You ignored the pain in your ankle as you stumbled across the body-strewn field. Limping over fallen soldiers and severed orcs, you searched the ground, tears pooling in your (e/c) eyes.
"MERRY?!"
Your voice was hoarse and it hurt to even breath, but you couldn't give up.
"MERRY?!"
You tripped and fell to the ground, the wind getting knocked out of your lungs. But after regaining your breath, you didn't move. Instead, you buried your face in your arms and sobbed. Your body shook as tears watered the ground under you, pain, fear, and fatigue leaving you with every drop.
Memories of the past few months had plagued your mind with dark nights, foreign places, and deadly orcs. You were tired, hungry, and missing your warm bed and cozy fire. You wanted to go home. You wanted to find your best friend.
But Merry had left with Lady Eowyn, leaving you to use the quickly formed friendship you had with Eomir to convince him to bring you with him. It took your deepest, darkest secret to get him to smile, tossing you on his horse before he took off.
Even as the battle on Pelennor Fields was ranging around you, you searched every horse rider for your fellow hobbit friend. But it wasn't until that same battle that you realized that friend was not a strong enough word to describe how you felt about Merry. It saddened you that it took going into a series life or death situations for you to recognize your childhood friend meant the world to you.
But now, he could be gone for all you knew. Your body shook as you silently let your heart to break, thinking the worst had happened. You had run into Pippen as he, too, searched the fields, but he had yet to see Merry. You cried harder.
You hiccuped and paused, breathing steadily as your heart slowed and your tears dried.
No.
You were NOT going to give up. Not when you knew for a fact Merry would search all day and all night until he found you. Not when it was still light out enough to keep searching. Not when you knew him to be one of the strongest Hobbits ever to live.
Sniffling, you struggled to your feet, thankful for the millionth time since leaving Hobbiton that you had such thick souls as you stepped over the debris of war. You limped, your ankle still in pain but you pushed through it, your mind cleared after such a good cry. You looked around with more determination than before, taking in any and all signs of life.
You stumbled across three Roherum riders still alive in your search. The first one frightened you as they grabbed for your cloak, calling out for help. But after taking note that he was not, in fact, an orc, you came to their aid. You did the same with the other two. You would smile at them as you kelt down next to them, telling them that help was on the way.
By the time the third rider was taken by Gondorian soldiers in a makeshift stretcher, his hand slipping off your arm as he thanked you over and over, it had started to grow dark. As did the hope in your heart. But you shook your head, looking around at the others still searching for their fallen friends.
"Merry?!" You called, cupping your hands around your mouth. "MERRY!?"
Tears pricked your eyes but you didn't let them fall as you started moving again. You held them back with happy memories, such as of Merry sneaking you out of your house to go on adventures with Pippin. The first time you showed him how to sneak in and out of a bakery without getting caught. The first time Merry showed you a butterfly, it landing on your nose making him laugh, the sound filling your heart. The numerous times you three went fishing and Pippin finding himself in the water nearly every time. The first time Merry took your hand when listening to scary stories with Bilbo and the other Gaffers while out camping, smiling at the memory of falling asleep hand in hand because he was so frightened. You could hear the noise of Rose's Pub and the laughter of the cousins as they sang songs, the sound filling your mind and numbing your fears.
Suddenly, your foot hit something, jarring yourself out of your flashbacks. Blinking you looked around, bringing yourself back to the present. The stench hit you first. Ther was only one thing worse than blood, guts, and orcs; sun baked Oliphants.
It was nearly too dark to see but Gondorian soldiers were setting up burn sights were they were disposing of all the orc bodies in large pyres of fire. A few were placed not too far from you, affording you a bit more light. And right there, glinting at you with a knowing wink was a leaf pendant looking very much the same as the one you had attached to your cloak. Only ten of you had these and there was only one other than yourself that still wore it out into the battle. That you knew of.
You dared not breath too quickly in fear of waking from what you believed to be a dream. Gently, you picked it up, wiping away the dirt that clung to it. Naturally, you followed the ground around it, your heart leaping as you came across the very cloak it was meant to hold in place. You grabbed the cloak, pinning the leaf to it as tears unbiddenly fell into the fabric. You sniffed and wiped your cheek as you looked around, calling out for him again.
"Merry?! Oh please be alive."
