vix_spes

It was no secret that Sir Gwaine liked apples.

It was perfectly normal to see him walking around Camelot, apple in hand and some of the servants had said he even ate them in meetings with the King. Then again, the same servants claimed that they had heard the knight calling the king 'princess' so who knew if they were telling the truth. What they did know, was that no matter what other fruit the kitchens made available, Sir Gwaine would always choose one of the apples.

Merlin had asked him about it once, if there was a reason that he favoured the fruit so much. Given that it was Gwaine, he hadn’t really expected a profound answer and he had been exactly right. Apples had simply been one of the easiest foods for Gwaine to get hold of when he had no money and was wandering the countryside; he could pick apples out of the orchards and, over time, he’d simply developed a fancy for them. Now, as a Knight of Camelot, he could have as many apples as he wanted, whenever he wanted them. Well, as long as he hadn’t annoyed the cooks too much.

The thing was that Gwaine was always annoying the cooks. If he wasn't coming up with elaborate scams to steal food simply because he was bored (and conscripting other knights into his mischief) then he was flirting with the kitchen maids and the pages that were responsible for serving the food, thus making them late for their duties. Taking all of this into account, as well as the fact that last time the head cook had run him out of the kitchen threatening to disembowel him with her ladle if she saw him in her kitchen again and she didn't care if he was a knight, he was more than a little confused when a never-ending succession of apple-based desserts started to show up, not just in the Great Hall when all of Camelot ate together but also in the small hall where Arthur often ate with just his knights, Merlin and Gwen.

While it was well-known that Gwaine liked apples, it was not so well-known that he liked the fruit in just about any form. There was nothing quite like the satisfying crunch of fresh apple but, even so, he was rather fond of apples baked in a myriad of pastry forms. In fact, rather fond of was a bit of an understatement. It was a good job that he’d never had regular access to them in the past as he would have been the size of a castle. He’d also have had far more close shaves than he had. The problem was, Gwaine couldn't remember mentioning this little titbit of information to anyone - although it was entirely possible that he'd made an off the cuff remark at some point - so their sudden appearance was a little confusing. That didn't mean that he turned them down. Why would he do that? Besides, he’d work harder in training the following day. Maybe.

There was a brief moment of hesitation as he debated the possibility of them being poisoned somehow before deciding that his love of apple baked goods was greater than his fear of being poisoned. Besides, what was the likelihood that somebody was going to poison him when they had the opportunity to get either Arthur or Merlin? He’d been (mostly) behaving recently so there were no irate nobility that could complain about his actions towards their wives/husbands/sons/daughters although that was more down to the fact that Gwaine was trying to make himself more appealing to a certain First Knight of Camelot than there being no opportunity. Regardless of the reasons, he felt safe enough to indulge. Considering that he closed his eyes in bliss and moaned in ecstasy with every bite - much to the discomfort of everyone else present - he felt like he had made the right decision. In any case, this was hardly going to become a recurring situation…

Three weeks later, Gwaine had to take back his words. It had most definitely become a recurring situation. The apple desserts didn’t turn up at every single meal but they were there at least three times a week and always placed within easy reach of Gwaine’s place at the table. He had started to get a little suspicious but, when he continued eating them and suffered no side effects that would suggest they were poisoned, his suspicions dissipated. Even so, his curiosity had been aroused. Just who was responsible for all of this? Why was someone doing this? Gwaine was determined to find out. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to get too far. He’d tried everything that he could think of; skulking around the corridors in hope of a bit of gossip, flirting with kitchen maids and pages in an attempt for information, trying to bribe said kitchen maids and pages when flirting didn’t work. None of it worked. And then he’d been sent off for several weeks on a mission for Arthur.

When he returned, after nearly three weeks in the frozen climes of Ismere, tired, hungry and feeling almost permanently cold, all he wanted was some food and to crawl into the warmth of his own bed for the next few days. What he hadn’t expected to find was Sir Leon stood outside his door speaking to one of the maids who carried a tray of food in her hands. Moving as quietly as he could in his armour and making sure that he wasn’t seen, Gwaine moved closer so that he could hear what was being said and what he heard made him stop in shock.

“And you’ve brought that apple thing that Sir Gwaine likes so much?”

“Yes, Sir Leon. Cook made some especially, although she did have some difficulty trying to work out which one you meant.”

“Thank you, you can leave it with me.”

Gwaine waited until the maid had disappeared from the other end of the corridor before he stepped out from his hiding spot, moving towards where Leon was fussing with the tray of food. "It's been you all this time? You're the one responsible?"

“Gwaine! I wasn’t expecting … I thought you’d still be in the armoury.”

Leon had flushed and Gwaine had found himself overcome with the sudden urge to see just how far that flush went. He’d thought the other knight gorgeous from the minute that he’d set eyes on him but Leon seemed so straightlaced and earnest that Gwaine didn’t want to mess things up; he’d rather enjoyed having friends and feeling like he belonged in Camelot. Still, if all of this had been Leon’s doing and he had taken the first step then Gwaine at least owed it to him to give it a go. He felt the cocky smirk slide over his lips as he took several steps forward.

“Have you been trying to woo me, Sir Leon?”

“What if I am?”

“You’ve gone to an awful lot of trouble … pretty sure there would have been easier ways to let me know you were interested.”

“Maybe.” A grin curved Leon’s lips and Gwaine found himself breathless, almost missing Leon’s next words. “Wouldn’t have been as fun though. Tell me, has it worked?”

“I’d say so.” Gwaine brushed past Leon, bussing a kiss to the corner of his mouth as he opened the door to his rooms, enjoying the dumbfounded look on Leon’s face. “You coming in?”