"Merry."
Upon hearing his name whispered through the darkness, the young hobbit rolled over towards its source and asked groggily, "What is it, Pip?"
"I miss Rivendell."
Merry smiled at his cousin, whom he could barely see in the dim moonlight even though he was lying only inches away. "Me too, Pip. But we've slept on the ground before -- I think we'll survive."
Assuming the conversation was finished, Merry started to roll back over, but Pippin whispered, "I mean I miss YOU."
"MISS me?" Merry turned back to face his cousin again, slightly perturbed that Pippin was interrupting his sleep for such foolishness. "We spent the entire day tramping side by side, so how could you miss me? A person has to actually GO AWAY for someone to miss them."
Merry could hear Pippin sigh frustratedly, and it reminded him of when his cousin was little and couldn't get his mother to understand what he was saying. "No. I mean I miss YOU and ME in Rivendell." And to avoid further confusion, Pippin grabbed his cousin's hand and held it against him so Merry could feel exactly what he meant.
"Pippin!" Merry whispered, grabbing his hand away quickly. "Not now! There are others about."
As if on cue, Sam mumbled something incoherent and rolled over, taking half the blankets with him.
"There are ALWAYS going to be others about," Pippin whispered. "And you best not be saying that we can't be together until we reach Mordor, because I'll DIE before then."
Merry smiled at his cousin's exaggeration. "No you won't. And I'm not saying we have to wait FOREVER, but we should at least wait tonight. Besides," Merry said, grinning wickedly at his cousin through the darkness, "I thought last night would tide you over for a few days at least."
"No, it just makes me miss you more." Pippin reached out and started unbuttoning Merry's shirt. "Please, Merry? Tramping all day has made me edgy -- the big folk take such big steps, I feel like we practically have to run to stay up with them. I need to relax. And I promise I'll be quiet."
Merry laughed, for he knew better. "You can't do ANYTHING quietly, Pip, and certainly not THAT."
"Sure I can."
Pippin had finished with the shirt, and his hands now moved down to Merry's trousers, causing Merry to gasp before he could stop himself.
One.
Pippin smiled through the darkness at his cousin. "But can YOU?"
Two.
Merry was annoyed, wondering if Pippin had planned the whole thing just to make him squeal, and realized that making Pippin wait would be the ultimate revenge. "I don't think we should do this now, Pip. Not so soon on our journey. I mean, what will the others think? We should just be patient."
Three.
"I AM bloody patient," Pippin whispered. "Your trousers force me to be -- what are there, SEVEN buttons on them?"
Four.
"EIGHT." Merry knew because he had been silently counting each one as Pippin undid them, and he knew if he didn't stop Pippin soon, there would be no going back.
Five.
Sam stirred in his sleep again, reminding Merry that he was near. Merry wondered if the gardener could hear his heartbeat, which was pounding loudly in his own ears. He tried to get control of himself, realizing that he would need to argue persuasively to prevent this thing from happening, so he shook his head, trying to regain his senses. "We can't do this now, Pippin."
Six.
"But I want you."
"We all want LOTS of things, Pippin, but we can't always get what we want."
Seven.
"I need you."
Merry realized that he was going to need something himself very soon, but his urge to stop Pippin was still winning over his other urges.
"We CAN'T, Pip. Not with everyone else so near."
Eight.
After undoing the last button, Pippin leaned his face up close to Merry's and whispered, "I love you."
Merry sighed. He had no good answer for that.
Except, of course, "I love you, too, Pip."
***
"Didn't you sleep well last night, Mister Merry? 'Cuz you look awful tuckered out today."
Pippin tried not to laugh as he heard Sam questioning his cousin in front of him. He was eager to hear Merry's response to the gardener's inquiry, but he didn't get a chance to hear it for his older cousin was giving him the once-over.
"You look tired yourself, Pippin," Frodo said meaningfully to his cousin. "But I'm sure that it's just a coincidence."
