Title: Escapades of the Fellowship (Chapter Three)
Author: Kitty-Rose (blood_and_rubies@yahoo.co.uk)
Pairing: Many but mostly Frodo/Aragorn. See first chapter for other pairings.
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Please!
Archive: Ask first and I'll almost certainly say yes.
Summary: The long awaited third chapter. In which there are more misunderstandings and seductions/
A/N: Thanks to Rawly and Baranduin for beta reading, it's much appreciated. This is for Cute Newt and Salysha for their lovely feedback on the last chapters. =)

At last, after what seemed like a very long day, Gandalf announced that they could now sleep again. Although the look he gave Gimli suggested that sleep wasn't his immediate priority. Legolas was appointed to keep watch.

Aragorn ignored both Frodo's sorrowful gaze and Legolas' sultry pout; and stomped off into one corner, settling himself down on the floor.

"Here Merry, let's sleep just here," Pippin said, gleefully pulling Merry down to the floor in between him and Sam. Merry gave a helpless little shrug at Boromir, who looked disappointed and lay down on the floor a little way away.

Frodo curled up next to Sam, feeling a little sad, and Sam hugged him comfortingly. The pressures of being Ringbearer were getting to Frodo, Sam reflected.

Gandalf put out the light on his staff, and the large cavern became almost pitch black, with only a dim glow in the distance from holes in the rock. Everybody waited for everyone else to fall asleep, each one wanting to make their move. However tiredness soon kicked in, and one by one the hobbits fell asleep.

Boromir lay waiting patiently for Merry to sneak over to him. The lack of Gimli's snoring was worrying him a little, and he hoped that the dwarf wasn't awake. Gimli meanwhile was rather worried about the elf, but he couldn't fully focus on that. Legolas, with his keen elf vision, eyed the Aragorn carefully, but the ranger was facing the other way and the elf couldn't tell if Aragorn was awake.

Aragorn *was* in fact awake, worrying. He did not like little Frodo sleeping so near the Fellowship anymore. And especially not near Pippin. Frodo's innocence should not be sullied in this way. Images crossed his mind as to just how Frodo's innocence could be sullied, and he quickly tried to think about something else. A muffled squeal from Gimli provided the distraction he needed, and also strengthened his belief that Frodo should not be sleeping here.

His theory was confirmed when he spied a small figure crawling across the floor towards Boromir, who accepted the hobbit into his embrace immediately and eagerly.

Aragorn stood up carefully and tiptoed across the smooth rocky floor towards Frodo, grateful that Frodo was sleeping on the edge of the group of hobbits.
"Frodo?" he whispered, putting his hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

As Frodo opened his eyes sleepily, Aragorn put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. Come with me."

Aragorn suddenly wondered what he was going to give as his reason for taking Frodo away for the night. He saw Frodo's eyes widen in surprise, and he tried to put all thoughts of seducing the hobbit out of his head.
As Frodo and Aragorn tiptoed away into the darkness, the man looking a little embarrassed and the hobbit looking innocent, two figures watched and carefully prepared to follow.

***

"Oh, Merry," whispered Boromir, trying to keep quiet for fear of waking the others.

Pippin said nothing but smirked, not bothering to correct the man. Let him find out in the morning.

***

Merry meanwhile, rolled over in his sleep and hit something soft and cuddly. Must be Pippin, he told himself, and prepared to go back to sleep. Then he realised he had fallen asleep despite all efforts not to. But never mind, there was no time to lose.

He sat up a little, trying to make as little noise as possible. The sleeping figure stirred, and Merry kept still.

'Damn Pippin,' Merry thought. 'Always spoiling my fun.'

An idea came to him slowly, a far easier idea than going all the way to Boromir, which was quite risky, and he moved closer to the sleeping hobbit.

Sam woke to feel someone kissing his neck and breathing heavily. It was certainly a hobbit, that much he could tell, but in this sleepy - and oh, blissful - state, he couldn't tell much more, let alone work out if it was
Frodo or Pippin.

Merry smirked as he felt the hobbit relax under his kiss and be drawn into
the situation. Well, he'd always thought Pippin was easy.

***

Aragorn stopped a few minutes away from the rest of the Fellowship, and turned to face the small hobbit who was looking up at him for guidance, trust shining in his eyes. Trust, Aragorn reminded himself bitterly. He knew he mustn't take advantage of that trust.

He opened his mouth to say something, but didn't know what to say.

"Why did you bring me here, Strider?" Frodo asked, trying not to let the hope show in his voice.

"Because.. Because I think we should sleep here, away from the others. If Gollum is to come back, he is less likely to look for you here. He will look for you with the Fellowship, before he realizes you are not there, they will have dealt with him."

"I see."

Aragorn could see disappointment in Frodo's eyes. Obviously the Ringbearer did not wish to be alone with him. But what could he do? He couldn't let Frodo sleep near those perverts.

"What if Gollum should come here and find us?"

"I shall protect you, Ringbearer. Do not worry," Aragorn said, trying to act responsible.

Frodo nodded, and yawned.

