#maiawrites

The pink vintage receiver you have hooked up on your bedside table vibrates with every ring and you sob internally, wondering ‘who could be calling at this time of night?’ Without missing a beat of anger, you hastily pick up the phone and shove it to your ear.

“Who is it?” You ask groggily, irritation prominent in your tone.

“I’m sorry for the late call, princess. I just need to know if you have the My Chemical Romance lighter I left on your couch.” Bucky responds, and you feel the tension slip away as he speaks.

“God – can you call later? It’s 2 in the morning and I was busy.” Your voice was meek, trying to tell him what you were doing without saying it.

“I’m about to roll up and I need my lighter. If I didn’t need it, you know I wouldn’t have called right now.”

“Okay well go ask Steve for his! I’m surprised you’re not doing it together. I was busy!”

He can almost hear the way you rolled your eyes into your head, not missing the way your voice got an octave higher. Your hand hovers over your sweet hole, a dull ache replacing the pleasure you once felt.

“He left his with Sharon. Hey – what could you be busy with at-”

“Bucky.” You cut him off sternly with warning in your voice.

“I didn’t peg you as the masturbation type, sweetheart. How’s it going?” Bucky’s question sends electricity to your core. Was he teasing? Or was he genuinely curious?

“It’d be much better if you hung up so I can fucking focus.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do. Hang up.”

“You’re more than capable of hanging up, sweetheart.”

“Just do it, Bucky. You’re a pervert.”

He laughs at that, a guttural one. Without thinking, your finger gently slips back into your aching hole, the intrusion causing you to let out a low whimper.

“What was that?” Bucky questions and you snap your legs closed.

“I uh, almost dropped the phone. That’s all.” You breathe out, mentally cursing from being so naive that you could keep quiet.

“I don’t think phones make noises that pretty, baby. You gonna be honest this time?”

His words create a wave of arousal which immediately travels to your soaked cunt. Before you answer, you take a deep breath, blowing out the trapped air from your nose.

“I slipped a finger in. It hurts Buck, I just wanna cum.”

Your admission makes his cock twitch in his sweatpants, his semi becoming a full chub within seconds. He can’t tell if it’s from your voice, the time, or what you just said to him and he doesn’t care to figure it out.

“Touch yourself for me princess.” Bucky coos and your eyes almost roll back into your head.

“I already am.. can you do it with me?” The question floats in the air for a second before anything else is said.

“Y-Yeah I can let me just grab lube – I like it wet.” You can hear him grunt as he reaches for the bottle that you assume is on some kind of night stand.

“Then you’d love me.” You let out a meek laugh. “I’m dripping as I speak.” Unbeknownst to you he bucked his hip into the air at your words, his cock weeping into his boxers with precum.

“Fuck, you’re gonna make me cum before I even start if you keep talking like that.” He sighs, pulling down the restricting layers before flipping open the bottle of lube and pouring some onto the length of him that sat pressed against his abs.

“Sorry – I’m eager. I wanna sleep.” You yawn, fingers gently pressing against your cunt.

“You don’t have to wait on me princess, I’ll catch up.”

“W-What are you wearing right now?” The question startles you, and you're the one who asked it.

“I was wearing gray sweats and the boxers you bought me for friendsgiving but I uh, took them off due to this circumstance.”

You sigh at the thought of him stark naked, cock between his fist and being gently lathered in the smooth liquid.

“Mmm..” Is all you can respond with as you tuck the receiver under your ear and between your shoulder to use your thumb to rub circles on your clit.

“How about you princess?” He takes a beat to lift his cock from its resting place on his stomach and gives it a home in his fist, the pressure making him wince.

“I’m wearing the um, the baby pink set you bought me last week. The bralette and underwear but they're pretty soaked now so..” You reply between pants, trying to find a rhythm between the fingers sliding in and out of you and the tantalizingly slow pace on your sensitive bud.

A guttural groan mixed with sloppy wet noises follows the end of your sentence and it’s obvious how that affected him. He gets lost in the feeling of his hand gliding up and down his shaft to respond.

“I keep going too fast – I wish it was you, here, controlling my pace.” Bucky whispers, and you whine at his words, working in a second finger.

“Yeah? You want mommy there to help you, baby?” You coo, hearing him whimper on the other end.

“Shit, yes, I need you. Wanna feel your pretty cunt grip my cock.” He sighs, fist eagerly pumping up and down.

“Fuck, Jamie–” Your eyes shut with knitted brows accompanying them as you stroke your g-spot with both fingers.

“I love it when you say my name, I gotta hear it when I fuck you.” His moan bellows through the receiver and you hold back your own, scared to wake up your roommate.

“You can take it whenever, James. I’m yours, baby. All – fuck – yours.” Bucky can hear the squelching of your wetness with every thrust of your fingers and it grosses you out but turns him on even more.

“I’m close princess, so close.” He drags out and you don’t miss the echo of his fist hitting the base of his cock with every stroke.

“Me too - I can’t wait to cum all over your thick cock, I need you stretching me out. My fingers aren’t enough.” You cry, your hearing dulling and vision blanking for a few seconds as you imagine him sliding in and out of you and taking the place of your fingers.

