"A Matter of Trust"

"It’s not funny!" Pippin declared. "It isn’t coming off, Merry. What am I going to do?"

"Get used to being green?" Merry suggested between sniggers.

"It has to come off somehow," Pippin said, looking at himself in Frodo’s mirror. "It just has to!" Pippin put his face so close to the mirror that his nose was nearly touching the glass. His image stared back at him in all of its green splendor. Every inch of Pippin’s face was currently as green as grass and no amount of scrubbing had changed that. He raised his hand up and ran it through his curls in frustration and then turned to face Merry. "You have to think of something, Merry!"

"Now wait a minute, cousin," Merry objected, trying hard not to laugh at Pippin’s current predicament. "If you'll recall, this wasn’t entirely my doing."

"Well, you still have to help me, Merry," Pippin objected. "Look at me! I’m green!"

"Yes, you are," Merry said and dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Frodo stuck his head in the door and sighed, "I am going to assume that you two haven’t had any luck getting that mess off Pippin yet." He was speaking to Merry who was still fighting his fit of laughter.

Merry pressed his lips together and shook his head not trusting himself to speak. Pippin glared at him from across the room. "Does it look like we’ve had any luck?" Pippin demanded turning his glare in Frodo's direction.

As Frodo looked back at Pippin, he bit his lower lip to keep from laughing. "No, it doesn’t look as if you've had any luck at all." He smiled and went over to put an arm around Pippin’s shoulders. "Oh, Pippin how do you manage these things?"

Pippin buried his green face in Frodo’s shoulder and moaned softly. "I didn’t mean for it to last. It was just supposed to be a joke. Merry and I just thought it would be funny. It was supposed to wash off when the joke was over."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earlier that evening Frodo had prepared a perfectly dreadful stew for their evening meal. He had used a recipe that he had obtained from one of Bilbo’s old recipe boxes. The stew had sounded very good when Frodo had first read the ingrediants and he had been eager to try something new. He was missing Bilbo a great deal today as it was nearing their shared birthday. That was why Frodo had been going through Bilbo’s recipe box. He was doing a bit of reminiscing about the dear old hobbit and had decided to cheer himself up by making one of Bilbo’s special recipes. He came across one for stew and since he didn't recall every having had this particular stew, he decided to prepare it for a nice change from the usual fare.

Merry and Pippin were visiting him for a few days and he decided to try the recipe out on them. Both of his younger cousins had very hardy appetites. Frodo figured that serving them something new would be a treat for them. He always seemed to make their favorites when they came and never experimented very much.

Frodo was an average cook when it came to most dishes. He had a few specialties that others requested he make, but he was not exactly known for his cooking skills. Sam Gamgee, who lived on the row and did work for Frodo, often did the cooking. Because of this everyone was constantly teasing Frodo about his own skills in the kitchen. Naturally, when you compared Frodo’s cooking to Sam’s, it fell horribly short. Sam Gamgee was one of the best cooks in the Shire. This was a great compliment since hobbits tended to prize excellent cooking above all else. They were a folk who enjoyed eating.

Merry and Pippin dearly loved teasing Frodo about his cooking because it flustered their older cousin so much. That evening had been no exception. The stew had been terrible and neither of Frodo’s guests had held back in the slightest. Both had been more than willing to tell him exactly what they thought of his latest efforts.

"Oh, Frodo! What’s in this, this, whatever it is?" Merry had asked wrinkling up his nose. "Have you cooked us up some of your dirty laundry?"

Pippin laughed and then held his own nose. "It smells like the privy."

Frodo glared at both of them and frowned. "It isn’t that bad. The two of you are entirely too picky." He raised a spoonful of the stew to his own lips and tasted it for the first time. He grimmaced as if in pain. It was that bad. In fact, he choked on it and his eyes watered as he swallowed.

Merry laughed. "Oh, well, from your reaction I can clearly see that it isn’t really that bad, Frodo. Although, I didn't realize that when you liked something you looked as if you might vomit. I've failed to notice that before."

Pippin smirked. "You’re turning green, Frodo. I think that stew is poisonous."

Frodo gulped down some water and frowned at Pippin. "It isn’t poisonous. This is one of Bilbo's recipies and I am quit certain that he did not have a recipe for poison in with his cooking selections! It is more likely that I have made a minor mistake on the ingredients."

