I am on a roll look at that. TigrisIgnis, my dear: steamy kiss scene, as promised. Please enjoy!

Kiss me.

Her own words echoed in her head and for a second, she worried that it was too sudden, that neither of them were ready for it—but then Haldir grinned, wide and beatific.

Their first kiss had been a slow, hesitant exploration; the timid enquiry of swans preening one another at first meeting; the slow dance of unknown shadows blending for the first time. Their second kiss had been a reaffirmation, a reassurance that they would not be swayed by any threat. This kiss was the strike of a match. Haldir took her chin in his fingertips and turned her lips to his, kissing her firmly and with immediate passion.

Aubrey gasped against his lips and he used this opportunity to deepen the kiss. She half-rose from the bench, determined to get closer to him. His hand left her face and settled an inch lower than her waist, his thumb resting below her naval and his little finger dipping below her hipbone.

"Come here," he said, his voice slightly rougher than usual. He leaned against the back of the bench and she settled one knee between his legs, resting her weight on his thigh. Part of her wondered how far she wanted this to go. All of her wondered what she could do to his voice if she bit his lip just so, gently, with the slightest pressure and a promise of more to come, more to give. He moaned deep in his throat and she felt the vibration of the noise where one of her hands pressed against his chest.

He pulled away from her lips and kissed the side of her neck, then paused, waiting for assent. She nodded haphazardly, enthusiastically, tilted her head to the side to grant him better access to her throat. He did not try to leave any mark, did not suck or bite in any way as past, human lovers had—he pressed long, heartfelt, open mouthed kisses to her skin, following the hidden path of her carotid. His saliva evaporated on her neck, and the contrast between the coolness there and the burning heat of his palms pressed to her hip, her lower back, had her shaking in his arms. Never before had she reacted so violently to such little stimulation.

His hand rose from her hip and skimmed the underside of her left breast. "May I?" he asked. His voice was hoarse, she noted triumphantly.

"Please," she managed, her own voice slightly breathy. "Be my—guest."

She was incredibly thankful of her choice of clothing, then. Instead of the simple tunics that had become her want, she had chosen to wear a long blouse that fastened all the way down the front. Haldir's fingers went to the first button and then stopped. Faintly dazed, she shook her head and met his eyes. Ah. His silvery eyes were fixed directly on hers, waiting, glimmering with arousal. He undid the fastening and, holding her gaze, dipped his head and kissed the skin exposed.

"Oh my God," she gasped. Heat flashed through her; it was both the fire that had killed her and the warming sun, and then his hands were on the second button and she lost all track of thought.

He followed the same pattern all the way to her stomach, easing her off the bench and kneeling before her to unbutton each fastening and kiss the skin revealed. She slipped the shirt from her shoulders herself and sank to the floor in front of him. The faced each other on their knees and stared, heatedly and unblinking, for half a heartbeat. Temptation proved too much and Haldir reached for her, drawing her in once more. He kissed her at the same time as his hand came up, cupping the swell of her breast. He might have moaned at the contact but so did she, loudly enough that she could not hear his own response. His hand tightened almost to the point of pain but quickly loosened. Aubrey tugged at the lacings of Haldir's own tunic. He pulled away and tugged the shirt over his head, dropping it on top of hers.

Aubrey edged closer to him, let herself relish the feel of his bare chest pressed against hers. She trailed her fingertips across his stomach; her fingernails left a trail of shivers behind them and she saw with great satisfaction that Haldir's breathing was hitching and unsteady. His skin glowed in the gathering dusk, still slightly sweaty from the intense training he had just finished. She thought that Michelangelo would have given anything to carve his likeness into marble; would have tossed aside his David for just a chance to glimpse Haldir.

"You—are beautiful," Haldir said haltingly. His hand still cupped her breast and his expression was reverent as he took in her form.

Aubrey smiled. "I was going to say the same about you," she admitted. She had to agree with him, though. Long hours of training had removed the spare flesh that had once softened her stomach; she was lean and powerful now. Though her muscles didn't have quite the definition that Haldir's had, she was proud of the taught skin and the firm muscle that lay underneath; even more proud of the hours she had spent achieving it and the skills she had gained along the way.

Haldir laughed softly. She kissed him, still laughing. There was nothing better, she learned, than the feeling of another person's laughter in her mouth. She ran her hands over the broad planes of his back until her fingers brushed his breeches. Without pulling away from his lips, she slid her hand down over his backside. She felt him swallow and the hand on her breast began to knead softly. "Like that," she encouraged him, pulling away from his kiss.

He bent his head, resting his forehead against her collar bone. She felt his warm breath against the top of her breast before suddenly his lips were there, kissing the skin between her breasts and then tracing a slow, torturously slow path to her nipple. His thumb brushed her other nipple and she jerked like a plucked cello string. His lips were a millimetre away from where she really wanted them.

