Title: Air
Author: Starflower Brandytook (starflower_brandytook@hotmail.com)
Rating: R... Just to be on the safe side. ;)
Pairing: Merry/Pippin (is there any other??)
Summary: The Mines are dark, and so are Pippin's thoughts, but Merry
can bring a glow to the darkest of places.
Archive: Library of Moria. Any others, just ask. What's the worst I can
say?
Feedback: Please? This is my first try at writing a slashfic. Let me know
what you think!
Disclaimer: 'I wasn't gonna eat it... I was just gonna *taste* it.' (Winnie 
the
Pooh.) These delectable little morsels belong to the Great and Powerful
Tolkien (may he forgive me), New Line Cinemas, and whoever holds the
copyrights. I don't own them, I make no money, yada yada blah blah blah.
(If I did own them, would I be wasting my time writing useless stories
about them? Uh... *no.*)

Takes place in the Mines of Moria. Pippin is hungry. Slight angst on Pip's
part, but Merry fixes that right up. ;)

The monster. The collapsed door. The crumbling steps, too high for
Hobbits, and the endless darkness.

Pippin reached up to pull himself onto the next step, and came away with
a fistful of rock debris. He felt himself begin to slide, and panicked. He
scrambled for a hold. And then from the darkness below him came, 'Easy,
Pip.' Merry's warm hand on his flank, steadying him.

'Just take it slow,' Merry whispered softly. Pippin's racing heart slowed.
Merry's soft voice warmed the chill of the Mines somewhat.


They climbed those steps, guided only by the dim, faraway-seeming light
of Gandalf's staff and Gimli's heavy breathing, broken by an occasional
ragged sob. Pippin's heart twisted. Images of the Shire, dark, crumbling,
filled with dry skeletons rather than plump jolly Hobbits, kept running
through his mind. No grass, no Brandywine River, no flowers, no Sam or
Frodo and... no Merry. He thought of that, and he whimpered. It would be
so dark and lonely without Merry. He whimpered again. Merry reached up
and caught his hand; squeezed it gently.
'It's all right, Pip. Just keep climbing. Almost there, and then we can 
rest,'
Merry murmured. Pippin squeezed Merry's hand back, and, comforted a
bit, reached up for another step.

Finally, they reached the top of the stairs.
'Rest,' Gandalf said. He, however, climbed up further and perched on a
ledge, brooding.

The rest of the company sank down gratefully. Sam began laying a cloak
down for Frodo. Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and Aragorn sat close, talking
urgently in hushed voices. Merry leaned his back against a disintegrating
pillar and closed his eyes. Pippin sat down next to him. His stomach
growled. He leaned over and whispered urgently,
'Merry! I'm hungry!'

Merry opened his eyes.

'Shh, Pippin. I know; so'm I....' He wrapped his arm around Pippin,
cuddling him close, and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Then he
smiled and pulled his pack onto his lap. 'Let's see... Ah, Pip! The last
apple. Here, we'll share,' he said, handing the rosy, slightly withered 
fruit
to him. Pippin smiled a thank-you, then took a bite of the apple. It tasted
sweet, like Merry's kisses.
He closed his eyes to savour the sweetness as he chewed. He heard Merry
crunch a bite from the apple, and thought with a pang of the last time they
had been together... It had been so long...

That big, fluffy bed in the House of Elrond. Elf-sized, not Hobbit-sized,
but it made for comfortable sleeping for two. They shed their clothes;
Merry slowly, teasingly, and unblushingly; Pippin quickly and awkwardly.
Even after... how long now? A lifetime?... he still felt slightly 
embarrassed
to be seen naked, his need for Merry obvious and straining. But Merry just
lay back, pulled Pip to him and held him close; kissed him. He rubbed the
soft skin behind his ear, making Pip moan softly into their fused mouths.
His hardness and Merry's bumped and they both gasped, pushing, panting,
kissing, touching, moaning...

And in the morning, they had learned that this wasn't the end of their
journey, as they had thought, but just the beginning. And after that, they
had learned that it wasn't going to be fun and adventures at all- not even a
little. And now they were here, in this Gods-forsaken dark place.

'Pip? Here, eat the rest of it.' Merry's gentle voice broke Pippin's 
reverie.
He sighed deeply, and took the apple from Merry's outstretched hand. He
ate the last few bites quickly. Merry laughed softly.

'You were hungry, weren't you? But then, you're always hungry...,' he
trailed off thoughtfully. He abruptly pulled Pippin closer to him, and,
disregarding the curious look that Legolas gave them, kissed Pippin
soundly on the mouth. Surprised and pleased, Pippin concentrated on
kissing Merry back, memorizing the curves and dips of his lips, the rough
edges and the smoothness of his teeth, for the hundred? thousandth? time.
Pippin loved the way Merry tasted, which filled a hollow part of Pippin
that food could never reach.

'There,' Merry whispered roughly in his ear as he pulled away. 'I love you,
Pippin. And when we get out of this giant coffin, I'm going to satisfy both
our appetites ten times over!' Pippin gave a little soft moan of 
anticipation,
and Merry smiled.

'That's it. Chin up, darling. We'll be out of here soon.'

'Mmm, thanks, Merry-mine. I believe I could take a nap now,' Pippin
murmured, burrowing his face in Merry's weskit. Merry stroked his hair.

In that faraway manner that noises have of sounding when you are falling
asleep, Pippin just heard Legolas say quietly to Boromir,
'They are such affectionate creatures, aren't they? They aren't shy about
showing their love at all. Even Elves....'

But the rest of his sentence was drowned out by Gandalf's shout of, 'Ah!
It's this way!'

Pippin sat up. 'He's remembered!' Merry stood and pulled Pip to his feet.

'No,' Gandalf replied, 'But the air doesn't smell so foul this way. When in
doubt, Master Hobbit, always follow your nose!'

And they were on again, to who-knew-where; pressing onward, out of this
tomb and into the fresh, sweet air.

_________________________________
~ (c) Starflower Brandytook, 2005