Just a single chapter of naughty fluff. I was inspired by Djaq's line in the finale where she tells the gang that they stink. I've set this in the summertime, after season 2, episode 10 – Walkabout.
This is mostly Will/Djaq.
In case you're wondering, braies are the type of underwear that men used to wear in the middle ages.
Djaq walked through the open doorway into the camp and the smell hit her. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. Months of dubious male hygiene and not washing clothes properly followed by the intensely hot summer weather had turned the men, their clothes and the camp into a sea of sour smells. Djaq had been down to the villages, making some arrangements, and on her way back to camp had passed through a clearing filled with herbs. After such sweet fragrances the smell of the camp was all the more obvious.
"Ugh!" She couldn't help letting out her grunt of disgust. All the men happened to be in camp at that moment, and they looked up at her in surprise.
"What?" Robin asked her, worried.
"This place stinks!" The men all looked a little taken a back. "All of you stink too!"
Now the men all looked slightly hurt. "We live in a forest!" John said.
"So do I! Do I stink?"
There was a long silence as the men exchanged furtive glances. Much lifted up the collar of his shirt and sniffed daintily, then made face. "I guess she's right. We do wash, though, Djaq."
"Not properly. Come on. I've had enough of this." Now all the men looked alarmed. Djaq made her way across the camp to her bunk and pulled out a bag she had hidden there. She started to make her way back out of the camp. Will jumped forward and grabbed her arm.
"Where are you going? You're not leaving us?" He looked almost frightened. Djaq frowned up at him.
"I'm not leaving you. You are coming with me."
"Me?" He squeaked.
"All of you." She replied and turned to bestow a glowering glare on the rest of the gang.
"Where?" Robin asked.
"Just shut up and come with me."
She turned once more to the door. As Will let go of her arm, she grabbed his hand and dragged him with her. Everyone else gave each other another look and then followed after Will and Djaq with curious faces.
She led them through the forest, still holding on to Will's hand. Will was in heaven. He didn't mind where she took them, as long as she didn't let go of his hand. Eventually they arrived in a clearing where there was a small pool fed by a fast-flowing stream. To the shock of all the men there were two women waiting there for them with amused smiles on their faces. They recognised the women from their deliveries to the villages.
"What's going on here, Djaq?" Robin asked.
"They're waiting for your clothes."
"What?!" Much yelped.
"They're waiting for your clothes. They're going to wash them for you."
"But we don't have any other clothes, Djaq." John muttered.
"That's okay. You won't need the clothes for a while." Will, standing next to Djaq with his mouth hanging open and still holding on to her hand, looked paler than usual. He then had to cover his disappointed expression as Djaq let go of his hand and opened the bag she was carrying. She pulled out several bars of soap and handed one to each of the men. She then pulled out several cloths and handed them out. "You are going to wash in this pool. It is very deep. You will go all the way in and make sure you wash yourselves properly! With this hot weather, there is no chance you'll catch cold and your clothes will dry quickly."
The men stared at her as though she had suddenly sprouted wings.
"What are you staring at?" She suddenly shouted at them. "Those women have better things to do than wait for you! Hurry up!"
The men jumped at her shouting and reluctantly started to undo buttons and untie cords.
"Don't be shy." Djaq encouraged with a malevolent smile on her face. "These women are married and not interested in looking at your bodies. They just want your clothes."
She turned to Will who was still busy removing the many belts and straps he always had wrapped around him. She instinctively reached for his scarf intending to help him undress and his head snapped up to look at her. Their eyes locked and Djaq forgot what she was doing as she stared into his beautiful eyes. They were glowing in the sunlight reflected off the pool. Will swallowed hard, which brought Djaq back to what she had been doing. With Will's eyes boring holes into the side of her head, she proceeded to untie his scarf and remove it. Will gave himself a shake and finished removing the rest of his belts and straps. Djaq stepped in front of him and pulled his sweater up and over his head.
"Hey! How come Djaq's undressing Will?" Much whined.
"Yeah, Will, can't you undress yourself?" Robin asked with a smirk on his face. Will blushed deeply and pulled his shirt over his head. On sight of his skin, Djaq decided that it was time to back off before she did something she would regret later. She took Will's shirt and sweater and put them in the basket that one of the women was holding.
