Merry was half aware of Pippin turning over in his bed, yet again. Pippin's restlessness had woken him out of rather pleasant dreams, and he closed his eyes tight as he tried to block out his cousin's mumbling. It very nearly worked.
"Merry?" Came the soft, hesitant voice, just as he was about to sleep. "Merry, are you asleep?"
Merry demonstratively pulled up the covers to his neck. "Yes." He said grumpily. "You should be, too."
The bed shook as Pippin jumped onto it. "No, you're not." He said defiantly. "I can't sleep."
Merry opened his eyes with an impatient sigh. "Of all bothersome things, Pippin, what is wrong with you? It's only midnight yet, I'm sure."
Pippin blinked. "I can't sleep still." He said. "Midnight or no."
Merry shook his head and held out his arms. "Come here." Pippin fell appreciatively into his arms and Merry wrapped the blankets tight around them both as he hugged Pippin to his chest, rocking him gently.
"Did you have a bad dream, sweetheart?" Merry eventually asked.
Pippin shook his head. "Leastways I can't remember having one. I just can't sleep."
Pippin was quiet for so long that Merry thought he had finally fallen asleep. When he spoke again he startled Merry. "Merry? Couldn't we… do something?"
"What?" Merry moved back a little to behold the mischievous look on Pippin's face. Options ran through his head.
Pippin smiled. "Like, play a little game."
Merry sighed exasperatedly. Trust a Took! "Pippin, it's the middle of the night." Although the idea wasn't without its attractions.
"Yes." Pippin said. "When everyone's asleep and no one expects anything. How about we play a game on Frodo?"
Merry considered this. "What do you have in mind?"
Pippin's eyes sparkled. "How about we kidnap him? He would never expect that, and then Sam would wake up and… It would be *so* funny!"
Merry shook his head. "I'm not so sure it would be funny. Not if Sam woke up."
Pippin rolled his eyes. "It would be. And he would have to give us something to get Frodo back."
"Ok." Merry finally said. "But we got to be careful."
Pippin nodded in agreement and wrapped a robe around him, throwing another one to Merry. "Let's see…" he scanned to room. "We need… this, and this, and this." He picked up some pieces of rope he had practised knots on, a quilt from the chair by the fire and their scarves. "Come on."
They tip-toed out in the hall, and all the way to the master bedroom. Luckily, the door wasn't locked and they gently pushed it open and sneaked inside.
Pippin put a hand over his mouth and tried to stifle a bashful giggle. "Look at them." He whispered. "They're holding hands."
"Awww," Merry said, smiling, and trying to figure out how to get Frodo out of the room without Sam noticing. Luckily, at that moment Frodo stirred in his sleep and let go of Sam's hand. Sam didn't move.
Pippin started to move towards the bed, gesturing for Merry to follow. He smiled and tied the scarves about Frodo's face, one serving as a blindfold and the other as a gag, before tying his wrists together, and giving one rope to Merry so he could do the same at the ankles. Frodo hardly stirred as they worked. Finally, he spread the quilt on the bed beside Frodo.
"We'll roll him over on this and carry him to our room." He whispered. Merry nodded, and they very carefully rolled Frodo onto the quilt. He stirred a little, but didn't wake up. They grabbed one end each and proceeded with carrying Frodo over to their room as quietly as they could.
Pippin smiled as they came back to their own room. "We did it!" They gently let the bundle down on Merry's bed. At that moment Frodo startled awake.
Frodo struggled against the restraints and Merry cast a look of exclamation to Pippin. Pippin crawled onto the bed and sat down beside Frodo. He tenderly stroke a hand through his hair. "Shhhh, hush up Frodo. We're not going to hurt you. We're nice kidnappers."
Frodo stopped struggling and Pippin gathered him up into his arms. "And, anyways, it's just a game. We're not kidnapping you for real." He explained dutifully. Merry smiled and Frodo relaxed into Pippin's embrace, shivering slightly.
