HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
TITLE: “The History of Us: A Yule Promise, Part 2”
AUTHOR: Daisy Gamgee
AUTHOR’S EMAIL: daisygamgee@gmail.com
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE: http://www.daisygamgee.com
PAIRING: Merry/Pippin
RATING: PG (Oh, quit complaining. You Know Who You Are.)
PART: 2 of 3, I think. Maybe. I hope. Part 1 is here.
ARCHIVE: http://www.daisygamgee.com
WARNINGS: SCHMOOP. Pure, unadulterated, unapologetic SCHMOOP. I’m serious, here. Don’t read it if you’re a psychologically diabetic hardass, or a robot.
DISCLAIMERS: I don’t own these characters. They belong to Tolkien Enterprises. If they belonged to me, I’d have to do something else for fun, and what’s more fun than this?
SUMMARY: The night before the morning of.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Thanks to a lot of very patient hobbitses who’ve had to put up with me talking about this, yet never actually frickin’ writing it, for a couple of years now. *lifts mug in gratitude*
“Merry.”
“Mmmm?”
“Everyone’s looking at us.”
“Are they? How nice for them.”
“I think they expect us to say something.”
“Mmmmprobably. Here, kiss me.”
Pippin did, with a small laugh that Merry captured in his mouth, and then he could breathe again, renewed. He pulled air into his lungs, then looked once more into grass-green eyes, and was lost.
“Merry.”
“Ohhhh. All right.” He turned, still kneeling. “And just what are you all looking at?”
The assemblage laughed-except for Esmeralda, who was still happily weeping-and then offered up a round of applause that made Merry blush everywhere he had skin.
“When’s the wedding?”
“How many children are you planning to have?”
“Good heavens, I didn’t even know you were courting.”
“Oh, hush up, the lot of you,” Merry grumbled, but couldn’t keep a frown on his face to save his life. “We haven’t discussed a wedding yet, and you, Freddy Bolger, are a total …”
“Merry, let’s go somewhere private, so our loved ones here can talk about us while we’re out of earshot.” Pippin stood and pulled Merry to his feet. “Oh, stop it, you lot, we’re just going to talk. Freddy, you are a …whoops. Merry!”
Merry had headed for their bedroom, Pippin’s hand in his, stumbling after him, and when they were, indeed, alone, he bolted the door and pushed Pippin against it. A few moments later, flushed and disheveled, he could hear himself think again. “Well. Hello, Pip.”
The answering laugh was like bells ringing on a clear night. “Hello, Merry. So what’s this about a wedding, then?”
“Oh. Well. Yes, we need to do something about that.” He toyed with the buttons on Pippin’s tunic. “You are a pretty thing, did you know?”
“Not as pretty as you. Especially with your hair all a mess.” Pippin kissed Merry’s nose. “All right, now, it’s time to think. Stop that, I can’t…mmph.” He pushed Merry away with a laugh. “Save something for the wedding night.”
“I didn’t realize we could use it up. All right, all right.” He took a quick kiss then gestured to the armchair by the fire. “Have a seat, m’lord.” After Pippin sat, Merry sat, as well, on the rug at his feet, and rested his arms on Pippin’s thighs. “You really are the most beautiful lad in all of forever.”
“And you’re the giddiest. Listen, sweetheart. I think we should get married as soon as possible-tomorrow, if Sam’s agreeable.”
“Tomorrow? That soon?” Merry frowned. “Mind, I’m happy to, Pip, but doesn’t leave us any time to plan, or my Mum time to make a big fuss, and Nel and Vinca will be livid if they miss a wedding, not to mention Berry and the other nieces and nephews.”
“And it gives my father no time at all to object and try to stop us.”
Merry nodded. “There’s that.”
