#wabtbds

[lit-in-thy-heart]

dandelions

(Part 3 of we are bound together by delicate stems)

Rating: Mature

Archive Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Relationships: Gwaine/Lancelot/Merlin

Characters: Gwaine, Lancelot, Merlin

Additional Tags: i've got a finished wip! i've got a finished wip!, and guess what's inside it, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, in comparison to marigolds that is, hello and welcome to another tonal shift, and idk how to tag nsfw stuff, Nudity, Touching, Grinding, and that's about as far as it goes, it was not meant to be a part of this fic but here we are, Hugs, Mild Smut, Mild comedy, Hair Brushing, Bathing/Washing, Casual Magic, Literal Sleeping Together, listen lance and merlin are just really worried about gwaine, and gwaine is worried about them being worried, Injury Recovery, Forehead Kisses, Forehead Touching, this is an inadvertent bottle episode, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Canon Universe, Insecure Gwaine, Plot? What Plot?, discovered the name polaris wasn't used until more recently, so accidentally spent half an hour researching the north star and old english grammar, no it is not relevant to the story, yes if there's an odd-looking word then it's probably the old english one, yes i can now give you about five different names polaris has been known by, Worried Merlin, worried Lancelot, Supportive Lancelot, Supportive Merlin, one day i'll stop beating gwaine with a narrative stick, today is not that day, literally this has been in my google docs since last september, Kissing, Teasing, Infection, Hallucinations, Sleep Deprivation, falling over

Words: 12,443

Chapters: 1/1

Summary: Now safe in Camelot, Gwaine, Lancelot and Merlin struggle to forget the events of Fyrien. As they navigate open wounds and emotional scars, they try to rebuild themselves.

Or

Gwaine comes down with an infection and is forced to face his fear. Luckily, Lancelot and Merlin are very good at distractions.

Opening:

Lancelot was the one who noticed that Gwaine had developed a fever. Gwaine had dismissed the sweating as a result of the nightmares that had returned after Fyrien, the shortness of breath as a consequence of reliving every moment that he’d been tied to a rock in the ocean. And he’d been trying to eat, trying to keep hydrated, since being moved from Merlin’s room into their shared chambers. He’d been trying so hard to recover, to lessen the strain on Merlin and Lancelot, but when Lancelot had refused to leave him for even a moment it had become apparent that Gwaine was not getting any better.

Merlin, after resting for two days, had returned to his duties and Lancelot, unable to train with his arm in a sling, had chosen to stay with Gwaine. He’d barely spoken since returning – had done little but sleep and curl up against Lancelot in the hours before dawn, his face streaked with tears – and both of his partners had been concerned about what thoughts would trickle into his mind if he was left alone. It was on the third day after their return that Lancelot realised Gwaine was significantly warmer than he ought to have been.

Read on ao3

[lit-in-thy-heart]

‘—and I don’t know, it’s just one of those days when it feels like I have no worth at all and Arthur’s right—’

Gwaine, who had been quite contentedly lying in Lancelot’s lap as Lancelot stroked his hair, shot up into a sitting position and winced as his wound cried out. ‘Lance, can you get my vambrace for me, please?’

Sliding out from beneath Gwaine, Lancelot crossed the room to retrieve Gwaine’s neglected armour, which was stacked on a chair. As he passed Merlin, he caught the warlock’s face between his hands and kissed him gently between the eyebrows. ‘You’re not worthless, my love,’ he murmured, wiping the tears clinging to Merlin’s lashes. ‘And you are about to rocket up on the self-deprecation chart.’

‘Self-deprecation chart won’t be necessary, Lance,’ called Gwaine from the bed. ‘Just need the vambrace.’

Fixing Merlin with another firm look, Lancelot took Gwaine’s vambrace gently in his hand and tossed it towards him. As it catapulted through the air, it burned in the flickering candlelight and Gwaine caught it and raised it above his head like it was the last mortaeus flower. Then he decisively threw it down at Merlin’s feet.

Merlin, wiping his eyes, frowned. ‘What are you doing?’

‘I, my love, am challenging you. I am defending your honour.’

‘Gwaine, my honour doesn’t come into this.’

‘Your worth does, though.’ Grimacing, Gwaine used the mattress to help him stand. ‘And what you’ve said is too much of an outrageous infringement to be recorded on the self-deprecation chart. It would burst into flames and shrivel up if it was associated with such a falsehood.’ As Gwaine continued, his gaze grew fiercer. ‘Your worth does not come from how other people perceive you, my love. I should know. Your worth comes from your actions, from your beliefs, and you are worth so, so much. You are worth more than the constellations themselves.’

