For Ashfae

[shieldofrohan]

There is a sadness to being married, a sadness that has hung around all things since the war - a sadness that comes from faces that are not present, spaces that are not filled. Neither of them have parents, and she feels the void at Faramir's side, the shape of a brother she will now never know. She feels Theodred's absence likewise, and Theoden - how he would have loved to see her wed!

But for all that, she is happy. A new day has dawned on her, like spring from a hard frost. The scars on her arm and side have begun to fade, and some of the grief is lifting from her eyes. And now, as she steps inside the Steward's chambers - their chambers - there is only joy in her.

Joy, and a little nervousness. They have kissed, of course, and there is passion there she had only dreamed of ere he came into her life, but they have done little more than kiss. She has her honour, after all, and though she may trust him more deeply than she would ever have imagined, she will do this rightly, or not at all. So she has kept herself chaste, and though she knows not what experience he has - and will not ask - she knows she has none. Nor is she certain of how he will react to the scars she now bears - he knows that she has them, but has not seen more than the edges of the knots of pink-white scars that mar her fair skin.

No. She will not be nervous. She is the Lady of the Shield-Arm, she is the hero of Rohan, the killer of the Witch-King... yet when she turns to face him, she is only a young woman, her cheeks pink and her eyes shyly lowered, her stronger right hand anxiously smoothing the green and white silk of her wedding gown.

"So, my lord husband..." She smiles, worrying faintly at her lip. Husband has such a pleasing ring to it, in this moment. "It seems you have tamed yourself a maid of Rohan."

It feels she has been waiting for this moment for an age. And yet, now it is here, she is unsure what she can say that has not already been said, what she can do that will not overstep the bounds of this unfamiliar new relationship. He has ever been the one of them who can find the better words.

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[whattheydefend]

"Desperately." It does not matter that it is dark, that she cannot see his face. There is no disguising the hunger and longing in his voice, or the way his fingers clutch at hers. It is a long, drawn-out tease, her breasts brushing against his cock (and oh, that is a thought, he must remember that idea for later), and then the hollow of her throat, her jaw...her breath teases at the skin of his abdomen, raising goosebumps and the words come out in a rush. "Sainted Lady of Mercy, Éowyn, yes, I want you to, please."

[shieldofrohan]

Her heart, she finds with some surprise, is beating a wild tattoo. Is this who she is, as his wife? She, the Lady of the Shield-Arm, the White Lady of Rohan, the king's sister? Is she a woman who will pleasure him thus, without dignity, as a whore might?

She thinks that yes, she is; thinks, further, that she does not mind it in the slightest, for he is her love and she is his wife, and all she wants in this moment is to make him moan and cry for more. Lifting her head, she guides his cock against her mouth, kisses the head slowly and gently with parted lips. She tastes sex on him, musky and salty and a little bitter, and darts her tongue out to lap it up.

Last night, for all their pleasure in each other, she never came this close to this part of him. Now - uncertain at first, but quickly giving herself over to curiosity and want - she explores what she can barely see; licks the ridge running along the underside of his erection, pushes back the hood of his foreskin with her lips, scrapes just an edge of teeth against the base of his cock. The taste and the smell are not pleasant, exactly, but they are pleasurable; intoxicating, even. She squeezes his hand gently, and slips her mouth properly over his cock.

[whattheydefend]

If asked, Faramir would not say this act is without dignity--at least, not for Éowyn. He cannot see her, and that he regrets, but he can feel her. Her touches and explorations are cautious but not tentative, and she clearly grows in confidence.

Now as for himself...Faramir is without dignity by this point, and well beyond caring, even with as little as she has done so far. He has explored himself, but not with such attention to detail, not since he was a boy--and giving himself pleasure never feels like this. His breath is juttered and uneven, and he grips her hand like a lifeline, his fingers spasming whenever she tries something new, a slide of tongue or teeth. His free hand clenches in the sheets.

And then she covers the tip of him with her mouth, and he cannot hold back his moan, cannot stop his hips from bucking up a little in search of more of that heat, that promise...he hisses, forcing himself to stay still with the greatest effort, an almost painful restraint. "Éowyn, please...do not stop...!"

