Title: Three hearts
Author: Laurelin   (laurelin_enedlithien@hotmail.com)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Legolas/Haldir, Legolas/Aragorn
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. They are Tolkien's. 
*g* But the plot is mine. And this is my first story. I'm not a 
native speaker, so sometimes, here and there, I've used short 
phrases I've read elsewhere in order to vary my own limited 
vocabulary and enrich my story. So Eruntalice, Tricia and Menel: if 
you recognize some phrases from your stories, forgive me. I'm not 
trying to steal from you; I just love your stories and writing style 
and am inspired by them. Many thanks to Menel for the Elven 
erogenous zones. Many thanks to the Grey Company 
(http://www.grey-
company.org/Circle/language/phrase.htm) for the Elvish 
phrases.
Author's notes: Yes, I've seen the movies, I've read the book: I 
know that Aragorn is supposed to fall in love with Arwen. But not 
in this story, nah-uh. *grin* I've allowed myself some freedom; 
that's more fun. I also made up Haldir's past. Don't care if it could 
have happened; I just like it this way and it fitted nicely in the 
story. The tale grew in the telling, so to speak. Feel free to send 
feedback.
Summary: Young Aragorn loses his heart to a certain Elf. But 
alas, it seems that Legolas's heart already belongs to someone 
else… 

Three hearts

Chapter 1: An unexpected meeting

Aragorn's first encounter with the Prince of Mirkwood had been an 
unfortunate one.

Most unfortunate indeed. Aragorn had first met Legolas one day in 
late summer, as Aragorn was travelling eastwards through 
Mirkwood. Mirkwood wasn't exactly one of his favorite places to 
be, but the road through Mirkwood was the shortest, most efficient 
route for one who was travelling to Rivendell from the plains west 
of the River Running.

He had ridden for many days and was looking forward to the day 
he would leave Mirkwood behind him. The forest was dense, dark 
and threatening, and the close air was suffocating. He longed for 
sunshine on his face, and a cool breeze would be very welcome, 
too.

Aragorn was a young Man: he was only twenty years old. A year 
ago, he had left his home in Rivendell to become a Ranger and he 
had been travelling ever since. Now, he was returning home for a 
very special occasion: Lady Arwen was returning to Rivendell after 
having spent many years in Lothlórien.

Aragorn had been brought up by Elves for most of his life. His 
father had died when he was only two years old, and his mother 
had brought him to Rivendell, to Elrond, the wise and kind Elven 
lord, who had taken pity over him. Ever since that day, Aragorn 
had lived with the Elves of Rivendell. Lord Elrond he considered his 
father, and Elrond's twin sons Elladan and Elrohir were brothers to 
him.

Lady Arwen, however, Elrond's daughter, he had never met 
before. When he'd found out about her return, he'd immediately 
decided to travel to Rivendell and join in the celebration. He was 
looking forward to meeting the Elven princess, who was said to be 
more beautiful than Luthien.

That day, however, something happened that made him forget 
Arwen for a moment.

Aragorn had made a little camp and a fire, just big enough to keep 
him warm during the night. He sat beside the fire, a blanket 
wrapped around him and his sword in his lap, when he heard a 
soft sound. He cast an uneasy eye around him, but the trees 
revealed nothing. After less than a minute, the sound was 
repeated. Aragorn hesitated, but then got up. He made sure that 
the fire was out before he carefully stepped into the forest, his 
sword ready in his hands.

Trying not to make a sound, he slowly proceeded until finally he 
reached an open spot. He carefully peered out from behind a tree. 
Rays of moonlight fell freely onto the glistening surface of a pool. 
Aragorn was surprised; he hadn't known that there was a pool 
here.

As his eyes scanned the pool's surface, he suddenly perceived the 
source of the sound he'd heard, and he stiffened.

He wasn't alone. In the middle of the pool stood a slender figure. 
Automatically, Aragorn averted his eyes, for the person standing 
there was clearly taking a bath, and therefore completely naked. 
However, he found his gaze being pulled back to the spectacle.

It was an Elf, a male. He was tall and slender, but thanks to the 
bright moonlight, Aragorn could clearly see the delicately muscled 
chest and stomach. He had long hair, like all Elves, and it was 
blond and shiny. The Elf was casually washing himself. The water 
reached to his thighs.

Aragorn found himself unable to avert his eyes again; the entire 
picture laid out before him was just too enticing. It surprised him. 
He'd never been sexually interested in another male before, and 
as far as he knew, it wasn't common with the race of Men. But 
then again, he had been raised by Elves, who were definitely more 
open-minded when it came to sexuality. Maybe that open-
mindedness had passed onto him. He had no idea; all he knew 
was that his hands longed to touch that smooth skin.

He watched, and found himself enjoying the things he saw. After a 
few minutes, the Elf turned and waded to the shore, which gave 
Aragorn's eyes the opportunity to devour the firm buttocks and 
slender yet delicately muscled back. The Elf stepped onto the 
sand, and quickly began drying himself. Once, he turned so that 
Aragorn had a complete view of the front of the Elf's body. 
Aragorn's eyes widened and an involuntary sigh escaped from his 
lips when the Elf unconsciously offered his body to Aragorn's 
greedy gaze. The Elf was breathtakingly beautiful.

As the Elf dressed himself in tight leggings, boots and a tunic, 
Aragorn suddenly realized that he'd better be leaving. He had no 
idea of what the Elf might do next and he thought it best to avoid 
a meeting.

Unfortunately, he quickly learned what happened to Men who 
spied on this Elf taking a bath.

As he slowly stepped backwards, his feet bumped against 
something and he tripped. With a thud, he landed backwards on 
the forest ground. Silently cursing himself, he realized that he had 
tripped over a tree root. Some Ranger you are, Aragorn, he 
thought to himself. He quickly got up, ready to flee.

The Elf was quicker. As Aragorn quickly stumbled backwards, he 
appeared from behind the trees.

"Who's there?" the Elf said, and Aragorn heard suspicion in his 
voice.

Aragorn opened his mouth and shut it again. The Elf, some meters 
ahead of him, did a step in his direction and Aragorn now saw that 
he had a bow ready in his hands, an arrow notched in the 
bowstring.

"Forgive – forgive me," Aragorn stuttered. "I didn't mean…I just…"

He almost tripped again and as he fought for balance, he bumped 
against a tree. The Elf raised his bow. Aragorn's eyes widened and 
he started to move away, but the Elf had already released the 
arrow. For one second there, Aragorn knew for sure he was going 
to die. But the arrow landed with a twang in the tree, just below 
his left ear. Not even a second later, a second arrow hit the tree, 
just below his right ear.

Aragorn automatically tried to jump away, but found himself 
unable to. He quickly found out why. The two arrows had nailed 
his shirt to the tree, just above his shoulders. His right hand, in 
which he had his sword, hung limply by his side. He started to lift 
it, but once again the Elf was faster. A third arrow pinned his right 
sleeve to the tree, and the fourth his left sleeve.

Aragorn struggled, but it was useless. He was immobile.

The Elf lowered his bow and stepped towards Aragorn. As he 
moved closer, Aragorn could study the Elf's face more closely. Its 
features were delicate and smooth, yet it definitely radiated 
masculinity. He had high, chiseled cheekbones and wide, light 
eyes, which were framed by long, thick lashes.

The Elf stepped in front of him and studied him, his brow creased 
in a frown. "Who are you?" he asked, and Aragorn noticed that his 
voice was melodious, yet deeper than he had expected. "What are 
you doing here?"

"Heru en amin, " Aragorn quickly said, "forgive me. I am a Ranger 
travelling through Mirkwood. I set up camp not far from here and 
was preparing for the night, when I heard a sound. I came here 
just to check it out…"

"And you thought: well, since I came here, I might as well spy on 
an Elf taking a bath?" the Elf said sarcastically.

"No, no…" Aragorn protested weakly. "Well…that's not exactly 
what I thought, but, yes, I did stay longer than I should have," he 
said, realizing that lying was useless. "I am genuinely sorry, I 
really am. It just sort of… happened."

"It just happened," the Elf repeated, his gaze piercing Aragorn's 
eyes as if he was looking straight into his soul. Aragorn felt his 
cheeks color as he unconsciously thought back of what he'd seen. 
He wondered if the Elf could see it in his eyes. He certainly hoped 
not.

To his surprise, the Elf calmly asked: "Mani naa essa en lle? "

"My name is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, but Elves mostly call me 
Estel," Aragorn told him.

"Why is that?" the Elf asked him. "Estel is an Elven name."

"When I lost my father at a young age, I was taken in by Elves," 
Aragorn told him. "Lord Elrond of Rivendell raised me and gave me 
my Elven name."

"Really? So you are Lord Elrond's adoptive son? I have heard of 
you," the Elf said, not unfriendly. "What a shame that we must 
meet in this… unusual manner."

Aragorn ventured a grin. "Indeed it is. I apologize again, my lord." 
Aragorn hoped with all his heart that the Elf would not ask him 
any more questions about his little spying game. Luckily, the Elf 
asked him no more questions. Instead, he told Aragorn his name.

"My name," the Elf said, "is Legolas, son of Thranduil."

After a few seconds, Aragorn said: "Thranduil, the King of the 
Elves of Northern Mirkwood?"

"That is he."

Just fantastic, Aragorn thought sarcastically. Of all the creatures 
he could come across, he chose a royal to spy on. He gave the 
prince a weak smile. "It won't happen again," he said.

To his surprise, Legolas smiled, for the first time. It made his face 
even more beautiful, Aragorn noticed. "I certainly hope not," the 
prince said. "Most Elves – although there are exceptions – don't 
like being watched during their bath, unless, of course, an 
invitation preceded it."

Aragorn felt himself blush at these words. The prince, of course, 
noticed this, and smirked. He strapped his bow on his back and 
began pulling the arrows free from the tree. When Aragorn was 
released, the Man shifted and resheathed his sword, happy to be 
free again.

"Lle naa curucuar, " he said to Legolas, at which the Elf merely 
smiled.

He watched as Legolas let his arrows slide into the quiver again. 
Then, the two studied each other for a moment. Legolas spoke 
first. "Where are you heading, Aragorn, son of Arathorn?"

"My destination is my father's home in Rivendell," Aragorn told 
him. "There will be a feast celebrating the return of Lady Arwen 
and I will be present."

Legolas nodded. "I have heard of it. My eldest brother left for 
Rivendell a few days ago," he said. "He asked me to come, too, 
but my father sent me out to investigate the encroachment of 
Orcs into our forest and so I couldn't accompany him. I just 
finished my investigation and was about to return home to report 
to my father."

Aragorn found himself unable to avert his eyes from the prince for 
even the slightest of seconds. He had seen many Elves in his life, 
and they had all been attractive, but prince Legolas, he realized, 
was no doubt the fairest Elf he'd ever seen. Everything about him 
was enticing: his face, with the fine yet masculine features, the 
lush mouth and expressive eyes; the long, silky hair; the pale, 
smooth skin of the collarbones; the rest of his lithe body, which 
was now covered by cloth. Aragorn hoped from the bottom of his 
heart that his face betrayed nothing of his impure thoughts.

"And will you then travel to Rivendell as yet, my lord?" he asked.

"I don't know," the Elf said. "What do *you* think?" The Elf's eyes 
locked with Aragorn's and one corner of his mouth curled upwards. 
The expression on his face made Aragorn's heart skip a beat, 
despite himself.

"Why should you not?" Aragorn said calmly. "I am certain that 
Lord Elrond will gladly welcome you, and who would let an 
opportunity to see Lady Arwen pass him by?" Aragorn hoped his 
words sounded as casual as he wanted them to.

"I am sure *you* wouldn't," Legolas said.

"And you will be able to keep your brother company," Aragorn 
added. And hopefully me, too, he thought.

Legolas nodded thoughtfully. Aragorn took a deep breath. "If it 
pleases you, my lord, I will wait for you at the border of the forest, 
until you have reported to your father and join me there, so that 
we can travel to Rivendell together." His fist clenched around the 
hilt of his sword in anticipation and fear of being refused.

Legolas looked at him again, scrutinizing. Aragorn could tell he 
was considering the possibility, and for reasons Aragorn didn't 
want to know, he hoped that Legolas would accept the offer.

"All right then, Aragorn," Legolas finally said, "we shall travel 
together."

Aragorn's heart leapt and his fingers on the hilt relaxed.

"Give me a day or four," Legolas said. "Wait for me just outside 
the forest until I return. But beware of Orcs, at all times."

Aragorn nodded. "I will."

"I will leave immediately," Legolas said.

They said their goodbyes and Legolas parted from the Man. 
Aragorn looked after him for a few seconds, then turned and 
slowly walked back to his camp. His heart was pounding wildly 
with anticipation; the thought of travelling with the beautiful Elven 
prince was unexpectedly pleasing. He started wondering why, but 
then shrugged. As a Ranger, he was mostly on his own; of course 
the prospect of having company for a change would be a pleasant 
one. At this point, he had not the courage to search his heart for 
other reasons.

Chapter 2: Travelling companions

The day after the next, Aragorn finally left the last trees behind 
him. As he stepped into the open, sunshine warmed his face for 
the first time in many days, and he smiled. He let his horse graze 
and sat down in the grass, prepared to wait for the arrival of the 
prince.

Of course, Legolas did not come that day, nor the next. During the 
day following that, anticipation began to build within Aragorn. It 
had been four days now. Legolas would arrive shortly.

But Legolas did not come. Darkness fell and still no sign of the 
Elven prince. Worry and disappointment battled each other in 
Aragorn's heart. Wouldn't Legolas come after all? Had something 
happened? Or was Legolas playing a trick on him, as punishment 
for his spying?

Aragorn's eyes began to sting from the hard staring at the trees. 
Sleep was a long time coming that night. 
He was woken by a touch on his shoulder. Startled, he opened his 
eyes and sat up. It was already day and the sun was shining 
brightly. Legolas was kneeling next to him, a slight smirk on his 
face. He was even more beautiful in broad daylight. He wore tight-
fitting, grey leggings, knee-high boots, a reddish-brown tunic over 
a white, long-sleeved shirt with silver stitching, and a long, 
hooded cloak. His long bow was strapped on his back, together 
with a quiver, which was filled to overflowing with red-feathered 
arrows. He also had two long knives on his back. Behind him stood 
a magnificent white horse.

"Prince Legolas," Aragorn said and he rubbed his eyes.

Legolas grinned. "Sorry that I'm a bit late. Preparations took 
longer than expected. Lle merna aut? "

"Yes. Yes, I am ready," Aragorn said, blinking against the bright 
sunshine.

"Good." Legolas rose to his feet and looked down at Aragorn for a 
second. "You look so innocent when you're asleep," he said, then 
turned with a smile.

Aragorn had to let that sink in for a moment. He, also, stood up 
and walked slowly to his horse, untied it and made sure that he 
had all his possessions with him. He watched as Legolas mounted 
his horse, then mounted his own as well. He guided his mount to 
ride up with Legolas's and together, they headed east.

Soon, they were casually chatting as they rode upon their mounts. 
Forgotten was their uncomfortable meeting. Aragorn soon learned 
that Legolas was very pleasant a companion; he was good-
humoured and intelligent, and he had a good sense of humor. 
This, Aragorn thought with contentment, could become a pleasant 
journey.

