Beyond Canon
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Elrond and Celeborn were just dropping off the last of the new items that Celebrian had brought back with her from the large cities they had visited when Haldir stepped out of his room with a very worried look. "Ada, someone's been sitting on my bed," he said.

"Are they still there?" asked Celeborn in confusion.

Haldir glanced over his shoulder into the room. "Well, no. But it was after we left, someone was here."

Shrugging to Elrond, Celeborn walked to Haldir's room, feeling much like he did when accusations of monsters living in the closet would be made by his eldest. He came to stand at the foot of the bed, looking over the pristine covers, the neatly folded quilt at the end. "How can you tell?" asked Celeborn.

"That. Right there." Haldir pointed to a slight wrinkle. "And Nibbles is out of place."

"Ah." Celeborn squinted and looked at the blankets. "Perhaps it was Mitzi?"

"Ada!"

Celeborn exchanged looks with Haldir, and the two of them headed down the stairs in the direction of the call. They were greeted to Orophin, looking very irate as he paced in front of his door. "Ada, someone has been sitting on my bed." He flung open the door halfway, having to shove it the other half due to all of the clutter in the room.

Peering in from the doorway, Celeborn answered, "I wouldn't be surprised if there's a troop of orc and a half dozen trolls hiding in plain sight in there."

"But Ada, someone was on it. There's a shift in the mattress."

Celeborn looked at the bed, still from the doorway. "I don't know how it is that you can tell something like that with the current state of affairs."

Impatiently, Orophin tapped his foot. "There was something prowling around in here. Two somethings, I'd wager," he continued as Rumil came up from the stairs and reached the door to his rooms.

"See?" prodded Haldir. "And you thought I was lying," he huffed.

"I did not think you were lying," countered Celeborn. "I only-"

"AIYA!" Rumil ran out of his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He was looking around frantically and panting with his back to the door.

"What? What's the matter?" questioned Celeborn, always and still overly protective of the youngest.

"I think my room is haunted," he blurted out. "Things are moved around, and what's more, someone was sitting on MY bed!"

"Are they still there?" asked Celeborn with little amusement.

"I don't think so." Rumil turned and opened door a crack and peered into it. "At least, I truly, truly hope they aren't." The door was opened just a little wider. "I think, whoever they might have been are gone."

"It was probably just Mitzi," Celeborn said matter-of-factly. "She was here all alone for all of that time, perhaps she even invited a few friends in-"

"To move my purple rabbit?" questioned Haldir with disbelief in his voice.

"To move my picture frames?" wondered Rumil.

"To pick up my lingerie and drop it on the floor?" Orophin angrily shook his head. "I don't think so."

The other three elves gave Orophin odd sorts of looks, and he sighed with exasperation. "Not mine, really, Valarda's, but she only wears it for me. You know what I meant." Nonetheless, both Haldir and Rumil shifted away a little.

"I'm sure that whatever it was, it was a harmless thing. None one arrived during our vacation except for Legolas and Gimli. Now, I need to stop up the road to retrieve the goats and the-"

"Legolas," said Haldir with realization, nodding.

"And Gimli," added Rumil.

"Well, what the heck would they go playing with my lingerie for?" Orophin said, throwing his arms in the air. Haldir and Rumil backed up a little more, and Celeborn thankfully made his escape across to the other half of the house.

Entering his room, he found Galadriel rocking in the new chair his father had sent back as an early present for the anticipated arrival of their new elfling. With a low sigh, he kicked off his boots and sat down on the bed. "Why is it whenever we get back from what is supposed to be a relaxing time, I always feel so worn out?"

"Because although Elrond might be head of the house, you are still head of the family. It's a tough job keeping things in order, especially while out traveling." Galadriel continued to rock with her eyes closed.

"Ah." Celeborn leaned back on the bed. "I suppose I shouldn't complain about that." Suddenly, he stopped and sat up. "Darling, was someone sitting on our bed?" he asked, looking over the coverlet.

"Mmmhmm. They were digging in our closet, too," she said, still rocking in her chair.

"Was it a... certain elf and his dwarf?" he asked cautiously, giving the pillows a suspicious look.

One eye opened. "Mmmhmm."

"And you know this because..."

"Because Legolas told me. He apologized for looking through the closet, as he was only looking for clues as to whose house this was." Again, her eyes were closed as she continued to rock.

"And if Legolas was in the closet-"

"Mmmhmm."

Celeborn practically fell off of the bed as he scrambled away from it. "There was a dwarf sitting on there?!"

"Mmmh- well, I did change the sheets and the blankets when we returned," Galadriel told him.

"Oh. Well." Celeborn cleared his throat and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Thank you."

Smiling mysteriously, she added, "But there has been something in that bed since I did that."

Celeborn looked over the bed. "Dare I ask?"

Galadriel simply smiled.

"Is it still there?" he asked, used to these sorts of games from her.

Standing back up, Celeborn turned down the coverings, all the way to the sheets, frowning when he found nothing. Each of the pillows was picked up and set back down in place. When he sat down and drummed his fingers atop of one them, he felt something a little lumpy and out of place between the pillow and the casing.

"What's this?" he asked, pulling a small pouch tied with a strip of leather.

"You won't know until you open it," came the reply.

His hands felt the small item, finding whatever it contained seemed soft and malleable. Carefully, he untied the leather, and tears came to his eyes when he found what it contained.

"Feanor... Gimli... there were others who asked for it, but if I would have known your desire I would have fulfilled such a request long ago." Galadriel's eyes were open now and she observed her husband's reaction as he walked from the bed to the rocker, kneeling down before her. "Does this make you happy?"

"You make me happy," he said to her. He looked at the half-braided lock of silvery gold hair that he had lifted out of the pouch. "I never meant you should do this."

"But I wanted to. I can see that it does make you happy," said she, stroking his hair back from his face. "I want you to be happy."

"I am happy." He placed his chin on her knee, and lovingly stroked the bulge of her belly before taking hold of one of her hands. "With you, I am always happy." He rose up a little, and she leaned forward, so that they were kissing passionately when the door to their room was opened after only a brief knock.

"Grandfather, there was someone- oh, bleh." The door was quickly shut. "We have some concerns to discuss with you once you're, um, done, with, uh, whatever it is you're doing," called out Elladan.

" 'Bleh?'" they could hear Elrohir respond as they twins walked away. "I think they're cute."

"Yes, but cute gives way to images that aren't so- dammit, El! Stop thinking about those things! It might not upset you, but damn you, keep it in your own dirty mind then!"

Neither Celeborn nor Galadriel could help their outburst of laughter. "Welcome home," she teased him.
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