***PLEASE NOTE: THIS STORY CONTAINS SLASH AND MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS!***
Merry wandered through the dim subterranean corridors of the music building, listening hard for the distinctive tones of a violin amid the muffled mélange of instruments and voices from the soundproofed practice rooms.
He noted with resentment that the small windows on each practice room door were situated JUST high enough to be completely out of reach for even the tallest hobbit.
<<I'll never find him at this rate,>> he thought hopelessly, stopping next to a practice room door to listen. The door suddenly opened, and an Elf appeared in the doorway, a sheaf of music paper in her arms. Both she and Merry yelped in surprise, and the papers fell from her arms in cascading waves.
"Begging your pardon," Merry mumbled, flushing bright red with embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He scrambled down to his hands and knees to pick up the scattered papers. <<I'll just go hide under a rock now.>>
To Merry's astonishment, she laughed. It was a lovely sound, like the pealing of tiny bells. She crouched down beside him to collect her papers. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."
Merry chuckled nervously.
She smiled warmly. "I haven't seen you around here. You're not a music major, are you?"
Merry shook his head. "Um...actually, I'm looking for someone. Do you know Pippin Took?"
Her eyes lit up. "Of course I know Pip! I sang a duet with him in Swing Choir last year."
Merry brightened. "Brilliant. Do you know if he's here?"
She scratched her chin thoughtfully. "When I came in, he was practicing in the room at the end of the hall...I don't know if he's still there, but you might give it a try."
Merry stood up and handed over the papers he had collected from the floor. "Thanks! I was beginning to think I'd be wandering these halls for years."
"No problem," she replied with a smile, "even I get lost here sometimes. Thank you for helping me out here."
Merry grinned winsomely. "It's the least I could do."
She tucked her papers under one arm as she stood and offered her hand. "It was nice meeting you..." She raised an inquisitivc eyebrow.
He reached up to shake the offered hand. "Merry."
"I'm Uruviel," she smiled.
"A pleasure to meet you," Merry chuckled, "any friend of Pippin's is a friend of mine. Oh, speaking of which, I better go track down the rascal or he'll miss lunch."
Uruviel laughed. "I'd hate to keep a hobbit from his meal. Go find him. I'll see you around!"
"Bye," Merry called over his shoulder as he walked to the end of the hall. He stopped outside the door of the practice room, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard muffled violin arpeggios from inside.
He rapped on the door, and the arpeggios abruptly stopped. The door opened slowly, and Pippin popped his head out. "Merry!" he smiled brightly. "What are you doing here?"
"It's lunchtime, Pip."
"Ooh," Pippin's eyes widened, "I'm starving! Come on in. I just need a few minutes to pack up."
Merry followed Pippin into the practice room, pushing the heavy door closed behind him. Pippin laid his violin case on the piano bench and unbuckled the latch.
"Wait, wait," Merry interjected. "While I'm here, why don't you play that piece for me?"
"What piece?"
"You ninny!" Merry laughed, "The one you wrote over the summer. The one that you played for the orchestra audition." He wrapped his arms around Pippin's waist and hooked his chin over Pippin's shoulder. "Mr. Concertmaster," he purred, in a low seductive voice.
Pippin chuckled nervously and turned back to look at Merry uneasily. "Are you sure? Because it's not really all that great." He mumbled, "The only reason I got first chair in orchestra is because everyone else blew their auditions..."
Merry grunted in frustration. "Pippin! Give me a break. Everyone has heard it but me. Don't tell me you're suddenly shy?" He took a step back.
Pippin turned to face Merry. "No..."
"What's the problem then? Obviously it's great, because people keep telling you how wonderful it is. Come on, play it for me. I want to hear it." Merry kissed Pippin lightly, then took a seat on the piano bench.
Pippin sighed heavily.
"Please?" Merry smiled encouragingly. "Real quick. Then we'll get some lunch."
"Okay," Pippin agreed reluctantly.
Pippin tucked the violin beneath his chin and raised his bow. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began playing.
Merry was awestruck. He had never heard anything like it before. The music was haunting and passionate, yet imbued with a joyful energy. Pippin played with confidence and intensity far beyond his years -- he truly made the violin sing. Merry felt his throat tighten, at seeing a side of his lifelong friend that he had never glimpsed before.
Pippin played the final notes, eyes still shut tight. As he lowered his violin and bow, he exhaled deeply and opened his eyes. He looked at Merry expectantly.
"Pippin, that was beautiful," Merry breathed, barely above a whisper.
"You like it?" Pippin asked, still uncertain.
"Of course I like it!" Merry hopped down from the piano bench to embrace Pippin, who carefully held his violin and bow out at arm's length.
"Silly Took," Merry chuckled as he pulled away, "I love it. That was...well, I don't think I have the words, really. You're brilliant, Pip. I always knew you were talented, but I had no idea you could write music like that." He smiled proudly. "I feel like there's another Pippin, who I've only just met, but I love him already."
Pippin blushed and smiled at Merry.