‘That doesn’t even—’

Lancelot stepped closer to Gwaine, standing between him and Merlin. ‘What Gwaine is saying is right. Although Arthur would perceive you as having more worth if he knew who you really are—’

‘More worth in having my sorcerer head on a stick rather than my servant head,’ Merlin darkly muttered.

‘Well, yes, possibly, but we know you don’t feel safe telling him yet. But that doesn’t mean he’s right and that you’re worthless. Because you’re not, Merlin. You have such a good heart, and you deserve to be here.’

‘So do both of you,’ sniffed Merlin, keeping his gaze averted.

‘We know,’ Gwaine gently said, gaze softening. ‘But we’re not the ones expressing feelings of worthlessness that are not true. So I challenge you to prove that you are not worthless.’

‘How would it even work? If I won, then surely that proves I am worthless—’

‘Merlin,’ Gwaine cut in, slowly advancing. ‘I would give you all my hope and all of my happiness to store away in a jar and even then that wouldn’t be as much as I wanted to give you.’ His fingers intertwined with Merlin’s and he wordlessly called Lancelot over by outstretching his free hand, continuing when he felt the knight’s soft grip slip into his palm. ‘I would offer up my life, and anything that comes after, to you both to shield you against any storms that may come your way. I have torn myself apart and stitched myself back together with the threads of your breath as you and Lancelot say my name. But to hell with dying for you. I would live for you both. I would go through everything I’ve been through to get to this point endlessly and for eternity, because you are both worth the pain. So don’t say you’re worthless, my love, and, for crying out loud, pick up the vambrace.’

Lancelot was resting his forehead on Gwaine’s shoulder. ‘It’s taking all the strength I have in me not to ruin the mood and ask how long you’ve been sat on that speech.’

At least that got Merlin laughing. Gwaine grinned in spite of himself and shook his head. ‘Since waking up after Fyrien. Obviously I added the vambrace part just now; I wasn’t anticipating having to defend Merlin’s honour because of Merlin.’

Raising his head, Lancelot caught Gwaine’s mouth with his lips. ‘That was beautiful, though. And you know you are worth so much, too. But we will do everything in our power to ensure you don’t go through that pain again.’

Fiercely nodding, Merlin drew close to them both and rested his forehead against theirs. ‘I love you both so much. If something happened to either of you…’

‘It’s not going to,’ Gwaine firmly assured him.

‘Absolutely not,’ agreed Lancelot. ‘Now pick up the vambrace.’

Merlin jerked his head back. ‘You’re...endorsing this?’

‘I’m Gwaine’s second. Now, pick it up.’

a short excerpt from bluebells, the next planned instalment of we are bound together by delicate stems, inspired by this post by @rainbowvamp

[lit-in-thy-heart]

‘Gwaine?’

Pulling their eyes away, Gwaine glanced towards Merlin, who had loudly deposited everything on the table they were sitting at and was leaning over a piece of parchment. ‘Yeah?’

‘Exactly how many times did Lancelot unnecessarily apologise or insinuate that he blamed himself for something that wasn’t his fault?’

As Gwaine’s gaze drifted back to Lancelot, they took note of the blacksmith mouthing ‘zero’ at him. ‘Just the once, I think. Well. A tentative twice, if you count Lancelot saying me getting injured in his workplace meant I was his responsibility.’

‘Yeah, that’s twice then,’ Merlin decided.

‘You’re dead to me,’ Lancelot murmured into Gwaine’s hair. He must have felt Gwaine stiffen in his arms, because suddenly his lips were pressed to the top of Gwaine’s head. ‘I’m sorry, petal, I didn’t mean—I was joking—’

Gwaine pulled the cup out of Lancelot’s hand to limply interlace their fingers with his. ‘It’s alright, I know. I think that’s a third mark, Merls!’

‘Noted!’

Lancelot’s lips were still buried in Gwaine’s hair and his voice carried through Gwaine’s body as he spoke. ‘Right, you’re adding the mark from earlier to your section, Merlin.’

Grumbling, Merlin made a harsh downward stroke on the parchment before scrawling at the top. ‘How many are we saying for Gwaine?’

‘Excuse me?’

‘If I’m going down, you’re going down with me,’ Merlin replied, wicked grin on their face.

merwaincelot are already acting like they’re in an established relationship but honestly i’m just rolling with it at this point. can put it down to fate or something.