Disclaimer: The usual; I don't like being graphic. ;D
A big thank you to the beta of this chapter, islington bus no. 199!
Chapter 5
"And did I mention she had vivid red hair back then?" Jared exclaimed, waving his glass of vodka.
"It was color shampoo, idiot," Míriela grimaced; her head had distinctly begun to throb. She put her glass down on the table and leaned back on the sofa. This had been going on for hours and she was afraid the loud music would wake up the neighbors.
"Still!" Chris cut in, his face pink from the booze.
"I say, why don't we toast? You can fill me in on the rest of her dirty secrets later," Haldir offered.
"When she won't be listening," he added afterwards.
"Hey!"
"Okay, okay. To Míriela, may you always be happy and celebrate many birthdays like this and blah blah blah! Happy Birthday!"
Haldir and Jared congratulated "Happy Birthday!" in a mixture of chuckles, jingling glasses and groans on the part of Míriela.
"I don't think I can take any more drink. Thanks you guys, I don't know what I would have done without you!" She raised the glass to her lips and drank the remnants of its contents in one gulp. "I would probably be sober now!"
Haldir sat up on his chair, his expression as serious as a drunken elf's could be. "Has it really been three weeks since I came here?"
"It's December 10th, silly! Three weeks and two days."
"Silly? I beg your pardon, my lady. I am the M–"
"otherf–" A pillow landed heavily on her face, sending her flat on the back of the couch.
"What was that for?" she yelled.
"What language is that, my lady?" The ellon grinned impishly. "And you'd think the elleth who was born the same day as me, would have some manners…"
"It's your birthday today?!" She asked dumbfound.
He nodded.
"Why did you not tell us?" asked Chris as he refilled their glasses. Míriela covered hers with her hand and looked at him warningly. "I know what you're trying to do; it won't work," she told the dark-haired man. He didn't seem to mind her comment at all.
Haldir took her hand off the rim of the glass and put it on her lap.
"After having celebrated your first thousand birthdays, you get bored of them. But now that you know, won't we toast this weird turn of fate?"
Míriela sighed and lifted her now refilled glass. "To Haldir, may you find what your heart desires."
He smiled gently and then said theatrically "December 10th is an interesting day… Looks like only great personalities are born this day."
The observation was followed by loud laughs and sneers.
"Who's in for a shot contest?"
"Don't look at me like that, Chris! You know I'm not too drunk to object." She got up and headed for the stereo to turn the volume off a bit but lost her balance and ended up on the soft carpet, muttering "spiiiinning…"
Haldir offered her a hand to get up but she stayed there. "It's fine. The carpet is warm" and she lied on her back.
"Elves can't hold the booze very well, can they?"
"Not as well as humans, apparently. Give me the bottle, Jar."
"No, Mir, you've had enough."
"Jared, Jared, don't be such a jackass! Give her the bottle…" Chris interrupted with a charming smile.
Haldir watched interested as they threw her the vodka bottle. She giggled in a most unlike her way. He decided it was time to take matters into his own hands, no matter how entertaining it was to see Chris's efforts. Besides, a drunken elleth was not a sight he was accustomed to. 'Nor was an elleth that gives you the cold shoulder and tells you to 'get the fuck off' when she is upset. But that's one of the things that make her so challenging.'
He crouched and took the bottle out of the protesting elleth's hands.
"I think it's time you went to bed, Míriela."
"Bed? What bed? I ain't coming to your bed, Mister I'm-The-Almighty-Marchwarden!" she slurred, starting to shake from snickering.
"Thank you very much, now either you get up or I carry you," he said nonchalantly.
"You're drunk too, you can't carry her. We'll take her to her bedroom later, okay?"
He eyed them both suspiciously.
"And we will leave. Okay?"
Haldir's head was spinning. He could use a sleep right now, and as the rational part of his mind kicked in he remembered they were her best friends. If she trusted them, so did he.
"Fine. I'm not sure I can act coherently now, so I won't risk dropping her on the floor or something like that. Don't you try anything stupid, I'm warning you."
"Elf-dude, we've known her for ages! So just, go get some sleep. You look like shit."
He rolled his eyes and turned off the music the way they had shown him and was about to take off for his bedroom, when a slow voice echoed in the room.
"Let me give you some a- advice, Haldir. Don't you EVER, ever ever ever tell a human you're an el- elf. They're going to ask you if S- Santa really uses all those let- ters as toilet paper…"
She flashed him a dizzy smile and then started laughing crazily. Shaking his head, he entered his bedroom and fell on his bed limply, hoping to fall asleep soon to get the spinning sensation away.
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"What's happened since I left?" Jared muttered to the other man, once Haldir was gone.
Chris sighed.
"Nothing in particular… They just don't get around to doing anything interesting. It's blowing the shit out of my mind; I think in two millennia or so they will FINALLY admit their attraction to each other and act on it!"
"Perhaps we can speed things up a bit." They both looked down at the sleeping form of the elleth.
"Matchmaking services, c'mon!"
"We'll just wake her and leave her in front of the bedroom. She'll think it's hers and tomorrow morning will be priceless."
A glint of mischief lit up Chris's eyes.
"Perhaps… Ooookay!"
They proceeded to shake her arms and she jumped up, her gaze very fogged from the headache. She groaned and protested loudly but they easily lifted her up and dumped her in front of Haldir's room.
She stumbled and caught the doorframe to stay on her feet. She took small, uncertain steps inside 'her' room.
'Oh, I'm not drinking like this again. It all turns… Huh, thank Eru it's dark. I love the darkness, I am the Queen of darkness. Ahhh, my bed…"
She fell hard on the mattress.
'Pillow, sweet pillow… THERE you are! Nice pillow, warm pillow…" She snuggled her 'pillow' and hugged it as tightly as she could.
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A/N: A little break after all the action and a nice calmness before the storm!
This chapter, although short, is dedicated to Shaitanah, Dune Master and islington bus no. 199, who are all great personalities..!
;D
You know what to do! You're all wonderful! (I'm not trying to make you review, no…)