It had been nice, Spain had. He'd rebuilt bridges and learned more about his family in the last week than he had done in his lifetime. But it was nearing the end of his stay. It was nearing October and Morgana and Gwaine needed to be home soon in order to prepare for the wedding and the babies.

One warm evening he sat alone on his balcony and opened another envelope. There were only two left in the package, which was strange because he was sure there should have been three. But he came to the conclusion that Merlin would know what he was doing (hopefully) and that there would be enough letters, he couldn't bear it if Merlin went back on this final promise.

The envelope was pretty much completely blank this time, and the hand writing wasn't as nice as it had been or what it should have been. He could see the weariness that had been overcoming his dear Merlin in those last few weeks. He could feel it draining through the letters that stood out bold and clear on the page. There was no room for fanciness anymore, no room for ornate drawings that would have taken him hours, just enough detail to get across his message and nothing more. A fading flower, drooping slightly but fighting on to survive just that little while longer – that's what Merlin had been.

Dear Arthur,

These final letters are to be shorter than the others I'm afraid. I can't really cope with this much exertion anymore, which is pretty upsetting if I'm honest.

Now this letter is written hoping that my prediction will come true. If I am correct Gwaine will have proposed to Morgana whilst you were away and they will now be planning their wedding. I am also predicting that it is around July or August time, meaning that my plans will all fall into place. These plans should help get you back into your family life again, as well as getting you to meet new people and learn new things in the process.

I've pretty much planned Gwaine's stag night for him, I hope he doesn't mind. I've also kept it reasonably low key so that Morgana doesn't throw a hissy fit which knowing her is quite likely if there is too much rowdy boyish nonsense involved. There are no strippers, no sluts, no other stupid stunts (at least, that's the plan), just a load of getting drunk.

1. Get Gwaine to Holland – I don't care how, just do it

2. You have 4 tickets to the Beer festival inside that little envelope of wonders

3. Take him there and have some fun. Oh, and take two of your/his mates and just go wild.

Just promise me you will keep yourself safe and to keep him safe.

I supposed I should have backup plan in place for if this one is a complete flop and Gwaine hasn't got his head out of his arse and proposed to the gorgeous girl who is basically his already.

This is actually rather difficult. I seem to be under the impression that life will plan out exactly the way I want it to. I mean, there is no way of me knowing whether you will follow these letters, or whether the time taken for each thing will be what I expect, that everything will run smoothly and there will be no interruptions. I guess it is a lot to hope for, that the world will always turn the same way, turning through the years without anyone doing anything wrong or unplanned. But I guess we never fully understand the consequences of tiny motions and movements before it is too late. How one wrong move can knock the whole world onto a different course and alter the path that the universe follows. There is so much out there that could change at the drop of a hat.

Sorry I'm blathering and it's exceptionally tiring to do so. I should stop. But this will be it really, Arthur. There's not much left of me. I can barely breathe on my own; I can barely speak to you, so all I have is the written word. I miss being able to tell you things aloud. I'm encased in my own mind, unable to break free from this cage of captivity.

If I could speak I'd say I love you. I'd tell you a thousand times over and it still wouldn't be enough. So maybe to end with I'll quote you one of the first love quotes we found together, and I think that now it fits perfectly.

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you"

And of course I am not saying I wish you die tomorrow, I am saying I am glad. Because I have never had to live a day without you, my dearest and closest friend and love. I thought our time would last a hundred years and it did certainly seem like that. For love makes time slip slowly by, I was able to love you and for that I am grateful.

Yours always and forever

M x

Arthur brushed away a tear and stared out into the endless night. The stars were glistening on the black velvet sky and Arthur wished Merlin could be there to see it too. For once he saw the world completely as it was. A place where time and cause and consequence were all in flux, and the nature of his and everyone else's existence depended on an infinite number of possibilities. And it made him wonder what had really led him to this place. Had something somewhere decided his fate and set him on this course, or had it been entirely of his own making? He was met with a thundering silence of answers to questions he was so desperate to have answered and he almost screamed in agony at his internal torture. Mingled in amongst the agony was the endless sense of longing to go somewhere and be someone else, and maybe not even because he wanted to but because it was possible. He could keep running like this forever, never knowing where to go next just hoping that there was a something somewhere to guide him down the right path and to not let him get hurt.

