A great way to start the year for aeris444
Title: A great way to start the year
Recipient: aeris444
Author: Laevateinn
Rating: T
Pairing/s: Gwaine/Percival
Summary: Gwaine is a forward in Camelot’s hockey team ‘The Knights’. He is known as a ladies’ man, but in truth he has been going steady with Percival for months. What better time than the New Year to start doing things differently?
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 1.9k
Author's Notes: A huge thank you to Excited_Insomniac for the quick beta work, and to dylan_mx for the brainstorming and cheerleading!
Disclaimer:Merlin is owned by the BBC and Shine. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made. Don't send us to the dungeons.
Right, left, to Leon, Leon to Percy, back to him, an aborted movement to the top right corner, the goalie shifting ever so slightly and opening his legs and… IN! Gwaine threw his arms up in celebration as the crowd and announcer roared. That was one goal in advance for his team!
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!”
As he halted in front of the Plexiglas panel, Gwaine felt Leon bump into him from the left and threw his arm around his friend’s shoulders. On the other side, Lance only patted his shoulder to avoid his stick and congratulated him on his goal. A second later Gwaine felt a looming presence at his back, then he and Leon were enveloped by Percival’s arms before the giant playfully bumped their heads.
“Knights’ goal by Gwaine Greene at the forty-third minute!” Even more noise, as the three high-fived each other. “Assists from Percival Andrews and Leon Ganis!”
Gwaine let the supporters’ screams wash over him as he skated back in place for the face-off. As the referee’s hand hovered the ice with the puck, he caught Percy’s eye and nodded. No more time to celebrate; this was the last period.
The main referee whistled.
They had a game to win.
~
Gwaine went on the ice twice more after his goal and assisted Leon’s the second time. Unfortunately, Percy-who had assisted as well-being as big as he is and with the level of stress in the arena looked like a threat to their opponents when he stood next to their goalie, and... That knucklehead of Valiant pushed Percival. Percy extended his arms to keep his balance, but the other one took the opportunity to throw a punch. Another from Essetir’s skated to Percy and tried to throw him off balance, but Leon kept him upright. Lance kept another at bay then Valiant spit at Percy’s feet, swearing, just as Gwaine arrived next to him. He snatched Percival’s jersey to keep him from hitting the guy, but then Valiant caught him on the side of the helmet with his fist.
Oh well.
From his peripheral vision, Gwaine saw at least four gloves hit the ice. They wanted to fight?
Gwaine threw his helmet and gloves off. They’d have their fight.
~
After a group fight like that, Gwaine’s line was benched and they lived the remaining minutes from the side-lines, encouraging the final line-up. It was Arthur, Elyan, Mordred and Pellinore.
Cenred dove for their goal, but Elyan intercepted the puck and passed it to Arthur who shot it as far as he could. The puck reached the blue line just as the clock ticked 60:00, and they all erupted in cheers.
“AND IT’S OVER!!” came the shout, barely discernible over the horn and the uproar of the crowd. “The victory goes to our Knights, ladies and gentlemen!”
Gwaine let out a scream of joy alongside his teammates. They did it! They won against the Essetir’s team, and they did it before the holidays! What a fucking great Christmas present!
~
After the team celebrated on the ice, first with each other and the public, they all went back to the changing rooms screaming and singing. The unofficial party carried on while they showered, changed, until the coach and president came to see them. The coach highlighted a few good and less good moments, thankfully leaving the fight out of his speech, then let their president, Arthur’s father, say some words.
“All right everyone! I’ll be brief, as I’m sure you all want to get out of here pronto. I wanted to say congratulations on this year’s final win. It wasn’t easy, and I know I don’t say it often, but I am proud of you!”
The team cheered and Uther gave them a small smile-a Christmas miracle! “Now, I know this marks the start of your break, and I’ll just ask that you don’t do excesses.” A few grumbles reached his ears and he scoffed. “I know, holidays. But still! No overindulgence, or you’ll regret it when training starts again. Now go on and have some fun at the party.”
