Chapter Two - The Long Expected Party
CassieOwls: Thanks for your review! lol, even though you're the only one there! Don't you feel so special??
Warnings: AU
Disclaimer: I don't own LotR, thank God. Not in a bad way, I just wouldn't be able to contain myself. It might drive me to insanity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, Hobbits from all over the Shire arrived in Hobbiton for the one hundred and eleventh birthday of Bilbo Baggins, beloved by many, but still considered slightly mad. Of course, there were always the Sackville- Bagginses. They were relatives of Bilbo and his nephew Frodo, but they had been eying Bag End for the longest time. They didn't think Frodo was the rightful heir, but Bilbo knew better than to allow *them* to inherit his home and good fortune.
As the band began to play and the Hobbits began to engage in joyful dancing, Pippin, Merry, Lexi and Meridol arrived, looking as presentable as they could, each with a wide grin on their face. Immediately, Pippin and Merry were pulled off to help with the festivities: Merry had to help carry Bilbo's large cake, and Pippin was asked to play in the band for a bit. Lexi and Meridol began to join the dancing, and it wasn't long before the joy of the evening filled their heads, forcing them to forget anything but dancing and laughter.
Pippin finally pulled away from the band, having played that stupid guitar until his fingers hurt. He picked up a half pint of ale, and strolled over to where Lexi now sat. He sat beside her, giving her a pat on the back. She glanced at him, smiling slightly at the mug in his hand.
"Getting pished already, Pip?" she asked, smirking.
Pippin took a swig. "That's what birthday parties are all about, my dear." He spotted Frodo on the dance floor, smiling. "You should ask Frodo to dance." He motioned towards the blue-eyed Baggins with his mug. Lexi eyed him with mocking bitterness.
"That's none of your business, Peregrin Took," she said, sitting up straight. He cringed slightly. She always used his full name when she was upset with him, and he didn't really like his full name. He much preferred Pippin.
"Aw, come on, Lexi," he insisted after a moment. "You know you want to, and it's not like he would say no."
"He might," Lexi returned. "He barely even knows me. How would that look? Two perfect strangers dancing together."
Pippin shrugged. "No one else knows that you're perfect strangers."
Lexi rolled her eyes, saying nothing. Pippin sighed, then stood. "I'm going to have another ale. Be right back." He walked over to a keg and refilled his mug. He spotted Frodo nearby, talking to Fatty Bolger, Meridol's cousin. Grinning, he hurried over, making sure Lexi wasn't watching.
"Evenin', Frodo," he greeted. "Sorry to interrupt, but I have a small favor to ask you."
Frodo smiled. "No need to apologize, Pippin. What sort of favor do you need?"
* * *
Merry set his side of the cake platter down on the table with a huff. It was a heavy cake and had taken five Hobbits to carry it. He now looked for his cousin or the girls, but spotting neither, he took up a mug of ale and watched the wizard Gandalf intently. He had been working on a plan to snatch some of his fireworks all day, and maybe now would be a good time to make sure the plan would work.
"Hullo, Merry." The voice made him jump, snapping out of his thoughts. He turned to face Meridol, who had just plopped down next to him on the bench. He smiled slightly.
"You have the strangest way of doing that," he told her.
"Doing what?"
"Surprising me like that. I'll be lost in thought somewhere and you'll come along with a 'Hullo Merry' to bring me back to reality. It's. . .interesting."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
He laughed. "There's no need to apologize, Meridol! I was simply stating a fact." There was a slight pause. "So. . .enjoying the party?"
"It's just like any other birthday party so far. Except that the one it's for is a rather strange old Hobbit who has a way of confusing you."
"He told you about the Dwarves again, didn't he?"
Meridol blushed. "Yes."
Merry laughed again, standing and pulling her up. "Come on, let's go get you something to drink."
* * *
Lexi sighed as Pippin returned to her side. He gave her a serious, and somewhat drunken, look. "You should really ask him to dance."
"Pippin! For the last time, I am NOT going to-"
"Excuse me?" Lexi turned around, gasping silently when she saw Frodo standing behind her. She hoped he hadn't overheard what she said. He watched her expectantly a moment, before she realized that she should speak.
