Merry squinted through the darkened cafeteria, trying to see the clock on the wall. <<10:25?!>> He couldn't believe they'd been there for over two hours. <<I guess this dance wasn't quite so lame after all.>>
He glanced over at Eowyn, who was nodding her head to the dance beat. Eowyn noticed, and turned to him, smiling. "You sure you won't dance?" she asked hopefully.
"Not a chance." Merry grinned back. "Sorry. But please, don't let that stop you. I really don't mind if you dance with someone else."
Eowyn shook her head. "No, it's okay. I'm enjoying just hanging out with you and people-watching."
"You do realize that you forfeit your right to complain about this later, right?" Merry teased.
"Merry," Eowyn laughed, "You should know by now that a female ALWAYS has the right to complain!"
Merry chuckled. "Ah, yes, I had forgotten. Well, then, feel free to complain all you want later. As a male, I reserve the right to ignore it."
Eowyn punched Merry playfully on the arm.
Chuckling, Merry turned his attention to the dance floor and saw that Elladan had found someone to dance with. <<He looks vaguely familiar -- he must be in some of my classes,>> Merry thought, as he watched the graceful pair appreciatively.
"Look at them," Eowyn sighed, and Merry knew she was watching Elladan and his dance partner, too. "Are ALL elves that gorgeous?"
"I'm afraid so. Immortality, eternal youthful beauty, wisdom and grace -- the 'curse' of the Valar." Merry smirked.
"What chance does someone like me have when all these impossibly beautiful creatures walk among us?" Eowyn complained. "I can't possibly compete with someone who's PERFECT!"
Merry chuckled.
"I'm serious!" Eowyn exclaimed. "There's an elf girl in one of my classes who glows -- LITERALLY! She's like, the most perfectly beautiful person I've ever seen. She can have any boy she wants. Who's gonna give me a second look?"
"Eowyn, stop it," Merry said seriously. "You ARE beautiful. And smart and kind and caring and fun...shall I go on?"
"I'm not ethereal and glowy and PERFECT," Eowyn sulked, resting her chin on her hands.
"Well," Merry mused, "I reckon most people don't want someone perfect. I know *I* don't. And I bet you don't either." He elbowed her teasingly. "The important thing is to find someone who's perfect FOR you, isn't it?"
Eowyn brightened. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Of course I am," Merry replied smugly.
"Still," Eowyn commented dreamily, "They are nice to look at, aren't they?"
"Yeah." Merry turned his attention back to the blonde elf dancing with Elladan, and realized that he truly believed what he had told Eowyn. Yes, the elf was graceful and beautiful, but Merry couldn't imagine kissing him. In fact, he couldn't imagine kissing ANYONE other than Pippin.
Merry smiled, remembering that balmy evening early in the summer when everything changed. After a hard day's work on the river, he and Pippin sat on the edge of the dock, their toes dipping in the cool waters of the Brandywine. They were tired and giddy from a long day in the sun, and the bottle of wine Merry had pilfered from his father's cellars went to their heads quicker than usual. Laughing, Merry had asked Pippin to pass the bottle, but instead his friend surprised him with a light, lingering kiss. If the wine had been sweet, Pippin's lips had been even sweeter, and the memory of that first thrilling kiss still made Merry's pulse quicken. After a lifetime of friendship, Merry had been shocked to discover not only that Pippin felt that way about him, but that he returned the sentiment.
<<Yet right now Pippin is off at some party, doing who-knows-what.>> Merry frowned. He knew this wasn't fair, but he couldn't help but wonder if their relationship was simply youthful experimentation. After all, Pippin had never expressed any interest in boys before, and Merry had certainly never considered it. Not until that summer evening when Pippin gave him a sweet, wine-flavored kiss, and secured his place in Merry's heart forever.
A timid voice suddenly came from the darkness, distracting Merry from his thoughts. "Hey, Merry," Dahlia said, approaching him and Eowyn.
"Dahlia," Merry said, smiling at the shy hobbit girl whom he knew from back home. "How was your summer?"
She nodded. "Okay, I guess. I didn't see you around much."
