Imperfection Chapter 7, a lord of the rings fanfic

AN: I'm going on the book story-line for one important fact: Aragorn had no or little interaction with Legolas before the Council of Elrond. Their great friendship came about solely through the trials that the ring brought upon them. Certainly Legolas wouldn't have known of his 'hidden identity', or revealed it so rudely at the council. I do wonder why they put that into the film sometimes… Anyway, hope this doesn't annoy/offend anyone.

Also, though they were present in the film version, the twins weren't at the Council of Elrond in the books (they were out hunting orcs) and met up with the fellowship at Helm's Deep and I'm going with this too.

They are fair and gallant as Elven-Lords; and that is not to be wondered at in the sons of Elrond of Rivendell.

Legolas to Gimli in 'The Passing of the Grey Company' - Return of the King

Elrohir stood by his window, transfixed. The snow had fallen thick and heavy across the courtyards outside and the world was white and bleak. It mirrored his emotions perfectly. He had never expected to find Legolas here, though he had come on word from a friend in Eryn Lasgalen that this was where Legolas had been heading. Again and again he had thought he had caught up with Legolas, only to find had disappeared. To find him so suddenly had tripped him and left him reeling. The reception he had received was hardly what he had expected, and it seemed as if Legolas didn't want to be in his presence, let alone talk to him.

"What has gone on between you?" Aragorn asked, watching as Legolas excused himself and hurried out of the room, Elrohir left behind with his hand outstretched as though he could call him back with a gesture. His arm dropped heavily to his side, but he still did not turn to face the King. "It seemed as though you knew each other well at Helm's Deep," Aragorn continued, "though I do not remember seeing Legolas in Rivendell before the Council."

"Mirkwood has been overwhelmed for over fifty years now, they could rarely spare him." He replied absently, still staring after the departed figure. "It was more often the case that I would go to Mirkwood to offer aid so that we might spend time together." He sighed and turned back to the King.

"Why does he turn away from you now?" A flash of pain, quickly subdued, made Aragorn frown.

"He turned from me long ago." Elrohir replied cryptically. "I begin to wonder if he will ever turn back." He returned to staring at the door.

Movement in the white expanse caught his attention, and he focused on the figure as it moved out into the light. Legolas wore the light-brown riding cloak he had often seen him in, his quiver and bow slung over his shoulder and peaking out of the slit that ran up the back of the cloak to allow its use without becoming an obstacle. Elrohir absently wondered if he ever went anywhere without the weapon. It was not difficult to identify the elf, the long blond tresses flicking around his shoulders and trying to escape their bindings in the blustery winds. He longed to be out there with him, as in the days of old; taking his hand, keeping him close, feeling the warmth in his body. But he didn't know how he would be received. It was relief enough to see him alive and well, though his eyes were tired and still filled with the familiar grief he saw in his own when he gazed into the mirror.

"Elrohir." The youngest son of Elrond of Rivendell looked over his shoulder to find his sister standing in the doorway. "There are things that must be said."

"I had thought you were both together when we visited after Riven's birth. I assumed he had come straight back to you, and that was why you hid yourself away - to see to him. If I had known… I would have sought you out…"

"You could have done nothing. Legolas made the choice to leave. I almost envied him the decision. I could not stand to see what could have been. It was not your fault the births were so close… I had no intention of being rude, you understand. I just could not see…" Arwen fought the temptation to cry out loud. No wonder so many things were twisted as they were. If Legolas refused to tell anyone the truth there was no chance of the situation resolving itself. "How did you know of this?" Elrohir asked, suddenly curious. No one had been told of the exact reason for Legolas' short-lived visit to Rivendell, only that he had needed Elrond's attentions.

"He has talked of it." Arwen lied softly.

"What has he said?" Elrohir tried his very best not to sound overly curious. Arwen hesitated. It would be so easy to tell him everything, it would help heal so many hurts if the two of them were back together and taking comfort from each other. But it was not her place to speak the words.

"I am not the one to talk of such things. You must go to him."

"He will not talk to me. He disappears whenever I am near."

"Do not LET him disappear. He is not spirit that would slip through your fingers if you reach for him." Arwen paused, making Elrohir meet her eyes. "Though I would not count on this being the case forever."

"You think he would fade?"

"He has had near ten years to fade. He hangs by a thread, my brother. He needs you now, more so than ever since you have left him alone so long."

"I tried to find him. I went to Lasgalen again and again. I was always told that he was out in the forest or that he had refused me entry. Thranduil never spared me any pity nor offered me a bed for the night. He has never liked me. Once I tried to wait for his party's return and I was chased from the forest by his guards."

"His heart was suffering, you cannot blame him his restlessness. Nor can you blame his father for his nature."

"I don't know what to do to reach him now. What can I do if he is out of reach?"

On the balcony some floors above, the boys were planning.

"We need a plan." Or trying to at least.

"But it must be a good plan." Riven pointed out. "Else they will suspect us."

"Perhaps if we lock them in a room together?"