"But I'm very cross that you hadn't shared this with me before now!" Merry declared in mock-outrage.
Pippin lowered his head bashfully. "I wrote that for you, you know," Pippin said, examining the tops of his own furry feet.
"You..." the words caught in Merry's throat, "...you wrote that...for me?"
"Yeah," Pippin replied, still not meeting Merry's eyes.
"I...I don't know what to say," Merry murmured.
Pippin laid his violin gently on the piano, and wrapped his arms around Merry's shoulders, leaning in close to kiss Merry tenderly. As he pulled away, Merry leaned in to hold the kiss longer, twining his arms around Pippin's waist.
"Why didn't you play it for me before?" Merry asked, after they had parted.
"I was worried that you wouldn't like it, "Pippin said quietly. "Well, terrified, more like."
"Terrified? Why?" Merry asked incredulously.
Pippin shrugged. "I don't know. I guess," he sighed, "I was afraid to play it for you, because if you didn't like it..." he trailed off, looking down.
"All that worrying for nothing," Merry whispered, gently lifting Pippin's chin up and kissing him. "Love the song. Love you." He ran his thumb lightly over Pippin's bottom lip. "So, does it have a name?"
"Not yet." Pippin grinned, his eyes alight with mischief. "I was thinking I might call it 'The Big Tease,'" he taunted.
"Tease? I'll show you who's a tease!" Merry backed Pippin against the wall and kissed him deeply. He felt Pippin's mouth curve into a smile beneath his, felt Pippin's warm fingertips sneaking beneath the hem of his t-shirt.
The creak of the door as it slowly opened gave them plenty of time to separate.
"This room is occupied," Merry growled, startling a boy lugging a cello case behind him.
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone was in here," stammered the intruder, backing out.
Merry paced the small practice room to hastily push the door shut. "Don't these bloody rooms have locks?"
Pippin chuckled at Merry's righteous indignation. "'fraid not, Mer. You'd think they didn't trust us or something."
"I'll fix this." Merry determinedly rifled through his backpack, pulling out a sheet of notebook paper and a marker. He held the paper against the door, licking his lips in concentration as he wrote across the page in large letters.
"What are you doing?" Pippin asked, peering over Merry's shoulder.
"Getting us a little privacy," Merry replied, holding up the paper for Pippin to see. It read, in Merry's distinctive scrawl, "Do Not Disturb."
Pippin laughed. "What about lunch?"
Merry looked back over his shoulder with a smirk. "Merely a momentary diversion. We'll get lunch a bit later." He raised an eyebrow. "Unless you'd rather go now?"
"Nah," Pippin replied, grinning. When Merry set his mind to something, it was useless to argue. "I don't mind a diversion."
Merry crouched down to rifle through his backpack again. "Pippin, do you have any tape?"
Pippin shook his head. "Unh-uh."
"Guess I'll have to improvise." Merry unzipped the smaller section of his backpack and pulled out a stick of chewing gum. He chewed on the gum until it was tacky, then pulled four small gobs from his mouth and stuck them to the corners of the paper. Pippin watched in bemused fascination.
"Pip, do me a favor and push the piano bench over?"
"Sure thing." Pippin slid the bench across the floor to the door. Merry immediately climbed up to stand on the bench, and affixed his makeshift sign over the small window.
Satisfied with his work, Merry hopped down from the bench, dusting off his hands. "There. Now, where were we?"
Pippin grinned and took Merry's hands, pulling him to the other side of the room. He stepped backwards until his back touched the wall, and pulled Merry towards him until their bodies pressed. "I think," he whispered, as he slid his hands to the small of Merry's back, "we were right...about...."
Merry pressed his palms flat against the wall on either side of Pippin's head and leaned in close. "Here?"
"Mmm...not quite," Pippin smiled.
"Hmm," Merry's nose bumped Pippin's. "Perhaps," he teased Pippin with several feather-light kisses, "we were," he licked at Pippin's lower lip, "here," he covered Pippin's mouth with his own.
Merry rocked against Pippin, pinning him to the wall with a press of hips. Pippin moaned softly in protest when Merry broke off the kiss, but he sighed in contentment when Merry began trailing hot, wet kisses across his jaw line to his ear.
"Pip," Merry whispered breathlessly, "play the song for me again." He nipped at Pippin's earlobe, then took it in his mouth.
"What?" Pippin murmured distractedly, bringing his hands up to wind his fingers in Merry's hair.
Merry leaned his head back to look Pippin in the eyes. "The song." He kissed Pippin softly on the lips. "The one you wrote for me." He gave Pippin a slow, lingering kiss. "Play it for me again." He leaned in close for a long, deep kiss, sucking gently at Pippin's lower lip as he pulled away. "Please."
Pippin nodded weakly, his breath uneven.
Merry released Pippin and stepped back. He collected Pippin's violin and bow gingerly from the top of the piano, and presented it to him with a fond smile. Pippin accepted the proffered instrument and checked the tuning of the strings immediately.
