Disclaimer: Not mine
"Whoever thought that riding in a carriage would be wise was a fool," grumbled Aragorn. Legolas had to restrain a snort: the carriage was more than comfortable, it was luxurious compared with the carts which they had hitched onto in the past. His husband was getting spoilt. But Legolas would always indulge him.
With Legolas beckoning to him with just one nod of the head, Aragorn carefully made his way over the trunks of luggage around the legs of the other travellers, towards his lover. The human's hands held up his stomach, swollen at six months almost as much as it had been at the end of his term carrying Rilluin. "Come, I will be your pillow meleth," murmured Legolas, patting his lap.
Aragorn nestled onto it with a soft sigh, and Legolas deliberately bit his lip when the rough track under the carriage's wheels bounced Aragorn's weight up and down. "Sorry, that will not work," the elf whispered.
Pouting, Aragorn shifted onto the seat next to his husband, and curled against his side instead. "I told you that the carriage was a bad idea," he muttered grumpily.
"You did not," chuckled Legolas, twisting a lock of Aragorn's hair around his fingers. "You did not want to ride because you felt sorry for the horse and it was too hot to be riding."
Shrieking laughter emerged from the seats holding the four children; Rilluin, Cariad, Théoden and Betiath. "Ada, you are too fat to ride the horse," giggled Rilluin, and the other children's mirthful laughs doubled in volume.
Hurriedly, Legolas put a finger to his lips. "Hush children. Some people are sleeping." He nodded to Eówyn and Faramir; the two humans were sleeping against each other, with their month old newborn son Boromir bound to Eówyn's chest. The children's talk returned to whispers, focused on their plans for the day. For the last fortnight, guards had been positioned and servants had been making a stretch of beach and a small house ready for the King, his family, and Faramir's. Legolas had wanted to take the children away for a holiday, something they had never had before, after the fright during his departure.
They had left the city in the twins, Erestor, Glorfindel and Thranduil's capable hands, just for the day. Faramir would return at dawn the next morning, but Aragorn, Legolas and Eówyn would be spending three days by the shore. Heavily, Aragorn yawned. "Just looking at the two of them makes me feel even more exhausted. What are we going to be like when we have two terrors keeping us up day and night?"
"Possibly better than when we did with Rilluin, despite the fact that there will be two of them," whispered Legolas, not wanting their oldest child to overhear.
"I do not see us doing worse," replied Aragorn, with a half frenzied snort. He closed his eyes where his face was hidden against the elf's tunic. "No one will mind if I sleep will they?"
"We will be there in less than an hour I am sure, but of course you may. We have all been up since before dawn." He rolled his eyes, and Aragorn nestled down against him as Legolas kept his eyes on the children. He was waiting for the arguments, tears and hysteria which were bound to happen, with them all having been lifted from their beds too early in the morning.
Suddenly, a thin cry went up from the sling that carried Boromir, and both Eówyn and Aragorn started upwards. Legolas bit back his comment of 'Mother's reaction' as Eówyn sleepily lifted her child up from the fabric and almost automatically rocked him. Blinking drowsily, Eówyn raised her gaze to Legolas and Aragorn. "Anyone want a child?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Aragorn, reaching out his arms. Legolas was laughing to himself as Eówyn deposited the crying baby in his arms. Carefully manoeuvring the child around his stomach, compensating for it, Aragorn swayed him with a gentleness that Legolas remembered vividly from when Rilluin was that age. It seemed to be instinct. Legolas watched the melting of Aragorn's expression as he gazed at the tiny child.
"Are you getting impatient?" murmured Legolas, watching over Aragorn's shoulder. "Already?" From where his arm was looped around Aragorn's no-longer defined waist, his hand stroked the distended stomach. "That is most adorable."
In a growl, Aragorn said, "I am not adorable. I am not. I am… handsome."
"Handsome, regal, striking," Legolas hesitated. "And beautiful." Aragorn rolled his eyes, but a smile curved up his lips, so Legolas knew that it was alright. He could tell how self-conscious and nervous Aragorn was feeling, and it was a pleasure to assuage those fears, even a little. Going quiet, he watched Aragorn's shoulders relax; making his hold more comfortable for the baby he was holding. He knew very well that Aragorn would do perfectly well caring for two infants. It would not be a problem.
