a.n: second haldir imagine in a row but who can blame me lmao i’m still working on my bagginshield fic and soon i hope to have the next chapter out, but requests are still open x
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“I don’t like this at all,” Gimli said, reiterating for the umpteenth time his discontent. “It’s just not natural.”
“Not natural?” Legolas questioned with a small smile, clearly much more comfortable than he had been in the mines. “You cannot get any more natural than this, dwarf.”
Grumbling something under his breath, Gimli continued on, coming to your side and delivering a small nudge at your hip.
“You agree with me don’t you, lassie?” he asked, seeking camaraderie.
You just wished for their tirade to end, so you agreed, “I suppose. There’s something about this forest that just put me on edge.” This seemed to please him immensely, and beneath his great beard, he continued to trapse through the lands with a smirk.
It had heen the truth, though the mines of Moria had been no less of a strange place. There were forces in the forest that you couldn’t quite explain, and whether their wants be sinister, you knew not. Keeping a hand ever close at your sword, you cast your eyes in all directions, trying desperately to comfort yourself with your trust in Legolas; the elf had a great ability to see what the rest of the fellowship could not. You trusted him wholeheartedly, never once had he failed you since your first meeting many months ago.
“Aye, see elf, not all of us are in favour of your suicide mission.”
“It will only be a suicide mission if you keep talking,” Legolas cautioned.
Gimli continued to mutter in a tongue you did not understand before turning to Frodo. You heard little of their conversation, too concerned not only for your own safety, but for the protection of your friends. Your responsibility had been weighing heavy upon your mind as of late, though you knew that you were likely not alone in your worries.
“Well,” you heard Gimli continue, “Here’s one dwarf she won’t ensnare so easily! I have the eyes of the hawk and the ears of a fox!”
Just as you were about to make another remark on the subject, Aragorn came to a halt before you, the rest of the fellowship following suit. Immediately you drew your sword, holding it in front of you before even seeing the cause of the stop. Your breath was heavy, though you knew silence was needed; a whole host of creatures could be lurking in that forest, most of the creatures in this part of the world unfamiliar to you. You had heard many tales of what lay in the darkness, and knew many of which you would not be able to defend yourself against.
Fearing the worst, you were rather relieved to find yourself surrounded only by elves, tall and dressed in long grey robes, bows taught between pale fingers. At either side of your head sat an arrow point, restricting you to only a fraction of movement, and you felt as though a hundred eyes were upon you.
“The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark,” a voice mumbled, coming to stand before Gimli. The elf seemed rather unamused, and whilst you saw no immediate danger, you still held your sword tight, knowing better than to let your guard down so easily.
To Lothlorien the party led you, a city that you never could have dreamt up, both the people and scenery no less than awe inspiring. You were introduced to the Lady Galadriel that Gimli had spoke of, who you found both fantastic and terrifying, and from there were allowed to finally rest. It had been days since you had felt true safety, and even though only a few hours you had spent in Lorien, you knew that you would sleep easily tonight.
As the night was beginning to cloud over, you had decided to take a walk about the lands, as the air was crisp and you knew better than to pass up the opportunity to see such sights as these. In all of your travels, you had never imagined you would encounter such a place. It seemed to you as though this were Valinor itself.
You were passing by a flowing waterfall when you felt a presence striding toward you, and instinctively your hand once again came to the hilt of your weapon.
“I shouldn’t think that is necessary,” the voice from earlier chuckled, standing now beside you.
“Are you sure?” you mumbled, though removing your hand.
The elf gave only a small smile, and a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Might I ask where you’re from?”
Keeping your eyes trained on the flowing water, you moved to fold your arms over your chest, delighting in the cool breeze tickling your hair. “You haven’t even asked me my name yet.”
“My apologies,” he said, “my name is Haldir, and I would very much like to know yours.”
Instead of answering as he had wished, you merely smirked a little, and with a sigh continued on your walk about the land. Haldir was rather taken aback, though couldn’t help but follow you, his curiosity very much heightened in a way he hadn’t known before.
“My Lady,” he called, coming to catch up with you.
“You needn’t call me that: I’m hardly a Lady.”
“Well you haven’t given me anything in its place.”
You simply hummed, turning your eyes to observe the twittering birds, the gentle swaying of the leaves against the wind beneath the moonlight. It was truly amazing, yet your thoughts wouldn’t stray from your new companion.
