The elf found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the dwarf's every gruff, solid movement as he dismounted and strode up to Legolas with the confidence of their race. Kíli stared back just as much but soon lost his smile. With the loss, his own slipped away. The dwarf seemed... well, shy or apprehensive all the sudden, as Kíli's stare turned into numerous flicks to the ground.
Was it himself, how Legolas was presenting himself? Their cultures were different enough for easy misunderstandings. And considering the dwarf's straight footsteps, they obviously didn't have the aid of alcohol to ease the moment.
Was it something internal? Legolas had his guesses if that was the case, but he preferred knowing the truth to merely guessing, so he didn't think too much on it. He'd wait until later to ask. The last thing he wanted was the dwarf to turn heel and retreat straight back to the dwarven settlements because he came on too strongly. He knew well the distrust, as well as the dislike and loathing, between their races, even if this dwarf seemed as unimpressed with it all as he did.
...Well, at least he hoped there would be a later point when he could ask. He had been on the road for months now, and that morning was the first time he'd felt so completely alone. Just a few hours apart the dwarf, and the elf had been practically begging everything around him for Kíli's return.
So, yes, he'd stayed, hoping the dwarf had been as affected by their time together as he'd been.
When the much shorter person stood far enough away to not quite touch yet, even with Legolas' own longer reach, probably so Kíli didn't have to crane his head so much, the prince found himself riled up with the way the dwarf was looking at him. He tried to release some of the tension by looking away to the dwarf's horse instead as it grazed, its muscles flicking to release the tension of the ride.
It was ridiculous to feel this way when he'd spent the last few hours wanting this moment. Besides, he knew he had nothing to fear from Kíli. So his heart thumping away was both annoying and surprising at the same time.
And so was the pack-laden horse, for that matter. Well, it was surprising anyway. He looked back down at the dwarf, trying to figure out if he was seeing things. "Are you traveling?"
The traveling part was obvious. But had Kíli actually made plans to come with him? Even though Legolas had considered it, he certainly hadn't expected it. Not after only one night. He'd only thought to be in this dwarf's company longer since their time together had been cut short so abruptly. One day of waiting for someone who might not come back wasn't going to make a difference to months away from home.
The brunette looked back to his horse and then to him, his jaw working a bit before he managed, "I thought... I mean, if you don't want me to come with you, by all means, I can go back home with my tail between my legs, but I thought..." Kíli looked away with a huff. "Am I being stupid here?"
"No," Legolas said with a shake of his head. Dark eyes latched back onto his face. "I just wasn't expecting it."
Kíli's teeth bit down on a lip Legolas knew to be so soft, as the younger person huffed through his nose, looking away. "I... I'm sorry. I just-I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I thought maybe..." He hugged himself over his thick layers of clothing and growled as his head shook. "Ugh, I'm so stupid! Why in the world would you want me to go with you?" He huffed again, looking to the sky before back at him. "I'm just a dwarf, right?"
This was going downhill far faster than Legolas could have ever imagined. The daylight overhead and the lack of alcohol tempering their spirits wasn't helping. "That's not at all what I meant."
"Well, you waited for me, right? Were you hoping to mount me again before you head back on the road?" The dwarf let out a half-laugh through a humorless smile. "And really, it's not like I'd stop you."
"That isn't why I stayed."
"Then why did you stay?"
Legolas gritted his teeth for a moment, his gut tensing. "I stayed because I wanted more of your company."
Kíli laughed for a moment, a weak sound that cut the tense air, and raked a hand through his hair at the top of his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm acting like a child. I assumed way too much. Or hoped, I guess."
Watching him, Legolas had to remind himself that this dwarf was young, at the prime of his bodily urges, and probably not nearly as experienced as himself. And considering he was nearly 3000 years Kíli's senior, with himself fairing little better...
