So, just been pointed out to me that Gwaine is never given enough credit. Hence, this fanfic. Gwaine BAMF, Gwaine and Merlin 'best buddy bonding' moments, and some very stupid castle guards.
Anyways, This is not the only Gwaine centred one-off, that I will be doing in relation to the How Things Change Series, and I will also do specific ones for the Knights, Gwen and a couple of my OC's. Just to fill things out between the bigger fanfics.
_

Gwaine scowled.
He was listening in on a conversation between the captain of the guard, who was off duty, and three of his men, also off duty. But the on-going feud between the knights and the guards, mainly between Gwaine and the captain, Godfrey, (whose opinions on ale consumption and the effect it has on the quality of their work) wasn't the reason he was scowling.
No, the reason was that these men were insulting Merlin.
Insulting his best friend.
And they were doing it behind his back.
They didn't have the guts to say it to his face… Not that Gwaine could blame them, seeing as he was an all-powerful Warlock, but still… Cowards… Idiots… Pompous, boot-licking, know-it-all's…
Gwaine conveniently forgot that Merlin had already heard most of the rumours about him and laughed it off, but didn't forget the pained look that had entered the young man's eyes when he had heard the comments about him being dangerous and untrustworthy.
Damn it, Merlin deserved better. He'd done more for Camelot than anyone…
How could people still distrust him? After everything?

Gwaine downed the last dregs of his ale, and made a decision, possibly drunken fuelled, considering he knew that Merlin wouldn't particularly like what he was about to do, but a decision none-the-less.
He got to his feet, and made his way over to the four men. Just as one of them came out with
"Yeah… The bastard's definitely dangerous… and being close to the king all the time? He could have easily enchanted-"
"Bastard…?" The conversation cut off as Gwaine butted in, barely keeping his anger in check.
"Oh, my mistake. For a moment there, I thought you were talking about my friend, Merlin… But I must have been mistaken… After all, no-one would be stupid enough to call the most powerful sorcerer in the land a Bastard…"
Apparently, then four men didn't seem to get the idea, or, maybe, were too drunk to realise what they were doing. Whatever the reason, the captain stood up, his words slightly slurred.
"That's right… That bastard can't be trusted… He's been with The King for years… who knows what he's done to his head… What he's done to him…"
"He's protected this Kingdom. Done more for us than you could possibly understand!" Gwaine was seething. How dare they…?!
It was for this reason that he didn't notice Leon and Bedivere coming up behind him, until they lay a hand on his shoulder. He spun around, greeting them with a low voice, anger coursing through it.
"Bedivere, Leon… Maybe you could explain to these… These… pol thoins, why it is a bad idea to insult Merlin?"
Leon frowned, and Bedivere widened his eyes, glaring, as the other knight spoke up.
"Insult Merlin…?"
"Yeah. Not only are they accusing him of enchanting Arthur, but they called him a bastard… I'm rather annoyed if truth be told…"
Leon's frown had deepened at that, and the twitching in his cheek told Gwaine that The Knight was as angry as he was, as was Bedivere, who's fists were clenched.
Well, almost as angry...

"Is that so…?" Leon's voice was dark, but the guards still didn't seem to get it.
"Yeah!" This time, it was one of the others who got, unsteadily, to their feet, "Heck, he could have enchanted all of you… He's dangerous… Uther had the right idea of how to deal with their kind!"
Gwaine snapped, letting his fist fly and sending the man to the floor, out cold.
Of course, Merlin chose this moment to enter the, now hastily abandoned, Tavern.
"Gwaine…? Arthur wanted me to…" His voice trailed off at the scene, but he seemed to pick up on what was going on, pasting a neutral expression on his face.
"Leon, Arthur would like to see you, Bedivere, Daniel, Erec and Gwaine?"
Leon was about to speak up, when Godfrey spoke up.
"And here he is! The traitorous bastard himself…"

