TITLE: To Good Relations
AUTHOR: Aeneus (aeneus111@hotmail.com)
RATING: NC-17
PAIRING: Gimli/Celeborn
SUMMARY: Gimli and Celeborn have to face something that they would 
rather forget.
DISTRIBUTION: Please ask first.
DISCLAIMER: All of these characters are Tolkien’s, not mine. This is 
written purely for my own entertainment and hopefully that of others.
FEEDBACK: Highly appreciated
NOTE: Written for the LoM Message Board Unusual Pairings & Flowers 
challenge. Many thanks and love to Little My for beta-ing and Azmodan 
for supplying the funniest word in the fic ;-)

---

Gimli tried to keep up with the rest of the fellowship. The fellowship 
minus one that is; Gandalf had fallen and now they had to run for their 
lives from the pursuing orcs; the same orcs who had taken over the once 
magnificent mines of Moria and had killed his cousin Balin.

Too caught up in his anger and grief, Gimli was too late to notice that they 
were running straight into the woods of Lothlorien.

"Aragorn, we must turn back!" the dwarf implored the man, once he had 
realised where they were. "They say a great sorceress lives in these 
woods."

The stories about Lothlorien were well known, even among the dwarves 
who had very little dealings with elves; they were legends. But to Gimli 
they were not just stories anymore. He had personal reasons to want to 
stay clear of this particular elven Kingdom.

It was not just the elf Queen he feared meeting, but also her husband. It 
had been years since they had met in Erebor, but the dwarf remembered it 
well – even if the elf did not. And he wasn't keen on having that memory 
tested.

If he were to believe Celeborn's tales of his wife, she was best to be 
avoided. The elf King had complained that there was never a moment's 
peace, being married to her. Apparently she could see the future and read 
people's minds. And considering his own thoughts right now, that was 
definitely not a good combination. //His hands on the smooth, pale back; 
his fingers gripping the long strands of hair… //

And rumour had it that she also had terrible power. Gimli didn't look 
forward to having that power turned against him. But before he could 
persuade Aragorn to choose a different path, the fellowship was ambushed 
by the Galadhrim border guard.

There was no way back now.

Gimli tried to ignore the taunting remarks of the Lorien elves, he knew 
better than to be impressed by their boasts. He held his tongue as the 
Galadhrim escorted the fellowship deep into the forest, and the rest of the 
long walk was spent mostly in silence.

At last, as the sun was going down, they entered Caras Galadhon. They 
were told to wait on a platform before a grand staircase. A sudden light 
made them all look up. There they were: Galadriel and her husband 
Celeborn. All eyes were locked on the stunning figure of the elven Queen, 
except for Gimli who tried to catch Celeborn's eyes first. When he finally 
succeeded, he thought he could see a quick flash of recognition and a 
troubling frown appeared on the elf's brow. But no one else noticed, 
because Galadriel had started speaking.

She addressed each of them in turn, taking her time to welcome every one 
of them. At last she turned to the dwarf. But just as she had uttered his 
name and lineage, her eyes grew large and she fell silent. Gimli lowered 
his head. There was no use hiding from her.

-- years before --

"You know, we've not had dealings with the dwarves since the dark days." 
Celeborn stared over the rim of his glass, his head leaning heavily on one 
arm. He used his other arm to wave loosely in the direction of Dáin, the 
host of this dinner party, to stress the significance of his statement. Seeing 
however that he failed to impress the company of dwarves present with his 
observation, he let his arm fall and turned back to his glass.

"They wouldn't have had the stomach for it," the dwarf next to Gimli 
whispered, nodding his head towards the highly intoxicated elf. Gimli, 
sitting next to his father Glóin on the main table, grunted his agreement 
without taking his eyes off the visiting elf. The King's pristine hair had 
become somewhat disarrayed by his continuous fussing with it. He had 
unbuttoned the top of his dress shirt somewhere after dessert, claiming the 
unfamiliar enclosed space made him more susceptible to the evening's 
warmth. The pale skin of his cheeks had increasingly gained colour in the 
course of the evening, keeping par with the amount of ale and wine the elf 
Lord consumed.

Several elves of the Lorien King's guard stood silently along the wall, 
seemingly uninterested in the state of their leader. They had not moved 
since the start of dinner, now quite a few hours ago.

The small party had arrived late in the afternoon. An elven scout had 
announced their arrival earlier that day, much to the surprise of the 
dwarves of the Lonely Mountain. Except for occasional traders from Dale, 
the dwarves had few visitors, and especially not elves.