"Yes?"
He held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"
Lexi almost fainted, but slowly nodded and took his hand. Pippin grinned as he watched her begin to dance with him. "Yeah. . .I'm such a good person." He took a swig of ale.
* * *
A few hours later, the four of them were standing in a tent, waiting in anticipation for something. Pippin turned to Merry. "So, what are we doing again?"
"I'm going to wait until Gandalf isn't looking, then you, Pippin, are going to steal one of his fireworks and bring it back in here," Merry instructed for what seemed like the millionth time.
"What are the girls doing?"
"They're going to create a diversion if anything goes wrong."
"I see." Merry nodded, patting Pippin on the back before ducking out of the tent. A few moments later, Merry hit him from outside the tent, and Pippin disappeared as well. Lexi and Meridol leaned closer to the sides, listening.
"No, no, the big one! Big one!" the heard Merry hiss. There was a sound of scrambling and then running. Pippin appeared back in the tent, a large, dragon-shaped firework in his hands. After a few moments, Merry followed, chewing an apple thoughtfully.
"Hand me a match," Pippin said to Lexi. She looked around in a box before finding one, handing it to him. Merry wasn't paying attention, offering Meridol a bite of his apple, which she declined. When he did look over, Pippin was lighting the wick.
"You're supposed to stick it in the ground!" Merry hissed.
"It *is* in the ground!" Pippin returned.
"Outside!"
"This was your idea!"
Merry turned to the girls. "Start a diversion! A big diversion!" Suddenly, the firework exploded. The four screamed in surprise and were thrown to the ground, covered in gunpowder. The firework flew into the air, taking the tent with it, and once it was high enough, exploded into a bright flash of sparkling red and orange. It became a giant dragon, and as it flew back down towards the party, Hobbits began running around frantically. They all hit the dirt as the dragon flew just inches above their heads, then spiraled towards the horizon and. . .BAM!!! Exploded into a thousand fiery stars. They all cheered.
Lexi, Pippin, Merry and Meridol stood, wide-eyed. Meridol laughed softly, smiling. "Was that a big enough diversion?"
* * *
Of course, their little plot ended up with the four Hobbits washing everyone's dishes for them. Lexi soon grew quite tired of drying off dishes as Pippin handed them to her. However, her attention was diverted when the Hobbits began cheering. Bilbo was walking up to the front of the lawn.
"Speech!" everyone shouted happily. He held up his hands to quiet them.
"My dear Bagginses and Boffins!" he began, and was followed by cheers. "Tooks and Brandybucks!" Cheers. "Grubbs!" Cheers. "Chubbs!" More cheers. "Hornblowers!" More cheers. "Bracegirdles!" Yet more cheers. "And Proudfoots!"
"Proudfeet!" one old Proudfoot called out. The crowd laughed briefly, before Bilbo continued.
"Today is my one hundred and eleventh birthday!" he cried. A chorus of "Happy birthday"s followed. "Alas, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to live amongst such excellent and admirable Hobbits."
Meridol smiled to herself at this, realizing suddenly that Bilbo looked far younger than 111. She waved it aside; it wasn't her place to question such respectable Hobbits as Bilbo Baggins.
"I don't know half of you as well as I should like," Bilbo went on, "and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." The guests looked around at each other in confusion. Lexi noted that Gandalf smirked. "I. . .er. . .have things to do." Bilbo's hands folded behind his back. Meridol's brow furrowed in questioning as she stared up at him. He whispered something inaudible. "I regret to announce that this is the end. I'm going now. I wish you all a very fond farewell. Goodbye." And he disappeared. Lexi gasped, dropping the plate that was in her hands, causing it the shatter. The guests were in dissarray. As she bent down to clean her mess, Lexi noticed the shocked look on Frodo, who hadn't moved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Ok, this chapter was a *bit* more exciting. Not much, I'll admit, but think about the movie. Was it really all that exciting towards the beginning? I didn't think so. Please review!
