What They Were - Merlin fic
All right, I have another fic. This was written for
miniminkie and her Gaius ficfest. It doesn't quite fit the prompt of Gaius/Gwen fluff, but hey, it's got Gaius. It's got Gwen. And it's got implied angsty love. Where can I go wrong?
Title: What They Were
Rating: PG
Pairing: implied Gaius/Gwen
Length: approx. 260
Warnings: May/December romance (if you’re squicked by that)
Summary: No one asked about Gwen and Gaius’s relationship. No one would’ve believed the answer.
No one dared to wonder what was between Gaius and Gwen.
Had you asked Gwen, she’d have insisted that Gaius was a good man, and would talk at length about his many virtues, and would probably forget the question by the end. However, she maintained that their relationship was merely that of a law-abiding old man and a proper young lady.
But no one asked her.
Had you asked Gaius, he would get flustered and insist that it was the stupidest question he’d ever heard. Yes, he had consoled her after the death of her mother. A young girl, sobbing over the loss of her mother and unborn sister, needed someone to comfort her, and Gaius had been there. And they were still on very good terms. But that, he would say, was it.
But no one asked him, either.
Gwen, who had become a woman almost overnight, with very few friends, and no suitors, enjoyed Gaius’s company. And Gaius, who had never been married and had never had any children of his own, looked upon Gwen like a surrogate daughter.
That was all.
But, on the other hand, there was so much more.
The way that they worried over Merlin together. The despair that Gwen had felt at his leaving, and his regret that he would have to leave her. Their joy at his return.
They were more than father and daughter, casual acquaintances. And they both knew it.
What they were was tucked into a secret place in their minds, and the question would never be asked again. Not by them. Not by anyone.