Title: Everyone's Secret 
Author: Estella Brandybuck,  estella_brandybuck@hotmail.com 
Pairing(s): Merry & Pippin 
Rating: R 
Summary: after the Ring is destroyed, Merry & Pippin finally find 
some time for each other- and Frodo learns a thing or two. 
Disclaimer: Not my characters, not my world, not for profit. 
Warning: Incest (first cousins) 
Authors Note: This is my first effort at slash fiction. Please 
send feedback, please?
 
 
	"Merry!"
	Pippin was always too loud. Even the few times they had 
managed to be alone on this journey, he had whimpered and sighed 
so loudly that Merry was afraid they would be caught. It was just 
part of Pippin's nature, to let go that way, to hold nothing back, 
ever.
	Tonight, though, Merry was sure everyone in Minas Tirith 
must have heard. If not all of Gondor. Pippin's voice was ragged, 
desperate. He clung to Merry by two fistfuls of hair, as his lover 
kneeled in front of him. It hurt, but Merry did not care. He only 
wanted to relieve the pain and fear inside his younger cousin.
	It did not take long. Pippin screamed as his pleasure 
welled up in him and spilled out, filling Merry's mouth.
	Then, suddenly, he was crying, weeping as hard as he could, 
and he could not stop- not even when Merry's strong arms went 
around him. He did not know why he was crying. For everything, for 
all of them. All the dangers they had faced, the days spent sick 
with fear, wondering why he had ever come to this place. For 
Boromir's dying. For what the Orcs had done to them. For 
everything, the hot tears poured out of him.
 
______________________________________________
 
	Frodo sat upright, suddenly awake. Had he dreamed it? For a 
moment he thought he had, and was just about to lie down again 
when he heard the scream. Pippin!
	Frodo jumped out of bed, and dressed hurriedly. The lantern 
did not want to light, and he struggled with it for too long 
before it finally worked.
	He had heard no more screams from Pippin. What could 
possibly be happening? Minas Tirith seemed safe enough, but if the 
events of the past year had taught Frodo anything, it was that the 
enemy could be anywhere.
	Hurrying down the long hallway, with his lantern mostly 
covered, Frodo quickly found Pippin's door. He did not wait to 
knock, but flung the door open and uncovered the lantern.
	He could make no sense of what he saw.
	Pippin, bending at the waist, his sandy-coloured curls 
nearly sweeping the floor. Merry-  Merry?!-  behind him, holding 
him at the waist and pulling Pippin's hips backwards as he-  as 
he-
	"Merry! What are you doing to him?!"
	"Frodo! Get out of here!"
	Both Merry and Pippin jumped under the blankets.
	"No! I heard him screaming."
	Merry noticed for the first time that Sting was strapped to 
Frodo's side. His hand was on the hilt.
	"He is fine. Everything is all right." Merry's voice was 
trembling.
	"He is crying."
	"He is all right. Pippin, tell him."
	Pippin was, in fact, still crying, but more quietly now. He 
started to speak, but Frodo cut him off.
	"No. Get dressed, Meriadoc."
	Frodo's hand was still on his sword; Merry did not dare to 
disobey. He dressed as quickly as he could.
	"Come along." Frodo urged him out the door. Merry threw a 
glance at Pippin, but Frodo commanded, "March!"
	They stopped at the door of Merry's room, and Frodo pushed 
him in.
	"Frodo, would you please just let me explain, please?" 
	"You can explain in the morning. To Aragorn." He closed the 
door, leaving Merry alone.
	Frodo sat down with his back to the door. He had never 
expected to be standing guard against his oldest friend, but he 
was determined to do what he had to do.
 
______________________________________________
 
	Frodo woke up in his own bed in the morning, with the sun 
streaming in his windows. He had not meant to fall asleep; he had 
a vague memory of being carried to his bed, although he could not 
remember by whom.
	He found Sam in the common room.
	"Good morning, Mr Frodo. I hope you slept well. Now what 
were you doing outside of Mr Merry's door last night?"
	Sam. 'Just like him to have carried me to bed without 
waking me,' thought Frodo.
	"I was making sure he didn't come out of it! Sam, I heard 
Pippin screaming last night. When I went to find out what was 
wrong... I could not believe my own eyes. Merry was, well, 
*attacking* him. *Hurting* him."
	Sam looked dubious. "You know I would never doubt you, 
now." But the tone made it clear that he did.
	"Sam, I know what I saw.'
	"What *did* you see?" 
	Frodo sighed, and ran his hand through his hair. He did not 
understand what he had seen, how could he explain it?
	Sam took his hand. "I think I know what you caught them 
at." 
	"You couldn't know. Even I don't know."
	"Mr Frodo. Don't you worry about Mr Pippin. Mr Merry would 
never hurt him, not ever. Those two are, how can I say it? They 
are lovers."
	"No. No, Sam, that does not make any sense." Frodo felt 
himself turning red up to his ears. Frodo had heard of this sort 
of thing, but he had never believed it, not really. He looked to 
Sam, who only nodded.
 