“And besides which, Merry-Mine, I have only been wanting to marry you for thirty-three years this past June, and now that I can, I’m not going to wait one more day than I have to. I’m not sure still that this is going to turn out to be an after-Yule-dinner dream.” He tilted his head and studied Merry carefully. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure?” Merry shook his head. “Because I stumbled a bit by the fire? Oh, honey. I’m sure. I’m so sure that I almost couldn’t say it out loud for fear that we were dreaming.” Merry reached up to touch Pippin’s face. “Tomorrow isn’t soon enough, lamb, but I can wait that long for you.”
Pippin turned his face to kiss Merry’s fingers, then rubbed his cheek against the palm. “Tomorrow, then. We should tell Sam.” He smiled impishly. “And I should sleep in Miro’s room tonight.”
“What? No!”
“Now, we can’t spend the night before the wedding together.”
“And just why not?”
“Because…well. Uhm. I don’t know, exactly.” He turned red when Merry laughed. “I don’t know. It’s a tradition. Ask anybody. Lookit, I just want to do this proper, all right?”
“Ohhhhhhh.” Merry frowned, ready to mount an argument, but something in Pippin’s face stopped him. What was one night, after all, compared to the thousands ahead? And besides, he thought with a smile, Pippin would come tuck himself in at Merry’s side before morning, as he had every night they’d ever slept apart under the same roof. “All right. But only because I love you so.”
Pippin nodded and smiled. “Let’s go face the crowd, then, and ask Sam if he’s amenable. Wait, here.” He reached over and ran his fingers through Merry’s hair, setting it more awry, then undid the buttons of his own tunic and did them up again wrong. “There. That ought to give them something to talk about for dessert.”
** **
“What? Before or after breakfast? Give me until elevenses, at least! I need to get a cake made, and see after the flowers, and oh my, I wonder if there’s enough bread flour for…”
“Mum, please,” Merry interrupted, taking her hands. “All we need is a small luncheon, nothing elaborate. It’s only just the eight of us, and the children.” He kissed her cheek when she frowned deeply. “You may fuss to your heart’s delight in the spring, when we have the party for all the friends and relations. All right? For tomorrow, I want you lovely and calm and just enjoying the day.”
“Now how is she supposed to enjoy the day if she can’t fuss?” Saradoc said. “Really, Meriadoc. Shame on you.” His grin quite belied his words. “Esmy, love, listen to the boy, he knows what he wants, and they’re right about not waiting. The less time we give Paladin to get wind of it, the better. Now let’s get some sleep, because if I know you, and I certainly do, you’ll want to be up with the chickens so you can fuss without us seeing.” Saradoc rose slowly. “Chair’s too comfortable,” he complained. “Now kiss the lads, and let them get some sleep. They have a big day tomorrow.”
With his parents settled, Merry heaved a big sigh and joined Pippin in Faramir’s room. “I don’t know who’s more trouble to get to bed, my mother or the baby.” He cuddled up behind Pippin, who was gazing into the crib, and kissed his neck. “You smell good.”
“Mmm, now, Merry, stop.” He disengaged roaming fingers from his hips.
“You said we were going to sleep apart tonight. You didn’t say we weren’t going to….awh, Pip.” Merry huffed and sat in the rocking chair. “You’re a strict one.”
“Have to be, with trouble like you about.” Pippin smiled, then looked into the crib again. “Let’s talk in our room. I don’t want to wake him up.”
Merry watched appreciatively from his seat on the bed as Pippin changed, noting the curving lines of his rump and the ripple of muscles in the back of his legs as he moved. “It’s going to be very difficult to sleep,” Merry admitted with a sigh, and caught the nightshirt that Pippin tossed to him. “Thank you. Ach, I wish we could have Nellie and Vinca here.” He pulled off his shirt and tugged the undershirt on, then took off his breeches and tossed the clothing toward the hamper; it fell to the floor next to Pippin’s discarded clothes.
“Well,” Pippin said with a sigh of his own, “the size of the wedding party doesn’t matter nearly so much as the hearts of the two getting married.” He frowned then, and made a small show of smoothing the wrinkles in his nightshirt. “I know that all too well.”
