Disclaimers: Read the Author's Notes. Gets slightly lemony here, but no slash yet… I'm so evil…

Reasons To Fight, Reasons To Wed

Part 7. Agreements

The two lay there for a few moments silently, not knowing what to say. They knew that more needed to be spoken.

Legolas took a deep breath. 'Aragorn, about heirs… I…'

Aragorn nodded. 'Elrond told me that you have been preparing for it with Mithrandir. Though it does trouble me slightly.'

'Why? Tis safer for me than for you,' Legolas countered. 'My magic abilities, along with my blood-line makes it less dangerous for me.' He flushed slightly, though, for that was not what he was going to say. 'Will you be able to… I mean, do you want me?'

Aragorn laughed at those words, ceasing when he saw the look of hurt and confusion on Legolas' face. 'I meant no offense, but surely you realize that I do want you.' He reached out with his right hand.

Legolas felt Aragorn's hand gently begin tracing his face, and he leaned into the touch eagerly. The Elven Prince gasped at a finger teasing one of his ears, and Aragorn took advantage of that open mouth to push his tongue into it hungrily.

A muffled protest came from Legolas, because Aragorn was taking control. He countered with a short, breath-stealing kiss, before he began trailing kisses up Aragorn's jaw-line. His skillful, pale hands roamed over the firm muscles on the bare chest above him, teasing deftly, as he began tormenting him with his sweet, seductive mouth.

Aragorn was aghast at how easily Legolas took control from him and began using that wonderful mouth of his to place kisses all the way up to his lips, before a soft tongue firmly pushed into the half Elf's mouth. A ragged groan escaped from Aragorn, as he felt the lithe and slender body beneath him shift position. He eagerly reached for the Elf and began running his hands over soft, supple skin.

Legolas moaned, and arched towards Aragorn, wanting him… 'Aragorn…' he whispered, as his body quivered beneath the sensual touches that his betrothed bestowed upon him gently, as if he were something to worship. Legolas murmured, 'I will not break, Aragorn. You do not have to be so gentle.' He emphasized his point by nipping at Aragorn's neck, a bit sharply, but the slight pain was not unbearable.

Aragorn reluctantly made his hands press just a little firmer against the Elf's beauty. He didn't want to hurt Legolas at all, but was surprised at the second moan that slid past the Elven Prince's lips because of the slightly rougher touches. One of his hands slid down to the waistband of Legolas' leggings.

Reason returned to Legolas; it was not safe for him to be doing this, not until the spell was finished! 'Aragorn…stop,' he murmured, as the half Elf nibbled at his throat, while his hand began sliding into

Aragorn looked at Legolas, and stopped. 'What's wrong? Do you not want me? I somehow doubt that,' he said, flexing his hips towards the Elf under him.

'No, I do want you!' Legolas replied, as yet another betraying moan left him. 'But…it is not safe, not right now.'

'Why not?' Aragorn questioned, concern in his voice. His hand left the waistband of the leggings, and came up to touch the beautiful face that gazed at him earnestly. Legolas murmured something so softly that Aragorn could not make it out. 'I couldn't understand your words,' the half Elf said.

Legolas sighed and repeated, 'It's because of the spell. I can conceive now; but the spell is not finished. It will not be finished until…' Legolas stopped and blushed slightly, before he continued. '…until the wedding night. If I do conceive before it is finished, it will put both my life and the child's in danger.' He did not expect the response that his words received.

Aragorn took Legolas in his arms. 'Then we will wait, beautiful one, for I do not want to lose you.'

'Thank you,' Legolas whispered gratefully, as he pressed his face against the bare chest above him. Most people, he knew, would not have been willing to wait for it to be safe for him. Though he did want Aragorn now, safe or not.

Aragorn laughed quietly, as though he knew Legolas' feelings of frustration. 'But the wedding must be soon.'

Legolas started laughing, and it grew louder as Aragorn distracted himself by tickling the Elven Prince teasingly, grinning. The beautiful Elf wriggled a bit, struggling to get away from the fingers that traveled down his sides.

The two laughed together for a few moments, until Aragorn rolled onto his side. He cradled the Elf against him for a while.

'You make me happy,' he informed Legolas seriously. 'You are so serious, yet you also have a very pleasant sense of humor.'

