Work Text:
You sighed as your hand searched the side your husband usually slept on and found it empty. You didn't know why you even bothered to check anymore, it was always empty, but a part of you hoped that one morning, just one, he would stay in bed to lay with you. You understood that he was needed in many matters across the city, but you needed him too. You yearned for even one morning or evening where you could have his attention all to yourself, without him being hounded by guards and advisors about dozens of things.
You were quickly distracted from your thoughts when small footsteps caught your ear and a blonde elfling came hurling into your bed, giggling as he bounced up from the force of his jump.
"Morning, naneth!" Legolas giggled, and you smiled, scooping him up into your arms and peppering his cheeks with kisses, despite his squirming.
"Naneth, I am not a little elf anymore, you can't keep kissing me." His words made you laugh, and you set him down on your mattress.
"You will always be a little elf to me. Even when you have a wife and kids of your own, you are still my little elf." You gave him one little kiss, and he shuffled away from you, whining.
"Naneth!" He complained, wiping his cheek with his sleeve, and you let out a gentle laugh. Legolas looked around the room, clearly trying to find his father, and his shoulders dropped when he realized he wasn't there.
"Ada already left?" His tone was small as he asked this, and your heart clenched as you nodded. Oh, how you hoped that he would be there for only one time when Legolas asked.
"He isn't here, I'm sorry, darling. Give me one moment, I will dress, and then we can go get breakfast." You assured him, and he perked up slightly, patting over to the corner where a few of his blocks remained.
He stacked them on top of each other into a high tower, and then knocked it down, giggling wildly. You watched him out of the corner of your eye as you chose a dress for the day (a silvery one with light green details), and quickly brushed your hair, and placed your circlet on top. You didn't have any formal duties today, so you didn't have to bother with your crown. It was heavy and hard to move in, so you had long gone decided that on days with no royal duties, you would leave it in your room.
"Legolas!" You turned around as you called for your son, and your heart skipped a few beats when you realized he wasn't playing with his blocks anymore. He was standing next to your husband's closet, having managed to open the heavy door.
"What are you doing there, darling? You know you're not allowed to play in our closets." Your tone wasn't harsh, and Legolas hurried to your side.
"I know, naneth, I just wanted to see his clothes were still there."
You could feel tears pooling in your eyes as you took in your son's words. Your husband was so absent in his son's life that he was wondering if he had left.
"Let's go to get s-some breakfast." You fought hard to keep your sorrow from sounding from your voice, and you managed, for the most part, your voice breaking just once. Legolas hurried to take your hand. Legolas had a habit of running off, and you had deemed it best to keep a hold of his hand to keep him close and under your watching eye as he had a knack for getting into trouble. You and Thranduil couldn't agree on which of you he got it from.
- - -
As you finished with breakfast, and you escorted Legolas into his calligraphy lesson for the day. You posted a guard on the door just in case, as Legolas had never particularly enjoyed this lesson, and had run away a few times. You had important matters to attend to, and you didn't want the news of your son running away to interrupt them. You had asked Feren about Thranduil's schedule for the day and had found out that he had a small empty spot between the two council meetings he had today. You had wanted to talk to him about his workload for months now, but only now, after what Legolas had said this morning, you had had enough.
You entered the room, seeing your husband hunched over his desk. It was filled to the brim with papers. Only a small part of it was clear enough for him to write on something, and that's what he was doing. The quill was on his hold, and judging by the various ink stains in his hand, it hadn't left after he had picked it up this morning.
"Good morning, meleth nín (my love)." Your tone was soft as you spoke, but he didn't even seem to notice you.
"I have been worried for you." Thranduil gave a hum amongst the papers he was signing, and a small flare of anger surged through you.
"Can you look at me when I talk to you?" You pleaded, trying to keep the anger out of your voice, but it wasn't easy.
"Legolas kept asking for you when we ate breakfast." It was clear to you that your son really missed his father. It broke your heart to tell him time after time that ada had to work and that he still loved him and would be there to kiss him goodnight.
Thranduil gave a heavy sigh and actually lifted his eyes from his papers to glance at you, his jaw set tight. You could see he was becoming agitated, but at the moment, you couldn't care less.
"I try my best to be there for him, Y/N, I'm busy-" You cut him off harshly, meeting his eyes, cold and harsh. A shiver ran up your back, but you refused to look away This was too important.
"You are never there, Thranduil! Never! Every morning I wake up you are already gone, and arrive in bed so late that I have always fallen asleep when you do! Legolas actually checked your closets this morning to see if your clothes were still there!" The volume of your voice was rising rapidly. You knew the guards behind his door would be able to hear, but right now, you didn't care.
"You knew when you married me that I had duties to attend to, duties I had to perform. You cannot expect me to just abandon my duties to your selfish wishes."
