This is No Mere Ranger

All characters in this FanFic belong to J.R.R. Tolkin and I lay no claim to any of them, sadly.

Hi, so this is an Aragorn/Legolas fanfic that is based on a little idea I got when I was reading a Yahoo Answers post about when Legolas and Aragorn first met, because it says that there is no official proof that they met in the books or the movies before the forming of the Fellowship, but watching the scene where the Fellowship is formed gets you to thinking that they do know each other. I mean, the way Legolas defends Aragorn in front of Boromir is not something a complete stranger would do. So I thought, what if they met when Aragorn was living in Rivendell before he left and fell in love?

Now I might switch up some things; I do this on purpose to make this the story that I envision. This is going to be a bit (or maybe a lot, I don't know) different than the books and the movies, but you'll see, I'll make it work. I hope anyway. O.O Why did I want to do this again? Oh, yes, because Aragorn and Legolas are perfect together. 3 XD

Anyway, enjoy and review. This first part takes place during The Fellowship of the Ring and part of the past that I am making up. I hope that you like it!

Chapter 1

Aragorn, son of Arathorn arrived to Rivendell to stay for more than a fortnight sixty-six years and two months after he had left it behind. He had been only just a man at that point in time, angry and disheartened. The memories of this place nearly threatened to overwhelm him as he rode though Imaldris. He had come when Elrond had asked, towing along the four hobbits that he had saved from the Nazgul. For even though Elrond had lied to him and deceived him, he was still the only father that Aragorn had ever known.

The hobbit, Frodo, tugged on his sleeve. "Is that him?" he asked in a stage whisper, jerking his chin ahead of the company of hobbits and the man. Aragorn had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't even seen Elrond. He watched them approach with no emotion on his face. Being the Lord of Imaldris, he had long since learned to keep his face a mask despite the emotions that roiled underneath his mask.

Aragorn nodded. "The Lord of Rivendell, Elrond," he murmured, just loud enough for Frodo to hear. Frodo nodded and glanced over at his travelling companion and former gardener, Sam. Sam was looking at the elves with some apprehension, but Aragorn seemed as if he was completely at ease, so he tried to not panic too much. As they came within speaking distance of the elves, Aragorn paused, looking unsure for the first time since he had come to save the hobbits.

"Come, Ranger. Gi nathum hi," Elrond said, extending a slender hand. He walked to meet Aragorn, who had held a hand out to the hobbits to stay them from following him. His boots crunched on the fine-ground rock beneath his feet. He focused on that sound, trying not to feel anything. This place held too much emotion for him to take in at once.

He forced a smile as he took Lord Elrond's hand and bent to brush his lips over the cool dry skin. "It has been long since I have set foot in this house," he said as way of greeting.

Elrond tilted his head back in acknowledgement. "So it has. Too long, some might say."

Now a real smile tilted Aragorn's lips upward in wry amusement. "But not you, for you are immortal, my Lord."

"True that is," Elrond said. "How do you fair? Are you well?"

Aragorn nodded and stepped back. "I have been well. And you?"

Elrond let out a long breath. "It is the same as it always is, Estel." Aragorn stiffened at the name. It was his name before he knew his true heritage, but whether Elrond employed it intentionally or not, Aragorn did not know. "Time passes so quickly here, yet so slowly that every moment seems to stretch into an eternity. Be glad that you are not immortal, Aragorn. It is a blessing and a curse at the same time."

Aragorn inclined his head, and then turned to the side and motioned the hobbits forward. "I have brought the ring bearer and his friends," he said instead of answering Elrond's statement. "Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took and Meriadoc Brandybuck."

"Good, good," Elrond said. "We will show you to your rooms so that you can refresh yourselves after your journey here. We will all meet later, after you have been seen to."

"Thank you, my Lord," Aragorn said, bowing his head in gratitude.

Elrond nodded and motioned some elves who were standing by the entrance to the fortress forward. "Please show them to their rooms."

"Wait," Aragorn said, putting a hand on Elrond's arm. "How fares Arwen?" the elf was faced partially away from Aragorn as he asked this, but he could still see the tightening of the elf's jaw as he heard Aragorn utter his daughter's name.

"She fares as well as can be expected," Elrond said coolly, and then pushed Aragorn's hand off of his shoulder and moved to walk away. He didn't look back, and Aragorn felt something lodge in his throat. He shouldn't have asked after Arwen. After she had given him the Evenstar only months ago, Elrond and Aragorn had not been on good terms.

"Strider?" Aragorn looked down in surprise at the hobbit who was watching him. Frodo's eyes were careful and observant. He was a smart hobbit.

"Did I miss what you just spoke of?" Aragorn asked. The hobbits looked among themselves for several moments before anyone answered.

