Gwaine walked slowly through Camelot toward the tavern. All the knights had just gone there after a morning of training, except him, but Arthur needed them for a patrol since the other knights who were going to patrol that day were helping with new trainees instead. Gwaine hadn't been to the tavern since before the mission to The Isle of the Blessed.
---------------
Lancelot sat next to Gwaine on a stool in The Rising Sun. They had both only been there for a few minutes and were busy discussing ways to tell the others about their relationship.
"Well, we could just-" Lancelot stopped mid-sentence, jumping and letting out a small gasp. Gwaine was about to ask what was wrong, when a big ugly man, whose breath gave away that he'd been drinking far too much, leaned down next to Lancelot's face and whispered something in his ear. Lancelot's expression was a mix of shock and disgust. Gwaine frowned and was about to speak when he noticed what must've made Lancelot jump before. This man's hand was on his waist.
Gwaine made a sound that could only be described as a growl when the man tried to pull Lancelot off the stool. Lancelot tried to pull away but the man seemed completely oblivious. Either that or he just didn't care. Lancelot shot Gwaine a panicked look once he'd been pulled completely off the stool. If he'd been trying to avoid making a scene, it wasn't going to work. That look was all Gwaine needed. He jumped up from his own stool and grabbed onto the man's shoulder, making sure to dig his nails into the flesh and growled out, "Don't touch him."
The man looked at Gwaine, shocked, and stumbled back a bit, his grip on Lancelot's waist loosening just enough for the knight to slip away from him and stand by Gwaine. The surprised expression morphed into rage and Gwaine pushed Lancelot back as the man lunged at the pair. It didn't take long before all hell broke loose and everyone in the tavern was wrestling, shouting and throwing things at each other. For once, Gwaine wasn't enoying the excitement. He'd managed to take down the man, but in the chaos he'd lost Lancelot. He darted between the fighting people, some angry, some laughing, but none of them who he was looking for. Finally, near the doorway, he saw a scrawny man fall back and there was Lancelot, looking desperately around the huge room. Gwaine dashed over to him calling out, "Lance!" A look of relief washed over Lancelot's face when Gwaine was with him again. "Wanna get out of here?" Gwaine asked, hoping Lancelot could hear him over all the yells and crashes behind him. Lancelot just nodded and Gwaine grabbed his hand, pulling him outside.
The two walked together through the city, hand in hand. They weren't going back to the castle yet, they wanted to spend the night together, so they'd settled for walking around the city, maybe the forest. "Thanks," Lancelot said after a while, breaking the silence. Gwaine looked over at him. "What for?" He asked.
"For getting me away from that man."
"As if I'd let him just waltz up and take you, we were in the middle of a conversation," Gwaine said, purposefully not mentioning how enraged the man's actions had made him feel.
"So that was the only reason? He interrupted our conversation?" Lancelot asked sarcastically, knowing that wasn't why Gwaine had helped him.
'Of course he can tell what I'm thinking,' Gwaine thought to himself.
"Well, that was one reason," Gwaine said simply.
Lancelot smiled and laced his and Gwaine's fingers together as they entered the forest. They walked together for a while in comfortable silence before they arrived in a small clearing. Without a word, they walked over to the lake at the edge of the clearing and sat together on the grass, leaning on each other and one of the massive trees that surrounded the area. Lancelot kissed Gwaine softly on his cheek and nuzzled his face into the crook of the other knight's neck. Gwaine smiled and looked at Lancelot lovingly, wrapping an arm around him and rested his cheek in his knight's hair.
---------------
Gwaine stood at the door of The Rising Sun, unable to make himself go inside. Fortunately for him, Leon walked out of the building, almost walking straight into Gwaine. "Oh, Gwaine! Sorry, I didn't see you there, I was actually just coming to find you," Leon said, feeling extremely concerned when he noticed how miserable Gwaine looked.
"Arthur needs all the knights for a patrol," he said, struggling to make sure he didn't have a breakdown at that very second.
Leon nodded, looking at Gwaine with what could've been pity.
"We'll meet you there," Leon said and, after resting a hand heavily on Gwaine's shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring, walked back into the tavern to find the other knights who, hopefully, hadn't drunk too much. Gwaine walked quickly back to the castle. Everything reminded him of Lancelot and there was no way to stop it. Leon had seen him almost in tears but he would have no idea why. Gwaine didn't want pity from his friends anyway, he wanted Lancelot back. He'd understand. He always understood. But now he was gone and Gwaine was alone, wishing over and over that Lancelot would just appear and they could be together again.
