Head High

[shadowspun.livejournal.com]

Author: shadowspun
Title: Head High
Rating: G
Characters: Gwaine, Merlin, Gwen, Arthur
Summary: Gwaine has to face office gossip.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 373
Prompt: Gossip

Generally, when Gwaine walked into the break room, he was welcomed with cheerful hellos and smiles.  After all, he was one of the few people around here that always knew what was going on. Today was different.  He strode directly to the coffeemaker, ignoring both the hush that fell over the room when he walked in and the leaden feeling in stomach. 

He knew what the topic of conversation was.  He had two choices. He could ignore the gossip and just go on with his day as if it were normal, or he could face it head-on and brazen it out.

Gwaine picked up the cup of coffee he had absolutely no intention of drinking and sauntered over to the table with Merlin and Gwen.  “Mind?”

Merlin gave him a tiny smile as Gwen pulled the chair next to her out.  He settled back in the surprisingly comfortable break room chair and closed his eyes briefly.  He wasn’t afraid of either of them seeing him in a moment of weakness given the fact that he’d stayed at their flat last night.

“You alright, Gwaine?”  Gwen patted his knee under the table.

He grinned in response, a charming smile that fooled everyone but his closest friends.  “Absolutely.”

Merlin opened his mouth to say something but paused, his eyes drifting over Gwaine’s shoulder.  Gwaine knew what he’d see there. Gwaine always knew when he was in the room. “Arthur,” he said casually, not even looking behind him.

“Gwaine, if you could join me, I’d like to have a word with you.”  His voice was tight, as if he could barely control his fight-or-flight response.  Given that Gwaine knew Arthur loathed being talked about, he was impressed by the amount of chutzpah it took him to corner Gwaine here.

“Arthur, maybe-”  Merlin shut up when he caught Gwaine’s quick headshake.  No, Gwaine and Arthur needed to have this talk.

Gwaine turned his head and nodded, “Sure, Arthur.”  He picked up the coffee and handed it to Arthur as he passed by him.  He’d realized halfway through making it that he’d made it just the way his husband liked.  One of them ought to drink it while they figured out if they were going to stay together.