So what happened yesterday, guys? Yesterday's chapter had more than 100 more views than the day before, but only three reviews. Did your review buttons break? I was pounding through today's chapter and then saw that and got mightily discouraged! Only my love of LOTR, Naruto, and crossovers made me finish this. That, and gabydlcrz pming me about patiently waiting for this one. I have put a LOT of effort into today's prompt, so please! Let me know what you think!

NaruHina Month: Day 9

Lord of the Rings AU

Naruto swirled the mead in his cup and only just resisted releasing a dramatically mournful sigh. In the brightly lit hall around him revelers carried on in their celebration, not the least bit disturbed by their king's melancholy.

Despite his poor mood, Naruto couldn't bring himself to blame them. It was the third night of Yule and his people had much to be happy for. It had been a good year. A long spring with a mild summer had blessed the Rohirrim with a bountiful harvest. A calm late winter had followed and the people celebrated the success of the year.

His people were beginning to recover from the horrors the war had left on the world. It had been three years since the Dark Lord had been defeated and an age of peace had begun. With a strong alliance between their own country and their neighbors to the south, bolstered by the brotherhood between their two kings, the world had begun to mend and move forward.

Soldiers returned to their farms and herds, grateful to be with their families and in a few years, Naruto hoped they would be able to begin trading with their allies again.

Alas, all of these blessings were not enough in the eyes of his council.

A heavy hand pulled Naruto from his sour musings and he looked over his shoulder to find his brother in all but blood, Sasuke, with a mug of his own. The dark haired king straddled the bench beside Naruto and pinned him with a stern gaze.

"What has you so down? Should you not be celebrating with your people? You have much to be thankful for." The last of the Uchiha and King of the reunited Gondor and Arnor was in an overwhelmingly pleasant mood tonight, noticeable by his lack of a scowl.

Naruto scoffed and returned to watching his mead. "I am well aware of it, Sasuke. Unfortunately, my lack of a wife and unwillingness to find one seems to overshadow everything."

"Surely it can't be that difficult to find a willing woman, even for an idiot like you?" Sasuke needled good-naturedly and again, Naruto scoffed.

"Says the man happily married to his very own elvish princess," he quipped back with a nod to the ethereal beauty dancing with one of his riders in the middle of the hall. He did not miss Sasuke's tender smile as he indulged in the sight of his hard-won wife.

"It was no easy task getting her. Surely finding a willing woman could not be so difficult. Or are you also looking for an elvish maiden?" Sasuke gently kicked Naruto's boot under the table, teasing him. Before the blond king could reply one of his riders, and his best friend, joined them at the table.

"Hail, Naruto-King!" Kiba greeted with a raised tankard of mead. Naruto merely raised two fingers in greeting.

"It would seem our king is heartsick," Sasuke informed the newcomer, and Kiba's face lit up in interest.

"Is he now?" Kiba sprawled onto the bench across the table and leaned forward eagerly. "And which beautiful maiden has caught the eye of our wily king?" It was a well-known fact that although the young king had no shortage of admirers in Edoras he never gave any of them a second thought. This was the first Kiba had heard of the King showing any interest in love.

"No one here," Naruto dodged, taking a swig of his mead.

"Oh-ho!" Kiba crowed enthusiastically. "And when would you have met this mysterious dame? You haven't left Edoras in months."

"It's no one!" Naruto insisted, earning skeptical looks from his companions.

"Maybe not now, but there was someone," Sasuke inferred with a knowing look.

"It doesn't matter now, it was years ago. Before the war ended." Naruto miserably dipped his nose into his cup to avoid their gazes, but he could not block out Kiba's amused laugh.

"Come now, Naruto! We've known each other since before we could ride, you must tell me!" Kiba insisted jovially. The two had been through nearly everything together and he had never known the bright king to harbor feelings for any woman. As a young rider in an increasingly dangerous world, he simply hadn't had the time.

Reluctantly, Naruto spoke. "There was a girl, a woman," he corrected himself, picturing her face in his mind. "In Minas Tirith. She had some skill in healing and she tended to me after the battle on the field."

Kiba's amusement dried up in an instant and he leveled his king with a serious look.

