Prompt Fic: Remembering
By nautika
K+
Summary: One of our heroes' birthday is remembered for the first time since the Ring War.
A/N: EE For Prompt #35, Birthday
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Tolkien and his estate, not to me. Not for profit story.
Remembering
The view was magnificent, so changed from after the battle during the Ring War. The last months had been exhausting and challenging. Much had been lost and much was gained. But the ache of one particular loss caught at him unexpectedly today, more acutely than it had in a long time. He had not even realized the importance of the day until he went to check his appointments.
Thankfully, there had been very few of them, leading him to suspect his secretary had been more aware of the date than he, who only saw days as days of the week, not dates in a month. He had struggled through them and left word he would not be eating with the others this evening.
It would create talk, but for once, he could not pull himself together enough to bluff his way through a public event. He had smiled through the coronation of their king, an event he had looked forward to all his life, but he felt the chill of the empty place at his side. He ignored the whispers as the citizens speculated on exactly what had happened in the Hallows before the death of his father. He held his head high as he suffered the disrespect of many of his father’s councilors, who frequently pointed out he was not the man intended for this office. No one knew that more than he, how could they be ignorant of that? When they gave thanks that at least they did not have to count on him to rule, he was as grateful as they.
He missed the support that he knew would have come to him from one whose love he had never doubted. He knew in his heart that his father’s continual belittling of him had led to his habit of questioning his every decision instead of trusting in his instincts. The king was patient and was gradually easing him from this particular character trait, but even the king, kindhearted and patient though he was, could not fill the void. Oh, usually the king would sense these moods coming and move to ease his pain or provide a timely distraction. But the king had no reason to know about today.
A sob burst from him and he placed a fist to his mouth and dropped his head in shame and sorrow. Unexpectedly, a hand came to rest on his shoulder and a soft voice spoke in his ear. “I am so sorry, my friend. I only knew the day of the week. I had not noted the date. Forgive me.”
Surprisingly, Faramir laughed. “I had not noted the date until I arrived at my office. We work too hard, my friend. Had it been one of our ladies’ birthdates, we would be sleeping in the stables this evening.” His body tightened in an effort to stem the outward display of his sorrow. His voice dropped to a whisper. “He would never have cared if his had been overlooked. Father made quite a fuss over it.” Another sob. “Oh, Aragorn, I miss him so.”
Aragorn pulled his Steward into an embrace and allowed him to cry on his shoulder, while tears streamed down his own face. “As do I, Faramir. As do we all. You have not been to the marketplace today, of course. All the merchants have black banners hanging by their doors in memory of him. One of the page boys told me as I was leaving my office. He was well loved and he died in battle. We have discussed this before. He died doing what he did best…defending those who could not defend themselves. And he trusted us to take care of his City. Looking at this view tonight, I think he would be pleased, would he not?”
A couple of sniffs and Faramir raised his head and stepped to his king’s side to review the sight before them. “Aye. He would be pleased.” Then, glancing at the stars that somehow seemed brighter than usual, he smiled. “Happy Birthday, Boromir!”
End