And it was there he sat for over two hours, the only noise to great him was the sound of the people bustling in the market square a few roads away. The tops of the houses were lay out before him like picnic blankets and it all seemed so endless. He cried again. More than he had been doing in the recent weeks and months because it was as if his whole sense of being was now under threat. The letter had seemed to be Merlin's last main goodbye. That his next letter was to be shorter and swifter than this and it was horrific to even contemplate.

After two hours there was a soft knock at his door and Morgana let herself in. Her eyes flickered to the letter that was sitting on the desk but she said nothing. She looked calm and relaxed, radiating a certain kind of happiness that could only come from someone as fortunate as her. She took his hand in hers but made no eye contact which was nice. She joined him in gazing out across the distance and waited for him to speak, knowing, as she always did, that he would come to her when he was ready.

In the end he said "You should read the tasks, see what you think" and then as Morgana reached for it he added "Just the tasks though, yeah? The rest of it…"
"Is kind of personal?" she finished for him with a faint smile "Of course, Arthur" and she picked it up and began to read.

Arthur didn't watch her. If she was going to read the whole thing she was going to read it and there was nothing he could do to stop her so he just continued with his star gazing, marvelling at their exquisite beauty and how wonderful it was that they could be viewed this way even from so many millions of light years away.

A sigh came from Morgana as she set the letter back down on the table a minute later
"Either your Merlin possessed magic powers or Gwaine has been planning to propose just a bit longer than he said he had." She shook her head fondly "I'm not going to deny you this chance, Arthur. I mean, what's the point?"
"But what if…"
"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking about the last time you got drunk and how badly it turned out. And I'll tell you this, Gwaine will look after you. I'll make him swear on his life that he will. You won't be by yourself and it will be in a much more controlled environment"
"I can't do that again…" he said, is voice wavering "I completely let him down, Morgana" he whispered on the brink of tears "I remember that night. I couldn't really but I do now and shit, Morgana, I cocked up" and he broke down. He let the images surge through him like an angry mob that was beating at his skull even when he couldn't take it anymore "I hate what I did and I hate who I became because of it"
Morgana didn't say anything for a moment. Her eyes were darkened by shadow of the night, the faintest glow hitting her cheeks from the lamp in his room which he had forgotten to switch off. "You cocked up, I won't disagree. But think about it, Arthur, Merlin told you to get pissed and you did. I'm not telling you what you should or should not have done because that would be very hypocritical. And thinking now of what it felt like when Gwaine…" she stopped, her gaze falling and her tone becoming uncertain. "I never told you this story; I thought you would kill him. And you still might, I guess, but I might as well tell you anyway, you know I love him far too much to hurt him" she took a deep breath "When Gwaine and I first started dating, you can probably remember we both kind of joked around. Nothing was set in stone and nothing was really finalised. I stuck by him, I thought we were truly dating but Gwaine didn't see it that way at the time and he went and had a one night stand with another girl. It hurt me, yeah, but you know what? People make mistakes. And I think that's what Merlin was trying to show you. You have always been the perfect angel of the Lord husband, and I think Merlin pushed you into rebelling because he knew you would never do anything of your own accord. Arthur, look at me" and as Arthur turned his head she could see the conflicting emotions pulsing through his head "The world hasn't ended, you haven't changed. The world will keep on turning and you will keep on living. Don't you worry yourself anymore, what's done is done and a word spoken cannot be unsaid"
There was a faint splash of water on metal, a tear falling from Arthur's cheek onto the railing he had leant forward onto "You always know how to say the right thing" he said softly "You're going to make a great mum" and he began to chuckle "Just… don't abandon me, please" he added under his voice, expecting her not to here but she did, as always. Before he could brace himself he was engulfed in a huge hug
"I would never abandon you, Arthur Pendragon. You're my brother, alright? I'll stick with you till beyond the grave"
"Nice choice of words"
"Oh fuck shit" she gasped "Sorry, Arthur, you know I didn't mean it like that I totally didn't mean to say it in that way I just thought…"
"I was joking, Morgana"
Pulling away, she slapped his shoulder playfully "You'll always be my brother, and that's a promise. Nothing you can do will change that"
"So you're saying yes to the stag do?"
"I'm just ashamed the list didn't include anything for my hen night"
"Yeah well, you can't have everything" and he grinned at her "By the way, you don't happen to have found one of my letters by any chance? An unopened one? I mean, they've all been in order and everything but there's one missing and I don't understand what could have happened and if I'm honest I really don't want to have lost it"
"Don't worry, Arthur, you will find out what is going on soon enough" and with that final statement she swept out the room just the way she always did, with more style than Arthur had ever possessed.
"Fan-fucking-tasitc" he muttered to himself under his breath "So Morgana knows something that I don't, like that doesn't always end in disaster… thanks Merlin!" he shouted out to the sky. Then he laughed, harder than he had done in months. He laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, and how much things had changed. He laughed at how wonderfully horrible the world had become and how happily cruel it could turn out to be without even a change in the weather.