"Naruto, please, tell me you weren't stupid enough to fall in love with a one night lay," Kiba begged. When his king did nothing to deny his accusation the man groaned and took a long draw from his mug before speaking. "Well, what happened? Did she not find you pleasing enough?"

"It wasn't like that!" Naruto growled angrily.

"Did her husband return from the battle?" Sasuke guessed, but Naruto shook his head.

"Maybe. I don't know." His sullen mood seemed to compound, his misery only growing with the memory of her. "I could not find her when I returned from Cormallen."

"Did she expect you to return?" Sasuke asked, surprisingly sympathetic.

"I promised her I would."

XXX

In the solitude of his room Naruto allowed himself to remember her. He knew her face by heart, had memorized every plane of her features and every hair on her head. It would have been difficult not to when he saw her every night in his dreams.

Her beautiful hair, as dark as a moonless summer night had rippled down her back and cascaded over her shoulders, tangled in his fingers. Her stunning eyes had entranced him, placed him under an unbreakable spell that he had no desire to ever escape.

She had given him comfort like he had never known before. It had been about more than just sex. She had held him the way a lover did, the way he imagined a wife held her husband. She had loved him and soothed his troubled mind. She had allowed him an escape, for that night at least, to forget about the war and the certain doom they would march to the next day. It had been a quiet reprieve between the horrors of battle and he wanted nothing more than to find her again. As he lay in bed, he relieved the memory.

XXX

The Houses of Healing were certainly something to behold. Even in the ruined and rotting city the airy corridors and light paths of the Houses held a soothing environment that calmed him. The serene moment was broken when hurried footsteps rushed down the hall.

A girl in a gray shift rounded a corner and jumped in surprise when she spotted the dirty, bloodied foreigner before her. It was her small little 'eep', like the sound a mouse makes, that brought her to his attention. She was carrying a cloth and a bowl of water with a disturbingly pink tint and her hair was twisted back into a knot at the nape of her neck. It was her eyes, however, that captivated him. Beautiful, pale, molten silver. They carried a life he had never seen before in another person and he wanted to speak with her.

Her surprise seemed to disappear as quickly as it had come and shyly she stepped toward him.

"Is there something I can do for you, My Lord?" she asked in a soft voice. Even so, her words jolted him from his enchantment and he nodded to his limp arm.

"I could use some healing," he admitted, slightly proud he had managed to string a sentence together in lieu of her captivating presence. "Is there a healer available?"

The girl grimaced and raised a knuckle to her lips uncertainly. "Many of our healers are preoccupied with dire cases. If it's not anything too lethal, I could have a look at you?" A moment after she spoke she seemed to realize how bold her choice of words was and her face flushed crimson. She began to stutter out an apology mixed with an explanation, trying to phrase her words better and, charmed, Naruto accepted her offer as it had been intended rather than stated.

"I would be most grateful, Lady. My arm was injured in the battle on the field outside the city. I would appreciate any help you could offer." She peeked at him through her lashes before she seemed to gain some confidence. Her shoulders squared and her back straightened before she nodded decisively.

"I will do my best. If you'll just follow me." She led him down the corridor, in the direction she had been headed and turned into a small room that must have been a storage closet. It was small and the walls were lined with shelves but Naruto wasn't surprised to see most of them empty. Minas Tirith had fallen on hard times long before the Black Armies had marched on her gates. The girl quickly set her bowl and cloth on the small table in the center of the room and pulled a stool from the corner, implying that he could take a seat.

"If you could just remove your armor, I'll take a look at your arm." She was waiting expectantly and Naruto briefly wondered if she would faint if he asked her, but there was no way around it.

"My armor is a bit difficult to manage on my own. It's nigh impossible with my arm as it is. Would it be too bold to request your assistance?" It was not his intention to scandalize her, but he would need the help. She fared better than he had expected however. Although her face once again colored in that charming blush, she stumbled through a yes, and stepped toward him.

She raised her hands and he noticed for the first time just how petite she was. Her head barely met his chin and he wondered if she would have trouble with the large buckles that held his armor together. She seemed at a loss for a moment and he directed her to the first set of buckles under one arm.

