#merwaine fest 2023

[where-the-kissing-never-stops]

Never thought that it would end like this

Here it is! My piece for @merwainefest day 7: free day.

Here on ao3 for those on there!

On the training ground, Gwaine gets distracted as Merlin walks past.

Gwaine was feeling rather stupid. He had been too distracted during training to focus properly on the blows Leon was raining down upon him, and now had a nasty gash on his arm that needed looking into. Now, he was sat at the side of the training field as the others kept at it. But, the reason for his distraction was the one tending to the open slice on his forearm.

Merlin.

It wasn’t Gwaine’s fault that Merlin’s arse was the meaning of ‘perky’, and the way his hair caught in the sunlight was too hard for Gwaine to miss. So when Merlin had walked past the training field and bent over at the crucial moment, Gwaine’s eyes went over Leon’s shoulder instead of focusing on the sword that caught Gwaine completely off guard, and blood running down his arm.

Leon hadn’t stopped apologising, even though that’s the whole point of training, Gwaine had told him. But Leon was Leon, and wouldn’t stop fretting until Merlin had come over and told Gwaine to follow him, heading over to a nearby tent, which inside had a basket of bandages and other medicinal items that he stocked for the training ground every morning for these exact moments. Fortunately, Gwaine walked off the field neck-and-neck with Merlin, so he wouldn’t be ‘distracted’ again.

Gwaine felt guilty. It wasn’t right to ogle when Merlin wasn’t aware, and Gwaine knew it. Maybe he’ll say something. Just maybe.

Merlin pulled the basket and asked Gwaine to sit, which he did. Gwaine rested his injured arm on his lap and stared at Merlin’s hand. The young man was working with such dexterity and Gwaine could only watch patiently. His arm hurt, that was true, but he could wait a little longer to watch Merlin at work.

Gwaine thought he heard Merlin mention something, but shrugged and ‘hmm’d in response. He was still watching Merlin at work, collecting bottles, bandages and something resembling a spoon?

“Gwaine?” Merlin was smiling when Gwaine looked at him, and that almost did the knight in. Merlin’s toothy grin was his weakness, and in this close proximity to it? That smile was a lethal weapon. It could bring anyone to their knees.

He snapped back into the world, and nodded, “Yes?” He responded, not meeting Merlin’s eyes.

“Can you hold this for me?” Merlin held a jar of a sticky, amber-coloured liquid. It had a faint scent.

“Is that honey?” Gwaine asked, and went to dip his fingers in it to taste it.

Merlin’s smile widened as he withdrew the honey jar. “It’s not to eat,” he said softly with a small laugh, “but yes, it’s honey.”

Gwaine felt his cheeks heat up, as he did when he heard Merlin laugh, but hoped Merlin was too occupied with the jar or the cut or something else to notice. He held his hand out to take the jar, from Merlin, and as he did his fingers brushed Merlin’s. It was an innocent gesture, until he heard Merlin cough awkwardly. Gwaine looked up. Merlin’s face was also flushed.

“Merlin.”

The pair looked at each other. Gwaine swam in Merlin’s blue eyes for what felt like eternity and felt himself leaning forwards.

Merlin couldn’t take his eyes off the knight, but snapped out of the daze, shook his head, and looked away.

Gwaine leaned backwards. It was now or never.

“Merlin, has anyone ever told you…” Now or never, Gwaine, “…how blue your eyes are?” Merlin looked at him incredulously. “They’re more blue than the sky.”

“Um, thanks?” Merlin spoke quietly, spooning honey out of the jar and smearing it on Gwaine’s arm. “Honey is good to clean the wound, that’s good advice for you.”

Merlin kept talking, listing the medicinal properties of honey and other common plants and herbs, but Gwaine wasn’t really listening. He felt like he might explode. He was staring at Merlin’s lips.  Gorgeous and lovely and inviting and kissable-

Gwaine leaned forward and kissed Merlin mid-word. It was a peck, nothing more, nothing less. Gwaine noticed Merlin had stopped moving and was staring right at Gwaine.

“What…?”

Gwaine breathed a very nervous laugh. Since when did Gwaine get nervous? “I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t do that.”

A pause. Neither of them moved, spoke, breathed.

“Was that ok?”

At first, Gwaine wasn’t sure if Merlin would respond at all. Merlin opened and closed his mouth, then finally said. “That was nice.”

Nice? “Nice?”

“Yes,” Merlin continued, “It was unexpected, but it was nice.” They looked at each other for a few more seconds before Merlin spoke again. “I really need to finish dressing this.”