It falls silent for a moment until you hear his heavy breathing continue. “Shitshitshit, I’m cumming, fuckohmygod.” His words and your name become a chant, spilling out of his mouth until he’s spent on his stomach, forcing himself through his high.

You spasmed around your fingers, head lulling back into your pile of pillows, voice getting higher and higher. The receiver drops from your shoulder to your chest as your orgasm washes over you, stars of white clouding your mind. Your body goes numb while you come down from your climax, breath escaping you.

“Fuck, I need to see you later. Come by my room after your 2 pm class?” Bucky sighs as beads of sweat drip down his forehead.

“Mhm.” You reply sleepily, pushing the receiver off of you and onto the edge of your bed.

“Goodnight, princess. Dream of me, okay?” Bucky’s voice seemed to have dropped an octave, giving you more fuel to sleep.

All he receives is a faint sigh of approval before you’re fast asleep, legs crossed under the dry part of your comforter. Laundry will a problem for future you but its the last thing on your mind.

“You want to do something to draw even more attention to us? Why?”

You shrugged. “It seems like something we should do? But honestly, my ass is starting to hurt from sitting down for so long.”

He snorted, and quickly tried and failed to conceal it with a not-so-elegant cough.

“Fine. Let’s dance,” Aragorn said, before rising and offering you his arm. 

“I had something a little more along the lines of sneaking out of the banquet and going to sleep in mind, but I guess dancing works too?” 

You grabbed his proffered arm, letting him help you down the steps from the raised dais where you’d eaten onto the dance floor. As you walked to the center, you saw Legolas rise and tap his spoon against his goblet. 

“The king and his betrothed would like to dance!” Legolas declared. 

With that, every eye in the room that wasn’t already on you—which was admittedly few— looked at you. And you stood in the center of the room, alone except for Aragorn, waiting for the band to start playing.

The band began, strings of notes floating down to your ears as Aragorn placed one hand on your waist and clasped your own in his other. Your other hand rested on his shoulder, careful not to crush his cape. You began to move together, stepping slowly until your feet started to remember the pattern and you picked up speed. You spun around each other, all the other dancers on the floor falling back to simply watch the two of you move in complete harmony. 

Aragorn whirled you around the dance floor, spinning you out with arms always there to bring you back to him. Neither of you really knew what specific dance you were doing, you just let the music take you with the other. The music swelled to its apex and you began a circle of spins on your own, your only point of contact your hand clasped with his above your head, his other arm always there to catch you. Revolving only through the light touches of your feet on the ground, the exact right touch happening almost as if by magic to propel you through. And as you finished the twirls he clasped your waist once more, steadying you as you danced with him again. 

As you moved together his hand crept from your waist to rest on the small of your back, drawing you in closer to him. Your own hand traveled up to rest on the back of his neck, bringing his head down until your foreheads pressed together. You looked into each other's eyes as you slowed your movements, breathing in unison as you pulled apart to silence from those watching. 

Until you saw, out of the corner of your eye, Faramir’s hands raised to clap and then the noise of applause bombarded your senses. You heard a wolf-whistle and knew without looking that it was Legolas. 

You felt a hand on your waist again, and Aragorn guided you back up the steps. People were starting to move back onto the floor as the first strands of a new piece began to trickle through the air, but you didn’t notice. Your eyes were locked with his as you reached your seats, your body knowing that you were supposed to sit but your heart keeping you in place, one hand resting on his shoulder, his still on your waist, poised almost like the beginning of another dance.

And then the moment ended—his eyes broke from yours and looked over your shoulder as Legolas bounded up the steps behind you.

“Aragorn, we cannot have you taking all her time the whole night! The kingdom needs to see their soon to be queen mingle!”

Aragorn seemed surprised for a moment, before dropping his hands and nodding. 

You turned, and took Legolas’s offered arm, gliding down to the floor with him, and spent the rest of the night making small talk with various nobles, none of whose names you would remember the next day. Your mind just kept flitting back to the way Aragorn had looked at you, like you were the only person in the world. It had confused you, because that was the way you felt that you looked at him. But he was not in love with you, so it didn’t make sense. 

Much later that evening, after having excused yourselves from the banquet, you found yourself walking down the torchlit halls, Aragorn alongside you. You reached the door to your rooms and pressed your hand on the handle, ready to open it and say goodnight, but then Aragorn took your other hand and spun you around to face him. 

You stood there for a moment, breath unconsciously held as he simply looked at you.

And then he moved, and held you by your waist and spun you around until you felt the cool wood of the door against your back. He hesitated for a moment, looking at you before slowly kissing you. And then he deepened it, pressing your body against the door as your hands tangled in his hair and you melted into his touch, kissing him in return as you marveled at his actions. You didn’t know how long you spent there with him, kissing each other for the first time, not quite realizing what this meant but knowing it was bringing you delight to be with him.

Later, you stood on the balcony outside your room together, gazing down at the city before he turned to you. Your eyes didn’t move from his as you mirrored him, gazing at the picture he painted. He practically glowed in the moonlight, dark clothes not drowned out by the moonlight but instead set apart from the rest of the world. The silver thread looked like liquified moonlight, and in that moment, even without the crown that had doubtless fallen off somewhere inside, he looked every inch a king.