"Wait," she gasped.

Haldir retreated, withdrawing hands and lips from her flushed skin. He kept on hand on the base of her spine, but then she was still clutching at his backside. "Too much?" he asked mildly.

Aubrey swallowed thickly and blinked three times. "No," she said finally. "I was enjoying myself very much. I simply thought that our first time probably shouldn't be in a forest glade anyone could walk into."

Haldir stared at her for a second, then threw his head back and laughed. "But, Palarran," he chuckled, "some of the most fun can be had when someone may happen upon you at any moment."

Exhibitionist, huh? She thought. Never would have guessed. She ran her hands back up his spine to rest more innocently on his broad shoulders. He shivered with the movement. "Rúmil. Imagine Rúmil walking in on us."

Haldir grimaced. He reached back and handed her blouse to her. "I concede, that would have unpleasant circumstances."

Aubrey pulled her blouse back on and buttoned it loosely down the front. She slid back into Haldir's arms, resting her head upon his chest. "We need to talk," she told him.

He nodded and settled back against the bench. "Indeed, we do."

"If this—relationship—is going to work, I think we need rules," she said firmly.

Haldir quirked a brow. "What would you suggest?"

"Well—I can't live in my old talan any more, not after everything. I don't feel safe there. But I don't want to move in with you," she said quickly.

His arms tightened infinitesimally around her. "Why not?"

"Because if I run to you now, then you become a safe harbour, not someone I'm in an equal relationship with. I don't want this to be me depending on you to keep me safe. That's not a relationship—or certainly not one I want to be in. It fulfils far too many stereotypes in my world," she said wryly. "Plus . . . I know what it's like to have someone depend on you completely. I loved Evan, God, I loved him so much; but I was frustrated with him more often than not. I resented him, sometimes. I don't want you to resent me."

Haldir pulled away, affronted. "I would never—"

"Yes," she said implacably. "You would."

He frowned deeply, but did not argue. "Where will you live, then?"

"Ilye has offered me a room in her talan," she mused. "But I don't think I want to depend on her, either. No; Earon and Lady Galadriel spoke to me about where I could live. They said I could live with you, Ilye, or occupy Orophin's talan. Galadriel said it technically belongs to you, now."

Haldir stiffened. "Why would you want to—?"

"I don't hate him," she said softly. "I don't think I even blame him. I would have done anything to protect my brother."

"He tried to kill you," Haldir said furiously.

Aubrey nodded. "Yes, he did. But he failed. Besides, his talan is a lot nicer than mine. And someone has to look after all of his plants."

Haldir did not quite smile, but his eyes lightened. "You are terrible with plants," he said.

She shrugged, grinning. "Well, he did try to kill me."

Haldir observed her for a long second, his head tilted to the side, before finally nodding. "If it will make you happy, then I do not see why you should not have the talan. Is that all you wanted to discuss—I was not quite finished kissing you," he grinned.

Aubrey shoved his reaching hand away. "You're incorrigible," she told him, giggling. She sobered and said, "I wanted to ask about training."

"What about it?" Haldir asked, nonplussed.

"Well, can you still train me?"

"Why should I not?"

She shrugged. "Favouritism?" she offered. "I don't know, in my world people would be funny about you training me."

"I trained both of my brothers personally. It behoves me to train you to the best of your ability so that you are able to defend yourself in any situation," he said.

"I can't argue with that," she reasoned.

He smiled. "Come here, Palarran."

This kiss was fire, but it was also a promise.

o0o

The condition of the forest improved the further they walked, Orophin noted, but still the death and decay they had traversed to the south troubled him.

"When did this darkness appear?" he asked the captain, who had introduced himself as Alcarnor.

"Six months past, at least," Alcarnor sighed. "Seven, eight months I would say the first trees began to die."

Orophin stilled. He was certain that if he was cut then, his blood would have frozen on his skin, so cold did he feel. Aubrey appeared eight months ago, almost to the day. Old fury stirred; was it possible that her arrival had caused this damage, this destruction to his beloved plants? And now he was far away from Lórien whilst she was free to wreak the same destruction there! I should have killed her when I had the chance, he thought furiously.

Alcarnor touched his shoulder. "Orophin, are you well?"

Orophin shook his head to clear it. "I . . . I am merely troubled by what you say."

Alcarnor nodded. "Understandably! Make haste, mellon; soon we shall reach the city. The King will speak with you, I am certain—the input of Lórien will be well received."