Dáin himself had been there to welcome the King of Lothlorien, together 
with all the important dwarves, including Glóin and his son, plus a fair 
share of curious onlookers. Celeborn himself had arrived without much 
ceremony, simply stating that he was in the neighbourhood and curious for 
a visit.

No expenses had been spared (and Dáin had quite a few) for a grand 
dinner that night. The best ale and wine had been flowing, much to 
Celeborn's taste, and after some polite pleasantries, Dáin turned the 
conversation to the unexpected honour of the elf's visit.

"We are honoured by your choice to visit our kingdom, Master Elf. Please, 
what prompted this unexpected honour?"

"Well, Lord Dáin, I've been travelling for some time now, doing a tour of 
the known lands as it were. Let's just say I longed for some inspirational 
company, after my long time on the road." The elf looked around the 
table, slightly raising his glass as in a toast.

"Are you not needed in Lothlorien, Lord?"

"My wife is perfectly capable of running the place." Celeborn raised his 
glass fully and drowned the last of its content. Dáin shared a raised 
eyebrow with some of the other high-ranking dwarves at the elf's 
behaviour. This was going to be an unusual evening indeed.

"She probably hasn't even noticed I've left." Celeborn laughed, not 
noticing that his humour was not catching on.

Seeing it was better to steer away from this particular subject, Dáin stood 
up and raised his own cup. "A toast then, to the good relations between the 
Kingdom under the Mountain and the Kingdom of Lothlorien."

Celeborn eagerly raised his newly filled glass. "To good relations!"

Gimli had been studying the unfamiliar elf since the start of dinner. He 
was definitely not what he'd expected from the reportedly always refined 
elves. The King's clothes were ruffled and his speech was slightly slurred. 
His movements were lively one minute and then sluggish the next.

Most of all, the Lord of Lothlorien seemed to be enjoying himself, even if 
his elven guard did not. It was a striking difference: the guardsmen stiff 
and unapproachable versus their King sociable and…alluring.

Gimli found it fascinating. The elf was like the first shimmer of a mithril 
vein in coarse mountain rock; his eye was immediately drawn to it and the 
sight filled him with positive anticipation. It was a sight worthy of further 
exploration. He shifted in his seat. Already he could imagine his hands 
claiming the elf's skin, his fingers pulling the long hair back….

Gimli took a gulp from his ale to relax himself. The prize might be in 
sight, but it still needed to be mined properly. When Dáin was drawn into 
conversation with another dwarf, Gimli took his chance and leaned over to 
attract the elf's attention. "Does the company inspire you so far, Master 
Elf?"

Celeborn looked up and took a moment to study Gimli's face. "Indeed it 
does, son of Glóin. I haven't had such an interesting time since leaving 
home." He smiled a little too broadly.

"And what prompted this 'tour of the known lands'?"

"A need for…" The elf seemed to be struggling to find the right words. 
"…some fresh air, a change of scenery, a refuge, you know?"

"Have you found it so far?" Gimli asked further.

"The scenery has definitely improved."

Gimli grinned at the apparent innuendo, but let it slide for the moment. 
"Certainly nothing can surpass the famous beauty of Lothlorien."

"Beauty? Maybe I've lived there too long to enjoy it anymore." The elf 
stared in his glass. "Don't you ever want to try… something new?"

So the elf was new at this game. The dwarf took a moment to form his 
answer. "We have always been content with our own homes and our own 
ways. We never had this urge to…explore, which so seems to plague other 
races."

"Do you have no interest in…other people?"

"We have enough of interest ourselves for them to come to us." Gimli 
smiled, challenging the elf to acknowledge it.

Celeborn returned the smile. "Very true."

More food was brought and more ale was drunk, till finally Celeborn 
stood up, bowed to Dáin and the other dwarves (a steadying hand on the 
table preventing him from falling over) and announced he would be 
retiring to his room for the night.

For the first time since the start of dinner, Celeborn's guardsmen sprang 
into action, but Celeborn stopped them with a wave of his hand.

"I'm sure one of the dwarves would be better suited to escort me to my 
chambers. I'll see you tomorrow." Celeborn turned to Gimli, ignoring his 
kinsmen. "Master Dwarf, if you'd be so kind."

Gimli bowed low, noticing that his own balance was somewhat impaired 
by now as well. "My pleasure, Master Elf."