His attention switched to the children, hearing harsh whispers in argumentative tones coming from them. "You ask him."
"No, he is your father."
"But he will not yell at you."
"Children, can I help you at all?" asked Legolas, keeping his voice low; Eówyn and Faramir had returned to sleep, and Boromir was no longer crying. He wanted it to stay that way.
Blushing, Cariad turned to him, and said, "We are hungry Atar. May we have dinner?"
Legolas frowned, "It is only lunch time." Then he recalled how early he had lifted the child from his bed, and how they had eaten a little for breakfast and snacked throughout the day. Cariad's face fell, yet Legolas smiled at him, "But you may have lunch."
"Thank you," squealed Betiath, and then covered her mouth. Legolas had already suspected that she was the one who was the hungriest – she had refused to eat breakfast. Legolas smirked as the children pounced on the basket of food in the centre of the floor, and Aragorn turned to his husband.
"What about me? I am hungry too. I am no longer feeding one, nor two, but three. And my hands are very full," he complained. Legolas placed a hand on Aragorn's cheek to turn his husband to face him.
As Aragorn tilted his face into the touch, Legolas said, "You are a lazy man, do you know that?"
The human glared but pompously said, "I have every right to be lazy." Legolas sighed but conceded.
000
Eventually, eventually, they reached their beach. It had taken hours, frequent stops for Aragorn and the children and Aragorn again to relieve themselves, pauses for the horses to rest and for the nobles to stretch their legs. But when the early September sun was beginning to set, they arrived.
The children tumbled out of the doors, and Faramir and Legolas chased after them to keep them in check. Eówyn, Boromir in her grip, and Aragorn, hands cradling his stomach, followed at a more sedate place. As they headed after the children and husbands to supervise them, Eówyn placed her free hand on Aragorn's arm.
"Thank you for inviting us on this trip," she murmured to him. "Faramir is almost constantly tied up with his work; he does not have much time with the children. We have not been away since… our honeymoon."
Rolling his shoulders back, trying to remove the kink in his back, Aragorn groaned, "We did not even go away for our honeymoon. We did not have one, there was not time. But I apologise for keeping Faramir from you."
Hurriedly, Eówyn shook her head, her hair flying around her shoulders. "He does what is necessary, it just happens that there is a lot of necessary work. And he enjoys it, he would not be happy if he was not working on and for the kingdom."
"I understand that perfectly," Aragorn said. He did not like leaving his city, particularly without Faramir there, but Legolas had insisted they took the children's friends, if only to have them distracted a lot of the time. Aragorn would not complain. "But aside form that, you are more than welcome." He scanned her face, and added, "You in particular need some time away from normal life. Even if Faramir will not be here for long."
"Should I be complimented or offended?" smirked Eówyn, her eyebrows cynically raised.
Aragorn laughed, "Good question." They reached the peak of the hill which looked over the section of beach they had claimed for their own. Guard posts were placed along the beach, at four different places, and the cottage was back against a cliff. You could step out and your feet would be submerged in sand. Aragorn sighed, letting out a long breath. It was so much calmer, so much more peaceful than Minas Tirith was. There were no shouting voices, no men from the markets advertising their wares… Just the calls from seagulls, the muted but playful calls of the children and the washing noises of the sea.
Scanning the shore, Aragorn's breath caught in his throat. Four children's forms were racing across the golden sand, closely followed by the larger form of Faramir. But the slender silhouette which was clearly Legolas' stood ankle deep in the sea, which was turning orange with the light of the sunset. Aragorn did not like how absolutely still Legolas was, his back to his family.
"Excuse me," he muttered to Eówyn, and waddled as fast as he could towards his husband. Upon seeing him, Rilluin and Cariad charged towards him, but Aragorn sent a glare to Faramir, who called them back. The sea was further away than he had expected, but finally he reached the water, and waded through the shallows until he reached Legolas.
He reached out his hands to grasp Legolas' waist, getting as close as he could without his stomach pressing too much into the elf's back. "Melda? Are you alright?"
Legolas merely made a humming noise, and rotated his way around Aragorn's back, so that he was behind the human, pressing up against him. "It is beautiful, is it not? The sea. It seems so endless." A strangled noise crawled up from Aragorn's tight throat, but Legolas rested his chin against the human's shoulder. "You can not pretend that it is not a stunning view. I am not going out any further than this, I will not even swim. It calls to me, but I hear Rilluin and Cariad's squealing so much more. And your voice by my ear."