The team cheered up again then took their bags and filtered out of the room. In a line, they took the stairs up to the little bar-restaurant that was hosting their usual after-game reception. They left their bags in the backroom as usual, then entered the bar. Cheers from supporters and the casual public welcomed them. Yeah, a win and alcohol: what a great way to start the break!
As soon as he entered the bar, Gwaine was grabbed by two delicate hands, one on each of his arms. One was paler than the moon and the other almond-coloured. He smiled as Morgana and Gwen brought him into a hug. They congratulated him, kissed his cheek then went on doing the same thing to his poor Percival, who still wasn’t used to it. Gwaine chuckled at his ‘deer in headlights’ expression, which earned him a playful swat. The two left the girls’ corner, eager to go find something to drink, and left Arthur and Elyan with their sisters.
All in all the night went well. Almost everyone on the team mingled with the supporters. They chatted, took some pictures with them, some group shots-Gwaine would have to get back at Percival for using him as an elbow-rest-drank and ate a bit. They were complimented on their skating and goals… and the fight, which Gwaine had gotten a little souvenir from. He would have to use some makeup for Christmas, perfect.
As the time went by, people trickled out of the bar and in the end it was just their close group: Gwen, Elyan, Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, Leon, Lance and Percival.
They stayed for a little while, and discussed their plans for the upcoming holidays. Everyone was going home for Christmas apparently, then some would come back to Camelot before the New Year-like Gwaine and Percival, on the 26th-while the others would wait for it to pass.
Eventually the fatigue from the game caught up on them and they left the bar. Arthur gave Gwaine a final pat on the shoulder, and told him to ask his latest conquest to do something for his cheek with their delicate hands. Gwaine smiled awkwardly and nodded at his friend and captain, trying not to look at Percival. Oh yes, someone would look over his bruise, alright. But that someone did not have delicate hands.
Gwaine waved at the group one last time then got inside of Percival’s car, who drove them to his place. Time to relax with his lover, even if it was only for a day.
~
“Have you thought about New Year’s resolutions?” Percival asked out of the blue, in bed in the morning a few days after Christmas.
“Actually, yeah. I have a couple of them, but… I have one that is really important.”
“Really? What is it?”
Gwaine sighed then shifted so he could look Percival in the eyes. “I want to be braver regarding who I am and what I believe in.”
“That’s good.”
“That starts with me being honest about us.”
Percival’s face lit up and he pushed back on his elbows. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Gwaine said, before Percival dove onto him, slamming him back onto the bed and kissing him senseless.
“Are you sure you are ready?”
“Yes.” Gwaine took a shaky breath. “I’m not going to lie, I’m still a bit anxious. But I love you and I don’t want to have to lie or pretend anymore.” Percival stroked his cheek, a goofy grin eating half of his face, but stayed silent. “I’m… I’m not sure I am ready for a big thing. Like a public announcement, although I think that will be inevitable one day. But I want to tell our friends and families.” And finally be able to get to small parties and family dinner as a couple.
“I love you so much,” Percival said, before kissing him. “Do you have something in mind?”
“Actually…. Maybe we could invite them over after the new year, to have a few drinks before we start training again?”
“I think that’d be brilliant.”
“Then it’s a plan.” Gwaine beamed at Percival who was still on top of him. “Now…” he said, trailing a finger along his lover’s neck, “you said you loved me. How ‘bout you show me just how much?”
For answer, Percival pecked his lips then attacked his neck, sucking on the skin just below his ear. Fuck.
~
On the day they were supposed to announce their relationship, Gwaine suffered from the beginning of an anxiety attack. Percival immediately reassured him, saying they did not have to do it if Gwaine wasn’t ready, but Gwaine persisted.
So, Percival simply sat next to him and talked about mundane things. He talked about the latest book he had read, then rambled on about a nice band he had just discovered: how amazing they were, how they managed to sound like an orchestra sometimes even though their voices were the only instruments. How their Christmas music-all six albums-had been on repeat on his phone for the past week.