"I married you because you promised that I would be the priority in your life! When Legolas was born, you promised that you would be a part of his life!" Thranduil tried to interrupt you, but you weren't having it, and continued your rant, your eyes blazing with anger.
"I am not asking you to stop doing your duties, I am asking you to give a little time for your family! Do you know what he did this morning, Thranduil? He went to your closet to see if your clothes were still there! Your son thought you had left us!" Your words seemed to echo in the room as you finally stopped yelling. You didn't have anything else to say, and you turned on your heel, ignoring his call for your name, slamming the door closed behind you.
As the door slammed shut behind you, you hurried away from it, completely disregarding the guards at the door. Your throat was burning, and you slipped into the nearest room you knew was empty. With your breath hitching, you leaned your back against the door and slowly sunk to the floor. You could feel the tears pooling into your eyes, and this time, you let them fall.
Thranduil felt horrible. He knew you were right, that you had just tried to keep your family together, but he had snapped at you. The look on your face haunted him every time he closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate on his work, but it was to no avail. Your face returned to his mind no matter how much he tried thinking of something else. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He had to apologize, and he knew he had to do it now. The letters could possibly wait for another day, and he hurriedly scrawled his signature into the three papers that demanded it the most. After he stacked them into a pile where Feren could find them, he set down his quill and hurried out of his office to find you.
He found you in Legolas' bedroom, standing leaning against a wall as you watched your son play with his wooden warriors.
"Thranduil." You greeted him, your tone cold, and he winced, even if he knew he deserved it.
"Ada!" Legolas ran to him, raising his little arms in the air, begging to be picked up.
"Hello, Lasdithen (little leaf)." Thranduil relented and lifted him into his arms, huffing with effort. The boy definitely wasn't as light as he used to be.
Thranduil heard you gasp as he threw Legolas up in the air. He knew that made you nervous when he did that, but he also knew how much Legolas loved it. He caught the laughing elfling in his arms. He did it again, catching Legolas with practiced ease. When he heard you huff, he knew he shouldn't push his luck anymore, and spun Legolas around.
"Ada, I drew a picture of your elk yesterday, do you want to see it?" After Legolas' giggling seized, his blue eyes were filled with hope as he looked at his father. Thranduil nodded, setting him down.
"Of course I do." The boy was gone before he could finish his sentence. Thranduil watched him sprint away with a fond look before turning to you.
Your expression was still harsh, your eyes carrying a look that made Thranduil's heart feel cold. He could see the red rims of your eyes and knew that you were just as broken about the argument as he was, you were just better at masking it.
"I'm sorry." He knew it wasn't much, but it was a start. You just raised a brow, crossing your arms tighter. You weren't going to let him off that easy.
"I'm sorry. About everything." He took a deep breath and continued as you remained silent.
"I never meant to take on so much work, but it just kept piling up. There always was a small voice at the back of my head that kept telling me to get away from work and go to you." You sighed and ran your hand over your head.
"Then why didn't you ask me for help? I know how to read through papers too, Thranduil, I'm not helpless." Thranduil shook his head.
"You take care of Legolas, I couldn't..." He trailed off. He knew that your son was not the easiest elfling to take care of, having the knack for getting into all sorts of trouble.
"Legolas is old enough to be left alone for short periods of time. Now that his archery lessons are starting, I have more time." Your tone was now softening, and Thranduil nodded. He grasped your hand into his hesitantly and was pleased when you didn't pull it away.
"I am truly sorry." His voice had dropped to a whisper, the emotion in it weighing it down. When he saw the look in your eyes soften, he leaned in to kiss you, but let his lips just hover above yours, giving you the opportunity to pull away.
You didn't take it. When his lips met yours, you felt your shoulders going lax. You hadn't realized how much you had missed this, missed him. A surge of warmth buried you, leaving you to relish the kiss as your lips danced against each other. You felt like you were home, truly home, after so long, and tears started to pool in your eyes. The kiss gathered strength as time went by, and you gripped his shoulders tight, wanting to assure yourself that he wasn't going anywhere.
When you pulled away, you met his icy blue eyes, filled with pure, unspoken love, the tears finally escaped your eyes and slid down your cheeks.
"Naneth? Why are you crying?" Legolas' small voice sounded from the door. You turned to him, Thranduil's arm still around your waist, wiping your eyes with your sleeve hastily. He ran to you, wrapping his arms around your torso, the drawing still in his hand.
"Don't be sad." He pleaded, and you smiled at him, wiping away another set of tears.
"I'm not, lasdithen, these are happy tears." You assured him, and Thranduil leaned down to pick up the boy. You kissed both their cheeks, smiling happily as you leaned your head to rest on your husband's chest as he was admiring Legolas' drawing. After everything that had happened, all was well once again.