And it did. They travelled together for many days. Their journey 
progressed calmly, but there was one incident. While passing over 
the Misty Mountains, they were attacked by a group of Orcs. As 
Aragorn and Legolas followed a narrow path, Legolas suddenly 
stopped his horse and grasped Aragorn's shoulder. Aragorn 
studied Legolas's face as the Elf's eyes scanned the surroundings. 
Blessed with keen Elven senses, his friend apparently felt 
something was amiss here.

"What is it?" Aragorn asked him softly. "Do you hear anything?" 
Legolas's slender hand still lay warm on his shoulder. Before 
Legolas could answer, suddenly fifteen, maybe twenty Orcs came 
running down to them, screaming and waving their primitive 
weapons. Legolas had already killed three of them before the 
creatures even knew what was happening. His hands on his bow 
moved quicker than light as he fitted an arrow in the string, 
released it and then reached back for a new one.

Aragorn quickly dismounted and fought the Orcs with his sword. 
After he and Legolas had killed most of them, the remaining ones 
fled. Aragorn watched them go, breathing heavily. He then turned 
and looked at Legolas, who still sat on his horse and slowly 
lowered his bow. He watched the creatures flee and then looked 
back at Aragorn; the two of them started grinning at the same 
time.

"Well," Legolas said casually, "I already was beginning to fear that 
we would reach Rivendell without *any* form of excitement."

The rest of their journey went by calmly. Aragorn almost regretted 
it when the day of their arrival drew nearer. It meant that he 
wouldn't be alone with Legolas anymore. He had grown to like the 
prince more every day, and by the time they set up camp for the 
last time, he had to admit to himself that he was madly in love 
with Legolas.

As they sat by the small fire, facing each other, Aragorn secretly 
watched his friend. He studied the beautiful features and realized 
how badly he wanted to touch the Elf. He imagined himself softly 
running his fingers over the smooth skin, and he imagined the Elf 
allowing it. It made his heart trip.

Aragorn was surprised by his own feelings. He'd never felt this for 
another man before, but it didn't bother him anymore. His love 
was real and couldn't be denied. He never even thought of Lady 
Arwen anymore. Being with Legolas was all that mattered.

Just as he was picturing himself lightly brushing his fingers over 
the Elf's sensuous lips, Legolas caught him staring. "What is it, 
Aragorn? You look so dreamy."

Aragorn started. "Nothing. I was just thinking about tomorrow."

Legolas's eyes locked with his over the flames. "You must be 
looking forward to seeing your family again."

Aragorn smiled. "Yes, I do. I can't wait." Which, he realized, was 
true. Yet he also longed to stay here, with Legolas, and have him 
for himself.

Legolas averted his gaze from him, and Aragorn again had the 
opportunity to watch him. How he wanted to pull the Elf in his 
arms and bury his face in the long hair. He sighed. It would never 
happen. Legolas would never feel the same for him; he was just a 
mortal Man, and besides that, he wasn't even attractive. Legolas, 
being the fair prince he was, could have anyone. Aragorn would 
never have the courage to tell Legolas what he felt; the Elf would 
either shy away from him or burst out laughing. Aragorn was not 
going to let that happen.

The next day, after a few more hours of travel, they could see 
Rivendell ahead of them. They stopped their horses and watched 
for a while.

"Rivendell," Legolas said. "how delightful to see it again, after so 
many years." He suddenly leaned close to Aragorn and grabbed 
his hand. Aragorn, surprised, turned to face his friend. The smile 
on Legolas's face was breathtaking. "Thank you for travelling with 
me, Aragorn," he said.

"It was my pleasure," Aragorn said, trying to ignore the wild 
beating of his heart. He suppressed the urge to cry out his 
disappointment when Legolas released his hand.

Chapter 3: A meeting in the gardens

Upon arriving at Elrond's Last Homely House, they were welcomed 
by Elladan and Elrohir. Aragorn dismounted and was caught in a 
firm hug by both his brothers.

"Estel!" Elrohir shouted playfully, "how much you've grown!"

They all laughed. Then, Elladan said: "Why, Estel, you are in good 
company. Welcome, Prince Legolas."

Legolas stepped up to them and greeted. Elladan and Elrohir then 
led the two of them inside, chatting cheerfully. "What happened, 
Estel?" Elrohir asked. "How did the two of you meet?"

Aragorn's eyes quickly darted to Legolas, who gave him an impish 
grin in return. Aragorn blushed and opened his mouth to tell a lie, 
but Legolas, unfortunately, was quicker once again.

"We met when I was taking a bath," Legolas announced. His words 
were followed by a silence. Aragorn felt his blush grow redder.

"What do you mean," Elrohir said slowly, "'we met when I was 
taking a bath'?"

"'Twas in Mirkwood," Legolas said. "I was taking a nocturnal bath 
before returning home, when Aragorn sort of…stumbled in on me. 
Accidentally," he added, winking.

"You didn't!" Elrohir exclaimed, looking at Aragorn with wide eyes.

Aragorn nodded, an unhappy expression on his face. The two 
brothers looked at him, then at the grinning Legolas again, and 
burst out laughing.

"Estel, Estel," Elladan grinned, placing one hand on Aragorn's 
shoulder in a fatherly gesture. "You surprise me." He shook his 
head playfully. "Oh – I wonder what father will say!" he said 
dramatically.

Aragorn's eyes widened ever so slightly. "No! He doesn't have to 
know." He looked at Legolas, seeking support, but Legolas just 
smiled; apparently he was not going to help him. Aragorn had no 
choice but to surrender to his brother's jests as they walked on.

After they had met Elrond, who was delighted to see his son 
again, and warmly welcomed Legolas, Aragorn showed Legolas the 
way to the room that had been prepared for him. They said 
goodbye at the door and Legolas went in, probably to change his 
clothing. Not much later, he joined Aragorn again and they 
wandered outside.

Admiring the splendour of the gardens, they walked side by side 
for a while. It was then that they came across Haldir.

Aragorn had met Haldir a couple of times before. Haldir was a tall, 
handsome Elf from Lothlórien, a Guardian of the Golden Wood: 
blond and well-built. Apparently, he was having a walk as well, yet 
he was heading back to the house. Upon perceiving them, he 
slowed his steps and stopped.

"Estel," he greeted, "so you have arrived."

"Greetings, Haldir of Lórien," Aragorn said. "Yes, I arrived today. 
This is Prince Legolas, of Mirkwood."

Haldir's gaze settled on Legolas. "We have met before," he said 
coolly.

"Hello, Haldir," Legolas said softly.

Aragorn felt indignation and anger swell in his body when he saw 
Haldir's eyes run boldly over Legolas's face and down his body. He 
frowned unconsciously. He'd never liked Haldir much – he was 
arrogant like no other Elf Aragorn knew – and he wanted badly to 
jump at the Lórien Elf and stop him from looking at Legolas like 
that.

"Well," Haldir said, his eyes still on Legolas, "since you obviously 
are having a nice walk together, I won't keep you any longer. I'll 
see you both tonight, during dinner." He bowed his blond head 
slightly and continued his path.

Aragorn and Legolas walked on, too. After a silence, Aragorn said: 
"So you know Haldir?" He could kick himself; why ask that? It was 
obvious, and besides, did he really want to know this?

"Aye," Legolas said curtly. "We met years ago."

Apparently, Legolas didn't feel like telling him more, and Aragorn 
didn't dare to ask. Legolas's apparent reluctance to discuss the 
subject was suspicious. Were they on bad terms? Or was it the 
reverse: were they lovers? That simply couldn't be… Then why 
was Legolas suddenly so absent-minded? His eyes were on the 
beautiful flowers and trees, but Aragorn was sure that his mind 
was elsewhere.

More disaster was yet to come. That night they were all having 
dinner: Elrond and his family, other Rivendell Elves, Aragorn, 
Legolas, Haldir and some other Elves from different parts of 
Middle-earth. Aragorn sat between Elrond and Elrohir. Legolas sat 
across the table, facing him.

All was very pleasant, until Elrohir, loosened up by the wine, 
started telling Haldir the tale of Aragorn's unfortunate meeting 
with Legolas. Haldir listened without interrupting, but his grey 
eyes rested on Aragorn in cold regard. Aragorn bit his lip and his 
eyes quickly darted to Elrond, but his father was engaged in lively 
conversation with some other Elves. Legolas apparently wasn't 
very happy with the situation, either, for he intently watched his 
plate, not once looking up. Aragorn wondered why; Legolas had 
been keen enough to tell Elladan and Elrohir the tale. Why would it 
bother him when Haldir learned about it, too? Aragorn suddenly 
felt sick.

After Elrohir had finished his tale, Haldir watched Aragorn from 
across the table and said: "Well, well, what do you know." He 
smiled, but it was a false smile and his eyes remained cold. 
Aragorn blushed and looked away.

After that, the atmosphere had changed. Elrohir tried very hard to 
keep the conversation going, but Haldir, nor Aragorn, nor Legolas 
bothered to feign cheerfulness.

By the time dinner was over, Aragorn thought he couldn't take it 
anymore. To make things worse, Haldir suddenly turned to him 
and said: "So, Aragorn, I gather you're looking forward to meeting 
Lady Arwen at last?" Haldir feigned interest, but Aragorn saw the 
malicious sparkle in his eyes.

Not as much as I am looking forward to slapping that smirk off 
your face, he thought, but he forced himself to smile and said: 
"Oh yes, I am."

Haldir wanted to say more, but at that moment, Elrond rose and 
invited his guests to accompany him to the loggia for song and 
storytelling. Aragorn didn't feel like it at all, but as Lord Elrond's 
son and ward, he simply couldn't refuse.

After about an hour, Legolas, who, Aragorn noticed, didn't look 
like his usual self, got up from his seat and announced he would 
retire, for the long journey had exhausted him. He said goodbye 
and left. Aragorn stayed behind, frustrated. He wanted badly to 
jump up and go after the Elf; take him in his arms and tell him 
that whatever was going on between him and Haldir, it didn't 
matter… that he loved him and wanted to be with him, until the 
end of days…

Just as Aragorn thought he was about to do it, Haldir got up. 
Aragorn froze in his seat. Haldir announced that he would retire, 
too, and after a last glance at Aragorn, he left.

Aragorn clenched his fists. His heart told him to run after Haldir 
and stop him from going to Legolas's room; for that, Aragorn 
somehow knew for certain, was what Haldir was going to do. 
However, fear of giving himself away, making a fool of himself in 
front of both Elves, cemented him to his seat. He hated himself for 
his cowardice.

Unhappy, he attended the feast for another while. He tried not to 
think of what was possibly happening between Haldir and Legolas 
at the moment. Was Haldir in Legolas's room? Was Haldir's mouth 
upon Legolas's, his hands on Legolas's bare skin? Did Legolas give 
his body to the Lórien Elf, like he doubtlessly had done many 
times before?

Stop it, Aragorn thought, sickened. Stop tormenting yourself.

Suddenly, Aragorn wondered if Legolas had known that Haldir 
would be in Rivendell, too. Maybe that was why he had wanted to 
travel to Rivendell, not because he enjoyed Aragorn's company…

Aragorn frowned. Stop it. He'd never had any reason to believe 
that Legolas would be his one day. Of course Legolas would prefer 
Haldir; who would turn down the handsome Elf? Aragorn knew of 
many young Elves that would give anything for one opportunity to 
lay with Haldir.

Finally, Aragorn feigned exhaustion and left the party. He went 
straight to his room, despite his desire to burst into Legolas's 
room and make an end to whatever was happening there. He 
closed the door of his room behind him and leaned back against 
the wood for a moment. Grief twisted in his stomach. Something 
was going on between the two Elves, he knew that for certain. He 
didn't know what it was, but he wanted it to end.

Aragorn hadn't been in love for a long time, not since he had left 
Rivendell. In his room now, trying not to think of Legolas and 
Haldir, he knew what it felt like again. For a while, he'd thought he 
just lusted after the beautiful Elven prince, that it was just a fling; 
now he knew better. He loved Legolas. He loved him like he hadn't 
loved anyone before.

He stepped onto his balcony and inhaled the night air. He stood 
there for a few minutes, admiring the stars, and just when he was 
about to enter his room again, he suddenly heard voices on the 
balcony below his own. He clenched his fists when he recognized 
them as Haldir's and Legolas's.

"No, Haldir –" Aragorn heard Legolas say softly and he froze. "Not 
here. People will hear us." Aragorn heard an undercurrent of 
despair in his voice.

"I don't care," Haldir said brusquely. Then, his voice turned sly. 
"Maybe I '*want* people to hear."

"Nay…" Legolas protested, but the rest of his words were muffled 
and Aragorn realized that Haldir was kissing him. Aragorn slowly 
sank to his knees and clenched his hands around the bars of the 
railing. Leave, he said to himself. Don't stay here. Don't give 
Haldir what he wants. But he couldn't set himself to do it. 
Aragorn's world seemed to crumble as Legolas's sweet mouth was 
taken in a brutal kiss.

When Legolas's mouth was finally released, Aragorn heard him 
say: "No, Haldir. Don't – I don't want – ah, no…" Legolas's protest 
crumbled and changed into a moan. Aragorn's knuckles turned 
white; he'd been wanting to hear such sounds from Legolas's lips 
for so long, but not like this. Not if the lips on Legolas's mouth 
weren't his; not if the hands on Legolas's body belonged to 
someone else; not if the sounds were extracted from Legolas's lips 
in such an aggressive manner.

"So you don't want this?" Haldir asked.

"Not here…Let's go inside. Not here -" Another ragged groan from 
Legolas. "Oh, gods. Haldir – "

Aragorn interpreted the sounds that followed as clothes being 
removed. No, he mouthed and he closed his eyes.

"On your knees, princeling," he heard Haldir say, followed by a 
snapping sound.

"Please, Haldir – not here," Legolas whispered as he was being 
brought down. "No – what are you doing?"

"Just making sure you won't run from me," Haldir said.

"Don't. You're hurting me."

Aragorn didn't have to see it to know what was going on. Haldir 
was tying Legolas's hands to the railing.

"Don't, Haldir!" Legolas said and Aragorn heard sounds of 
struggle.

"Princeling," Haldir said smoothly, "you should know by now that 
this is pointless. I will get want I want from you, and I will make 
you want it, too. I will make you beg for me." Something Haldir 
did caused another groan to escape from Legolas's lips.

"No. Release me," Legolas demanded, despite his obvious 
pleasure.

"Hmmm, you'd better not fight me, princeling," Haldir purred. "For 
your own sake. It turns me on when you fight me like this. You 
should know that by now."

Apparently, that remark convinced Legolas to surrender. For a 
while, no words were spoken, but Aragorn could tell what was 
going on. Haldir was devouring Legolas, with his eyes, with his 
hands and with his mouth.

"Why are you so silent, princeling?" Haldir said after a while. 
"Don't you enjoy what I am doing to you? I want to hear you."

"I'm not going to give you that satisfaction." Legolas said, his 
voice trembling.

"We'll see about that," Haldir said roughly.

Aragorn couldn't tell what Haldir did then, but whatever it was, it 
caused Legolas to gasp.

"You like that, don't you, princeling?" Haldir said breathlessly. 
"Can you feel this? Oh, you won't stay silent for long, little one. 
You enjoy this too much, although you try to hide it."

Aragorn heard Legolas sob with both pleasure and despair and his 
heart turned in his chest. The first tear slid down his cheek. He 
didn't try to stop it.