"The elves are ready to take us to our rooms," Sam said after a moment. He motioned up the steps, to where the two elves stood with their eyes on their feet. As the first looked up, Aragorn felt his breath hitch. His hair… no, it wasn't him. He wouldn't be here. He was an elf of Mirkwood, thus he would not be in Rivendell without a good cause. And he certainly wouldn't be showing people to their rooms. He was a prince, after all. The man caught Aragorn's eyes and gave a smile that held no warmth, and Aragorn was able to breathe again, because his eyes were green, not those unearthly eyes that flickered between grey and blue depending on his mood. Aragorn nodded a greeting and promptly began moving up the steps to cover his stumble.

The elves were like ghosts as they moved down the halls of Aragorn's childhood home, making no noise and moving almost too gracefully for it to be natural. All of the elves carried this unearthly grace, which had always made Aragorn stand out. He had been so clumsy when compared to the elves. No matter how hard he tried, he could never move like them. Rhaich knows, he'd tried. Over and over, he had tried to walk like them, to run and to fight like the elves. But his human body was not as lithe or as flexible as the elves. Certainly, he was much more flexible than a normal human, but he did not even begin to compare to the elves.

"You look familiar to these halls." To Aragorn's surprise, Pippin spoke up. Aragorn realized that he had been smiling in spite of himself, while he remembered.

"Aye. I lived here for eighteen years. My father was slain and Lord Elrond took me in as his own."

The male elf who Aragorn had mistaken for Legolas turned suddenly. "Estel?" he asked in surprise. Aragorn blinked.

"Ma istanyel?" he asked, slipping into Elvish in surprise.

"No," the man said. "I have never personally met you; I was away for the eighteen years you were here in Rivendell, but I heard about you."

Aragorn frowned slightly and didn't answer the elf for several moments. Why would he have heard of him? He had been there for such a short time to the elves; only eighteen years. That was a blink of an eye in the mind of an elf. He was the only human to have stayed in Rivendell for a very, very long time, but that should have made no difference. "I see," he said eventually. "What is your name?"

"That is not important," the elf said. "Here is your room." He bowed quickly and then turned on his heel, throwing a quick farewell over his shoulder. "Mae govennan." Well met. But I didn't even meet him, Aragorn thought. He shook his head. He had more pressing matters than an elf who happened to remember him.

His room was just as he remembered it. It was as if no one had touched any of his belongings since he left, sixty seven years ago. There was his bed where he had lain untroubled for years, without a care in the world. There was his chest in which he could still find Elvish clothes from his stay here. There was the window in which he had looked out of every morning as he woke up to see if the weather was good enough for hunting, and later, to wait for his seron.

Aragorn found himself drawn to the large window. He sat down on his bed and looked out onto the forest and the river. The sight was peaceful and reminded him of times before he had seen the horrors of this world and experienced such exquisite pain.

I have been away from here far too long, he couldn't help thinking. Suddenly, his exhaustion caught up to him and he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. Just for a moment. It was only moments before he was falling deep into a sleep that was filled with all of the memories he had been trying to repress.

"Strider?" A muffled knock came at Aragorn's door and he started suddenly out of sleep. He sat up straight and grasped the hilt of his sword, trying to fight past the cobwebs of his dreams. He was disoriented for a moment, wondering where he was and when he was, but after a few moments of flailing confusion, he remembered.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Lord Elrond has gathered everyone, and he is ready for us to go down." It was Frodo.

With a sigh, Aragorn pushed himself off of the wall and got to his feet. "I'll be there in a moment." There was a pause.

"But you do not know where we will be meeting," the hobbit said. "Are you certain that you do not want us to wait for you with the escorts?"

Aragorn smiled. Frodo was good at heart, he had to admit. He was sorry that this great evil had befallen him. "I have a good idea of where we will be gathering. You must remember that I have wandered these halls for eighteen years."

"Of course," Frodo said. "We shall see you soon." He could hear the hobbit pad away on bare feet, soon followed by his three friends.

Aragorn sighed and turned to the chest. It would do him good to change clothes, even though they were elven clothes. Tensions would be high; this would be the first time men, dwarves, elves and hobbits would be together in a long, long time. Aragorn was loathe to take his chain mail off, and settled for changing his breeches and sleeveless cloak after a few moments of hesitation. It wasn't that he didn't trust Elrond; it was that he had no clue who he would be meeting with.

He laced the front of the elaborate elven black cloak up with quick movements and strapped on his sword and pulled his arm guards quickly back on. He hid a knife in his boot after a few moments of contemplation, deciding that it was better to be safe than dead, and then quickly made haste to Elrond's council room.

The elves nodded to him as he passed, but he hardly gave them a glance. He was lost in memories of wandering these same halls countless times, such a long time ago. It seemed as if it was millennia ago, with all of the things that had happened in those sixty-seven years that he had been gone from here, but at the same time, it seemed as if he was yet again only just a man. He let the memories overwhelm him, now that he was alone. This distortion of time made him feel dizzy. He was lucky that he arrived at the open air circular area that Elrond held his council on, because he was not focused at all on getting to the dais.

