Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Lord of the Rings. It all belongs to J.R.R Tolkien.
Note: Thanks for the reviews; okay let's see what this chapter has to offer. This is totally made up of Faramir's past.
Aragorn walked after Legolas and Faramir, the younger man often sending mad looks his way. The King closed his eyes briefly and when they opened again, he had a look in his grey eyes that told nobody to mess with him. This was it, this was the real test to see if the people of Gondor were ready for a male on male relationship that their King had with Legolas.
When they entered Legolas's study, Aragorn could not help but grin at the possibilities that they could do in this room, he cast a quick look at Legolas and by the look how his eyes were glazed over and his ears were turning slightly red, he must have thought the same thing.
Legolas strode up to the desk and said while he cleared the desk of all the papers. "Let us sit down and discuss this like the civil Men and Elf, I know us to be."
"I wonder how civil a king is when he is sleeping around with a male Elf, one who I would call my friend." Faramir muttered, Aragorn's sensitive ears caught the comment but he decided to let it rest, there was enough time for things later, he first had to let his Steward see what was the case here and not just something of a fling, as Elrond called it.
"Faramir, we are not deaf, please sit down and like Legolas said, let us discuss this." Aragorn said in a voice that he normally only saved for his council, not for his trusted advisor.
Faramir coloured red in the face but then a grim look set in his features, much like they had seen with Boromir. "My Lords Aragorn and Legolas, how can this possibly be? How can you after your wife died, go and whatever in the name of Sauron you are doing with Lord Legolas?" The last bit Faramir raised his voice so loud, that all the birds flew out of the tree standing by the window.
Aragorn exchanged a look with Legolas while he answered. "Well we go back a long time, Faramir, as you might know, Legolas and I have known each other for nearly 100 years, yet we have never told each other how we felt, truly, I mean." He fell silent when Faramir send him a gaze full of hatred. Legolas looked at Faramir and he asked. "Why do you hate him when you wanted to know yourself?"
Faramir shifted uncomfortable and he answered. "Because it just cannot happen for a king. He was married to the most beautiful Elf-Maiden in the world, how can he possibly do this?"
Legolas raised an eyebrow, he doubted Faramir's words, even Aragorn's eyes narrowed and he sat forward and asked. "That is not the problem, is it, Faramir?"
Faramir stood up and walked towards the door, he answered. "It is none off your business, I have to take care of the Kingdom and I cannot do that with a King who cheats on his wife."
"Faramir, get your backside back here this instance and explain this. I might be a Man but I am still your King and this is an order, so sit down and start explaining, after that we will explain as well." Aragorn raised his voice a little bit and Faramir closed his eyes, walking back to he King and sitting down in the opposite chair.
"Well you see, when I was little, there was this guy, I am really not comfortable with telling all of this…" Faramir stammered. Legolas crossed his arms over his chest and answered in a light voice. "Not a word will pass beyond these wall, we cannot explain anything to you unless you tell us why you hate Aragorn, just because he loves a male."
Faramir nodded and he looked from the Elven Prince to his King before he fixed his gaze on the floor and began. "As I told you when I was little, barely 8 winters old, there was this guy, he was a guard but he was always very friendly to me, he was different then the rest, not married and always looking at me… with what I would describe now as lust, the way I know I look upon Eowyn sometimes." He stopped, taking a deep breath and his eyes snapped back to meet Aragorn's across the table. "This is something I have never told anybody, not even Boromir, the shame has taught me to hide it. He raped me by the age I was nine. The words he whispered that night still haunt my dreams these days. He said that he always loved men, that he felt attracted to them and that I was special to him, how could somebody call one another special when he raped them and hurt them, scar them for the rest of their life? I do not see how it is done, he said that he loved me from the moment he first laid eyes one me, when you love somebody, you do not force them against their will? Or am I so wrong?" A single tear streamed down his face.
A shocked silence filled the room until Aragorn reached out and put his hand on Faramir's knee, offering just that one touch as comfort before he answered. "I am glad that you confided in us. Like Legolas said, not a word will pass beyond the 3 of us, until you are ready to speak. I will not ask you for the guards name, but if I am offer some advice, tell somebody, not just us, tell the person you trust most, perhaps Eowyn, I think she must understand. If you have questions that you would like to know, just ask, we will try to answer them." Aragorn answered, smiling gently.
Faramir suggested the question that made the most sense to him. "How can you love somebody so fast after what has happened to Queen Arwen? It seems like you have forgotten about her and the times you shared."
A pained expression crossed Aragorn's handsome features before he leaned back in his chair and answered. "A fair question, indeed. You make a great counsellor, Faramir. Now, as for the answer, it is not that I have forgotten about her, I hope that you understand that, as I would never forget what bliss she brought me, the bliss of knowing a child, and a love a woman and a man can share, you know of what kind of love I speak. I could never forget her, she made a sacrifice for me, many of my men would not even dream off. She sacrificed her own life to bring my heir to the throne of Gondor into this world and thus giving up the right to sail into Valinor, a right I am hoping I brought back to her."
