Sir Elyan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
runaway_smith) wrote2011-11-09 12:07 am
runaway_smith) wrote2011-11-09 12:07 am
Entry tags:
FIC: A Quest for Meaning (GEM: Elyan/Percival)
Elyan grows stronger every day, until he can keep his eyes open for an hour at a time and Gaius decrees he can have visitors who aren't Percival or his sister.
When Lancelot is sitting across from him, catching him up to everything that's happened in Camelot for the past week, Elyan realises that there's one knight who seems conspicuously absent from these tales. And who hasn't visited him. Elyan is suddenly seized by the terrible thought that Gwaine might be...gone.
Lancelot hurries to reassure him, but he can't quite meet Elyan's eye. "He's on an expedition to the North. He's expected after harvest."
"Harvest?" That's over a month away. Elyan frowns, struggling to process the information in his weakened state. Why did Gwaine leave in such a hurry? Elyan knows he's a wanderer, but he thought...well, he thought Gwaine would be there for him. Even if it were just to bring him ale and make jokes about Gaius' potions. It seems that, as hard as he's tried to keep his distance from Gwaine, he's come to expect something from him after all. And now he's been disappointed.
Lancelot leaves him soon after and Elyan, during his brief waking hours, has a lot of time to think. Gaius tells him he's fortunate to be alive and Elyan knows it, feels it in the way that even sitting up in bed is an effort. Gwen fusses, like a sister should, but Percival stays for reasons that Elyan just can't fathom. But he also doesn't want to question it, likes the comforting silence of his friend by his side, the reassurance when he wakes that someone is there who cares for him. Who hasn't left and won't leave until Elyan is ready.
His recovery is slow, but after two weeks, Gaius lets him move to his own chambers. Percival carries him up the back stairs after dark, to avoid public scrutiny, and Elyan settles into the warm embrace like it was made for him. He's never before appreciated how gentle Percival is with his strength - whether it's young children in need of rescue or a wounded knight of Camelot, Percival is the one with the biggest heart.
When Elyan's settled in his bed, he clutches at Percival's sleeve. "Don't go," he says, and Percival sheds his clothes and climbs into Elyan's bed. He puts his arm around Elyan, drawing him close, and Elyan doesn't ever remember feeling so protected, so important to somebody.
His strength returns in fits and starts - one day's stroll down the corridor is the next's weary trek to the chair. His appetite is poor, but his muscles are wasted and he acquiesces to Percival's gentle chiding to eat. Soon, Gaius says, he can talk a walk in the grounds and he will be back to full training before year's end. To Elyan, that seems like a painfully long time to be without a sword in his hand, but, from the relieved looks of his friends, he can tell it was far earlier than they anticipated. He is reminded yet again of how severe his injury was - and how he has Merlin to thank for being alive today.
Though Percival has returned to his training duties, he still finds time to visit Elyan throughout the day. It's during one such visit, when Gwen has retired for the night and his chambers are hushed and peaceful, that Elyan realises that he's been searching for something missing in his life. His brush with death has taught him that his existence is fleeting and he doesn't have time to waste on dalliances that lead nowhere. He wants a relationship that's meaningful, with someone who genuinely cares for him.
Elyan reaches for Percival and kisses him.
When Lancelot is sitting across from him, catching him up to everything that's happened in Camelot for the past week, Elyan realises that there's one knight who seems conspicuously absent from these tales. And who hasn't visited him. Elyan is suddenly seized by the terrible thought that Gwaine might be...gone.
Lancelot hurries to reassure him, but he can't quite meet Elyan's eye. "He's on an expedition to the North. He's expected after harvest."
"Harvest?" That's over a month away. Elyan frowns, struggling to process the information in his weakened state. Why did Gwaine leave in such a hurry? Elyan knows he's a wanderer, but he thought...well, he thought Gwaine would be there for him. Even if it were just to bring him ale and make jokes about Gaius' potions. It seems that, as hard as he's tried to keep his distance from Gwaine, he's come to expect something from him after all. And now he's been disappointed.
Lancelot leaves him soon after and Elyan, during his brief waking hours, has a lot of time to think. Gaius tells him he's fortunate to be alive and Elyan knows it, feels it in the way that even sitting up in bed is an effort. Gwen fusses, like a sister should, but Percival stays for reasons that Elyan just can't fathom. But he also doesn't want to question it, likes the comforting silence of his friend by his side, the reassurance when he wakes that someone is there who cares for him. Who hasn't left and won't leave until Elyan is ready.
His recovery is slow, but after two weeks, Gaius lets him move to his own chambers. Percival carries him up the back stairs after dark, to avoid public scrutiny, and Elyan settles into the warm embrace like it was made for him. He's never before appreciated how gentle Percival is with his strength - whether it's young children in need of rescue or a wounded knight of Camelot, Percival is the one with the biggest heart.
When Elyan's settled in his bed, he clutches at Percival's sleeve. "Don't go," he says, and Percival sheds his clothes and climbs into Elyan's bed. He puts his arm around Elyan, drawing him close, and Elyan doesn't ever remember feeling so protected, so important to somebody.
His strength returns in fits and starts - one day's stroll down the corridor is the next's weary trek to the chair. His appetite is poor, but his muscles are wasted and he acquiesces to Percival's gentle chiding to eat. Soon, Gaius says, he can talk a walk in the grounds and he will be back to full training before year's end. To Elyan, that seems like a painfully long time to be without a sword in his hand, but, from the relieved looks of his friends, he can tell it was far earlier than they anticipated. He is reminded yet again of how severe his injury was - and how he has Merlin to thank for being alive today.
Though Percival has returned to his training duties, he still finds time to visit Elyan throughout the day. It's during one such visit, when Gwen has retired for the night and his chambers are hushed and peaceful, that Elyan realises that he's been searching for something missing in his life. His brush with death has taught him that his existence is fleeting and he doesn't have time to waste on dalliances that lead nowhere. He wants a relationship that's meaningful, with someone who genuinely cares for him.
Elyan reaches for Percival and kisses him.