A/N: One word to describe the last chapter: OMGSOSEXY. Ahem. Heh. Yes. MOVING ONWARDS! I have to admit, this chapter doesn't have anything overly sexual… More like bonding between the two characters. You'll see if you read. Muwahahaha. I'm also not too happy with the abrupt ending of this one AND the shortness, but I just haven't had the inspiration to write more of this one. Apologies for that. I only hope that it will satisfy everyone's "craving" for now until I kick my muse in the ass and tell him to be productive for once! Heh. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Don't own Lord Of The Rings, yada yada yada… Only my character Jennifer.
Chapter 16: Bonding
I couldn't help but glance in his direction every 5 minutes, if even that at all. After that morning, we barely even spoke more than two words to each other at a time. But I have to admit that the silence was a comfortable one, and not totally unwanted. After all, what can one say to the other after such a profound step forward in our relationship? Not a single thing could add up to the magnitude of feelings that we were separately drowning in at the same time.
To mentally shake myself from my thoughts, I regarded my surroundings as he led me through the woods, into a certain area that I've never been before nor had I known it even existed until now. I felt his hand give mine a gentle squeeze and I looked up at him in question when he smiled gently and brought a finger up to his lips in a silencing motion, then brought said finger to his ear, tapping it gently. Taking the silent queue, I quieted my breathing and opened my senses to the forest surrounding us. Normal noises of birds, squirrels and other wildlife drifted into my ears, but after the birdsong died down, I could hear it. A faint rumbling noise, barely even there, but heard nonetheless. The sound of rushing water.
Now, it is true that we were indeed on a campground that bordered a large river and the noise could be heard for meters and meters, but this sound was different. It sounded almost like water hitting another body of water from an immense height, and strangely enough it held that quality where if you listened, you could hear the faint tinkling of bells. I looked up to Haldir, and with wide eyes, whispered one word. "Lanthir." Waterfall.
He smiled and nodded, quietly leading the way, his feet soundless against the soft earth. A faint squishing could be heard from under my bare feet and I watched them, gripping my pant legs and hoisting them up to my shins to keep them from getting overly saturated in the damp moss as we continued onwards. Slowly the sound of the waterfall became louder until at last we stood upon the border of a rather large clearing, looking out from the edge of the forest with watchful eyes. I watched with semi-fascination as Haldir uttered a small praise of some sort under his breath before his eyes opened. As he looked at me I could not help but blink as I saw his eyes were completely pewter in color, the pupils almost completely blended with the irises before he enveloped me with his arms and drew me close to him, our noses barely touching.
My eyes fluttered as he leaned down slightly to gently cup my cheek in one of his big palms, tilting my head upwards and gazing at me with an intensity that I've never known. As his thumb idly stroked my cheekbone, I sighed in contentment, closing my eyes completely and giving in to the sensations his touch created. My mouth parted in surprise when I felt his lips press down on mine and as he parted his own lips, I inhaled the very breath that he exhaled, almost becoming one with him. His breath tasted like honey, peppermint and lemon all in one, leaving me to reel in the dizziness that soon followed afterwards and a slight moan to escape my lips. Then, it happened. I was suddenly filled with such serenity and peacefulness that I felt like I was sedated, my entire body relaxing and becoming pliant in his arms. My heart seemed to fill with the very essence of the forest and the feeling coursed so strongly in my veins that a single tear escaped from the corner of my eye, trailing down my cheek and landing on Haldir's tunic, which soaked it up immediately like a greedy little sponge that was desperate for any sort of liquid to satiate its thirst.
Soon enough he reluctantly pulled away and we both blinked repeatedly, the haze in our minds slowly fading until at last we could see each other. I blinked in slight surprise as I found my hands entangled within his hair, a bit shaken by the fact that I had not even noticed moving them there. I then looked away as I bit my lip, thinking. What was that sudden feeling? My gaze slowly traveled over the expanse of his shoulders, upwards onto the column of his neck and up further to those enchanting eyes, their color slowly changing back to the silvery blue that I knew so well. As he and I silently regarded each other, I could see the answer plainly in his eyes. We had bonded in a small way, linking our souls together with a thin, almost transparent thread that could only be seen in the mind's eye. The peacefulness, the serenity was part of Haldir, part of his very being. And he shared it with me. My breath hitched in my throat as my heart started to overflow with an alien emotion in my chest, my hand flying to rest over it as my eyes unfocused slightly. Through it all I could vaguely feel Haldir's lips brushing across my forehead, barely hearing his soothing words and praises whispered into my ear as his arms tightened around me slightly. With a will of their own, my arms snaked about his torso to return his fierce hug, holding onto him as if the ground beneath my feet might give out at any second; and with the way my world was currently spinning, it seemed like a high possibility.
