A/N: Just a little ficlet. Sorry for any mistakes. This has not been beta-ed. Eventually, I will bug my friend to do it for me. Eventually... Well, anyway, enjoy!
"Aragorn!" Legolas shouted, throwing his hands up. Aragorn laughed and threw the apple in his hand to the blonde elf who caught it deftly, laughing as well.
Elrohir sighed, dropped his arms, and placed one hand on his hip while the other came to rest on his forehead. "I'm surprised the people here don't starve while you two are around!" he mumbled and walked off in the direction in which his twin had gone a few minutes before.
Aragorn grinned and bit into the apple Legolas had tossed back to him happily. He and Legolas had been playing "keep-away from Elladan" for the past hour and when Elrohir had joined them he became a target as well. It had been so long since Aragorn had successfully irritated his Elven brothers and he had had a lot of fun doing it.
"Sometimes I wonder if you ever truly grew up, Estel," Legolas said fondly, clapping his friend on the back.
"Growing up? What is this "growing up" you speak of?" Aragorn joked, flinging an arm around Legolas's shoulders as they headed up one of the many white stone staircases of Minas Tirith.
"I pity Arwen. She will have her hands full when you have children!"
Aragorn laughed. "I'd be more afraid of what Elladan and Elrohir would do."
"Do to what?" Elladan asked, walking up behind Aragorn and Legolas, Elrohir following closely behind and happily munching on a new apple.
"Estel and Arwen's future children," Legolas told him with an evil grin. "We are worried that your influence will be detrimental to their health."
"Us? Detrimental? Consider the parents, Legolas, before passing judgment!" Elrohir said, his eyes sparkling with mirth.
"I think Estel would make a wonderful adar, muindor-nin. How dare you suggest otherwise!" Arwen's soft voice broke through the friends bantering. She smiled and walked up to her husband, kissing him softly.
Elladan and Elrohir pulled faces, pretending to gag at the display of affection. "Find a room, Estel!" Elladan cried, shoving his little brother towards the doorway out of the open courtyard they were standing in.
"I believe I was the one being accosted here! I was simply an innocent bystander!" Aragorn cried.
"Accosted?" asked Arwen with mock indignation. "Well, perhaps I won't 'accost' you anymore, then!" She made to walk away, but Aragorn grabbed her quickly around the waist, pulling her to him so her back was pressed up against his chest and his arms were wrapped loosely around her waist.
"Accost away," he whispered in her ear and placed a soft kiss just behind it.
Arwen smiled and covered his hands with her own. Looking up at her brothers and Legolas, she asked the three of them cheerfully, "So, what have you been doing with my husband all afternoon? I went looking for him earlier and the staff informed me that he was off gallivanting with the three of you."
"I believe it is more a question of what he's been doing with us," muttered Elladan, his expression stopping just short of pouting.
Arwen stepped out of Aragorn's embrace to place a hand on Elladan and Elrohir's cheeks. "Ai, my poor siblings. Has he mistreated you so? Fear not, I will protect you from Estel," she told them with a grin.
Elladan and Elrohir rolled their eyes and pulled their heads away from their sister's hands, making a face at her laughter.
"You seem especially joyous this day, Arwen. What has you in such high spirits?" Legolas asked placing a gentle hand on her shoulder with a smile.
"Oh, this and that," she replied with a teasing smile, leaving Legolas very curious and grinning back at her with a questioning gaze. She only continued to smile and shrugged slightly in an elusive way, turning around and placing an arm around Aragorn's waist.
Legolas stayed at her back, watching her speak with her husband and brothers. He watched her subtle movements and her facial expressions, trying to pick up on anything that might hint at what she was hiding. Suddenly, it dawned on him and he gasped. The elf coughed, choking on the quick intake of breath. Aragorn placed a hand on Legolas's back, steadying him.
"Are you all right, mellon-nín?" he asked, concern lacing his voice.
Legolas took a few deep breaths to return his breathing to normal. Nodding slowly, he looked up at Aragorn with wide eyes. "I'm fine, mellon-nín. I just realized that I forgot to write Adar back and if I don't write him right away, he'll be quite vexed with me. I have to go reply, right now…right, yes…" Legolas said a little distractedly. Shaking his head, he headed inside. As he passed Arwen, Legolas, unbeknownst to the others,lightly tugged her hair and, when she turned to glance at him, he winked.