"I brought the bath shirt as you asked." The woman told her quietly. Djaq took the shirt from the women, hiding it from the men. "You are really going to bathe with men?"
Djaq smiled a little. She could tell the woman was scandalised by this thought. "I live with these men, I can hardly make my reputation any worse by bathing with them. Do not worry."
Djaq turned and left the clearing. She started to make her way back to camp. She saw Marian approaching. She was leading a group of women, linked together by their hands, to the camp. All the women were blindfolded, which was why they needed to hold hands. Each woman had a bag on their backs. Djaq knew that these were filled with cleaning implements. The women had been only to happy to help the outlaws that helped them so much. Djaq and Marian between them had arranged for them to come and clean the camp.Djaq joined the group of women and helped to lead them to the camp. When they arrived, they removed the blindfolds and the women set to work straight away, stripping bedding off the bunks and starting to sweep the floor. Marian went out of the camp again to fetch water as the women couldn't leave the camp without being blindfolded again.
Djaq watched the women work as she changed into the bath shirt. She saw something fall on the floor when one of the women stripped the blankets off Will's bunk. The woman bent over and picked it up. She frowned for a moment, then looked up at Djaq and smiled.
"It's you, Miss Djaq." She held the thing out and Djaq took it from her. It was a finely carved, wooden figurine about the size of her palm. It was clearly a woman, but with short hair and wearing trousers instead of a dress. A smile touched the corners of Djaq's mouth. He kept this in his bed? She gave the figurine back to the woman.
"You better put this back." The woman nodded, but Djaq noticed that she still had an odd smile on her face.
Back in the clearing, the men had undressed right down to their braies and handed their clothes over to the two women. They all instinctively and unsuccessfully tried to cover themselves from the women, but the women didn't take any notice and simply set off into the trees.
Will was the first to tentatively approach the water and stick a foot in. The water was cool, but not too bad. As he waded into the water, Robin, Much and John followed his lead.
"Why are we doing this, again?" Much asked.
"Because we stink." Robin replied.
"Because Djaq told us to." Will answered quietly. He took a deep breath and dunked his whole body and head under the water. When he came up for air, he was gasping a little. "That was cold."
"That's because you don't have any meat on your bones." John joked. Will splashed water at him and John retaliated by pushing his head under the water again. Robin, who had dipped down until the water was up to his neck, laughed and splashed water at Much who was still only ankle deep and grumbling. This inspired Much to rush the rest of the way into the pool and splash Robin back. Soon they were all laughing and splashing and dunking each other just like little boys.
"You're supposed to be cleaning yourselves, not throwing all the water out!" They stopped and looked up at Djaq who was standing with her hands on her hips and grinning broadly. Their smiles all fell off their faces and they all dipped down so the water covered them up to their necks. Behind her, Marian was taking the blindfolds off two of the older women that had been cleaning the camp.
"What are you wearing?" Will asked, even though he knew.
"It is a bath shirt, as you well know, Will Scarlett."
"You're not bathing with us?" Much asked, scandalised.
"I need to be clean too!" Djaq replied as she climbed into the pool with them.
"Hello, Marian. Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"Djaq said she needed some help getting you vagabonds clean. I agreed that you all needed a good scrub up."
"These women are going to make sure you clean yourselves properly." Djaq announced. "If you don't, they'll do it for you."
The men and Djaq picked up their soap and cloths and began the laborious process of cleaning off months of dirt and sweat. Will still had his eyes plastered to Djaq, watching her quick and efficient movements as she scrubbed first her face, then her arms. Suddenly he realised that she needed to scrub under the shirt and turned away quickly to give her some privacy. Djaq noticed this and laughed quietly to herself. She did struggle to wash under the shirt without exposing herself, but the men were all very considerate and faced in the other direction to make it easier for her.
Marian and the women decided that the men hadn't washed all of themselves properly. So when Robin, Much and John approached the edge of the pool, they were grabbed roughly and made to stay still while the women scrubbed their backs and behind their ears with the cloths and scrubbed at their heads and hair with their hands, dunking the men's heads regularly to rinse off the soap.