“Yes, of course,” Gwaine held out the honey towards Merlin, but his sweaty palm wasn’t helping, so he held it balanced on his leg. His heart was racing. That was not a reaction he could have predicted. What would he do now? Merlin said it was ‘nice’, which was about as useful as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking contest.

“Gwaine,” Merlin spoke as he took a bandage and started wrapping up Gwaine’s arm. “Is this how you truly feel?”

“Yes, Merlin, for a while now.” Gwaine paused, wondering how to say exactly how he felt. “You have no idea how hard it is seeing you every day around the castle with your perfect arse and gorgeous eyes and soft hands-”

“I think I do, Gwaine,” was Merlin’s response, and before Gwaine could even form a confused frown, Merlin’s lips were on his.

This kiss was longer, deeper, yet still soft, and full of desire and longing and wanting, from Gwaine and mirrored by Merlin. It was over far too soon for Gwaine’s liking and he was left wanting more.

Merlin pulled away and held a finger to Gwaine’s lips to stop him from protesting.

“Before you say anything, we can continue this later,” Merlin started with a smile on his lips, “but you need to get back out there or people might talk.”

“Oh, let them talk.” Gwaine swatted away Merlin’s hand and took Merlin’s chin with his good hand and kissed him deeply. Merlin, however, could only laugh and pull away.

“I would love for this to continue, but not now, Gwaine.” The knight pulled his best puppy dog eyes, but Merlin did not fall for it. Accepting defeat, Gwaine dropped his head and stood up. Merlin tidied the place and stood up, faced Gwaine and expressed, “You have no idea how happy I am that this happened, Gwaine, and I can’t wait for it to continue.” Gwaine couldn’t believe it either, and the fact that he was speechless made it much more apparent. He couldn’t remember a time he had been more lost for words.

“Now get out there, and show them all that your arm hasn’t fallen off. And, please put Arthur on his arse at least once.”

Gwaine beamed a huge grin across his face. “After you, my dear.” Gwaine bowed as Merlin laughed and walked past. Now was his chance.

Gwaine smacked Merlin’s backside as he left the tent.

Merlin looked back, rubbing his behind.

“Oi!”

#merwaine #mergwaine #merlin #merlin bbc #sir gwaine #merwaine fest #merwaine fest 2023 #merwainefest2023 #i hope you enjoy this!!! #i discovered merwaine fest far too late so this is my one entry in on time #however the other prompts look v ~tasty~ too #so might write some now but post later? would that be ok @ mods #or do i need to write them asap be included in this fest #anyway #merci #where_the_kissing_never_stops #wtkns #op #my works

[johnscameron]

Merwaine Fest 2023 Day Seven: Free day - Protecting each other

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #gwaine #merlinedit #original

[merwainefest]

MERWAINE FEST 2023 - Starting July 30th - August 5th

tag #merwainefest2023 or this account directly ♥️

FOR FANFIC WRITERS - prompts and/or themes for inspiration:

day one: “i’ve been alone all my life” + angst

day two: “who did this to you?” + hurt/comfort

day three: “i’m not afraid of you.” + bamf!merlin

day four: “you feel like home to me” + protective!gwaine

day five: “i trust you.” + fluff

day six: “who am i?” + angst with a happy ending

day seven: free day♥️

FOR GIFS/ VIDEO/ ART CREATORS - quotes and/or themes for inspiration:

day one: “have you ever been in love? horrible isn't it? it makes you so vulnerable. it opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.” (neil gaiman) + red

day two: poem of your choice + orange

day three: your favorite quote + yellow

day four: “love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” (robert a. heinlein) + green

day five: “i am not afraid to die; i am only afraid of saying goodbye to you forever.” (shannon l. alder) + blue

day six: song lyrics that screams merwaine + purple

say seven: free day♥️

NSFW IS ALLOWED BUT PLEASE TAG APPROPRIATELY ♥️ ALSO i have an ao3 collection from all the merwaine fests that can be used for this one, too!

as always, if you have any questions and/or concerns, please feel free to either dm this account or my main ( @bellamyblakru ) or drop an ask!! 🥰

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #merlin emrys #gwaine #merlin bbc #fests #merlin fest #merlin fests #merlinfests #tuserkit #southfarthing #alielook #xuserann #userdorksinlove #merlinfest #pandalikeelf #bellamyblakru #merlingifs

[garden-variety-jumo]