"Minor?" Merry laughed. "This isn’t a minor mistake, Cousin. You are very lucky that we all aren’t sick about now. This so-called stew tastes like the stuff that the Gaffer uses to clean barn."

"I thought you said it tasted like dirty laundry," Frodo said, dryly, pushing his bowl away.

"It’s a bit of both I think," Pippin said, taking another spoonful of it and wrinkling his nose up. The lad looked as if he were trying to figure out what the ingredients were by tasting the vile concoction. "It’s a wee bit like something that’s gone over. Yes, that’s it. It’s completely rotten."

"Then quit eating it, you ninny," Merry laughed.

"Well, I was hoping that it might get better with a few more tastes," Pippin said, taking another spoonful. He swallowed it and then frowned. "Sadly, it doesn’t improve at all." He stuck out his tongue. "Just awful."

"I don’t suppose Sam is around just now is he?" Merry asked, teasingly. "We might be able to coax him into making something a bit more, what’s the word I want, Pip?"

"Tasty?" Pippin asked and then quickly added, "Edible, less noxious, less smelly, less likely to take the paint off the front door?"

Merry was laughing uncontrollably. Frodo sighed and grinned at Pippin. It was hard to stay mad at either of them, especially when they were right. "Sam isn’t here just now, Meriadoc."

"So we starve?" Pippin said, dramatically putting his face in his hands as if he might weep.

"Sam has left us to die of hunger right here in Bag End," Merry said, shaking his head and trying to look miserable.

"I can cook, you know," Frodo said, sternly. They looked at him with pity in their eyes and Frodo repeati++ed his declaration. "I can cook!"

Merry and Pippin exchanged knowing looks and then got up from the table. "Would you like us to help you, Frodo?" Merry asked.

Pippin took another bite of the stew and then said, "Yes, Frodo, you want us to help you?"

"No, thank you both but I do not need any help!" Frodo objected. "Now, why don't the two of you find something else to do while I make us another supper. I don’t want either of you in my way. I can cook fine on my own."

"But, Frodo," Merry objected, gently. "You made this." He pointed to the stew. As a sign of agreement Pippin stuck out his tongue.

"I am blaming this disaster on Bilbo," Frodo said. "It was his recipe and I am guessing that he simply copied it down incorrectly."

"I’d blame Bilbo too," Pippin said brightly. "He isn’t here to correct you so he is a very good choice for blame. Always try to place the blame on someone who isn't about to defend themselves. There are far fewer questions that way."

"Get out of my kitchen now," Frodo growled pointing to the back door. "Both of you!"

The two cousins hurried out, giggling as they went. The last thing that Frodo heard was Merry saying, "Pip I hope you don’t get sick. You ate far too much of that stew or whatever it was."

Now, Frodo was standing in his bedroom with his arms around a very green Pippin and looking over at Merry. "What exactly did you two decided to put on him?"

"It’s just something that we concocted while we were in the barn," Merry said with a shrug of his shoulders. "You see, we found a few things out there that we thought could be used to turn Pip green."

"It seems to have worked," Frodo said.

"Well, it was suppose to come off," Pippin said, looking up at Frodo, miserably.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He gets so upset when we tease him about his cooking," Merry laughed as the two cousins entered the barn.

"That was so much fun," Pippin agreed. "That part about asking for Sam was inspired, Merry."

"Yes, well, I knew that would get to him," Merry smiled. "It always does."

"That stuff was awful," Pippin said. "Do you suppose that if it were made properly it would be any good?"

"I doubt it. I think Frodo’s guess that Bilbo left something out of the recipe is close to the truth," Merry admitted. "You know how absent-minded Bilbo was at times. I imagine that he was writing that recipe down while thinking about something else and got it all mixed up. Maybe he left out something important or put in something extra that didn’t belong."

"I remember some things about Bilbo, but not so much as you and Frodo do," Pippin admitted looking slightly sad. "I was only eleven when he left."

"Yes, and that has been so long ago," Merry said, sarcastically, smiling at his seventeen-year-old cousin.

"I know," Pippin said, quite seriously and completely unaware that Merry was teasing him so Merry gave up the effort. He supposed it did seem like a long time ago to Pippin. Sometimes, it seemed like forever since he’d seen Bilbo Baggins. He found that he missed him very much, though not as much, he supposed, as Frodo did.

