Legolas watched Aragorn out of the corner of his eye as the human paced around the Woods of Lothlorien. The Ranger was the only one who hadn't shed tears after Gandalf's fall. While he may have acted unaffected, the elf could see the tension in his jaw and the way he was biting his lip. He needed to help his friend process his grief. And if Legolas were honest with himself, his own pain was weighing heavily on him.

Stepping up to his friend, Legolas gently grabbed his shoulder. "Mellon nin, come rest. It's been a long, wearying journey. You need to sleep."

Aragorn pulled away. "No, Legolas. I don't think I can bring myself to sleep."

Legolas retrieved his friend's arm. "Then at least come and sit. You're just going to exhaust yourself more. And you will need your strength for the next part of our journey."

Aragorn sighed but finally allowed Legolas to lead him over to the blankets spread out under a tree. The elf made sure they were out of the eyes and ears of the rest of the Fellowship. If others were present, he would have a much harder time getting Aragorn to admit his grief.

Once they were seated, the elf gently touched his friend's back. "You're too tense, Aragorn. You'll never be able to sleep when you're like this."

The dark-haired Dunedain shrugged. "I told you! I don't think I can sleep." But Legolas persisted. "Here," he urged. "Lay down and let me rub your back."

Aragorn shook his head. "I really don't need it, Legolas. I'll be alright."

"Listen to me, Stubborn Dunadian, you can do it on your own, or I can push you down and sit on you. You need to rest. I won't have you fainting from exhaustion when we continue our journey."

Aragorn heaved another sigh and did as he was told. He knew from experience that arguing with the elf when he was like this was pointless. "Ouch!" He hissed in pain as his friend began massaging his shoulders. "Not so hard, Legolas!"

"Sorry!" The elf eased his pressure. "But you take deep breaths. If you stop tensing, it will hurt less."

After a few minutes, Aragorn's shoulders began to quiver. Glancing down, Legolas saw that tears were starting to drip down his cheeks. Good, the human was releasing some of his grief. "It's alright, Aragorn!" He moved lower and began to rub the small of his friend's back. "We're all hurting. Let yourself grieve."

Aragorn struggled for a while longer. He still fought the pain.

Legolas began to stroke the hair on the back of his head and gently brushed his temple like his ada and brothers had done since he was little, and the dam broke. Hot, heavy tears began to run down his face as his body shook with sobs.

The elf simply pulled him into his arms and continued his soothing stroking. "Shhh! It will be alright! Do you want to talk about it?"

Aragorn shrugged. Legolas placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

After a few minutes, Aragorn lifted his head. "Oh, Las!" The use of the old nickname caught the elf caught off guard. "When we ran toward the bridge, the rest of you went ahead, and when I turned back to Gandalf, he said...he said, 'lead them on Aragorn.' I couldn't believe what I was hearing. So I moved closer...Then he told me to do what he said and...shoved me away." He was shaking harder now. "Seeing him fall...I...I've had so many nightmares...But this was worse than all of them." He finally completely dissolved into tears, burying his face against his friend's chest.

Legolas softly stroked his hair and murmured soothingly in elvish.

After a few minutes, the human finally spoke again. "I don't know how I can do this, Legolas!"

The elf pulled back slightly. "Aragorn. You are more than able to do this. You are not weak. You are incredibly strong. Not just because you are Aragorn, son of Arathorn, but because you, Estel, are the hope of all Middle Earth. And when you should feel weak, you aren't alone. I will always be here. Just as I've always been. My strength is your strength."

Aragorn nodded gratefully. "Hannon le!"

Legolas nodded and slowly released his friend so he could continue to massage his back. Within a few minutes, the human had drifted off to sleep. The elf smiled in satisfaction and lay down beside him, and finally let his own exhaustion overwhelm him.

The End

Reviews, Saes. Hannon Le in Advance.

And I know my writing sucks compared to the books and movies. But I just do this for fun when I'm bored