kinkfest | In Good Company (Merlin, Morgana/Gwen, G)

Title: In Good Company
Author:

laurus_nobilis
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Word count: 408
Prompt: Merlin, Morgana/Gwen: Dreams—"Amongst all mortal women the one I most wish to see."
Summary: There was no one else in the world she would have wanted to see, when she woke up like this.

She woke up screaming again. It took her some time to realize that she was awake, safe in her chambers; that she had been dreaming once more. Everything was hazy and confusing, at first, and Morgana couldn't quite tell the difference between the images in her dream and the very real ones she was seeing here and now.

She couldn't do this. She couldn't bear her nightmares all alone, she needed help, she needed-

"Morgana? Morgana."

Gwen's voice instantly brought her back to reality. Her friend was sitting on the edge of the bed, not too close (there had been nights when Morgana, not quite awake yet, had lashed out at the first person she saw) but near enough that her concerned expression was visible even by the dim candlelight.

After just a second of pause as she finally took in her surroundings, Morgana leaned forwards and wrapped her arms around Gwen, burying her face in her friend's shoulder. She didn't say a word, and Gwen didn't ask her to.

"There, now," she said simply, running a soothing hand down Morgana's hair. "It was only a dream."

Morgana nodded, still in silence. She didn't like to talk about her nightmares, and appreciated how Gwen never asked. All her friend did was hold her until she calmed down. That was enough; it was more than enough. Her mere presence was comforting. There was no one else in the world she would have wanted to see, when she woke up like this. And, most of the time, Gwen was there. She had made it a habit not to go home until she was sure that Morgana was sleeping well.

She must have been getting even less sleep than Morgana herself, lately. The thought came with a twinge of guilt, even if Morgana was quite aware that it had been her friend's own decision to do so.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while, once she trusted her voice again. "You should be home by now."

"I don't mind," said Gwen. Morgana sat back as she heard that. As difficult as it was to pull away from her embrace, she wanted to see her face. Her friend's expression looked honest, if slightly confused by the sudden change in attitude, and so she allowed herself to relax.

"Then… would you stay?"

Gwen just smiled, warm and kind as ever, and Morgana knew she would sleep quietly for the rest of the night.