Djaq laughed again at all the grumbling that was coming from John and Much. Robin was smiling serenely, because Marian had taken charge of him and he was enjoying her ministrations very much. When Djaq was done with herself, she pulled Will to a shallower part of the pool so that she could perform the same scrubbing process on him. He stayed quiet the whole time and when Djaq risked a peek at his face, she saw that his eyes were closed and he too was smiling.
Marian and the other women finished up and left the clearing while Djaq was still busy with Will. The other men were grumbling about wanting to get dressed and go.
"You can't get dressed until you're dry and your clothes are dry." Djaq informed them as they climbed out of the pool. "The women are washing your clothes down stream. Why don't you see how they are doing?"
The men walked off, still grumbling about indignity and nudity. Djaq finally finished scrubbing Will. He turned around and looked her in the eyes again, making her forget to breathe.
"Would you like me to wash your hair?" He asked her politely. She gave him a brilliant smile.
"Yes, please." She handed him the soap and cloth and turned her back as he started scrubbing, making sure that he too scrubbed behind her ears. She revelled in the feeling of his hands in her hair, massaging gently and lovingly.
"Will you wash my back, please? I couldn't manage it." Djaq asked quietly. Will looked alarmed.
"But... but you'll have to... take your shirt off."
"Yes." Djaq turned around to look at Will's nervous face.
"Why don't I fetch Marian to do it?"
"Will, you've seen much more than my back before." Will couldn't meet her eyes all of a sudden.
"Th-that was an accident and I didn't see much."
"Don't lie, Will Scarlett, it doesn't suit you. You saw plenty. Now." She turned away from him and removed her shirt quickly before he could stop her. She held the bunched up shirt against her chest to cover herself. "Wash my back please."
Will soaped up the cloth and started scrubbing Djaq's back. He couldn't take his eyes off her beautiful brown skin. He imagined each of his movements to be a caress. He dipped his cloth in the water and rinsed it out. He lifted the cloth to her back again, ringing the water out over her back to rinse the soap off. He continued pouring the water over her back even though the soap was gone. He was completely caught up in the moment and, as he poured water over her shoulders, he couldn't control himself anymore. He leant forward and kissed her right shoulder lightly. Djaq gasped quietly, but didn't move.
Will waited a few moments to see if he would get a slap, but he didn't get one, so he thought it was safe to continue. He pressed his lips to her shoulder again, then moved them up to her neck. Djaq stayed frozen where she was. She was afraid to move in case it broke the spell they were under.
Will put his hands on her hips and pulled her close to him, so she could feel the skin of his chest against her back. Djaq shivered. She had dreamed of that feeling every night. Will put his hands up to her neck and rubbed down her neck, shoulders and arms, moving his kisses to her left shoulder.
Now it was Djaq who couldn't control herself anymore. She turned suddenly towards Will and he drew back, fearing that he had gone too far. Djaq looked at his beautiful face for just a moment before releasing the shirt she held to her chest and grabbing Will's face with both hands. She pulled him towards her and kissed him hard. Will recovered from his surprise quickly and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. He thought he was going to die from the pleasure of feeling her breasts press against his chest.
Djaq's hands slid into his hair and she gripped tightly as their kiss became more and more passionate. Will caressed her bare back and walked them deeper into the pool again. When they were far enough in, he lifted her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Will broke the kiss and stared deep into Djaq's eyes. They were both breathing heavily. Will leaned forward, tipping Djaq back. She leant her head backwards, exposing her neck. Will trailed kisses down her throat and across her collarbone. He straightened up and brought his lips back to Djaq's once more.
This time Djaq broke the kiss and trailed her kisses down his neck. Her hands caressed his chest. Although he was underfed, he was not too skinny. His carpentry kept his muscles well toned. She unwrapped her legs from his waist and he let her stand again. Her head was now level with his chest, so she started kissing that instead. Will closed his eyes, his head all fuzzy from pleasure. How long had they been like this? He was brought crashing to earth when he suddenly realised that the others could return at any moment. He stopped Djaq by cupping her face in his hands and leaning down to kiss her briefly.
"I really don't want to stop you, but the others might come back." He whispered.
"You are right." Djaq sighed. "But we will continue this later."
Will grinned and planted another kiss on her lips. "I suppose I can no longer claim I haven't seen more than your back."
"Nope."