Pippin attempted to hide his smile. "A coincidence -- that must be it."
Sam's voice carried back to them again: "I'm awful sorry, Mister Merry. I'm a blanket hogger from way back. Like my Gaffer always used to say..."
"No blankets, eh?" Frodo asked, giving Pippin a sidelong glance. "It must've been frightfully cold for you two last night."
"Mm-hmm," Pippin agreed, "downright chilly." He could tell that Frodo knew about him and Merry, but he wasn't about to confess to anything. Pippin had discovered as a young hobbit that adults often pretended to know things just to get a confession; thus Pippin had stopped volunteering information early on. And, of course, his cousin Merry knew this secret as well, especially since most of the trouble they'd gotten into as young hobbits was with each other.
And it still was, it seemed.
"Mister Merry, please forgive me. I had no idea my snoring kept you awake. If it happens again, just wake me, for I'd hate to think that I'd...."
"Is THAT what that was?" Boromir asked no one in particular as he walked up alongside Frodo and Pippin.
"Pardon?" Frodo asked, looking up at the tall man whose stride was twice as long as his.
Boromir looked down at the two hobbits, answering, "I heard noises last night and couldn't place them. I guess I just didn't recognize hobbit snoring. It sounds quite different than I would've expected."
Pippin started to snigger, for he knew that, despite his promise, he HADN'T been quiet last night. Now he imagined Boromir lying there in the darkness, trying to figure out what the noises were. The idea of them being hobbit snores was almost too much for Pippin to handle.
Frodo, unfortunately, didn't find it quite as amusing. Luckily, Boromir had already passed the two hobbits on his way to discuss the route with Aragorn so he failed to see Frodo grab Pippin's shoulder or to hear the reprimand that followed.
"I don't know what all you and Merry got up to last night, but I can well imagine," Frodo said sternly, staring into his younger cousin's eyes meaningfully. "Don't think I didn't hear ALL ABOUT what you two got up to in Rivendell."
"From whom?" Pippin asked indignantly, secretly hoping that Merry had been bragging about him.
Frodo sighed in resignation. "I know you don't mean any harm, Pippin. But need I remind you that this quest is a serious business? We're not playing carefree in the Shire anymore -- lives now depend on us."
Pippin looked into his cousin's eyes, which, like his shoulder, still carried the wound from the Morgul blade. He shivered at the thought that Frodo had almost died, and he realized that death now was an imminent possibility for himself as well. This led to the sudden realization that, if this was going to be his last day in Middle Earth, he wanted to spend it with Merry. He looked up towards his cousin, who was still being pestered by an apologetic Sam, and secretly longed to sneak off alone with him somewhere. He wanted to resume where they'd left off last night: arms around each other, legs entwined, mouths....
"Pippin, have you even heard a word I've said?!" Frodo asked, exasperated, and Pippin suddenly realized that his cousin had continued to talk to him as his mind wandered.
"What? Yeah. 'Course."
Frodo shook his head yet remained quiet, obviously feeling that his words had had no effect on the young hobbit. Little did he know they'd had a PROFOUND effect on Pippin; it just happened to be the OPPOSITE effect of what he'd intended.
***
"Merry, aren't the wildflowers over there pretty?"
The Brandybuck sighed frustratedly. He'd had to put up with Sam's inane apologies all morning and now, it seemed, Pippin was taking over the task of annoying him, inundating him with questions about birds and flowers and honeybees. And Merry was just too tired to deal with any of it.
"If you want to discuss flowers, Pippin, I suggest you go find Sam -- he LIVES for that sort of thing."
The gardener was a good ways in front of them, leading the pony up the rocky hill, but he turned at the sound of his name, calling back, "What was that, Mr. Merry?"
Merry dismissed Sam with a wave of his hand as Pippin replied, "I don't WANT to be with Sam -- I want to be with YOU, Merry."