[shieldofrohan]

She was unsure of this, in some part, but by the time he pleads with her not to stop, she would not even think of it. It is too pleasurable, too much fun, to feel how his hand tightens on hers and hear the ragged edge of his breathing, to feel his erection harden still further under her mouth and taste the dampness at its tip. To know that he is overwhelmed with pleasure, and that she is the architect of it - that is not a feeling she means to let go of any time soon.

Indeed, she lowers her mouth further onto him, slowly and experimentally, taking more and more of him in, until his cock presses against the back of her throat and makes her choke a little. It isn't pleasant, not in and of itself - it feels strange, intrusive, and she doesn't quite dare to push herself any further lest she gag on him - but the effect is more than enough to make up for any discomfort. She moves her tongue experimentally against the cock filling her mouth, lapping against the skin, while her hand traces the inside of his thigh and cups his balls, feeling her way around him in the darkness.

She comes up for air, then takes him into her mouth again. This time, she presses less deeply, but begins to move her head slowly, up and down, his skin velvety under her tongue.

[whattheydefend]

Oh sweet Elbereth...it is too good, what she is doing, it is too much almost to stand. If this is how she felt last night when he caught her by surprise with his mouth, it is no wonder he won so easily...Faramir groans, gasping for breath, tries to open his eyes and closes them again almost at once. Her hand roves as well as her mouth, cupping him even as she takes him in again, with less pressure but more depth.

He must touch her, reaches for her head, tries to let it lie their easily instead of pushing her further down, tangles his fingers in her hair, Valar how he loves her hair, her mouth, how he loves her. Her name is a strangled cry in his throat. "Éowyn--!"

It is perhaps a warning. He cannot last much longer, he cannot, this is too intense. He can already feel himself tightening, feel the build of pressure, the need overtaking him.

[shieldofrohan]

If it is a warning from him, it comes almost as a challenge to her. She hears that break in his voice, that desperation, and redoubles her efforts, for she wants to drive that need still further into him, wants to hear him groan out her name that way again and again.

She pushes herself further this time, taking him deeper and deeper until she feels the head of his cock bruise against the back of her throat, until she abruptly gags against it, her throat spasming and tensing around him, tears springing to her eyes. Still, when she pulls her head back - not all the way back, not far enough to release him from her mouth - she is smiling. Smirking, even. His hands are tangled in her hair, pulling on her scalp, holding her in place, and he's all but trembling for want of her, and it's intoxicating as she could hardly have imagined it could be.

She hums amusement, flicks her tongue up against his erection, and does it again.

[whattheydefend]

Faramir goes absolutely still when she gags, breathlessly waiting, lifting his head to see what he may. What she is doing is beyond wonderful, but if she dislikes it, if it is uncomfortable for her...how could he enjoy it in those circumstances?

But a glint of moonlight catches her face as she pulls back, giving him a clear view of her. He can see her smile, and the teasing confidence in it makes his heart turn over in his chest. There was never woman on Arda so alluring or desirable, surely...and then she hums, the vibration truly rippling through him, and the light pressure of her tongue, and he is lost all over again as she takes him back in. "Valar, Éowyn, you...Éowyn...!"

That is all he can manage before words abandon him. He breathes hard, moaning as she surrounds him with wet heat and pressure and oh Valar her tongue, and then suddenly it all breaks. He lets out a hoarse shout, his hips bucking into her mouth as he comes hard, his hands shaking where they hold her.

[shieldofrohan]

She doesn't entirely expect the force with which he comes, his cock jerking deeper against her throat as bitter salt floods her mouth, thick and sticky. She doesn't expect it, but nor - after the first split second of instinctive concern - does she mind it. It's giddying to know that she has drawn him to that point, so quickly, so thoroughly. She can feel his hands tremble against her, feel him slowly softening in her mouth, the twitch of muscle in his thighs. Oh, if she could catch this moment and hold it! If she could linger here, in that instant of victory!