And Kíli had apparently run out here hoping they'd, well, be together, at least for a short time. What if he hadn't been here waiting? Would the dwarf have keep going, trying to find him? The mere idea shocked him, let alone it actually happening.
When he stayed quiet, not really meaning to, still a bit shell-shocked with everything running through his head, Kíli added, "I hope this isn't one of those relationships where drinking is required to even look at each other."
Legolas couldn't help the shooting up of his brows before he smiled. "I hope so too... I-I'd like you to come with me, if that's what you want to do. Honestly, I just hadn't expected it. It's not that I don't want you to."
Slowly a smile crept onto the brunette's face, a smile that brightened everything. He turned his head, looking back the way he'd come. "Would you mind it if we got going then?" Then he met his gaze again, brushing long bangs out of his face and behind an ear. "I'd rather not have someone coming up on us again."
The dwarf's smile was difficult to turn away from. But Legolas managed it with a nod, before walking back to his horse, mounting it in an effortless movement. He started forward, Kíli quickly coming up on his side. Together they rode through the sparse trees, quietly. He could feel the dwarf's almost constant glances. They brought heat to him and, well, made him wish for some alcohol to soothe the urge to drag them both off their horses and take the dwarf against the nearest tree.
Trying to smash down the urge, Legolas asked, "Your family doesn't mind you leaving?"
The dwarf huffed. "Oh, they mind... But I've got to grow up someday, right? Besides, a few weeks without me will hardly destroy them."
"And your brother?"
The dwarf stared at him for a moment. "You know of my brother?"
Legolas glanced at him, offering a slight smile. "I know of your family. I'm sure you know, but the line of Durin is quite well known to mine and even discussed at the supper table."
Kíli took a moment to think on it. "I suppose it would be."
"My father..." The looks of detest and superiority that played over the ancient elf's face at even the word Thorin... It wasn't something he liked to think about. He understood the history, but the whole if it was so lined in greed and animosity that he kept his own mind as far away from it as possible. "My father finds it easy to hold a grudge."
"So does my uncle. But they have their reasons, I suppose."
"Yes, they do."
They rode on in silence for a while, probably both thinking on it, before Kíli murmured, "You know, you're a lot quieter than I remember. Last night, you were, you know, quite vocal."
A naturally quiet person, Legolas couldn't help his furrowing brow, looking to his companion. He'd talked the night before, although not all that much. He didn't really know how much Kíli had even heard before the dwarf's snores had overcome his voice.
"You know, the panting, and the moaning. And the words I couldn't understand, but sounded damn good."
Just on the tip of being tipsy hours before, the elf remembered quite well what he'd said in his own tongue. At the time, when the world had been nothing but heat, the dwarf reacting so sweetly, uninhibitedly to everything he offered, he'd meant them. Lips pressed together, Legolas tried to not react, but his body had other things on its mind.
After blowing out a small breath, the prince whispered, a sound barely heard over the beating hooves, "Are you trying to be taken?"
Kíli merely looked at him, drawing more heat through the elf's body.
Have I really been away from a willing body for that long?
Before last night, it had been quite a while. Legolas drew in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to steel himself. Perhaps Kíli's silence was because he didn't actually want his advances, not that he'd protested hours before. Or perhaps the younger person had more control over his body than the elf apparently did. Or perhaps the dwarf just couldn't say out loud exactly what he wanted. Or maybe Kíli just plain hadn't heard him. Any of those reasons were good enough to still him.
The dwarf never said or did anything, and the moment passed, however reluctantly Legolas' body was to let go of the possibility of the smaller body's tight heat.
Yes, he'd been away from a lover's heat for far too long. Perhaps, when he got to Lindon, he'd take care of that.
As if reading his mind, Kíli cleared his throat and asked, "So what's Lindon like?"
Legolas sighed, looking towards the direction of the faraway port, knowing he should be welcoming the change in subject. "There are elves, lots of them. Other races too. It's a major port for Middle Earth. But at the same time, it's subdued, like any city of elves."
