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Summary: A terrible storm leads a Galadhrim into Melpomaen�s arms.
Author's Note: Though elves are supposed to sleep with open eyes, R�mil also sleeps with his eyes closed here. If someone can sleep with open eyes he can surely also do that when they are closed.
~~~
The thunder echoed through the valley in a nearly unending rhythm, accompanied by a heavy rain that had the elves who were hurrying out of the safety of the house wet to the bones in mere minutes. Suppressed curses sounded from more than one elf as they hastily made their way over to the stables to fetch their horses.
Soon the water was running from the hood of Melpomaen�s cloak down his face and into his eyes, constantly blurring his sight, whilst he tried to lead his horse out into the open. But the animal wasn�t happy at all with the prospect of having to leave its warm stable in favour of a long and probably exhausting ride through the worst storm Imladris had seen for decades.
�Get your damn horses under control! We have to leave,� Glorfindel yelled to the soldiers who were still struggling with their mounts. Clearly in a bad mood, he didn�t even wait for them but steered his own horse through the gate towards the Bruinen, followed by the rest of his soldiers.
After much cajoling and promising of special treats Melpomaen finally managed to climb on the back of his steed, ushering it out of the courtyard as well.
Melpomaen cursed silently under his breath. It was just past midnight and he knew around thousand things he�d rather do than ride out in this storm. But they had no choice. The L�rien party, which had been on its way to Imladris, had been surprised by the sudden beginning of this storm and now they were stuck at the Bruinen. The river had swelled considerably due to the rain that had been pouring down for days now, and the rain and water had turned the surrounding area into a sea of slick mud.
The time the group took to ride through this unearthly weather seemed to stretch into hours, until they finally heard the first shouts of the L�rien elves and saw the flickering lights of a few desperate lanterns in the distance.
Most of the Galadhrim had already managed to reach the near shore of the Bruinen, but some were still struggling to get their panic-stricken horses over the narrow bridge, which had disappeared under the roaring waves. Though it was just under the surface the horses still had to walk over something they didn�t even know was there, through nearly belly deep water.
Glorfindel made a quick movement to a group of his people and pointed to the elves on the Imladris side. �Take care of them. The others follow me and help me to get the rest of them over the bridge.�
Melpomaen halted his horse and dismounted, looking around to see if he could help as he had been told. Within minutes the Imladris party was busy pulling fallen and anxious horses out of the mud and ushering wet and tired elves in the direction of the Last Homely House.
A tired looking elf with silver-blond hair suddenly caught Melpomaen�s attention. He was sitting in the mud, next to a pile of baggage that had been put there to relieve some of the horses. His face bore a pained expression and he held his left arm pressed tightly against his chest.
�Hello,� Melpomaen said, walking up to the L�rien elf. Sinking down onto his heels, he laid a hand on the stranger�s right arm. �Are you alright? Can I help you?�
The other elf looked up and studied him for a short moment. His face spoke of pain and was smeared with mud, but Melpomaen could still see that under all that dirt and pain was a real beauty. �What is your name?� he asked the elf, who was apparently a bit confused.
�R�mil,� came the silent answer through clenched teeth.
�Your arm,� Mel asked, moving his hand to the apparently injured limb but not touching it. �Is it hurt?�
�I think so,� R�mil answered slowly. �It hurts. My horse fell upon me when she slipped in the mud.�
Melpomaen let his gaze sweep over the whole scene. Most of the elves had been taken care of and all but one of them were on this side of the river. His help was not needed anymore. �Come,� he said, rising to his feet. �I�ll take you to the house to see a healer.� He held out his hand to the injured elf. R�mil gripped it with his good hand, but found he was too tired and exhausted to stand on his own. Melpomaen pushed his other hand behind the Galadhrim�s back and helped R�mil stand. It was a bit difficult for R�mil to mount Mel�s horse with just one arm to use, but with the help of his companion he managed. Melpomaen took one of the bags on the ground with him and mounted his mare behind the L�rien elf.
The thunder and lightning had quietened a bit, all that was left was an occasional rumble, still loud and frequent, but compared to what they had just experienced a small thing for the elves. Melpomaen tried not to ride too fast, for he feared that it would pain R�mil even further, but his horse was eager to return to its dry stable and fell into a fast trot. After a few moments of battling with the animal Melpomaen managed to slow it into a more comfortable pace. Surprised he looked down when he felt R�mil lean back against him. The silver hair, now a wet mass of tangles and knots, brushed against his shoulder, the eyes were closed tiredly against the rain. �It won�t take long,� he promised. �Soon you�ll have a warm bed.�
A weak smile appeared on the fair face and Melpomaen hoped that he hadn�t promised too much. Imladris was full; it wasn�t built to accommodate such a great crowd of elves. Not all of the elves living in this valley had their home inside the main house, many lived scattered through the valley in their own small homes, but after the storm had lasted for some days they had moved into the security of the main building. That fact combined with the parties from Mirkwood, Lindon and now L�rien filled Elrond�s house with far more elves than beds.