Elrond was waiting for Aragorn at the entrance to the council room. "Aragorn," he said as a greeting. Aragorn nodded to him, and looked past him at the council room.

"All of the races are here today," he murmured. "Do you not think this a bad idea? Tensions between the elves and dwarves are always high."

"This matter is too important to leave any race out of, for it will affect all of us."

"Your wisdom is infallible as it always is, Ada." The familiar name slipped out from Aragorn's mouth through habit, though he did not try to take it back.

"Ada," Elrond mused. "Seven and sixty years it has been since you have called me that."

Aragorn was about to reply when the human representative, a tall man with blond hair moved slightly, and Aragorn caught sight of the Mirkwood Elves' representative. His breath caught in his throat as he blinked several times to make sure that his eyes were not betraying him, as they tended to do when it came to Legolas. But he was still there after several blinks.

As he stood, dumbstruck into silence, Legolas looked up and saw him. His eyes went wide, and they flicked to Elrond. He obviously did not know that Aragorn was going to be here. He stood quickly from his seat and began walking across the council room. Aragorn drank in the sight of him as he came closer, his clean clothes and long hair with the battle braids, the bow and quiver that was always strapped across his back.

As he approached them, Aragorn could see that he was fighting a smile. "My Lord Elrond, you did not inform me of Aragorn's presence," he said, turning to Elrond.

Elrond blinked a few times, looking surprised. "I had forgotten that you two shared such a close bond. Please pardon me."

"Of course," Aragorn said at once. No one had known the true extent of their relationship, not even Elrond. They had not let anyone know of their true feelings for several reasons. Part of it had been by sheer fate, and part of it had been by their own doing.

"We will begin in a few moments," Elrond said, and nodded his farewells to Aragorn and Legolas. Legolas turned and watched him go for a heartbeat, and then turned back to Aragorn.

"Estel," he said in a soft voice that held so much emotion, so much more than the simple name. He gave a brilliant smile that made Aragorn's heart catch in his throat. Ed' i'ear ar' elenea, he was beautiful enough to make a battle hardened warrior weep.

"Greenleaf," he replied, just as softly. He reached out hesitantly and placed a hand on Legolas's shoulder. The gesture was a simple one of friendship to the casual onlooker, but it held so much more than anyone else could see. "It has been long since I have had the pleasure of laying my eyes upon you, my friend."

Legolas smiled now and reached up to put his hand on Aragorn's shoulder as well. He squeezed it, as if he could reassure himself of Aragorn's presence by feeling the solid flesh under his arm. After a moment, Legolas looked away from Aragorn's eyes, to the necklace that hung around his neck. The Evenstar's gift to him, her love. "Aye," he said, trailing his hand down from Aragorn's shoulder to the chain of the necklace. "Far too long." Aragorn opened his mouth to reply, but Legolas pulled away before he could say anything, and returned to his seat.

Aragorn was still partially in shock as he walked into the ring of the different races. Gandalf nodded to him as he passed, and Aragorn managed a slight smile. He sank into his seat next to the blond haired man who had been blocking Legolas at first. The man looked over and gave a smile that held no warmth. "And who am I to be seated next to?"

"Strider," Aragorn said, the name falling off of his tongue out of habit. "A ranger. And who might you be?"

"I am Boromir," the man said. Aragorn nodded to him again in greeting.

"Well met," he said. As Elrond called everyone to order, and everyone fell silent, Aragorn found his eyes drawn to Legolas once more. What was the elf doing here? He would reawaken old desires that were better left deep inside of Aragorn. For the love he had for this elf was volatile and could shake his entire being.

Aragorn felt something stirring within him, beneath the love and lust that came to mind when Legolas's mere name was mentioned. He felt vulnerability. He hadn't been vulnerable, not completely, for sixty-seven years.

He would never admit it to anyone, but this vulnerability scared him.

Okay, I know it's a strange place to end, but if I don't end it now it will become humongous-ly long. Like I said, not much A/L in this chapter, but there will be much more in the next few chapters. If there's anything wrong, please let me know and I will fix it. Also, please review, your comments and suggestions are most welcome and appreciated. Below are some translations for things that are said in Sindarin. I will probably be using a lot of Elvish in this fanfic, so I'll always have these down at the bottom. Please feel free to correct me if anything is wrong with my Sindarin, as well. I don't know much of the Elvish language, and would love to learn proper grammar and phrasing, etc.

Gi nathum hi—You are welcome here

Raich—Curses

Ma istanvel—Have we met?

Seron—Love

Ed' I'ear ar' elenea—by the sea and the stars

(Please let me know if I've missed everything. I've gone over it twice scraping through it for Elvish phrases, but I may have missed something.)