Note: Here there be a lemon! A/L slash! You have been warned!
Remembering
Part 11
Meiyuu was surprised. He actually believed that Aragorn could keep them safe. He actually *trusted* the older man's word! It was a strange sensation— an almost alien sensation. After all, it had been a long time since he'd trusted so instinctively…and with good reason. How many years had passed since his parents were murdered? Since his sister's child was similarly killed? For him to trust even someone as dependable and noble as Aragorn was amazing!
If only he could let loose his mask, depend on that strength the older man contained…if he could be certain Legolas would not suffer should Aragorn take it upon himself to protect them both…
"I do not worry for myself," Meiyuu lied. "I worry for Legolas, and what will happen if Shira manages to…"
"He won't," Aragorn told the boy firmly, not in the least bit fooled by the boy's words. Ah…youth, he thought to himself. So desirous of hiding his fear and fatigue. He was not surprised to see Meiyuu yawning slightly when he looked at him. "We'd better go eat."
Meiyuu nodded and stood, waiting for the older man to stand and enter the cave first. Aragorn, raised a dark eyebrow, slightly surprised, but, shrugging it off, went into the cave. Meiyuu trailed behind him, rubbing at his hands again, before he remembered to yank his hood down.
Legolas glanced up from his plate of food as Aragorn walked in. An look of uncertainty threaded through his blue eyes. The golden-haired Elf wanted to know just what his relationship with the human had been before he'd vanished. Aragorn had said that they had been best friends, but…but what if they had been something more? What if they had been—lovers? Legolas played with the end of his high ponytail in distraction.
He had so many questions to ask them, the people around him. So many questions to ask *him*, Aragorn. But not in front of everyone. Not while they were in the company of friends at dinner. And not in front of Meiyuu.
The youth in question was too tired to eat. Instead, he decided to isolate himself from the others a little and stretch out on the floor of the cave. The jagged, rough floor of the cave was only too familiar to him, as used as he was to sleeping in strange, uncomfortable places. Even so, he did not intend to fall asleep, face in the dirt, one arm outstretched and the other one curled up at his side so defensively. He did not mean to let his mouth open slightly in sleep, and he certainly didn't mean to let his mask fall away and reveal the vulnerable child beneath. His fatigue clearly didn't care about what he *meant* to do.
All this Legolas witnessed, as he slowly ate his food, not paying the least attention to what passed his lips. His brow knotted. Meiyuu's posture couldn't have been very comfortable. The way that arm was flung out…it was almost as if in defense. Defense. Legolas clenched his hand, unintentionally squeezing the bread he carried into a crumpled mass. What child should have to defend himself? Meiyuu should be out courting love-interests, causing mayhem for the adults, and enjoying himself like other adolescents of his age…Instead, he was in danger of his life, helping Legolas flee the village he thought he knew.
The life he thought he had. The life that had turned out to be a lie, a joke Shira and Tsuku played on him, only keeping him there because they need him for—something. They had torn him away from the life he had had, his real life. What had it been, that life? Aragorn had mentioned friends and family who missed him, but he couldn't remember a thing. No matter how hard he tried, the images wouldn't come to him. What was his mother like, he wondered. And what of his father? Did he have any brothers or sisters? Were they older or younger than he? And, besides Aragorn, Gimli, and Frodo, what manner of friends did he have? Were they kind and gentle? Boisterous and fun-loving? Witty and charming? Or were they like Aragorn, rugged, manly…appealing.
To Legolas' surprise, he found himself blushing. The object of his thoughts did not miss the rosy stain on his cheeks.
Aragorn raised a brow at the seemingly unprovoked blush, but wisely decided to say nothing, instead gesturing at Meiyuu. "Does he always go to bed without eating?" Aragorn questioned.
Legolas turned to look at Aragorn. "I…do not…know. Did not… know…where… he… lived," he whispered softly, guiltily.
Aragorn nodded. "He's a good kid, even if he is stubborn." His eyes roamed over the slender figure beside him, and an amused smile appeared on his face.
"What…funny?" Legolas inquired, not understanding.
"Your hair," Aragorn told the Elf. "I've never seen you wear it so long before. It used to hang to your shoulders." His hand brushed the thick mass of hair behind Legolas' shoulder.
Legolas frowned thoughtfully. "Oh…" he said finally. "I…never…cut…it." He touched his hair, enjoying its softness.
Aragorn nodded slowly. "After you disappeared, you mean? Do you remember anything about that day?" he asked, taking care to keep his voice as gentle and soft as he could manage.
"I remember being brought back to the town, but I did not know who I was…" Legolas' voice trailed off, his blue eyes dilating in remembered pain.
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Flashback
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'They're too strong for us!' Anron shouted. 'Legolas, you must leave before it's too late!'