"What do you suppose Frodo will make now?" Pippin asked, his stomach rumbling a bit.

"I don’t know, but from the way you were managing, you might just as well have eaten the stew,’ Merry said. "How did you stand to take so many bites of it?"

"I was just teasing Frodo is all," Pippin grinned. "It was awful but no worse than some of the things I've had to take when I've been sick."

Merry laughed. "It would be funny if Frodo thought that his stew had made us a bit sick. You know how annoyed he gets when anyone says anything about his cooking. Just imagine the look on his face if he actually thought that he'd made us ill with his cooking!"

"That might be funny," Pippin said but then as he thought about it he wasn't complete certain. "Well, if he didn’t get all worried and send for the healer. I don’t want to wind up in bed with a healer fussing over me just to get in a bit of teasing on Frodo."

"No, and if he sends for a healer and one of us isn’t sick, then he’ll hang us for sure," Merry agreed.

"Too bad I can’t really turn green or something," Pippin said with a smile. "Or maybe I could just pretend to pass out or something and you could tell him that I_" Pippin stopped talking because Merry had that look on his face. It was the look that Merry usually got when he'd come up with a brilliant plan or some wild scheme. Pippin knew that look very well. Merry was plotting. This would be fun. "What are you planning, Merry?"

"What if we could turn you green, Pippin?" Merry smiled.

"How?" Pippin asked.

"Well, the Gaffer has piled all of those clippings from the yard over in that corner of the barn," Merry said, thinking as he went. "What if we took them and mixed them with the white wash and added a few other things to it and stained you green?"

"You could do that?" Pippin asked, looking at the pile of grass clippings skeptically.

"Well, of course I could. You can use plants to make dyes and such," Merry said. "I think we should leave out the white wash and use a bit of oil so that it will spread easier. It will work a bit like finger paints."

Pippin bit his lower lip. "Are you sure, Merry? I mean, can we really make me green?’

"Pip, it’ll be easy," Merry said. "You know how ink sometimes stains your fingers when you're writing? It will be something very like that. Frodo will get a good laugh out of it and he’ll know it isn’t real. No one actually turns green when they’re sick."

"Why am I the one that will be green?" Pippin asked a trace of misgiving creeping into his voice. "I mean, why don’t you turn green this time?’

"Because, I know how to make the dye and you don’t," Merry said, a bit smugly. "Also, you ate more of the stew so it makes more sense that you’d be the one. We might even convince Frodo that the stew did turn you green. After all, Bilbo had some odd friends and he also kept some strange things about. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a recipe that would turn a hobbit green."

"I guess it will be funny to see the look on Frodo’s face," Pippin smiled. "How are you going to do this?" Pippin and Merry both moved over to the grass clipping and looked down at them thoughtfully. Merry was going to do a bit of cooking, as in cooking up a recipe for a hobbit-dying mixture.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, you just stood there and let Merry dye you green?" Frodo asked looking over at Pippin in wonder. The things that Pippin would allow Merry to do to him always amazed Frodo. Pippin was completely trusting of Merry in every situation. It baffled Frodo because often the results were much like now. Pippin wound up in a mess.

"I didn’t know it wouldn’t come off," Pippin said, defensively. "Merry said it would be like ink staining your fingers. That comes off."

Frodo looked over at Merry who was shrugging his shoulders. "I thought it would come off, Frodo. Honestly I did. I only meant to stain Pippin green for the joke. I’ll admit that it is funny, but I didn’t mean to do it."

"It is not funny!" Pippin said, folding his arms over his chest. "What am I going to do? I can’t go anywhere like this. I’m green!"

Frodo groaned. He was realizing that Pippin was probably stuck inside of Bag End and until they could come up with a way to wash the green dye off the lad. The idea of Pippin confined to the smial for days on end was not a pleasing one. Pippin was too restless when he ran out of things to do. This was becoming less amusing by the second.

"Well, we’ll be able to find you in a crowd of other hobbits this way," Merry said, smirking. "Excuse me, but has anyone seen my cousin, Pippin? He's about so high and has green eyes and well, come to think of it, he’s green all over!"

