I know we're – more or less – book compliant in this fic, but I just had to throw in a line from the first film. It's not the line in itself, but the way it's said which makes it simply wonderful, and according to my sense of humour, very funny.

Chapter 3 – Celebrant, Lothlórien

Long and winding was our perilous road. Thrown into darkness were our senses.

Pursued and hunted – frightened – we fled,

to the Mines of Moria, where dwell the dead.

Into stone we descended, over rock we crept,

while the rolling doom of drumming swept,

upon us – over and among,

the fallen kin we were to join,

beneath the earth, before too long.

By Balin's tomb, we stood our ground,

until the orcs were all around.

And Boromir said: "They have a cave troll."

(He made a mental note of crossing that last line out.)

Whatever happened after that? So much fear and such a great loss.

Gandalf.

Let fall many tears for the Istari!

Aragorn shook his wearied head to chase the memories away. There would be mourning eventually. Right now, he needed to focus on other matters. Such as crossing this bloody river in one piece.

With that bloody Elf.

Yes, yes, yes, he could see the point. This was the first Elf Legolas had met for a long time so it was natural he would be happy about it. The Man Aragorn had the Man Boromir, The Hobbits had each other and Gimli… well, he was a Dwarf. Gimli had seen his forefather's halls after all, and had experienced a sense of belonging on their journey. (Never mind everyone there had been brutally killed a long time ago; before they realised that, he was happy enough.)

So it made sense Legolas was overjoyed at meeting Haldir. And from what he had seen so far, Aragorn was quite sure Haldir was overjoyed as well. It was Legolas who had first been approached, it was Legolas who had been asked to give away information on the Fellowship (which Aragorn dearly hoped he had not). It was Legolas who had been spoken to in that soft elven tongue. If Aragorn had any say in it, there would be no tongues involved whatsoever.

Aragorn glowered at the marchwarden of Lothlórien where he stood by the running water with Legolas by his side.

"Celebrant is already a strong stream here," Haldir said as if they could not see for themselves, "and it runs both swift and deep."

Well, obviously.

Aragorn fought the urge to snort.

"And it is very cold."

Alright, he could not see that, but he would not let this second blond Elf off so easily.

"We do not set foot in it so far north and in these days of watchfulness we do not make bridges," Haldir continued.

He was apparently a talker, Aragorn concluded.

"This is how we cross!"

In one swift move Haldir threw a coil of rope to another Elf who had appeared a few moments earlier among the trees on the other side of the river. This Elf, in his turn, tied the end of the rope around a stem and then passed the rope once more over the water. Haldir secured it about another tree and with a bright, confident smile he ran across the rope and set foot on the opposite bank.

"Follow me!" he cried.

Aragorn threw him a bewildered look. No way could he do that. Maybe Haldir was just showing off? He sneaked a glance at Legolas who was eyeing the rope thoughtfully.

"I can cross this path but the others have not this skill," he said. Then he looked at Aragorn and with a mischievous gleam in his eye he called to the other Elves, "must they swim?"

Haldir's laughter rang out in the forest and Aragorn cursed under his breath.

"No, we have two more ropes! We will fasten them above the other, one shoulder-high and another half-high, and so the strangers should be able to cross."

Oh, 'strangers' were they? All but Legolas apparently.

Boromir helped fasten the other ropes in the same fashion as the first, and one by one the members of the Company made their way across the freezing Celebrant. If Aragorn had not been so aggravated, he might have thoroughly enjoyed watching Gimli and the Hobbits struggling to the other side.

"Never again!" the Dwarf vowed between gasps as he finally collapsed in a heaving heap on the bank. "Never again shall I be persuaded into anything by mad Elves!"

After that, it was Boromir's turn. Determinedly he set foot on the rope and began crossing, slowly and cautiously. Aragorn watched him go with a sinking feeling in his stomach. Now it was only he and Legolas left. The Elf moved to stand close beside him.

"Shame," he said in a low voice.

"What is a shame?" Aragorn queried.

"That you were saved from swimming. You know how much I like a wet Ranger."

With that, he lightly ran across the rope, not holding on to anything at all.

"Aragorn, son of Arathorn," Haldir called out, "now it is only you left! Make haste!"

