Greetings Readers! Here is a collection I wrote for my holiday partner at the Heart of Camelot website, MildeAmasoj. I hope that she enjoys it, and that you do too! There will be one drabble for each part of the twelve days of Christmas song. Happy holidays!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, or any of its characters. I also do not own the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, A partridge in a pear tree.

xxx

Merlin promised himself, as he found himself hanging upside down in the tree, that he'd let Arthur find his own present next time.

He snorted at the thought as soon as it entered his mind. He hadn't been able to keep from helping Arthur back in Camelot, and the impulse hadn't shown any sign of going away since Arthur had emerged from the Lake of Avalon years before.

Swallowing back the lump in his throat at the memory of watching his friend return after millennia of waiting, Merlin focused on the situation at hand as the blood rushed to his head. He was glad the clotpole was back, but if he could keep from being dragged along on the more ridiculous quests, that would be nice.

"This is your bloody fault, Merlin," Arthur grumbled, which was hardly helpful.

"How is this my fault?" Merlin choked back, his woolen scarf blowing against his mouth and nose.

Arthur attempted to cross his arms, although it nearly dislodged him from the snowy branches. "This was all your idea."

"No," Merlin shook his head, groaning at the feelings of dizziness, "I distinctly remember saying, 'No Arthur, Gwen doesn't need you to give her gifts patterned after the Twelve Days of Christmas. She knows you're rubbish at showy things, and prefers simple things. We don't need to go questing – this is the bloody twenty-first century.'"

"You were the one that brought up the song in the first place!"

"Yes, as something extreme that you didn't have to do! But you take everything as a challenge-" Merlin tentatively reached up one hand to rub the headache between his eyes. "Never mind."

"If you'd just tied up the pheasant like I told you-"

"What would Gwen do with a live pheasant anyway?"

"You expected me to hang a dead lump of pheasant in a tree like an ornament?"

Merlin watched his hat fall to the ground below. "No, I expected you to buy a pear-cut diamond ring or something – you know, close to the words but not –"

Arthur slapped his hand to his forehead. "I knew I forgot about something – Merlin, after this we have to find –"

"Don't say the word tree to me ever again."

Tossing a icy pinecone at his friend, Arthur craned his head toward the top of the tree. "How much higher do you think he flew?"

"Higher than I want to climb," Merlin replied dryly, "Do you even see the partridge in the tree?"

"No, but I see two turkeys."

Merlin looked down and Arthur covered his face. "Hey Gwaine."

Gwaine smirked up at them from the bottom of the tree, crunching casually at his apple. "Need me to call the fire department, turkeys?"

"We are not -" A branchful of snow fell onto Arthur's face. "Just make the bloody call, Gwaine."

A/N: Those two. :D

I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading and please review! They make me happy! (And if you decided to read and review some of MildeAmasoj's work, that would also be AWESOME!)