"They are both too skilled to be held for long, and then they would come after us!"

"The dungeons would keep them."

"That isn't going to work!" Riven laughed out loud in exasperation. The thought left the two giggling for a while before they brought themselves back to the topic in hand.

"We could ask for archery lessons!" Riven exclaimed.

"Elrohir is a swordsman, not an archer like Legolas. That would get Legolas in one place, but not Elrohir."

"And father always says no to arms lessons anyway." Riven grumbled under his breath. His brother made no comment regarding his own tutoring. It was a subject not mentioned between the two of them, though Riven knew Eldarion had been receiving lessons for some time and was already excelling under the best tutelage Gondor had to offer.

"We could always just take them riding." Eldarion suggested.

"Do you think that would work?" Riven asked, doubtful.

"Why not?"

"Well… that's simple."

Eldarion had returned to his room and Riven was settled in bed with the decision made. He slept in the way of the elves, eyes open to the world. The sight made a lump rise in Legolas' throat as he wondered how he had not realised earlier. He wondered if Eldarion was the same, with his mother's elven blood in his veins. Movement behind him alerted him to Elrohir's presence long before he made himself known, looking over his shoulder into the room beyond.

"That could have been him, couldn't it. They would have been friends, cousins." Elrohir scrubbed absently at his face, stepping back out of the doorway. "You don't talk any more. Are you like this all the time, or only for me?" He tried to meet Legolas' eyes, but he still looked silently into Riven's room at the sleeping form. He placed a hand on Legolas' shoulder, feeling the racing beat and uncertain breaths beneath his palm. "Have to talked to anyone about this? Have you even cried? You cannot keep this inside of yourself, you know." He sought wildly for some way to get Legolas to respond. At last he looked up, only to look away again before responding.

"Who would you have me talk to? My father perhaps? I have no wish for death. And I have cried more than enough these past years. I have to wonder if you have? This was what you wanted, was it not?" He could not help the bite that entered his voice, and stepped hurriedly away from the doorway as Riven stirred. Elrohir grasped Legolas' arms, anger and pain etched across his face.

"Not this way. I never wanted it this way…" A tear escaped him and traced a line down his face. "I never wanted to hurt you. I love you, you can't believe I ever wanted to hurt you." Legolas stifled a sob and suddenly they were both crying, finding support in the walls as they maintained a false distance between each other. Both wanted more than anything just to fall into the arms across from them, to let the other's presence soothe away the hurts.

"Why did you not come to find me?" The question was barely more than a whisper, but Elrohir heard. Breaking into the barrier they had erected around themselves, he stepped forward and pulled Legolas into his arms.

"I did not know how. I did not know if you would want me to, if you still wanted me at all. I wanted to, every day… I searched for you once you had left Imladris, but you never allowed me entry into the forest."

"I was never told you were there." Legolas looked up, searching out the truth in Elrohir's eyes. "My father." He realised with a sigh. "He must have been the one who hid your visits from me."

"I came, I waited, but always was I sent away. I thought you did not want to see me. Did not want me anymore."

"What would you have me do now? I cannot return to you as if all is forgiven. My grief holds me too tightly for that, and I fear there is no room in my heart for ought else."

"I would have you look at me. Talk to me… tell me what you will, I care not."

"I cannot tell you what you want to hear."

"How can you claim to know what I want to hear?"

"We have not been apart so long that I have forgotten six centuries of our union."

"And yet you would give up those memories, as if they meant nothing?"

"Never." He met Elrohir's gaze, his eyes burning with emotion. "I hold them close in my heart. Yet I cannot forget what has happened these few years passed."

"We have been through much together. We can…"

"We were not together." Legolas interrupted. "I was alone."

"It didn't have to be that way. If you had only told me…"

"You made it clear how you wanted things. I did my best to give you what you wanted… but my way."

"What were your plans, after that? How would you have continued had the child survived? Would you have hidden from the world forever? How would you have cared for it, exiled from Eryn Lasgalen on pain of death?"

"I could not give up without a fight."

"And me? Would I have ever seen this child? Would you have abandoned me too?"

"I did not forsake…"

"You lost the fight Legolas." He interrupted, hating the tears he could feel in his eyes, the tears that ran down Legolas' face, the breaking of his voice. Hating that he was the cause of it all. "When will you stop punishing yourself for it? I would have you back." As soon as the words were out the atmosphere changed; suddenly charged and tense. He reached out slowly - as he might approach a scared animal - to wipe the tear stains from Legolas' cheeks. Legolas pulled away from the contact.

"It is too late for that." He spat back. "Too much has been lost. Find another, one who will be more truthful with you." Elrohir flinched.

