Of Gaffer Gates and a Wedding party

Pippin and Diamond both felt they deserved a drink after that. They meandered to the party field, (and they would've been arm in arm if that didn't involve one of them dislocating theirs to be at the right height), behind the guests.

Parties with Merry and Pippin as hosts were usually some of the best known to Hobbitton. Parties with Pippin and Diamond as host and hostess were merely the weirdest known to Hobbitton.

There were mass firework displays, as Merry and Pip had, of course met many amazing people on their travels, (even if Gandalf had taken a well-deserved permanent holiday), there were at least a few people left in Middle-Earth who could pull a fireworks display almost as good. With any luck, the guests who'd maybe figure it out would be too drunk to realize Merry and Pip had in fact met these amazing people down the Green Dragon.

The music was provided by some of the best 'bands' in the Shire, as is completely fitting for a Thain's wedding. 'The Smashing Mushrooms' had played at Bilbo and Frodo's joint party, and Merry, being a massive MadHanna fan, had got her in to sing at his best friend's party, along with Black Solmath, Gaffer Gates and The Shirrifs.

Diamond and Pip wandered about, playing the happy couple and generally being as charming as anybody who'd just survived their own wedding could be, even when Paladin insisted upon showing everybody some rather fascinating portraits of Pip as a young child. 'I say, it's a good job the artist put that flower where he did! Was it a very hot summer's d...?' 'Put theim awai, Da! Honestly.!'

The wedding party continued happily, long into the evening. Merry's 'Best hobbit' speech was a great success ('I don't know half of you.um, at all, and I like some of your wives much more than half as well as I'm supposed t.oh stuff this, FREE DRINKS!', and there was a hearty cheer).

Among the guests were of course, Paladin and Eglantine Took, Pippin's parents. The Tooks in general had a reputation for being outlandish and strange, and even though Pippin would sometimes like to have said they were totally normal, his parents really were no exception. Diamond had met them both several times before, although Paladin was generally kept extremely busy (despite being aged 104) being the Took.

'Hullo, m'dear! Well, somebody looks absolutely lovely today!' cried Eglantine, coming over to Diamond and giving her a gigantic hug. (It would be much better to refer to her in shortened form, as in 'Eggy', but the last person who'd tried that one was still looking for their ears after she'd boxed them.)

'Och thanks! Ah think it's this new waistcoat actualli, the colour really works on me.' replied Pippin enthusiastically, trailing off as he very slowly realised she was talking about his wife.

'I think it went very well, don't you? And the party's in full swing too,' said Eglantine.

'Tha' depeinds on your definition o' 'very well',' muttered Pip under his breath, causing Diamond to snort into her wineglass.

'What's that, dear?'

'Ah said 'except th' fireworks cain sometimes smell'. Sort o' smoky.'

'Only if the person lighting them set himself on fire as well. Incidentally, I don't suppose I've told you about the time my son actually almost did that.?'

'Er, no. It doesn't exactly surprise me though. Do tell.'

Pippin left them nattering together. He was very fond of his Ma, but she, like his sisters, could talk the hind leg off a donkey. Talk of the she- devil(s), he thought, as they pranced by in a row together. They looked rather strange, as they'd cried profusely at the end of the ceremony (they always did), and the soot they'd used as eye makeup had run something shocking.

Pip thought back fondly to his childhood memories of waiting until one of them had a fingerful of soot ready to use, just in front of their eye, then creeping up behind and dropping the cat on them. Happy times.but he was grown up now, with a wife.and sweet Eru, probably children sometime as well. He couldn't really believe it even now.

He walked past the main gathering of tables, where Merry's 'best hobbit' speech had been such a success he was now saying it for the second time, albeit rather more slurred. He had their wedding-cake in front of him, with two little marchpane (marzipan) hobbit figurines on the top.

Pippin was just in time to see him finish the speech amid much applause, and, whipping his wineglass up with a flourish to take a drink, knock the heads clean off the figures. He winced as a small hobbit child picked them up, wiped them on her smock and ran away with them.

Pippin smiled. Maybe not that much had changed after all. Merry was still getting drunk, Diamond was still beautiful and things still tended to go interestingly wrong when he was near them.