𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒

truth be told [Merry]

Hello everyone! I hope you're all having a lovely day. Thank you to lotrmxisyy for requesting this- I hope you enjoy it! Xx

♛ 𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔 ♛

Romance wasn't something Merry had thought of in a while. The last recollection of romance in his life was with a beautiful pie that he had bought from the market as a boy- that was his first love. He had stowed it away from his parents, and he had hidden to eat it alone, out in the forest, where no one would bother him. He was very young then, of course. He hadn't received a proper education yet, and had a tendency to merely do as he pleased. And despite the vomiting that followed, he still thought fondly of that pie.

But real love? Merry didn't know if he even knew what that was.

Ever since returning from the battle of Mordor, he had felt a void inside of him- a groping darkness that only seemed to grow as time went on. His pain was nothing compared to Frodo or Sam- but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. 

Maturity had struck him like a dagger to the heart; it was bitter and cold, laden with darkness. When he had returned from the war of the ring, he did not know how he would continue.

Then, he met someone. A new friend.

(Y/N).

No, this was not the love that he felt for that darling pie- at least not at first. When he had met (Y/N), she had been running through the markets in a hitched skirt, with a farmer screaming after her. She had hid under one of the carts, waiting for the farmer to pass by. When she popped her head up, she was face to face with the Brandybuck.

"Uh...hello," she said, a blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"Why are you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding! What would make you say that..." she said, looking over the streets. Merry squinted at her.

"Are you all right?"

"Quite. I...I fell." She stood to her full height, trying to impose the other hobbit. Her attempt failed, as a smirk grew on Merry's face. "What? I did! I fell!"

She ducked at the sound a man screaming out about someone stealing from his crops. Merry's smile widened, leaning forward to look over the cart.

"You tried nicking from Farmer Maggot?"

"How did you--"

"I used to do that all the time when I was younger!"

She narrowed her eyes. "You're not much older than me, yet you talk like my grandfather."

Truth be told, that stung Merry a little. "Well then...I'm guessing you don't want advice on how to get the mushrooms..."

He gathered his bags, and graciously turned away, a little too proud of his retaliation. 

"Wait, wait!" She clattered towards him, grabbing hold of his sleeve. "Give me the advice! His crops are the best in the Shire! I'd do anything, please!"

When he turned, his eyes twinkled with mischief. "I only have one condition- you let me come with you."

Begrudgingly, she had agreed. Two days later, they met in the dead of night under a sea of stars. Merry had waited impatiently for almost twenty minutes, before spotting a shadow approaching him. When he recognised her features, he smiled. "What took you so long?" he asked playfully.

"Sorry...my brother wouldn't go to sleep. I had to make sure before I snuck out. Sorry if I made you wait."

"No harm done. Now, do you want those mushrooms or not?"

With an exchange of smiles, they went on. Farmer Maggots field wasn't far- only ten minutes away. The two had submerged themselves in silence, neither one wanting to start the conversation. Then something struck the halfling that made him feel awfully flummoxed.

"I believe, amidst planning this daring quest, we forgot to ask each others names."

The woman gazed bashfully at him, playing with straying threads of her dress. "Goodness, you're right. How did it escape me, I--"

"I'm Merry," he said suddenly, halting in his tracks. "Merry Brandybuck."

"(Y/N)." She held out her hand, which he shook gently. "Nice to be properly acquainted." The two released soft chuckles, before moving forward into the night.

Finally, they had made it to the crops. Merry led her through the reeds and the grasses, and found himself upon the same path he had been on a year ago- when he had bumped into Sam and Frodo. He smiled, stifling his giggles at recalling the moment. 

"You said they'd be mushrooms," the woman retorted.

"There...will be," he muttered. He grabbed her hand, and led her off the path. "Aren't you going to get anything else?"

"Are you joking? I haven't seen a mushroom in years. A lot of the crops around here don't produce edible ones anyway," she peered over his shoulder. "Where on earth are we going? You're leading us off his land."

"No, I'm just showing you a shortcut."

He wobbled, as his foot did not land on the ground. He leaned forward, spotting the steep hill down to the road below. He did not teeter too much forward- (Y/N) grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back. They tumbled side by side to the floor, groaning.

"A shortcut? To what?" she said, getting to her feet and dusting herself off.

"What do you think?" he laughed, grabbing her by the arm and going back to the edge. "To mushrooms."

"Merry, I DON'T--" She raised her voice, as her companion jumped and dragged her down with him. Rolling and bumping, over and over, until they both thrashed to the ground.

(Y/N) heaved, looking down at her dirt-trodden dress; it was ripped. She huffed, looking over at the wincing Merry. 

"Have you gone absolutely mad?!"

"Nope- look. There. Mushrooms!" He pointed up at a tree that jutted out from the muddy hillside. On it, grew a cornucopia of edible fungi, spiralling round the trunk. They were the largest mushrooms she had ever seen.

"Wow..." she said. At the sight of Merry's smirk, she narrowed her eyes. "Would've been nice to know you were going to throw me off a hill to get them."

"Where's the fun in that?"

They crawled over to them, and began plucking the mushrooms. Merry produced a bag for her, and bagged a dozen of the brown beauties. 

"You do realise I could've broken a bone from that fall," she said.

"Well, I haven't...yet. And really, it's your fault for being so adamant."

"Really?" she laughed. 

"Really," he smiled. Dusting off his hands, he took to his feet. Offering his hand to the girl, he pulled her up. Merry did not let go of her hands at first.

He didn't know why. They just felt...nice to hold.

"Merry. I'm up. You can let go."

As he snatched his hands away, (Y/N) chortled. "Thank you for today, Merry. I hope we can do this again sometime."

"Yes...me too," he said, digging his hands into his pockets. 

For the first time that night, he looked at her. Truly stared at her, in the light of the moon. Even covered in all that dirt, the prospect of her made his heart flutter. He was both scared and excited at the same time, and he found himself suddenly very fond with (Y/N). Almost as fond as he was with...with that darling pie from all those years ago. The void in him did not cease; but it no longer seemed to matter. 

Was this it? Was this...love?