Once Gwaine had calmed down enough, they had worked together on making a list of pros and cons about coming out-as restrained as the number of people knowing would be- and another that helped Gwaine realise their group of friends was completely safe.
When Gwaine finally came down from his anxiety attack, Percival led them both to the sofa and left Gwaine in charge of picking a movie while he made them hot beverages. They spent the rest of the morning snuggled up in blankets and each other’s arms, and Gwaine felt like everything would be alright.
The feeling did not leave as people arrived, and it did not leave either after he started a conversation about New Year’s resolutions. His anxiety sparked when everyone had a turn, but Percival gently pressed their thighs together and it went back to being manageable.
Gwaine took a deep breath, looked at Percival who gave him an encouraging smile, then at their friends. “My biggest resolution this year… is to be braver, in being myself fully and defending what I believe in.”
Nods and murmurs of agreement came from the whole group, which spurred him for the rest. “And that begins with telling you, my friends, that I haven’t been single for a while.”
Morgana smirked and Merlin wolf-whistled.
“Who is it?” Elyan asked.
Arthur clapped Gwaine’s shoulder. “Yeah, come on, spill! Do we know her?”
Her. “Actually… you know them, yes.”
Gwen lifted an eyebrow at his choice of words but remained silent. Here went nothing. Gwaine closed his eyes and took another deep breath, then reopened them as he felt Percival’s leg against his.
Gwaine took Percival’s hand in his and looked at all their friends. “Perce and I have been together for months now. So yeah, I’m bisexual and very much in love with our gentle giant.”
The room was silent for a few heartbeats before their friends started shouting their congratulations. They also all rose to pat Percy and him on the back, which led to a happy chaos. Relieved that all went so well, Gwaine sat on Percival’s lap and snogged the daylight out of him. They pointedly ignored Leon’s plea to get a room if their hands travelled south and flipped him the bird.
Yeah. That was a great way to start the year.
Recipient: aeris444
Author: Laevateinn
Rating: T
Pairing/s: Gwaine/Percival
Summary: Gwaine is a forward in Camelot’s hockey team ‘The Knights’. He is known as a ladies’ man, but in truth he has been going steady with Percival for months. What better time than the New Year to start doing things differently?
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 1.9k
Author's Notes: A huge thank you to Excited_Insomniac for the quick beta work, and to dylan_mx for the brainstorming and cheerleading!
Disclaimer:Merlin is owned by the BBC and Shine. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made. Don't send us to the dungeons.
Right, left, to Leon, Leon to Percy, back to him, an aborted movement to the top right corner, the goalie shifting ever so slightly and opening his legs and… IN! Gwaine threw his arms up in celebration as the crowd and announcer roared. That was one goal in advance for his team!
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!”
As he halted in front of the Plexiglas panel, Gwaine felt Leon bump into him from the left and threw his arm around his friend’s shoulders. On the other side, Lance only patted his shoulder to avoid his stick and congratulated him on his goal. A second later Gwaine felt a looming presence at his back, then he and Leon were enveloped by Percival’s arms before the giant playfully bumped their heads.
“Knights’ goal by Gwaine Greene at the forty-third minute!” Even more noise, as the three high-fived each other. “Assists from Percival Andrews and Leon Ganis!”
Gwaine let the supporters’ screams wash over him as he skated back in place for the face-off. As the referee’s hand hovered the ice with the puck, he caught Percy’s eye and nodded. No more time to celebrate; this was the last period.
The main referee whistled.
They had a game to win.
~
Gwaine went on the ice twice more after his goal and assisted Leon’s the second time. Unfortunately, Percy-who had assisted as well-being as big as he is and with the level of stress in the arena looked like a threat to their opponents when he stood next to their goalie, and... That knucklehead of Valiant pushed Percival. Percy extended his arms to keep his balance, but the other one took the opportunity to throw a punch. Another from Essetir’s skated to Percy and tried to throw him off balance, but Leon kept him upright. Lance kept another at bay then Valiant spit at Percy’s feet, swearing, just as Gwaine arrived next to him. He snatched Percival’s jersey to keep him from hitting the guy, but then Valiant caught him on the side of the helmet with his fist.
