An Aragorn Shortfic for @septemberbells, who prompted 'home' and 'characters all over the map' for Lord of the Rings! Hope you'll like it :) @thedrabblecollective @thepromptfoundry
exactly 500 words, rated G, canon-compliant post-canon, no warnings apply
Summary: What happens to a group of people, strangers not so long ago, yet forever connected by their shared experiences, once their adventure is over? Most of them return home, yet there is one who has to stay - as newly crowned king, Aragorn has to learn to fit in and live in Gondor.
Cross-posting here because I know Ao3 is still down half the time and I want y'all's to be able to actually read the ficlet! If you read it here pls reblog (or in general pls reblog so ppl see this o.o) But I do love getting comments on Ao3, so if it works for you again... :)
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https://archiveofourown.org/works/74395751
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At one point, the fellowship had been in the wilderness, on their own away from civilization and the places they each called home, yet together in their tight-knip group of companions.
Then, the quest was done - the ring destroyed.
What happened now, to a group of people so different from each other, yet sharing the same memories? Who had been strangers not so long ago, yet were forever connected by their experiences?
Most of them returned to their homes, ready to leave the war and the strange lands through which they had travelled behind. The hobbits went off together, as did Legolas and Gimli, and Gandalf disappeared to visit old friends who knew where.
There was one, however, to whom those long, empty stretches of land had always felt like home - and yet, he now had to stay in the city, surrounded no longer by wilderness nor his companions, but by a city filled with strangers.
Aragorn stayed in Gondor as more and more of the erstwile fellowship disappeared to their respective homes in middle earth.
Of course, he wasn't left entirely alone - he had his queen by his side, his wife, and he had his people, his advisors and all the Gondorians he now had to rule.
Still... having spent more time in Rivendell and in the wilderness during his younger years, Gondor and the white city within it, while not unknown places to him, didn't feel like home for a long time.
Sometimes, he lost himself in thoughts of might have beens - had Boromir lived, had that son of Gondor came home with him, shown him this city that Aragorn still sometimes felt like a stranger in.
Would he have taken him through walks of the city, horseback rides of the surrounding lands? Would he have shown him his favorite spots, both in the higher and in the lower levels of the mountain city? Would Aragorn have had an easier time feeling at home here, if he had already been close to someone who had grown up in Minas Tirith?
Futile thoughts of course, as Bormomir had fallen and was thus unable to ever return to the lands of his birth, to teach his king to love it as he had.
Aragorn tried not to linger on these ruminations, tried to focus on the people still present around him, to get to know them better as well as the country.
Faramir was becoming invaluable for him, acting as an advisor and administrator in his new role as steward, introducing him to everyone he ought to know (and some a king maybe shouldn't confer with but who were still a great help in understanding the city and it's people) - and all he asked for in return were stories of Boromir during his time away, which Aragorn was glad to give.
Every day, the new king of Gondor became closer to his city, his people, his kingdom.
Eventually, he was certain, he too could be at home here.
the other day I saw someone in the NiGHTS server pog about getting NiGHTS and Reala in Sonic Runners Revival which made me decide to download the game for the first time in ages and hey look at the first thing I pulled lol
