A/N: I own nothing.
***Chapter 28***
**Deirdre's POV**
I stretched in the bed, slowly awakening from my rest. There was a now familiar body heat entangled with my own limbs. As my eyes refocused onto the room, I released a contented sigh and rolled over to face Legolas. His eyes were unfocused, which changed quickly as I pressed a kiss to his lips.
"Bonne matin, l'amour." I said when his eyes focused on mine.
He quirked his eyebrow at my words, he was clearly confused. To which I gave him a gently smile and pressed a light kiss to his lips once more.
"I said 'Good morning, love'." I translated for him.
He gave me a smile before pulling me into him as well. My hands rested on either side of his head as I leaned over him. Carefully, he pushed one lock of my hair behind my ear before tracing his hand down my face.
"Quel amrun a' lle, melethnin." Legolas replied to me, leaning up and kissing me.
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow, we really needed to speak the same language as the other. But then again, Elvish is his native language. So I couldn't really complain about it, especially when I did the same thing with French.
"Good morning to you, my love." He informed me, translating his earlier words.
After another quick kiss, I pulled away from him and began climbing out of the bed. Only to have my wrist caught as I began to leave. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Legolas' hand trapping my wrist.
"We have to go and see the others, I'm sure they have been missing us." I explained.
"After earlier, I'm not sure that they will want to see us." He commented with a smirk.
"Still, we should go and see them." I replied with a pointed look at my still encircled wrist.
He must have either given up or gotten the hint, as his grasp loosened immediately. I slipped out of the bed, leaving the sheets behind to linger over him. My clothing was strewn throughout the room, so it took me several minutes to gather the necessary items up. I had finally managed to gather up all of my clothing when I felt his stare on my back. Turning back around, I saw that Legolas was still lying in the bed, with sheets draped across his body as though he was a Greek god in a toga. My lower lip slipped back between my teeth, as I bit down on it to keep my cool. He looked incredibly delectable and I would have loved to race back over to the bed and mount him. However, our friends would likely be worried about us soon.
"Do you have to put your clothing back on; it will get rid of my amazing view." He commented.
His words caused a rush of lust to wash over me, instead of succumbing however I picked up his shirt which was on the floor next to my feet and threw it at his head. Somehow, I had actually managed to get it to land covering his face. He plucked the garment from his head, eyeing it with disdain.
"Get dressed, love. Or we will likely be interrupted again." I warned him as I pulled on my underwear.
His eyes stayed on my form throughout the process, remaining even as I began pulling my corset on over my head. I decided that since he wasn't going to get dressed himself, then he could at least help me, I moved over and turned my back to him.
"Lace me up?" I requested, pulling my long hair over my shoulder so that it wasn't in his way.
His fingers danced across my back, giving the occasional tug on the strings of my corset. But mainly, his hands wandered across my back and sides, fingers brushing gently across the exposed flesh. Finally, he finished the work on my back and I turned around to face him. My hands rested against his bare shoulders, while his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer into him. Bending my head down, we kissed again. As his tongue brushed against my lower lip, I happily opened my mouth to him. Our tongues danced for dominance for several seconds before I pulled away.
"If you don't knock this off, we will never get out of this room." I scolded him, teasing him slightly.
"Well, it seems that you have figured out my plan." He joked back.
I leaned back in and our lips met once more, it was definitely going to take a long time to get out of the room this morning. Again, I was the one who pulled back. He quirked a brow as I did so.
"Legolas, you need to get dressed. Otherwise, I will be leaving you here." I told him seriously.
I picked up my dress from the night before then I realized that I had been wearing that same dress for about two days and dropped it back onto the floor. Lying against one of the chairs, I saw that the black dress I had from Isenguard was still there. Hesitantly, I pulled the dress on and brought it over my head. With my dress being held up by my hands, I moved back over to the bed.
"Will you lace my dress?" I asked him in a sweet tone.
He laughed then began fastening the ties on the back of the dress. When he was finished, he pulled my hair back from over my shoulder and his hands ran down my back. In a flash, he had turned me around and pulled me down onto the bed on top of him. I giggled as he did so, but still placed a kiss on his lips. Then I rolled off of him, leaving my hand on his chest.
"Clothing." I reminded him.
I moved off of the bed entirely at that point, leaving him behind to dress. At the vanity, I took a seat and brushed through my tangled hair. However, before completing this task I risked a glance up at the mirror. I had a bad case of sex hair, and my appearance wasn't helped by the bruising across my face. I looked as though I had been smacked around, and I suppose I had.
When I looked back behind me, Legolas was completely dressed and standing behind me. He moved forward and helped me stand up from the vanity, when I was standing though we were inches apart. His eyes wandered down to my neck and a smirk crossed his face.
"Are you ready to go?" he questioned, keeping the amusement in his tone.
