Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The date goes well.

Really well.

So well in fact, that they decide to extend the time they were planning to spend together to go for a walk along the river embankment, away from the restaurant where they'd had lunch and grab an ice cream. The sun is shining in a cerulean blue sky, creating golden shimmers on the River Glanduin’s surface and it's turning into a beautiful afternoon.

Conversation between them is easy and there's plenty of shy sideways looks at one another as they walk along, and when Halbrand's left hand maybe accidentally brushes against her right, Galadriel is more than happy to lace her fingers with his.

As they continue walking, Galadriel pretends she doesn't see his smile and he pretends he doesn't see hers.

After purchasing their ice creams at one of the small waterfront cafes, they stop to listen to a busker performing in the shade of a small patch of trees further along the riverside path. Halbrand leans back against the railings, watching the small crowd that has gathered around the musician.

The man's voice is soft and melodic, gently carrying over to them as he begins to strum a new tune; one Galadriel vaguely recognises.

"… I had a thought, dear

However scary

About that night

The bugs and the dirt"

Halbrand has already eaten his ice cream and has removed his jacket in the unseasonably warm weather, showing off tanned, well-toned arms in his charcoal grey t-shirt. He's trying to watch the people who wander past, the lazy meander of the tourists different to the city workers moving with more purpose but, in reality, his eyes keep darting to look at her.

"Why were you digging?

What did you bury

Before those hands pulled me

From the earth?"

Galadriel is facing the river, finishing off her ice cream, trying to act as if she hasn't seen him staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She's listening to the quiet sounds of the water flowing past them, catching the faint swirls and bubbles in the flow beneath the hustle and bustle on the riverbank. There’s a very gentle breeze and it catches at her hair, long and loose around her shoulders. She loves this part of the city, especially in the sunshine and now she’s here with Halbrand.

"… I will not ask you where you came from

I will not ask you, neither should you"

The sunlight shimmering in the ripples of the river are half mesmerising her.

"… Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips

We should just kiss like real people do"

"Can I kiss you?"

Her mouth has asked the question before her brain fully catches up and she silently curses herself. Perhaps she can blame it on the song the busker is playing?

Galadriel can't bring herself to look at him and pointedly tries to stay staring at the water, but Halbrand's hand reaches out and very gently grasps her chin, turning her face towards him. Those wonderful hazel-green eyes are gazing very intensely at her and it makes the breath catch in her chest, her heart beginning to hammer against her ribs in anticipation of his answer. Her brain is beginning to panic when he speaks.

"I think," he says, smiling, his eyes flicking down to look at her lips, "that would be a very good idea."

She lets out the breath she had not even realised she was holding, smiling back at him in sheer relief, as Halbrand lowers his head towards her and she reaches up to him. Her lips meet his, finding them soft and gentle. One of his hands drops to her waist, as her hands glide up towards his neck. She can taste the sweetness of the strawberry ice cream on his tongue when he opens his mouth to her to deepen the kiss and she's sure he can taste the coconut ice cream on hers. When they break apart, they are both slightly breathless and he leans his forehead against hers.

"See, a very good idea."

Chapter Text

The silence on the other end of the phone stretches out, uncomfortably long.

“Halbrand? Will you say something, please?”

Galadriel’s pacing agitatedly around her living room, chewing her nails with the same nervous energy. This was not an easy phone call to make; she’d had to psych herself up to pass on the news that she considered to be good (it was, after all, a real step forward with her career) but she knew it would make things even more complicated between them.

Almost a year ago, Halbrand had moved from Eregion to Armenelos in Númenór to undertake a specialist 18-month placement with the Guild of Weaponsmiths. Galadriel had remained in Eregion, continuing to teach her Quenyan Culture Studies classes at the university, although she had finally been able to publish some papers on some of the finer points on ancient Elvish customs from Valinor. Her research had caught the attention of the head archivist at the Great Mallorn Archive in Lindon, Gil Galad, who had invited her down to discuss a couple of new projects the centre was looking to get started. That was 3 weeks ago and, yesterday, Gil Galad had phoned her with an unexpected but exciting job prospect that she hadn’t been able to turn down.

