He's drowning in him. Solid hands on his face, sturdy legs tangled in his, the lines between them bend and then blur.
He kisses the side of Sam's hands and the hair on his fingers is rough against his lips. Sam fingers the jewel around his neck, seems to consider it for a second as he raises the chain up, tugging it over Frodo's head, but after looking at his expression, Sam drops it to the side.
"Let me take the burden, Mr. Frodo," Sam had said once, years and years ago. Back when his face was still untouched by time and his pants were dotted with fraying holes instead of neat, hand stitched patches. Before a ring disappeared into flame and ash and a hobbit saved an entire world, and discovered that saving the world meant carrying the weight of it on his back for eternity. He supposed that was better than around his neck.
"How will this end?" Sam asks now, looking up from Frodo to examine the woods, as if he expects an answer from the aging pine trees.
"It never does, Sam. The story never ends," he says, thinking of Bilbo, who had believed it would.
Sam's fingers move slowly, tenderly across his thigh. Good, strong reliable Sam, who remembers the taste of the ring, even if it isn't burned into the back of his throat.
"Does this help?" he'd asked, stroking Frodo's face.
"Sometimes," he'd admitted, continued to say that after it stopped helping.
You can't wash away darkness. He knows that, has known that for longer than he remembers. But he tries anyway.
Sam sits up, his familiar, brown eyes meeting Frodo's. "I was hoping for a happy ending," he says.
Frodo shrugs, lays a hand on Sam's chest. "Then write one, Sam. The world will never know the difference."
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A Fractured Fairy Tale by Winged Squirrel
Story notes: I'd never even read LOTR fanfic before this, but I had to exorcise this teensy-tiny demon. If it's not obvious (which it isn't) the story's set around the end of TROTK. Many fandoms of thanks to M and SNP.
Chapter end notes: I told you it was short. Hmm, that was kind of fun.
Feedback is better than a barrel of lembas.
-Squirrel