�R�mil, wake up. We are there.� As soon as Melpomaen halted his horse in the courtyard other elves appeared. One of them quickly took away the bag and hurried back under a roof.
R�mil blinked tiredly, raising his head to look around. He nodded slowly, sitting up to let Melpomaen slide from the back of his horse. Once there Melpomaen steadied R�mil whilst he climbed down, as well. The horse was only too happy to be led away by the waiting stable hand, out of the pouring rain and into her warm and dry stable.
�Come,� Melpomaen said softly. �Let�s get you out of this. And me as well.� Together the two elves hastened up the stairs into the house. The front hall of the building resembled a lake; water covered great parts of the floor, fed by the countless drops out of the elven clothes.
Melpomaen led R�mil down a corridor that led towards the healers� quarters. They weren�t the only ones there, several elves waited for the healers to attend to their injuries, mostly L�rien elves. �Master Lindir!� Melpomaen called to one of the healers passing by. The elf stopped for a short moment to listen to his words. �My friend needs help. I think his arm is broken.�
Lindir nodded, already on his way again. �Just a moment. I�ll be with you shortly.� A minute later he returned, leading R�mil away to take care of his injury.
Melpomaen didn�t quite know what to do with himself now. He was tired, wet and dirty and wanted to return to his bed. But could he simply leave R�mil here? He decided to at least wait until the Galadhrim�s arm had been tended to and sat down against the wall, so that he was out of the way.
Some time later Lindir returned. �Look,� he started, �You probably know that we are a bit short of beds, with the storm and the delegations from the other realms and all that.� Melpomaen nodded. He thought he already knew what Lindir was going to ask of him. �Could you perhaps take him with you to your rooms? He needs a warm bed tonight to sleep in.�
Melpomaen nodded. �Of course. He can stay with me.� Lindir was noticeably relieved. �That�s good. Thank you. You can take him with you in just a moment.� Melpomaen waited patiently and some minutes later a still tired, but much cleaner R�mil was presented to him; his arm was bandaged and hung in a sling around his neck.
�Come,� Melpomaen said, �let�s get you in bed.� Tiredly R�mil followed him to his rooms. He was fast asleep whilst Melpomaen was still busy tucking him into bed.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning Melpomaen tiptoed towards his bed to look after his charge. He himself had spent the night on the sofa in the adjoining room, to give R�mil some peace in the bed. The L�rien elf was still deeply asleep, cuddled up into a loose ball. He already looked much better than the night before. His pale face once again bore a healthy hue and he looked relaxed and free of pain. His eyes were staring vacantly into empty space; beautiful eyes, Melpomaen noticed. Green like the forest, with small brown speckles in them. Melpomaen shook his head at such thoughts and turned around, leaving the room to hunt down some breakfast.
R�mil sighed softly, cuddled up in the warm blankets. It seemed like ages to him since he had last slept in a warm bed and it felt unbelievably good to be buried in the thick covers. Slowly he turned over, coming to rest on his back. Tiredly he closed his eyes, drifting of to sleep again. When he woke up once more some moments later, he distantly heard someone rummage through the room. For a brief moment he wondered who the elf was who so freely roamed through his chambers, then he remembered the disastrous journey and the kind elf who had offered him his bed.
Sleep was a persistent thing today and wasn�t too happy to leave the elf alone. For quite some time R�mil simply lay there, his mind already quite awake, whilst his body was still in the clutches of sleep.
***************
Melpomaen simply couldn�t resist when he returned to his rooms and he gently lowered himself onto the bed, putting the tray with their breakfast on the nightstand. Last night R�mil had been so tired that Melpomaen had barely had time to help him out of his travelling clothes before he had collapsed onto the bed. He hadn�t dressed his guest in a sleeping robe, because he thought it might make R�mil feel uncomfortable if he was dressed by a stranger when he was asleep; so he had just left him naked. During the night the cover had slipped and now exposed most of the L�rien elf�s upper body, including part of his belly.
R�mil was really beautiful and Melpomaen took his time admiring the other warrior�s body whilst lying next to him. His breath caught when the drowsy elf suddenly turned his head and their faces came so close together that he could feel R�mil�s breath on his lips. He felt frozen and had to try hard to fight the temptation to simply bend down and kiss the Galadhrim. He didn�t want to do that when R�mil was still asleep and didn�t have a clue of what was going on, so he just kept staring at his lips.
