AN: Hi, all! This is my first post, so review all you want, and know that this fic probably sucks. It's Pippin-based, because I've become a die-hard Pippin-fan in order to further bother my friends! Thanls for the inspiraton, guys! You know who you are, and if you don't, you're all idiots! ~_~ PLEASE R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merry, Pippin, Sam, Frodo, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Lothlorien, Rivendell, Moria, or anything else from Lord of The Rings, although I must say I'd really like to! ^.^ They are Copyrighted to JRR Tolkien. All worship the god, and that god is Tolkien.

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Shadow

"Fool of a Took! This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party! Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance!" Pippin heard the old wizard's words echoing in his mind.

He turned restlessly on his couch in Lothlorien. He didn't want to leave tomorrow. He wished he could stay here in Lorien, for the rest of his life, and rest with peace and happiness among the elves, and be no bothersome little hobbit in the way of the Fellowship. Of course, he would probably be just as annoying to the elves, and he didn't relish the idea of abandoning Frodo.

At any rate, he would miss the elves' peaceful homes (no matter that they all lived up in the treetops) with no worries or problems. He turned again, and looked over at Merry and Frodo and Sam, sleeping peacefully, without trouble or worry about the following day and the dangerous shadows that loomed ahead. Pippin couldn't stop thinking about Moria, and Gandalf falling, as Strider and the elves said, into shadow.

'Fool of a Took....That I certainly am....' Pippin thought to himself. 'A piece of luggage, wherever I am, whatever, I do.... The only way I could be helpful would be to throw myself into a well.'

He looked over at his hobbit-friends again. Sam and Frodo were lying peacefully asleep, but he suddenly noticed, with a shock, that Merry's eyes were open.

"Merry?" He called, unsure of if his eyes were merely decieving him in the dark.

"I'm awake, Pip. You can't sleep, either, then?" He heard his cousin's voice call to him, through the dim starlight that filtered through the treetops.

"No....Not really. I can't stop thinking...." Pippin cut off his statement at that.

"Keep thinking what?" Merry inquired softly.

"Well...."

"C'mon, Pip. You know you can trust me." Pippin couldn't see very well, but he guessed that Merry was smiling.

"You remember in Moria, when I dropped that stone into the well?" Pippin paused. "That was the last time Gandalf spoke to me directly. I can't stop thinking about it, that he maybe died angry at me. I haven't had time to really think about it 'till now, though. I've tried going to sleep, but I can't."

"Hmm..." Merry's normally cheerful voice held a note of thoughtfulness. "Well, Pip...I guess...there isn't much to do about it, is there? I don't really know what to say to that."

"I guess there isn't, is there?" Pippin agreed. "Thank you anyway, then, Merry."

"Any time.... Try to get some sleep, Pippin." Merry turned, so that his back faced Pippin, and for a while, it was silent again.

"You don't understand, Merry...." Pippin whispered to his cousin's back. "You try, though so I can't blame you, really...."

Pippin attempted to think of something else, maybe his family back in Tuckborough. That merely made him more homesick than ever. At any rate, he soon fell asleep. He awoke early the next morning, but not wanting to move went back to sleep.

He was roused again later by Sam, and got up, and they had a small breakfast, and packed up their supplies. Pippin tried to look cheerful , and as far as anyone but Merry could tell, he was. But Merry said nothing.

And they left.

~Fin.~

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AN: Well? What do you think? Please review! I thrive on reviews! This was my first attempt at a) angst, and b) LoTR fanfiction. I'm also writing a pretty cool (or so I think) fanfic about Fuujin (from Final Fantasy VIII) that I plan on posting as soon as I can. (For those few out there who are also FF8-DC fans!)