You Can Take It With You
Word Count: 1999
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Gwen, modern!Gwen, Merlin, Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot
Disclaimer: The show Merlin, its characters, and other specific things are property of the BBC and Shine. No affiliation is claimed, no infringement intended, no profit made.
Notes: For Round 5 of 4_evermore's Arthur/Gwen Last Author Standing. Theme: Back to the future. Prompt: Merlin the wizard accidentally sends King Arthur (who is in FULL BATTLE GEAR) to the present day. He ends up in Gwen De Vere's posh apartment. Of course Modern!Gwen has no idea who he is and thinks he's some kind of a pervert while on the other hand Arthur sees her as his wife Queen Guinevere Pendragon. Story MUST be set in the same era as Merlin is AND in Modern AU. The name "Gwen De Vere" is taken from Peter David's Knight Trilogy (Modern Arthur).
Arthur stared down at the army amassed in the valley, considering and dismissing a handful of battle plans in rapid succession.
"Sire, their advance position is too strong," Leon said reluctantly from just behind him. "We cannot possibly break it."
"No, we cannot," the king agreed. His eyes narrowed as he studied a group of the men below, and then a satisfied smile curved his lips. "That is why we are going to circumvent the advance. Look." Pointing to what he had noticed, he said, "Their right flank is weak. We hit them there, and it will upset the rest of their formation; focusing on that will distract them. While they face us there, the rest of our men will move in from the front, and we'll have them." And that bastard King Eadwig would understand that Camelot was no more open to defeat during Arthur's reign than it had been under his father.
Merlin shook his head nervously. "I can't transport us. That spell's still not very reliable."
"So, just how are we supposed to get over there?" Gwaine inquired.
Arthur's smile grew. "I trust that none of you object to crawling through a tunnel."
There was a brief silence behind him, and then Lancelot replied, "For the love of Camelot."
The answering "For the love of Camelot!" with which the rest of the knights chimed in ranged in degrees of excitement, but each one of them meant it. Arthur ignored Merlin's muttered, "I hate tunnels."
Turning his horse around, he moved back through his men, stopping to pass the orders along to his infantry commanders. Then, the knights followed his lead to a cave which only a handful of people even knew existed.
After a quarter of an hour spent wriggling through the passageway, Arthur emerged into the forest near Eadwig's right flank. Merlin popped out behind him, scowling but blessedly silent; and soon, the knights were all gathered nearby. Arthur gestured to indicate what the plan of attack was, and, weapons drawn, they moved.
Merlin went first, blasting several rows of men back into each other. As those who were not knocked down rushed toward him, the knights swept forward out of the trees, and the battle commenced. The presence of his allies limited Merlin's ability to use his skills in a widespread manner, but Arthur was pleased by how they had finally managed to work out a way for him to oversee things and direct a bit of magic as needed. And to think, not so very long ago, he distrusted the practice with every fiber of his being--
Ducking as a mace nearly caught him in the head, he wondered why Merlin had not seen to that particular attacker, bringing his sword up and across the man's torso. A glint at the corner of his vision alerted him to another attack just in time for him to block it, although the force of the blow nearly drove his own sword into his helmet. Trying to push the man away, Arthur finally brought a foot up and kicked him back, and then bashed the pommel of his sword into his opponent's nose guard when the idiot rushed at him again.
Two more soldiers replaced that one, and he easily turned their onslaughts against one another; then, there were three, and then five, and then--
"Arthur!" He heard Merlin's yell over the din of the battle, but was too busy trying to watch the eight men surrounding him to respond. Usually, a calm descended upon him during a fight, but right now, he was feeling panic start to nibble at the edges of his consciousness. If only they would do something, he would be too preoccupied to panic... but then again, that panic was surfacing for a reason. Once they did attack, he could not possibly fend them all off.
There was Merlin's voice again. "Arthur, brace yourself!" The king had no idea what he was supposed to be bracing himself for; clearly, Merlin was going to attempt something, but it would help to know what.
Suddenly, his view of the battle skewed. Blinked. He had a brief flash of-- it looked to be a room?-- and then he was clearly in the battle again.
