J.M.J
A\N: Some Pippin and Diamond moments here! Just a bit of fun.
1396, S.R.
"Owwy!" tiny Diamond cried out as she landed on her rump. She sat there defiantly, refusing to move from her spot in the road as big tears rolled down her bright red cheeks. Just learning to walk, she found falling down a frequent routine during the day. Diamond had wondered outside by herself when a careless lad had left the door swinging on its hinges. The outdoors was so bright and full of prettiness and brilliant flowers . . . how could a two-year-old resist?
Nobody seemed to be watching her at the moment either; they were all busy visiting with Uncle Paladin and Aunt Eglantine. So here we find frustrated Di', plopped in the road while pouting about her drop and muttering hard gibberish. And who was to see the trotting pony on the other side of the hill but that adorable little six-year-old charmer, Peregrin Took? The lad had just pried another plum out of his sister by flashing his can't-resist-it-smile when all had seemed lost, and had just sauntered out the front door with juice dripping down his chin.
That's when he spotted the little lass out in the middle of the road with Farmer Osco coming up on the other side practically in a gallop.
Hey! He thought. That's little Di' Took, an' she's gonna get squashed! In an instant he had dropped the plum and was dashing across the yard as fast as his legs could carry him. With one jump, tackle and roll, Pippin had Diamond well out of reach of the pony and locked firmly in his grip just before the unnoticing farmer went flashing by. Still too stunned to say anything much, the two lay snarled in some brambles, their golden curls all mixed up together.
Diamond began to bawl loudly once her wits had returned, struggling to yank her petticoats free of the thorns. "Here, here now!" Pippin began as he tried to pull himself and the wee one out of the thicket while not getting her scratched very badly. "Mum-uh! Wanna Mum-uh!" Diamond cried while kicking with a force that Pippin thought was startlingly strong for such a small one.
Nevertheless, he held onto her until they were both out of the brambles and safe on the front steps. By now Diamond had stopped bawling her eyes out, and was now only sniffling from a scratch on her arm while sitting on Pippin's lap. "It'll be alright, promise! It's just a wee little nick, nothing more." he soothed. She persisted to whimper, so the lad did the best he could.
"Here now, my name is Pippin. I live here in this hole, and it's very, very nice here. Do you like kittens? I'll wager you do!"
Diamond nodded her golden head slowly. "Well then! That's good! Do you want to go and see some?" Pippin asked. Diamond once again nodded, but this time with a hint of a smile. "Alright! Let's go." Peregrin reached out and took her chubby hand, thinking about how adorable of a baby she looked. Together they set off to the barn, already becoming friends.
1402, S.R.
"One more, Merry! Please one more!" Pippin begged, sitting up in bed. Merry looked exasperated.
"Learn your letters. Then you'll be able to read the stories by yourself, and I won't have to do it myself anymore."
The book in Merry's lap thudded close, and he leaned back in the old rocker, running his fingers through his hair, and shortly his eyes begun to droop. Pippin stopped that, though. "Meriadoc!" he piped. "What? I'm up, I'm up!" Merry mumbled, trying to look awake.
"Read another one, Merry!" Pippin begged.
Before the pestering could turn into begging, the door gradually creaked open little by little until it revealed a small girl, seven by the looks of it, standing there and shuffling her feet. She looked terribly frightened from the howling storm outside. Yet when she noticed the older hobbit reclining in the rocking chair, a smile lit her rosy face and she darted over to him.
"Merry! A story! A story!"
Before Merry could object, she was securely snuggled in the crook of his arm. The poor Brandybuck could do nothing but sigh and grin at little Diamond Took and turn and scowl at Peregrin for starting this whole business. "Alright then. What does m'lady want tonight?" he asked Diamond. Diamond seemed to be in deep thought for a moment.
"Frodo's Mummy an' Da! Yes! That one!" she exclaimed with shining eyes and bobbing ringlets. Merry gave a slight frown. "Now where did you here that from, dear?" he asked curiously while stroking her bright hair. "Oh, nowhere." Di' replied carelessly, now intently studying the hem of Merry's suspenders; it was evident that the lass had picked up the knowledge of the tragedy from a renowned loudmouth. Glancing over at Pippin, one would see him ducked beneath his covers and shaking with uncontrolled mirth in spite of his unmistakable guilt. "Peregrin Took . . ." Merry started in the fatherly tone he used every so often (or more) when Pippin got out of line,
"I am going to give you the whipping of your life, young hobbit! Ruining the snow-white bud of innocence only for the sake of your amusement. I am ashamed of you, really I am!" There was then a deep silence that fell over the room. One could even hear the rushing of the Brandywine far off in the distance if they tried hard enough.
