Disclaimers: All canon material from The Lord of the Rings trilogy belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien, New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers and Turbine. All other canon material belongs to their respected owners. All original material belongs to me, the authoress of this fanfiction story.
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"This is a lovely dinner, Frodo," Pearl said, savoring the cooked chicken.
Frodo looked up from his plate. "It's not too spicy, is it?"
"Oh no. Just right," she said.
"Well," he dabbed his fabric napkin over his mouth for a split second, "how about I serenade you with a song? Would you like that?" He grinned. He knew what he was about to do…
"Frodo, I don't think that we should—"
"No, no, no. Please. Allow me," he said, moving over to the fireplace. All at once, he began his original tune, with as much baritone as he could get his voice to reach,
"I love you,
I love you, Pearl Took.
I love you above the moon and stars so much.
"I love you, Pearl Took.
I love you so much.
You mean everything, nothing, everything, nothing, nothing at all…
"I love you so much.
You mean everything to a wild goose,
with the heart of the doe,
And the strength of a bear.
"And you—"
Frodo coughed. He couldn't sing baritone. Or could he? Well, he tried.
"That's it?" Pearl asked, confused.
"That's how much I can sing in baritone," Frodo said. He felt guilty. He certainly had a guilty expression on his face. What did he sing again? "What did I sing again?"
"Frodo, it's a lovely dinner. Um… I'll see you around," Pearl said, heading towards the coat rack.
"Wait. I've still got plenty of love songs to sing," Frodo said.
"I think you've sung enough for tonight. Good evening, Frodo," Pearl said, heading out the front green door.
Frodo cringed at the thought, surprised that Pearl had enjoyed his song. That wasn't what he was going for – and yet, he didn't want to break Pearl's heart? He was better than this. Well… maybe he would have another go at it. He needed some tea to sooth his aching throat… and he got it, delighted to have Bag End to himself again.
"Frodo!" It was Pearl, knocking on the front green door. Frodo rushed to the door, only to discover Pearl had forgotten her hat. "Thank you for the song, Frodo, but… it was too much. Maybe next time?"
"Sure," Frodo said, grinning.
"I'll see you around. And thank you for this wonderful evening," Pearl said.
"Yeah," Frodo said, closing the door after her. He looked back to find Bilbo clapping.
"Well done, lad. I see you and Pearl have made some progress," Bilbo said.
"It doesn't feel right. My relationship with Pearl," Frodo said. "It's too forced. I can't go on like this."
"Then tell her, my lad," Bilbo said.
"Right," Frodo said, cheerful.
And in the days to come, Frodo found himself more depressed. Only when he and Pearl agreed that it was better they stayed friends did he realize he deserved to be with someone who truly cared for him. With Pearl… well, Frodo found their parting was for the best. If only time didn't come in and draw Frodo on a perilous journey. For what came next would change his fate for days to come.
The End.
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Thanks for reading. :)