"Then can you be with me QUIETLY?" Merry asked, hoping to silence the chattering hobbit.
Unfortunately, his words only made Pippin giggle. The younger hobbit leaned over and whispered in his cousin's ear, "After last night, I guess we both know the answer to that one."
Despite himself, Merry smiled. "I KNEW you couldn't be quiet." He suddenly caught a glimpse of their older cousin, who was helping Sam with the pony, and added, "Frodo knows, doesn't he?"
"'Course," Pippin said. "He's a wee bit more intelligent than our good Sam."
Merry laughed and nudged his cousin playfully. "Hobbit snoring, eh?"
"It's liable to keep us awake EVERY night."
"I said I was sorry, Mr. Merry," Sam called back again, causing them to laugh even harder.
"Seriously, though," Merry said, trying to contain his laugher, "we can't continue like that EVERY night -- I'm about to die of exhaustion as it is."
A shadow passed over Pippin's face and his laughter stopped abruptly as he looked meaningfully at his cousin. "We COULD die, Merry."
Merry shook his head dismissively. "I don't think we're in any real danger of dying from THAT," he teased, elbowing his cousin.
"No, Merry," Pippin said, still ultra-serious. "It just struck me today -- we could actually DIE."
Merry laughed. "That's brilliant, Pippin. You just realized that TODAY? I guess Frodo is a wee bit more intelligent than someone else."
Now it was Pippin's turn to look annoyed. "Don't tease, Merry. I'm serious. This quest -- this fellowship -- we could DIE."
"We all WILL die one day, Pip." Merry glanced up towards the front of their assemblage, where Gandalf and Legolas were discussing the route, and added, "Well, MOST of us anyway. But there's no need to dwell on it."
"But the ring, Merry -- it's DANGEROUS. Folks are willing to kill for it -- Frodo almost died."
"BUT HE DIDN'T!" Merry snapped back, momentarily silencing his cousin. Merry had never been so scared as when he'd looked into Frodo's eyes and saw the life slipping away from him, and Merry had still not quite come to terms with it. He didn't want to consider what life would be like without his cousins, and he certainly didn't want to consider it TODAY, when he was so tired he could barely walk.
Merry had hoped his sharp tone would make Pippin think twice about saying anything more.
Unfortunately, it didn't.
"What do you think happens when we die, Merry?"
"Well, Pip, when YOU die, I'LL finally get some rest!"
The look on Pippin's face made him instantly regret saying it. Stopping and taking ahold of Pip's wrist, he quickly tried to repair the damage. "I'm sorry, Pip. I didn't mean it. It's just that...." Merry sighed frustratedly, trying to find the right words. "If we were in the Shire, Pippin, we could sit and share a pipe and discuss all the vast intricacies of life. But we're NOT in the Shire -- we're in the middle of nowhere, on a dangerous quest. Which requires walking. LOTS of walking. And my mind is simply not awake enough to walk AND have a philosophical discussion. And since walking is not optional, the discussion HAS to be." Merry looked into his cousin's eyes, trying to gauge if he'd been forgiven yet or not. Just to be certain, Merry repeated again, "I'm sorry, Pip, really I am. You KNOW I don't want you to die."
"I should hope not," Boromir said lightly as he reached the two hobbits from his post at the rear of the company. "*I* certainly don't want any of us to die."
"Not even the orcs?" Pippin asked cheerfully, causing Merry to sigh with relief that Pippin sounded like his old self.
Boromir laughed. "Well, maybe an orc or two."
"And the goblins?" Merry asked, grinning.
Boromir nodded. "Definitely all the goblins."
"And the partridges?" Pippin asked.
Merry and Boromir turned and gave the young hobbit a weird look.
"Why partridges?" Boromir asked for both of them.
Pippin gave them a look as if it should be obvious. "Because they're tasty, of course."
"Or course!" Merry said, laughing with Boromir.