Surprisingly, she was rather efficient and he wondered how many other soldiers she had assisted before this. Given the fact that she was working in the Houses after a siege, the number was probably higher than he cared to think about. Although the heavy leather and metal plates were a bit too heavy for her, she did a fair job, trying to gently lay the pieces on the table as each was removed.

Before long, he stood before her in his breeches and a bloodied linen shirt. Her eyes were already keenly examining his injured arm. He sat on the stool and gritted his teeth as she prodded at his shoulder, sending waves of pain coursing through him.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as she gently looked him over. Soon enough, she stepped back and told him what she had found. "Your shoulder has dislocated. The injury is enflamed and badly swollen. How long has it been like this?"

Naruto shrugged with his good shoulder. It had happened some time during the battle. At the time it was either kill or be killed and in the swirling rush that was war, time moved differently. He had no idea how early in the battle he had been hurt. However it had been nearly a day since the battle had ended and he had come looking for someone to tend to it. He had been more preoccupied with his wounded men and Jiraiya's death on the field to worry about an injured arm.

His casual negligence seemed to upset her, however. She frowned down at him as he sat on the wooden stool, her small hands fisted on her hips, and she scolded him.

"How could you let this injury just sit? You should have come to the Houses as soon as the battle was over!" She seemed genuinely upset with him but her scolding made him feel like a child and he did not appreciate it.

"There were others that required the skills of the healers far more than I. It is a small injury and I'll have it seen to when I return to my camp." He knew he was being rude but she had pricked his pride. Many of his men had been seriously wounded and they were still counting the dead. His arm had been the least of his concerns. But as he stood from the stool to leave she stopped him.

"You'll do no such thing. I'll take care of it right here." He ignored her, staring straight over her head as he stepped to the door but he had underestimated her determination. Her small hand, cool against his enflamed shoulder even through his shirt, clamped down on his injury and she squeezed, steering him back to the stool. He gasped and tried to wriggle out of her reach but her fingers were like iron and resisting only caused more pain. With a gasp, he collapsed onto the stool again.

"What is it about you men from the North?" the girl grumbled to herself. "It's almost as if you don't want to be healed." With hands more gentle than before, she took his arm and slowly rotated it. "This is going to hurt," she informed him. He opened his mouth to make some rude remark about being no stranger to pain, but she slammed his shoulder back into place, stealing his breath before he could.

Belatedly, he realized that this tiny diminutive woman had not even flinched at relocating a man's bones. In an absent part of his brain, he was impressed. She was already speaking when he gathered his wits again.

"You'll want to be careful with that. Try to avoid using it unless you have to for the next few days." She was dealing with the bowl of water and the cloth now, her back to him and carefully, he rotated his shoulder, testing its limits.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, My Lady. We march on the Black Gate tomorrow." The bowl slipped from her hands, banging against the wooden table, sloshing water, and she whirled around to face him.

"Tomorrow?!" Her face was washed in horror and shock. "No! No, you can't fight, not with that arm. You'll injure it again, perhaps worse."

"I must lead my men. Would you have me hide behind these walls while they marched to war without me?" He challenged angrily. He was beginning to tire of her uncanny ability to prick his pride. He normally would take more care with both his tone and his temper in the presence of a lady, but his annoyance was beginning to show and she seemed to wilt a little under the force of his anger.

She avoided his eyes and leaned back against the table.

"If you try to fight with that arm, you could die," she insisted quietly. Naruto was taken aback by the overwhelming sincerity in her voice. She was truly worried for him. But he would not hide while his men went to war. They had already lost their prince in an orc raid and their king on the Pelennor. He would not leave them leaderless.

"I appreciate your looking after my arm," he told her gently, "but I must lead my men."

Her eyes met his for a brief moment that seemed to stretch for an eternity.

He lost himself in those beautiful silver pools. He had heard tales of elves as a child but they had only ever been distant stories to him. Now looking into this woman's face, he believed for the first time that, perhaps, elves still walked Middle-Earth.

She knew she could not dissuade him, and he saw that it broke her heart. She did not want him to die. It was as if a single thread had suddenly snared his heart, stronger than elvish steel, and connected with hers. He suddenly loathed himself for disappointing her, for causing her pain.

