Trying really hard to get these out before I start delving into new stories. I really should be working on my thesis instead, but oh well. I hope you all appreciate this. I have my Thranduil story bouncing around right now, and another Legolas one I want to start writing soon. Anyway, enjoy!
It was late afternoon when the pair reached Hobbiton. The air had gotten chilly as the sun descended, so there were few hobbits out to see their passing. Most were too busy bustling about to give them more than a quick glance. The people of Hobbiton had long ago gotten used to the strange visitors that passed through. More often than not, they ended up at Bag End, so it was no surprise to them when Tinwe and Legolas dismounted in front of the green door and knocked.
"One moment!" came a muffled call from within. A second later, the door was opened, and Frodo looked up at them, his face breaking into a smile.
"Legolas! Tinwe! How good to see you both! Please, come in, come in."
"It is wonderful to see you as well," Tinwe said, ducking down to squeeze through the door. Legolas followed her in, staying hunched over slightly to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. They both followed Frodo into the sitting room, each taking a seat beside the fire. "How have you been Frodo?"
"Fairly well, thank you. It's been awfully quiet. It is good to relax and enjoy the simple things in life again. What brings you both to the Shire? Would you like some tea?"
"We were in the neighborhood," Legolas said cryptically, smiling at Tinwe as Frodo went about preparing tea. "But we have another reason for visiting actually." Legolas looked at Tinwe, silently asking if she wanted to share the news. Frodo looked up expectantly, his eyes shifting between the two of them.
"We would like to invite you to our wedding," Tinwe said, a radiant smile on her face as she said this. Legolas beamed at his betrothed, his happiness beyond words that there was no trace of fear on her face as she said this. "It will be next March."
Frodo grinned widely, setting teacups in front of each of them. "That is wonderful news! Congratulations. I can't say that I am surprised, though it did take longer than I had expected. Sam recently was married, did you hear?"
"We hadn't heard, no," Legolas said, enjoying his tea. It was almost comical seeing him sitting there drinking from the fine china, his long legs stretched out as he sat on the low stool. "We shall have to go see him and offer our congratulations."
"I shall go with you," Frodo said, but his face quickly lost its cheer. "However, before we go, I have to apologize, but I will not be able to attend your wedding. Please do not tell anyone else this, but I intend to travel into the West with Lord Elrond when he leaves. I fear that will be before your wedding."
"I am sorry to hear that you will not be there, mellonamin," Tinwe said sadly. "But I am glad you are going into the west. You have borne a great burden, one that no one should have to bear. I hope you find peace in the Undying Lands."
"Thank you, Tinwe," Frodo said with a smile. "But let us not think of sad goodbyes now. We must go see Sam! Rosie may be put out that we are coming uninvited, but I know Sam would be upset to miss seeing you both. Come!"
The three exited Bag End and started the short walk to Sam's home. Tinwe enjoyed standing straight up, knowing that there was a decent chance she would be standing hunched over for a significant amount of time once they reached the Gamgee's home.
Frodo knocked on the yellow door, and the three listened to the muffled sounds from within.
"Who would be coming to visit during dinnertime?" came a rather disgruntled female voice. The door was promptly opened, and a pretty young hobbit looked first at Frodo, then up at the elves, her eyes growing wide.
"Mr. Baggins, do come in. And your friends as well. Sam! We have guests!"
"Who is it?" came Sam's voice from the other room.
"Mr. Baggins, and others," Rosie said, looking up at the elves who had squeezed into her small entryway. "Come in and sit. I am sorry we do not have better accommodations for elves."
"We will manage," Tinwe said with a smile, settling in a chair between Legolas and Frodo.
"Others?" came Sam's voice as he came around the corner into the sitting room. His eyes widened in surprise before a smile spread across his face. "Tinwe! Legolas! What are you doing here?"
"We thought we'd drop in for a visit while we were in the neighborhood," Tinwe said, taking the lead this time in the conversation. "How have you been? I see that we owe you congratulations for your recent nuptials." This made Sam beam up at her as he put his arm around his wife. Tinwe was thrilled for her friend. Even in the brief time they had known one another, she had seen how tender and caring Sam could be. She had no doubts he was an excellent husband, and would soon make an excellent father. Now that they were more at eye level, Tinwe could tell that Rosie was expecting, though she had barely begun to show.
"Yes, several months ago. Tinwe, Legolas, this is my wife Rosie. Rosie, these are my good friends Tinwe and Legolas of the Woodland Realm."
"It is a pleasure," Rosie said, curtseying politely. "Have the two of you eaten dinner?"
"We have not. There is no need to worry about us though, we will be fine. We know we dropped in at a bad time."
"Nonsense, you must eat and catch up. I always make extra food so we should have plenty for all of you."
"Thank you very much my lady," Legolas said, bowing his head slightly and smiling. Rosie's face flushed a little before she turned and scurried away into the kitchen. Tinwe had seen Legolas's affect on women before, but she had never felt amused by it the way she did now.
