Pippin wondered aimlessly through the woods. Her special place. He had been back from Mordor for nearly a month and he still hadn't seen her. It worried him greatly – she was always in the woods, every time she had nothing to do, or if she was upset. He would sit with her, and they would talk for hours.
It only took the thought of her to make Pippin smile. Her curly blonde locks, her emerald-green eyes, her laughter that sounded as brilliant as birdsong in the morning. Everything about her said beauty. Even her name spoke of her priceless worth. Diamond.
He whispered her name in the twilight. It felt so brilliant, so natural, so right on his lips, and it sent goosebumps shivering down his spine. If only he could see her…
Ow! His forehead collided with another's, and he stumbled backwards. His vision cleared and he saw a young hobbit girl on the floor in front of him. He didn't recognise her at first.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, lass, I -" he looked into her eyes. Emerald-green. "Diamond?!" the girl gasped.
"Pippin!" her voice cracked in her throat and she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug, the one hug he had needed to make everything right since he returned to the Shire. He felt the sobs rack her body in his arms as she cried and cried, hugging him tighter with every whimper that escaped her lips.
"Hey," he murmured, placing a hand in her hair and massaging it softly, "It's okay, I'm here." She carried on crying, not loosening her grip. To Pippin, each sob was torture, a pain in his heart until he couldn't take it anymore, and felt the tears begin to fall uncontrollably down his own face. "Hey, you've got me crying now," he half-laughed, half-cried. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, before burying her face in his shoulder and crying more. It was ten solid minutes before Diamond even started to compose herself, and she sniffed a little.
"Is it really you?" she murmured into his ear. He stroked her hair.
"Of course it is, Di," he soothed, "Who else would it be?"
"I thought you were dead…" Pippin winced as her voice cracked on the word 'dead'. He never thought about how his friends would feel about his expedition. The instant impact made his heart skip a beat.
"I'm so sorry, Di," he mumbled, "I didn't think…"
"It's okay," she managed to say, even though they both knew it was anything but okay.
"No it's not," he replied. "I didn't mean to scare you, Di. I didn't mean for a lot of things…" that was when Diamond took up the courage to look him in the eye properly.
"Pip, you saved the world," she tried to laugh, but choked in an effort to hold back her tears. "I think I can forgive you for that."
"Di, how can I ever make it up to you?" she smiled.
"You already are," she said, caressing his cheek. "You're here with me. I thought I would never see you again… this is all I hoped for." She slowly leant into him, letting her eyes drift closed as their lips touched. Pippin's eyes fluttered shut as the kiss deepened and they moved their mouths in sync.
Pippin finally felt home.