"Please be careful," she begged, examining her slippers instead of meeting his eyes, and with tenderness, he took a step toward her. Softly cupping her chin, he forced her to meet his eyes.

"I must go," he told her earnestly, his voice aching with an apology. Suddenly, he didn't want to leave her. He never wanted to leave her side.

He wasn't sure how it happened, how it began. Something simply compelled him to action and in the next moment he was kissing her. A deep intense kiss unlike anything he had ever experienced before. It was as if he had been made by Bema to kiss this woman. And she was responding in kind.

Her arms flew around his shoulders and held him tightly, surprising him with their strength. Her curvy body pressed along the length of his, igniting a fire deep inside him and before he knew it she was laid out on the table as he leaned over her.

Afterwards they did not speak of what had happened between them. He did not ask if she had felt the same overwhelming need he had. He did not ask if she had felt as if it had been a divine intervention that had led him into the Houses to meet her, as if they had always been meant to meet. He did not ask if she felt that they had been made for one another as he did. He did not know if he would be able to accept if she didn't.

But he was fairly certain she had.

Instead he held her close, embracing this moment; the quiet before the storm. It was a small moment of peace before the world intruded and he would once again leave to fight.

They lay on ratty, moth-eaten blankets in the corner of the storage closet, her head on his shoulder as his fingers carded through her long silky hair. Her hand on his chest drew his attention and his fingers paused for a moment, caught on a snarl in her hair. She lifted her head to meet his eyes, captivating his attention.

"Promise me you'll come back." A steely determination had entered her eyes and he felt compelled to obey her.

"Will there be something to return to?" He barely dared to breath, afraid her answer would be no. For an agonizing moment, she said nothing, her eyes simply piercing his. Then her lips spread in the most breathtakingly beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"Come back in one piece, and we'll see."

He had left an hour later to return to his men, his mind swimming with misty memories of her. If he'd had it his way he would never have walked out of that storage room. Or he would have brought her with him, but duty had called. He had an army to organize and she'd had wounded to tend to. It was not until he was nearly before the Black Gates that he remembered he had never learned her name.

Now as he lay in his lonely chambers he regretted it. Even if he had never found her, a name would have meant the world to him. He had simply forgotten. It wasn't in any attempt to be callous or cruel. The connection he had felt between them, that incredible feeling that they were tied together, as if she had been made to complete him had driven names from his mind. He had felt a familiarity with her that went beyond anything he had ever experienced with another person. What they had shared had been so many times deeper than that and something as trivial as names had not even occurred to him at the time.

Now he hated himself for being so stupid.

Perhaps she had been intimidated by him. He could only assume she was one of the common folk. Despite her otherworldly elegance and beauty, she had been assisting the healers in the city. All nobility had been sent to the coast in Belfalas to wait out the fighting. Perhaps his sudden rise to royalty had frightened her, like it had him.

He never should have become king, he knew. It was only through the early deaths of his godfather, Jiraiya, and his cousin Nagato, that the crown of the Mark had fallen to him. And it had been a heavy burden to bear.

"It would have been easier, with her," he told his empty room.

As his heart ached, his mind turned to distraction. He considered Sasuke's proposal.

A change of scenery was in order, the Uchiha had declared. Now that the world was beginning to return to some semblance of normal, Naruto's council could be left to tend to the day to day goings on of the kingdom. Under the guise of a trade negotiation, Sasuke had invited Naruto to visit Dol Amroth, in Belfalas.

"Come see the sea," he had suggested. "Maybe it will clear your mind." Naruto was severely tempted to accept. He knew nothing could ever rid him of the memory of her, but perhaps a month away would help him forget his council and their constant baying for a bride and heir.

Restlessly, he left his bed and slipped from his room. At this time of night, Meduseld was silent and he slipped through the halls like a ghost. The streets of Edoras were no different and the king slipped through the doors of the stable without any notice. Moving with practiced quiet, Naruto walked along the stalls to the farthest one and peeked in. Kurama met his gaze squarely.

Slipping through the gate, Naruto released a small chuckle and ruffled the horse's forelock. "I guess you knew I was coming, huh?" Kurama glared at him with one amber eye, as if to say Obviously. Not the least put off by his horse's foul mood, Naruto grabbed a curry comb and began brushing through the russet fur, if only for something to do.

