Legolas/Aragorn

"Aragorn, look out!" Legolas had shouted from the branches above. He was busy making arrows for the next leg of the journey, and had decided to test one out before quivering them. At the very moment he had nocked the arrow, and shot it, Aragorn had came rushing into the line of fire.

"By the gods..." Aragorn said exasperatedy. The arrow had missed his head by mere inches, and thunked down into the hard earth.

"Aragorn! This had better be important for you to have risked your life as such." Legolas looked more relieved than angry.

"Legolas, you must come see this." Aragorn and Legolas had volunteered to stay behind the Fellowship to watch for any signs of orcs trailing them out of the Mines of Moria. After they had left the mines, no one felt completely comfortable stopping to camp. They had taken the opportunity to have some one-on-one time between themselves, to chat, and to catch up on recent events.

"I hope it is worth it," Legolas said as he hopped down to the ground with the weight of a feather. "Let us go."

As they both walked, Aragorn posed a very strange question. "Legolas, do you remember when you told me the story of when you were just an elfling, and you had first seen the true beauty of nature?"

"Ah, yes. But what does that have to do with what you are about to show me?'

"You will see," Aragorn said, as a sly smile slowly spread across his face.

After about ten minutes of walking, Aragorn stopped, and said, "Now, once we walk through this wall of foliage, you will understand."

"Yes." Legolas was beginning to feel antsy; he had no clue what Aragorn had in store for him.

As the wall of moss and vines parted, Legolas squinted his eyes against the flood of sunlight that poured into the forest around him. The canopy blocked much of it deeper inside of the forest, but here must be a clearing, with all the sun beating down.

Aragorn beckoned him through. He gasped, for he had never seen anything quite so beautiful... not in Mirkwood, nor even in Rivendell.

"Really something, isn't it, Legolas?"

Aragorn had accidentally stumbled upon this sanctuary while scouting the area for anything of use. He abandoned that task in order to find Legolas and bring him to see it.

"What is this? It is amazing! There must be some sort of magic at work here, I can sense it. It is not evil."

He stood at the edge of the small clearing with Aragorn. Before them lay wildflowers of various colors, a small stream with minnows darting to and fro, and the strangest yet most beautiful, was that every single pebble was a silver so lustrous that it was like a field of tiny, round mirrors.

"T'was luck that I stumbled upon this place. But, Legolas, I brought you here for another reason as well. I know that you love this sort of thing, first of all. But second of all, what are those standing stones over there?"

Legolas had been so lost in thought that he didn't even give them a second glance previously. Now that they held his full attention, he noticed a strange shimmering effect around them. They were also standing a few feet taller than his head.

"Do you think it's safe to approach them?" Aragorn was looking at Legolas with genuine curiosity in his eyes.

"They cannot be dangerous, by far, for if they had been, I would have known."

"Do you know what they are?"

"Not at all. However, they are enchanted very strongly. There must be an inscription on the stones, so others may know what exact magic it is. Shall we go?"

After this, Legolas began to stride off towards the stones, and Aragon followed close behind. The closer they came to the stones, the more warm they felt, and the more they forgot their troubles.

Once Legolas had gotten within arm's reach of the stone circle, he lightly touched the nearest stone. As soon as his fingertips met the smooth, gray surface, a line of flowing elven script emerged before him. His eyes trailed over the runes, and the stone slightly hummed. Then, the elvish words receded back into the slab. Legolas slowly turned to peer at Aragorn.

"Aragorn, these are lovers' stones. Anyone whom has love for each other may show it here, and their love will be eternal. Also, since there are three stones instead of merely one, neither lover may die unless it is fully accepted."

Aragorn had never heard Legolas speak for so long; neither had he heard of lovers' stones.

"So any lover can come here, show their love, and it'll last forever unless death is fully accepted?"

"By both parties, yes. Also, the love must be pure and true."

"Are you sure that those are "lovers' stones," as you called them?"

"Quite. Although the script was the Lothlorien language, I could still interpret it."

They both stood there rather awkwardly, knowing that they both legitimately loved each other. There was no denying it. Surprisingly, Aragorn was the first one to crack.

"Legolas... I believe I would like to show my love for you here. I have felt this way for weeks now. Will you accept my hand in eternal love?" Aragorn put his head down, now shy that he'd shown his true feelings.

"I... will, Aragorn." Legolas held out his hand, and Aragorn looked up with a newfound light in his eyes.

He smiled, and walked towards Legolas. He took his hand. Legolas then took his other hand and they moved closer to each other. This was closer than they had ever been before. Aragorn looked into Legolas' eyes with a gentleness that he never knew he had, and Legolas stared back into his hazel eyes.

"Aragorn, I have felt this way for some time. But I was afraid of the consequences, that you would not feel the same."

"There is no such thing for you to worry about now, Legolas."

They creeped in until they were intimately close, and then closed the gap with the lightest brush of their lips, and Aragorn pulled Legolas into a full-fledged kiss. They stayed in that position for the better part of half an hour, their lips never parting.

"Legolas... I love you."

"I also love you, Aragorn, until the end of my days."

"Hopefully we never die."

"Aragorn, tell no one of this. If my father were to find out, he would most certainly make sure that we will die..."

"I know, Legolas. No one but us needs to know."

Then, they both embraced in a hug so tight, not even Sauron himself could pull them apart. The purple hue of sunset came, the sparrows in the trees chirped the most beautiful songs, all the evil in Legolas' and Aragorn's world had gone. Night fell, the contellations dotted the sky; Aragorn sat hand in hand with Legolas and drifted into sleep.

"I love you, Aragorn," Legolas whispered, as he continued to watch the night sky.

*Noontime Next Day*

"Hey! There they be!"

Legolas and Aragorn wandered into their friends' camp.

"There aren't any orcs following us," Aragorn said, rather disappointed; he was looking forward to spilling some vile, orcish blood.

"Well, that's good, I couldn't get a blink of sleep worrying about it. After what happened to poor Gandalf and all..." Sam said, hanging his head, with the lack of sleep still evident in his posture.

"I'm glad you're okay." Frodo was tending to the fire as he said this, "Sam, pick up your head. We'll be okay."

"Yes, Frodo is right," Aragorn stated. Legolas hadn't said anything since they got within proximity to the camp, but that's the way it was before, so it must remain as such.

"However, we must not forget to keep moving. There's no predicting when the wraiths will locate the ring," Boromir said calmly. As soon as "wraiths" came out of his mouth, everybody snapped back into reality.

"Pack up, lets get moving, then."

"Agreed, Aragorn!" Eveybody replied, except for Legolas.

Instead, he said, "Destiny is different than a dream," and walked on, continuing the journey...