But he didn’t seem to care. He was simply drinking in the sight of you. You were sure that your cheeks were flushed, eyes bright and hair mussed but he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away. And he was right not to do so—however much the moonlight made him glow, it was nothing compared to the vision before him. It practically set you aflame, bright colors burning in the night sky as the white light caught the shimmering threads at just the right angle

And then his eyes left you as he moved, suddenly.

“My queen,”Aragorn said, bowing his head.

You stood there, shocked for a moment. 

“Aragorn—”

He looked up, meeting your eyes once more. “I was ignoring what I felt for you in order to make both our lives easier in some way. But I cannot ignore it—I suspect it was this that made me suggest this inane plan in the first place.” 

He laughed then, a small, wry chuckle.

“But I do hope that in doing so we may have found ourselves right in the place that I, at least, was trying to deny in the first place.”

You tilted your head, deep down knowing where he was leading but your heart pounding in your chest was too nervous to follow. 

“Where might that be?”

“Love,” he said. “For me, at least, I have been in love with you for a great deal of time. I am not so presumptuous as to assume that you return my affections, however I must tell you that I dearly wish for us to be betrothed in truth. I want to spend every next step, every coming spin, with you.”

As he spoke your eyes widened, hardly daring to hope but knowing that these words were real. You could tell by the depth of emotion held behind his eyes now, the softness but sureness with which he spoke. And you realized then that you had somehow always known—this was who you were meant to spend all the joyful moments, all the sad moments, and every moment with. 

He took your hand as you opened your mouth, searching your eyes as if bracing himself for your answer.

You laughed, nearing giddiness in this moment, standing on a balcony that overlooked all of Minas Tirith, flaming in the moonlight as the man you loved looked at you as if you were the only thing in the world. 

“Well, then. I believe we should make this betrothal official.”

******

You screamed, jumping back as the spider jumped off your desk onto the floor.

You staggered backwards, trying to see where it was on your floor, until the backs of your knees hit your bed. You turned and scrambled up, leaning over to the wall where your bow and quiver hung and nocking an arrow, turning every which way to see where the spider was.

You waited there, poised, too scared to move, for what seemed like forever. Finally, you released the tension in the bow and slung it over your shoulder. You stepped down from the bed on tip-toes, not wanting to present any more of yourself as a target to the spider than possible.

Not seeing it, you sighed in relief. And then, of course, there it was, scuttling out from underneath your wardrobe like true scum of the earth. You shrieked and ran out the door, slamming it behind you and leaning against it with a breath of relief.

Of course, the King of the Woodland Realm, and your betrothed, chose that exact moment to walk by your rooms.

“Ah, Y/N. Just the person I was hoping to see,” Thranduil greeted you, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to your lips.

“Thranduil,” You dipped your head in acknowledgment, “What can I do for you?”

He smiled. “I was hoping you would accompany me on a patrol today. It’s not often that I get to go out, and it would please me greatly if you were to join me.”

So that was why he was dressed so informally.

You’d rarely seen him without his sweeping royal garb on, but the more informal clothing of the guard that he was wearing suited him very well. You also hadn’t had time alone with him in weeks, trade negotiations getting in the way. And anything was better than going back into your room where that menace of a spider lurked.

“I’d love to join you!”

You hooked your arm through his, starting to walk down the halls together. When his attention was elsewhere for a moment, you turned to the guard next to you.

“Raithedir,” you hissed.

His head turned towards you.

“There’s a spider in my rooms. Take care of it please?”

Raithedir chuckled at you, shaking his head in mock exasperation before nodding and turning back up the corridor.

Later, you sprang along the branches of the tall trees, running through the forest, completely in your element. As an elf from Rivendell, you didn’t have much experience in the realm yet, having only arrived a couple years ago, but it already was your perfect place. Your king kept up, sprinting alongside you, jumping when you jumped and ducking when you ducked. If you hadn’t thought you were meant to be together, this certainly confirmed that you were perfect for each other.

Suddenly, you froze. A horror, no, a monstrosity of a spider was approaching from the other tree. You couldn’t move. You couldn’t even think. It was huge. And a spider. And you couldn’t do anything. You just watched as it crept closer and closer and closer, your eyes widening at every movement it made.

“Y/N!” Thranduil looked worried, springing over to you and scooping your frozen self into his arms.

Thranduil ran back through the trees, glancing down at you every thirty seconds to make sure you were okay and growing more and more nervous as every time he checked you looked as terrified as before. Finally, finding a clearing he knew was far from any spiders, he set you down against a tree.

“Y/N?”

You blinked, tears filling your eyes as his voice brought you back out of the pit of fear you had found yourself in.

“Sp-spiders.”

“Shhhh. They’re gone now. You’re alright.”

Thranduil moved so that your head rested on his shoulder, putting his arm around you and drawing you close to him as the two of you leaned against the tree. His hand stroked your forearm in the way he knew always calmed you down. After a few minutes, after you had buried your head in his chest and sobbed, letting it all out, it faded to hiccupy sighs.

“Are you all right, my love?”

You nodded.

“Why did you never tell me about this before?”

You took a deep breath. “I was embarrassed. It’s not like most spiders are particularly scary, it’s a stupid fear and I didn’t want you to think less of me because of it.”

He tilted your face up to look into his eyes.