"What would you say to an adventure?" he asked casually. Kurama's head twisted to look at him skeptically.

Is this to find your ridiculous woman?

"Heh, unfortunately not," Naruto replied. "I'm sure she's long gone by now. Sasuke thinks I need a break and I'm inclined to agree with him."

Kurama turned his head away, losing interest, and Naruto knew it was the closest he would get to approval from his taciturn horse. In the morning, he would begin making preparations.

XXX

The sea was beyond anything he could have imagined. Its vast size was unlike anything he had ever seen. He had heard foreigners describe the plains of the Mark as a sea of grass but even the open fields that he loved had nothing on this incredible empty sea. It was said that the land of the Valar lay on the other side, but looking out, Naruto doubted there was an end to all that water.

"Naruto!"

Turning his back on the crashing waves, Naruto spotted Kiba waving at him.

"Let's get something to eat, I'm starving!" the rider yelled over the noise of the sea and with a nod of acceptance, Naruto climbed the beach.

Together, the two friends wandered through the streets of Dol Amroth, looking for a suitable place to take their midday meal. Seemingly at random, Kiba selected a higher end tavern and steered his friend through the front door.

The taproom was well lit, but still seemed dim after the bright sunshine from outside and Naruto had to take a moment to allow his eyes to adjust. Although the room was buzzing with the usual noise found in a popular tavern, there was a small group of five or six men, dressed as sailors, seated at the central table, calling for the food jovially. They all seemed to be in good cheer and well into their cups, but the other patrons mostly ignored them, as fools are often ignored.

As Naruto searched the room for an available seat, his eyes were drawn to the bar, is if by some spell.

She came through the door like a summer breeze, an overloaded tray of hot food in her hands. Her cheeks were flushed red from the heat of the kitchen and he could not keep his mind from remembering images of her blushing for other reasons. She wore a simple green dress with an apron over the front, although it was spotless.

The entire world stopped when he saw her, along with his heart.

The table in the center let up a chorus of cheers when they spotted her, the men banging their tankards on the table and making a ruckus. As she placed the tray on the table one of the bolder men grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into his lap and mashing a messy kiss to her cheek. Naruto took a step forward but was blocked by a limping old man on his way out the door. Before he could get clear, she had struggled free. The man hadn't put up much of a fight, releasing her good-naturedly, but he had swatted at her rear.

The stone wall of a barman came to her rescue before Naruto could fight through the mob.

"I'll thank you to keep yer hands te' yerself," he growled, cleaning his enormous hands on a ratty cloth as he stepped between the girl and the table of rowdy soldiers.

The man that had grabbed her scoffed and glanced to his friends in amusement. "It was just a bit of fun," he shrugged, but the barman was not to be ignored.

"My girls are off limits. Keep yer hands where they belong or you'll be asked te' leave." The sailor rolled his eyes but agreed, turning to his food and the barman ushered her away. The occupants that had taken an interest in the confrontation turned back to their food and the loud buzz of conversation that had died out picked back up again.

"Pricks," Kiba grumbled, jostling Naruto's shoulder. "Let's get a seat at the bar."

Naruto only gave a vague nod, not really listening and made a beeline for her. She was collecting tankards behind the bar, speaking to the barman.

"Thank you, Brom. But I was fine." She smiled at him fondly and he nudged her shoulder before looking to the rowdy group in the middle of the taproom sourly.

"No need to be thankin' me, Hinata." Naruto's mind froze again.

Hinata. Hinata! He knew her name! His heart felt like it was going to explode.

"Yer a good girl," the barman continued. "You shouldn't have to be puttin' up with that sort o'behavior. They should know better by now. They come in every few months."

"They do know better," she mused, cleaning a mug before placing it on her tray. "But Toneri has been trying to court me for longer than he's been coming here. Unfortunately, he's the determined type." With an amused look shared between the two, she picked up her tray of mugs and disappeared through a door behind the bar, leaving Naruto feeling as if all of the light had gone out of the world.

