Merrill doesn't believe in shoes (little_elf_lost) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2012-07-20 14:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, frodo baggins, merrill |
Who: Frodo and Merrill
What: Not-really-watching a movie
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: Frodo's house
Rating: PG-13. A condom is involved, somewhere. Scandalous!
Status: Complete
Merrill needed to get off the phone before driving to Frodo’s. She could make it from the grocery store to her home unassisted, but she still needed her GPS to help her get to chez Baggins, and if she had Frodo talking in one ear and her GPS in the other, she was liable to get lost or worse.
It wasn’t long before she was outside his gates, though. They’d mentioned a few ideas of going out--maybe driving lessons, maybe a picnic--but her mind had wandered a bit on the drive. She wasn’t particularly interested in going anywhere, now that she was here.
Inside, Frodo had taken the break from the phone call to freshen up a bit. Unbeknownst to her, he had been chatting earlier while still in his pajamas. He showered and shaved, and threw on a little cologne, as well as some clothing. But he expected to have more time, so when he walked down the stairs and saw Merrill already sitting in his livingroom, he was surprised. Pleasantly so, of course.
He hopped the final two steps and greeted her with a kiss. “I didn’t know you were here.”
Merrill jumped to her feet, having a hard enough time staying on the couch while she was waiting. She returned the kiss rather emphatically. It was obvious she’d been thinking about him. Happy thoughts.
“Carson let me in,” she said. “Did you know his niece graduated at the top of her class last month?” She’d spent a fair amount of time chatting with the man, and felt like she’d gotten to know him.
“I did know that,” Frodo replied, gesturing back to the sofa where they could take a seat together. He considered Carson a friend, same as the housekeeper and the chauffeur. After all, they all but shared a house. “I take you and he had some time to chat?”
Merrill nodded, perching on the arm of the sofa. She had too much nervous energy to sit still. “I called the other day when you weren’t home. He’s very nice.” She smiled.
She shifted to face Frodo, her hand reaching idly for his hair. It was hard to resist those curls. “I was thinking maybe we could stay in,” she said. “We could watch a movie or something.”
He smiled warmly, lifting his eyes to watch her nimble fingers in his hair. “Well, since we couldn’t figure out what to do out staying in sounds like a good idea.” Carson had already made himself scarce. He was probably already in his own quarters. Besides, watch a movie or something was definitely code for kiss until our lips hurt -- and that was the happy point their relationship had reached! “Shall we do it here or in the theater?” he asked, with genuine innocence, motioning to the more than adequate television before them.
Merrill was glad Frodo was on the same page. She’d already tossed her car keys in a potted plant when she’d decided she wanted to stay in. Her fingers paused at the question, her brain taking an extra moment to figure out which level of meaning he’d intended. “Mm.. Here, I think.” The theater was very nice, but the seats were too far apart for the level of cuddling she was anticipating.
A good decision, Frodo would have added for the same reason. His heart responded to the slightly mischievous look in her eyes. “I’ll just pick something out,” he said, rising to his feet. All his films were in the theater. He would need to run and fetch one. “Any suggestions?”
It didn’t really matter to Merrill what movie he put in. She likely wouldn’t be paying that much attention to the film. “A western?” He’d mentioned liking those. She was sure he had quite the collection. It also probably meant it was a movie he’d seen before, so hopefully he wouldn’t mind being distracted. “Surprise me.”
“I’ll do my best,” he replied over his shoulder and disappeared from the room. A few minutes later, he returned with a copy of the original True Grit. “John Wayne, Robert Duvall... Glenn Campbell sings a random song...” he said, setting up the DVD.
Merrill had settled onto the couch properly, though she was still shifting around a bit. She was now sitting with her legs folded underneath her. She smiled when he introduced the movie. “Sounds good,” she said. It was one she actually had seen. She wasn’t as well-versed in the genre as Frodo was, but she’d seen some of the classics.
