Other: Sorry for no updates yesterday. I'm majorly sick and supposed to be in bed, but oh well… I need a 'mother' for Meron that is at least part Elven. Any ideas? As for what sex the unborn child is: cast your votes. A few have asked if Legolas is going to have twins or something; again, I'm taking a vote on that. The majority will get their way on those votes. *yawns* Here's the next chapter. I'll try to update 'Eyes' after I rest for a bit.

Disclaimers: See the Author's Notes! This is an AU! A/L slash! Shounen ai between Haldir/Glorfindel. The R Rating is coming in effect now for good reason! Aragorn and Legolas' mental speech is in *. Elvish is in ''. Takes place a couple of hours after the last chapter. I promise definite action in the next chapter!!

Reasons To Fight, Reasons To Wed

Part 22. Confrontation

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Rivendell

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Thranduil paced back and forth in his room, still seething over what he had learned. Meron had dared to attack his son? How dared the deceiver do such a thing? Especially when it was obvious, at least now, that Legolas carried a child.

The King of Mirkwood was not going to stand for such a thing to happen to his only child. Meron would pay eventually, when Legolas was feeling better. Thranduil intended to shove a sword right through Meron's black heart. Bitterly did he regret the day he had met the deceiver, and even more bitterly did he regret ignoring Legolas' warnings about Meron.

The memories had begun returning to Thranduil; he remembered full well his argument with Legolas over his betrothal to Aragorn.

Hearing the cold, cruel words he had flung out at his son only made it worse for the Elven king.

Remembering that Legolas had not liked the stranger at all should have told him that Meron was not to be trusted, Thranduil snapped at himself.

Instead of protecting his only child… He had placed Legolas in the uncomfortable position of not being able to publicly despise Meron, because the deceiver was supposedly his best friend.

The thought brought bitter laughter into Thranduil's mind. Never again would he be so deceived and listen to another over his son. His beautiful, sweet son who, instead of being able to rejoice over the fact that he was going to have a child with the one he loved, had to deal with the fact that he had been ravaged by a deceiver.

If Meron dared to come near Legolas again, Thranduil would not hesitate to kill him. Not after all of the suffering that had come to himself, Legolas, and Aragorn because of the evil one.

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Legolas' Room

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Legolas stirred slightly in his sleep, drawing a curious look from Gimli.

The Dwarf had been watching over the sleeping, beautiful Elf for hours. Legolas truly looked frail when he was asleep, in Gimli's opinion.

The son of Gloin was angered that such a thing as Meron had done had been to Legolas, for the Elf had truly had enough problems.

First he accidentally teleported himself into Moria, then he got ill, before Legolas finally set off for home again, only to be attacked by the Nazgul. And once arriving at home, he had unknowingly been given to the evil one, who had assaulted him.

Gimli was going to use his axe to cleave Meron's head from his body the next time he saw him.

Legolas' eyes returned to normal, before he yawned and stretched. He was irritated, for he seemed to be sleeping more now than he had ever done before in his life. Though Legolas did know it was for a good reason.

He sat up slowly and climbed out of bed, silently looking at Gimli. After that, he went over to the closet and dug out a pair of black leggings and a white shirt. The Elven Prince then went into the bathing room and cleaned his face, before he began changing.

"And where do you think you are going?" Gimli questioned sternly.

Legolas replied, "Wherever I want." He hung his white nightshirt on a nearby wrack and pulled loose-fitting leggings and shirt on. They neatly concealed the slight bulge and were not too tight, either. He walked out and fussed with his hair for a few moments, before slipping his sandals on.

Gimli shook his head. "You are not going anywhere you want unless it's somewhere safe."

"Gimli…" Legolas warned. He stalked over to the door, only to be blocked by Gimli, who had moved surprisingly fast, for a Dwarf.

He now stood in front of the door. "Where are you going, Elf?"

Legolas turned, and headed towards the window. "Outside," he answered, before easily climbing out the window, onto a nearby branch. "Tell Aragorn I shall be waiting for him."

The golden-haired beauty swiftly climbed up the tree, stopping to rest on a branch. He enjoyed the sounds of nature around him, as he sat there silently, his back resting against the bark of the ash tree's trunk. The chirping of birds and the sweet smell of flowers kept Legolas from thinking too much on what had happened to him, though it still gnawed at him, a pain in his heart.

"Get out of that tree!" Gimli cried. It didn't work, so the Dwarf went off to find one of the other Elves or Aragorn to get his friend down.

As it happened, Aragorn was returning to his room when he found Gimli looking for him.

"Do you know what *that* Elf is doing?" Gimli grumbled.

The half Elf looked at the Dwarf. "What is Legolas doing?" he questioned.

Gimli muttered, "Climbing a tree. He said to tell you that he's waiting for you."

