PLUSHIE TIME!!!! YAY!! Ok, so everyone who answered correctly gets a plushie!! *Passes out plushies to their respective new owners*
Pippin plushies to: Kate Fairbairn,
Aruraya, and QTpie-pippinsgurl.
Merry and Pippin plushies for Merry_one,
who gave me extra help, and to Marion, who requested a Merry plushie rather
than Legolas one.
Merry/Legolas plushies to: Aruraya
and Firiel.
Now onto the story! Still in Pip's POV.
Disclaimer: Pip? Nope. Merry? Nope.
Diamond, Faramir? Nope. Niphredil, yes, to a degree. The story and plot's
all mine.
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This has got to be the most boring
job in the world. I think to myself, as I sit in my study, pondering
over old maps and letters. I can hear, from the kitchen, Merry and Faramir
laughing, as they do the dishes together, not doubt splashing water onto
one another. It's been such a help having Merry around to help me out.
Diamond's at Brandy Hall now, still recovering from the birth last month,
with Merry's wife, Estella, keeping her company. Estella's finding it quite
enjoyable to be in charge of Buckland while Merry's here at Tuckborough.
It's a handful with Faramir and Niphredil. But Faramir's a good big brother,
and he's very attached to his little sister.
"PAPA!!" A small blur runs into the room and jumps onto my lap. "PAPA!! Uncle Merry's scaring me!"
Merry appears in the doorway, one hand over his mouth, half shaking in laughter.
"What have you done to him this time?" I ask my cousin.
"He started it, Pip. You ask your little beast there what happened."
"Faramir?"
"No, no, no, Papa, it was Uncle Merry, I didn't do anything!"
"Alright, little one, you go and watch your sister, and I'll have a talk with your mean old uncle."
"Ok, Papa." Faramir jumped from my lap and ran off out into the hallway towards Niphredil's room. When he was gone, I heaved a sigh, and looked at Merry.
"What happened?"
Merry laughed. "Nothing, nothing. He's a handful, Pip. I don't know how you manage."
"It's easy, Merry, and you're giving us lots of extra help, too. I don't know why you and Estella don't want your own."
"Too much of a handful. You know Estella." Merry rolled his eyes, and laughed. "Besides, I remember when we were little. What if we have children who turn out like us?"
"You couldn't be talking about me?" I say, my eyes widening innocently. "Sweet, innocent, little Peregrin Took, who never ever got in trouble on his own free will and was always being dragged into trouble by big, bad Meriadoc Brandybuck?"
"We're not talking about the same hobbit lad, are we? I'm talking about naughty little Peregrin Took who always broke things and blamed it on his poor older cousin, who always got in trouble."
It's times like these that I'm glad Merry's my cousin. No matter what I did to him when we were little, he always loved me, and always protected me from anything.
"If you did have a son, what would you name him?"
He gets that thinking look again, and grins at me. "Aragorn."
We both snort with laughter. "Oh, come, Merry, seriously. How Hobbit-like is that?"
"I'm being serious, Pip. You named your son Faramir, which, may I remind you, is also not "Hobbit-like", so what says I can't call mine after the King of Gondor? After all, if not for him, we might not be here."
"I'm hurt, Merry, that you wouldn't name him after me."
"Why should I? You didn't name your son after me!" He protests, laughter dancing in his eyes.
"Maybe next time I will." I say, rolling my eyes at him and sticking out my tongue.
"You are so immature, Pippin." Merry says, rolling his eyes, and shaking his head. "You always were."
"Well, I'm younger, aren't I?"
"Still,"
"Remember, Merry, remember that one time we took Annabella Bolger with us to raid Farmer Maggot's crops?"
"Oh, how could I forget? The Hobbit lass I had an infatuation on for seven months? You told me to give her that apple, and there was a worm in it, and she ate the worm?"
"Bit it right in half!"
"Yes, and she slapped me, and told me she hated me, and stormed off and hasn't spoken to me since?"
"Yes, that's the one!"
"You knew that worm was in that apple, didn't you, Pippin?"
I shrug innocently. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't."
"Why you little...you little..." I have to hold in the will to laugh, as Merry tries to think up an insult to throw at me. "You little worm!"
"Oh, Merry that was awful. I know you can come up with a better insult than that."
He just started to open his mouth again, when Faramir came running in the room. He pulled on my shirt.
"Papa, Papa! PAPA!" He screamed.
"Shh, Faramir, be quiet, you'll wake your sister." At this, he burst into enourmous tears.
"Papa! She's blue and she won't wake up, and I tried to make her wake up, but she won't, and she won't move!"