Gently Down the Stream by Aeneus
Summary: Two hobbits and a boat.
Categories: FPS, FPS > Merry/Pippin, FPS > Pippin/Merry Characters: Merry, Pippin
Type: None
Warning: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 1 Completed: Yes Word count: 1685 Read: 1787 Published: June 16, 2009 Updated: June 16, 2009
Story Notes:


Written for the 7th Library of Moria Forum challenge: First Time.

FEEDBACK: Highly appreciated

1. Chapter 1 by Aeneus

Chapter 1 by Aeneus
As soon as they came upon the bank of the Brandywine, Merry began to realise this might not have been such a good idea after all. Dread was building up as he spotted the small boat tied to the roots of the old tree. Suddenly it looked a lot less study than he remembered it.

"Have you really done it before, Merry?" Pippin asked a few steps behind him.

Merry looked over his shoulder and met his cousin's sceptical face. He hoped none of his fear was showing at that moment.

"Of course, Pip," Merry lied, while he kicked himself in the backside. What had he been thinking; telling his younger cousin he had sailed down the Brandywine?

They had been out all day, enjoying the good weather and each other company. Pippin had been talking endlessly about all the things he had been up to back in Tuck Borough; like stealing his father's pipe-weed and smoking it behind the Golden Perch, or about the first time he kissed Diamond at her birthday party.

Merry was feeling left behind. He was the older one; he should be the one impressing Pip with wild stories. But he never did anything exciting, besides stealing farmer Maggot's carrots and he had a feeling farmer Maggot had begun to expect his excursions into his land and was leaving some carrots outside just for that purpose.

So he had just sort of....blurted it out. He wanted to see the look on Pippin's face. He wanted his cousin to look impressed. He hadn't considered the possibility that Pippin would want to try it out.

Of course by that time he couldn't back down anymore. So he had taken Pip to the spot where he knew his older cousin Berilac had a little boat. He had even seen Berilac row with it to the other side once. He just hoped that now they were both there, the prospect of actually going sailing would make his younger cousin back down from the whole idea.

But no such luck.

"Go on then." Pippin gave his shoulder a little shove. Merry managed a valiant smile and strode boldly towards the raft and untied it. Carefully, he pushed it into the water. The little boat immediately began to bob up and down, making Merry seasick just looking at it. He swallowed hard and moved his leg over to keep it steady.

"Come here and hold the rope, Pip," he called back.

Pippin approached hesitantly. He picked up the lose end of the rope and pulled it steady. Merry took a deep breath and transferred his weight over to the boat. The floor tilted and the hobbit almost lost his footing. He instinctively crouched down, keeping his weight low to the ground. After a few long seconds, the boat and Merry's heart rate settled.

After he had composed himself enough, Merry looked up at his younger cousin and extended his hand. "Go on, Pip. There's nothing to worry about."

Pippin looked at him clearly doubtful. Merry reached out as far as he could manage without falling over, or tipping the boat. Slowly, Pippin moved forward and reached for Merry's hand. His fingers cautiously intertwined with Merry's.

"Come on, just one step, I've got you," Merry encouraged.

Pippin took a deep breath and suddenly threw himself forward, landing in Merry's arms and toppling them both over. Merry held on firmly to Pippin as the boat rocked violently. Pippin lay shivering in Merry's arms with his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"It's okay, we're fine," Merry mumbled soothingly, hoping fiercely that he wasn't going to throw up with nerves himself. Finally, the rocking subsided and Merry felt the tension gradually leave Pip's body. After another minute Pip finally opened his eyes. Merry was still holding him tight. Pip was still breathing heavily.

"See, that wasn't that bad, right?" Merry broke the silence. Pippin made a sound that could have been either a 'yes' or a 'no', but mainly sounded like a squeak. Merry noticed he was stroking Pippin's lower back. The realisation made the bundle of nerves in his stomach expand rapidly and then contract almost instantaneously. He stopped at once.

He felt his cousin tense up again and immediately regretted stopping. But before he could do or say anything, Pippin moved away and sat himself in the far corner. Somewhat confused about what just happened, Merry followed his example and got up from the bottom of the boat.

In silence, Merry picked up the oars from the bottom of the raft. He used one of them to push them away from the bank and into the deep water. Once they were far enough from the shore, Merry settled himself in the middle of the boat and firmly took hold of each oar on either side of the boat. He hoped he looked confident and looked over at the other hobbit. Pippin's attention was divided between looking fearfully over the side at the water and looking expectantly at Merry to get them moving.