There was a groan followed by a very weak cough of breath. You followed the sound and nearly dropped the cloak, your heart racing. You leaped forward, ignoring the pain in your ankle as you neared a small figure, their back to you. You knelt down and turned them over quickly, but gently.
"Merry," you whispered, your face pulling into a huge smile as tears fell down your cheeks and onto his chest
You found him.
Carefully, you brushed the hair out of his face, stroking his cheek as you tried to wake him with soft words and gentle shaking.
"Merry, Merry I'm here. I've found you."
His eyes peaked open, the blood around his mouth cracking as he struggled to speak, his voice sounding worse than he looked.
"(Y/n)?"
You smiled wider, nodding. "Yes, yes it's me. I'm here."
"You're not going to leave me?" Your heart broke at his words.
"No, Merry," you continued to stroke his dirty, blond curls, "I'm going to take care of you." You looked around, eager to grab someone's attention. "Please! Help! I need help!"
With a shaky hand, Merry reached up and touched your cheek lightly with the tips of his dirt-encrusted fingers. You leaned into the small touch as he spoke, his voice chopped as he struggled for a proper breath.
"But I'm...supposed to be...the one...taking care...of you."
You let out a weak laugh, shaking your head as you sniffed. "A girl is very capable of taking care of the Hobbit she loves." You quickly kissed his forhead, looking around for help.
Suddenly three Gondorian soldiers appeared, one of them you recognized from the group that had taken the third Rohan man you found. You were grateful for their arrival to not only distract you from your sudden confession but also give you a way to hide your burning blush that you felt growing.
"Please, he needs to be seen to by the healers."
The guard nodded, picking up Merry like a child. Your hand dropped from his but you stayed close, not wanting to take your eyes off him for even a second.
~~~~~
Merry groaned as his body slowly came to life, his limbs aching and his head pounding but he was alive. Opening his eyes just a tiny bit, the blond hobbit looked around, his mind trying to place where he was exactly. Quickly fear bubbled up in his chest as his unfamiliar surroundings made his foggy mind run wild with ideas.
But then there was movement next to him where he was suddenly aware of a warm weight in his hand. Looking over, Merry sagged into his pillow, his eyes glazing over with relief to find you sitting in a large chair, your head on your arm on the bed, your hand clasped in his. Gently, Merry reached over and stroked your hair, a smile pulling at his lips.
You shifted closer to him, though you did not wake. Merry was free to gaze down at you, the light of the early morning rays reaching throughthe window to light up your peacfully resting face. He thought back to when he laid nearly dead and forgotten among the carcasses of the Oliphant and orcs. When he had opened his eyes, he thought he was seeing an angel.
Your eyes were bright with tears and you smiled. The sound of your voice brought life back to him as his mind slowly accepted that it was truly you. You had found him. He was going to be alright.
But he hated to see the worry that etched your face, making your brows pinch and your lips pull into thin lines. The last thing he remembered before he passed out again was your voice calling out for a bed to place him, your determined but warm eyes appearing in his vision before he was consumed by unconsciousness.
Now here you were, all cleaned up and fast asleep. Moving slowly, Merry scooted down the bed so his head was level with yours. He pressed a soft kiss to your (h/c) curls. Then he closed his eyes and laid down, his hand still in yours as his other hand came to rest on your head.
The movement woke you, but only slightly. Merry opened his eyes as he flet the bed shift. You locked eyes and for a mmoment, the world was still. Then Merry smiled, chuckling lightly.
"You know, you snore."
You smiled, your heart fluttering wildly. "You're awake."
Before Merry could reply, you flung yourself at him, throwing your arms around him as you all but jumped on him. Merry laughed as he held you to him, wincing from his sore muscles and bandaged hand. But he didn't feel like letting you go anytime soon.
You pulled away slightly, reaching up to tuck a rogue curl from falling into his eyes. "How do you feel?"
Merry gently placed his hands on your waist pulling you to him as he rolled over, the two of you facing each other as you laid on the bed next to him. He leaned forward, closing his eyes as he presse his forehead against yours.
"Better. Much better."
Merry smiled as he felt you shift so you were under his chin, tucked against his chest. "I'm glad. No sleep," you cooed into his tunic, "you stabbed a Ring Wraith and will have an impressive scar to show for it."
"One of my many spoils of war," Merry whispered into your hair as he felt himself drifting off to sleep, but not before he tugged you closer, his smile never leaving his face even after sleep took over.