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‘I never used to feel the need for companionship.’
Needless to say, Elrond’s eyes grew wide when she said it.
➙
They were in Lindon, celebrating the end of the war against Sauron, celebrating his demise. The rings had been destroyed, and Sauron along with them.
It was time to move past it all, the pain and losses, the chaos and horrors, time to move forward. It was time for the elves to go back to their lives, changed as they may be after this war.
But before that, it was time to celebrate. Lindon was filled with elves, happy to have survived, happy to have reached the end of the war, happy to have destroyed evil in Middle Earth.
Of course, there was a lot of ale involved. And as much as elves were elegant and proper creatures… the happiness and pride everyone felt was more important, and there was a lot of happy yelling, happy jokes being told, happy drunk elves.
After a few hours of this, it got too much for Galadriel, and she felt the need to get away. She needed to properly think, because she had not gotten the time to do it ever since she found herself on a boat with Sauron.
Unnoticed, she made her way to the forest. Not too far, she still heard the ruckus of celebration, but far enough for it to be a distant sound.
Galadriel ignored the lavish gown she wore and sat in the grass, in a small clearing. She thought, and thought, and thought. She thought of everything that happened since she decided to remain in Middle Earth, and tried her best to process it.
She had changed a lot. Sauron had changed her, there was no doubt about it, but she vowed to herself that she will make something good come out of it.
At the end of it all, she had been able to stand up to Sauron. Not only by her own strength, she had help. Galadriel had realized it while it happened, as she yelled at Sauron and did not let his smirks get to her, she had realized that she was not falling for his manipulation because of Elrond.
Of course, it was more complicated than that.
And, of course, just as she was thinking about it, thinking about him, he had found her.
‘May I join you? Or do you wish to be alone?’
‘Stay.’, Galadriel smiled, and Elrond returned it, sitting down in the grass next to her, but angled the other way. Still, they could see each other clearly, though he tried not to.
A happy drunk elf, he was not. A propper, elegant elf, Erond was still.
And yet, he couldn’t meet her eyes. She found it terribly endearing.
➙
‘I never used to feel the need for companionship.’
Needless to say, Elrond’s eyes grew wide when she said it. Still, it did the job and he finally looked at her.
‘I… know that.’, he said slowly. ‘We have been friends for quite some time now.’
‘Yes’, Galadriel chuckled, ‘Yes we have.’
‘And I have witnessed many elves trying to catch your attention.’
‘They never did.’
Elrond nodded, looked away again. ‘Has that changed? Do you feel the need for companionship now?’
‘Yes.’, she didn’t hesitate.
‘Because of him?’
Still, he did not look at her. So she grabbed his hand to catch his attention, and did not let go.
‘It started with him. But I don’t regret him being gone, believe me.’
‘I do.’, he was quick to say. ‘I know you don’t.’
‘He has changed me.’
Elrond smiled kindly at her. ‘We are all changed, Galadriel. But not in the ways that truly matter.’
‘How can you still be so kind to me, after everything?’
He frowned. ‘As I said, we have been friends for quite some time now. And that will not change.’
‘It will not.’, she easily agreed. ‘We will be friends until the end of our days, that I promise you.’
He just looked at her for a moment, trying to find something but unable to do so, looking confusedly into her eyes.
‘I must admit this conversation has gotten away from me.’
She chuckled again. ‘Then let me speak, and do me the favor of listening?’
He nodded, and Galadriel took a deep breath, spent a moment trying to gather her thoughts. But with his hand in hers, and his eyes meeting hers, it did not take long.
‘When I was with him towards the end, just me and him, he tried to manipulate me. Use my weakness for his gain, again, like he did before I knew who he was. He smiled and joked, he was cocky and…’
She stopped, because Elrond had flinched.
‘It didn’t work’, Galadriel went on. ‘All the tricks he pulled on me before, it did not work because as I was looking at him, recognizing the manipulation, all I could think about was that you would never do that to me.’
Of course, Elrond was startled at that. ‘I would never-’
‘I know.’, she smiled, holding his hand tighter. ‘I always knew, but the way I…’
She took a deep breath, and spoke quickly.
‘You kissed me in Adar’s camp, and it was a ploy, it was a deceit, it was a war tactic, it was a lie, but… it was also the reason I was able to resist Sauron.’
Elrond’s eyes grew wide with shock and incredulity, but he did not say anything.
‘I have loved you for centuries, my dear friend.’, she said as gently as possible. ‘And we will be friends till the end of our days, yes, but why can’t we be more than that?’ She smiled. ‘What if I want more than that? What if you do, too?’
Elrond swallowed thickly and slowly, so very slowly, took his hand away from her grasp. But he didn’t leave, and he didn’t look away.
‘I always found your impulsivity endearing’, he said in a near whisper, ‘even when it caused more harm than good. But not now, Galadriel. Now, I need you to truly think about what you just said.’
‘What do you think I have been doing here?’, she smiled.
He didn’t. ‘No, Galadriel, I mean take time to think. Take time to… to forget about Sauron, about the war, about everything, and you need to truly, really think about what you said.’
She frowned. ‘And you don’t?’
Elrond chuckled, but it was not a happy sound. ‘No. Because in all the centuries we have been friends, this is not the first time I thought about it.’
His admission shouldn’t have been as shocking to Galadriel as it was. And yet, he had enough time to get up and walk away, before she found herself again.
She ran after him, stopping him from walking back to the city.
‘Please, Elrond, I-’
‘No, I am begging you. Please, please Galadriel, think about this. Because if you change your mind in a day, a year, a decade, a century, I don’t think I would be able to take it.’
The desperation in his voice was new to Galadriel. It was hard for her to truly comprehend what it meant, but if there was ever a moment for her to truly open her eyes, it was now.
And if it was ever a moment for her to speak the truth, it was now.
‘I am always better with you. In better spirits, a better fighter, a better person. But what has changed now is how badly I wish you to always be by my side. I want you to be the first smile I see in the morning, and the last good night I hear before sleep. And I want to be the same for you, be there to… help you arrange your scrolls or fasten your armor, whatever it is your future brings. And I want you to hold my hand, and hold me at the end of a long day, and yes, we have both changed, but not in the ways that matter. I still love you an incredible amount, but I have changed, because now I want to love you even more.’
She was not crying at the end of her speech, but it was a close thing. Her hands were shaking. And Elrond had stopped breathing a while ago.
He was the first to move, grabbing her hands and stilling them instantly.
‘I was never able to say no to you.’, he whispered.
It made her smile. ‘You have, at times. But not now.’
‘No, not now.’, Elrond nodded. With his free hand, he grabbed her cheek, reminiscent of that time in Adar’s camp, but it was more now. Stronger, more sure.
It was Galadriel that kissed him this time, and this as well, was more. She let herself feel more than she did before, she let herself feel everything. His touch on her cheek, his breath on her skin, his lips on hers, his hand in hers. She felt love and she felt loved and in that moment, she forgot everything that happened since the boat.
When the kiss had reached its end, Elrond enveloped her in his arms and spoke softly, against her hair.
‘In the morning, I leave for Khazad-dûm. I owe Durin for his help in the war. He fears the throne will not be a good fit for him.’
Galadriel smiled, wide and happy. ‘May I join you? Or do you wish to go alone?’
‘I never wish to go alone, ever again.’
‘Good.’
She kissed him again, for the morning was a long time away.