Afterlithe, 1420
The heat of summer was upon them, and four hobbits lay underneath the shade of a large willow tree near the Smials. There was a pond nearby and a breeze grazed over the top of the pond, cooling the group slightly. The birds sang cheerily in the trees despite the sun's warmth and all nature seemed to be enjoying itself.
"Do you remember we used to lay out here when we were just little ones?" Estella asked dreamily, leaning against her new husband despite the heat. Merry smiled down at her and kissed her forehead which was damp with the sweat of a summer's day.
Diamond looked up from the daisy chain she was weaving and nodded to Stella and Pippin chortled "Like right now, then? Don't talk so old Stella dear, we're young yet. Diamond is a tween still if you remember." Diamond shook her head and smiled at Pippin, then looked back to her weaving. She and Pippin sat apart from each other, but she desired to be pressed against him as Stella was to her Meriadoc.
Though Diamond was obeying her father's wishes, despite the fact she wanted nothing more then to spend a few moments kissing Peregrin.
After he realised that Pippin and his daughter seemed to fancy the other, Diamond's father had been unwilling to leave the two alone without chaperones. Thus the respectable, married, pair of Brandybucks sat watching young Pippin and his Diamond of Long Cleeve.
"Kiss your sparkling lass Pip, we won't tell." Merry chuckled as Stella stretched her neck out, her lips begging for his, and he complied planting a long kiss upon her lips.
Pippin laughed quietly and said. "Some chaperones you are. Why if you two weren't married I would march right off and tell Stella's father what a wicked example to young, impressionable hobbits you are Merry."
That warranted another small chuckle from Merry, and Diamond turned to Pippin and with a small giggle, plopped the daisy chain right upon his mop of fair curls. "So kiss me then Pippin, or are you going to ignore your chaperone's advice?" Pippin looked into her eyes and gave a lopsided grin. Before he could speak though, Diamond quickly kissed his lips and settled back down on the ground. She rested her head in his lap and looked up at him.
"The flowers suit you Pip." She surveyed her handiwork atop his crown of golden curls and smiled.
"They don't suit me nearly as much as a diamond does." He winked, and Stella burst out laughing from a few feet away.
"Stars, Pippin you have been listening too much to Merry: he's rubbing off on you. Don't listen to him, he says the silliest things."
"He's romantic." Diamond protested hotly and Merry added incredulously, "Romantic, my cousin? Diamond, dear, you have him confused for someone else. Though I will agree with the flowers, they suit him as well as any lass." Merry chuckled and Diamond made a face at him.
She glared at him for a few moments, but Pippin bent down to kiss her frown away, ignoring Merry's small jab about his looks. Diamond rolled her eyes, having not been seriously angry in the first place and stretched her hand out to pull his face down toward hers again.
This time when Pippin leaned over to kiss her, the daises fell off right on to Diamond's face and she began to giggle. Perhaps it was the heat, or perhaps it was simply the joy the four felt in the presence of the others but Diamond's laughter grew, until the laughter of four hobbits carried on the breeze, mixing in with the chirping of the summer birds.