Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. I do not own any of the character, places, names, or anything associated with the works of J.R.R Tolkien or the Lord of the Rings (books or movie, whatever). My characters are Anita, Leila, and Arlandria and that is all.
Chapter 19: Caught in the Rain
As soon as Anita woke up, she knew that something was terribly amiss. She wasn't on her soft bed with the covers pulled up over her head in a protective cocoon, instead she was on something hard and uncomfortable with a breeze tickling her skin. Opening her eyes, she was met with perfectly blue sky interrupted by the occasional cloud. She remembered her and Legolas going to the roof to watch the meteor shower late during the night, but she couldn't remember anything after that…Sitting up rapidly, Anita realized only too quickly what had happened.
"Legolas!" She hissed and roughly shook the elf next to her, "We fell asleep on the roof!"
"In fairness," Legolas chuckled at her anxiety, "you fell asleep on the roof, I was merely trapped here under your head."
"Oh we are so busted." Anita struggled to get her footing as she stood up. Somehow it had been easier to keep her balance the night before when she couldn't see how severe the angle of the roof was, and the disorientation of waking up somewhere unexpected wasn't helping either.
"Relax Ani. The house is still quiet, no one has yet roused from their night of rest." Even as he said it though, Legolas stood up to lead her back to her room. He, of course, wasn't having nearly the trouble Ani was with fighting against gravity. Taking her hand, the prince led her sure footedly across the slanted tiles back to her own room as quickly as they could manage with Ani second guessing where she stepped. When they had reached the bit of roof that overhung the balcony joined to her chambers, the girl crouched down to jump back to the safety of her own room, but was stopped by Legolas' voice.
"Meet me at the gate in one hour."
"One hour?" Anita feigned indignation, "you sure don't give a gal any time to get prettied up."
"It is time you hardly require, you are beautiful enough as is." Anita slid from the roof down to the solid floor below so that the elf couldn't see her blush at his compliment. Turning back to look up, his face appeared over the ledge, "One hour."
The girl nodded in response before ducking into her bedroom which remained pristine from not being occupied last night. Anita didn't think she had ever gone through her morning hygiene routine so fast in her whole life. She swore that she had taken the fasted bath ever recorded, she even towel dried her hair and washed her face with time to spare. The extra minutes were well appreciated since every second she had left over was used trying to decide on an outfit for the day. She only ever hung out with Legolas wearing jeans and a tee… she wanted to try something different without treading too far off the path of comfort. All her clothes had been poured out onto her bed, and the girl stood staring at her narrow taste in fashion. Jeans and tees, jeans and tanks, or sweats.
Ani gasped when a thought suddenly surfaced. The clothes that Legolas had given her as a gift two days before still remained in their original position on the vanity where she had set them. She didn't know if she was ready quite yet to don full Elvish regalia, but she could compromise. Grabbing the dark brown leggings and pairing them with a deep green racerback tank, she searched under the bed for the brown deer hide boots her father had given her some time ago. A thrill of victory went through her when she felt the soft material brush her fingertips. Dressing herself in the odd mishmash of clothing, she admired herself in the mirror on her vanity. The final result was not quite Tucson and not quite Rivendell…but it was one hundred percent Anita.
Her heart excitedly drummed in her chest as she made her way down to their meeting place. Seeing him standing there, looking like a statue of perfection, made her pulse quicken all the more as she sped up to close the short distance between them faster. Legolas smiled when he saw her coming towards him, a smile that only widened when he realized that she was wearing the garments he had gifted her.
No words needed to pass between them , it was now second nature for them to fall into step with each other, it came easily for Anita to trust where Legolas led her now. But today she knew the path they were walking, it was the very first path they had ever walked together. Treading the familiar walkway next to the cliffs flooded Ani with the memories of that first day she had really known the elf that walked beside her. So much had changed since that day two months ago when they set out together, not really sure what to expect from the other. Her feelings of resentment towards her father had been taken out on the prince, her own insecurities and overwhelming loneliness had made her act like a terrible person.
As they climbed past the place where Ani had laid Legolas flat in the dirt, they gave each other a knowing look and laughed. Yeah things were really different now. She had been geared up to hate him and everything he represented that first day, and now it was hard to imagine a day without him there beside her. All the trepidation and assumptions she had made about him, and he about her, had melted away and reformed in the shape of friendship and trust.
