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The great hall of Eregion was drenched in the golden light of the late afternoon, the stone pillars casting long shadows across the floor. The air between the Elves was heavy with tension, thick like the storm that threatened to break outside, but none of it was as charged as the energy that hummed between Galadriel and Elrond.
Elrond stood tall at the head of the room, his short, wavy hair tousled and catching the flicker of the flame in the hearth. His armor gleamed beneath the hall’s warm light, a crown of steel and leather that marked him both scholar and warrior. His expression was measured, but beneath it simmered something deeper, barely held in check.
Around them, other Elves shifted uncomfortably, sensing the brewing conflict. Eregion had seen its share of discord, but the tension between these two had been growing—now it was palpable.
“_ Enough.”; Elrond commanded, his voice sharp but calm as he turned from the table of maps, fixing his gaze on the gathered company. “ Leave us.”
The others hesitated, but only for a moment. No one wished to remain between them when things came to a head. One by one, they filed out, their footsteps echoing faintly against the cold stone floor until only the two of them remained.
Galadriel had not moved.
She stood, regal as always, her hair a crown of golden braids woven with the firelight. Loose strands framed her face, brushing against the silver of her armor, still dusted with the remnants of a recent skirmish in the forest. The light gleamed off her chest plate, and her stance was as unyielding as the stone walls around them.
“_ You are sending them to their deaths, Elrond.”; She began, her voice cool but with a fire beneath it. “ This strategy will only weaken us further. You see the battlefield, but you do not understand the darkness that moves against us.”
He turned to face her fully, folding his arms over his chest, a brow arched.
“_ You speak of understanding the darkness? You, who failed to see the shadow lurking in plain sight? Who welcomed it into your very heart?”
Her eyes narrowed, the insult landing with precision.
“_ Do not speak of things you barely comprehend, Elrond. You are too young to understand what it means to be deceived by something that powerful.”
“_ I understand enough.”; He replied, stepping toward her, his voice low and cutting. “ I understand that you, Galadriel, were blinded by ambition, by wanting to take over and fight Sauron head on. Your eyes were so fixed on the power you desired that you could not see the truth standing right in front of you, that he had been here all along.”
She didn’t flinch, but her gaze turned icy, and her stance grew more rigid. “You forget yourself,” she said, her voice simmering with barely concealed anger.
“_ I have fought longer and harder than you can imagine. You think you know the enemy, but you have only ever stood on the edges of the darkness. I walked into its heart.”
“_ And what good did that do?”; Elrond’s words came with a sneer, his lip curling. “ It left you blind to Sauron, blind to his influence even as he twisted everything around you. You let him into Eregion’s heart.”
A flicker of something darker crossed her face then, anger sparking in her eyes like a distant fire. Her hands clenched at her sides, though she kept them from reaching for her blade.
“_ Do not think of lecturing me on Sauron, Elrond. You, who sat comfortably in Imladris, shielded from the worst of it while we bled here.”
Elrond’s jaw clenched, but he held his ground, stepping closer.
“_ I am not a child to be spoken down to, Galadriel. You are the one who failed to see the shadow behind Annatar’s smile. You welcomed him into your council, your workshops. And now you accuse me of blindness? No, your sight is clouded by your own failure, your own guilt.”
She took a step toward him, her eyes blazing now.
“_ I did not fail.”; She hissed, her voice a low growl, dangerous. “ I was deceived, yes, but I was not the only one. And I will not stand here and be judged by you, as though you have not made your own mistakes, as though you have not let your own pride lead you astray.”
“_ And what of your pride?”; He shot back, his voice rising with each word, the anger finally cracking through his composed veneer. “ You think you know better than everyone here. You think your wisdom, your age, gives you the right to question every decision, undermine every strategy. But you didn’t see Sauron for who he was until it was too late. Maybe your sight isn’t as clear as you believe.”
Her breath caught, her nostrils flaring as the heat rose between them.
“_ You dare-...”
“_ I dare.”; Elrond interrupted, his voice sharp, cutting through hers. “ Because someone must remind you of your place. Of the risks.”
