Disclaimer: Neither Lord of the Rings nor anything pertaining to Lord of the Rings belongs to moi. All belongs to Tolkien and the Tolkien Estate, and all others to whomsoever they belong.

Time frame: Not entirely sure, to be honest. Could be any time after Elrond and Celebrían's marriage.

A/N: So, confession time here...I honestly hadn't intended to update again until after all of my other WIPs were updated. And the next chapter was supposed to be a sequel of sorts to Snowfall...it's not. Oops. Heh...heh? This was all kinda based off of me last night: basically, I was having a hard time moving at all (unless it involved me going downstairs to get dinner), and it literally took me fifteen minutes to gather the gumption to move the two and a half feet to get my backpack. And most of that fifteen minutes went to writing this. Lol.

Thank you so very much to everyone who reviewed last chapter, as well as to those who favorited and alerted! We crossed the 50 review mark! Thank you all so, so, SO very much. I love you all, and you all are so wonderful. I would really, really appreciate it if you would take the time to leave a review, though, even if it is just a short "Liked it!" or whatnot. :) Most importantly, however, enjoy!

Translations:

Meleth: Love

~Reluctant Awakenings~

When Celebrían first awoke, she did not notice anything terribly unusual about the day. True, the sun was shining in through the window at a strange angle, and her husband was still firmly ensconced in the blankets on their bed, his loose hair tumbling out over the pillow and hiding his face from view, but still, there was naught to alert her to any strange happenings that fair spring morn. While it was not entirely normal for Elrond to sleep longer than she, it was not unheard of either, and the last few months had not been what one would call exactly "stress free" or "relaxing" (to put it mildly). She leaned over, kissed her husband on what she assumed was his cheek, slipped out of bed, and went about preparing to greet the day.

When Celebrían returned to their bedroom from the bathing room however, the last remnants of slumber dashed from her eyes, face washed, hair brushed, and her curling locks pinned up loosely with a few carefully placed pins, she found that her husband was still in bed. Indeed, it appeared as if he had not moved at all since she had departed.

Crossing to the bedside, Celebrían leaned down and brushed the hair away from Elrond's face. He twitched as sunlight hit his face, and his eyes instinctively slid shut. But he did not react in any other way, and he seemed to not have emerged from slumber in the least. Celebrían frowned. Most unusual.

"Elrond, dearest?" Celebrían called to him, stroking his cheek. He didn't respond. "Elrond?" Celebrían called again, a little louder this time. "Come, beloved, it is time to awaken."

One silver-grey eye blinked open slowly and Elrond gazed up at his wife lethargically. An unintelligible mumble rumbled from his chest, and then he casually draped one arm over his eyes and rolled over. Celebrían arched an eyebrow.

"Elrond? Is all well?" she asked, the smallest niggling of worry whispering in her mind. Another mumble, and Celebrían frowned again. It had sounded remarkably like Elrond had said "Go 'way Brí." "Elrond," Celebrían admonished, and sat down on the edge of the bed, the mattress sinking a little as it took her weight.

With a sigh, Elrond rolled back over, and this time both of his eyes were open. "Yes Meleth?" Elrond asked resignedly, his words much more distinguishable, although only a little less lethargic. He knew that tone of voice.

"What are you doing?" Celebrían asked at last, after seeming to have a struggle with finding the right words to say.

"I am lying in bed, currently," Elrond replied calmly. His arm was still draped over his forehead, shading his eyes.

Celebrían's other eyebrow crawled up to join the first. Only rarely had she ever heard her beloved husband use that tone of voice; indeed, she could likely count on one hand the times that he had used it during their marriage. It was a strange mixture of abandon, wry laughter, and whimsy, and Celebrían could not help but be reminded of a young boy, only just barely coming of age, whenever he used it.

"Well, you should rise soon," Celebrían said, pushing through the confusion that had descended upon her thoughts. "I believe I overheard Sídhaer speaking yester evening of something that she desperately needed to speak with you about."

Elrond snorted inelegantly. "That settles it then," he announced, turning onto his back. "I'm not getting up." With that he slid farther down beneath the blankets, bunching them up around his chin. Celebrían laughed, and then rose to go to the wardrobe that hung her dresses.

"Truly, Elrond, you are acting like a brash warrior only just in training," she told him lightly as she took down a pale yellow dress and silver belt made of finely linked loops.

"Truly, Celebrían," Elrond retorted, using the very same inflections of voice that Celebrían had used, "I simply can't be bothered with moving at the moment." His voice was ever so slightly muffled, and when Celebrían turned around, she saw why – Elrond had pulled the blankets entirely over his head, blocking out sunlight and extraneous noise alike.

"What has gotten into you today?" Celebrían asked, dropping the dress on the edge of the bed and sitting down once more. She touched the lump-that-was-Elrond, and she could feel his sigh, even though she could not quite hear it.

Elrond's head reemerged from the top of the blankets, and he looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. If he had mastered that look as a child, 'tis a wonder he did not grow up a spoilt princeling, Celebrían mused. Elrond smirked ever so slightly, having at least partially sensed the thought.

"Come back to bed," Elrond urged, extracting a hand to grasp Celebrían's. The elf-maid sighed, then shook her head – although not with denial, it may be noted, but rather with the slightest bit of exasperation.

"We cannot simply forgo our duties, Elrond. You know this."

"Imladris will not fall to pieces in a single day. And besides, Erestor and Glorfindel can manage the Valley on their own, at least for a few hours. Surely her lord and lady can enjoy themselves for a single morning?"

Celebrían sighed, and then shook her head yet again.

"I do not know how you managed to convince me of this," she said at last, pulling off her light over robe before shifting the blankets so that she could slip beneath them. Elrond smiled and held them up as she situated herself, and then he wrapped her in his arms and pulled her snugly against him.

"Because you love me," he replied smugly, kissing the tip of her ear.

"Hmm, perhaps," Celebrían mumbled, but she did not sound in the least upset or aggravated any longer.

And for the rest of the morning, neither of them left their bed.