Fic: There's No Such Thing as Forbidden Fruit if You're the Crown Prince, Gwen/Arthur, G
Title: There's No Such Thing as Forbidden Fruit if You're the Crown Prince
Author: kepp0xy
Rating: G
Characters/Pairing: Gwen/Arthur, pre-ship... ish.
Warning: A bit of crackery? Some flirting? Beware? Also, sort-of-not-really spoiler warning in A/N.
Summary: Gwen is not impressed when Arthur steals an apple from her tray.
Author's Note: Based on set photos by yavannauk here (no real spoilers, this fic is entirely speculation as there is absolutely no indication of the context for the scenes photographed by yavannauk) and the resultant discussion at camelot_love. I particularly blame dfriendly's comment: "Yup, I'm just imagining the teasing (Arthur) and the blushing (Gwen)..." Totally a flash!fic, so I apologise profusely for any errors. I hope you enjoy, and to those of you in a timezone which means today is now the 19th, Happy Series 2 Merlin Day! ;D ♥
Lost to her thoughts of quests and visiting nobility, Gwen didn't realise she was walking beside someone sitting on a horse until a hand dropped into her vision, snatching an apple from the tray she was carrying.
With a surprised gasp which turned quickly into an indignant, "hey!" Gwen turned on the thief to find herself looking up at Arthur. Who was looking altogether much too pleased with himself - to an undignified degree, prince or not. "Really, sire," she said, keeping her tones as respectful in her scolding as possible, aware as she now was that another servant was busily fixing the stirrup on the other side of the horse. "These apples are intended for the lady Margaret."
"And who is lady Margaret?" he asked, holding the apple before his eyes and examining it closely. Gwen scoffed without thinking, and Arthur looked at her with a raised brow, which caused her to glance down towards his horse's rear.
"You know very well who lady Margaret is, my lord," she continued, valiantly attempting to keep her tone firm. "So if you'd please just..." she raised the tray towards him and her eyes moved expectantly to his face.
But instead of replacing the apple he'd taken, Arthur simply plucked another one, weighing them each lightly in his hands to compare. "Sire!" Gwen said, so scandalised she couldn't even pretend to remain calm at this behaviour. Things between them had been somewhat... tense, of late, and he couldn't honestly think acting this way would make things easier, could he?
"Don't worry, Guinevere," he singsonged, now rotating the fruits in his palms for some unknown purpose. In other circumstance, Gwen may have laughed - he obviously had no clue how to choose the best one. "I'll put one back. And I meant, why is lady Margaret here?"
You'll put them both back, was what she wanted to say, but instead Gwen withdrew the tray with an irritated sigh, and decided to play along. "She is here as the king's guest."
"And the king is...?"
Gwen frowned, focusing instead on the apples now in his grasp. If she were only a couple of inches taller, and perhaps a lot more male, she could have taken them back herself. Of course, she would also need to be a bit more royal, and perhaps a little less shy, but all those slight changes aside, she could have done it with ease. Arthur cleared his throat and Gwen's eyes flew to find him watching her with amusement - and that something else which made her heart flutter and her mind scream how stupid she was. "I've told you I'd give one back," he said earnestly. "The answer I was looking for is that the king is my father."
"That does not entitle you to any food you want," Gwen said quickly, glancing around to ensure no one saw as she put an angry hand on her hip while speaking with the crown prince. "You could always ask Merlin to fetch you one."
"Or I could ask you," he said, eyes bright and Gwen cleared her throat.
"You could," she agreed lightly, looking just past his shoulder to avoid eye contact. "But I would have to deliver these to lady Margaret first, and then you'd have had to leave."
"You don't have to sound quite so hopeful for my departure," he responded sourly, holding out one of the apples to her, and his pointing out her tone did cause Gwen a bit of embarrassment.
As she accepted the proffered fruit, she stated, "I wasn't hopeful -
"You were," he said obstinately. "You were hoping I'd be long gone before you could return with my apple." Gwen narrowed her eyes and sought out his own once more. She knew that tone and that grin. Playful and provocative, and what it did to her tummy - all flips and wiggles - was so obviously inappropriate...
And then - he winked.
And took an enormous bite from the apple.
"Oh, for pity's sake, Arthur!" she cried without meaning to and Arthur started laughing, lips pressed tightly to keep from spewing apple bits all over her. She heard something drop from the other side of the horse with her use of his name and Gwen's eyes widened in shock.
"I've got to go," she said quickly, turning from his side to stride away. She heard the unappealing sounds of Arthur swallowing hurriedly around the massive chunk of her apple, before he called, "Guinevere, wait!"
She stopped, and debated continuing on regardless of his order. But her training got the better of her and she reluctantly turned back. Gwen worked to paste a smile on her face, certain it looked tight and uncomfortable. That was fine with her, actually, given how annoyed she was with his royal pratness (perhaps Merlin was absolutely right to give him that title). And how irritated she was with herself for being entirely unable to wipe the image of his wink from her mind.
"I'll be waiting for that apple when I return," he said. His tones were carefully balanced between light and neutral, but his face had lost all of its teasing expression, leaving only something like restrained hope in its place.
Before she knew it, her smile had softened to something more real, her mouth had gone dry and a thrill went running from her toes to her fingertips. Gwen swallowed thickly and ducked her head; she would not let her sudden nerves get the best of her. "Be safe, sire," she said sincerely before hurrying on her way.
