Chapter 7: Patched Up

Merlin and Gwaine had made a run into town and returned with a mismatched patio set. Arthur couldn't bring himself to tell them for bringing back junk because reclining in the shade of Excalibur with his crew was actually quite nice.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Gwaine groaned. "Does she plan on taking a break soon? She's been at it nonstop."

"Nope," Arthur, Elyan, and Lance said in unison. Arthur and Lance shared an awkward but amused look, acknowledging their shared interest in Gwen.

"Well then," Gwaine said, standing. "I'll just have to charm her into taking a break."

"Charm?" Elyan snorted. "Unless you lure her away with a Red Dragon S2-E13, there's no way she'll stop."

Gwaine flipped his hair and put on his most dazzling smile. "I don't know what that is, but she won't be able to say no to this face," he boasted, then turned and made his way to the back of the ship.

"It's the best laser cutter to date," Elyan muttered. "Idiot."

"How long do you think before he comes back?" Lance asked, mostly directed at Arthur.

Arthur gave his crewmate a polite smile; they haven't spoken much, choosing to avoid awkwardness. "Maybe Gaius should get his med kit, yeah?" They shared a laugh and Arthur caught Gwaine disappearing around the stern of the ship.

Gaius glanced between the two. "Was that a joke?"

"No," Elyan answered while not looking up from his tablet doing a final scan of the ship's software.

Percival suddenly sat up straight in his chair, alerting them. They turned to see Gwaine rushing back, taking occasional nervous glances over his shoulder. He dropped into his chair and caught his breath.

"That was quick. What happened?" Leon asked.

Gwaine looked haunted. "She pointed a blow torch at me and threatened to burn off my hair."

Elyan made a distinctive pfft sound. "That's nothing. Try getting clubbed with a monkey wrench. She was twelve!"

Lance cringed. "She only pushed me away with the end of a crowbar to the gut."

Arthur could've one-upped Lance by mentioning the time he pestered Gwen from over her shoulder, and she flung her arm out, probably meaning to shoo him, but ended up hitting him in his face with her fist and breaking his nose.

But he took the high road, wanting to keep their new friendship in development and not make their relationships with Gwen a competition. "Same," Arthur simply said.

Almost another hour passed and it was starting to get dark when Gwen made her way back over to the rest of the crew. Gwaine got up quickly and let Gwen have his chair. Her tool bag dropped with a muffled tinny rattle, and she reclined in the chair. Gwen rested a hand on her stomach. "I'm starving."

Gwaine had an idea. "How about a good ol' weenie roast? I'll grab the hot dogs and skewers."

Percival said they could break up the useless crates in the cargo bay for fire wood and went with Gwaine. They would need extra hands, so Leon and Lance went with them. Gaius was sure someone was going to get a splinter or burned by the end of the night, and he went to get his med kit, and blankets for the impending temperature drop. Merlin made a joke about Gaius being old and doing heavy lifting, and went along to help.

Alone with the Leodegrance siblings, Arthur decided to ask about the status of Excalibur. "So, what's the verdict?"

Elyan finally looked up from his tablet. "Internally, everything looks green." He glanced at Gwen, cueing that it was her turn.

"Externally, she's aesthetically displeasing with a large steel grey panel serving as an unsightly bandage. If I had so—" Gwen saw her brother roll his eyes, and Arthur made a throat clearing noise, prompting her to get to the point. "But the fuel line is secure, everything's were it should be. We just need that half tank of gas from Lou tomorrow. It'll get us to… Where are we headed?"

"Gawant," Arthur said. "We'll have enough? I can bribe him for a full tank."

"It'll be enough, but…"

"But?"

"It's nothing," Gwen mumbled, drawing patterns in the dirt with her toe.

"She's annoyed about the patch," Elyan said for her.

"It's unsightly!" Gwen claimed.

The siblings argue about ship priorities and Arthur laughed. "We can see about paint when we dock in Gawant."

Gwen made the same pfft her brother made earlier. "So everyone we pass can see it." She took a breath and got over it. "Right, wouldn't wanna overstay our welcome on this rock. And if the wind picked up while the paint was drying, dirt would get stuck to it," she rationalized. "Speaking of dirt, I'll start eating it if they don't hurry up," she added.

Gaius told them stories about cowboys, shootouts, bank robberies, damsels tied to train tracks, and of how places like the saloons of Darkling Moon were modeled after the western tales of Old Earth. Even their bar fight with Morgana's henchmen was like a page out of a tale from the Wild West.

Gwen had fallen asleep when Gaius started rambling off cowboy names, and Elyan draped a blanket over her. Then he gestured for everyone to come around her as he pulled out a camera. He set the timer for ten seconds and it hovered in front of the group. They made silly faces and tried to contain their laughter to not alert Gwen. The shutter clicked, Gwen made the slightest of movements, and they scattered, returning to their chairs as if nothing happened. They broke out in a fit after a minute, unable to hold it together.

Gwen woke and rubbed her eyes. "What happened?"

"Nothing to worry about," Gaius said calmly, making his way to her. "It's getting late, and I think you'll be more comfortable inside." As Gaius led Gwen away, he glanced back with a conspiring grin and the gang broke out in laughter again.

"I'm missing all the fun," Gwen mumbled sleepily, dragging her feet. Gaius chuckled.

Percival noticed the tool bag was left behind and went to bring it in. He almost faltered when picking it up, surprised by the weight of it. "Gwen's stronger than she looks," he commented, and slung the bag over his shoulder.

Merlin stretched with a loud yawn. "So, tomorrow we get off this rock and roll out into space again?" He got stares in response. "Get it? Rock and roll. We're on a ro—"

"We get it," Arthur said, shaking his head. "Not your best, mate."

"Looks like its Merlin's bedtime, too," Gwaine said.

When Percival returned, they let him in on the joke, and Percival was quick to add to teasing.

Arthur watched as the guys heckled Merlin with their own bad puns, and in that moment Arthur wanted to quit the search for Morgana. The brotherly love around the fire was much more enjoyable.

A/N: The laser cutter Red Dragon S2-E13 = Kilgharrah Series 2 Episode 13 hahahaha I'm soooooo clever.

But more importantly thanks for reading and reviewing!