Archive of Our Own ^beta

Galadriel was excited to be at the Valar beach house again. it had been quite a few years since she'd been her last, as her family used to stay with the Valars some summers growing up. Her parents had been friends with Aulë and Yavanna since they were all teenagers and raised their kids together. She became best friends with both their older daughter Melian and their son Halbrand. Melian had even dated her older brother Finrod for a summer but it didn't work out yet they stayed friends. Now they were all here as Melian was getting married and chose to have a beach wedding at the family's beach house on the coast. It was a beautiful spot and perfect for the event.

More guests, including her brothers and their girlfriends/wives and kids, would arrive on the wedding day but Galadriel was the maid of honor and she and her parents were invited to stay in the three-floor beach house along with the Valars and Melian's pets who were also included in the wedding. Meanwhile, Melian's soon to be husband Thingol and his parents were staying at a nearby hotel to keep up with the tradition of the bride and groom being separate till the wedding, even though they were mostly still at the house during the day.

Both the dogs were getting pets from Galadriel before Melian came out of the house to greet her.

"You made it!" Melian said as they hugged.

"I can't believe you're getting married!"

"Me too!" Both girls laughed before Yavanna then hugged Galadriel and the rest of the families reunited and talked.

Then Galadriel turned and saw Halbrand, and did a double take. She still talked to him through social media and texts but this was the first time they'd seen each other in person since they started college three years ago. The boy she had a secret crush on was now a man who had grown extremely tall, more broad shouldered, and his hair had grown out the longest she'd ever seen on him in a very cute mop of dark curls. She knew she was blushing and couldn't help it especially with him smiling at her like that.

"Hi Hal." She said as they hugged. She only came up to his chest now thanks to the college growth spurt some boys had but it felt good being enveloped by him.

"Hi Galadriel." He said back as he gave her an extra squeeze.

They separated and she looked up at him. "You got so tall."

He laughed. "I'm 6'2" now, even taller than my dad."

"Wow," she laughed again, "it's been so long."

"I know. I missed our hangouts and you too."

"Me too." She agreed as growing up they were all so close, seeing each other almost everyday at school and then spending the summers here.

"How Cel?"

She knew that was coming and took a breath to figure out what to say. "We're not together anymore."

"Really?" He asked shocked.

"Mel didn't tell you?"

"No, but I get why. I'm sorry. You two were together since sophomore year of high school."

"I know." She was sad about it but it had come to a natural end and it was a mutual agreed on breakup. They were even still friends. "But it's ok."

"Good," Halbrand smiled at her again and her stomach filled with butterflies. Her crush on him was still there but now she realized she could act on it if she wanted to. She just needed to see if he felt the same.

~*~

Over the next couple of days all the wedding preparations were put in place. Galadriel assisted with her maid of honor duties along with Melian and their mothers. The men did some but for most of them they were either going to the beach or into town doing touristy things. But she did get time to do what she wanted and that meant out to the beach to finally get in the ocean. Halbrand was out there already with Melian's dogs and throwing Frisbees for them to catch and run back to him. Galadriel put her things down next to his on the beach chairs under an umbrella his family used before taking off her cover up, sunglasses, and sandals and making a run for the water.

Once she was far enough out she dove in. Even with it having been years the ease of swimming in the ocean came back to her as she broke the surface and started her strokes. The water was warm and felt great as she swam. After a while she stilled and looked back towards the beach. She saw the dogs had laid down but Halbrand was no where to be seen and she got confused.

But then suddenly she felt arms go around her. "Surprise!"

"Oh my God!" She both yelled and started splashing both of them, which caused him to laugh. "Hal, you scared me."

He let go a little so she could turn to face him. "Sorry, but I had to." That grin was back on his face.

She splashed him directly for that. "I could've drowned."

He then looked at her serious. "You know I'd never let that happen."

He was right. "Yeah, but I'm still mad." Though something changed again as the water forced them together with the waves. Suddenly she realized his hands were on her bare skin right above her bikini bottom and her arms were around his bare shoulders. Soon the water caused them to crash flush together with the next wave and they gripped each other tighter. Both stared wide at each other as they could feel everything.

Before she realized it she then leaned forward and kissed him. It was something she had wanted to do for years and was surprised by her own boldness to finally do it. He kissed her back and they lost track of time as they kept going.

They broke apart for air and he said her name in an almost moan. "Gal..."

"What?" She smiled waiting to hear what he was going to say.

"Do you really want this?" He asked in a rush and she stilled. "Because I've wanted you for years and I can't take this being some sort of rebound or fling to get over him."

She then took his head in her hands and her affection for him bloomed even more. "Hal, it's ok. This isn't just a rebound. I've wanted this for a long time too." His green eyes went wide at her confession. "I've love you most of my life, since we were little, but was so afraid you only wanted to be friends. But now we have our chance."

