Work Text:
Halbrand didn’t like being back out at sea. But at the very least, this time, he had a hammock, the shelter of being below deck, staring up at wooden planks instead of wrathful storm clouds. Though one thing had thankfully not changed: Galadriel was with him.
In fact, part of the reason, which he had been refusing to admit, that he had left Númenor behind was because she had asked him to. It would be a journey they would take together.
That made the sway of the waves beneath him bearable, the chilled ocean breeze not so frightening when it hit his skin. For with Galadriel, all storms would be weathered.
Only a few days remained now in the voyage to Middle-earth. Soon landfall would be made, and soon… he realised… he would run out of time.
Unable to sleep, sick of counting the lines in the wood over his head, of fiddling with a loose strand he had pulled free from his hammock, he dared himself, at last, to approach Galadriel and speak with her frankly about the way he felt when he looked at her. About the way he couldn’t bear to be without her.
About how he wanted to wrap that hair of hers around his hand and pull. Craving more than just mere affection.
He treaded carefully through the cabin filled with Númenórean soldiers deep in their dreams, and headed out into the night. Galadriel was bestowed her own quarters for the journey, a kindness gifted to her by the Queen Regent. Halbrand tried very hard not to take that personally. It almost seemed like it did not matter that he was King of the Southlands. To the Númenóreans perhaps he was still just a ‘low man’. Though they did have to find space enough on only three ships for dozens of men and horses. Sacrifices must be made.
Coming upon her door, he did not hesitate to knock. Though there was no answer. After waiting a moment he knocked again and still no response was heard. Does he dare enter anyway?
I’ve come this far… I need to go further.
Lifting the clasp, he gently pushed Galadriel’s door open. In an instant his eyes found her, bathed in streaks of moonlight. The elf was overcome by her slumber, sprawled on her cot, sheets tangled at her feet, with only her shift to keep her warm. Closing the door at his back, he wandered over and grasped the sheets to pull them back over her when Galadriel startled, hurling herself and her brother's dagger upon him. It must have been hidden under the pillow. Of course.
He caught her arm before she could strike.
“Whoa!” He bellowed, surprised at her sudden movement. Now that Galadriel’s face was inches from his, Halbrand could see clearly the beads of sweat drenching her hairline. He stole a quick glance down to her chest. It was heaving.
“Bad dream?” He asked, gently releasing her.
“A nightmare more precisely.” She responded, finally lowering the gold and silver weapon. Galadriel then backed away from him, shifting herself against the wall the cot rested against. Halbrand studied her as she tried to collect herself, straighten out her shift, flatten her hair. “I wouldn’t be worried by your appearance. I’ve seen you look worse.” He chuckled a little to lighten the mood, but it had the opposite effect, her scowl making that quite clear.
“I can go if you-”
“Why are you here, Halbrand?” Her voice was stern yet somehow soft, as if she were trying not to take her anger out on him. But still she kept her distance.
Suddenly this cot felt like the raft again.
“It doesn’t matter.” He lied, standing up to leave, regretting entering her quarters. Or maybe he was telling the truth. It didn’t matter how much he cared for her when he couldn’t even find the courage to speak of it in her presence. Thinking himself a fool, he almost made it to the door before Galadriel’s words were at his back.
Before she was at his back.
“Stay, Halbrand. Please.”
He did not know to which meaning of ‘stay’ she referred. Stay to comfort her from her ill sleep, or stay for the same reason he was standing in her quarters now. Yet she had asked him to stay, and whatever form that took, Halbrand was more than willing to acquiesce.
Turning to face her, he gazed down upon her rattled yet still ethereal face. Eyes now adjusted to the dark of the room the moon did not touch, the scene before him stole his breath away. Galadriel surely noticed his overcome expression, for Halbrand saw a little smile appear within her own, felt the touch of her hand tentatively in his.
“Galadriel, I came here-”
“Halbrand,” she began, cutting him off again. “I know why it is you came. You do not need to say it. All I ask of you now, is that you show it.”
If he had been lacking the conviction to speak, he was quite sure now that he could find other paths of communication.
It was all the permission he needed.
Halbrand took Galadriel’s serene face within his large hands, letting both of his thumbs graze along her cheeks. Her smile could barely broaden before he stole it with his kiss. He felt it against his lips as he pressed them to hers, and a small piece of him died in that moment. He sighed with absolute contentment, feeling lighter than air. Galadriel had been the one sleeping, but now he wasn’t so sure. It was Halbrand that had to be dreaming.
He backed her away from the door, back towards her cot as their kiss quickly deepened. Hitting the edge of it caused Galadriel to lose her balance like she was becoming lost in him, and she fell back onto her bed, pulling Halbrand down with her.
