An Unexpected Fanfiction: The Hobbit & LOTR One Shots

Sparring

(Requested by the wonderful Eleftheria01! Thank you for the request!)

Type: One-shot

Pairing: Female Reader x Aragorn

Translations: Faerthurin = "secret spirit"
"Melethril" = "lover" (a pet name, if you would)

Hope you like!

"Duck, and swing, and-"

The clanging of blade against blade startles three finches into flight from a nearby spruce tree. Faerthurin follows Aragorn's instructions, albeit clumsily, the lower half of her blouse dancing around her torso in the early morning breeze. The summer has begun to wane as the Fellowship nears the Misty Mountains, yet the warmth in the air has not yet started to fade. There is snow on the mountain peaks within eyesight, peculiarly early, and it is clear to Fae that Gandalf is concerned by this, even if he tries to hide it.

"Ah!" A nip on the shoulder from Aragorn's blade draws a light yelp from Fae's lips and she frowns, brushing at her skin as if it will prevent the bruise already forming. Her sparring partner offers a minute tilt of his head, she nods, and he raises his sword once more. This has become their routine in the past few weeks. Both tend to wake before the rest of the Fellowship each morning, so they have taken to sparring. Fae has never been too good with a blade, despite her adoptive brother Legolas' attempts to teach her, so when Aragorn offered, she took the chance.

Truth be told, it isn't just the instruction she appreciates, it is the Dúnedan's company.

Only Legolas knows of her relationship with the rightful heir to Gondor's throne. He also comprehends that Fae isn't exactly the best when it comes to handling lovey-dovey feelings; she likes to shut them away until a better time to feel them comes around. In her case, though, she never decides on a better time and so they either fade away or cause her emotional grief. Legolas has seen this happen before, which is why he earnestly advised her to not diminish her love when she told him of it. 

So a few months ago, Faerthurin surprised herself by taking her brother's advice and actively sought out her feelings for her old friend Aragorn. She even let him know, face-to-face, right before they left Imladris. To her joyful shock, he revealed he felt the same, and the pair began to court that very day. As time went on, she only fell deeper in love with him, and though it frightened her to some extent, having never been in a serious relationship before, every day with him feels so much better than without.

"Parry!"

Fae misses the block and narrowly misses being cut on her leg, hopping back in a rather clumsy fashion. Aragorn gives an almost-inaudible sigh, but it's enough to make her sheath her blade.

"I think that's enough for this morning."

He frowns, reaches for her. "Are you sure?"

She squeezes his hand reassuringly and nods. "Yes. We should get back to camp."

This is a bit of a weak excuse, as the Fellowship's encampment is barely twenty yards away, and Aragorn sees it as such. Still, he completely respects Fae's decisions and so follows her away, stealing a kiss or two behind a grand old oak tree before they rejoin their companions. He hopes he wasn't too hard on her today, as he loathes to see her discouraged, and so keeps an eye on her the rest of the day, but she seems in good spirits and so he lets his worry go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Faerthurin wakes just as early as always, but she does not get up. She keeps her eyes closed and her breathing even, not wanting to spar this morning. Her failure yesterday has, as Aragorn feared it would, disinclined her to keep at it. After all, she thinks, she's been trying to be a good fighter since she was little, and all her practice still hasn't paid off. If she weren't such an excellent healer, she wonders bitterly, she'd be quite useless to the Fellowship.

"Melethril?"

Fae doesn't stir. She feels a twinge of guilt for pretending to be asleep during what is usually the only time she and Aragorn get to spend with each other each day, nonetheless, she remains still. He puts a gentle hand on her shoulder and her heart sighs. She wants to be a good fighter, and Aragorn is so sweet to get up early every morn and teach her, but is it really worth it? Not really, she decides sadly, and so she lays there for the next hour, entirely awake but pretending not to be.

Aragorn understands that perhaps Fae is just tired after she took the first watch last night, or maybe she simply wanted to sleep in for a change, so he does not bring it up to her that day, nor the next when she does not wake again. A week passes, and though he is a patient man, he is smart, too, and clearly realizes what she's doing before too long. He is saddened to suppose she has given up and blames himself for not being a good teacher at first, but then he puts aside his guilt and focuses on remotivating his love. She matters to him more than anyone else in this world, and he wants to see her happy, so he's not about to give up now.

"Fae?"

She turns almost immediately from stirring the stew she's making for the Fellowship's supper. They call each other by loving nicknames more often than their real ones, so to hear Aragorn greet her as such, and with a cautious note in his voice, worries her.

"Yes?"

"You need not give up."

She winces and turns back to the pot, not wanting to discuss this. On any other matter, she knows Aragorn would let this go, respect her decision, but when he takes her hand, she discerns he thinks this is different.

"Melethril, this will get you nowhere, bring you no satisfaction."

He is right. She hasn't wanted to think of it as giving up, but that's exactly what she's doing. It's not going to make her feel any better, only worse, as she's come to realize in the last few days. So she looks to him with a gaze quiet in its sadness, but still obviously unhappy. He draws her into a hug and as she leans her head on his chest, she closes her eyes. They just stand there for a long moment until he kisses the top of her head and speaks again, his breath tickling the top of her head.

"Try once more. You are determined, you will get better."

She seems doubtful, so he places his hand against her cheek, and the smile that flickers on her lips is enough for him to see she is listening.

"Trust me on this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Attack, and sweep- parry! Don't forget to move your-"

A blade is caught just in the right place to knock it out of the hand that bears it.

Fae's eyes widen as she draws her blade up to the same level as Aragorn's neck and he slowly raises both his hands, smiling.

"-feet."

She is still for just a moment before she drops her sword and jumps into Aragorn's arms with a cheer. He twirls her around, both of them beaming, and she holds him close when he puts her back onto her feet.

"I did it."

He trails kisses all along her cheek and she laughs softly, leaning into his embrace.

"I told you so."

Fae gives a little grunt of 'yes, yes, you were right', and is quickly cut off by his lips upon hers, but she isn't complaining. It may be a small victory, but he wasn't going easy on her, and she finally managed to beat him. The wave of self-confidence that sweeps over her makes her smile into the kiss, accidentally breaking it, and when Aragorn kisses her forehead a moment later, she can see he too is very proud of her. She is getting better, despite how it seemed for a while, and with this triumph under her belt, she's not about to give up again any time soon.