Disclaimer: I own nothing! I am a poor college student! Tolkein owns all!

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First Kiss

“Ah, this one. You are perfect.”

The elf gingerly plucked the pink rose from its bed of cascading greenery, and lifted it to his nose. It was indeed perfect, just the one. Now if he could just muster enough strength to do what he had to.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

The lone elf made his way out of the hollow in the garden in which he was standing and walked back to a similar place tucked behind the house. He admired it as he passed. This was truly an exquisite place. His garden was his treasure. He loved every flower, every piece of green that dotted the landscape of this natural sanctuary. It was the perfect place, the perfect night. He looked up at the sky and noted the full moon and billions of stars. Yes, he thought, this would go just as planned. Everything was in his favor, if he played his cards right. He took a deep breath before entering the small enclosure devoted to the red roses; his favorite part of the garden. There she was, seated on a bench in the middle of the room of red blossoms, just waiting for him. All he had to do was walk up and say….

“Good evening, Lady Celebrian.”

She turned, somewhat startled, then smiled.

“Good evening, Master Elrond.”

Well, that was simple enough. He approached and motioned to the seat beside her.

“If I may?”

“Oh, of course.”

She shifted to the side to make room. He sat and a moment of slightly uncomfortable silence passed. He tried to watch her without being obvious. Her silvery-golden hair was falling in her face as she tilted her head downward, discreetly fidgeting with her hands. He sighed inwardly. So she was nervous too. He cleared his throat and began to gather his thoughts. Say something, he thought to himself. She beat him to it.

“Your garden is just beautiful, Master Elrond.”

She looked up at him with that gorgeous smile and his heart melted. A Elbereth, her eyes. Just like her mothers, that piercing blue that could easily rip an elf’s heart out and keep it captive for life. Not that he would complain. He was lost in her eyes.

“Master Elrond?”

“Oh, yes, thank you my lady. It is my pride and joy.”

Pride and joy? Elrond, you sound like an idiot. Get under control.

“I…..um….Well….here.”

He clumsily disclosed the rose and held it out for her. She eyed it with a surprised expression, and then smiled.

“Oh, Master Elrond. How thoughtful of you. It is beautiful.”

She carefully took the rose, mindful not to touch his hand, and brought it to her nose. She inhaled the sweet scent.

“Oh, Elrond. It smells absolutely wonderful. Good enough to eat even.”

She grinned playfully and took another deep breath. He leaned in closer for a good smell of his own, but not of the rose. Good enough to eat, indeed. She noted that he had gotten closer to her somehow, and politely shifted away. He sighed to himself. This was an extremely proper lady; he would have to be obvious. He looked for a new topic of conversation and glanced up at the sky.

“Isn’t the moon just incredible tonight, my lady?”

She turned her eyes to the heavens as well.

“Oh, yes, Master Elrond; simply beautiful.”

“You know, my lady, there is supposed to be a shower of meteors tonight, though it may be a bit early still.”

“Meteors? What is a meteor, my lord?”

She took on a confused expression and looked at him questioningly. God, how he wanted to kiss her. She had the softest, most kissable lips he had ever seen. Focus, Elrond, you are getting off subject.

“Well, my lady, a meteor is one of those things that looks like a falling star that you see sometimes at night. I am sure you have seen them before.”

“Oh, I have seen those before. I never knew what they were called. What are they?”

“Well, they are large rocks in space that somehow get too close to our planet, and then gravity pulls them to us. When they pass through our sky they burn up in the heat, and that is what makes them glow.”

She stared at him, enrapt. He was truly handsome. Her mother told her that he was a wonderful catch and she had to agree. He was one of the most eligible bachelors around and word had it that he was looking for a wife. They had only met several times before, once when their parents introduced them in their childhood, (Their families had become friends and allies against the evil in the East) and several times here, in the garden. She knew that her mother wanted them to become an item, and it was the talk of all of Imladris that something was going on, but in truth they were just friends; for now, anyway. Even though each did not really know the other that well, every time they talked, she felt a connection between them and their conversations had been long and thoughtful. She was very much attracted to him, but was unsure as to his feelings. Every now and then he would look at her in a way that made her wonder, but she was still unsure. Perhaps he was just one of those elves that was very polite and always nice to everyone. Males could be so clueless about such things that it was very possible he was just being sociable. She sat and listened to him explain meteors with astonishment. She knew exactly what a meteor was; she just liked to hear him explain it. She thought she could listen to him talk about anything for hours on end. She realized that he had stopped talking and was staring at her. The stillness crept around them, and they just sat, staring at each other. Now was his chance. Do it Elrond, you know you want to. He reached up with one hand and touched her face, stroking her cheek lovingly. She flinched and blushed at the touch. He lifted his other hand and using both, cupped her face in them, pulling her closer to him. She had a startled look on her face, but surprisingly didn’t pull away. He shifted on the bench to get closer, and lowered his face to hers, closing his eyes and hoping for the best. He felt his lips brush against hers and felt her submit to him, relaxing and leaning into the kiss. His eyes flew open and they analyzed each other’s faces. She gave up on what was proper and closed her eyes. He leaned in closer and felt the kiss go deeper, opening his mouth to her. She did the same and reveled in this new thing. He pulled away before it went to far. He didn’t want to push his luck. He sat up and smiled at her. She gasped for air and smiled back, then blushed and looked away. He leaned down and lightly kissed her neck, pushing her hair away. Then he stood and held out his hand. She took it and rose as well.

They made to leave and he remarked, “We can return later if you like, Lady Celebrian. To watch the meteor shower of course.”

She smiled and replied, “The meteor shower; of course.”

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Well there ya have it kiddos! Hope you liked it. REVIEW and let me know what you think.