Merry opened the unexpected knock on the door and found Pippin standing there, gazing at the ground and then looking up with a smile. The sight of his best friend caught Merry off guard for a moment, but then he cried out in happiness.
"Pippin!" Merry greeted with a cry of surprise and wonder. He hadn't had a visit from his friend in awhile, and he was overjoyed to see him. He immediately jumped on him with a giant hug that nearly brought them both tumbling to the ground.
"It's wonderful to see you Merry!" Pippin said, laughing at the silliness of their ways. Even after a long, difficult journey to the very gates of Mordor, they were still able to laugh and go on with their lives. "I have good news!"
Merry pulled back to examine his friend's face that was practically as bright as the afternoon sunshine. He paused a moment to pull down his shirt that had become ruffled from the hug. "Indeed? Well tell me over a plate of cookies, it's nearly teatime!" Pulling his friend inside, Merry took his simple brown coat and hung it before leading him to the kitchen where he laid out a large plate of cookies between them and a pot of tea along with mugs.
"Well?" Merry asked in exited curiosity. He knew it had to be important to bring his friend over to visit and he was eager to hear whatever news Pippin brought.
Pippin slowly took a sip of tea and bit a cookie. Merry's smile turned dangerous. "Pippin!" He growled, hating the suspense.
Pippin laughed. "I'm going to propose to Lily!" He said, pulling out a little box and showing Merry the ring.
Merry's excitement turned to shock. Lily was a snobbish, overbearing hobbit well known to flirt and flaunt herself. She rarely ever stayed with one hobbit more than three months. She was beautiful to be sure, but would Pippin really be happy with that sort of woman? Merry doubted it. Merry doubted this was anything more than infatuation.
Clearly, Merry's expression betrayed his thoughts.
"You aren't happy for me?" Pippin asked, somewhat surprised about Merry's silence. He had thought Merry would have been happy for him. He had come here intending to as Merry to participate in the ceremony and helping him to arrange things. He had been looking for his help and to see the unsure face of his friend looking back at him was almost too much. He had been obsessed with Lily since they were young children together, with her soft ginger hair falling around her delicate features and her brown eyes warm and so alluring... Returning as a hero had finally made her see him and now he wasn't going to miss out on being with her forever.
"I… I'm just surprised. This is rather soon." Merry said delicately.
Pippin nodded. "I know, but I love her." He asserted.
Merry frowned. How could his young cousin possibly know that? "But this has only been going on for what, a few months?"
"Since Sam's wedding." Pippin said.
Merry's eyes grew wide and he did a double-take. "That was only two months ago!" He protested.
"I fell in love Merry!" Pippin cried, grabbing the ring and rising.
"Pippin I'm merely worried you're not thinking this through – "
"No, I thought you would be happy for me Merry, but I see now that I was wrong." Pippin said, storming outside.
"Pippin will you just listen to me?" Merry cried, running after his friend. He grabbed his arm, intending to stop Pippin's angry retreat.
Pippin yanked his arm away. "I'm not a child anymore! I've marched to the very gates of Mordor! I don't need you hanging over my shoulder and ruling my life! I'm not a fool anymore!"
Merry flinched at the sudden, unexpected tirade. "Pip, I didn't say you were a fool!"
"But you imply it. You imply that I can't make good decisions. If I love her Merry than that's all that matters!"
Merry sighed. "Pippin she doesn't really care about you – "
"You're just jealous because you aren't my best friend anymore!" Pippin hissed. Merry recoiled he continued. "In fact, you aren't my friend at all. If you are going to go meddling into my affairs!"
With that, Pippin turned around and stormed off with fists clenched angrily at his side, leaving Merry standing alone on the pathway that led to his door. Pippin had never felt so completely furious with Merry. He had learned a great deal on their trek through Middle Earth. Surely now he had earned the right to be looked at like a full-grown adult rather than a child, but Merry didn't seem to think so. He was convinced that Merry had to be wrong and hurried to return to Lily.
A tear slid down Merry's cheek as he watched the form of Pippin retreating. Turning around, he pulled the door shut behind him and stormed off, heading down towards the Brandywine with hasty steps. It was where he always went when he was mad. He had done it even as a child, but now the problems seemed so much more complex.
He sat on the banks in a special spot of his, kicking pebbles angrily and hurling sticked into the water. He was furious. It wasn't right that he was trying to help his impulsive cousin only to have him shrug off not only the advice but his friendship! "If Pippin wanted to be treated like a grown elf, he might try acting like one." Merry growled.
He continued to kick stones around even as the sun began to sink into the horizon, but then he lost his footing on the slick banks and he slipped backwards, landing halfway in the water and his head colliding with the hard stones.
Stars exploded in his vision, and then it was darkness.