"What's up? If it's massive spiders again I want to eat breakfast before-" ~ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
"Old fat spider spinning in a tree!Old fat spider can't see me!Attercop! Attercop!Won't you stop,Stop your spinning and look at me!Old Tomnoddy, all big body,Old Tomnoddy can't spy me!Attercop! Attercop!Down you drop!You'll never catch me up your tree!" ~ The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Chapter 7:
Two things permeated Harry's consciousness as he slowly awoke to the cusp of a new day during the soft stillness of early morning. One was that he was warm, and comfortable, and that elves were exothermic heat generators, and that everyone should have one… just not his elf. Legolas was his heater - staked out, claimed and spoken for by risk of every hex at Harry's disposal should anyone test that. It was early morning, after all, and he hadn't had caffeine yet, all of which were things that made him cranky and possessive. The second thing he noticed was the soft sound of Legolas' tenor whispering wonderful things in his ear.
"I've been waiting for you for three thousand years. And all this time I kept wondering what kind of person you were and what you would be like, and you've surpassed anything I could have imagined. By the Valar you are beautiful, with hair as black as a starless night, and eyes as green as the leaves of the beech trees that scatter our forest. My name means green leaf, in Sindarin, my native tongue. I think my father must have foreseen that I would have you as a soulmate, for my name matches the color of your eyes," the voice gently told him, undoubtedly assuming that he was still asleep.
And while Harry could admit that it had to be the soppiest thing he had ever been privy to hearing during his short eighteen years of life, and had Legolas been born of Harry's world, he would have undoubtedly been a poet, or a greeting card writer; it was also the sweetest and most touching thing that Harry had ever heard.
It caused Harry's heart to race, and his blood to sing as it raced wildly through his body – just as everything else about Legolas did. In a way he guessed he was inwardly swooning, though he'd never, ever, under penalty of death, admit it aloud. He had a penis, thank you kindly, and was awfully proud of it. But maybe…
Perhaps he hadn't been cursed by another round of abysmal luck when he'd crossed the veil into Middle Earth. Perhaps the fates were finally rewarding him for good, well, mostly good, behavior. Legolas was truly the best reward Harry could have imagined. Except, of course, for that whole 'not have intercourse before marriage thing' because during the night Harry had gone from uncertainty of wanting to take that final step to wanting it fairly badly in what had to be an obvious way. There was no way Legolas could miss the hard length of Harry pressed between them, rising as steadily as the sun outside the elven palace…
Until Harry realized that his wasn't the only hard length demanding attention. A slow grin spread across Harry's face as he slowly opened his eyes. Oh, but he was going to have fun with this… elven morals, au revoir!
Quick as a flash Harry had Legolas on his back and was straddling him, rubbing their erections together as he gently ground down into the elf below him.
"Good morning, Legolas," he said, wincing slightly when his voice came out breathy, and only a tad high pitched, but pacified with the thought that he'd soon not care about much of anything but the beautiful elf pressed against him.
The pupils of Legolas' eyes dilated black with lust, and with reflexes just as fast, if not more so than Harry's, their positions were quickly switched.
The blond thrust down on him, hard, and Harry felt their bond spark and sizzle, red hot heat rising inside him, crashing across the length of his body, spreading like wildfire, as his back arched to meet Legolas' movement, melding their clothed forms together as close as was feasible, breaths coming out in labored pants.
It was exactly as Harry thought it could be, exactly the way it should be, until he felt Legolas jump back away from him and off the bed, his chest heaving with untamed passion.
"Not until you marry me," the elf announced in a strained voice, his body shaking with his restraint.
For a brief moment, while watching Legolas fight to get in control of his passions, Harry felt guilty for instigating the encounter, until he reminded himself that he was a part of their relationship, too, and should also get a vote on when they had sex, at the very least.
"We've only known each other for going on three days, isn't it a bit soon to talk marriage? Sex on the hand, well, that doesn't take nearly as long to plan," Harry stated, using as much logic as he could muster while sitting there with a lust ridden body.
The bloody elf was trying to kill him. Death by repression - a truly horrible way to go. Right up there with death by rampaging hippogriff and drowning - twice.