Frodo folded his arms and watched the screen to make sure he’d set everything up correctly. The opening menu appeared and he picked up the remote from the coffee table. Before pushing play, he asked Merrill if she wanted anything to eat or drink, fetched it, and then dimmed the lights before returning to the sofa. Finally, he pushed play and the Paramount Pictures logo appeared.
When Frodo returned, Merrill shifted on the couch to lean against his side, quickly cuddling into him. At least they knew no one would kick them out, here. She kissed his cheek as the credits began.
By now, Frodo was just counting the minutes until it was appropriate to give up the pretense of watching the movie and start snogging.
Merrill must have had a different watch. She’d scooted a bit closer, her cheek resting on his shoulder as she started kissing a spot on the side of his neck, just below his jawbone. Nobody else was watching, and if Frodo was upset she wasn’t even pretending to pay attention to the movie, she would do her best to change his mind.
The sound that the touch of her lips to his neck brought out was a cross between a moan and a jaunty tune. His skin rippled. Movie? What movie? He slipped an arm down her back and turned so he could kiss her head on. The other hand was immediately in her dark and sleek hair. His fingertips played with the ridge of her ear.
Merrill gasped as his fingers brushed over her ear. He’d definitely stumbled onto a hotspot, there. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her back arching as she started to lean back, trying to pull him down ontop of her. As her legs moved to stretch out, she accidentally kicked her purse off the couch, spilling the contents onto the ground.
Frodo registered the sound of the toppled purse, but it was little more than a faint buzz, like an echo trying to pierce the tension of a body of water, and he was well beneath the surface. He felt like he was swimming in her warmth and beauty. Coming up for air was not an option, not yet.
Normally, Merrill would have stopped to have a Talk about certain things. She’d always been responsible about sex, even as a teenager. At least, when it came to things like protection. In other areas, her judgment hadn’t been the strongest, but that had been a long time ago. At any rate, she’d planned to have some sort of discussion with Frodo... But the moment he’d begun to play with her ears, all of that had gone out the window. Her brain had all but shut down. She kissed him hungrily, wanting all of him.
Maybe it was due to his lack of experience, but s-e-x itself was not as close to his thoughts as it probably should have been. Then again, it had always been somewhat difficult to think of anything that wasn’t directly in front of him -- and that had definitely gotten worse since his accident. Making out on the sofa did not necessarily translate into making love on the sofa. He assumed if that was really were the moment was headed, it would probably be more obvious.
And then it got extremely obvious.
“Merrill...” he began, but couldn’t quite finish. His voice was caught in his throat, but his narrowed eyes were locked on the floor. Or better, at a little square package lying on the floor. Yes, that was definitely a condom down there.
Merrill was busily kissing his neck, her attention span for anything else extremely limited. Her hands couldn’t quite figure out where they wanted to be, so they were everywhere--his hair, his shoulders, his back.. “Mm?” It took her a few moments to realize that Frodo had practically frozen in place. With a few ragged breaths, she pulled her lips away, first looking up and him and then following his gaze.
Oh.
It wasn’t exactly the reaction she would have expected, and she wondered just what he was thinking. He knew it was for him, right? It wasn’t something she just carried around in case she ran into somebody. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Instinctively, Frodo wanted to... laugh, actually. He wasn’t sure where the impulse came from, he just knew it was bubbling up inside of him. He fought hard to suppress it. “Sure...” he squeaked out, and cleared his throat. Reaching down, he picked up the little packet and held it between his thumb and index finger. Honestly, it wasn’t the first time he’d ever held a condom, but was it really possible that today would be the first time he opened one?
Yes, he and Merrill probably needed a Talk, but likely not the one she expected.
Merrill sat up, untangling her legs from his and trying to will her heartbeat into slowing back to a normal pace. It didn’t work very well. She ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath before she tried to say anything. “We don’t have to, right now. I didn’t mean for...” He seemed nervous, and that was okay. They were rushing, a little. “Don’t feel like we have to..” she said, hoping she would be able to form a complete sentence any day now.