Unable to help but smile, Aragorn tilted his head against Legolas', and said, "Come on meleth. The children want to play with us, and I do not know if Faramir has that much control over our children," His voice quivered with his chuckles, "And I will not do a good job of running around in my condition. It will have to be your job."
Although he could tell that Aragorn wanted to pull him away from the sea, Legolas conceded, slipping his hand through Aragorn's as they walked back. "Of course, I apologise my sweet," he sighed, resisting the urge to glance back at the ocean; its oscillating rhythm, the way the orange sunlight glinted off the surf… Everything about it was wondrous. Why could Aragorn not see it?
He glanced at his husband, and a smile lit his eyes. Because the human was even more wondrous, swollen with life, the orange light glinting off the edges of his skin… that was why. Yet he was radiant even without the sunlight…. Everything about him was, as he had said, beautiful.
After a tense walk in silence towards the children, Cariad raced towards the pair, Cariad raced towards the pair, and Legolas grinned out the way his hair flopped, like dog ears, as he ran. "Ada, Atar, come and help me make a sand sculpture. Beti, Théo and Rilluin and I are racing to make the biggest one. Help me?"
Legolas placed his hands on his hips, "You mean you want us to help you cheat?"
A moment later, Rilluin ran up. "Ada, Atar, do not help him, help me. I am Crown Prince."
"You may be able to pull that card with the servants, and I know you do," growled Legolas disapprovingly, "But that is not going to work with me. I will help one of you, and Ada will help another."
"Who wants me?" smiled Aragorn, but his face fell when both his children edged towards Legolas. "What is wrong with me?" he asked, pouting miserably. Though he was over dramatising the emotion, Legolas could tell that he was indeed upset by his children's dismissal of him. Legolas removed one of his hands from his hips and return his hand to grip one of his lover's.
"You are pregnant," cried out Rilluin. "You are useless for anything."
A tight squeeze of his hand made Aragorn pause and stop the response of dismay which had leapt to his lips. He groaned under his breath but aloud he replied, "Maybe we should do a family sculpture instead. The Kings against the Stewards?"
Peals of laughter exploded from the children at that, and they nodded their agreement together, before chasing each other back to the opposing team.
000
"There is no justice in this world," growled Aragorn. "The Kings are supposed to be able to beat the Stewards. This was a most humiliating defeat." His two children were stamping away with equally disgruntled expressions.
Legolas laughed easily. "If we are being fair, and we ought to be, we should remember that neither of us ever made sand sculptures in our childhood, and we did not know that we were supposed to use damp sand."
With a huff, Aragorn heaved himself to his feet. "Them making a sculpture of Minas Tirith is just going too far anyway." His arms stubbornly crossed, and his mouth set in a firm line, Aragorn paced around his husband's sitting form.
Leaning back on his elbows to gaze at his husband's form black out the darkening sky round and round, Legolas sighed, "You ought to calm down an little and sit back down meleth. At least for a little while; the children will tire soon and we can have some dinner. I know the cooks are already making it."
For a moment, Aragorn studied the elf, but his face and shoulders sagged somewhat. "It was difficult enough to stand up. I do not think I want to get back down there again." Knowing what he wanted, Legolas stood, and wrapped a gentle arm around Aragorn's waist. There was a soft moan from the human at the warmth of the contact, easing the ache there. "This is a holiday, we are going to enjoy ourselves." His eyebrows raised coyly. "What would you like to do this evening?"
"Difficult choice," chortled Legolas, as they walked across the sand. There was a pause and then, "You know how beautiful it is during the day here, I expect that only increases at night. And if it is not warm enough we could easily make a bonfire from driftwood."
A wide grin spread across Aragorn's features, and Eówyn and Faramir approached them.
"What are you looking so pleased about?" asked Faramir.
"Oh nothing important," Aragorn said, brushing the question away. "How can we help?"
Eówyn's eyes turned pleading, and Aragorn knew that he had been correct in assuming they wanted something. "Please, friends, will you care for the children tonight? Bathe them, feed them, put them to bed, please? Because Faramir and I want to get away for the evening, we only have the one night."