"How could you think that…" Legolas was already turning, walking away from him. "No. Stop this." He gripped Legolas' elbow, halting his retreat and pulling him back towards him. Legolas refused to turn and face him, keeping his back stubbornly turned and his shoulders tense. He slowly brought his arms around Legolas' waist, pulling him close into his chest. "Stop this." His voice was softer this time. "Please, just talk to me." His hand hesitated over a place on his abdomen where he knew a scar would still linger, an anomaly on elven skin. Legolas flinched away as pain stabbed through him, through his heart and his stomach. Fighting the urge to cry out, he pushed Elrohir away and ran through the corridors, not stopping until he reached his own room and locking the door behind him.

A knock the next day roused Legolas from a slumber so deep he was sure he could make out the light on the other side. Raising his head he groggily called out a 'who is it?' before allowing his head to drop back to the pillow. He could not remember being so tired in his life, and never had sleep left him feeling so drained. The sleep of elven-kind was not supposed to be anything but restful, a gentle reverie.

"It's Riven!" Came the reply. "Open the door!" Of course, he could never refuse such a call. He stood hastily, already reaching for his quiver as his feet touched the floor. When he opened his eyes to find his nose touching the floor moments later he knew something was wrong. He pulled himself to his feet using the pillar of his bed and wandered to the door, trying to keep his feet below him. Resting his head on the wall beside the door when he reached it, he struggled momentarily with the lock before realising it was not locked and pulled the door open.

"Come with us, we are going riding with Elrohir and father." Riven pleaded with a smile as soon as the door was opened a crack.

"I cannot." Legolas replied weakly trying to hide that it was only the wall that was keeping him upright.

"Come, you have nothing to fear from him!" Riven seized Legolas' arm and started pulling on it as if to drag him from the room, it was a game they had often played though if Riven won it was usually more through his persuasion than his tugging. Riven released his arm in shock as the elf cried out in pain, crumpling to his knees. "Oh! Oh! I'm sorry, did I hurt you? What's wrong?" Legolas was breathing deeply to push aside the pain that clouded his vision and made his head spin. Clearing his head enough to see again he looked down and found a patch of red soaking through his tunic and onto his hand. Riven's seeking eyes had found the same thing and drew in a shocked gasp. "Oh, Eru. Did I do that?" He looked suddenly very pale.

"No no, it is a wound reopened, that is all. Do not fret." He soothed weakly.

"I did not know you were wounded. What can I do?"

"Fetch me a healer and go riding with your Father and Elrohir. Go quickly else they will wonder where you are. Say nothing of this to your father. He would only worry unduly." Once Riven had nodded and hurried away down the corridor Legolas hauled himself back to his feet, trying to still the shaking that make his every movement painful. Keeping one hand clasped to his side, he stumbled back towards his bed.

"When I asked for a healer, you were not who I had in mind." Legolas complained wryly. He was rested against the headboard of the bed and didn't look up as Aragorn entered. "Surely the King of Gondor has more important things to be doing than tending me." He continued.

"I was due a break." He replied shortly, moving into the room and placing a bowl of heated water on the dresser.

"You were supposed to be riding with your sons and your brother."

"There is still time for that. How did you come to be wounded?" Legolas batted his seeking hands away as he moved to check the wound.

"It is an old wound reopened, nothing more. I do not need your attentions, only a healer to add a stitch or two."

"No wound taken by an elf such as yourself should require stitches, Legolas. What are you trying to hide from me?" Legolas considered fighting more, but realised he was just too tired for it. He lifted the wad of cotton he had been using as a temporary bandage to show Aragorn the source of the bleeding. The long scar from Riven's birth was no longer, and in its place a long gaping wound, slowly seeping blood. It looked as if it had only happened a day or two previous.

"That scar is over ten years old. It is no recent wound to be reopened by the tugging of a boy."

"To have them both so close…" Legolas' voice sounded terribly faint as he answered. "So close and neither of them mine any longer. Before it was only when he touched me, but I fear my time with Riven has precipitated the condition. My body grieves for them, Aragorn, though both of them still live. And now I fear I shall fade clear away."

"Legolas, you're not making any… sense…" The King trailed off as Legolas' words sank in. 'To have them both so close' … "Elrohir?!" He hissed, disbelief sapping his strength as he sank onto the bed beside Legolas. "No. I will not have it." Aragorn grasped Legolas' shoulders, suddenly holding all of his weight as he began to slump forwards. "You will not die when those whom I hold closest to my heart would suffer most at your loss." Resting his head on Aragorn's shoulder, Legolas sighed.

"I think there is little you can do against it."

Gosh… that was a long chapter. The revelations begin. :D - evil grin.

Pasha ToH, Haldir's Heart and Soul, felicia : Glad you're still enjoying, thanks for the reviews. Can't answer any questions without spoiling things I'm afraid!! There's too much coming up…

LadyJanelly, Grumpy : You can't say he didn't try… sigh

smoothNcreamy : Elihor? An new variation :P Elihor and Elanad to the rescue! Ahem… sorry.

nevermind : I'm sorry! Not much I could do about that… Elessarionnath… you're right, I think just saying 'boys' would be easier. You make me feel so warm and fuzzy when you compliment me, I might encourage people to be more critical more often if this is the result. Thankies!!!