A/N: Fluff EN MASSE in the following 2 or 3 chapters or so. NO SLASH. ^_^

Part 42

Legolas sat quietly in the window seat, the moonlight peering faintly through the trees and the fire glowing softly in the hearth. Aragorn had gone done to dinner, but he had not felt hungry. The ranger was a bit reluctant, and Legolas guessed he was a bit suspicious about whether we was trying to starve himself again, but the Elf had accepted when Aragorn had offered to bring him something back.

He now sat in the window, his knees brought up against his chest, his red book opened against his legs. He wrote in smooth ebony strokes. This particular time, he wrote of his thoughts, but the little book also held his poetry, his songs, his feelings, and his secrets. And his thoughts.

Aragorn is away at dinner now. I think he suspected me of trying to skip meals again.I told him to bring me something back. I'm feeling much better now, almost back to my old strength.Estel still mothers me to no ends, however.

Legolas smiled after writing that.He continued.

Though my pride will never allow me to admit it, I like being taken care of. And Estel looks after me with such love and concern and even for a fearless warrior as he is, with me he is as gentle and caring as if I were a flower. Arwen has landed herself the most honorable of men, but I cannot believe she has left him. No, she will be back. She will return to him.

I cannot help but feel as if there is still so much ahead in this war of the Ring, so much yet to face. As I run my hand mildly over my stomach, the healing wound still tender to the touch, I am reminded of just how many times my body has endured physical blows. And I wonder how many more there will be to come, how many Aragorn will bear. And, I pray not, how many Gimli might suffer.

Ah, that Dwarf. Who would ever think that I would become so close to a Dwarf?

Legolas snickered lightly at this.

But I do not doubt he means much to me, and is a rather loyal, despite however .... different, friend. And Aragorn.

Aragorn.Strider. Estel. No, but Estel is his Elvish name, what he was called when he was a little boy. He is indeed Aragorn now.

My best friend. My brother by love though not by blood. And we are so different, yet so similar at the same time. And so amazingly close, it's frightening at times.

Elves are not the heartless beings that so many think us to be, yet we do posses certain limits to our feelings. But with Aragorn, I feel such a love that it is beyond all boundaries. He is who I love most of all, I believe. I watched him grow up, I was beside him through all the hardships of life.And over the years, we have formed some unexplainable bond that has a depth I have never otherwise known.

I remember when he returned from the dead, seemingly, when we met for the first time after he had fallen in the battle of the Wargs. We had not spoken at first, only took in what was happening. And we only uttered a few brief words, before gazing at each other in silence, not knowing what to do, what to say, how to feel.

We just - stared at the other.Our eyes locked, as they had countless times before. But this time, it was different. Such intensity in our gaze, such an unbelievably strong connection between the two of us. I could feel how much he loved me then, I could feel it.

And it was overwhelming. I knew what he felt in the depths of his heart in those moments, how much he loved me, how much he grieved for me and for Arwen, how much he would sacrifice for me. How much hope he saw in me and all the faith he held in me as well.

He is my brother. I know no other word for what I might call him, but it goes beyond even brotherhood.There are no words for what he is to me, what I feel for him. Even such a powerful word as love seems to fall short of just how deep my feelings run for him.

And Legolas finished there, the swirls of his handwriting flowing across the page in his ebony ink. He shut the book and tucked back into his pack.

Legolas stared into the fire, reflecting upon what he had written. He only hoped Aragorn knew it. That he was his best friend, his brother.

His Estel.