Disclaimer: I certainly don't own anything that has to do with LOTR, though this doesn't stop me from wishing...

Aragorn sat silently in the shade of a large oak tree, deeply absorbed in the pages of his book. Hearing a noise, he glanced up from his reading to see a wagon approaching. Watching closely, it did not take him long to realize who had arrived.

"Legolas, come see who's here!" Aragorn called as a big, wooden cart pulled up in front of him.

"Gandalf! And you've brought the Hobbits with you as well. It's wonderful to see you again!" Legolas exclaimed as he came outside.

"And it's good to see you again, too!" Frodo replied, speaking for everyone in his party.

It had been quite some time since the entire fellowship had been gathered together. To celebrate, they prepared as much of a feast as they could manage in such short notice. After the meal, they lingered in the large dining room, talking and laughing, getting each other up to date on the happenings of their part of Middle Earth.

"Where has Gimli gotten off to?" Gandalf asked after a bit of time had passed.

"I'm right here," Gimli replied, walking through the doorway back into the room, and taking his seat beside the Hobbits. "So, what are we talking about?" he asked.

Thinking nothing of Gimli's leave of absence, the fellowship once again lapsed into chatter, continuing on until late at night. Finally they split up for the night. Legolas led the four Halflings to a room they could sleep in and bid them good night. Late as it was, it did not take very long at all before the Hobbits had fallen asleep.

Outside, Gimli hid in the shadows, watching and waiting until he was absolutely sure that everyone had retired for the night. He fought hard to keep from giggling to himself and attracting attention. What great luck he had! Now he had not only Aragorn and Legolas to play pranks on, but also Gandalf and the Hobbits as well! He shivered with excitement.

Confident that everyone had gone to bed and were no longer walking the halls, Gimli silently crept to the door of the room he had seen Legolas give to the Hobbits. Testing the knob, he was not surprised to find that it had been left unlocked. They were in Rivendell, after all. There was nothing to keep out here. Or so they had thought.

Sneaking up beside their beds, Gimli grinned to himself as he watched the Hobbits sleep.

"Let's see here… Just a bit there… More here…" he murmured softly to himself.

Finishing his business, Gimli tip-toed out of the room and quietly brought the door closed. He then dashed for his own quarters, eager to get as far away from the 'scene of the crime' as possible.

Birds chirped outside as the rays of morning sun began to shine through the window. Frodo stretched and attempted to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Yawning, he decided it must have been about time to get up. He glanced around the room. Merry, Pippin, and Sam lie in their beds, still fast asleep. Frodo decided to let them get their rest. After all, it was no short trip they had made to Rivendell just the day before. Sleepily, he stumbled towards the bathroom, but was not prepared for what he would see when he glanced up at the mirror. It startled him so much that he screamed.

Sam jolted from his sleep.

"Mr. Frodo! What's wrong?" he asked, clearly concerned.

He jumped from his bed and hurried towards the bathroom door. Turning the corner, he too caught a glimpse of what the mirror beheld, and it was his turn to let out a shout.

"What happened?" Sam demanded, staring intently at Frodo's face, then back in the mirror at his own.

"I don't know! I've been asleep!" Frodo exclaimed.

By this time, Merry and Pippin had been awoken from all the noise.

"Why must you two be so loud?" Pippin complained, rolling over and plopping his pillow on top of his head.

"Stop whining, lazy bones," Merry retorted. "It's about time we get up anyway. Especially you. All you ever do is sleep… And eat."

"That's not true!" Pippin argued, peeking out from under his pillow. In doing so, he saw Merry's face, as well as the artwork it displayed, and burst into a fit of laughter. "You should see yourself. You look ridiculous!" he hooted.

"Nonsense," Merry replied. "I assure you I look just as I always do."

"Who's to say that the way you usually look isn't ridiculous?" Pippin remarked in a softer tone, yet still loud enough for Merry to hear.

Merry shot him 'the look' and stood up from his bed, walking over to the looking glass to prove to Pippin that he looked just as he did on any other morning. That was not the sight he was met with, however.

"What!" he exclaimed.

Enraged, he ran back and jumped onto his bed, chucking his pillow at Pippin's head, hoping that the flying object would knock said Hobbit's head clear off his shoulders. Not one to back down, Pippin threw his own pillow back at Merry, and in doing so uncovered his face.

"Aha! You have it, too!" Merry shouted.

"Have what?" Pippin asked.

"A beard and a mustache!" He held the looking glass up for Pippin to see. "A very fine mustache at that… Why couldn't mine look that nice?" Merry mused. "You're getting me off the point again, young Took! The point is, you did all of this while the rest of us were sleeping, and I for one am going to get you back for it!" He whirled another pillow in Pippin's direction.

"Me?" Pippin asked. "That is absolutely absurd. How could I have drawn such a nice mustache on my own face?"

Minutes passed by as similar banter ensued before Frodo and Sam had finally gathered themselves well enough to emerge from the bathroom. When they did return, they found Merry and Pippin still going strong, alternatively taking whacks at the other's head with their pillows.

"Enough of this!" Sam insisted.

Immediately Merry and Pippin dropped their 'weapons'. A split second of silence followed before they both began to quickly explain why the pillow fight was solely the fault of the other.

"All right, you two," Frodo sighed. "Let's go find Gandalf."

"I'm not going out there looking like this!" Merry exclaimed.

"If he gets to refuse to go, then so do I!" Pippin argued.

Without waiting for a reply, Merry dashed off into the connecting room where they had left all their belongings, Pippin close in pursuit. They retrieved a certain item; then returned to where they had left Frodo and Sam.

"All right, now we are ready," Pippin announced.

"And it's about time, too," Sam said impatiently. "Now to find out who's behind all this!"