Pippin lunged at Merry and Frodo caught his arm just in time to keep the lad from punching Merry in the face. "None of that, Peregrin Took. You agreed to this and so you can’t blame Merry entirely. Merry should have known better but this is not completely his fault." Frodo gave Merry a very stern look. "Stop torturing him and help me think of something, Meriadoc. You were very quick to come up with a plan to dye your cousin green now let's hear some possible solutions."

"I think I’ve tried everything in your smial on him and nothing seems to be working," Merry said. "I make a very good green dye when I set my mind to it, don’t I?" Merry looked slightly proud of his work. Frodo and Pippin were less than thrilled at the moment but that didn't seem to trouble Merry. Frodo wondered how Merry could be proud of this?

"Do either of you know what you put into the dye?" Frodo asked.

"The clippings from the barn," Pippin said.

"Clippings?" Frodo asked.

"Aye, the Gaffer had put the clippings from the lawn in a pile in the barn. I think that was what gave Merry the idea to begin with," Pippin said.

"No, you gave me the idea, Pip," Merry said. "You said 'too bad I can’t really turn green.' and that made me wonder if perhaps you could be turned green. When I spotted the clippings I knew that you could be green," Merry smiled at Pippin.

Pippin sighed, "I have a very big mouth. Why do you listen to me? I'm a child! You aren't supposed to take me seriously!" Pippin looked very desperate just now. Frodo sighed.

"I have to ask this, Pip," Frodo began. "Are you green everywhere?" He looked over at Pippin's green legs and feet and wondered just how far he and Merry had gone with this.

"Of course not!" Pippin objected, looking shocked while Merry laughed. He reached over and raised his trousers a bit to reveal the upper part of his leg which was still its natural color.

"We did to the elbow on his arms, dyed his neck in the front and a bit on the chest where the shirt parts at the collar, and what you can see of his legs. Oh and his hands and face of course," Merry supplied.

"I should never let the two of you out of my sight," Frodo groaned. "What was I thinking?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You should put some on my legs too or he’ll know it isn’t real," Pippin suggested.

"I think you’re right," Merry said, taking a cloth and rubbing some of the newly-made dye onto Pippin’s right shin. The lad's face was already a very unhealthy-looking green. "I think we better do everything that shows. It’s funnier that way."

"You did a very good job on this stuff, Merry," Pippin smiled as he watched Merry spread the dye on his legs. "How did you learn to do this?"

"I’ve never made actually dye before, but I have watched my mum make it for fabrics. She has more supplies to work with, but this has turned out splendidly." Merry surveyed his work proudly. "I’ll just coat the back of your legs and then I think we’ve got everything ready for our little joke."

"Frodo will be so surprised," Pippin laughed. "Do you think he’ll really suspect that I’m ill?"

Merry smiled, "Probably not, but he will have a good laugh over it. You do look very funny."

"I want to see it before we wash it off," Pippin said. "I’ve never seen a green hobbit before."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Meriadoc, this is without exception the strangest and most ill-advised trick that you two have ever pulled," Frodo sighed, looking at Pippin again. "Pippin is green, Merry. How did you think that you were going to get this off him?"

"I thought it would just wash off, Frodo," Merry said, defensively. "I mean, I didn’t think it would actually be permanent!"

"Permanant!" Pippin said looking horrified. "It can’t be! I can’t be green from now on!"

"You aren't going to be green from now on, Pippin," Frodo said reassuringly. "It may take a while to wear off but it will wear off."

"How long is a while?" Pippin winced, looking very close to tears.

"Honestly, Meriadoc," Frodo growled. "What were you thinking?" Frodo didn't want to attempt to guess how long it might actually take for the green dye to wear off on its own and so he returned his attention to Merry.

"Why are you blaming all of this on me?" Merry asked looking very insulted. "Pippin agreed to this and I do have some of it on my fingers as well."

"You have it on your fingers? Look at me, Merry!" Pippin shouted, beginning to pace about the room waving his arms. "My face is green! I don’t care if your fingers are a bit green!"

Merry was trying hard not to laugh and so was Frodo. Pippin looked very silly. He looked like an angry green blur as he stormed about the room waving his arms. Once he was certain that he could speak without laughing, Frodo said, "Settle down, Pippin. This isn't helping. I have an idea."

Pippin stopped and looked at Frodo hopefully. Frodo took hold of his younger cousin’s shoulders and said, "I think we should put you in a very hot tub of soapy water for an hour or two and let you soak."