He turned in to bed at around midnight. The cold night air still tingled on his skin as he stripped down to his boxers and lay on top of his covers without the intention of falling asleep. Instead he allowed memories to play back to him; from the love to the hate, from the laughter to the tears. He fell asleep laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the memories. Pictures floating back to him of him and Merlin in Disneyland and the great big grin that had been plastered onto his face the whole time, of Merlin trying to eat an ice cream that was bigger than his head, but had drifted off before the memory could cement itself into his long term memory for safe keeping.
He slept like he hadn't slept in a while. He was mending, slowly but surely. The hole in his heart would never fully heal but there were stiches beginning to appear in the form of his family, holding him together during the hardest days of his life. He was still loved by someone, and that meant the world. To lose who you thought was the only person who thought anything of you and then to believe that you had no one had to be the hardest thing Arthur had ever had to face. Yet now he knew he wasn't alone he knew he could do anything he wanted because people would be there to back him up if all went to hell afterwards – and maybe he'd even find someone who would go into the pits of hell with him, just like Merlin had once done. But this was all a long way off yet, he had other things to think about before any of that came along.

The morning sun greeted him through the undrawn curtains and signified a brand new day. He could hear a lady singing somewhere and he knew it was Lucia without even thinking – for one thing she had the voice of an angel, and two it couldn't have been Morgana because Morgana sounded like a dying cat whenever she attempted to pour her heart and soul into any song no matter what genre. The world was smiling at him, happy that he was there and welcoming his presence on its surface. He carried on with his normal morning routine like he always did; it was simply easier that way. Lucia would bring him breakfast and he could chat with her about everything and nothing, telling her his life whilst she told him hers and they began to realise that they were one the same. Lucia had lost her husband – all be it at a much older age – but the pain was still there. When she described it, it was a severe sense of loss and longing, like losing a limb – he should be there with her but he just wasn't. And when Arthur did the same, she could see that his sorrow was partly based on anger, on losing Merlin before their time. They learnt a lot from each other, more than they ever realised; finding comfort and solace in an almost complete stranger.

And so the routine passed him by just the same as always. By 11 o'clock he was downstairs eating an apple in the kitchen and waiting for Paulo. That had also become a habit, there would be something for him to do in the hotel and he might as well just get it done before he settled himself down to the task of informing Gwaine of his impending stag do.

