Fan Fiction ❯ Tên Mûel ❯ Confusion of the heart ( Chapter 25 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: Tên Mûel
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)
Archive: http://www.yaoi.rulestheweb.com
http://www.fire-angel.net/Seek%20Truth/ main.html
http://lotr.lirimaer.com/
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfi c/src.php?auth=58906
http://fanfiction.alansworld.com/viewuser.php?uid= 74
http://adultfan.nexcess.net/aff/authors.php?no=2588
Legolas In Chains Archive
ALSlash Archive
Library of Moria, too
Category: AU, RPG
Rating: this chapter... PG? May go up soon... *is getting poked by My-chan: "NC-17!"* *sweatdrops*
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), slavery, angst...
Spoilers: A few... not really as I don't remember much of the book, just that Aragorn became King of Gondor in the end and that Arwen was his Queen.
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present might change this.
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only. <insert evil laughter here>
Notes&Comments: The only thing I have to say... I dunno what to say. ^^;;
_________________________________________________________________

Arwen sat on the sill of one of the windows in her chambers and stared down at her favorite place in the whole castle. It was her garden that reminded her of her home and her relatives and her youth. Even her mother and her father... Oh by the Valar, did she feel homesick! At times like these she wished that she had sailed into the West to join her mother, just like her father had asked her to.

The previous night, after Estel had visited her, she had started to cry, but she didn't notice until one of her maidens looked at her with such a shocked and scared expression that she wanted to ask what had happened when she felt the girl's cool breath on her cheek. Touching it tentatively she realized that she had been crying for at least an hour. Almost every muscle of her body had grown stiff from sitting hunched up on the cold stone floor in front of the mantle and it had taken her about another hour to get the uncomfortable feeling out of her body so that she was able to move without pain.

A sudden desire had drawn her out to the stables and although she had told herself over and over again that she simply wanted to check on Sîdh and her foal she couldn't help but glance around for a long curtain of jet black hair and a pair of stunningly silver eyes. But Rhÿn was nowhere to be seen, for the second day in a row. She dearly hoped that he would be back soon as she was missing him terribly.

So after she had watched Sûl and her mother for quite a while, reveling in the sweet family scene that soothed her heart partly, but increased her homesickness as well, she went back upstairs, this time to check on her brothers. But Elladan and Elrohir were not in their chambers, so she guessed that they were probably out on one of their hunts again. Thus she had gone back to her own chambers and sat down on her favorite windowsill, maybe even more depressed than she had been before she went out.

She didn't even know if she had fallen into reverie as she sat there, all she knew was that she was still sitting there when the sun rose and when the rain had started to fall. Fascinated she had watched how the buckets of water from the sky had ceased about an hour later and how the sun finally made its way through the clouds, the day becoming more promising of being a very nice one than before.

That managed to lighten her mood insofar that she was suddenly registering what happened outside, in her gardens to be specific. She saw how a dark-haired man, who resembled the one she had talked to the previous day, went out and walked right through them, with a beautiful blonde at his arm.

Frowning, she shifted in her seat so that she had a better view as the pair suddenly stopped, most probably because the stunning picture of the two Mallorns had come into sight. Now she had the chance to see that it was really her husband and his slave.

She admired how beautiful the blond Elf had become, even more when she had bought him. Now he was straining with power and energy even though he had to hold onto Estel's arm for support. She could see clearly that he was trying not to put to much weight onto his right side, where he had probably gotten hurt. Grimly she thought that her husband must have made immediate use of the keys he had gotten from her and set him free, but then she saw the reflection of the sun in the Elf's collar out of the corner of her eye. So he was only freed from the leash he was given, she thought gloomily.

But as the blond flung himself into the arms of her husband, she realized what made her feel so dour about him. Even though it seemed as if Estel had trained his slave very well, she knew that a slave would never actually do something like that. Her husband had probably made friends with the Elf... even more maybe. They looked too much of a happy couple than a master and his slave ever could, in fact they looked like the happy married couple that she and Estel should be.

