Note: None of these characters are mine! All questions will be answered eventually. This fic contains implied Aragorn/Legolas and Haldir/Legolas slash. Elvish speech is in ''; translations are in ( ). Language and violence warning! Question: would anyone object if I made them into a threesome in the sequel?

Mutual Hate

Part 5

Haldir gently placed his lover on the bed, and carefully removed the bandages, swatting Legolas' hands away as he did so. A sigh escaped from the older Elf. "Your wound has completely re-opened, Legolas. Until it heals, we cannot leave."

"We will not delay our journey because of me," Legolas said firmly. "I'll be all right in a day or two, Haldir."

"We'll see," Haldir told Legolas sternly. "And we are bringing him."

Legolas scowled. "Why? What good is that going to do?" He muttered, 'Ro mern amin ba. Lle um rin tanya?' (He want me dead. You do remember that?)

'Amin car var lle, a'maelamin. Uum buar ho,' Haldir tenderly whispered, as he applied pressure to the bleeding wound. (I do protect you, my beloved. Do not provoke him.)

Legolas sighed. There truly as very little that Haldir could ask of him that he could refuse. 'Pân fair, melamin. Amin sen an lle.' (All right, my love. I do this for you.) A moan escaped him, for his side severely hurt now.

Haldir murmured, 'Est, lirimaer. Lav amin mali- an lle.' (Rest, lovely one. Allow me to care for you.)

Legolas nodded, hurting too much to refuse help. Haldir treated the wound as best as he could and re-bandaged it, without any herbs to treat it with. The older Elf covered his lover with a blanket, before returning to the fire to get Legolas' 'food' for him.

Aragorn did not trust himself to speak, so he watched as Haldir came back into the room and began preparing two cups of the bitter broth, instead of three. Aragorn decided that he wasn't going to get breakfast this morning, so he was surprised when Haldir came over to him and pushed one of the cups into his hands.

"Eat," Haldir said curtly, as he headed towards the bedroom with the other cup.

Aragorn gaped for a few moments. "Is… Is Legolas all right?" he muttered, his concern over-ruling his anger.

Haldir froze and looked back. "He's not dead, if that's what you mean. But he will be in pain for a few days, and it will delay our departure. Did you want his death to be clean?"

Aragorn flinched. "Something like that," he lied. "When you say 'our' who do you mean?"

"The three of us, son of Arathorn. We can't just leave you here, nor can we return you to Gondor. But fair warning- I told you that we would not hurt you unless you hurt one of us. I think what you did breaks that, so I will not prevent him from striking you next time," Haldir said flatly. He then entered the bedroom, and assisted Legolas in sitting up so that he could drink the broth.

Aragorn glanced around the room, looking for his pack, in case one of the Elves had picked it up. It rested near the bedroom, against the wall. A sly smile crept onto Aragorn's face, for he knew that his daggers should still be in there.

Legolas protested drinking all of the broth, but Haldir argued with him until the younger Elf reluctantly gave in. Halfway through the broth, Legolas fell into a healing sleep, which would promote the healing of his wound. Haldir lowered Legolas back onto the bed, and gave him a tender kiss. He put on his shoes before he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Aragorn was surprised when Haldir walked over and inspected the bindings on his hands and feet. "What are you doing?" he questioned.

"Making certain that you will not escape while I am gone," Haldir told him, testing the ropes. He was loathe to leave his lover, but he had to find decent food. "Legolas needs something besides broth to help heal his injury."

"I see," Aragorn answered. He was secretly pleased that Haldir was going to leave him here alone with Legolas.

Haldir frowned and looked at the human. "If you hurt him while I am gone, I will hurt you myself," he said in a severe tone of voice. The human could tell he was serious.

Aragorn rolled his eyes slightly. "I can't hurt him like this, and besides, Elves can hear humans coming a mile away. And where do you expect to find food?" He didn't mention his pack full of food at this moment.

"I'll steal it if I must. Legolas and I agreed not to steal any food when it became scarce, for we do not believe in thieving. However, I will make an exception this time, for he needs real food to recover better." Haldir pressed his lips together tightly.

"You truly love him, don't you?" Aragorn questioned sharply.

An eloquent nod was his answer, as Haldir put on the shirt, tunic, and cloak that he'd removed the night before. The Elf walked over to the door, and looked back. "Don't you?" he asked, in the same tone of voice, before he left, closing the door behind him.

Aragorn stiffened at those words, but did not know what to say. It was true that it was difficult for him to hate Legolas, and that made Aragorn despise himself. Haldir obviously believed that Legolas had not killed Arwen, that much the human knew.

Yet who else could have done it, Aragorn thought. Everyone else had been accounted for in Gondor except for Legolas. No-one had known where he was, and the Elf had refused to say. Elven pride had been Aragorn's reasoning for Legolas' silence.

Gandalf would come after him when he did not return, Aragorn knew. He was only supposed to be gone for a week, so as soon as a few more days went by, the Istari would begin looking for him.

The human struggled in his bonds, and made his way slowly to the floor, using the Elven skills he had never forgotten. Aragorn paused and listened carefully. He heard nothing, so he inched his way along the floor slowly, over to his bag as best as he could, for the bindings offered limited movement to him.

Again he paused to listen, but heard only a muffled sigh. Aragorn was glad now that his hands had been bound in front of him, as he noiselessly opened his pack and searched for one of his daggers, biting his lower lip. The tip of a dagger pricked one of Aragorn's fingers, so he grabbed it and brought it out slowly, listening to make sure Legolas was not awakening.