“You’ve been offered a job at Great Mallorn Archive in Lindon?”

“Yes. They approached me about 3 weeks ago after my last paper was published and they invited me down to the centre to take a look at some of the new sources they’ve uncovered and have begun to translate and digitise. Gil Galad invited me for a tour of the Archive and to have lunch with him. Halbrand, it was really cool, and I got to see all these original documents, some of the oldest parchment fragments in Middle Earth and-”

Galadriel finds herself rambling slightly as everything comes pouring out her mouth in a mix of excitement and apprehension.

“You never said.” He sounds disgruntled, which annoys her because he is terrible at keeping her up to date with what he’s doing in Númenór.

“I didn’t think anything would come of it, Hal, but now they’ve offered me this great permanent position leading the project to translate all these new documents and oversee the digitalisation of the collection so they can be made available to any institution across Middle Earth. I found out yesterday and I’ve been thinking it all over, and, well I’ve accepted.”

“Gal, that’s really amazing-”

She can sense a ‘but’ coming.

“But it will make things more complicated with you being in Lindon rather than Eregion when I go to the Southlands after Númenór. It would make the journey for you to visit me much longer-”

“The Southlands?” She interrupts him and hears him swear under his breath.

“Shit.”

Clearly, he hadn’t meant to say that. “Halbrand, why are you going back to the Southlands after Númenór?

Galadriel stops pacing, gripping the phone so tightly in her hand it makes her knuckles go white. She can hear him take a deep breath in.

“I was going to tell you once I had more information. Aulë’s retiring next year and he wants me to take over from him at Pelargir College.”

“But what about your work with Celebrimbor and all the projects you’ve been doing with your classes at Eregion? I thought you were looking forward to getting back to those after the placement?”

She wants to add ‘what about me, what about us?’

“I can’t turn down this opportunity, Galadriel. It would mean running my own department, getting to create my own curriculum and I’ve learnt some really incredible things whilst being in Armenelos that I would love to continue to develop, but it’s not the kind of thing Celebrimbor wants to do. And I’ve been talking to Arondir, one of the lecturers at Pelargir College and he’s looking to expand their Sindarin and Quenyan provision and he’d love to have you come and help them do that. It would be a real selling point to the Vice Deans who are not happy with their current Elvish cultural courses and want to improve things-”

This last part makes her snap at him. “Please don’t tell me you’ve already agreed with Arondir that I will go and work at Pelargir College!”

“No, we haven’t agreed anything, it was just an initial conversation, but he said he would be happy to get the ball rolling on it when I’ve moved back to Pelargir, because it would be amazing to have you there because I miss being in-”

“Halbrand, you don’t get to make decisions about my career without consulting me first! I’m not about to move my life from Eregion to the Southlands just because you’ve had a conversation with Arondir-”

“How is that different from you moving your life from Eregion to Lindon without consulting me first?”

“Because it is me making the really important decision about my career and not someone else doing it for me!”

He repeats her words straight back at her, his voice seething with frustration. “Well, this is me making a really important decision about my career and not someone else doing it for me. I want to go back to the Southlands once my placement ends here and be able to do all these amazing things and be in charge of my own department, and I want you there with me.”

Galadriel is too angry to realise he’s made two references now about wanting to be in the same place as her and she’s completely missed them.

“But you can’t just take it upon yourself to get me a job somewhere I don’t want to go without even speaking to me about it.”

Halbrand’s voice catches. “Where you don’t want to go? Does that mean you don’t want to see me anymore?”

“Stop it, that’s not what I meant, Halbrand.”

This entire conversation is making her head hurt and it’s fallen so far off the rails that she has no idea how to even get it back on track.

“Isn’t it? This all feels rather like you just don’t want to keep seeing me anymore, so you decided to just move to the other side of the continent and leave me hanging!”

“How dare you! That is not what is happening here! I am moving to Lindon because it’s a great opportunity and I don’t need your say so to do it!”

Galadriel hangs the phone up, cutting off any chance of reply, before she rapidly mutes their chat and his number, and throws her phone into the cushions on the sofa. She doesn’t have the energy to even speak to him again right now.

