Aragorn, King of Men, Elessar Telcontar, and of many other names besides, wandered the long tapestried corridor. His pace was neither fast nor slow, and easily measured, but it carried him the East side nonetheless. That was where the marble balconies were. The view looked towards the mountains, which still stood as they had when Illúvatar had carved them in his creation of Middle Earth. The sight never failed to bring a deep, unnameable feeling to Aragorn's heart as he gazed at the white snowcaps. They gleamed brightly in the sunshine.
An Elf sat on the edge of the balcony, legs unconcernedly dangling over the not inconsiderable drop. The rock below was sheer and uncompromising. The Elf sat so still that anyone at a glance would mistake him for a statue, were it not for his hair lifting in the breeze that blew upwards off the cliff face. He turned his head slightly as the Man approached, inclining it a little in acknowledgement. Aragorn stopped behind and slightly to the side, leaning his hip against the balcony rail upon which Legolas sat. He could feel the cold of the stone even through the fabric of his clothes.
"Do you wait for the mountains to move that you watch them so intensely, dear friend?" he asked.
"Do you not have a kingdom to rule, my Lord?" Legolas retorted, eyes never leaving the distant peaks.
Aragorn smiled. "Indeed," he said, "but one that will continue by itself for at least a little while, as will the mountains I am sure. But tell me what you see."
"A wren, sitting on a tree, halfway down that southern peak. She bears a berry in her beak, a red one. A raven, circling the rotted carcass of a sheep, disturbing the bottle flies who flock upwards. There are about sixty of them. A shrew, avoiding the glare of a kestrel, trembling in his fear."
"'Tis true then, that the sight of the Elves is keen," the Man said, "for I see none of what you do. Yet I see what is straight before you and you see not."
Legolas turned, surprised at Aragorn's somewhat forward statement. A puzzled look crossed his face for a moment. "Tell me, pray, what is it that a Man may see but an Elf may not?" he asked, watching his friend carefully.
"Why, you, of course," Aragorn replied, as if it was the simplest thing, "you who see so far fail to see yourself sometimes."
"An interesting comment," Legolas said, turning again to the mountains, "but one I see not the relevance of."
"Your mind spends too long on other matters, my friend," the Man explained, leaning forwards to see the Elf's face, "and not long enough on yourself. You travel far, never spending too long in one place. The only area you linger in for any time is Ithilien, but I hear you never seem at rest, even there. You have made it a place of beauty again, but you never appreciate it for yourself. No maiden ever catches your eye."
"Do you have spies on me, Aragorn?" Legolas asked, looking at the Man. "You seem to know a great deal about my movements."
"Only what is obvious to the eye. I know not what happens inside your head, behind your mask of a face. Why do you wander?"
There was a silence. Both Man and Elf remained still, one poised on the balcony's edge. A crow drifted past on black wings, unconcerned by the two beings. Legolas' eyes followed its progress until it disappeared among the walls of the White City. Finally, he spoke.
"I wander because I must." He sighed. "I still carry in my heart the sound of the sea and the cry of the gulls, and it is a wearisome burden. Someday I will follow its call and go over the sea as many of my kindred have, but that day is not today. Until then though, I shall be restless."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow. "And what of women, Legolas? Have they no place in your affections?"
"The time of the Elves is over, and the time of Men is at hand." Legolas' head dipped slightly, hiding his expression from Aragorn. When he lifted it again, his face was blank and emotionless, a perfect diplomatic expression. "Arda needs no more young Elves."
The Man's expression was sceptical. "Is that your only reason?" He touched Legolas' hand gently. It was cold. "Do you never want for comfort?"
"I have my good friend Gimli, and he is all the companionship I need." A wry smile turned the corners of the Elf's mouth. "At times more. But we must allow the Dwarves their faults. Despite their misplaced love of rocks, they are a fine folk."
"You side step my question," Aragorn pointed out. "You try to tell me that you have no desire for female companionship in another way? What about male?"
"As I have said, I am a warrior, not a lover." Legolas tossed his hair back impatiently. "And I grow tired of this interrogation."