"Lie down Frodo, get some sleep." Aragorn smiled a little, and lay down next to Frodo, keeping a space between them, so as to not tempt himself or scare Frodo.

He shut his eyes, and tried to think about sleep. After a few minutes, he heard Frodo shuffle a little, and say:

"Strider. I'm cold. It's so cold here, I'm used to hugging Sam for warmth.."

Aragorn sighed. Sam was probably hugging one of the others very intimately right now. He didn't answer Frodo, unsure of what to say.

"Strider," Frodo continued. "Do you think that I could hug you? Like we did last night? Just to keep warm, you know."

Aragorn had to admit the idea sounded tempting and he was cold himself. But he couldn't risk it. "It would be very nice Frodo -"

Before he could say "but," Frodo crawled over to lie close to the ranger, still wrapped up in his blankets.

Very close, Aragorn noted, as he felt the hobbit's arms twine around him. He returned the hug, reminding himself that it was his duty after all to make sure that the hobbit was safe, and that included making sure he didn't die of pneumonia.

Frodo sighed, and nuzzled his head against Aragorn's chest.

***
From the shadows, Gollum hissed softly. "The filthy little Bagginss.. and nassty man." He scowled jealously, but did not edge closer. He heard muttered swearing behind him, and froze, frowning suspiciously.

"Elvess.." He muttered darkly when the figure had passed and was now lurking behind a rock some distance away. They want to hurt poor Gollum … yes they do, precious."

His gaze flicked from Aragorn and Frodo, to Legolas, hissing quietly all the while. He did not dare stray too far from his hiding place though; Aragorn, Frodo and Legolas together seemed too much of a match for him. Instead he stayed content with watching them intently.

***

Sam couldn't quite keep his mind on task, so intent was he on working out exactly who this was. He wondered if the seducer would find it offensive if he were to stop and ask. At first he'd thought it must be Pippin as there was no Ring hanging around the hobbit's neck, or on his finger or anywhere around. Perhaps it was in a pocket of one of those discarded items of clothing, Sam considered, but it wasn't like Frodo to be so careless with the Ring. Then again, it wasn't like Frodo to act like this. If it was Frodo.

Sam wasn't even entirely sure if this was the same seducer who had visited him last night. He couldn't remember last night, just those feelings of blissful ecstasy and near passing out moments that he was feeling now. As he started to lose his focus entirely, he wondered if perhaps last night had all been a dream; or perhaps even if this was a dream...

Well, if it was a dream he certainly didn't want to wake up.

***

Aragorn felt himself drifting off to sleep; slowly his worries faded as tiredness overtook him. Frodo's warmth was comforting, and he was glad of it; he was too sleepy to feel like seducing anyone anyway.

He didn't notice Frodo's blue eyes were open, gazing up at him in adoration and anticipation.

All he could think about was sleep, sinking into slumber, feeling the world slip away.

***

"Oh Pip..." Merry gasped, desperately trying to keep his voice to only a whisper, and just about managing it.

Sam paused undoing Merry's shirt for a second, his fingers tripping over themselves and the buttons in his shock. Did his seducer just call him Pip? And was that not Merry's voice?

"Pippin," Merry moaned, sounding a little more impatient now and tugging his own shirt off.

Sam felt himself blushing. What would Merry say if he knew? And how exactly would Sam go about telling him? He decided the easiest thing to do was just to keep going along with it and hoping Merry never realised his mistake.

He quickly kissed Merry passionately in response to the desperate moans, hoping it would distract Merry from thinking straight. He wondered if it had been Merry the night before too. Yet he seemed to remember Pippin's smug
grin at the time, and it was Frodo who'd been there when he woke up.

***

Frodo watched anxiously as Aragorn stirred in his sleep, unconsciously pulling the grateful hobbit closer. He could barely contain his excitement and hope as Aragorn began sleepily nuzzling Frodo's chest, still showing no sign of waking.

Frodo held his breath, hesitant to disturb Aragorn.. Would the ranger be embarrassed at such behaviour when he woke? He had seemed quite regretful of their kissing last night. Frodo felt himself shiver a little as he remembered, and couldn't help himself.

Frodo changed position a little so that his mouth was just moments away from Aragorn's, his arms coming around the ranger's neck. He waited, wanting to see what Aragorn would do next, not wanting to make the next move himself.
Aragorn stirred in response and hugged the hobbit a little tighter, lips automatically meeting Frodo's. The hobbit gave a sigh of relief and excitement and kissed the ranger back so passionately that Aragorn woke in a state of alarm.

At that moment, a rather jealous spying elf kicked a small rock, causing echoes around the stony chamber.
Frodo jumped in fright, and Aragorn looked around suspiciously. The noise could well have been anything in this darkness, but he had a feeling… Listening carefully, he heard muttered swearing, and turned back to Frodo
who was looking at Aragorn and waiting for him to turn back to their kiss.

Aragorn stood up, holding Frodo's hand and pulling him to his feet.

"It's not safe here," he whispered quietly. "Follow me and do not make a sound."