Suddenly Legolas came sprinting back to the three of them, and Merry now noticed that the rest of the fellowship had long since disappeared over the crest of the hill.
"What is it?" Boromir asked, his hand going to his sword, instantly on the alert.
The elf shook his head, indicating there was nothing to worry about. "I wanted to be certain all was well with you -- we could not see you from over the hill."
"No, we're fine," Boromir said, relaxing. "We're coming along slowly."
"Some of us have shorter legs," Pippin said, gesturing from his squat hobbit legs to the lanky gams of the elf.
"And some of us are tired," Merry added.
Legolas turned towards Merry and then looked meaningfully from him to Pippin. "I can imagine you are. You should get more sleep."
And almost as quickly as he'd arrived, Legolas disappeared back over the hill.
"We best catch up with the others," Boromir said, putting his hands on the hobbits' backs and gently guiding them up the hill.
Pippin leaned over and whispered in his cousin's ear, "Apparently elves are a wee bit more intelligent than Sam as well."
And Merry laughed, putting his arm around his cousin's shoulders as they reached the summit and the others came into view.
****
"Oooh, Pip...right there."
Pippin smiled to himself and continued what he was doing. Merry had been so tired all day, Pippin had assumed that he'd want to go straight to sleep at night -- the younger hobbit had resigned himself to this, looking forward to just falling asleep in Merry's arms.
But Merry, it seemed, had had other ideas. And he was now reaping the rewards.
"That's it...." Merry's breath caught in several short gasps before he cried out, "Yes!"
"Ssshhh!" Pippin said, sliding up over his cousin's spent body until his face hovered over Merry's. Placing a finger against Merry's lips, Pippin whispered, "We must be quiet. There are 'hobbits snoring' about."
As if on cue, Sam snorted nearby. But instead of commenting, Merry merely opened his mouth, taking in Pippin's finger and sucking on it.
Pippin felt a shiver run down his naked back, though he couldn't be certain if it was from the night chill or from what Merry was now doing to his finger. He smiled -- this was such a different Merry than the one who had snapped at him earlier today. "You're certainly in a good mood," he teased.
Merry pushed Pippin's finger out of his mouth with his tongue so he could muse, "I wonder why."
As Merry began kissing down his palm, Pippin added, "If you had taken my offers earlier, maybe you wouldn't have been irritable all day."
Pippin saw Merry's forehead crinkle in confusion. "What offers?"
The younger hobbit rolled his eyes. "NOW who's the one lacking intelligence? The OFFERS, Merry -- to sneak off together beneath the green bower where no one could see? Why do you think I kept pointing out flowers and honeybees?"
Merry shook his head in amazement, shifting his weight slightly so that Pippin's hipbone wouldn't be digging into him so. "I had no idea that you were suggesting THAT -- I just thought you were interested in the flowers."
"ME, Merry? When have I EVER been interested in flowers?"
Merry smiled. "How about that time you and I got into Frodo's tulips?"
Pippin smiled back. "Ah, yes. I do like YOU on a flowerbed."
The Brandybuck laughed at the memory, and Pippin could feel Merry's belly shake beneath him. "Sam was so mad -- 'I told you to keep the ponies out of my tulips!' He never caught on that the ponies had had nothing to do with it."
Pippin smiled and gently kissed his cousin's lips. "You know, I definitely prefer YOUR 'two lips'."
"I should hope so," Merry said, kissing his cousin back.
After several minutes, Pippin began to realize that he was still lying atop his cousin and his weight might be too much for Merry. So he pulled his face back, asking, "Am I too heavy?"
Merry shook his head, tenderly brushing a lock of Pippin's hair from his forehead. "I like you right where you are." He kissed Pippin tenderly and then added, "Maybe we should have a secret code."
Pippin didn't follow. "A code? What do you mean?"
"I mean, this afternoon I had NO IDEA what you were asking."
"Well, I certainly couldn't say it aloud -- there were others about."