"What about his face?" Merry asked. "Should he lay face down in the tub and hold his breath or-"

Frodo glared over at Merry. "Don't be daft. He should take a cloth and wet it and put that over his face. If we can get this stuff to fade a bit that might be a help."

Merry nodded meekly. "I’ll fill up the tub then shall I?"

"With water and soap, Merry and nothing more," Frodo instructed, firmly. He was not taking any changes that Merry might come up with yet another brilliant idea.

Merry left to follow Frodo’s instructions and Pippin looked over at Frodo. "I really don’t think he meant to do this," Pippin said, softly.

"Oh, Pippin, dearest," Frodo sighed hardy able to believe what he was hearing. The child was defending Merry. "Why don’t you ever manage to stay angry at Merry? It might do him some good, you know. It might just teach him not to do these things." He ran a hand through Pippin’s curls which were still, blessedly their natural color.

Pippin shrugged. "He’s Merry." This seemed to be the lad’s only explanation for things.

Just then Merry returned and said, "Water’s ready, Pip. Let’s see if we can fade you a bit."

Pippin nodded and followed Merry to the tub while Frodo tried to puzzle out the relationship between his two younger cousins. He knew that if Merry suddenly told Pippin that they should dye the rest of him green because it might help things that Pippin would go along with it even now. He simply didn't understand why, at seventeen year's of age, Pippin had never mistrusted any of Merry’s ideas. How was such blind faith possible?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later, Pippin was still green. He was very clean, but he was still green. The dye might have faded slightly but not much. The three cousins sat in the parlor and ate a late supper trying hard not to talk about Pippin's current state. Frodo’s second attempt at cooking a meal was much better. He had stuck to something he knew very well. Mushrooms. They all enjoyed his mushrooms very much.

"Well, I suppose we should all get some sleep and tackle things fresh in the morning," Frodo said at last.

"That seems right," Merry agreed. "Tomorrow we will be rested and ready to come up with a better plan."

Pippin sighed. "There isn’t anything we can do and you both know it. It will just have to wear off however long that takes."

"I think that the bath helped a bit," Merry said trying to sound encouraging.

"I think I should get used to being the only green hobbit in the Shire," Pippin grumbled, turning to go to bed.

Merry watched him go and then looked over at Frodo worriedly. "Isn’t there anything we can do?"

"Go to bed, Merry," Frodo said, gently. It was obvious that Merry was concerned. "Tomorrow may bring answers, but more than likely, Pippin is right this time. Unless we can think of something tomorrow then the dye will have to wear off."

Merry nodded. "You think Pippin is terribly angry at me?"

Frodo rolled his eyes. "I don’t think he’s angry in the least, Merry. I think that he should be a bit put out as you may have led him to believe that you knew what you were doing, but he’s not," Frodo said, simply. "For some strange reason, Pippin doesn’t seem to be able to stay angry with you. You might try to remember that the next time you get one of these brilliant ideas. Pippin trusts you, cousin. That gives you a responsibility not to mislead him." Frodo went off to his own bed and left Merry standing there.

"Well I didn’t tell him that he should trust me," Merry muttered to the empty parlour. "No one else does."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pippin sat at the table the next morning playing with his food. He didn’t seem terribly hungry. It was a lovely day outside, but he knew that he was stuck in the smial unless he wanted to be laughed out of Hobbiton.

Merry had tried his best to make small talk and to lighten the mood but nothing was working and so he’d given up trying. Frodo was still angry with him for dying Pippin green and Pippin was depressed by the entire situation. Their lovely visit to Bag End had been spoiled and it was all his fault. Pippin had suggested the idea to him, that much was true, but Pip would never have gone any further if he hadn’t come up with this plan. Merry stirred his eggs around on his plate and sighed. How did one remove green dye from a hobbit?

Just then, someone began pushing the back door open and Pippin disappeared underneath the table in a flash. Frodo turned and smiled at Sam. "Hullo, Sam. How are you this morning?"

"Oh, I’m fine Mister Frodo. I thought you and Mister Merry and Mister Pippin might be needin’ some cooking done this morning, but it looks as if you’ve got a breakfast," Sam smiled. "Hullo, Mister Merry."

"Hullo, Sam," Merry said, laying his fork down.

