Authors Note - Thanks again for all the reviews. I love reading them all :) We haven't had a romantic chapter for a while, so here it goes.
Chapter 18 - Moonlit Kisses
The breeze ruffled his hair, something that she had not seen in a long time. Whilst they were travelling his hair often hung lank with water, snow or sweat from exertion. It was strange to see it back to how she remembered it, smooth and shining but some part of her preferred the traveled look, how odd she thought to herself. Her own hair was swaying about her now, finally dry after washing it earlier. She looked almost back to her old self too, apart from the cuts and bruises that she had covering her skin, but inside she felt like a completely different person.
They were sat on the balcony the moon still shining brightly overhead as they ate from the basket that Aragorn had brought with him. Instead of sitting on the chairs like her and Galadriel had, they opted to sit themselves on the floor like a proper picnic and the same as how they had eaten for the last few weeks. She had pulled out a large blanket she remembered was stored in a wooden chest and spread it over the stone floor. This was a comfort they did not have in the wilds and the blanket was so thick that it felt like a luxury for a king. They had used to take baskets into the woods when they had first started to enjoy each others company, disappearing for hours at a time to recite poems and share stories under the boughs. What seemingly carefree lives those people had led, she thought. However they were not the same people anymore.
He had brought quite a spread with him, breads, cheese, fruits, a bottle of wine, a feast compared to the rations that they had been used to.
It was not until she put the first juicy grape into her mouth that she noticed how hungry she really was. They had not eaten since Moria, when Gimli had sat melancholy at the sight of his kins demise and Gandalf had still been with them.
"Are you alright?" Aragorn asked her after she had been silent for quite some time. Up until that point they had been reminiscing about the old times back at Rivendell and Lothlorien, where they had made excuses for their absence just so that they could spend a few lone hours together.
"I am alright" she said quieter than she had meant to " I was just trying to remember the last time a grape tasted so good" she forced a smile, not wanting to dwell on the real reason.
"So what did you Grandmother say to you, if you do not mind my asking ?" he asked, biting into the side of a dark red apple, a droplet of juice running down his stubbled chin before his hand came up to wipe it away.
"She was just asking about what had happened on our journey so far" Arwen explained, popping another grape into her mouth.
"I thought she might have been trying to convince you not to go any further" he said, turning the apple over and examining the gleaming skin.
"No, she wasn't really trying to convince me, but she did give me the option to stay here" she said, pulling out the cork from the bottle and pouring the red liquid into two silver goblets that she had already brought down from the side table.
"And what did you say?" he asked, his blue eyes searching hers.
"I said that I would continue, that I made my choice to join the fellowship and I must stick by it, whatever the outcome may be" she said seriously, not looking away from his gaze " and that I was the most useful member of the group and that you would all be totally lost without me" she continued with a small laugh, passing one of the goblets to him as he let out a chuckle and taking a small sip from her own.
The wine was strong on her tongue and she winced slightly at the tartness of it. Perhaps it was because she had only been drinking water for all these weeks however, and the wine had not changed but her taste buds had.
"And what do you wish for me?" she questioned after swallowing, the drink making her throat feel warm.
"What do you mean?" he asked confused by her request.
"Do you wish for me to continue on or to stay behind? You had your concerns back in Rivendell, have I been able to change your opinion?" she explained, taking another sip which did not taste as bitter as the first.
He did not answer at first, mulling the question over in his head, whilst taking a mouthful of wine from his own cup.
"I wish for you to be safe" he finally said aloud "When we were fighting in Moria, with the orcs coming upon us from every side all I could think of was somehow getting you to safety. So yes, of course I would wish for you to be here in Lothlorien where you have protection" he paused looking down at the floor with the faintest hint of a smile "But on the other hand, we would be totally lost without you, and if this is to be my final journey to get this task accomplished, then at least I will have been able to spend my final moments of this world with you." he said looking back up to meet her eyes once more.
"Is that selfish?" he asked.
"No" was all she said , her lips curling into a small smile of her own as she placed her cup on the floor and lent over the basket in between them to kiss him.
It was soft at first their lips just lightly brushing and she paused moving slightly away to look into his clear eyes.
" I love you Arwen" he whispered, his breath tickling over her skin due to the proximity.
" I love you too" she whispered back as she felt his hand coming up her back to settle in her hair, pushing her forward to meet his lips once again, this time with a burning desire.
She could feel a heat rise up through her as he deepened it further his tongue gently venturing inside her own.
She still marveled at how he could give her that fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach with a single kiss after all these years. Was it not said that some couples lost that feeling over time, the excitement gone, but for her it never had and she solemnly hoped it never would.
He broke away slowly placing another light peck on her lips as though he missed the contact already.
"Do you know how many times I wanted to do that, but stopped myself because of the others?" he laughed, as they both returned to their original positions.
