Breaking The Rules

Chapter 11: What Should I Do, Merlin?

Shouting fills the room as pitchers of beer are passed around each table of the tavern. "Oh, lord." Merlin chuckles as Arthur hands him a large mug. "Come on, drink up." Merlin raises a forbidding brow. "Remember what happened last time I drank?" Arthur shrugs, chugging a fairly large amount of beer in one sip. "Yeah, I know." He leans over while everyone else is distracted, whispering darkly. "Maybe I can get you to do it again." Merlin scoffs, nearly choking on his drink. "Woah! What's gotten into you?" Arthur pouts adorably and Merlin rolls his eyes. "C'mon, it's my day. Give me a break." Merlin smiles genuinely, clinking mugs with Arthur. "Of course." They both chug, and Merlin can already feel the buzz set in.

A couple of hours later and everyone's huddled up into a circle, Arthur in the center as everyone around him sings for he's a jolly good fellow. "Thank you for the gift, by the way," Arthur says loud enough for Merlin to hear as he approaches him. "You're welcome. You do realize that you're...so drunk right now, right?" Arthur laughs loudly, humorously bumping his shoulder against Merlin's. "So are you." Gwaine comes over, grabbing Merlin's wrist and dragging him away from Arthur. "Wh-where are you taking me?" "You're going to come play this game with me. I've heard from Percival and Elyan that you're great with dice." Merlin smirks as he gets pulled to the table, immediately grabbing the dice before him while making playful eye contact with Leon, who is standing on the other side of the table. "Game on."

"That was incredible, Merlin! How the hell do you do it?!" Merlin smiles innocently as Gwaine wraps his arm around Merlin's shoulder, a bag of coins in hand. "I guess I'm just—really lucky." Gwaine bites his lip curiously, shaking his head with persistence. "No, no. There's...something about you, Merlin. Can't quite put my finger on it yet, but I'm sure one of these days I'll figure you out." Merlin smirks sarcastically. "You do that." He gives Gwaine a pat on the back, returning to a heavy-footed Arthur, who is already on his third mug. "Merlin, there you are! Come on, you need to drink more." Merlin's eyes widen and he shakes his head with a laughing grin. "Oh-no. I've had way too much already." Arthur purses his lips, grabbing the pitcher and sloppily filling a mug with more beer. "No," Arthur grabs the mug and shoves it into Merlin's side, practically forcing him to take it, "you haven't had enough. Drink up!" Merlin inhales sharply at Arthur's words, but he obliges, clinking mugs with Arthur and shaking his head in disbelief as he tips his head back, downing everything in one sip. "Oh, boy, am I gonna regret this."

"Oh my god, it's so nice and cool out here!" Arthur whisper shouts into the cool, crisp night air as he and Merlin stumble out of the tavern, heading back to Arthur's chambers. "We should like—sleep out here. We should sleep out here! It feels so good! It's like a nice, cold blanket wrapped around us!" Merlin cackles as he wraps his arm around Arthur's waist for balance. "No. We can't sleep out here, Arthur. Have you gone mad? You'll freeze to death." Arthur scoffs, leaning into Merlin's side and sighing happily. Merlin looks behind them and relaxes once he sees that there is no one behind them. "I don't have to worry about freezing to death, Merlin. I'll have you there to keep me warm."

"Last time I checked, if you were caught sleeping out here, in the freezing cold—with me? We'd both be dead. Like, literally dead. Your father would actually kill us. Like actually." Arthur groans loudly, nearly falling over. "But that's not fair! I shouldn't have to hide who I am for my father's sake. That's just stupid. I quite literally had to fake marry someone just so he'd never suspect anything. How ridiculous is that?" Merlin shrugs as they both sluggishly make their way up the stairs, having to crawl up the last few steps. "I know, I know, it's stupid. But this is just how things have to be. At least—for now. Maybe one day...things will change." Arthur looks to him, bottom lip pouted out. "Not okay. I should be able to be with the one that I love without getting frowned upon."