Disappointment welled through Aragorn, but he pushed down the emotions and forced his smile back. "Yes of course."
"Thank you." Faramir began to walk away, and Eówyn placed Boromir in Legolas' arms. "He has just been fed, you will need to wind him," she instructed before joining her husband.
Gaping, Aragorn asked, "You are leaving me?"
"Yes, why?" Eówyn called back. "Is it a problem?"
"Erm… no," Legolas frowned down at the child and lowered his voice as he began to pat the baby's back. "Well this was unexpected."
Before Aragorn could sigh that they had other nights, Cariad raced over, his clothes dripping with water, and his eyes red. "Atar, Ada; Rilluin and Théo threw me in the sea," he cried to them.
Legolas picked a stand of seaweed from his hair, and commented, "So I can see." Aragorn bit his lip to keep down a snicker, but Legolas knelt down and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. As Cariad sniffed a little, Legolas carefully wiped his face, Boromir still in one arm and beginning to doze, and asked, "Why would they do that ion nin?"
"Because… because… because they do not like me, and wanted to drown me," Cariad offered, his bottom lip extending in a pout.
His eyebrows raised, Legolas stood and called out, "Rilluin, Théo, come here please. Now." The two of them began to walk to answer the summons at a deliberately slow pace. With a warning tone in his voice, Legolas shouted, "When I said now…" The children sped up until they reached the adults. Cariad shot them a contemptuous look as Legolas demanded, "Why did you throw Cariad in the sea?"
Rilluin was the one to answer. "Because he threw a bucket of water over us and the sand sculpture we were building."
Turning his back to Cariad, Legolas did not miss the tongue which protruded from the older Prince's mouth, but he ignored it. "And why did you do that?"
"Because Théo and Betiath threw sand at me."
Legolas was about to summon the only girl of the group, but Théo exclaimed, "By accident!"
"How could it be by accident?" demanded Cariad, his face turning red with anger.
"You were lying down, he did not see you."
Tears began to flow from multiple eyes and noses began to run as the children yelled at each other. Aragorn glanced at his husband and nodded, knowing what he was thinking. He took Boromir from the elf's arms – the infant had begun to scream in the commotion – and began to hush him.
In his most commanding voice, Legolas ordered, "Stop this. Stop this now. Rilluin that means you too." The children quieted and turned, cowed, to the elf. "I do not care who started it or who hurt whom, you have all acted disgracefully, and it is a bad start to a holiday. Now you are all tired and we are going to go to the house, have baths, eat dinner, and go to bed."
Immediately, and in unison, Rilluin and Théo exclaimed, "But we are not tired."
"Of course you are not," Legolas sighed, "But it will not delay your bed time – as were it a normal day, I would already have put you to bed."
Restraining laughter at the expressions of disgust on Rilluin and Théo's faces, Aragorn began to walk away. He heard the angry stamps of children's feet as they followed, until suddenly a pair of damp arms were wrapped around his leg.
Cariad's voice pleaded, "Ada, I can not walk all the way there, my feet ache. Carry me?"
"I thought you were not tired?"
The child shook his head, spraying droplets of water everywhere. "That was them two."
Automatically, Aragorn corrected, "That was those two."
"Exactly, so please?"
Aragorn sighed in regret. "I can not carry you little one, my arms are full and even then I would have difficulty. Ask Atar, say I said it was alright." The arms released his leg and Cariad turned away.
A few moments later, Legolas caught up with him, and Aragorn had to laugh. Betiath was curled in the elf's arms, dozing already, and Cariad was holding onto his neck in a piggy back. "I feel like a horse," muttered Legolas, a hint of mutiny in his voice. "Thank you so much for this."
"Any time," smirked Aragorn. "And if it makes you eel any better, I am carrying three children, albeit smaller ones. We are even."
000
"Ai, I am exhausted as them," Aragorn sighed, collapsing down onto the divan. He nodded to Rilluin and Théo, asleep on the floor, and then shook his head. "I do not know; what happened to the vitality of youth?"
"And what happened to their exclamations that they were not tired?" asked Legolas, frowning down at the two sleeping forms, "And clearly you are not going to pick them up, so I am going to have to."
