Thanks to Mizz Marvel for beta'ing!

Merry entered the bedroom to find it glowing with candlelight. Slim white tapers were clustered on every surface, and his dresser was a fairyland. Various glass bowls and delicate wineglasses had been manipulated into a glimmering tower, and squat white candles floated in the bowls that had been filled with water. Other, shorter, candles were placed on weaving, multileveled candelabras around the crystal-and-fire creation. Merry’s breath caught in his throat as he surveyed the room, and especially the creation in front of him. It took several moments for him to notice Pippin lying on the bed.

“Do you like it, Merry? I tried to remember what the elves did that time, you remember at Rivendell?” Pippin smiled a little, shyly, not sure if he’d pulled off just the right trick this time. Merry slowly turned to face him, smiling, and crawled onto the bed.

“Oh, Pippin, it’s beautiful. I can’t believe-how did you manage this? It’s breathtaking.” Pippin preened a little, but would only smile. Merry leaned in, and they shared a kiss, Pippin pulling away just as Merry had wound his fingers in Pippin’s hair, groaning a little.

“Now, love, why are you using our good crystal for such a use?” Merry lay back, not relinquishing his grip on Pippin’s hair, but guiding the younger hobbit to lay down on his chest, so Merry could keep stroking his fingers through the brown ringlets.

Sighing a bit, Pippin relaxed into Merry’s arms before replying. “Oh, for many things. Because it’s cold, and dark outside. Because I love you, and you write such beautiful things for me, and I can’t do the same for you. Because we got a letter from Sam; Rosie had another little one.” Merry had been smiling, and leaned down to kiss the top of Pippin’s head when he listed the second reason. He stopped in surprise at the third reason.

“Oh, Pippin, that’s wonderful! But shouldn’t we be doing something for Sam and Rosie?”

Pippin ducked his head, grinning. “Of course, and I mean to write them tomorrow and ask if they'll be needing any help in the form of two gentleman hobbits ready and waiting to spoil another child. Oh, but Merry! This is for us, because they are naming this child for you, and now there will be a Merry-lad at Bag End. And,” Pippin’s eyes lowered, “there cannot be one here. I can’t give you children, Merry, but I can give you beauty, and myself.”

Merry had been struck quite speechless by Pippin’s explanation, but found himself gathering the exquisite lad in his arms

“Oh, Pippin, I don’t know what to say first! I’m honored, of course, that Sam and Rosie named a child after me. And I love you, so, so much.” Merry lifted Pippin’s chin, looking him in the eye, and kissing him softly before continuing. “Lovely one, all I have ever wanted is you, and you are beauty and goodness and perfection. I’m honored that you would go to such effort, and surround me with such beauty, but please don’t feel obligated.”

Pippin smiled, and returned the kiss, softly, gently. “Not obligation, love-I just needed to do this for you, and for me.”

“Mmmm. And I’m happy you did. So, dearest heart,” and Merry rolled Pippin over to lie atop him, wrapping his arms around Pippin’s back. “What’s it to be tonight? A slow seduction? Or wild flinging of clothes? Or shall we just lie here and live in a world of light and water and crystal?” He ran his nails over Pippin’s back as he spoke, making the other hobbit squirm and giggle and do some very interesting things with his hips, leaving Merry gasping for breath, and then moaning a bit when Pippin rolled off of him to sit up on the bed.

“You’ll see, dear heart-I’m not done with you yet.” Pippin smiled wickedly, and Merry wondered if it was possible to faint with expectation and love. He was led out of bed, to sit in a straightbacked chair placed before the roaring fire. Pippin, quickly shrugging off his robe, helped Merry free of his shirt and breeches quickly, and they were soon both glad of the warm fire. Pippin retrieved something from under his pillow, and went to sit on Merry’s lap, facing him with feet braced on the back of the chair’s legs, and arms wrapped around his neck. Merry held onto his waist, and they cuddled close for a moment.

Pushing back a little, to look into Merry’s eyes, Pippin seemed to search his face. “Merry-love…do you trust me?”