His smile started to match her own and she felt his hands rub her back while his eyes glossed over with tears. "You mean that?"

"Yes," she said and then brought his face to hers and kissed him again. This finally was their time and everything felt so right.

~*~

Leading up to the wedding the new couple were having fun sneaking around. As far as they knew their parents and everyone else had no idea what was happening. They would find ways to send each other looks (which Galadriel would hide her smile behind a coffee mug at breakfast) or to touch each other without others noticing (mostly Halbrand especially if he sat next to her at the table or brush her back with a fingertip as he walked behind her).

Then when Galadriel wasn't needed for wedding preparations, she and Halbrand went into town like normal doing the tourist things of shopping, eating, and seeing the dolphins on a cruise of the shoreline. But they were able to act like any normal couple as it was just the two of them and no one else knew them, and able to hold hands and kiss whenever they wanted, and taking pictures on the boardwalk too. They planned to reveal what was happening to the others but it was Melian and Thingol's time and they didn't want to steal anything from them, so they had this between them only and it was wonderful.

At night they would sneak into each other's rooms. It was easier for her to come to his room as it was on the second floor and the other room across the hall was empty as that was normally her brothers' room and where they used to play video games when they were younger. She and Melian always had their own rooms upstairs on the third floor with the adults.

So they didn't have to worry about being that quiet as everyone else was asleep upstairs or in Thingol's case at the hotel with his family. They were able to do whatever they wanted, either kissing or making love as slow or fast as they liked, and she preferred slow as they explored each other's bodies and what they liked. Each time felt new and she had only ever been with Celeborn and a guy her college roommate Disa recently set her up with before, so this was drastically different and like they were made for each other.

Afterwards as they were both settling down from their releases his head was lying on her chest as they held each other close and she played with his hair. This was such a perfect length for him and the curls were so soft between her fingers. "Hal?"

He looked up for a moment and even though it was dark the moonlight from the open window gave them enough light to see clearly. "Yeah?"

She tugged on his hair again. "Don't cut your hair shorter than this. It's perfect."

He chuckled at that and gave her a devilish grin. "As you wish, my queen."

The way he said it with a British accent made her giggle but she loved it as she loved a lot of those fantasy movies and shows. "And you're my king?"

"If you prefer or I'm fine with you being in charge."

She playfully nudged him and then kissed him. "We'll joint rule." Then they adjusted so they both could lay on their sides snuggled together. "Can we have this forever?" She asked him suddenly.

He looked at her and then kissed her forehead. "I'm all in if you are."

She then cupped his face with her hand. "Halbrand, I love you. I think I always have loved you but didn't know how to tell you and was scared, but I'm not now."

He smiled too. "I've waited so long to hear you say that. I've loved you Galadriel since I understood what being in love meant. We were little but I knew what I felt for you was different from everyone else. You finally caught up with me." They both then kissed again before falling asleep.

~*~

Melian and Thingol's wedding turned out perfectly. The weather was beautiful and all the guests made it there. The bride and groom were so happy and everyone was happy for them. The reception afterwards was held at a local event hall that had access to a bigger beach, tons of food, and lots of room for dancing. Galadriel and Halbrand danced together and decided this would be the moment their relationship wasn't a secret any longer.

The newlyweds and their families weren't really that surprised when they finally announced they were dating. "You knew?" Galadriel asked shocked.

"Not for certain but we had a feeling." Her mother Eärwen replied.

"Plus, my son looks at you Galadriel like his father still looks at me." Yavanna said turning to Aulë, who briefly blushed before giving his wife's hand a squeeze while she kissed his cheek.

"Took you two long enough." Melian said with a laugh, while Finrod said "I concur" and their spouses even seemed to be in agreement.

Halbrand asked confused, "What does that mean?"

Finarfin explained. "We made a bet about ten years ago if this would happen during or after you two were in high school. Your mother and I won Galadriel as we knew it'd take you longer to realize it."

Galadriel was shocked and Halbrand was laughing along with everyone else. Then he put an arm around her waist. "Come on Gal, let's go dance again and leave the old folks behind."

She then leaned towards him not as mad anymore. "Ok." She then went back with him to dance to a slow song as the newlyweds and other couples went back to dancing too.

Unknown to them though their parents at that moment made another bet this time about how long it'd take till it was their own wedding. Halbrand's parents won that time.

Playlist:

"Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS
"Desperetly Wanting" by Better Than Ezra
"Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia
"The One that Got Away" by Jake Owen (couple in music video look like how I wrote teen Gal & Hal here)
"Sparks Fly" and "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" by Taylor Swift
"Amber" by 311