Merry suspected that Pippin was working himself into a fit of remorse over his first marriage to Diamond, and with a bitter little pang, he realized that he just didn’t want to hear it. Not now. “Come over here.” He patted the bed next to him. “What? Honestly, I just want to talk.”
Pippin laughed and bounced onto the bed. “Even if you didn’t, that’s all right. A kiss or twelve wouldn’t hurt.” He leaned over for a kiss. “Or thirteen.”
Merry pulled him close and kissed him very thoroughly, taking care to explore, and he could see that Pippin’s resolve to sleep apart had weakened considerably by the end of it. “You get some sleep tonight, because you certainly won’t get much sleep tomorrow night.”
“Maybe I’d sleep better in here,” Pippin offered.
“Maybe,” Merry agreed. “But one night apart might be nice-it’ll give us a chance to catch our breath and think, and tomorrow will be all the sweeter.”
“How could it possibly be sweeter, Merry? I’m marrying the love of my life and I could not have imagined that we ever could do this. Ever.” His smile was bittersweet. “Maybe if we could have done this years ago, I wouldn’t…”
“Sssh, no,” Merry said, surprising himself with his vehemence. “What matters is now, and how I love you. For I do love you, Peregrin Took. Now, then, and always.”
“I know, Merry. As I love you.” Pippin’s smile widened, all shadows gone. “I will take such good care of you!”
“You already do.” Merry took Pippin’s hands, and lifted them to kiss the palms. “Now go, sleep well, and by this time tomorrow, you will be my husband in name and in deed.”
The kiss he got in response made him almost dizzy.
They bade each other goodnight, and Merry waited for the doors to close before snuffing his bedside lamp and burrowing under the blankets. He fell asleep with his face in Pippin’s pillow, breathing in the scent of lavender and strawberry blossoms.
A few hours later, he awoke, found a soundly asleep Pippin tucked close at his side, and curled around him with a grateful sigh.
** **
Continued.
AUTHOR: Daisy Gamgee
AUTHOR’S EMAIL: daisygamgee@gmail.com
AUTHOR’S WEBSITE: http://www.daisygamgee.com
PAIRING: Merry/Pippin
RATING: PG (Oh, quit complaining. You Know Who You Are.)
PART: 2 of 3, I think. Maybe. I hope. Part 1 is here.
ARCHIVE: http://www.daisygamgee.com
WARNINGS: SCHMOOP. Pure, unadulterated, unapologetic SCHMOOP. I’m serious, here. Don’t read it if you’re a psychologically diabetic hardass, or a robot.
DISCLAIMERS: I don’t own these characters. They belong to Tolkien Enterprises. If they belonged to me, I’d have to do something else for fun, and what’s more fun than this?
SUMMARY: The night before the morning of.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Thanks to a lot of very patient hobbitses who’ve had to put up with me talking about this, yet never actually frickin’ writing it, for a couple of years now. *lifts mug in gratitude*
“Merry.”
“Mmmm?”
“Everyone’s looking at us.”
“Are they? How nice for them.”
“I think they expect us to say something.”
“Mmmmprobably. Here, kiss me.”
Pippin did, with a small laugh that Merry captured in his mouth, and then he could breathe again, renewed. He pulled air into his lungs, then looked once more into grass-green eyes, and was lost.
“Merry.”
“Ohhhh. All right.” He turned, still kneeling. “And just what are you all looking at?”
The assemblage laughed-except for Esmeralda, who was still happily weeping-and then offered up a round of applause that made Merry blush everywhere he had skin.
“When’s the wedding?”
“How many children are you planning to have?”
“Good heavens, I didn’t even know you were courting.”
“Oh, hush up, the lot of you,” Merry grumbled, but couldn’t keep a frown on his face to save his life. “We haven’t discussed a wedding yet, and you, Freddy Bolger, are a total …”
“Merry, let’s go somewhere private, so our loved ones here can talk about us while we’re out of earshot.” Pippin stood and pulled Merry to his feet. “Oh, stop it, you lot, we’re just going to talk. Freddy, you are a …whoops. Merry!”