Merlin froze, his eyes flashing, before he swept the insult aside. He'd heard it enough…
Gwaine, on the other hand, seemed to have had enough of his friends selfless attitude, and snapped at the flash of pain that the blue eyes had held at the Captain's words. Hence the flying tankard, which narrowly missed the side of said Captains head.
Merlin's eyes flashed, causing it to narrowly miss hitting the head of another of the guards, but instead of gratitude, the young man jumped up, glaring, and threw a dagger at him.
Merlin deflected it, with magic, without so much as blinking and turned back to see that Gwaine had gone for a more frontal approach.
Namely, throwing a punch at the Captain, who ducked, causing Gwaine's fist to crash into the jaw of another guard, sending him out Cold. He swung his leg around, catching the Captain behind his knee and, as he fell to the floor, Gwaine lashed out, knocking the man unconscious, and apparently, from the amount of blood, breaking his nose.
Leon and Bedivere had caught hold of the man that had thrown the dagger, and he was now limp in the knights arms.
Of course, three more guards chose this moment to come out of the shadows where they had been hiding, and lunged at Gwaine.
Who was still pissed after the attempt on Merlin's life… Even if it never would have worked… Ever.

Apparently, they thought that this was the right time to even out old grudges, considering that Gwaine was drunk, their captain was down, and Merlin seemed to be shocked by Gwaine's actions. Of course, it helped that they were pretty sure that the Court Sorcerer wouldn't order punishment on them… He forgave far too easily.
They were wrong.
Gwaine barely gave them a glance as they barrelled towards him, Merlin shouting a warning, and simply span around, booting one in the stomach, sending him crashing to the floor, punching another in the jaw, sending him crashing on top of his comrade. The other took a few seconds further, but a punch to the gut, followed by a knee to his face, had the man out for the count.
Turning, Gwaine saw Merlin, staring at him, bewildered, and Leon and Bedivere, trying to stifle grins.
Merlin lowered his hand, obviously having been about to give Gwaine a hand, and shook his head, staring at the carnage.
The Warlock sighed.
"Gwaine…" His voice was half amused, half exasperated, and the knight just shrugged.
"They asked for it… First, insulting you, second, insulting you in front of me, third insulting you in front of me, Leon and Bedivere… Fourth, insulting you in front of… well, you… The warnings were all there, this one is really on them…"
Merlin opened his mouth to speak again, but closed it, a small grin tugging at his lips.
"You know this is gonna mean a lecture from Arthur right…? Seven unconscious guards… One of them the Captain?" He sighed, as another thought came to him. "And who do you think they are gonna blame…?"
Gwaine's face fell at that, but brightened slightly.
"You know how rumours are… Anyway, I have no doubt people were watching this, and the story is most likely spreading around Camelot at this very moment…"
"… Fair point, but still…"
"Still nothing. I'm fed up of them treating you like this… You deserve better."

Then Merlin felt the frown slip from his face, to be replaced with a smile. He had some good… no, great friends.
He sighed, and head towards the door.
"I'd better go and tell Arthur about this…"
As the door closed behind him, he sent a message to Gwaine, inside his mind,
"Thanks…"
"No Problem mate… You got my back, I got yours..."
"Still…"
"Drop it. I'd do it again if I had to…"
"Gwaine…" It was obviously a warning, but the undercurrent of humour gave it no weight.
"Yeees, magic man…?"
Merlin sent a mental chuckle through the link, shaking his head, though he knew Gwaine couldn't see it.
"Nothing. Just thanks…"
"Hey, what are best friends for…?"
Gwaine knew Merlin was grinning as he severed the connection, and smirked a little himself, looking at the three guards he had knocked out.
Leon and Bedivere were grinning at him, roughly pulling the unconscious men towards them, and Gwaine sighed, taking another under the arms, and hoisting him up.
True, Arthur was not going to like this… At least publicly… but it had been worth it.
The man he was holding groaned slightly, and Gwaine accidentally tripped, causing him to hit his head on the table… Not too serious but still… whoopsie…
Gwaine grinned.
Totally worth it…
_

Bedivere grinned as he recounted what had happened to the other knights.
Gwaine's 'punishment' was to spend the next two weeks on nightly patrols.
(Not much of a punishment, considering that A, Merlin would likely be accompanying him, and B, Gwaine had traded shifts with a few anyway, after losing a few bets, so would have been doing most of those anyway… Facts that they were all sure Arthur knew about…)
Merlin, true to form, hadn't wanted the guards punished, but Arthur was obviously, though it only showed to those who really knew him, enraged at the insults, accusations and attempt to attack his Court Sorcerer, and had ignored Merlin's wishes…
The Captain had been stripped of rank, and another guard, a friend of both Merlin and Gwaine had taken his place. Anybody bothered by this had been either too afraid, or far too smart to say anything. It was well known that Merlin tolerated attacks aimed at himself, but got fairly annoyed when someone took a shot at someone he considered a friend… Which was almost everyone…
The other guards had been put on a routing of night patrols, which would have them crossing paths with Gwaine (Who realised that Arthur had a wry sense of justice… and humour).
Apart from the one who had attacked Merlin. He swept aside all complaints, most from Merlin himself, that the man had been surprised by the use of magic, even if it was to defend him, and had been stripped of his position and thrown in the dungeons.
(With the idea that after a week in there, he may have a better temperament)

