Title: Moniker
Author: Ink
Feedback: K
Disclaimer: The copyright has to run out eventually… and then, oh and then…
A/N: Warning, contains spanking, if this bothers you please stop reading now. Thank you!
"What great wrong did you ever do that you should inspire such terrible loyalty in so many?" The Drawing of the Three, Stephen King
Elessar… it was strange, he'd had so many names in his life but this one, this one was different. He could not reconcile Elessar the King, the savior of Gondor, with Aragorn, the man, the Ranger, the friend. He could not even think the name without hesitation, and that was odd was it not?
He knew why he refused to accept the name as his own, to bind it to himself and make it more than a word, but an identity. Elessar was a man people were destined to follow, and though he'd realized on the quest that he could no longer deny that path, it was a daunting future that lay before him.
Aragorn sighed and rubbed his temples with calloused fingers. It had been a long day. He had a whole new appreciation for his foster father, running a city was exhausting at the best of times, and though they had finally crawled out from under the shadow which had held the city in thrall for so long, they had a long road of recovery yet to traverse before the city could run anywhere near optimum efficiency.
A soft knock at the door drew him from his unhappy musings.
"Enter," he called, hating how tired he sounded, and how his voice echoed in this large office, his ada's office had been comforting and warm, this room was a showpiece, a place that declared one's power to whomever entered. Legolas crossed the room silently, not even the stone could coax an echo from the elf's footsteps.
"Good evening Estel," a serene smile graced the elf's fair face and Aragorn felt a moment of irrational irritation.
"Why do you insist on calling me that?" he snapped irritably, instantly regretting his words as Legolas's full attention shifted to him.
"What would you prefer?" Legolas's tone was calm, but Aragorn was not fooled, his friend was both hurt and angered by his outburst, he was simply trying to draw Aragorn out further with his cryptic questions.
"Everyone calls me Elessar," he said in a tone he prayed sounded more like an adult having a rational conversation than a sulking teenager having a fit of temper.
"The hobbits do not," Legolas replied with irrefutable accuracy.
"They still call me Strider more often than not," Aragorn huffed.
"Does that bother you?" his calm in the face of so much frustration was really insufferable. Aragorn took a glass from the tray on his desk and poured himself a drink.
"You know it does not." he fairly growled.
"Estel, for all the patience afforded the Eldar, mine is wearing thin, if you do not watch your tone we will be having an entirely different conversation," the threat was not lost on Aragorn and he immediately stopped and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Good, now, what does Faramir call you?"
"I fail to see the point of this," Aragorn was struggling to control his temper.
"You will see the point eventually, one way or another, be assured of that mellon nin. Does Faramir call you Elessar?"
"No, a fact you know as well as I, no matter how many times I ask him to call me by name he will address me only as 'my lord'," Aragorn retorted, his grip tightening on the fragile glass in his hand.
"What of Arwen? By what name are you known to your wife?" Legolas asked his tone gentle but firm, Aragorn could stand no more.
"Enough of this!" He shouted throwing the glass and reveling in the satisfying spray of glass and dark liquid against the far wall. Legolas's eyes narrowed and the look of satisfaction at getting a reaction dropped quickly from Aragorn's face as he took a step back from the irate elf.
"That was quite a display, I am actually afraid to ask after your sleeping habits of late, for it is obvious you've not had a moments rest in days. Come here Estel, I can see now that you are in need of more than mere words," Legolas seated himself in the armless chair by the vast fireplace. He looked expectantly at Aragorn who stood frozen where he stood.
"Y…you can't," he stammered, looking at his long time friend who was looking right back at him. Legolas smiled.
"Estel, this is far from the first time I have put you over my knee, you know I can… you are a king now, but first you are my friend and when you need my attention, my love, I will be here to provide it for you. Now come here please," Legolas held out his hand, and Aragorn took a step forward.
Legolas drew him over his knees and pulled down his leggings. It was all so familiar, this was a constant he had thought lost to him, but no matter what name he was wearing, he still had people around him who would care for him. The heat in his backside quickly built as his friend set up a fierce rhythm of stinging swats, and when the pain became too much, Aragorn surrendered to the tears, and Legolas slowed.
"What does Arwen call you?" he asked in a soothing voice.
"My love… Meleth nin… Ar.. Aragorn," Aragorn hiccupped, tears still falling onto the ornate carpet below.
"What would you prefer I call you?" Legolas asked, swatting almost gently now.
"E-Estel," Aragorn sobbed. Legolas stopped spanking and began rubbing his friends back.
"You asked earlier why I insist on calling you Estel…"
"Sorry…" Aragorn interrupted.
"Shh…" Legolas hushed him, "All is forgiven, but I would have you listen to me, can you do that?" Aragorn nodded, "I still call you Estel for many reasons, Estel was the little boy I was introduced to so many years ago, the little boy I still see from time to time just beyond the man you have become, the little boy who never fails to make me smile. The name itself, the word Estel, still fits you, you have always meant hope, and now that you are seeing that destiny fulfilled it is more fitting than ever. I am aware that few people still call you by your childhood name, and this too makes it special, it makes it my name for you. Estel was the boy who I came to love unconditionally and who grew into the man who would become my greatest friend and mentor. You have had many names, you will grow into this new one as you have all the others, but to me you will always be Estel," Legolas said, ignoring his own tears as he pulled his friend into a crushing embrace.
Elessar looked up at the elf whose love, though painful at times, was beautiful and pure, and something he cherished above all else. "Thank you mellon nin," he said fighting to keep his eyes open as a wave of exhaustion swept over him.
"You are welcome Estel," Legolas whispered so as not to wake the king of men who had fallen asleep in his arms.
The End