Oblivious to his king's focused state of mind, Kiba steered him onto a stool at the bar and ordered a tankard of mead. Naruto's eyes did not leave the door. Before long, his diligence was rewarded when she swept through the door again.

Her hair was braided back to keep it out of her face, and then left free to tumble down her back. It was a style common in the Mark but rarely seen in Gondor. It was a small detail, insignificant really, but it made Naruto's heart leap. Perhaps she had thought of him as much as he had thought of her. Before he realized what he was doing, he had jumped off his stool and crossed to her.

"Hinata." Her name on his lips felt like the sweetest thing he had ever tasted. She turned from the table she was clearing, a ready smile on her face that was gone the instant she recognized him.

"Naruto-" she breathed before choking her words off. Her knuckles were white as she clutched her tray in front of her like a shield.

"You know my name?" he couldn't help but asking. It seemed unfair she had known his name these past three years but he had never known hers.

"You're the king of Rohan. How could I not?" she asked after a brief pause. She looked like a cornered deer, her gorgeous eyes wide and panicked as he stood before her. Her face was pale and she was still holding on to that tray like a lifeline.

"You never told me yours. I've done nothing but wonder who you are since the day we met." She glanced away for a moment, biting her lip nervously.

"I have work to do." Before he could act she had darted past him and quickly headed for the door behind the bar.

After three years of longing, he wasn't going to let her get away that easily. He stomped after her, and when he did not catch her before she slipped through the door, he followed her, consequences be damned. There were only two young kitchen maids, the older of the two barely even old enough to court, in the kitchen, pounding dough into shape. Both looked up, startled by the large man that had charged through the door and caught hold of Hinata's arm, but he ignored them.

"I would speak with you," he murmured quietly, so their audience would not hear. She struggled against his grip and for fear of hurting her, he released her.

"There's really nothing to say," she replied, flustered. She avoided meeting his eyes but she did not turn from him. He suspected she wanted to keep an eye on him so she could evade him easier.

"Why did you not wait for me?" he asked, the desperation to know her answer leaking into his voice. "I promised I would return to you." She breathed out sharply through her nose, letting her tray fall to the counter with a clatter as she placed her hands on her hips and raised her eyes to the ceiling, as if asking if this was really happening to her.

When she did not answer him, he tried a different approach. "Are you married?" his temper was beginning to show now, frustrated that she would not answer him, and he was vaguely aware of the younger girl slipping through the door into the taproom.

"No," she admitted, still not meeting his eyes. "No, I am not married."

"Then what?" he pleaded to know but before she could answer the door to the taproom exploded open, the barman storming in.

"What in the name of the Valar is going on in here?" he roared, advancing on Naruto. Behind him, Naruto spotted the kitchen girl cowering against the doorframe. "I'll not tolerate anyone harrasin' my girls. Show yerself out or I'll do it for you."

"Mama! What's all the shoutin'?" As if to add to the chaos, a toddler darted in from the back door to the yard, stumbling to Hinata and tugging on her skirts.

As it had when he had spotted Hinata again, Naruto's world stopped.

The boy could not have been more than three. He had a round face and bright blue eyes the likes of which Naruto had never seen. And his blond hair was a tangled mess on top of his head. There was no way that boy was full-blooded Gondorian. The world seemed to click into place when those bright blue eyes turned and met his squarely.

"Jiraiya, I told you to stay outside," Hinata scolded, trying to steer the boy that was clearly her son back out the door but he resisted, his eyes shining as he looked up to the tall king before him. Naruto was trying to wrap his head around this tiny little human before him. She had named him Jiraiya. That could not be a coincidence. It was a Rohirric name, for a Rohirric boy.

"You've got hair like mine!" the little boy exclaimed, pointing to Naruto's bright hair. "I've never met someone with hair like mine before!" The boy was practically dancing in his excitement, slipping out of his mother's hold and dashing to stand at Naruto's feet.

"Jiraiya, out!" Hinata commanded harshly, and the toddler flinched, turning over his shoulder to see his furious mother. "Now!" Galvanized into obedience, Jiraiya ran for the door but stopped just outside the threshold and leaned against the frame, peaking at the stranger.