Author: kepp0xy
Rating: G
Characters/Pairing: Gwen/Arthur, pre-ship... ish.
Warning: A bit of crackery? Some flirting? Beware? Also, sort-of-not-really spoiler warning in A/N.
Summary: Gwen is not impressed when Arthur steals an apple from her tray.
Author's Note: Based on set photos by yavannauk here (no real spoilers, this fic is entirely speculation as there is absolutely no indication of the context for the scenes photographed by yavannauk) and the resultant discussion at camelot_love. I particularly blame dfriendly's comment: "Yup, I'm just imagining the teasing (Arthur) and the blushing (Gwen)..." Totally a flash!fic, so I apologise profusely for any errors. I hope you enjoy, and to those of you in a timezone which means today is now the 19th, Happy Series 2 Merlin Day! ;D ♥
Lost to her thoughts of quests and visiting nobility, Gwen didn't realise she was walking beside someone sitting on a horse until a hand dropped into her vision, snatching an apple from the tray she was carrying.
With a surprised gasp which turned quickly into an indignant, "hey!" Gwen turned on the thief to find herself looking up at Arthur. Who was looking altogether much too pleased with himself - to an undignified degree, prince or not. "Really, sire," she said, keeping her tones as respectful in her scolding as possible, aware as she now was that another servant was busily fixing the stirrup on the other side of the horse. "These apples are intended for the lady Margaret."
"And who is lady Margaret?" he asked, holding the apple before his eyes and examining it closely. Gwen scoffed without thinking, and Arthur looked at her with a raised brow, which caused her to glance down towards his horse's rear.
"You know very well who lady Margaret is, my lord," she continued, valiantly attempting to keep her tone firm. "So if you'd please just..." she raised the tray towards him and her eyes moved expectantly to his face.
But instead of replacing the apple he'd taken, Arthur simply plucked another one, weighing them each lightly in his hands to compare. "Sire!" Gwen said, so scandalised she couldn't even pretend to remain calm at this behaviour. Things between them had been somewhat... tense, of late, and he couldn't honestly think acting this way would make things easier, could he?
"Don't worry, Guinevere," he singsonged, now rotating the fruits in his palms for some unknown purpose. In other circumstance, Gwen may have laughed - he obviously had no clue how to choose the best one. "I'll put one back. And I meant, why is lady Margaret here?"
You'll put them both back, was what she wanted to say, but instead Gwen withdrew the tray with an irritated sigh, and decided to play along. "She is here as the king's guest."
"And the king is...?"
Gwen frowned, focusing instead on the apples now in his grasp. If she were only a couple of inches taller, and perhaps a lot more male, she could have taken them back herself. Of course, she would also need to be a bit more royal, and perhaps a little less shy, but all those slight changes aside, she could have done it with ease. Arthur cleared his throat and Gwen's eyes flew to find him watching her with amusement - and that something else which made her heart flutter and her mind scream how stupid she was. "I've told you I'd give one back," he said earnestly. "The answer I was looking for is that the king is my father."
"That does not entitle you to any food you want," Gwen said quickly, glancing around to ensure no one saw as she put an angry hand on her hip while speaking with the crown prince. "You could always ask Merlin to fetch you one."
"Or I could ask you," he said, eyes bright and Gwen cleared her throat.
"You could," she agreed lightly, looking just past his shoulder to avoid eye contact. "But I would have to deliver these to lady Margaret first, and then you'd have had to leave."
"You don't have to sound quite so hopeful for my departure," he responded sourly, holding out one of the apples to her, and his pointing out her tone did cause Gwen a bit of embarrassment.
As she accepted the proffered fruit, she stated, "I wasn't hopeful -
"You were," he said obstinately. "You were hoping I'd be long gone before you could return with my apple." Gwen narrowed her eyes and sought out his own once more. She knew that tone and that grin. Playful and provocative, and what it did to her tummy - all flips and wiggles - was so obviously inappropriate...
And then - he winked.
And took an enormous bite from the apple.
"Oh, for pity's sake, Arthur!" she cried without meaning to and Arthur started laughing, lips pressed tightly to keep from spewing apple bits all over her. She heard something drop from the other side of the horse with her use of his name and Gwen's eyes widened in shock.
"I've got to go," she said quickly, turning from his side to stride away. She heard the unappealing sounds of Arthur swallowing hurriedly around the massive chunk of her apple, before he called, "Guinevere, wait!"
She stopped, and debated continuing on regardless of his order. But her training got the better of her and she reluctantly turned back. Gwen worked to paste a smile on her face, certain it looked tight and uncomfortable. That was fine with her, actually, given how annoyed she was with his royal pratness (perhaps Merlin was absolutely right to give him that title). And how irritated she was with herself for being entirely unable to wipe the image of his wink from her mind.
"I'll be waiting for that apple when I return," he said. His tones were carefully balanced between light and neutral, but his face had lost all of its teasing expression, leaving only something like restrained hope in its place.
Before she knew it, her smile had softened to something more real, her mouth had gone dry and a thrill went running from her toes to her fingertips. Gwen swallowed thickly and ducked her head; she would not let her sudden nerves get the best of her. "Be safe, sire," she said sincerely before hurrying on her way.