Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings.
Summary: See previous chapters.
Chapter Twelve
Boromir, Eldest child of Steward Denethor, Heir to the House of Hurin and Captain-General of Gondor, prided himself on his ability to weather any and all situations without flinching. As long as said situation did not involve the One Ring of Sauron or his baby sister in a temper, anyway.
In this instance, however, he was giving serious consideration to cutting his losses and making a swift retreat from the immediate area.
In hindsight, perhaps taunting his King, brother and brother-in-law about married life had not been such a good idea, but they really were deriving far too much amusement from all this.
"I don't suppose I could persuade you to desist by apologizing and begging forgiveness for the last fourteen years? Laer and I are not even official yet!"
His brother-in-law, King Eomer of Rohan, seemed to be enjoying the whole situation hugely. "Consider it retribution. The time we let up before your wedding is the day I see a performance of Balrogs on Ice."
Aragorn gave his brother king a strange look. "What in the Void is that supposed to mean?"
Eomer shrugged. "I have no idea. Ask Natasha. I think it means something along the lines of 'when the pits of Udun freeze over'."
Boromir only gave his companions a nasty glare and decided to seek out Laer. The Mary-Sues had made themselves scarce for now, but irrationally, Boromir wanted to be sure. Besides, it was as good an excuse as any to visit her.
Originally, Laer had never been so thrilled as to have escaped the healer's ward. Her current ordeal, however, was making her yearn for the relative quiet of her bed there.
News of the suggested relationship between Laer and Boromir had spread through the Middle-Earth grapevine like wildfire, resulting in everyone from the old midwives to the youngest children questioning her. At the moment, Laer was surrounded by Eru knows how many children, including the royals of Gondor, Ithilien and Rohan, all wanting to know the details.
How did mothers put up with the endless questions? While the sundial outside her window insisted that it had been less than an hour since the questions had started, Laer was convinced that it had been much longer than that, and wondered how much longer she would manage to stay sane.
Finally, to her intense relief, an Angel of Mercy appeared. Natasha surveyed the scene with an amused expression, then sent the children off to find something else to do, sitting down next to the reformed Mary-Sue. Laer returned the amused look with one of profound relief and gratitude. "Your timing could not have been more perfect. How do you stay sane with all those questions?"
Natasha's smirk widened. "Practice. I thought you might want a break from the Spanish Inquisition? How are you doing?"
Laer shrugged. "Physically, I'm fine. If you mean with Boromir, I honestly don't know." she ran her hands through her hair, "I think we've managed to back ourselves into a corner, since neither of us seems to know what comes next. Is romance always so awkward?"
Natasha smiled. "At first, often. It smooths out as you go along, don't worry." She gave a slightly wicked smirk. "Speaking of corners, is this proverbial or literal? I'm given to understand that all sorts of interesting things happen in corners when there is no one else around."
As predicted, the response to that deliberately bland statement was a furious blush and a slightly scandalized "Natasha!" from both Laer next to her, and Boromir in the doorway.
Natasha laughed and got up. "I'll leave you two alone now. Don't do anything I wouldn't."
Laer waited until the queen was gone, then turned to Boromir. "Does that really prohibit us from doing much? Natasha is hardly your average person, and you would not believe the rumours about what she and Eomer get up to behind closed doors!"
Boromir nodded. "I'll agree to that. But then, neither are we. I was always under the impression that a courtship should be begun by the male, with flowers and such, yet all three of us seem to have taken a different approach."
Laer grinned. "Natasha being the third, I suppose. We certainly took a strange approach to it; arguments and insults are hardly thought a good beginning. But what is this about Natasha's unconventional approach?"
Boromir rolled his eyes. "Just before the armies of the west rode to Mordor, Natasha decided that since Eomer was obviously not going to initiate the courtship and since it was unlikely that any of us would survive, she would do it for him. She, Eowyn and Faramir had come to see off the armies so Natasha informed Eomer that since there was no certainty of them meeting again, she was going to do something profoundly unorthodox. Then she went and kissed him in front of everyone. Eomer certainly didn't seem to mind and the courtship started almost the instant we returned to Minas Tirith."
Laer raised an eyebrow. "Something tells me the rest of your family raised strenuous objections. I can't really envision you standing by calmly while that happened."
Boromir smirked. "You could say that. It doesn't do an army much good to see one of it's leaders trying to kill another, though, so I had to stick with teasing him for then and plot revenge for later. Father understood that Natasha had been brought up differently, though he had a long talk with her later. Faramir decided that he would need to get used to slightly more forward woman if he was to have a chance with Eowyn, not to mention that everything would go a lot smoother if the match had Eomer's consent. I stuck with placing a guard outside Natasha's room as soon as we got back."
The renegade Mary-Sue laughed, then turned serious, nervously fiddling with the bed covering. "What you said earlier, about us taking a different approach to courtship, did you mean that you would not object to us being a couple?"
Boromir matched her seriousness with his own. "I would not object. I had planned to speak of it earlier, but seem to have trouble putting such things into words."
Laer looked at him, her heart in her eyes. "Don't bother with words, then." She leaned towards him, tilting her face up, "There are other ways to express feelings that do not involve speech."
Boromir leaned down and kissed her, silently agreeing. Yes, there were ways to express oneself without speaking, and often a lot more enjoyable.
Around the corner from the room, Natasha, Arwen and Eowyn firmly restrained their respective husbands and dragged them off in the opposite direction. The reformed Mary-Sue and the eldest child of Gondor's Steward deserved some time alone.
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A/N - So, Chapter Twelve is up. Sorry it took so long.
I am in the process of writing a second alternate ending and a Lord of the Rings story that has nothing to do with 'Change of Worlds'.
Go read my latest, 'Lady of Sorrows', and tell me what you think. It is probably a good idea to have some idea about various elements of the Silmarillion when reading.
REVIEW! And thanks again,
Nathalia.