Title: Outdrink Me

A/N: Gosh, I'm gonna be honest and say that this is probably not my finest work. I'm not even sure what this falls under. But as promised, a fic. lol. Thanks for reading, and please review!

-McDiggin'It

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Summary: Merlin and Morgana have a drinking competition. Merlin finds out why he was never an avid drinker. Morgana finds out Merlin's deepest secrets. MagicReveal!

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It's the middle of the night when he stumbles up the staircase towards the Lady Morgana's chambers. Gaius had just returned from doing his rounds, right as Merlin was coming back from the Tavern. Gaius handed him Morgana's sleeping draught, claiming to be too old and tired to climb up the stairs to Morgana's chambers.

Merlin had groaned and complained while Gaius merely raised an eyebrow at him.

Now he's up here, exhausted, cold, and slightly drunk, delivering some bloody potion.

He knocks softly, leaning his face tiredly against the door. Darkness consumes him almost instantly as the exhaustion and ale kicks in.

Suddenly, he's being catapulted forward as the door he was leaning against swings open, and you can imagine exactly how he ran face first into Morgana's chest.

Morgana yelps, falling backwards as a tall, thin figure falls directly into her... or more specifically, said figure's face was suddenly crushed into her breasts as they tumble backwards onto the floor.

Once she's able to identify the intruder, she practically shrieks. "MERLIN!"

Merlin's eyes widen in horror as he jumps to his feet, apologizing profusely as he tries to help Morgana up. "I'm so sorry, Milady." He stumbles as he continues to apologize.

Morgana's eyes narrow and she takes a step towards the manservant, sniffing him.

Merlin leans away and pretends to look for something.

"You've been drinking." Morgana observes.

"No I haven't." Merlin denies quickly.

"You're drunk."

"No I'm not."

Morgana quirks an eyebrow at him. "Lying to a Lady is impolite, Merlin."

Merlin pouts, "I might be a little out of sorts."

"You fell asleep on my door." Morgana points out.

"Okay, I may be a little drunk, Milady... please don't tell Arthur." He begs.

"What's it to him what you do after hours?" Morgana asks with a raised eyebrow.

Merlin shrugs, "He ordered me to stop going to the tavern with Gwaine."

"And since when did you really listen to Arthur?"

"Never. But I don't fancy being in the stocks while hungover tomorrow."

Morgana nods at his answer, she smiles upon seeing the pleading look on the manservants face. "I won't tell anyone, Merlin." She assures him.

Merlin nods gratefully, "Thank you, Milady."

Morgana looks down at the smashed bottle on her floor. "I'm assuming you came here for a reason other than to fall asleep on my door and then partially assault me?" She asks jokingly.

Merlin groans as his eyes meet the smashed potion on the floor. "I came to deliver your..." he trails off and points at the contents of the potion bleeding into the floor. "that."

Morgana huffs, "So you knock on my door, knock me over, and then smash my only hope for sleep tonight."

Merlin stares at his feet, ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry, Milady. I can run downstairs and have Gaius whip up another batch for you-"

Morgana waves him off. "It's fine, Merlin. Gaius is probably exhausted..." she pauses, glancing at the manservant again. She's never seen him drunk before. And she has to admit, it's quite interesting to see him this way. With that in mind, she mutters, "...but since you've destroyed my chance at sleep tonight, you might as well stay here with me and keep me company."

The manservants eyes widen at the woman before him. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, right now."

"In here?"

Morgana rolls her eyes as she takes Merlin by the arm and drags him towards a chair by the foot of her bed. "Yes. Now sit."

Merlin does as he's told. He can't very well refuse the Lady Morgana. "Is it wise for me to stay here?"

"No, but you owe me." Morgana smirks as she goes to her dresser and pulls out a large jug.

"What's that?" Merlin asks, pointing a finger at the jug.

"Wine."

"Wine?"

"Yes, wine."

Merlin nods, "Okay."

"You'll drink it with me."

"Oh, I shouldn't, Milady." Merlin begins to protest.

