Legolas reluctantly broke off the kiss, though their foreheads still touched even when their lips weren't. "Aragorn," he breathed. Aragorn was so enticed by the sound of the elf prince's voice saying his name that he leaned in closer, capturing Legolas' upper lip between his own. Legolas gasped and grabbed the back of Aragorn's head with both hands, pulling him forward and deepening the kiss.
When they stopped to breathe, Legolas spoke again. "Aragorn," he said, putting his fingers on the human's mouth before he could kiss him again. "We must stop this."
Aragorn couldn't stop the crestfallen look from spreading across his face. "Of course," he agreed hurriedly. "You were just caught up in the moment, taken for a while by a sweet madness. Please don't think ill of me; perhaps Eru was just granting a wish that I've carried with me for more than half of my life."
Legolas grabbed his face on either side firmly and forced him to look in his eyes. "I didn't mean that we should stop forever," he said with a mixture of laughter, annoyance, and sympathy. "Just for right now. At any moment, a guard - or worse, my father - will come looking for us. If they find us behind a closed door, kissing within a few feet of my open bed chamber door, they would think we were about to let our passions get the better of us; and in that situation, things could get really unpleasant. Besides, if you keep kissing me like that -" he paused to kiss the tip of Aragorn's nose - " then they would be thinking correctly."
Aragorn liked the idea that his kisses drove Legolas mad with passion. Legolas raised an eyebrow. "What?" asked Aragorn.
"You're proud of yourself," laughed Legolas warmly. "You think you've impressed me greatly."
Aragorn blushed. "How did you know?" he asked sheepishly.
"You always puff your chest when you're proud of yourself," answered Legolas, still smiling. "You did that in Rivendell, when I let you ride my horse all by yourself for the first time, and when you bested Elladan in archery."
"It's scary how well you know me," admitted Aragorn. "From our first meeting to this moment, when you look at me it's like you can see past my flash and into my soul. Sometimes I think I must be naked when you see me." He suddenly looked embarrassed. "Not that I'm suggesting that you should look at me naked," he stammered. "And I'm not saying that you shouldn't either. Not that you have to. But if you want to, you certainly can. But not now. Unless you want -"
Legolas covered the man's mouth again. "Shhh," he murmured. "I understand what you mean because I feel it too. You appear to have seen my soul and committed it to memory." He closed his eyes in pleasure as Aragorn started kissing, licking, and sucking the hand he held over his mouth. "And, in Elbereth's name, if you keep doing that we will definitely be seeing each other naked in the very near future and that's not something we should be doing right now."
"You're right," Aragorn reluctantly conceded. He pulled back. "Where is that map we're supposed to be fetching?"
"Over here." Legolas opened a drawer by a bookcase, pulled out a large piece of parchment, walked to the door, and motioned for Aragorn to follow. When they were side-by-side, Legolas opened the door as quietly as he could. "How is your archery going?" he asked conversationally as they walked to the stairs.
Aragorn looked at him, bewildered. Legolas threw him a Look and he understood: they had to pretend that everything was normal in case one of the omnipresent guards were listening for sounds of their return. "Very well," he answered a little too loudly. "I'm more competent with a sword, though."
They continued with this nonsensical conversation as they descended the stairs. Halfway down, Aragorn saw that none other than King Thranduil was waiting for them at the foot, wearing a look of veiled suspicion on his face. 'He doesn't know what we did up there,' Aragorn reassured himself. 'Even if he does, we didn't do anything wrong. Except he'll think it was terribly wrong.' He silently willed the panic not to show on his face. 'Oh Elbereth, I'm going to be beheaded if I can't calm down!'
Beside him, Legolas was all innocence. "Ada," he smiled. "Were you looking for me?"
Thranduil frowned at them. "What were you doing up there?"
"I told Estel here to where the map of Mirkwood was so he could get it for Mithrandir while we were with the troubadours," he replied, gesturing at Aragorn. "But afterwards, I remembered that I'd moved it to make room for some letters, so I went up there to help him find it. You know me, Ada; I couldn't remember where I put it. It took forever for us to find it!" He laughed and Aragorn forced himself to laugh too.
Thranduil narrowed his eyes, but sighed. "You're late for your training," he told his son. "And I'm sure that the rangers need Estel for something."
"Of course," said Legolas, still smiling. "I will see you later, Estel."
"Yes," Aragorn stammered. "Thank you, Legolas - Prince Legolas, I mean." He bowed. "Good day, King Thranduil."
Aragorn could have sworn he saw the king roll his eyes. As the two walked away, Legolas glanced back over his shoulder and threw him a loving look. Aragorn stood erect until father and son were out of sight. Then he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, sagged his shoulders, and wiped his face with both hands.
####################
Aragorn excused himself from the rangers and went in search of Legolas. He found him alone in a meadow near the archery fields, practicing the sparring techniques he'd just been taught. Aragorn stood there for a moment, watching the graceful moves. It always amazed him how elves could make something so dangerous look like a dance. 'Perhaps,' he mused, 'they can hear the song of creation and always seek to move in time with it.'
Legolas grinned when he heard Aragorn approach. "Are you going to come over here, meleth?" he asked teasingly. "I promise I won't hurt you."
Aragorn returned his grin. "That's good to hear," he said, walking over to embrace the elf.
"I thought you were going to keel over on me this afternoon," declared Legolas.
"I was petrified," he admitted. Legolas chuckled and kissed him on the lips. Aragorn sighed and stroked the prince's cheek. "But it's worth it," he continued, whispering. "You're worth it."
Legolas let out a contented sigh and wrapped his arms around the ranger. "I could stay like this forever," he murmured. "Does that sound good to you?"
Aragorn pulled him even closer, as close as they could get. "It does," he said. "But the rangers are leaving here tomorrow."
"Then let's not waste time talking about such unpleasant things."
"Do you have any other ideas about how we should occupy our mouths?" asked Aragorn slyly, wiggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Legolas laughed and kissed him. "That's a start," muttered Aragorn, their lips still together. "But I can still talk -" His words broke off into a groan as Legolas slipped his tongue into Aragorn's open mouth. Their tongues dueled for awhile; Aragorn thrust his in and out of his lover's mouth, tasting all over. Legolas was pressed fully against him -
"I suppose I should be glad I'm interrupting before something even more serous happens," a loud voice called out suddenly.
The lovers froze for a moment, then turned to see King Thranduil standing at the edge of the meadow. "Ada!" Legolas exclaimed, flustered for possibly the first time in his life.
Thranduil gave his son a small, grim smile. "It's not often that you're at a loss for words, Little Greenleaf," he chuckled. His face hardened as he turned his gaze at Aragorn. "I suppose you have something to say to me?"
"I, um, I," choked out a panicking Aragorn.
"I thought so," said Thranduil. "You must excuse us, my son. Estel, or should I say Aragorn, and I must speak in private."
To be continued...
A/N: I'm using the names Estel/Aragorn to distinguish between the little boy that Legolas loved in a platonic, vague way he didn't undertand and the man that he's in love with and attracted to in a sexual way.
I got my first flame the other day. I'd been planning to make brutal fun of any flames I received, but now that it's happened I find I really don't care. Everyone else has been fantastic and I really appreciate each and every nice word and constructive criticism. If you think my story is "REALLY dumb", then by all means don't read it. Just remember the Golden Rule and let's try to curb this emmense wave of negativity and rudeness that's out there on a lot of websites. Being rude and flaming someone doesn't make others see you as special, important, or intelligent; they think of you as moronic loser pricks.
