~Legolas returns to his very different colony, shocked and surprised – but not only in a bad way.~

~♕~

"For the first time in my life,
things are starting to go right."

Aladdin

~♕~

27. Home

The area both outside and within the colony fence was a mucky chaos of ditches, channels, deep holes and mud splattered dwarves, and near one of the holes an equally muddy Lasriel was working together with Galion and the two guards, creating some sort of clay blocks. In the center of the colony a white house had appeared out of the blue; big and square, with a round tower on top. It looked displaced among the simple shacks and roaming chickens, as if someone had picked up a Minas Tirith city residence and transplanted it, pillars, arched windows, balconies and all, and dropped it on top of Legolas' goat shed.

"What in the name of the Valar happened here?" gasped Taurandir, Legolas' foreman. His eyes were wide and his mouth slightly open as he stared at the turmoil.

"Hello!" Nellas waved from the flat roof of the new house, where she was watering what looked like potted heather in an urn.

Legolas didn't return the gesture.

Now Lasriel had seen him as well. Dropping the lump of clay she was working with she hurried towards him, a big, eager smile on her lips. "Legolas! You're back at last!" Then she stopped, looking at her dirty outfit. "I want to hug you but it would ruin your clothes..."

Legolas didn't care about his clothes. He pulled her into his arms, so full of mixed emotions he couldn't speak. Pressing his nose into her hair he drew in her scent. At the same time he wanted to yell at her and make love to her, neither of which was suitable to do in public.

Lasriel took his hand. "Come, let me show you everything! Sorry about all the digging going on, but Gimli came with his people and Cheery was here first, so they decided to compete whose team could dig drainage ditches fastest and who could make the best well, and hence we have two wells now. I know it looks disastrous at the moment, but Cheery assures me that once the clay dries and spring comes grass and flowers will grow here and it will be beautiful."

Still speechless, Legolas only nodded in reply.

"These are clay bricks we are working on. I wanted them to be a surprise, or I would have shown you earlier when I first started to make them. We are making more with all the dug up clay, for Galion and the guards want brick houses too now. Like ours. It's inspired by the houses in Minas Tirith. Underneath the whitewash are similar clay bricks as those we are making. Come, let us go inside."

They ascended a short stair and entered a small hallway. Then followed a spacious kitchen, where his old, low table and cushions looked like toy furniture. The large window faced the river and a ray of sunlight spilled in through the open shutters.

Lasriel went over to a stone sink and pumped a handle a few times, until water began to flow. "Look, running water at last! And we have an indoor outhouse just like in my old home, which will truly be a blessing when winter returns. In that room is the library, with a separate fireplace, and our bedrooms are on the next floor." She indicated a stair behind an arched doorway.

Legolas mutely followed her up it. On the second floor was a corridor with four doorways, ending in another stair, presumably leading to the roof.

"I haven't decided what we will use these other rooms for, but maybe one can be a nursery and the other a guest room perhaps. There is a fireplace in each room so it will get warm and cozy in the evenings, and each has a balcony. I put your bed in this one, facing the mountains, but you can pick any of the others if you prefer."

He nodded again.

At last she seemed to notice his lack of enthusiasm. "You are so quiet. Don't you like it?"

He hesitated, Faramir's words fresh in his mind. He had been meaning to try to accept Lasriel, flaws and all, but she wasn't making it easy.

"You hate it." Her excited smile turned into a disappointed grimace.

Legolas went over to the window. It had a spectacular view. He could see the farthest plantations near the foot of the mountains that was the Mordor border, and from up here the many channels the dwarves were digging actually looked organized and neat. He could imagine how it would look with the grass and flowers Lasriel had mentioned, and how in the future lush forests would envelope the area. Along the channels willows would lean their branches and dip them into the water, and schools of fish would hide in the reeds.

"No, I don't hate it," he said at last, sighing. "It is a beautiful house. And I love the view. It is just... I wish you would have asked me first. I don't like surprises. Never did. Or secrecy, or lies, or... I just want people to be honest with me." He sighed again.

Lasriel joined him. She looked thoughtful; her eyes were set on the view as well. "There is one more thing I would like to show you. The last surprise, I promise. But first I must see Nellas out. Will you meet me downstairs?"

~♕~

As Lasriel escorted Nellas out, bolting the door behind her friend, she repeated Legolas' words in her mind. It had never occurred to her, in all her secret planning and dreaming up the house, that the element of surprise would be such a disadvantage. But when she now imagined herself in his shoes, she realized she would probably not have been thrilled either if she came home to a new house that someone had built without asking.

On the other hand, if she had asked – would he have agreed to it?

Probably not. He would have thought it unsuitable for his wife to make bricks and build a house, and reacted the way he did when she learned masonry in Minas Tirith.

Then she recalled the party with the dwarves the previous month. She had told her friends she would speak her mind to Legolas from then on, and tell him what she wanted. What if she had done so previous to building the house? Couldn't she have persuaded him to agree to her plans? It would have saved him from the shock of coming home to this unaware.

Why was she always so afraid to speak up for herself?

With Nellas safely away, Lasriel squared her shoulders for the final surprise. She had a hunch Legolas would like this one, at least, despite what he had said.

Taking his hand again, she led him from the kitchen into an adjoining room. An oval pool dominated it, equipped with another indoor pump, and a fire burning merrily in a special oven underneath. Lavender-scented steam filled the air, and from niches in the wall tallow candles spread a soft light.