"She'll have dinner done shortly. So what were you doing in this area that prompted your visit?" Sam said, settling down so he could talk to his friends. Legolas and Tinwe exchanged looks, and Tinwe gestured to him to share their news this time.
"Well our reason for being in the Shire is a difficult story to tell, but we do have another reason for visiting. Tinwe and I are to be wed next March and would like you to attend."
"Though," Tinwe said, glancing into the kitchen to see Rosie bustling around the stove. "Now that we are here, however, I think that your wife will be most put out to see you disappear so shortly after the birth of your child."
"She would indeed," came Rosie's voice from the other room. Sam smiled, his eyes shining with the thought of a child.
"The babe is due around the middle of summer. As much as I would like to go to your wedding, I think I need to stay here. My congratulations to you both though. That is most exciting!"
"You both are the first to know about it as well," Tinwe said, smiling at the two hobbits in front of her before turning to Legolas. "Do you think we should deliver the message in person to Aragorn and Arwen?"
"I think first we should go home and let our friends and family know in Mirkwood," Legolas said with a smile. "Then if you would like we can go visit Minas Tirith."
"Perhaps your right," Tinwe said, standing and following Sam into the dining room as Rosie indicated dinner was done. "My mother will not be happy if she finds out from someone else first."
Tinwe and Legolas enjoyed their meal with their friends a great deal. Not only was Rosie's cooking superb, but sitting together in such a close space with a warm fire crackling nearby made Tinwe feel a sense of peace she could not ever remember having before. It was no wonder hobbits lived the way they did. Comfort was the most important thing to a hobbit, and Tinwe could not remember a single day in her life where she had been truly content and comfortable.
Only one day came close, and that was the night of Aragorn's coronation, when she had danced with Legolas into the night, and finally realized she loved him. Even then she'd felt some measure of discontent. She had been unsettled by his royal status, and the fact that she had been contemplating leaving only that morning. But here, with her good friends around her, and the ring safely on her finger to indicate her eternal bond with the elf beside her, she felt truly and utterly happy.
Eventually they finished dinner and retired back to the sitting room, where conversation drifted to the War. They spoke about it in serious tones, all of them remembering vividly the long, troubled road they had taken.
"At least all of that is behind us now," Frodo said, his memories obviously weighing heavily on his mind. "It is late though, and I should retire. Rosie is looking rather fatigued as well," he noted. Sam looked over at his wife, who did indeed look tired as she sat back in her chair, her hand on her stomach.
"We should be moving on as well. It is rather late isn't it? I had hoped to visit Merry and Pippin while we were here as well," Tinwe said, looking out the window at the stars.
"Well they won't be hard to find at this time of night," Sam said, helping Rosie up out of her chair and taking her arm carefully as the rest of them stood to depart. "They will be at the Green Dragon for a couple more hours at least."
"We shall have to go and find them then," Tinwe declared, happy she wasn't going to miss her opportunity to see the rest of the hobbits. "Thank you very much for dinner, my lady, and it was awfully good to see you again Sam. Hopefully it will not be too long before we meet again."
"I do hope not," Sam said with a smile as the elves and Frodo exited the comfort of the Gamgees' home. "And once again, congratulations on your betrothal."
"Thank you, Sam. Goodnight."
As the door shut behind them, the three walked back to Bag End in silence. Legolas had his arm around Tinwe's waist as Tinwe looked up at the stars happily. Frodo was looking down, however, very pensive.
"Well, this may be the very last time I see you both," he said finally as they reached Bag End. He had a bittersweet smile on his face as he looked up at them. "It means a great deal to me to have seen you both before my departure. I wish you all the best with your wedding and your lives together. I dearly wish I could have attended the wedding."
"We will miss you dearly, mellonamin," Tinwe said, leaning down and kissing his forehead. Legolas bowed his head respectfully to Frodo, smiling down at the Halfling.
"It has been a great honor, Frodo Baggins, to know you and your kin. We will be sure to honor you all at our wedding, even though you cannot be there with us."
"Thank you, Legolas," Frodo said, bowing to the elf. It was a bittersweet departure as Frodo waved until they disappeared down the lane. Tinwe felt a single tear slide down her cheek, and she quickly brushed it away.
"I must remember to give Lord Elrond something for Frodo before he leaves for the Undying Lands. I have some things from my adventures that I think he would enjoy."
"I will remind you when we return home," Legolas said with a smile, the shed tear not going unnoticed. "I'm sure Frodo will be very touched by the gesture."
They rode in silence for a short distance until they reached the Green Dragon. There was laughter and loud voices coming from within, and as they approached a couple Halflings staggered out, still laughing and slurring their speech. In men, Tinwe found this kind of behavior revolting. In hobbits, it was quite amusing. Hobbits tended to be friendlier drunk then men, in her experience.
As soon as the elves entered the pub, all manner of laughter and shouting died as all eyes turned to look at them. Tinwe just smiled, unperturbed.
