Frodo and Merry One-Shots

Who Are They?

The fire that crackled and sparked in the living room cast a bright orange light. I was lying down on the couch, snuggling in the bright pink blanket that Frodo had given me. My eyes were fixed on two rounded paintings that were hanging above the mantel of the fireplace. Who were they? Who were those people in those paintings? How long were they hanging there? In one of the paintings, there was a woman with long, black curly hair and pointed ears. She had a beautiful smile. In the other picture, there was a man with short, brown, curly hair and large, plump cheeks. I was completely mesmerized.

All of a sudden, Frodo had wandered out of the kitchen and into the living room. He made his way towards me and sat on one of the arms of the couch. I noticed that his eyes had grown wide. The light from the fire caused them to sparkle. It was like sunshine glistening upon the ocean. He began to speak to me.

"I see you have made yourself comfortable, Brianna." Frodo grinned. I nodded my head. My eyes were still fixed on the paintings. I just...I just couldn't stop staring at them. Frodo murmured my name. He was trying to get my attention. "Brianna? Brianna?" I snapped back into reality. I fixed my gaze on Frodo. "Yes?" "What was the matter?" Frodo asked me, in a gentle voice. "The paintings." I replied. "The paintings above the fireplace. Who are they?" I raised my finger and pointed towards the paintings.

Frodo let out a soft sigh. "Those are my Uncle Bilbo's parents. Bungo and Belladonna." he answered in a low voice. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Oh." I thought I had said something wrong, something that might have bothered Frodo. I swallowed deeply. I felt the need to apologize to him. "I...I'm sorry, Frodo. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry." I felt so ashamed of myself.

My eyes had began to tear up. I wiped my nose with the sleeve of my nightshirt and sniffled. "I'm sorry." I repeated. Frodo got up from the armrest of the couch and sat down where my head lay. He gently brushed my hair over my ears. "It's alright, Brianna." he whispered. "You don't have to apologize." A few teardrops slowly fell down my cheeks. I quickly wiped them away. "I...I..don't?" I whimpered. A large lump grew in my throat.

Frodo grinned. "No, not at all." He moved in forward, tucked me in my blanket, and embraced me in his loving arms. I had this awful feeling growing in my heart. It was the feeling of guilt. My tears had multiplied. They were dripping down my cheeks. Dripping. Dripping. Dripping.

"What is ailing you, Brianna?" Frodo whispered. "What is the matter?" He gently. I gazed at Frodo with eyes full of sorrow. "It was...was all my fault." I choked. Frodo shook his head. "But, you did not do anything wrong." he replied, in a soft voice. I shook my head, doubtfully. "I...I...thought....I....I....hurt your...hurt your..." I could not continue to speak. It hurt too much. "Oh, Brianna. You thought you hurt my feelings?" Frodo added. I sniffled once more and nodded my head. "Mmm hmm."

Frodo whispered softly in my ear. "Oh, Brianna. Why do you say that?" I could see compassion in his eyes, his angelic bright blue eyes. Before I could wipe away the remaining tears that were falling from the crevices of my face, Frodo raised his hand and gently brushed them away. He carefully tried to remove my glasses from my face to wipe away the rest of the tears, but I begged him not to. "No. Please don't." I whimpered. "Don't take them off." "Why not?" he asked. My voice trembled as I spoke. "I don't like the way I look with my glasses off. I..I don't."

"I'm sure you will look beautiful." Frodo smiled. A frown grew upon my face. "No." I whimpered. "No, I wont." Frodo sighed again. He noticed that my glasses had gotten very dirty. They became stained with tears. "I am just going to take them off for only a few seconds to clean them. I promise I will give them back to you." I was a bit reluctant, but then I realized that I could barely see through my glasses. They were completely fogged up. I carefully removed the glasses and handed them over to Frodo. I masked my face with my hands.

"You don't have to hide those beautiful eyes, Brianna." said Frodo, while he was wiping away at the lenses with a red handkerchief. "They're not beautiful", I groaned. When Frodo handed me back my glasses, I quickly slipped the thick appendages over my ears.

Frodo stopped and stared at me. His pupils in his eyes became larger. "Brianna." he whispered. I pulled my blanket up to my neck. I stared down into my lap, with downcast eyes. Frodo brushed my hair once more. "You will always be beautiful to me. Always." he said, comfortingly. A wide grin grew quickly on his face.

The sadness in my heart had been lifted. I shot Frodo a crooked smile. "You will always be my beautiful girl." said Frodo. I turned away, timidly. Frodo gently pulled my head towards his chest. He pecked me multiple times on my temple. His lips were cold and tender. "Thank you, Frodo." I said, gingerly. "For making me feel better."

"Shhh." Frodo insisted.