Galadriel’s face was pale with fury now, her hands trembling as she gripped the edge of the table. The maps crumpled beneath her fingers, but she paid them no mind.
“_ My place?”; She echoed, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “ My place is where it has always been: on the front lines, defending these lands while you and the others strategize from afar. Do not speak to me of my place, Elrond, when I have sacrificed more than you could ever understand.”
“_ Then stop acting like you are the only one who has sacrificed!”; Elrond’s voice was sharp now, each word heavy with the weight of his own frustration, his own weariness. “ We all have lost. But your refusal to acknowledge your mistakes is what puts us all in danger now. You cannot lead if you cannot see your own failings.”
The words struck deep, and for a moment, the room seemed to still, the air between them crackling like lightning before a storm. Galadriel’s chest rose and fell rapidly as she struggled to contain the tempest within her.
But she would not back down, not this time.
“_ You think I am blind?”; She seethed, her voice shaking with fury. “ I see clearer than any of you. I see the darkness growing, and I see that you do not have the strength to face it. You think this is about pride? About failure? It is about survival. And your blindness, your refusal to see the true threat, this will be the end of us all.”
Elrond stood silent for a moment, his face hard, unreadable. But the tension between them was thick, unbreakable. Neither willing to concede, both too proud, too determined to be right. He opened his mouth to respond, but for a moment, nothing came. He could see the fire in her eyes, the desperation beneath her fury, and it made him hesitate.
But only for a moment.
“_ Elves are not the only ones who can be blinded by ambition, Galadriel.”; He said quietly, his voice colder now, more controlled. “ Do not let yours destroy what little hope we have left.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
She stared at him, her chest heaving, but there was something else in her eyes now, something deeper, something that flickered and faded as quickly as it had come. She straightened, her armor clinking softly as she did.
“_ I will not let you doom us all with this plan, Elrond.”; She said, her voice quieter now, but no less firm. “ You may think you are right, but I will not stand idly by and watch you lead us to ruin. I will not stand by and watch you, and the troops, get hurt over some foolish idea.”
With that, she turned on her heel and walked toward the door, her golden braids swaying with each determined step. But just before she reached the threshold, she paused, glancing back over her shoulder, her eyes still burning with the fire of their argument.
“_ And do not ever speak to me of blindness again.”; She said, her voice like ice. “ For you are not as clear-sighted as you believe.”
Elrond stood there, watching her walk away, the words hanging between them like the tension in the air. The fading light from the window caught in her braids, casting a golden glow around her, and for a moment, something stirred within him—something fierce and maddening.
Before he could stop himself, he moved.
In a single, swift motion, his hand shot out and caught her arm just as she reached the door. The grip was firm but not painful, more an act of frustration than anything forceful. Galadriel froze, her body stiffening at the contact, and for a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath.
“_ Don’t walk away from me.”; He said, his voice lower, rougher than before. There was a tremor in it, something raw beneath the calm exterior he usually wore like armor. “ You always do this, turn your back and refuse to listen when things don’t go your way.”
She didn’t turn immediately, but her posture radiated tension.
“_ Unhand me, Elrond.”; She said, her voice dangerously quiet, every syllable clipped with fury.
But he didn’t let go.
His fingers tightened around her arm, not enough to hurt, but enough to keep her from leaving.
“_ Why do you have to make everything so difficult?”; He demanded, stepping closer, his frustration boiling over. “ Why must you always push? Always fight me, Galadriel? You can never just-...”
She spun around suddenly, her eyes blazing with fury, cutting him off mid-sentence.
“_ Because you are impossible!”; She spat, wrenching her arm free of his grip, stepping closer, invading his space with a kind of fierceness that took his breath away. “ You think you know better than everyone, but you are blind, Elrond! You are blind to the dangers, to the darkness that surrounds us, and your arrogance will be our downfall! This is not about politics, it’s about logic here!”
