Long Time No See
Original post
Rating: PG
Pairing/s: Gaius/Alice
Character/s: Merlin, Gaius, Alice
Summary: Gaius and Alice have some catching up to do. Set during 3x09 before Merlin sees Alice with the mantichor.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 529
Prompt: impotent
Author's Note: This was one of the cutest canonical pairings (setting aside the whole "Alice being possessed by a mantichor and framing Gaius for poisoning the king" thing) and I'll defend that to my final breath!
"What happened in here?!" Merlin surveyed the wreckage in Gaius’s chambers: books and parchments scattered everywhere, tables overturned, glass vials shattered, various potions and ingredients decorating the flagstones. The only other time he'd seen the room in such a state was when the Witchfinder declared Gaius guilty of sorcery. He'd been trying to be nice, giving Gaius and Alice some time to themselves to talk after getting her settled in his room, but clearly he shouldn't have left. "Did someone accuse you of using magic?"
"No, no- nothing like that," Gaius assured him, straightening the collar of his robe as he made his way from the back of the room toward the door. "Everything's fine."
"It doesn't look fine!" Merlin countered. "How did it get like this?!"
Gaius took a good look around at the chaos, then exchanged glances with Alice as she joined them, fixing the ties on her dress. Their glances were not worried, nor concerned, nor guilty. They were… amused. Satisfied.
Merlin suddenly felt a little ill. "Oh… oh, no."
"We didn't expect you back so soon," Gaius said gently. His eyes met Alice's and he chuckled, which made Merlin's stomach lurch slightly.
"I was gone an hour," Merlin protested.
"I was gone twenty years," Alice said.
The elderly pair regarded Merlin with smiles. Merlin wished very much that a hideous beast would attack the citadel right about then.
No such creature was forthcoming. He bit back a groan. "I'm not cleaning this up."
"Oh, Merlin, surely you can't expect someone of our age to handle such a task?" Alice chided.
"You managed to handle other tasks well enough," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Gaius's question was sincere rather than offended, and despite his mixed feelings, Merlin was glad they hadn't heard.
With a sigh, he shook his head. "It's nothing."
"Well, I should get started on Uther's remedy," Gaius remarked, obviously wanting to change the subject.
Alice patted his arm. "Excellent idea. I'll go get a vial." As she turned, she amended, "I'll see if I can find one, that is."
Gaius thanked her and she went to pick through the collection of glass on the floor. Merlin moved closer to Gaius and in a low voice said, "Aren't you too old for this?"
"Love doesn't only favor the young." Gaius said as he looked over at Alice.
"No, I know that." Merlin hesitated, not really wanting to know anything more but also somewhat confused. "I mean, aren't you, you know… too old?"
Gaius tore his gaze away from Alice and turned it on his ward. Merlin tried to convey his meaning through his eyes, really not wanting to explain any further. Fortunately, Gaius picked up on his implication.
Unfortunately for Merlin, the query greatly amused Gaius, who let out a laugh. "Don't believe everything you hear about growing old, Merlin." He took a step toward Alice, paused, and added, "And don't underestimate a pair of healers trained in magic."
He laughed again and went to help Alice search for a medicine bottle.
Not for the first time in his life, Merlin wished he hadn't opened his mouth.
*
Rating: PG
Pairing/s: Gaius/Alice
Character/s: Merlin, Gaius, Alice
Summary: Gaius and Alice have some catching up to do. Set during 3x09 before Merlin sees Alice with the mantichor.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 529
Prompt: impotent
Author's Note: This was one of the cutest canonical pairings (setting aside the whole "Alice being possessed by a mantichor and framing Gaius for poisoning the king" thing) and I'll defend that to my final breath!
"What happened in here?!" Merlin surveyed the wreckage in Gaius’s chambers: books and parchments scattered everywhere, tables overturned, glass vials shattered, various potions and ingredients decorating the flagstones. The only other time he'd seen the room in such a state was when the Witchfinder declared Gaius guilty of sorcery. He'd been trying to be nice, giving Gaius and Alice some time to themselves to talk after getting her settled in his room, but clearly he shouldn't have left. "Did someone accuse you of using magic?"
"No, no- nothing like that," Gaius assured him, straightening the collar of his robe as he made his way from the back of the room toward the door. "Everything's fine."
"It doesn't look fine!" Merlin countered. "How did it get like this?!"
Gaius took a good look around at the chaos, then exchanged glances with Alice as she joined them, fixing the ties on her dress. Their glances were not worried, nor concerned, nor guilty. They were… amused. Satisfied.
Merlin suddenly felt a little ill. "Oh… oh, no."
"We didn't expect you back so soon," Gaius said gently. His eyes met Alice's and he chuckled, which made Merlin's stomach lurch slightly.
"I was gone an hour," Merlin protested.
"I was gone twenty years," Alice said.
The elderly pair regarded Merlin with smiles. Merlin wished very much that a hideous beast would attack the citadel right about then.
No such creature was forthcoming. He bit back a groan. "I'm not cleaning this up."
"Oh, Merlin, surely you can't expect someone of our age to handle such a task?" Alice chided.
"You managed to handle other tasks well enough," he muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Gaius's question was sincere rather than offended, and despite his mixed feelings, Merlin was glad they hadn't heard.
With a sigh, he shook his head. "It's nothing."
"Well, I should get started on Uther's remedy," Gaius remarked, obviously wanting to change the subject.
Alice patted his arm. "Excellent idea. I'll go get a vial." As she turned, she amended, "I'll see if I can find one, that is."
Gaius thanked her and she went to pick through the collection of glass on the floor. Merlin moved closer to Gaius and in a low voice said, "Aren't you too old for this?"
"Love doesn't only favor the young." Gaius said as he looked over at Alice.
"No, I know that." Merlin hesitated, not really wanting to know anything more but also somewhat confused. "I mean, aren't you, you know… too old?"
Gaius tore his gaze away from Alice and turned it on his ward. Merlin tried to convey his meaning through his eyes, really not wanting to explain any further. Fortunately, Gaius picked up on his implication.
Unfortunately for Merlin, the query greatly amused Gaius, who let out a laugh. "Don't believe everything you hear about growing old, Merlin." He took a step toward Alice, paused, and added, "And don't underestimate a pair of healers trained in magic."
He laughed again and went to help Alice search for a medicine bottle.
Not for the first time in his life, Merlin wished he hadn't opened his mouth.
*