The dwarf proceeded to lead the King through the maze of tunnels to the 
guest rooms. Celeborn was swaying dangerously and Gimli moved close 
enough for the elf to lean on his shoulder.

Together they stumbled into Celeborn's temporary bedchamber. Gimli 
dropped the elf on the bed and slumped into one of the comfortable chairs. 
Celeborn took a moment to get himself upright again and then was startled 
to find Gimli still there.

"How good of you to keep me company, Master Dwarf."

"Please Lord, call me Gimli."

"Very well, Gimli son of Groin…" Celeborn stopped himself and had to 
take a moment to realise what exactly he had just said. Gimli meanwhile 
didn't know whether to look angry for the mispronunciation of his father's 
name, or amused at the obvious slip. Celeborn finally decided to ignore 
the incident and try again. "…Gimli son of…" The elf stopped once more. 
Unwilling to take another chance at retrieving the correct name of Gimli's 
father at the moment, he let the whole thing drop. "Would you like to join 
me in a drink?"

Gimli's eyes grew wide as the elf produced a bottle of wine from his robes, 
clearly stolen from the dinner table. This elf was turning out more 
fascinating by the minute. Celeborn filled his water cup and handed it to 
the dwarf. He looked around for another drinking vessel, but finding none, 
shrugged his shoulders and took a swig from the bottle.

Not wanting to be left behind, Gimli took a gulp from the metal cup. This 
was going to be an interesting night.

As the bottle emptied, the elf rambled about his life in Lothlorien and his 
strange wife Galadriel. Gimli listened politely, watching the elf every time 
he leaned over to fill his cup and their hands touched. But just as the elf 
was about to stumble into drunken confessions about his lack of marital 
bliss, he suddenly stopped. Gimli followed his gaze to a vase with flowers 
in the corner of the room. A similar vase had been put in all the elf's rooms 
on Dáin's orders, to make them feel welcome.

"Flowers? This far under ground?" Celeborn reached out to touch the 
leaves, clearly concentrating on controlling his movements as to not 
damage the delicate petals.

"Despite what you elves might think, we do not spend all our time in the 
mines. We too have knowledge of plants and flowers." Gimli responded.

"Knowledge of healing herbs maybe, but do you appreciate the beauty of 
nature as well?"

Gimli looked hard at the elf, who (to Gimli's pleasant surprise) did not 
look away at the scrutiny. "Ay, I can appreciate the beauty of nature."

Celeborn looked back at the flowers. "Can these flowers survive without 
the light of the sun?"

"They are strong, Master Elf. Like all things that live around this 
mountain."

"I wouldn't have the strength…" Celeborn said more to himself than 
present company. Despite his efforts, his coordination failed and one 
flower bud snapped and fell on the floor.

"You have come this far…" Gimli gently hinted.

The elf picked up the fallen flower and placed it on the bedside table. "Tell 
me, Gimli, where are your women? I did not see any at the table this night, 
am I right?"

This was getting more to the point. "There are few women amongst us 
dwarves, they tend to the homes and children."

"Are you not married?"

"Nay." Gimli replied slowly.

"Bless you..." Celeborn mumbled barely audible. He leaned back on the 
bed and took another swig from the bottle.

"So how do you do…how do you get your…you know…when you need 
to…"

Apparently uncomfortable articulating what he wanted to ask, the elf tried 
to make a gesture indicating what he meant, then seemingly thought 
against that particular idea halfway through and stopped abruptly, making 
the last of his wine spill out off the bottle and onto the bed.

The gesture had however been clear enough for the dwarf.

"I thought you elves were too superior to concern yourselves with such 
base needs…", Gimli teased.

The light in Celeborn's eyes shifted. "Don't play with me, Gimli. I get 
enough of that at home." The elf seemed to put all his efforts in staying 
focussed. "Show me."

This time there was no more evasion in the elf's eyes. It was clear what he 
meant. As soon as Gimli had risen from the chair, Celeborn's arm lunged 
out and grabbed him, pulling him to the bed. The dwarf fell next to the elf 
in a tangle of limbs, clothing and wine-smelling bed sheets.

Celeborn's hands were almost franticly pulling Gimli's vest loose, all 
pretence now forgotten. Together they grabbled for clothing, hair and 
increasingly exposed skin. The clatter of the empty bottle breaking as it hit 
the stone ground didn't even register as they tumbled across the bed. The 
elf's skin was uncannily smooth and hairless, giving Gimli's hands less 
purpose as they roamed over the elf's front. With both of them having 
freely explored the other one's body, they stopped for a moment to catch 
their breath.