"I think he is cold." Merry said, sitting down on the bed. He picked up the quilt and wrapped it about Frodo. Then he took the blanked off the bed and put it around Pippin. "It would be ill if the kidnapper caught a cold." He said.
He went over to Pippin's bed to get his blanket for himself. Meanwhile, Pippin decided that it would be warm for poor Frodo with the scarves over his face and removed them. "But you have to be real quiet." Frodo nodded.
"What are you waiting-" Frodo started, but was cut short as Pippin put a hand over his mouth when there was noise in the corridor.
"Frodo?" The careful whisper seeped through the door. "Mr Frodo? Are you there?" Frodo shifted a little and Pippin hugged him tighter to him. Merry absent-mindedly started to run his fingers through Frodo's dark curls.
"Do you think he will come in here?" Pippin finally asked, when Sam's urgent whispers had long gone.
Frodo shook his head. "Not until he has looked everywhere else. Wouldn't be right and proper, you see, waking the guests up unless Mr. Frodo is really gone."
Pippin giggled quietly at Frodo's imitation of the young gardener. "Well, I s'ppose then he *will* come look here, he will hardly find you anywhere else." Frodo smiled at him.
It was a long wait, Sam has passed by the room several times, and Pippin had decided to put the scarves back onto Frodo to make him look properly kidnapped, before there was a tentative knock on the door.
"Mr Pippin? Mr Merry?" Came Sam's quiet voice. "Are you awake?"
Pippin pulled the quilt further around Frodo. "Yes," Merry called. "We are. Come in, Sam."
Sam carefully peeped around the door. "I'm frightfully sorry to disturb you, but-"His gaze fell on the bundle in Pippin's arms. "Mr. Frodo!" He gasped. "Bless me, I thought you were gone. What's all this mean?"
Pippin rolled his eyes. "He *was* gone. He is kidnapped. We kidnapped him."
Sam looked surprised. "Kidnapped?" He echoed, and then shook his head. "It's the middle of the night. You are most troublesome, if you'll excuse me. Scaring Sam and all."
Merry smiled. "We will excuse you. And we're sorry you were scared. Now, what will you give us to get Frodo back?"
Sam shifted doubtfully. "I don't rightfully know." He said. "Unless there is something from the kitchen to please you, I don't have nothing."
Pippin looked at him sternly. "Then you better go fetch something from the kitchen to please us, or else Frodo won't be rescued." He suddenly realised that a midnight meal sounded like a good idea.
Sam closed the door and dashed out. Merry and Pippin laughed quietly. "Did you see his face?!" Pippin asked, and laughed harder. Merry just nodded and laughed.
It didn't take long until Sam was back with a tray of food, muttering under his breath. Pippin quietly considered it, then nodded. "That will do good." He thought for a while. "Now, we can't have you two running about outside our secret hide out, so we will have to blindfold you and lead you back to where you belong." He turned to Merry. "There's another scarf in my pack, blindfold him." Sam shifted uncomfortably, but didn't protest, eager to get Frodo back and go back to sleep.
"Now," Pippin said, "We are going to carry Frodo back to your room. You will wait here, all quiet and still, and then we will come back for you." Sam nodded and let Merry set him on the bed.
A while later Sam was dropped off at his room, and carefully took the scarf off himself, still muttering under his breath. He caught sight of Frodo, whom they had left on the bed, still tied up. He sighed and walked over to him, taking off the blindfold, then the gag. He stopped and looked at Frodo for a while, so intensely that Frodo squirmed beneath his gaze.
"Sam, just get me untied." He tried to wriggle his hands out of the tie, but somewhere in the back of his mind he recovered a memory of Sam teaching Pippin to tie knots and knew that if Pippin was half as good as Sam the chance of escaping was slim.
Sam raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly. "No so sure I want to if you get me, Mr. Frodo."
Frodo shuddered slightly. "Sam." It was not a plea, not a question, just a quiet whisper.