She’s breathing rapidly, her chest hurts and the tears that were building during the latter part of the argument have begun to pour down her face. Any excitement she had felt about this new job has evaporated in the wake of their argument and she feels completely lost, as if she is adrift at sea. They had never fought like that before and now, whatever their relationship was, feels like it is in tatters.

************************

Over the next month, Galadriel organises moving her life from Eregion to Lindon. She gives notice on her flat and finds somewhere new to rent not far from the Archives, and Elrond helps with packing up her books and things that won’t be able to come with her straight away on the plane and will be shipped to her at a later date.

Outwardly, she appears excited about the move, telling anyone who will listen about the Archives and the project there and the brand-new facilities she’s going to be working in.

Inwardly, she’s completely and utterly falling apart, convinced she’s ruined things forever with Halbrand. She’s not phoned him or messaged him since that afternoon - she can’t face it.

They’ve both dug their heels into their respective trenches, neither one wanting to budge and admit they were wrong. There were evenings when she picked her phone up and stared at her lock screen, a selfie of the two of them during her last visit to Númenór, before flinging the phone away in annoyance and despair. They look so happy in the photo, Halbrand standing behind her, his chin resting on her shoulder as she took the photo of them in front of the Great Harbour Wall. She hadn’t realised at the time, but he was pulling a silly face whilst she gave her best and brightest smile.

She doesn’t think they’ll get that back now. Her feelings for Halbrand are complicated. She knows she loved him (not that she’d told him), but it now appears that they were just never destined to be in the same place at the same time and perhaps it’s better if she lets him go.

That doesn’t stop her hugging a grey Eregion University hoodie that he left behind several visits ago (that she may have forgotten to tell him about) every night, crying herself to sleep at the thought that she’s actually lost him and will never again see his delighted face across an airport arrivals lounge as they glimpse each other for the first time in months.

************************

One month and one day later, Galadriel is sat at a table in the departure lounge café at Eregion Airport. She’d arrived with plenty of time ahead of her flight to check in her bags and clear security. She’s engrossed in a magazine (Middle Earth Geographic) when someone places a drink down beside her.

Turning to tell them they’ve got the wrong person and that she didn’t order anything else, a familiar voice cuts through her confusion. 

“Peace offering?”

She looks up to see Halbrand standing awkwardly next to her table, his face tentative but hopeful.

“Halbrand!”

She launches herself out of her chair and into his arms with such force that she knocks all the breath from his chest and hears the “oof” noise he makes as a result.

But he holds her tight, almost lifting her off her feet in the embrace and he buries his face in her neck and her hair, breathing in her familiar scent. His voice is choked when he speaks.

“Galadriel, I am so sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry, I’ve spent the last few weeks thinking I’ve ruined everything.”

“No, no, I’m the one who should be thinking that. You were right, I shouldn’t have started planning your next career move without speaking to you and I was an idiot for not recognising this for the amazing opportunity that this is for you. I just got so panicked because it meant that we were going to end up even further apart and I just want to be in the same place as you.” He presses a kiss to her forehead and cups her face. “Do you forgive me?”

What he said matches everything that has been swirling inside her mind since that phone call. When he had mentioned moving back to the Southlands rather than Eregion she too had panicked about the distance.

“Yes, Halbrand, I do. I want to be in the same place as you, too, but I know I need to do this.”

“I know. And I want to be there to support you every step of the way, as you have done with my move to Númenór.”

She allows herself another minute of just being held by him before her brain begins to ask questions. “How did you know what time my flight was? And how are you here, how did you get past security?” She registers then that there’s a bag dumped at their feet. “Are you going somewhere?”

He smiles sheepishly down at her.

“Elrond gave me your flight details. Said I needed to stop being an arse. So, I thought I would accompany you to Lindon, if you’d let me? Help you get settled into your new place?”

She raises an eye brow at him. “Settled in?”

His eyes are twinkling at her. “I mean, we could christen a few surfaces.”

“Don’t start,”

“You love me really.”

She does but it’s not a conversation to be had in the middle of an airport departure lounge so soon after reconciling so, instead, she just pulls his face down to hers and kisses him.