"Thank you, Gimli. I will see to Legolas," Aragorn replied, shaking his head. Must Legolas always place himself in some kind of danger, he wondered, as he returned to their room.

After grabbing several pieces of silk Elven rope and a handkerchief, Aragorn stuffed them into a small pouch, tying it onto his belt, before he began climbing up after Legolas.

Legolas was relaxed for the most part, as he waited, knowing that his husband would feel obliged to fetch him out of the tree. Though he did enjoy being outside, for it felt like it had been a long time since he had been outdoors. The trees truly were lovely to behold in the sunlight.

Aragorn stealthily climbed onto the branch and sat next to Legolas, hiding his secret amusement. 'What are you doing?' he asked slyly.

'Waiting for you,' Legolas answered. He glanced over at Aragorn, smiling. 'I missed you.'

'I missed you, too.' Aragorn scooted closer to the one he loved, right before he gave Legolas a sweet, tender kiss.

Legolas closed his eyes, as he savored the firm kiss, and was surprised to suddenly feel his arms being pulled behind his back and bound together. 'What are you-'

Aragorn had tied the gag over Legolas' mouth, and easily finished tying his husband's hands and feet, before lifting him in his arms. 'No tree climbing for you, dear one.' He started climbing down the tree carefully.

Legolas was mortified when tears suddenly sprang up in his eyes. He felt like weeping, but he didn't want to weep, not in front of Aragorn. But the tears trickled onto his face, causing Aragorn to stop and stare at him.

'You're… crying?' Aragorn murmured in shock, staring directly into that beautiful face, which had silvery tears running down it.

Legolas furiously began struggling in Aragorn's arms, even though he knew that it was not a good idea, especially with his hands and feet tied. When he got this gag off, he was really going to yell at Aragorn for this. He had no right to tie him up like this; Legolas knew he hadn't done anything wrong.

Aragorn was knocked off-balance slightly by the squirming, angry Elf he held. Both slipped and fell, but only Aragorn managed to catch a branch. He watched as Legolas fell, and closed his eyes, unable to bear watching Legolas hit the ground.

Down below, Glorfindel heard a muffled cry and looked up in time to catch Legolas easily. He swiftly unbound the Elven Prince, who tried to climb back up the tree to teach Aragorn a lesson. The Elven lord promptly stopped that, and Legolas glared at him.

'I am NOT a CHILD!' he yelled.

Haldir was nearby; he and Glorfindel had been playing another game of hiding. The 'Lorien Elf popped his head out of a nearby tree and grinned down at Glorfindel, who was rubbing his temples from the headache he had just gained from that yell.

'Problems?' Haldir called down.

Glorfindel smirked up at Haldir, a mischievous look on his face. 'No… Just a misbehaving Prince.'

Haldir agilely leapt out of the tree and landed on the ground next to the two. 'Come now, Legolas. You know better than to defy an Elven lord.' He winked at Glorfindel, earning another smirk.

Aragorn dropped out of the tree and stalked over. Legolas took one look at the beyond furious expression on his husband's face and ran for it. The half Elf ran after his husband, carrying the silk ropes and gag.

Glorfindel started laughing. 'Young ones… they are always so amusing to watch.'

'Yes, indeed,' Haldir returned. 'Shall we finish the game now… or later?'

'Now,' Glorfindel firmly said. 'I believe you were supposed to be hiding, hmm?'

Haldir grinned and bolted off… only to be caught by two strong arms around his waist, holding him back. 'Hey, that's cheating!' he protested, as he turned around to face the golden-haired Elven lord.

Glorfindel had a very fey look upon his face, as he brought it closer to Haldir's. 'I'm changing the rules,' he whispered in Haldir's ear, his warm breath brushing the pointed tip.

Haldir shivered slightly, before he opened his mouth to say something. He never got a chance to, because a pair of firm lips pressed against his, with a tongue slipping into his open mouth. The 'Lorien Elf moaned softly, basking in the sweetness of the kiss, and returned it with fervor.

The two blond Elves enjoyed each other's mouth hungrily, teasing with their tongues, and neither noticing nor caring if anyone was watching.

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A Few Hours Away From Rivendell

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The small Hobbit child ran as fast as she could towards the Elven city, knowing that she just had to tell them what had happened. The Elves were friends to the Hobbits, after all, and surely they would not refuse to help find her kidnapped older friends. They had helped to find the missing Elven Prince and it was only fair that the Elves rescue them.

She briefly wondered where her mother and father were, but kept running as fast as she could. But she was a little Hobbit and her legs were getting so tired. Still she pressed on, until she nearly ran under a horse on the road.

Boromir settled his horse down, before looking down at the small child who stood there.

"Are you all right, child?" he asked, for he could not be too angry at a child.

The Hobbit stared up at the human in fright and backed away slowly, for she had been told bad things happened to little Hobbits who met humans.