Her voice was sharp, every word like a blade cutting into him, but he couldn’t look away. There was something about the way the light danced off her face, the fire in her eyes, her hair glowing like molten gold around her. His pulse quickened and anger settled in the pit of his stomach, mixing with a warmth he wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
“_ You think I’m arrogant?”; He snapped, stepping even closer, their faces inches apart now, the heat of the argument radiating between them. “ You’re the one who refuses to bend, who refuses to consider anyone else’s counsel. You’re infuriating, Galadriel!”
She scoffed, her eyes flashing with indignation.
“_ Oh am I?”; Her voice was mocking, biting. “ You’re the infuriating stubborn one! You cling to your plans, your ideals, as if they’re infallible, as if you’re infallible! You stand here lecturing me about arrogance when you’ve never had to face the kind of darkness I’ve faced!”
“_ You think I don’t know darkness?”; Elrond’s voice was rising now, his calm slipping further and further away. “ I’ve seen it too! I’ve fought in these wars, I’ve lost-”
“_ You haven’t lost the way I have!”; Galadriel cut him off, her voice fierce, and she stepped closer, their faces almost touching now. “You weren’t deceived by someone you thought you could trust. You weren’t blindsided by your own desire for someone to be genuinely interested in your opinions, your ideas and just you in general! To see you as a person instead of just a warrior! You don’t have to live with the shame, the guilt of your own failure!”
Elrond’s breath caught in his throat, her words landing harder than he expected as her voice cracked. But it wasn’t just her words—it was her. Her nearness, the intensity in her gaze, the way her chest heaved as she spoke, the strands of her golden hair catching the light, framing her face like she was something out of a dream, her voice cracking under the weight of her emotions, the tremors in it.
Her aching for that understanding, thinking he didn’t have one in her.
Something inside him snapped.
“_ Why do you always make everything so difficult?”; He hissed, his voice rough with frustration, his breath hot against her face. His anger mingled with a heat that had nothing to do with their argument. He could feel his heart racing in his chest, his blood pounding in his ears. He was furious. At her, at himself. But more than anything, he was overwhelmed by the way she looked at him, the fire in her eyes that mirrored his own.
“_ I don’t make it difficult, Elrond.”; She replied, her voice softer now but no less sharp. “ You do.”
And then she did something he didn’t expect. She stepped even closer, so close that their foreheads nearly touched, her breath mingling with his. Her lips parted slightly, and for a brief, maddening moment, he forgot everything. The argument, the war, the darkness… They all faded into the background.
All that was left was her.
Before he could think better of it, his hands shot out, one gripping her arm again, the other sliding behind her neck, tangling in the braids that framed her face. His breath hitched, and for a split second, he hesitated, caught between fury and something far more dangerous.
But then she looked up at him, her eyes dark and challenging, and it was all he needed.
He kissed her.
It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t slow. It was ferocious, full of the fire that had been burning between them for so long. His lips crashed against hers with a kind of desperation, as if they were still fighting, still trying to prove something. His hand tightened in her hair, pulling her closer, and she responded in kind, her hands gripping the front of his armor, pulling him in, as if she could pour all her frustration and anger into him.
The world around them disappeared as they kissed, hard and furious, the tension between them finally snapping like a bowstring. He could feel the heat of her body against his, the cold metal of her armor pressing into his chest, and it only fueled the fire inside him. She tasted like rain and fire, like something wild and untamable, and it made him want her more.
She pulled back for the briefest moment, her breath ragged, her eyes still blazing as they locked with his.
“_ You’re infuriating…”; She whispered, her voice shaking with a mixture of anger and something else, something deeper.
“_ You’re impossible, stubborn, reckless,...”; He growled, his hand still tangled in her hair, his lips hovering just over hers, breathless and wanting.
And then she kissed him again, harder this time, more demanding, as if trying to take control of the situation. But he wouldn’t let her. His hand slid down her back, pulling her flush against him, his lips moving against hers with equal force, equal need. Every touch, every movement was a battle, each of them trying to outdo the other, trying to gain the upper hand.
