Tolkien reader inserts/one shots

Learning Elvish (Haldir x reader)

Frustration couldn't even begin to describe what you had been feeling. It wasn't easy being a human living among elves, especially when you didn't speak the language. You could be having a perfectly wonderful conversation with a few of your new friends, but then they would lapse into Elvish and you'd become completely lost. You'd excuse yourself and find somewhere else to be.

You couldn't be angry with them, of course. They were speaking a language they grew up speaking. It wasn't their fault you didn't know it. But that didn't make it any easier. You felt left out of important conversations. In times like those, you kept to yourself. It helped you think. That is, until your solitude was interrupted one day by none other than the March Warden himself, Haldir. You smiled at the memory.

Sitting alone outside your home, you sighed. Haldir was walking by and stopped short. "Is something troubling you, Mellon?" he asked and you smiled. That was one of the few words you did know. Haldir was typically a very stoic person, but not with you. He was one of your closest friends in the forest. "Perhaps, but you needn't worry yourself over it. I can handle it."

Haldir came and sat next to you. "You are clearly distressed, Y/N. I want to help, if I can." You glanced at him and nodded. "Maybe you can. Can you teach me Elvish?" Haldir looked surprised for a moment but he soon smiled. "It would be an honor. Shall we begin?" Your eyes widened. "Now?" He gave a brief nod. "No time like the present. Come." You followed him inside your small home and your lessons began.

"Y/N? Are you listening?" You shook yourself from your reverie, smiling sheepishly at Haldir. "O-Of course." Haldir arched a brow. "Then what did I say?" You did your best to repeat him and he gave you a crooked smile. "Not exactly...unless you wish to insult someone's mother." You felt your skin heat up. "Try again," he encouraged after correcting your pronunciation.

Haldir was a great teacher. He was far more patient than you would have expected from him, but he was a task master. He would drill you again and again until you got it right. Needless to say, it was taking longer than you'd hoped to learn the language. Still, you were learning and that was the important thing. Plus, you did your best to practice when Haldir wasn't around. You wanted him to be proud of you.

The two of you had grown closer since he started teaching you. How could you not? You were together, in close quarters, almost every single day. When Haldir would bring scrolls for you to try and read from, he would lean over your shoulder right next to your face while showing you the differences between the letters. You weren't going to deny that the closeness was getting to you. Not enough to say anything yet, but still. Or so you thought.

"I think that's enough for today," Haldir stated as the sun began to set. You frowned a little, making him laugh lightly. "Do not look so troubled, Mellon. Your progress is wonderful, but you must give your mind a chance to rest. You truly are an excellent pupil and soon you will be able to carry on a conversation with any elf, including the Lady Galadriel." Your frown upturned. "Thank you, Haldir."

Haldir gave a nod and turned to leave. You turned to face the wall and sighed softly. When you didn't hear Haldir's steps anymore, you whispered into the empty space, "Amin le Ile, Haldir." You had picked up the three words in your studies by accident. You hadn't expected to ever be able to say them, but they were true. You loved Haldir. So, you made a point of saying them every evening, even though you knew he couldn't hear them.

But that evening, he did hear them. When you'd sighed, Haldir stopped walking. He was in the process of turning back around to face you when you said the words. The words that stopped him right in his tracks. He hadn't taught you those words. Why? Because they scared him. He was afraid that, if he taught them to you, his own feelings would come into light. Yet here you were, whispering them into what you thought was an empty room. If Haldir hadn't had such keen hearing, he wouldn't have even heard them.

Quickly and quietly, Haldir left the room. He wasn't going to say anything yet. Clearly you weren't ready to confess your feelings to him yet. Or else you would have already. Wouldn't you? Haldir nodded to himself. Yes you would have. All the hours of being shut away together would have seen to that if you were ready to tell him. When he thought of those moments, he smiled. Coming to your home and teaching you had become the highlight of Haldir's day and now he looked forward to it even more. He glanced up at the stars just beginning to appear in the sky. "Amin le Ile, Y/N."