Merry had headed for their bedroom, Pippin’s hand in his, stumbling after him, and when they were, indeed, alone, he bolted the door and pushed Pippin against it. A few moments later, flushed and disheveled, he could hear himself think again. “Well. Hello, Pip.”
The answering laugh was like bells ringing on a clear night. “Hello, Merry. So what’s this about a wedding, then?”
“Oh. Well. Yes, we need to do something about that.” He toyed with the buttons on Pippin’s tunic. “You are a pretty thing, did you know?”
“Not as pretty as you. Especially with your hair all a mess.” Pippin kissed Merry’s nose. “All right, now, it’s time to think. Stop that, I can’t…mmph.” He pushed Merry away with a laugh. “Save something for the wedding night.”
“I didn’t realize we could use it up. All right, all right.” He took a quick kiss then gestured to the armchair by the fire. “Have a seat, m’lord.” After Pippin sat, Merry sat, as well, on the rug at his feet, and rested his arms on Pippin’s thighs. “You really are the most beautiful lad in all of forever.”
“And you’re the giddiest. Listen, sweetheart. I think we should get married as soon as possible-tomorrow, if Sam’s agreeable.”
“Tomorrow? That soon?” Merry frowned. “Mind, I’m happy to, Pip, but doesn’t leave us any time to plan, or my Mum time to make a big fuss, and Nel and Vinca will be livid if they miss a wedding, not to mention Berry and the other nieces and nephews.”
“And it gives my father no time at all to object and try to stop us.”
Merry nodded. “There’s that.”
“And besides which, Merry-Mine, I have only been wanting to marry you for thirty-three years this past June, and now that I can, I’m not going to wait one more day than I have to. I’m not sure still that this is going to turn out to be an after-Yule-dinner dream.” He tilted his head and studied Merry carefully. “Are you sure?”
“Am I sure?” Merry shook his head. “Because I stumbled a bit by the fire? Oh, honey. I’m sure. I’m so sure that I almost couldn’t say it out loud for fear that we were dreaming.” Merry reached up to touch Pippin’s face. “Tomorrow isn’t soon enough, lamb, but I can wait that long for you.”
Pippin turned his face to kiss Merry’s fingers, then rubbed his cheek against the palm. “Tomorrow, then. We should tell Sam.” He smiled impishly. “And I should sleep in Miro’s room tonight.”
“What? No!”
“Now, we can’t spend the night before the wedding together.”
“And just why not?”
“Because…well. Uhm. I don’t know, exactly.” He turned red when Merry laughed. “I don’t know. It’s a tradition. Ask anybody. Lookit, I just want to do this proper, all right?”
“Ohhhhhhh.” Merry frowned, ready to mount an argument, but something in Pippin’s face stopped him. What was one night, after all, compared to the thousands ahead? And besides, he thought with a smile, Pippin would come tuck himself in at Merry’s side before morning, as he had every night they’d ever slept apart under the same roof. “All right. But only because I love you so.”
Pippin nodded and smiled. “Let’s go face the crowd, then, and ask Sam if he’s amenable. Wait, here.” He reached over and ran his fingers through Merry’s hair, setting it more awry, then undid the buttons of his own tunic and did them up again wrong. “There. That ought to give them something to talk about for dessert.”
** **
“What? Before or after breakfast? Give me until elevenses, at least! I need to get a cake made, and see after the flowers, and oh my, I wonder if there’s enough bread flour for…”
“Mum, please,” Merry interrupted, taking her hands. “All we need is a small luncheon, nothing elaborate. It’s only just the eight of us, and the children.” He kissed her cheek when she frowned deeply. “You may fuss to your heart’s delight in the spring, when we have the party for all the friends and relations. All right? For tomorrow, I want you lovely and calm and just enjoying the day.”