Merry shook his head. "I was out on the river all summer. My dad wanted me to...." He trailed off as he noticed that her concentration wasn't on him or the conversation -- instead, she was timidly looking around.
<<Not ANOTHER one,>> Merry thought, sighing frustratedly. <<It's not fair -- even though I don't want to dance with any of these girls, it'd be nice if they were interested in ME for once and not Frodo or Pippin.>>
Amazingly, Merry got his wish. "Uh...so...did Sam come to the dance tonight?"
<<That's the final straw!>>
"No, he had to work. And speaking of, LOOK at the time," he said, hastily standing up and grabbing Eowyn's hand. "We have to go, Dahlia. It was good seeing you."
Dahlia nodded, slightly taken aback by Merry's abruptness. "All right...Uh, if you see Sam...?"
"Sure, I'll tell him 'hi' for you," Merry said, dragging Eowyn towards the door, trying to escape the dance as quickly as possible. Once they'd reached the well-lit entryway, he glanced up at Eowyn, who was trying not to laugh. "It's not funny," he said as he too smiled.
"It really is," Eowyn said, giving in to her laughter. Merry started to laugh, too, and soon the two of them were in hysterics.
"Okay...you're right...it is," Merry said between gasps. As his laughter finally died down, he shook his head. "But I had to get out of there -- I just couldn't take it any more!" Eowyn nodded, and Merry added, "C'mon, let's go get some coffee at the Perk -- my treat."
"Sounds good," Eowyn said, smiling broadly. "But I have to stop by the restroom first -- all this laughter is starting to get to me, if you know what I mean."
"No problem," Merry said good-naturedly as Eowyn hurried into the ladies' room.
***
Faramir checked his watch as he hurried across campus. <<There's still a half hour left of the dance,>> he thought. <<At least I didn't miss it completely.>>
After the Little Sister interviews, he'd had a hard time leaving the MEN house -- every time he'd head for the door, one of the brothers would stop him and engage him in some inane discussion about which ale was the tastiest or which girl was the hottest. Faramir didn't mind the conversations, he just regretted the time it was wasting when he could be at the dance. However, he DID mind the conversation he'd had with his real brother: "Why do you have to rush off after some girl that's already spoken for? Surely you could make do with any of the pretty girls here."
But Eowyn wasn't just any pretty girl -- why couldn't Boromir see that? <<Because he only sees girls as objects, not people,>> Faramir thought sardonically. <<One won't do so collect the set.>> His brother had CERTAINLY collected a set, having had a string of girlfriends, one right after another, ever since junior high, never really serious about any of them. Boromir, it seemed, just wanted a girl, and any girl would do. <<Or maybe,>> Faramir thought more charitably, <<he just has so many other activities and responsibilities to occupy his mind that the girls always seem to take the back burner.>>
Eowyn, however, seemed to constantly be on Faramir's front burner. No matter what he was doing, he'd notice his mind start to wander in her direction. He'd spent the last two days doing nothing but daydream about tonight, thinking about how nice it would be to dance with her, maybe even to hold her in his arms....
"Why do you have to rush off after some girl that's already spoken for?" Boromir's words came back to him again, and he suddenly realized that his brother actually did have a point. Eowyn had a boyfriend, a large intimidating boyfriend, in fact -- what made Faramir think he'd even get a dance with her?
Faramir sighed, his hurried steps starting to slow to a crawl. <<She doesn't even know I exist, except as someone to borrow class notes from. And even if she DID know, she's not available anyway.>> He sighed. <<Why am I even going to this stupid dance? I probably won't get to dance with her. Instead, more than likely I'll end up just standing there in the dark, watching her make-out with Merry on the dance floor.>> The thought of this was like a blow to his heart, and he stopped in the middle of the campus lawn, wondering if he should even go on.
But despite his despair, a part of him still held onto hope. <<No matter what else, at least I'll get to see her.>> He smiled to himself as he completed the thought: <<IF I ever get there.>> And this thought alone made him hurry on to the cafeteria.