Legolas struggled to control his panicked horse. 'I will not abandon either of you! Either we all leave or we all stay!'
Several figures in dark robes, with black masks covering their faces, and merciless blue eyes gazed at the three Elves.
Elwan, Anron, and Legolas were suddenly flung to the ground, their horses rearing in terror. They struggled to breathe for a moment, the wind knocked out of them.
Legolas watched from where he lay on the ground as one of the figures stepped forward and shouted something in a language he did not understand. Suddenly, the horses crumpled to the ground, dead, and the hooded figures turned towards the Elves.
Legolas thought a rib might be broken; he still had not managed to catch his breath. Anron and Elwan leapt to their feet and defended the fallen prince as best they could. The clash of metal rang out as they fought their opponents.
Seeing the two Elves distracted, the spell-caster approached the wheezing and gasping form of Legolas. He reached out a hand and touched the Elf's forehead.
The next moment, Legolas felt what seemed to him to be acid searing his insides and fire sweeping through his veins. He cried out in pain, curling in a small ball, rendered absolutely helpless with the paralyzing pain. To his horror, he found he could not even seek the solace of unconsciousness. The magic kept him aware. Aware enough to witness his companions overwhelmed and savagely struck, repeatedly, until the light died their forms.
No! Legolas silently screamed. He stared at the broken corpses of his companions, shocked with disbelief and grief. He didn't believe they were dead. He couldn't believe they were dead. How could they be? Elves could only die from grief…Thus preoccupied, he almost didn't notice as the group of hooded figures circled him.
The spell-caster among them turned to the person at his left side. "He is stronger than any I have ever seen before. His soul is unbelievably powerful."
The figure nodded. "You know what to do," the cold voice hissed.
Legolas could not remember being so terrified in his life.
Aragorn, why didn't I listen to you when you begged me to stay for a while longer, the Elf cried silently, watching the magic-user remove a vial and kneel beside him. A bitter scent wafted in the air as the vial was opened to reveal black fluid.
Legolas tried to shrink away from the hand that grasped his mouth and forced him to drink the bitter concoction. But, he was still paralyzed, and the black liquid burned him as it trickled down his throat. The most he could do was glare at his hooded captor in hatred, and even that was taken away by the drowsiness that overtook him. The last thing he saw was a cloudy vision of the figure removing his hood and mask, revealing a satisfied smirk.
It was Shiranai.
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Aragorn gently shook Legolas shoulders, utterly caught off-guard by the latter's sudden...paralysis. "Legolas?" he asked uncertainly.
No answer came.
Aragorn called out to his friend again and shook him, desperation and panic making his movements more forceful than he intended them.
Meiyuu stirred and wearily opened his eyes. "What is it?" he muttered, before he noticed the stiff form under Aragorn's hands. The boy scrambled to his feet, ran over, and knelt beside the two.
Images swirled in Legolas' mind; voices young and old called his name, though one rose above the rest. He saw trees, an older man with a pointed hat and a staff, three child-like forms that reminded him of Frodo, a young man with a horn strapped to his side…
The sounds and images mixed and swirled, danced and collided, creating a hodgepodge of chaos that never seemed to end. It just kept changing, meshing, changing. He wanted it to stop. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe with the chaos in his mind. Stop, Legolas shouted mentally.
"Legolas?" Meiyuu called his friend's name in concern, bringing a bandaged hand to touch the latter's face.
The boy paled slightly when he recognized the state Legolas was in. Legolas was 'in transition' between memories. A battle of will was being fought in Legolas' body, partly because the Elf was going through withdrawal. Meiyuu remembered when he had gone through it.
The potion, although it was fading, still ran in the Elf's veins. In its weakened state, it could only keep some memories down, which left the rest free to play in the Elf's mind and perhaps drive him insane…
Aragorn started when a spark of power blazed around Meiyuu's hand and the youth brought the glowing hand up to Legolas' forehead.
"What are you doing?" Aragorn choked. He was answered by a gasp from Legolas.
Meiyuu nearly fell over with exhaustion. He stood shakily and began walking away. He collapsed before he had taken two steps, his energy entirely spent.
Frodo gave a small gasp and ran over to Meiyuu. He knelt beside the youth.
Nor was he the only one to show concern for the fallen form. Legolas, returning from his own memories, had just managed to see his young friend faint. "Meiyuu!" he cried.
"He's asleep," Frodo said quietly. "He's exhausted."
Aragorn silently approached Meiyuu, followed by an elf that was not at all assured by Frodo's words. Aragorn didn't find himself too assured either. His relief at finding Legolas safe was quickly being eaten up by his fatherly concern for the prone body on the floor. Aragorn turned Meiyuu over to make certain he was all right. The boy was fast asleep, with his mouth slightly open.