“Now how is she supposed to enjoy the day if she can’t fuss?” Saradoc said. “Really, Meriadoc. Shame on you.” His grin quite belied his words. “Esmy, love, listen to the boy, he knows what he wants, and they’re right about not waiting. The less time we give Paladin to get wind of it, the better. Now let’s get some sleep, because if I know you, and I certainly do, you’ll want to be up with the chickens so you can fuss without us seeing.” Saradoc rose slowly. “Chair’s too comfortable,” he complained. “Now kiss the lads, and let them get some sleep. They have a big day tomorrow.”
With his parents settled, Merry heaved a big sigh and joined Pippin in Faramir’s room. “I don’t know who’s more trouble to get to bed, my mother or the baby.” He cuddled up behind Pippin, who was gazing into the crib, and kissed his neck. “You smell good.”
“Mmm, now, Merry, stop.” He disengaged roaming fingers from his hips.
“You said we were going to sleep apart tonight. You didn’t say we weren’t going to….awh, Pip.” Merry huffed and sat in the rocking chair. “You’re a strict one.”
“Have to be, with trouble like you about.” Pippin smiled, then looked into the crib again. “Let’s talk in our room. I don’t want to wake him up.”
Merry watched appreciatively from his seat on the bed as Pippin changed, noting the curving lines of his rump and the ripple of muscles in the back of his legs as he moved. “It’s going to be very difficult to sleep,” Merry admitted with a sigh, and caught the nightshirt that Pippin tossed to him. “Thank you. Ach, I wish we could have Nellie and Vinca here.” He pulled off his shirt and tugged the undershirt on, then took off his breeches and tossed the clothing toward the hamper; it fell to the floor next to Pippin’s discarded clothes.
“Well,” Pippin said with a sigh of his own, “the size of the wedding party doesn’t matter nearly so much as the hearts of the two getting married.” He frowned then, and made a small show of smoothing the wrinkles in his nightshirt. “I know that all too well.”
Merry suspected that Pippin was working himself into a fit of remorse over his first marriage to Diamond, and with a bitter little pang, he realized that he just didn’t want to hear it. Not now. “Come over here.” He patted the bed next to him. “What? Honestly, I just want to talk.”
Pippin laughed and bounced onto the bed. “Even if you didn’t, that’s all right. A kiss or twelve wouldn’t hurt.” He leaned over for a kiss. “Or thirteen.”
Merry pulled him close and kissed him very thoroughly, taking care to explore, and he could see that Pippin’s resolve to sleep apart had weakened considerably by the end of it. “You get some sleep tonight, because you certainly won’t get much sleep tomorrow night.”
“Maybe I’d sleep better in here,” Pippin offered.
“Maybe,” Merry agreed. “But one night apart might be nice-it’ll give us a chance to catch our breath and think, and tomorrow will be all the sweeter.”
“How could it possibly be sweeter, Merry? I’m marrying the love of my life and I could not have imagined that we ever could do this. Ever.” His smile was bittersweet. “Maybe if we could have done this years ago, I wouldn’t…”
“Sssh, no,” Merry said, surprising himself with his vehemence. “What matters is now, and how I love you. For I do love you, Peregrin Took. Now, then, and always.”
“I know, Merry. As I love you.” Pippin’s smile widened, all shadows gone. “I will take such good care of you!”
“You already do.” Merry took Pippin’s hands, and lifted them to kiss the palms. “Now go, sleep well, and by this time tomorrow, you will be my husband in name and in deed.”
The kiss he got in response made him almost dizzy.
They bade each other goodnight, and Merry waited for the doors to close before snuffing his bedside lamp and burrowing under the blankets. He fell asleep with his face in Pippin’s pillow, breathing in the scent of lavender and strawberry blossoms.
A few hours later, he awoke, found a soundly asleep Pippin tucked close at his side, and curled around him with a grateful sigh.
** **
Continued.