Takes place S03E08 "The Eye of the Pheonix" as they are returning.
When Merlin decided to follow Arthur in his quest for the Fisher King's trident, he'd expected it to be bad. But not this level of bad. Not this kind of utter rottenness. Hell, a month in the stocks would've been bliss compared to this. But Arthur had to pry, he had start asking questions as he, Gwaine and Merlin made their way back to Camelot.
"That man at the bridge... he said I was courage and that strength and magic were coming. Did he say anything like that to you? " Arthur had asked. Merlin panicked, and went to the one thing he knew Gwaine would back him up on.
"Why don't we stop at a tavern?"
"Merlin, what is with you and your obsession with taverns?" Arthur said.
"What! I do not have an obsession with the tavern!"
"Then whenever you're gone, why does Gaius say you're at the tavern?"
"Um. . ." Merlin didn't have a good answer for that.
"Merlin!"
"Can we please just go to the tavern?"
"Fine." Arthur said, and Merlin sighed in relief. "But once we're there, you are telling me everything."
"But I've nothing to tell!"
"That's for me to decide." Arthur said.
"Secrets or not, I'm certainly happy that we're going to a tavern." Gwaine said. "I assume you are buying, your highness?" Arthur just spurred his horse, increasing his speed.
Merlin sighed, matching his horse's pace to Arthur's.
It was a little past noon when they reached a tavern in the country surrounding Camelot. Merlin tried desperately to distract Arthur from the dreaded topic as they pit up their horses outside the tavern, but he'd forgotten how stubborn the prince could be. And that was pretty damn stubborn.
Once they had found a secluded table and Gwaine had asked for a heaping order of meade, Arthur began his interrogation.
"What did he mean? The man at the bridge?" He demanded.
"We didn't meet a man on any bridge, Arthur."
"Merlin," Arthur said.
"Oh right, Merlin, we did! We met a tiny little man on that weird bridge, and if I recall, he liked you." Gwaine slurred from his seat. He was on his eighth drink and was beginning to get drunk . Arthur sent Merlin a pointed look.
"What's this, Merlin? Why lie?" Arthur asked. Merlin sighed.
"Look , Arthur, it has been a long day, and I am sure you've got a list a mile high of chores for me to do and Gauis is going to be angry and, quite frankly, I believe we have to find a place for Gwaine here." Merlin said, gesturing to the drunken man trying to lick a jug of meade. "So let's go, shall we?"
Arthur smiled. "Well, you're right about the chores,"
"What, are we supposed to dump him on the city border or something?" Arthur asked , pointing to Gwaine's slumped over form. "I mean, we obviously cant take him into Camelot," Arthur continued. Merlin chuckled. "Merlin, it's not funny, what the hell are we supposed to do with him?" Merlin only grinned wider. Arthur hid a smile. "Alright, we'll buy him a room at an inn and be on our way. Looks like I figured that one out, no thanks to you," Arthur looked pointedly at Merlin. "And once we're on our way, you emwil/eml tell me what you haven't been telling me, or I'll give you six months in the stocks and horse slopping duty." Merlin's grin faded.
"Fine, Arthur." He said. Arthur leaned back, looking pleased.
"There's a good lad," He said.
Once Gwaine was situated in his room the prince had so generously bought, and the prince and his manservant were once again on their way to Camelot, Arthur began to question Merlin.
"Merlin, you can tell me. You know I can keep a secret." He tried.
"No you can't."
"Can too."
"No, Arthur, I remember that Gwen told you about that mysterious brother of hers on one of your secret love meetings, and you wouldn't stop mentioning him."
"I don't have 'love meetings' with Guinevere."
"Yes you do."
"I don't even like her."
"I believe you."
"No seriously, Merlin, I like someone else. And stop trying to change the subject. Tell me.
There was a pause. "I don't want you to hate me."
"Merlin , I could never hate you."
"You would if you knew."
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do."
"How?"
"You know how you have this feeling in your gut that something will go terribly wrong and then it does?"
"I get that every time I go anywhere with you, Merlin."
"Don't be a clotpole."
"Don't be an idiot."
"You're a prat."
"You're an clumsy oaf."
"You tried to take a broom to bed."
"MERLIN! I thought we agreed to never speak of that again! I was just a little drunk!"
"A little?"
"Shut up."
". . ."
"Fine, Merlin, you can talk."
"Oh thank God,"
"If you tell me what happened at the bridge."
"Arthur-"
"I'm not going to hate you, I promise, no matter what it is, Merlin. But you're my friend, and I hope I'm yours, and I think I deserve to know. I have never kept a secret from you. I'm actually good at keeping secrets, but I can't hide anything from you, Merlin. I just want you to trust me enough to tell me things. I'd never keep anything from you, and I only want the same, Merlin. Whatever it is, I don't think anything is horrible enough to end our friendship. So please, ju-"
"I have magic." Merlin said quietly.
"What?" Arthur said, bewildered, halting his horse. Merlin pulled his to a stop too.
"I said, I have magi-"
"I damn well heard you!"
"Listen, Arthur, I've had it since I was born, I didn't ask for this, but Arthur, I've only ever used my powers to help you! Do you really think that tree branches really fall for no reason when you're in trouble? Do you really believe you're that lucky? Arthur, with my powers, I can be somebody, when magic is free, I'll be remembered," Merlin said quickly. "You don't understand, I. . . I'm nothing without my magic, I-"
"YOU ARE MY FRIEND WITHOUT YOUR MAGIC, YOU ARE ALL OUR FRIEND, MERLIN! Or maybe I was mistaken."
"No, Arthur-"
"Merlin, you could've told us, you could of told ME!"
"Oh right, because its so easy to say, 'Hey Arthur, here's your dinner, by the way, I'm an all-powerful-warlock, so please don't rat me out to your sorcery-hating king of a father, oh, do enjoy the meal,'" Merlin said, sarcasm piercing his voice.
"Well you could said something. It's the lying, Merlin, all the lying. If you'd just told me. . . But now, I'm questioning everything. Do I have talent or is it just some hex you cast on me? Is all this some lie so your kind could weasel yourselves into our court? And if youre a warlock, what else have you lied about? Are we really friends, or did you just stir some herbs up in a cauldron and make me like you? And are my feelings for you real, or just some artificial spell-" Arthur suddenly stopped. Merlin froze.
"What?" the warlock said softly. The prince was silent. "Arth-" Merlin was cut off by Arthur.
"Nothing, Merlin. It is nothing, I don- oh, I can't keep this in anymore. Merlin, I love you, and I have for a long time, but now you've gone and ruined it, as you always do, by having bloody magic. Now you'll go because you don't trust me enough to keep your secret, and even if you didn't have magic, you'd leave because I've gone and told you, you bloody clotpole that I love y-"
"Shut up," Merlin said softly. "I love you too, so shut up and kiss me, you daft clotpole.
So Arthur did.
So, that's the end of that. A tiny 1380-word oneshot for my merlin writing debut! Hope you liked, and please please please leave comments giving your completely honest opinions, good or bad, or favorite if you liked, or say I suck if you didn't. My motto is this: Rate! Hate is great and giving some love means you fly like a dove! The last part needs some work but I think I got the message across!
Anyway, thanks so much! :)