He took a deep breath, hoping it made sense what he was going to say next, he sought out Legolas's eyes, hoping to find the strength to continue before his eyes shifted back to Faramir's and he continued. "That is where our upbringing is different, I grew up in a world full of Elves, knowing more about them, then any mortal now alive does, save maybe Gandalf, I know their customs, what they think, how they think, and how they act, I found out that Elves can only love once, feeling that sensation of knowing true love, it is rare or even unheard off when an Elf binds that they after their spouse dies, they marry again, for that is what binding is, marrying in the ways of the body. True there is a ritual, words spoken to the Valar that none of the mortals know. It is not strange for Elves to fall in love with males and sometimes marry them. That is why I do not find it hard to say these things to you, for I grew up in a world where it was normal for some Elves to be attractive to males, I struggled with this when I first found out, but in the end my heart won from my mind as a heart is known to do and I accepted it, knowing we could never be, yet knowing that I could keep this love and pull strength and hope out of it everyday, without anybody knowing. Does that make any sense at all?" He cocked his head, smiling.
"I think so. How is this that Elves love only once?" This question was aimed at Legolas. The Elf walked around the desk and sat down in the chair next to Aragorn before he took looked at the younger man before him and answered. "I do not know, how is it that some mortals find joy in killing one another? I know that I have never felt any other way then when I met Estel, I mean Aragorn here. I have been in love but I have never and I can only imagine that finding true love feels like this, it is knowing that you will never be whole unless this person loves you back, you can feel your soul ache for him, your soul weeps and you can feel this warmth inside of you when that person touches you and when you bind, you can feel their thoughts, their emotions and know that you will never be separated save by death."
"Yet you claim you love Aragorn, how did you know this?" Faramir asked. "Because like he said, being friends with him would bring eternal bliss to my life, he has been my brother and seen my bad sides, he knows me better then anybody, better then even my father, when he looks at me or smiles, I feel my heart beat with joy, when he is angry at me, my heart weeps. I feel like my soul is whole now, it is nothing like you can describe." Legolas fell silent.
"How can you love two persons at the same time?" Faramir looked back at Aragorn. The Man nodded and answered while the smile slid off his face. "When Arwen came into my life, my heart was trouble, true I fell in love at first sight with her, yet I knew something was not right, that this was but part of my destiny. When I met Legolas..." His hand sought out that of Legolas and he grasped it firmly. "My heart sang a song so pure it brought tears to my eyes. I loved him from the moment I met him. Knowing that if he called me friend, I would be happy for the rest of my life, I was cheery, could find joy everywhere and he gave me hope when the hours were dark. I will tell you this, I accepted Arwen as my queen because of her own choice, it was too late to send her to Valinor and I knew that Legolas and I would never be, I never dreamed this would happen. Arwen was already mortal and I knew that I had no choice, so I accepted my destiny, knowing full well it would mean my own happiness to save her. I loved Legolas and still do more then her but that is a matter of my own heart and I will defend it as such. I spoke truth when I said I would not marry again, I will not and if you want to tell the council the true reason that you may do so. I trust your judgement upon this."
"How will Eldarion react when he hears his father was a lover of men?" This time there was anger behind his words.
"Aragorn is not a lover of men, he is the lover of Legolas Greenleaf and in time Eldarion will learn that, he can judge upon that then. He may be a mortal child but he is also part Elvish and there are some things that he must learn, as to full knowing why and how this came into being." Legolas answered, anger radiating from his words.
"What place will you take in Gondor?" Faramir asked, looked straight at Legolas. The Elf shook his head. "None, save the friend of their king. The position I take in Aragorn's personal life will be left for us to decide…" He was interrupted by Aragorn.
"It has already been decided, you will be my lover, as you are the love of my life, weather it has to be in public or in private, it matters not to me, I love you and if I have to play a part to please my people then so be it, but mark my words, I will not marry or court another female, I will remain a widower until the end of my time, in private I will be the husband of Legolas Greenleaf, as he will be my husband." Legolas's hand tightened around Aragorn when he heard the words left his beloved's mouth.
Faramir looked at the pair before him; he shook his head and answered. "As a counsellor I do not know what to decide, as a friend I am stunned and amazed at the love you two share and how strongly you finish one another, if that is the right word. I have to think about this, and discuss this with Eowyn while she still rests in our chamber; I will come to you both with my wife tonight, after dinner, if that can be arranged."
Aragorn and Legolas both rose and while nodding, Aragorn said. "Yes, of course. Think as long as you need, you know where to find us." With that Faramir left the room. When he was gone, Aragorn's arms slid around Legolas's neck and the Man asked. "So where does that leave us?"
"Somewhere in the middle, I would say, he is confused, knowing Faramir he will make a good decision, if that is right for us or for Gondor, which is left to decide." He gently tickled the Human's tummy and Aragorn laughed, finding his face inching closer to Legolas before their lips touched, both forgetting about their problems until that night.
Hope you liked it. Please send me your reaction how you want Faramir and Eowyn to react. Now I have to work so the other story will be up on Saturday. Leave a review.