Then she was laughing. Halbrand realised he had never heard her laugh before. What sweet music it was. And contagious too, naturally, as he joined in her fit of glee as his long and muscular body easily covered all of her smaller yet perfect form. He snickered into her neck as he began to kiss her there, her laughter quickly shifting into different sounds of joy.
The cabin was filled with happiness, relief. Halbrand could sense it. They knew what awaited them on the shores of Middle-earth, what darkness had crept into his homeland, but for now, it didn’t matter. They were suspended from time itself. They were free, and they were together.
Halbrand removed his tunic and tossed it to the floor quickly, before giving the other side of Galadriel’s neck some much needed attention. And her collar bone. And her shoulders. For him it was a mixture of worship and self gratification. Some kisses were soft, others were merely swipes of tongue upon flesh.
All of it tasted divine.
But he had not yet tasted the most divine part of his elf.
His kisses began their journey southward, his mouth finding her nipples through her shift, sucking on one breast whilst caressing the other with his hand. “This will not do.” Halbrand declared, before beginning to hike the nightgown up and over her body, revealing to him all of the woman he had desired for so long.
The view was simply ravishing. Galadriel’s pale skin glowed so softly in the moonlight that crept between the cracks in the wood. She smiled almost lovingly up at him, lifting a hand to cup his face. “Come here.” she called, missing his lips upon her.
A languid kiss took place, as they both savoured the feeling of each other, living fully in the moment they were sharing. Though it wasn’t long before their ardent desires returned, and Halbrand’s hand ventured down below her waist, finding her wet and waiting. She keened into him, back arching slightly as his hand came to rest at last where she wanted.
Feeling egged on by her response, he hastily trailed his lips and tongue along her immaculate skin, pausing briefly to feel her nipples between his teeth. Then he continued down and down until he replaced his hand with his eager mouth. Galadriel cried out, no care for who might hear, and hear they likely would. This only excited him more.
He swiped his tongue over her nub, flicking it, sucking it, lapping up the luscious nectar she provided. Green eyes flashed upward as he watched her reactions, the ecstasy so clear on her face, her chest heaving as she took in panted breaths. Halbrand slid a hand up to grope her breast, and she immediately covered it with her own, locking their fingers together as he cupped it.
His other hand was then put to good use, with a finger easily entering her. Galadriel squeezed his hand tighter and after a few moments cried out, “More!” Halbrand smiled into her before adding a second finger, loving the feeling of her tightness around him. Her spare hand found his head then, and he felt her thread her lithe fingers in his hair, pressing him down further. A wordless command, ordering him to consume her even more, completely and utterly.
The man couldn’t breathe, and he did not care. All that mattered now was her pleasure. Halbrand was relentless in his pursuit, with a high pitched gasp indicating he had found the perfect spot to give her the feeling she deserved. He moved faster, she moaned louder, and he groaned into her, the vibrations of which became the last thing she needed to fall off the edge and let the waves crash over her.
Galadriel’s nails dug into Halbrand’s hand as she still clung to him, his hair a tangled frenzy in her fist. Hips bucking up into him as she rode out her climax, her vibrant flibberty gibbet now tasted its sweetest as it pulsed around his fingers, and he drank down all of her that he could. An elixir of life itself, one he would now indulge in as often as he could.
Eventually she returned to him from the higher plane he had sent her to, her body going slack underneath him. Though not without the occasional jolt any minute touches Halbrand made would cause. He had never seen Galadriel be without control like this, so he proceeded to place feather light kisses on her belly. The more she shook, the more he touched, until their laughter filled the cabin once more.
He quickly kissed his way back up her body, until her giggles echoed in his mouth as he claimed her lips again. Galadriel melted under him with a soft moan, before clasping the back of his head with her hands, clinging onto him, her energy returning. Though Halbrand wanted to feel her jolt against him, one more time. His hand crept its way down, ghosting over her skin, only drawing out the desired reaction from her once it reached her most sensitive area.
Galadriel laughed louder and broke the kiss, giving him a playful slap on his arm, before taking hold and rolling him underneath her, displaying that unwavering elven strength. “That’s quite enough.” She admonished, grinning down at him. Her hair draped over his skin, smooth as silk. Gazing up at her adoringly, he tucked some strands behind her ear, before pulling her down to steal another kiss.
Whatever fear of the Sundering Seas he held until now had vanished into the very depths of them. The tides of fate had indeed been flowing. Galadriel was the waves, the breeze, the eye of the gathering storm. He wanted it all and all would be weathered. They had met at sea, and consummated their love at sea. Whether by raft or by boat it did not matter anymore. For either way, the sea was always right.