"We are soulmates, our minds and our bodies were made for each other. There is no one else in any world who would fit me better than you, and I for you. How long we've known each other means little when you share a soul," Legolas stated, turning away from Harry while he collected himself.
Harry felt a brief pang, this must have been what Legolas had felt when Harry had kept turning away from him… he didn't like it. For now he'd let it drop, if only to get Legolas to look at him again.
"Okay," Harry said with a sigh, turning away himself, he didn't want Legolas to catch his very obvious disappointment, it wouldn't be fair to him.
Harry couldn't believe he had once thought Ron a moron for getting it on with Lavender in practically every corner of Hogwarts during their sixth year. In fact, secretly, in his head, he had wanted tease his friend relentlessly about being governed by his baser instincts, and had he not been so obsessed with finding out what Draco Malfoy had been up to he probably would have. It mattered little though as Hermione had been riding Ron about it enough for both of them - her jealousy plain to everybody but Ron.
At the time, however, Harry had never been overcome by passion before, himself, and didn't know how potent it could be. How motivating. Either Legolas was going to have to bend, or he was, because Harry couldn't picture living with this amount of sexual tension for any length of time. He'd explode, no pun intended.
"I want to marry you," Legolas' voice broke Harry's reverie. "I want to spend eternity with you. Please think about that?"
"I'll think about it," Harry replied, and he would. It was his top priority, now that he knew Legolas, had tasted his lips and held him close, he couldn't really picture himself with any one else. He wasn't lying, it was his priority, right up there with finding out why he was here and what the Valar had to do with it, and how to get Legolas to bend, if even a little bit.
Harry wondered if everything was outlawed, or just the intercourse itself… if not he could definitely work with that.
Legolas flashed Harry a brilliant grin at his concession, Harry's heart melted the way it always did when the elf smiled at him and the tension was broke. The battle was lost, but that didn't mean Harry was giving up the war, oh no, Legolas may have 2930 years of learned patience on him, but Harry was a Gryffindor, and that trumped everything in regards to stubborn resolve.
Later, after several farewells to Legolas' father, and packed for a long journey, as well as fed and dressed in some of Legolas clothing, magically shrunk to tailor fit to his own form, Harry eyed the horse that his soulmate had brought before him dubiously.
The inhabitants of Middle Earth needed to invent the automobile, seriously.
The creature turned and snorted at him, and Harry's only thought was to wonder if elves had brooms. Maybe he could magically enhance one to fly, because there was no way in hell…
"He's a great horse, Harry, he'll give you no trouble. Now come on, let's go," the blond elf announced, climbing atop his own horse.
Harry eyed the creature again, and the horse stomped his hooves, nodded his head and neighed, as if to say, 'come on buddy, make my day'.
It was all the challenge Harry needed. Harry was renown for his flying, and he had also ridden a temperamental hippogriff and an even more temperamental dragon, the horse wouldn't know what hit, er, rode him.
He quickly climbed atop the animal, lightly tapped the horses sides with his feet, as he watched Legolas do with his, and quick as lightening his horse was off galloping after Legolas' and it… was… incredible. Harry felt the air rush through his hair, and saw the trees speed by them, and felt for the first time since arriving in Middle Earth as if he were flying.
His body moved in tangent with his horses movements naturally, and he patted the creature appreciatively on the neck to show that he hoped there was no hard feelings for his earlier misgivings. Why hadn't he tried this earlier? They had horses in his own world. To think he'd been missing out on this all his life.
On second thought the automobile was entirely overrated. Harry was an Englishman, he was born to ride a horse. Well, born to ride a horse and a handsome blond elf, but that was a thought for later.
They had been riding for what had to be about an hour when Harry saw something strange out of the corner of his eye. It was a large, human sized pod of some sort, or rather, not so much a pod as a chrysalis, as if a whole being were completely engulfed by silken thread.
Harry's stomach started to drop.
Looking up he saw a series of webs in the trees and saw the flash of several giant red eyes lowering towards them, and felt like he had all those years ago at twelve, surrounded by a thousand spiders, with his best friend paralyzed in fear beside him.