After nearly 20 minutes, Paulo bustled in muttering his apologies and dumping a large box on the table in front of him. Arthur winced at the bang and hoped the rackety wooden table would be able to withstand such a battering.
"Well, Arthur," he said, his breath coming out in little puffs "Good morning to you, I hope you had nice sleep"
"It was lovely, thanks" he replied with a beam "One of the best night's sleep I have had in ages"
"That is good to hear, Arthur, very good. Now, today can you build this for me, please? It's a new wooden table to stay here in the kitchen, but I cannot read English instructions. You do good job fast, you can go out with family earlier today, yes?"
"Yes, sir" Arthur said with a cheeky grin and a fake salute
"You're a naughty boy, Arthur Pendragon!" he scolded playfully, a glint in his eye and no menace in his words "Now, I leave you to get on with it, if you need anything you get that Gwaine to help, he is far too lazy!"
"Oi!" a cry came from the doorway "That's not very nice, Paulo! I have done my bit"
"Ah, but not as much as Arthur" and he bumbled out of the room
"The cheek of it!" Gwaine laughed as he came in "Want a hand?"
"Nah, I should be alright. It's only an IKEA table" his breath caught in his throat for a moment, remembering suddenly the first letter and the disastrous trip to IKEA and he turned to get himself some water in the vain hope that Gwaine hadn't noticed. Though it seemed he had been spending far too much time with Morgana for him to get away with it
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, showing a rare sense of controlled compassion – maybe this was the Gwaine Morgana got all the time and he just hated showing it to anyone else "You were with Morgana a lot last night and I guessed that meant you were…"
"Yeah," Arthur interrupted, gulping the whole glass of water down in one "I opened the letter" he rasped out, coughing for a moment because he should not have downed that glass in one go like that "It was… interesting yeah. Did Morgana tell you anything…"
"Not a peep, she knows when to keep a secret and when to share"
"Right… well on the bright side, Merlin planned your stag do for you. On the downside, there seems to be a letter missing"
Gwaine beamed at him then and Arthur couldn't quite figure out whether it was because of the stag do news or there was something else going on… but he dismissed it when Gwaine cried
"Waheey! Where's the stag do taking place then?"
"The beer festival in Holland" Arthur responded with a sigh, knowing already to brace himself.
And he was right to do. A moment later Gwaine jumped on him pulling him into the most manly hug he could muster
"You know what, that guy freakin' knew me better than I do! What a fantastic idea! Why didn't I think of that!?"
"Because…" he paused, why didn't Gwaine think of it? And then he realised, and replied quietly "Because that's who Merlin was. The one who knew everything, what was good for you and what wasn't so good"
And Gwaine stopped, stepping back from Arthur and saying simply "I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through, Arthur. If I were to lose Morgana…"
"You won't, Gwaine, you look after her, you keep her safe and make sure she takes care of herself. That's where Merlin went wrong, he took care of everyone else before he dealt with his own problems" he sighed heavily "At least in death he has taught me that sometimes people should be selfish sometimes, because maybe then a life will be saved"
"You've become madly wise, Arthur. It's almost scary to witness"
Arthur shoved him "Piss off, tosser, let me get on with building this then we can plan the stag do"

So Arthur spent the next two hours building then rebuilding (it went wrong the first time – IKEA furniture always does when you're building it) Paulo's new kitchen table and chairs, as well as adding a new table cloth which he bought himself and small vase of flowers just to top it off. He was glad Gwaine wasn't there; otherwise he'd be accused of being sentimental or a wimp which he so obviously wasn't. He just wanted everything to be right for Paulo and the little family he had found himself here, especially now he knew he would be moving on very soon.