"Exactly," Merry said. "Which is why we need a code. So we'll both know what we're asking."
"What KIND of code?"
Merry thought a moment. "We need to hit upon a word, something that we'll both recognize but the others won't."
"Like 'honeybees'?"
Merry shook his head. "That's too obscure. I mean, what if there aren't any honeybees about -- then it would seem suspicious if we suddenly started discussing them."
Pippin nodded. "So it needs to be a word that we can say at any time without seeming to be up to something."
Merry smiled and pressed his hips up towards Pippin's. "Speaking of UP...." he teased.
Pippin wriggled his hips in response. "How about 'up' as our code?"
Merry shook his head. "We use that word TOO much -- we're liable to use it when we don't mean to. I think we're better off using an action word." Merry grinned evilly up at Pippin. "And speaking of action...."
And before Pippin realized what was happening, he was flipped onto his back as Merry finished, "...there's too much thinking and not enough action going on here."
Merry began kissing Pippin's neck, but Pippin's mind was elsewhere, trying to think of action words. Finally, he offered, "How about 'thrust'?"
"Be patient," Merry mumbled against his cousin's collarbone. "We'll get there."
Pippin laughed at the miscommunication. "No. I mean, how about using the word 'thrust' for our secret code?"
Merry thought for a moment and then shook his head, tickling Pippin's chin with his curly mop. "'Thrust' is too specific. It's really only used in battle...or this," he said, briefly demonstrating.
Merry resumed his kissing while Pippin continued to dwell on the idea of the secret code, his thoughts only occasionally interrupted by Merry's exploratory fingers. Finally he said, "How about 'press'?"
Merry, who was preoccupied with other things, asked, "What about it?"
"'Press'," Pippin repeated. "As our secret code? It's a common word, an ACTION word, but we'll have to actually think about using it."
Merry thought a moment and then nodded. "I think it'll work." Merry taunted his cousin, "And is there anyplace in particular you'd like me to 'press' at the moment?"
But Pippin didn't even need to answer, for Merry already knew.
****
"I'm so glad you like flowers too, Master Pippin, 'cuz now I got someone to talk to 'bout them as we walk."
Merry suppressed a laugh as Sam launched into a soliloquy on the attributes of various flowers. If only Sam knew the REAL reason Pippin had expressed such an interest! But Pippin was being a good sport, feigning interest so that Sam wouldn't feel bad. That was so Pippin -- he wasn't one to have fun at someone else's expense. And, Merry realized, that was one of the many reasons they had always gotten along so well.
It was practically written that he and Pippin would be fast friends. With their families' relative positions in the Shire, it would've been unnatural if the two HADN'T become inseparable. In fact, Pervinca used to joke that Pippin's first word was "Me'n'Mer", a phrase that made the grammarians of Tuckborough cringe every time he started a sentence with it. And there were those in Buckland that called them the "newly-joined twins" because where there was one, there was always the other.
Yet Merry didn't know when exactly it was that they first began to become, shall we say, MORE than just friends. It may have begun with a look, or perhaps a welcoming hug that lasted a moment longer than it should. But somehow, slowly but surely, Merry began to feel something different when he looked at his cousin. He couldn't quite explain it, for he still got the shivers when he saw Pimpernel in a tight new dress or he rubbed up against Rosie in the crowded tavern -- but what he felt for Pippin transcended all that.
Yet Merry felt strongly that it wasn't his place to do anything about it -- Pippin was younger, and although this fact was often forgotten when they were alone together, it was brought home to Merry whenever they were around others. The older hobbits, and even their younger companions, always expected Merry to take care of Pip. Therefore, he felt very protective of the hobbit lad and therefore said nothing to Pippin of his feelings.
If it hadn't been for Fatty's birthday party, the two might never have gotten together.