It was easier from then on, Aragorn thought, as he slit the cloth on his feet first, wincing a little as the blood flowed through them once more. He then stuck the hilt of the dagger in his teeth, though it took a few tries. Aragorn brought his hands up and began sawing through the cloth.

Legolas stirred in his sleep, whimpering softly. Healing sleeps were truly different from a normal sleep, for the faint sounds that Aragorn was currently making would usually have woken the sleeping Elf up. However, it was a healing sleep, which was much deeper than regular sleep, so Legolas was not aware of what was currently going on.

Aragorn's hands sprang free, and he massaged his wrists for a few moments. He took the dagger in his right hand, and an unpleasant smile appeared on his face. The human stood and silently made his way to the bedroom door. The human opened it, and walked over to the bed, peering down at the injured Elf, who mumbled something, before turning over again and wincing. The gleaming dagger was brought up, over Legolas's bare chest, and brought down. It stopped an inch above the Elf's heart.

The deed was not in him, Aragorn cursed, as he realized Haldir's words to be true. He bitterly shook off those thoughts. This was his duty; the law. Aragorn carefully climbed onto the bed, and knelt over the Elf, brandishing the knife in his right hand. Yet he waited, looking at the beautiful Elf beneath him, as Legolas whimpered again and tried to stir. Aragorn's knees were pressing Legolas' legs to the bed.

Legolas moaned, 'Saes, Estel… N'ndengina amin…' (Please, Estel. Don't kill me.)

Aragorn froze as he stared at the Elf under him. Was Legolas awake or something, he wondered. His question was answered, as Legolas tried to twist, unable to because Aragorn's weight held him still.

'Saes… Amin n'sinta mankoi lle…' (Please. I don't know why you…)

The human frowned, realizing that Legolas was having a nightmare about his near death. Aragorn didn't know what to do and stayed motionless. To kill the Elf like this would be sheer cowardice, for Legolas was clearly sleeping and completely vulnerable.

"Mmmm…" Legolas murmured as he finally realized that something was holding him down. His blue eyes refocused and he gasped when he saw Aragorn above him, holding a dagger. Legolas instantly shoved at Aragorn, who easily caught the injured Elf's wrists in his left hand.

"Stop moving," Aragorn said coldly, as he brought the dagger down against the soft skin of Legolas' neck.

Legolas' side hurt, and prevented him from doing such a sudden movement again. The blond beauty gazed silently at his former lover. "Going to kill me?" he questioned bitterly. "Go ahead; I'm not going to beg for my life. Killing me will not bring her back, however." A frown crossed his face. "Where is Haldir?"

Aragorn smirked. "He went to get you some real food and left us alone. I think it's my turn to have some fun, Legolas."

"What are you going to do?" the blond archer asked calmly. He was prepared to die, if he must. Legolas refused to give Aragorn the satisfaction of hearing him beg for his life. He had no way of knowing that he had already done so, while he was asleep. If he could stall Aragorn long enough, Haldir would return and stop the human.

"Anything I want," Aragorn said smugly. A hand came down and touched the Elf's face.

Legolas wordlessly glared at him. "You won't get away with this, Aragorn," he snapped.

"I already have." Rough lips insistently pressed against Legolas' softer ones, and the Elf tensed immediately, feeling the familiar heat, but not wanting this. He thought of Haldir.

Would Aragorn truly force himself onto him, Legolas wondered, as a harsher kiss was given to him, strong enough to bruise him. The cold steel of the knife against his throat convinced Legolas that Aragorn would. "Stop," he cried out, as the human began nipping at his neck.

"Why?" Aragorn bitterly inquired. He nipped harder, causing the Elf to flinch.

Legolas whispered, "This is not you, Aragorn. You would never do this…" Why was his body not listening to his mind, the Elf wondered helplessly.

A harsh laugh made the blond beauty flinch. "You killed Arwen… Until then I would have said the same about you." A coarse hand touched Legolas' bare chest. Aragorn could feel the Elf's pulse racing, as he tested it on one of the slender wrists that he held.

Legolas took his chance while Aragorn was not holding the dagger. He painfully brought up his knee into the human's stomach hard. Aragorn snarled and back-handed Legolas hard enough to momentarily stun the Elf.

Both gasped for a few moments, glaring at each other.

Aragorn's right hand slid down the beautiful, pale skin to the waistband of the leggings.

Legolas said, "Are you willing to force me for revenge?"

"You never told me to stop," Aragorn said. He was staring at the Elf, who met his gaze squarely.

"Yes, I did. You just ignored me," Legolas answered. Though, if truth be told, Aragorn was as attractive as ever to him. Legolas' own desire was raised, though his mind and heart were focused on Haldir. His body, however, responded to the touches against his will.

Aragorn realized that Legolas was right. The Elf had told him to stop, and he had not listened. His hand moved away from Legolas' leggings, but he continued straddling the beautiful Elf.

Legolas was glad that the human had stopped, because he might have given in against his will to Aragorn's touch. "Are you going to kill me now?" he muttered.

"I should… but I won't, at least not for now. It's more fun to torment you when you are alive and able to argue with me," Aragorn finally said, his pride in tact. It was a good solution, in his opinion. That way, he wouldn't have to kill the Elf; yet he could get his revenge.

"I still hate you," Legolas snapped angrily.

Aragorn retorted coldly, "And I hate you."

To be continued