if furrowed slightly in confusion.

"No 'we need you, Arthur, there's so much left and only you can do it for us' or a 'please, we're helpless without you, we wouldn't know what to do' or even an 'Arthur, I love you and I couldn't bear to breath a moment without you and if you die you might as well plunge the dagger into my chest because I won't live without you'..." Arthur's words were breathless and ragged, in the end trailing off into nothing, but their hearts exploded with relief.