Legolas looked at him curiously. 'I fear I do not understand how I make you happy,' he said, a puzzled expression on his face. 'I am happy to be here with you.'

Aragorn laughed lightly and murmured, 'How can you seem so wise and strong at times, and then at others you seem… innocent?' A better word would have been child-like, or naïve, but the half Elf knew that those would be fighting words with Legolas.

'I still do not understand,' Legolas mused, sighing as the arm around his waist shifted slightly.

'Well, you fought Meron off with scarcely any trouble, yet you are able to laugh because we wound up draping across each other in our sleep. I would have thought that you would be angry,' Aragorn murmured. 'There are many different sides to you, which I have left to discover.'

Legolas' azure eyes dawned with understanding then. 'You have an eternity to figure them out, Aragorn,' he pointed out reasonably.

Aragorn smirked, 'I'm not certain that eternity would be long enough to learn them, Legolas…'

Two growling stomachs then became audible.

'Oops,' Legolas said, grinning slightly. 'I never did eat last night, and magic-casting requires a lot of energy.

Aragorn's smirk changed to a grin. 'Well, it would appear that my appetite agrees with yours. Shall we?'

Legolas nodded. 'But only because you insisted.' He sat up gracefully and stood, grasping his shirt. It was carefully put on, with his nimble fingers flying up the tiny buttons.

Aragorn found his own shirt and put it on, before he slyly looked at Legolas, who was distracted slightly from buckling his sword-belt as he gazed at Aragorn. The belt clanged to the floor, and Legolas feigned nonchalance.

'My magic should be enough protection, anyway,' he told Aragorn.

Aragorn raised an eyebrow. 'Confident, hmm?'

Legolas did the same back at Aragorn. 'I did not study for over a millennia with Mithrandir for nothing.'

'Just don't use your magic unless you have to,' Aragorn murmured. 'Unless you want to sleep for days.'

'Nay, I would rather not. There are too many exciting things going on for me to sleep that long,' Legolas answered. He followed Aragorn, as the half Elf led the way out of his room, unlocking the door.

Aragorn questioned, 'Just who is Meron?' He had been thinking of the smirking, haughty Man.

'The bane of my life, Aragorn. I know little about him. He just appeared one day in Mirkwood, and my father was quite taken with him. Eventually, they became best friends, though I never liked him at all. He is not an Elf, though he is not Mortal, either. I believe that he may be a half Elf, for he has been lurking at Mirkwood for over a millennia now.' Legolas' voice was thoughtful… and brooding.

'Does your father not have better taste in friends?' Aragorn jested slightly.

Legolas frowned and said, his voice slightly sharp, 'My father is a wise man and King. As well as a loving father to me, and we are…were very close, until recently.'

Aragorn narrowed his brown eyes, for he had not meant to insult Legolas' father and said as much. 'What happened?' he asked, as he turned down another hallway, leading Legolas to the kitchen.

'We had a fight… over Meron. Father wanted me to forget the betrothal and marry Meron, willing or not. I refused, because I knew that I belonged to you first, and because I love you,' Legolas said, a soft, wistful note in his voice.

'How can you claim to love me?' Aragorn mused. 'You do not know me.' He was not certain of why Legolas claimed to love him, for they had, technically, just met this very day. But already, the half Elf could not picture his life without Legolas.

Legolas smiled, and his azure eyes sparkled slightly. 'I was born loving you, and from the moment you were born, I have never wanted any other but you.'

Aragorn nodded slowly, for he knew that it was rare- but not impossible for an Elf to love their destined mate from the moment they were born. It was an instinctive knowledge, which bound souls together tightly, as they were destined to be. That was what had occurred between Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, Aragorn knew.

They finally reached the kitchen and were lucky enough to find someone there working. She quickly bowed to both Legolas and Aragorn, before she quickly prepared a plateful of leftovers from the ball. They politely thanked her, and she flushed, watching the two walk away together.

Aragorn carried the plate in one hand, using his other to swat away Legolas' hands, as the Elf tried to steal some. They stepped into an empty room, with two chairs and a table. Aragorn placed the plate on the table, in between himself and Legolas, as both sat in the chairs.

They ate for a few moments, as they spoke of some of their friends.

'They did not!' Aragorn cried, horror written on his face.

'Yes, they did,' Legolas countered. He munched on a piece of a root vegetable, before he continued. 'Your brothers decided it would be a very funny joke to play.'

