Disclaimer: I make absolutely no claims to Lord of the Rings, or any people, places, events, etc. herein that may in any way pertain to any real life situation. No money has been made from the writing of this...in fact, I've payed much in the way of time and sleep for the writing of this.

Time Frame: Summer of a year after Elrond and Celebrían's wedding, but before the twins came along.

A/N: So I've come to the realization that I have a tendency to picture Celebrían with a book, curled up somewhere, or else sleeping, whenever it comes to Elrond. I honestly don't know why...and I promise, that's not all she does! She's not that shallow of a character! Bahaha. Anyway, I just figured I'd let you know I recognized those tendencies. Secondly, while I don't generally agree with canon characters calling other canon characters nicknames, I feel like certain relationships would warrant 'pet names', if you will - names that only the other is allowed to call them, and are unique and special in some way. Lastly, my Sindarin is atrocious. I'm still learning, so I'm still having to look stuff up, and looking around to find what sites are reliable and what are not. So, if you are good with Sindarin, and catch any slip-ups on my part, please let me know!

A huge, huge, HUGE thanks to everyone who's reviewed thus far: Oleanne, Star of the Wolf, Anagram-Analogy, and Greenleaf's Daughter. You all really encouraged me, and have given me the courage to keep writing this, even though I'm not sure I write romance very well...
Also, my sincerest gratitude to Mirnava for beta'ing this for me!

I'd absolutely love it if you would drop off a few words on your way out. Just tell me what you liked, or what you didn't like, or anything else you want to say! More importantly, though, I hope you enjoy!

Translations:

El-nin: My Star

Meleth: Love

Le melon: I love you

Ar le melon: And I love you

~Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep~

Elrond sighed as he quietly opened the door to his and Celebrían's shared rooms and slipped inside. A dull headache throbbed behind his eyes, accenting the exhaustion that covered him like a smothering blanket and slowed his movements and dulled his senses. He could not, at the moment, remember the last time he had properly slept. Days had been spent locked away in council rooms – council rooms filled with the cacophony of irate voices shouting, fists pounding on the sturdy oaken table, and the impatient shifting of chairs. Nights had been spent conferring with Glorfindel and Erestor, as well as attempting to soothe injured dignities of all parties involved. Most of the remaining time had been spent in lavish dinners and small parties, all thrown in honor of the visiting Dwarven and Mirkwood delegations. That had left blessed little time for such trivial pursuits such as sleep, at least while the actual convention was being held.

Elrond crossed the darkened sitting room soundlessly, instinct guiding him safely around the low table and various other pieces of furniture more than sight. When he reached the far side of the room, Elrond hesitated for a second, debating whether or not he should bathe before going into the bedroom. He did not wish to risk waking Celebrían, who was almost certainly sleeping. After another moment, however, Elrond decided against it. He was simply too tired to bathe; he would likely fall asleep in the water and, knowing his luck, would accidentally drown.

As noiselessly as he could, Elrond opened the door to the bedroom.

To Elrond's surprise, the room was not dark. A lamp burned brightly on the small dresser on Celebrían's side of the bed, casting a warm golden glow throughout the spacious room. Celebrían herself was curled up in the armchair beside the window, a book lying haphazardly on her knee. The window had been opened in the hopes of enticing in a breeze, and the curtains were blowing slightly with the eddying currents of air. Moonlight mingled with the lamplight, and together they caressed the elleth's face in silver and gold, and set hair aglow with tawny cream edged in pure silver. For a heartbeat, Elrond was awed motionless by her beauty, and his heart swelled with love, the emotion momentarily choking him.

On light feet, Elrond crossed to the window. He leaned down and softly brushed his lips against Celebrían's forehead, then lifted the book from her lap. Shutting it, he gently laid it on the nightstand, making sure to slide the discarded bookmark between the pages before closing it, so as not to lose her place.

For an instant, Elrond considered waking Celebrían. She would be much more comfortable in their bed, rather than curled in a ball in the armchair. Almost immediately, however, Elrond dismissed the notion. He was loath to disturb her from her slumber, for he knew she had had blessed little sleep those last few days as well.

Instead, Elrond slid one hand beneath her shoulders, and the other beneath her knees, and lifted her up into his arms. His arms quivered slightly under her weight, a testament to his weariness.

Holding her safely to his chest, Elrond crossed to the bed. With one foot, he tugged the sheets off of the bed, then laid his precious burden down on the mattress, her head cushioned by a pillow.

Celebrían stirred, and then blinked once, her eyes coming into focus. They latched onto the sight of Elrond standing above her, and she smiled sleepily.

"Come to bed, El-nin," she murmured, and reached out to latch onto his fingers.

"In a moment," Elrond promised, and bent to kiss her brow.

Celebrían released Elrond's hand, and turned over onto her side, the better to watch her husband.

Elrond slowly disentangled the circlet from his hair, turning away and retreating to the foot of the bed as he did so. When the mithril band finally came away from the final intricate braid, Elrond happily dropped the circlet onto the top of dresser. He would have to properly care for it the next day, but at the moment, he found couldn't care less.

He then methodically began to doff the heavy, flowing robes that his station dictated that he wear for important occasions. He disliked such finery, preferring much simpler robes or, if he was lucky, nothing more fancy than leggings and a tunic.

In his exhausted state, it took Elrond almost twice as long to remove the robes as normal. His fingers simply did not seem to want to obey the simple movement required to unclasp the small clips, and his limbs felt heavy and sluggish.

"Let me help you," Celebrían offered, and made to rise.

"No, meleth, go to sleep," Elrond told her. "I do not need help." As if to prove the wearied elf lord wrong, the clasp that Elrond was trying to unhook slipped from his fingers and returned to its clip. Elrond let loose an uncustomary curse, the word slipping from between his lips unchecked. Celebrían lifted an eyebrow, surprised. Elrond very rarely swore, and when he did, it was usually for very good cause. He truly was beyond tired if he no longer even cared enough to watch his tongue.

"Let me help you," Celebrían repeated, standing, albeit wearily, and ignoring Elrond's look. She rounded the foot of the bed, coming to stand in front of her husband. Gently taking Elrond's hands in hers, she pulled them away from his robe's fastenings. Elrond allowed her to do so, suddenly too tired to refute any help.

With a few deft twists, the clasps came undone. Celebrían repeated the process again on the other side, and a moment later, Elrond was gratefully pulling the cloth from his shoulders. The robes pooled to the floor about his feet, a mound of rumpled navy and silver cloth.

Celebrían picked up the fallen finery and draped it over the back of her recently vacated armchair. Elrond, meanwhile, peeled off his silk shirt, which clung to his skin with a thin filament of sweat. He shivered slightly as the cooler air brushed his bare skin. All the same, he did not move to don another. The silk shirt joined his robes on the back of the armchair a moment later.

"Now will you come to bed?" Celebrían asked, her tone almost pleading. Elrond smiled wanly, and took her hand in his.

They lay down together, and Elrond wrapped his arms around her. Uncaring of the warmth of the night, at least for the moment, Celebrían snuggled up against Elrond, and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Le melon," Elrond murmured.

"Ar le melon," Celebrían murmured in reply.

Silence wrapped the lovers in its embrace as, less than a moment later, both succumbed to the peaceful land of dreams.