More invisible actions by Haldir caused Legolas to moan again, and 
when that moan changed into a loud cry, mingled with a low-
timbered groan from Haldir, Aragorn knew that the inevitable had 
happened.

Legolas, despite the strength of his will, couldn't hide his pleasure 
anymore. It hurt Aragorn to hear him cry out his pleasure as 
Haldir took him; he wanted to shout at Legolas: you can't enjoy 
this! This isn't love. This isn't love as it's supposed to be! I don't 
want you to let this happen. Make him stop!

But Aragorn also realized that Legolas was a victim of his own 
passion, a prisoner to Haldir's experienced hands. Haldir simply 
didn't allow for a 'no'. He even seemed to enjoy Legolas's 
resistance, the power it gave him.

As if in trance, Aragorn listened. He heard Haldir's guttural groans; 
he heard Legolas's keening cries. It was as if a fist was clenched 
around his heart, and with every cry from Legolas's lips, it 
squeezed a little harder.

Suddenly, he realized that Legolas was speaking. "Haldir – 
why…why do you stop?" Legolas said breathlessly.

Haldir's voice was hoarse. "Do you *want* me to stop, princeling?"

"Haldir –"

"Tell me! Do you want this? Do you enjoy this? Do you want me to 
go on?"

Tell him no, Aragorn thought. Tell him no. But in his heart, he 
knew Legolas was not going to say that.

"Yes," Legolas whispered. "Don't stop!"

Aragorn could almost see the smirk that must have appeared on 
Haldir's face as he continued his movements. Haldir had been 
right; he had gotten from Legolas what he wanted, and Legolas 
was begging him for it. Luckily for Aragorn, Haldir didn't prolong 
his sickening game of power. Legolas's cries increased as Haldir 
did as he was asked.

"Haldir – oh, gods…oh, yes…"

Then, with a long-drawn cry, which sent shivers down Aragorn's 
spine, Legolas found his pleasure, followed immediately by Haldir.

As the lovers' harsh breathing slowly subdued, Aragorn realized 
that both his cheeks were wet with tears. Suddenly, the thought of 
listening to the two lovers exchange sweet words after their 
lovemaking was unbearable; he silently got up and left the 
balcony. He silently closed the door behind him, then sank to his 
knees and cried.

Chapter 4: A long-expected day

The next day was pure torture. After a sleepless night, Aragorn 
thought he would die upon seeing Legolas and Haldir again. He 
was emotionally exhausted. All night, his emotions had been 
whizzing up and down like fireworks. Anger made him hate both 
Haldir and Legolas; Haldir for having Legolas's affection, and 
Legolas for giving it to him. The next moment, Aragorn would 
weep with love for Legolas. He even found himself whispering 
words of love to the non-present prince, and he cursed himself for 
such weak-hearted foolishness.

Lady Arwen would arrive that day, but Aragorn couldn't care less. 
So long had he been looking forward to this day; and now, he 
would have given anything to go back to the night of his first 
encounter with Legolas. Instead of telling Legolas that he was 
travelling to Rivendell, he would say that he was willing to go 
anywhere, as long as he would be in Legolas's company.

Or perhaps he'd better say: as long as they would be together, 
and far from Haldir.

Aragorn ground his teeth together in determination as he 
descended the stairs on his way to the dining room. It was time 
for breakfast and Aragorn had decided to try to avoid both Legolas 
and Haldir as much as possible. Unfortunately, they wouldn't let 
him.

Haldir and Legolas stood by the door to the dining room, together 
with Elrohir. Aragorn, for a moment, was tempted to turn back, 
but Elrohir had already seen him and so he was forced to walk up 
to them. You can do this, he told himself.

"Ah, Estel," Haldir said. His voice was sly and his lips curled up in 
a smile. "How fare you this morning?"

"Fine, thank you," Aragorn said stiffly.

"I hope you slept well?" Haldir continued, and only Aragorn saw 
the challenge in the grey eyes. Yet Haldir kept his manners polite. 
"I sure did."

Before Aragorn knew it, he was striding further down the hallway, 
past the dining room. He hated himself for it, but Haldir's words 
had infuriated him; just like the Elf had intended. He simply had to 
be away from the two of them.

"Estel!" Elrohir called after him, "where are you going? Breakfast's 
ready!"

"Not hungry!" Aragorn replied, without looking back. "I'm going for 
a ride. I'll be back before noon."

Trying to banish the thought of Haldir's triumphant smile from his 
mind, Aragorn decided that he, indeed, felt like riding. He turned 
left, to the stables, hoping that a ride would help him to calm 
down, for he felt like he could kill Haldir at the moment.

He harnessed his horse and led it outside, onto the courtyard. 
There, he looked up at the sky for a moment. It was clear 
weather; the sun shone brightly. He swiftly mounted and started 
to guide his horse to the gate that led outside, but then he heard a 
familiar voice.

"Aragorn?"

He looked down. Legolas stood beside his horse, a little pack in his 
hands.

"I took the liberty of bringing you this," he said and he hesitantly 
extended his hands.

Aragorn looked at the pack intently, not daring to meet Legolas's 
eyes. He couldn't help noticing the fading red marks on Legolas's 
wrists and winced at the thought of their source.

"It's some bread," Legolas explained. "I thought…in case you get 
hungry during your outing."

I love you, Aragorn wanted to tell him. Come with me. Ride with 
me until the end of days. I will give you anything you want and 
more; we will forever be together. Let us never speak of Haldir 
again.

One corner of Aragorn's mouth twitched. Go ahead, he scornfully 
told himself. Tell him. Make a fool of yourself.

He reached out and took the pack from Legolas's hands. "Thank 
you," he said. "Enjoy your breakfast." And without waiting for 
Legolas's reply, he spurred on his horse and galloped away. 

***

The ride did help him to calm down. A little. When he returned, he 
no longer wanted to kill Haldir. He was determined not to give 
Haldir again the satisfaction he'd given him that morning.

He found the Elves busy with the last preparations for Lady 
Arwen's arrival. Luckily, Haldir didn't bother Aragorn anymore. 
Aragorn joined his father and everyone's cheerfulness helped 
Aragorn to forget his worries for a little while.

The sun was already sinking, the shadows growing longer, when a 
guard came to announce that Lady Arwen and her escort of Lórien 
warriors and maidens would arrive within ten minutes.

Aragorn's meeting with Lady Arwen went by like in a daze. He 
stood next to his brothers and watched as Lady Arwen, dark-
haired and dressed in an exquisite robe and hooded cloak, 
dismounted. She embraced her father and brothers, laughing 
happily, then was introduced to Aragorn.

"Estel," she said and her musical voice rang out as he brought her 
hand to his lips, "here we meet at last. I have heard so much of 
you."

Aragorn also spoke some words of courtesy, and after having 
promised her to tell her his story soon, she moved on to greet the 
other Elves.

During the hours that followed, Aragorn did his duties as he was 
supposed to. He assisted his father, spoke with the guests and 
gave orders to the servants. It was good; it kept him busy and 
made him forget Legolas for a while.

It was strange. He had wanted to meet Arwen for so long, and 
now that he had seen her and spoken with her, he did indeed feel 
like nothing more than a brother to her. She was, indeed, 
incredibly beautiful. She had long, dark hair and wide, blue eyes. 
She had a beautiful face and a sweet smile, which she showed a 
lot. She really seemed a charming, kind lady. However, he felt so 
much more when he looked at Legolas.

During dinner, Aragorn sat as far from Haldir and Legolas as he 
possibly could, and he did not once look their way. He spoke with 
Arwen a lot, and it was a very pleasant conversation, but the more 
he looked at her, the more he realized that he liked her…and 
nothing more than that.

When dinner was over, the assembly got up to party. There was 
music and wine, and soon, Elrond's great ball room was filled with 
feasting, drinking and laughing Elves. Aragorn circulated most of 
the time, joining in some conversation here and there, but mostly 
just on his own, watching the others have fun and become slightly 
drunk.

Two hours passed as Aragorn dragged himself along, forcing 
himself to act cheerful to every Elf he came across. Lady Arwen, 
who left the party early, came to bid Aragorn goodnight. The long 
journey had exhausted her, but she was thankful for the warm 
welcome.

Not much later, as Aragorn moved through the crowd, someone 
bumped in on him and accidentally spilled the contents of a wine 
goblet over Aragorn's sleeve. The Elf apologized with a laugh and 
left to fetch a new drink. Aragorn decided to go to his room to 
change his shirt.

He soon returned to the party. Just as he stepped into the room, 
he heard the sound of breaking glass. He looked to the left, saw 
that nothing serious had happened and wanted to walk on, but 
then his eyes fell on two Elves, standing in a dark corner of the 
room, unnoticed by the other guests.

Legolas and Haldir, of course. Aragorn's inside had suddenly 
turned into ice. Almost forgetting to breathe, Aragorn moved away 
from the door and approached the two, although a voice inside of 
his head told him not to. He approached them as much as he 
thought was safe, hid behind a small talking group and pretended 
to listen to their conversation, in the meanwhile watching the two 
lovers closely.

Haldir stood behind Legolas, his chest against the younger Elf's 
back. His hands lay possessively on Legolas's hips and his mouth 
was close to Legolas's ear. He was whispering something to 
Legolas, who listened, his eyelids lowered.

For a moment, Aragorn had to admit that in the eyes of another, 
the two Elves would look like a really nice couple. Just two 
attractive Elves in an intimate embrace, oblivious of the world 
around them. However, Aragorn knew that reality was different. 
He didn't know what Haldir was whispering to Legolas at the 
moment, but he was certain that it was not a tender declaration of 
love and affection. More probably it was some sort of obscene 
proposal.

As if to prove Aragorn right, Haldir's hands left Legolas's hips and 
slowly slid upwards, over the front of Legolas's tunic.

At that moment, the small group of Elves burst out laughing over 
some joke, which startled Aragorn. He pretended to laugh with 
them, but it wasn't more than a grimace that appeared on his 
face.

Legolas let Haldir touch him. His lips parted slightly as Haldir's 
hands drew up his chest and when the tips of Haldir's slim fingers 
teasingly lingered on Legolas's nipples beneath the cloth, Legolas's 
head fell back against Haldir's shoulder. Aragorn saw how Haldir's 
hips moved forward, rubbing against Legolas's buttocks.

Unconsciously, Aragorn's fists clenched at his sides. Why? he 
silently shouted at Legolas. Why do you allow this? Why do you let 
him grab you in public like that? Don't you understand? He is 
showing you off! He is showing all of us how easy you are! And 
you let him do it.

To his terror, Aragorn saw that some other Elves had perceived 
the two, as well. They were watching and smirking, bumping each 
other. Soon, there wouldn't be one Elf in the room who didn't 
know what was going on.

Aragorn looked around him feverishly. Then he saw a servant 
passing by, heading to the kitchen, a tray with empty goblets in 
his hands. Without thinking twice, Aragorn casually extended his 
leg. One of the servant's feet bumped against Aragorn's and he 
tripped. He landed face-down on the floor, the tray landed with a 
loud *clang* a few meters away and the goblets spilled over the 
floor.

Everyone went quiet, startled by the sudden noise. Aragorn 
immediately kneeled next to the servant, apologizing and helping 
him stand. The servant graciously accepted the apologies as he 
slapped the dust off his clothes, but nevertheless he gave Aragorn 
a bewildered look. Luckily, everyone seemed to believe that it had 
been an accident, and as soon as the goblets had been recollected 
and the tray been handed to the servant, everyone continued their 
business. Haldir's and Legolas's display of intimacy seemed 
forgotten; Aragorn's plan had worked.

For the first time since the 'incident', Aragorn allowed his eyes to 
dart to the corner. Haldir and Legolas were gone.

Chapter 5: A late visitor

Later in his life, Aragorn wouldn't recall how the days after the 
grand feast had gone by. The excitement subdued and guests 
started leaving Rivendell. Aragorn was busy handling the 
aftermath of the feast and allowed himself no time to think of 
Legolas. He avoided the Elf as much as he could; in fact, he hadn't 
had a decent conversation with him since the day they'd come 
across Haldir.

But at night, alone in his bed, Aragorn couldn't help thinking of 
Legolas. He asked himself the same question over and over again: 
why did Legolas want to be with Haldir? Was he really in love with 
Haldir? How could he be in love with someone who treated him so 
respectlessly?

Aragorn had some more hours of conversation with Arwen, and 
already he had grown to love the graceful princess. He tried not to 
think of what could have been, hadn't he come across Legolas 
first.

He avoided his balcony, as well. Not again would he be tempted to 
listen to the two Elves making love. As the days passed, Aragorn 
started to wonder whether Haldir was ever going to leave, but 
unfortunately, the Lórien Elf seemed to feel really comfortable in 
Rivendell.

One evening, during dinner, something strange happened. 
Aragorn was sitting next to Arwen and was listening to her story 
about Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel of the Golden Wood, when 
he saw sudden movement from the corner of his eye. He looked 
up and saw Legolas leave the table, his meal unfinished. Legolas 
was obviously disturbed, for he strode away, not bothering to 
explain his leaving to the host.

Aragorn watched him go, wondering what was bothering the 
normally placid Elf. However, one look at Haldir was enough. The 
frown on Haldir's handsome face told him that they had had a 
disagreement.
Haldir caught Aragorn staring and openly snarled at him.

Aragorn turned his gaze from him and settled with intently 
watching his plate. Arwen's voice startled him from his thoughts.

"I wonder what is wrong. Poor Legolas; he hasn't been his usual 
self lately."

Aragorn looked up in surprise. "I didn't realize you knew him that 
well."

"I met him during a short stay in Mirkwood years ago," she told 
him. "I immediately took a liking at him, for I found him kind, 
good-humoured, sensitive and pleasant to be with."

Aragorn nodded. He had recognized those qualities in the prince as 
well.

"Something is wrong with him," Arwen said and worry shaded her 
eyes. "Why don't you go to him?"

Aragorn started. "Me, my lady? Why?"

"I thought that the two of you were friends,' she said.

"We are only vaguely acquainted," Aragorn said stiffly.

"I heard that you travelled to Rivendell together."

"That is true. But ever since our arrival here, we sort of lost sight 
of one another. He is occupied with Haldir and I am occupied with 
my duties as Elrond's ward."

Arwen didn't speak. Her eyes rested on Aragorn's face. Finally she 
softly asked him: "Don't you want to be friends with Legolas, that 
you look for excuses to avoid his company?"

The words, however gently spoken, held an undercurrent of mild 
accusation. Aragorn found it discomforting; could those blue eyes 
peer into his soul?

"I have spoken with Legolas more than once since I arrived," 
Arwen continued, "and I got the impression that he really likes 
you."

Aragorn wanted to protest, but Arwen read his mind and said: 
"Only he is afraid to show you, for your behaviour has led him to 
believe that you don't care for him at all."

Aragorn didn't know what to say to that. Had he been rude to 
Legolas? He had been avoiding him, true, but only because he 
couldn't look at Legolas without thinking of Haldir. And also 
because Legolas had seemed to lose interest in *him* since their 
arrival. Or, more precisely, since Haldir had stepped into the 
picture. Then again, Aragorn had to admit, Legolas *had* made 
an effort to seek his company. He had brought him some food that 
morning, before Aragorn went for a ride.