“There are no stupid fears. And nothing you could ever do would ever make me think any less of you. Nothing, my darling. I’ll love you forever.”

A smile started to grow on your face, spiders forgotten.

“Forever? That’s a long, long time.”

Thranduil nodded solemnly.

“Forever. Even after forever, I’ll still love you.”

“I love you too.”

You settled your head onto his shoulder.

“But I’ll only love you forever if you keep me away from these giant spiders.”

“Deal.”

Leaving Rivendell some days previously, you had been excited for the journey and adventure you were about to embark on. Now, though, you were starting to feel a little worse for wear. After spotting the small waterfall and pool it flowed into, you and the hobbits had begged Aragorn to stop early for the day, desperate to wash up. After a lot of begging, he had finally agreed, and here you were.

Aragorn had wanted to get a more thorough grasp of the terrain if you were to be camping here, and Legolas and Gimli had volunteered to join him. Aragorn had rolled his eyes, knowing that he would spend a lot of time breaking up arguments and friendly competitions between the two, but they left. (You fondly recalled the time when, after a long day of walking, the two had started a competition to find the most firewood. It had ended with them having a tug-of-war with a large log while the rest of the group rolled around laughing at them, which doubled when Aragorn chopped the log in half, causing them each to fall back on their asses.) While they scouted, Sam got a fire going, and Boromir and Gandalf did who knows what, you and the other three hobbits had decided to go wash your clothes. Merry and Pippin had quickly started a fight, however, and upon seeing them in the pool with the mist spraying into the air, creating rainbows, you had stripped down to your underthings and joined them, determined to win, while Frodo looked on and called out advice from a nearby rock. It was freezing, uncomfortably so, but it was worth it to be able to feel even a little bit clean again.

“Nice one, Y/N!” he cried out now, nodding his approval as you dunked Pippin. You ignored the fact that as a human, you had a size advantage over the small hobbits, and proceeded to do a victory lap in the water.

Swimming around, you admired the natural beauty that you had somehow stumbled upon. Small cliffs rose around you, about the height of a small oak tree, sheltering the little lagoon. The waterfall cascaded down the rocks into the pool of shimmering blue water, which filtered out between a small gap in the rocks, forming a river. The green leaves of the trees were reflected in the water, giving it a teal tint, and the sun made the grains in the rocks sparkle. All of this gave the small area a truly ethereal look.

You were suddenly startled from your reverie by two hobbit-sized shapes crashing into you from above. While you had been admiring the scenery, Merry and Pippin had climbed onto the rocks to ambush you. Forcing your head underwater, they giggled as you came back up, gasping. Their amusement quickly turned to fear as you turned to them with a devilish glint in your eyes. You tackled them and smirked as their faces turned to twin looks of outrage. “What was that for?”

“You guys jumped me! I did what I had to do.” You leaned back in the water, very pleased with yourself as you heard a stifled chuckle from the nearby rocks.

“Oh, you think that’s funny, do you, Frodo?” Pippin was advancing on him now, looking comically angry. Merry grabbed him and whispered something in his ear that you couldn’t quite hear. Pippin nodded, his face turning serious.

“We should go back to the campsite, see if there’s any food.” Merry was now climbing onto the shore and tucking his shirt into his wet trousers.

“You just want to steal some of Sam’s stew before everyone else!” Pippin elbowed him. “And what if I do?” Merry set off running towards the campsite, Pippin following him with a curse and a shout of, “Now he’ll eat it all and there’ll be none left for me!”

You made your way onto the shore a bit more sedately. Once out of the water, you began shivering and hastened to get redressed. Frodo had looked away, blushing, when you climbed out of the water, and you teased him. “C’mon Frodo, everything important is covered!”

This was true, you had kept your wrappings over your chest on, as well as your other undergarments. “Still,” the hobbit kept his eyes averted as you tugged your tunic over your head, lacing it as you spoke, “it’s not proper.” You shook your head at him in pretend exasperation. “I’m decent, let us go see if Merry really did eat all the stew.”

Sitting around the fire with your companions, you would have been quite content had you still not been so cold. Sam’s stew had warmed you for a little while, but now you were hunched over in your still-damp clothes, shivering. “Are you all right, Y/N?” Legolas looked down at you from his perch on the log next to you, concern in his eyes. “Yes,” you nodded, teeth chattering. “Just cold.”

“Well, maybe Legolas could warm you up?” Aragorn winked at you.

“No!” you cried, and then leaned over and punched Aragorn’s arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” he exclaimed, but you just sat back, pleased with yourself, yet still shivering.

Legolas looked uncertain for a second, then wrapped his arm around your shoulders, bringing you close to his warmth. You unconsciously pressed closer against him, drawn to the heat emanating from his body. As you did, he stiffened. He then jumped up, leaving you sitting there, confused as he made his way over to his pack. Grabbing something, he came back over and held it out to you.

“You’re freezing because your clothing is soaked!” He informed you and the group of this. “Yes, Legolas, I know. I’m the one wearing the soaked clothes.” You attempted to say this deadpan, but it was ruined by the clicking sound of your teeth chattering.

“Well, I was thinking- I don’t have pants that’ll fit you, but you can wear my tunic.” He blushed. “It might be a little large, but at least it’s dry.”

