Moving Day

A/N: Written for a hobbit_ficathon challenge.

“Well, that’s the last one,” Merry said as he and Pippin carried the heavy trunk inside and set it down in the wide hall already littered with furniture, crates of books and sacks of clothing.

Mopping his sweaty brow with a handkerchief, Merry looked around at their many belongings and sighed, thinking of the work that lay ahead. “Well, Pip, let’s get some of this cleared away so we can walk,” he said, beginning to make a path in the crowded passageway.

When no response was heard from Pippin, Merry turned and looked through the doorway, shading his eyes from the bright sunlight. His cousin sat in the now-empty cart, his legs dangling over the edge.

“Oi, Pippin!” Merry called. “Come back inside, we’ve got to get some of this put away before tonight.”

Pippin made no attempt to move and Merry sighed again, this time in annoyance. Muttering something about lazy Tooks, he marched over to the cart, but one look at his cousin’s face was all Merry needed to realize that a gentler approach was necessary. His cousin had kept up a steady stream of chatter as they travelled across the Shire and unloaded the cart, but now, it seemed, that Pippin had fully realized what he had done by moving out of the Great Smials.

Without a word Merry swung up the back of the cart and settled himself beside his cousin. Together they sat in silence as the warm sun beat down against their faces until Pippin began to speak.

“No one understands, Merry,” he said quietly, “except for you and Frodo and Sam. It hurts my parents and sisters to see me in a dark mood, and not smiling all the time, and it hurts me that they can’t understand.”  

“I’m glad they can’t understand, and that my parents can’t either,” Merry replied softly. “We saw too much, Pip, did too much. I wouldn’t want any of them to experience that.”

“Neither do I,” Pippin agreed. “It’s just that I thought we would be able to forget all the bad things that had happened. But all anyone ever wants to hear about are our adventures, and they want the stories to sound fun and exciting, without giving any thought to the dangers behind them.” He sniffled loudly, and rubbed away the tears dripping down his face.

“Oh, Pip,” Merry said, smiling sadly as he wrapped an arm around his cousin’s shoulders and pulled him close. “We were the same once, you know. We thought Bilbo’s adventure was nothing more than a walking party with dwarves for company.”

Pippin let out a short, sniffly laugh. “But we’re not like that anymore, Merry, and we will never be that way again,” he said, sighing shakily. “I thought everything would be like it was before we left, and that when we came home things would go back to normal, and we could be happy and carefree again. It was such a foolish thought.”

“It’s not foolish at all,” Merry replied. “During all those long months we always thought of home. And now that we’re back, we are the ones who have changed and are different. The Shire is still the same, and it’s still home. That’s a comforting thought, at least.”

Merry searched Pippin’s face and the small smile forming there encouraged him to continue.

“We just need some time to adjust,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “And I think our families need time to get used to us. We’ve changed so much, Pip. It must have been a terrible shock to them to see how different we have become. It will get better – or, at least, easier.”

“I hope it does,” Pippin whispered. “But it never did get better for Bilbo, did it? Everyone always kept on thinking he was strange after he came back.” He looked up at Merry with concerned eyes. “Do you think that will happen to Frodo, Merry? I worry about him, you know, living all alone in that big smial. I wish he would come to live with us here at Crickhollow.”

“Frodo will be all right,” Merry said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. “He has Sam to keep him in line, after all. Besides, you know that Frodo needs his quiet time, to read and write and think. And there’s never any quiet when you’re around,” he added, bumping Pippin with his shoulder.

“Oi!” Pippin cried, feigning insult as he deftly hopped down from the cart. “I was sitting out here minding my own business while you carried on, yelling at me from the house.”  

“Speaking of which, our little house is a mess. I can hardly get my feet past the door. We’ll need to start unpacking – that is, of course, if you still plan on living with your noisy cousin,” Merry said with a smile. He made to follow Pippin, but slipped a little, and Pippin quickly extended a hand to help Merry down.

“Of course I will,” Pippin replied with a grin. “You need someone to keep you in line, too, you know.”

“Yes,” Merry agreed with a laugh. “I certainly do.”