And then, he was clearly in that room.
And, so was Guinevere.
And, whatever it was that she was wearing, it was amazing.
* * *
Gwen tossed back her third, very large glass of Chardonnay. While she was still something of a lightweight, the string of blind dates on which Morg had been setting her up the last few months was definitely upping her tolerance. The one tonight was the worst yet; he'd been hot and a good dancer, but assumed that meant she would automatically go to bed with him. The idea had occurred to her-- hence the new nightie which she was now wearing whilst reclining on her chaise longue-- but his expectant attitude quickly quashed it. Was it too much to ask from life to send one decent guy her way?
Due to the size of her wineglass and the fact that she'd already emptied it twice, it took her a minute to realize that there was a man standing near the doorway. A fairly big man. In... armor and clutching a sword?
Instantly jumping up and only vaguely aware of the wine sloshing onto her left foot, she demanded, "Who are you?"
"Gwen De Vere?" he asked, sounding both amazed and happy, and at least as drunk as she was (probably more so), the way he wove it into one word.
"You should know; you're in my flat," she pointed out, earning what seemed to be an odd look from him, although it was hard to tell with that helmet on. "Who are you?" she repeated, frowning. The poker was in its holder beside the fireplace; she began edging over, afraid to take her eyes off of him, not liking being unarmed.
It helped that he sheathed his sword, and she paused halfway to the fireplace. He also removed his helmet, revealing quite a good-looking blond man with bright, blue eyes, and full lips which she wouldn't mind having on-- "It's me, Arthur." Momentarily frustrated that he had interrupted her musing about what that mouth could do, she decided it was just as well when he started toward her.
Without thinking, she ordered, "Stop right there."
Looking incredibly confused, he did as told. "Where are we? What is this place?"
Gwen eyed him suspiciously, not trusting the lost-puppy act. "As I've already said, this is my flat. But, since you know who I am, I think you knew that, too. Now, tell me what you're doing here, before I call security." She had no way of doing that from here, but hoped he wasn't aware of that.
"Of course, I know who you are," he exclaimed. "What I do not know is why you are acting this way, or what you're talking about, or..." He let out a frustrated breath, running a gloved hand into his hair. "I do not know what's going on."
He was gazing about in a lost fashion now, and she asked carefully, "How'd you get in here?" Between the locks on her door and the security system she'd had installed not too long ago, he shouldn't have been able to.
"Merlin," he answered, as he stared at the telly in something akin to shock. While she was impressed by the CG in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, too, she didn't think it was that amazing. It was just that pirate with the wooden eye, and yeah, it was the scene where the fork was stuck in it and moving around, but still: CG. Neat, but not worth pointing at the screen with one's jaw hanging open, as though he was seeing a ghost.
"Merlin?" What was the name of that guy who owned the weird shop next to her office? The one that sold all that New Age-y stuff... Morg called him "Merls," but that was clearly a nickname; it had to be him. "What's he got to do with anything?" He seemed nice enough, always said hello in passing, but that didn't explain an armored Arthur or whatever his name really was, standing in her living room.
Instead of answering her question, when Arthur looked back at her, his eyes suddenly traveled her from head to foot in far too familiar a fashion. Heat deepened their blue hue, and a smile that made her stomach flutter curved those lips. "What are you wearing?" he asked, his tone making it clear that he liked it.
It also made something else clear. Letting out an infuriated growl, Gwen exclaimed, "You men are all the same, aren't you?" Marching none too steadily into her bedroom, she ripped the damned nightie off and jumped into the old sweats she'd dumped in her closet, belatedly glad that he hadn't tried to follow her as she huffed back into the living room.
He was still exactly where she'd left him, however, and she flung the stupid lingerie at his feet (she meant to hit his chest, but close enough). His eyebrows rose, and he bent to pick it up, his armor making metallic scraping noises as he did.
"If you like it so much, you can have it, but you can't have me," she snarled, wishing all the consonants hadn't run together like that. "Now, get out!"