A new well of tears made it to her eyes as she saw how the pair sat down on her and Estel's place between the two Mallorns and she turned her head away, her cheeks feeling damp once more. She contemplated to stay in her bed for the next century and sulk, but then she had had a better idea. She would try on the stables one more time and see if her lover was there.

She didn't have much hope on that, but as she had made her way down and looked into the hayloft she saw him sprawled over the golden ears. Smiling softly she approached him as silently as she could and lowered her hand to run her fingers lovingly through the long black tresses, that looked a little damp to her.

Rhÿn had come back very early in the morning and he had been soaked from the rain and very exhausted. He didn't bother much to put his belongings away and had went straight up to the hayloft, shedding his wet shirt and shoes and had fallen asleep promptly once his head touched the soft hay.

His sleep had been rather calm; thanks to his tiredness his body didn't have enough power to provide him with nightmares or any similar niceness. He only woke up a few hours later when he felt a touch on his back. Immediately his eyes snapped open and his hand shot upward to catch his attacker. The half-breed spun around in the same movement after he grabbed a narrow wrist and pulled the other one down, a dangerous growl on his half parted lips that exposed his teeth.

His attacker was pinned to the ground underneath him as Rhÿn pressed him down with his own weight, glaring down with fiery silver eyes, strands of his black hair hanging in his face.

Arwen winced as her wrist was grabbed too harshly, but didn't fight back as Rhÿn spun her around. She was also too surprised to act in any way and winced even more as the weight of the man crashed down on her, pinning her effectively down. She looked up and found him staring at her like she was his worst enemy, a cold fire in his silver eyes.

Of course she couldn't help but feel scared by this glare. Her breath hitched and she knew that he could see this fear displayed in her eyes. Carefully she took a deep breath before she gasped out his name.

"Rhÿn... it's me.... Arwen..."

The boy's narrowed eyes snapped open when he heard his lover calling his name, and he backed away, releasing his violent grip on the lithe figure.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered as he let himself fall back to sit on his bottom. He rested his upper body against the huddle of hay behind him and closed his eyes again as some visible tension left his limps and he sighed lowly.

Arwen winced once more as she sat up as well. She brushed some ears away from her sleeves before she looked into Rhÿn's tired face. "No, I am sorry. I shouldn't have approached you so thoughtlessly..."

"No, really... You shouldn't have..." he murmured without opening his eyes again. "I could have hurt you..... worse," he added then and reopened his eyes, a silent apology shimmering in them. Then he raised his arm slowly and extended his hand, motioning to the young looking woman to come closer.

"I will remember it next time," the woman murmured as she crawled forward on all fours, placing a kiss on the corner of the boy's mouth. "I have missed you. Terribly."

Rhÿn's lips curled up slightly when he felt the tender touch on them. The still extended hand sneaked around Arwen's waist and gently pulled her closer. Compared to his movements a mere minute before the Elf now seemed to be a completely different person. "Meleth..." he whispered lovingly, "I missed you too." With these words he pulled her even closer, sealing her mouth with his.

Returning the kiss hungrily as this was the first sign of love that anybody showed her during the passing day, Arwen moved closer and let her hands roam excitedly over his exposed chest, feeling the strong muscles and somewhat soft but also rough skin under her fingers. She purred happily as she pressed herself against his body, intending fully to sit into his lap.

The boy gasped a little surprised when the other Elf reacted in such an unexpected sweet way towards his proximity, but he did nothing to push her away. On the contrary he wrapped his second arm around the slender body as well and pulled her even closer, deepening the kiss gently. And if it hadn't been for the tiredness to still take a hold on him, Arwen would be at least missing her hair-band already and he would run his hands slowly though the smooth strands, combing them until they felt like silk in his hands...