Oh well.
From his peripheral vision, Gwaine saw at least four gloves hit the ice. They wanted to fight?
Gwaine threw his helmet and gloves off. They’d have their fight.
~
After a group fight like that, Gwaine’s line was benched and they lived the remaining minutes from the side-lines, encouraging the final line-up. It was Arthur, Elyan, Mordred and Pellinore.
Cenred dove for their goal, but Elyan intercepted the puck and passed it to Arthur who shot it as far as he could. The puck reached the blue line just as the clock ticked 60:00, and they all erupted in cheers.
“AND IT’S OVER!!” came the shout, barely discernible over the horn and the uproar of the crowd. “The victory goes to our Knights, ladies and gentlemen!”
Gwaine let out a scream of joy alongside his teammates. They did it! They won against the Essetir’s team, and they did it before the holidays! What a fucking great Christmas present!
~
After the team celebrated on the ice, first with each other and the public, they all went back to the changing rooms screaming and singing. The unofficial party carried on while they showered, changed, until the coach and president came to see them. The coach highlighted a few good and less good moments, thankfully leaving the fight out of his speech, then let their president, Arthur’s father, say some words.
“All right everyone! I’ll be brief, as I’m sure you all want to get out of here pronto. I wanted to say congratulations on this year’s final win. It wasn’t easy, and I know I don’t say it often, but I am proud of you!”
The team cheered and Uther gave them a small smile-a Christmas miracle! “Now, I know this marks the start of your break, and I’ll just ask that you don’t do excesses.” A few grumbles reached his ears and he scoffed. “I know, holidays. But still! No overindulgence, or you’ll regret it when training starts again. Now go on and have some fun at the party.”
The team cheered up again then took their bags and filtered out of the room. In a line, they took the stairs up to the little bar-restaurant that was hosting their usual after-game reception. They left their bags in the backroom as usual, then entered the bar. Cheers from supporters and the casual public welcomed them. Yeah, a win and alcohol: what a great way to start the break!
As soon as he entered the bar, Gwaine was grabbed by two delicate hands, one on each of his arms. One was paler than the moon and the other almond-coloured. He smiled as Morgana and Gwen brought him into a hug. They congratulated him, kissed his cheek then went on doing the same thing to his poor Percival, who still wasn’t used to it. Gwaine chuckled at his ‘deer in headlights’ expression, which earned him a playful swat. The two left the girls’ corner, eager to go find something to drink, and left Arthur and Elyan with their sisters.
All in all the night went well. Almost everyone on the team mingled with the supporters. They chatted, took some pictures with them, some group shots-Gwaine would have to get back at Percival for using him as an elbow-rest-drank and ate a bit. They were complimented on their skating and goals… and the fight, which Gwaine had gotten a little souvenir from. He would have to use some makeup for Christmas, perfect.
As the time went by, people trickled out of the bar and in the end it was just their close group: Gwen, Elyan, Arthur, Morgana, Merlin, Leon, Lance and Percival.
They stayed for a little while, and discussed their plans for the upcoming holidays. Everyone was going home for Christmas apparently, then some would come back to Camelot before the New Year-like Gwaine and Percival, on the 26th-while the others would wait for it to pass.
Eventually the fatigue from the game caught up on them and they left the bar. Arthur gave Gwaine a final pat on the shoulder, and told him to ask his latest conquest to do something for his cheek with their delicate hands. Gwaine smiled awkwardly and nodded at his friend and captain, trying not to look at Percival. Oh yes, someone would look over his bruise, alright. But that someone did not have delicate hands.
Gwaine waved at the group one last time then got inside of Percival’s car, who drove them to his place. Time to relax with his lover, even if it was only for a day.