Naruto did not resist when the barman roughly grabbed the neck of his tunic and steered him out the door.

The barman heaved him through the front door of the tavern and still shocked by what he had seen in the kitchen, Naruto lost his balance, slamming into the cobblestones of the street. Kiba was quickly on his heels, shouting Rohirric abuses to the barman as he helped heave Naruto to his feet.

"What the hell was that about?" he asked, glaring at Naruto.

"I found her." He wasn't answering Kiba so much as marveling at the fact himself. He had found her! After three years of longing and wondering what had happened to her and wishing he could see her again, he had finally found her! Hinata! He knew her name! Suddenly he began to laugh. Great, chest-heaving laughs.

Kiba roughly grabbed Naruto's shoulders, forcing him to stand straight and meet his eyes. "Naruto! What in the name of the mearas is going on?" Still overwhelmingly giddy, Naruto brushed his friend's hands away and turned to look back at the tavern, as if he could see her through the walls.

"Don't worry about it. Go back to the palace and tell Sasuke I won't be making it to dinner." When his friend did not immediately leave Naruto made it a command. "That's an order from your king, Kiba." It wasn't often that Naruto pulled rank on his friend and there was very little threat in his voice, but he made sure Kiba knew he meant business. Still bewildered and slightly worried for the sanity of his king, Kiba left him.

Knowing he would not be allowed inside the tavern again, king or no king, Naruto perched on the low wall across the street and settled in to wait. It wasn't long before an opportunity for distraction came along. At the far corner of the tavern, a little blond head peeked around the corner curiously.

Naruto wanted nothing more than to spend the entire day simply drinking in the sight of that little boy. The revelation of his existence was like seeing the lights of Edoras after a long and painful patrol. Easing into a comfortable position on the low wall, he threw the boy an encouraging smile and waited to see what he would do. It took the better part of half an hour, but eventually, the little boy gathered his courage and ventured across the street.

"Hello," Naruto greeted in the common tongue. The boy stood some feet away from him, solemnly watching him, although his curiosity could not be mistaken. He raised one little hand bashfully in response to Naruto's cheerful welcome. "What's your name?" Naruto prompted, gesturing to the space of wall next to him, inviting the boy to sit. He noticed that without the reassuring familiar presence of his mother, the boy was considerably shier.

"Jiraiya," he mumbled quietly, still cautious around the foreign stranger. Again, Naruto's heart gave a joyful leap. She had named him after his uncle!

"That's a good name," he told the boy. "You share it with a great king." The little boy's eyes grew wide in wonder, and his shyness began to disappear.

"Really?" he asked, taking a step closer and leaning against Naruto's knee.

"Yes," he laughed, amused. "It's a very good name. You should be proud of it." Jiraiya's face lit up like a bonfire.

"What is your name?" he asked, and Naruto smiled at him again.

"My friends call me Naruto," he answered easily. Jiraiya asked another question, about his hair this time, and then another about his eyes, and he kept asking questions. Before Naruto knew it, hours had passed and the sun was beginning to set.

"Jiraiya!" Both Naruto and Jiraiya looked up at the voice to see the barman standing in the doorway of his tavern, looking back inside as he shouted something. "Get over here, boy! Yer mother's been lookin' everywhere for you." Hinata appeared in the doorway behind the barman, a small coat in her hands, which she quickly ushered Jiraiya into, taking no notice of the figure across the street.

With a quick goodbye to the barman, she scooped her son into her arms and turned down the street. Waiting until the door to the tavern had closed so the barman would not follow him, Naruto was off the wall and trailing after Hinata.

"Hinata!" he called, jogging to catch up to her. Jiraiya waved at him over her shoulder before she turned to see who had called her. Once she saw it was him she turned on her heel and sped away, ignoring him as he followed again.

"Hinata, please! Talk to me!" he begged, following her as she marched down the street. Skipping in front of her, he forced her to a stop. "At least explain to me why you will have nothing to do with me." She met his stare with a defiant one of her own. He hardened his own features, making sure she understood he would not take no for an answer. Her shoulder sagged a little and her features softened after a few tense moments.

"Follow me."