It was both easier and more difficult than he had imagined. The ropes did not sway too much, but they did not exactly provide you with a bucketful of comfort either. Finally on the other side, Haldir gave him a nod as he undid the rope.

"Interesting technique. Not elegant, I would say, but efficient."

"Served the purpose," Aragorn grumbled.

"I suppose," smiled Haldir.

He did not return the smile, instead he watched as Haldir's brother Rúmil untied the rope on the bank they had left, coiled it up, turned back towards the trees and disappeared.

"Now," Haldir resumed his endless talking," you have entered the Naith of Lórien. We allow no strangers to spy out the secrets of the Naith. As was agreed, I shall here blindfold the eyes of Gimli the Dwarf."

Judging by the way said Dwarf erupted upon hearing this, Aragorn guessed Legolas had not told him about this particular request from Haldir.

"Oh, I declare you most certainly will not! This agreement was made without my consent and I will not abide by it!" he cried out, waving his axe threateningly in front of the marchwarden. "I am no enemy, I will let you know! Blindfold me, and you must blindfold the Elf." He glared at Legolas.

Great.

That did it, Aragorn knew. He drew a long breath and settled in for a long debate.

"Me?!"

Oh, yes.

"I am no enemy either, Master Dwarf – I am of this kin!" Legolas protested.

"Maybe so, but I have not crossed a river by one rope only in order to be welcomed in this way." Gimli stated obstinately.

The Elf's eyes flew to the river. "You did not cross the river using only one rope!"

"I did!" the Dwarf insisted. "As far as I could tell, my feet were balancing on one rope, and one rope only."

"But you held on to another," remarked Legolas, "that makes two!"

"I never said I counted that one."

"You cannot not count it!"

"I can!"

"Not!"

"What?"

Gimli frowned and Legolas bit his lip, furrowing his brow.

"Resume this later?" the Elf asked.

"Later."

"Are you done?" Merry sighed, looking from Dwarf to Elf and back again. "We beg your pardon, mister marchwarden," he said, nodding to Haldir, "they tend to get carried away from time to time."

Aragorn did not like the way the Second Elf – as he had decided to name him – regarded Legolas. True, it was impossible to ignore the fierce light that sprang from his lover's eyes when he argued. Or the way his slender hands gracefully danced in the air before him as he aimed to emphasize his words. Or the way his cheeks coloured as his frustration increased. Or how his breathing picked up when he got excited.

In fact, these signs told the tale of other times, but combined with very different settings…

Aragorn's heart rate quickened as he remembered certain nights they had spent together. And certain mornings… and evenings… and breakfasts… They would have to try second breakfast some time.

Forcing himself back to the present, he was just in time to see Haldir place a hand on Legolas's shoulder.

"Easy now…"

Before he could continue, Aragorn broke in. He really had to make clear who was in charge here.

"Come!" He looked at the others encouragingly.

Nine set of eyes turned to him.

Frodo tilted his head to the side. Gimli leaned heavier on his axe. Sam and Merry were looking at him attentively. Legolas raised an eyebrow.

"Strider? Pippin quipped.

Haldir and his elven companion, still among the trees, were silent. Boromir ran a hand through his hair.

"Well," Aragorn began feebly, not having considered a need for additional words. He thought furiously and then picked up his speech, "It is hard upon Gimli to be thus singled out. We shall all go on blindfolded, even Legolas." For this he earned himself an angry glare from Legolas. "I am now the leader of this Company, after all," he added, mostly because he wanted to say it in front of the Second Elf.

After much grumbling and muttering they were on their way. Haldir led them along a track which he said should be easy enough for them to follow even though they were temporarily confined to darkness.

Legolas lamented that he could not feast upon the sight of the woods of Lothlórien as he walked behind Aragorn. When the Man took no greater notice of him, he changed the topic.

"You know, I might have done as you bid," he declared in low tones.

"And what did I ask you to do?"

"To 'come'."

"Legolas!" hissed Aragorn.

"Calling my name already?" asked the teasing voice. Then it changed. "Wait! Am I missing out on the fun?"

"What? No! I could not possibly– Legolas, I am walking!"

"I know, but you can be rather creative when you are not sulking."

"We are supposed to meet the Lord and the Lady of these woods in only a little while, I could not see them if I were…" Aragorn waved his hand downwards. Not that Legolas could see it, but still.