~
“Have you thought about New Year’s resolutions?” Percival asked out of the blue, in bed in the morning a few days after Christmas.
“Actually, yeah. I have a couple of them, but… I have one that is really important.”
“Really? What is it?”
Gwaine sighed then shifted so he could look Percival in the eyes. “I want to be braver regarding who I am and what I believe in.”
“That’s good.”
“That starts with me being honest about us.”
Percival’s face lit up and he pushed back on his elbows. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Gwaine said, before Percival dove onto him, slamming him back onto the bed and kissing him senseless.
“Are you sure you are ready?”
“Yes.” Gwaine took a shaky breath. “I’m not going to lie, I’m still a bit anxious. But I love you and I don’t want to have to lie or pretend anymore.” Percival stroked his cheek, a goofy grin eating half of his face, but stayed silent. “I’m… I’m not sure I am ready for a big thing. Like a public announcement, although I think that will be inevitable one day. But I want to tell our friends and families.” And finally be able to get to small parties and family dinner as a couple.
“I love you so much,” Percival said, before kissing him. “Do you have something in mind?”
“Actually…. Maybe we could invite them over after the new year, to have a few drinks before we start training again?”
“I think that’d be brilliant.”
“Then it’s a plan.” Gwaine beamed at Percival who was still on top of him. “Now…” he said, trailing a finger along his lover’s neck, “you said you loved me. How ‘bout you show me just how much?”
For answer, Percival pecked his lips then attacked his neck, sucking on the skin just below his ear. Fuck.
~
On the day they were supposed to announce their relationship, Gwaine suffered from the beginning of an anxiety attack. Percival immediately reassured him, saying they did not have to do it if Gwaine wasn’t ready, but Gwaine persisted.
So, Percival simply sat next to him and talked about mundane things. He talked about the latest book he had read, then rambled on about a nice band he had just discovered: how amazing they were, how they managed to sound like an orchestra sometimes even though their voices were the only instruments. How their Christmas music-all six albums-had been on repeat on his phone for the past week.
Once Gwaine had calmed down enough, they had worked together on making a list of pros and cons about coming out-as restrained as the number of people knowing would be- and another that helped Gwaine realise their group of friends was completely safe.
When Gwaine finally came down from his anxiety attack, Percival led them both to the sofa and left Gwaine in charge of picking a movie while he made them hot beverages. They spent the rest of the morning snuggled up in blankets and each other’s arms, and Gwaine felt like everything would be alright.
The feeling did not leave as people arrived, and it did not leave either after he started a conversation about New Year’s resolutions. His anxiety sparked when everyone had a turn, but Percival gently pressed their thighs together and it went back to being manageable.
Gwaine took a deep breath, looked at Percival who gave him an encouraging smile, then at their friends. “My biggest resolution this year… is to be braver, in being myself fully and defending what I believe in.”
Nods and murmurs of agreement came from the whole group, which spurred him for the rest. “And that begins with telling you, my friends, that I haven’t been single for a while.”
Morgana smirked and Merlin wolf-whistled.
“Who is it?” Elyan asked.
Arthur clapped Gwaine’s shoulder. “Yeah, come on, spill! Do we know her?”
Her. “Actually… you know them, yes.”
Gwen lifted an eyebrow at his choice of words but remained silent. Here went nothing. Gwaine closed his eyes and took another deep breath, then reopened them as he felt Percival’s leg against his.
Gwaine took Percival’s hand in his and looked at all their friends. “Perce and I have been together for months now. So yeah, I’m bisexual and very much in love with our gentle giant.”
The room was silent for a few heartbeats before their friends started shouting their congratulations. They also all rose to pat Percy and him on the back, which led to a happy chaos. Relieved that all went so well, Gwaine sat on Percival’s lap and snogged the daylight out of him. They pointedly ignored Leon’s plea to get a room if their hands travelled south and flipped him the bird.
Yeah. That was a great way to start the year.