And later that day, around a fabulous feast that Lucia had put out for them, Morgana, Arthur, Gwaine and Uther discussed the plans for Gwaine's stag do
"So" Arthur started "I have four tickets to the beer festival in Holland. One each for me and Gwaine, Morgana isn't coming because it's a stag do, father?"
"Aha, Arthur, I don't think so. This is Gwaine's moment and he should be spending it with his friends"
"I'm not really that close with anyone else though" Gwaine contemplated, half thinking out loud, half thinking to himself "I mean, I only really used to hang out with Arthur and Merlin and then when Arthur went off, my focus shifted to the wedding and looking out for Morgana. Any other friends I have had in the past have all drifted away or I've lost contact with them because I didn't like them that much to begin with"
Morgana laughed "You have Tristan and Elyan from the swimming club, and if you're really desperate Cenred"
"I am not having Cenred at my stag do!" he cried in outrage "Last time he visited our place he groped you! Groped, Morgana! He is not getting his filthy hands near you or our babies" and he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms with a loud 'humph'
"Fine, not Cenred then" Arthur said, forcing himself not to laugh in fear of Gwaine killing him "What about Tristan and Elyan?"
"You don't even know Tristan"
"So what?" he said "For one thing, it's your stag do, and for another, I've met loads of people over the last few months, another one won't hurt"
"He speaks the truth, Gwaine" Uther said "And anyway, he knows how to deal with new people"
"I just don't want him to fall out with someone and then ruin my stag do! That's all" Gwaine humphed again
"Oh!" Morgana cried, clapping her hands in glee "I remember now why you're trying to keep Tristan away!" at this point she burst into complete hysterics "Tristan beat him in their bar crawl last year and he's jealous, and now he's going to get back at him by not letting him go the beer festival!"
Gwaine didn't say anything, merely sinking lower into his chair and running a hand through his hair. Arthur and Uther both joined in the laughter and Uther was the first to say anything
"I didn't take you to be that much of a sore loser, Gwaine!"
"Oi!" Gwaine yelled "So you think I am a bit of a sore loser then!?"
This just made Morgana cackle even more and the tears began to roll down Arthur's cheeks.
"Well you did nearly punch Arthur that time you lost the football match"
"That was one time!"
"And the time you didn't speak to me for a week because I beat you at monopoly by one pound" Arthur piped in, still giggling.
But Gwaine only responded with a scowl and a "Anyone for pudding?" as he left the table and headed towards the kitchen to help Lucia.

In the end they invited Elyan and Tristan because there really wasn't anyone else to invite. The invitation got sent out with a note attached saying "Sorry it's such short notice" because it was September 27th and they needed to get to Holland by the 2nd.

They spent their last days pretty much the same as they had been, although Gwaine and Morgana spent a bit more time together planning all kinds of 'what if' scenarios to do with the babies and such liked. It did give Arthur and Uther a chance to talk properly alone, in a way they had never really done before. Arthur was really pleased to hear that now Uther did actually believe that his marriage to Merlin had been general, and that maybe he really was old enough to make his own decisions on these sorts of matters. They also talked about Ygraine, and the feelings of guilt Uther had carried around for so many years. By the end of September they were both standing taller, a weight lifted from their shoulders and their feelings shared so the burden wasn't so hard to carry.

On October 1st they all headed to the airport. There were a few tears on Morgana's part, and a lot of hugging between everyone (though not between Gwaine and Arthur, that just wouldn't have made sense). If Arthur was honest with himself, he didn't understand why they were flying to Holland when he was sure a train would be easier and cheaper, but Gwaine was paying so he didn't complain. They only ended up departing when Uther swore on his life that he would protect Morgana and the babies even if it meant killing himself in the process, to which Morgana and Arthur exchanged a look of well fuck me sideways, I didn't know he was so over protective.

The plane journey was a laugh. So much better than some of his previous ones had been. They played card games instead of watching the film, it was only a short flight and they couldn't be bothered with all the hoo ha about what to watch otherwise they would never finish the film at all. Arthur simply wasn't given the opportunity to wallow in his misery as he had done in his last journey's – the one to Australia reminding him completely of what had changed over the last many months.

Stepping off the plane was nothing out of the ordinary; he'd done it enough times now. Gwaine was like an excitable puppy that had been let of his leash and was happily dancing around, reading signs in a terrible Dutch accent, playing with the suitcase trolley and just generally being a bit of a prat; but Arthur didn't care. He let Gwaine muck around whilst he stood with the sign for Elyan and Tristan despite the fact Gwaine had designed it so it read 'PROPERTY OF GWAINE ORKNEY, STAG DO HOST' and Arthur was trying not to die of shame. It was funny watching him act so excited, and it made him wonder why he had never had that much glee when he stepped of the plane in Australia. Maybe it was because Gwaine was excited to not be under Morgana's control for a week, or maybe he had just never realised the extent of his despair.

