Disclaimer- I don't own it.

So, this is the last chapter! It was a bit sadder than I expected, but Elrond has had a long life, and I guess that comes with sadness.

I hope you enjoy! :)

It took Bilbo a long time to clear the fog from his mind, but when he finally did, he found himself enjoying a warm breeze on a ship's deck. He still felt old, unbelievably so, but he could think more clearly now.

"So the water has begun its restorative effects, has it?"

Bilbo looked up to find Elrond leaning over the railing, his expression calm. In the past, Elrond would have said that with a light, airy tone, but now his voice was sombre.

"Are you restored, Master Elrond?"

"You need not bother with the Master Elrond anymore. I am...I am no longer master of anything," said Elrond, sighing.

"Aren't you happy to be going to Valinor?"

Elrond closed his eyes briefly before turning to look down at Bilbo, his hands still clasped. Bilbo noticed that his robes were dark gray, so dark that they were black if you didn't look closely. Bilbo thoguht vaguely that Elrond was lucky that the sun wasn't blazing, or he might melt. Blazing sun made him think of the way something else blazed in the light...what was it? For the life of him, Bilbo couldn't remember.

"I am happy, yes. But I have lived in Middle-earth nearly my entire life. I have raised children and married and spent millennia tending to Imladris. It is not so easy to leave it." He twisted the ring on his hand that Bilbo only now noticed. It was gold, with a great blue stone in the middle. Bilbo wondered why he had never seen it before.

"Nearly your entire life? Where else could you have lived?"

For the first time, there was a ghost of a smile on his face. "In Beleriand. I spent my childhood there...if you could call it that."

When Bilbo realized how bitter Elrond's smile was, he wished he was strong enough to whack Elrond with his cane.

"Look, Elrond, you're going to Valinor! you're going to see your wife again! You get to spend the rest of eternity in peace! Stop moping!"

When Bilbo mentioned his wife, a quick look of apprehension crossed his face. "What if...what if Ereinion is back?" he whispered, more to himself than to Bilbo. "How can I choose?"

Elrond blinked several times in rapid succession before turning to Bilbo. "You're right, Bilbo. I should stop moping. Valinor...our songs sing of it, sing of its beauty and wonder. I have forever lived in the shadows of its greatness, and now I can finally see it. Are you excited, Bilbo?"

Bilbo thought about it. "Yes and no. It doesn't seem like there will be much to do over there. But it sounds pretty."

"Pretty? Yes, it does sound pretty."

Bilbo looked out at the waves and smiled. "But...no matter. The waves are nice, aren't they?"

Elrond watched the waves with him for several long minutes. "Yes. Even though my...my f-" Elrond cut himself off and breathed in deeply. "Yes. They are nice."

"Now, I beleive it is mealtime. We will be missed if we don't show."

Elrond took Bilbo's hand and began to guide him towards the inside of the boat, but Bilbo stopped him.

"Elrond..."

"Yes, little master?"

"I'm glad we're friends, even after all these years."

Elrond's deep gray eyes were slgihtly less unfathomable when he smiled so wide that the lines around his eyes crinkled and he said, "Me too."

Yep. It's been pretty difficult to not let my OTP of Elrond/Ereinion show, but I guess it had to sometime. Anyway, thank you everyone who supported and read this fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Reviews are love, and goodbye! :)