Disclaimer: The Lord of the Rings, all characters, places, and related terms are the sole property of J.R.R. Tolkien's estate.
Author's Note: Starring, in order of appearance, Sam, Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, Faramir. This takes place during RotK sometime after Aragorn's coronation. Any hardcore Aragorn/Arwen and/or Arwen fans should proceed with caution.
Operation 37512-72B
The group silently enjoys their drinks in the empty banquet room. Eight pairs of eyes exchange looks over the rims of their cups before focusing as one on their ninth companion who stares gloomily down at the table.
"Strider?" Sam starts the ball rolling (figuratively speaking). The man meets the hobbit's concerned eyes. "Are you all right?"
"I am fine," he answers softly.
Legolas raises one brow. "Why so gloomy? You ought to be happy; just think, you shall be married to Arwen in two weeks!" he says brightly.
Aragorn smiles weakly. "Yea, lucky me."
Gandalf pats him on the back. "What's wrong? You want to tell Gandalf all about it?"
Concern, suspicion, knowingness, or curiosity shines in everyone's eyes as they stare at the recently crowned king.
"I…I just don't think I can go through with it – the wedding, I mean."
"Well, you'll need to go through with it eventually. A king needs a queen in order to have an heir," Frodo says, frowning.
"I know, I know," Aragorn quickly replies. He pauses, deciding to be completely honest with his friends. He takes a deep breath. "I'm just having doubts about Arwen being the one," he confesses quietly, dropping his gaze down to his cup.
A huge grin spreads across Merry's face. He opens his mouth to let out a joyful whoopee when three hands clamp over his mouth. He goes on to celebrate by pumping his fist in the air. The other three hobbits exchange amused looks. Gimli huffs. Gandalf nods at this information – which he had known about already, being the wizard that he is. Legolas is surprised and hopeful and shifts in his seat. Faramir chuckles quietly to himself and pretends shock at hearing this.
"Why! You two have been engaged for…decades!" he exclaims.
"That's just it!" Aragorn looks up, not noticing the three hobbits swiftly returning their hands to their laps or Merry putting on a serious, calm expression. "We've been engaged for ages. But it would have been wonderful if we had married much sooner, in my opinion. But she kept going on about not being able to marry me until I was king." He puts his face in his hands. "I'm starting to wonder if she really loves me or loves the illusion of my being king – if she refused me until now."
Gimli laughs. "I say you are just getting full of jitters, laddie. Maybe your Arwen just didn't want to live in the great outdoors. She is a highborn lady, after all."
"I say the thing you need is a reconfirmation of why you love her, and then you will be up and ready for the big day!" Pippin suggests.
"That might do the trick," Aragorn agrees, thankful he will soon be more confident about the wedding and his bride.
His companions all exchange glances; now to really start putting Operation 37512-72B into action!
"Well, how did you two first meet?" Merry begins the interrogation.
"I took a walk through the woods of Rivendell and saw her from a distance walking among some birches. I thought I saw Luthien there before my eyes, a lovely dream I would never behold again," he sighs at the memory.
"And what happened?" presses Sam, awed.
"I fell in love, I think."
There is a short, stunned silence as everyone gazes at him in amazement. Only Gandalf nods, already seeing the root of the problem.
"You fell in love with just one glimpse of her?" Frodo's frown deepens.
"Well, yes."
"You loved her even though you didn't know a thing about her, except that she was beautiful?" Faramir joins in the questioning.
"Yes…" Aragorn suddenly looks uncertain.
"What shallow taste," Gimli murmurs to himself before speaking in a clear voice. "So you knew she was the one because of how beautiful she was."
Aragorn nods silently, thinking over his answer.
"No wonder he's having second thoughts," Gimli whispers to Legolas.
"I believe it is more traditional to get to know the lady personally before deciding she's the one. Though you are an exception, I suppose," Gandalf muses, his eyes twinkling.
"For example," Legolas explains, "you did not fall head over heels for Eowyn. You simply got to know her and became good friends. That's how you should have done it."