“I had never given much thought to the race of men,” Haldir began, to which you spun on your heel, brow raised.
“Oh,” you chuckled, “I hadn’t expected you to think at all of men.”
Haldir caught your meaning, and you delighted in the slight blush that came to his features, and for the first time since you had met him, he seemed to lose his air of distinction.
“That’s not-” Haldir cut himself short, and you held your silence, wanting to see how he would recover. “That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean then?”
“I meant,” he said, now resuming his air, striding toward you, “that never before had a human interested me in such a way. You’re quite the exception.”
“Oh, well I’m ever so sorry that we bore you, I shall have to get in touch with the rest of my race and tell them that.”
Rendered speechless once again, you decided that you had toyed with him enough, and with a sigh you confessed, “(Y/N). That’s what you can call me, so long as you promise to never say ‘My Lady’ again.”
“May I call you vanima?”
Haldir asked, expecting you to be oblivious. He had decided to take his own back, thinking it a rather witty decision on his part, yet the glint that came to your eye made him doubt himself. The humour had drained from your face, and now it was your turn to flush, rather surprised at how forward the elf had been.
“Wait-” He stopped, realising the magnitude of his actions, and though he perhaps wouldn’t have called it regret, Haldir certainly felt a degree of embarrassment.
“I’m sure that you have met my good friend Aragorn,” you explained, “Often I had heard him speak in a language I did not understand, so I asked him to teach me. It was also good to have an elf as a travelling companion, I became rather good at it.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
You looked to him now, and the regret in his eyes made your heart heavy, knowing that his intentions had been nought but good.
“Did you not mean it?” you asked, stepping before him now so that there was scarce a gap between the pair of you.
Standing near a good head above you, you noted the gentle features of his face, the way his eyes had a certain dampness that was neither sorrow nor joy, how his white hair framed his face so effortlessly. He was certainly a sight to behold after what had seemed like an interminable journey, and you could hardly believe that someone like him could look at you in all your mess and rags.
“No, I meant it,” Haldir whispered. You smiled, and he knew he had made the correct decision.
a.n: so it’s been a hot minute since i wrote on here but i’d very much like to be active again. so reminder that my ask box is always open. also feel free to leave any suggestions (i was thinking about writing something non x reader so i’d love to hear your thoughts x) anyway enjoy this self indulgent shit x
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Absence certainly had made the heart grow fonder, and as you sat situated at the end of your bed, needlework only half occupying you, your thoughts could only stay upon your husband.
Haldir had been away for more than a fortnight now, longer than you could ever remember being separated from him. For days, you had piled yourself high with work, just so as to keep your mind off him; yet your efforts had been futile, and you had hardly managed a wink of sleep since last your arms had been around him. Of course you knew what his job entailed, and you had always promised him that his many posts did not bother you, though that was clearly a lie. His absence was one that could not be ignored, nor filled with menial tasks - as hard as you tried.
And now, three days after his scheduled return, your head was filled to the brim with thoughts, running around like mischievous children, uncontrollable. However your embroidery turned out had ceased to be a concern of yours for many hours now, only acting as a way to keep your hands busy. The harsh chill of winter was licking at your window, and the frost resting there upon shielded you from the outside world, locking you in an almost cell of sorts, as though a prisoner.
Overcome with great thirst, you finally forced yourself to abandon the craft, and with uneasy strides you made your way out into the hall to collect yourself a goblet of water. All around you people chatted, and in such a way it angered you that they were not hurting as you were, that seemingly you were alone in your pain. Holding your tongue you sipped at your drink, pausing over the jug to collect yourself.
Just as you were about to turn back toward your room, a familiar glimpse caught your attention, a flicker, not even a full sight. At first you put it down to your imagination. After all, your lack of sleep surely could have done you no good, and you would have been false to say that you had been properly looking after yourself.
It was nothing.
But then it advanced. It was coming toward you, initially cautious, then slowly gaining in speed. You turned finally, and lo and behold Haldir stood at the end of the hall, bow swung over his shoulder, hair lazily framing his smiling face. It seemed almost as though a dream; in all of your anguish, you had scarcely entertained the possibility of his return.
And now there he was.