***************
The mattress shifted beside him and when R�mil turned his head he suddenly felt the presence of someone close to him. He could feel the other�s breath ghost over his face, but he was still to caught in his sleep to react in any way. Turning his head back, R�mil set about opening his eyes. It was a surprisingly difficult task and it took several minutes until he was finally able to blink up at the ceiling. The first thing he noticed was a rose. A giant rose, painted on the ceiling above the bed. The flower was bigger than the bed itself and though masterfully worked, it bore a colour of such a bright pink that it nearly made his eyes hurt.
***************
Melpomaen felt nearly relieved when R�mil finally turned his head away. He watched his guest blink up at the ceiling, slowly waking up. A grin spread over Melpomaen�s face as he watched his guest finally study his rose with a look of puzzlement. �Beautiful, isn�t it?� he asked, jokingly
Slowly R�mil turned his head, looking at the elf who was sitting there, very close to him, smiling down at him. �Morning,� he mumbled. Tiredly he lifted a hand to rub his eyes. �Why do you have your whole ceiling painted with a rose?�
Melpomaen shrugged. He finally remembered the tray next to him and reached over to take a cup of tea, sipping on it. �It was already on the ceiling when I moved into these rooms. At first I thought about painting it over, but somehow I didn�t have the heart to destroy something someone put so much effort into.� He watched as R�mil slowly sat up, looking about the room.
�Did you sleep well?� Melpomaen asked whilst he sat up to reach for the tray on the nightstand.
�I did,� R�mil answered softly, still not entirely awake. He tried to sit up and winced slightly as his arm hurt.
�And what about your arm?� Melpomaen continued worriedly, lifting the tray to put it next to R�mil on the bed. �Does it still pain you?�
�It hurts a bit,� R�mil answered truthfully, eyes fixed on the tray. �But this is not the first broken bone I have suffered, I�m used to it. Don�t worry. The pain will vanish eventually.�
�Do you want to have breakfast?� Melpomaen asked, offering his guest a cup of tea. �I brought something for both of us.�
R�mil studied the tray for a moment before reaching for a piece of bread, thickly covered with honey. �Thank you,� he said. �For helping me and letting me sleep here. You didn�t have to do that.� He took a bite, moaning softly at the taste. The last few weeks he had mostly lived on Lembas and after that the bread tasted incredible. �This is delicious,� he mumbled, �thank you.�
�As are you,� Melpomaen murmured softly. His eyes widened in shock when he realized that he had said those words aloud and he quickly focused his attention on the food, hoping that R�mil hadn�t heard his words. He hadn�t wanted to make the elf uncomfortable and hearing clear innuendos from a stranger whilst lying naked in his bed would probably do just that.
R�mil froze in surprise, turning his eyes towards the other elf. Melpomaen was sitting next to him, eyes fixed on the tray. It was clear that the words had slipped out. R�mil carefully studied his host. The elf was fair and - though unintentionally - he had made his feelings towards R�mil very clear. It hadn�t been the Galadhrim�s intention to have sex with the first elf he ran across, but this was just too great an opportunity. So why not?
�Somebody asked for you,� Melpomaen quickly said, to avoid any possible remarks to his words. He lifted his head to look at R�mil again; if his guest hadn�t heard what he�d said he would surely start to wonder why Melpomaen was avoiding his gaze. �But I don�t know who it was and I didn�t have time to go talk with him. I had some baggage with me.� He nodded towards the tray.
R�mil picked up a piece of an apple, nibbling on it sensually. �You didn�t tell them? So nobody knows that I am here?� He shook his head, smiling.
�No one,� Melpomaen confirmed. His eyes were fixed on the soft lips closing over the apple. He realized he was staring and that R�mil probably noticed it, but it was extremely difficult to stop. Forcing his eyes back to his cup of tea he continued jokingly, �You are my secret. I am the only one who knows that you are here, in my bed, and if I wasn�t such a kind elf I would be tempted to keep it that way.�
R�mil arched an eyebrow, smiling. �What? Me in your bed or my presence a secret?�
Melpomaen lifted his head again, surprised by the seductive expression on the other�s face. �Actually,� he started carefully, �I was thinking of the second one.� He let his gaze roam over R�mil�s body freely this time, finally meeting the L�rien elf�s eyes again. �But the first one has its possibilities, too.�
R�mil noticed that Melpomaen was still unsure if his interest was welcome and therefore slowly leaned over to press a kiss onto his lips.
A surprised gasp escaped Melpomaen and he pulled back slightly. �R�mil�� He tried to think of something to say whilst R�mil carefully balanced the tray with one hand to put it onto the floor. Once the bed was free he leaned over once more. �Don�t worry about my arm, if that�s it. `Tis just a small hindrance.�
Melpomaen searched R�mil�s face, trying to think of any reason why he shouldn�t do this. He had been attracted to the other elf all morning and now R�mil made it clear that he felt the same way. There was no logical reason to refuse.
With a sensual smile, Melpomaen moved into his new lover�s embrace.
The End