Rhÿn broke the kiss and laid his head back into the hay, sighing tiredly. He knew exactly what his lover was longing for, but right now he knew he couldn't give it; he was still too exhausted from his way back from the Gray Woods. "I'm sorry Meleth... I'm tired..." he murmured as he closed his eyes again, absently stroking her long dark tresses.

Arwen leaned back to looked into his face, to see his closed eyes and felt how hers filled with tears once again. Somehow she had lost track of how many times she had cried in such a short time. Now sobs started to shake her body once more, starting as a soft shiver at first, but soon they evolved into something close to an earth-quake as she let her tears soak his hair.

The Elf's eyes snapped open again when he felt how the girl in his arms started to shiver and with slight horror he watched the tears that streamed down her face. Rhÿn tightened his hold around her body and pulled her closer until her head rested against his bare chest, mumbling soothing nonsense.

"Hush... what's wrong, Meleth? Did I... do you cry because of me now?" he asked with a slightly unstable voice as he was a little horrified that he made his love cry because he was so tired.

"Yes... no... I mean," Arwen managed to choke out between several sobs. "Estel..."

The boy still stroked the dark mop of his lover soothingly, but his grip around her body tightened even more, became almost painful as he heard those words. He clenched his jaws and his features turned hard and his silver eyes seemed to be made of ice in this moment.

"So... what did that bastard do to you this time?" he asked, trying to keep his voice down but it was hard and the words came out as a sharp hiss. But all the while he managed to keep stroking her hair almost tenderly, to his own surprise.

Pleasure and pain, those two lay so close together Arwen realized in this moment once more. She sniffled, trying to get her voice stable, to sound like the Queen she was and not like the scared little girl she felt like.

"He..." she started, but was interrupted by a new well of tears. Again she squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into Rhÿn's strong shoulder to cry her heart out just because of the memory. "He... I... we... He doesn't love me anymore!" she finally burst out and started to wail helplessly in his arms.

Rhÿn felt how his heart sank at Arwen's obvious pain, feeling as helpless as never before as she was shaking violently in his arms. He held her tenderly and tightly, afraid what would happen if he let go of her now.

Actually he should be glad that the relationship between his beloved and this stupid Human finally came to an end as it seemed, but he couldn't find any joy over it in his heart. On the contrary he was sad. Sad because he knew how much it meant to her, and sad that he had to see her like this, crying and weeping like a little child.

"Hush... I'm sure he...." The boy squeezed his eyes shut, forcing those comforting words out of his mouth. "I'm sure he didn't... mean it like that..."

Actually Rhÿn wanted to storm up into Aragorn's chambers and at least beat him up for making his girl cry again. She was definitely crying way too much lately. She deserved to be treated better. And HE, that stupid king of a Human should know that better than anybody else. He had had the luck of being together with Arwen for the most of his life and still he didn't seem to appreciate that, while the half-breed had yet spent so little time with his love... and it hurt him to see her like this.

The woman calmed down under her lover's touch and stopped shaking at least a little. In fact so much that she was able to look up at him without too much shaking and only a sniffle now and then.

"Do you think?" she asked, some hope swinging in her voice, ignoring the fact that she was lying in the arms of the man who loved her dearly right now.

Rhÿn looked back into tear-stained midnight blue eyes and so much wanted to tell her that she should forget about this jerk. That she should leave him behind once and for all since all Aragorn seemed to be capable of was hurting her. But he didn't. Instead he nodded slightly, almost imperceptible.

"Yes... I'm sure..." he whispered as he didn't find more strength for these words and stroked a few strands of hair out of her beautiful face.

"Rhÿn... Mîr... You..." the words caught in her throat as she suddenly realized that he was lying to her just to spend some solace. New tears caught in her lashes, but she managed a very wry smile as she leaned and pressed her damp lips to those of her lover, saving him from saying any other word that he only muttered for her.

Of course she knew that she and Estel didn't love each other anymore, she was just sad that they - the perfect match of a Human king and an Elven beauty - broke up like this, because they had grown too used to each other. They should be having lots of kids now, live a happy life and not something like this. There should be no need for both Rhÿn and this slave to spice up their life!

