(Not So) Cheap Sunglasses by UnicornsInSpace

(Not So) Cheap Sunglasses

            It was a beautiful day in Raleigh. The sun threw golden light down around the trees, and squirrels skittered around, up and down them. You would not know it was winter except for the chilly (40F) weather. His Aunt Melian decided she wanted to eat at a fancy restaurant called Second Empire downtown, so Celeborn drove to his preferred downtown parking spot. He did not mind walking, especially down the tree-lined streets, and between the old buildings. He copied the address from his aunt’s text into his phone's maps app. It was only a few blocks away, which was a little disappointing to see, but he could just walk around the block a few times if he was early.

            As Celeborn was turning the corner onto Hillsborough Street, a car caught his attention. It was pulling up in front of a hotel and had a Lyft sign in the front window. One of the back doors opened, and out of the car came the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. He was awestruck. Long, golden hair cascaded down her back and seemed to glow in the sunlight. She had an immaculate white peacoat on, and wore sunglasses that looked cheap, but nonetheless flattered her face very much. It was not until she had grabbed her luggage from the trunk and disappeared behind the car that he realized he had been staring.

            The restaurant was just a block away. He checked his watch, and he was indeed very early, so he took a very leisurely stroll before coming back to the restaurant. He passed by a building with lots of restaurants and copious seating, and a record shop filled with real vinyl records, where they played classic rock on a turntable behind the counter. He would have to come back to it later. There were a few other businesses, and a university, but nothing else interested him quite as much. He walked by the hotel again. Just in the off chance he would see the lady from before, even though he doubted it.

            Returning to the restaurant, he saw his Aunt Melian outside of the restaurant with a phone in her hand. She had her black hair done up in a bun and wore a snazzy blue pantsuit. She lowered her phone and hugged someone. There were trees and a lot of construction on the street in front of the restaurant, so Celeborn could not tell who it was.

            “Celeborn, there you are, sweetheart,” Melian said as he approached, her drawl coming out at the last word.

            “Hi, Auntie Melian,” he said.

            She closed the distance quickly, hugging him tightly.

            “I was just out here answering a call from one of my staffers.” She waved her phone in the air. “We’re working on my reelection campaign, of course. Oh! And you have to meet Galadriel.”

            Celeborn turned and saw who she was talking to. The beautiful woman from before.

            “She is the daughter of a good friend of mine from college, Eärwen Olwiel.” Melian continued, “Galadriel, this is my nephew, Celeborn. You two are around the same age, and you both love gardening. You’ll get along well. Actually, why don’t you offer to show her around, Celeborn? She’s from out of town.”

            This was clearly one of his aunt’s thinly-veiled attempts to get him a girlfriend.

            “Oh- uh, I can do that. Um, if it’s okay with you, Galadriel.” Celeborn stumbled over his words nervously.

            “Sure, it would be great to have a guide.” Galadriel smiled as brightly as the sun.

            “Nice.”

            “Lovely!” Melian said, guiding them towards the door, “Now why don’t we get inside out of this cold? Thingol and Lúthien are waiting.”

Chapter End Notes

I chose Raleigh because it is the "city of oaks" and a large oak forest was part of Doriath. Also, I was thinking Galadriel could be from the western US, and Raleigh is in the east (like Doriath is east of Valinor). So it works out.

Also, in this AU, I thought politician would be the closest thing to queen, so that is the job I gave Melian. (She is a senator.) I was going to write a whole scene between the family at dinner, but I changed my mind.

Lastly, Galadhon (Celeborn's dad) is Thingol's brother in this, for simplicity's sake.