I instantly relaxed when I felt one of his hands gently sifting through my hair in a calming motion, his other hand pressing against the small of my back, bringing me closer to his body as if he wanted to fuse our bodies together, to become one both physically and spiritually. I let out a peaceful sigh and leaned against him contentedly, my mind still circulating around that one thought; we were now bonded. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally at least. My thoughts, however, shattered like glass into tiny fragments of dust when I felt his hand beneath my chin, urging me to tilt my head upwards. I did so wholeheartedly, looking up at him with the barest of smiles and he looked down at me, running his thumb slowly over my cheekbone and over my eyes, which closed upon his silent command. As his eyes gazed into my own, I could not help but realize that everything he was feeling, everything he was thinking was reflecting into my head, into my very thoughts.
I blinked in surprise. He thought me beautiful? Haldir chuckled, his shoulders just barely shaking with mirth as he nodded, barely murmuring, "Aye, I do." His smooth hands floated over my facial features once again, over my jaw line and over the smooth skin of my neck until they at last rested on my shoulders, his thumbs lightly tracing the grooves of my collarbone. My eyelids suddenly felt heavy and I could not resist them as they closed slowly, my mouth parting slightly as I inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly. I barely heard Haldir come to stand behind me, leaning down so he could easily whisper into my ear, "There is a deer nearby. Look. Our presence has caused its curiosity to come and see us." My eyes opened slowly and sure enough there was a small doe nearby, blinking its huge brown eyes right at us. My mouth fell open with surprise. The doe could not have been at the most five feet away from us and it slowly moved ever closer, sniffing the air for our scents. As if trailing a delicious smell, the doe got even closer until at last there was only two feet between Elf, woman and deer. Haldir had his arms wrapped around my lower ribcage, resting just below my breasts with my arms resting on top of them in a sort of comforting and protective embrace, Haldir's very being radiating comfort and security.
Slowly he held out his right hand and the doe's ears flicked forward as if interested, slowly walking up to sniff his hand then nudge it with its nose. I was almost afraid to breathe lest it might scare the deer away and I slowly, quietly inhaled, accidentally bringing the deer's attention onto me. The doe regarded me silently and I leaned into Haldir. Haldir's free hand moved slowly to enclose around my own right hand and he lightly stroked my fingers with his, the deer watching all the while with those lovely brown eyes. It lowered its head to sniff the damp moss of the ground before it brought its head back up and Haldir gently held my hand out, palm facing upwards, his hand supporting my own from underneath. The deer's neck stretched slightly as it sniffed my hand, and to my complete and utter surprise its little pink tongue darted out to lick the skin of my palm. The deer walked closer and I lightly giggled from the sensation of its sandpaper tongue, knowing that the deer accepted me because of my bond with Haldir. I looked up at Haldir with a smile on my face and he returned it readily, left arm squeezing my ribcage gently as if saying he was proud of me. I beamed happily and with one last lick, the deer stopped and stepped back a bit, regarding us before it scampered off back into the woods.
Haldir's hand captured mine again, bringing it up to his lips and laying soft kisses across my knuckles and I bit my lip, my heart swelling to impossible sizes for the Elf before me. I stepped closer to him and tilted my head slightly to the side, regarding him with twin pools of blue, silently searching his own pewter gaze for some unknown emotion. His brilliant smile slowly faded until we were both regarding each other with serious expressions, seeming as if we were lost in the moment. I saw him lean forward just the tiniest fraction and I rose up on my tiptoes, arms sliding around his neck as he leaned further down. Our lips met and what felt like electricity flowed through my veins, causing every nerve ending to tingle as our souls intertwined, nearly melting into each other.
With a gasp I had to pull back slightly, the need for air over-ruling the need of his mouth being pressed upon mine and I could not help but bring a shaking hand up to my chest, covering my frantically beating heart in a vain effort to calm it down. He seemed to be doing the exact same thing and catching each other's eye, we both laughed. He grabbed my hand and with a smile, he slowly lead me back to the camp site, bodies pressing intimately together as if we could not get enough of each other's presence.