"This is a pleasure, my Lord, but how do we proceed?" Gimli began, his 
arm pressed around the elf's waist. Celeborn turned around (Gimli's arm 
the only thing stopping him from rolling off the bed completely) until they 
were roughly face-to-face. The elf's cheeks were flushed deep red, both 
from alcohol and from excitement, and his long hair was now in total 
disarray.

"Show me, Master Dwarf." Celeborn shifted his hips, making Gimli very 
aware of a part of the elf's anatomy that was definitely unaffected by its 
owner's inebriation.

"Ay, I'll show you something, Master Elf." The dwarf easily turned the elf 
over on his back and straddled his legs. He took the erect elven member in 
his hand and stroked downwards. Celeborn immediately responded with a 
low groan.

Gimli continued with alternating long and short strokes, putting his hands 
to full use. Celeborn was twisting under the dwarf's weight, not being able 
to keep still under Gimli's attentions.

"The elves have always praised the skilful hands of the dwarves…" the 
elven Lord moaned.

"Believe me, we have more skills to praise." Gimli bent down and took 
Celeborn's erection in his mouth. The elf bucked up so hard, Gimli had to 
move back a little, before continuing tasting and sucking the elven flesh.

The dwarf took his time using his hands and his mouth, putting the elf's 
endurance to the very test. Only the incoherent moans escaping Celeborn's 
lips every time Gimli sucked him in deeper, indicated that he was still 
somewhat conscious.

At last Gimli felt the telltale shudders moving through the elf's body, 
marking his oncoming orgasm. Gimli pulled back and let his hands stroke 
a little bit firmer and faster. It wasn't long before the shudders reached 
their culmination in a forceful spasm, expelling the fluid life essence from 
the elf's twitching shaft.

The effort of his release had finally proven too much for the elven King, 
who appeared out cold from the exertion. Gimli shook him, but couldn't 
get anymore out of him than a dull grunt.

"By Durin's beard…", Gimli cursed as he scrambled off the elf and off the 
bed, still painfully aroused himself. He threw a blanket over Celeborn's 
naked body and somewhat clumsily put on his own clothes. He needed to 
get back to his own room to find his own release. "So much for the skill of 
the elves..." he muttered, taking one more look back at the dishevelled elf 
before finally closing the door.

Back in the privacy of his own room, the dwarf stroked himself quickly to 
release. He would just have to imagine that soft elven mouth on him, 
sucking him deep into that pretty face; or even better, buried in smooth 
elven flesh as he had the King bend over for him…

Gimli moaned aloud at the fantasy. Too bad he was left in the cold with 
only his own hand for company. 'Elves - all looks, no substance.' Gimli 
thought grimly as he came into his own hand. No doubt Celeborn will 
have forgotten their little rumble in the morning and just think he had an 
interesting dream.

It seemed he had not guessed far from the truth as the next morning at 
Celeborn's send-off the elven King made no sign of remembering the 
previous night, other than showing signs of a severe headache.

Not that it mattered to the dwarf; most likely they would never meet again 
in his lifetime anyway.

-- present time --

The fellowship had settled in and they were all busy unpacking and taking 
stock. Surprisingly, the Queen and King had retreated together 
immediately after welcoming them and hadn't been seen since. Samwise 
was naturally fussing over his best friend Frodo.

"It was so weird, it was like she was talking in my head, if you get my 
meaning; asking me things…" Gimli overheard Sam say.

They were all still impressed by their meeting with Galadriel. Boromir had 
left to find some privacy and Aragorn had followed him soon after. 
Legolas had rejoined his kinsmen, who were singing their lament for 
Gandalf in the background. So that left the dwarf with the four hobbits.

"I know, Sam, she talked to me too." Frodo replied, but it was clear his 
thoughts were elsewhere.

"I told you we shouldn't have come here." Gimli mumbled.

The four hobbits stopped their activities for a moment and looked at the 
dwarf sitting silently beneath one of the massive tree roots. It hadn't 
escaped their notice that Galadriel had been rather short with the dwarf. 
Even the other elves had seemed surprised at the abrupt ending of the 
welcome ceremony.

"What did she ask you, Gimli?" Pippin asked.

The dwarf smiled secretively. "I believe I left her speechless."


END

May 2004