Fatty's party, like all such blow-outs, involved too much ale, too much pipeweed, and just the right amount of good cheer. At the end of the evening, when the sun was first starting to light the eastern sky, the party began to break up. Merry had gone to find his and Pippin's coats, which had gotten discarded and trampled when the dancing started, and had returned to Pippin's side just as Folco said, "You make sure someone takes you home, Master Pippin -- you've had more than your share of ale this evening." When Merry handed Pippin his coat, the young hobbit pulled him close, whispering in his ear, "I know who I want to take me home." And something in his voice sent shivers down Merry's spine.
And that was all she wrote.
To the rest of the Shire, nothing had changed since that night, but to Merry, EVERYTHING had changed. The sky seemed bluer, apples seemed juicier, and Pippin seemed...simply Pippin. Everything the young hobbit did, from singing in a tavern to tripping over his own large feet to pretending to like flowers, seemed endearing and delightful to Merry. And the things he'd done last night.... Merry smiled at the memory.
"You look like a cat that's just swallowed a barrowlark," Frodo teased, startling Merry as he suddenly appeared beside him. "So tell me -- what exactly are you up to that makes you grin so?"
Merry's eyes flitted unconsciously towards Pippin up ahead as he answered, "I'm up to nothing -- just enjoying the day."
"Uh-huh," Frodo said skeptically, having noticed his look. "I must say, at least you look more RESTED today."
Uh-oh, here it comes, thought Merry. He'd been expecting a lecture from the older hobbit for a while, especially after Pippin had mentioned Frodo's talk last night. But Merry was determined that he was in too good a mood to let Frodo ruin his day. "RELAXED is a better word for it." A great word, in fact, thought Merry, smiling again as he thought of last night.
Frodo was quiet for several minutes, and Merry thought that maybe Frodo had changed his mind about the lecture.
No such luck.
"Pippin is very young," Frodo finally said, putting weight to each word so that Merry would understand the gravity of what he was saying.
Merry understood, all right, but he wasn't about to bite. "And Bilbo is very old -- what of it?"
Frodo looked annoyed at Merry's flippancy. "I just don't want to see him getting hurt."
"You don't want to see him hurt, yet you let him come on this ridiculous quest with us -- that makes sense." He couldn't believe that Frodo would even suggest that he'd purposefully hurt Pippin.
Frodo sighed. "I don't mean to nag you, Merry -- really I don't. I'm just worried about you two. I mean, do you know what you're doing?"
"Do YOU?"
Frodo looked surprised and confused by Merry's accusatory tone. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, out of the blue you agree to take this ring to Mordor. This ring, which clearly had a profound effect on Bilbo for all those years. This ring, which folks are willing to kill for. This ring, which even Gandalf is afraid of. And now you've brought us all along for the ride. We don't even know how to get to Mordor, and who knows what we'll find when we get there. And the Big Folk don't know what they're doing, either -- they argue and debate, but they're just as lost as we are. It's the blind leading the blind, Frodo, or at the very best the highly near-sighted. And if we're going to go fumbling about in the darkness, I'd like to fumble about with someone I care about."
And Merry stomped off, catching up with Sam and Pippin as their flower discussion continued.
"It's not just the growing I like," Sam was saying, "but the preserving, too. I got a whole collection back in Hobbiton. But what about you, Master Pippin -- do you like to press flowers?"
After his temper, Merry felt a great release as he let out a laugh at Sam's innocent use of the word "press". Pippin smiled, too, but tried not to let Sam realize that he'd said anything strange. "I must say I've never actually PRESSED flowers," he said, winking across Sam towards Merry as he said it.
The elf's mumbled voice floated down to them as he passed: "You and Merry pressed Frodo's tulips once."
"You pressed tulips?" Sam asked excitedly. "I LOVE tulips. It's too bad the ponies seem to like them beds so."
But Merry and Pippin were too busy staring after the elf to even hear Sam's comment.
***
"Ow!"
"Sorry."
"No, not you," Merry said, shifting uncomfortably on the ground. "It's these thorns. Why did you have to say we were gonna 'press' ROSES?"