"You've been there before then?"
"Not for a while."
"So you have traveled then."
Legolas smiled as he looked to the dwarf who looked back with genuine interest. "If I'd spent the last 2000 or so years sitting in the same place, I admit I'd be rather bored."
The dwarf's mouth hung open for a moment. "...You weren't kidding when you said you'd been away from your mother's teat for a while."
A full grin took over. "No, I wasn't kidding."
"How old are you then exactly?"
"2801."
"Is that all? Well, you don't look a day over 20." The much younger person huffed, looking ahead. "Elves and their immortal beauty, eh?"
Legolas watched the other who apparently refused to look back. The night before, Kíli had said he thought him beautiful but he'd also been drunk when he'd said it. Now...
Then again, it was hardly a compliment to be stared at or adored by those of another race or even his own, the vain creatures they were. His race was known for its beauty. But with this dwarf, for some reason, it was a compliment. Perhaps because he hadn't expected such words to come from the family of Durin.
A few hours later of rather silent companionship, the two of them dismounted at the river. The sea's inlet was only another couple of hours to the south at a steady pace. It was already noticeably warmer. They let their horses rest and graze.
Kíli took off his boots, bow and quiver, and sword, folded his pants up his legs, hauled up his heavy coat, and waded into the water, letting the lazy current pull at his legs. Legolas took a reclining seat on a slab of rock at the edge, watching him get deeper and deeper, until the water started soaking his pants. The darker the brown got, the more he started tottering on his legs. Laughing, the dwarf exclaimed, "Shit! It's cold!"
"Shouldn't you be used to that by now, dwarf of the Blue Mountains?"
The dwarf glared at him with a smirk. "Contrary to popular elven belief, we're a bit more civilized than that. We have advanced enough to heat our water. Not that we need to, mind you. A dwarf can handle any condition thrown at him, unlike certain races I know."
"I see that," Legolas said with a snort, looking away, downstream.
And then he was suddenly drenched in water. Having already let go of one side of his coat, Kíli thrust another arm full of water. Legolas was on his feet, jumping away, Kíli's laugh following him.
"No wonder you don't want to get in! You look like a drowned rat all wet." Kíli gave up laughing when Legolas flipped the wet hair out of his face and then took off his bow and quiver and sword as well, and then started towards the water. "Legolas, I was kidding! Take a joke! Don't get in! It's freezing!"
The words didn't stop him. He walked right into the water, directly up to the other person who backed up a couple of steps, the water almost to his groin and pulling at him. The water only came just under Legolas' knees at that point. He fell to his knees, bringing them more or less face to face, easily ignoring the cold in face of the other dwarf's panting breaths.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"Warming you up," he whispered with a slight smile, as his hands weaved underneath the dwarf's coat.
He wasn't supposed to be doing this. He was supposed to have restraint until they got to the port. But he just couldn't help himself when the dwarf so clearly wanted to egg him on.
His own body was hot compared to the other's already chilled one. For a people who spent the majority of their days in the cold, dwarves had a surprising intolerance for it with the way they dressed in multiple layers, even when it was warmer. He could only guess it was from their severe lack of fat, their bodies normally a solid mass of muscle. Elves, on the other hand, had other ways to keep themselves warm.
Slowly, as the elf pressed against him, the shorter person stopped his shivering and chattering his teeth and leaned in, welcoming the heat. Kíli sighed weakly, his eyes closing. His face nuzzled the crook of Legolas' neck.
"Why are you so warm? Never mind the alcohol - No wonder I was able to sleep so soundly last night," the dwarf murmured. Soft lips lined in whiskers then trailed over the elf's skin, a tease. Legolas couldn't help a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. "I bet you could run around naked and not feel it."
It was true, to an extent. "I'm sure you'd like that."
Legolas could hear the smile in the "Mmm-hm."