He leapt up the stairs in front of the building a few at a time and went inside. Rushing through the entryway, Faramir saw a hobbit in a dark blue shirt loitering around the ladies' room. When Faramir met his eye, the hobbit smiled uncomfortably and nodded towards the restroom door. Nodding back, Faramir wondered briefly if HE'D ever be like that, waiting around for his girlfriend to get out of the loo, before he hastened on into the cafeteria.
The dance was clearly dying down already, even though there was almost a half hour left. Faramir peered onto the darkened dance floor, searching for Eowyn and her boyfriend, but he saw only a small group of human girls, several hobbit couples, and two slight elves. <<Maybe they're sitting this one out,>> Faramir thought as he slowly wandered the perimeter looking for them. But after making three complete circles of the dance floor and even rechecking the entryway a few times, he was finally convinced that Eowyn wasn't there.
<<If only I'd gotten here sooner,>> he thought as he sat down heavily upon a chair in the corner, sighing dejectedly and mindlessly watching the dancers as the deejay put on the music for the Chickendance.
****
Sam wiped down the counter and then looked up, surprised to see his next customer. "Hama. You're early tonight."
The campus security guard shook his head. "Not really -- it's quarter till, just like usual."
"Already?" Sam asked, quickly checking the clock.
Hama smiled. "I guess time flies when you're having fun, huh?" He shook his head. "I wish MY shift was flying. I'm bored outta my mind. Campus is kinda dead tonight -- everyone must be busy, one way or another."
Sam nodded, not really listening, as he quickly fixed Hama's usual, a large mocha with nonfat milk. He couldn't believe it was so late -- he usually started his cleaning routine at 11:30pm, which meant he was already 15 minutes behind. As soon as Hama had his cofffee, Sam started cleaning up, bussing the empty tables in the front room and wiping them down.
After filling one tray with dirty dishes, he grabbed an empty one and headed into the back room. The room was mostly empty, with only a few students quietly studying, but the back corner was noisy with raucous laughter.
"Hey, Merry," Sam said, walking over to the back booth. "Oh, and hi, Eowyn." Sam glanced around the booth a moment, as if something were missing, before asking, "Where's Pippin?"
Merry and Eowyn both dissolved into a new fit of laughter.
"What'd I tell you?" Merry gasped to Eowyn, wiping a tear from his eye.
Eowyn nodded, trying to catch her breath. "Oh, I believe you."
Sam didn't quite understand what was so funny -- he'd only asked about Pippin. Embarrassed that he might've made some social gaffe, he quickly tried to change the subject. "Didn't you guys go to the dance tonight?"
Merry nodded, finally back in control. "We left early. It was lame."
"But we had fun anyway," Eowyn said, grabbing her frap glass and taking a sip.
Sam nodded. "I'm glad you had fun," he said, picking up Merry's empty dishes and putting them on his tray. "So did Frodo go with you?"
Eowyn's frap sprayed across the table as she and Merry began laughing again.
"Oh, sorry," Eowyn said, laughing even harder as she frantically grabbed napkins from the dispenser and started wiping up the spray.
"MEU's newest attraction -- the Fountain of Eowyn," Merry teased as he grabbed more napkins.
"I have a rag," Sam said, realizing that he'd get the table clean much quicker than the laughing duo. After wiping up the frap, he grabbed his tray and started to leave.
"Hey, Sam, bring me another biscotti," Merry called after him.
Sam nervously looked up at the clock hanging above the archway between the two rooms. "Merry, it's less than fifteen minutes till we close."
Merry shrugged. "It'll take me less than two to eat it. Are there chocolate ones left?"
Sam nodded and turned to leave, but Eowyn called after him, "And can you bring me a rice krispy bar?"
"You want MORE food?" Merry asked in a mock-appalled voice.
"What, YOU'RE the only one that's allowed to eat like a pig?" Eowyn teased back, and Merry playfully threw his wet napkins at her.
Sam realized that they were done giving him orders so he hurried back to the counter. He got out a clean plate and put the biscotti on it as he mentally ran down the list of all the things he needed to do before he could go home. <<I'm gonna be here all night,>> he thought, scolding himself for having lost track of the time.
