concoursec | (no subject)

Character(s): Gwen & Arthur Pendragon
Location: Gwen's dorm
Rating: PG most likely.
Open/Closed/Finished: Closed
Summary: Gwen and Arthur have finally decided to discuss the unfortunate timeline issues plaguing them.

The prospect of this meeting made Guinevere anxious. Over the course of the past week notes and messages had been exchanged back and forth between her and Arthur through Merlin to arrange their rendezvous. She felt bad to do this to him, though it seemed neither she nor Arthur had worked up enough courage to see one another face to face just yet, and Merlin obliged happily each time (for her, at least). She tried not to worry too much about it, but she made a note to herself to thank Merlin once things had settled a bit.

Meeting in Gwen's dorm made the most sense. For the time being she had a double room to herself and aside from the sewing patterns and fabric spread out on the table, she had to do very little tidying to make it presentable. Even after spend time on that, however, she found herself pacing and fidgeting in anticipation of the knock on her door.

There were a wealth of things that she wanted to say when she first arrived, but Merlin dropped a number of details on her that simply left her confused. There was no way she and Arthur could go on avoiding one another. Hopefully their meeting would sort all of the awkwardness between them out once and for all.

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He'd been putting it off, really. Arthur had decided (after speaking to Merlin) that he did need to speak to her again, but as for when... well. Somehow this had turned into sending notes back and forth via Merlin rather than going to her himself, which he had to admit felt pretty cowardly, but he was afraid of making things worse by barging into conversing with her without a plan.

And so it finally came to the moment where he was standing outside her door, hesitating for a few moments while he gathered his thoughts. He had to tell her the truth, and let the stones fall where they may. When he was ready, he gave the door a few quick raps.

"Gwen?"

To Guinevere this seemed appropriately different from how she would normally handle these situations. Proper noble courting seemed to be more about glances from a distance and the many things left unsaid and placed on paper notes than stolen kisses and holding hands like she'd done a few times when she was much younger. This was all knowledge observed from watching Morgana handle suitors, of course, and perhaps there was a reason she still hadn't been married...

She jumped a bit at the sound of the knock on the door, and took a breath and fixed her curls a bit before approaching the door. She'd never get used to the strange, metallic, mechanized thing, but it opened easily enough each time despite her misgivings. She held her head up high, and gave him as warm a smile as she could muster through her nerves.

"Arthur, hello," she said, punctuated with a long pause. She blinked and moved to the side of the door, a bit flustered when she realized her hesitation. "I'm so sorry, please come in. Don't mind the mess, I've been sewing to keep myself occupied during the break. Not used to so much downtime."

How could talking to someone you've known for so long be so difficult, she wondered.

To his credit, Arthur managed to at least maintain a relaxed air, though his stomach was unpleasantly full of butterflies when he saw her. He nodded quickly to her invitation and entered, lingering about the middle of the room and looking around.

"It's fine. I know the feeling, myself."

It wasn't easy, suddenly being stripped of the responsibilities of a king. He could worry about his people, but he could do nothing for them here. But that wasn't what he needed to be focusing on right now. He took a deep breath and held it for a second before letting it go.

"I should get straight to the point. There is something- a number of things, that I need to tell you. As long as we both share this situation, you have the right to know... what I know, about your future."

There was a fleeting moment where Gwen thought asking him to sit and making the whole thing more comfortable for both of them made sense. Then he started speaking and all of her other thoughts went by the wayside.

There was that phrase again, your future. When Merlin had relayed the details of what her relationship would become with Arthur, she questioned whether it was really her. How could someone else whose lived so much more life than her really be the same person? This is where her conundrum over what to do about Arthur became that much more complicated.

"I— I know. I mean, I think I know. Merlin said things between us were different," she said, attempting not to get Merlin in too much trouble, but she still watched Arthur attentively. Perhaps she'd feel differently hearing it from him.

Arthur had been avoiding looking directly at Gwen, but now he focused on her, suddenly wondering just how much Merlin had said to her.

"Did he now?" Despite how much he wanted to ask what he'd told her, he bit back the question; Merlin's notoriously loose tongue wasn't the point, and he didn't want to let himself wander into a different subject over it.

"Well, regardless of what he told you. There is one particular thing you most certainly have a right to know."

He paused, but forced himself to continue before he could overthink it any more than he already had.

"When I was taken from Camelot, it was on the day of our wedding."

Merlin meant well, Gwen knows that much, and if anything it softened the blow of all this. She can only hope Arthur wont be too upset when he sees him next.

Hearing it from Arthur didn't make it any less confusing. Neither of them could surely be expected to go on with life the way they had back in their respective times. Things change, people grow up, past loves are forgotten. She could still feel the sting of Lancelot's departure, still see the hurt on Arthur's face when he put everything together, still hear the petty things he said.

"Arthur..." she started, taking a step closer to him while she tried to find the right words to fill the silence. A moment passed, thought it felt like an eternity, and she dropped her gaze down to the floor, a small smile forming on her lips. "They must all think you're daft, making a noble of a maid."

He couldn't help it, he laughed, in a short burst. If only she knew... she could know all that happened in the time between, if she wanted to. But he couldn't just say 'I banished you,' not without starting from the beginning. But that aside, while her reaction wasn't entirely telling, it wasn't an outright rejection. That was a small relief.

"The people seemed pleased enough. Your brother had no objections, at the very least."

"...Elyan was there?" This was a bit of a shock; she hadn't seen or heard Elyan in years.... well before Merlin came to Camelot. "Is he well? Has he settled down?...I feel as though these are all things I shouldn't be learning."

The doubt flooded back to her, making the smile fade from her face. She raised her eyes back to his and bit the inside of her lip as she thought of how best to voice her concerns. It was a delicate matter for him, she could tell how seriously he'd taken all of this, and she didn't want to hurt him because she said the wrong thing.

"...So much is different. I must be different as well."

Oh, right. For her, the rescue of her brother hadn't happened yet.

"This is the sort of thing I'm talking about. We may have come from... different points in time, but right now, we are sharing one. You are entitled to learn what I know, as entitled as I am to have the knowledge. You-" He cut off, haltingly finishing the sentence. "...Will be my wife, one day. If you so wish it."

He'd been trying to avoid wording it that way, but it was too late to take it back now.

"Gwen... I will not deny that much has changed since your time. But you have always had a good heart. That will never change."

Knowing her future was strange...but he must know much more about her now than she could imagine, especially if they're wed. But looking in his eyes then, him speaking to her so gently and recalling that embrace from her first day—it helped melt some of the doubt.

"It's not what I thought would come to pass when you kissed me the first time...But in a way I think I hoped for it from the start."

She romanticized the idea of him ignoring his father's wishes for a moment. It was silly, thinking of being Queen consort when you scrub floors for a living. All of that got tossed away when he let her down for the sake of Uther.

"This must have been hard for you. I was confused and scared when I arrived. I'm so sorry." She bridged the gap between them, wrapping her arms around him in a warm, gentle hug. Perhaps it wasn't as intimate as the one he gave her before, but she felt the need to return the gesture.

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sorry this is so late!!! /sob

no worries~

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