But then again, maybe this young half-breed deserved her more than Estel ever had. He was gentle, nice and courteous towards her. While anybody else was provided with coldness, she received a smile when others only got a cold stare from those silver eyes. When was the last time her husband had been this nice to her? She couldn't remember.

Rhÿn was glad when Arwen silenced him with her tear-stained lips and he returned the kiss tenderly, closing his eyes. He was glad for him because it saved him from lying further, and he hated lying. And also it had been hard for him to get these words over his lips and he didn't know if he would have been possible to say anything else about the Human that made him look better than he was.

He sighed softly when the kiss finally broke and his head sagged back against the hay. "Meleth..." he whispered, "can't you just stay here with me... and rest?" His voice was low and heavy from his tiredness. The hunt had taken all his strength away and mixed with the worry it did its job in draining all his energy.

Arwen wiped the rest of her tears away and kissed the boy's lips quickly once more. "Only if you promise to make love to me when we wake up," she said, now ignoring the confusing feelings and shattered dreams in her mind. A comfortable tiredness was creeping into her bones, from the night spent awake and all the tearing ups and downs of emotions of the previous day.

She hugged her lover close, contentedly lying on top of him and smiling almost happily. It was very soothing to just live in the moment and spent no thought on what would come next and what should be. Forgetting about right and wrong and just living was her only refuge under the given circumstances.

A tired smirk found its way on the boy's lips at those words and he placed a little kiss on the dark mop. "Gladly Meleth..." he murmured before he lay back down on the soft hay with Arwen staying comfortably snuggled against his chest.

Again the tiredness washed over him in a huge wave, wrapping him up in a comforting black cloud that seemed to take his every problem away, but his concern stayed firmly in place, even in his sleep.

Her lover's steady breathing and her own tiredness quickly managed to let Arwen fall asleep as well and for a change she didn't have any dreams, not even good ones. But she was glad for that.

Meanwhile outside under the two Mallorn trees Aragorn was still staring at the sky, pondering about a perfect time and place to go out to the city of Minas Tirith. He always wanted to check out this pub Boromir had spoken so highly of, but never really had had the time to it.

Absent-mindedly he made a grab for an apple out of the basket Pete had prepared and munched away on it.

The Elf wanted to agree with what Aragorn had said about him becoming a man of the woods again, but he thought that it probably wasn't such a good idea to deepen the topic now, since it seemed to make the Human rather sad. So Legolas eyes wandered from the little bird over to the basket that Aragorn had brought with him. Despite the fact that he was actually full it looked very delicious, and he stopped his extending hand in the last moment, before he could grab something.

"I fear I'm growing fat if I keep it up like this," he murmured in a lame attempt to change the subject.

"Hm?" Aragorn asked around his piece of the apple before he swallowed it and raised an eyebrow. "Fat? You? Where?"

Of course he had noticed that Legolas had gained some weight in the weeks he had stayed in the care of Aragorn and his cook, but still, compared to him and even Elladan and Elrohir he was almost painfully thin.

Legolas blinked at the question and then lifted up his shirt, poking his belly. "Here, obviously." He poked again and watched how his finger made a little swale in his way too soft skin. "See? That's just skin and fat, without muscles."

The Elf grimaced. His condition was just horrible in his own eyes and his body must look terrible. How could anybody possibly be attracted to him when he looked like this?

Aragorn rolled onto his side and poked the exposed skin as well. Legolas was right, just fat and skin, but not enough body mass yet to start building muscles. He frowned and poked another place, having the same result. Also he glanced at the bandage of the wound from the dagger. Legolas didn't seem to feel any more pain from it and thus it should be healed soon. So they could indeed start some work out for the slave.

"What would you like to do then to make this fat belly go away?" the man asked playfully and patted said skin with his entire hand.