He was halfway to Merry's table before he remembered Eowyn's rice krispy bar. <<I don't know where my mind is tonight,>> he thought as he hurried back to the counter.
"Do you need any help?" Rosie asked, smiling and wiping her wet hands on her apron as she appeared from the kitchen.
"No...I...it's...I just...biscotti," he finally stammered, holding up the plate with the biscotti on it.
"Are you still serving people?" Rosie asked, glancing at the clock. "We close in ten."
"Yeah...I know...it's...I...Merry," he stammered, hurrying away towards Merry's booth before remembering he'd forgotten Eowyn's bar AGAIN. He ran back for it and saw that Rosie was carrying the trays of dirty dishes back to the kitchen for him. He was so distracted that he almost left the counter empty-handed for a third time.
"Here you go," Sam said when he finally set the two plates down in front of his friends.
"I asked for chocolate," Merry said, picking up the plain biscotti with disdain.
"Oh, sorry, I...." Sam began but Merry was already eating it.
"I'll live," Merry said, grinning with his mouth full.
Sam hurried back to the counter and found Rosie standing there. "What can I do to help?" she asked.
"I...it's...but...it's my job," he stammered.
Rosie smiled, and Sam's heart melted. "I know. But I'm all done in the kitchen -- the least I can do is help you. So where should I start? What needs to be cleaned?"
Sam gestured generally around the counter. "Everything. Espresso machines, coffee urns, coffee filters, pitchers, cups, spoons...."
Rosie laughed. "I get the picture. I'll start cleaning while you finish with the customers, okay?"
Sam nodded and grabbed the broom before realizing the floor would be easier to sweep with the chairs up. He put the broom back down and began placing the chairs on top of the tables. The few remaining customers quickly got the hint and began clearing out, and soon the entire front room and most of the back were empty.
Moving on to the back room, Sam cleared the dishes from the newly-emptied tables as he listened to his friends still talking away in their booth.
"Shoplifting?!" Eowyn asked, horrified.
"Don't tell me YOU never did anything like that?" Merry teased. Although Sam wasn't looking, he imagined that Eowyn must've shaken her head, for Merry continued, "Really?! Never?! Didn't you ever get the urge to rebel?"
The dishes taken care of, Sam put up all the chairs before starting to sweep.
"Just being a GIRL was rebellion enough in my Uncle's eyes," Eowyn said. "But quit changing the subject -- I want to hear all about your shoplifting adventures."
"They weren't what you'd call 'adventures'," Merry said. "It was just the once, and it was only a Butterfinger bar and a couple of car air fresheners."
Sam returned to the counter to put the broom away and get out the mop. As he passed Rosie, she smiled warmly at him, making him forget what he was there for. Once he finally remembered, he got out the bucket, filled it with warm soapy water, and wheeled it into the other room.
"...terrible," Sam heard Merry saying. "Pippin's parents decided it was all my fault and deemed me a 'bad influence'."
"You ARE a bad influence," Eowyn teased, and Sam looked over just in time to see Merry flick his straw at her. "Stop! You're making a mess," she laughed as Merry's frap splattered all over her and the table. "And you realize, of course, that you're only proving my point."
Merry laughed and stopped, and Sam realized he'd definitely have to mop around their table again once they left.
<<If they EVER leave.>>
"It's midnight," Sam said to them awkwardly. "We're closing now."
"We're almost done," Merry said dismissively. He then turned back to Eowyn, saying, "So, anyway, yeah, Pippin's parents were really mad, and MY parents were FURIOUS, so we weren't allowed to see each other for, like, four months."
"Four MONTHS?!" Eowyn asked incredulously. "How did you two survive? I mean, it sounds like you guys did EVERYTHING together."
Done with the mopping for now, Sam wheeled his bucket to the back door and dumped the water into the gutter. Coming back inside, he saw Rosie stacking fresh cups next to the register so they'd be ready for the next day. <<How'd she know I needed to do that?>> Sam wondered.
"So what else?" Rosie asked as Sam washed the mop water from his hands.
