FIC: Jack Frost nipping at your nose (Merlin/Gwaine, Gwaine/Leon - 1525 - G)

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Title: Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Author/Artist: ???
Pairing(s): Slight Merlin/Gwaine, budding Gwaine/Leon
Prompt:Based on: “Jack frost!Merlin has developed a little crush on Gwaine, but Gwaine is grumpy because his flat is a piece of shit and why is there frost inside? (Merlin is a shy winter spirit and Gwaine is getting a little frustrated) More fluff!”
Word Count/Art Medium: 1525
Rating: G
Contains (Highlight to view): No warnings.
Disclaimer: Merlin characters are the property of Shine and BBC. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes:Loved this prompt! I didn’t exactly follow the prompt to the letter, but I hope it’s still ok. Sorry for the name pun. I couldn't help myself. I really couldn’t. Thanks a million to aeris444 for swift and excellent beta work!
Summary: In Holly Lane lives a man and his twin daughters and a moody tenant. These have caught the attentions of a certain Guardian of Fun, Merlin Frost, who seems to think that frost and snow are fitting gifts for Christmas. What's going on?



Holly Lane was a typical street in a typical suburban area of the city of Camelot, a city which strives to be seen as atypical, as all cities do. Holly Lane ran from its beginning to its end with barely any ups and downs at all. Neat little buildings, with a back yard and a smaller front yard, lay side by side and vis-a-vis each other. A few houses had an apartment which could be rented out. Among those houses is Holly Lane 143.

Holly Lane 143 had two front doors. A bushy Christmas wreath, with a red bow, hung on the door leading to 143a. The door to 143b had no decorations, but the whole building was covered Christmas lights which more than weighed up for it. Heavy snow - perfect for building snowmen - lay thick on the walkway leading up to the Holly Lane 143b, and it showed no intention to melt any time soon, despite 143b's inhabitant, Gwaine, giving it his most hateful stare. He glanced towards the path leading to 143a, just to prove to himself once again that he was not imagining things; He did have more snow than his neighbour, despite their paths crossing the same front yard. In Holly Lane 143a lived Leon and his twin daughters Leah and Norah. Their pathway was already cleared, Gwaine assumed they were out and about somewhere. Leon and his daughters were usually up hours before Gwaine felt ready to open his curtains and face the world.

All in all, it was a typical day in Holly Lane. Even this peculiar little mystery of unevenly fallen snow had become typical now. It had been a source of chatter among the neighbours for a little while, mainly due to the one doing the complaining. No-one could recall it happening before Gwaine moved in. If it had then they would have not noticed. The looks passing over the white picket fence had little to do with snow and everything to do with catching a glimpse of the charming single father and now also the rugged, good looking rebel with the good hair.

Gwaine put his winter gloves on and grabbed the snow shovel, all while cursing through clenched teeth. It wouldn’t do to swear out loud. Those girls appeared out of thin air sometimes, and Leon would get that kicked puppy look when he heard what they had learned from Gwaine. The shovel thrust into the snow with a crunching sound. With a grunt, he threw the snow to the side. The snow slid of the blade and landed with a faint thud. He fell into a rhythm. Crunch, grunt, slide, thud, repeat. Crunch, grunt, slide, thud, repeat.


- - -

“Daddy! Daddy, come see!”
Gwaine took a break from shovelling snow and looked behind him where Leon and the girls had once again had seemingly appeared from nowhere. So they hadn’t left anywhere yet. It was just like Leon to clear away the snow well in advance, just in case. From the exasperated look on Leon’s face, Gwaine guessed that he hadn’t foreseen that the kids would take the first opportunity they got to wade through the snow while he had his back turned to lock their front door.

“Gwaine's window is frozen, Daddy!” Norah exclaimed happily. “On the inside!”
“It’s so pretty!” Leah chimed in with glee.”Look!”

Leon made an awkward wave in Gwaine’s direction to say hello before he followed his daughters’ path over to Gwaine’s window.

“Well, I'll be.. It really is the strangest thing...”
Leon scratched his chin while watching the girls run a finger over the glass, proving the pattern was truly on the inside.

Gwaine had mentioned the freakishly cold rooms to Leon several times, and they had gone over the heating, ventilation system, and the windows with a fine tooth comb. Nothing seemed to be wrong. Not a thing.