"I do not, but I am sure it is only half the amount of times that I had wanted you to do it" she replied with a smile of her own.
"Well I think we will have to remedy that on the journey forward" he said with a false seriousness masking his features "I cannot have my lady unhappy with the level of kisses that she is bestowed" he continued causing her to laugh out loud.
She had missed this, on their travels their conversations had consisted mostly of what they would do next? Who would take first watch? And what rations they had remaining? She had not realised how much she had missed it until now. How she did not have to put on false pretenses with him and could just be herself no matter the silliness that they talked about.
"Well that is right" she agreed, "And who knows what foe awaits us around the next corner? We must be sure to make time for said kisses for it maybe our last" she joked although her face faltered on the last part, the truth of it's reality stinging.
He must have sensed the change in her, for he reached out his hand and cupped her soft cheek stroking her flesh with his thumb.
" It is a hard job Arwen Undomiel, but someone must do it" he tried to cheer her, and although she felt downhearted, she could not resist his charm.
He removed his hand from her face and stood up slowly from the blanket, his muscles too must have been aching for the grimace on his face as he pushed up from the floor. He stretched out his back before offering out his hand to her and she took it at once, allowing him to pull her to her feet. Her muscles groaned at her in protest from the sudden movement but she tried her best to ignore them.
With her hand firmly in his he led her over to the edge of the balcony, and then lent against the railings looking out at the land beyond. The moon had highlighted everything beautifully, casting shadows on the leaves and caught on the rippling pools that lay on the ground below them. She bent her head so that she could rest it against his shoulder and he let go of her hand so that he could drape his arm securely around her.
Below them she could spy a fire burning below the canopy of trees, a light smoke managing to work its way out through the thick foliage, this was where the others had been informed to make camp.
"How are they?" she asked after they had been quiet for a time.
"Alright, considering" he replied with a slight sigh.
"Pippin blames himself for Gandalfs death" she told him, knowing that he would not repeat what the hobbit had confided in her to anyone else.
"Nobody is to blame" he said rubbing his hand up and down her arm.
"Except for maybe Gandalf himself" she stated, continuing to stare at a leaf across the way that wavered in the breeze. She felt him flinch slightly next to her, moving his face so that he could see hers.
"What would make you say something like that?" he questioned a seriousness coming into his voice.
"He knew what was down there, when we only knew the rumours. He could have pulled himself up, or waited till one of us got to him, but he didn't" she explained, finally voicing the thoughts that had riddled her mind since it had happened. "It was almost as though he had already resigned himself to that fate before we entered Moria" she finished, feeling the weight of his stare on her face.
He let out a heavy sigh, not knowing how to respond to that it seemed.
"He must have had a reason" he finally answered her, without denying what she had said, so he must have agreed to a certain extent.
"I just hope he knew what he was doing" Arwen said, looking at him directly at last.
"So do I" he agreed leaning in to kiss her again, putting both his hand on either side of her face, their bodies pressing firmly together, she was suddenly aware that she was only in her nightdress and robe and somehow they made her feel more exposed to him than any kiss they had shared before. He pulled her closer if that were possible, melding her into his broad chest his arms holding her as though she was the most precious thing in the world.
She felt totally safe within his arms, as though nothing else could touch them or mattered. If only she could stay this way forever, his touch, his smell all completely intoxicating and comforting to her.
"I should probably get back to the others soon" he said to her his chin resting upon the top of her head.
"You know" she started with a smile playing on her lips although her face was against his chest where he could not see. "You don't have to go back down to the others, you could always stay up here with me" she laughed, leaning back in his grip to look at him.
He shook his head at her with a wide smirk on his lips, his blue eyes twinkling in the low light.
"You are a bad influence on me" he whispered as she drowned in his deep gaze.
"Well the offer is always there" she said although she already knew what his answer would be.
"How I wish I could sweep you off your feet right now" he said regrettably "But truth of the matter is, we are both tired, my muscles are all but spent and your grandmother scares me already without throwing that into the mix, you say she can see into people's minds, so probably best not to do something like that right under her nose" he laughed before kissing her lightly on the top of her head.
"Very well then...coward" she replied with a giggle and he feigned that her comments had offended him, as he lead her away from the balcony and back over to the chamber door.
"Goodnight, I will come and see you in the morning so that we can eat breakfast together" he said turning back to face her.
"I look forward to it, although I think that morning is not that far away" she replied, leaning towards him for a farewell kiss. She made sure it was a kiss he was not likely to forget, pushing against his chest hard so that his back became wedged against the door behind him. As they parted she looked as innocent as she could, wearing a sickeningly sweet smile.
"Goodnight" was all he said after releasing a low breath.
"Goodnight my love" she replied as he walked out into the corridor, hesitating for a moment to glance back at her, before continuing on his way.