Legolas was so absobed in his gloomy thoughts that he didn't notice his friend Aragorn slip up quietly behind him. He acknowleged his prescence with a thin smile, then returned to his brooding, expressionless mask. It was a tense time in Middle Earth. For a few long moments, neither Man nor Elf spoke. They simply stared out into the roiling red mass smeared against the sky,the evil place where the Eye of Sauron watched and waited: Mordor. Even in far-away Gondor, it was easy to see that some fell plan was brewing.
On Delethor's balcony, Legolas felt so disconnected from the rest of the world. And yet, here was Aragorn with him. Sometimes, he felt he was the only one who could understand him for who he truly was. None of the others could read him like that observant Ranger could. Most of the time, it irked him to the point of insanity. Now he just wanted to smile. It was during times of turmoil that an Elf found his true alliances. However, he found he couldn't make himself happy, couldn't shrug off the sense of dread that threatened to smother him. Not this time. Because his mind was laced with other confused thoughts-thoughts too shameful for him to even sort out. And Legolas was afraid. Afraid of the unthinkable-that he was in love with his best friend.
It couldn't be true. It simply wasn't possible. Not Aragorn. Legolas sometimes felt as if he could be his brother, perhaps a second father, but not...a lover. Why was it, then, that every time Legolas pictured in his mind the careworn, jovial face and serene grey eyes of the Ranger, goosebumps erupted on his skin and a shiver ran down his spine? Why couldn't he look him in the eyes anymore? Is that why his heart was pounding so loudly right now that Legolas was afraid Aragorn could hear it? It was unnatural. It was impossible. And yet, it was happening.
Aragorn looked at Legolas from under his green hood, the moonlight reflecting off his face and making it seem ghostly, unreal. "A strange night, my friend," he said in perfect Elvish. "Evil is stirring- I sense it." Legolas nodded mutely; he didn't trust himself to speak. And at the moment, the last thing on his mind was Mordor. The Ranger seemed to pick up on his friend's unrest, as he always did. "Is something troubling you?"
Legolas ground his teeth. Why did he always have to be so...intuitive? Especially when such obscene, embarrasing thoughts were running through his head. Then, something happened that both invigorated Legolas and made him want to throw himself off the balcony. He had such an intense urge to kiss Aragorn, to crush his lips into his and make him promise to be his forever. To wind his fingers into his hair and drag his hands down his back. But most of all, to confess how he really felt about him. Legolas could see this so vividly in his mind that he wanted to gag. But at the same time, he felt faint and weak at the knees. What in Middle Earth was happening to him?
"It is nothing," replied Legolas, finally choking the appropriate response out of the back of his throat. It was going to take him at least five hundred years to recover from that. "Yes, a strange night indeed."
Aragorn placed a hand on Legolas' shoulder. He bit his lip and felt a flush creep up his neck. His face was so hot, he could feel it stinging. He looked away, so ashamed that he wanted to crawl under a rock and simply die. He was mortified to see his feel his eyes swimming with tears. Legolas knew Aragorn could see all this, and he no longer cared. Better to let him know now, while he still had the chance. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring. So he took a deep breath, and Aragorn straight in the eyes.
Legolas didn't know where the words came from. As they tumbled out of his mouth, slowly but steadily, he realized that they had been lurking deep inside him for a very long time, just aiting for the right moment to come forth. And his heart told him that this was it. " Do you have any idea what it feels like to love someone who is so out of reach? Do you have any idea what it is like to watch someone as they fall in love with someone else? Do you know how many nights I have kept myself from sleeping, merely at the thought of your face? Can you even imagine how I feel? How my emotions for you became so distorted? And when I finally realized how I felt about you, Aragorn, that I wanted to die of shame? Put yourself in my position, Friend, and then tell me how much it ails you."
Aragorn's words were gentle as he took Legolas' hands in his. Time stood still. Legolas couldn't breathe, couldn't think. It was all so surreal. As the tears poured down his face, he had expected Aragorn's face to morph into a look of disgust, for him to run. Not for him to look so...longing. And most certainly not for him to say, "Do you have any idea, Legolas, of what it feels like to finally realize who you want to spend the rest of your life with?" And with those words, Aragorn drew Legolas closer to him and kissed his lips. Legolas wept no longer and responded with instense passion. When it was over, he simply held his best friend, the one he knew loved with his entire being, and didn't let go for a long time.