A Minor Detour, Part 5
Author: alx_diamond
Title: A Minor Detour, Part 5
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: pre-Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Gwaine
Summary: Now he was out of ideas, out of options, and it seemed like an appropriate time to panic.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 485
Prompt: #216: Distractions
Author's Notes: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 || All Parts on AO3
“Arthur!” Merlin yelled again, but the ill-fitting metal doors were closed and his captain-his friend-was chained on the other side while his bare arse was being dragged to an airlock by two brutes as their smirking boss followed along behind.
Merlin usually tried not to panic. Yes, he’d rant when Arthur got them into stupid and unnecessary danger, and sometimes his plans to get them out of it were more flustered guesses than actual tactical decisions (which may have been how he and Arthur ended up chained naked in Gwaine’s ship to begin with), but he knew he could usually work something out.
Now he was out of ideas, out of options, and it seemed like an appropriate time to panic.
He renewed his struggles, catching his captors off-guard just enough that he was able to break one arm free from their grasp. Seizing what was probably his only chance, he twisted to grab at one of their blasters, but another hand beat him to it: Gwaine, whom he’d lost track of in the scuffle.
Merlin froze as the business end of the blaster dug bruisingly into the underside of his jaw. He couldn’t swallow past the pressure of against his throat, could barely even breathe, as Gwaine looked him over with that infuriating crooked smile still in place.
“Calm down,” the scavenger told him lightly, like he hadn’t just shortened his lifespan however long it would have taken them to get the the airlock.
“Yes, sorry, do forgive me for trying not to get murdered,” Merlin snapped back.
Gwaine, the insufferable git, just laughed. “Okay, fair enough. Look, I promise no one’s going to be getting murdered. That”-he moved the weapon away from Merlin’s jaw and used it to gesture back at the cargo hold doors-“was just a little drama for Princess Pendragon’s sake. If you agree to my proposal, it’ll make things easier for him to think you’re dead. If not?” He shrugged. “I’ll let him ransom you when he gets back to daddy’s ship.”
“Whatever you’re planning, having Arthur think you killed me won’t make it easier.”
“Yeah,” said Gwaine, a speculative expression overtaking his face as he looked again at Merlin. “I’m starting to get the idea that he’s not quite as close to a replicated copy of the Admiral as Uther wants everyone to believe.”
Merlin wondered at Gwaine’s apparent familiarity with Uther and Camelot’s propaganda, but before his thoughts could get far, Gwaine’s contemplative look fell back into an easy grin as he said, “But either way, I think we can all agree that you’re underappreciated on the Albion. So, how would you like a new job?”
Merlin gaped at him, then at the two nameless scavenger crewmen who didn’t seem the least bit fazed by the unexpected offer.
Then all four of them fell over as a loud explosion shook the ship.
Title: A Minor Detour, Part 5
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: pre-Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Gwaine
Summary: Now he was out of ideas, out of options, and it seemed like an appropriate time to panic.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 485
Prompt: #216: Distractions
Author's Notes: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 || All Parts on AO3
“Arthur!” Merlin yelled again, but the ill-fitting metal doors were closed and his captain-his friend-was chained on the other side while his bare arse was being dragged to an airlock by two brutes as their smirking boss followed along behind.
Merlin usually tried not to panic. Yes, he’d rant when Arthur got them into stupid and unnecessary danger, and sometimes his plans to get them out of it were more flustered guesses than actual tactical decisions (which may have been how he and Arthur ended up chained naked in Gwaine’s ship to begin with), but he knew he could usually work something out.
Now he was out of ideas, out of options, and it seemed like an appropriate time to panic.
He renewed his struggles, catching his captors off-guard just enough that he was able to break one arm free from their grasp. Seizing what was probably his only chance, he twisted to grab at one of their blasters, but another hand beat him to it: Gwaine, whom he’d lost track of in the scuffle.
Merlin froze as the business end of the blaster dug bruisingly into the underside of his jaw. He couldn’t swallow past the pressure of against his throat, could barely even breathe, as Gwaine looked him over with that infuriating crooked smile still in place.
“Calm down,” the scavenger told him lightly, like he hadn’t just shortened his lifespan however long it would have taken them to get the the airlock.
“Yes, sorry, do forgive me for trying not to get murdered,” Merlin snapped back.
Gwaine, the insufferable git, just laughed. “Okay, fair enough. Look, I promise no one’s going to be getting murdered. That”-he moved the weapon away from Merlin’s jaw and used it to gesture back at the cargo hold doors-“was just a little drama for Princess Pendragon’s sake. If you agree to my proposal, it’ll make things easier for him to think you’re dead. If not?” He shrugged. “I’ll let him ransom you when he gets back to daddy’s ship.”
“Whatever you’re planning, having Arthur think you killed me won’t make it easier.”
“Yeah,” said Gwaine, a speculative expression overtaking his face as he looked again at Merlin. “I’m starting to get the idea that he’s not quite as close to a replicated copy of the Admiral as Uther wants everyone to believe.”
Merlin wondered at Gwaine’s apparent familiarity with Uther and Camelot’s propaganda, but before his thoughts could get far, Gwaine’s contemplative look fell back into an easy grin as he said, “But either way, I think we can all agree that you’re underappreciated on the Albion. So, how would you like a new job?”
Merlin gaped at him, then at the two nameless scavenger crewmen who didn’t seem the least bit fazed by the unexpected offer.
Then all four of them fell over as a loud explosion shook the ship.