The climb wasn't nearly as hard on her as it had been two months ago; it felt as if it took only half the time to reach the rock that jutted out of the side of the ravine in a way that vied in the face of physics. Legolas offered her his hand to help her onto the large flat surface which she gladly accepted.
"Boy this seems really familiar." Anita stood next to the elf overlooking the valley of Imladris, only this time instead of the sight filling her with disgust and loneliness, it was home.
"I thought it was the perfect place."
"For what?" Ani watched as Legolas took the pack he had been carrying since leaving Rivendell off his back and set in on the flat surface of the rock. She stood by silently as the elf removed a large blanket which he spread out over the smooth ledge, followed by a small array of cheese, bread, and fruit. It took her a second to catch on, longer than she was proud to admit really, to what Legolas had planned. She sank down on the blanket and struggled to take in what was happening in front of her. Legolas had brought to her the place of their first outing together for a picnic on the side of the mountain.
Anita was on a date.
Locked in a state of dumbfounded shock, the girl could do nothing but stare across at the elf who had set all this up. Fuck buddies don't buy each other clothes; Lei's words echoed around in her head…fuck buddies don't go on picnic dates either. This left Ani to weigh out two very different possibilities; either Legolas really had no concept of the friends with benefits paradigm, or there was something else going on. Based on what he had told her about his previous exploits, she knew he had the one night stand thing down to an art, and this wasn't supposed to be much different. So that really left the other option…
"Anita? Are you ill?" Legolas' voice snapped her back to reality, she must have been staring off into space for some time. Shaking her head in response, she picked up a piece of bread inlaid with fruits and nuts, and nibbled at the corner to placate the prince sitting across from her. She didn't want to appear ungrateful since this whole thing had obviously been orchestrated with her in mind.
Are you seriously going to tell me that you two share no feelings outside of sexual desire? Dammit Leila, Ani could only curse her twin for planting that seed of thought in her brain. The past few days had been confusing enough between her and Legolas, she didn't need to be exploring how she felt about him! He is leaving, he is leaving, he is leaving…. She had to keep chanting that to herself, like a magical incantation that would prevent her from feeling what she was trying so hard to fight against.
"When are you heading home?" The question came from her unbidden, mostly because she was too afraid of the answer.
"When summer wanes into autumn and the trees begin to change." It wasn't an exact answer, but a quick look at the trees showed that the leaves weren't as green as they had been a week ago. Soon. It was the nice way of saying he would be leaving soon. Something in Ani's chest began hurt in a most acute way with that understanding. A distinctive kind of pain, like her heart had just stopped functioning.
"Well that sucks." That was the understatement of the year. Legolas had made life here tolerable for her, and it was more than just the sex; he was the only one that accepted her for who she was, he never once had tried to change anything about her. Her mother had always told her 'the surest way to know how you feel about someone was to imagine life when they have gone'. If the hollow pain in her chest was any indicator… No! She stubbornly pushed that line of thinking away.
"I have upset you." God he was adorable.
"No… I uh… I think it's gonna rain and ruin our day." It was a lame excuse to change the subject, but it seemed to work since Legolas turned his gaze away from the girl who was suffering through emotional turmoil to look at the building clouds. Ani didn't want to think about anything anymore; not about how Legolas would soon be leaving here alone, and certainly not about how just the thought of him leaving left her feeling light headed and nauseous. She just wanted to focus on what they were doing right now, to enjoy the picnic the elf had set up for them . That was a harder task than Anita imagined it could be, since the growing knot it her stomach stole her appetite away. Legolas didn't seem to notice her behavior though, he was laughing and joking away like today was no different than any other day they had been together.
It was hard to stay in a melancholy mood around Legolas, and before long all thoughts of his impending departure were soon forgotten and Anita was cracking jokes and laughing right along with him. Legolas' story about how he had released a badger in in the palace when he was younger had Anita laughing till her sides ached, and the girl's tales of how she had tormented her twin growing up left Legolas wiping mirthful tears brought about by uncontrollable chuckles from his eyes. The duo lost track of time and the sun was soon arching its way across the sky as it was being chased by growing rain clouds that were advancing from the horizon. A low rumble of thunder from the dark swirling mass overhead interrupted their afternoon as it overtook the sunlight, rain was a sure sign that their private picnic was drawing to a close.