Merry tried to put on a reassuring face and experimentally began moving the oars back and forth. They immediately started spinning. Pippin gave a little yelp and held on to the side of the boat till his knuckles turned white.

Merry's heart was racing as he struggled to steady the boat. "Don't worry, it's just the current," Merry tried to lie calmly while he attempted different strokes. Finally, he managed to get the oars moving in sync, but not without splashing a fair amount of water into the vessel.

"Merry!," Pippin exclaimed loudly as he was doused in cold water. "We're sinking!"

"No we're not. Trust me."

"I can't swim."

"Stop panicking. I've got everything under control," Merry tried to get through to his young companion.

"Are you sure?" Pippin asked unconvinced.

Merry didn't answer. The vessel was moving calmly now, but he wasn't sure what to do next or where to go. Pippin was still looking at him expectantly. He kept moving the oars in gently strokes and they were steadily drifting away from their starting point.

"Merry? Where are we going?" Pippin asked after a moment.

"Down the river," Merry replied, as if that explained enough. He wasn't even sure which way was 'up' or 'down'. They stayed quiet for a while, listening to the soft splashing of the water as Merry rowed. The movement was calming and Merry even begun to enjoy being on the water.

Then Pippin's voice broke the silence: "This is....nice."

Merry looked over at his companion. Pippin was sitting back; one arm over the side with his fingers trailing in the water. He seemed calm and peaceful while he observed the ripples his fingers made. The sunshine lighted up his brownish curls and Merry didn't think he'd ever seen a more beautiful picture.

"Yeah," Merry agreed, forgetting to row for a moment. Pippin smiled and Merry felt the ball of nerves plummet from his throat to his stomach.

"Thanks for taking me."

Merry felt for sure he was blushing. He didn't trust himself to speak, so he just nodded. Luckily, Pippin's attention turned back to playing with the water's surface and Merry released the breath he was subconsciously holding. Confused, he turned his mind back to the oars and started rowing again. It wasn't long before they were leaving familiar territory behind. As the sun steadily declined, Merry was getting more and more uncertain of their whereabouts.

"Uh, Merry, " Pippin began cautiously. "Maybe we should be getting back." Some of his earlier nervousness had returned to his voice. "It'll be dark soon."

Merry's heart was sinking fast. He didn't have a clue as to where they were, or how to get back. He dreaded having to confess to Pippin that they were lost; Merry didn't want to sour the good time they'd had. He pulled up the oars and sighed: "I have to tell you something." Pippin looked at him warily. "I've never been on the river before," Merry finally admitted. He saw Pip's eyes widen in shock. "I wanted to impress you," he tried to explain quickly.

"Why did you want to do that?" Pippin asked in genuine surprise.

"I don't know....I just wanted to see you excited. I never thought you would want to go out and try it."

"You think I'm a coward?"

"Of course not, Pip!" Merry objected immediately. But Pip's eyes told him his cousin didn't believe him. Merry was afraid he had really hurt his friend's feelings. He let his head fall down in misery. Now they were both stuck in a boat neither of them knew how to steer and Pippin was probably mad at him for lying and hurting his feelings.

He tried to form an apology in his mind, but was interrupted by Pip's hand on his cheek forcing him to look back up. Pippin reached out his other hand and interlaced his fingers in Merry's blond curls.

Pippin's face didn't show any trace of unhappiness or fear. Instead his cousin had a mischievous grin that was usually a telltale sign of impending misbehaviour.

Merry froze, suddenly very afraid the other hobbit was going to take revenge by pushing him overboard.

"I like seeing you exited, too."

Before Merry could respond, the horizon tilted and he was back in the bottom of the boat, cradling arms full of Pippin. He didn't even notice the rocking and splashing of the water this time as his mind was preoccupied with the fact that Pip was kissing him.

When Pippin came up for air, he was smiling from ear to ear. "I have to tell you something..."

"What?" Merry asked, still reeling from the fact his younger cousin had just kissed him.

"I've never kissed Diamond."

It took a moment for Pippin's words to sink in. "Why did you say that?"

"I wanted to impress you." Pippin's eyes sparkled with amusement. The sight made Merry long to kiss those eyelids.

"It worked," Merry breathed. "Now lets get of this damn river. I'm getting seasick."

Pippin shook his head. "Let me kiss it better."
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