"Gwen--" Suddenly, he flashed. Like, there one second, gone the next, and back again-- flashed. Her eyes wide, she blinked... and then, he was completely gone.
Awhile later, she finally stopped staring in shock at where he'd been standing. Where she thought he'd been standing.
Oh hell, she'd imagined the whole thing. Or dreamed it, or hallucinated...
Putting away the bottle of Chardonnay, Gwen decided to find another vice.
* * *
He was just about to try to determine why Guinevere was acting so strangely, why she did not seem to know him, when Arthur suddenly found himself standing in their chambers back in Camelot. The transition had been quicker this time than when he had been sent to that odd place, which was actually more jarring than having a moment to adjust.
But, it was all improved when Guinevere exclaimed, "Arthur!" from across the room and came running, hurling herself against him. Relieved that she seemed back to normal, he merely held her close, closing his eyes as he nuzzled her hair. "How did you get here? They said you disappeared from the battlefield..." She leaned back, worry weaving through the happiness in her expression.
"Merlin," he said simply, and she let out a small, sympathetic laugh. He smiled in return, but sobered as he asked, "The battle-- what happened?"
"Eadwig was soundly beaten by King Arthur's knights, of course," she replied, as if he should not have expected any less. Running a hand sweetly down his cheek, she pulled him down for a long kiss. When it finally drew to an end, she murmured, "I will have a bath drawn." As she stepped back, she glanced at his hand. "What's that?"
Following the line of her gaze with his own, he found that he was still holding that little, lacy, silky... thing, whatever it was, which she had been wearing in the strange place. "This? Is yours," he said slowly, holding it out with a small smile.
Pleasure and curiosity on her face, she accepted it and held it up-- and her mouth dropped open. "Mine, you say?"
He nodded, and the grin she gave him was so full of promise, he began to think about skipping the bath.
"Well, I shall have to wear it, in that case. After your bath," she qualified, shooting him a mischievous wink over her shoulder as she went out the door.
Arthur chuckled to himself as he began to remove his armor. Perhaps, he should encourage Merlin to try unreliable spells more often.
*
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Gwen, modern!Gwen, Merlin, Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot
Disclaimer: The show Merlin, its characters, and other specific things are property of the BBC and Shine. No affiliation is claimed, no infringement intended, no profit made.
Notes: For Round 5 of 4_evermore's Arthur/Gwen Last Author Standing. Theme: Back to the future. Prompt: Merlin the wizard accidentally sends King Arthur (who is in FULL BATTLE GEAR) to the present day. He ends up in Gwen De Vere's posh apartment. Of course Modern!Gwen has no idea who he is and thinks he's some kind of a pervert while on the other hand Arthur sees her as his wife Queen Guinevere Pendragon. Story MUST be set in the same era as Merlin is AND in Modern AU. The name "Gwen De Vere" is taken from Peter David's Knight Trilogy (Modern Arthur).
Arthur stared down at the army amassed in the valley, considering and dismissing a handful of battle plans in rapid succession.
"Sire, their advance position is too strong," Leon said reluctantly from just behind him. "We cannot possibly break it."
"No, we cannot," the king agreed. His eyes narrowed as he studied a group of the men below, and then a satisfied smile curved his lips. "That is why we are going to circumvent the advance. Look." Pointing to what he had noticed, he said, "Their right flank is weak. We hit them there, and it will upset the rest of their formation; focusing on that will distract them. While they face us there, the rest of our men will move in from the front, and we'll have them." And that bastard King Eadwig would understand that Camelot was no more open to defeat during Arthur's reign than it had been under his father.
Merlin shook his head nervously. "I can't transport us. That spell's still not very reliable."
"So, just how are we supposed to get over there?" Gwaine inquired.
Arthur's smile grew. "I trust that none of you object to crawling through a tunnel."
There was a brief silence behind him, and then Lancelot replied, "For the love of Camelot."
The answering "For the love of Camelot!" with which the rest of the knights chimed in ranged in degrees of excitement, but each one of them meant it. Arthur ignored Merlin's muttered, "I hate tunnels."