“Oh, no Legolas, I’m fine, really.” You didn’t want him to notice how you were nervously playing with your hair, something you always did when embarrassed.

“Really, Y/N. Take it.” He shook it at you, and, sighing, you stood and grabbed it out of his hand. “Thank you, Legolas.” You made your way to the edge of the campsite, grabbing a new set of wrappings for your breasts before disappearing into the forest to change.

Behind a tree, you lifted the damp tunic over your head and rewrapped your chest with practiced ease. You then pulled Legolas’ soft tunic on. It was rather large on you, falling a little lower on your legs than yours usually did. It hit your waist at a nice angle, however, accentuating it nicely. The real issue was the neckline. It had no laces and was much deeper than you usually wore, exposing a lot more skin than you were used to. After unsuccessfully trying to close the v-neck in some way, you gave up and just prayed no one would look too closely.

Walking back into the campsite, you draped your wet tunic over your pack, hoping it would dry overnight.

“I feel much warmer now, thank you.” You sat back down on the log next to Legolas. His eyes drifted across your body, taking in the sight of you in his clothes. “It looks good on you.” He blushed, and you tucked a piece of loose hair behind your ear, feeling rather pleased by the compliment.

“Hey, lovebirds!” came a shout from across the fire. Boromir was sitting with Merry and Pippin and was unwrapping something encased in leaves. You quickly scooched apart from Legolas, fidgeting, and craned your neck to see what Boromir had.

“What is that?” Legolas was just as curious, and just as embarrassed.

“While you were all off doing stuff earlier, I went and gathered some berries!” Boromir finished unwrapping them and held them up triumphantly. You could see strawberries and blueberries spilling out onto the leaves, and licked your lips in anticipation. After taking a few, Boromir passed the pouch around the fire, and everyone took a couple. You bit into a strawberry, savoring the sweetness.

“These are delicious, thank you, Boromir.” Aragorn was trying to speak around a mouthful of blueberries, which just caused the blue juice to run down his chin. Soon, you were all giggling at each other devouring the fruit, not caring if any got on your faces. Even Gandalf had a streak of blue running into his long grey beard, a fact that amused Pippin greatly. Finished, you leaned back with a sigh, patting your stomach with satisfaction.

“Thank you, Boromir. Truly, they were a wonderful treat.”

“Happy to, Y/N!” And indeed he did look pleased to see everyone enjoying something he had done for them.

You made your way down to the waterfall, this time accompanied by the whole Fellowship except Gandalf, who had stayed behind to tend the fire. You all splashed water on your faces to clean them of the sticky berry residue. You were careful to just get your face wet, not wanting to dampen Legolas’ tunic, but even with just your face you still got really cold again. Shivering, you turned and walked back to the campsite, admiring the stars shining above the foliage.

Reaching the campsite, you walked over to your bedroll and dragged it closer to the fire. Not so close that people would be worried, but close enough that you could hopefully soak up the meager warmth as the flames dwindled into embers overnight. You climbed in under your blanket and curled up in a ball to preserve as much body heat as possible. Lulled by the crackling of the fire and the soft murmurs of your friends getting ready for the night, you drifted off to sleep, grateful that you weren’t on the watch list that night.

“Y/N. Wake up, it’s time to go.” You were shaken awake the next morning by Legolas, who smiled at you fondly before moving on to help pack up. Stretching, you sat up and immediately recoiled. Your head hurt. And you were cold. And also somehow hot. And you felt a tad bit woozy. But you were fine, you didn’t want to hold up the journey, so you gathered the courage and emerged from your bedding, rolling it up and packing it away as you hissed in discomfort.

Walking across the campsite, your arm was grabbed by Aragorn, who pulled you off to the side. “Are you ok? You look out of sorts.” It was true, you were shaking a little bit with chills, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Oh, I’m completely fine, Aragorn. Don’t worry about me!” You faked a smile in an attempt to prove that you were, as you said, fine. Pulling your arm out of his grasp, you shouldered your pack and set off behind Boromir.

As the day went on, you felt fainter and fainter. One second you would feel like you were a furnace, the next you thought you’d never be warm again. It was taking all your energy to focus on simply putting one foot in front of the other, but you kept going, determined not to be the cause of any delays.

After you had stopped for lunch, Legolas drifted to the back of the group to walk with you. Noticing your shakiness earlier, he had decided to check on you.

“Are you alright, Y/N?” His gaze met yours, and the touching concern in his eyes almost made you stumble, although to be fair anything could have made you stumble, you were so tired at this point.

“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Seriously, Legolas, I’m fi-” Your body finally gave up on you, and you passed out. The elf was not expecting this and tried to catch you as you fell, succeeding only in slowing you down so that you hit the ground gently, cradled in his arms. Feeling your forehead, he sucked in a breath of shock.

“She’s burning up.” He informed the rest of the Fellowship, who were all gathered around the two of you like a bunch of concerned mother hens.

“We cannot stop yet.” Aragorn looked worried.

“I will carry Y/N until we camp for the night.” Boromir volunteered. Had you been conscious, you would have protested being carried at all. You wouldn’t have cared who you were carried by. But someone else did.

“No, Boromir. I’ll carry her.” With this Legolas scooped you into his arms, startling Boromir with his determination. Aragorn just smirked. “Let us continue, then.” And they set off, you in Legolas’ arms, head resting against his chest.