Yes, he decided, maybe he had been unkind to Legolas. After all, 
Legolas had done nothing wrong. That Aragorn couldn't bear to 
see him together with Haldir, was entirely Aragorn's problem. And 
that Legolas apparently didn't mind being assaulted by Haldir, was 
essentially none of Aragorn's business.

Arwen's eyes were still on Aragorn's face. Aragorn ventured a 
question.

"My lady, when you were in Lórien, surely you have come to know 
Haldir well? What do you think of him?"

The answer was unexpected. "I pity him."

Aragorn frowned. "Pity? That surprises me. I can't think of an Elf 
who has more to be content with."

"Haldir may appear arrogant and unkind to most," Arwen said, 
"but during my stay in Lórien, I learned that he is, at heart, a 
likeable person. He has known much sorrow in his life, which has 
changed him. Under his cold mask of arrogance lives an Elf who is, 
in fact, very uncertain."

"I find that hard to believe," Aragorn said.

"I speak the truth," Arwen said calmly.

"What happened to him?" Aragorn asked.

"'Tis a sad story," Arwen said and she sighed. "When Haldir was a 
very young Elf, he once left the Golden Wood without permission. 
He got lost in the mountains and almost starved to death. Almost, 
for he somehow succeeded in keeping himself alive. His parents 
sent out troups to look for him, but they never found him and he 
was believed to be dead. Broken-hearted, his parents mourned 
over him for months. Finally, they decided to leave Middle-earth 
together with their remaining children. They sailed west and never 
returned. Only two weeks later, Haldir finally succeeded in finding 
his way back home. Upon his return, he found out that his family 
had left without him. From that moment on, Haldir was never the 
same anymore."

Aragorn was silent for a moment. He watched Haldir's profile and 
could feel his heart ache when he imagined what it would be like 
to suffer something so bitter.

"But why didn't he follow them?" Aragorn asked Arwen. "Why 
didn't he leave as well to join his family?"

"He was too proud. He hated his parents for giving up on him so 
soon and although one part of him has always longed to sail west, 
the other part has kept him here until now."

"How many siblings did he have?" Aragorn asked.

"Two. He had two elder brothers. He misses them every single 
day, he once told me."

Aragorn sighed. He couldn't help it, but he too pitied Haldir now.

"And then one day," Arwen continued hesitantly, "he met Legolas 
and for a while, he thought his life had meaning again. But then 
Legolas left him, and his entire world crumbled again. Since then 
he has been the Elf you know and hate."

"I don't hate him," Aragorn said and he meant it. "But what did 
you say: did Legolas leave him?"

"Yes. Legolas ended the relationship."

"Well, apparently he has come to regret that, for they are together 
again," Aragorn said, and he failed in hiding the bitterness in his 
voice.

"Is that true?" Arwen said. "I haven't heard that. Legolas nor 
Haldir mentioned anything like that to me."

"I speak the truth. I have seen the signs."

"Then maybe it is you I should pity," Arwen said with a enigmatic 
smile.

Aragorn decided to ignore that remark, and the conversation 
continued on other subjects. However, Arwen's words never left 
Aragorn's thoughts.

***

That night, Aragorn retired early to think things over. He took a 
long bath, all the time wondering what to think of Haldir and 
Legolas. Arwen had said that Legolas had meant much to Haldir. 
Then why did Haldir treat him like that? Why had Legolas wanted 
to get back together with Haldir? Out of guilt? Did he feel guilty 
about Haldir's unhappiness? Was that why he endured the 
humiliations by Haldir?

After his bath, Aragorn dressed in long pajama pants and a shirt. 
He just stood combing his hair in front of the mirror when he 
heard a knock on the door. He put the comb aside and walked into 
the bedroom.

"Coming," he announced when there was a second knock.

He opened the door and looked into the blue eyes of Legolas.

"Legolas," he said, surprised.

"Hello, Aragorn," Legolas said, sounding timid. His eyes quickly 
darted over Aragorn's clothing. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I wasn't sleeping," Aragorn assured him. Then he asked: "Are 
you all right? I saw you leave earlier this evening."

"I'm fine," was Legolas's answer. After an uncomfortable silence, 
Legolas hesitantly continued: "Aragorn, I came to tell you that I 
will be leaving tomorrow. I'm going back to Mirkwood." Legolas 
looked at him, his eyes sad.

"Really?" Aragorn said stiffly. "With Haldir?" It didn't sound as 
casual as he wanted it to sound.

"Nay; with my brother," Legolas frowned. "So, I guess you will be 
staying here for another while?"

"Yes."

Aragorn realized he was being rude again, but he simply couldn't 
set himself to act like nothing had ever happened. He couldn't look 
at Legolas without imagining Haldir's hands on his body. The body 
*he* so badly wanted to touch.

"Well," Legolas said softly, "I guess we'll meet again someday."

"That's possible."

Legolas gave him a last look and for a moment, it seemed like he 
wanted to say more. But he slowly turned and started to walk 
away. Just as Aragorn wanted to step back into the room and 
close the door, Legolas stopped and turned back.

"Aragorn, wait." He once again stood in front of Aragorn. Aragorn 
looked at him and felt his knees tremble in response to Legolas's 
breathtaking appearance. He found his eyes being pulled to 
Legolas's face and he had to fight the urge to reach out and touch 
the sensuous lips. "What is it, Legolas?" he asked, tiredly.

"In case we'll never meet again," Legolas said and his words were 
nothing more than a hoarse whisper, "there is something I want 
you to know."

"What then?" Aragorn asked.

Before he knew what was happening, Legolas had placed his lips 
on Aragorn's in a soft kiss. Aragorn stiffened unconsciously; this 
was absolutely the last thing he'd been expecting. But it felt good; 
it felt like heaven. Legolas's lips were soft and warm. Before 
Aragorn could join in the kiss, Legolas broke it and pulled back. 
Legolas gave Aragorn an uncertain look, as if he expected some 
angry reaction from Aragorn.

But Aragorn didn't say anything at all. He just stared back at 
Legolas, stupefied.

"I'm sorry," Legolas whispered and he started to turn away. 
However, Aragorn's hand moved on its own accord and stopped 
Legolas. Legolas turned back to him.

"Why did you do that?" Aragorn asked him.

"Because I wanted to," Legolas replied after a short hesitation.

"Why?" Aragorn asked again. "I find it hard to believe that Haldir 
would approve of this." He knew he sounded harsh and he hated 
himself for it.

"Haldir?" Legolas seemed to shrink at the name. "What does he 
have to do with this?"

Aragorn snorted. "Don't play with me, Legolas!" he snapped and 
Legolas winced. "I know that the two of you are together. I'm not 
stupid."

The silence that followed was deafening.

"You heard us," Legolas finally said softly, "you heard us that 
night."

It was a statement, not a question. Aragorn didn't reply.

"Aragorn," Legolas said, and although he tried to speak calmly, 
there was a tremble in his voice, "I am sorry you heard that. I 
tried to prevent it."

"I *know* that," Aragorn said coldly, "but you didn't try for very 
long."

Legolas's features twisted with shame, and Aragorn secretly 
cursed himself for being so harsh. Legolas took a deep breath. "I 
know. I can't explain. Haldir –"

Aragorn raised one hand. "Legolas, I am absolutely not interested 
in your and Haldir's lovelife."

"Aragorn," Legolas said with emphasis, "contrary to what Haldir 
made you believe, he and I are *not* together!"

"Haldir is not the only one who made me believe things!" Aragorn 
shouted. He was beginning to lose his patience. "You were happy 
to help him with that!"

"That's not true!" Legolas objected. "I never meant to mislead 
you!"

"Then why did you sleep with Haldir? Why do you let him grab 
you, for all to see? Why did you let him do all that when you're not 
even together?" Aragorn clenched his fists as he let all his 
frustration out.

Legolas bit his lip. "May I come in, Aragorn? Let me explain things 
in private."

"No!"

Legolas's eyes begged him. "Please, Aragorn. Let me come in, for 
just a few minutes. I'll explain everything to you."

Aragorn ground his teeth together. He knew he had to listen to 
what Legolas had to say, or he would never find peace again. He 
finally nodded and stepped aside. Legolas stepped into the dark 
room and Aragorn closed the door. As Aragorn stood in front of 
Legolas, the Elf took a deep breath, as if bracing himself.

"Aragorn, please listen and don't interrupt me. You can say 
whatever you want to say as soon as I'm done."

Aragorn gave a short nod, and Legolas continued.

"Haldir and I were lovers once," he said. "But that was years ago. 
I ended the relationship because I couldn't stand it anymore. His 
behaviour just got worse and worse. After that, I didn't see him 
often, but when I saw him, he never failed to remind me of our 
past. I didn't love him anymore, but he wouldn't accept that."

Legolas sighed. His eyes wandered off for a moment, then settled 
on Aragorn's face again. "I have no excuses for my escapade with 
Haldir. Only that…there *is* something about Haldir," he stated 
vaguely. "I don't love him anymore, not in *that* way, but he 
knows how to manipulate my body so that I think I want him." He 
gave Aragorn an apologizing look. "You may find it hard to believe, 
Aragorn, but I don't love Haldir, I am not with him and I don't 
want to be. It's just…" He shrugged helplessly. "When he touches 
me, I fail to resist him, no matter how hard I try. I truly don't 
want Haldir – but my body isn't quite so certain."

He looked at Aragorn. "Do you understand, Aragorn? I need you to 
understand."

Aragorn sighed. "I don't know."

"Listen, Aragorn. That first night here…after I left you all, Haldir 
followed me. He knocked on my door and wanted me to let him in. 
I refused at first, but he…" Legolas swallowed. "Well, to make a 
long story short, I let him in. He said he wanted to reclaim his 
rights on me. He said he'd noticed how I watched you, that I was 
still his and that I needed to be reminded of what I felt for him."

Aragorn shook his head. "You should have kicked him out."

Legolas shrugged unhappily. "I know that. But as I told you, Haldir 
knows how to use his body. As soon as he touched me, I 
remembered how we used to be together. It made me think I truly 
wanted him. I know, I'm weak," he said desperately. "I wanted to 
resist, but…well, you know what happened."

Aragorn shook his head in disbelief. Could this be true? Was there 
really nothing going on between Legolas and Haldir? Had he seen 
it wrong the whole time? Had he been despairing over something 
that didn't even exist?

Legolas seemed to guess his thoughts. "I know it didn't sound like 
it," he said, blushing, "but it really wasn't more than lust. Love 
had nothing to do with that."

After a short silence, Aragorn said: "There is something I don't 
understand. You say you don't love Haldir. Then why were you 
always with him the last weeks? Why did you disappear out of my 
sight after you met him here?"

Legolas did not answer immediately. Finally, he said: "That's not 
entirely true. You avoided me as well. I came after you that 
morning, when you went out for a ride, but you rather brusquely 
turned me down."

Aragorn bowed his head. "That, I must admit, is true. I was afraid 
to look you in the eye after…after what I witnessed."

"I understand," Legolas said softly. "But it gave Haldir and me 
reason to think that you hated me as well as him. That's partially 
why I believed him when he said…when he told me that –"

Legolas went silent. "What?" Aragorn urged, sensing that this was 
something important. "What did he tell you?"

Not meeting Aragorn's eye, Legolas said: "He kept telling me that 
I was foolish to – to love you." He looked up at Aragorn, who 
wondered if he had heard right. "He said that you obviously didn't 
return my feelings, that I was wasting time, and so on. That it was 
foolish to love a mortal, and foolish to love someone who was in 
love with another."

"Another?" Aragorn said, "who?"

Legolas frowned. "Why, Lady Arwen, of course. Ever since we met, 
you wouldn't stop talking about her, thinking about her. It was 
obvious that I would never stand a chance, and Haldir was all too 
happy to rub it in whenever he could."

Aragorn's jaw slowly fell.

"When you came down for breakfast that morning," Legolas 
continued, "you said you weren't hungry. You were restless, 
nervous. It was clear – at least I thought it was – that you were 
nervous about Arwen's arrival later that day. Haldir said it, too. He 
whispered to me: 'See that, princeling? He can't wait to meet her. 
He didn't even look at you.' But I refused to believe, and I went 
after you, hoping to get a friendly remark, or even a smile. But I 
received neither, and then I believed him."

Aragorn slowly shook his head. If only he'd known that…So 
Legolas had been thinking the whole time that Aragorn's affections 
lay elsewhere, and Haldir had encouraged that. And he, Aragorn, 
had been spending so much time with Arwen the past few days!

"Legolas," he said, "that night of the party, when you were 
together. What did he say to you? I saw him whisper something in 
your ear. What did he say?"

Legolas sighed. "We had seen that Arwen sought your company. 
She said something to you and left. Only minutes later, we saw 
you leaving too. Haldir pulled me into a corner and said: 'Did you 
see that? He's off with her, Legolas. He's off with the woman he 
loves. She invited him to her room. That's proof, princeling. Do 
you believe it now?' And I believed him."

Aragorn rubbed his brow, still shaking his head. How could it have 
gone so wrong? "Gods, Legolas – she came to me only to bid me 
goodnight and tell me how much she had enjoyed the party. 
Shortly afterwards, someone spilled wine over me and I left to 
change my shirt. I never saw Arwen again that night. I returned to 
the ball room just minutes later, only to see the two of you 
standing there…"

Legolas's face went pale. "So you weren't with her…you weren't 
with Arwen…"

"No."

Legolas hands reached up to his head. "Oh, why did I believe 
Haldir? Why didn't I just ask you?"

"Did he tell you more?" Aragorn urged.

"I don't know – I – he said: 'I will make you forget him, Legolas. 
Let me do what I want to you and you will forget all about him. 
You know I can.' I said that I wasn't in the mood, that I wanted to 
leave and go to my room alone. But he started touching me and 
once again I found myself helpless in his arms. I even forgot about 
the people around us, well, you witnessed it. You know what 
happened. Suddenly there was much excitement and noise – some 
servant let something drop, and I came to my senses again. I was 
thankful for that."

"You were?" Aragorn said, and something in his voice must have 
betrayed him, for Legolas's eyes locked with his and he asked in a 
suspicious tone: "Did you have anything to do with that, Aragorn?"

Aragorn shifted and cleared his throat. "I arranged it, yes."

"You didn't!" Legolas said, his eyes wide. "Why?"

"Why? Because I hated to see you humilated in front of everyone! 
I don't want you to get a reputation because of Haldir."

Legolas gave a little smile. "Diola lle, " he said simply.

"What happened then?"

"I pushed Haldir away, said that I wanted to be alone and ran 
away, to my room. I must have been pretty convincing, for he 
didn't even come after me."

Aragorn had to let that sink in. "I thought you were off together."

"I understand why you would think that. But it wasn't the case."

Aragorn let out a sigh. "And what happened this night? You 
seemed distraught."

"We had an argument. He was once again pointing out to me how 
close you and Arwen seemed to be. He was driving me crazy. It 
pushed me over the edge: I suddenly decided that I would go to 
your room tonight and finally open up about my feelings. He said 
that I would make a fool of myself, but I told him that it was my 
decision to make, not his. He was furious."

Legolas sighed. "How foolish I have been to even listen to Haldir. I 
should have come to you much sooner."

"You're not foolish," Aragorn said, and Legolas looked up, 
surprised by the tenderness in Aragorn's voice. "I made you 
believe that I didn't care for you. I scared you off with my 
behaviour."