Snort.
Meriadoc's brows bristled at the impudent sound that emitted from underneath the bed sheets.
Snort.
"I would stop that if I were you, Peregrin." Merry warned once, which was extremely gracious for him at least.
"I don't have to listen to you! All you are is heaps of rubbish, and that's what comes out of your bloated mouth." Pippin suddenly shouted, flinging his blanket off and standing upright in his bed with hands upon hips. As serious as he looked at that moment, one would not guess that in the middle of his cheeky act of valor he would burst out in ripples of irrepressible laughter. "Alright then, what is it?" Merry snapped, setting Diamond down on the chair and standing up to his full height. Pippin was now hysterics, rolling around on his bed and holding his belly.
"PWAHAHAHA! M-Merry! Y-y-y-y-y- . . . HHAHAHAHA!"
Merry stomped up to the imp and grabbed his collar, yanking him up to a sitting position.
"What in the bloody blazes are you cackling on about?" he roared, bringing his face up to his captive's. Pippin seemed to have grown sober for a blessed second, his eyes wide and staring. That is, until the lad glanced down and saw the largest nose in the Shire flaring in and out with indignation. Pippin fell into his laughing once more.
"Your stupid nose is so . . . so . . . BIG! Hahahahaha!"
"Why you!" Meriadoc growled, swinging Pippin up by the waist of his breeches and over his knees in a spanking position. Peregrin didn't have enough breath left to protest, so he squirmed with all of his might. "Ha!" Merry exclaimed as he snatched up an aimless wooden spoon on the nightstand. (Most probably used by a nurse to control the unruly child.) Before he could administer the punishment with relish, Diamond had snuck up behind him and was now yanking Merry's curls out of their roots.
"Leave . . . him . . . alone, you big bully!" she screamed, successfully kicking over a porcelain washbasin and making it shatter into oblivion. None of them noticed though. This was war, and the battle must be won by somebody. Furthermore, no one noticed the young lass that had opened the door and who was amusedly watching the display while finishing drying off a dish in hand, just content to gaze at the fun. What had begun as a fight had now turned into a playful banter and roughhouse. Merry was laughing himself while tickling Pippin to death with one hand and pinning Diamond down with the other.
"Now I've got you, you wee rouge! Ha! That's to you, Miss Knight in Shining Armor!" he shouted as both of the Tooks had escaped and were now climbing over him like squirrels. As the game went on, Diamond had noticed the girl in the doorway. "Merry . . ." she said, winded. Merry paid no heed, but kept on tormenting his smaller cousin.
"Merry!" Diamond tried again.
"Yes?" he answered before getting pulled down off the bed by Pippin. Di' just followed, climbing on top of Merry and then leaning down to whisper in his ear, "I think someone's at the door." The young Brandybuck poked Pippin hard one more time and turned to look at who Diamond was talking about. When he did, his face flushed so badly that it indeed looked as if someone had thrown a ripened tomato at his head.
"Pippin!" he once again commanded sternly, removing Diamond from himself and staggering up and staring at the floor. Whipping around, he informed them both to get and stay in bed and that was final.
When the elder of the boys had turned back around, Pippin only smirked at Diamond and raised an eyebrow, thus signifying that he had both conquered and embarrassed his kin. Meanwhile, Merry was trying to edge his way past the one lass in the world that he wished wouldn't have had to come in at that very moment. Eyes still fixed anywhere but on her, he pressed himself up against the threshold, trying to squeeze past without so much as making a wrinkle in her apron or saying a word. Just as he thought he was in the clear, his large foot caught a small step and down he went onto his rear. Immense amounts of hooting and cackling came from Pippin and Di', and Merry would have sworn to kill them both later if he had not known that the lass's piercing gaze was held upon him.
"Do you need a hand?"
There is was; that sweet yet noble voice that he had so often secretly listened to behind doors or around the bend. Yet now it only meant humiliations countless. Merry dared to open his eyes briefly to assess the situation, but went completely dizzy when he saw a capable hand sticking out right in front of him. His alibi for reaching for it was that 'one must take a lady's offered hand, always'.
