For the meme: “Sir Knight,” said Leon, turning the bottle over to read the label. More eggnog. He smiled, then glanced back at Gwaine who was scooping the dog up into his arms. The name was a bit dorky, and he did expect to be teased, but to his surprise, Gwaine only rubbed at his little snout and gave him a kiss on the head.“A most noble and fearsome creature, Sir Knight,” he said before placing him back down on the floor. So he’s good with dogs, thought Leon with no small amount of affection.
Excerpt from Affectionately, Adoringly (BBC Merlin, Leon/Gwaine) posted on my AO3.
YASSS okay this fic was SO fun to write and just keep kinda light with a little hint of some deeper layers, but overall mostly positive. I think it’s my favorite one I’ve written in a long time actually! And it got such a warm reception, which really made me feel great about it. I still occasionally get some good, positive attention from it, which always buoys my confidence a bit. Leon/Gwaine is certainly an underrated ship and I love that I got to spread the love!
“Sir Knight,” said Leon, turning the bottle over to read the label. More eggnog. He smiled, then glanced back at Gwaine who was scooping the dog up into his arms.
So here he’s answering Gwaine’s question about the name of the little corgi while receiving a gift (bottle of hard eggnog) as the host. They have literally just met after exchanging only a few postcards, and they’re both a bit awkward.
In the postcards, Gwaine had been repeatedly making little nudges about alcoholic eggnog, and it wasn’t quite clear to him if Leon got the joke -- not until Leon sent him a bottle of eggy punch in the mail. “The right kind,” he called it.
I had Gwaine reciprocate with a gift of eggnog for the host as a callback to the uniting thread through the fic, but ALSO to show that even if he is a bit brash and crass and a bit impulsive, he understands and follows the rules of etiquette when it’s appropriate. He’s also a little more thoughtful than just some guy who comes over for free food. (I also wanted to give big Date vibes.)
Also, Leon seems like a corgi kinda guy. And “Sir Knight” is just fucking perfect I literally couldn’t resist it once I thought of it.
The name was a bit dorky, and he did expect to be teased, but to his surprise, Gwaine only rubbed at his little snout and gave him a kiss on the head.
And here, Leon is being a little self-deprecating internally. I like to write him as certain in his philosophies, but not in himself. He’s expecting to be teased for naming his dog -- even though he loves the name for his dog. And to his surprise, Gwaine is like-minded and also appreciates a good, dorky dog name!
“A most noble and fearsome creature, Sir Knight,” he said before placing him back down on the floor.
I wanted to write Gwaine being likable! And what’s a better way to make someone likable than to show them being cute with cute animals!! Also. This is shameless indulgence. In my heart of hearts, I love nothing more than Gwaine being a Very Good Boy. He talks cute to cute animals, change my mind.
So he’s good with dogs, thought Leon with no small amount of affection.
And then, of course, Leon, like me, sees Gwaine being a Very Good Boy and makes fuckin’ heart eyes. You ever see a big tough guy straighten a bow in his four-year-old daughter’s hair? Doesn’t it make your heart skip a beat? This is Leon on seeing Gwaine being cute af with his canine child.
This was fun! If anyone’s up for sending me another, I’d love to do more!!
Send me an excerpt from one of my fics and I’ll write up a DVD track style commentary! Link to my AO3.