They were both silent. Aragorn realized that Legolas had finished 
his story. He had been brave enough to confess his love to 
Aragorn. His love? Aragorn wanted to pinch himself. How could it 
be possible, that someone as beautiful and special as Legolas 
loved him?

"So, besides that one time the first night –" Aragorn began slowly.

Legolas knew what he was going to ask and completed his 
sentence. "…I haven't slept with Haldir since. But I was very close 
a couple of times."

The last burden fell off Aragorn's shoulders. He'd been misled; 
Legolas didn't want Haldir, apparently he wanted Aragorn. He still 
found it hard to believe.

"Legolas, when you agreed on travelling to Rivendell with me, did 
you know that Haldir was going to be there, too?" Aragorn asked 
him.

"No, I had no idea. If I had known, I wouldn't have come."

Aragorn nodded.

"And you, Aragorn?" Legolas asked softly. "What is your story? Is 
there something going on between you and Arwen?" Aragorn 
discerned slight anguish in Legolas's voice. He realized it was now 
time for *him* to be honest about his feelings. His heart leapt at 
the thought of what he had to say, and how it would change 
things for them both.

"No, Legolas," he said slowly, "there is nothing going on between 
me and Lady Arwen. It is true that I was looking forward to 
meeting her, and when that day finally came, I did find her 
charming, and I did find her pleasant to be with, but even when I 
was with her, I couldn't stop thinking about the one I love."

"And who's that?" Legolas asked, his voice a whisper.

Aragorn did a step towards Legolas; he now stood close enough to 
the Elf to feel the warmth radiating from his body. He could hear 
Legolas hold his breath as Aragorn cupped his face with his hands. 
Aragorn looked deep into the bright Elven eyes. "It's you," he 
murmured. "It's always been you, ever since I met you."

"Is that true?" Legolas whispered. "Is that really true?"

"May I prove it to you?" Aragorn asked him, and Legolas nodded 
breathlessly.

His hands still on Legolas's cheeks, Aragorn slightly tilted the Elf's 
head, for he was only slightly taller than Legolas, and kissed him. 
He kissed him tenderly, almost carefully, as if Legolas was a vision 
that would slip away from him when handled too roughly. He was 
rewarded when Legolas's lips parted, encouraging him to enter. 
Aragorn's tongue came out on his own accord and slid past the 
warm lips. Legolas sighed and closed his eyes. Aragorn felt the Elf 
melt against him as Aragorn's tongue shyly explored Legolas's 
mouth. A shudder passed through his body when Legolas's tongue 
wrapped around his. It felt right. This was how it was supposed to 
be.

When Aragorn finally pulled back, he kept his hands on Legolas's 
face. He watched as Legolas's tongue unconsciously flicked out to 
lick his moist lips, as if he wanted to taste Aragorn on them.

"Do you believe me now?" Aragorn softly asked him.

"Yes," Legolas replied, out of breath. He brought his hand up to 
Aragorn's face, and the slim fingers gently traced the Man's jaw.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. They studied each other's 
faces as if it was the first time they saw each other. Finally, 
Legolas threw his arms around Aragorn's neck and pulled him 
close in a tender embrace. Aragorn wrapped his arms around the 
Elf's slender waist and held him close, burying his face in the long 
hair, inhaling its sweet scent.

"Legolas," he whispered into the Elf's ear, "let us make a promise 
to each other."

"What promise?" Legolas whispered back.

Aragorn gently pulled free from the embrace and he cupped 
Legolas's face again. "Let us have no regrets about the past few 
weeks," he said. "We have made mistakes, and it could have been 
different, but it's over with. I suggest we never mention it again; 
regret is a waste of time, time better spent with love. So I don't 
want to hear any more apologies or self-blaming."

Legolas smiled fondly. "Amin weera. " He placed his hand on 
Aragorn's and slightly turned his head, so that Aragorn's palm lay 
over the Elf's lips. Aragorn felt Legolas's breath on his hand. With 
his eyes closed, Legolas kissed Aragorn's palm, then his fingers. 
Aragorn watched, enjoying the sensation.

"It still is surreal," Legolas murmured against Aragorn's skin. "That 
you let me do this. I have dreamt about this for so long; I didn't 
think it would ever happen."

"I find it no less surprising that you return my feelings, Legolas," 
Aragorn told him. "Who am I after all? Just a Man, and a Ranger at 
that."

Legolas looked him in the eye. "You are a wonderful man." His 
hand left Aragorn's and moved to the Man's chest. He let the tips 
of his fingers travel over Aragorn's chest. His eyes did the same 
thing for a while, then moved upwards and settled on Aragorn's. A 
naughty smile appeared on Legolas's face and he said: "You look 
real handsome in these clothes."

Aragorn smiled, too. "You're fooling me."

"No, really. I already thought so when you opened the door."

"Well, this is what I look like at night."

"Hmm. I hope I'll get to see you like this more often," Legolas 
said, with a hint of seduction in his voice.

Aragorn wrapped one arm around Legolas's waist and pulled him 
close. "I hope it, too," he whispered and he let the tips of his 
fingers slide over the Elf's lips. Legolas's eyes widened at this 
caress. "Lle naa vanima, "
Aragorn murmured, "you know that?"

Legolas blushed. "You're not that ugly yourself."

Legolas threw his arms around Aragorn's neck and kissed him. 
Legolas definitely took the lead this time, his tongue seeking and 
being granted entrance. Aragorn shivered when Legolas's tongue 
explored him, and their kiss gradually grew more passionate. 
Legolas tangled his long fingers in Aragorn's hair, pulling him close 
for greater contact.

Finally, Aragorn gently pulled back. He placed a kiss on Legolas's 
brow and rested his lips against it. There was something he 
wanted to tell the Elf, but he feared it would spoil the moment.

"I want your body to forget Haldir," he finally said, "and want only 
me."

Legolas knew what was meant. "I want it, too," he said softly.

They smiled at each other nervously. Aragorn felt his knees 
tremble. Luckily for him, Legolas apparently thought it best to take 
the lead.

"Lay down, Aragorn," he whispered, pointing at the bed.

Aragorn obeyed, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. As he took 
a comfortable position, leaning into the cushions propped up 
against the headboard, he noticed that his hands were trembling 
ever so slightly. He watched as Legolas locked the door, then 
approached the bed as well. He took off his boots and crawled up 
the bed. As he settled on top of Aragorn, his knees on either side 
of Aragorn's hips, he took Aragorn's hands in his own and brought 
them to his lips.

"You smell good," Legolas told him, as he inhaled the scent on the 
Man's hands, "did you know that?"

Aragorn just smiled, for some reason moved by the compliment. 
Legolas placed several kisses on Aragorn's hands, then brought 
one of them to his chest and said softly: "Touch me."

Aragorn had no objections. His fingers softly explored Legolas's 
chest, but quickly grew frustrated about the cloth that separated 
Legolas's skin from his own. Glancing at Legolas uncertainly, he 
began undoing the laces of the Elf's tunic. Legolas's eyes locked 
with his in the dark, but he didn't object and soon, the Elf slipped 
the tunic over his head. He quickly untied the laces of his 
undershirt himself; he left it on however, the untied laces 
teasingly exposing the firm chest underneath.

Legolas bent over and kissed Aragorn. Aragorn let his hands 
wander down and settle on Legolas's chest. His fingers slipped 
underneath the cloth and he felt the Elf sigh.

Their kiss deepened as Aragorn's fingers tentatively explored 
Legolas's skin. Aragorn, hesitant at first, soon grew bolder. When 
his fingertips lightly brushed over Legolas's nipples, Legolas 
gasped against Aragorn's lips. Aragorn repeated the move and 
Legolas moaned. Impatiently, Aragorn pulled the undershirt over 
Legolas's head and threw it aside. Legolas just smiled and let 
Aragorn look at him.

Aragorn had seen Legolas naked once, but, he realized as he 
devoured the Elf with his eyes, it was a thousand times better to 
do so with Legolas's permission. The Elf's body was so different 
from his; the skin was pale and smooth, the muscles delicate. But, 
despite Legolas's slender appearance, his lithe body radiated 
strength and masculinity.

Aragorn took Legolas's hand and gently turned the Elf's arm, so 
that the sensitive inside of the arm lay upturned. Aragorn let the 
tips of his fingers graze over Legolas's palm, before letting them 
slide upwards, tracing the veins of Legolas's lower arm. Legolas 
shivered at the caress. Aragorn brought Legolas's arm up to his 
face and ran his lips over the soft skin, then the tip of his tongue. 
Legolas moaned softly. Aragorn looked up at his face; Legolas was 
watching him intently, his lips slightly parted. Aragorn's heart 
swelled in his chest when he saw the intense expression on 
Legolas's beautiful face.

To his surprise, Legolas whispered: "You are so beautiful, Aragorn. 
You have no idea."

Aragorn smiled, moved by the compliment. He sat up and 
wrapped his arms around Legolas, his cheek against the Elf's neck. 
One of his hands caressed the back of Legolas's neck, then ran 
down the length of his spine. To his surprise, Legolas reacted to 
this strongly; the Elf shivered and his fingers, tangled in Aragorn's 
hair, pressed against Aragorn's scalp.

"Do you like that?" Aragorn asked.

"Aye…how did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That the back of an Elf's spine is very sensitive. Call it an 
erogenous zone if you will."

"I didn't know that," Aragorn answered, grinning. He repeated the 
move and was rewarded with a soft moan from Legolas's lips. "Are 
there more zones that I should know of?" Aragorn asked him 
naughtily. Instinctively, his tongue came out to lick the bare 
collarbones; when it ran over the shallow point at the base of 
Legolas's neck, Legolas gasped.

"It appears," he told Aragorn breathlessly, "that you already found 
another one by yourself."

Aragorn's grin grew broader. He found it unexpectedly pleasing to 
explore Legolas's body and see him respond to his touches like 
this. Perhaps I *can* make him forget, he thought to himself.

Aragorn continued his explorations. His fingers kept stroking 
Legolas's back as his mouth moved lower. When his tongue 
teasingly circled one of Legolas's nipples, the Elf moaned in 
expectation and his hands clawed at Aragorn's shoulders.

"Tease," he gasped accusingly.

"Is it not to your liking?" Aragorn asked and immediately swept his 
tongue over the nipple. He smiled when Legolas's body jerked in 
response. He was beginning to find his footing. Legolas's fingers 
plucked his shirt and Aragorn raised his arms to help him remove 
it.

Aragorn leaned back as Legolas's fingers explored him. Quite 
suddenly, Legolas changed position; he lay down next to him, 
pulling Aragorn along and claiming Aragorn's mouth in a kiss. 
Aragorn's arm slid under Legolas's neck; leaning over the Elf, 
Legolas's head in the curve of his arm, Aragorn pulled him close 
and enjoyed the feeling of his skin against Legolas's. The hand of 
his other arm travelled down Legolas's chest, to the flat plane of 
Legolas's stomach. His fingers hesitated at the waistband of 
Legolas's leggings.

When his hand withdrew, Legolas broke the kiss and whispered 
into Aragorn's ear: "Are you nervous?"

Aragorn closed his eyes; he knew he had failed at hiding his 
uncertainty. "Yes."

"Is this your first time with another male?"

Aragorn couldn't suppress a shudder at the seduction in Legolas's 
voice. "Yes," he admitted. "I want to make this good for you, 
Legolas," he said, "but I don't know how."

Legolas reply was tenderly spoken. "May I show you?"

Aragorn's heart skipped a beat. "Yes," he breathed.

Legolas gently pulled free from Aragorn's embrace and pushed 
himself off the bed. "Wait there," he told Aragorn and disappeared 
into the bathroom. Not much later, he returned with a towel in one 
hand, and something smaller, which Aragorn could not identify, in 
his other. Legolas placed the towel on the bedside cabinet, then 
the other object, which turned out to be a small vial containing 
scented oil.

Legolas pointed at Aragorn. "Face down," he said.

Aragorn obeyed. His hands folded beneath his chin, he waited. The 
bed dipped when Legolas crawled up on it. Legolas sat down on 
Aragorn again and Aragorn heard him unscrew the vial.

Next, Legolas began massaging Aragorn's shoulders with his oil-
slick hands, his skilled fingers manipulating Aragorn's back, 
moving slowly downwards, easing the knots and tightnesses he 
found along the way. Aragorn sighed in appreciation.

"Feels good?" Legolas asked him.

"Yes, immensely."

By the time Legolas's hands reached the waistband of Aragorn's 
pants, Aragorn was completely relaxed. When Legolas's fingers 
slipped beneath the waistband, Aragorn encouragingly lifted his 
hips, and his pants were shoved down. Legolas dropped them on 
the floor.

When Legolas took his time to apply more oil to his hands, 
Aragorn smiled and said: "You're watching me, aren't you?"

Legolas chuckled. "Yes. Do you mind? 'Tis my turn now."

Aragorn didn't miss the jest and he laughed, before surrendering 
again to Legolas's skilled hands. Moans began escaping his lips as 
Legolas kneaded his buttocks. Legolas definitely knew how to 
please; Aragorn found his ministrations incredibly erotic. He'd 
never been touched there in such a way and within minutes, his 
member was hard and aching against the sheets.

Legolas bent over and kissed Aragorn's neck; Aragorn welcomed 
this with a groan. He tensed when he felt a slender finger slipping 
down the cleft of his buttocks, but Legolas whispered into his ear: 
"Relax, Aragorn; I won't hurt you." Aragorn tried hard to relax his 
muscles as the tip of Legolas oil-slick finger grazed at his 
entrance. He gasped when Legolas suddenly swept his tongue 
over the skin alongside Aragorn's neck, and Legolas took 
advantage of the moment by carefully slipping his finger inside.

Legolas used his tongue to distract Aragorn, and Aragorn had to 
admit, he did it well. Legolas slipped his finger further in without 
effort. A second finger joined the first easily, and when they slowly 
started moving within him, Aragorn groaned in delight.

Legolas smiled secretly. He curved his fingers ever so slightly and 
they immediately brushed the sensitive gland inside of his lover. 
Aragorn's response was satisfying; his body arched and his hands 
clawed at the sheets. A ragged groan escaped from his throat and 
he unconsciously pushed back against Legolas fingers, forcing him 
to stroke him again.

Legolas obeyed without hesitation and his smile turned wicked at 
Aragorn's almost violent response.

"Gods," Aragorn whispered, "that feels terribly good."

"Does it?" Legolas smiled, stroking him again, and again.

Aragorn groaned. His erection throbbed almost painfully against 
the sheets. He realized with surprise that Legolas could undo him 
with his fingers alone, if he went on doing this. However, as much 
as he would enjoy it physically, Aragorn didn't wish to spend 
himself that way.

He was about to tell Legolas this, when the Elf's fingers suddenly 
left him. Legolas smiled when Aragorn whimpered.

"Turn around, Aragorn," he said.

As Aragorn lay on his back, he realized that, for the first time, his 
body lay exposed to Legolas's gaze. To his surprise, it didn't make 
him feel uncomfortable. He closed his eyes when Legolas leaned 
over him and started kissing his neck. Legolas quickly moved 
lower; he let his tongue linger on Aragorn's nipples before 
travelling down to the man's stomach. His long hair slid from his 
back and fell onto Aragorn's chest as his tongue circled Aragorn's 
navel.