Turning his horse around, he moved back through his men, stopping to pass the orders along to his infantry commanders. Then, the knights followed his lead to a cave which only a handful of people even knew existed.
After a quarter of an hour spent wriggling through the passageway, Arthur emerged into the forest near Eadwig's right flank. Merlin popped out behind him, scowling but blessedly silent; and soon, the knights were all gathered nearby. Arthur gestured to indicate what the plan of attack was, and, weapons drawn, they moved.
Merlin went first, blasting several rows of men back into each other. As those who were not knocked down rushed toward him, the knights swept forward out of the trees, and the battle commenced. The presence of his allies limited Merlin's ability to use his skills in a widespread manner, but Arthur was pleased by how they had finally managed to work out a way for him to oversee things and direct a bit of magic as needed. And to think, not so very long ago, he distrusted the practice with every fiber of his being--
Ducking as a mace nearly caught him in the head, he wondered why Merlin had not seen to that particular attacker, bringing his sword up and across the man's torso. A glint at the corner of his vision alerted him to another attack just in time for him to block it, although the force of the blow nearly drove his own sword into his helmet. Trying to push the man away, Arthur finally brought a foot up and kicked him back, and then bashed the pommel of his sword into his opponent's nose guard when the idiot rushed at him again.
Two more soldiers replaced that one, and he easily turned their onslaughts against one another; then, there were three, and then five, and then--
"Arthur!" He heard Merlin's yell over the din of the battle, but was too busy trying to watch the eight men surrounding him to respond. Usually, a calm descended upon him during a fight, but right now, he was feeling panic start to nibble at the edges of his consciousness. If only they would do something, he would be too preoccupied to panic... but then again, that panic was surfacing for a reason. Once they did attack, he could not possibly fend them all off.
There was Merlin's voice again. "Arthur, brace yourself!" The king had no idea what he was supposed to be bracing himself for; clearly, Merlin was going to attempt something, but it would help to know what.
Suddenly, his view of the battle skewed. Blinked. He had a brief flash of-- it looked to be a room?-- and then he was clearly in the battle again.
And then, he was clearly in that room.
And, so was Guinevere.
And, whatever it was that she was wearing, it was amazing.
* * *
Gwen tossed back her third, very large glass of Chardonnay. While she was still something of a lightweight, the string of blind dates on which Morg had been setting her up the last few months was definitely upping her tolerance. The one tonight was the worst yet; he'd been hot and a good dancer, but assumed that meant she would automatically go to bed with him. The idea had occurred to her-- hence the new nightie which she was now wearing whilst reclining on her chaise longue-- but his expectant attitude quickly quashed it. Was it too much to ask from life to send one decent guy her way?
Due to the size of her wineglass and the fact that she'd already emptied it twice, it took her a minute to realize that there was a man standing near the doorway. A fairly big man. In... armor and clutching a sword?
Instantly jumping up and only vaguely aware of the wine sloshing onto her left foot, she demanded, "Who are you?"
"Gwen De Vere?" he asked, sounding both amazed and happy, and at least as drunk as she was (probably more so), the way he wove it into one word.
"You should know; you're in my flat," she pointed out, earning what seemed to be an odd look from him, although it was hard to tell with that helmet on. "Who are you?" she repeated, frowning. The poker was in its holder beside the fireplace; she began edging over, afraid to take her eyes off of him, not liking being unarmed.
It helped that he sheathed his sword, and she paused halfway to the fireplace. He also removed his helmet, revealing quite a good-looking blond man with bright, blue eyes, and full lips which she wouldn't mind having on-- "It's me, Arthur." Momentarily frustrated that he had interrupted her musing about what that mouth could do, she decided it was just as well when he started toward her.
Without thinking, she ordered, "Stop right there."
Looking incredibly confused, he did as told. "Where are we? What is this place?"
Gwen eyed him suspiciously, not trusting the lost-puppy act. "As I've already said, this is my flat. But, since you know who I am, I think you knew that, too. Now, tell me what you're doing here, before I call security." She had no way of doing that from here, but hoped he wasn't aware of that.