Pippin smiled down at his cousin. "Because they were here. And I couldn't wait any longer." And Pippin resumed his kissing as he impatiently started to unbutton Merry's waistcoat.
"How many buttons does this thing have?!" Pippin asked in frustration a few minutes later.
Merry laughed. "How should I know? And besides, at this juncture, what can really I do about it?"
"You can get yourself a new tailor," Pippin said, sitting back on his knees, strattling Merry's waist, so that he could undo the final buttons. "Or you can always teach Sam to sew buttons back on after I rip them off." He finished with the waistcoat and began on the shirt.
"I've come to the conclusion, Meriadoc Brandybuck," he announced grandly after a few buttons, "that you wear entirely too many buttons."
"And I'VE come to the conclusion, Peregrin Took, that you are Middle Earth's SLOWEST unbuttoner." And Merry sat up part way so that he could pull his shirt, which was still mostly fastened, over his head. With the shirt out of the way, Pippin began undoing the buttons on his trousers, and Merry added breathlessly, "Which isn't always a BAD thing."
Pippin smiled and paused mid-button. "Oh, so you like me slow then," he teased, slowing to a snail's pace as he unfastened the buttons along Merry's waist. Seeing the smile this produced, he continued, "Is...this...slow...enough?" as his hands dropped to the lower buttons.
The hitch in Merry's breath was the only answer he got.
Pippin slackened his pace further as he pulled the front flap of Merry's trousers down and began undoing the next layer of buttons. He had always been impatient when it came to this sort of thing, but he was beginning to see the advantages of taking one's time.
Unfortunately, time was not something they had an abundance of.
"Where are they?" Frodo's voice was heard in the distance.
"Who knows?" Strider's voice seemed closer. "But no doubt our runaway boys are up to no good."
Pippin smiled wickedly at Merry as he whispered, "You're definitely UP, but I certainly wouldn't call it 'no good'."
"Sssshh," Merry said as the bushes rustled nearby, causing the two hobbits to freeze, holding their breaths as they heard someone approaching.
"Aragorn, or si!" Legolas called in Elvish, and the hobbits could hear Strider suddenly hurrying off in the other directions.
Pippin looked at Merry confused. "Did Legolas just...?"
Merry nodded. "I guess it pays to have an all-knowing elf on our side."
Pippin smiled and turned his attention back to Merry's trousers. "Looks like he bought us some time."
"I don't think he bought us much," Merry said, starting to sit up.
But Pippin already had the rest of the trousers unbuttoned, and he pushed Merry back down as he grinned, "I can be fast when I need to be."
****
"Ow!"
"Sorry."
Merry could feel Pippin sitting back on his haunches, still running his gentle fingers over Merry's tender back. Merry shifted uncomfortably in the darkness, the cold grass tickling his stomach.
"I don't understand it," Sam said from somewhere around the campfire. "What kind of roses were these again? 'Cuz I ain't never seen thorns that could go through clothing before."
Merry sighed, glad that his flushed face was mostly hidden by his pulled-up shirt.
"I have," Strider said, "but never without ripping the fabric along the way."
Merry rolled his eyes -- although he'd expected it, he could hear no sarcasm in the Ranger's voice. How stupid can they be, wondered Merry. Isn't it obvious that my shirt wasn't on at the time? Or my pants?
"How are you doing?" Strider asked Pippin, having come over to watch his progress.
But Merry couldn't hear his cousin's response, which for some reason made him nervous. And he soon felt rough hands, presumably Strider's, probing his back.
"Ow!" Merry said as a hand reached a sensitive spot. The hands instantly disappeared off his back, and Merry strained to hear the whispering behind him. He couldn't make out the words, but he eventually recognized the sound of a knife being unsheathed.
"No!" Merry said, twisting around and putting his hands up in protest. "No knives! I don't want to be cut open like some orc."
