A/N: A letter from Pippin to Bilbo, in response to Shirebound’s letter-writing challenge.

(Written in Pippin’s best handwriting - until the last three lines, which were rather scrawled).

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To: Bilbo Baggins

c/o: Gandalf

Dear Bilbo,

I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed your party, since I didn’t get a chance to tell you before. It was the best party I’ve ever been to, and it was very clever how you disappeared like that! It was very exciting too, just like being in one of your stories. There were a lot of people who weren’t so pleased though, like Frodo, and because of that I had to go home instead of stay at Bag End with him like we’d planned.

When are you coming back? I did enjoy the joke and I expect you’re having a lot more adventures now, but we all miss you, especially Frodo. He’s rather lonely, I think, up in Hobbiton all by himself. I told him that you have to come back because you did the last time you went away, and this time you’ll have even more stories to tell, and what is the point of having more adventures if you don’t come back and tell us about them? That didn’t make him feel much better, I don’t think, although he smiled and told me not to worry.

That’s really why I’m writing, Bilbo, as well as for the other reasons. I think Frodo and Merry might go off on an adventure too, and try and find you, and it’s not fair because I’m not old enough to go yet and they won’t let me go with them. If they do go without me and find you one day, will you tell them to come back home again? Because they’d need me if they went on an adventure, they really would, and I wouldn’t be slow at all, and I wouldn’t complain if I got hungry or anything. I’m just not quite big enough to fight goblins yet, but I will be if they would just wait a little. Of course, I’m sure that you’ll be back soon enough and there won’t be any need for that kind of adventure, but I don’t want them to run off and leave me before you get back.

I forgot to say that I hope this letter finds you well – but I expect you won’t have so much trouble this time because you know all about spiders and trolls and goblins now, and I should think you’ll keep away from them, won’t you? I don’t really know when you’ll get this, but I’m going to ask Gandalf to give it to you, as he seems like the sort of person that would know where to find you. I hope he doesn’t forget to give it to you when he sees you, because it’s very important.

It’s time for tea now, Bilbo.

Love,

Your cousin, Pippin