She blinked her eyes and returned from her reverie to find complete darkness, and smiled as she rolled onto her side, pulling the covers with her; careful not to disturb the cloth she had been blindfolded with. It was an unexpected, yet pleasant, surprise to learn he was here, and she wiggled her way closer to his scent until she found him, lying next to her. From his position - the way he began now to wrap his arms around her - she knew he had to have been propped up and watching her, and wondered how long he had done so.

"Uneventful patrol?" she guessed, placing her cheek against his chest. She tossed the edge of the blanket forward so that it covered them both and explored lower with her hands. He was already undressed, which meant he had little time to be away from his duties, and she planned to cherish every moment of it.

Without responding, he took hold of one of her hands and moved it to his shoulder, and then again to his upper thigh. She emitted a low growl as her hands moved over the bandaged flesh. "Bloody orcs," she hissed. "We will kill them all one day, rid the forest and paths of that filthy-"

Apparently now was not the time for conversation. She was silenced suddenly by lips upon her own, and her tongue quickly invaded his mouth without further discussion. If he had been badly injured, she knew he would have taken himself back into the city to be healed properly. It was his pride that had taken the worst beating, she assumed, and was glad she was not assigned to patrol for the evening. Having been on the borders with him would have meant she would have been greeted with growls instead of…come to think of it, he growled either way.

Her greatest fear in their relationship was always that he would suddenly become overly protective of her, perhaps even reassign her to the inner city, away from the borders that she loved. She had been reassigned, but away from the Southern Border and to the Eastern Paths instead, and she knew it was so that he would have peace from those in his family that served as guardians of the forest as well. For this, she was thankful, but was grateful that in all other things, she remained an equal.

With this thought in mind, she shifted and climbed on top of him, receiving no resistance as he settled back against the pillows. She drew her legs up, one knee resting on either side of his hips as she bent down and began to nip at her lover's neck. "I missed you," she panted, lowering her body and grinding against him as her tongue slid over his smooth flesh. The growing, hardening warmth pressing against her was impossible to ignore, and she sat back up to remove her shirt hastily. His hands moved to pull her uniform leggings down over her hips, and she soon aided him until her clothing was bunched up near his feet and ultimately kicked to the floor.

"Shall I taste you?" she asked, leaning back down to whisper into his ear in a deep and thrilling voice. He growled - she knew he would - and she asked then, "Do we have time for that?"

There was no answer, rarely did he speak. Instead, he took hold of her shoulders and pulled her down, smothering her with his kisses, gently rolling her onto her back. They began to move against one another again, gasping and groaning with need as hands grazed bare skin. Then they stopped - both panting, needing more, both of them slick, bodies poised and ready. But he hesitated.

"Go on then," she challenged. "Actions speak louder than words." She could have rammed her head against the trunk of the tree for her response. She heard the sharp intake of air, the sadness he emitted. "Well, that was quite stupid of me," she said, not to him, but more to herself.

Bending down, he kissed her nose, and then nuzzled her neck. He murmured something to her, something about her not being stupid, but being beautiful and intelligent and patient. His kisses trailed down her throat to her chest, and he traced paths around her breasts with his mouth and tongue, until her nipples were as erect as he was. She whimpered as he dipped into her navel, and felt his fingers slide lazily in between her legs.

Her back arched as he pressed forward, his tongue teasing and tasting, until her begging satisfied him. Faster he went, and she bit her hand as he spread her further. One of his hands reached up momentarily, and she felt him strain to grope her chest, pinching the swollen nubs before his hand slid back down to her thigh, her knee, leg, foot, and then away, back to himself now. He continued to please her with his mouth, one hand holding her to keep her from thrusting toward him.

She could hear him grunt as he thrust into his own hand, and it only heightened the experience. Imagining what it would feel like, whenever, if ever, she cried out, bucking out of his control as her body shuddered. With one hand, she pushed on his shoulder, letting him know he could stop, for he would have happily continued. Settling back with another shiver, she listened as he quickly brought himself to climax.

Once he had finished, he crawled back up beside her, wrapping his arms around her. As she snuggled close, she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. Twice in the past she had told him of her feelings, but twice, she had nearly scared him away. Instead, she said, "Thank you, Haldir." She wondered if he knew that no matter what the words were that she said, they always contained the same message. He swallowed and nodded as he tucked her head under his chin, tightening his grip. In a few hours he would need to leave, and she would not see him again for days, and even then, only on patrol.

Her fingers touched the bandages, and moving out of his grip enough to get to them, she kissed each one tenderly, and then his chest above his heart, before snuggling back against him and drifting into reverie.

---

"I'm probably leaving."

"Probably?" He cocked a brow and surveyed the traveling cloak she wore. "Probably." He looked around, taking note of the many bundles and packages tied to her horse or in the carriage to be pulled by the horses of her brothers.

"Probably." She stepped forward. "But before I leave... I have to know." She placed her hands on either side of his face. He drew her close, his arms finding their familiar places behind her back and around her waist. With eyes wide open, they kissed, staring deeply into each other's gaze, as if they might find a missing part of their soul if they looked close enough.

But... there was nothing.

She left one hand upon his cheek, her bottom lip trembling. "I had hoped," she whispered blinking furiously.

"As did I." He kissed her once more, but this time he looked for nothing, for there was nothing to be found. "I wish you the safest journey. May the sea bear you quickly to the undying lands."

She nodded, pulling away. "I wish all the best to you."

He stood on the road, watching the party depart. Twice he opened his mouth to say something, but the words stuck in his throat both times. Maybe it wasn't supposed to feel like something, maybe it was supposed to feel like this. Maybe they knew each other so well, there was no sudden recognition, maybe they knew already. But each time his feet tried to move forward to follow, to run after her, the same hesitation that always came to him stayed his step.

She was all he could ever have wanted. His equal, his confidant, his friend. And yet, she was not the one, and many nights would pass that he would ask himself why.