Author's Note
: A short ficlet on Boromir. Inspiration came from something I read in a thread at tolkienonline.com. I've often wondered what kind of things went on during the days and nights of the journey which Tolkien never tells us about. How did the relationships deepen, what kind of things went on and what did each individual character think and feel concerning the others? A few of those thoughts have also inspired me. It's short, but I hope you'll enjoy! =)Disclaimer
: The characters belong to JRR Tolkien and are used without permission but also without profit.Boromir sat down on a log and pulled his cape around him. It had been a long day but oddly enough he wasn't tired. The others were settling down around him, most of them would get to sleep through the night without keeping watch but tonight it was Boromir's turn to keep the others safe while they slept. He would have the first watch for about three hours and then hand the responsibility over and try to get some sleep.
It would be a while yet before there was silence in the group, a silence which would be soon broken again by Gimli and Sam snoring. Yet the members of the fellowship weren't entirely ready to close their eyes, even though the usual quarrel over who got to sleep where had been settled there was still a lot of shifting and adjusting to be done, as well as some final words before sleep came. Boromir's eyes fell on the two closest to him, Merry and Pippin. Pippin, who was cantankerous on this particular night, was on Merry's throat over their one dry quilt and Merry let him have it without a fight. The older Hobbit was already half asleep and couldn't bother bickering over who owned the dry quilt and who owned the one that had gotten wet. Pippin grumpily pulled the quilt up to his ears and greedily wrapped it around himself instead of sharing part of it with his cousin.
Boromir smiled at the sight of the two. It warmed his heart to see them, they reminded him of himself and his brother. He often wondered about Faramir and how he was doing, if their father had managed to break his younger brother's spirit yet. Sometimes he wished the fellowship would make much better speed so that he could come back to Gondor and protect his brother from their father who seemed unable to find anything good in his younger son.
At the same time Boromir didn't want to part from this group. Sometimes when he kept his watch he was overcome by a strong feeling if belonging and of friendship, this motley crew he traveled with felt like his family. And Merry and Pippin were his special younger brothers, almost like his sons. They looked up to him and admired him and paid attention to him. Frodo mostly ignored Boromir, acted as if he didn't matter, and since Frodo treated him that way Sam treated him that way too. But Merry and Pippin asked him a million questions about everything from the ground to the sky and he had noticed that they tended to seek shelter with him rather than Aragorn. It made Boromir proud and woke his natural protective instinct. All his life he had been protective of Faramir, now Merry and Pippin filled that empty part of Boromir's life when Faramir wasn't there for him to protect.
Pippin, who now seemed annoyed that his cousin was asleep, rolled over on his other side, wrapping himself even further in the quilt. Boromir decided to let Pippin sleep longer, he wouldn't wake him up in three hours when it was the Hobbit's turn to keep watch. Pippin seemed like he could use some extra sleep, and Boromir knew he could last at least an hour more than intended. He caught himself frowning at how Pippin had turned his back at Merry. Whatever reason for Pippin's anger it hardly had anything to do with Merry. It was only far too easy to take it out on those you loved, those who would forgive and forget and be there for you tomorrow anyway. Especially in the relationship between Pippin and Merry, the older had an unending patience with the younger and all of Pippin's anger seemed to wash over Merry like water off a goose. Boromir only hoped Pippin would never come to regret taking his anger out on his seemingly unbothered friend. Boromir had many times regretted taking anger and frustration out on friends who had shortly after been killed in battle.
One by one the members of the fellowship fell silent. Sam's snoring came first, shortly followed by Gimli's and Aragorn's. Even Pippin's breaths slowed and evened and told Boromir that he was asleep. Soon Boromir was the only one awake, with only his thoughts to keep him company. His friends, his brothers, were all snuggled under their blankets like little children, all except for Merry who slept without a quilt. The one Pippin had gotten wet earlier was flung over a pole to dry.
Pippin woke up after a short while and felt a sting of guilt. He had snarled at Merry even though his cousin hadn't done anything to deserve it, and he had greedily and selfishly wrapped himself in the only dry blanket and turned his back to his friend. What had he done? Almost in panic he rolled around and got out of the blanket. He moved as close to Merry as he could, enjoying the heat from the familiar body, and was just about to pull the quilt over both himself and Merry, when he noticed that Merry was sleeping under a cape that hadn't been there before. Surprised Pippin looked up and saw Boromir sitting on a log, his cape missing, and his eyes met with the man's. Boromir gently shushed him.
"It was only a dream" he said, having noticed the Hobbit's sudden awakening. "Go back to sleep."
The Hobbit nodded slowly for an answer and relaxed again. He put an arm around Merry and nuzzled his face against his cousin's shoulder, letting the familiar breaths lull him back to sleep. The cape smelled of Boromir and made him feel safe.
Please review and tell me what was good and what I can improve!