"Why not?"

"Errrr, because I'm already slightly drunk, as you saw."

"Are you such a lightweight?" She asks half seriously.

Merlin scoffs, "Hardly. I just had to outdrink Gwaine because he dared me to."

Morgana raises an eyebrow in question. "Isn't in unwise to try and outdrink someone who practically lives at the tavern?"

Merlin shrugs. "Maybe... but I'm not a lightweight."

Morgana gives him a challenging smirk, "Then drink with me... unless of course," she pauses and bats her eyelashes innocently at him, "you're a lightweight."

Merlin rolls his eyes scornfully. "I am not."

"Then you can outdrink me?" Morgana challenges with a mischievous smile.

He has never backed down from a challenge before, and he's not about to start now. "Absolutely, Milady."

...

Two hours later, and Merlin is eating his words. He's pretty sure he's a dust particle to the wind. He knows his limits, and he passed it about 6 goblets ago.

Morgana was now slightly drunk, and she feels amazing. Drinking and talking with Merlin has turned out to be, quite possibly, the most relaxing and worry-free thing she's ever done in her life. It's just so easy to be with him. Of course, some of it has to do with the wine loosening her up a little bit, but Merlin is also very entertaining and easy to talk to.

The manservant seemed to have turned into a 5 year old version of himself, cracking jokes about Gaius, Arthur, and Gwaine, badmouthing Uther and his obsession with making Camelot magic-free, and even singing and dancing. Morgana could not stop laughing as Merlin went on, singing a song about Prince Clotpole that he made up on the spot. He then began to do a weird dance that required him to caress his chest as though he were a woman.

It was hilarious, but oddly enough, made Morgana feel a few inappropriate things. She's never really noticed just how attractive Merlin was until now. She'd thought he was cute before with his boyish looks. Now, after spending a little over two hours with him, she's noticed quite a lot of his endearing qualities and sharp, handsome features. Which contributes heavily to her sudden desire to snog the hell out of him.

Shaking her thoughts away, Morgana gives Merlin a serious look. "I think we need to slow down on the drinking."

"Why?" Merlin asks seriously before dissolving into a fit of giggles. "Are you scaaaaared?"

"No." Morgana scoffs, then hiccups. "Scared of what?"

Merlin shrugs, "That you're a lightweight?"

"I am not a lightweight."

"I thought the same about myself."

Morgana laughs. "We think similar thoughts then."

Merlin snorts, "I hiiiiiighly doubt that, M-Milady." He slurs.

"And why is that?"

Merlin points a finger at her, "Cause you have no idea what I think."

"I think I do."

"Oh?"

"Yes."

"Well then, tell meee what I'm thinking now."

Morgana leans forward, squinting at him. "You're thinking about sleep."

"Nope!" Merlin says loudly popping the "P" in 'nope'. "Nooooot even cloooose."

"Well then what are you thinking?"

Merlin studies her for a long while before giving her a look of mock suspicion. "Will you tell on me?"

"Tell on you for what? Drinking?"

Merlin shakes his head. "No... my secret. The biggest one I got."

This peaks Morgana's interest and she scoots her chair closer to the manservant. "I promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone."

Merlin stares skeptically at her for a long moment, even going as far as stroking his chin and narrowing his eyes in a rather dramatic thinking look. "I mean it, Morgana… Only one person in this entiiiire castle knows about my secret."

"What is it?" She's so curious now, she's almost rising out of her seat. "Wait…" she trails off and narrows her eyes back at the manservant. "Are you… don't tell me you're gay."

Merlin's face scrunches up in confusion. "What? No!"

Morgana can't quite explain the relief she feels, but… "Are you sure? Because in all the time I've known you, not once did I see you approach or even look longingly at a girl."

"Oh you have no idea, Milady." Merlin giggles. "That's my second deepest secret."

"You have more than one?"

Merlin nods, grinning boyishly. "I have a really deep one that could cost me my life, and another deep one, that could cost me... well..." he pauses, scratching his head.

