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Merlin dropped the coin purse in front of Gwaine before sliding into the seat next to him, a smug look barely concealed on his face.
Gwaine stared at him as he did so with his mouth agape, a mixture of astonishment and adoration clear in his eyes.
Gently, Merlin reached over and pushed on Gwaine’s chin to close his mouth, saying, “Oh, stop that. People are staring.”
“I don’t think that's why they’re staring, hot shot,” he said with a sly grin.
“Well, why else…” he trailed off as he looked around the room, watching people avert their gaze whenever he looked towards them. “Oh.” The tips of his ears and nose turned pink.
“‘Oh,’ he says, like he isn’t currently undefeated at tonight’s dice games. No one has ever been as successful as you have been tonight. You seriously haven’t visited the tavern before?”
He shook his head. “The only tavern I’ve been to was the one where we met you. Otherwise, I’ve been too busy taking care of the royal prat to really do anything this… extravagant.”
Gwaine snorted. “I don’t think I’d call this shithole ‘extravagant,’ but it is the best the city offers. This just tells me I need to get you out more often,” he smiled, poking the end of Merlin’s nose to accent the word ‘you’ and chuckling after as Merlin went cross-eyed to watch his finger.
“Yeah, good luck with that. You know how long it took to convince him to give me off tonight.”
“Who says we have to listen to him?” he winked. “But I know you—always by his side, ready with his sword and a snide remark. Which is why you should enjoy tonight to its fullest.” Waving his hand, Gwaine ordered another two ales to the table.
“Gwaine, you know the money is for you to get drinks, right?”
“I get drinks for my friends all the time,” he replied quickly, as if he was already prepared for the question. “It would be especially rude of me to not get one for you.”
Merlin relented when Gwaine tilted his head and opened his eyes a little wider, unable to say no to him. Ever. Still, when the ale was slid across the table and he stopped it from falling over into his lap, his lip curled.
“Oh, come on you big baby, just drink it.”
He watched Gwaine take a long gulp from his tankard and followed suit, slamming it back down on the table shortly after as he coughed against the bitter taste now filling his mouth and throat. “Gods, that is vile.”
Gwaine smiled. “Yeah, it's not the best tasting thing. But you know what they say—the best way to wash the aftertaste out is by downing another!” With that, he drained the rest of his drink and gestured for more.
Merlin paled. “I think I’m going to find someone else to play dice with if you’re going to keep this up like that.”
“Wait!” he said before Merlin could get back up from the table and walk towards the gamblers. He leaned over and kissed Merlin on the cheek, muttering, “For luck. Not that you need any of it, it seems, but the sentiment still stands.”
There were only a few left willing to try and gamble against Merlin. Most people wanted to keep a hold of what little they had left. However, the big gamblers were willing to risk it, watching and waiting for the moment he finally slipped up. Even so, as they continued to play, Merlin continued to win. Gwaine brought both of their drinks over to the table Merlin was playing at and paid close attention, trying to figure out how he kept winning and urging him to finish his drink.
It wasn’t noticeable at first, but as the night wore on, Merlin began to grow sloppy. He was still winning, no doubt, but there were times he forgot to drop the dice when he rolled them, or times when he nearly missed the board they were rolling on. Once Merlin started saying the wrong words, and there was just a hint of a slur to them, Gwaine steered him away from the dice and back to a quiet table in the corner.
“Are you alright?”
“‘M I alright?” he said with a roll of his eyes, his cheeks flushed red, “Perfectly fine. Outright dandy. Why are they called dandelions? What’s dandy about a lion?”
“I don’t even know what a lion is,” Gwaine said, peeking into Merlin’s tankard and seeing it was mostly empty. “Gods Merlin, had I known you were this much of a lightweight, I would have ordered you a smaller drink.”
“‘M not light. Can’t see anything in a dark room with just me there. Then it’s just. It’s just. Just two of us in the dark. Standing.”
“Right…” he said, pulling Merlin’s tankard away and finishing the last few drops off himself. “I think it’s time we call it a night.”
He pouted. “But we’re having fun!”
“You’re not wrong,” he chuckled, “But you are in no condition to continue drinking or gambling. You especially don’t want anyone to know your little secret.”
Gwaine swore Merlin sobered up for just a moment when he said that, but it must have been his imagination, for all Merlin did was let out a loud belch before leaning over heavily onto Gwaine’s shoulder. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve been cheating,” he whispered into Merlin’s hair. “I can see it in your eyes.”
Merlin sat back up quickly and stared at Gwaine as he swayed gently in place, his brow trying to furrow. “My… eyes?”
Gwaine remembers that as the moment everything went wrong. Why Merlin started crying he wasn’t sure, but he was quick to help him up and out of the tavern before many people noticed. As he tried to support Merlin’s weight to travel back towards the castle, Merlin kept apologizing through his tears, saying he should have said something, and implored Gwaine to not tell anyone. He steered Merlin towards his own quarters instead of Gaius’s so they could talk this out alone.
“Merlin,” he said once he had closed the door. “I don’t care that you were cheating. I’m still in awe of how you even managed to do it! And of course I’m not going to tell anyone. Then we might not be allowed back, and we’d owe everyone their money, and—well, that’s a lot of trouble I’d rather not get into.”
He still wasn’t calming down. “Gwaine this is important.”
“I know, Merlin, I know. If you really feel that bad about it, then—”
“I do! You shouldn’t have found out about it like this, there’s so much on the line, your life could be in trouble just for knowing…”
Gwaine got the feeling that Merlin was talking about something very different. Arthur wouldn’t kill either of them for cheating at gambling—maybe double their chores for a long while, sure, but not kill them.
“Merlin, what are you talking about?”
“My eyes, Gwaine, my bloody eyes!”
Before Gwaine could ask what he meant, his breath caught in his throat as for a moment, the bright blue was obscured by a glittering gold. He watched as, in front of his very eyes, a vase of flowers materialized on the nearby table.
“You have magic,” he breathed.
Merlin buried his face in his hands. “I knew this was a danger. A risk. Now I’ve gotten you tangled up in my mess too. Maybe I’m no good for you.”
“Shh, shh,” Gwaine said, still trying to process what just happened but knowing it was time to shelve the matter for the moment. “I still love you, no matter whether you’ve got magic in your bones or you were just a regular person who worked his ass off every day with little recognition. I won’t tell a soul, and that’s a promise. Let’s get you to bed and have this conversation in the morning, when you aren’t drunk out of your mind.”
He looked up like he wanted to protest, but Gwaine led him over to the bed and helped him under the covers, and it really was only a few moments before he was already passed out against the pillow. Gwaine smiled before looking over at the flowers, surprised that Merlin had been able to hide his magic for this long but somehow knowing that it made sense too. Either way, magic was a part of Merlin, and he loved all of Merlin. There was nothing that could change that. So, gently, he moved Merlin over to the side so that he could sneak under the covers too, and they could sleep together.
Merlin was horrified the next morning once his head caught up with the rest of himself after last night. He started apologizing profusely while also panicking, and all Gwaine could do was laugh. However, all it took to calm him down was to capture his hands, gently remind him that Gwaine would never do anything to hurt him, and then kiss his forehead for good measure. Merlin melted under the touch, and was glad he finally had someone by his side who understood him for who he truly was.