"Tinwe! Legolas! How are you?!" Tinwe looked around to see Merry pushing his way through the onlookers. "Go back to your drinks! Nothing to see here!" he shouted, and on cue, the noise rose once again as everyone turned back to their flagons of mead. "Come, come! Pippin is over in the corner there." Merry led the way over to Pippin, who was sitting at a table with several other hobbits, laughing loudly as he spilled mead all over the table. He looked up as Merry approached, noticing Tinwe and Legolas for the first time.
"Linwe! Tegolas! So good to see you all," he said, hiccupping as he took another drink. He had obviously been at it for awhile already. "What brings you to the Green Dragon?"
"We wanted to see you while we were in the area, and Sam said you would be here," Legolas said, sitting across from Pippin, Tinwe squeezing in next to him. Pippin's friends had wandered away, singing loudly and off-key to some drinking song that was indistinguishable through the slurred speech.
"So you've seen Sam and Frodo then?" Merry said, taking a swig of his mead. Tinwe was glad he was sober enough to be able to remember them visiting. "I am rather surprised to see you both here though. I figured you'd have gone off on one of your crazy adventures again by now." Tinwe smiled at him.
"That is part of the reason we are here," Tinwe said, shaking her head when a hobbit offered her a flagon.
"Only part of the reason?" Merry said, elbowing Pippin who had just emptied his latest drink.
"We also wanted to extend you both an invitation personally," Legolas said, smiling as Pippin swayed dangerously on the bench. Merry caught on quickly, smiling as he glanced at the rings on both of their hands.
"Invitation?" Pippin said, burping. Tinwe shook her head, smiling despite herself.
"They're getting married, Pip," Merry said exasperatedly, taking the full flagon that had just been set down in front of Pippin. "They are inviting us to the wedding."
"Wedding?! I love weddings!" Pippin said, reaching for the full flagon and grabbing an empty one that still sat on the end of the table instead. "Here's to you both. Congrabulafun."
"Thank you Pippin," Tinwe said, grinning as the hobbit tried to down the empty flagon while his companion just shook his head. "I see that you are not going to remember any of this tomorrow anyway, so I leave you in charge Master Merry. We hope to see you on March 15th next year. If Pippin has sobered up by then, you can bring him too," she joked, laughing lightly. Several Halflings looked around at the sound, taken aback by the melodious ring that interrupted the usual raucous.
"We must be on our way," Legolas said, standing up with some difficulty. "It is late and we need to find a place to camp for the night."
"Why don't you stay here? There are some rooms upstairs."
"I'm afraid we will not find a room here that is quite to our size," Legolas replied with a smile. "Besides, we are wood elves. We are used to sleeping out under the stars."
"As am I now, but that doesn't mean I would trade a nice bed for a dirty tree root," Merry said seriously. "Well I do hope that we can make it to your wedding next year. I will be sure to tell Pippin when he regains consciousness that you were here." Pippin was now slumped against the wall, fast asleep. Tinwe's smile broadened, cheered by the antics of the Halflings.
"We are grateful," Legolas said, smiling down at Merry. "Goodnight, Merridoc Brandybuck."
"Goodnight Legolas, Tinwe."
It was not far out of Hobbiton when Legolas and Tinwe stopped for the night. Cool as it was, the storm of the following day had disappeared completely, leaving a cloudless night sky hanging over them. Instead of building a fire, the two elves lay down on Legolas's cloak together, wrapped in a blanket as they stared up at the stars. There was no moon that night, but the sky was still bright as Earendil shone down upon them. Tinwe moved closer to Legolas, his body heat keeping her warm despite the winter cold. She was perfectly content, her head on his shoulder as they lay in silence. Legolas was absentmindedly running his fingers through her hair as he watched the sky, humming softly to himself. Tinwe was so comfortable that she felt herself slowly drifting off to sleep. Before she disappeared into her dreams, Tinwe sat up just enough to look down at Legolas, who met her gaze as his humming stopped.
"What's wrong?" he said as she stared down at him, propped up on one elbow, her dark hair falling down to frame her face. She simply smiled, resting her hand on his chest.
"I just hope you realize how much I love you, Legolas," she said, watching the stars reflected in his eyes. As brilliant as they were, they were nothing compared to the brilliance she found deep within those eyes at her words. "I don't always act like it, but I love you more than words can possibly describe."
Legolas's hand came up to rest on her cheek, and she closed her eyes briefly, pure bliss coursing through her at his touch. She opened them again as his fingers trailed along the tips of her ear. His caress ended as he put his hand behind her head and guided her lips to his, kissing her softly. Tinwe closed her eyes again, her body relaxing into the kiss. There was more passion in this kiss than Tinwe had ever felt, the intensity making her body tremble. She gripped the front of Legolas's tunic and pulled herself closer, kissing him just as passionately as he kissed her. Tinwe's heart fluttered as she thought about how she soon would be united with Legolas for all eternity. She had feared this bond initially. Even after she had agreed to marry him she felt wary. But now she felt all those fears dissipate into the night air. Why had she feared it so much? Here, lying in his arms, she felt that their union could not come soon enough.