CassieOwls: Thanks for your review! lol, even though you're the only one there! Don't you feel so special??
Warnings: AU
Disclaimer: I don't own LotR, thank God. Not in a bad way, I just wouldn't be able to contain myself. It might drive me to insanity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, Hobbits from all over the Shire arrived in Hobbiton for the one hundred and eleventh birthday of Bilbo Baggins, beloved by many, but still considered slightly mad. Of course, there were always the Sackville- Bagginses. They were relatives of Bilbo and his nephew Frodo, but they had been eying Bag End for the longest time. They didn't think Frodo was the rightful heir, but Bilbo knew better than to allow *them* to inherit his home and good fortune.
As the band began to play and the Hobbits began to engage in joyful dancing, Pippin, Merry, Lexi and Meridol arrived, looking as presentable as they could, each with a wide grin on their face. Immediately, Pippin and Merry were pulled off to help with the festivities: Merry had to help carry Bilbo's large cake, and Pippin was asked to play in the band for a bit. Lexi and Meridol began to join the dancing, and it wasn't long before the joy of the evening filled their heads, forcing them to forget anything but dancing and laughter.
Pippin finally pulled away from the band, having played that stupid guitar until his fingers hurt. He picked up a half pint of ale, and strolled over to where Lexi now sat. He sat beside her, giving her a pat on the back. She glanced at him, smiling slightly at the mug in his hand.
"Getting pished already, Pip?" she asked, smirking.
Pippin took a swig. "That's what birthday parties are all about, my dear." He spotted Frodo on the dance floor, smiling. "You should ask Frodo to dance." He motioned towards the blue-eyed Baggins with his mug. Lexi eyed him with mocking bitterness.
"That's none of your business, Peregrin Took," she said, sitting up straight. He cringed slightly. She always used his full name when she was upset with him, and he didn't really like his full name. He much preferred Pippin.
"Aw, come on, Lexi," he insisted after a moment. "You know you want to, and it's not like he would say no."
"He might," Lexi returned. "He barely even knows me. How would that look? Two perfect strangers dancing together."
Pippin shrugged. "No one else knows that you're perfect strangers."
Lexi rolled her eyes, saying nothing. Pippin sighed, then stood. "I'm going to have another ale. Be right back." He walked over to a keg and refilled his mug. He spotted Frodo nearby, talking to Fatty Bolger, Meridol's cousin. Grinning, he hurried over, making sure Lexi wasn't watching.
"Evenin', Frodo," he greeted. "Sorry to interrupt, but I have a small favor to ask you."
Frodo smiled. "No need to apologize, Pippin. What sort of favor do you need?"
* * *
Merry set his side of the cake platter down on the table with a huff. It was a heavy cake and had taken five Hobbits to carry it. He now looked for his cousin or the girls, but spotting neither, he took up a mug of ale and watched the wizard Gandalf intently. He had been working on a plan to snatch some of his fireworks all day, and maybe now would be a good time to make sure the plan would work.
"Hullo, Merry." The voice made him jump, snapping out of his thoughts. He turned to face Meridol, who had just plopped down next to him on the bench. He smiled slightly.
"You have the strangest way of doing that," he told her.
"Doing what?"
"Surprising me like that. I'll be lost in thought somewhere and you'll come along with a 'Hullo Merry' to bring me back to reality. It's. . .interesting."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
He laughed. "There's no need to apologize, Meridol! I was simply stating a fact." There was a slight pause. "So. . .enjoying the party?"
"It's just like any other birthday party so far. Except that the one it's for is a rather strange old Hobbit who has a way of confusing you."
"He told you about the Dwarves again, didn't he?"
Meridol blushed. "Yes."
Merry laughed again, standing and pulling her up. "Come on, let's go get you something to drink."
* * *
Lexi sighed as Pippin returned to her side. He gave her a serious, and somewhat drunken, look. "You should really ask him to dance."
"Pippin! For the last time, I am NOT going to-"
"Excuse me?" Lexi turned around, gasping silently when she saw Frodo standing behind her. She hoped he hadn't overheard what she said. He watched her expectantly a moment, before she realized that she should speak.