Legolas met Aragorn's concerned gaze. "He…is…all right," the Elf whispered. "Very… tired."
The older man nodded. "We should let him sleep." He easily lifted the light boy and brought him near the fire.
Legolas watched as Aragorn searched for something to put the youth on. The Elf fumbled with the clasp on his cloak and, walking over to Aragorn, knelt down and spread it out. The older man laid Meiyuu on the cloak, and covered the limp boy with his own cloak.
Gimli and Frodo hovered nearby.
"I think it's time for everyone to go to sleep, except for me. I'm going to start my watch now," Aragorn said.
Frodo nodded, and snuggled into a little ball, wrapping his blanket about him. Gimli stretched out, also wrapping himself in his blanket. Legolas, however, glanced at Aragorn.
The man headed for the entrance of the cave. Legolas followed him silently. They needed to talk.
"I-I remembered…something," Legolas murmured as soon as they sat down. He gazed into Aragorn's grey eyes. "Shira…he was…there. Killed…" The Elf was frustrated, for he did not know how to explain what he was trying to say.
"Anron and Elwan were killed that day, Legolas," Aragorn said quietly, understanding his friend's meaning without needing to hear the rest of the statement. "Shira was there?" he inquired, not really surprised. The evil magician needed a 'pure' Elven soul and would most likely have been there to find one.
Legolas nodded. "He…did…something. Can't…explain." A comforting hand touched his shoulder. He looked and saw the compassion in the human's eyes. "What…were…we?"
Aragorn tensed slightly. Though it made him uncomfortable, the question was not unexpected. "We were good friends, Legolas. Very good friends, but I cared for you more than I told you. I wanted to tell you before you left, but I was afraid to. And then…"
"I…disappeared," Legolas understood. "What…about…me?"
"I don't know what you felt towards me, Legolas," Aragorn said, grinning slightly. "I knew you most of my life, from when I was a child. You tolerated me until I grew older, and we became close friends. We told each other everything, but you never said anything to me. But then again, you wouldn't have. You would never take such a risk." A laugh escaped from him. "Meiyuu reminds me a little of you with that stubbornness of his."
Legolas nodded slowly. His stubbornness was probably one of the only things he remembered. He didn't even need to remember it. He was still very stubborn. At that moment, however, his obstinacy was the last thing he could focus on. Somehow, his eyes seemed to have focused on Aragorn's mouth as the human spoke. He could tell the man was nervous. But Legolas felt something else in the human at his side…something that made him bite his lower lip to prevent himself from licking his lips.
He shivered when cool lips brushed his…Of their own accord, his hands slid beneath the human's shirt, picking up what they had left off earlier when Meiyuu had so inconveniently intruded.
Both Legolas and Aragorn dimly knew they were taking a chance on being caught again, but neither found they cared at that particular moment.
Legolas panted as Aragorn removed his belt and slipped a hand in his breeches. In turn, he removed Aragorn's belt, placing small butterfly kisses along the man's jaw-line. He found himself on the ground then, a hungry wet mouth making its way down the column of his slender, white throat.
Aragorn suddenly stopped and looked at the flushed and trembling Elf. His hands roamed over the ivory skin of Legolas' chest, an errant thumb brushing over a nipple. Legolas arched in pleasure, mewing as a single hand slipped into his breeches and stroked his lower thigh.
"I…want…you…" Legolas panted, squirming when Aragorn continued his ministrations on his body, stifling his whimpers and moans with a kiss.
If Aragorn had not been convinced of Legolas' feelings before, he was more than certain of them now. To be so responsive and enthusiastic…the Elf must have felt something more than friendship for him before he'd lost his memories. He took his time pleasuring Legolas, hands teasing the elf deftly, lightly.
It was enough for Aragorn to watch the panting, beautiful Elf in his arms…even if it was only for a short while. They lay together on the ground, as the human watched the blond beauty in his arms. He had never seen Legolas so…un-composed before. Blond strands, which had strayed from the waterfall of blond hair tied high on the elf's head, clung to the sweat-covered face.
"You really should do something about your hair," Aragorn gently teased.
Legolas frowned slightly. "What…wrong…with…it?" His frown melted away somewhat when a coarse hand stroked his hair.
"Nothing, Legolas, except that it is a little long," Aragorn murmured carefully.
"Like…it…long," Legolas protested.
Aragorn grinned. "Doesn't it ever get tangled?"
Legolas grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and began tickling Aragorn furiously. The human struggled to keep from laughing, which only doubled the Elf's efforts.
Inside the cave, a dwarf, a Hobbit, and a boy were sleeping.
Meiyuu tossed restlessly, whimpering in fear and terror. "Father…no…" he whispered, fighting against an unseen nightmare. Tears soaked into the cloak beneath him...
To be continued