When Legolas took Aragorn into his mouth, Aragorn groaned and 
pushed his hips forward unconsciously. His eyes rolled back and 
he seized the headboard with both hands when Legolas took him 
deep and swirled his tongue around Aragorn's heated flesh. 
Aragorn groaned. Legolas had a skilful tongue; within a minute, 
he'd brought Aragorn to the brink of his pleasure. When beads of 
liquid began leaking from the hardened shaft, Legolas pulled back, 
then leaned over to give Aragorn a passionate kiss. Aragorn 
welcomed the kiss, tasting himself on Legolas's tongue.

Aragorn's hands automatically travelled to Legolas's hips, and this 
time his fingers slipped beneath the waistband without hesitation. 
He shoved the leggings down Legolas's legs; Legolas finished it 
himself and kicked the discarded leggings off the bed.

Legolas gave a shy smirk when Aragorn's eyes fell upon the Elf's 
own erection, but that smirk quickly disappeared to make place for 
an expression of delight when Aragorn took hold of his turgid 
flesh. As Aragorn slowly stroked him, Legolas once again applied 
oil to his hands, then ran them over Aragorn's erection.

Their eyes met each other in the dark. "Are you ready for me?" 
Legolas asked Aragorn, and his voice was hoarse.

Aragorn nodded. "Yes," he breathed.

Breathing harshly with the thought of what was to come, Aragorn 
took hold of Legolas's hips and held the Elf over him. Legolas's left 
hand settled on Aragorn's shoulder, the other in Aragorn's neck, 
his fingers tangled in the dark hair. Holding Aragorn's eyes, he 
slowly lowered himself. 

Aragorn held his breath as the tip of his erection slid into Legolas's 
opening. Legolas's hand tightened in Aragorn's neck as he took 
Aragorn deeper, and finally, he impaled himself fully upon 
Aragorn's length. Aragorn's fingers dug into Legolas's hips as he 
tried to keep still. Legolas was tight. So tight, that Aragorn feared 
he would hurt the Elf if he moved.

Legolas, however, whispered into Aragorn's ear: "You can't hurt 
me," and started moving up and down slowly. The delicious 
friction made Aragorn's worry a fleeting one; groaning, he pushed 
upwards, at the same time pulling Legolas down, and was 
rewarded with a lang-drawn moan from Legolas.

He repeated the move and drank in Legolas's delighted reactions. 
It was good, but it could be better, Aragorn thought. Every nerve 
in his body ached for contact with Legolas's skin. He stopped his 
movements. "Legolas," he whispered, "lay down. Please."

Legolas, out of breath, nodded. He pulled free and lay down on his 
back. He threw his arms around Aragorn's neck as Aragorn rolled 
onto him and he parted his legs, allowing Aragorn to settle 
between his thighs. Aragorn shoved his hand under Legolas's 
buttocks and lifted them slightly to gain better access. The tip of 
Aragorn's erection found Legolas's opening. Aragorn saw the 
desire in Legolas's eyes as he entered him, faster this time.

Aragorn slowly pulled back, shifted, then quickly pushed himself in 
again. Legolas's ragged cry told him he'd finally found what he had 
been looking for. A little smirk appeared on his face; he could 
make this good for Legolas.

Aragorn pulled back again, slowly and teasingly, his eyes on 
Legolas's face, registrating every reaction. He pulled back until he 
almost slid free from Legolas, then pushed forward again, harder 
than before. Legolas's loud cry of pleasure made his heart trip. He 
continued his thrusts, never failing to stroke Legolas's sensitive 
spot with his cock. He found Legolas's cries incredibly erotic and 
he wanted to hear more.

Legolas did not disappoint him. His nails dug into Aragorn's neck 
and shoulders as he cried out his pleasure. His eyes, which 
normally were silvery-blue but seemed to change color together 
with Legolas's mood, were dark with lust. His complete surrender 
was intoxicating and incredibly arousing.

"Aragorn," he finally panted, "are you sure you've never done this 
before?"

Aragorn couldn't suppress a grin. "I have an excellent teacher," he 
said, and he made a slow lick down Legolas's throat, ending at the 
sensitive spot there, extracting a groan from Legolas's lips.

For a moment, Aragorn hoped he could prolong this a little more, 
but as Legolas neared his peak with moans that grew louder with 
every thrust, he knew he was done for. His hand found Legolas's 
neglected erection and began to stroke it, which caused Legolas's 
body to arch. Claiming Legolas's mouth in a kiss, Aragorn gave a 
last few thrusts. Legolas gave a gasped cry and shuddered within 
Aragorn's hand. Aragorn felt warm liquid spill over his hand. That, 
in combination with the contractions around his flesh, pushed him 
over the edge; with a ragged groan, Aragorn, too, found his 
release, spilling his seed into the tight heat surrounding him.

Collecting their breaths, they lay still for a while. Legolas stroked 
Aragorn's back absent-mindedly. Finally, Aragorn pulled Legolas's 
head against his for a short kiss before rolling off him and settling 
beside him, one leg thrown loosely over the Elf's.

Legolas extended his hand and grabbed the towel on the bedside 
cabinet. With a shy smirk, he quickly cleaned his belly, then 
handed the towel to Aragorn, who used it to dry his hand, also 
with a smirk. Then, Legolas rolled on his side and pulled Aragorn 
close, burying his face against Aragorn's neck. Aragorn sighed 
contentedly when he felt Legolas's breath against his skin. He 
brought his hand to Legolas's head, brushed some blond hair into 
place and placed some quick kisses on Legolas's head.

Aragorn closed his eyes. The feeling of Legolas's body against his 
was reassuring, but still too beautiful, too unexpected to be true, 
he thought. His hand unconsciously drifted down and slid between 
Legolas's shoulder blades. Legolas shivered against him.

"Cold?" Aragorn murmured.

"No…bit naive, are we, Aragorn?"

It took a few seconds before Aragorn understood. "Oh," he said 
sheepishly, lifting his fingers from Legolas's spine. "I'm sorry." He 
gently pulled back and studied Legolas's face. He brought one 
hand up and traced the fine features with one finger. His finger 
ran down the side of Legolas's face and ended up at the Elf's 
mouth. He placed his finger over Legolas's mouth, then slowly slid 
it down from the upper lip onto the lower lip, separating them.

When Aragorn wrapped his arm loosely around Legolas's slender 
form, Legolas lay his arm above his head and let his fingers fondle 
with Aragorn's hair thoughtlessly.

"I still can't believe it's true," Legolas said.

"Neither can I."

After a short silence, Legolas's voice sounded again. "Aragorn?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. For everything."

"Shh," Aragorn whispered and he quickly sealed Legolas's mouth 
with a finger. "No apologies, remember?"

Legolas smiled. "Oh, yes. I forgot."

Both were silent again. Until: "Legolas?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry too."

Legolas laughed softly. "Aragorn?"

"Yes, Legolas."

"Are you in love with me?"

Aragorn merely smiled. "Isn't that obvious?" He gently caught 
Legolas's chin between his thumb and index finger and studied 
Legolas's face. For some reason, he never grew tired of that.

"I wish to hear you say it."

Aragorn's thumb caressed Legolas's chin. "Yes, Legolas," he said 
tenderly. "I am in love with you."

Legolas blushed. "Since when?"

"I think since I first laid eyes on you. But until our last evening 
out, I had not the heart to admit it to myself."

Legolas smiled. "And you?" Aragorn asked him.

"When I was travelling to the border to join you. I found myself 
spurring on my horse because I was so much looking forward to 
seeing your face again."

"You hid your feelings well. I never noticed any of it."

"You too, Aragorn. I never got the impression that you felt more 
for me than friendship."

"Well," Aragorn said, "it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is 
this."

"Have you ever been in love with a man before?"

"No."

"So you must have been quite surprised when you fell in love with 
me."

Aragorn chuckled. "You could say that. But it happened, and I'm 
glad that it did."

"Me too."

"And you, Legolas? Judging from your time upon Middle Earth, you 
must have had many lovers."

"I've had my share," Legolas said with a shy smile.

"Were they men, or women?"

"Both. Only Elves. But as you said, Aragorn, it doesn't matter 
anymore. Only this matters."

"I agree."

Aragorn closed his eyes and dozed off for a moment. After a while, 
he felt Elven fingers brushing over his chest. He opened his eyes. 
Legolas lay watching him, his head propped on his hand.

"I wonder what you're thinking right now," Aragorn said.

"I'm thinking what a wonderful lover you are," Legolas said and 
something in the Elf's eyes warned Aragorn. Legolas looked like a 
predatory animal watching its prey.

"How do you know?" Aragorn asked him playfully. "You've only 
experienced me once."

"Ah," Legolas said with a naughty smile, "but we can change that." 
He brought his face close to Aragorn's, gave him a tender, teasing 
kiss, then moved his lips to Aragorn's ear and whispered: "Make 
love to me."

As much as those words aroused Aragorn, he tried to hide it. 
"Again?" he teased as Legolas pushed him back against the bed, 
"a plague on Elves and their tirelessness!"

Legolas laughed. "Don't bother playing hard-to-get, Aragorn," he 
said as he crawled on top, "you know you can't resist me!"

Legolas's playful self-assuredness made Aragorn laugh. But the Elf 
was right; they both knew that.

"And besides," Legolas added before bending down to lick 
Aragorn's neck, "you still have one erogenous zone to discover."

Aragorn groaned when wetness laved the skin of his throat. 
Suddenly, he didn't feel so tired anymore.

***

Neither of them slept that night. It wasn't until the crack of dawn 
that Aragorn finally drifted off in a peaceful slumber. He woke 
when a ray of sunlight fell on his closed eyes. He opened them and 
blinked. He yawned and rolled onto his side; his eyes fell on his 
lover laying beside him.

Legolas also lay on his side, his back to Aragorn, his long hair 
spilled on the cushions. His breathing was calm and regular. 
Aragorn propped his head on one hand and carefully peered over 
Legolas's bare shoulder. One lock of hair lay over Legolas's face, 
slightly moving with every breath. Aragorn gently brushed it away.

Legolas lay with his eyes open, but they had no focus and he 
didn't blink. He obviously was in the Elven state of slumber, called 
reverie. It meant that his body was resting, but his mind was 
indirectly aware of the surroundings. Any sudden movement or 
sound would cause Legolas to wake.

Aragorn settled with watching Legolas and softly stroking him. 
Legolas was so beautiful. Aragorn still couldn't believe that Legolas 
returned his love. He sighed contentedly; he couldn't remember 
the last time he'd felt this happy, this peaceful. Gradually, he 
dozed off again.

When he woke for the second time, they had changed position. 
Legolas lay on his back and Aragorn's head rested on the Elf's 
chest, which rose and fell in a regular rhythm. Aragorn felt 
Legolas's heart beat steadily below his ear. One of Legolas's hands 
lay loosely on Aragorn's scalp.

It was a comfortable position and Aragorn enjoyed it for a few 
minutes without stirring.

"Legolas?" he finally whispered.

It didn't surprise him when Legolas answered immediately. "Yes?"

"You're not still planning on leaving today, are you?"

Legolas's free hand grabbed Aragorn's and brought it to his lips. 
"Nay," he said. "I'm not planning on leaving Rivendell for a while 
and I'll tell my brother that; as soon as I've found the strength to 
leave this bed, that is."

Aragorn looked up. Legolas, who had been staring up at the 
ceiling, looked back at him and smiled. It was a sweet, loving 
smile. Aragorn crawled up to him and looked Legolas in the eye, 
unable to suppress a grin.

"What?" Legolas asked with amusement.

Aragorn bent over and his cheek brushed against Legolas's. His 
tongue came out and gave Legolas's ear a slow lick, teasingly 
lingering at the point. Legolas shivered, a gasp escaping from his 
lips. Aragorn secretly smiled; he'd found the third erogenous zone 
during the night. Legolas had not allowed him sleep before he'd 
found it; and after he'd finally found it, sleep had been the very 
last thing on his mind.

As Aragorn rolled onto Legolas's warm body, he curled his tongue 
around the point of Legolas's ear. Neither of them even thought of 
getting out of bed for the following hour.

Chapter 6: Reunion

Aragorn finally succeeded in getting Legolas out of bed by 
promising him a hot bath. Aragorn prepared it for him, and was 
asked to join the Elf in the tub. Aragorn gladly accepted.

After their bath, they got dressed and prepared to go down for 
breakfast. When Aragorn reached for the doorknob, Legolas 
grabbed him and pulled him close for a kiss. When his mouth was 
finally released, Aragorn laughed. "Legolas, we're so late already. 
We really must go down now."

"I know," Legolas said, "but the thought of not being allowed to do 
this all day is unbearable."

They had agreed on keeping their relationship secret for as long as 
possible. However, both Legolas and Aragorn wondered how long 
they would succeed in hiding their feelings.

"I know," Aragorn told him, "but think of tonight."

Legolas smiled and wanted to open the door, but this time Aragorn 
stopped him. "Nervous about having to face Haldir today?" 
Aragorn asked him tenderly.

Legolas smiled again. "Haldir who?" he said.

***

Aragorn immediately went down to the dining room, but Legolas 
went out to find his brother first. Aragorn sat down at the table 
with the others. To his amusement, they were oblivious of his 
extremely good humour. Legolas entered the room not much later, 
chatting with his brother. He gave Aragorn a secretive smile and 
sat down next to Elrohir.

During breakfast, Aragorn had to keep fighting the urge to watch 
Legolas across the table. His heart beat like a wild thing when he 
thought of their first night together. He'd never been in love like 
this before.

He was startled from his thoughts when he heard someone 
mention a familiar name.

"Will Haldir and the other Lórien Elves not join us this morning, 
Lord Elrond?" Garand, an Elf from Rivendell, asked.

Aragorn looked around. Haldir was, indeed, absent. He wondered 
why he hadn't missed Haldir before.

"Nay," Elrond replied, "Haldir and his friends left us this morning, 
quite unexpected. Haldir apologized to me about this sudden 
parting and told me they had urgent business in Lórien."

This information was received with slight surprise by the other 
Elves, but Aragorn and Legolas quickly exchanged a meaningful 
glance.

Aragorn looked at his plate. He had been prepared to face Haldir, 
even to defend himself and his love for Legolas; but he hadn't 
expected this: that Haldir would accept his loss and leave silently. 
And judging from Legolas's bewildered expression, he was just as 
amazed. Aragorn knew he should be relieved, and happy that 
Haldir was finally gone, but he wasn't. He felt empty inside. It was 
too sudden.

***

Miracles do happen sometimes. Aragorn would experience that the 
same day at first hand.

After breakfast, Legolas and Aragorn wandered outside, planning 
on a lone walk in the gardens to discuss things. As they walked 
onto the courtyard, Aragorn couldn't restrain himself. "Had you 
expected this?" he whispered to Legolas.

"Nay," was Legolas's reply. "I don't understand. It seems so unlike 
Haldir to retreat like this."

Aragorn wanted to say something, but remained silent when 
thundering of hooves announced the arrival of guests. Two horses 
came galloping through the gate, both ridden by a blond Elf.

"Expecting visitors?" Legolas asked Aragorn.

"No," Aragorn replied with a frown. Together with Legolas, he 
approached the Elves, who stopped their horses and dismounted. 
As Aragorn walked up to them, he called out: "Vedui' , gentlemen! 
Welcome in Rivendell."