"Yes?"
He held out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"
Lexi almost fainted, but slowly nodded and took his hand. Pippin grinned as he watched her begin to dance with him. "Yeah. . .I'm such a good person." He took a swig of ale.
* * *
A few hours later, the four of them were standing in a tent, waiting in anticipation for something. Pippin turned to Merry. "So, what are we doing again?"
"I'm going to wait until Gandalf isn't looking, then you, Pippin, are going to steal one of his fireworks and bring it back in here," Merry instructed for what seemed like the millionth time.
"What are the girls doing?"
"They're going to create a diversion if anything goes wrong."
"I see." Merry nodded, patting Pippin on the back before ducking out of the tent. A few moments later, Merry hit him from outside the tent, and Pippin disappeared as well. Lexi and Meridol leaned closer to the sides, listening.
"No, no, the big one! Big one!" the heard Merry hiss. There was a sound of scrambling and then running. Pippin appeared back in the tent, a large, dragon-shaped firework in his hands. After a few moments, Merry followed, chewing an apple thoughtfully.
"Hand me a match," Pippin said to Lexi. She looked around in a box before finding one, handing it to him. Merry wasn't paying attention, offering Meridol a bite of his apple, which she declined. When he did look over, Pippin was lighting the wick.
"You're supposed to stick it in the ground!" Merry hissed.
"It *is* in the ground!" Pippin returned.
"Outside!"
"This was your idea!"
Merry turned to the girls. "Start a diversion! A big diversion!" Suddenly, the firework exploded. The four screamed in surprise and were thrown to the ground, covered in gunpowder. The firework flew into the air, taking the tent with it, and once it was high enough, exploded into a bright flash of sparkling red and orange. It became a giant dragon, and as it flew back down towards the party, Hobbits began running around frantically. They all hit the dirt as the dragon flew just inches above their heads, then spiraled towards the horizon and. . .BAM!!! Exploded into a thousand fiery stars. They all cheered.
Lexi, Pippin, Merry and Meridol stood, wide-eyed. Meridol laughed softly, smiling. "Was that a big enough diversion?"
* * *
Of course, their little plot ended up with the four Hobbits washing everyone's dishes for them. Lexi soon grew quite tired of drying off dishes as Pippin handed them to her. However, her attention was diverted when the Hobbits began cheering. Bilbo was walking up to the front of the lawn.
"Speech!" everyone shouted happily. He held up his hands to quiet them.
"My dear Bagginses and Boffins!" he began, and was followed by cheers. "Tooks and Brandybucks!" Cheers. "Grubbs!" Cheers. "Chubbs!" More cheers. "Hornblowers!" More cheers. "Bracegirdles!" Yet more cheers. "And Proudfoots!"
"Proudfeet!" one old Proudfoot called out. The crowd laughed briefly, before Bilbo continued.
"Today is my one hundred and eleventh birthday!" he cried. A chorus of "Happy birthday"s followed. "Alas, eleventy-one years is far too short a time to live amongst such excellent and admirable Hobbits."
Meridol smiled to herself at this, realizing suddenly that Bilbo looked far younger than 111. She waved it aside; it wasn't her place to question such respectable Hobbits as Bilbo Baggins.
"I don't know half of you as well as I should like," Bilbo went on, "and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve." The guests looked around at each other in confusion. Lexi noted that Gandalf smirked. "I. . .er. . .have things to do." Bilbo's hands folded behind his back. Meridol's brow furrowed in questioning as she stared up at him. He whispered something inaudible. "I regret to announce that this is the end. I'm going now. I wish you all a very fond farewell. Goodbye." And he disappeared. Lexi gasped, dropping the plate that was in her hands, causing it the shatter. The guests were in dissarray. As she bent down to clean her mess, Lexi noticed the shocked look on Frodo, who hadn't moved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Ok, this chapter was a *bit* more exciting. Not much, I'll admit, but think about the movie. Was it really all that exciting towards the beginning? I didn't think so. Please review!