Tristan and Elyan's plane landed an hour after theirs did. It wasn't too long to wait but around half way through Gwaine had walked off into a shop and disappeared for twenty minutes, coming back to Arthur later with a bemused look on his face and a pineapple in his hand.
"I didn't even want a fucking pineapple, I went in there to get a bottle of water"
"Did you get one?"
"No! They gave me a pineapple instead"
Arthur had just shook his head wearily, thankful for the arrival of the two other men who could hopefully take Gwaine off his hands for a while.

In the cab they made all their introductions. Gwaine was too busy laughing at something with Elyan to notice the slight amount of awkwardness that had arisen between Arthur and Tristan. But when the topic of conversation had turned to football, and the other two had got back involved again, they were all fine and dandy. Arthur began to catch up on all the footie news he had missed – and he began to think about whether he actually wanted to know about the premier sides at all. He wouldn't tell any of them this, but he felt like he really didn't give a shit. He still loved playing the game and working out the tactics, but listening to people go on about how well Rooney was doing or where Renaldo had moved to now was just a bit boring.
But when the flow of chatter moved onto what Arthur had been up to, he found himself miles out of his comfort zone yet sitting in his element at the same time. He didn't want to tell them everything – the image of Mordred still a pressing devil in his mind – but he told them all the things they would find cool and everything that he had loved doing. Elyan seemed to enjoy his tales, which was really nice of him, but Tristan seemed disinterested. Pretending not to notice the angry looks Gwaine kept sending Tristan's way, Arthur just carried on as if nothing was happening and that he was just happy to be telling these almost complete strangers everything.

Arriving at the hotel was nothing out of the ordinary either. Another new receptionist, another new hotel manager, another new room, another new this, another new that: it was all terribly boring. Add to that three other rowdy blokes, one of whom seemed to have taken an immediate disliking to Arthur and everything just felt wrong. He longed for a nice long shower – he still hadn't got over his addiction to cold showers – a reread of Merlin's latest letter and a rummage through his bag to see if he could find the missing one. But Gwaine was having none of it. He was now under the impression that his stag do meant his rules. And rule one was "No moping about" he had said looking pointedly at Arthur who was scowling at him.
So they shared two rooms, Tristan and Elyan taking one and Gwaine and Arthur taking the one next door (God help him), because it was obvious that they should save money on room space so they could get more beer. Gwaine then hogged the bathroom for a good hour and a half, Arthur didn't even want to know what he was doing in there; and he hid Arthur's bag from him so he couldn't look for the last letter nor read the other one. He was then forced into a mandatory game of cards with everyone and wasn't even allowed to leave when he began to lose every single hand he was dealt (and okay so he was doing it on purpose but he thought Gwaine would have shown him some mercy if he was being this rubbish). Yet it seemed Gwaine was on a mission to make the most of every minute of freedom possible, no matter how much the people around him just wanted some sleep.
They finally turned in around one o'clock in the morning. Gwaine was still chatting away cheerily as Arthur slipped under the covers, hoping to get some sleep. It was much cooler in Holland than it had been in any of the other places he had been – even France had been beautiful despite of the time of year. The duvet was soft and welcoming, made for comfort rather than looks. He was more than happy to just curl into a ball and cry himself to sleep, the way he had done many a night since Merlin's passing. It would have worked to, he'd have been so much better in the morning, so much happier if he had just had this chance to get it all out of his system, but Gwaine continued to talk, not even allowing Arthur to stop and think. Eventually, the tears fell anyway. Silent tears, like he had taught himself to do as a child because there was no point in screaming for his father would never come. And then Gwaine fell asleep, very suddenly and midsentence and the whole world seemed too quiet and too still. He was a mix of so many emotions he couldn't keep track. Annoyed with Gwaine for taking away his back, angry at Tristan for judging him before they had met, upset that Merlin had sent him here when it was one of the last places he wanted to be. And most of all, he was lonely. To watch the three swimmers get on so well and talk about things he could never understand was just so infuriating because he should be able to join in but he just couldn't. It was four o'clock in the morning before he got to sleep.

