Frodo smiled. "There's room enough in Bag End for as big a family as you could ever wish for."
Sam nodded, and he continued to nod until he was looking awkwardly at the ground. A small smile played across his lips, but he wouldn't allow it to show. He felt happy just talking about Rose to him. His heart fluttered every time he said his name, yet he wondered why every time the word left his lips he felt like a villain.
"You can smile, Sam," said Frodo gently. "This is happy news indeed."
"Of course it is, Mr. Frodo," agreed Sam, not lifting his eyes from the ground. He joined his hands together in front of him and began circling his thumbs around one another unconsciously.
"Then why stop yourself from smiling?"
Sam looked up, but not at Frodo. He looked past him and out the window, to where the garden was. He remembered the hours he had spent there in all those years before. "Sometimes it's harder to smile when you're remembering," he said.
"Remembering what?" Frodo spoke softly, seeing that Sam was uncomfortable but not knowing why. "Remembering what?" He repeated, even more softly this time.
"Nights in the Emyn Muil."
Frodo brought his head up and then down in a single nod of understanding as Sam met his eyes. Frodo's lips formed a silent "oh" and then pursed together in uncertainty. "Remembering...but what about it?" He asked Sam.
Sam continued to fiddle with his thumbs. "Rememberin'...not knowin' what I felt. I was confused."
Frodo gazed at him silenty and a small flush came to his cheeks. "Mr. Frodo, you're blushing," Sam pointed out matter-of-factly. Frodo let out a small laugh at the other hobbit's statement. "Oh, Sam," he sighed, taking a step closer to him and placing his hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture. "I suppose you didn't know what you were feeling then. But you do know what you feel now. You love her." He looked directly into Sam's somber eyes, but his own eyes sparkled as he bowed his head slightly. "And I'm very happy for you." He withdrew his hand and stood there, awaiting a response.
"Th...thank you, Mr. Frodo," Sam stuttered in a surprise which he himself didn't understand. The two stood there for nearly a minute in silence, and Sam continued to look directly at Frodo, who couldn't stand it anymore after a few seconds and looked to the ground. The silence had become nearly defeaning to both of them when Sam suddenly blurted out, "Oh, it's nothin' compared to what I feel for you." He flung his arms around Frodo in a tight embrace, and Frodo stood there in momentary shock, not prepared to return the hug. His head resting atop Sam's shoulder, he shut his eyes in pain. "Don't," he whispered into Sam's ear. "Sam, don't. Sam...Sam..."
To the surprise of both of them, Sam was the first to break the embrace. "You should have known I loved you," he said. "You could always sense things like that."
"Sam..." Began Frodo, looking past him, but Sam cut him off with a wave of his hand. "No, let me finish," he said, blurring his words together in a rush. "I knew I loved you for a long time, but I couldn't understand how it was...but then, I finally realized we weren't like brothers, not at all in fact. So, there, I said it."
Frodo smiled sadly. "I love you too, Sam." He ignored Sam's utterly shocked expression. "And you still mean everything to me."
Sam shook his head in disbelief at first, then moved his face closer in towards Frodo's to kiss him, but Frodo placed his hand on Sam's chest. "No, Sam," he objected. "You belong to someone else now. And you love her. Remember that. I know you love her very much." He paused and took a deep breath. "And it hurts me to see you love her, but you do."
Sam nodded slowly. "And it hurts me to love you. Do you ever wonder why things happen the way they do?"
"I used to," said Frodo. "I used to think every burden laid upon us was unfair. But I think you changed my way of thinking." He cocked his head to the right and placed his hand on Sam's cheek. "Oh, my dear Sam," he whispered.
Sam placed his hand atop Frodo's and his eyes began to water. "A kiss goodbye?" He asked his master. "To what we were?"
Frodo shut his eyes and nodded, and the two moved together to lose themselves in that one sweet and sorrowful kiss. And to both of them it seemed both an eternity and a millisecond simultaneously, but the kiss did end, and Sam backed away.
"I'll be goin' now, I suppose," he said softly. He turned away and headed out the door, shutting it softly behind him without even the thought of glancing back.
For moments after he had gone, Frodo could still feel him there in front of him. He could still sense his presence and smell his scent. "Goodbye," he said quietly, "To what we were." He bowed his head and placed his forehead in his hands. "And what we never will be."