He swung his long legs over the rail to stand barefoot on the marble floor. "Enjoy the mountains," he said, before walking away.
He didn't get far. Aragorn's hand caught him by the shoulder, halting his progress. He scowled at the Man, but allowed himself to be stopped, if unwillingly.
"What do you want, Aragorn?" he asked, with more than a little aggression. "Why do you waste my time, and your own?"
"My time is my own," the Man said, not letting go, "and what else would you be doing now? The mountains need no watcher; they can watch each other."
The Elf said nothing for a long moment. "Go back to your people, Elessar, they need you more than I." He pushed the hand from his shoulder. "Gondor cannot function without its King, but the Sun will still rise and set if one Elf is alone. You do not need to do anything for me."
"Yes, I do!" Aragorn grabbed Legolas by both shoulders and pulled him close. He held the golden-haired head against his shoulder, ignoring Legolas' muffled protests. "You are my friend, and it drives me to distraction to see you like this. I can't stop myself from..."
He caught Legolas' head between his hands, holding it up. The Elf's eyes held an unspoken question, one that was answered just as silently when Aragorn touched his lips to Legolas'. The contact was brief, but was repeated directly after with a greater insistency. Legolas moved his hands from where they had been, hanging by his sides, to rest against Aragorn's chest. The Man's arms wrapped the Elf's waist in an embrace, gentle and firm. It was all tender and caring, loving to even the most oblivious of observers. But only the mountains watched, and they did not care one way or another.
The moment lasted a while, but broke eventually as such moments must. And in the breaking, realisations were made.
"But Arwen..." Legolas murmured, pulling out of the embrace. He backed away, stopping only when he touched the cold stone balcony rail.
"I know," Aragorn replied, and he looked forlorn, "and that is why I cannot stand to see you so alone." He strode over and held Legolas in his arms again. Their lips met again; the Man's urgent and demanding, the Elf's passive. Their bodies pressed together, the one pinned against the stone. Aragorn sought to bring the Elf out of himself, but to no avail. Legolas, aloof and unresponding, remained cold. Again, he might have been a statue.
Aragorn admitted defeat. Releasing Legolas, he stepped back. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't find anything to say. Without looking at the Elf, he turned and left the balcony, his strides long. He was soon out of sight. Legolas, left alone, watched the point where he had disappeared. One of his hands came up slowly to touch his lips.
Epilogue
They never spoke of it again. Aragorn's marriage with Arwen remained happy and blessed with many children. Occasionally he would wish for a mane of golden hair and a hard male body, but the Evenstar's presence banished most of these thoughts. Her beauty eclipsed that of the habitually absent Legolas, whose light dimmed with distance and time. Gondor prospered under her King.
Legolas continued to travel across Middle Earth. Despite his age he had visited few of its sights before, and now he saw them all. He understood how Men were weak, and that Aragorn should be protected from his own desires. As he had said, Gimli was the only companion he required. To learn the ways and customs, the tales and songs of a culture he had previously shunned was fascinating. The Dwarf enjoyed himself just as much.
But Legolas still remained in Middle Earth until Aragorn's death. The passing of King Elessar into the Halls of Mandos, and the subsequent following of his wife were marked by a solitary grey ship leaving Ithilien, the last to go. None of the Fellowship remained alive in Middle Earth, though no pomp surrounded this departure of Elf and Dwarf. Their time had ended, and now was the time of Men, just as Legolas had said.
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Story notes: This piece was originally half the length and posted on Ffn a year ago, under the title 'Mountain Ice'. It was much more open-ended, not implying any slash at all. It was more me thinking 'look, you bastard Mary Sues, Legolas need no wenches!' Of course, we all know the real reason he needs no girl: there's plenty of Men on Middle Earth! But anyway, I expanded it, but even then it didn't turn out exactly as planned. Too much listening to the RotK soundtrack. And the ending, well, I had to. As they didn't in the film (last ship indeed!). The title comes from the wonderful "Gollum's Song" from the TT soundtrack, mainly because I ran out of inspiration for a title. And sometimes I'm a lazy cow. This is for my dear Kit Fox, who keeps me smiling.