"This is our bathroom. The bath is made of clay like nearly everything else here, but when we can afford it I think either marble or copper would be more durable, and prettier at that." She checked the temperature with her fingers. "I figured you would be tired and dirty from the journey, so when Nellas first spotted you from the roof I filled it and lit the fire. Perfect timing, it would seem."

Legolas dipped his hand as well, looking rather awed. "The water is hot," he stated needlessly.

Lasriel gave him a sly look. "Want me to join you? It is big enough for two."

He met her gaze, eyes widening slightly. Then he swallowed. "Aye."

They undressed, and though it felt a bit awkward to be naked together for the first time, it was also immensely exciting. Lasriel had dreamed about this moment many times in the past weeks, and it certainly lived up to her expectations. Her husband was beyond beautiful.

As she slipped into the warm water opposite to him, she noticed his hungry gaze at her, and thanks to his nudity she also noticed his reaction to the sight.

"Do you like the bath?" she asked.

"I do. And the company as well..."

She felt part of the worry leave her. So far this was working just the way she had intended. "I like the company too." Then she added in an unusual act of bravado: "You are very handsome."

That brought a smile on his lips, and he indicated his body. "This? I thought you preferred bulky humans."

The idea was so ridiculous Lasriel could not hold back a laugh. "Why would you think that?"

He averted his gaze. "Never mind."

She was on the verge of dropping the subject like he wanted, but then thought better. She wouldn't be as easily silenced this time. "No, tell me. You just said you wanted me to be open and not have secrets. That should go both ways."

"Oh. Well..." He sank a bit deeper into the bath, resting his eyes on the smooth, white ceiling. "You seemed quite taken with the men in Minas Tirith."

Understanding finally dawned on her. His reaction that time hadn't been about what was proper or her safety, as he had pretended. It was jealousy!

It probably should have made her annoyed that he would think she was attracted to humans, but instead she felt strangely flattered that it bothered him so much. "I was only taken with their masonry skills. But since you want honesty, then... I can admit I was flattered. Because they complimented me."

"Now I feel stupid for thinking you liked them." He was blushing.

"Do you find me beautiful?"

"Of course. Very much. Why?"

"Then why didn't you ever say so?

"I thought you knew. Haven't you noticed how you affect me?" Blushing deeper he indicated his arousal.

"I guessed it, but I was never certain." She moved to his side of the bath. "But this brings me to... the last surprise."

"Oh? I thought the bath was the last surprise."

"Part of it. Close your eyes."

When he expectantly obeyed, Lasriel felt a twinge of excitement. This was going even better than she had hoped!

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed a light kiss under his ear, and then another one. She continued giving him pecks down his neck, tasting the salt on his skin and filling her nostrils with the aroma of his scent mixed with the dried lavender she had sprinkled in the water.

She had carefully read the chapter about kisses in the Haradrim book and knew the neck was a sensitive area. By Legolas' rapid breathing she deduced the book had been correct.

He didn't remain still for long. Soon she felt his hands on her body, roaming her curves and cupping her breasts.

Lasriel decided it was time to try another of the kisses from the book, the one she was most eager for. Moving to sit in his lap, she slanted her mouth against his.

It felt divine. There was no other word to describe it. His lips against hers were firm, yet pliable; he followed her lead and let her set the pace.

The intensity of the kiss made Lasriel breathless and sent her heart racing. For all the times they had shared a bed, this moment was the most intimate, the most personal – and the most alluring.

When she broke it a long while later, his eyes were dark with want. "Can we do it here?" he rasped.

"That was the idea." She grinned, and raised her hips so she could straddle him.

~♕~

Sharing a hot bath with Lasriel and making love to her, skin against skin, her eyes scouring his face and body with obvious desire as she rode him, was more amazing than anything Legolas could have imagined in his wildest dreams. And the intense kisses, too! She continued to give him those, over and over, as if she couldn't get enough. He couldn't get enough either, so it was certainly not a problem.

As an added bonus, the warm water somehow made him last longer despite the exciting situation.

If he had had doubts whether she enjoyed it, those were swiftly quenched when she again was open with him. "This feels so good," she said breathlessly, closing her eyes and increasing the pace.

Afterwards they lingered in the bath, tired and relaxed from the intense moment. She was resting her head on his shoulder, idly stroking his chest with a finger.

"I'm sorry I surprised you," she said after a while. "I was afraid you would forbid me to build the house if I did it when you were home."

He couldn't be angry with her, not after this. Besides, she was probably right. He would have tried talking her out of it.

"If this is how you show remorse, then perhaps you should keep doing things to apologize for." He grinned.

She looked relieved at his reaction. "Well, maybe I will have to. Because while you were gone, I realized there are some things I just can't stop doing. Like building, even if it is not proper. I'm sorry."

Legolas recalled Éowyn's and Faramir's words again, about flaws being advantages, and about respecting one another. To put his wife's needs and wellbeing first. "Nay, I'm sorry. You are right; I would probably not have believed you could do it. I still quite don't... in such a short time, too? I am thoroughly impressed."

Lasriel's responding smile lit up her entire face, making her look so lovely he wanted to repeat what they just did despite his exhaustion. He settled with a kiss instead, marveling at how much he enjoyed those too now.

He broke it with some reluctance. "I ought to go check the saplings and make sure they are unpacked and stored safely until we can plant them tomorrow. But I will be back soon, and then you can tell me more about the house."

"I would love to!" Her eyes sparkled.

"And also... maybe you could repeat that very nice thing you did to my neck?" he asked hopefully.

A/N:

Whoop whoop! Look how far they have come, those two. To all of you who put up with them (and me!) and kept reading for this long: I hope future chapters will be rewarding. :)