Wow! Update! Sorry this took so long, I lost my fanfic.net access for about seven months, and then I was kinda out a whack with my fics for a while, so I just never got aroudn to updating. But now I've got the taste back for this fic...all sorts of ideas for plot developements flying through my head for this one, and I actually enjoyed writing this chapter, and am feeling fairly happy with it. I promise to update soon, should be a week or so at the latest.

R&R!

~Chapter Three~

To Aragorn, sleeping with an elf wasn't anything new, nor was sleeping with a male, despite the fact that he had only just turned eighteen, but as he lay beside Legolas afterwards, he realised that something felt different. He couldn't put his finger on exactly what it was that was different, but it was a pleasant sort of different so he found himself content to simply relax beside the blond elf and not worry about any new feelings that he had. His contentment, however, was short lived, as a knock sounded on Legolas' door, startling Aragorn from his silent contemplation of the elf's soft, blond hair. Legolas blinked sleepily, and yawned, smiling at Aragorn, before getting out of the bed and wrapping a green robe around his naked body. Aragorn was tempted to pout childishly, as Legolas' body was obscured by the robe, but the urge dissapeared as Legolas opened the door, revealing who was on the other side.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Legolas, but have you seen Estel?" Arwen, browned hair arranged perfectly around her face, falling in soft ringlets, and dressed in a pale blue dress. "I asked him to meet me but...oh."

Looking over Legolas' shoulder, Arwen's eyes widened dramatically as they came to rest on Aragorn. He smiled weakly at her, feeling a light blush spreading over his cheeks.

"I-" She seemed to choke slightly, hesitating on her words. "Estel? What...?" She bowed her head, neatly arranged hair falling shrouding her face as if that was how it was supposed to sit. When she looked back up, her eyes were glistening. "I am truly sorry for disturbing you. I-" she hesitated again, and she stared at Aragorn, eyes pleading for something that he knew he couldn't offer. She sighed when he didn't say anything, her posture reflecting defeat, and finished what she was saying. "I'll leave now."

Aragorn half-rose, wanting to say something to her, explain something, although he was unsure as to what, but she had already walked away, and he was left staring past Legolas, his mouth hanging open and feeling as if he had just lost something important, something that he didn't think would come back.

~*~

Aragorn dressed and returned to his room via the garden, almost immediately after Arwen left, apologising profusely to Legolas and assuring the blond that his departure had nothing to do with him, that he just needed some time to think alone. Legolas had left him go, nothing more than a light press of lips to Aragorn's cheek for his response.

Aragorn's head was spinning, and a sick, guilty feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach by the time he got back into his own room.

The look on Arwen's face when she had seen him in Legolas' bed had been enough to make Aragorn believe that what Legolas had said earlier about who Arwen was jealous of, was true. There had been jealousy in Arwen's eyes, but that hadn't been what had clued Aragorn in to the truth of Legolas' words. No, it had been the blinding hurt, and the betrayal that he had seen there that had let him know what Arwen's true feelings to him were, that and a guess as to why she had wanted to meet him, and her appearance. She had looked as if she was going on a date, stunning and utterly beautiful, and it had all been for his benefit. He felt wretched, and worthless, hating himself for not realising what Arwen's feelings were sooner, for being with Legolas and having her see them together, for not wanting to be with Arwen. He had seen their friendship dying too, when he looked into her eyes, seen that the closeness that they had shared up until that point, could never be the way it had once been. He didn't want to lose that closeness, but the difference in their feelings towards each other would see it gone. They could not go on like they had, not with him seeing Arwen as a sister, and Arwen wishing for something more, and then there was Legolas...

Legolas was something else entirely. The beauty of Arwen paled to nothingness beside him, in Aragorn's eyes, a pale shadow of the golden perfection that belonged to Legolas. He was a golden god, far above Aragorn, and yet he had chosen Aragorn over others more deserving of his perfection. And Aragorn was certainly not objecting to that choice, because while Legolas' seemed like a god to Aragorn there was something about him that balanced it. It was not humanity, no he was more pure than that, but more that he was...touchable. He was beauty incarnate, but he didn't hold it over other people, and Aragorn found himself drawn to him, like a moth towards an ever-bright flame. Aragorn knew that what he had shared with Legolas was something that he would want to repeat, not a once only occurrence, and had the feeling that Legolas, like the pipe-weed was to the hobbits, would soon become something of an addiction for him. He knew that he would never be able to get enough of the elf's sweet taste, or the sparkling personality that Aragorn had so far only glimpsed. The blond elf was something to be cherished and treasured, and if Legolas would let him, Aragorn would do so.

He still couldn't help the feeling of guilt that he got when he thought of Arwen, and the expression that he had seen on his face, but nor could he help the feeling of anticipation that arose at the thought of spending more time with Legolas, of getting to know the blond elf, and of that feeling that he had had, but couldn't describe.

~Tbc...

Umm...I realise that there's a bit of a gap between this chap and the last one (as in how Aragorn wound up naked and in Legolas' bed) but I'm not quite up to the lemon writing stage yet, so I'll leave it up to you to guess. Let's just say they both enjoyed it. ;p