It seems meet to clean him off, since she is already here; she sucks and licks at him until she's sure she's caught every drop that he spilled, and a little more after that. When she does crawl back up his body for a kiss, licking her lips as she goes, the moonlight catches the glimmer of his come on her mouth, trickling slowly down her chin where it overflowed from her mouth.

She smiles down at him, and kisses him on the mouth, so that he can taste that lingering sharpness on her tongue. There is a decided smirk on her face. "Well?"

[whattheydefend]

She tends him until he's entirely spent himself in her mouth, and then past it. It feels like nothing he has ever experienced, and intimate in some ways even beyond what they shared the previous night, for he is spent enough to be near-helpless with vulnerability and the echoes of rapturous intensity for a few minutes. When she does climb up for a kiss he gives it at once, briefly pausing to lick at the spent seed on her face and wondering faintly how she could stand the taste.

The kiss is languid but fervent with gratitude and amazement. When she smirks and asks her question, he laughs faintly, lifting a hand to her head. "I think I will have no more victories such as I managed last night, with that weapon in your arsenal. I am entirely undone." He looks at her with wonder, pulling her down for another kiss. "Thank you, beloved."

[shieldofrohan]

She lets herself be drawn down against him, tracing her hand against the side of his neck. His kiss is sweet, tasting strange against that lingering bitterness on her tongue, and she lingers on his mouth, closing her eyes. Even as she kisses him so sweetly, though, she is moving against him; his need is spent, but hers has been steadily mounting, and now she ruts her hips slowly but firmly against his thigh. She lifts her head, and laughs a little, low in her throat.

"I have been too hasty," she tells him, wryly, and trails her fingers down over his shoulder. "If you wish to thank me, my lord, you might take your victory back. For I have ended our duel too quickly for my liking."

[whattheydefend]

He recognizes the way she moves against him, and though he is filled with lassitude and would sleep, or at least would continue to lie in some blissful dream of satiation...well, Faramir is no fool, and it would not do to leave his wife wanting. Particularly not if he wishes her to do this again.

So he wraps his arms around her more firmly, deepening their kiss as he strokes along her back and sides, cupping her ass in his hands, and before long he is recovered enough to roll them over.

It is a well-traveled path now, from her mouth to her collarbone, tracing teeth and tongue along her neck as he goes, and then moving past her clavicle to her breasts. Mindful of her impatience he does not linger too long in any place, but neither does he leave anything unattended, none of the places he has learned since last night. Is it truly only last night? Surely they have known each other thus forever, since time began...

Down to her breasts, where he is sweetly attentive, kissing and suckling and grazing with teeth, and then down once more. When he did this last night it was immediate and unexpected, but now there is clear direction and deliberation in his actions. He flicks his tongue into her navel, clutches at her thighs as he parts her legs, drops further down to kiss the skin on her inner leg, until finally he brings his mouth to the place where all that aching need of hers is centered. He kisses the mound of her softly before parting the folds there, and the first touches of his tongue are delicate, mere hints of possibility, before he begins to lick at her in earnest.

[shieldofrohan]

She kisses him sweetly and deeply, and when he moves to roll her over, she gladly lets him guide her onto her back, arching her hips up to rut herself against him once more. And then he is trailing his mouth over her skin, lower and lower, and Éowyn bites her lip. When he did this before, she was surprised by it, and that aroused her in its own way. But now it is the anticipation itself that mounts her desire, the slow and unhurried way he explores her body, the press of lips and tongue on sensitive skin.

When his tongue darts against her belly, she gasps aloud, still biting her lip, and she needs little encouragement to spread her legs for him; her thighs are glistening with the proof of her want, as if any were needed, and her cunt clenches as his tongue presses against it. Biting down harder on her lip, she groans her pleasure and frustration at his teasing little touches, and then, as he finally relents and begins to work his tongue harder against her, she cries out, low and passionate.

