AN: Shoutout to Frodo's Sister & AraneltheSilvan for reviewing chapter 1! Also, shoutout to Cuthalion97 for beta-ing for me! Hope everyone enjoys Chapter 2!

"Ada, it is good to see you." Legolas smiled broadly as he pushed open the doors to the council chamber.

The room was empty, apart from Thranduil, who smiled at his son. "Welcome home, ion-nin."

Aragorn followed in closely behind Legolas. Thranduil raised an eyebrow slightly at his entrance, but quickly assumed a formal facial expression.

"Ada, let me introduce Strider, a Ranger of the North."

Aragorn gave the king a short, graceful bow. "It is an honor to be here in Mirkwood."

"And how does a Ranger end up in Mirkwood?" Thranduil asked stiffly.

Legolas glanced at Aragorn, who took it upon himself to answer. "I have been trained in healing by Lord Elrond for many years. I was in Imladris when the prince arrived and had long desired to see the beauty of Mirkwood. So, I offered to travel back with him to help with the more complicated medicines."

"I appreciate the time you took for the journey, but I assure you, we can handle the medicines. You may rest for a few days, and be on your way," Thranduil responded and motioned for the doors to be opened, dismissing the human. Placing a hand on Legolas' shoulder he guided him away asking, "May we speak, ion-nin?"

At a rare loss for words, Aragorn's eyes flitted towards Legolas, who was instead studying the ground. At the absence of his friend's gaze, Aragorn turned his eyes to the ground as well and forced his face to show calm composure. He managed to bow stiffly to the king before leaving the room in a daze.

Legolas doubted his father truly needed to talk to him, but he had not wanted to argue with his father in front of his guest. Once the doors had been shut behind Aragorn, Legolas spoke. "Strider is not leaving in a few days." Legolas crossed his arms and set his feet apart daring his father to challenge him.

Thranduil, though equally stubborn, did not think the matter worth arguing over. "It is good to see you too. Worry not. You have brought the medicines and our healers will be more than adequate. He does not need to stay."

"You don't even know what medicines I have brought back. Strider is a more advanced healer than most we have here. You cannot deny our people a good healer simply because he is not an elf! Besides, he is not just a healer. He is my friend and staying here as my guest."

Thranduil raised his eyebrows, "Your friend? He is mortal and will be here and gone the blink of an eye. Humans are unreliable and easily swayed. You do not need his friendship."

Legolas felt his irritation rising at his father's unwillingness accept his friend. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply to keep himself from blurting out Aragorn's identity. He glared harshly at his father and in a quiet voice replied, "You think him untrustworthy, yet he has already saved my life at no small risk to himself. I am decided on this. Unless you want me to leave too, you will not force him to leave." Without waiting for a reply, Legolas spun around, and, pushing the doors open with a powerful bang, strode out of the room.

Once Aragorn was outside the room, he realized he did not know the way back to his rooms. He glanced around momentarily, but not seeing any elves that seemed willing to help, he sank onto the nearest bench to wait. His head snapped up when he heard the doors burst open.

As a prince, Legolas had many years of practice of concealing his emotions when he wished. He smiled as he spotted his friend and gestured for him to follow. "Come on, I'll show you around the palace."

Aragorn glanced at the elf's face, trying to gauge his mood. "You don't have to. I don't want to be in the way."

"Nonsense. You need some sense of direction, we can't have you getting lost. That would be quite embarrassing for a ranger." The elf laughed slightly, but the laughter did not reach his eyes, which still flashed with irritation.

Although he may have seemed calm to most, Legolas walked with a determinedly quick pace, as if he wanted to get as far away from the council chamber as possible. Aragorn was uncertain of what the elf's actions meant. He guessed that the elf was trying not to make him uncomfortable even though he would be leaving soon. "No, truly, if you can just take me back to my room, I can prepare to leave tomorrow."

Legolas stopped in his tracks and turned to face his friend. His irritation melted away as he realized how Aragorn must be feeling. "You are not leaving tomorrow or anytime soon." The elf hesitated slightly. "Unless you wish to, that is."

Aragorn broke eye contact and chewed at the inside of his lip. "Are you sure it is a good idea for me to stay? I don't want to cause problems between you and your father."

Legolas shrugged "My father and I have had far worse arguments. He is hesitant to accept what he does not know. We have grown accustomed to only relying on our own here. It takes him a little longer to trust." He paused. "Telling him you'd saved my life didn't hurt, though."

Legolas smirked at the human, whose serious look slowly broke into a grin. "Well, I guess I can stay to ensure you don't need my superior healing skills. You seem to enjoy seeking out danger."

"In that case, maybe I should start by showing you where the healing halls are. We need to take the medicine there since that's why you're supposed to be here, anyway."

Aragorn still felt uncomfortable, knowing the friction his presence in Mirkwood was causing for his friend. He told himself he could always leave if it became worse. Feeling the elf waiting for him, he nodded, and the pair walked and laughed, leaving the uneasiness behind them.