Chapter Text

Galadriel was in tears by the time she made it home to her flat.

Everything that could have gone wrong over the last few days had gone wrong, and then earlier today her eldest brother, Finrod, had been on the phone updating her after his latest hospital appointment and it wasn't good news.

The second she was inside her front door, the tidal wave of emotion that had been building inside her since leaving the office came crashing down around her.

She slumped down to the floor, leaning back against the door as she cried and cried and cried, her chest heaving, pulse pounding and a loud roaring echoing in her ears.

Eventually, Galadriel's sobs subsided, and she was gasping loud unsteady breaths, her face hot and flushed despite the cool tear tracks running down her cheeks. She wasn't sure how long she had sat there in an all-encompassing emotional haze, still wearing her coat and shoes, until she was startled by the loud vibration of her phone from the depths of her bag, discarded on the floor beside her.

It was his ringtone, the one he had assigned himself in her phone years ago as a bit of a joke but, somehow, she had never gotten around to changing it.

Perhaps she didn’t want to. It was something that was uniquely his in her life and perhaps she quite liked it.

Galadriel took a deep breath, trying to compose herself before answering, but the second the shaky, half-choked greeting was out of her mouth, she knew he wouldn't be fooled.

"Hello…"

"Gal? What is it?"

Halbrand was instantly aware that something was wrong, and she could hear the concern in his voice. She could picture the exact look on his face, the little frown creasing his forehead, the way his hazel-green eyes would have clouded with worry, and she knew that he would be running his hands through his hair, something he always did when he was agitated.

She was trying to form an answer to his question, when he spoke again.

"How did Finrod's appointment go?"

The directness of his question cut straight to the heart of the matter and the words she had been meaning to form vanished, and the sob she was trying to hold back broke free instead.

"I knew it. I knew something was wrong. Right, that's it, hold on, I'll be there in a few hours." She registered that his voice had changed, it sounded like he was hurriedly moving around.

"What? No, Halbrand, wait, where are you?"

"I'm at home, I'd just got back from my department meeting. I'll grab some stuff and then I can be on a plane and be there as quickly as I can."

She could picture him rushing from room to room in his flat, grabbing things and packing a bag.

"No, Hal, you don't have to do that-"

"Yes I do, I need to be there."

She wanted to say that he didn't need to jump on a plane and fly from where he was in the Southlands to be with her in Lindon, but she realised that any protest was pointless.

Who was she trying to kid?

She needed him here. Desperately needed his arms around her, to hold her and to comfort her as she was about to face some of the hardest months of her life.

"Ok." The single word that left her lips was barely a whisper.

"I mean it, I'm coming, Galadriel. I will see you soon."

Halbrand hung up the phone and there was another minute of silence before Galadriel managed to ease her tired and aching body up off the floor, kicking off her shoes and shrugging off her coat, before heading into her bedroom.

She swapped out her work clothes for some soft, comfortable sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt and put her long hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head. In the bathroom, she splashed some cool water on her face, but it didn’t really remove the pink flush from her cheeks. She felt hot and drained.

She wandered around her flat in a daze, putting her lunch things in the sink and making herself a cup of tea. When she decided that she really couldn't be bothered to do anything other than wait for Halbrand to arrive, she settled onto the sofa and turned the television on.

Her phone pinged just as she decided on a film to watch, and it was Halbrand letting her know he was in a taxi on the way to the airport. And, for the first time that day, warmth spread through her chest.

***************

The loud knock at the door made Galadriel start, and she jerked awake.

She realised she must have dozed off at some point, curled into the fluffy blankets piled in the corner of her sofa. She checked her phone; several hours had passed, and she had five missed notifications, all updates from Halbrand about his journey.

She practically ran for the front door and pulled it open to find Halbrand standing there, an overnight bag at his feet, slightly out of breath after clearly racing up the stairs to get to her as quickly as possible.

His black jacket was rumpled from the plane, his auburn hair tousled and curling around his chin. The sight of him made her heart soar, overwhelmed with the love that she didn't want to hide from him anymore and the sorrow that was still sitting like a lead weight in her chest.