None of them woke up till well into the afternoon anyway. They had missed the start of the festival but that didn't seem to matter too much, everyone was already too drunk to notice. And from then on it was simply drink after drink after drink until the number they had had was lost and it just became "Do you want another one?" (or really "D'u wan 'nother ne" because they really couldn't keep that much drink down). They were surrounded by men who were drinking and singing merrily, and it was easy to become lost in the crowd. It was exhilarating and sickening, he would try and follow the lines of a Dutch folk song and change into Bohemian Rhapsody half way through without even a second thought to how they reached that point. It was all so easy. You pay once and you're in for the whole day with as much beer as you can handle.
He had lost Gwaine and the others quite a few hours ago and had been hanging with some random Dutch guys when they offered him some cannabis. He was drunk and completely free from any responsibility so he smoked some. It was great, he had never felt so high in all his life. Suddenly everyone was a unicorn or a pretty pony, everything was ten times funnier than it should be and he just could not stop laughing. He spent hours with the same guys, just smoking and laughing because why the fuck not?

At 4 o'clock in the morning he staggered back to their hotel room; high, dizzy and delirious. The world was spinning before his eyes and the stars were dancing. It was beautiful. He hiccoughed as he tried to get the door key in the lock, then missed the key hole by a few inches so he tried again. After the seventh unsuccessful try the door flew open and he cried
"GWAINE!... oh, that hurt, I'll keep the volume down" as he noticed Gwaine's wince "You are gorgeous, you know that right? If you weren't gonna marry Morg *hiccough* Morgana, I would marry you myself"
"Get inside you tosser, you'll wake everyone up in a minute"
Arthur giggled "Ooh, Gwaine, you shouldn't"
"I'm saving your ass, Pendragon, now get in here" and he pulled him inside.
Gwaine started choking when he brushed past him "Have you been fucking smoking?! Arthur!? You've fucking smoked cannabis, Jesus fucking Christ!"
Arthur giggled again "Yeah, and now everything is rainbows and pretty ponies yeah"
There was no response just a clatter as Gwaine got a glass down from the cupboard to get him some water
"I'd get you some paracetamol but I don't have a fucking clue how that goes with cannabis and what the fuck you're supposed to do at all with someone on cannabis, you absolute fucking twat!"
"Hey! Lighten up, Gwainie-poo! It can't be that bad! I feel great!"
"You won't in the morning" Gwaine muttered "I thought we all agreed, one proper beer then that kind of half stuff they were selling which was actually really good!? What happened to you!?"
"To be honest *hiccough* I don't have a clue. I remember… a ginger guy with a really cool moustache, a waiter with a lovely arse and then some fat bald bloke offering me a joint and I thought *hiccough* what the heck!?" he grinned… well attempted to grin, it was rather scarier than he was hoping for
"Morgana is gonna fucking murder me when she hears about this! I guess tomorrow I'm gonna have to spend a whole day looking after you while you try not to choke on your own vomit"
"I'll be all good mate, I'm just gonna go to bed and have a nice sleep. And in the morning everything will be right again, yeah?"
"If you say so, mate. The only problem with your plan is that it is already the morning and everything is certainly not alright or do you mean Wednesday morning not Tuesday morning?" he turned to look at Arthur when there was no response and he was dead to the world and snoring his head off on his bed, fully clothed with his shoes still on "You're fucked, mate" he muttered, shaking his head. The glass of water was left by his bedside table as Gwaine settled back under his covers where he had been happily sleeping until Arthur had come along.

