Gimli walked slowly up the beach beside Galadriel. Though his friend Legolas had already taken off running up the beach, he knew he no longer had need to hurry in the undying lands. He also felt no need to speak and the elf beside him was also walking in silence. When she finally did speak, it was not as if the silence were broken but that a new verse of a song had begun. Gimli blinked at the thought, which was way too elvish for a dwarf but he forced himself to concentrate on his companion's words.
"There is someone who has expressed the desire to meet you, Gimli; he promised to save you a seat at the banquet."
"Might I know his name—and why?" Gimli asked, startled. He had never been the sort that many desired to befriend.
"Oh, let's just say he's an old friend of your father, and he desires to ask how you managed to actually befriend an elf before you arrived here." Gimli's mind began to race and he didn't actually hear the last four words. The elf chuckled at his shocked expression and then reassured him again. "Don't worry so much, he has become my friend." The words slowly sifted through his brain and he finally began to breathe again. Knowing elves, he didn't bother to ask anymore questions because he knew she had said as much as she was going to. His curiosity was piqued however and Galadriel derived a great deal of amusement from the excitement he wasn't able to suppress.
When they arrived at the feast, she steered him around to where a number of dwarves were seated across from some elves. Despite Galadriel's warning, Gimli was still surprised at the camaraderie between the two groups. They were exchanging jokes that would have been horrible insults in Middle Earth but were merely entertaining here. One of the dwarves noticed him and held up a hand. "Well, look who's finally made it! The legendary elvellon!"
Gimli's eyebrow went up as he went to the seat indicated by the speaker. Politely he said, "Gimli, son of Gloin, at your service," although they obviously already knew who he was; he was just hoping the other dwarf would introduce himself.
"Thorin, son of Thrain, at yours and your family's," he answered correctly. Gimli choked on the ale he was swallowing and began changing colors. Everyone was highly amused at this development since obviously in the undying lands you can't choke to death. When he finally stopped sputtering, he downed the rest of his flagon in on gulp. Thorin didn't give him a chance to start babbling. "So, I hear you managed to befriend the son of Thranduil. How did you survive the company of such prissy elves for so long?"
Everybody (elves included) started laughing again and the elves and dwarves once more exchanged insults. Gimli immediately relaxed. "Yes, well, you seem quite well acquainted with these elves. How many times did you hit your head before you managed to befriend them?" He retorted.
Everyone laughed again as Thorin sputtered. Finally he managed to get out, his face bright red, "I asked you first."
Gimli chuckled for a moment and then complied. "You should have seen us after we both discovered we were to be in the fellowship. You have never seen an unhappier dwarf or elf. We spent the months of preparation driving each other and everyone nearby crazy. Elrond even threatened to send us to our rooms if we didn't behave." He broke off as all who had known Elrond in Middle Earth (about half) roared with laughter. The rest looked bemused as they tried to reconciled the image of Elrond, who was always calm, though with a sense of longing for his daughter, to the picture conjured in their imaginations of him scolding and elf and dwarf and sending them to bed without their supper. When everyone had calmed down again, he continued, "For the first two or three weeks, Aragorn had to consistently tell us to shut up every five minutes. Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration."
"Not much!" Yelled Pippin, who was sitting a few tables over, talking to Aragorn and some others that Gimli thought looked familiar but couldn't put a name to.
Gimli mock glared in his direction, but Pippin was ignoring him again, deep in conversation. Turning back, the dwarf went on, "We both knew how dangerous it was out there so we tried to keep down the noise but did play other tricks on each other. When we reached Moria, Gandalf made us put aside our bickering. I think he must have had an inkling of what was to come. Anyway, as we left the mines, we realized we had failed him. We had surrendered to terror at the sight of the Balrog and left him to stand and fall alone. Aragorn and Boromir on the contrary were both raging to go help him, as were the hobbits.
"We didn't speak of it at that time though. Instead, we took out our self-disgust on each other. I was angry because I was to be the only one blindfolded in Lothlorien, Legolas because Aragorn said that all of us were to go blindfolded for my sake. It was seeing Lady Galadriel that made me admit elves are not the beasts my father had always proclaimed them to be. Elrond had been courteous at Rivendell of course, (except during my fights with Legolas) but he wasn't a wood elf. I convinced myself that all wood elves are like Thranduil, not that I had a clear picture of the wood elf king of Mirkwood. Galadriel, though, put a picture into my mind when I first met her. She showed me the fate of the Quest if I did not put aside my differences with Legolas. I thought about that for a time, although I don't know precisely how long since time moves differently in Lothlorien. Eventually, with the image of the destruction of my home running through my head, I went to him and asked him some inane question I don't recall."
"Hah! It was…" Pippin burst out before falling silent with a grin under the combined mock glares of Legolas and Gimli.
"And how do you know what we said, Peregrin Took? As I recall, it was a private conversation far from Caras Galadhrim." Legolas said sternly.
Pippin didn't quail. "I followed him of course. I was curious because I knew you had gone that direction and I knew he knew you went that way. So I snuck along behind to see what would happen. It really was a fascinating conversation. I even memorized what each of you said in case I got an opportunity to blackmail one or the other of you but that never happened. Shall I repeat it verbatim?"
The parties he was addressing shook their heads frantically, and Sam said, "Better not, Pip. They look like they plan on seeing if it is true you can't kill someone in the undying lands. Of course you know they can't but if they try, they might get kicked out and you'll never get your chance at blackmail." His face was perfectly bland as he said this, and Frodo choked on laughter before finally letting it out with a shout. The other hobbits also urged him on.