“It's not strange at all, Daddy!” Little Leah said, and she glanced over at Gwaine to make sure she had all eyes on her before she started singing.

“Jack Frost has a crush on Gwainie! Jack Frost has a crush on Gwainie!”
Little Norah joined in before they lost courage and hid behind her father's broad back. Both whispered and laughed toothless laughs into their mitten covered hands, while Leon wasn’t sure what to do.

“It would be just my luck to be stalked by an old fart with long white beard,” Gwaine thought with a dab of self-hatred and sadness.

He looked at Leon standing there looking partly fond and partly apologetic. The three of them looked like a holiday card come to life. All of them had rosy, red cheeks and curly, blond hair. Ice crystals had dusted Leon's sensible hand-knitted wool jumper and made it sparkle. Dressed for winter and possibly heading for the playground, they only lacked a horse and sleigh to complete the picture.

All that snow and shovelling ever did for Gwaine was making his face red and frost bitten, and his hair and body sweaty. It was enough to make anyone want to slink back into the house, crawl into bed and sleep until spring. If only the flat wasn't so freakishly cold, Gwaine might have done so weeks ago. But he smiled to Norah and her sister, as he came to his conclusion. “I don't think it's me Old Man Winter favours.” This sparked the safe and well-known discussion of whether there truly was more snow on Gwaine’s path than on Leon's, and the two men argued mild mannered until the girls got bored and started pulling on Leon’s clothes.

- - -

An old man with a white beard was indeed watching Gwaine. The stalking part of Gwaine's unspoken scenario was more fitting for the younger looking man who had just skipped merrily between them, coaxing ice crystals to shift and reflect light, and dabbing cheeks for redness.

“Glitter, Merlin Frost?” the old man teased the younger man, “You do not play a subtle game.”

“I don't hear you complaining when it's called tinsel and hug up in honour of your holiday, Balinorth.” Merlin Frost smiled wide, his blue eyes twinkling with mirth.

They made quite a pair. One was large as a bear, with a thick, white beard and a fur-trimmed coat. His Cossack heritage did not only shine through, but radiated from his whole being from posture to the rolling r's of his Russian accent when he spoke. He would have caused quite the stir in the quiet street, if only he and his companion had been visible to the people there.

The other had the appearance of a thin, young man in a blue tunic, brown trousers and naked feet. A red neckerchief was the only thing which seemed to be remotely trying to keep the boy warm. Any decent person would have been appalled at the big man for not sharing a single warm garment with the youngster. Leon would likely have whisked the lad inside to feed him and dress him in warm clothes and discreetly contacted the correct authorities, while Gwaine would have stayed behind, rolled up his sleeves and given the man a piece of his mind. Not that he would have had any chance of besting Balinorth in a fight, but such things had never stopped Gwaine before.

The youngster had no need for rescuing or warm coats. He was Merlin Frost, and known by many names, and he hadn't felt cold since the time he fell through the ice centuries ago. At one time he had been a poor farmer's son, always trying to make his little sister Freya laugh. His hair had been of the darkest brown. Now it was white as frozen morning dew.

“Tell me, Merlin, what is it with this man that has you so enthralled?”

Frost shrugged. “I’ve been watching him since he was a kid. Even when things were tough at home, he always found something to do, some game to play-”
“-some trouble to cause, a prank to pull. I do know my own lists, you know.” Balinorth interrupted dryly, before adding with a knowing, teasing tone.
“Reminding you of someone, is he?”

Merlin Frost rolled his eyes. “It’s not just him about him. It’s about Leon too. And the girls.”

“I am not sure that freezing a man out of his home is the way to bring fun back to his life. Or to Leon's, for that matter.”

Leon and his daughters walked by them, completely unaware of the conversation. Leah sang while Norah was telling a story. Leon heard neither of them, but glanced surreptitiously back at Gwaine, who stretched his sore back with a long groan. A carefully timed breeze danced through his hair, one small gust of frost that made one man feel a sting of cold on his temples, while making the other man feel hot under the collar.

“Don’t worry, North.” Merlin grinned. “I have a feeling he won’t be cold for long.”

Balinorth laughed a deep, rich, belly laugh. There might be a Christmas wonder in store for Holly Lane 143 after all.