Elladan questioned, "What are you doing so far from home, Elena?'

"Elladan!" Elena cried, because she recognized the eldest son of Elrond. Frodo and the others had introduced her to him and Elrohir. She darted over to him, tears streaming from her wide, green eyes.

"The Shire…" Elena sobbed. "They came and destroyed everything… And they took my friends. Everyone ran…towards Rivendell."

Elrohir dismounted, and walked over to her, before he lifted the little one in his arms. He held her close and gently wiped the tears away. "It'll be all right, little friend. We'll take you to Rivendell, and then we'll find your friends." He then mounted his horse again, placing Elena before him.

Boromir was not used to being ignored and frowned slightly, but he said nothing. He spurred his horse into a gallop and the group of five raced towards Rivendell again.

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Rivendell

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Legolas bolted up a flight of stairs, closely followed by Aragorn.

'Stop following me!' he shouted.

Aragorn retorted, 'Stop acting like a child and stand still, then!'

Legolas stuck his tongue out at Aragorn for that and continued running. But he was starting to get hungry again, as he glanced back to see if Aragorn was still chasing him.

Mithrandir caught Legolas, before the Elf ran directly into him. 'Better watch where you are going, young friend. If you glance back too often, you may not see the foe in front of you.'

'Mithrandir…' Legolas groaned. He was not in the mood to hear one of his friend's sayings.

Aragorn grabbed a hold of Legolas' right arm. 'You're going to go eat something,' he sternly informed his husband.

Legolas bellowed, 'Stop treating me like a child!' He scowled directly at Aragorn.

Quite a few heads poked out of doors at that angry shout.

'Why are you acting like this, Legolas?' Aragorn asked, distress in his brown eyes. He had never seen Legolas act so strange before.

Mithrandir answered for the glowering Elf. 'Tis hormonal, Aragorn; a natural part of carrying a child. Though I am glad to see that certain events have not affected him too badly.' He peered down at his young friend.

Legolas was horrified to feel tears suddenly start dripping down his face again. 'Why doesn't anyone listen to me?' he wept. 'I'm not a child.'

Aragorn sighed and took the beautiful Elf in his arms. 'It's ok, Legolas… I know you're not a child. I just worry so about you…'

Legolas pressed his face against Aragorn's chest, his hot tears wetting his husband's shirt.

'Maybe both of you should get some rest,' Mithrandir told them. He smiled at the two, before he went to check on Elrond again.

'I'm sorry, Aragorn,' Legolas sniffed. 'I don't know what's wrong with me…'

'It's all right,' Aragorn whispered. 'But what do you say that we do get some rest?'

Legolas nodded, feeling tired. He had been running away from Aragorn for about an hour, after all. Aragorn wanted to carry Legolas back to their room, but instead he held his hand as they walked back to it. He just didn't want Legolas to cry again, for it made him look so sad.

Once in the room, Legolas stretched out on the bed and promptly fell asleep. Aragorn chuckled softly, before pulling a blanket over him. He was not used to dealing with a emotionally volatile Elf, but he was going to support Legolas through this, even though it confused him.

He then heard strange noises from outside of the window, so he walked over to it curiously. Aragorn peered out and saw Haldir and Glorfindel sitting next to each other, in a nearby tree, kissing. Laughter bubbled up inside of him at that. Everyone knew that Haldir liked Glorfindel, even though the Elven lord hadn't seemed to return those feelings, at least not until now.

In the distance, a group of riders could be seen approaching.

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Mordor

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Sam, Merry, Frodo, and Pippin were shoved separate cells, with their weapons already having been removed. They had not been harmed at all, save for each getting a lock of hair cut from them, as proof that the four Hobbits were indeed prisoners.

Saruman smirked directly at the Hobbits, who glared back defiantly. The Istari turned and stalked away, to inform Sauron that the prisoners were in place

"Psst! Frodo!" Sam called.

Frodo whispered, "Yes, Sam?"

Sam questioned, "How're we going to get out of this?"

"The Elves, Sam, the Elves! They have to free us," Pippin said firmly.

Merry muttered, "But what did they want us for? It seems like they just wanted the four of us."

Frodo sighed. "Because we spend more time with the Elves of Rivendell than most of the other Hobbits. We are probably going to be used as bait for whatever scheme Sauron and Saruman are planning."

"Brilliant deduction, Hobbit," Meron smirked. "You four are the key to gaining that which I deserve."

Pippin frowned and questioned, "What do you deserve? Why do you need us; can't you get it on your own?"

Meron turned a cruel smile on Pippin, who cowered slightly in his cell at the cold expression in the evil one's eyes.

"I deserve the Elven Prince of Mirkwood. And I did try to get him on my own, but the son of Arathorn interfered. Now that you four are my hostages, Legolas will be forced to surrender to me," Meron told the Hobbits.

To be continued