The rest of the listeners turned their attention to either Legolas or Gimli to see what reaction this got. Legolas's face was a sight as he fought a losing battle to keep his face straight. Gimli's beard normally hid his reactions but here everyone could see his beard twitch.
The friends exchanged a glance and then simultaneously dove at the two hobbits. Unfortunately, Sam and Pippin had expected this, and without betraying their intentions, they both suddenly sprang to a standing position on their chairs and jumped high to catch a tree branch and scramble into it. Legolas and Gimli were unable to stop their momentum, and since they were coming from opposite directions, they slammed into each other. If they had still been in Arda, they would likely have ended up unconscious with broken bones. As it was though, they bounced off of each other and landed flat on their respective backs six feet apart—but completely unharmed. Getting to their feet, they exchanged a look of disgust, and turned to go back to their seats. Then they jumped straight up themselves to grab the treed hobbits, who squealed in surprise as they were soundly tickled.
Finally they did go sit back down to pick up the conversations where they were left off. "So," said Gimli, flashing a quick glare at Pippin, "we managed after a few bad starts to have our first polite interaction. After that, he showed me around Lorien and translated for me. When we left, we were put in the same boat and had some rather interesting discussions. Then we started guarding each other's back in fights rather than lording over each other the kills we made."
"Really," interrupted Eomer with a smirk on his face. He had only been half listening to Gimli's tale, but at the dwarf's last statement, he couldn't resist teasing him. "I seem to recall a certain dwarf at Helm's Deep bragging that he had killed more orcs than a certain elf. He stared pointedly at his friend, wondering how he would respond to this jibe.
But Gimli just raised an eyebrow smugly. "I seem to recall that the first two I killed were in defense of your life, my friend." Eomer signaled defeat and turned back to his meal. "Ahem. As I was saying," Gimli said, "we fought against a common enemy instead of each other. With the end of the war, we journeyed together for a time to explore the Glittering Caves and Fangorn. Then we each got permission to bring some of our people to Gondor to rebuild Minas Tirith.
"Afterward, Legolas went to fix up Ithilien and I to the Glittering Caves of Aglarond. We still came to visit each other and occasionally traveled off to have some adventure in a land we hadn't yet visited, but those were infrequent intervals over a period of a hundred or so years. Then of course Legolas dragged me off to the Havens to build a ship to come here. I'm still not sure how he convinced me to come here by ship. It was bad enough taking ship to save Minas Tirith. Anyway, then he had me talk to Arwen. She didn't need much persuading since Aragorn was obviously (to his friends anyway) fading and doing his best to hide it. My job was the easy one. Legolas had to get Aragorn to come without him suspecting we were taking him with us. The expression on his face when he fully realized what we had done was priceless! He looked like someone had smacked him upside the head with a board with the expected pain not appearing."
He broke off as he remembered the shock on Aragorn's face after it was all explained. When he had first arrived, there were suppressed tears in his eyes and a barely visible look of combined despair and betrayal. Gimli had had a powerful urge to spill the beans or, or… Instead he had put on his best poker face and tried not to cry himself. Legolas had been the one to set the man straight, and Gimli knew that he still felt guilty while they were sailing for hurting his friend.
As he sipped his ale, Gimli recalled the conversation he had had with the elf after Aragorn and Arwen had gone down to their cabin for the night.
(flashback)
"Legolas?" said Gimli hesitantly.
The elf had a look of agony on his face that spoke of complete self-disgust. "I can't believe I did that to him. I can't believe I would stoop so low to hurt him like that. I know he hated me. Maybe he has forgiven me by now but I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself." The elf spoke softly as if to himself. The dwarf touched his hand and Legolas looked down at his short friend. "You know what I'm talking about. You saw the look on his face. He truly believed I was cruel enough that I would leave him there." Legolas's voice broke on a sob, and he suddenly collapsed onto the deck, his face streaming with tears.
Gimli hesitantly hugged the elf, afraid he would resist, but Legolas leaned against him. With a start, Gimli realized that Aragorn was standing above them. The man, now old and grey, motioned to him, and using the dwarf's shoulder as a prop, eased himself down beside them. Gimli slipped away and left Aragorn to take his place. He watched as Legolas jerked in surprise at the wrinkled hands now supporting and comforting him. The elf looked up and tried to take a deep breath to start again on his self-recriminations.
Aragorn didn't give him a chance. "I do forgive you and I beg your pardon for doubting you. After all these years I should have known you would never leave without me, or rather I didn't expect to go with you so I believed you would leave after my death. I hoped so, rather, for fear that you would instead die of grief. You have given me the greatest gift. My whole life since Arwen pledged herself to me, I lived in secret agony because I was taking her away from her family forever. Yes, I did feel betrayed when you brought me to see the ship, but we can't live in the past. We must rather face the future for it contains hope of better things."
"You are right, Estel. I should not have caused you pain, but now the pain is over and we go to the place of everlasting joy."
(end flashback)
Gimli wiped away the tear that he had discovered on his cheek and felt a sudden Presence surround him. "It is good that you understand these things, my child. You are home now. There is one that would speak to you, however, in order that he might know the joy you have found."
The Voice left then, but Gimli knew he had been privileged to hear Iluvatar. He also knew that it was Boromir that Eru spoke of, and that the man was to speak not only with him, but all the fellowship together.
At the end of the meal, he went with a group of Dwarves and elves to go see some caves. He knew that someone would find him when it was time for the reunion of the Fellowship.