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“Is Galadriel here?”
“As a matter of fact, I believe she’s just returned.”
Shit.
He’d blundered the timing on this. Too long wallowing in bed, but not soon enough to venture down to the forgery.
“Oh,” Halbrand clutched his side in melodrama, “good.”
The figure he knew to be Celebrimbor disappeared in the shadows, and the Maia sighed. He leaned himself to the staircase.
Later, then.
“Halbrand!”
The way she shouted it, he could taste the anxiety. His facade quickly hid the upward curling of his lips, turning his face away.
“You must return to the medical wing at once. Come.”
When he looked to her, she was no longer in the soot-clad armor of before. The elf was draped in a decadent green gown, one that knew the curves of her waist and the softness of her collar. Her figure was ancient, but new to him all at once.
“Alright then,” Halbrand clutched the handrail.
“Can you walk?” Galadriel asked, deadpan as ever. She was a step below him, a hand ready to reach out.
Halbrand snorted, “How do you suppose I got down here?”
Barefoot, he trudged upward. He glanced back at the now-empty forge.
Later, he reminded himself.
The room upstairs had the curtains drawn, and a medicinal incense burning on the ledge above his post. Cast in mostly candlelight, Halbrand leaned back into the soft Eregion pillows. The commander hovered at the foot of his bed. She looked upon him with those eyes, celestial yet woeful.
He sighed through his nose, a smile creeping again.
“What is it?”
Galadriel blinked widely, her mouth tight for a moment.
“The healing will only work if you are serious about it,” she scolded. The six days had worn them both down. There was barely any discussion until now - merely tension.
Halbrand ran a hand along the bandages of his self-inflicted wound.
“I am serious,” he echoed, quietly.
The elf’s shoulders sunk, ever so slightly. She was tired, too.
“I did not know where you’d gone,” Halbrand looked to her from under his eyelashes, “or where I am.”
Galadriel’s hand rested on the edge of his bed.
“I went to speak with a friend,” she hesitated, “about you.”
Halbrand’s brows shot up, waiting for more. She did not give it, though. The elf straightened, and took a step closer to his side.
“You should be resting,” she reminded herself, more than she did him. With his eyes locked on her, Halbrand placed his hand atop Galadriel’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. She looked down as he did, feeling his warmth pool over her cold knuckles.
“I should be thanking you,” he breathed, watching her expression soften. Delicately she lowered, perching at the side of his bed. Galadriel’s bright eyes flickered back up to him.
“You would do the same for me.”
Halbrand’s lips parted, surprised by her words. How did she always manage to do that? It only further confirmed his beliefs. She was right, after all. He ran his thumb across the back of her hand, a smile cracking in his laugh lines.
“I would,” the Maia confirmed, shifting toward her. He then lifted his hand, reaching out to run his fingers along her golden hair. Galadriel’s eyes widened, but she did not stop him. His fingers grazed her sharp cheek as his voice became a fervent whisper.
“And I would do much more for you.”
I would give you power. I would give you a kingdom. There is a place for you, and it is with me.
Realization bloomed in Galadriel, as she processed his words. He had intentions - and even though she didn’t know the depth of them, she knew enough. She let herself lean into Halbrand’s touch, which was suddenly so tender.
There it was again, that feeling that radiated between them as they had fought side by side. It was inescapable in their closeness, like the heat pulsing from a forge. He knew what he wanted, and his human form adapted that notion into something curious:
Desire.
Intrigued, the Maia decided he would allow it. His hand still on her cheek, Halbrand gently drew Galadriel to him. It felt like a tethered string, pulling taut for them both. He tilted his chin up, his head lifting off the pillow as his rugged lips found hers. The elf wrapped her hand around his wrist, closing her fingers and locking the kiss with a lean. The moment was a hot sizzle of metal quenching in water; it solidified the feelings between them. Quenched metal steams and hisses, causing all around it to feel its power as it settles. He was ever the dagger, and she the water around him.
Halbrand moaned softly upon her returning the kiss so eagerly. It elated him to experience Galadriel like this. She was so willing, he thought, as his fingers tangled in her soft hair, so ready to meet him there. She had a firm wall built around her, and he had been invited in - with mouth open. Galadriel filled fast with his body heat, the scruff of his facial hair moving against her porcelain cheek. Their lips were wet and soft as they danced and clasped as if they’d done this a thousand times before. Her hand squeezed tighter around his wrist as his fingers caressed the nape of her neck. She was his light, his clarity. They would be a perfect balance, brought together by the purest fate. He could sense she was fading, though. He nabbed one final, lusty latch of her lips before she pulled back. Galadriel let him go, breathing heavily.
He knew she was looking at him differently now. He could feel it. It was fascinating, really. Elves were not exactly known for their passion. But Galadriel had always defied the odds - in her resilient quest to seek the darkness, in her persistent drive to crown him a leader, and even in the fiery press of her lips to his.
Halbrand felt something else, too. It was interesting, this mortal visage. It left him wanting more - carnally. In their heated silence, he could not break his gaze from her mouth, then the soft dip of her collar…
The wound had been a necessity to get him to Eregion. But in that moment, he found himself wishing it was fully healed. It would be much easier to pull her onto the bed that way.
Everything in due time.
“So much for rest,” Halbrand gave her a cheeky grin to cut the tension. Galadriel took a deep breath in.
“You are right. Of course. This, this…”
He reached for her hand again.
“ This will be here later.”
She nodded, and after a squeeze of his hand, stood back up. Nearly floating to the doorway, she turned to face him. Even from such a distance, she lit up the room.
“I will come to you after you’ve slept,” the elf sounded like her usual firm self, but her expression was captivated. After filling her lungs, she began to leave.
“Galadriel?”
In an instant, she was facing him again.
Halbrand pulled his covers up higher, getting comfortable in the delightful elven bed.
“I can’t wait.”
Her eyes fluttered at his words, and she smiled brightly. The look remained on her face as she quietly closed the door.
All the while, Sauron smiled back at her.