The pause as they both looked at each other lasted a fraction longer than a heartbeat, before Galadriel threw herself into his arms.

Halbrand held her tight against his chest, his hands rubbing soothing circles on her back and when he spoke his voice was low, "I'm here, I'm here now, it will all be ok."

She broke the embrace slightly so she could look up at him, but what she wanted to say to him wouldn't come. Her eyes filled with tears again, even as she tried to hold them back, and her lips quivered.

Halbrand sensed her hesitation, and his hands moved away from her back to gently cup her face, his hazel-green eyes fixed on her sea-blue ones as the first few tears silently spilled over onto her cheeks.

"I love you Galadriel and I'm here, whatever you need."

Then he kissed her, still standing in the open doorway of her flat, and it was soft and gentle and everything she needed in that moment.

Chapter Text

Halbrand was nervous about his first day in his new job.

Taking over as senior instructor on the black-smith vocational courses at Eregion University was something that he had never envisioned himself doing, especially not coming from the smaller Pelargir College in the Southlands, and now he was here, he had to keep pinching himself.

As he was waiting at the security desk for his new Head of Department, Celebrimbor, to come and meet him, his eyes were caught by the most beautiful golden hair he had ever seen. The bright curls cascading down the back of the woman walking past him danced in the morning sunlight streaming in through the glass doors of the reception area and Halbrand found himself momentarily dazzled.

She was chatting animatedly away with the curly brown-haired man walking beside her, clutching a pile of books in her arms, a teal satchel slung almost carelessly over one shoulder. Halbrand only managed a quick glimpse of her face, registering slight delicate features, before she passed through the key-carded double doors on the other side of the reception area and was gone.

Halbrand was left staring dumbfoundedly, when Celebrimbor came striding out of the same double doors, a wide smile on his face.

“Halbrand, lovely to see you again! Ready for your first day?”

He shook Halbrand’s hand enthusiastically before turning back to Rían on the security desk to activate Halbrand’s new university ID card.

***************

The first few days passed in a bit of a blur. Halbrand settled into his new office (although he was already determined that he would not spend any time in it, as it was far too small and stuffy), met the other key staff members in the department and began to find his way around the workshops. They were much bigger than what he was used to, laid out with plenty of practical space for demonstrations with walls and benches lined with spare equipment and materials.

This was forging on a grand scale.

He had hoped, however, to get another glimpse of the woman with the golden hair, and when it finally came at the end of his first week, it was more than a glimpse.

Halbrand was seated next to Celebrimbor in the Eregion Kitchen having lunch when it happened. The room was heaving and incredibly noisy, with most of the faculty staff and students seemingly present in the university canteen. He had looked up from his chicken katsu curry and there she was, coming straight towards him.

She was with the same man as before, both clutching takeaway containers of food as they wound their way through the tables and students.

She paused when she saw Celebrimbor, giving him a wide smile and a cheerful greeting, asking about something that seemed family related, before her eyes flicked to Halbrand mid-conversation.

Sea-blue eyes that reminded him of the deep waters in Pelargir Harbour met his autumnal green ones, and a small gasp escaped his mouth.

She flushed slightly before she gave him a small nod in greeting and turned back to his colleague.

“Anyway, nice to see you Celebrimbor.”

She tugged on her companion’s arm, indicating that they needed to get going, and then they were swallowed up by the crowd.

Halbrand felt so completely adrift as she walked away, as if he’d suddenly become lost in the very waters that her eyes reminded him of, that he nearly missed Celebrimbor’s words, “My cousin, Galadriel. Lecturer in the Quenyan Department. She’s an expert in Quenyan Cultural Studies you know…”

Now he knew her name.

Galadriel.

******************

He swore she was haunting him after that.

He glimpsed her bright hair disappearing around the corners at the end of corridors, or its radiance caught his attention across the crowded Eregion Kitchen as he queued for lunch.

He saw her getting coffee from the cart in the central courtyard, often accompanied by her friend, who’s name, he had since learned, was Elrond, a professor with a focus in Quenyan Language and Literature. Sometimes she was smiling, sometimes laughing, her delicate features lit up with mirth, and, on even rarer occasions, frowning, her nose scrunched up in annoyance at whatever they were talking about.