"If you were..?"

"You know," grumbled the Man.

"No, pray tell!"

"You know!"

"No…" Legolas said loftily, "I seem to have no idea what you are alluding to. You had better tell me."

"If I…" He trailed off.

"Aragorn…" pressed the Elf. "If you were what?"

"Excited," he hissed, feeling colour rush to his face.

Legolas laughed heartily, causing the others to jump high. "Well now, we would not want that," he whispered to Aragorn who was blushing furiously, "yet."

As it turned out, Aragorn needed not worry. They marched on for the rest of the day without coming across neither Lord, nor Lady. When the cool wind of evening stirred among the leafy trees, Haldir halted, only to have Pippin walk straight into him.

The Hobbit retreated confused and backed into Merry, who stumbled and toppled Frodo over. Sam, always tagging along at Frodo's side, was pulled down as well. The rest of the Company only heard the thumping noises but figured from the accompanying laughter drawn from the Lórien Elves that nothing too terrifying had taken place.

"Mad Elves," muttered Gimli to no one in particular. "A wood is no place for a Dwarf! Mines, on the other hand…"

Aragorn filtered out the remains of this presumably long-winded monologue.

"We rest here for the night," Haldir announced. "We cannot allow you to remove your blindfolds, but there is no danger here so you may lie down to sleep where you stand."

A disgruntled murmur arose from the pile of Hobbits.

– xxx –

Having no choice, Aragorn had done pretty much what Haldir had advised: he had lain down beside the track, on a soft patch of grass to sleep. However, for all his good advice, Haldir had not relayed to them how stupid they would feel as they simply dropped to the ground – heedless of what they might find there.

The earth was not muddy, but as far as he knew, Aragorn could have chosen a spot which housed a settlement of ants, or snails or something else he did not particularly wish to find out what it was.

He sighed and tried to find a comfortable position.

The Hobbits were whispering among themselves, some feet away, he guessed. Boromir and Gimli were speaking in hushed voices nearby. Aragorn cared not to catch any words of either conversation.

He wondered where Legolas had gone to. The Elf had given up his earlier attempts to swing Aragorn out of balance – for the one reason that he had succeeded. Now, he was nowhere to be heard – until Aragorn heard him.

And he was speaking to the Second Elf.

Random words and phrases in elvish drifted to him, but he could not discern anything intelligible. The rhythm of their conversation was unsteady, it seemed to Aragorn the debate was rushed. It went without saying he did not like it.

After a while, the conversation was ended. Some moments later someone sat down beside him.

"Do you know how silly you look?" Legolas spoke quietly.

"You are not supposed to see that," Aragorn told him.

"So you admit you look silly?"

"I– " Aragorn aimed a slap in the direction of his lover.

Legolas chuckled lightly. "No, actually you are quite adorable. You have mud on your cheek."

"You are still not supposed to see that."

"I was granted permission to remove my blindfold!" the Elf said triumphantly. "If I promised to put it back on before I go to sleep."

"Why?"

"So that, in the morning, no one discovers I had taken it off in the first place of course!"

"How would we know," smiled Aragorn, "we are all blindfolded!"

He did not need his sight to know that a disappointed look passed over Legolas' face.

"I win!" he stated with a grin. "Prove me wrong."

He heard the grumbled complains and knew.

"Fine," Legolas finally acquiesced. "You win. This time."

Aragorn, now with a seeing lover, seized the opportunity to grin a bit broader.

"Stop that," Legolas warned him, "or you might not find out what I had planned."

"What have you planned?"

"Something else than this, to be sure… But I will let you know nonetheless. Stand up."

Aragorn frowned but did as he was asked.

"You really look a mess," Legolas kindly informed him. "Follow me."

He took Aragorn by the hand and led him away from the others. The voices gradually died down around them and the breezy humming of the trees took over. The Man stumbled over some roots now and then, but found Legolas mostly knew where he was going.

"We are not very far away, so keep your voice down."

"I am supposed to speak?"

"No, you are supposed to kiss me."

"Cannot see you…"

Legolas heaved a sigh. "Sometimes, love, you are truly irksome. Now this is a mallorn-tree, so be respectful."