She led him through the dusky streets of Dol Amroth, down toward the beach, to a small cottage. It was tiny, smaller even that the tiniest homes in Edoras, but it looked warm and comfortable and inviting. Jiraiya had smiled at him over her shoulder for part of the walk but before long had dropped off to sleep in his mother's arms. "Stay out here," she commanded before slipping inside. He assumed she was putting Jiraiya to bed, and was proven right when she slipped out the front door again minutes later, her arms empty.

"What do you want to know?" she asked quietly, staring at her feet.

"Is he mine?" The crash of the waves was the only thing that answered him for a moment before she nodded her head weakly. "Why did you not wait for me?"

She refused to meet his eyes, looking anywhere but at him. "It wouldn't have been right." He did not believe her excuse for a moment.

"Why did you not come when you learned you were with child? I would have looked after you." Had she believed he would not want her? That he would not want their son?

"What wouldn't have been right?" he asked heatedly, annoyed by her silence. "I know you felt the same as I. We were meant to find one another!"

"You're a king!" she shot back, finally meeting his eyes with fire. "You should be off courting princesses and wearing crowns. Not chasing after a gutter snipe."

"Is that the best you have?" he guffawed. "You thought I would not want you because you aren't a princess?" Her silence spoke for her. "I shouldn't be king. I would give everything I had to have my uncle back again. I would walk through hell if it meant my cousin would live. Do you really think something as trivial as a title would keep me from you?"

"Think of your people, then," she insisted, determined to deny him. "Do they not deserve a princess as their queen?"

"Things are different in the Mark. We judge a person on his own character, not the title of his father. As long as they knew I loved you, they would welcome you."

"You don't love me," she murmured, looking out to the waves. "You hardly even know me."

Naruto's temper began to rise again. Why could she not just see? He grabbed her arm roughly and spun her to face him, as he had in the tavern. "I have thought of nothing but you for the last three years. This is not a trivial infatuation, Hinata." She would not meet his eyes and as tenderly as he could, he lifted her chin to see her face. "I know you feel it to. There is something between us that is greater than man."

"What of Jiraiya? Will your people accept a bastard son as your heir?" He could tell she was grasping at straws and he smiled at her. He would win her yet. She wanted this as badly as he did, even if she wouldn't admit it.

"He wouldn't really be a bastard if you married me." Her eyes finally met his, wide in astonishment. "He is my son," Naruto reminded her. "If you will allow it, he will be my heir as well."

She was still reluctant and he made a bold move. With one had still on her arm to hold her close, and his other supporting her chin, he brushed his lips against hers. "Please, Hinata. Come with me."

Naruto didn't know what did it, if it was his unrelenting insistence, her own will, or Bema himself compelling her to take the right path but he didn't care. As long as he had her, he would survive anything.

"You did come back in one piece," she admitted, breathless against his lips. "I suppose I'll give you your chance."

He swept her into the air, spinning her around, the beautiful sound of her laugh echoing in his ears.

XXX

I told you this one would be longer. It is just over 7000 words. Like I said, I LOVE LOTR and I went nuts over this prompt.

I know I also took it in a slightly different direction than most have done. Most make Sasuke and elf, Sakura a dwarf, and put Naruto in Aragorn's position, with Hinata as Arwen. While these are all very good character connections, I saw others. Sasuke, as the last Uchiha was just begging to be Aragorn, the last of the Dunedain. And Naruto's nature fits Eomer's incredibly well, I feel: a generally happy and impossible to discourage man that has a bit of a temper problem. Also, Eomer is my favorite character from LOTR. I know he ends up with a princess, Lothiriel, and I absolutely love that pairing but this is what came to mind first. I am highly considering revisiting this project and making an EomerXLothiriel version of Naruto and Hinata, because I love the idea and the pairing has so little known about it, it is so easy to play with. I think Lothiriel and Hinata would have a lot in common to.

Let me know what you think! Did the characters fit in the positions I placed them? What did you like? What did you hate? What didn't fit? What's missing? Please! Let me know! This was the prompt I was most looking forward to for the entire month and I'll be honest, I may not keep going if no one cares. I've written the one I care about most, so I'm happy.

Heaven knows I have plenty of other projects I should be working on right now, so let me know if you guys want me to keep going.