When the weather permitted, she sat at the tables in the central courtyard, reading or marking work, clearly disliking being stuck inside in an office as much as he did. Again, she was sometimes accompanied by Elrond or her other colleagues and friends. He recognised Disa from the music department and her husband Durin, from the masonry department housed in the building next to his own forge.

He walked past her classroom once, well maybe more than once, and saw her in action; face serious but so alive with knowledge and light as she spoke to the class about some finer points of ancient Elvish civilizations. He noticed, then, how petite she really was, as all her notes, carefully written in a clear round hand, only reached halfway up the large white board at the front of the room.

He reckoned he could rest his chin comfortably on the top of her head if he were to give her a hug.

He'd quite like that.

But every time Halbrand thought he’d plucked up the courage to speak to her, it utterly failed him, and he had to steer himself away from the awkward collision course that he knew awaited him if he continued. It felt like they were two ships in the night, continually passing by.

Maybe he was really haunting her.

It became hard to tell after a while.

***************

Disa took him aside at one point and told him that he really needed to do something, because he couldn’t keep walking around campus moon-eyed, and that Durin was making more and more comments in the pub that Galadriel was sure to hear about (if she hadn’t already).

***************

It was still another month after that conversation before Halbrand managed to speak to Galadriel.

It was a nice afternoon soon after the new year and, as it wasn’t too cold, Halbrand had gone for a walk around the campus grounds after a particularly frustrating class, when he spotted her sitting on a bench under some trees by the small tributary of the River Glandiun. She was wearing an emerald green scarf, with her leather jacket, the colour complimenting her bright, beautiful hair. She had a pile of papers stacked next to her, with one resting on her lap as she scribbled comments in the margins of the student’s work. A takeaway coffee cup rested on the ground next to her feet.

This was his chance.

Halbrand took a deep steadying breath, drawing on every ounce of courage he had. He ran his hands through his auburn hair as if that would magically somehow improve his appearance. His jeans and boots were dusted with soot from the forge, but he was pleased he had at least remembered to remove the very dirty leather apron before he left.

He made his way up the path and there was a flicker of recognition in those deep sea-blue eyes as he came towards her. He sat next to her, minding the pile of essays, and she put her pen down, taking him in with a long, considering look, cocking her head to one side.

His mouth feeling drier than the Greater Rhûn Desert, he managed to finally find the words.

“I’m Halbrand.”

The corners of her mouth twitched into a small smile, and he swore her cheeks had gone slightly pink.

“I know who you are. I’m Galadriel”.

There was a pause before he asked.

“Would you like to get coffee with me sometime?”

And then a pause before she answered.

“Alright, then. I was beginning to think you’d never ask.”

Chapter Text

It is late evening in the large reception hall. The tall glass windows lining one side of the room show a deep inky sky outside, but the hundreds of warm fairy lights strung across the ceiling create an almost magical feel inside the room.

Some of the tables and chairs from the sit-down meal have been removed to leave a large dancefloor, but plenty of seating remains for those needing to rest for 5 minutes after dancing too much or for those wanting to chat to other guests and catch up after the day’s wedding celebrations.

Galadriel is dancing with Halbrand, his arms around her waist and her around his neck as they stand close and slowly sway to the song playing in the background. Other couples in similar poses are scattered around the dance floor. They have both had quite a bit to drink and she feels pleasantly warm and light in his arms, almost as if they are floating on air.

"Sometimes, I wake up with a sadness

Other days, it feels like madness

Oh, what would I do without you?"

Halbrand is wearing a smart navy suit, jacket and necktie discarded at a table somewhere, and several buttons of the white shirt are undone, showing some of his chest and a gold chain. His auburn hair is neater than usual, but after the long day, some of the curls are beginning to return to their more normal tousled state. If possible, he looks even more handsome than he did this morning.

"When colours turn to shades of gray

With the weight of the world at the end of the day

Oh, what would I do without you?"