"Right…" Aragorn slowly says, caught off guard at Eowyn being mentioned and their…friendship, and glances almost nervously at Faramir, who is taking of sip of his drink.
"So after you fell in love at first sight," Gimli picks up the ball (figuratively speaking), "did you get to know her pretty well during your first meeting?"
Aragorn fidgets, "Not really. We introduced ourselves, and we discovered we are related. I made her laugh and smile," he recalls.
"Did she return your interest before or after you told her who you were?" Pippin pipes up.
"Hmm, after," Aragorn says, troubled.
"How closely are you two related?" Faramir presses.
"We're distantly related cousins," Aragorn supplies.
"Let's not linger on the love-before-friendship, interest-in-him-only-for-being-a-king, and distant-relation parts," Gandalf at last speaks. "Let's look at what is so amazing about your Arwen."
His suggestion is met with smiles and nods of agreement. He gazes at each person at the table, except Aragorn, with a look that says: let me handle this. Everyone sits back to watch the show.
"You and Arwen shared fun times together, correct?"
"I wouldn't call the times we shared "fun," per se. Usually, every time we were together the subject of her giving up her immortality and waiting for me popped up." Aragorn is silent; a light frown creases his brow. "I do not recall her ever laughing after our first meeting, and she rarely smiled," he adds.
"When did she confess her love for you?" Gandalf fires the next question.
"When I met her about 20 years after our first meeting she was visiting her grandparents in Lorien. It was after dinner my first night there."
"So you were pretty dressed up in nice, fancy clothes and had trimmed your beard; so you looked different from the dirty ranger you were?"
"Correct."
"Hmm."
The silent observers exchange understanding glances.
"Has it ever bothered you that she is about 2000 years your senior? Did it ever seem to you she looked down on you for not being quite as mature as she?"
"Sometimes, but then, she hardly looks her age; so it was easy for that to slip my mind."
"Must have easily slipped her mind as well since she was getting a king in the bargain," Frodo whispers to Pippin. The younger hobbit giggles.
"That makes the age difference between him and Eowyn seem much smaller," Merry whispers to them.
"Tell me some of the things she can do or likes," the wizard requests.
"Well, she often bragged about being the best seamstress in the area. Um, she can get real emotional over stuff, quite sensitive she is. She doesn't really care for camping out. She's a bit of a control freak. She knows how to ride a horse and fight with a sword—"
Gandalf interrupts him, "Have you seen her fight? Is she very good at it?"
"Actually I have not. I only assumed so since she threatened me with one when I and the hobbits were making for Rivendell."
"I would say she does not have much skill," Frodo is unable to contain himself. "She only pulled it out when we crossed the ford; why she stopped to confront the Black Riders, I have not the slightest clue. I was almost gone, and it was two against nine! It would have been a bit smarter to just keep galloping for Rivendell. I wish it was Eowyn who had taken me, for she would have done much better. And you, Aragorn, could be proud of her instead of feeling embarrassed for Arwen!" He directs a huge grin to the king, who has listened to the hobbit's ramble with deep interest. Frodo then turns his attention to Merry. "You actually got to ride with Eowyn. What was it like?"
"She is a great horsewoman. And she gives out such nice hugs," Merry answers. He coughs to mask his laughter as a flash of something akin to envy briefly appears in Aragorn's eyes.
"Ahem," Gandalf gains control of the discussion again. "Well, there is no question of the Lady Eowyn's skill with sword, I believe; you know from personal experience, Aragorn."
"It's true," Aragorn agrees, a smile creeping across his face at the memory.
"Now, Aragorn, I'm going to ask you a final question, and I want you to be completely honest," Gandalf says seriously. "Were you happy when you were reunited with Arwen, despite what had happened between the two of you before the Fellowship left Rivendell?"
A long heavy silence follows Gandalf's question. A minute ticks by…three…seven…
"No. When I first told her it was only a dream, it was the only thing I could think of at the time; but as time passed, I began to really believe it was only dream we had shared."
"Anything in particular caused this change?" Legolas asks.
Aragorn merely shrugs.
"So have you changed your mind about not wanting to be with Arwen again, and now want her to be queen?" Sam asks.
