Chapter 2

Yay, here's chapter 2 already! I stayed up last night to write it because I just couldn't leave the story hanging! Still another chapter to come after this one, but bear with me! I can't stop myself writing about these two, so I'm sure it will be up soon . Anyways, on with the story! Enjoy!

*******************************************************************************************************************

Pippin wandered around his room, throwing random items into the pack he was bringing to Crickhollow. As he prepared for the journey he would be taking tomorrow morning, Pippin's thoughts centred on the upcoming party. He wondered what it would be like there; he hadn't been to a proper party in years. Hopefully it would be good fun; Pippin was feeling dubious about having to dance with girls he hadn't even met before. In fact, Pippin didn't really feel comfortable dancing with girls he did know. Slightly worried about what this might mean, Pippin quickly tried to think about something else.

Of course, the first thought that came to his mind was of Merry. Being his best friend, Pippin naturally thought about Merry frequently, but recently Pippin had been thinking about Merry almost non-stop. It had nearly become an obsession; wondering what Merry was doing right now, wondering when he could next see Merry, and just picturing Merry in his mind. Even Pippin had to admit he was a slow thinker at the best of times, and this was apparent now as he still had not worked out what these feelings really meant. Happily and obliviously, Pippin carried on with his packing, thoughts of Merry at the front of his mind.

***

Merry sat on the edge of his bed and sighed. He had finished packing for the journey ages ago, and now he nothing to do but sit and think. He was looking forward to the party, he thought it would be good fun, and of course he would be spending all his time with Pippin. However, he couldn't help worrying. What if Pippin somehow guessed how Merry felt about him? He was completely sure that Pippin did not feel the same way about him. If Pip was to find out, he was sure to be angry, disgusted even, and he would most likely never want to see Merry again. He couldn't let that happen; he loved Pippin too much to be parted from him. He would just have to make sure he gave nothing away on their journey to Crickhollow. It's going to be fine, Merry told himself. What could be simpler?

***

It was bright and early on the day of the journey, and Pippin was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Merry, so they could finally embark on the journey he had been waiting for. As Pippin paced impatiently next to the front door, his father approached him, holding something out.

"Here's some money for the inn on the journey there and back. It should be plenty, I counted it out myself." Pippin's father passed the money to him, and gave him a quick hug goodbye. "I'll see you in a few days, then, Pip. Have fun at the party!" With one final smile, he walked back the way he had come, most likely to his study, Pippin thought. Without bothering to check it, he shoved the money in his pocket and continued his pacing. Shortly after, Pippin heard a knock on the door, and grinning wildly he threw the door back to greet his friend.

"Merry! I'm glad you're here, I was getting bored". Dropping everything he had been holding, he ran forwards and pulled Merry into a warm hug. He felt slightly taken aback at first, as Merry stayed stiff, as if he was not going to return the hug. However, after a few seconds, Merry relaxed and pulled Pippin even closer to him, resting his head on Pippin's shoulder.

"I've missed you, Pip..." he whispered, so softly that Pippin could almost have imagined it. As if suddenly realising what he was doing, Merry quickly broke the hug, and gave Pippin a bright smile. "Well, if you're ready Pip, we should be leaving soon, if we want to get to the inn before dinner time". Pippin needed no further invitation; he grabbed his bags and walked out the front door to join Merry in the bright, summer sunshine.

"Well, this is it then", Pippin smiled at Merry, idly admiring how the bright sun turned his eyes into a perfect, soft honey colour. Wondering how that thought had got into his head, Pippin realised Merry had already started walking, and he quickly fell into step with him. The journey had begun.

***

"We've been walking for a while now, Merry, I'm getting hungry! Why don't we stop under those trees over there and have lunch?" It was nearing noon, and the two hobbits had been walking for a few hours; their breakfast seemed a long time ago now. Pippin threw himself down onto the ground, and started pulling food out of the picnic basket they had bought with them. Feeling absolutely starving, he tucked right in, passing some food to Merry quickly first.

As he ate, Pippin's mind wandered to his recent favourite subject; Merry. Pippin was quickly realising that his obsession with Merry could only mean one thing. He was becoming attracted to him, maybe even falling in love with him. Confused as to when this had started to happen, Pippin glanced up at Merry, and his heart immediately sped up. Merry was lying back on the grass, his eyes closed, with a small smile on his face. Pippin was struck dumb by how absolutely beautiful he looked. The summer sun was filtering through the trees above them, turning Merry's light brown curls into pure gold. Pippin had to resist from reaching out and stroking Merry's soft, lightly tanned cheek, in fear of alerting him to Pippin's true feelings.