Merry looked up, confused. “Of course, Pip. Why-“

But Pippin cut him off. “No, I mean, do you really trust me? To love you, and keep you safe, and bring you pleasure, and to give yourself over to me completely.” Green eyes caught blue, and Merry’s entire field of vision was filled with a serious, searching Took-stare. Swallowing first, but holding the stare, he replied.

“Yes, I trust you, Pippin. With everything that is me, I trust you.”

Pippin smiled, and leaned forward to nip at Merry’s neck a little. “Lovely, because I plan to show you a very, very good time. And that said,” and he caught Merry’s eyes again, “if you want to stop, at any point, we’ll stop, and it will be fine. This is all for your pleasure, Merry-mine.” At Merry’s nod, he unseated himself, and stood up, unfolding the strip of black silk that had been concealed in his hand. Moving behind Merry, he blindfolded his lover, not tying too tightly, but securely enough that Merry couldn’t see anything.

He pulled Merry out of the chair, guiding him to stand up, and then removed the chair, leaving Merry with only the fire to give him his bearing. Pippin walked over to the window, shuttered against the cold outside, and opened it enough to retrieve the icicle he’d snapped off earlier. Padding closer to Merry, he smiled, the fire making a delicious chiaroscuro of his lover’s body, transforming it into an exquisitely planed form, made only of shadow and light.

Merry turned suddenly, then. “Pip? Where are you?” He turned quickly, first left, then right, and Pippin just barely dodged from his grasp. “Shh, love,” Pippin soothed, reaching out with his free hand to stroke Merry’s back. “I’ll not leave you, but you must be very, very still, and as quiet as you can be.” And, suddenly, he was pressed against Merry’s back, one hand across his lover’s chest, fingers searching, then finding, then Merry gasping as his nipple was given a little tweak.

He couldn’t stop a cry, when cold ice circled his other nipple, and then descended, tracing patterns all over his chest and stomach, cold meeting warm flesh and making him go lightheaded. Pippin chuckled a little as he kept one arm firmly wrapped around Merry’s chest, half-holding him up.

The icicle danced just out of reach, tracing lace-patterns over Merry's lower belly, and then dancing down to stroke his thighs. Pippin responded to his lover's moans by nibbling lightly at the back of his neck, the soft gasps making him grow harder.

Merry's cry when Pippin stepped back, almost made him relent and take his lover in his arms again, but he resisted. This night would be drawn out as long as he could, and Pippin meant to play in this ice-and-fire fairyland for hours.

He ran the icicle up to Merry's waist one last time before stepping away and silently circling his lover. Stopping in front of him at last, Pippin reached out to run his thumb over Merry's lips, pressing into them, letting Merry kiss a little, and then stopping, pressing gently on the full lower lip.

"Whatever shall I do with you, my beautiful one, my own lover. How can I best give you a pleasure that will make you scream, and come, and come, and worship me as I worship you?" Pippin couldn't stop a growl of excitement when Merry shuddered at his words, and then Pippin fell to his knees.

Pippin took his lover's cock in his mouth all at once, swallowing as much as he could with the speed he moved at, and Merry cried out, thrusting his hips forward and almost losing his balance. He grabbed onto Pippin's shoulder just in time, and widened his stance slightly. Sucking lightly, Pippin drew his mouth back, humming his pleasure as he went. When he could kneel back, and look up, he saw that Merry was at the very edge, the slightest push in the right direction, and he'd come.

Pippin did not intend to push in the correct direction just then.

The icicle had now melted to be only as long as the palm of Pippin's hand, which meant it served perfectly when he ran it over Merry's cock, sliding it up and down the length. The other hobbit cried out then, and he did fall forward, gasping with the sensation of such cold after such heat. But Pippin was there to catch him, letting the ice drop, done with it now. He guided Merry to the overstuffed chair they had both become used to cuddling in.