Dear fellow traveller, underneath the moon

I think I'm growing weary and I'm hoping you'll come soon

- Dear Fellow Traveller by Sea Wolf

____

Merwaine Fest 2023, Day 6: song lyrics you think scream merwaine

#I had So Much trouble coming up with lyrics i mainly use vibe :'3 #SORRY IT'S LATE BTW #they r two wandering souls to me #merwainefest2023 #merwaine #bbc merlin #merlin emrys #sir gwaine #merwainefest day 6 #my art

[em-writes-stuff]

“I trust you.” + fluff

day five of @merwainefest

no warnings :)

211 words

---

Gwaine pulls Merlin out of the hallway, the pair of them pressing against the wall to keep hidden from one of the servants walking toward them. The footsteps recede and Merlin falls in a fit of laughter. They end up on the ground, holding onto each other for support, laughing into each other’s face. 

“That was so close,” Merlin whispers. He rests his forehead against Gwaine’s and they sit together. 

Gwine snickers and looks right at Merlin, “It looks like you only have one eye.” Merlin pulls back slightly and Gwaine nods, “That’s better.” 

Merlin purses his lips and leans back in, “Do you like my eyes or something?” 

“I more than like your eyes,” Gwaine says, “I love your eyes.” 

Merlin chuckles and shakes his head gently, “Well your eyes are nice, too.” 

They stare at each other, eyes locked and unmoving. Gwaine’s hand raises to Merlin’s face and he waits for Merlin to react. 

“May I?” 

Merlin smiles widely and nods, “Why not, I trust you.” 

Gwaine’s hands cup his face and pull him closer still, “Mistake.” he laughs. 

Merlin pretends to struggle out of Gwaine’s hands as Gwaine peppers his face with small pecks. They laugh loudly, forgetting that they’re supposed to be heading to the training field. 

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin #gwaine #merlin bbc #my writing #i trust you #fluff #fluff fic #merlin fluff #merwaine fluff #em writes #em writes stuff

[thebookluvrr1816]

My Gifs

Merlin Alphabet Challenge

Posters

Merlin Bingo Fills

BBC Merlin Episodes 

BBC Merlin Official Books

BBC Merlin Parallels

Merlin Cast Appreciation

Emoji Association Challenge

Merthur Moments

Fests - 2021

Merthur week 2021

Bamf Merthur week 2021

Albion Party 2021

Merlin Ladies Week 2021

Giftober 2021

Elyan Appreciation Fest

Merlin Pride Celebration 2021

Merlin Aro Fest 2021

Camelove 2021

Camelove 2022

Arwen Fest 2021

Merwaine Fest 2021

Mini Mercelot Week 2021

Fests - 2022

Merlin Week 2022

Merthur Week 2022 

The Merlin Library - 10th Anniversary 

Camelove 2022

Fests - 2023

Merthur Week 2023

The Sorcerers Guild Quests

Adiós Avalon

Let Leon Live

Polyamory Appreciation Week

Canon What Canon?

So Where’s the Crack?

Have We Met?

Characters

Merlin

Arthur Pendragon

Guinevere Pendragon

Morgana Pendragon

Quote / Poetry Edits Song Edits

Fluff Edits

Humor Edits

AO3 Edits

Merthur : Domestic Series

Merthur : Eye Contact Series

merthur + patrochilles / TSOA

merthur + firstprince / RWRB

BBC merlin : behind the scenes

#mycreations #mygifs #tag page #masterlist #myeditmasterlist

[johnscameron]

-Shannon L. Alder Merwaine Fest 2023 Day Five

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #gwaine #merlinedit #original #i'm sorry! the last two days won't be this depressing i promise

[johnscameron]

-Nathaniel Orion G. K. Merwaine Fest 2023 Day Two: Poem of your choice

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #gwaine #merlinedit #original

[johnscameron]

-Neil Gaiman Merwaine Fest 2023 Day One

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #gwaine #merlinedit #original

[johnscameron]

Merwaine Fest 2023 Day Three: Your favorite quote(s)

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #gwaine #merlinedit #original

[johnscameron]

-Robert A. Heinlein Merwaine Fest 2023 Day Four

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #gwaine #merlinedit #original

[johnscameron]

Merwaine Fest 2023 Day Six: Song lyrics that scream Merwaine

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin x gwaine #merlin #bbc merlin #gwaine #merlinedit #original

[garden-variety-jumo]

Merwaine Fest 2023: Day 7: ,,,,Strawberries

Bc like. What if it was a metaphor. What if it was a motif.