The Elves turned to them and smiled. They had similar enough 
features that Aragorn guessed they must be related. They were 
doubtlessly handsome; they had fair faces, grey eyes and were 
clad in unfamiliar clothing.

"'Quel amrun ," one of them greeted. "Rúmil is my name and this 
is my brother Orophin."

"Mae govannen , Rúmil and Orophin," Aragorn said. "This is 
Prince Legolas of Mirkwood, and I am called Estel, ward of Lord 
Elrond of Rivendell. What brings you to his Last Homely House?"

Rúmil and Orophin bowed for Legolas. Then the one called Rúmil 
spoke again. "Our story is unusual. We have come from the west, 
from Valinor; we came back to the shores of Middle-earth where 
we were born, because we received incredible news. It appears 
that our brother, long believed to be dead, is still alive."

Aragorn and Legolas both froze. "We are travelling to Lórien," 
Rúmil continued, 'for that is where we lived so many years ago. 
We hope to find our brother there. We arrived in Rivendell and 
decided to come and greet Lord Elrond, ask him for news and 
hopefully find a place to stay the night."

"My lord," Aragorn urged, "your brother, what is his name?"

Rúmil's eyes locked with Aragorn's. "His name is Haldir. Do you 
know him?" he asked, and both he and Orophin looked at the Man 
with hope in their eyes.

Aragorn and Legolas looked at each other. Both were stunned.

"Aragorn…" Legolas said.

Aragorn made a quick decision. He turned to the brothers. 
"Gentlemen," he said hastily, "I must leave you now. Prince 
Legolas will inform you about your brother and bring you to Lord 
Elrond."

Aragorn turned to Legolas again and grabbed Legolas's hands. 
"Will you please do that, Legolas? I must leave immediately."

Legolas nodded understandingly. "Go, Aragorn," he urged, "go 
quickly."

Aragorn left the bewildered brothers with Legolas and ran away. 
He quickly passed by the stables. "Saddle me a horse!" he shouted 
to a servant, "the fastest horse you can find!" He ran up to his 
room, grabbed his ranger pack and his sword, put on his travelling 
boots and his cloak and ran down again. He burst into Elrond's 
study, forgetting to knock.

"Father!" he said to a clearly startled Elrond, "quick, tell me: how 
long ago did Haldir leave?"

"Estel, what is the meaning of this?"

"Legolas will tell you, father. It is extraordinary. But quick: answer 
me."

"I believe he left an hour or two after the sun rose," Elrond told 
him.

"Thank you," Aragorn said and left again without explaining things 
further. As he ran back to the stables, he figured out that if he 
made haste, he would catch up with Haldir in hopefully less than 
three hours.

A horse stood ready. He swiftly mounted it and galloped off, 
eastwards.

Aragorn knew the swiftest route to Lórien, and he guessed Haldir 
and his friends had gone that way. He trailed them without stop, 
ever spurring on his horse. His heart was filled with joyful 
anticipation. How could it be possible? Haldir had lost Legolas, but 
he would be reunited with his brothers.

Hours passed and Aragorn's horse was starting to get tired. 
Aragorn, however, felt no fatigue. His eyes were fixed on the 
horizon and finally, he perceived a small pack of riders ahead of 
him. The riders held a leisury pace and soon, Aragorn caught up 
with them. They heard him approaching and turned. When Haldir 
recognized him, a snarl appeared on his handsome face. His 
expression was one of pure contempt. The other Lórien Elves 
greeted Aragorn with friendly surprise.

"What do you want?" Haldir snapped, no longer self-assured and 
haughty, but openly hostile.

"Haldir," Aragorn panted, "you must come with me."

"Nay. I don't want to see you ever again, Estel," Haldir said, 
surprisingly calm, although despair and grief were written all over 
his face. "You've got what you wanted. Now leave me alone."

"You don't understand," Aragorn urged. "You must come with me, 
Haldir! You must!"

"Why?" Suddenly, Haldir's expression changed into one of 
immense worry and fear. "Is something wrong with Legolas?"

Aragorn was surprised by the anguish in Haldir's voice. For the 
first time, Haldir showed that he really cared for Legolas, and for 
the first time, Aragorn felt a stab of guilt. Haldir guided his mount 
up to Aragorn's. "Tell me, Estel," he urged, "has something 
happened? Is Legolas all right?"

"Legolas is fine," Aragorn told him. "Do not be afraid, but ride 
back to Rivendell with me."

Haldir hesitated and gave Aragorn a suspicious glance. "What is 
going on then?"

For some reason, Aragorn thought it best not to give it all away. 
"Some guests arrived in Rivendell this morning, and they wish to 
speak with you."

Haldir frowned. After a short silence, he shrugged. "Very well 
then," he sighed. "I'll travel back to Rivendell." He said goodbye to 
his friends and just as he and Aragorn wanted to turn back, one of 
the Lórien Elves said: "Wait, Estel. Take my horse; yours is too 
tired to carry you back to Rivendell in such high pace."

Aragorn smiled thankfully. "Thank you, Eriphin." They switched 
horses, Aragorn said goodbye to the Lórien Elves and set off with 
Haldir.

"Why such haste?" Haldir called to him when Aragorn immediately 
set a high pace. "Why am I needed in Rivendell so urgently?"

"I cannot tell you. But you'd rather be in Rivendell now than later; 
trust me."

Haldir seemed to doubt that, but he gave no comment. For a 
while, they rode silently. Now and then, Aragorn glanced 
sidewards at Haldir; a Haldir he'd never known before. A Haldir he, 
to his surprise, felt sympathy for. It made him feel even more 
guilty. Although he hadn't taken Legolas from him, for Haldir 
hadn't owned Legolas, it did feel like it.

"Haldir," he finally ventured, "if I hurt you, I am sorry. Legolas –"

Haldir quickly turned his face to Aragorn. His lips were curled in an 
angry snarl, but his eyes spoke of nothing but immense sadness. 
"Do not speak of him in my presence!" he hissed.

"Haldir, I –"

"I am currently trying very hard not to hate you, Estel," Haldir said 
through clenched teeth, "mentioning his name will not make 
things better for you."

"I just wanted –"

"Leave me alone," Haldir whispered and he spurred on his horse. 
Aragorn let him go. He bit his lip; how he wanted to know what 
was going on in Haldir's head. But Aragorn no longer doubted 
Haldir's feelings for Legolas; a terrible possibility slowly began 
nagging at him.

For two more hours, Aragorn followed Haldir, who had taken a 
lead of hundred meters. The shadows were already lengthening 
when finally the spires of Rivendell loomed in the distance. Haldir 
slowed his pace and Aragorn caught up with him. Together, they 
entered the courtyard. As they stopped and dismounted, Legolas 
appeared from inside.

Aragorn saw that Haldir noticed him, too, and the Elf averted his 
eyes. Aragorn placed his hand on Haldir's shoulder and to his 
surprise, Haldir did not pull away. Aragorn gently led Haldir 
towards the house, and Legolas swiftly descended the stairs to 
meet them, a smile on his face.

"Finally, there you are!" he called out as he walked up to them. He 
approached Haldir and embraced him. 

Haldir raised his hands as if to return the embrace, but they 
stopped halfway and hung there aimlessly. Aragorn could see an 
expression of grief and confusion on his face.

"Legolas," Haldir choked, "what is going on? What is this all about? 
I don't understand…"

Legolas retreated from the embrace. "Come inside," he said, 
grabbing Haldir's hand. Haldir followed Legolas and Aragorn inside, 
too confused to resist. Legolas took the lead and walked straight 
to Elrond's study. He knocked and opened the door. He walked 
inside, followed by Haldir, and Aragorn, who closed the door 
behind him. Three Elves rose from their seats.

"My Lord," Haldir said, politely addressing Lord Elrond, "may I ask 
what the meaning of this is? Estel told me there was someone who 
wanted to see me…"

"Two," Elrond said with a gentle smile, "two persons who want to 
see you, Haldir of Lórien, Guardian of the Golden Wood." He 
pointed at Rúmil and Orophin, who were watching Haldir and 
looked like they could cry and smile at the same time.

Haldir's eyes fell upon them and he froze. Seconds passed in 
silence. "No," he finally whispered. Disbelief and shock were 
written all over his handsome face.

The two brothers did a step towards Haldir. "Haldir –" Rúmil softly 
said, "toror'… "

Breathing raggedly, Haldir stumbled backwards and almost lost his 
balance. His eyes darted wildly over those present before settling 
on his brothers again. Trembling, he slowly sank to his knees, 
bowing his head and pressing a fist against his chest. His 
shoulders shook with choked sobs.

Legolas suddenly stood beside him. Looking down at Haldir, he 
extended his hand and tenderly placed it on Haldir's scalp in a 
reassuring gesture. He watched Haldir with a tender expression on 
his face.

"Haldir," Orophin said and his voice, too, sounded unsteady, "do 
you recognize us?"

Haldir lifted his head and looked at his brothers. Tears were 
streaking down his face. "Yes, Orophin," he whispered, "I 
recognize you."

Smiles broke through on the brothers' faces and they approached 
Haldir. Aragorn looked at Elrond, who gave him a little nod, and 
they both left the room. The last thing Aragorn saw before the 
door closed behind him, was how the brothers kneeled in front of 
Haldir and pulled him into a tight embrace. Legolas still stood next 
to Haldir, looking down at the brothers with a smile.

***

It was a different Haldir that appeared at the dinner table that 
evening. The tears were gone and his face was beaming with 
immense joy and happiness. The same could be said of his 
brothers, who sat beside him during dinner. The first excitement 
about their meeting had slowly subdued and after all those years 
spent apart, they were talking without stop, also engaging the 
others in their conversation.

Aragorn, however, didn't speak much. He watched Haldir intently, 
ever marveling over the change in the Elf. This was not the 
arrogant, unkind Elf he'd known before; this was a respectable 
and kind being. Haldir was smiling all the time; a real, beautiful 
smile. It brightened his entire face. Arwen, who was sitting across 
the table, smiled at Aragorn. Aragorn returned the smile, but it 
was a sour smile. A thought, that had been on his mind for most 
of the day, was beginning to gnaw at him more and more.

After dinner, Haldir took him apart. The cheerfulness he'd 
displayed during dinner was gone; he was serious again, but not 
unfriendly.

He led Aragorn into the gardens. "I want to thank you, Estel," he 
softly told Aragorn, "for what you did today."

"There is no need to thank me, Haldir," Aragorn kindly said to the 
Elf. He knew how hard it had to be for Haldir to say this. "I just did 
what had to be done."

"Still I want to thank you," Haldir said.

"Well, in that case: you're welcome," Aragorn smiled.

They walked on, both silent. Just when Aragorn started wondering 
if there was something more that needed to be said, when Haldir 
took a deep breath, as if bracing himself. He stopped and turned 
to Aragorn.

"Estel," he said, "I must apologize to you. I have displayed 
objectionable behaviour in the past few weeks."

Aragorn raised his hand to stop him, but Haldir continued: "No, 
Estel; I was wrong to treat you like that. I kept you and Legolas 
apart, although it was clear to me that you were in love with each 
other. That was cruel and unforgivable; I see that now."

Aragorn could not help but admiring Haldir's bravery. The Elf kept 
his eyes on Aragorn's the whole time, not once looking away. He 
was offering his apologies, admitting he had been wrong; Aragorn 
knew that had to be extremely difficult for an Elf as proud as 
Haldir.

"Forgive me," Haldir said softly. "I hope you and Legolas will find 
happiness together –" he swallowed, but still kept his eyes locked 
with Aragorn's, "and that, despite everything, one day you'll 
consider me a friend."

"Haldir," Aragorn said, trying to keep his voice steady, "there is 
nothing to forgive. Although your behaviour was wrong, you acted 
out of love. It is no excuse, but I understand. Today, I have seen 
the Elf you really are and I find myself liking him. I see no reason 
why we shouldn't be friends."

Haldir nodded gracefully and gave Aragorn a little smile. "Diola 
lle. "

"It hurts me to see you in such pain, Haldir," Aragorn told him 
gently, "I know that you truly love Legolas."

The corner of Haldir's mouth twitched and an expression of 
immense sorrow quickly slid over his face. "Yes, I love him," he 
whispered. "I want him to be happy. You deserve him," he said 
hoarsely, "I don't." His head turned red and he averted his eyes 
for the first time. Aragorn could only guess what was going on in 
Haldir's head. His heart bled for the Elf.

"Let us go back now," Haldir whispered.

Aragorn nodded. On their way back, neither spoke.

Chapter 7: Forgiveness

Aragorn went straight to his room, needing to be alone. He took a 
quick bath, then lay down on his bed for some thinking. Little time 
was granted him however, for only a few minutes later, a jubilant 
Legolas burst into the room. He jumped onto the bed and threw 
himself in Aragorn's arms, laughing.

"Isn't this a wonderful day, Aragorn?" he murmered as he buried 
his face against Aragorn's neck. "Aren't you happy?"

"Yes, yes," Aragorn smiled, "it's wonderful indeed."

"Won't you come down again?" Legolas asked him. "There's some 
serious story-telling going on downstairs."

"No," Aragorn said, "but you can go if you want."

Legolas looked at him. "Nay," he said, "I want to be with you. I 
missed you all day."

"I missed you, too," Aragorn said. He buried his fingers in 
Legolas's hair and started to smile, but suddenly he thought of 
Haldir; guilt immediately twisted in his stomach.

"Is something wrong, Aragorn?" Legolas asked him.

"No," Aragorn said, before bending over to kiss him, "nothing is 
wrong, Legolas."

As they made love, Aragorn held on to Legolas as if for dear life. 
As he found his pleasure in Legolas's arms, he buried his face in 
the pillow and wetted it with silent tears.

Minutes later, as they lay side by side, Aragorn stared up at the 
ceiling, his mind elsewhere. Legolas had to address him twice 
before Aragorn even heard him.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong, Aragorn?"

"Nothing is wrong, Legolas."

Legolas propped his head on his hand, his eyes studying Aragorn's 
face.

"Why did you cry?" he asked him.

Aragorn turned his face away. There was no escaping this; Legolas 
would not be misled.

"Legolas," he said softly, "I think you should seriously consider 
giving Haldir a second chance."

"What?" Legolas said, frowning, "what did you say?"

"Don't get me wrong, Legolas," Aragorn said, pressing Legolas's 
hand to his lips, "there's nothing I more dearly want than to be 
with you. But Haldir loves you too, Legolas. And today's events 
changed him; today I saw an Elf who is worthy of you, maybe 
even more so than I am. No, listen to me – you are an Elf, I am a 
Man. You are a prince, I am a Ranger. You are immortal, I will die, 
maybe in a few decades' time, maybe sooner. You deserve to be 
with someone who can give you eternal happiness, Legolas – I 
can't do that. Haldir can – and he will, if you give him the chance. 
He would treat you with respect. In his heart, he longs for a 
second chance, a chance to undo the unjustice he did to you in the 
past. I saw it in his eyes when I talked to him today."

Legolas slowly shook his head, a frown of unhappiness on his face. 
"No, Aragorn. I told you – I don't want to be with Haldir. I want to 
be with you."

"Can you be sure that you will never come to regret that 
decision?" Aragorn asked him. 

"I don't love Haldir anymore."

"Are you sure of that? Don't you feel anything for him?"