"Yes." He meekly replied, letting the lass pull him up with notable strength. When he was safely on two feet again, he wondered if maybe he just shouldn't look at her this once, since he had been very brave about it already. And he did, then he wished he hadn't, and then stumbled down off down the hall stuttering, "Thank-thank you, Miss Es-Estella. I'll b-b-be going . . . now." Back inside of the room Pippin was beaming at Estella, who then gave a small knowing wink and left to finish her dishes.
1410, S.R.
"So you were having this really . . . errrm . . . philosophical moment, and then . . ."
"Eh, yeah. I forgot what it was."
"Can you remember anything about it, Pip?"
"Let me think . . . oh yes! I remember now: it was really smart."
Diamond groaned and cast her line out into the glittering ripples of her and Pippin's secret pond, that is, secret excepting Merry Brandybuck's knowledge about the enchanting place.
They sat there on the edge of the bank in silence for a little while, listening to the throttle of the larkspur.
The warm breeze stirred both of their light hair as it did in the leaves of the trees encircling the pond. The fifteen-year-old lass sighed as she splashed and cooled her feet in the water.
"I think I'm the happiest hobbit ever. This is just absolutely lovely, Pip." she said while flicking her pole for another cast, a smile dimpling around the corners of her mouth. Pippin seemed to be thinking for a moment before he exclaimed cheerily with an ecstatic clap of his hands, "I know what I'm going to do!" With that, he proceeded to slip the suspenders off of his shoulders so that they dangled by his sides and tightened his trusty scarf about his neck. Jumping into the water, Pippin signaled for Diamond to hush as he waded further and further out into the deepening waves.
"Pippin!" the young lass whispered curiously, "What are you doing?"
"Shh! I'm trying to catch a trout, that's what."
"A trout . . ."
Diamond laughed silently, shaking her head in amusement as she pulled in her line for another cast. Pippin, in the meantime, was stealthily moving towards a large fish, its scales shimmering in the Sun's radiance. What a trout! He thought, imagining a future meal prospect. Oh, I suppose I'd have to share it with Di' and all. The lad then speculated with a bit of regret, as his own stomach could hold at least five trout at a go. Now his chance had come; the fish was right in front of him! With a great spraying and hollering, Pippin tried to get a hold on his prize. Every trout, carp and grayling was probably scared stiff for the next week with all of the racket the eccentric Took was making. Yet when he came splashing back to the bank with bloody palms and no trout, Diamond only laughed. "You seemed to have mistaken a stickleback for a trout! Silly lad!" she giggled.
"Oh, well, you can think it's funny! I happen to be suffering from prickled hands, thankyouverymuch." Peregrin responded touchily, sucking on his sore fingers while darkly contemplating how he was going to kill with a mad fury the next stickleback he came upon.
Diamond suddenly took pity on the sight of Pippin in so cankerous a mood. "Here, Pip. Let me wrap your hands." She said soothingly as Pippin sat down beside her.
"Do you have a hankie, Pip?"
"No . . . wait, yes, yes I do."
"Then I shall use that."
Pippin withdrew a wet yet useable handkerchief and obediently held his injured hands out to be wrapped. The lass concentrated very hard on making sure that the wounds were clean and washed, of course ignoring the whimpering of her charge. Diamond abruptly looked up with a serious face, her golden curls bouncing down to reveal concerned green eyes.
"You know that you must wash these out everyday, Peregrin Took. Especially since tomorrow's harvest, I mean, you'll likely work up a sweat and the bandages will slip off, you always have had sweaty palms, and then you'll take no heed and get the wounds soiled and an infection will set in and then your hands will be cut off and then you won't be able to work in fields at all! And then . . ."
Before the anxious lass could start rambling on again, Pippin shoved her in the water, laughing as she struggled to stand up in the shallow water.
"Ha-ha! That was really funny, Diamond! You should've seen the . . . look . . . on . . ."
Pippin's jesting trailed off into thin air as his companion glared at him threateningly, curls dripping and dress soaking while floating up around her knees.
"I should take back everything I said and did for you Peregrin Took! I should . . . I should, dunk you!"
With that, Diamond grabbed Pippin by the shoulders and dragged him into the water. Soon the two were having a merry time splashing and dunking one another, all past wrongs forgotten. When the hobbits finally realized that the Sun was going down and they would be missed for supper, (Pippin was getting hungry anyways), they set back out toward the Smials. Many bewildered animals watched two hobbits soaked from head to furry foot amble their way home, one wringing her skirts out and giving an occasional twirl to dry them, the other squeezing his scarf dry and using it to hack down any flowers in his path. Both were singing merrily.