Author's Note: sequel to Merlin's Mother. Keep an eye out for the next segment after this called Merlin's Crush.
It was the Christmas season and Camelot looked beautiful. Merlin looked out of the window and sighed at the wonder that Camelot had become. It had snowed constantly since the beginning of December and Camelot had transformed into an ice palace straight out from a fairy tale. The whole city was aglow with candle lights giving out inner warmth and all of the people were cheerful and excited for the twelve nights. Well everyone but Uther but Uther doesn't count.
"It's the Twelfth Night, tomorrow," Gwaine said cheerfully, "Merlin and I are going to the pub, and you lot are invited as well."
"I can't go and neither can Merlin," Arthur said without even glancing at Gwaine. He was too busy making sure no one had run off with Gwen's present.
"You can't answer for Merlin!" Gwaine snapped. "He is own person, strangely enough, and can answer for himself."
Arthur frowned. "Merlin cannot come to your drunken whoring knees up which you do every night anyway because he is attending to me at the Christmas feast."
"Attending you?" Gwaine smirked.
"Oh shut up, you know what I meant and it wasn't that."
"Surely you have other servants to attend to you, sexually or platonically," Lancelot said, "therefore you can spare Merlin tomorrow. After all I was going to invite him to take Mass with Percival, Leon, Gwen, and I then go to the party Gwen is having."
"First of, Merlin is my personal servant he isn't even allowed to sleep in case I need him, so no I cannot spare him. Second of all, Merlin hates church I've seen him fall asleep on Sunday service so why would he go to Christmas Mass? And finally Gwen is having a party and I wasn't invited?"
"You were invited, you just couldn't go because your father wants to spend Christmas with you," Lancelot said. "You have other servants, use them; Merlin is spending Christmas with me."
"No, Merlin is spending Christmas with me and the local wenches," Gwaine said.
"Not on your life! Merlin is spending Christmas as he spends his life, with me!" Arthur shouted.
The door opened and Merlin looked a little nervous and frightened. "Err...hi," he mumbled, "just come for this," he said quickly grabbing a box filled with mistletoe, "So...I'll...just be going-"
"Hold on Merlin," Arthur said causing Merlin to freeze by the door. "Who would you really want to spend Christmas with? This drunken sod and disease ridden whores, this romantic sop and his boring church, or with me doing what we always do."
"What? You insulting and throwing stuff at him?" Lancelot muttered under his breath. "Oh yes, very tempting offer."
"Shut up, Lancelot! Well, Merlin?"
"Ah...well...you see..." Merlin stammered Arthur raised his eyebrow at Merlin while Gwaine and Lancelot looked at him expectedly. "I wanted to spend Christmas with my Mother but since you three stupid morons have made her angry she doesn't want to see me. She's not sending a present this year either which is unfair since I spent most of my pay this month on buying her a necklace! Anyway since I wanted to spend it with my family I'm going to spend Christmas with Gaius and Gwen, bye!"
It was probably the fastest Merlin ever moved as he ran out of the room clutching his box of mistletoe to his chest.
"Well," Arthur said with a smirk, "obviously he meant me."
"What? He said Gwen and Gwen equals me since I'm going to be there."
"Hell no, using family is an excuse for going to the pub, he meant me!"
"Gwaine, family is usually an excuse to run away from the whore."
"Who cares about Gwaine's stupid excuse of going to the pub? Merlin is spending Christmas with me."
"No he's spending it with me!"
"Me! Me! Me!"
"Shut up!"
"Hey you pushed me!"
"So?"
"So – ha!"
"There was no need to push me!"
"Oh don't be so whiney!"
"Oh you think I'm whiney, now do you?"
"Arthur, Merlin calls you Prince Pouty-Pants behind your back. Of course I think you're whiney – hey! There was no need to push me!"
The three grown men had started to push one another hard. Angry and frustrated Lancelot pushed Gwaine roughly and Gwaine having already helped himself to five glasses of mead staggered into Arthur pushing him out of the room and landing on top of him.
Unfortunately for Merlin he was on a ladder trying to hang some mistletoe up when Arthur came barrelling out of the room and crashed face first into the ladder. Lancelot laughingly following Gwaine and Arthur tripped over the box of mistletoe and fell on top of Gwaine who was clinging to Merlin who was in a fairly compromising position with Arthur.
Gwen stared at them half amused and half embarrassed.
Merlin moaned pathetically.
"You know," she said her cheeks turning bright pink, "if you just wanted a turn with Merlin under the mistletoe you could have just asked."