"Uh...well...uh...coffee...we have to grind coffee for tomorrow."
Rosie nodded, smiling, and got out the coffee beans. Sam just watched her for a moment, smiling mindlessly, before remembering he had to put the money away. He opened up the cash register and took out the cash drawer.
"I'll...uh...be right back," he said to Rosie as he disappeared into the back room and hid the money in the secret hiding place in the storage room.
Coming back out again, Rosie was just finishing with the coffee. "What else?"
Sam shrugged. "That's...uh...pretty much it," he said.
A cheerful shriek from the back room suddenly reminded him that Merry and Eowyn were still there.
"It's almost a quarter after," Rosie said, glancing at the clock. "Why haven't you kicked them out yet?"
"Because...I...they're my...."
"They need to leave so we can lock up," Rosie said forcefully, grabbing a tray and walking into the back room, Sam right on her heels.
"It's time to go," Rosie said matter-of-factly, grabbing the mug Merry was about to drink from directly out of his hands.
"Hey!" Merry protested, but Rosie wasn't one to take guff from anyone.
"Sam's been nice, but I'm not gonna be," Rosie said, stacking the remaining dishes onto the tray. "It's after midnight, which means this cafe turned back into a pumpkin fifteen minutes ago."
"We should probably go, Merry," Eowyn said, chagrinned, as she started to slide out of the booth. But as she stood, she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh! We didn't pay for the biscotti and rice krispy bar."
"I'll get it," Merry said, digging into his pockets.
"No, I'll get it," Eowyn said, reaching for her money.
"Why should YOU get it?" Merry asked.
Sam noticed Rosie starting to tap her foot impatiently.
"Because I asked you to the dance and then I haven't paid for anything," Eowyn answered.
"Yeah, but I was kinda a jerk to you this week -- remember, I yelled at you for the whole interview thing?" Merry countered. "I OWE you."
"You're right," Eowyn said, smiling at Merry. She then turned to Rosie, saying mock-seriously, "Charge him extra for that."
Rosie sighed. "I'll charge you BOTH if you don't hurry up."
Merry quickly put a fiver on the table and scurried out of the booth.
As Sam followed his friends to the door, he told them, "Sorry 'bout kicking you out. But I'll see you two tomorrow, right?"
Eowyn nodded and smiled. "See you at breakfast, Sam."
"Yeah, 'night," Merry said, following Eowyn out into the dark night.
Sam locked the door behind them and turned the sign on the door to "Closed". He felt guilty that HIS friends had caused them to stay so late, so he walked back over to where Rosie was washing down their table. "I'm...uh...that's...I'm really sorry."
"Sorry for what?" Rosie asked.
Staring into her smiling face, Sam wasn't sorry for anything.
"I...uh...I mean...uh...it's...it's locked."
Rosie nodded. "And it's all clean," she said, grabbing the tray of Merry's and Eowyn's dishes and heading back towards the kitchen. "Which means we can go."
Sam followed, helping her load the dishwasher with the remaining dishes, the whole time trying to get up his nerve to say something. Finally, as they headed for the door to leave, Sam burst out, "Can I...uh...I mean...might I walk you home?"
Rosie laughed. "It might be kinda a long walk," she said. "I live almost ten miles from here."
"Oh." Sam's face fell -- now he felt like an idiot.
"But you can walk me to my car, if you'd like," she offered, smiling.
"I'd...I'd definitely like." And Sam smiled back, feeling as if she'd offered him the moon.
****
"Whoa! Really?!" Merrry shifted his weight to his other foot as he leaned back against the wall, engrossed by Eowyn's tale. After being so unceremoniously booted from the Perk, Merry had walked Eowyn back here to her dorm. When they reached her door, however, they were mid-conversation about Eowyn's childhood in Rohan, so the two of them had just stood there in the hallway in order to continue their talk. And now, over an hour later, here they still were. "So was your horse hurt?" Merry asked.
Eowyn shook her head, leaning against her open door. "No. But my backside sure was once my Uncle found out about it."
Merry laughed. "I can imagine."
"And as additional punishment, Uncle made me clean out the stables for the next three months."