#they're ditching so Merlin can complain about Arthur #merwainefest2023 #bbc merlin #merwaine #merlin emrys #sir gwaine

[em-writes-stuff]

“You feel like home to me.” + protective!gwaine

day four of @merwainefest

warnings: n/a

576 words

---

Merlin stumbles forward, an arm wrapped around his stomach and the other pressed against a tree to keep him from falling. He looks behind him, neck craning to find anyone following him. He exhales sharply and falls against the tree, sliding down the trunk onto the ground. 

Gwaine strains to find what’s disturbing the silence of the forest, leading his horse behind him on the barely-visible deer trail he’s been following. 

Blood stains a tree in the shape of a hand and Gwaine follows the trail. A small hovel is at the end, the door has been thrown off its hinges and someone’s passed out in the corner. Gwaine walks up to them and kicks them awake, “Hey,” He says, startling them. “Have you seen anyone else around here?” 

The man looks up at him with wide eyes and shakes his head, “No-not anyone.” 

“You’re sure?” 

He nods. 

“Then-” he bends down in front of him and gestures to the mess all around- “Did you do this? Because you don’t seem like you’re in any state to. Do you?” 

The man shakes his head again and turns away from Gwaine, pulling his arms up to his face. Gwaine huffs and walks out of the hovel. 

He follows the blood trail the other way now, swiftly navigating through the twisting branches and tree roots that seemed to move underfoot. His horse nickered anxiously behind him, as the sun disappeared past the treeline and it took everything in Gwaine not to turn tail and run. But Merlin was still missing, and it was going to be a cold night. 

Merlin stares lazily ahead, knees drawn up to his chest and chin resting on his hands. His chest aches with every breath and he can feel the bruises forming on his skin. Someone’s heading his way and the only thing he can think to do to keep hidden is curl more into himself. 

The trail stops and Gwaine ties his horse to a tree, “Merlin?” he asks, his voice barely over a whisper. “Are you here?”

Merlin jolts up, every muscle in his body screaming in protest. “Gwaine?” 

Gwaine snaps around to face him, his features lighting up. “You’re alright?”

“Beaten and bruised. Nothing a little rest won’t cure.” Merlin says, wincing as he pushes himself up. 

Gwaine rushes over and helps him stand up, wrapping an arm around his waist to support the majority of his weight. “What happened?” 

“Oh, you know. The usual.” Merlin shrugs and lets Gwaine help him onto the horse. “Morgana and whoever she’s using up for the month trying to get back at Arthur.” 

Gwaine unties the horse and leads it away from the blood trail. They fall into a comfortable silence until Merlin realizes just how far Morgana had taken him from Camelot. 

“Gwaine?” He asks, “How’d you find me?” 

He sighs and shrugs, “I dunno. Just followed my instincts I guess? I mean, you feel like…home to me I guess so I just had to look for that feeling and follow it.” 

“Oh,” Merlin breathes. He stares up at the stars, grateful for the gentle blanket of dark settled over them preventing Gwaine from looking back and seeing the tears welling in his eyes. 

“You feel like home to me, too. I can always…trust that you’ll find me again. Does that make sense?” Merlin’s voice is so soft he isn’t sure Gwaine heard him. 

“Yeah,” Gwaine replies, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

#merwaine #merwainefest2023 #merlin #merlin bbc #gwaine #you feel like home to me #protective!gwaine #my writing #em writes #em writes stuff

[em-writes-stuff]

“I’m not afraid of you.” + bamf!merlin

day 3 of @merwainefest

470 words

warnings: merlin kills a few guys (but it’s alright because he’s just a little guy <2)

 ---

Gwaine can see Merlin’s eyes darting around the camp, he fights against his very own bandit while keeping an eye on Arthur and all the knights. Silently applauding the perfectly timed branches dropping and suddenly too-hot sword hilts, Gwaine tries his best to distract the other knights from Merlin’s golden eyes. 

After a rather close call with one of the offenders, Merlin lands on his back. Arthur’s attention turns to him and the two bandits he was fighting take advantage of his momentary distraction and manage to get the upper hand. 

Like flies, the knights fall to the feet of their transgressors. Gwaine falls and Merlin turns to stare at him. He turns to each of the knights and his eyes flash a bright golden. The bandits all fly back, hitting trees or whatever happens to be behind them. 

Arthur shoots up, instantly scanning the trees for whoever caused the blast, spinning in circles. The knights follow suit, their swords raised as they all pull into a tight circle around each other. Gwaine’s eyes are locked on Merlin, taking in every little bit of his grandeur. His eyes still have a golden hue as he stumbles to his feet, instantly putting on the mask of someone who didn’t blast at least twenty people fifty feet away. 

