A Season to Love by Seren Lyall

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Winter's Kiss

This was actually one of the first Elrond/Celebrian stories that I ever wrote. Since then, it has been cleaned up and rewritten a bit (as anyone who has ever read the original could probably see). Hopefully it is now even better than it was before.

In any case, I hope you enjoy reading!

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~Winter’s Kiss~

            Celebrían sat on one of the library’s window seats, her feet tucked beneath her and a blanket draped haphazardly over her legs. A book rested forgotten on her lap, for her gaze drifted beyond the warm confines of the room and out into the untamed world beyond.

            It was a dreary, blustery day, with the promise of an imminent storm heavy in the air. Thick banks of dark clouds blanketed the early evening sky, covering the world with an enclosing gray light. The wind howled through the valley, keening as it parted around the eaves of the house, and sending the fire-red and dusk-orange leafed trees whipping to and fro in a frenzied parody of the waltz.

            The sound of light feet on the rug alerted Celebrían to his presence. She turned her head slightly, just far enough so that she could see who it was that disturbed her.

            “I thought that I might find you here,” Elrond said as he drew nigh, a mug of steaming liquid in each hand. “Are you enjoying the weather?” he asked teasingly.

            “You know that I am,” Celebrían replied coyly, her smile growing.

            “I still cannot understand your penchant for clouds,” Elrond said as he paused beside a small table pushed against the wall to the side of the window alcove and placed the mugs atop the mahogany surface.

            “They make me feel alive,” Celebrían replied simply, the teasing falling from her voice although her smile did not dissolve.

            “Hmmm,” Elrond murmured as he crossed the intervening distance to the window seat. He sat down on the edge of the cushion and looked over Celebrían’s shoulder, the better to see the wind-swept sky. “All I can say is that I am glad to have a roof over my head, and a warm fire in a hearth on this day,” Elrond said, and his eyes darted to his wife’s.

            Celebrían’s smile softened, and she leaned forward to kiss his cheek. To her surprise, his skin was chilled.

            “Elrond, you are cold,” she exclaimed, and reached out to take his hands in hers. His fingers were just as cold as his cheek, and she quickly clasped them between her own warm palms.

            “It is quite cold out today,” Elrond agreed with a small laugh, “and the wind is biting. I spent the last hour out of doors with Glorfindel, inspecting the final snow fences around the northern pastures. As I said,” he added with an impish grin, “I am glad for a warm fire. And you of course, meleth,” he added, and kissed her own cheek in return.

            Celebrían released Elrond’s hands and scooted away from the wall, lifting the rumpled blanket away from her legs. She looked at Elrond with eyebrows raised, and after half a second, he smiled and did as she silently bade.

            Elrond settled himself more firmly on the window seat, his back against the wall, his legs stretched out on both sides. Wrapping his arms around Celebrían’s waist, he pulled her back against him, until she was lying with her head on his chest. Celebrían spread the blanket out once more, covering both of their legs with the warmly woven wool before clasping his fingers in hers again.

            A single lazy snowflake drifted past the window, before landing on the sill and melting. A second flake joined the first, then a third. Soon enough, the world beyond the window was a-flurry with snow, the wind catching the tiny flecks of ice and sending them cavorting through the air.

            “I brought tea,” Elrond murmured after a few moments of silence in which the two simply sat and watched the falling snow.

            “Ah, so that is what is in the mugs?”

            “Mmhmm,” Elrond affirmed.

            “Are you not going to get them then?” Celebrían asked when she realized he had made no move to retrieve the mugs.

            “I’m quite content here, and not particularly inclined to moving just yet,” Elrond replied. Instinctively, he tightened his hold on Celebrían’s waist just enough to hold her still. Celebrían laughed lightly, and smacked his wrist.

            “Well if you are not going to get them, then I shall,” she said indignatly. “You know how I despise cold tea. Now let me go,” she ordered haughtily.

            For an instant, Elrond’s only response was to hold her even tighter against him. Leaning down, he pressed his cheek against Celebrían’s ear, then turned to brush a kiss along her jaw. When he spoke, his voice was low and warm. “As my lady commands,” he murmured, before abruptly releasing her.

            Celebrían flung back the blanket and rose to her feet, flicking a lock of silver-blonde hair behind an ear. She crossed to the table that held the steaming mugs of tea, acutely aware of Elrond’s eyes on her. She hid a grin as she lifted the mugs, and then turned to face him.

            “So are you interested in the tea now?” she asked him teasingly.

            “Perhaps…” Elrond hedged, his own smirk rising to match Celebrían’s.

            Rolling her eyes heavenward, Celebrían returned to the window seat and perched on the edge of the cushion, just beyond Elrond’s reach. “Just perhaps?” she asked, lifting one mug up in front of him tantalizingly.

            “Perhaps a little,” Elrond admitted, and made to take the mug.

            Celebrían skillfully lifted the mug away, out of Elrond’s reach. “Just a little?” she asked, one graceful eyebrow arching up as her lips quirked into a roguish grin.

            Elrond returned the grin. “Perhaps a tad more than a little,” he acceded.

            “Oh, but just a tad?” Once again, Celebrían easily lifted the tea about Elrond’s reaching hand. “Come now, ask nicely, else you shan’t be getting any tea at all.”

            Elrond’s grin grew, as did the spark in his dusky silver eyes. “Dearest Celebrían,” he began, pitching his voice low and intimate, “fairest of all beings to walk this earth, radiant like the stars – you are beautiful beyond compare. Your kindness is the praise of song, and your gentleness worthy of ballads. An empress; a tigress. You are worthy of every crown in this fair land, oh my queen. Oh Celebrían…please, might I have my tea?”

            “Well, when you put it that way, how can I resist?” Celebrían asked with a soft peal of laughter. Smiling, Celebrían at last handed Elrond his mug of tea.

He took the mug carefully, enjoying the warmth that seeped into his chilled fingers as they wrapped around the hot pewter. His tentative smirk quickly fell away, replaced with a true smile as Celebrían lifted her feet and tucked herself against him once more. Without another word, he wrapped his free arm around her waist and rested his chin against the side of her head.

“I love you, Celebrían,” he said, all teasing gone from his voice, replaced instead with raw sincerity.

“Hmm,” Celebrían hummed, leaning against him. Lifting the mug to her lips, Celebrían took a small sip of tea. The rich tang of hazelnut washed over her tongue, accented by the barest hint of vanilla, and it filled her mouth with the deep taste of the earth. Warmth spread through her as the hot tea trickled down her throat. “I love you too,” she replied, her eyes half-closed in peace.

            A soft kiss dropped onto the top of her head, delicate and light atop her hair. Turning around, Celebrían just managed to catch Elrond’s chin with her own lips. “You are insufferable sometimes,” she said quietly. “You know that?”

            A deep chuckle rumbled through Elrond’s chest, and his smile faintly echoed the note of the teasing in his voice from mere moments before. “I know,” he said, and then captured her lips with his.

            Wordlessly, they broke the kiss, and Celebrían settled her head against his chest once more. Elrond responded by holding her even closer, pulling Celebrían more snugly against him and resting his chin against her hair, soaking in her warmth and her presence.

            “I love you,” he whispered again. But this time, Celebrían did not feel the need to respond.

            Glorfindel found them sitting like that an hour later, their mugs of tea long gone cold, watching the falling snow, safe and warm in the other’s embrace. Without a word, he turned and left, a small smile of his own hovering on his lips.