Merlin Memory Month 2019

Prompt Day 6 - May 19th - "Because Gwaine Deserved to Know"

A/N -  And the second fic is here! You can read it as a continuation of the previous fanfic(s), or as a standalone. Enjoy! :)

SUMMARY - Simply said, Merlin finally tells Gwaine about his magic.

***

The day was slowly reaching its end, and Merlin was sitting on his bed in his chambers, waiting for Gwaine and taking deep breaths. There was something he was about to do, something that he rarely did, and to be honest, he was afraid.

It was time to tell Gwaine about his magic.

He'd been wanting to tell him for a while, but the time of the decision finally came when he and Arthur were sitting at a table in Arthur's chambers, planning the future of Camelot together. They had already rewritten most of the laws and the reality of magic being welcome in Camelot was fast approaching. They had decided then to tell their most trusted knights - about the prepared new law and about Merlin's magic, and then take it to the council for consideration and review.

They'd already cleared Arthur's schedule for the next day so that they could invite the knights into Arthur's chambers and talk about it. But Gwaine had been Merlin's friend for a long time, and Merlin wanted to tell him beforehand.

He knew that Gwaine would accept him and probably even joke around about it, but that didn't mean that he wasn't scared.

His heart was beating fast and he was sweating, telling himself over and over that this would be fine. That they'd still be good friends after all of this and that Gwaine was a part of the future that he and Arthur were planning.

There was a knock on the door to Gaius's quarters and not long after that, Gwaine finally entered.

"I'm here for-"

"Merlin's waiting for you in his room." Merlin heard Gaius say. He went to open the door and smiled down at Gwaine, gesturing for him to follow him.

"Thanks," Gwaine smiled at Gaius, who was more interested in his ongoing experiment, looking at something through his glasses.

Gwaine raised his eyebrows but grinned as he followed Merlin into his room and the door closed behind them. He clasped his hands together. "So, what was so important that I had to drink one less tankard of mead than I usually do to come up here?"

Merlin paused. "What? Gwaine, I told you about this like two days ago."

"I know, I know," Gwaine smiled and sat down on Merlin's bed, facing him. "But it's the weekend and I'm always in the tavern on weekends."

Merlin rolled his eyes fondly and then took a deep breath. His fear was slowly leaving him, but once he looked at Gwaine and realized that this was the moment, he was more anxious than ever.

"I . . ."

"Are you okay?" Gwaine asked him. "If this is not a good time, I can-"

"No, Gwaine," Merlin sighed. "It'll never be a good time for this, but I need to tell you something . . . very important about myself."

Gwaine opened his mouth, but Merlin stopped him with his hand. "Please don't guess, just . . . just listen."

Gwaine nodded, becoming serious. Merlin was glad for that because telling someone that he had magic was no joke for him. It had always been a secret that could get him killed and sharing it with someone he hadn't shared it with before was scary.

"Ok," Merlin sighed again and rubbed his hands together. "Arthur and I are in the process of changing Camelot in one significant way that would hopefully make it a better place for everyone in the future. There will be a meeting tomorrow with you and the rest of the knights, as I'm sure you're aware, and at the meeting, they will all find out something about me that I wanted to tell you first."

Gwaine didn't say a word, but he seemed moved. Merlin could see it in his eyes. Gwaine had always been loyal to him and he knew this meant a lot to him.

"Gwaine, you're one of my best friends, and I want you to know that . . . " Merlin hesitated. Gwaine was looking at him so supportively that it helped calm Merlin down.

Maybe he should just show him.

Finally, Merlin clasped his hands together and whispered into them. Gwaine's eyes widened as Merlin's eyes changed colour from blue to bright gold, and then when he opened his palms, a blue butterfly flew up and above their heads.

Gwaine watched it as it flew around the room and then sat down on Merlin's fingers. They looked at each other and Merlin finally finished what he was trying to say.

"I have magic."

Gwaine smiled so widely that Merlin didn't think he'd ever seen him like that. He stood up from the bed, leaned down to Merlin and gave him a tight hug. The butterfly flew away from them as Gwaine laughed.

"Thank you for telling me, mate."

"You deserved to know who I was." Merlin patted his shoulder as they let go of each other. "You've been a good friend to me, but I was lying to you for so long-"

"Don't worry about it, Merlin. I understand why you had to." Gwaine sat back down on the bed and took a deep breath. "So I take it Arthur knows?" Merlin nodded. "Wow, I can't believe you told me first of the knights!" He grinned. "Not even Lancelot? I know you've known him longer."

"Well, Lancelot has known for years."

"What?" Gwaine's smile faded and suddenly he looked offended, but Merlin could see he wasn't being serious. "When did you-"

"He found out when we first met, I wasn't being careful."

Gwaine just stared at him. Probably thinking about how Merlin was even alive after all these years, still living in Camelot, where magic was outlawed under the penalty of death.

And then he laughed. "How are you still alive, Merlin, is a wonder."

"Gaius told me the very same thing," Merlin laughed with him.

They spent the rest of the evening together, talking about everything, not just Merlin's magic. Merlin told Gwaine about some of the adventures he'd had saving Arthur, about some of his mistakes, one of which ended up with Arthur growing donkey ears (Gwaine couldn't stop laughing about that one and Arthur would probably never forgive Merlin for telling him about it), and Gwaine also told Merlin about all the things he'd lived through before becoming a knight of Camelot.

They laughed and talked until the day ended and it was time for Merlin to go to Arthur's chambers. And Gwaine? For once, he didn't end his Saturday drunk, instead, he kept a smile on his face even long after he'd fallen asleep.

*the end*

A/N - So that's it from me today! I hope you enjoyed the fanfics, more will come on Thursday. I've already finished writing the entire series, so all I have to do is find some time to proofread it among all the studying. Thanks for reading and have a nice week! :)