Sam ran his hand down Frodo's arms, and Frodo trembled at his touch. "Like I said, Frodo, I think this is nice." Frodo just nodded weakly, wordlessly, his big blue eyes meeting Sam's in a silent plea. Not for him to stop, but to go on.
Sam nodded back, moving his hand over to Frodo's chest, caressing through the thin linen of his night-shirt. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, leaving him wanting more, and then nibbled softly at his neck for a while. Sitting back up, he crawled down and undid the ties at Frodo's ankles, then spread his legs and sat in between them.
He pushed Frodo's night-shirt up a little, working his hands in under it to touch the soft chest. Frodo shuddered violently as Sam's rough hands made contact with his nipples. "Oh, Sam. Oh!"
Sam eased himself down atop Frodo's body and kissed him softly. "Hush, Frodo, we have guests." Frodo wiggled beneath him and Sam retrieved a scarf to gag him. "That should hush you up." He sat up and resumed his caresses.
Frodo groaned softly against the gag as Sam replaced his hands with his mouth and teeth. Gently, he kissed and nibbled at every piece of flesh he could reach from Frodo's neck to his belly button. Frodo jumped as Sam's tongue darted in briefly, then again as Sam blew soft, warm breath further down.
Sam teasingly ran his hand along the inside of Frodo's hip. "I think you might be enjoying this." He stated lightly. Frodo bucked his hips in frustration. Sam laughed quietly, before taking Frodo into his mouth.
It didn't take long for Frodo to come. He lay spent as Sam removed the gag, untied the knots and pulled him to his chest, wrapping the blanket around them both.
Frodo finally stirred and sighed blissfully. "I love you, Sam." He whispered sleepily, before sleep took him. Sam soon feel asleep, too, a content smile on his lips.
In the guestroom, sleep was closing in on Pippin as he lay in Merry's arms, warm, content, and full after finishing off the food Sam had brought them. Merry kissed his head tenderly. "I love you, even if you are a bother."
Pippin opened one eye and looked up at him. "I know." He said, then closed his eye again and fell asleep. Merry shook his head with a smile, then sighed and slowly drifted off to sleep himself.
THE END
"Merry?" Came the soft, hesitant voice, just as he was about to sleep. "Merry, are you asleep?"
Merry demonstratively pulled up the covers to his neck. "Yes." He said grumpily. "You should be, too."
The bed shook as Pippin jumped onto it. "No, you're not." He said defiantly. "I can't sleep."
Merry opened his eyes with an impatient sigh. "Of all bothersome things, Pippin, what is wrong with you? It's only midnight yet, I'm sure."
Pippin blinked. "I can't sleep still." He said. "Midnight or no."
Merry shook his head and held out his arms. "Come here." Pippin fell appreciatively into his arms and Merry wrapped the blankets tight around them both as he hugged Pippin to his chest, rocking him gently.
"Did you have a bad dream, sweetheart?" Merry eventually asked.
Pippin shook his head. "Leastways I can't remember having one. I just can't sleep."
Pippin was quiet for so long that Merry thought he had finally fallen asleep. When he spoke again he startled Merry. "Merry? Couldn't we… do something?"
"What?" Merry moved back a little to behold the mischievous look on Pippin's face. Options ran through his head.
Pippin smiled. "Like, play a little game."
Merry sighed exasperatedly. Trust a Took! "Pippin, it's the middle of the night." Although the idea wasn't without its attractions.
"Yes." Pippin said. "When everyone's asleep and no one expects anything. How about we play a game on Frodo?"
Merry considered this. "What do you have in mind?"
Pippin's eyes sparkled. "How about we kidnap him? He would never expect that, and then Sam would wake up and… It would be *so* funny!"
Merry shook his head. "I'm not so sure it would be funny. Not if Sam woke up."
Pippin rolled his eyes. "It would be. And he would have to give us something to get Frodo back."
"Ok." Merry finally said. "But we got to be careful."
