AN: I have always wondered at Faramir and Eowyn's relationship after the famous kiss on the wall. Somehow she has never seemed too enthusiastic about the whole thing to me, and combined with my affinity for Faramir angst, this is my take of how their relationship develops. Will Faramir's self-doubt and Eowyn's pride destroy a possible happy future for them? This is my second attempt at writing a fanfiction so apologies for errors in grammar, formatting etc and I haven't decided on whether this will have a happy ending. Any comments and suggestions is greatly welcome : )

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Tolkien.

Faramir's POV

Having kissing her hand at their parting and promising to return later that evening, Faramir left the Houses of Healing and head back to his office. As he walked, he couldn't help but think back on the morning's events.

She seemed uncomfortable he thought. Really uncomfortable. I really shouldn't have been so bold. She never did give an affirmative answer and here I just went and kissed her in front of the whole city! No wonder she declined moving from the Houses…she's probably terrified of what I would do should she chose to reside in the Citadel

Well, she seemed pleased enough with my suggestion of sharing the evening meal tonight..but then again she must be lonely having no one to talk since I left the Houses,

so naturally she would be glad to finally have company at dinner

Reaching his office, he tried to do some work for the rest of the morning, but found that he couldn't concentrate as self-doubt plagued him all over again.

Whatever was he thinking? How could he be so bold? He does not deserve her, does not deserve her love. She was a princess, a daughter of Kings and has gained great renown by slaying the Witch King, achieving something no man could. He was but a second son of a Steward, a position soon to be redundant, who had only a series of disappointment and failure for his record on the battlefield.

He was certain she does love him to a certain degree. The few days they spent together in the gardens have made it obvious that she enjoyed his company, trusted him, and valued him as a friend, as a confidante. So it is perfectly natural that she accepted his suit. It is better after all to wed someone you are fond of instead of a total stranger.

However he is also certain she does not and never will love him and desired him as a lover. How could she? She desired the King, a man far better and greater than him in every aspect. There was no way that he can compete with, let alone replace, such a great figure in her heart. He may be a failure, but he was no fool.

Strangely he felt no resentment towards the King, just as he never felt any towards his brother. They were better men after all and it almost felt natural that his future wife should love another man more that she loves him. Apparently he was more accustomed to being unwanted an unappreciated that he realize.

He was completely in love with her though and her happiness has become the most important thing in Middle Earth for him. He realizes that he does not wish to be loved in return, the only thing he wished for is her happiness, and that is what he will thrive to achieve.

That is what should be my priority..her happiness…not my own desires. I shall never repeat my mistake and make her so uncomfortable around me again.

Having reached the resolution to ensure her happiness in every way, he finally concentrated on his work for the day and joined Eowyn for the evening meal.

And so it continued everyday until the heroes return from Cormallen. They would go about doing their work in the daytime and he would visit and share the evening meal with her in the Houses, sharing stories of their days work, discussing matters, or simply talk and gaze at the stars until it's time for him to escort her back to her rooms.

Eowyn seemed content enough with his company, although at times he caught her mind wandering and not really paying attention to what he was saying. He thought nothing of it, she must miss her brother and just couldn't wait until everybody is back from Cormallen. I am the only one she has been talking to these past few days, no wonder she's getting restless and bored. Luckily she wouldn't have to wait too long now.

Sensing her discomfort at physical closeness, he always maintained a respectable distance and limited their contact to courtly gestures. No matter how much he desired it, never will he repeat his bold gesture up on the wall. The only physical contact would be a light touch of his lips on her hand at their partings.

Everytime they part though, as he kissed her hand at their parting in front of her room door, Eowyn seemed uneasy, disturbed by something he couldn't quite place.

Perhaps she is uncomfortable with being alone with me. Maybe I shouldn't accompany her all the way to her room. She's afraid I would try to repeat my bold action up on the wall. Surely a kiss on the hand is acceptable? Or perhaps I should refrain from doing this as well if she abhors it so

As he bowed and turned to leave, he could only wish she may trust him enough one day not to be worried being around him. Her happiness is the most important after all.

Eowyn's POV

It feels strange…so strange...not repulsive, but I can't say I enjoy it either

Having spent her youth in constant care of her uncle and the terror of the Worm, it is no wonder that Eowyn does not have an affinity for physical contact. She does not enjoy touches or caresses, even that of her relatives, to the point that she sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with her. So when Faramir embraced her and pressed his lips to hers that morning, she had tensed and had to resist the urge to flinch.

It was not repulsive…rather nice actually. I could get used to it, perhaps… Well I suppose I have to get use to it as I have agreed to marry the man after all, which means kisses would be the least of my worries she thought as a blush crept up her cheeks.

She certainly enjoyed his company, respected his opinions and cared about his wellbeing, so it was completely natural that she would accept his suit. It is better after all to marry your best friend than some stranger for political reasons. But somehow she wished for more, she wished she could marry for love, and he, being such a good man, certainly deserved a wife that truly and fully loves him.

But what is love anyway? What differentiates between a friend you cared deeply about, and someone you passionately love? Is it what she felt towards Aragorn? The more she thought about it, she realized she knew almost nothing about the man. He had dazzled her with his dashing looks, his prowess in battle, his future as King of the realm. It is definitely not hard to desire someone at the height of his glory, who wouldn't desire a dashing, handsome king who is also a great warrior? But would she still want to be with him if he were not a king, would she love the man if he was just Aragorn, not Aragorn the King of Gordor and Isildur's Heir? She realized she couldn't answer that as she didn't really know the man at all.

As the days passed, Eowyn found that not only her respect and admiration towards Faramir grew, but she also found herself starting to assess his physical appearance. During their talks, she would sometime found herself gazing at his face, those mesmerizing grey eyes, the aquiline nose, those thin lips. Often she wondered what it would be like to run her hands through the soft strands of his silky black hair, how those long fingers of his would feel in her own hair, and, to her utter embarrassment, she sometimes wondered what those courtly clothes were covering. To make matters worse, she realized that Faramir had several times caught her mind wandering. Luckily he didn't seem offended that she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying and she thanked the Valar that he didn't ask what she was thinking.

While they seem to grow more comfortable around each other emotionally, the opposite seemed to happen in the physical aspect of their relationship. Faramir seemed to take great effort to keep a respectable distance between them at all times and while she was relieved at first, surprisingly this started to distress her as the days passed. She began to yearn to be closer to him, to wonder what it would be like hold his hand, to be held in his embrace as they talk and gaze at the stars, and to have his lips pressed to hers again as he did that day on the walls.

Yet he did the exact opposite. Every night at their parting, she waited and almost wished that he would do more. But always just a soft press of his lips on her hands, and even that seems to become softer by the day until his lips was almost not touching her skin at all.

Probably out of concern for me…it is common knowledge how much I dislike physical contact. But then as distressing as this is becoming, I can hardly make the first move and throw myself at him.