With a feral grin, Aragorn said, "Absolutely melda nin. I am not planning on getting up for another hour or so, so it will have to be your job. And my back is aching."
Legolas gave a false sigh, but was already bending down to pick up first Théo over one shoulder and then balanced that weight out with Rilluin over his other. As he began to walk, slowly, Rilluin opened his bleary eyes and made a grumbling noise. "Hush, ion nin. Go back to sleep." Silently, he sent to Aragorn the message of 'Please.'
It made Aragorn chuckle quietly, and he watched the almost rag doll like forms of his oldest child and his best friend retreat. Impatiently, he waited for his husband to return, and found a haze of sleep beginning to cloud his vision, smother his muscles. With a groan, he forced himself to his feet, pushing himself up with his hands against the cushions. He almost walked into Legolas as he left the boys' bedroom.
"I thought you were going to never get up again?" asked Legolas in a whisper.
"I am getting tired," Aragorn reported, rubbing at his eyes. "I thought that I would drink the potion and then come back, just in case I fell asleep."
"Fair enough meleth," murmured Legolas, pressing a kiss against his cheek before moving into the lounge again. He waited on the couch until, an irritatingly long time later, he heard a soft cry from his lover in the bedroom. Legolas darted to his feet, but Aragorn met him at the door, his face drained of blood, and trembling. "What is it? Love what is it? Speak to me."
Distress darkening Aragorn's eyes, he exclaimed, "The potion, we did not bring it. I did not pack it and neither did the servants. The dream is going to return." Without a word, Legolas pulled his husband close, holding him as tightly as he could from the side because of Aragorn's protruding stomach. The human nestled his head in Legolas' hair, and the elf rubbed at his back, trying to soothe the quaking of his limbs.
"Calm down, calm down, come here, come into here, we will wake the children, come," Legolas did not know what he was saying, but the terror, that familiar terror was in Aragorn's expression. He could not think properly with Aragorn's fear flowing icy cold from him, so merely guided the human into the living room and onto the sofa. Without a thought, Aragorn curled onto Legolas' knees, his face still pressed into the silky sheet of hair.
"I do not want to dream that again," whispered Aragorn, hoarsely, as an arm curled around his back and threaded through his hair. "I see it all the time already, I do not want to… to feel it all over again." Aragorn pressed himself into Legolas, as close as he possibly could, trying to almost merge with the elf's slender body. Legolas could feel the dire need for comfort, and tightened his grip.
"I am sorry, melda nin I am sorry," murmured Legolas, finding tears on his own face. "It was a stupid mistake to have been made." For years now Aragorn had been drinking the concoction, relying on it to block out his nightly terrors. Every night he had to drink it to stop his nightmares.
Suddenly, Aragorn swallowed and pulled away. His wet face stuck to strands of Legolas' hair, and he brushed them away. "I will not sleep. I will stay awake. That way I will not dream." Legolas wanted to argue with him, to tell him that he needed to sleep, he needed to rest, the babies… but he did not want Aragorn to suffer from the dreaming again. It would be so painful for him, Legolas knew, so he just nodded his head.
"If that is what you want, if that is what you want my love," Legolas sighed, and waved Aragorn back into his hold. After a long moment's pause, Aragorn settled back into the arms which encircled him.
"I am not going to the bed," Aragorn stated stubbornly, and though he found his eyes closing, he jerked them back open. He bit his lip, so hard that a trickle of salty, coppery blood dripped into his mouth. Pain would keep him awake. Legolas' hold made him drowsy, but maybe his lover would shake him awake if he did fall into dreaming.
"If that is what you want," Legolas calmly repeated. He knew that, however much Aragorn protested, he would eventually get to sleep. And then he would dream, and Legolas would assure him that it was just a dream, and Aragorn would still be scared but eventually he would go back to sleeping, and then it would be morning. "I know what might keep you awake. For a little while."
Hearing the growl of partial lust in the elf's voice, Aragorn sighed, "No, I think not. I always, well almost always, fall asleep after we make love, you know that fully well." He suspected that Legolas knew that very well and that was why he had asked about it. But no, he was not going to sleep.
000
Pressing one of her fingers to her lips, Eówyn crept into the house and Faramir followed as silently. She moved into the first room and stopped at the sight of Aragorn's head of curls leaning against Legolas' sheet of shining, creamy blonde. "Shh, they fell asleep," she whispered, nodding to the two of them.