He released her and waded back to where the bath shirt was floating. He brought it back to her with a sheepish smile. She pulled it over her head once more and they climbed out of the pool, hand in hand. Djaq rung out the edges of her bath shirt and laughed at the water dripping down Will's legs from his braie. He tried to ring out some of the water, but it didn't work very well.
"Good thing it's been so hot recently." He said. "Let's go see if our clothes are dry."
He held out his hand, which she took, and they walked down stream to see if they could find the others.
They found the rest of the gang lying next to the stream, sunning themselves. Their clothes were strung up between two trees, still a bit damp, and the two women who had washed them were nowhere to be seen. When they heard Will and Djaq walking closer, the three men rushed into sitting positions and tried to look grumpy.
"Just relax." Djaq said, exasperated. "That was one of the things I wanted you to do today – forget your troubles."
John and Much shrugged their shoulders at each other and gave in, lying back down to enjoy the sunlight. Robin noticed that Will and Djaq were holding hands and winked at them.
"Did you enjoy yourselves?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.
"Yes, thank you." Djaq replied immediately. She was not going to be made to blush by these men. She and Will lay down next to the others, closing their eyes against the glare of the sun.
"Where's Marian?" Robin tried to sound nonchalant when he asked this.
"She's helping the others clean the camp." All four men sat up and stared at her.
"What?" They chorused.
"What others?" Much asked.
"The other women from the villages. She and I asked them to help us out today."
"Djaq! The camp is supposed to be secret!" Robin shouted.
"I'm not stupid. Every one of them was blindfolded until they were inside the camp and I made sure that I chose the most trustworthy women. Now lie down and enjoy the sun. We don't often get the chance to relax and these women really wanted to do something for us, so be grateful!" She sighed heavily. The men lay down again.
"I have to admit that this does feel good." Much said and Djaq smiled to herself. "Almost as good as a bath with rose petals."
"Aye." John sighed next to him. "Thank you, Djaq."
Robin murmured agreement and Will rolled on to his side to face Djaq and propped his head up on his hand. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. She smiled at him.
"Thank you." He mouthed silently. He checked that the other three still had their eyes closed, then leaned over Djaq and gave her a quick kiss. He still couldn't quite believe his luck. Then he decided that he didn't care what the others thought, he laid his head down on her stomach and wrapped his arm around her hips. She buried her hand in his hair and left it there as the two of them fell asleep.
Will and Djaq woke later to Robin gently shaking their shoulders. He was dressed again and smiling at them. They sat up and noticed that John and Much were still dressing.
"Time to go back to camp." He told them. They got up and dressed quickly and then all five of them headed back to camp. Marian was languishing on a nearby log, waiting for them to return, and Robin hurried over to her with a big grin.
"How have you managed to get away from the castle for so long?" He asked.
"Well, I've arranged myself a little trip to visit an old friend – Lady Glasson." Marian smiled smugly. "Come see what the women of the villages have done for you."
She led them into the camp and the men all exclaimed at how clean it was and how nice it smelled. The women had hung fragrant herbs throughout the camp to help take the smell away. That combined with the clean bedding and newly washed floor meant that the sour smell was long gone. Will was sitting on his bunk with a silly smile on his face. Djaq approached him.
"You might not need that figurine for much longer." She smiled enigmatically at him, then turned slowly and walked away. Will's face was frozen in shock. His hand felt blindly in his blankets for the figurine. He eventually found it nestled safely underneath his pillow. He smiled and wrapped his fingers around the figurine, pulling it out from under the pillow. He picked up one of his tools and started making a hole in the side of the figurine's head. It was a bit strange to be drilling a hole through Djaq's head, but it was what he needed to do to achieve what he wanted. When he had finished the hole, he picked up one of the cords they used for tags and fed it through the hole. He tied the two ends together and held up his work in front of him. He smiled to himself, then slipped the cord over his neck, tucking the figurine under his shirt and close to his heart.
Djaq watched all of this from her bunk. When he tucked the figurine under his shirt, she smiled and lay down on her bunk and breathed in deeply and happily.
"Today was a good day." John announced from his bunk.
"A very good day." Much agreed.
"A fantastic day." Robin added.
"The best day of my life." Will murmured, smiling at Djaq.