He couldn't help his own grin before closing his eyes as the brunette edged teeth over his neck. He should have been backing away. But he couldn't help but relish in it. Really, what was the point of keeping distance if the dwarf so clearly wanted him?
Was this dwarf always so wanton? Usually dwarves had other things on their mind, like food and ale, gems and gold, and hard-fought battles.
Legolas couldn't help asking, "Have you had many lovers?"
The smaller person instantly stilled, and the prince regretted asking. It was an immensely personal question, no matter the night before and this moment.
"Why?"
Why? Good question. "I'm just curious."
There was nearly a minute of silence. By the end of it, he so regretted asking.
But then Kíli whispered, "You're my first."
At first, Legolas didn't think he'd heard him right. His first? That couldn't be right, not with the way Kíli had responded so heatedly, thrusting his body as well as melting into him. He hadn't complained in the least, even when he'd taken him. Had only encouraged him on with his throaty moans and breaths, his yanks on his body. He had in no way acted like a virgin.
Had Kíli been so drunk that he hadn't truly realized what was going on?
And considering their size difference...
Legolas ran through all of last night in his head, trying to figure out if he'd missed something, hadn't noticed some obvious pain. He couldn't remember anything that would have hinted at it.
"You never have before? With anyone?"
"No... Was..." Genuine apprehension stiffened the dwarf's body. "Am I doing this wrong or something?"
Legolas leaned his torso away, pulling up his hands to grasp the dwarf's comparably small face. "No, that's not it at all. What you do to me... I thought you'd had a lover before. You should have told me."
It took a few seconds before the dwarf seemed to fully comprehend the words. Then, eyes lidding, he beamed a smile, his desire taking back over. "As if I'd had a thought in my head last night."
The words and obvious desire renewed the heat in the elf's body. Wanting this dwarf despite everything, perhaps because of everything, leaning forward again, still grasping his face, Legolas kissed the dwarf's soft lips, enjoying the brush with Kíli's whiskers when his own skin was so smooth. Kíli instantly tried to deepen it. The dwarf was so absurdly responsive. How could he have not had a lover before the other night? It was incomprehensible.
Legolas pulled away slightly. "If you haven't... Why me of all people?"
Kíli blinked at the question, clearly thinking the last thing on his mind. Then his eyes seemed to focus. "Why? I... I just wanted you."
He couldn't believe it was that simple, but then again, at the time, Kíli hadn't known who he was. But now he did know, yet Kíli was still clearly wanting him so badly that the elf could feel his hardness through the layers of clothing.
Legolas knew he should stop this. Something wasn't right. No one gave themselves this freely, this boldly, unless it had something to do with love. And Kíli didn't love him. Right? Suddenly he wasn't so sure. Not that he suspected true love, the kind that took people through the hardest of times, but it could have been a love far more immature and romantic in nature.
Everything bit of logic in the prince told him that he should back away, and he did, rising up, grabbing the dwarf's hand, and leading him back to shore. Kíli followed with obvious reluctance, his body fighting a bit. Legolas put his gear back on, ignoring the eyes trying to burn his back. The dwarf followed his lead a few moments later.
Looking to the distance, Legolas muttered, "Let's try to make the inlet before we camp for the night."
"...Okay."
Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to let Kíli come along. This all had greatly complicated something that had been so simple yesterday. But then again, when had his life ever been simple? He could try to ignore the complications, yes, and succeed on occasion, but it was never simple.
Legolas walked back to their grazing horses and mounted his. The dwarf was a step behind. When the dwarf looked at him, he couldn't help but look back. But he couldn't stand the look on Kíli's face. He steered his horse next to the other one, grabbed the dwarf's coat, leaned down, and, against his better judgment, kissed the dwarf deeply so that they were both moaning into it.
Pulling away, the horses getting agitated, he smiled and murmured truthfully, despite everything, "I'm glad you came along."
Kíli's smile was brighter than the sun.