I smiled up at him then nodded my head. He grabbed my hand and led me over to the door. We walked down the hallways until we reached the main hall, where our friends sat around the table. When we approached Aragorn blushed upon looking at me, while Saffy and Nimiwen smirked at us.
"Mornin' y'all!" I announced brightly, ignoring the red of Aragorn's face.
"You missed lunch already." Saffy informed as a reply.
"Damn, I was actually hungry." I replied with a smirk.
"Then maybe you should have come out to lunch instead of screwing Legolas." She said with a laugh and a light shake of her head.
"True, but then I wouldn't have been nearly as hungry." I laughed my response.
Legolas and I sat down next to one another, our hands grasped under the table. Aragorn was far less embarrassed at this point, but was still avoiding eye contact.
"Are you going to be awkward from now on?" I enquired of him. Seriously it wasn't like Legolas and I were actually having sex when he walked in, it just looked like it.
"Of course not." Was his reply, making me laugh that while he had said it he was still avoiding eye contact.
"Dork." I commented before leaning over the table and flicking his nose.
His expression was priceless, he was absolutely shocked that I had just flicked his nose and I couldn't help but smile.
"What was that for?" he questioned me.
"For being an awkward dork." I replied with a smirk. "I was actually wondering something though."
He quirked his eyebrow as a cue for me to continue, though there was hesitation throughout his expression, he was curious to know what I was thinking about.
"Would you be able to take the stitches out of my shoulder? I think it's about time to get them out." I responded to his prompt.
"Yes, of course. But why wouldn't you ask Legolas?" he returned.
I smirked once more, thinking about the reason of me in a corset and Legolas trying to do something productive, in short it wasn't likely to succeed and I would have to ask Aragorn for help later anyway.
"I actually want to have the stitches out and the fact that you have more medical experience than he does." I replied.
"I suppose I could remove them and see how your shoulder is faring." He commented.
"Awesome!" I said, before standing up and walking around the table to grab his hand and drag him after me. "Let's go!"
"Why are you in such a rush?" Aragorn asked me as I dragged him behind me.
"Cause I hate the feel of having stitches in as well as the sight, and the sooner that they can be removed the happier I will be."
He chuckled as we walked back to my room, where I quickly gathered water into the basin and a clean cloth. After I pulled the shoulder off of my dress, so that it rested around my upper arm, he drew a short knife from its place at his side. Apparently, he still felt the need to keep some protection even though we were in the safety of Edoras.
"This might hurt some." He told me as he dipped the cloth into the water.
"Aragorn, I put the stitches in myself. I think I can handle the pain of a little water." I replied in a snarky tone.
With a shrug of his shoulders, he dabbed the stitching with the cloth. I tucked my bottom lip between my teeth and bit down, for some reason it was hurting more now than I remembered it hurting before. Probably because when I stitched myself up last time that amount of pain was nothing compared to the arrow in my shoulder.
"Sorry." He muttered at my response, but he continued removing dirt and sweat from the stitches.
He must have felt that it was adequately cleaned as he began cutting the stitches with his knife. Unable to watch, I stared up at the ceiling. Each cut was felt as he slowly removed the stitches from my flesh; my eyes slowly began to water, but I managed to hold back any tears from falling. The feel of the wet cloth against my injury returned, washing away the remaining grime and the new blood that I feared had begun pooling. Then all I felt on my shoulder was air, racing to assault the cool skin.
"Done?" I questioned in a wavering voice.
"Yes, your shoulder seems to have healed quite nicely. You will want to refrain from using it for a few days, to prevent re-opening the wound, but otherwise it will be fine." He informed me.
Finally, I lowered my gaze from the ceiling and looked him in the eye. He gave me a reassuring smile, which I gratefully returned. But my smile wavered as I thought about how I should be practicing for the upcoming battle.
"How long until the battle?" he asked, he must have figured out what I was thinking from the faltering smile.
"About a week, I think."
"Rest for a few days then you can start practicing if you feel the need."
A grin spread across my face, Aragorn knew me so well, I was beginning to feel like I was an open-book that everyone could figure out exactly what I was thinking. But then again, compared to being the closed off person I was when I was at Isenguard, maybe being so open wasn't a bad thing.
"Thank you." I told him, before pulling him into a hug.
He returned the hug then pulled away and rose from our seats on the bed. With a smirk, he grabbed my hand and hauled me off of the bed. We headed back out to the hall where our friends still sat.
"How is your shoulder?" Legolas enquired as I took a seat next to him.
"All healed up. Though for some reason, Aragorn thinks that I should rest my shoulder for a few days." I announced with a laugh.
"Well, we don't want you to hurt yourself again." Legolas replied in my ear.
I smiled at him before laying my head on his shoulder. Looking across the table however, I could see that Merry was still quite upset about his friend being gone.
"Hey Merry, do you want to go for a walk with me?" I asked the quiet hobbit.