Legolas heard Pippin softly asking Aragorn questions as they moved. “I don’t understand, why did Y/N catch a cold but we did not?”

“Hobbits are hardier folk than us humans. You can withstand much harsher conditions. It is why I did not join you in the water, and I have elvish blood, so it would not have been as bad for me as it is for Y/N.” The elf secretly did not know much about humans and their sicknesses, so he found this explanation rather helpful.

Legolas kept looking down at you, marveling at how, even sick, you looked so peaceful. You wore a faint smile as if you were having a pleasant dream.

“Legolas?” You whispered, squirming in his arms. He jolted at the sound of his name coming out of your mouth.

“Y/N? Are you awake?” He brushed your hair out of your face and saw that your eyes were still closed. He figured it was just you having a dream about the Fellowship, his name just happened to be the one you mentioned. Then you spoke again.

“I love you, Legolas.” He stopped in shock as you shifted in his arms again.

“You love me too? That’s good.” You sighed, wiggling your nose in that cute way Legolas liked, head still resting against his chest.

The elf, meanwhile, was standing there. Dumbstruck, with you fast asleep in his arms, he stood there until an unsuspecting Gimli crashed into him from behind.

“Lad! Yeh don’t just stop in the middle of the path! Keep moving!”

Legolas was still too shocked to come up with a retort, so he silently stepped to the side, letting the dwarf pass. Aragorn was next but paused to get Legolas to keep walking. “Legolas. What is wrong? Do you grow weary of carrying Y/N?”

“No!” The elf turned away from Aragorn, fearing that the man would insist on taking you.

Aragorn backed up a step, hands in the air. “Very well then. If you are not tired, why are you so on edge?”

“Y/N was talking in her sleep.”

“So? What does that have to do with yo- Legolas, why are you blushing?!” The ranger looked very amused by the flushed elf. “What, exactly, did she say?”

“She, um, well- she said she loved me.” Legolas was trying very hard not to meet Aragorn’s eyes.

Meanwhile, Aragorn had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Well, that is wonderful news! Now the two of you can stop the ridiculous flirting and pining.”

“Aragorn- you do not think she could have meant it?” Legolas was now looking at his friend, and Aragorn could see the beginnings of hope in his eyes.

“Of course she meant it! She was having a dream, about you, and told you she loved you. How could it be any clearer?”

“Well, that’s just it. It was a dream. It probably did not mean anything.” As Legolas spoke, Aragorn saw him convince himself that it was not true. “Legolas.” The blond turned his head and looked Aragorn in the eyes.

“I believe that Y/N means what she said in that dream. I have seen it in the way she acts with you. If you do not, then I cannot convince you. But I will say- ask her about it when she wakes up. Just mention the dream.”

With that Aragorn sped up, leaving a conflicted, confused, and still blushing Legolas walking slowly at the back of the group.

“I think you should tell her,” came a voice from down near his elbow. Legolas’ gaze drifted down to focus on Merry, who had somehow appeared next to him while he was lost in thought. “Tell her what?” The elf tried to deny everything, but Merry wasn’t having it.

“Tell her that you love her!” The hobbit looked so earnest that Legolas couldn’t help but listen to him. Merry continued, “I know if I loved someone, I’d want them to know. Not even because we could lose our lives at any moment, just because I think they deserve it. It’s like in the old stories Mr. Bilbo used to tell. She deserves to know you love her, Legolas. Tell her before it’s too late.”

Struck by the serious set of the hobbit’s face, and emotions in his eyes, Legolas nodded. “All right then. I guess I’ll ask her tonight.” He looked nervous, but then his eyes drifted down to look upon your sleeping form, cradled in his arms, and his face softened.

“Don’t let Boromir or Gimli see you looking at her like that, though- they’ll think you’ve gone soft!” And with that, Merry bounded back up to walk with Pippin.

Legolas was again by himself (well, not entirely, you were still there, but that might not count because you were unconscious), left to mull over his thoughts. He had been bluffing with Merry, he was most certainly not going to ask you about your feelings for him that night, but reflecting on the hobbit’s words something struck him. You were all on a perilous quest, it would be better for you to know now. And he could just ask you about your dream, inquire after your sleep. He didn’t have to confess to anything unless you did- which he was sure wasn’t going to happen, who could love him? But it did sound like a decent plan, so he decided to go through with it.

Just as that thought of resolve crossed his brain, you stirred. Opening your eyes, you gazed blearily at the world around you until your gaze came to rest on the face above you.

Blinking, it came into focus. “Legolas? What- why are you carrying me? What happened?”

“You fainted, Y/N. We think you have a fever, you must have caught a cold from swimming yesterday.” He was still walking as he spoke.

“Ok. Well, thank you for carrying me. I can walk now.”

When he didn’t, you asked again. “I’m fine, Legolas. Really, put me down.”

He still refused to do so.

“Put me down, Legolas!”

Finally, he answered. “I will not. I will carry you until we camp tonight.”

Overhearing him, Aragorn called out back to you. “Well, it’s a good thing we just found a place to camp!”