Aragorn's head tipped back across Legolas' shoulder and met her gaze. "I am not, although you are late. Boromir cried to be fed, and all we could do was rock him back to sleep, but he is restless. He wants his mother."
At once, Eówyn fled out of the room and into the hallway, presumably to see to Boromir, yet Faramir hesitated a little. "Why are you still awake? You ought to be sleeping by this time. Though I do not know what time it is, it will only be a few hours till dawn, and that is when the children shall awake. Go to bed."
"I am not moving, I am quite comfortable here," replied Aragorn, in the same hoarse whisper. "And Legolas is sleeping; I do not want to wake him by moving." Nor did he want to be in a strange bed all alone, however much it might prevent him from sleeping. It might be an uncomfortable position, his back curved so that he settled properly upon his elf's lap, but it kept him awake. "But you go to bed."
Faramir scanned his King's face, taking in the pale shade of his skin, but obeyed his order, leaving the two of them alone.
000
When Legolas woke it was to a hurriedly whispered conversation, between Rilluin and Aragorn he realised after a sleep-addled moment. Not awake enough at that moment to participate in a conversation about what to eat for breakfast, he pretended to sleep until Rilluin was gone, before opening his eyes. Aragorn's haggard face met his gaze.
"At last you are awake," sighed Aragorn, relief making his voice husky. "It was so tiresome waiting for you to wake. So tiresome in fact that I spent every moment thinking about the children as you said I could not work. Firstly Rilluin; he needs new clothes when we get back because he has been growing so fast, secondly…"
Legolas shook his head, having to interrupt. "Meleth nin, I apologise to you profusely but it is far too early in the morning for this talk."
Apologetically, Aragorn smiled, "Forgive me, I should have thought about this." Trying to swallow a moan, he limbed off the elf and get to his feet.
Rubbing at his numb, tingling legs to return the blood to them, Legolas asked, "Have you been there all night?" The only response was a nod, as Aragorn reached, stretching up towards the ceiling with an another groan. His back cracked sickeningly, making the elf wince. "No wonder your back hurts and I could not stand up if I tried."
"My back hurt before," Aragorn said, defensive, his hands moving to rub at the tender spot deftly.
With gritted teeth, Legolas got to his feet and pressed his palms against Aragorn's arched back. He moved his lips to Aragorn's ear, "Do you want me to kiss it better?"
A rumble of desire in Aragorn's voice, he said, "Yes, I do, very much, but…"
Cariad swooped into the room, animated grin plastered on his face. "Ada, it is time for the beach now."
In a soft grumble, Aragorn explained, "I said that as soon as they finished breakfast we would go and play with them on the beach. That we would help teach them to swim."
"Well, tis your loss and your fault," replied Legolas, before turning to Cariad. "Come on then little one, what are you waiting for?" Cariad recognised the challenging look in Legolas' eyes and, calling for his friends and brother, raced out of the room. After a swift grin at Aragorn, Legolas sped after the children, racing them down to the water.
Making sure that Cariad remained ahead of him at all times, his feet spraying up sand as he ran, Legolas heard Aragorn's words in his mind. 'You said you would not return to the sea.'
There was a sharp flash of impatience that went through Legolas, but he sarcastically replied, 'Are you going to teach them to swim? You are exhausted already, and are instead going to lay on the beach and watch. Or sleep.' Although Legolas was not graced with a reply, he could see in his head the twisting of the human's lips in annoyance. He shrugged; he would deal with it later if he had to. Aragorn was being ridiculous in not sleeping, and it would not take long before he did give in.
The children splashed straight into the sea, Betiath screaming in the low temperature of the water. Legolas followed at a slightly slower pace, letting the water flow around him gracefully, first swelling around his feet, then his ankles, his shins and finally up to his waist. "Do not go any further out, you will not be able to reach the floor," Legolas ordered, even as Betiath and Théoden swam circles around the others.
"I want to be able to do that," Rilluin exclaimed, jumping up through every wave.
"I know, that is why I am standing here up to my waist in water and you are up to your neck so move back a bit," Legolas told him, rolling his eyes.
000
Aragorn watched the small forms of his children and his husband walking up the sand hill towards him. Cariad reached him first, exclaiming, "I can swim, Ada, did you see me? I can swim!"