Arthur sheaths his sword and frowns. He struts up to who seems to be the leader of the bandits and rolls him onto his back with his foot. The knights do the same with the others, checking all of them to see if they’d been left alive by the blast. 

Gwaine walks up to Merlin, bumping into him with his shoulder. “You alright?” 

Merlin steadies himself and nods, “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Gwaine snorts and shakes his head, resting an arm on Merlin’s shoulder. He nods to the nearest bandit, “That looks like it would be a lot of work.” he leans in and turns so his mouth is right next to Merlin’s ear. “And to do it with so many people? I’d be exhausted. But then, I don’t have magic.” 

Merlin’s eyes go wide, he shakes his head and pulls out from Gwaine’s arm, “You’r-I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

Gwaine nods and pulls Merlin close again, “You’re doing a good job hiding it, I just noticed because I like looking atcha.” 

Merlin pulls away slightly, letting Gwaine’s arm drape over him. “I thought…” he shakes his head and his brows furrow, “You’re not…freaking out?” 

“I’m not afraid of you,” Gwaine almost snorts. “I could never be afraid of you.” He leans in close again, “Even if you did just kill twenty people. We’ll keep that between us though, huh?” 

Merlin sputters, shaking his head slightly against Gwaine as he watches Arthur roll the last of the attackers and shake his head. 

#merwainefest2023 #merwaine #merlin #gwaine #bbc merlin #merlin fic #bamf!merlin #i'm not afraid of you #my writing #em writes #em writes stuff

[em-writes-stuff]

“Who did this to you?” + hurt/comfort

day two of @merwainefest

no warnings

501 words

---

Merlin frowns and stares at the stain on his shirt. His eyebrows crease and he grumbles. “I just cleaned this.” 

Arthur chuckles and some of the knights mock him warmly. He stands up and collects the bowls, setting them in the pot to wash. He lifts the pot and walks away from the group, the tension slowly releasing from his shoulders with every step away from the jeering knights. 

The slow-moving river flows over small pebbles and rocks, eroding away at the bank. Merlin sets the dishes down in the water, letting them fill slowly as he wades until the water reaches his knees and takes his shirt off. 

He squats and rubs the shirt against itself, carefully washing off the stain. 

A twig snaps and Merlin looks up, eyes filtering through the trees and tall grass. 

“Is anyone there?” he asks, trying to put his now soaked shirt back over his head, but the fabric catches and he’s stuck with his hands awkwardly above his head. 

“Just me,” Gwaine says, stepping up to the edge of the water. “What’re you doing?” 

Merlin stares at him through the hole his head is supposed to be in and shrugs, “Trying to put this back on.” 

Gwaine snorts and wades into the water, “Here.” He reaches out to help, “I’ve gotcha.” 

Merlin shakes his head and backs up, tripping over a rock and falling over. The shirt flies off and starts drifting downriver, getting further and further with every moment. 

Merlin lunges after it, eyes never breaking away from it. “Ha!” he cheers, standing up in the center of the river with the shirt in his hands. “I got it!” 

Gwaine stares at him, attention locked on the scars littering Merlin’s torso. “What-” 

“No.” Merlin cuts him off. “Not doing this.” he shakes his head, pulls the shirt on, and this time, there’s no issue. 

He tromps out of the deeper water and bends over the dishes, scrubbing the leftovers out of them. 

“Merlin,” Gwaine says, “What happened?” 

Merlin doesn’t say anything. He turns his attention to the pot, letting the water fill it up and cloud a few times before scrubbing out the remains of dinner. He can feel Gwaine’s eyes boring into him-through his shirt and stopping at his scars. 

He drops the rag in the pot and stands up, Gwaine’s face is etched with worry. “Who did that to you?” 

Merlin snorts, “You want a list?” 

“What happened?” he asks, taking a step forward. Merlin leans back slightly, not moving his feet but he can feel the muscles in his legs tensing in case he needs to. Gwaine notices him tensing too, because he freezes and pulls away. 

“I got hurt.” 

Gwaine rolls his eyes and picks up the pot leaving Merlin with the bowls, “We’re going to talk about this more later.” 

“Sure we are.” 

They walk back in silence, Gwaine glancing over at Merlin more than he looks ahead, and Merlin keeps his eyes locked on the ground.

#merwainefest2023 #merwaine #merlin #gwaine #gwaine bbc #merlin fic #scar reveal #my writing #em writes #em writes stuff