______________________________________________
 
	'Merry still has not come out of his room,' thought Pippin. 
'I wonder what Frodo did with him?'
	He was embarrassed at being caught, but mostly he was angry 
with himself for not speaking up when he had the chance. 'I hope 
he is all right.'
	Pippin knocked on the door softly. "Merry?"
The door was thrown open immediately, and there was Merry, 
looking very relieved. "Thank goodness it's you."
Pippin hugged him tight, and laughed. "Sorry you didn't get 
to finish last night."
Merry hugged him back, a little too roughly, and growled, 
"Maybe I'll just pull you in here and finish now."
Pippin did not wait to be pulled; he pushed his way into 
the room, and began nibbling at Merry's neck.
"Was he very angry?"
"Who, Frodo? He locked me in here and said he was going to 
tell Aragorn. But now he is gone away." Merry opened the front of 
Pippin's shirt as he talked.
"Hopefully to breakfast, and not to the King."
Merry paused to suck on Pippin's nipple, biting oh-so-
gently, encircling it with his divinely talented tongue. Pippin 
threw his head back and forgot all about Frodo, until Merry spoke 
again.
"If he tells anyone, we are through. I don't know what they 
will do to us."  He kissed Pippin's mouth, hard, thrusting his 
tongue deep inside. They lost themselves in the kiss for several 
minutes, while their hands worked feverishly at each other's 
clothing.
Pippin broke the kiss, gasping for air. He was filled with 
panic at the thought of being caught, found out after all these 
years together, and punished. Dreadfully punished, he thought. "I 
could stand anything, Meriadoc. Beating, prison, banishment. 
Anything except being kept from you!"
He said it bravely, but of course he was terribly afraid of 
all of these things. The sudden fear made him wild with desire. He 
kissed Merry's mouth again, and bit his bottom lip. Merry yelped; 
he had bitten too hard. Merry threw him to the floor, face down, 
placed his foot under Pippin's stomach, and brought him up to all 
fours.
 
______________________________________________
 
	Sam took a long, thoughtful drag from his pipe, and exhaled 
a beautiful smoke ring before he spoke.
	"Now, I don't claim to understand it, and I don't claim to 
like it. I don't do either, not one bit."
	Merry and Pippin had not been at breakfast- very unusual, 
for hobbits! and now it was late in the morning. Frodo and Sam 
were sitting on a porch which overlooked the valley.
	"It doesn't seem right, Sam. It is not natural." He blew 
his own smoke ring, noting how it paled in comparison to Sam's. It 
reminded him of Bilbo's first meeting with Gandalf, and he 
chuckled. Nothing seems quite so bad after breakfast.
	"I agree, Mr Frodo. I do. Of course, there's more that goes 
on in the wide world, than goes on in the Shire! All I know is, 
you cannot change what your heart feels for another person."
	"Can't you?"
	"Not when it's real. Not when it is that strong. I don't 
agree with them doing what they do, but on the other hand, it's as 
if it was meant to be."
	Frodo pondered this for a moment. "How long have they 
been... well, more than friends?"
	Sam shrugged. "Always, I suppose. Since they were 
children."
	"How do you know it?"
	"I may not be educated, Mr Frodo, like some people, but I 
have my eyes and ears. If it weren't for me knowing things, you 
would have come on this little holiday without Meriadoc, or 
Peregrin, or even one pony, or any of it."
	Frodo laughed. "I forgot all about your spying, Sam. It 
doesn't seem like you!"
	Sam tried to be offended. "Oh, I am no spy. But I am a 
servant."
	"And servants know everyone's secrets, don't they?"
	Sam only winked in reply, and blew another smoke ring.
 