“Frodo, would you mind grabbing me Y/N’s pack from Aragorn and just spreading out her bedroll so she can rest?” Legolas was walking over to a spot he thought you would like as he spoke. Frodo came over with your bedroll, laying it out on a nice, flat area of ground. As pleased as you were, you still had to protest.

“I do not need rest, Legolas. What I need is for you to put me down!”

Sensing that perhaps it was just best to do as you said, the elf gently eased you to your feet. The second you were standing, you started to feel dizzy, and the chills came back. You fell back into Legolas’ waiting arms, too tired to stand.

“Okay, fine, maybe I do need to rest.” You yawned as he lowered you onto your bedroll, tucking the blankets in around you. “But I don’t want to be here, away from everyone. Carry me over to sit around the fire.” You made a regal face as Legolas picked you back up. The fire was crackling in the center of the small clearing, and everyone else was gathered around as Sam served supper.

“So demanding,” he muttered under his breath, jokingly. “Oh!” You were playfully offended.

He set you down, wrapping your blanket around your shoulders before settling next to you. Sam passed you a bowl of stew, and you inhaled the scent of it.

“Rabbit and potato tonight?” You could always guess what was in it.

“How do you guess right every time?” Pippin was amazed.

“I guess I just have a refined, expert sense of smell,” you declared and dug into the delicious stew.

Sighing, you placed your bowl on the ground, empty, and leaned into Legolas’ side. He stiffened, surprised, before wrapping his arm around your shoulders and drawing you closer to him.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better, thank you. Still tired, but I’m not as cold.”

He nodded and looked back at your companions around the fire. Who, in fact, were all staring at the two of you. Again. You scooched away from the elf, realized just how cold it was away from his arms, and promptly moved back closer to him, burying your face in his chest to titters from the group around you.

“Oh, shut up.” You didn’t care, Legolas was warm and you were cold, it was as simple as that. Nothing else. Or at least, that was what you were telling yourself.

Later that night, after you had wobbled back over to your bedroll with the help of Merry and Pippin each propping you up on one side, you lay there, unable to sleep. You didn’t understand why- you were very tired, you just couldn’t sleep. Your tossing and turning must have caught the attention of the person, or rather, elf, on watch, as he came over and sat down next to you.

“Are you okay?” He looked worried.

“Fine. I just can't seem to fall asleep.” You sat up, now at eye level with the blond archer.

“Ah. Well, unfortunately, I do not know how to get you to sleep, but I can keep you company if that is all right.” You nodded, and the two of you sat there, looking up at the stars glowing in the sky, framed like a portrait by the foliage of the trees surrounding the clearing.

After a while, he spoke again. “Y/N, can I ask you something?”

You nodded.

“What were you dreaming about earlier?”

You tucked your hair behind your ear, embarrassed as you recalled the dream from earlier where you and Legolas had fallen in love. Deciding that denial was the best course of action here, you spoke. “I did not dream.”

“Y/N. You were talking in your sleep.”

Uh oh.

“What did I say?”

Now he was blushing. You internally prepared yourself for whatever embarrassing thing he was about to say, ready to deny your feelings.

“You, um… well, you said you loved me.”

You wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Legolas. It was just a silly, dream, it meant nothing, I don’t feel that way about you at all…” Babbling, your eyes went back to his face, unprepared for the depth of disappointment in his eyes and the sadness written there.

“You truly do not feel like that?”

After seeing his face, feeling the emotion conveyed in his voice, a small flame of hope lit in your chest. Taking a deep breath, you decided to be brave.

You took his hand, entwining your fingers with his as you took a deep breath. “I lied, Legolas. I love you.”

You saw the shock on his face. “It’s ok if you don’t feel the same, we can never speak of it again. We can go back to normal, this doesn’t have to be a big deal.” Your babbling was cut off by the elf.

“Y/N. I love you. Totally and completely, with every fiber of my being, I love you.”

Shyly, you reached your hand out and brushed his cheek.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“That’s good.”

He laughed. “You said that after I told you in your dream!”

“I did?”

He nodded. “Now, let’s see if you can get some sleep. It’s late.”

He moved so that you were between his legs, head resting on his chest as he leaned up against a rock. You snuggled in close, and he began rubbing circles on your shoulder. He began to softly hum, a tune you did not recognize but liked just the same. Lulled by his soft voice and the motions of his hands, you drifted into a deep, wonderful sleep.

Legolas sat there, you in his arms, marveling at the turn of events. A movement from Aragorn’s bedroll startled him, but he made sure not to wake you up. The ranger sat up, facing him.

“I told you so.” Aragorn winked at him, looking mightily pleased with himself.

“Well, now that you’re awake, you might as well begin your shift of watch!” Legolas looked triumphant and watched as the ranger sighed and rose, moving over to sit on a boulder that overlooked the whole camp.

“Get some sleep, Legolas,” Aragorn advised.

Careful to not wake you, Legolas moved so that he was lying next to you, arm wrapped around your waist and chin resting just above your head. He sighed and felt himself slowly drift off to join you, his beloved, in the land of sleep.

Everything tag 💞: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @hey-its-nonny

Kíli fiddled with the box. “Are you sure?”

His brother nodded. “Of course! You’ve been courting for a year, the poor girl is probably about to combust, waiting for you to propose!”