When the Human suddenly turned around Blackspot peeped a bit surprised and then fluttered over to sit on Legolas' shoulder instead. This place seemed to be more stable.

The blond man grinned a bit defiantly as he heard the slight tease. "Well... anything except sitting around, I guess. I've been sitting enough for the past months..." He looked down at his right hand, moving his fingers slightly. "And actually my fingers are itching to hold a bow again..."

Unconsciously Aragorn's fingers twitched on the Elf's belly, massaging the skin under them softly in the process. "Is that so?" he asked, before he added, "Are you good at archery? By your people's standards that is."

Too fast to be seen Legolas' hand shot forward and caught the Human's wrist, gently pulling his hand away from the sensitive spot before the touch had the power to affect him. And this it would have if he hadn't stopped Aragorn from continuing it.

"Yes. I was said to be one of the best..." he murmured as he stared down at the hand in his grip.

Aragorn looked up from the place his hand had just rested on into Legolas' eyes. In a reflex he had tried to struggle out of the sudden grip, but then he noticed it was a rather gentle hold on his hand and just a self-protective motion. Thus he relaxed his muscles.

"Then I will see that we can make it to the practice field tomorrow," he said. "I surely want to see what you are capable of."

The Elf smiled a bit sheepish and then loosened his grip. "Don't expect too much," he murmured and flexed his fingers. "I might not even be strong enough to hold a bow in an appropriate way in my current condition.... Though I would love to anyway," he added and looked up again to meet steel blue eyes.

The man used his now free hand to squeeze Legolas' shoulder reassuringly. "You are strong enough to overpower an assassin. I think even if you are not yet, you will soon be able again to use a bow properly."

Legolas blushed a light shade of red at these words and looked to the side. "I needed more strength than I had to overpower him... and without the surprise I wouldn't have been able to fight him at all..." he murmured as he remembered how his arms hurt after the fight was over. He had merely been able to lift them afterwards.

"I can't even give you a proper massage due to my lack of strength... really... my condition is... ridiculous..."

Aragorn sat up all of a sudden, so that he was now looking directly into the Elf's face. "THEN we really have to do something against your condition!" he cried out with a mock-pout. "Your massages are able to wake the dead, and I sure do not want to miss them too soon."

The shocked expression changed into a softer smile. "No, that's not the reason. What I want to say is if you want to change your body's condition, I will see what I can arrange to help you."

The Elf chuckled at the unexpected outburst of the Human and then looked back up into his eyes with a warm smile. Slowly he lifted his right hand and gently laid it on Aragorn's cheek, his thumb moving lazily over his cheekbone.

"You've treated me with so much kindness ever since I arrived here," he murmured, almost losing himself in those steel blue depths. "But I don't understand why. Is it just because you feel guilty for what happened to me? Or because you were angry that it happened to one of "your" people as you are a son of the Dunedain? Or... do you simply disapprove of having a slave and treat him like one as well?" Legolas asked, one eyebrow quirking in question.

Aragorn's eyes widened in surprise, mostly over the time and place this question was asked. His eyebrows moved up slowly in response as he was thinking about an answer.

"I..." he started, but found out that he didn't really know what he was about to say. So he started from another side after he took a deep breath. "If those were the only options and if I had to choose one of them... I would say the latter. But it's not that alone... At first I felt pity for your condition and wanted to have revenge on those who did this to you, but then... I'm not sure, but I think I started to see you. Not just your outside and the way you were hurt, but what lies underneath this façade... Well, parts of it. Right now it's my goal to see all of it. To break away this façade of self-protection and humbleness that you built up around you..."

Slowly he faded out as he noticed that he had been talking too much, but he knew that he had only said the truth. The truth as he saw it, what he was thinking about Legolas, about his behavior and the background of the way he acted. He was direct, yes, but he was honest.

The Elf had listened to the Human's every word and without him even noticing it his eyes widened slightly and when Aragorn finished he was almost staring at him, a hint of shock in the violet-blue pools.