Aragorn sputtered, 'But to put honey in your hair? By Elbereth…'

Legolas smirked slightly. 'Fear not, for I exacted revenge on them with my magic. I levitated them directly into a berry field and let them fall. Needless to say, their clothes were stained, until I took pity on them and removed the stains with magic. As for my hair, I was able to remove the honey with a spell.' At the look of surprise on the half Elf's face, he laughed. 'Aragorn, I did learn some spells from my parents, after all.'

Aragorn grinned. 'Remind me to never get you upset,' he teased.

The two had let down their guards for awhile, as they laughed and exchanged funny stories.

"May I cut in?" a cold voice mocked.

Legolas instantly shoved his chair back and stood. He cupped his hands together, preparing to cast a spell, and looked straight at Meron. "No, you may not."

Aragorn pushed his chair back slightly, but did not stand. Instead, he let the gleaming hilt of his sword be seen by the Man. "That is, unless you are here to congratulate us," he amended slightly, looking directly at Meron.

Meron rolled his eyes. "For what?"

"We have decided to keep our betrothal. In a short time, Legolas and I will be wed," Aragorn informed Meron. Legolas stepped closer to him, and Aragorn was able to reach out with his hands and pull Legolas onto his lap, which he did. The willing Elf stiffened for a few moments, before relaxing.

This was rather nice, Legolas thought, as he made himself comfortable exactly where he was. And he enjoyed the expression on Meron's face at the sight of his and Aragorn's united front.

"So you took pity on him?" Meron taunted, not worried at all. There were other ways to keep a betrothal from being carried out… His cold, nearly black eyes appraised the son of Arathorn. He was a foe to be reckoned with, Meron decided, and he should not be treated lightly. Legolas alone was easier to defeat, for Meron had proven his point to the Elf. Even forced pleasure, derived against Legolas' will, would keep him from dying.

Aragorn held Legolas within his encircling arms. 'Nay, for he seduced me,' Aragorn countered, barely held to hold in his laughter at the flash of anger on the Man's face at his bold words.

Legolas turned his face towards Aragorn's, knowing that if he continued looking at Meron, he was going to start laughing. Aragorn was more devious than he gave himself credit for, Legolas decided. But his azure eyes shone with suppressed laughter.  

Meron glared directly at Legolas, who had chanced looking back at him. "Make no mistake, Elf. You will be mine… one way or the other." Meron then stormed out of the eating room, for he was now forced to change his plans.

As soon as Meron was out of earshot, Legolas let out peals of laughter, as he leaned against Aragorn. 'I have never seen him so angry,' Legolas said, shaking with his laughter.

'He did seem mildly upset, didn't he?' Aragorn said, smirking as he remembered the look of outrage on Meron's face.

'He'll be back, though,' Legolas sighed, as he sank into Aragorn's arms.

Aragorn said firmly, 'And we'll be waiting.'

Legolas nodded, and then remembered where he was. He tried to stand, but was held down with a hand around his waist. 'Why do you keep me from leaving?' Legolas questioned, a silent thrill in him. Aragorn truly made him happy, and he never wanted anyway to take this away from him again.

'You make a very nice lap-warmer,' Aragorn answered, grinning at the look of mock hurt on Legolas' face for that statement.

'If that's all…' Legolas threatened.

Aragorn silenced the threat with a sweet kiss, teasing Legolas for a few moments. Their lips met again slowly, and warmth soared through both of them. 'This feels so right…' Aragorn whispered.

'Mmm-hmm,' Legolas whispered back. He was dazed slightly, and his face was slightly flushed from that last kiss.

Aragorn had to sternly remind himself that they could do little more than kissing, for he was not going to take even the tiniest chance that Legolas might conceive. Losing the Elf was out of the question.

Legolas sensed Aragorn's turmoil and pressed his face against the half Elf's chest. 'Soon, Aragorn…' he murmured regretfully.

The two reluctantly turned back to the food, though Legolas made no more attempts to leave Aragorn's lap. He was quite comfortable where he was, after all. They took turns feeding each other slices of food, deriving some pleasure from it, until both fell asleep again. They were not disturbed the rest of the night, as Legolas slept on Aragorn's lap contentedly, his face resting against Aragorn's chest.

And that was how they were found the next morning by Lord Elrond and Mithrandir.

To be continued