Pippin nodded in agreement and wrapped a robe around him, throwing another one to Merry. "Let's see…" he scanned to room. "We need… this, and this, and this." He picked up some pieces of rope he had practised knots on, a quilt from the chair by the fire and their scarves. "Come on."
They tip-toed out in the hall, and all the way to the master bedroom. Luckily, the door wasn't locked and they gently pushed it open and sneaked inside.
Pippin put a hand over his mouth and tried to stifle a bashful giggle. "Look at them." He whispered. "They're holding hands."
"Awww," Merry said, smiling, and trying to figure out how to get Frodo out of the room without Sam noticing. Luckily, at that moment Frodo stirred in his sleep and let go of Sam's hand. Sam didn't move.
Pippin started to move towards the bed, gesturing for Merry to follow. He smiled and tied the scarves about Frodo's face, one serving as a blindfold and the other as a gag, before tying his wrists together, and giving one rope to Merry so he could do the same at the ankles. Frodo hardly stirred as they worked. Finally, he spread the quilt on the bed beside Frodo.
"We'll roll him over on this and carry him to our room." He whispered. Merry nodded, and they very carefully rolled Frodo onto the quilt. He stirred a little, but didn't wake up. They grabbed one end each and proceeded with carrying Frodo over to their room as quietly as they could.
Pippin smiled as they came back to their own room. "We did it!" They gently let the bundle down on Merry's bed. At that moment Frodo startled awake.
Frodo struggled against the restraints and Merry cast a look of exclamation to Pippin. Pippin crawled onto the bed and sat down beside Frodo. He tenderly stroke a hand through his hair. "Shhhh, hush up Frodo. We're not going to hurt you. We're nice kidnappers."
Frodo stopped struggling and Pippin gathered him up into his arms. "And, anyways, it's just a game. We're not kidnapping you for real." He explained dutifully. Merry smiled and Frodo relaxed into Pippin's embrace, shivering slightly.
"I think he is cold." Merry said, sitting down on the bed. He picked up the quilt and wrapped it about Frodo. Then he took the blanked off the bed and put it around Pippin. "It would be ill if the kidnapper caught a cold." He said.
He went over to Pippin's bed to get his blanket for himself. Meanwhile, Pippin decided that it would be warm for poor Frodo with the scarves over his face and removed them. "But you have to be real quiet." Frodo nodded.
"What are you waiting-" Frodo started, but was cut short as Pippin put a hand over his mouth when there was noise in the corridor.
"Frodo?" The careful whisper seeped through the door. "Mr Frodo? Are you there?" Frodo shifted a little and Pippin hugged him tighter to him. Merry absent-mindedly started to run his fingers through Frodo's dark curls.
"Do you think he will come in here?" Pippin finally asked, when Sam's urgent whispers had long gone.
Frodo shook his head. "Not until he has looked everywhere else. Wouldn't be right and proper, you see, waking the guests up unless Mr. Frodo is really gone."
Pippin giggled quietly at Frodo's imitation of the young gardener. "Well, I s'ppose then he *will* come look here, he will hardly find you anywhere else." Frodo smiled at him.
It was a long wait, Sam has passed by the room several times, and Pippin had decided to put the scarves back onto Frodo to make him look properly kidnapped, before there was a tentative knock on the door.
"Mr Pippin? Mr Merry?" Came Sam's quiet voice. "Are you awake?"
Pippin pulled the quilt further around Frodo. "Yes," Merry called. "We are. Come in, Sam."
Sam carefully peeped around the door. "I'm frightfully sorry to disturb you, but-"His gaze fell on the bundle in Pippin's arms. "Mr. Frodo!" He gasped. "Bless me, I thought you were gone. What's all this mean?"
Pippin rolled his eyes. "He *was* gone. He is kidnapped. We kidnapped him."
Sam looked surprised. "Kidnapped?" He echoed, and then shook his head. "It's the middle of the night. You are most troublesome, if you'll excuse me. Scaring Sam and all."
Merry smiled. "We will excuse you. And we're sorry you were scared. Now, what will you give us to get Frodo back?"