Elessar wanted to... break... his façade? To see all of what was inside him, all of what his soul held and what he tried to keep a secret? Even his self-protection... Even though Legolas knew it was irrational he felt fear creep up his throat at these words. The contact of his hand against the Human's face loosened and he slowly pulled his arm away as his gaze drifted off, down to the ground.

Did that mean that Elessar only wanted to finish what the other men couldn't? That he was just so kind to make him feel safe to ease this task? Legolas didn't think that it was true, he didn't want to believe it, but what if this Human was really just gaining his trust to destroy him completely afterwards?

The blond Elf swallowed hard and closed his eyes for a moment, before he reopened them and looked at the ground in front of him. "What do you mean with... humbleness?" he asked then, his voice unstable, almost shaking.

Blackspot noticed how Legolas started to shiver, very lightly, not really visible, but noticeable when you were sitting on his shoulder. Thus he peeped worriedly and flew over to sit on Aragorn's head, from where he had a better view on his Elf-friend's face. There he chirped again and tilted his head to the side.

Aragorn didn't even need to ignore the bird on his head as he was much too worried about Legolas. He had obviously used the wrong word at the wrong time and now he had increased the Elf's fears instead of calming them. He raised his arms to put them on the drawn-up shoulders for reassurance, very gently and lightly so that Legolas would be able to shake them off if he was scaring him with his proximity.

"You... are holding yourself back. Sometimes I can see that you want to say something, maybe something snappish, but you hold yourself back, bite your tongue and it doesn't come out. Instead you say something that is probably the exact opposite of what you really want to say, something low and... well, decent. It changed, you opened up a little, but it's still there," he explained before he smiled wryly. "I'm not even sure if I want to hear everything of it."

Gently he squeezed the shoulder. "But I want to see that, I want you to be free of these fears... I want to see you free," he murmured and added in his thoughts, 'even if it means that I will lose you.'

Legolas wanted to add a snappish comment to that as it ghosted around in his mind that a prince had to be decent, that this was what was expected of him, but instead he bit his lips and turned his head to the side, even though he was actually staring holes into the ground, ignoring the hand on his shoulder.

"Why?" he asked instead, almost whispering. "Why do you... want to see that?"

"Because I know that this is not your usual behavior, because this is not really you," Aragorn said, maybe a little too forcefully and felt Blackspot on his head step from one foot to the other while the bird let out a hoot that sounded like a warning to him. Thus he tried not to move his head too much as he was talking to Legolas.

"I... want to see you free... like I want to see a deer set free. It should not be bridled... it is not in its nature," he tried to explain, but somehow words were depriving him. But no matter how foolish these words sounded in his own ears, Blackspot chirped consentingly.

The Elf looked up at the little sparrow eyes once more widened, but this time with surprise. When Aragorn had compared him to a deer Legolas felt how his heart sank as a deer was nothing of value to Humans as he had learned. It was something they hunted, shot down and ate, just like they had hunted and shot down him. Elves were noting of value either.

But now his little bird-fried chirped his agreement and Legolas was startled. Why would Blackspot agree with something like that? Confused and slightly irritated the Elf whistled a low question to the bird, an incredulous shimmer in his eyes.

Blackspot chirped back, both surprise and appall ringing in his tone as he tried to explain that he knew that Humans hunted and ate deer, but also that they were a symbol of grace and pride. He told him that this Human just wanted to see him running free as a deer in its element the forest where it belonged, not on someone's dish!

Aragorn was not as dumb not to realize that he had used the wrong words once again, but he was close to despair. What could he say that he Elf understood, but that would not lead him to think that he wanted something bad from him?

"Legolas... you... are like a star... a star that... whose light is swallowed by a cloud... and it is this cloud I want to push away... or that I want you to push away so that your light shines down on Middle-Earth once more."