"Cost you what?" Morgana pries.

"Our friendship." Merlin's bottom lip juts out as a look of sadness crosses over his face.

Morgana gapes. "Why would it cost you our friendship?"

Merlin shrugs, suddenly going quiet.

"Tell me." Morgana rises from her chair a little too fast, and stumbles, causing Merlin to react, jumping out of his seat to grab her. But his hand-eye coordination was slightly off and he ends up stumbling with her. The two end up sprawled on the floor in a tangle of limbs, bumbling and apologizing to each other before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

They stay that way, laying side by side, facing each other and gazing into each other's eyes.

Morgana reaches a hand up, brushing a few strands of Merlin's hair out of his eyes. "Your hair has gotten longer." She says mindlessly.

Merlin nods, closing his eyes as Morgana begins tracing his face with her fingers. "I may need a haircut soon." He mutters.

"No..." Morgana shakes her head, "I quite like your hair longer."

Merlin opens his eyes again and stares, "Really?"

She nods, "It looks really good on you."

Merlin smiles giddily. "I like your eyes."

"You do?"

Merlin nods and scoots in closer to her. "They remind me of nature... and magic."

"Magic?" Morgana stares at him. "What do you know about magic?"

Merlin sighs and looks longingly into her eyes. "I know that it's the most beautiful thing in this world... I know that Uther is wrong about it being evil... I know that I can't live without it."

This time, Morgana is staring at Merlin as if he'd just sprouted a second head. Then she laughs, "Merlin, what in the world are you talking about?"

Suddenly, Merlin was sitting up and turning away as if offended that Morgana isn't taking him seriously.

Morgana follows, scooting in close to his back. In her intoxicated state, she sees nothing wrong with pressing herself against Merlin's back, so she does exactly that. Her cheek is on his shoulder, her face turned towards his neck. "What's wrong?"

Merlin shakes his head and sniffles. "You could never understand, Milady."

She stares for a moment before whispering softly, "Try me."

Merlin turns to face her slowly, biting his lip and looking deep in thought.

He has wanted to tell her about his magic for a very long time. Is it wise to do it now? He ultimately decides that he's too drunk to care, and looks around Morgana's chambers for a moment. "Okay… but please don't freak out."

This was getting very suspenseful for the Lady Morgana. What has Merlin been hiding that he's scared of revealing to her?

Merlin holds his hands out, palms facing up. "Give me your hands."

Morgana does as she's told, placing her hands, palms facing down on top of his. "What are you doing?" She asks curiously.

Merlin looks at her and says ever so softly. "Look into my eyes."

Morgana does so and waits, wondering exactly where he's going with this. "I'm going to do something that will probably shock you and possibly even make you hate me."

"Merlin, what could possibly make me hate you?" She has a hard time trying to figure out what he could possibly do to make her hate him... besides lie to or betray her, of course.

Merlin suddenly begins to mutter in a language she's never heard before. It sounds ancient. Morgana gasps when his eyes turn bright gold, and she feels a weird sensation go through her hands and envelope her body. She pulls her hands away quickly and stares at the manservant with wide eyes. "You're- you have magic!" she whispers furiously. "How do you have magic? Why didn't you tell me? And what was that thing you did just now?" she's confused, and she has a billion questions racing through her mind right then.

Merlin nods to her hands, "If you'll let me, I can show you."

She bites her lip as she hesitantly places her hands back into his. At first, nothing happens. But then she feels it. Her skin explodes with goosebumps and a shiver runs down her back as her mind is filled with images... images of Merlin as a child, using his magic for the first time at the young age of two.

Her heart warms at the adorable, blue-eyed baby, laughing so giddily that the clothes in the corner of the room go up in flames.

He's six, and he uses his magic to heal an injured bird before setting it free into the sky.

He's ten, and he uses his magic to get water out of a dry well.

He's thirteen, and some older boys tease him for having big ears. He uses his magic to bring a scarecrow to life and scare the boys away.