“(Y/N),” he breathed out, arms open to you. You couldn’t believe it, that there you were running now to him, and there he embraced you with such love, you were all at once overwhelmed with emotion.
“I thought you weren’t coming back to me,” you whispered against his chest, nuzzling into the soft leather of his garment.
Shaking his head a little, Haldir held your back tightly, brushing his chin against the top of your head. “I would never leave you. Nothing in this world would prevent me from returning to you, my love.”
You tilted your head upward a little to survey his face, delighting in those subtleties therein, betraying his upmost passion. Within those damp, blue eyes a thousand words were spoken in silence, and though many others collected around you, it seemed as though you were the only two in all of Middle-Earth.
“What happened?” you asked, reaching up to trace his features.
Haldir paused, and you could almost see the cogs of his mind turning. “I-”
“No,” you breathed, “You don’t have to.” Stretching up ever so slightly, you made to press a soft kiss against his lips, breathing in his form as though he had been away for a century. “You’re home: that’s all that matters.”
Haldir nodded in thanks, and followed your gesture toward your room, wanting to escape the publicity restricting your reunion.
“I hope that you haven’t been worrying yourself sick,” he said, shutting the door after him.
You shook your head, though the look he gave you suggested that he saw through your veil. You wanted nothing less than to worry him, a fact he knew all too well.
“There’s been too much to do,” you chuckled. “Many repairs and chores; you wouldn’t believe how often children tear their clothes, and of course I’m the first in line.”
“Well,” your husband said with a smile, removing a loose piece of hair from where it lay across your forehead, “you will be the best seamstress in the city.”
Rolling your eyes ever so slightly, you folded your arms across your chest. “That may be true, but last I checked I only had two hands. There are many around that can do just as good a job as I.”
“They all want the best.” Haldir stood above you now, free of bow and cape, yet still not yet free of his guise. “And that just happens to be you.”
“Well, I’m all yours now. Let me clean you up.”
“Clean me up?”
His question seemed innocent enough, but you could still note the remnants of a battle of some kind upon his skin. A few bruises littered about what lay exposed of his chest, the great mounds tension built up in his shoulders, and the harsh way his jaw sat clenched. He may have been home, but his mind was still upon those fields.
“You’ve been away for days. You should bathe,” you said, making your way to gather water for the bathtub.
Cocking an eyebrow, Haldir nevertheless consented, moving to remove first his tunic. “Are you trying to tell me something?”
You merely chuckled, gesturing toward the tub for him to get in. Once undressed, he slowly lowered himself down into the steaming water, and regardless of whether or not he would admit it, you picked up on the sigh of relief he exhaled upon entrance.
“Are you going to join me?” he called, turning his head slightly to watch you pottering about behind him. Seduction dripped from his voice, but truly you could only find his words comical with how exhausted he seemed to be.
“No,” you mumbled.
“There’s plenty of room,” but his eyes were becoming heavy, though you knew he would not fall asleep. His desire to be with you fought relentlessly against his fatigue, and even so he reached out to take your wrist, pulling you by his side.
“You’re too tired,” you smiled, kneeling beside him.
He only hummed in response, refusing to admit that you were right.
“Just relax. We’ve plenty of time later.” This idea seemed to please him, for when your hands ran over his exposed shoulders, he only sank into your touch, relinquishing his tension there beneath you. Amidst the boiling water he lay completely bare to you, in a way that only you could ever know; holding up such a guard on duty was something he had grew accustomed to over the years, but that didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy giving it all up to you.
From his shoulders you massaged gently at his neck, eliciting a small groan of pleasure from the elf, even more so when your hands wandered into his hair. One of his biggest weaknesses was you toying with it, a fact that you had been humoured to discover at first. Yet now you primarily used it for his pleasure, once his initial embarrassment had subsided. Of course the pleasure was not one sided, for Haldir’s hair was of the softest texture you could recall, and exploring it was like tracing silk.
“(Y/N).” His hands came now to grip the sides of the tub, a great sense of elation overwhelming his form; how you could create such a feeling he had yet to understand, but truly he couldn’t care less so long as you didn’t stop.
“Just relax,” you coaxed, leaning to press your lips agains the tender tip of his ear.
That was a command he very much obliged, releasing another deep groan that all but echoed about the water.
He would certainly think twice the next time his return to you was delayed.