He'd rather face saber tooth tigers.
Good gods and goddesses, the one part of his own world he could do without… well, considering there was a horcrux in this world, the second thing from his world he could do without... Though he hated Daily Profit reporters more, so the third thing he had hoped to leave behind, and Middle Earth just had to have some bloody big, giant spiders. His luck was beyond abysmal, it was bordering on just plain ridiculous! Truly fate owed him, and Legolas, as his soul mate and co-recipient of Harry's latest stream of bad luck, big.
"Aragog," Harry whispered.
"Descendants of Shelob," Legolas corrected, his hand already reaching behind him to draw his bow and arrow.
"Patato, patahto, tomato, tomahto, Aragog, Shelob… I think both names probably translate to the same thing in both of our langauges," Harry announced succinctly, drawing his wand, "big, fucking insects."
"Agreed," Legolas answered, drawing and shooting an arrow and hitting the creature lowering down to them right between the multiple eyes. Merlin but his soulmate was a good shot. Harry allowed himself a brief second to be impressed, before pointing his wand at the webs above and firing his first spell.
"Incendio," Harry called out, lighting the series of webs on fire and watching them burn rapidly, as if made by flammable material, which, in retrospect, might not have been the brightest move as dozens of burning spiders started to fall out of the tree tops.
"Harry, ride away, I will protect you," Legolas instructed, shooting arrow after arrow in rapid succession, Harry had never seen anyone move so fast. It was awe-inspiring.
"Not on your life, I've got to protect you," Harry replied, waving his arm to fire his next spell.
"Impedimenta," he yelled, significantly slowing the spiders down during their rush to get to them.
Legolas eyed him gratefully and Harry's heart clenched.
"I just want you safe, it would kill me to see you harmed," Legolas stated, speaking while shooting, never once slowing in his pursuit to kill every spider he could.
"It would be the same for me, you're not the only one in this relationship, you know," Harry replied before shouting, "Incarcerous," and watched as several thin, snake-like cords shot out of his wand to wrap around the spiders. After glancing back at the chrysalis, Harry thought that particular spell poetic justice.
As Harry's spell tied the spiders, Legolas shot them, and the number of insects started noticeably decreasing, to both of their relief. But they weren't out of the woods yet, literally or figuratively.
"I know I'm not, but I've been waiting too long for you to lose you now," Legolas countered, drawing his sword when his arrow supply ran short.
"Confringo!" Harry yelled, blasting a spider that was getting too close to Legolas into pieces, his heart pounding wildly at the thought of anything harming his soulmate. "I may not have waited three thousand years, but that doesn't make me any less happy to have you now."
"Do you really mean that?" Legolas asked, pausing from his defensive stance to look at Harry imploringly, his eyes wide and unfathomably deep. Harry felt dizzy, and his heart full, just taking them in.
He also felt a pang that he'd ever done anything to make Legolas be concerned that Harry didn't want him just as much as he wanted Harry.
"Yes," he responded honestly, wanting nothing more than to move forward and hug the elf soundly to him, even though it wasn't anywhere near the time and place.
Instead he blasted another spider.
Legolas returned to the battle with renewed vigor, stabbing spiders left and right, as if rejuvenated.
Harry wanted him, so bad.
Slowly the spiders started to retreat, their numbers suffering too greatly for them to further their pursuit of their prey, and Harry and Legolas collapsed in breathless exhaustion on the soft ground below them, their horses grazing not far from their masters.
"Legolas," Harry deadpanned, drawing the elf's gaze from the tree tops above back towards him, "our worlds are not so different from each other after all. In both worlds there's always something waiting around the corner to try to kill me."
Legolas smiled, an amused expression illuminating his face, his eyes lighting up to glow like a cloudless summer sky, as he snorted at his soulmate's blasé attitude at just being attacked by potentially lethal enemies.
"I know we've only known each other but a short while," Legolas replied, moving to brush a fallen lock of hair from Harry's eyes, "but Harry… I'm falling in love with you."
Harry grinned.
"Me too."
To be continued…
