29.) Plain Speaking - by Corli and Kel
.
Merry is furious that his debate team topic of "cohabitation in the dorms" was given to Elladan instead of him.
.
"Stop! Bucky! Wait up!"
But Merry didn't want to wait up, especially for Elladan. He wanted to get as far away from the debate team as possible, before his anger made him say something he'd regret later. He ignored the elf's calls and quickened his pace.
Elladan, however, was persistent, not to mention much taller, and he caught up to Merry in a matter of a few long strides.
"Merry, wait!" Elladan said, placing a hand on the hobbit's shoulder to stop him.
Merry stopped and spun around to face Elladan, an angry scowl twisting his normally cheerful features. "What do you want?"
"Erestor was way outta line," Elladan said, "The whole team thinks so. Everyone thinks that he should have let you debate the topic instead of giving it to me."
The elf smiled warmly. "You made a lot of really great points in your presentation, Merry. I was impressed! But look at it this way - Erestor must have been impressed with your idea, too. Most of the topics that the others suggested were rejected straightaway. He assigned YOURS to the champion of the debate team - someone who, I can say without bragging," Elladan said proudly, "also happens to be a well-known activist on campus and president of the Gay-Straight Alliance."
Merry paused. He hadn't thought about it that way. He'd been so furious with the faculty advisor for giving his cohabitation topic away to Elladan that he hadn't even considered that Erestor thought it was a good topic.
And, Merry had to admit, if he was going to have someone else fighting for his cause, he'd definitely choose Elladan - the elf was smart, charismatic and a master of persuasive speaking. But that didn't make Merry feel any better. The annual student-faculty debate competition was his chance to fight back at Grishnakh and the university housing board in an arena in which he excelled. Merry felt like his opportunity to fight for a change had been ripped away from him in an instant.
Elladan smiled. "C'mon, let me buy you a snack," he offered cheerfully, leading Merry in the direction of the snack bar. "I want to get YOUR ideas on the cohabitation policy before I go start my own research."
'Research!' Merry thought with disgust about his own topic. It was bad enough when Erestor gave away Merry's topic to someone else. To add insult to injury, the faculty advisor assigned Merry a "special topic" - forest preservation.
"Meriadoc, your family lives near the Old Forest," Erestor had said, "So this should be a topic close to your heart."
'Close to my heart,' Merry thought scornfully. 'If that old fool knew anything, he'd know that the Old Forest doesn't need protecting. More like WE need to be protected from IT! I'd just as soon raze it to the ground as walk past it and now I have to argue for the preservation of that awful place!'
"So has your R.A. been giving you a hard time?"
"Huh?" Merry asked, looking blankly up at the elf. Though Merry's anger was slowly dissipating, he was preoccupied with thoughts of trees and debate topics, so Elladan's question caught him off-guard.
"Your R.A.," Elladan repeated. "I assume your topic idea was based on personal experience. Or is it just something that's been bothering you for awhile?"
"Why would it bother me?" Merry tried to ask nonchalantly even as he felt a chill travel down his spine.
Elladan laughed. "Oh, c'mon, Bucky-boy! I know about you and Pippin."
"I...uh...I...don't know what you're talking about," Merry laughed nervously.
"Merry," Elladan said, raising an eyebrow, "Remember who you're talking to. You don't have to pretend with me. I know you and Pippin are together."
Merry shushed Elladan loudly and frantically glanced around, hoping that no one had heard. Turning back to Elladan, he hissed, "How do you KNOW that?"
Elladan chuckled. "Are you kidding? The way you're always talking about 'my roommate Pippin'? I've known about you two since last year."
Merry coughed. "Last year?"
"Puh-lease - surely you're aware that subtlety is NOT your strong point. And it's CERTAINLY not your Fiddle Boy's." Elladan smiled. "You guys are really sweet. I've never seen such a naturally affectionate couple, even amongst hobbits."
"But..." Merry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Elladan's observation proved Merry's worst doubts true - any kind of public affection between him and Pippin led people to the wrong ideas about them.
Or the RIGHT ones.
"But Elladan, Pip and I only got together this summer."
Elladan stopped and stared at the hobbit in surprise. "You're kidding! So you really WERE 'just roommates' last year?"
Merry nodded, and Elladan started laughing.
"Boy is MY face red!" the elf said, shaking his head. "The way you talked about Pippin, I just... Wow!" Elladan chuckled as his cheeks did indeed redden. "I guess I'm as guilty of prejudice as the next elf. Sorry 'bout that. You know, I never would've given you all those G.S.A. pamphlets last year if I had known..." He trailed off as he began laughing again. Looking down at the hobbit, he added meaningfully, "You'll forgive me, won't you, Bucky?"
But Merry was still processing the elf's earlier comment. "You don't give EVERYONE G.S.A. pamphlets?"
Elladan laughed. "Of course not. I mean, straight kids of course are welcome to come - after all, it is the Gay-STRAIGHT Alliance - but I usually don't go to such efforts to invite them to meetings."
"So you really thought..." Merry trailed off.
'If Elladan thought that, did OTHER people think that, too? Do other people KNOW? And if so, what does that mean for me and Pip?'
"Don't worry," Elladan said as if he'd been reading Merry's thoughts. "I don't think anyone else would've made that mistake."
"You don't?" Merry asked tensely. "Are you sure?"
"Nah," Elladan assured him. "My radar's pretty sensitive." He chuckled, "I guess I just had a false positive with you two! Most people don't even pay attention."
Merry exhaled a sigh of relief at the elf's calming words.
"Don't worry about it." Elladan looked down at Merry and smiled. "Though I still can't believe you two didn't get together till this summer - you wasted a perfectly good year just being roommates. You and Fiddle Boy BELONG together. Still, it's better to find out sooner rather than later, eh?"
Merry smiled, embarrassed. "You really think we belong together?"
"Absolutely, Bucky! Hasn't everyone told you that?"
Merry shook his head, looking down at the ground sheepishly. "We...uh...haven't really told many people yet."
Elladan's eyes widened and he laughed. "No WONDER you were so freaked out by my comments! I'm really sorry, Bucky. I promise, I won't tell a soul, not until you're ready for that." He smiled reassuringly at the hobbit. "But now that I know, at least you have someone you can talk to, right?"
Merry smiled. He HADN'T really had anyone to discuss things with. Pippin had Vinca, but Merry had no one he felt comfortable sharing his thoughts and doubts with. 'And I've ALWAYS felt comfortable talking to Elladan. This'll be GREAT.'
"I'd really like that," Merry finally said, feeling relaxed for the first time in hours.
Elladan laughed, patting Merry comfortingly on the shoulders as they reached the door of the snack bar. "Then let me buy you some fries, and we can sit down and talk." He winked mischievously as he held the door open for Merry. "And I want ALL the juicy details about this summer!"
Merry laughed as he followed the elf up to the counter.
...
