It’s odd, he thinks, trying to navigate the winter-cold halls toward Gaius room, how the people he sees standing in expressionless attention behind their masters can be so different in the privacy of their rooms. Perhaps something to do with growing up in service, or the years of practice he’s never had serving in the court. He knows they resent him sometimes, for taking a position that should have gone to one of them; apparently, serving a prince is something to be envied. He hadn’t known that.
It’s a secret world there, warmer than the formalities of court, and he’s glad he could go tonight. They might never be friends, but at least they now accept him, and sometimes, he imagines that one day that might be enough.
It takes him three tries to acknowledge he can’t find his key, and ten minutes of knocking before he acknowledges that Gaius’ warning he remember his key or spend the night outside was in earnest. Frowning, Merlin wraps his arms around himself, trying to work out a spell that opens doors and then remembers how the bodice of someone’s dress had come open in his hands and has to take a moment to breathe.
Right, so that’s not going to work.
Author’s Summary: Arthur’s biggest problem to date, Merlin thinks darkly as he carries yet another load of suspiciously not-really-dirty clothing down the stairs, is an unaccountable fear of anyone, anywhere, suspecting he’s capable of being other than a complete and utter prat.
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Lorne has a surreal moment of feeling like a carpool mom with a minivan, if the neighborhood kids were heavily armed and trained to kill. He’s still grinning to himself as he steers into the jumper bay.
The grin vanishes instantly when they touch down and he sees David waiting near the door, strangely pale and rocking nervously on his heels.
The Marines collect their gear and pile out, and Lorne calls, “Hey, Dr. Parrish. Be with you in a second,” in a carefully offhand tone. He busies himself checking ammunition boxes and making sure they’ve all cleared their weapons, and he doesn’t look at David again until the last lance corporal departs for the armory.
The instant the door shuts he’s across the bay in a handful of quick strides, already scanning David’s face for a clue. Something is seriously wrong for David to search him out during the day when they don’t have a work pretext. “What? What the hell is it?”
“Colonel Sheppard knows,” David says helplessly. “Nick, he knows everything.”
[ Unsingable Name ]