He's sixteen, and he uses his magic to save his best friend from falling to his death when they snuck out at night to look at the stars from the top of a cliff.

He's eighteen when he uses his magic to heal his sick mother and heat their little home from the cold winter.

He's nineteen when he enters Camelot and witnesses the execution of Mary Collins son for practicing magic. Morgana feels the fear he felt as he watched the man get beheaded.

He's speaking to a dragon.

He's secretly protecting everyone he cares for.

Arthur nearly dies a thousand times, but Merlin manages to save him in every single one of those times.

Morgana gasps as the images finally stop. She slumps forward into Merlin's arms, her face pressed up against his chest. Tears flow down her cheeks as she wraps her arms around the manservant and hugs him tightly. She feels him lay his head on top of hers and whisper soft apologies for not telling her about his magic sooner. A few minutes pass before Morgana pulls away and looks at him through her tears. "Merlin, you don't have to apologize… I understand now why you didn't want anyone here in Camelot knowing."

Merlin nods, a shaky sigh of relief leaving his lips as he smiles at her. "I've always been told by my mother and Gaius to keep my magic hidden. To keep it a secret… but it feels wrong. My magic, is a gift, and…" he trails off as his cheeks redden. "I wanted to share it with you, Milady."

Her heart aches for him, having so much beautiful power flowing through his veins and not being able to use it freely. It's cruel. And she feels truly amazed that he chose to share his secret with her. Granted, the wine probably helped, but still… "I'm truly honored to be the one you wish to share your secret with, Merlin." she lays a hand on his cheek and stares into his eyes. "Thank you for telling me."

Merlin can only nod as he stares right back at her. They continue staring at each other, and Morgana can't help but wish he would just do something… anything!

Ignoring the slight disappointment she feels when Merlin doesn't move at all, she asks softly, "Now, what was your second deepest secret?"

Merlin continues to stare for a few moments before whispering, "May I show you?" he holds his hands out again.

"Of course." Morgana replies as she places her hands in his large ones again. He squeezes her hands lightly and smiles. She stares up into his blue eyes, waiting for them to turn gold when he mutters something, but he doesn't say a word, and his eyes stay blue. Instead, Merlin does the one thing she's been subconsciously wishing he would do. He leans forward, and kisses her.

It's short, innocent, sweet, and everything a kiss should be, but she wants more. Before Merlin could pull away fully, Morgana reacts and pulls her hands out of his only to throw her arms around his neck, pull him back again, and kiss him urgently.

Their kiss deepens rather quickly, Merlin ending up on his back, and Morgana laying on top of him as their tongues battle for dominance. A moan escapes Morgana, jolting Merlin out of his daze. He sits up, taking Morgana with him so she's straddling him… Morgana frowns.

"What is it?" she asks, frustratedly pulling the stray strands of her hair out of her face.

"Milady, I'm a servant."

Morgana blinks at him. "I know this already, Merlin."

"But—," she cuts him off by laying a hand over his mouth.

She cocks her head to the side and smiles at him. "Merlin, I want to kiss you, okay? And you're going to let me kiss you."

Merlin nods wordlessly, Morgana's hand still pressed against his mouth.

"For tonight, I just want to do what I want and feel is right, and damn the consequences… we can deal with everything else tomorrow. when we're completely sober."

Merlin nods again, and smiles when Morgana slowly removes her hand. "Anything else, Milady?"

Morgana grins and gives him a quick peck on the lips. "I'll let you know along the way… for now," she pauses and grinds her hips against his, earning her a groan from the magical man in front of her. "just shut up and kiss me."

All Merlin can do, is nod and do as he's told… it would be rude to disobey a lady.

…

A/N: I'm not sure if I even like this one at all. It started out the way I wanted it to, and ended up somewhere else. And yes, I know that Merlin and Morgana are like SUPER out of character, but I'm blaming that on the fact that my brain has been total mush lately… work and school is just taking a huge toll on me, so I apologize if this fic is not your cup of tea. Anyway, let me know what you guys think!

-McDiggin'It