A few hours later found Legolas pacing his room, muttering under his breath. He had been avoiding Aragorn all day and he was sure his friend had noticed. The seventh hour was fast approaching, though, which meant dinner and Legolas couldn't avoid Aragorn at dinner. He was positive that, if faced with the situation, he wouldn't let anything slip, but on the other hand, Estel could be very persuasive. Sighing, Legolas threw open his door and headed for the dining hall. This would be interesting.
"Legolas…" Aragorn said, a slight edge to his voice. His friend would not tell him what was wrong. He just kept insisting that nothing was wrong and he was frustrating Aragorn to no end.
Legolas sighed and met Arwen's gaze as he looked up from his plate. She smiled at him with barely contained joy and laughed. Turning back to Aragorn, the elf smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sidh, mellon-nín, peace. I assure you nothing is wrong. I've had something on my mind today, but I promise it is nothing bad. Besides, I really did need to write Adar back. He gets so fussy when I don't."
"No secret where you get it," Aragorn muttered in jest, though he was still a little frustrated.
"I'm not fussy!" Legolas cried indignantly.
"Legolas, you are the fussiest elf I know…except maybe for Elrohir," Elladan said, elbowing his twin lightly in the ribs.
Elrohir frowned and gave his brother a good shove, pushing him straight out of the chair he was sitting in. Elladan was shocked for a moment and looked up with a glare into his brother's smirking face. Legolas, Aragorn, and Arwen were all laughing at him as he picked himself up off the floor and sat back down in his chair.Turning to Elrohir he muttered, "Funny…" and then turned back around to stare pointedly out the window.
"He always was the best at sulking. He could even make Ada come around when he was little," Arwen commented off-handedly.
"Well, if it is going to be 'poke fun at Elladan' night, I'm going to retire. Good night Estel, Legolas…" he simply glared at his siblings before walking purposefully out of the dining hall.
"It is getting rather late. Perhaps we should retire as well, meleth-nín," Arwen suggested.
Aragorn cast one last glance at Legolas and, receiving a nod and smile from his friend, nodded. He stood and wrapped an arm around Arwen's waist. "Good night, mellon-nín. Peaceful dreams," he said to Legolas before leaving with his wife.
Legolas smiled softly. "Peaceful sleep, mellon-nín. I'm sure your dreams will be happy ones," he murmured and, blowing out the last few candles on the table, headed to his room.
"I don't understand why Legolas has been avoiding me since this afternoon!" Aragorn said in vexation, throwing his hands up in the air.
Arwen watched her husband rant from her place on the bed. Rolling over onto her side, she proped her head up on her hand and patted the space next to her with a smile. Sighing, Aragorn stretched out beside her, resting his head on her stomach when she had turned onto her back, her fingers running gently through his unruly curls. Aragorn lazily traced patterns on her night dress as they lay in peaceful silence.
Arwen watched him, thinking. She had had something to tell him all afternoon but hadn't found the right time to do it. Now that they were alone and he was calm again, it was the perfect time. Closing her eyes, Arwen relaxed completely. For a moment, Aragorn didn't say anything but his head soon left its place on her stomach and he looked at her, concern filling his eyes.
"Meleth-nín, I just noticed, you are very warm. Are you unwell?" It wasn't often that Arwen got sick, but when she did, it was terrible.
A small smile played at the corners of her mouth. "No, herven-nín, I am not ill. The warmth comes from our son. He knows his Ada is near."
Aragorn stared at Arwen for a moment, unsure if he had heard right. It wasn't until then that he noticed Arwen's natural glow had brightened significantly from its soft glow to an intense, radiating light. Aragorn searched his wife's face for confirmation of what he had heard. They'd waited so long. He could not hope but yet…there was only love and joy shining from her soft gaze.
Taking his hand, Arwen set it gently on her stomach and covered his with her own. "Congratulations, Ada," she whispered.
"Ion-nín," Aragorn whispered fondly, still shocked, "my son." Suddenly, his face split into a huge grin and he gathered Arwen in his arms with a burst of laughter. Arwen's bell-like laughter joined his as she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him enthusiastically.
In his room, Legolas looked up from the book in his lap and, hearing the joyous laughter, smiled and shook his head with a chuckle. "Congratulations, gwador-nín," he murmured, "and happy birthday."
A/N: translation of elvish
meleth-nin: my love, sidh: peace, ion-nin: my son, herven-nin: my husband, mellon-nin: my friend, ada: dad, Adar: father, muindor-nin: my brother
I think that's all. Reviews are always appreciated!