Grinning at him, knowing in fact that Cariad could paddle after three hours in the water, Aragorn said, "I did see, ion nin, congratulations." The child's lips were blue, his teeth chattering, and Aragorn threw him a towel which had been warming in the sun. Still shivering, Cariad sat down next to his father, and Rilluin was the next to join them. He grabbed a towel and shook his head violently, imitating a dog, and spraying Aragorn with water. Screwing up his face, Aragorn sighed, "Thank you for that little one."
"Most welcome, any time," grinned Rilluin, dropping down onto the rug.
"Your son is torturing me," growled Aragorn at Legolas as he joined them.
"Why are they always my sons when they are committing crimes, and your sons when they are being good?" asked Legolas, frowning as he sat down.
"Because that is the way it works," Aragorn told him, with a broad grin, but Legolas was not convinced by it. The dark circles under the human's eyes were worrying, and he wrapped an arm around Aragorn's waist. Immediately, Aragorn rested his head against Legolas' shoulder, and the elf knew that it was exhaustion, nothing else, which led him to do so.
Cariad poked Aragorn in the side, making him wince, and asked, "Can we go get some food? I am hungry after all that exercise."
The human father stretched backwards and said, "You missed the food about five minutes ago; Théo and Beti came up a little while ago and went to the house to get some food."
At once, Rilluin and Cariad leapt to their feet and ran towards the house, without a word to their fathers. "Nice to feel loved eh melda," grinned Legolas.
"Fathers or food, I admit that it is a difficult decision," Aragorn replied, rolling his head back with a soft moan. Legolas swung one leg around Aragorn's back, so that the human was sitting against him.
"Now that we are alone, I can return to our previous conversation," Legolas said, rubbing the bottom of his palms slowly across the muscles of Aragorn's lower back, kneading the tender flesh. He had only been working for a few minutes before the human's eyes began to drift closed, little by little.
Aragorn, who had been sinking not only into sleep but into the bond as well, realised this at the same moment Legolas did, and jerked upwards, away from his husband's touch. "Legolas! You are trying to make me sleep! I can tell," He accused viciously, wrapping his arms around his stomach in protection. "You do not even have the grace to act apologetically, do you?"
"No I do not," snarled Legolas. "You need to sleep. You need to rest, even if you do dream." His gaze twitched towards the house at movement over there, and saw the four children heading out of the house and moving to play on the sand. After returning his gaze to Aragorn's eyes, he held them for a long time, but after a moment he looked away, disappointed. "I thought we were done with this lack of care after the last pregnancy. We said that this was not going to be the same."
Folding his arms, Aragorn said, "I am not trying to do anything, I am taking more care of myself than the last pregnancy, by miles. Last time, I had battles to fight, I had to run and struggle and you do not know how hard it was for me." Legolas looked as if he was going to argue, but Aragorn continued, "You know a lot, I know that you did a lot, but it is not the same for you as it is for me. I am feeling extremely hot, overheating almost, and uncomfortable, and feeling huge, heavy. For Elbereth's sake it took a lot of effort just to walk up this hill, I was out of breath. I just do not want to dream that again."
Legolas did not know what to say, and knew that Aragorn would not be saying those things if he were not so fatigued and emotional. Instead of arguing, he merely pressed a kiss against the human's forehead and said, "I am not sorry, but I will not persist if you wish for me to stop." His husband was still glaring at him, so Legolas moved away from the human's back and knelt by his feet, taking them and putting them on his lap. He changed to massaging the arches of Aragorn's feet instead of his back, and the human leant back against his elbows with a groan. "So tell me about what you were thinking last night."
Somewhat embarrassed, Aragorn mumbled, "It was not important, just new clothes for Rilluin, when we visit the tailors next for me." He outgrew his tunics quickly, and wore little more than loose velvet robes when he could. "And I was thinking about names, for the children, and the need for two wet nurses this time, not one and… the labour. I just… this time, when Elladan and Elrohir try to get you out of the room, you will not leave me this time will you, please? I do not want you to leave, I want you to stay with me this time. I do not want another repeat of those emotions last time."
"I will be there, every moment that you want me there," Legolas vowed, and added, "You do not have to fear about me leaving you, you should not be thinking of this at all. Why did you think I would leave?"
