Morning at the Inn

Part I

By Sylvia

sylvia_de_la_nuit@yahoo.com

Summary:       Legolas and Gimli discuss the nocturnal habits of elves.  No romance, no angst, just two friends on a rather tedious topic.  This story is rated R for adult content, adult situations, and some adult language. 

Disclaimer:     All LOTR characters are property of J.R.R. Tolkien, lucky guy, and I'm just borrowing them for fun, no profit made here (what, is it that obvious?).  Set shortly after the LOTR trilogy, no spoilers if you know the entire general storyline.  This is my first completed LOTR story, so please take it easy on me!  Enjoy and please review!

            Blast it all, where is that dratted elf?  By Gimli's estimate, it was nearly ten o'clock by now, and the elf was nowhere to be found.  Gimli was unsure as to whether Legolas could be outside, doing whatever it was elves chose to do outside, or within his chambers still, decidedly wasting all of Gimli's time in the process.  Annoyed, he stood within the vantage point of both a window in case he might come from outside, and the staircase from which he would surely descend were he still upstairs.  Unfortunately, he had waited nearly a half an hour thus, and there was still no sign of his friend, which was highly unlike him.  True, the evil Sauron had been defeated and the ring was destroyed, but at the same time… A dwarf can never be too careful, he decided, his hand straying toward the hilt of his axe, and this is Legolas, of course.  He shook his head and turned to head up the stairs.  If he will not come to me, then I suppose I will be forced to hunt him out.  Damn elves and their frivolous ways.  He stormed up the steps and turned to find his friend's room at the end of the hall.  Deciding that civility was a privilege Legolas lost about a quarter of an hour ago, he walked in unannounced.  That foolish elf even leaves his door unlocked!

            As he walked in, and prepared to bellow aloud should he spot his belated friend, he stopped in mid-stride as he looked about the room.  But it wasn't what he saw that startled him, it was what he didn't see, or rather that he couldn't see.  It was nearly ten in the morning and Legolas' windows were still heavily draped so that very little sunshine came through.  The elf had a great love for the outdoors, a fact that Gimli was always expressing his frustration with, and the elf never closed his curtains, not to mention his windows against the sounds of nature.  Shocked, Gimli stalked over to the window to see if he could get more light into the room, as well as a dwarf can stalk.  On his way, he stumbled over a pile of clothing, and upon further inspection he realized it was Legolas'.  When did the elf start sleeping in the nude?  I guess that rules out the idea that he could be outside, he decided with a grunt.  He reached the windows, and flung open the drapes.  He heard a strange hissing behind him, and turned to see Legolas burying his head under a pillow.  The sheets were twisted in strange ways on the bed, but came up to about mid-waist on his friend.  He lay on his stomach, his strangely smooth back rising and falling as he tried to regain sleep.  The dwarf had of course seen his friend without his shirt on, one doesn't travel for leagues without stopping to bathe at some point, but it never actually occurred to the dwarf that he grew no hair upon his body.  It was such an important aspect of dwarven livelihood that he was rather disgusted to find his friend with such a smooth back, and the dwarf stroked his beard in reassurance for himself and pity for his friend that lay dozing before him.  True, his friend was ugly by dwarven standards, but Gimli was certainly not considered perfection in the eyes of men.  Shaking himself of his straying thoughts, the dwarf turned his attention to the nightstand beside the bed, where a small clear vase containing only a single golden flower stood curiously behind a tiny cleanly folded envelope of stark white paper.  The room, the dwarf suddenly noted, held a strange mixture of smells from the blooming flower, to a distinctly female perfume, to… something else.  A large grin spread across Gimli's face as, curiosity overwhelming him, he picked up the letter, broke open the seal, and drove his eyes over its contents.  His smile grew larger.

Legolas-

            Thank you so much for the lovely evening!  I hope to see you again the next time you come to town.  Please see me before you leave; I want to thank you in person…

Love,

Medea.

Gimli shook his head in disbelief, why in the world would any woman want to sleep with an elf?  Then again, I suppose by human and elven standards, he could be attractive.  At the same time, though, the dwarf was rather glad to discover this for he had worried that his friend might never find the pleasures of a woman, so wrapped up did he seem with the sea-longing.  He replaced the note, and then set to the task of waking his friend.  This morning might be longer than he expected…

TBC