"It would appear you were right about the rain." Legolas began cleaning up after their petite meal, throwing the crumbs for the birds to eat and hastily packing away the blanket back into his pack. As they stepped their way back onto the solid ground the mountain side had to offer, Anita's much improved mood left her feeling playful.
"I'll race you back to Rivendell."
"You would have no chance of beating me."
"No?" Anita shoved Legolas' shoulder hard, pushing him forward into the steep slant of the mountain side, not quite making the graceful being lose his balance but the recovery time he took cost him precious seconds as Anita took off full tilt down the mountain side. The girl half ran, half slid using the natural slope of the rock to her advantage. She hit the worn grassy path at a run, knowing full well that Legolas would be hot on her trail. The front gates of the town loomed in front of her, teasing her with being home free even as the clouds split overhead dousing the duo in a torrential downpour. She was soaked through in only a second, squealing as the cold liquid pelted her in the face.
Skidding to a stop just with the gates of Rivendell, Ani doubled over trying to catch her breath and the rain continued to pour down around her. Legolas couldn't have been more than half a step behind her and wasn't even a little bit winded as he came to a far more elegant stop at Ani's side.
"Beat you." It took Anita a moment to catch her breath before she could tease the elf.
"I allowed you to best me."
"Did not!" The girl reached over and punched the prince in the arm playfully, laughing even as she hit him. She went in for a follow up punch to the other arm but Legolas caught her fist mid-air easily, surprising Anita yet again with his speed. The girl tugged back on her arm trying to get him to release her from his grip, but he wasn't relenting. Instead he too pulled on her arm, catching her off balance and forcing her to take a step forward so she didn't fall on her face. As she took a step to keep herself upright, Legolas took advantage of the narrowing gap between them to reach up with his other hand and cup the back of her head. Drawing her forward before she could protest, he captured her lips with his own in a gentle kiss.
Ani gasped against his mouth as his lips overtook her own, not because she wasn't used to kissing him, but because of the difference in this kiss. Normally his kisses were hungry and desperate, a prelude to more intimate activities. Not that she didn't thoroughly enjoy the kisses that were a blaze with the heat of sexual need…but this was just the opposite. Gentle and passionate, not seeking for anything more than just the touch of her lips to his. Her fingers found their way to the front of Legolas' tunic where they gripped and threaded themselves into the fabric, anchoring herself to the prince, afraid that if she let go the moment might melt away in the falling rain.
Legolas was undeterred by the water falling all around them, his lips continued their soft exploration of Anita's. Her lips parted to grant his tongue access to mouth, and it drew the tiniest moan of pleasure as he deepened the kiss. The world around Ani faded away when she closed her eyes, forgotten, as she lost herself in the passionate kiss that filled her senses and left her feeling light headed and dizzy. Legolas' fingers wove themselves into her hair, pulling them closer together as their tongues danced to their own hidden rhythm, lost in time.
Reluctantly, Legolas pulled away from the kiss, planting a small peck on her lips before pulling back fully. Anita opened her eyes and met the elf's gaze with her own, her cheeks had flushed pink in the heat of the moment and her breathing was shaky. They stood just staring at each other in silence, mere inches from each other's lips, not caring as the clouds continued to shower them.
Anita had to blink a few times before she broke away from the reverie, fully bringing herself back to her senses. She loosed her grip on the front of the prince's tunic and wiggled her way out of his grasp as she took a step back to widen the space between them. Her blushed deepened to red as she bit her swollen lower lip between her teeth before she turned and jogged off leaving the elf to stand alone in the courtyard being doused. She looked back only once, just before disappearing around the corner of the house and into the dry safety inside, but Legolas saw the smile as their eyes connected. It was unmistakable, that smile, and he knew that Ani was feeling that sensation of warmth in her chest too.
Tilting his head back, the elf let the water droplets from above pelt his face. He didn't care. Nothing could possibly bring him down from his place of elation high in the clouds. If he were to jump right now he was convinced that the sensation of lightness in his body would carry him straight to the heavens. The prince found that he was smiling, even as the water cascaded down on him, and he was smiling because of her, because the way she left him feeling was indescribable, like being empowered and weak, out of body and somehow more in touch all at the same time .
The prince was, however, unaware in his state of euphoria of the set of eyes watching him from a high window in the house. A set of eyes that had seen the whole encounter between the prince and Anita, both their playful banter and the passionate kiss. A set of eyes that wasn't happy about it.
Elladan's eyes.
Caught in the Rain- Revis