Under The Influence

The Invitee

 Merlin didn't really want to go, at least not with Arthur. It's not that he didn't enjoy the bar, in fact he went almost every weekend (at least every weekend Arthur allowed). He would go, with the money he could scrounge up, and drink his responsibilities away. The worse the week, the more drunk he would get. At the end of the night, he would almost always end up at the brothel down the street. It's not that Merlin was an alcoholic, per-say, but he liked to be able to forget about Arthur, and his destiny, for just a night or two. Truth is, Merlin wanted to forget how he felt around Arthur. The way his stomach twisted when Arthur got too close to him. He couldn't stand it. It was wrong of him to see Arthur, the future king of Camelot, in that way. Some would even say that it's wrong for a man to think of another man in that way at all. That's why he always ended up at the brothel. Merlin was just a customer to them, they didn't judge him for being..  How was Merlin supposed to explain that to Arthur, his prince.

("Heyyy Arthur. So I actually don't like drinking I just use it as a coping mechanism to forget about I feel about you")

So when Arthur asked Merlin to go drinking with him and his knights, all Merlin could say was,

"With you and the knights? Is this some sort of a joke?"

And in response, Arthur would say,

"Why would I be joking? You go to the pub often, do you not? Gaius tells me all about it."

And what was Merlin to say to this? That Gaius had been using that excuse to divert Arthur from finding out that Merlin was actually a sorcerer. Or that Arthur is the reason he goes to the pub in the first place? Instead, Merlin would say,

"Alright, I'll go."

So, go they did. Arthur, Merlin, Percival, Leon and Lancelot all went to the pub (Gwaine was already there, as he usually was). The knights were all wearing casual clothing, Merlin wasn't used to this, but they each had small weapons discreetly hidden somewhere on them, in case something went wrong. What Arthur was wearing was no surprise to Merlin as he dressed him before they had gone out (as per usual). He wore a tunic and pants, nothing unusual. Merlin was dressed as he always was, a brown jacket, a tunic and a scarf. Arthur rolled his eyes and exclaimed,

"Do you ever wear anything different, Merlin?"

"Well, I don't know, are you ever not an ass?"

In normal circumstances, Arthur would have wacked him over the head with a glove, but tonight he was too.. Nervous? Uptight? Arthur was too.. Something. Not even he, the prince himself, could figure out what was bothering him so deeply. Perhaps it was something about that night. He knew Merlin was hiding something and this was just the place to figure it out.