[whattheydefend]

Last night he teased, deliberately refusing her release in an attempt to meet her challenge. This time he works steadily, long hard strokes and swirls of his tongue, all of it pushing her onwards. As before, he leans so that one hand is free to curl a finger inside her, gentle probing--first one, then two, then three, filling her, even as he continues to lick at her clit. He pays close attention to all the little noises she makes, every hitch of breathing, every whimper; there is a language to them that he must learn, and quickly, to find what best pleases her, what to do, what to avoid. When to flutter his tongue against her, when to lave, when to press harder with his fingers. He is still learning the art of this, and it will take time to master it.

Somehow he suspects Eowyn will not mind letting him practice, and he smiles and kisses her there, his fingers slick inside and his mouth filled with the taste of her.

[shieldofrohan]

The kiss is what pushes her over the edge at last. She has been hovering close to it for some moments already, for she was wet and wanting before he even touched her, and his mouth is relentless in its attentions. But when he kisses her, with his hand inside her and his breath brushing against her wet heat, with his hair tickling the insides of her thighs and his body warm against her legs - oh, that is more than she can bear!

She clutches at the post of the bed with one hand, at his hair with the other, anchoring herself to both as she bucks against him and cries out inarticulately. It could be his name, perhaps. Certainly, it was meant to be, but she struggles to master her own tongue, in the face of this crashing wave of pleasure and love.

[whattheydefend]

As she did for him, he holds her through the moment, gently continuing to pull pleasure from her with fingers and mouth, until she collapses limp on their marriage bed, sated and gasping.

He places one last kiss as he carefully withdraws his fingers, then climbs back up to lie alongside her, pulling her into a loose embrace. They are both of them sweat-marked, and now that they are past that point of ecstacy Faramir, at least, is growing cold, so he hooks one of the blankets with his foot and brings it up until he may pull it over them.

That is better; that is peaceful, as he lies holding her, stroking her hair. The lines of light on the walls gradually brighten as the sun rises outside. Faramir smiles and kisses Eowyn's forehead. "Do we declare this duel a draw?" he murmurs, a note of sleepiness creeping back into his voice.

[shieldofrohan]

She laughs, still breathless, and rolls onto her side to lie closer against him, her eyes half-closed. "For now," she agrees, and nuzzles into the crook of his shoulder, kissing the base of his neck. He is hot against her, both of them tacky with sweat, and she remembers, once more, that this is how they can wake up any time they like. This is their life now, and she's hugely glad of it, grateful for this joy that has come out of all the waiting and the pain.

"We could stay here all our lives," she says aloud, with a note of humour, "and let all else be forgotten. Just thee and me, until we can find a victor in this duel."

Of course, it won't happen. She knows perfectly well that it isn't in either of them to leave their responsibilities that way, no matter how tempting it might sound. Still, it's a pleasant thought, and one she luxuriates in as she winds her fingertips in the ends of his hair.

[whattheydefend]

"I think we never shall, my dearest love." He kisses her forehead again, winding her in close. "We will trade victories back and forth joy, but even if we stayed here until the end of days, I do not think either of us would claim a total victory. Not when our shared pleasure is so very great." He breathes in the smell of her and exhales happily, utterly relaxed. "Though the idea still has great appeal. We will have a few days, at least, and I would not mind at all spending them thus."

A few days entirely to themselves, at a hunting lodge a few days' ride from Edoras, a wedding gift from his king and hers...Faramir nuzzles at Eowyn's hair, greatly looking forward to the time. "Although we will need to eat sometime...and other things, I suppose..." Miscellaneous, unimportant things that are so much less appealing than staying in bed with her.

[shieldofrohan]

"Mm. Must we?" She yawns contentedly, stretching like a cat, and nuzzles her face a little more closely against his shoulder. "It has been said that the Dúnedain of old could last many days of fasting, and I have long thought, my lord, that you have much of Númenor about you." Her voice is light, of course, and teasing, through the drowsiness stealing over her. She smiles against his skin, tracing patterns on his chest idly with one hand. "Or we could trade watches, as your Rangers do, and you may eat while I sleep, and let all our other waking hours be spent in merrier pursuits."

[whattheydefend]

He chuckles, his lips brushing against her forehead. "I do not think they were expending such energy as we have been while thus fasting, my shieldmaiden. I will attempt it if you wish, but think how much more pleasure I will be able to give you with all my strength to hand..."