"Of course," Orophin agreed, falling back into step beside Alcarnor. This, then, was his chance for redemption! He had been wrong to falter in his belief; he had known instinctively that Aubrey must be causing harm from the minute he had bonded with her and Haldir in Fangorn. He would not let himself be swayed once more. Perhaps, if he explained the situation to King Thranduil, the Elvenking would be willing to assist him. No matter what latent fondness he held for the girl in his heart, Orophin would be strong. He would eradicate the mortal with the help of Eryn Galen, before it was too late for the forest—and his brother.

o0o

Haldir was silent as he led her through the city. The path they followed was faintly familiar—Aubrey remembered following Orophin the same way, all those months ago when Celedan was newly dead, and Orophin's friendship had been a beacon to her. He had been the first of the brothers to truly welcome her to Lórien. Her eyes prickled and she blinked, dispelling tears before they could fall.

Beside her, Haldir's steps were tight and stiff; she realised he must have known the pathway like the back of his hand. She grasped his hand and twined their fingers together. He did not speak, but squeezed her hand gratefully. She felt a fine thread of guilt wind through her consciousness for separating the brothers, however unintentionally. They parted once more when the path became too narrow, Aubrey falling into step three paces behind Haldir. He jogged down a steep flight of stairs carved into the sloping branch of the mallorn tree that supported Orophin—Aubrey's—talan. The talan rested in the fork were the stairway branch met the main trunk.

Haldir paused at the door, his hand resting in inch higher and two inches to the right of the centre. The angle of his wrist and the casual flick of his eyes told Aubrey that the placement of his hand was familiar; he had pushed open this door thousands of times.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly.

Aubrey nodded and rubbed his shoulder blade soothingly. Everything in her was telling her that this was the right decision. "I am. I have to find my own way, be independent. I spent too long being responsible for someone else before myself; I can't put that burden on you or Ilye."

He dipped his head. "Very well."

The door swung open silently. Though night had fallen, the inside of the talan was bright. Moonlight spilled through the large window on the other side of the room—it occupied the full wall, unusual for a Lórien talan, Orophin must have installed it for his plants—and glimmered off the leaves of the gathered flora. Haldir paused at the doorway, seemingly unable to enter his brother's old home.

"Orophin told me that he could speak to them—that they spoke to him. Can you hear them?" Aubrey wondered.

Haldir shook his head. "All elves have a connection with them—I am able to slip into the consciousness of the forest fairly easily, myself—but to speak with them is a rare gift. Orophin was always unusually connected with the forest, with the plants. The bed chamber is through there," he went on, gesturing to a closed door. "There is a bathing room beside the bed chamber. The kitchen and larder are on the other side."

Aubrey nodded, taking his farewell for what it was. "I'll start sorting his things out tomorrow; is there anywhere for me to keep them safe for him?"

Haldir's jaw worked. "Burn them, for all I care."

She flinched. She knew what it was to watch beloved possessions curl and turn into so much ash before the fury of fire. "You're angry with him," she said stiffly. "I understand that. But you don't mean that, Haldir, I know you don't."

"I mean exactly that," he said firmly.

"I've looked around your talan," she reminded him. "You have kept a tunic of Orophin's for over two thousand years—you don't mean it."

For a long moment she thought he might persist in fighting her, before his shoulders slumped. "I am sorry," he said softly. "I am not yet ready to face my brother's faults, it would seem. It is hard for me to reconcile the elfling he was, the ellon I thought he had become, with what he has shown himself to be."

Aubrey nodded sagely. "I'll talk to Rúmil about taking care of his stuff," she said. "Goodnight, Haldir."

Before she could close the door, the Marchwarden touched her cheek lightly. She turned and his eyes softened when they met hers. "Goodnight, meleth," he murmured, and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

Aubrey watched him go with a smile on her just-kissed lips. Long after his silhouette, crowned with silvery hair, had disappeared into the night, she stared off over the forest. Pale blue-white lanterns strategically lit the city as if stars had been caught in the mallorn branches and burned softly on beside the leaves.

With a quiet sigh, Aubrey turned. She pulled the door closed behind her and looked around the talan for a long moment. She estimated there were over five hundred plants just in this room—almost certainly more.

"Orophin loved you all so much," she said, then felt faintly foolish for talking to plants. Orophin had told her that they talked to him, though, so perhaps they understood. "I'm pretty sure he still hates me, but I won't hate him. I'm going to try and look after you all, for him. For me as well, I suppose."

Nothing but silence greeted her. Aubrey meandered across to the small, flowered shrub that Orophin had once told her liked her. "Hello again," she murmured, stroking the soft leaves. "I guess you end up being mine after all."

The plant did not answer, but she had the faintest sensation of some movement against her fingertips. Not physically there, but perhaps the memory, the idea of a pulse. Aubrey smiled. The forest seemed to accept her touch.

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