He nodded his head and gave a light smile. We both stood up from the table and walked out of the hall together. The bracing air of Edoras struck us, my hand rested on Merry's shoulder. Then I prompted him forward and we began walking through the streets of the city, the noise of people working was heard, as the sun was slowly beginning to set. People were finishing up their work for the day, children were spending their last few minutes out playing in the fading light, and women were calling out of their houses for their children.
"I know you miss him, Merry. But you must be strong, it won't be too long before you see one another again." I attempted to sooth him.
"I know, Deirdre, but last night without him there and knowing that he was out in the wilderness with Gandalf, I couldn't sleep." He explained.
"I understand, Merry. Do you want me to stay with you tonight until you fall asleep?" I asked him.
"I kind of assumed you would spend the night with Legolas once more." He replied with a blush, looking down at the ground as we walked.
"Merry, if you ever need anything just tell me. I will always be more than willing to come and help you fall asleep, no matter what." I reassured him, smoothing his hair.
"Thank you." Was his only response, he pressed in closer to my side with that, in a half hug.
We continued our walk around Edoras in quiet, watching the sun finally sink below the horizon as we reached the steps of the Golden Hall once more. As we walked back inside, there was the bustle of people getting ready for supper and my stomach growled at the idea. We found our friends rather quickly, as they had returned to the large room that the men were sharing.
"We were beginning to wonder what took you two so long." Aragorn commented as we entered the room.
"We thought you were going to miss dinner." Gimli said as he laughed at the notion of missing dinner.
"Are you kidding me? I already missed two meals today I couldn't bear to miss another." I replied with a slight laugh.
"Good because it actually is time for dinner." Eowyn's voice came from the doorway behind me.
We all went to the dining hall and took a seat at one of the tables. The meal passed with laughter and joking; I was so glad to eat. Merry and Gimli both laughed at the amount of food that I ate and drank. Gimli kept drinking as I stood to leave the table with Merry. But Legolas grabbed my wrist as I was passing by him, he raised his eyebrow to question me.
"Merry's having trouble sleeping." I leaned down to tell him, his eyebrows furrowed in disappointment. "I'll meet you in my room after he is asleep."
With a nod, my wrist was released and I returned to the men's sleeping quarters with Merry. He laid down on his bedroll and I sat down, so he could rest his head on my lap.
"Will you sing me a song, Deirdre?" he asked, his eyes were closed as he made his request.
"Of course, Merry." I replied, before thinking for a moment about what song I would sing for him.
I chose a song that I had learned in my French class, it was quite lovely and something that I really liked and was soothing enough that it would probably help him fall asleep.
Alors tu vois, comme tout se mêle
Et du cœur à tes lèvres, je deviens un casse-tête
Ton rire me crie de te lâcher
Avant de perdre prise et d'abandonner
Car je ne t'en demanderai jamais autant
Déjà que tu me traites comme un grand enfant
Nous n'avons plus rien à risquer
À part nos vies qu'on laisse de coté
Et il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
C'en est assez de ces dédoublements
C'est plus dure à faire, qu'autrement
Car sans rire c'est plus facile de rêver
À ce qu'on ne pourra jamais plus toucher
On se prend la main, comme des enfants
Le bonheur aux lèvres, un peu naïvement
Et on marche ensemble, d'un pas décidé
Alors que nos têtes nous crient de tout arrêter
Il m'aime encore, et toi, tu m'aimes un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi, je t'aime un peu plus fort
Et malgré ça, il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi, je t'aime un peu plus fort
Encore, et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime pas plus fort
Et malgré ça il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime un plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
Encore, et moi, je t'aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi, je t'aime un peu plus fort
Et malgré ça, il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi, je t'aime un peu plus fort
Et malgré ça, il m'aime encore, et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi, je t'aime un peu plus fort
Et malgré ça, il m'aime encore et moi je t'aime un peu plus fort
Mais il m'aime encore, et moi, je t'aime un peu plus fort
When I had finished the song, it became obvious that Merry had fallen asleep. His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. I decided that since he was now asleep, it would be fine for me to slip from the room and meet Legolas. Carefully, I lifted his head from my lap and replaced my legs with a pillow. Merry seemed to stay asleep during the entire time, so I snuck out of the room trying not to make a single sound.
I made it back into my room, only to find that Legolas was sitting on the bed staring at the ceiling. I quietly shut the door behind me, before moving toward the bed and pouncing on him. He caught me in his arms then flipped me over, using the momentum that I had built against me. I released a giggle as I fell against the bed with Legolas hovering over me. He lowered his head and gently kissed me.
***End Chapter***
I am so sorry that I haven't posted in a while. My life has been commandeered lately by school work, which thankfully is coming to an end. After Saturday, I will be able to get back to updating more often, as Saturday is when I'm graduating. So please just bear with me for a little while longer of slower updates.
Also, the song in this chapter is Comme Des Enfants by Coeur de Pirates. Really awesome French singer, who I think is absolutely amazing.
Read and Review please