This is a little thing I had swimming around in my head. I had to put it down somewhere. And I actually finished it in one sitting!

Legolas, Gimli, Eldarion and whatever I failed to mention that belongs to Tolkien, belongs to Tolkien. Lithrae's my precious creation, and Aragorn's two daughters too. I made them up.

Oh, and brace yourselves for a bit of innuendo.

“…12!”

“Go, Gimli, go!” hissed Lithrae, almost running over him trying to run down the hall. She unsuccessfully stifled a giggle when he grumbled most unexcitedly.

“…11!” rang a cheerful voice. Gimli sniffed in distaste as he lifted the lid of a large, ornatechest and peered inside of it. He stood there for a moment deciding whether to step in or just not play the silly game.

“…10!”

“Gimli, just hide!” whispered Lithrae to a frowning Gimli as she scanned a nearby room for a place to hide. Glancing behind him, Gimli reluctantly stepped into the chest, squatted ungracefully and lowered the lid on himself, but without shooting Lithrae a dirty look first.

“…9!” called the voice. Lithrae, heart thundering with a pleasant thrill, dashed into a room, eyeing a set of long drapes.

“…8!” Sweeping the drapes to the side to make room for herself, she jumped at the sight of Eldarion already standing there.

“Not here!” hissed Eldarion, trying to tug the drapes closed. Lithrae rolled her eyes at him, seeing as there was plenty of room for both of them. She backed off and as the drapes behind her settled shut, she veered into the hall again.

“…7!” echoed the voice down the hall. Lithrae inspected another room. She wouldn’t fit under the bed and hiding behind the chair would be too obvious.

“…6!” Lithrae fumbled with the knob of the next door. Bursting into the room, she was greeted with the surprised squeals of a young couple, clearly busy with each other.

“Lock the door next time!” laughed Lithrae, quickly retreated back into the hall, apologizing as she went.

“…5!” Checking the next room, Lithrae spotted Aira’s small foot poking out from under the bed. Smiling, she continued around the corner.

“…4!” Her voice was getting farther away now. Lithrae stepped as quietly as possible, as the high-ceilinged halls would echo with the slightest step.

“…3!” Swinging open a door to a thankfully empty room, she spotted a small wardrobe with perhaps enough room for her. Perfect.

“…2!” Carefully, Lithrae opened the wardrobe. She jumped in surprise, for the closet was already occupied by someone. Amidst the old, unused clothing, Legolas stood as calmly as ever. Lithrae stared at him as a small, far away voice called out the last number, “…1! Ready or not, here I come!” The pitter patter of a child’s steps resonated gently from the hall. Lithrae looked around her in frustration, but the currently occupied wardrobe was the only possible place for her to hide.

“Are you going to just stand there, or are you going to hide?” asked Legolas coolly, amused.

“But-..” started Lithrae, examining the closet, “There’s hardly any more room for one more person to hide in here.”

“Who said you could hide in here?” asked Legolas, the corners of his mouth twitching. Lithrae narrowed her eyes at him. If looks could kill.

“Well, if I were to go back out there, I would get caught and have to be the seeker, and while you and Gimli hide conveniently out of sight, I would have to run after a bunch of unruly, shrieking children. Not to mention the-Hey!” yelped Lithrae as Legolas firmly grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her into the closet with him. Lithrae immediately protested, “Legolas! What-“ As he shut the door, darkness engulfed them, and Lithrae realized she was pressed flush against Legolas. Face growing warm, she started to wriggle out, but an arm snaked around her waist and held her in place.

Lithrae opened her mouth to protest, but she was struck speechless. Nose pressed up against his shoulder, his heady earthy scent intoxicated her and she struggled to keep her knees from wobbling. Through the closeness of their bodies, she could feel the steady beat of his heart and the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest. Suddenly, her heart thudded loudly in her ears with a very different kind of thrill. Suddenly she was very aware of his arm wrapped softly around her and very aware of the soothing warmth radiating from his body. Lithrae looked up at him, and felt him looking down at her.

Her own eyes locked onto his stormy blue ones. His lips hovered inches from hers, their breaths mingling. Lithrae spoke first,

“Legolas, could you-” But whatever movement her mouth could manage was stopped by a thumb grazing her bottom lip, effectively silencing her and any further attempts to speak. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up at Legolas expectantly. For a moment, Lithrae considered leaning up and just, ever so slightly…

“Hahaa!” yelled Eldarion triumphantly. “I’ve found you!” The doors to the closet swung widely open, letting in the warm afternoon light streaming in from the window. Aira and Bethesnë bounced behind their older brother, shrieking with glee. Lithrae, snapping out of her reverie, quickly unattached herself from Legolas and jumped out of the wardrobe. Eldarion went wide-eyed when he saw that he had discovered more than one person. The girls behind him were subdued to quiet giggles. Gimli, observing from the doorway, sauntered in and surveyed his elven friend who lightly stepped out of the closet. Legolas regarded the dwarf evenly, but the telling from the smug smirk on the dwarf’s face Lithrae could see that he saw right through him. To Gimli, this was clearly worth going through the afternoon helping take care of the King and Queen’s very spirited children.

“Interrupting, are we?” asked Gimli. He glanced at Lithrae, who looked away, trying to hide her glowing face. Where was a witty comment when she needed it? Fortunately, Legolas had one for her.

“Gimli, you would only be interrupting if there was something to be interrupted,” stated Legolas, and then hurriedly said to the children, “I think that is enough play for today. There is still some elvish vocabulary to learn before dinner, and afterwards, I’m handing you back to your parents.” The three children groaned in protest, and was ushered out the room by Legolas. Lithrae followed, falling into step beside him and Gimli, unable to meet their eyes.

“Soo..” started Gimli, quirking an eyebrow up at Lithrae.

“Shut it, Gimli.”