Summary: Denethor finds a reprieve from his responsibilities and the summer heat. This was written for the Middle-earth Express prompt #22: Water.

Disclaimers: I don't own any of the characters. I just play with them from time to time. I also do not make any money from this.

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Denethor wiped a hand across his sweaty forehead and grimaced. The heat this summer was nearly unbearable. The stone walls and floor of Minas Tirith absorbed the heat and radiated it back at them throughout the day and night, increasing the discomfort of its inhabitants. He, for one, would be quite happy when this heat finally broke. The council had recessed for the midday meal, and he was headed back to the private chambers he shared with his wife and their two small children.

As he neared the chambers, he heard the high, bright laughter of his children, mixed in with the rich laughter of his beautiful wife. A smile crossed his face as he listened, then a slight frown quickly chased it away. Along with the laughter, he heard the sound of…splashing water? Fearing what that might mean, he followed the sounds to an open courtyard, and stopped, staring at the scene in some shock. There, in the middle of the courtyard, playing in the water fountain, were his wife and children.

"Finduilas! What are you doing?" he asked, aghast.

His wife looked up from where she stood in the middle of the fountain, holding her skirts up above her knees. "My love, would you care to join us?" The mischievous smile on her face told him that she knew how shocked he was at seeing this. Boromir and one-year-old Faramir had been stripped down to their breeches, and were happily splashing each other and their mother with the water.

"You should not be behaving in this manner," Denethor said stiffly. "If anyone were to see the Steward's family like this, I shudder at what they would think."

Finduilas smiled softly at him. "Denethor, we are in our private chambers. There are none here to see or think anything about us. I know the mantle of Steward rests heavily on your shoulders, but you must not allow it to weigh you down so much that you cannot enjoy a summer's day with your sons. Come, find some ease from this horrible heat." She raised a finger to gesture at him as he opened his mouth to speak. "And do not tell me that you never played in this very fountain when you were their age. Your father told me many tales of your youth."

A smile tugged at Denethor's lips as he remembered many summer days as a child doing exactly what his sons were doing now. He nodded, granting her point. Shrugging to himself, he decided to do as she bid. His rooms were just around the corner if he needed to change into dry clothes. And she was right. None would see them here. Here, he could simply be Denethor, not the Steward. Removing his heavy outer robe and placing it at a safe distance from the fountain, he removed his boots and went to sit at the edge of the fountain, dipping his feet in the refreshing coolness and watching his children play.