"Why does everyone insist on thinking I might need cooking done?" Frodo grumbled, getting up to put his plate into the dish pan.

"I just thought what with you havin’ company and all," Sam said, scanning the room. "Where’s Mister Pippin this mornin? Not still a’bed, I hope."

"Might just as well come out of there and get it over with Pip," Merry said, gently, leaning over the edge of the table.

"I think I’ll just stay under here," Pippin said.

Sam frowned and looked over at Frodo. "We had a bit of an accident or something last night, Sam, and Pippin is feeling a bit shy this morning," Frodo said.

"Was anyone hurt?" Sam asked, worried. He never liked the sound of the word, accident and Mister Frodo’s little cousin was always getting himself into something or other. He hoped the lad hadn’t been badly injured.

"Well, no," Merry said. It was much less amusing today and he hated to explain this to Sam. Sam was always so practical and so grown up about things. He was only two years older than Merry was but most of the time he seemed to be closer to Frodo’s age.

There was a slight movement and Pippin crawled out from under the table to stand in front of Sam. "I'm not hurt, just green," Pippin sighed, looking at his toes and probably blushing though just now, it was very hard to tell.

Sam’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open in surprise. "How in all o’ middle earth did you manage that?"

"He had help," Frodo said, looking at Merry who was most definitely blushing.

Pippin looked up at Sam and said, "It has to wear off because nothing will take it off so I guess I’m going to be green for a very long time."

Sam laughed and shook his head. "Did you try the Gaffer’s turpentine? Why that stuff’ll take the paint off of a fence. The Gaffer uses it to take grass stain off of his hands and his tools when he works in the garden and he uses it on all manner o’ stains. Works better than most anything."

"Turpentine?" Frodo said, looking at Sam. "Why didn’t I think of that?"

"Course you have to be careful with it and keep it out o’ your eyes and you have to wash it right off o’ your skin as soon as you can or it will make you break out," Sam warned.

Pippin and Merry were both looking at Sam in amazement now. "Do you think it might work?" Pippin asked.

"I’ll get it and we can give it a try," Sam grinned. "Can’t hurt to try. It will be better than waitin’ for it to wear off. It can’t be easy bein’ green,"

"It’s not," Pippin agreed. With that, Sam left them standing there, staring after him and went to the barn to get the Gaffer’s turpentine.

"Frodo, how does he know these things?" Merry asked.

"He comes from a very practical family, Merry," Frodo smiled. "Unlike us."

Thirty minutes later, Pippin was soaking in a hot tub again only this time he was back to his normal color, if only a bit redder from the scrubbing. As he sat there amid the bubbles and scrubbed his face, Merry sat across from him on a stool, keeping him company.

"Pip, I want to apologize for getting you into this," Merry said. "I really didn’t mean to dye you green for that long."

Pippin smiled at him. "I know, Merry. I’m not angry. Besides, it’s fine now. Sam fixed everything." Pippin splashed a bit of his bath water in Merry’s direction.

Merry grinned. "Sometimes, Pip, you have to try and be a bit skeptical about some of my plans. I get carried away sometimes and I don’t mean to, but I get you in to some pretty interesting fixes."

"I do that to you too, Merry," Pippin said. "I’m not worried. After all, we always have Frodo and Sam to get us out of trouble."

"Pip, if Sam hadn’t suggested the turpentine, you’d still be green," Merry said. "I’m telling you this for your own good. Sometimes you have to refuse to do what I say. Promise me."

Pippin sat up straighter in his bath and tried to look very serious. "I promise that I will refuse to do what you say sometimes, Merry. If you want me to, all you have to do is tell me when and I’ll refuse." Pippin smiled at him.

Merry crossed his eyes in frustration. "Thank you, Pippin."

"I’d do anything for you, Merry,’ Pippin said, ducking under the water.

‘I know," Merry said, softly.

The End

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have no idea how to make dye of any kind so if my description of the process is a bit vague that is the reason. To those of you skilled in the art of dye-making, I apologize for my short-comings in this area.

I also have to give thanks to Billy Joel for the title of this one, "A Matter of Trust" and to Kermit the Frog for teaching us all that "It's not easy being Green".

Also, a big thank you to PIppinfan1988 for her friendship and support. Here's too you, PF! (raises mug and drinks deeply of favorite beverage.)

Thanks for reading!

G.W.