"Ew!" Merry said, crinkling his nose at the imagined smell.
But Eowyn shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "But don't you see -- that meant that I got to spend even MORE time with the horses! It was exactly what I wanted. It would be like...like a hobbit being punished by spending time in the kitchen."
Merry laughed. "I see what you mean -- not much of a punishment."
"Exactly." Eowyn nodded happily, but then slowly her smile faded and was replaced by a wistful expression. Sighing, she said, "I really miss my horse."
Merry recognized the look on her face -- he remembered it from last year, when he, too, felt just as homesick. Being a freshman had so many stressors -- living in a new place, making new friends, dealing with new situations -- that it was a wonder any of them ever made it to sophomore year. Yet Merry had made it, by holding on tightly to things that were familiar to him.
"But there are horses here," Merry pointed out. "Didn't you say that your brother helps tend the polo horses?"
Eowyn nodded. "Yeah. But it's not the same thing as having my own horse here." She sighed again, clearly lost in thoughts of home.
Trying to cheer her up, Merry teased, "Yeah, I know what you mean. It's like, cafeteria food is okay and all, but nothing compares to a home-cooked meal in the Shire."
"Yeah, I can imagine," Eowyn said, smiling. "A home-cooked meal does sound good."
An idea suddenly came to Merry, and he burst out, "Maybe you could come home with us sometime, over a long weekend or something. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind you staying with us. It'd be great -- we could show you around, stuff you full of food, ply you with ale, maybe even teach you to blow smoke rings."
Eowyn laughed. "I'm not sure I'm ready for the ale OR the smoke rings, but the rest of it sounds good."
"Then it's a plan," Merry announced. "Next break we have. And then you can taste what REAL hobbit food tastes like."
Eowyn smiled excitedly. "I can't wait!"
Merry heard a door at the end of the hall open, and he glanced down to see a guy with greasy black hair entering the hallway. Turning back to Eowyn, he noticed she was no longer smiling -- in fact, her entire demeanor had suddenly changed.
"Uh...speaking of food...I have some food in my room," Eowyn said quickly, a panicked tone in her voice. "You want some? It's not Shire food, but...Why don't you come in?" she said, hurriedly gesturing for Merry to come inside.
Never one to pass up food, Merry let her frantically usher him across the hall and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind them and locking it.
As she turned back around towards him, he eyed her warily. "Are you okay?"
"Of course! I'm fine. I'm fine!"
<<Okay, she answered a little too quickly for someone who's ACTUALLY fine. I wonder what upset her so suddenly. I hope it wasn't anything I said.>>
"What would you like to eat?" Eowyn continued, scurrying to open her dorm-sized fridge and peer into it.
<<Whatever it was, I guess she doesn't want to talk about it.>> "What d'you got?"
****
Merry had expected to come home to an empty, dark room. He was so surprised to find the lights on, he didn't even notice the coat and backpack that had been hastily left inside the doorway until he had stumbled across them.
"Pip?" he questioned warily, glancing around the room. The beds were still neatly made, and the room was far too quiet to contain a conscious Pippin.
<<That leaves only one place,>> Merry thought with a frown.
He quickly marched down the hallway of East Farthing to the common bathroom facility in the center of the building.
"Pip, are you in here?"
A miserable moan sounded from one of the toilet stalls. Peeking underneath the door, Merry could see Pippin kneeling on the tiled floor. His arms were folded across the toilet seat, and his head lay heavily across his arms.
"I thought you were pissed at me," Pippin said weakly.
Merry carefully pushed open the unlocked stall door, and stepped inside to crouch beside Pippin.
"I was," Merry said, as he rubbed Pippin's back lightly, "but that doesn't help you now, does it?"
Pippin groaned wordlessly, and Merry could feel the muscles in his back tense.
"Are you all right?"
Pippin turned his head to glare at Merry with bleary green eyes. "Do I LOOK all right?"
"Don't give me that look, Peregrin Took," Merry admonished, meeting Pippin's scowl with one of his own. "*I* had nothing to do with it!"