"Because…" Aragorn blushed. "Because sometimes the children pull you away, you will go to them and I know you need to, but not then. Then you have to stay with me. They have other people to look after them. And I do not want a hundred people in that room, I just want those who are necessary; you, and the twins. Anyone else can stay away unless they are really required."
Raising his eyebrows, Legolas asked, "Why, firstly, did you think that any of this would be a problem? And secondly, why have you been thinking about this so much?"
"It was a long night," muttered Aragorn, removing his gaze from the elf's. "A very long night, and I made the decision to ask about it. And it could very easily be a problem with the twins, and I wanted you to defend me."
Legolas crept across the rug and slanted his mouth over Aragorn's, kissing him lovingly. "You foolish…no, my foolish, foolish love; I will always defend you."
A smile lighting his face, as he pressed himself against Legolas, Aragorn said, "I know. That was what I was relying on." He curled, catlike against Legolas' side. As the elf pressed kisses to the human's hair, Aragorn purred happily at the touch. "Love you."
"Well that was something I had never guessed," Legolas said, rolling his eyes as he pulled Aragorn against his chest. After a long moment, he decided, relying on Aragorn's temporarily good mood, to murmur, "Will you please go to sleep? I will wake you up, if your eyelids flicker or if you moan or show any sign of dreaming. Please Aragorn?"
Biting his lip, Aragorn closed his eyes for a long moment. "You promise me?" he whispered.
"When do I ever lie?" asked Legolas, a frown creasing his forehead. He could tell Aragorn was about to speak, but the elf interrupted, "To you this is."
Aragorn laughed, but settled down with his head against Legolas' chest. He closed his eyes as Legolas' fingers trailed through his hair rhythmically. Legolas watched the peace stealing over Aragorn's expression, content just to watch his husband and then to flick his gaze over to the children digging in the damp sand near the water.
000
It was simple enough to get Aragorn to sleep that night, cradled in Legolas' arms. It was, however, difficult to get Cariad, Beti and Théo up the next morning.
Rilluin danced around Legolas' waist as Eówyn spoke to him. "My two have headaches and keep being ill. I think the sun got to them."
"And yet Beti and Théo – please stop that Rilluin, go and read a book or something quiet – Beti and Théo were wearing clothes and hats when they played and went swimming. Rilluin and Cariad were not," sighed Legolas. He had not gone into Rilluin and Cariad's room yet, but the oldest child was clearly alright. Surely Cariad would be too?
"Good luck," grinned Eówyn grimly.
Silently, in case the child's head was hurting him, Legolas stepped into the children's room. As Legolas sat down on the side of the bed, Cariad merely made a whimpering noise. "Atar, my shoulders hurt and my back hurts and my front hurts and ow."
Legolas restrained a laugh, and the humour he felt at Cariad's words died at the child's pain in his eyes. "My poor little one," he murmured, softly. "You are going to have to miss a day on the beach if the sun and heat has hurt you."
"No!" Cariad shook his head violently, and sat up, but winced as he did so.
Hands on hips, Legolas instructed, "Ion nin, you are going to have a cool bath and you are going to stay inside today, we all will because Ada does not have to work, and Rilluin will be inside as well. I think the elvish part of him protected him a little from the sun."
A pout moved Cariad's lips, but he conceded, "Alright."
000
The family spent their last day inside, playing anything and everything they could think of to pass the time. Eventually, Cariad complained, "Ada, Atar, this is not very fun. We could play these games in the carriage. Let us go home."
Aragorn and Legolas conceded, and they went home that afternoon.
"So much for a holiday in peace," Aragorn muttered, "It did not go quite as well as I had hoped."
"There will be other holidays. There will be other times to swim, and you will be able to rest at home. And you will not have to dream that dream ever again, not with that potion waiting for you at home," Legolas whispered to him, as the children played guessing games.
"Even if we stayed another night, I would not mind," replied Aragorn, with a soft smile. "I trust you with everything, why would I not trust you with the sanctity of my sleep?"
"I wonder that myself," grinned Legolas.
"I trust you with everything," Aragorn whispered.
A/N: Fluff obsessed filler chapter. Sorry wince but as the next, oh, four chapters will be angsty. Very angsty.