A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I had. Things get pretty serious from here onwards. Anyway, I'm way too sleep-lacked to ramble on, so here it is. Read and (HOPEFULLY) review, and most of all, enjoy.
Disclaimer: No, seriously, what do you think?!
Chapter 6 – RainfallPippin had slept through all morning, and woke up feeling something jabbing his rib. As he peeled open his eyelids he found that Merry was standing not a few inches to his right, holding a long branch and poking at him. "Finally, you're awake. I had half the mind thinking you were dead or something. What are you doing all the way here?"
And suddenly, he remembered what had happened the night before. Yes, Poppy brought him over here, and…
"Pippin! We were looking everywhere for you! Don't go wondering around again like that!" came a voice from behind Merry. That was Poppy, back to her normal self again, Mother Hen and all, rest assured. But what did she mean by 'looking everywhere for you'? Didn't she just bring me here herself?
"But I thought that –that you…brought me here last night –and and…"
"How many drinks did you have, lad?"
"Must've been quite a bit if he was sleep-walking all the way back to the glade," suggested Poppy. Pippin lay there dumbstruck; with Merry and Poppy staring back at him as if he were some bizarre creature that fell from the sky. "Had I been dreaming about it all? About the stars and you and-"
Merry snickered and Poppy shook her head and rolled her eyes up to the heavens. By now he could hear Lily-Rose and Diamond's voices calling out, and Merry hollered back at the two. "Perfect, the rest are here. Let's get you off of here before you start talking about any elves or dragons or whatnot. Really, Pippin, you better get hold of yourself soon. Oh dear, what's happened to your hand?!"
Pippin sat up on his elbows, and he realized how much grave pain it was to actually move himself. He winced as he felt little slashes and cuts around his arm and body, and Merry had to help him up on his feet without Pippin falling off again on his bum.
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"You are such a fool, Pippin," Diamond said, giggling. "Now, this is going to hurt a little…"
"Ow-!" squeaked the injured hobbit as Diamond dabbed a ball of cotton on his wounds. "I told you, now, didn't I? The oils might sting a little, but your wounds will grow out of your skin faster than any of Sam's gardenias."
The bit about it being painful was true, and he whimpered again as Diamond softly swabbed on the abrasions. Despite the amount of bruises Pippin suffered through, she was amazingly careful with them and her movements were always soft and gentle. Pippin felt his insides knotting when she came closer and took his arm and carefully dabbed on his gash. Diamond would bite her lower lip as she carefully traced the cuts, and every time she did, locks of her dark hair would fall over her big brown eyes.
"It's like you ran head first into a bush of thorns, Pip! Let me get on that nasty cut right there…" and Diamond came closer, her face not a few inches from Pippin's and carefully, she took a fresh cotton ball and swabbed it slowly and caringly across the slash on the apple of his cheek.
Diamond look amazingly beautiful at this distance, Pippin thought, and he could see her little freckles he hadn't really noticed before. And her crystalline orbs, how innocent they looked…Pippin read through her features while he could, and just as Diamond was done, she found his eyes were shot at hers. The two were lost in each others' gaze for a while, and only when he realized this, Pippin bit his lip, and he flushed pink to the ears, and his sight scattered wildly and stared about their surrounding. Diamond only gave him an earnest smile and planted a kiss on his cheek where it had bruised a little. "That's a little luck for you to heal on…" and you thought he could fluster anymore. Pippin burned, and he flew up to heaven with that little kiss on his cheek, and flew right back down to Middle-earth, where he still lay. "…and in vain hope that you'll stop hurting yourself so much!" continued Diamond, as she left Pippin to himself in the room.
Needless to say, Pippin was walking with a skip to his step, smiling at the neighbours as he passed by. That day he realized that his heart lay in Diamond's hands, and the little hobbit was delirious all afternoon.
"Ah, he's in love he is, that boy," said an old hobbit who was sitting outside his home, pipe in hand. "I'd never think Poppy would ever admit it. About time, too," returned his wife, who was sitting by him. "Admit what, Rosamund?"
"Well, that she loves him, of course! Those two have been around eachother since they could barely walk!"
"Poppy! Poppy? I was talking about Diamond, my dear. Not Poppy,"
"Diamond? Why, bless the stars! I'd never known!" and as easily as that, rumours came to pass around the Shire, but neither Pippin nor Diamond did ever acknowledge or deny them, and they were left as that.
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That day, Pippin lay alone in the cool shade of a tree, and spent the whole afternoon daydreaming of Diamond. He did love her, of course, but he also felt something, a little feeling in his heart that held him back. He never did realize it, but a little bit of Poppy lived in him. He could think about Diamond and her only for a whole week, but he always had that gut feeling that he could never have her, or that something's always stopping his wanting to love her, or that weird sort. He couldn't understand it, but for now, there wasn't a care in the world left for the lad. Fidgeting about, he decided he should tell Merry about this, about the odd feelings he's been getting lately.
Propping up, he dusted himself and walked straight to Merry's little hobbit-hole, only to find that he wasn't in it. Restless and hopeful, he went in search for him still, though dark clouds were already forming in the sky.
Slowly it started to drizzle, but still Pippin scouted around the neighbourhood for his cousin. Alas, his search had led him to a wide glade, and seeing a figure stand beneath a tree he started towards it, in hope to find his friend.
He ran for the tree, a bright smile beamed from his face, with droplets of rain rolling down his cheek and dripping from his dark hair. Merry was there, and Pippin could already hear the sound of his laughing. He ran towards him.
Pippin was already close to him when suddenly, he stopped short. His heart thumped hell upon him, his feet froze to the wet ground. The words Merry had spoken to him before stroke down upon him as thunder rolled across the sky. The rain was falling heavy on him. He didn't expect this.
Well, he didn't expect to see heavy rainfall in Hobbiton. Nobody did.
He didn't expect to see Merry and Poppy together, kissing, either.
~end of chapter 6~
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A/N: ooooh, evil, evil cliffie. Review!