Pippin laid his head back down on his arms wearily. Merry ran a hand through the disheveled chestnut curls, frowning at the beads of sweat at Pippin's temples. He felt the back of Pippin's neck, and was disturbed to find the skin hot, though it was pale.
"Pip, do you think you're okay to go back to the room?"
Pippin shook his head weakly.
"Can you at least take off your sweater? You'll feel a lot better if you cool down."
Pippin sat up and raised his arms above his head obediently, while Merry peeled off the thick wool sweater.
"Better?"
Pippin shook his head, then reeled from the motion.
"Don't move," Merry said gently, combing the hair away from Pippin's forehead with his fingers. "I'll be right back."
"Don't move, he says," Pippin mumbled sullenly.
<<Well, he's feeling well enough to act like a brat. That's encouraging,>> Merry thought, while he soaked several paper towels under the faucet. As he squeezed the excess water from the paper towels, the unmistakable sound of retching echoed through the tiled walls of the bathroom.
Merry quickly returned to the toilet stall. He rubbed Pippin's back in small, gentle circles, feeling immensely grateful that Pippin did not wear his hair long, in the fashion of the Big Folk. When the hacking finally ceased, and Pippin's body relaxed, Merry handed him a damp paper towel to wipe his mouth and face.
Pippin sat down on the floor cross-legged, panting wearily. "I think that's it. I just need to sit for a few minutes."
Merry smiled sympathetically, and sat down on the floor next to Pippin, his back against the wall. He was relieved to see that the color was returning to Pippin's pale face, but Pippin was still overheated from exertion. Merry folded a damp paper towel lengthwise and laid it across the back of Pippin's neck.
Pippin winced and plucked at the wet paper towel. "That's cold!"
"It's supposed to be cold, you dunce! Just leave it there for a moment. If you get too hot, you'll get sick again."
Pippin grudgingly obeyed, lowering his head to hold the paper towel to his neck.
"You know," Merry said after a few moments, "I wouldn't do this for just anyone."
Pippin looked up, and smiled weakly. "I know."
<<Oh, mercy. Does he know what it does to me when he looks at me and smiles like that?>>
"And-and-and," Merry stammered, "I'm not exactly thrilled to be cleaning up the mess that Eta Pi made." He attempted a scornful frown.
Pippin scooted close to Merry. "I know, Mer," he said softly, laying his head on Merry's shoulder. "Love you."
Merry sighed heavily as Pippin nuzzled against him. <<He knows EXACTLY what it does to me, the little reprobate.>> "Love you, too, Pip." He wrapped an arm gently around Pippin's waist.
"Mmm," Pippin murmured happily against Merry's shoulder, "what would I do without my Merry?"
"Well, for a start, brat, you'd have to take care of yourself, instead of always letting me do it," Merry chuckled.
Pippin sat up to look at Merry in outrage. "Brat?! I didn't see anyone holding you at swordpoint."
"No, you were too busy praying at the white altar," Merry remarked wryly.
Pippin pouted. "Well, like I said, no one forced you to help me. I was fine on my own."
"Riiiiight," Merry said skeptically. "You sure looked fine."
"You act as though you've never been sick, Merry," Pippin scoffed. "I seem to recall a certain Brandybuck who drank himself into a stupor at my big sister's birthday party."
Merry smiled fondly and finger-combed the curls back from Pippin's forehead. "Yes, you did take VERY good care of me after Pearl's party, didn't you? And I was even worse off than you are now."
Pippin smiled in return. "I did. And you are going to show me the very same care and attention, Merry Brandybuck," he commanded, "or I shall be very cross."
"Right, then," Merry chuckled, "Care and attention, as per your request." He stood up and offered a hand to Pippin. The two hobbits laughed raucously as Merry clumsily hauled Pippin to his feet, nearly toppling both of them over in
the process.
"Love you, Mer," Pippin whispered, still breathless from laughing, and holding onto Merry for support. He leaned in close for a kiss.
"WHOA! Hey! Nonononono!" Merry exclaimed, placing a hand over Pippin's mouth. "No kisses, yet, love. Not until you wash out that mouth."
***
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