Slowly the Elf nodded as he had understood what the sparrow explained to him, but that still didn't answer his question. The question why. But his instincts told him not to ask again. Maybe he would get another answer that he wouldn't like as much, just like before.

But his stubbornness got the better of him. "It still doesn't answer the question... why?" he murmured, avoiding looking into Aragorn's eyes still.

"Because I like you! No, wait. I like what I've seen of you under that façade you built up around you so that nobody is able to hurt you anymore; the little bits that slip out of your control... that barrier that keeps you away from being yourself." He was breathing heavily now, feeling how a frustrated pout was starting to overcome him, just like it did when he was younger and had tried to explain something that nobody believed. In fact this situation was just the same. Just that he was no little boy anymore.

Again the Elf nodded. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding your words, Elessar..." he murmured, now feeling somewhat bad because of his fear, because of the one who caused it. "It seems Blackspot understands you much better than I do... in some ways..."

Shyly he glanced up again, meeting the other's eyes that still rested on him. "But... you... your world... all of this... it still frightens me. Maybe I've just spent too much time with people who say one thing and do another. I knew not much of Humans when I was captured and thus I thought all of them are like this... false... insidious...."

Legolas lowered his gaze again. "I'm sorry that I... thought... you were like that..." he whispered and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Legolas... You should know that I am not like that," Aragorn chided softly, but more to vent his frustration than really meaning it. He could understand why the Elf was so scared of Humans, but he just wanted to sooth and not to rip open those old wounds.

Slowly his arms found their way around Legolas' shoulders, not sure whether he should apply more proximity between them two or not. But in the end he decided that he should do so because of earlier reactions from Legolas. He sought his proximity when he felt bad and also it was a good feeling to hold him in his arms, so he hugged him softly.

Blackspot let out a protesting peep when Aragorn's head suddenly was tilted forward and he extended his wings and fluttered up just in time before he was thrown off. Finally he decided to sit on the branch of one of the Mallorns nearby since it seemed much more stable than either of them.

The Elf buried his face in the crook of Aragorn's shoulder and his arms sneaked around his waist as he needed something to hold onto. "I know... I should know... I'm sorry..." he whispered against the Human's neck and felt how his eyes became watery. "I'll try to be more like myself... but I warn you... you might not like it..."

Caressing the Elf's back soothingly, Aragorn smiled wryly. "That's what I'm afraid of... But you can't be as cheeky as my brothers," he added to tone his statement down. He didn't want to hurt the Elf's feelings again. "We start with the rebuilding of your muscles tomorrow... so that you don't have to be embarrassed for your large belly... How does that sound?"

Legolas backed away again, a good visible pout on his features that didn't match the water in his eyes. "So you think I'm fat, yes?" he asked with a sulking voice, a slight hint of a grin in the watery pools.

The corners of the man's mouth twitched with a hint of a grin as well. "I do not think that, you said that."

"Yes... but you don't have to agree with me, now do you?" the Elf asked but then a little mischievous grin made his lips curl up as he leaned forward slightly and poked Aragorn's belly. "And what's that?"

"That's... the pride of a King," Aragorn said rather sheepishly. "Or rather the pride of his cook," he added with an even more sheepish look.

Legolas' right eyebrow slowly moved up and he looked back into steel blue eyes rather doubtfully. "You know... that there are kings who're much older than you and who also have excellent cooks... but don't look like that?" he asked, slightly teasing the other man, referring to Thranduil of course but he didn't have to actually speak that out aloud.

"Much older and much more used to that job, I guess," Aragorn murmured and sighed. "You're right, this is fat. Ordinary fat that I should get rid of... So... it might be better I'd accompany you on your..." Aragorn started and was about to say "training", but didn't want to say it as it would definitely rise unpleasant memories in the Elf. "Your work-out."

A small grin spread over the blond's features. "Oh... that should be... interesting..."

To be continued...
______________________________________________________ ___________

So here you are. Anniversary-chapter. ^^; Hope you enjoyed it.