So now, Gwaine was walking his patrol, the great bell having been about an hour ago and the streets now empty.
Merlin was going to join him after he had finished his paperwork, much to Gwaine's annoyance, as he knew his friend needed sleep. But he did appreciate it.
Anyway, overall, he was in a pretty good mood. Rumour had spread fast, and now it stated that Gwaine had singlehandedly taken out a group of Camelot's guards, including the captain, whilst drunk. Best part was, it was actually true… Who would have known that being drunk would ever be a good thing?
His mood was made better by the arrival of a small, four group, patrol, who were doing the regular, hourly rounds.
Cutting across the street, he slipped in behind them and looped his arm around ones shoulder.
After the sudden fumbling for swords had died down, and they realised that they were not under attack, two of the men, two of those that Gwaine had knocked out, glared at him. He spoke up, in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Okay, now here's the deal. Me, and my fellow knights, are no longer going to stand bad mouthing where Merlin is concerned. I'm not going to go into detail, but we have some pretty fun ways of ensuring that any individual we catch, saying anything bad about him, will not repeat themselves. He doesn't know of this, no doubt he would be extremely disapproving of it, thanks to his ridiculously forgiving nature, and he will not learn of this. Oh, and I want an apology made to him before this night is out... "
Gwaine grinned at the startled, fearful looks he got, and continued
"So… to recap. One, No more insulting Merlin or we will hear of it. Two, He will not hear of this conversation and three, you will give him an apology. Have I made myself clear?"
The men simply nodded, and Gwaine was secure in the knowledge that word would have spread around Camelot by noon the next day. Not bad for a night's work…
Speaking of night's work, Gwaine felt the presence of someone jumping, and Merlin appeared a slight distance away. Gwaine grinned at the startled looks on the groups faces, and jabbed one of those he had knocked out on, the back.
"Apology… It's probably best to do it now… Before he gets cranky from lack of sleep… You really don't want to see him then…"
The men's faces were a mix of surprise and apprehension, at least, the two who had been in the Tavern were, the other two were trying not to grin at their comrades predicament. Gwaine noted the apprehension and couldn't help adding,
"Oh, wait… He's probably tired now… Ah well, I'm sure it'll go fine. Now move it…"

He watched as the men walked over and talked with Merlin, and noted the suspicious glance that the sorcerer sent his way. After a few moments, Merlin nodded to the men, and started walking to Gwaine.
"Gwaine…? What did you say to them?"
"Nothing much…"
"… Okay then. If you say so."
Just like that, Merlin let it drop, shocking the knight, who had been expecting a severe interrogation.
Gwaine couldn't help laughing,
"You're letting it drop? Just like that?"
Merlin shrugged, "I owe you. And I'm not in the mood to start an interrogation which will result In a headache…"
Gwaine laughed, before stifling a yawn.
"Fair enough… And yup, you definitely owe me for this. Two weeks of night patrols? It'll take me that long to adjust…"

Half an hour later, and the two were laughing at another of Gwaine's drunken bar stories. Merlin had long since conjured a ball of portable… well, Gwaine had to say Fire. Merlin's explanation had been far too confusing.
Well, whatever it was, it was warm and bright. That was good enough for him.
Much like the young, raven haired man next to him.

Over the next few weeks, Gwaine got a lot more respect from the guards, which didn't surprise anyone in the slightest. Seeing as he was now, unofficially, Merlin's bodyguard… (A situation which would immediately be reversed if something happened to Gwaine… and everyone knew it, even if they didn't acknowledge the fact with each other.)
The insults and accusations directed at Merlin also took a severe dive, though the warlock was sure who was behind it, even if no-one would tell him anything. Hence the 'anonymous' figure who paid off Gwaine's weekly Tavern tab for a month in advance.
Everyone knew that each knew about the other, but everyone, likewise, knew that they were too stubborn to admit it.

Life in Camelot never changed…