He reaches for her chin and tips her mouth up, kissing her with long, sinuous movements of his tongue, a seductive promise. They may be spent for now, but only for now, and already he anticipates the next time.

[shieldofrohan]

She laughs comfortably, and lets herself be drawn gladly into his kiss, answering it with tender passion. This is comfortable, this hazy post-coital intimacy; comfortable and new and yet, already, growing sweetly familiar. Smiling, she kisses him again, sweet and slow, and nuzzles against his side.

It's a few moments that she lies there, dozy and content, before opening one eye and giving him a crooked little smile. "You have some wisdom in it, my lord. Only one night, and my stomach is already growling. Shall we breakfast?"

[whattheydefend]

He does not want to move, but at the word breakfast his stomach gives an undeniable rumble. Faramir laughs, rueful but amused. "I can hardly refuse, after that." He kisses her once more first, then sighs and pulls back the covers, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It is early yet, I believe, but I do not doubt the kitchens will have been active for some time." Bakers wake before dawn. Though it is possible the kitchen staff will have been granted at least a half-day, to recover from the work of last night's feasting. He looks over his shoulder at Eowyn, smiling at the sight of her, with mussed hair and tangled bed linens. "Will we need to raid the kitchens, do you think? Or shall we use the privilege of our rank to ask that something be brought? I cannot say I like the idea of putting clothes back on, though removing yours again later has some appeal..."

[shieldofrohan]

She considers wrapping the sheets around herself, an instinctive response from one used to sharing space, but there is a certain luxury to not needing such modesty. Pushing her tangled hair back from her face, she shifts and crawls across the bed, wrapping her arms around him from behind. His skin is hot against hers, his hair brushing her face as she leans in to kiss the arc of his shoulder.

"I think on this occasion," she says, after a moment's ostentatious thought, "that we might call upon the privilege of rank. And for more water, too. I am parched."

[whattheydefend]

He closes his eyes and leans his head back, reveling in the felling of her naked body pressed against his from behind, her mouth on his shoulder. It is too soon for his body to react to such stimulus, and he regrets it despite their impatient stomachs. Doing nothing for the rest of their lives but staying in this bed together has more appeal than he would have dreamed possible...

And the sooner they manage to achieve breakfast and water, the sooner they will be able to return to such games, or at least to rest in preparation for more. All the same he turns his head enough to catch her mouth, teasing at her tongue for a minute before pulling away. "You are more likely to be quickly heeded than I, Lady of the Shield Arm," he murmurs fondly. "And more likely to know where one might be found to run such an errand for us. Must we dress for this, or shall we drape ourselves in sheets and bellow out the door like the hedonists we are on this morning?"

[shieldofrohan]

"Mmmm..." Éowyn laughs low against his mouth, catching another quick kiss from his lips before he can pull away entirely. She knows, as well as he does, that the time for such pleasures has passed, at least for now - but even so, it's hard to resist the temptation, and she doesn't make much effort to. Her fingers trail down his chest, brushing over his nipple and the scars that mark his skin. "If I dress myself for this matter, I do not doubt you will take some joy in stripping me of it anew."

With that, she reluctantly loosens her grip on him, and swings her long, bare legs off the edge of the bed, getting to her feet.

"I will go," she clarifies, in case there was any doubt. "And you may wait, and let anticipation sweeten me anew."

[whattheydefend]

"That I shall," he says, his voice a low rumble of agreement and promise as he watches her stand, openly admiring the curve of her hip, the muscles in her thighs. He leans back on the bed, entirely unselfconscious of his own naked state, his gaze smug and appreciative, and not a trifle possessive. "Though I do not think it possible for me to desire you more than I already do." There is a heat in his eyes to support that statement, as his gaze wanders over her. So familiar now, all that skin...impossible to imagine he might ever tire of it, of exploring and tasting and pleasuring her...

His cock twitches a little, and he chuckles. "So take care that you are not long in returning, melda. It would be most unkind to leave me bereft."