Title: The Last Great Adventure
Rating: G
Category: Gen, Slash
Notes: Chibitoaster gave me this idea when she discussed a comic idea, and thanks to her this grew into a bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. Many thanks to her for betaing, too!
Summary: Bilbo Baggins travels to the Undying Lands as his last great adventure.
Pairing: Thorin Oakenshield/Bilbo Baggins
Warnings: None
Dedications: None
Disclaimer: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. I do not own his wonderful characters, but the story is all mine.
Feedback: Please?
Hobbits are not keen on water. When I was younger, I wasn't keen on it either. Not when I heard plenty of stories of hobbits drowning in the Brandywine River from the Old Took. Those stories were what made me stay away from water. My fear of it only grew after seeing Bombur landing in that cursed river in Mirkwood and going through those terrifying rapids clinging onto a barrel. Yet remembering those experiences also made me realise that an elven ship would be safer than any of what I'd experienced.
That was how I approached the ship that would leave Middle-earth, the ship that would take me on my last great adventure.
The trip to the Undying Lands was a calm one. The breezes were gentle across my face. I could smell the saltiness in the air, which I didn't recognise at first but grew to love. And the water . . . it was so clear, so blue, reminding me of the blue eyes of my loved ones.
During our journey, I watched Frodo, watched how his weary expression changed. His eyes were no longer heavy with sadness, and his pale, gaunt face slowly gained colour and fullness. He looked like the hobbit I knew at my eleventy-first birthday.
He wasn't the only one who changed as we got closer to the Undying Lands. I felt changes of my own. I began to think clearer, and my body no longer felt weak. One day I woke up, and I saw that I'd grown younger. I looked in the mirror and I saw a face from the past - fewer wrinkles, smoother skin, brown hair . . . I was fifty again.
When we docked at the Undying Lands, I stepped off the ship, with the sun's glare in my eyes. I squinted and I saw a figure standing there. I blinked and studied its silhouette, which looked strangely familiar. It was of someone taller than me, with broad shoulders and a stocky build. I slowly approached the figure, and his beard, his long hair and braids became visible to me, but then everything turned blurry. Slowly, he raised his arms, and I did the only thing I could do then.
I ran to him, I ran into the strong arms, and when he wrapped them around me, I returned the favour and whispered, "I'm home."