Kíli sighed. “Okay. Okay, yeah. This is gonna go great. It’s all gonna be fine. She’s gonna say yes.”

In a room on the other side of the hallway, you paced frantically back and forth, alone with your thoughts.

You’d been courting Kíli for twelve months, and you were pretty sure you loved him, although it certaintly hadn’t been easy.

The thoughts had begun creeping into your mind several months ago, as each and every difference between you and the son of Durin you were with was pointed out and nitpicked beyond belief by the court.

Your lack of knowledge about the history of Erebor, nevermind that you’d helped reclaim the Lonely Mountain.

Your complete disregard for proper clothing- you were the only female of any species that most of the dwarves had seen wearing pants- they thought it was simply scandalous.

Your ignorance of manners and courtly behaviors- but really, who needed three forks- and to know what each was used to eat- at a meal?!

And the biggest one- you weren’t a dwarf.

And it wasn’t only you who’d received criticism. Kíli had been insulted, scorned for his choice of a human girl. The king, Kíli’s Uncle Thorin, and his heir, Kíli’s brother Fíli, had also come under fire for “allowing” Kíli to court you.

And while you didn’t want to bring any more misery to them by being a part of their family, you were becoming more and more certain that this wasn’t the life for you. You couldn’t live trapped under a mountain, having to jump through millions of hoops and let thousands of people know every time you wanted to go for a walk in the forest, or a visit to Dale.

You would stay, if you didn’t think it would just make things worse. You’d stay for Kíli. But the reaction of the people showed you that maybe this wasn’t the best thing- for anyone. You thought you could love Kíli, though. You could do this, for him.

You looked down at the dress Kíli had picked out for you laid across your bed and sighed.

Later, after eating a whole lot of delicious food, you moaned the loss of feeling in your feet as you danced.

You were having a good time, at least. The food had been good, the music was better, and you were spinning around the dance floor in Kíli’s arms.

Kíli spun you out and around so that you were facing away from him, and suddenly, the music came to a sweeping halt. And you noticed everyone looking at you. Or rather, looking at something just behind you.

You turned around, slowly, to see Kíli down on one knee in front of you. He had a small box opened in one hand, and nestled in the box was a ring.

“Y/N. Will you marry me?” Kíli asked.

You looked down at him in shocked horror. “I- what?”

“I love you, Y/N. I’m asking you to marry me?”

You were frozen in shock. Everyone in the room was looking at you, waiting for you to answer, you could hear faint murmurs breaking out as you took longer and longer to answer, not knowing what to say as the hopeful look on Kíli’s face began to crumble.

And you took a deep breath.

“No.”

Every head in the room snapped to look at you as the echo of that one word reverbated around.

You shook your head, trying to stay calm as tears started to well in your eyes.

“No, Kíli. I cannot- I will not marry you. I am sorry.”

With that, you pivoted on your heel and strode towards the exit.

The guards at the large hall doors stared at you in bemused disbelief as you walked directly at them, but opened the doors on instinct. You swept through them, head held high.

The doors closed behind you, and in the hall you’d left behind you could hear a pin drop. Or, in this case, the ring that Kíli had held in his hand. The metal rang out against the hard stone floor as the prince knelt, gazing, crestfallen, at the doors wher he’d last seen you.

You walked back to your room alone. Pushing open the door, you gazed around the things you’d accumulated in the year and a half you’d lived here.

None of it was really necessary. None of it was really meaningful.

Just like you.

Kíli would be better off without you- he’d find a nice dwarven girl that wouldn’t make half the lords threaten to rebel. He’d be happy.

You had thought you loved him.

You had thought that this life could make you happy.

You had been wrong.

And so you gathered what few possessions you wanted.

One dress.

Some pants, some shirts, a few cloaks and an extra pair of shoes, everything that would help you survive. You packed it all into a small bag.

Then you took off your beautiful dress, laying it neatly out on the bed and donning your hunting clothes.

You sighed, looking around the room, taking in the remnants of your former life.

You turned quickly as you heard the creaking of the door, and saw Fíli’s golden head poke through. He looked startled to see you, but composed himself quickly.

“May I come i- you’re leaving?” He came in and closed the door behind himself.

“I can’t do it, Fíli. I can’t marry him.”

“Why? Why, Y/N? You’re breaking his heart!”

Tears welled in your eyes once more. “I know. I’m breaking my own, too. But this is all wrong, I shouldn’t be here.”

Fíli let out a deep sigh. “Okay. I still don’t know why you’re doing this, but okay.”

He turned to leave, pausing with one foot out the door. “Goodbye, Y/N. We’re really going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Fíli.”

That night, outside Erebor for the first time in you didn’t even know how long, you sat at a small campfire you’d built.

Alone, truly alone, for the first time in years.

You still didn’t have a reason, but you knew this was right. However hard it was.

You bowed your head, and let the tears flow freely.

Back in Erebor, in a now-lonely room, a dark-haired prince did the same.

Love had slipped beyond his reaches.

And so, miles apart, you both cried.

Cried for time lost.

Cried for lost love.

Cried for each other.

*****

A.N: Welp. I hope that wasn’t too heartbreaking. Blame Taylor Swift for making me write this Champagne Problems inspired fic! But please let me know what you though!

Everything Tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny @errruvande