"Of course, I know who you are," he exclaimed. "What I do not know is why you are acting this way, or what you're talking about, or..." He let out a frustrated breath, running a gloved hand into his hair. "I do not know what's going on."
He was gazing about in a lost fashion now, and she asked carefully, "How'd you get in here?" Between the locks on her door and the security system she'd had installed not too long ago, he shouldn't have been able to.
"Merlin," he answered, as he stared at the telly in something akin to shock. While she was impressed by the CG in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, too, she didn't think it was that amazing. It was just that pirate with the wooden eye, and yeah, it was the scene where the fork was stuck in it and moving around, but still: CG. Neat, but not worth pointing at the screen with one's jaw hanging open, as though he was seeing a ghost.
"Merlin?" What was the name of that guy who owned the weird shop next to her office? The one that sold all that New Age-y stuff... Morg called him "Merls," but that was clearly a nickname; it had to be him. "What's he got to do with anything?" He seemed nice enough, always said hello in passing, but that didn't explain an armored Arthur or whatever his name really was, standing in her living room.
Instead of answering her question, when Arthur looked back at her, his eyes suddenly traveled her from head to foot in far too familiar a fashion. Heat deepened their blue hue, and a smile that made her stomach flutter curved those lips. "What are you wearing?" he asked, his tone making it clear that he liked it.
It also made something else clear. Letting out an infuriated growl, Gwen exclaimed, "You men are all the same, aren't you?" Marching none too steadily into her bedroom, she ripped the damned nightie off and jumped into the old sweats she'd dumped in her closet, belatedly glad that he hadn't tried to follow her as she huffed back into the living room.
He was still exactly where she'd left him, however, and she flung the stupid lingerie at his feet (she meant to hit his chest, but close enough). His eyebrows rose, and he bent to pick it up, his armor making metallic scraping noises as he did.
"If you like it so much, you can have it, but you can't have me," she snarled, wishing all the consonants hadn't run together like that. "Now, get out!"
"Gwen--" Suddenly, he flashed. Like, there one second, gone the next, and back again-- flashed. Her eyes wide, she blinked... and then, he was completely gone.
Awhile later, she finally stopped staring in shock at where he'd been standing. Where she thought he'd been standing.
Oh hell, she'd imagined the whole thing. Or dreamed it, or hallucinated...
Putting away the bottle of Chardonnay, Gwen decided to find another vice.
* * *
He was just about to try to determine why Guinevere was acting so strangely, why she did not seem to know him, when Arthur suddenly found himself standing in their chambers back in Camelot. The transition had been quicker this time than when he had been sent to that odd place, which was actually more jarring than having a moment to adjust.
But, it was all improved when Guinevere exclaimed, "Arthur!" from across the room and came running, hurling herself against him. Relieved that she seemed back to normal, he merely held her close, closing his eyes as he nuzzled her hair. "How did you get here? They said you disappeared from the battlefield..." She leaned back, worry weaving through the happiness in her expression.
"Merlin," he said simply, and she let out a small, sympathetic laugh. He smiled in return, but sobered as he asked, "The battle-- what happened?"
"Eadwig was soundly beaten by King Arthur's knights, of course," she replied, as if he should not have expected any less. Running a hand sweetly down his cheek, she pulled him down for a long kiss. When it finally drew to an end, she murmured, "I will have a bath drawn." As she stepped back, she glanced at his hand. "What's that?"
Following the line of her gaze with his own, he found that he was still holding that little, lacy, silky... thing, whatever it was, which she had been wearing in the strange place. "This? Is yours," he said slowly, holding it out with a small smile.
Pleasure and curiosity on her face, she accepted it and held it up-- and her mouth dropped open. "Mine, you say?"
He nodded, and the grin she gave him was so full of promise, he began to think about skipping the bath.
"Well, I shall have to wear it, in that case. After your bath," she qualified, shooting him a mischievous wink over her shoulder as she went out the door.
Arthur chuckled to himself as he began to remove his armor. Perhaps, he should encourage Merlin to try unreliable spells more often.
*