Merry seated, Pippin carefully climbed into his lap, slinging his legs over the chair's arms and laying his head on Merry's shoulder. He swept sweat-soaked hair out of the way, and trailed kisses soft and gentle as feathers from the edge of Merry's shoulder, across his chest and up his throat until their lips finally met. Pippin sighed happily, cuddling closer when Merry's arms, still shaking a little, wrapped around him. They stayed like that for awhile, kissing each other with a simple intimacy born of long acquaintace.

"So, love," Pippin spoke, idly tracing Merry's ear to where it came to a point, "are you enjoying yourself?"

Merry exhaled slowly, tightening his arms around the one in his lap. "Pippin, I...'yes' does not cover it. You're being quite unfair, though--you get to watch me, and I can't see a bit of you." He smiled and unerringly leaned over to place a little kiss on Pippin's cheek; funny how he'd never before noticed quite how soft and sweet his lover was.

Pippin nuzzled back a little, and Merry felt him smile into his neck. "Soon, beloved, you'll see me soon enough. But first..." And he stood up, leading Merry to the bed with almost gentlemanly decorum, one hand on his elbow and the other resting against the small of his back. His lover settled, Pippin returned to the windowsill, quietly picking up the other icicle he'd broken off earlier, although this time he picked up a large white pillar candle in the other hand.

Balancing carefully, from both the full hands and the growing heat at the base of his spine, Pippin climbed onto the bed and straddled Merry, sitting back on his thighs. Their erections bobbed, and briefly touched, and Pippin couldn't stop a gasp at the sensation. The ache traveled to his belly, and he felt the tight heat there, and welcomed it as he welcomed his lover's arms, or the first breezes of spring after a cold winter.

Merry thrust up as much as he could, and moaned softly, and Pippin almost abandoned his next planned step. Breathing carefully, though, he retained control, and sat back slightly to regard Merry.

"You've known ice, my Merry, and now you shall know ice mated with fire." Pippin began by placing the tip of the icicle right in the dent at the base of Merry’s throat that had seemed made for his tongue when first he discovered it, and was now perfect for the shard of ice. He traced his lover then, lightly, drawing the icicle down over his breastbone, between nipples that had grown hard and erect, and down further. He traced the sweep of Merry's ribcage, and then returned to extend the wet trail to his navel, pausing there to circle the ice slowly. His other hand lifted the tallow candle, a deep pool of wax already melted in it, and positioned it just to the right of the trail the ice had left. Without warning, he tipped it, and the melted wax fell onto the smooth alabaster skin below, hitting it silently.

Merry cried out, then, cried Pippin's name and arched his back, but did not move to wipe the wax away. Pippin had been waiting for this signal; that while the wax was hot, he would not burn his lover.

Satisfied that he could continue without harm, Pippin continued to pour the wax, following but not overlaying the trail the ice had taken. Merry let out a low groan when a drop accidentally landed on one of his nipples, and a high cry when Pippin blessed the other nipple with the ice. When the candle was only a handspan above Merry's navel, he laid the icicle on its side and slid it in a wide swathe up to meet the liquid wax, and the two twisted and combined to make exquisite patterns of glistening water and dull, white wax.

Pippin couldn't hold back from bucking his hips forward at the beautiful cry Merry gave, his lover's hands groping, and then finding, Pippin's thighs, only to knead the soft flesh.

The wax nearly spent, Pippin poured a trail following the line of hair that began just below Merry's stomach, just for a few inches. He followed that with the tip of the icicle, pressing it in just enough to make Merry cry out, but not to cause him pain. Pippin joined in, moaning with him as their cocks bumped each other again, and then set both the candle and the ice aside.

Leaning over, he kissed Merry deeply, gasping when Merry's hands trailed up Pippin's thighs, and began kneading his rump.

Ending their kiss, and moving his lips only far enough away to speak, Pippin whispered, roughly, "And now, love, you will know fire." He lay down then, full-length on top of Merry, whose arms wrapped around him, steadying him in place. Their hips rocked into each other, quickly establishing a rhythm that allowed them to move together, minging cries and gasps. When Pippin squirmed aside slightly to allow his knee to part Merry's legs, Merry cried out and clenched his fingers across Pippin's back so strongly that Pippin knew he'd bear marks for days to come. Just the thought of that made him cry out again, and squirm, his cock caught between their bellies. With a parting kiss, Pippin slid his body down Merry's, trailing his tongue along the same route that had been taken by the ice and the now-hardened wax.