______________________________________________
 
	Merry grunted with exertion. After so many months of never 
feeling safe, never having more than a few moments alone with him, 
he was ravenous for his lover. Pippin moved underneath him, 
matching his rhythm, answering his grunts with his own softer 
cries. Merry had always been the aggressive one- in bed or out of 
it, he was the leader.
	But now Pippin shifted himself out from under Merry, who 
seemed quite surprised at this turn of events. Pippin took Merry's 
mouth with his own, and kissed him with a slow, burning passion. 
Merry tried to take control, but Pippin- who was actually taller, 
and stronger- pushed him away. He flashed his mischievous smile, 
and took Merry's hand, almost shyly.
	Leading him by the hand, he bent Merry over the side of the 
bed. Merry was excited, but suddenly apprehensive. He was not used 
to being in such an exposed, vulnerable position, and it was 
frightening.
	"I suppose we have missed breakfast," he muttered weakly.
	"If we are lucky, we may miss luncheon, too," laughed 
Pippin.
	Merry gasped.
	Pippin placed his hands on his lover's hips, and leaned 
over him, kissing the back of his neck.
	"Are you afraid?"
	Merry nodded. Not that he had never let Pippin have him 
this way, but in the past, it had always been Merry's idea. 
	"Don't worry, my love. I've learned from you," Pippin 
breathed onto his neck.
	'That is what I'm afraid of,' thought Merry, though he did 
not say it out loud. He realized just how rough he had been, and 
was afraid he would pay for it now.
	Pippin laughed, and slapped Merry's bottom. He rubbed his 
penis against the tight opening, and slipped it in easily. Again, 
Merry gasped, but this time from pleasure.
	"Oh, that is wonderful!"
	Pippin moved slowly at first, allowing Merry to get used to 
the sensations. Then he sped up the rhythm, steadily working back 
and forth, in and out. Merry felt the smooth sliding inside him, 
and an intense pleasure started to build up in the center of him, 
making him grab handfuls of the bed sheets and bite his lip to 
keep from shouting.
	Pippin rocked him back and forth, gently at first, but now 
faster and harder. They moved together, panting, breathing in time 
with Pippin's thrusts-  and Merry realized that Pippin had total 
control of him. The thought was more than he could handle: he 
groaned, and his seed spilled out of him, onto the bed, smearing 
onto his belly.
	"Did you come?"
	Merry nodded, too happy to speak.
	Pippin slipped his arm around his lover's waist, taking 
some of the hot, sticky stuff from his belly, and tasted it. He 
loved the way Merry smelled, the way he tasted, more than any 
other part of their lovemaking. Having his that taste in his mouth 
sent him over the edge; he grabbed Merry's strong shoulders, 
holding on as the orgasm rocked his body.
	For a moment, Pippin was perfectly still. Then he collapsed 
onto the bed. Merry lay down beside him. They did not need to hold 
each other then; only to breathe together and each to feel the 
other's presence.
 
______________________________________________
 
	By the time they had rested, bathed, and dressed, they had 
indeed missed luncheon, which would be bad enough for you and me, 
but unthinkable for two young hobbits! After the glow of their 
lovemaking had (somewhat) worn off, Merry's stomach awoke with a 
tremendous growl, which sent Pippin into fits of laughter, until 
his own rather empty stomach did the same.
	"It's too late for luncheon," fretted Pippin.
	"We haven't used our fame for anything yet- surely we can 
get a few snacks out of it!"
	"Bring me something, too, then," said Pippin.
	Merry sped off to the kitchens to find some food; Pippin 
decided to get some fresh air.
	On the terrace, who should he meet but-
	"Frodo!"
	Frodo turned and greeted him with a slightly embarrassed 
smile. "Pippin!" he exclaimed, and threw his arms around him 
before Pippin could react. "I am so sorry about last night. Is 
Merry all right?"
	"Of course, of course! An honest mistake, no harm done."
	Frodo released him.
	"Thank you, Frodo. Thanks for protecting me that way."
	"What else could I do? I thought... I don't know what I 
thought."  Frodo turned red again. "Why do you do it?" he asked 
quietly, staring at the ground.
	Pippin shrugged. "I love Merry, that's all."
	"Don't you like girls?"	
	"No. I really don't. I thought I should, you know. Even 
Merry talks about girls. But I don't care about that sort of thing 
at all."
	"What about getting married, and having children? You will 
be a very important man; you have to think about those things."
	Pippin did not answer him.
	They were interrupted by Merry and Sam. "Hello, there you 
are! I found Sam in the kitchens on just the same sort of mission. 
Look what we've brought!" Indeed, they had a large loaf of bread, 
an enormous piece of cheese, and not a small wine flask.
	Merry's smile faltered when he saw Frodo. "Oh. Hello."
	"Hello, Merry."
	There was an awkward silence; Frodo shifted from one foot 
to the other. Finally, Merry spoke.
	"Thank you."
	"What?" Pippin and Frodo were both confused.
	"Thank you for looking out for Pippin."
	Frodo laughed, relieved. The tension had been broken.
Even though he'd had his luncheon, and a sizeable breakfast 
besides, the bread and cheese looked extremely inviting.
	"Let's eat, then, shall we?"
 
THE END