He didn’t exactly interrupt her, but switching the purple packet to his other hand, he wrapped his arm back around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. His heart was pounding, too, but if he kept himself moving, Frodo thought he might be able to keep from passing out. No, it really wasn’t that bad, but everything about the situation had taken on a heightened sense of reality. Even the room’s soft colors seemed suddenly very saturated.
He paused the movie and rested the condom on the table. How was he even supposed to begin? With Rose, she seemed to have figured out his secret on her own, but Merrill was too sweet to assume too much. It was up to him to get it the ball rolling, and quickly, because now his forehead was starting to ache. He massaged it gently with his fingertips.
“Listen, this is a really awkward thing to bring up now, but... somehow I’ve made it through life... without ever actually... having sex...” He took a calming breath and continued on. “It’s not that I’ve been avoiding it, or scared of it--” (Not initially, anyway. Starting at fifty-four was a pretty frightening prospect.) “--It’s just that for some reason it’s never happened. And maybe I ought to have been more forthright in telling you before now, but... it’s a difficult subject to bring up until certain things fall into place.” And if a condom spilling out onto the floor wasn’t a signal, he didn’t know what was. “My point is, if you and I -- hopefully when you and I actually do this... it would be my first time. So... how do you feel about that?”
Merrill watched him as she listened, gentle concern on her face. Not because of what he was admitting, just the distress it seemed to be causing him. She put a hand on his, giving him a small--what she hoped was comforting--smile. “It’s okay,” she said, not the least bit upset that he hadn’t told her earlier. “I think it’s sort of sweet.” She didn’t mean to sound patronizing. She was working with a limited vocabulary, at the moment.
“It’s been a long time for me,” she said, hoping that would help him feel a little less nervous. It wasn’t as though she considered herself an expert in the area. “So we don’t need to rush. I wasn’t bringing that over with some motive in mind, I just wanted to be prepared if we did.” She wasn’t sure if Frodo would have had any on hand, and they probably wouldn’t want to send Carson out to get one.
The lines in his face softened. No response to what he’d just said could have been rehearsed, so to have Merrill react so calmly, for her to point out something positive and precious, and already knowing how honest she was -- Frodo felt himself melting all over again.
“I really meant it, when I said I love you,” he said, voice finally steady. Really, it was so easy telling her how he felt, even his secret hadn’t been so difficult to tell. “I don’t mind rushing. I want to rush. Not just into the physical things.”
It was unusual, in this day, to find a guy willing to move so quickly into the emotional side of things rather than the physical side. Merrill wouldn't have had such a fondness for history, though, if she didn't think the past had something worthwhile that the present seemed to be missing. There was something to be said for old-fashioned men.
Merrill nodded, still feeling a little warm. “Okay. That’s okay with me.” She’d already fallen head over heels for him. She wasn’t about to get bored and wander off. “Fair warning, though, my ears are...really sensitive.” He might have noticed that. “I get a little crazy.” He might want to tread carefully there if he didn’t want to be pounced, again.
Frodo’s face brightened with a wide smile. “Yes, I noticed,” he said throatily, and he playfully brushed back some of her hair and traced her ear with his index finger. But he didn’t want to torture her and he only lingered there for a moment. Alright, maybe a few moments, just because the way her eyes dilated was one of the most arresting expressions of pleasure he’d ever seen, and he felt proud of himself for being able to conjure it up in her.
He wanted more than a purely physical relationship, but by god he wanted all of her.
“I promise not to abuse this privileged information,” he said, interspersing the words with kisses.
Merrill’s eyes lidded for a moment, and the breath that she’d only just managed to catch was gone again. So unfair. She shook her head a little, trying to pull herself back to reality. “Not sure I believe you,” she said, kissing him back. She wasn’t sure she wanted to, either. But those were thoughts for another time.
“You probably shouldn’t,” he said. “But I’ll try my best.”