It was a flight of a fancy that had brought her to Haldir's arms that night. Months had passed since their first meeting and the moments shared between them had been distant, for they had spent many an evening with only their glances catching, rather than sharing any spoken word.
Until, however, that changed.
On this night, free from the clutches of her own kin, she'd drifted away from the gathering to meander casually along a flowing stream between the paths of thick roots. She hadn't expected that anyone should follow, though she wasn't unwelcoming to the thought, and when her own keen senses picked up the soft steps of another somewhat near; she halted, her breath caught between nervousness and excitement. Be it his scent, or the coolness and carefulness of his manner in walking, she knew him.
She turned her head, giving him a view of her angular profile beholden to pale starlight, but did not turn her gaze his way. Her lips parted as if prepared to speak, but she did not, instead looked down and away so that he might have to endeavor for her attention.
He was obliging.
"You were missed," said Haldir, his sharp, deep flowing voice ringing heavily in the silent forest and in her ears, penetrating something deep in her chest.
"I did not imagine I would be," she told him in a light humor, finally turning to look at him. Amusement lined her expression sweetly, he thought. His cautious steps closer were now light and silent, as if to tell her that he'd meant to alert her of his presence on purpose. He stopped, and reaching his hand out to her, something which was rather daring, even making her almost hesitate, but she quickly relented against her own stern will. Letting her fingers slide over his own, as well as his smooth palm, so that he took her hand eagerly and gently and ending the action with his thumb caressing her knuckle softly and experimentally.
"Will you now cut my meditation short and escort me back?"
"Not unless you wish it," he told her, a thoughtful smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth and drawing her closer to him, leaving only a foot's space between the two of them before he halted, watching her closely and intently.
"I do not," she told him coyly, turning her head to the side as she looked up at him, her eyes twinkling with interest. Was she always so open to such things? She couldn't remember.
Hand still holding her own she felt as if her whole arm was conducting something electric, and if she weren't careful she knew that she would soon be trembling. But she was strong, she reminded herself, not completely naive about such things and she could handle herself well enough, or so she imagined.
With his free hand he reached out to her once more, this time to move a stray tendril of her flaxen hair from her exposed collarbone, his fingers slightly tickling her and making her almost gasp had she not masked it with a light, yet nervous chuckle that in turn made his own smile grow with delight.
"I feel as if I have waited too long for this moment," he whispered, honesty ringing true in his tone, and in his own eyes she saw it. His brow furrowed in confusion, though still smiling, and all the impressions she'd battled with— that he was maybe harsh, or rigid as some had implied, the sort to play games… all of it seemed to fade away as falsehoods and she knew that her resolving hope was indeed true and true as her own heart was.
To find another could take centuries, or it could take mere moments. For Elemmírë it was both; the former and the latter, making her wonder if Haldir felt that, as well.
With one hand held and his other now resting on her shoulder, all that was left was for her to finally break the space between the two of them and she knew that everything counted, whether she stepped forward into his arms, or ran away into the darkness of the forest.
Elemmírë would not play games with Haldir, as somehow she knew his heart then, as well her own, she imagined, and if she were to turn away from him, then returning would be thrice the struggle. Instead of stepping closer, however, she pulled him closer, catching him pleasantly off-guard as she reached up to kiss him. She could feel him grin into her mouth, feel the way his eyes crinkled as if he was laughing, though neither parted and he soon became serious as the reality of their potential union materialized with each caress of each-other and her chest pressed against him, just below his own, allowing him the wish of wrapping his arms around her and holding her tenderly.
Elemmírë's lips parted for him and he wasted none of her kiss, deepening it and feeling her as closely as she felt him, be it their shared, although mostly forgotten, apprehension and even more-so joy.
She would be precious to him always, his heart vowed, and it was the final spike in their fate, sealing it. He was done in, at last, and he was all hers for eternity and beyond, and he felt that she, too, felt the same.
They broke their kiss hesitantly, slightly breathless, and wrought with newfound emotion that was altogether exhilarating, strange and wondrous.
It was pure, thought Elemmírë, pure as the moon and starlight.
If one mere kiss could leave him in such a state... Haldir could not help muse absently as his own thoughts trailed away from him.
He was rubbing his hands down her back and hips, enjoying the feel of her soft flesh in his own hard hands and realizing that parting with her was impossible. She melted into him like a candle long lit.
"I must go," she whispered into his neck. "I'll be missed by now…"
"You will be missed here," said Haldir as he held her close to him, one arm at the base of her back while the other pulled away her hair and left her pale neck bare to him, letting him trail his lips along it, his hot breath setting something inside her aflame in what had been a slow kindled desire which she'd kept deep under wraps until then. She breathed heavily, naturally arching her hips towards him.
"We are treading dangerously," said Elemmírë, words hitched.
"Perhaps," was all he said.
The clouds had shifted overhead, partially obscuring the full moon and a timid breeze came in, rustling the leaves of the trees that cloaked them, wavering her lightweight gown and chilling the back of her legs as she drew herself even deeper in his warmth, embracing him as she too held on and stroked his back.
"And if someone comes to find you or I, what then shall we do?"
"I would send them away, for there is none whom I could let take you away from me," assured Haldir softly. "Not as we are now. A long life lived has meant little to me until this night and now that I have you here with me… I know that maybe there are few who could understand that. I pity them," said Haldir, feeling almost lost for words.
"As do I," said Elemmírë, feeling the conviction he spoke of. What would become of them? To stay as they were. The wish, as if it were offered from the Valar themselves floated through her scattered thoughts and a vision of their union could stand, joined forever, as stone, together and un-moving until the earth beneath their feet broke apart. But it was brief, a fantasy and she would live with him, beside him, in moving-feeling emotion through all ages and for all to see.
How long they stood alone, neither could say, but they did eventually part, though only briefly— they each had agreed.
Elemmírë took a separate path to her own guest-talan, her sidelong glance and parting staying in Haldir's memory that night. He retreated to his own talan slowly, perplexed at the rate in which his heart was beating. It was her, he thought.
She was his heartbeat, a gift of the stars.