Hello! I forgot I wrote this, so here.

Prompt on tumblr: Gwaine. Arthur. Alcohol. Merlin has to drag them out of the tavern while Arthur gets all lovey dovey towards his manservant, and idek Gwaine cackles in the background.

Yes, yes, my writing is slowly getting slashier and slashier... make of that what you will; I am thoroughly unconcerned.

Enjoy!

"I never get any days off," Merlin bemoaned as he stood before the tavern of the Rising Sun Inn. He could hear boisterous laughter and the occasional shout coming from inside, and he had no wish to enter. There was a lively off-key melody drifting out from many slurring voices, the song punctuated every now and then by a loud crash and the following "Oi!" from the barkeeper.

Unfortunately, he had to get his master and his master's drunken knight out of the tavern before they drank the whole city dry.

Merlin was not sure what Gwaine had done to get Arthur to drink with him, and frankly, he did not want to find out. He steeled himself with a small breath and pushed the doors open.

The strong smell of alcohol and heat from a few dozen breaths and bodies hit him all at once and he needed a moment to compose himself. He really just wanted to go to bed and be done with all of it.

He spotted a head flipping its thick brown mane and immediately located his first target.

Merlin marched over, a scowl on his face. "Gwaine!" he snapped. Gwaine looked over in confusion and saw the manservant frantically flapping his hand at him.

The knight excused himself from his entourage of swooning men and women with a roguish grin and a final flip of his lustrous hair.

Gwaine sauntered up to Merlin, who stood with his arms crossed.

"Hey, Mer—"

"Where's Arthur?" Merlin interrupted.

Gwaine blinked at him for a moment with his mouth open, absorbing the question into his alcohol-numbed brain.

"Gwaine," Merlin prodded impatiently.

"Yeah, he's just over there," the knight slurred, jerking a thumb behind him to where the blond was, indeed, nearly sprawling across a good number of his knights, all of them giggling.

Merlin's eye twitched in surprise for a second before he set his face into a mask of annoyance and marched over, dragging Gwaine behind him.

"Sire," he declared in clipped tones as he came within earshot, "I've come to fetch you."

Arthur's eyes brightened when he saw his manservant. "Merlin! Merlin," he repeated, seeming very amused at the pronunciation. Merlin raised an eyebrow and stopped walking. "No, no, come over, you need to… to…." He cut off in a fit of giggles as he motioned to the grinning man he was practically sat on. "This is Sir Bors. You'll love him. Did you know, he can fit his entire fist into his mouth?" The King gasped out another laugh, slapping his knee. "It's incredible, Merlin. You need to see it."

"Oh, really," Merlin said disinterestedly, grabbing Gwaine's arm when the knight's eye was caught by a barmaid. "Sire, you—"

"Oh, come off it, Merlin," Arthur said, smirking. "Enjoy yourself. We all know you spend more time in the tavern—"

"Oi, Princess, Merlin says we need to go now," Gwaine declared, marginally more sober.

"Thanks, Gwaine," Merlin muttered.

"Oh." Arthur looked rather contrite, which greatly alarmed the manservant. "Of course, anything for Merlin." He smiled.

Merlin stared at him. His eyes were glazed over by alcohol, but… there was no mocking in the exaggerated pronunciation of Merlin's name this time. He sounded… fond?

Merlin shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. "Come on, Arthur. We're going back to the castle."

Arthur giggled once more and shrugged, but he was only halfway out of his seat when he suddenly stopped, smile slipping off his face. "Wait. But Sir Bors—"

"Sire," Merlin hissed angrily. He would have simply grabbed the fool's arm and dragged him right out, but he did not want to find out how protective Arthur's current entourage were of their king.

Thankfully, Arthur seemed to detect his manservant's frustration, and stood up, granting Sir Bors a small pat on the head when he was fully vertical.

"Goodbye!" he called to his knights with a wide grin and a wave of his hand.

"Goodbye!" the knights all chorused. The noise was quite loud, and a few tankards were spilled in the confusion. Merlin gave in to his itch and grabbed Arthur's arm, pulling him sharply away.

"Oh, hello, Merlin," Arthur announced after he had been spun around and pulled out the door.

"Hello, Arthur," Merlin grumbled angrily, dragging the king beside him.

The king frowned slightly. "Oh, come now, Merlin, don't be like that. Show us that pretty smile of yours."

Merlin stared. Gwaine was silent for a moment before erupting into giggles. Merlin felt his face reddening, and turned away before they could see, tugging on his master's sleeve.

Arthur walked compliantly for a few steps before he faltered, overcome by the alcohol in his system. He swooned, pitching backwards, directly into Merlin's worried arms.

"Arthur? Arthur! How much did you have to drink?"

Arthur stared up lazily at his manservant. "Ah, I haven't seen your face from this angle before." He smiled, reaching up to pat Merlin's chin. "I like it."

Merlin sighed, trying to ignore Gwaine laughing in the background. They were lucky it was nearing dark, and there were few citizens still out. He prodded Arthur back into a position that would allow him to support his own weight, choosing then to place his master's arm across his shoulders, just in case another such situation would arise.

Arthur pressed himself closely to Merlin's side, smiling merrily. Merlin recoiled at the thick stench of alcohol, but trudged on.

Finally, they reached the castle. Gwaine followed them all the way to Arthur's chambers, and then swaggered off, claiming he was "leaving them to their… business."

"Come on, Arthur, let's get you to bed," Merlin muttered, wearily pushing the door open.

"Will you be joining me?" Arthur asked, still plastered to his manservant's side.

Merlin could hear Gwaine cackling uncontrollably down the corridor.

I don't know how drunk people truly work as I have never been drunk, so I apologize for any inaccuracies. I am but a child.

As always, thank you for reading!