Title: Distraction

Show: Merlin

Characters/Pairings: Gwen/Arthur, Morgana mention

Rating: T

Word Count: 351

Spoilers: Nothing but the S2 promo pics.

Disclaimer: I don't own. But I wouldn't mind getting my hands on Gwen's pretty new dresses.

Summary: Arthur had just begun noticing Gwen not that long ago. And now that he had, he couldn't stop noticing her.

A/N: Because sometimes plotbunnies just demand to be written. (Even when you have other fics in the work. Bad, bad plotbunnies.)

Inspired by the series 2 promo pictures of beautiful Gwen. We all hope (and know) that Arthur will love her because of "the person she is inside," but that doesn't mean he can't find her attractive, too!

*also posted on my livejournal account, under same username.

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Arthur never thought he would find a curl so distracting.

He noticed it out of the corner of his eye while in court. Turning his head just slightly, he could see that it originated from Guinevere's pinned up hair.

Whether it had been left out of Gwen's hairpins by accident or on purpose, the effect was quite alluring. The stray curl called for attention, bringing his gaze down the line of her neck to the top of her breast.

Arthur swallowed when his eyes came upon her breasts. They were a novelty, he decided, nothing more, unable to keep from noticing how the skin just above the cut of her dress was slightly paler from less exposure.

It had been, after all, only recently that Morgana had begun dressing her handmaid in nicer – and more attractive – clothes. Arthur could only imagine that Morgana decided to give her a new wardrobe out of their deepening friendship. Yet he couldn't help but dislike Morgana's prerogative. Surely, he had noticed Gwen's figure – if only recently – under her old clothes, especially if her apron fell just right to not mask her body's outline as much. But now with her new fitted bodices, her attractive figure was no longer hidden from view, out of sight and out of mind.

Arthur quietly cleared his throat and tried to return his attention back to court matters, but that damn curl kept beckoning him from the edge of his vision.

The coiled lock of hair looked flawlessly created, as if it were really a black silk ribbon instead. The thought made him wonder if it would feel like silk, too, cool and smooth against his skin as he wrapped it around his finger. Then as he let the curl go, his hand would not be able to resist running his fingertip over her perfect skin, soft and warm, the hue of her skin made even more stunning by the shade of her dress.

As his thoughts were just about to progress, Arthur mentally shook himself and took a deep breath.

Yes, he definitely preferred Gwen in her old clothes.