Aragorn rode through the snow which was falling down in fluffy clumps that obscured the path and greyed the sky. However, he knew this path well. It was the path leading to Rivendell, where he was going to spend the winter. The frigid air froze his breath into clouds and the stillness of an onset winter made things peaceful if not for the fact that…
Suddenly, a snowball flew out of nowhere and hit him on the shoulder. He looked at the surrounding trees and an all-too-familiar laugh sounded.
"Legolas, that was childish!" Aragorn exclaimed, searching for his attacker, "Are you not, of all people, too old for that kind of thing!?"
More laughter, "I suppose the answer should be… yes. But no." The elf was still hidden in the tree, unseen. Aragorn sighed and kept riding.
Another snowball.
"Legolas!" He exclaimed in annoyance.
"Oh come now, Estel! I've been orc-hunting and spider-killing and whatnot for the past few years. Let me enjoy some triviality!"
Another snowball.
This time, Aragorn smiled a small bit, "Alright, Legolas! Stop hiding! Come out!" The man dismounted his horse and scooped a handful of snow. A flicker of movement behind a tree caught his eyes and he turned sharply, throwing his snowball with more force than was necessary.
Legolas exclaimed in surprise.
"Ha! You forget, elf, I am not as weak in marksmanship as you would think."
"I would never suggest such a thing!" Legolas' voice sounded mock-hurt, "Why, you are my dearest friend! To suggest that I insulted you-!" The sentence was cut short when Aragorn ran round the tree Legolas was hiding behind and threw another snowball. The elf kneeled down, scooping up more snow and tossing it the man's face and then running.
The stillness of the frozen winter woods was pierced by the sounds of a snowball fight- that is to say, the laughter of the man and the elf that were by all accounts too old for such childishness. But they were alone, with nobody but the trees to watch them.
Legolas climbed up into a tree and Aragorn followed him to the base of it until he realized that Legolas had his hand on a branch, which he shook; the entire pile of snow which rested upon the branch fell onto Aragorn's head and he was buried lightly under the snow. Legolas leaped down, leaving no prints upon the snow and offered Aragorn a hand up.
"Is this what we have fallen to?" Aragorn asked, smiling despite his words, "Childish snowball fights?"
"Snowball battles if I am allowed to correct you." Legolas said, sounding mock-sophisticated. They both laughed.
"I am glad our fathers were not here to witness this." Aragorn stated and climbed out of the snow with Legolas' hand.
"I would most likely have received a lecture on being princely." Legolas said. Aragorn tried to brush the snow off, and looked enviously at Legolas who had no snow on him.
A few hours later, the two of them had started a fire, and were sitting under the cover of a large tree; its branches hanging in an overbearing fashion after being weighted down with snow. The tree created a nice little dome. With enough room to place wood without burning the tree itself.
"It's wonderful." Legolas said. Aragorn looked up,
"What is?"
"The snow." The elf stuck a hand out and a few snowflakes fell and melted on his open palm, "Beautiful. No matter how many winters I have seen, the falling of snow never loses its beauty."
Aragorn smiled lightly, turning his head to glance at Legolas and then back at the snow; "Trivial a thing to think of."
"Ah, but Aragorn- remember what I said earlier: Trivialities are everything."
"I don't recall you saying that."
"I implied it." The elf looked out at the falling snow a bit more, drifting to earth against the backdrop of the navy blue sky. He sighed in contentment. "What have you been doing these past few years, mellon nîn?"
Aragorn too watched the falling snow, finding contentment in it this time, although he remembered the nights alone, wandering Middle Earth, when he would curse the snow for being so cold and isolating. But perhaps it was the elf that sat beside him who made the snow more than tolerable.
"I have been traveling. Wandering- is a more accurate word." The ranger answered.
"Alone?" Legolas furrowed his eyebrows.
"Yes."
"You must get lonely." The elf stated, "The twins missed you. I went to Imladris last summer. They missed you. We missed you."
Aragorn looked skeptically at his friend, "You three were fine before I was even raised there. Have the minds of elves been so easily distracted that they can no longer recall what was before?"
"Is that an insult?" But he was not insulted.
"T'was not meant to be one, mellon nîn."
Legolas watched Aragorn watch the snow, "It is a strange thing. I went to Imladris that summer. I very well knew in advance that you had left, but I expected you to wait there. Every corner a turned, I thought perhaps you were… hiding."
"Hiding?" Aragorn turned to face Legolas now, "That would have been much too childish."
"We both recently had a snowball battle, and we are both too many winters old for that." Legolas pointed out.
"You, childish elf, started that. I would never have if you were not my friend." Aragorn countered.
"True, true." Legolas said, "If it had been anyone else, would you have returned their attack of snow?"
Aragorn thought, and then said, laughing, "Legolas, nobody I know except maybe Elladan or Elrohir and you would throw a snowball at me." He thought it strange and yet so very- Legolas, that the elf would assume Aragorn had other friends who would throw snowballs at him.
"Does it bother you?" Legolas asked, "My childish nature?"
Aragorn turned away back to the snow, smiling again, "No. Not at all." He paused and added, "Why do you think you are my truest and best friend?"
"I am going to guess my childish nature, then." Legolas said.
"Well that and we have saved each other's lives numerous times." Aragorn added mock-nonchalantly.
"Oh yes, just that." Legolas said. After a moment he added, "You are mine, too."
"I am what?"
"My truest and best friend." Legolas replied, "I have known so many others. But you… If I were to choose anyone to save again and again, or anyone to save me… I would undoubtedly choose you, Aragorn." The elf glanced at his friend, and after a moment's contemplation, he pulled him into a hug.
The fire cracked and the stillness of the forest in the winter was almost restored, now that there were no shouts and no laughter, but only the content conversation of two friends.
=========!MERRY CHRISTMAS!=========
This was a Christmas gift-fic for WordsSeenThroughABrokenGlass. I was trying to make this Christmas-y (Hence the snow) and it would be so much easier if Arda actually had Christmas. But they don't. So yeah... :P
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*~Merry Christmas,~*
*~Ynnealay~*