When Galadriel had walked down the aisle with the other bridesmaids and seen him standing there with the groom, Thingol, and the other groomsman, she had felt her heart flutter wildly in her chest. She had needed all her concentration to simply put one foot in front of the other, all the while keeping a tight hold of the little girl’s hands in her. Lúthien had proved too excitable even for Galadriel and she had tugged herself free to run ahead into the arms of her father, Thingol, which had led to a collective “aww” from the assembled guests and a flurry of camera clicks from the official wedding photographer.

"A decade goes by without a warning

And there's still a kindness in your eyes

Amidst the questions and the worry

A peace of mind always takes me by surprise"

Halbrand’s face had shown utter wonder at the sight of her walking with Lúthien, taking in the beautiful mint green tea dress that Melian had selected for her bridesmaids for the first time. She had refused to let him see her wear it, wanting to surprise him on the day with how it looked. Halbrand had grumbled and said that as it wasn’t their wedding, it wasn’t bad luck for him to see her in the dress, but he had humoured her all the same, and it had been worth it to see his face. Galadriel’s dress had thin straps, a draped corset top and a soft, floaty tulle skirt falling to just past her knees, and the look was finished off with silver sandals and a silver leaf circlet in her loose ringleted hair.

"I feel like I'm walking with eyes as blind

As a man without a lantern in a coal mine

Oh, what would I do without you?"

Halbrand drops his lips to her shoulder as they sway, pressing a soft kiss into Galadriel’s bare skin. He could smell her jasmine and orange blossom perfume, and the coconut scent of her shampoo still lingered in her loose long hair. He still can’t believe how beautiful she looks.

"My imagination gets the best of me

And I'm trying to hide, lost at sea

Oh, what would I do without you?"

Halbrand presses a second kiss to her cheek before moving his lips closer to her ear to whisper, “How about it?” Galadriel giggles at the feel of his breath on her skin, “How about what?”

"The difference between what I've said and done

And you're still standing by my side

A guilty soul and a worried mind

I will never make it, if I'm on my own"

Halbrand pulls back and he’s looking down at her very intensely. It reminds her of the look he gave her after she had asked to kiss him on that date by the River Glandiun so many years ago.

"So you got the morning; I got midnight

You are patient; I'm always on time

Oh, what would I do without you?"

“Would you like a day like this, all about us?”

“Why, are you asking?” she says, looking up at him curiously, noting the way his face had become slightly more serious.

Halbrand inclines his head as if in confirmation.

"You got your sunshine; I got rain clouds

You got hope; I got my doubts

Oh, what would I do without you?"

Galadriel snorts, moving one of her hands from around his neck to hit his upper arm.

“Halbrand you cannot propose at your sister’s wedding. She would never forgive you.”

“I’m not officially proposing, as you said, I’m just asking. Putting out feelers, as it were.”

He cocks his head and gives her that smug smile she knows so well.

"Oh, what would I do without you?

Oh, what would I do without you?"

It’s like before, a song leading her on, tapping directly into the thoughts in her mind.

What would she do without him?

Well, without him she would be completely adrift in the middle of an ocean and slowly drowning. He was the one that helped ease the pain after Finrod died and had given her space to cry and scream and rage when she needed it, but had also held her tight when she needed that.

And she knew that he would be adrift without her too.

Together they had saved each other.

“Well, seeing as you’re only asking, I would very much like a day like this all about us.”

She’s not sure why she flushes as she says it, not able to maintain the intense eye contact between them and she drops her eyes to stare at her feet. 

Halbrand moves one of his hands from her waist, and softly caresses her cheek with his thumb, lifting her face slightly to bring Galadriel’s sea-blue eyes back to his. Slowly he leans down and brushes his lips against hers in the smallest of kisses.

And just for a moment it was them alone in the middle of the dance floor, under the golden fairy lights as the song ends and moves on to another, time almost stopping as Galadriel felt Halbrand’s breath on her skin, his forehead pressed against hers.

He whispers, “I don't think anyone has ever loved anyone else as much as I love you.”

“What am I supposed to say to that?” she murmurs affectionately, pulling him back down for another kiss, a deeper one this time, his tongue slipping between her lips to tangle with hers as they held each other close.