He knew, of course, that he could never let Merry know how he felt; it was obvious that he didn't feel the same way. All Pippin would succeed in doing was scaring Merry off, and he couldn't lose Merry, he just couldn't. Determined not to give anything away, Pippin slowly leaned back to join Merry on the soft grass. The sound of the gentle wind softly blowing the leaves of the trees calmed Pippin, and he fell into a quiet doze.

A while later, Merry opened his eyes, and saw that Pippin had fallen asleep. Gazing at his still form, Merry remarked, not for the first time, on how stunning Pippin was. His dark chocolate curls framed a perfect, pale face, with soft pink lips that he yearned to lean down and kiss. But he knew he couldn't, and, sighing softly, he reached out and gently shook Pippin awake. "I'm sorry to wake you, Pip, but we should get going soon if we want to get to the inn before dinner time". Pippin nodded lazily, got his things together, and prepared to begin the rest of the journey.

***

The rest of the journey passed without too much incident, apart from a slight detour when Pippin noticed some mushrooms. Finally, as they were both beginning to realise how hungry they were, they caught sight of the inn, not far away. They pulled open the door, and a cheerful sight greeted them. A small but cosy room was full of hobbits, all drinking large amounts of ale, and a good-natured barman stood behind the bar.

"How can I help you, young master hobbits?" he asked pleasantly.

"We would like a couple of rooms for the night, how much would that be?" asked Pippin, pulling the money out of his pocket. However, when he heard the barman's reply, he looked doubtfully at the money in his hand.

"I don't think we'll have enough for an inn on the way home if we spend that much, Merry! We're going to have to share a room!" Pippin whispered to Merry. Cursing his father's rubbish counting skills and handing over the money for one room instead, Pippin thanked the barman and walked with Merry to their room. It looked a decent size, and nice and cosy, but the main thing Pippin was interested in was the small, narrow bed at the side of the room. The bed that he would be sharing with Merry. Pippin gulped. He had shared a bed with Merry plenty of times before, and it was no big deal, but that was before. His feelings had changed considerably since then... Being so close to Merry, all night, without being able to let Merry know how he felt, was going to be pure torture. As Pippin and Merry got undressed, each avoiding the other's eyes, they were both having the same thought...it was going to be a long night.

***

Merry awoke the next morning, with a warm, content feeling that he couldn't quite explain. Slowly, the memories of yesterday came back to him, and, opening his eyes, he saw the still sleeping Pippin lying next to him in the bed. The two of them were in a snug embrace, with Pippin's head pressed firmly against Merry's chest. Merry felt a sudden rush of love for Pippin, and he wondered if Pippin had sub-consciously got close to Merry while he was asleep, or if he had actually wanted to.

As Merry gazed at the beauty of Pippin, his resolve finally broke, and he leaned down slowly towards him, moving his lips nearer and nearer to Pippin's. His eyes flickered shut, and as their lips were only millimetres apart, there came a loud knocking on the bedroom door. Merry immediately jumped across to the other side of the bed, heart racing. As he came to his senses, he climbed out of bed and padded across the floor to open the door.

"Good morning, master Meriadoc, I'm sorry if I woke you, but breakfast is just being served downstairs, and I thought maybe you would want some before you left this morning." The barman was standing outside the door. Merry thanked him, and closed the door again so he could dress. Glancing over at the bed, he saw that Pippin had woken up finally.

"Morning, Pip. Breakfast is just being served, we should go down in a minute or we're going to miss it". Merry gave Pippin a falsely bright smile, and tried to pretend that everything was normal. He couldn't believe that he had come so close to kissing Pippin; he flinched as he thought of what would have happened if the barman hadn't chosen that exact moment to come in. Pippin would have hated him forever. As he walked down to breakfast with Pippin close behind him, he resolved to keep himself well away from Pippin for the rest of the journey, so he didn't risk temptation. As long as I try to act completely normal, he thought to himself, I can get through this. Pippin will never need to find out.

*******************************************************************************************************************

Hope you enjoyed it! Don't worry, only one chapter left, I won't torture our beloved hobbits for much longer! .