Night-Time in the Gardens

A/N: Sorry for the extreme length of time between updates! Hopefully the next chapter should come a bit sooner.

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Here we were. The four of us. Ready to talk, with no more secrets.

Unfortunately, silence reigned. I didn't know about the others, but I felt awkward to the extreme. In all my lessons of diplomacy and tact, I had never been taught how to deal with a situation involving my lover, my husband, my husband's lover and I. It wasn't an everyday occurrence.

But someone had to start. And it looked like that someone was going to be me.

"Aragorn, Legolas, what do you think we should do? Eowyn and I have discussed it, and Eowyn thinks we could make this work." Eowyn glared at me, obviously not liking being singled out.

Across from me, Legolas cleared his throat. "Have you given any thought to Faramir, Eowyn?" Eowyn turned her glare on him. Legolas turned to Aragorn, wanting help, but Aragorn's gaze was directed at the floor.

I sighed. This was going nowhere, and how could it, with neither Aragorn nor Eowyn prepared to speakgolagolas clearly felt the same way I did.

"Arwen, what did you and Eowyn decide?" Legolas asked.

"Eowyn can probably explain better than I could." There. Now she had to talk.

She sighed, shifting in her chair. "We agreed that this could work. Aragorn and Arwen sleep in separate rooms, we continue to meet each other - it isn't all that uncommon."

Now Aragorn looked up, his eyes sad. "I don't want it to be like that," he said, and neither did I. Looking back, that's probably why we fell in love - both of us were romantics, believing marriage should be about love, among other things. Next to him, Legolas sighed.

"What else can we do? The Gondorian people would not accept either of our relationships. You know this."

"Do you agree to this then?" Eowyn was making no effort to conceal her impatience.

"On one condition," Aragorn said. "Speak to Faramir. He is a friend of mine, and a good man. He deserves to know the truth."

"I was going to tell him." Eowyn looked sad. I guessed it wouldn't be easy for her to tell him. She had loved him, once. At least, I thought she had. She kept her emotions under such tight control, it was sometimes hard to know what she felt. "Right after this, in fact. I just wanted to know what we decided first."

"Arwen and I will move into separate rooms as soon as possible." Aragorn looked at me, and I know Elves are supposed to be emphatic, with the power to read the hearts and minds of men, but Aragorn has always been a closed book to me. Eowyn too, for that matter.

Legolas nodded and stood, walking out. I was glad. The meeting had been awkward and painful, and I could only feel relief it was coming to an end. Aragorn turned to us, as if to speak, but closed his mouth, following Legolas, leaving Eowyn and I alone.

I turned to her, cringing slightly when I saw apprehension lurking in her eyes. Leaning forward, wanting to banish it, I caught her bottom lip between my teeth, sucking gently. She pulled back, but only to lean in again, this time reaching out her tongue till it met mine.

She became the aggressor, pushing her tongue against mine and into my mouth again and again, while our lips met in bittersweet kisses. I moaned, longing for her tongue to massage me in other places, and caugcaught the sound in her mouth. When she pulled away I was breathless, panting, and flushed. Her breathing was only slightly heavy.

Damn her control.

I started to lean back in, but she shook her head, pressing slender fingers against my lips. "Arwen, I want to, but I have to go and see Faramir. If I put it off now, I'll never go. And besides…" Her voice now held a shade of amusement. "I cannot turn up there looking completely debauched. Imagine what everyone would say."

She said it lightly, but I knew her true meaning; she did not want to hurt Faramir anymore than she had to. She wasn't going to rub his nose in the fact that we were lovers. She was too noble for that.

I caught her hand, pressing a delicate kiss against her knuckles. "Fine. But, Eowyn, remember…I'll be here for you when you get back."

She nodded, leaving, and I wished I could do more to help than offer comfort when it was over.