Strider looked Merry straight in the eye. "The thorns are deep," he said matter-of-factly. "We need to get them out."
Merry heard what sounded almost like a whimper from Pippin. Ordinarily hearing Pippin in distress would've completely distracted Merry's attention, but right now he had more pressing matters on his mind. "I agree they need to come out," he said. "But can't you do it without knives?"
"Probably," Legolas said, walking over from his post on night watch.
Strider turned, and he and Legolas spoke briefly in Elvish. Then Legolas kneeled down and carefully turned Merry back onto his stomach. The hobbit could feel the elf's smooth, cold hands gently traveling over his back, examining the wounds. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Merry, Legolas announced, "I can get them out."
Merry breathed a sigh of relief as he heard Strider put away his knife and walk back to his place across the campfire. Soon the others had returned to their lively discussion on ale, leaving the elf and the two hobbits to talk amongst themselves.
"What were you thinking?" Legolas asked the two hobbits sternly as his nimble fingers began extracting the imbedded thorns. "Roses? What about a nice bed of clover? Or even some grass? SOMETHING that doesn't have thorns."
Merry heard Pippin whimpering again, and his brain now had the ability to process it. "Pip?" Merry asked worriedly, turning his face to look at his friend.
In the glow of the firelight, Merry could see Pippin watching Legolas wordlessly, a stricken look upon his face. For a moment, Merry panicked -- maybe he knows something about the thorns that I don't know. Maybe they're poisonous and I'm going to die, and Pippin's afraid to tell me. But rational thought soon returned and Merry quickly realized that the look on Pippin's face wasn't sorrow or fear but instead guilt.
"What is it, Pippin?" Merry asked quietly, lifting his chin to remove one of his hands so he could awkwardly reach it back towards his friend.
Pippin took his hand and turned to look Merry in the eye, his own eyes nearly overflowing with tears. "I'm so sorry, Merry," he said plaintively. "I never meant to hurt you. I never should've...." he trailed off, taking a big gulp to try to steady his voice.
But Merry squeezed Pippin's hand reassuringly. "It's not your fault, Pip. I was there too, you know." He smiled and teased, "I could've said no."
Pippin smiled back at him, his eyes still full of guilt and sadness, and Merry suddenly realized that what he'd said was a lie -- he could NEVER say no to him!
Which is exactly what had gotten him into this mess in the first place!
"I think that's all of them," Legolas announced, startling the hobbits from their tender moment.
Pippin shook his head as Merry retrieved his hand from Pippin and buried his face in both hands. "Not ALL," Pippin said awkwardly, and Merry could feel Pippin pulling his pants down so that the lower thorns were visible. Merry felt his face grow hot with the humiliation, and he suddenly wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole, which unfortunately didn't happen.
Luckily, however, Legolas removed the remaining thorns without saying a word, and Merry somehow survived the humiliation, thankful that the rest of the fellowship was otherwise distracted.
"Is THAT all?" Legolas asked, removing the last visible thorn.
Merry nodded, and Pippin quickly restored the pants to their rightful place.
"I hope you two learned a lesson from all this," Legolas said meaningfully as he rubbed the dirt from his fingers.
"Yeah," Pippin said. "To come to YOU when we get thorns."
Merry rolled his eyes as he pulled his shirt back down over his back and rolled onto his side (he wouldn't be sleeping on his back for quite some time, something which Pippin would no doubt take advantage of). "He didn't mean THAT, Pippin. And we did learn our lesson -- we'll definitely steer clear of roses in the future." Merry thought a moment and then added, "But Pip's right, you ARE quite good at removing the thorns. How did you know what to do?"
Legolas shrugged. "In 2000 years, let's just say that I've gotten myself into many a thorny situation." And with that he stood and vanished back into the darkness, leaving Merry and Pippin to imagine things they didn't really want to imagine!
***
TO BE CONTINUED (SOMEDAY!)
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