He sat up between Merry's legs, reaching for the phial of oil that had been warming at the foot of the bed, tucked into a fold in the blanket. He prepared himself quickly, not wanting to spend too much time stroking himself in the state he was in, and then returned to Merry.

Leaning over, he carefully, lightly, licked the tip of Merry's cock while pressing a finger into his love. Merry's cry combined with the familiar taste and warmth to nearly bring Pippin over the edge, but he found enough control to hold on. Second and third fingers were plunged in quickly, and then just as quickly removed.

Pippin guided Merry's legs to rest over his shoulders, and slowly began to enter his Merry, loving the heat as it surrounded him, just as Merry loved the filling. Pippin positioned himself just right--ah, there--and just before he was fully in, he called Merry's name.

When Merry's head turned toward his voice, Pippin quickly pulled the blindfold off, letting Merry see him, crying out in the awesome joy that came with their joining.

Merry was held in silent rapture by the look on Pippin's face, the beauty of it multiplied by the fact that darkness had preceded it. He gazed as if seeing for the first time, and cried out, and was lost, and bathed their bellies with warmth.

Pippin had locked eyes with Merry as soon as he pulled the blindfold off, and his world had become those wild blue eyes. Their bodies were together, had become one, him filling Merry and Merry all around him, and Merry was his whole world, holding him and crying his name and sobbing with the force of fire and ice and a night that mated them.

And Pippin came, and it was like waves breaking on a shore, pleasure following pleasure, the end of one becoming the beginning of another just as he and Merry had become the ending and the beginning, and he guessed he must have cried out, or perhaps Merry did, but he was lost to the cascading joy until, exhausted, his body gave out and he collapsed onto Merry's chest as he filled his lover.

And it was like the tide moving out, replaced with a quiet kind of peace, and Pippin spent many minutes simply breathing, and feeling Merry's skin, and enjoying the rise and fall of his lover's chest right above his head.

Merry could move first, and Pippin was vaugely aware of becoming untangled, and pulled up to be cradled in Merry's arms, and kissed thoroughly.

"Ah, my love, my life, all my pleasure in the world. Peregrin Took, Pippin, Pip, there aren't words in the tongues of Men or Hobbits or Elves to tell of thee. There is only your skin against mine, and an exquisite pleasure, and a joy no one else ever has, or ever could bring me. Beloved, I trusted you with my deepest parts, and you gave me pleasure beyond imagining. Beloved, you have given me a gift like none other. Beloved, my lover, what great, kind act have I done to deserve thee?"

Merry, usually exhausted after lovemaking, could not stop the flow of words if he'd wanted to. He had to give Pippin some idea of what the night had meant, and how beautiful everything was, especially his own dear one, and hold him close and love him as best he could. And if he got a little silly about it, what did it matter? Pippin knew what he meant, and would understand. He certainly got wide-eyed and gasping enough after lovemaking sometimes.

And Pippin did understand, although when he could move again, he wriggled up to quiet Merry with a kiss.

When they parted, Merry only murmured "Thank you", and wrapped strong arms around Pippin's chest, holding him close. He stretched a little, and yawned. "We should probably put all the candles out," he mused aloud, "although it's so lovely, especially with the fire burned down."

"Mmmph." Pippin was nearly asleep, perfectly content to just lie in his lover's arms and swim in that lovely golden glow, caught between sleep and wakefulness and wrapped in everything that was good in the world. "Don't bother, Merry. It'll be fine to burn down. Just stay here, with me, and let us relax and...just...sleep..."

Pippin trailed off into deep breathing, his head lying heavily on Merry's shoulder, and Merry loved that so much, he too dropped off into sleep, to dream sweet dreams of Pippin and warmth and weight.