Flight Of Fate

Chapter Twelve - Bonds

A warm smile curved Thranduil's mouth as he closed the door behind himself.

"You look pleased with yourself," Kira noted.

"And I have every reason to be," he replied. His jacket was shrugged from his broad shoulders and hung up on the peg. "My diplomatic touch has proven to be effective, as always."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"I spoke with Legolas," he explained.

"Ah."

He followed her into the large but comfortable lounge, where Eden lay on the floor surrounded by a barrier of pillows. "And as I said previously, all has been made peaceful. He understands our situation, and intends to apologise for his behaviour." One long leg crossed over the other as he sat on the plush couch and leaned back. One arm rested along the back of the cushions as he regarded her.

"I assume there are no ill feelings?" she asked, lowering herself to sit cross-legged on the floor beside Eden, who yawned sleepily as her eyes began to close.

"None whatsoever. Only a well-deserved feeling of guilt," he answered. "One which I will take no part in trying to alleviate. He brought it on himself, and therefore must deal with it himself."

She gazed off into the distance. "It must have been a shock for him though," she acknowledged.

He shrugged carelessly. "He is an adult, and needs to start thinking and acting like one. I cannot control what goes through his head or comes out of his mouth, but I will control how he treats you and our child."

"Speaking of which, a delivery truck arrived about an hour ago," she told him.

"Oh?" He smiled enigmatically.

"Mmm-hmm. With a crib...you wouldn't happen to know anything about that?"

His head tipped back as he laughed, giving her a glorious view of his throat. "I ordered it online through the night while you were both asleep," he told her. "She needs her own space to sleep, and so do you. You were quite restless last night."

"I'm always aware that she's right next to me, and probably part of my brain is alert to the fact that there's a possibility I could roll over onto her," she said.

"Then that part of your brain can relax and rest also," he replied. "I assume it requires assembly?"

Her nose wrinkled. "Yeah. I had a quick look and backed off," she told him. "I'm not the best with flat-packs. I always end up with sixteen extra screws and a shelf that doesn't fit anywhere."

A burst of deep laughter rumbled from him as he stood up again. "They are not everyone's cup of tea. I remember my first attempt at constructing a piece of furniture. It was a chest of drawers, and it was a disaster."

"Didn't you follow the instructions?" she asked with a puzzled frown.

He gave her an are you out of your mind look. "No."

It was her turn to laugh. "That's definitely a guy thing," she chuckled. "I prepared a pizza while you were out, but I didn't put it in the oven as I didn't know when you'd be back, or if you'd be hungry right away."

"Sounds good," he commented as he shrugged his shoulders to loosen them. "Is it edible..?" He snorted at the look she gave him, and disappeared out of the lounge heading for the stairs.

Kira shook her head as she unfolded her frame and rose to her feet. Eden had drifted off into a blissful sleep and was safe where she was surrounded by the pillows, so she stepped around her and went through to put the pizza in the oven. A quick glance at the chrome clock on the far wall gave her an idea when it would be ready, and she set the plates on the table in the meantime.