But in this, they were equals.
The kiss deepened, became something more primal, more consuming, their tongues clashing as fiercely as their words had moments before. Her hands moved to his hair, fingers curling into the short, wavy strands, pulling slightly as she kissed him harder, eliciting a low growl from deep in his chest.
She was beautiful, too beautiful in the fading light, her hair glowing like embers, her skin flushed from the heat of the moment, her lips swollen from their ferocity. And it maddened him. He hated how much he wanted her, how much she made him lose control, how easily she unraveled the calm he worked so hard to maintain.
But right now, he didn’t care.
He kissed her like it was the only thing keeping him grounded, like she was the only thing that mattered. The anger between them melted away, replaced by a heat that was far more dangerous. The war outside, the plans, the arguments… They were all forgotten in that moment.
All that existed was her.
When they finally pulled apart, both of them were breathless, their hearts racing. She stared at him, her chest still heaving, her lips red and swollen. But she didn’t step back, didn’t move away. Instead, she stayed there, close enough to feel his breath on her skin, her eyes still locked with his.
“_ You think you’re so clever…”; She whispered, her voice still tinged with the remnants of their argument, lips brushing against his softly.
“_ I do not “think” it, I know it.”; He murmured, but there was no more anger in his voice, just a quiet, dangerous intensity.
Galadriel was the one to break the kiss, her lips still burning from the intensity of it, her breath ragged. She pulled back slightly, just enough to separate them, but instead of stepping away, she pressed her forehead against his, her breath mingling with his.
Her eyes closed for a brief second, and he felt her exhale sharply, as though trying to regain control. Elrond’s chest was rising and falling heavily, still caught in the storm of emotions that had erupted between them. His hands slid up from her waist, one moving to cradle the side of her face, his thumb brushing against her cheek, the touch rougher than it might have been if not for the lingering frustration.
His other hand remained tangled in her braids, the grip still firm, like he wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. He wasn’t furious anymore, but the frustration still simmered beneath the surface, mingling with something more primal, something he didn’t want to fully acknowledge.
“_ You…”; He began, his voice low and rough, his forehead still pressed to hers. “ You drive me mad, Galadriel.”
She laughed then, a short, sharp sound, her lips curling into a wry smile that he couldn’t see but could feel against his skin. She didn’t pull away, didn’t retreat, but there was a shift in her, something sharp and teasing as she spoke, leaning into his hands, locking eyes with him.
“_ I drive you mad?”; Her voice was light, mocking, though the breathlessness still lingered. “ You act like you’re the only one who suffers. But you’re the one who makes everything so, so insufferably difficult.”
Elrond let out a frustrated breath through his nose, his thumb stroking her cheek again, his jaw tight as he spoke.
“_ I make things difficult? You’ve been arguing with me about everything since the day we met!”
Her eyes opened slowly, and she finally pulled back just enough to meet his gaze, her forehead still close to his, their noses almost brushing. Her expression was fierce, her eyes gleaming with that infuriating fire that made him both want to kiss her again and throttle her in equal measure.
“_ You’re right, Elrond.”; She said, her voice cool and edged with a biting humor that only stoked the embers of his irritation as she grinned slightly. “ You’ve been so perfectly reasonable all this time. What with your brilliant ideas that no one can question, your endless strategic brilliance that obviously no one could ever rival. Why wouldn’t I argue?”
His lips twitched involuntarily at her sarcasm, though he tried to suppress it. She was infuriating, truly, but there was something in the way she said it, the way she challenged him at every turn, that made him feel more alive than he had in years. His hand slid from her hair to cup her other cheek, cradling her face fully in his hands now. He shook his head slightly, letting out a breath that was more a laugh of disbelief than anything else.
“_ You are… impossible.”; He said again, this time softer, but with an exasperated edge to his voice. “ Beyond reason.”
She raised a brow, a flicker of amusement dancing in her eyes.
“_ Is that all you’ve got? For someone so wise, you really do rely on the same insults.”