He had no time to ask. Two strong hands pushed him up against a tree trunk and a pair of lips crashed against his own. The Elf wasted no time and he plundered the mouth with his tongue before Aragorn even knew he had allowed him entrance. His world was suddenly spinning and he decided that a few tongues might be acceptable after all.

After that, coherent thought quickly departed as he felt Legolas mapping out the insides of his mouth with his slick, wet muscle. His body finally catching on, he felt himself responding, pulling the lithe form closer.

He kissed back fiercely, tugging at Legolas' bottom lip with his teeth, letting his hands travel up the coarse material of the Elf's winter tunic and tangle in his hair. Meanwhile, Legolas himself was bolder. His hand went immediately to Aragorn's groin and cupped the awakening bulge he found there.

"What happened to 'respectful'?" Aragorn asked him hoarsely, lips against the soft skin of the neck presented to him. He found their current position all too arousing; they had been exploring things during the past year, but never had he been blindfolded while making love.

"'Tis allowed," his lover breathed, all playfulness gone from his voice, "elven tree – I am an Elf."

"Convenient," he had time to remark before Legolas' hand slid underneath the fabric to touch his hardness and all he could do was gasp.

"I want you, Aragorn…"

"Sounds like a warning." He nestled his knee between Legolas' thighs and rubbed at his groin.

The Elf clung to his body and moaned throatily while he continued to stroke Aragorn's erection as best he could.

"Aragorn! Legolas!"

Aragorn tore his lips away from the soft earlobe they had been exploring when Haldir's call rushed through the forest.

"Damnation!" he swore as Legolas uttered some less pretty words in elvish and hastily stepped away from him.

"He is not here yet," Legolas said quickly and quietly.

In vain, Aragorn tried to arrange his appearance by swiping his hands over his heated body and running them through his hair. "How do I look?"

"Like someone I would like on top of me."

The Man made a face. "Seriously."

"You will do," stated Legolas as he propelled Aragorn in the right direction back to the track. "Me. Later."

As they walked, Aragorn tried to convince his body to divide its blood equally between his body parts, and not only focus on his nether regions. It proved impossible.

At Haldir's second call – as far as they knew – Legolas picked up the pace.

"This would all be much easier if we had told them," he complained, but only received an inaudible reply in return.

"Really, Aragorn! My family, your family, and our closest friends know, what is the point in keeping it a secret here?"

"I do not know," Aragorn answered him truthfully. He did not know why it felt strange to let the members of the Company in on their relationship.

"I do not particularly enjoy sneaking off like this, and one might think you are ashamed of me…"

Aragorn stopped dead in his tracks and turned in Legolas' direction. "I am not ashamed of you!"

"Shush, I know!" the Elf said. "Why would you be? On we go." He tugged at Aragorn's hand and they began moving once more.

"And you seemed to be enjoying our sneaking-off," muttered Aragorn.

"I did, lover, but if we keep this up, how in the world am I supposed to let Boromir know that he does not stand a chance?"

Aragorn shook his head. He was about to say that Legolas had it all wrong, but was hindered by the hushed voice by his side:

"Another step and they will see us." He paused. "Hm… you might want to lie down on your stomach as soon as possible."

"Am I the only one?"

"Yes!" Legolas declared happily. "I am in total control."

"Lucky you…" Aragorn took a step forward but caught his foot underneath something that made him stumble, and with a loud rumble he crashed down on the grass.

The surprised gasps of his fellow comrades sprung up but all he could do was to settle down – indeed pressing his still throbbing groin to the ground – and try to find a comfortable position.

"Clumsy humans," the Elf commented aloud. In a lower voice, laced with a smile meant to be heard, he added, "Handy, feet, are they not?"

Aragorn closed his eyes and prepared to curse the first thing that came to mind. As it proved, he was promptly provided with ideas.

"I was about to send out a search party for you," Haldir addressed Legolas.

"No need," replied his lover, "there were some things I had to clarify to the Ranger, that is all."

"Again, we beg your pardon mister marchwarden," Aragorn heard Merry say with another tired sigh, "they tend to get carried away from time to time – too."

tbc

Istari is Quenya meaning 'Wise One'. This name was given to the members of an order of five mysterious strangers who arrived in Middle-earth in around the year III 1000. The Elvish name 'Istar' is translated as 'Wizard', and among these five strangers is of course Gandalf.