"No I have not; in fact, this discussion has made me aware of what a fool I've been. I have been in love with an ideal, a thing that seemed beyond my grasp, and I dare think she also never loved both the ranger and king in me. But I could not turn her away in front of these hundreds of people. She will probably die of a broken heart at my rejection, and Lord Elrond will probably kill me with his bare hands. I must accept my lot," he sighs dejectedly.
"I don't know," Gandalf says, running a hand through his beard. "It seems the Lady Arwen is questioning if this is what she really wants…"
"Really!" Aragorn demands with undisguised hope.
"She told me herself she has been suddenly thinking about a childhood sweetheart she had a long time ago," Gandalf finishes.
He meets Aragorn's shocked eyes before they turn as one, with everyone else following their gazes, to the beet-red elf who is choking on his drink. Gimli soundly slaps Legolas's back, knocking the wind out of the elf.
Aragorn's face goes from shock to amazement to excitement. Jumping to his feet, he leans across the table to clasp his friend's hands in his. "Were you two truly once sweethearts?" he asks.
Legolas can only nod as he continues to cough from Gimli's back slap.
"Do you still at least care for her?"
"Yes…" the poor elf rasps.
He and the others are pleasantly surprised when Aragorn does a jig right there.
"I'm free, free, free!" he chants happily. Finishing his joyful dance, he takes hold of Legolas's hands once more. "Would you woo her if you could?"
Legolas is silent.
"I beg you!" Aragorn pleads desperately. "For if she is thinking about you and discovers you return her feelings, she may be willing to call off our engagement and not die of a broken heart. Who knows what Elrond will do when I tell him, though…? But please, for our friendship, I plead with you!"
"You would not mind?" Legolas asks simply, finally succeeding in calming the blush in his cheeks.
"You have my blessing and then some!" Aragorn announces.
"Then I will."
Aragorn settles back in his chair with a relieved sigh. "Thank you!"
So now that that's taken care of, who will you marry in two weeks?" Merry asks.
"That is…a very good question. I'm not sure."
His friends exchange astonished and panicked looks: what does he mean he does not know! They all have the perfect, obvious, candidate in mind!
"It…it…it must be a woman who both loves the ranger and the king," Sam thinks out loud desperately.
"Yes," Aragorn agrees strongly.
"That narrows down the list a bit. How many women of Gondor love the ranger and king?" Gimli asks, his left eye twitching.
"Well, I don't know. I hardly know any of the women of Gondor."
"How 'bout any women you have met and gotten to know really well?" Gandalf asks, feeling frustrated with the seemingly oblivious and uncooperative king.
"I can only think of one…but she is not available or interested, I believe." Aragorn then gives Faramir an envious look.
"You mean the Lady Eowyn, do you not?" Faramir says, looking at his king with a blank look. He sighs. "Despite what it looked like when we stood together at your coronation, there is nothing but friendship between us."
"Really?" Aragorn asks hopefully.
"Really, really."
A smile lights Aragorn's face as he rises from his seat.
"But, I thought you said you yourself only felt friendship towards the Lady Eowyn," Gimli wonders.
"Ah, well, I couldn't quite convince myself of that the last few mouths," Aragorn shrugs sheepishly, his grin widening. "Now, if you will excuse my, I have some important things to do and discussions to have with certain people." And with that he tap-dances out of the hall, the large double doors slamming shut behind him.
For a long moment the hobbits, elf, man, dwarf, and wizard gaze seriously at one another.
"ALL RIGHT!" Pippin yells at the top of his voice. The rest of the group breaks out into cheers and yells and whistles and clapping and shouts of "We did it!" The hobbits jump up and down wildly and hug everyone. Legolas and Faramir high-five each other. Gimli does a celebratory dance. And Gandalf has a huge, pleased smile on his face.
"I propose a toast!" Faramir says when the noise has quieted down a little. "Here's to Aragorn and Eowyn!"
"And to the success of Operation 37512-72B," Frodo adds.
And so they all drink to Aragorn and Eowyn … and the success of Operation 37512-72B.
THE END