He let out a breath that turned into a laugh, a short, reluctant sound that surprised even him, his thumbs gently rubbing circles over her cheekbones, stepping closer to her.
“_ You’re relentless.”; He muttered, the tension between them breaking slightly, though his hands remained where they were, holding her face as if she might slip away if he let go.
“_ And you’re stubborn.”; She shot back, her lips curving into a smirk. “ So maybe we’re both harebrained.”
Elrond let out a longer, deeper laugh then, the sound reverberating through the otherwise silent hall. Laugh mixing frustration, incredulity, and, most of all, of the absurdity of the situation. Here they were, both warriors, both leaders, standing in the heart of Eregion, arguing like children and kissing like it was the last thing holding them together.
His forehead remained against hers as he chuckled, the weight of everything seeming to lift just for a moment, replaced by this strange, ridiculous tension between them.
“_ I can’t believe we’re doing this.”; He muttered, shaking his head slightly as he continued to laugh, his fingers brushing the edges of her braids.
Galadriel’s smirk widened, her eyes gleaming with a mischievous light.
“_ What? Kissing in the middle of an argument? Or you, just generally losing your composure because of me and how right I am?”
His laugh softened, his chest still heaving with the remnants of the fight.
“_ Both.”; He admitted, his tone lighter now but still edged with the disbelief of how she could so easily unravel him. “ You always know how to push me, Galadriel. You always know just what to say to get under my skin.”
“_ That’s because you’re easy to provoke.”; She replied, her voice softening as well, though her eyes still held that teasing glint. “ It’s almost too easy. A little prod, a bit of truth, and you lose your temper like that.”
Elrond scoffed lightly, though he couldn’t stop the faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“_ I do not lose my temper.”
She arched a brow, clearly not buying it, with a wide cheeky grin.
“_ Oh, don’t you?”; She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “ And what was that, just now? You were one word away from storming out of here, or maybe drawing a blade. Honestly, Elrond, you’re worse than a child sometimes.”
He chuckled again, his thumb brushing against her cheekbones.
“_ If I’m a child, then what does that make you? The one always baiting me, pushing me? You know exactly what you’re doing.”
Her lips twitched with amusement.
“_ Maybe I do. Maybe I enjoy it, watching you struggle to keep that infuriating composure of yours.”
He shook his head, still chuckling, the heat of the argument fading now into something lighter, more intimate. His hands stayed where they were, cradling her face, but the anger was gone, replaced by a warmth in his heart that felt dangerously close to affection.
“_ You’re… Beyond reason. Incredible.”; He murmured, his forehead still resting against hers, his voice low and soft now, but with a teasing lilt. “ But I suppose I’d be bored without you.”
Galadriel’s smile softened at that, her eyes losing some of their sharpness, though her tone remained playful.
“_ And you’d be lost without me.”; She countered, her lips brushing his as she spoke, the nearness of them still electric, still charged with that maddening energy that had been crackling between them since the moment they first met.
Elrond laughed again, this time softer, almost a sigh.
“_ Perhaps.”; He conceded, his fingers tracing the edge of her jaw now, gentle but still firm. “ But you’d never admit how much you need me, either.”
Her smile faded into something more serious then, her gaze softening as she looked at him, the teasing edge gone, replaced by a quiet intensity.
“_You're right…”; She whispered, her words barely a breath, a confession laced with vulnerability. “ But, who knows…”
Before the moment could pass, Elrond’s eyes locked with hers. The playfulness had dissolved, leaving only sincerity in its wake. He gently cradled her face, his thumb brushing across her cheek in a tender, lingering motion. His movements slow, deliberate, as if savoring every second as he closed the distance between them.
When their lips finally met again, the kiss was soft and tender, holding everything they couldn’t say. It was slow, a sweet exploration that deepened with every passing second, far from the hungry and furious ones they shared just minutes ago, melting away the world around them. They lost themselves in that kiss, wrapped in warmth and familiarity, feeling as if they were the only two beings in existence, his hands cradling her face and right here and there, both realized that no conflict could ever break what they had