Gwaine awoke just before midday. The sun was shining through the half draw curtains and for a moment everything was blissfully quiet. Then the snoring started again. A deep rumble that came from far in Arthur's chest and snorted out through his open lips. As Gwaine rolled over, he could see the pool of drool that had formed in the hours Arthur had been asleep in the same position, still fully clothed and without even a hint of waking anytime soon.
He made himself breakfast because he had missed the hotel one, hoping that the smell of toast and bacon would stir Arthur from his slumber. That didn't work. He had a shower until the hot water ran out, singing at the top of his voice in an attempt to rouse the comatose Arthur. That didn't work either. He tried opening ever cupboard and slamming them shut. He tried turning on both taps to full use until the pipes threatened to burst with the vast volumes of water that were pumping through them. And yet none of it worked.
In the end, Elyan and Tristan came over. He told them the pitiful story of Arthur's drunken/stoned escapades and they decided together to just leave him to sleep it off, for it wouldn't matter if he missed just one day. They taped a quick note to the glass of water telling him they'd gone for another days drinking but to not leave the hotel room. They left him one paracetamol tablet – Elyan had Googled it said it would be fine if he had slept most of the cannabis out of his system. And then they just walked out, none of them wishing to deal with how grumpy and grogy Arthur would be when he woke up.

As it was, Arthur woke up at 4 in the afternoon. There was a whistling noise coming from somewhere that he couldn't place (eventually he decided it must just be in his head and he had completely lost it) and the stench from his smoke filled clothes was making him choke. His eyes opened slowly, his eyelids heavy and his head screaming at him not to move. He knew he had to, had to get out of the clothes and into the shower. His blurred vision could just about make out the note the boys had left him and he attempted to laugh when they though he would actually want to move let alone leave the room.
It was another hour before he could drag himself up and out of bed, stumbling into the shower to find only the remnants of the hot water Gwaine had left him. He drank the water they had left him, followed by another three glasses to try and get the vile taste out of his mouth, and when that didn't work he brushed his teeth five times until his mouth was burning at the overly-refreshing minty taste. He chucked his clothes in the bath tub along with some fabric conditioner they had brought along, allowing them to stop stinking so badly. Out of kindness he washed all of Gwaine's clothes too, remembering with a wince how awful he had been to him the night before.
God he had been such an idiot! Why did he let himself get stoned when he knew he was a lightweight drinker!? Come to think of it, why didn't he even let himself get so drunk!? He changed all his sheets then collapsed onto his bed wearing just his pants (and only them in case the boys came back and didn't want his nuts on full show). He felt mildly better, his head wasn't pulsating as much, he didn't feel like he was going to vomit anymore and he just needed sleep.
So that's what he did. He slept for another four hours until the boys came back, singing a song about a sailor he knew he should know but he couldn't place it.

They had a laugh that night, none of them wanting to go to bed. They played cards and chess with a random box that had been left in the hotel room by its previous occupants.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Arthur didn't drink half as much as the others in fear of finding those guys again who would get him stoned. He became the sensible one who would look after them in their times of need and hardship, helping them home because no one else would. Hopefully this would mean Morgana would forgive him for taking cannabis on the first night. If not… well he was fucked. She would kill him as soon as she could lay her claws on him and that would be that.

The beer festival was certainly one to remember. There were late night conversations with Gwaine where he would lament on and on about how scared he was about becoming a father, and wishing he wasn't going to let Morgana down when he had convinced himself he would. Arthur even managed to befriend Tristan by the end of the week when he offered to mop up the pile of vomit Elyan had left in the middle of their bathroom (that definitely was not the highlight of the whole trip). In all, it left them feeling horrific but amazing at the same time. None of them could place into words what it was really like!

On the final day they all made a pact.
"What happened at the beer festival" Gwaine said
"Stays at the beer festival" Arthur finished
"Fucked if I remember any of it anyway" Elyan added, shaking his head in bewilderment
"Seconded" Tristan finished "Never are we to speak of these events to anyone but each other… and especially NOT to Morgana!"