Merry laid his hands on Pippin's chest and bent his head down to kiss his neck. Pippin sighed happily, holding his violin carefully behind Merry's back.
"Please," Merry murmured against Pippin's skin. His fingers deftly worked at Pippin's shirt buttons. Merry pushed the fabric aside and licked at Pippin's collarbone.
"Right now?" Pippin gasped. He felt Merry's smile against his skin.
"Mmm hmm." A few more buttons were loosed. Pippin felt the gentle caress of Merry's fingertips on his chest as he spread the shirt open, and the soft tickle of Merry's curls brushing against his skin. And then Merry's mouth was hot on his skin.
"Um...Merry...aaaah," he gasped as Merry's tongue traced a warm, wet circle around one of his nipples. "You're kinda...in the way. I can't play when you're...ohh...right there."
Merry tilted his head up to look at Pippin. "I'm sorry," he grinned wickedly, "did you want me to stop?"
Pippin shook his head wordlessly, swallowing hard.
"I'll be out of your way in a minute," Merry murmured, turning to kiss his way back down Pippin's chest.
The final buttons were liberated, and Pippin's shirt hung open.
"There we go," Merry declared smugly, with a final lick to Pippin's belly.
Pippin looked down. Merry knelt on the carpeted floor before him, and now he was working at the button-fly of Pippin's jeans. Pippin was dimly aware of the sounds of students practicing their instruments in the surrounding practice rooms. It sounded like the boy with the cello had occupied the room next door.
Pippin took a deep breath, tucking his violin beneath his chin. He raised his bow to play the first notes, trying not to be distracted by the very talented hands that were working the buttons of his pants loose. He closed his eyes, focusing on the music, the way the strings felt as they vibrated beneath his fingers.
Another set of fingers was ruthlessly teasing at his pants buttons, moving slowly, one button at a time. Pippin heard his heartbeat pounding in his ears, felt his pulse in his fingers as they pressed the strings.
Pippin heard Merry chuckle softly, and realized he had lost his place in the music.
"Pip."
Pippin looked down. Merry had unbuttoned his fly completely. "Relax," Merry assured, a playful gleam in his eye. "I'll take care of you. Just keep playing."
With that, Merry quickly yanked down Pippin's jeans to his ankles. Pippin shivered slightly, as he suddenly stood in only his boxers and unbuttoned shirt. He closed his eyes, and began playing again, enjoying the feel of Merry's fingertips on his thighs, on his hips, on his....
SCREEEECH! The bow scratched across the strings discordantly.
"All right, Pip?" Merry laughed, his warm breath puffing across Pippin's exposed skin.
"Uh...uh huh," Pippin murmured weakly, suddenly aware that his breathing had become shallow.
Merry's fingertips played about Pippin's hipbones, his tongue tracing winding paths across Pippin's belly, his breath raising goose bumps on Pippin's sensitized skin.
Pippin raised his violin again, determined to finish the song. <<Merry's song,>> he thought hazily, even as he felt Merry's mouth on him, hot and urgent. Pippin gasped at the ministrations of Merry's tongue and stroking fingertips, but continued playing, stubbornly refusing to be distracted from the music. And if his playing was shaky, or a bit too aggressive for the tender passages, Merry certainly didn't criticize.
<<Gotta finish. Gotta finish. I'm almost there. Almost there,>> Pippin repeated in his head, counting the measures to the end of the song. He felt Merry's hands on his hips, firm yet gentle, keeping him still. He tasted blood, and realized he had bitten his lip, hard.
Suddenly, every bit of sensation in Pippin's body became focused under Merry's mouth. An explosion lit up inside Pippin, like one of Gandalf's rockets. He arched into Merry, into a wash of pleasure that enveloped him like the waters of the Brandywine, leaving him weak and gasping for breath.
It was long moments before he remembered that he was in the music building, in one of the practice rooms. He opened his eyes, squinting against the harsh glare of the florescent light fixture. Merry was buttoning Pippin's shirt back up, grinning smugly. Pippin glanced down. When had he gotten dressed?
"Did I finish?" Pippin asked blearily.
"What?" Merry snickered.
"Did I finish? The...the song."
"You did." Merry replied cheerfully. "I dunno if I'd buy the album, but you finished." He slipped the last button into its hole and kissed Pippin on the cheek.
"Oh," Pippin said distractedly, "good."
Merry chuckled. "Still hungry?"
"Huh?"
"Lunch, love. Still wanna get some lunch?"
Pippin blinked. "Oh...yeah. Yeah, let's eat. I'm starving." He laughed as he realized he was still holding the violin and bow tightly in his hands. "Merry, could you--"
But Merry was already standing in front of him, holding Pippin's violin case open. "At your service," he teased.
***
Coda by Corli
"So THAT'S the new concertmaster?" Oren thought with disdain as he tuned his cello, clearly not impressed with the young violinist's skills. "I wonder who he had to sleep with to get THAT position."
***
Click here to return to the index page.
Click here to go back to the previous story.
Click here to continue to the next story.