Sam shifted doubtfully. "I don't rightfully know." He said. "Unless there is something from the kitchen to please you, I don't have nothing."
Pippin looked at him sternly. "Then you better go fetch something from the kitchen to please us, or else Frodo won't be rescued." He suddenly realised that a midnight meal sounded like a good idea.
Sam closed the door and dashed out. Merry and Pippin laughed quietly. "Did you see his face?!" Pippin asked, and laughed harder. Merry just nodded and laughed.
It didn't take long until Sam was back with a tray of food, muttering under his breath. Pippin quietly considered it, then nodded. "That will do good." He thought for a while. "Now, we can't have you two running about outside our secret hide out, so we will have to blindfold you and lead you back to where you belong." He turned to Merry. "There's another scarf in my pack, blindfold him." Sam shifted uncomfortably, but didn't protest, eager to get Frodo back and go back to sleep.
"Now," Pippin said, "We are going to carry Frodo back to your room. You will wait here, all quiet and still, and then we will come back for you." Sam nodded and let Merry set him on the bed.
A while later Sam was dropped off at his room, and carefully took the scarf off himself, still muttering under his breath. He caught sight of Frodo, whom they had left on the bed, still tied up. He sighed and walked over to him, taking off the blindfold, then the gag. He stopped and looked at Frodo for a while, so intensely that Frodo squirmed beneath his gaze.
"Sam, just get me untied." He tried to wriggle his hands out of the tie, but somewhere in the back of his mind he recovered a memory of Sam teaching Pippin to tie knots and knew that if Pippin was half as good as Sam the chance of escaping was slim.
Sam raised an eyebrow and smiled wickedly. "No so sure I want to if you get me, Mr. Frodo."
Frodo shuddered slightly. "Sam." It was not a plea, not a question, just a quiet whisper.
Sam ran his hand down Frodo's arms, and Frodo trembled at his touch. "Like I said, Frodo, I think this is nice." Frodo just nodded weakly, wordlessly, his big blue eyes meeting Sam's in a silent plea. Not for him to stop, but to go on.
Sam nodded back, moving his hand over to Frodo's chest, caressing through the thin linen of his night-shirt. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, leaving him wanting more, and then nibbled softly at his neck for a while. Sitting back up, he crawled down and undid the ties at Frodo's ankles, then spread his legs and sat in between them.
He pushed Frodo's night-shirt up a little, working his hands in under it to touch the soft chest. Frodo shuddered violently as Sam's rough hands made contact with his nipples. "Oh, Sam. Oh!"
Sam eased himself down atop Frodo's body and kissed him softly. "Hush, Frodo, we have guests." Frodo wiggled beneath him and Sam retrieved a scarf to gag him. "That should hush you up." He sat up and resumed his caresses.
Frodo groaned softly against the gag as Sam replaced his hands with his mouth and teeth. Gently, he kissed and nibbled at every piece of flesh he could reach from Frodo's neck to his belly button. Frodo jumped as Sam's tongue darted in briefly, then again as Sam blew soft, warm breath further down.
Sam teasingly ran his hand along the inside of Frodo's hip. "I think you might be enjoying this." He stated lightly. Frodo bucked his hips in frustration. Sam laughed quietly, before taking Frodo into his mouth.
It didn't take long for Frodo to come. He lay spent as Sam removed the gag, untied the knots and pulled him to his chest, wrapping the blanket around them both.
Frodo finally stirred and sighed blissfully. "I love you, Sam." He whispered sleepily, before sleep took him. Sam soon feel asleep, too, a content smile on his lips.
In the guestroom, sleep was closing in on Pippin as he lay in Merry's arms, warm, content, and full after finishing off the food Sam had brought them. Merry kissed his head tenderly. "I love you, even if you are a bother."
Pippin opened one eye and looked up at him. "I know." He said, then closed his eye again and fell asleep. Merry shook his head with a smile, then sighed and slowly drifted off to sleep himself.
THE END