Frodo turned to the full-length mirror in his bedroom, and gave a sigh of frustration. He smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles from his ornately embroidered waistcoat for the hundredth time that day with nervous determination. "Bilbo, do I look alright? Does everything fit right?" Bilbo jokingly rolled his eyes and nodded. Frodo turned around to face the older hobbit. "Bilbo, I'm serious. Are you sure I look alright?"
Bilbo chuckled and sat down on the edge of Frodo's bed. "Yes, my boy, I'm sure." He gave Frodo a small smile, and added "He won't know what hit him." Frodo blushed and looked down at his nearly immaculately groomed feet. "Th-that's not what I meant, Bilbo." Bilbo gave him an amused look. "Oh it wasn't? And what did you mean by it? Because I'm sure I can find no other explanation for you to have been scampering about for weeks making sure everything, including that new outfit of yours, is perfect for Samwise's arrival. Surely you don't think me as dimwitted as that. I am a Baggins after all, not some silly Bracegirdle-"
Frodo interrupted his cousin's babbling "I know that! I just want to look-presentable, that's all. Everything here is new for him, I want him to feel comfortable here." Bilbo stood up and walked over to Frodo. "I know, lad. He'll love it. He's been waiting for this just as long as you have. He's heard the sea, heard the call from the West, beckoning him. Probably for some time now. He's had a long journey, just as you had. I'll wager he's just impatient as you are to be reunited again."
Frodo sighed, and closed his eyes. "It's been sixty years, Bilbo. He stayed in the Shire, had a family, moved on, while I've been here and done nothing but pine away and wonder what he's up to, and when he'll come back to me. It's a foolish notion, believing that after being happily married, raising a family, becoming a hero, that he'll even want to be with me, an old, tired wisp of a hobbit, with nine fingers."
He stared painfully at his hand. The wound had healed long ago, the bite marks now vague scar patterns. But not even the healing powers of the Grey Havens could undo the damage inflicted in the infernos of Mount Doom. Even now Frodo still would wake suddenly in the night, with throbbing, burning pains where his finger had been and around his neck. The Ring had left it's mark.
"Frodo Baggins, you of all people should know that Sam is not the sort to forget about the past. Since he was a lad back in the Shire, that hobbit did nothing but serve you as best as he could, toiling in the gardens while you sat and dreamed of adventures. When you finally left the Shire, he left all his life behind and followed you, so he could look after you. He got stabbed, drowned, starved and burned for you, and you think that sixty years and a nice hobbit lass will make him forget that?"
Bilbo realized then how unintentionally harsh his words had been. He rested a hand on Frodo's shoulder. Frodo hung his head, guilt filling his innocently blue eyes. "I don't deserve him, Bilbo. Not then either. I don't see why he did all those things. I'm glad Rosie took him from me, I'm glad she made him see that he can do so much better than me, because all I wanted was for him to be happy, even if it meant giving him up. I bet he regrets ever leaving the Shire."
Bilbo's eyes softened. "Frodo, how could you think those things? I can tell you exactly why he did all those things. I can also tell you how he used to look at you, those evenings back in Bag End, when you would read from your favorite Elvish books. He looked at you like you were everything in the world, like the moon and the stars revolved around you. He loved you, my lad, and I'm sure he still does. The bond of soul mates can't easily be broken, not even after a hellish journey and the smiles of a pretty barmaid. You two are soul mates, Frodo, and whether you see it or not, you both deserve each other more than anything else."
Frodo turned to his cousin, who after his parent's death had been the closest to a father figure he had ever had, and gave him a huge hug. Bilbo patted his back comfortingly. "There there, my boy, you don't want to have wrinkles in your clothes now, do you?" Frodo pulled away, wiping the tears from his eyes, and smiled warmly. At that moment an elf walked in, standing in the doorway. "Master Baggins, I have been sent to inform you that Mr. Gamgee's ship is close to the dock. They should arrive shortly. With that he gave a polite bow and walked back down the hall.
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Reunions and Promises by ZoSo Gamgee Baggins
Story notes: See, this is what happens when you leave a shipper alone on Winter vacation with a DVD Player, the internet, and a nearby movie theater showing TTT. Let that be a warning. This is such fluff, but I like fluff, so it's all good. Oh, yea, the Elvish. Yea, I wrote that poem myself (I can hear the shouts of "dork!" now), and yea, it's actually not gibberish, I just didn't feel like putting in a translation (it loses a lot in translation), although this poem might show up in later chapters. Oh, and my Elvish ain't great, any corrections with the grammar and such would be great.