Frodo nodded dumbly, seeing the serious and frustrated look in Aragorn's eyes, and let the ranger lead him away into the darkness.

Legolas glared at the retreating couple and tossed his hair over his shoulder defiantly.

So caught up in his jealously was he, that he didn't notice the wispy haired sneaky murmuring figure creep up on him until it was too late.

***

Pippin was now learning that Boromir was the kind of man who rolled over and fell sleep afterwards. And snored. Very loudly. Almost as loud as Gimli, whose lack of snoring tonight was worrisome.

Pippin sighed and crawled across the rocky floor back to the other hobbits.

In this darkness, he could not make out anything but their shapes, but he reached out with his hand and made out that the hobbit lying next to him was Merry. It was indeed Merry, who had the same habit as Boromir, and had left Sam lying forlornly and guiltily awake.

Pippin smirked again and cuddled up next to Merry, for warmth, and just to gloat a little.

Sam silently observed this with some relief. Hopefully, Merry would never know what had happened. He edged away a little just in case one of them should wake up and accuse him of deceiving Merry.

***

Aragorn stopped when he was satisfied that the elf was lost somewhere in the darkness behind them. He turned to Frodo, and then hesitated.

Yet again Frodo was staring up at him with those big baby blue eyes, seeming almost pleading to be kissed. Of course, the hobbit didn't realise that's what he looked like, Aragorn reminded himself.

"I, uh, think we'll be safe to sleep here," Aragorn said..

Frodo nodded and settled down on the floor with his blankets, tugging Aragorn down beside him.

Aragorn found himself lying on the floor with Frodo in his arms, as the hobbit sighed contentedly and rested his head on the ranger's chest, gazing up into his eyes once again. Aragorn shifted awkwardly, as Frodo showed no sign of looking away. Didn't the little hobbit know what looking at him like that did to him?

He shut his eyes and tried to sleep, but he could still feel the hobbit's gaze boring into him. Upon opening his eyes, he saw Frodo was indeed staring at him. As their eyes met, the hobbit smiled: delicate pink lips slightly apart, breathing softly and ever so slightly faster than normal, and gentle warm fingers seeming to burn through Aragorn's clothing and onto his skin.

Aragorn swallowed uncomfortably and tried to look away, but somehow he couldn't. Frodo seemed addictive.

"I uh. think we should go to sleep now Frodo," Aragorn began nervously, forcing his eyes away.

"But, Strider, I'm not tired," Frodo said, his expression never changing, his eyes still silently pleading.

"Yes, well, I," Aragorn said, and then faltered, his voice trailing off as his eyes were suddenly captivated by the sight of Frodo's tender lips moving apart, his mouth wide open to accommodate the hobbit's thumb, which he proceeded to suck. Eyes still wide and beseeching, lips pouting and sucking hard on his soft thumb protruding from his mouth, Frodo tilted his head to one side, eyebrows raised in gentle questioning. The soft sucking noises he made echoed loudly in the quiet darkness.

It was all too much for Aragorn, and he slowly raised his hand, and gently tugged the hobbit's thumb. There was a soft popping sound as Frodo's thumb left his mouth, and his lips remained apart, temptingly pink.

Quickly, Frodo filled the now empty space in his mouth with Aragorn's own thumb, soft pink lips feeling warm around Aragorn's skin. The ranger suddenly felt his doubts leave him, as he gazed deep into Frodo's eyes. A tender flick of Frodo's tongue against his thumb caused him to tremble slightly.

The ranger pulled his thumb away, and cupped Frodo's face with his hand. The hobbit smiled that smile again, and Aragorn leaned in and kissed Frodo tenderly, a spark rushing through him as their lips met. Frodo responded with just as much gentleness, a sharp contrast to their previous kisses.

Even if Legolas had been around, Aragorn wouldn't have cared. Not with this new blissful feeling he had found.

***

Legolas finally managed to dart away from underneath the hissing creature attempting to pin him down, cursing in disgust. Gollum gave chase, but Legolas was quick and nimble and soon lost him.

However, he'd also lost Aragorn and Frodo, and Legolas frowned crossly.

Glaring around bitterly, he realised he had no hope of finding them, and he trudged back to the cavern in which the others slept. Or, were supposed to be sleeping.

To his delight, as he neared the company (who appeared to be mostly sleeping, to his relief), he saw a large sleeping figure lying a little way away from the others.

Legolas's heart leapt. Obviously Aragorn had given up on that silly hobbit and had come back for the elven prince, and on finding him gone, fallen asleep.

He skipped over there, and was instantly on top of the man, kissing him passionately. The man responded with enthusiasm, running his fingers through the elf's silky hair. Legolas felt a little smug. He knew he'd win Aragorn over eventually. Now he'd make sure Aragorn would never turn him down, ever again.

Boromir, totally oblivious that he had been mistaken for Aragorn, was delighted to find Legolas lying on top of him. Obviously word had got around about his talents, not that he'd ever expected Merry to keep his mouth shut. Now he'd got Merry and Legolas, it was just Gimli and Aragorn to go.