"I care for him. But only as a friend."

"Will you never again feel more for him?"

Legolas's eyes began to fill with tears and his voice was broken 
when he said: "Aragorn, why are you doing this? Do you *want* 
me to say that I love Haldir, do you *want* me to leave you?"

"No, Legolas," Aragorn said, "I just want you to make the right 
decision. I just want to know: if you hadn't met me, would you 
give Haldir a second chance? Could you fall in love with him again 
if I weren't here?"

Legolas bit his lip, one tear slowly fell. "I see no point in this. You 
*are* here."

"Tell me, Legolas," Aragorn urged. He hated himself for making 
Legolas cry, but he needed to know. "Are you certain that you'll 
never feel anything more than friendship for Haldir?"

A second tear slid down Legolas's cheek. "What does it matter? 
*You* can't be certain that you'll never fall in love with Arwen, or 
another."

Aragorn did not know what to say to that. "Legolas –" he started, 
but Legolas stopped him. "I don't want to discuss this any longer," 
he said and bent over to claim Aragorn's mouth in a kiss.

After they'd made love for the second time, Legolas held Aragorn 
in his arms and cradled him to sleep. When Aragorn woke that 
night, Legolas's side of the bed was empty and cold.

***

Legolas strode down the hallway, an expression of determination 
on his face. He knew what he had to do and he was going to do it 
now. If he didn't, a certain Man en two Elves would never find 
their happiness.

He walked up to the door and knocked. After a few seconds, the 
door opened and Legolas said: "Haldir, I have come here because 
I want us to put the past behind us – for once and for all."

***

Haldir, clearly confused, let him in. "Legolas, what is the meaning 
of this?"

As they stood facing each other, Legolas took a breath and said: 
"There are things to be solved, Haldir; things that need to be 
sorted out before you, I and Aragorn can find happiness and 
contentment. Don't you agree?"

Haldir nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Haldir – you found your brothers again, something you've wanted 
for so long. Is there still something else that you want?" Deep 
inside, he knew what the answer would be.

"Yes," Haldir whispered, "but I can never have it. It's Estel's to 
have, and I am happy for him."

Legolas shook his head sadly. "No, Haldir – never again will you 
have my heart. I care for you, love you even, but I don't love you 
the way I love Aragorn."

"I know." Haldir slowly sat down on his bed and covered his face 
with his hands. "Oh, Legolas," he sighed, "I am so sorry. I am so 
terribly sorry."

Legolas kneeled down in front of him. He softly stroked Haldir's 
scalp. "I know. It's all right, Haldir – it's behind us now. Let us 
forget and start anew, as friends."

"How can we forget?" Haldir said desperately, "I'm so ashamed. 
I've been treating you like – it's just 
too –"

"Shh." Legolas pulled Haldir close for an embrace; Haldir hung 
passively in his arms. "I forgive you, Haldir. Try to forget."

Haldir nodded unconvincingly.

"I want you to find peace of heart, Haldir," Legolas whispered into 
Haldir's ear. "I want to help you."

"You can't," Haldir said.

"Is there nothing that can be done to make you feel better?"

"No," Haldir said, but something in his voice caused Legolas to pull 
back.

"Look at me, Haldir," he said, pulling Haldir's hands from his face 
and studying it. "What is it that I see in your eyes, that you won't 
tell me what it is?"

"Nothing," Haldir said, looking away.

Legolas brought Haldir's hands to his lips and kissed the knuckles. 
"What is it that you're thinking of? You can tell me, Haldir," he 
said tenderly.

To Legolas's surprise, a blush crept up Haldir's cheeks. He couldn't 
remember the last time he'd seen that. "I was just thinking…" 
Haldir whispered, "that I would give anything for…"

"For what?"

"For one last night with you," Haldir said, barely audible. "To show 
you that I can love you like you deserve, that I am no longer the 
Haldir you experienced the last time. To make up for all that I 
did."

Legolas's mind spun like crazy. What did he have to say to that? 
Haldir's request was sincere, and Legolas's heart bled as he 
understood how unhappy Haldir was with their last intimate 
encounter. He studied Haldir, who again looked like that Elf he'd 
fallen in love with so many years ago. But as much as he cared for 
Haldir, Legolas realized as he studied Haldir's face, he knew he 
would never love him again like he used to. He loved another now.

In his heart, however, Legolas wanted to grant Haldir's request. 
He knew it would give Haldir peace of heart, and, Legolas had to 
admit, himself too. He wanted to begin his relationship with 
Aragorn without feelings of bitterness towards Haldir. But Aragorn 
– would he understand?

Aragorn had offered to let Legolas go, out of love for him. 
Granting Haldir's request would give both Haldir and Legolas 
peace, but what would it do to Aragorn? Legolas bit his lip. Would 
it come to stand between them? Would Aragorn hate him for it?

No, he realized. Aragorn wouldn't hate him. Aragorn would 
understand that after this night, Legolas's heart would always be 
his. Legolas would give it to him without hesitation – if Aragorn 
still wanted it. Legolas looked at Haldir again. Yes, he decided. 
This was something that had to be done. He shut his eyes briefly. 
Forgive me, Aragorn, he thought. I do this for us, and for Haldir.

"Haldir," he said, and the other Elf looked up. "Because I want us 
both to find peace, I will consent. One last time we shall share the 
same bed –"

Haldir's jaw fell. He shook his head and said: "No, Legolas –"

"It will help us both to forget the bitterness and to move on."

"No. Don't do this. I just told Estel that I wanted to be friends – as 
such, I can't possibly –"

"He will understand," Legolas said.

"You don't know that. Don't you see what you risk? You might lose 
him."

"I won't lose him."

"You pity me. I don't want pity."

"It's not out of pity that I consent."

"No." Haldir stood from the bed, grabbed Legolas's arm and 
started leading him to the door. "Go now, Legolas. Go to Estel and 
forget what you just said, before I accept this foolish offer."

Legolas stopped him. "I want this," he said to Haldir, who looked 
back at him with eyes full of emotion.

"You'll regret it if you do this."

"No. I'll regret it if I don't."

Legolas brought his face close to Haldir's. Legolas could hear 
Haldir hold his breath as he brought their lips into contact. Haldir 
unconsciously parted his lips, but before Legolas could take 
advantage of that, Haldir tore his mouth free from Legolas's.

"You must leave now, Legolas," he whispered hoarsely.

Legolas said nothing. He brought his hands to the front of Haldir's 
tunic and slowly began untying the laces. "This isn't right, 
Legolas," Haldir said, breathing raggedly. "Stop this."

When Legolas was done with the laces, he leaned forward and 
gave Haldir a long lick, from the collarbones up the throat. He 
could feel Haldir's racing pulse beneath the skin. Haldir's muscled 
chest was warm beneath his fingertips.

"Oh – no," Haldir sighed, shivering at the caress. He could feel his 
resistance crumble quickly now. The sweet scent of Legolas's skin 
was intoxicating.

When Legolas's hands slid beneath his tunic and slender fingers 
brushed over his nipples, Haldir's will was broken. "Oh, gods," he 
choked. "Legolas –"

Legolas's lips found his again, and this time, he didn't pull back. 
When Legolas's tongue asked for entrance, he allowed it, 
welcomed it. He had to fight the urge to grab Legolas and hurl him 
onto the bed. No, he thought with determination, it won't be like 
that this time. This time will be different. This time, his every 
thought would be bent on pleasing Legolas, and showing him how 
much he really loved him.

There was no need to hurry. Haldir wanted to cherish the moment, 
for there would be no next time. He cupped Legolas's face with his 
hands and kissed him attentively, tenderly. The intensity of the 
kiss left Legolas gasping for breath; the sight pleased Haldir 
beyond expectation.

"I will make this good for you," he told Legolas. "Remember *this* 
in the future, not what happened last time."

Legolas nodded. He let Haldir take the lead in this and enjoyed the 
tenderness that lay in Haldir's touches again. For a little while, 
Haldir settled with just kissing Legolas, slowly and tenderly. 
Legolas, however, noticed that he was also teasing; everytime 
Legolas tried to deepen their kiss, Haldir pulled back to look at 
him, then bent over to kiss him again.

When Haldir finally allowed their kiss to become more passionate, 
Legolas moaned in acceptance. Haldir had always been a good 
kisser, but this time he outdid himself. It was a kiss full of 
promises, and reassurance. Legolas suddenly realized with 
surprise that Haldir's skill with his tongue alone had already 
caused him to develop an erection; his cock pulsed hot and hard 
against the fabric of his leggings. Haldir, of course, noticed it, too. 
The old Haldir would have smirked and gloated; this one merely 
gave a loving smile.

"Lirimaer ", he whispered, before kissing Legolas's brow. His 
hands trembled ever so slightly when they reached up to Legolas's 
tunic and began untying the laces. They slowly undressed each 
other and when the last piece of clothing fell to the floor, Haldir 
tightly wrapped his arms around Legolas's waist and lifted him.

When Legolas's back touched the sheets of Haldir's bed, he pulled 
Haldir onto him. Haldir parted his legs as he lay down on top of 
Legolas and sighed at the intimacy of the position; skin against 
skin, and their erections trapped between their bodies. He bent 
down and licked Legolas's throat, however avoiding the sensitive 
spot at the base. His fingers instinctively travelled up to Legolas's 
ear, but then suddenly withdrew.

"Why don't you touch me where I like to be touched?" Legolas 
whispered.

Haldir closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm hesitant to touch you 
there, for it would give me power over you. Maybe it is best if I 
surrendered to you, if that makes you feel more comfortable."

"No. I trust you, Haldir," Legolas told him. "I surrender to you. 
Touch me." And with a naughty smile: "Please me."

Haldir smiled. "You asked for it."

He bent down again and ran his tongue over Legolas's collarbones. 
When the tip of his tongue swept over the sensitive skin, Legolas 
shivered. Haldir moved up to Legolas's left ear. "I want to taste 
you," he murmured, then let the tip of his tongue explore the 
curves of Legolas's ear, ending at the point.

"Ai," Legolas whimpered, "yes…" He shivered with need as Haldir 
swirled his tongue around the point of his ear and gasped when 
Haldir gently bit him there. "Oh, gods – Haldir…"

Haldir moved down again, using his tongue to explore every inch 
of Legolas's chest. By the time he reached Legolas's navel, Legolas 
was whimpering with desire and frustration at the slow progress. 
His hands tried to push Haldir's head down, wanting him to take 
him into his mouth. "Come on, Haldir," he said breathlessly, "take 
me."

Haldir, however, resisted the pressure and moved up to Legolas's 
face. "Not yet," he said, smiling. He sat up and seated himself on 
Legolas's chest, his legs spread. "You'll take me, first," he said as 
he took his own erection in his hand. Unconsciously, Legolas's 
eyes widened and his lips parted.

"Would you like that?" Haldir asked him.

"Yes," Legolas breathed.

Haldir shifted, and groaned when his hard flesh slid into Legolas's 
mouth. He seized the headboard for support and flexed his hips 
forward, pushing his shaft further down Legolas's throat. His eyes 
fell shut and he cried out in delight as Legolas's throat constricted 
around him. He slowly pulled back and looked down at Legolas, 
fearing that he'd been too rough, but the desire in Legolas's eyes 
told him that he was enjoying this as much as he. Haldir began 
slowly rocking himself in and out of Legolas's mouth. 
 
The sensation was indescribably good. Legolas's warm tongue 
stroked Haldir's length without stop. It swirled teasingly around 
the sensitive tip. Haldir moaned with every movement, feverishly 
pursuing his pleasure, angling his hips to thrust deeper. However 
he watched Legolas through narrowed eyes to be sure he did not 
become too rough. 
 
Violent shudders started passing through his body, the suction on 
his cock driving him wild. His fingers squeezed the wood of the 
headboard so hard that it hurt and fire started to gather quickly in 
his loins. When Legolas's tongue repeatedly swept across the tip of 
his erection, he arched.

"Ah – Legolas, wait. No…" He didn't want to let it end this way. 
This was supposed to be about Legolas. Beads of liquid started 
leaking from his shaft and when Legolas again sucked hard, he 
gasped.

"Legolas, no – I'm going to come!" With a jerk of his hips, Haldir 
pulled back and slid free from Legolas's mouth. His entire body 
trembled with effort and passion. He'd been pushed too far. Liquid, 
herald of his orgasm, kept leaking from his slit and dripped onto 
Legolas's collarbones. Legolas, breathing harshly, stared up at 
Haldir with wide eyes, his face flushed. It was too erotic to deny. 
Before Haldir knew what he was doing, he'd pushed himself into 
Legolas's welcoming mouth again, not longer able to control 
himself. One firm stroke of Legolas's tongue was enough; with a 
ragged groan, Haldir spilled his seed over Legolas's tongue.

Trembling and breathing raggedly, he sat back on Legolas's chest 
again. The intensity of his orgasm left him feeling weak. He 
covered his face with his hands and whispered: "Oh, Legolas – I'm 
sorry. It seems I have a talent to make a mess out of things."

"Why?" Legolas asked.

"It should have been different," Haldir said desperately. "It was 
too soon, much too soon." He ventured a glance at Legolas and 
saw to his surprise that he was smiling.

"We're not done yet," Legolas said, "do you really think that I will 
let you get away with this? Besides, it was my fault. I knew what I 
was doing."

Haldir took a deep breath, and a smile broke through on his face. 
"Curse you and your skilful tongue, Legolas," he murmured.

"Kiss me," Legolas demanded, and Haldir was happy to oblige. He 
tasted himself on Legolas's tongue.

"Sit up," Legolas said when their kiss was broken.

As soon as Haldir had taken a comfortable position, his back 
against the pillows propped up against the headboard, and his 
long legs stretched, Legolas sat down on top of him. 

Legolas gave Haldir a long and teasing kiss, in the meantime 
letting his hands slide over Haldir's muscled chest. Haldir sighed 
and enjoyed how Legolas took the lead this time. As Haldir's 
mouth was taken in a passionate kiss, Legolas pressed his body 
against Haldir's, his erection pulsing between their bodies. Haldir 
let his hands casually slide up and down Legolas's spine and felt 
Legolas shiver against him.

Legolas pulled slightly back and grabbed Haldir's hands. He bent 
over and whispered into Haldir's ear: "Touch me." He brought 
Haldir's hands to his erection and simultaneously licked Haldir's 
ear. Haldir shivered and obliged. He folded his hands around 
Legolas's hardened flesh and stroked it, slowly but firmly, 
extracting a moan from Legolas's lips.

Legolas began moving his hips, pushing himself into Haldir's 
hands. Haldir complied, stroking him the way he knew brought 
Legolas the most pleasure. Legolas surrendered to it; he hung 
heavily against Haldir, moaning with every stroke. His hands had 
stopped moving and lay passively on Haldir's chest, but Haldir 
didn't mind; he'd already had his pleasure. It was Legolas's turn 
now.

Haldir's hands were tight and firm around Legolas's erection. 
Haldir's movements and his own created a delicious friction that 
drove Legolas wild. He kept on moving back and forth, pursuing 
his pleasure in utter shamelessness. His moans grew louder.

Legolas's hands moved down and took hold of Haldir's cock. Only 
a few strokes were sufficient to make it hard again. "Haldir," 
Legolas said hoarsely, "I want you. Take me. Before it's too 
much."

One hand left him and reached for the bedside