Disclaimer: I do not own LotR. I just like to borrow the characters and twist them to my own needs. n.n

Warnings: Shounen ai/Slash, Aragorn/Legolas. No likie? No readie. No flamie.

Sry for all grammar and/or spelling mistakes.

Okay, so I lied. This was put out before the next chapter to Unforgivable Pain. The alerts are messed up and it's makin' me mad. I'm still not getting things either. Rawr! Peoples these days. Then again they do have such a large site with tons of fics to maintain, but… still. ;-; This was actually posted a lot sooner than I thought. But… well, whatever works, right? n.n

'Kay, well, enjoy. n.n

Heart's Truth

Chapter Four

Lecture

Aragorn stood up, stretching his legs and arms; looking over at Elrond. He was extremely surprised to see that he still hadn't woken yet. Figuring he must have been a lot more exhausted than he let on, which wasn't surprising, he brushed it off and sat back down.

He sighed heavily, watching the sleeping blonde in front of him. Concern etched in his affectionate gaze at the elf's still closed eyes and the fact that it had been so hard for him to stay awake. He had regained a lot of his sleep already, hadn't he? Apparently not.

And now he wanted to go back to Mirkwood and his father? He couldn't prevent that, this he knew, but he dreaded it. Did Legolas intend on telling his father about their relationship? And if so, what would his reaction be? Good or bad? He feared it would be the latter. Did Legolas really need an heir, though? It was very unlikely that Thranduil would be taken out of his position anytime soon. Was there any possible way they could get the elf king to take another queen? He doubted it, but it couldn't hurt to voice this to Legolas, could it? Actually it probably would, for both father and son still desperately missed the one who had been a mother, wife, and queen.

One day he would have to claim the throne of Gondor, too. He tried to deny that part of his heritage… ever since he was told of it, and he was very reluctant to take it, but deep down he knew he'd have to eventually. Well, he'd deal with that when the time came.

With that thought how would his own father react to their relationship? Or even Elladan and Elrohir? Were they going to hide it forever? He very much doubted that would be possible. Besides, it would also put a terrible strain on their relationship if they were to do that and sneak around everywhere.

All this thinking was doing nothing for him; it was only taking him in circles.

He wanted to check on Elrohir again – he had promised he would after all. However, he didn't want to leave Legolas, especially since there was no one to watch him with Elrond still sleeping.

Next time - which hopefully will not happen - I shall force him to sleep, the human thought. He still felt guilty for his father's lack of sleep. He wanted to make him more comfortable and put him in his bed but he didn't want to move him in fear of waking the sleep-deprived elf. No, the chair would have to do.

Sighing he got into a more comfortable position, settling for the night. Just because he was staying up all night didn't mean he had to be uncomfortable the whole time.

Legolas awoke to sunlight streaming through the balcony window onto the floor. At first he was confused as to how he had gotten into his room, but then he figured he must have fallen asleep in Elrohir's room and Aragorn had carried him.

By the position of the sun it was still really early in the morning.

While looking over at the balcony he realized that Elrond was there in a chair, fast asleep.

Not wanting to wake the elf-lord he contented himself with the laying position he was currently in and decided not to get out of bed quite yet.

He also didn't want to wake the sleeping human beside him. By how he was situated in the chair he had obviously intended to stay up the whole night. His neck would definitely be sore when he woke up.

Legolas stared up at the ceiling, thinking. He really needed to get back to his father. Had Elrond even sent him a letter to tell of hi latest injury? No; obviously not, for if he had he was sure the elf king would have been there by his side at that very moment. Well, that was for the best. He didn't need him to worry anymore than he already was, and he was practically healed.

He was extremely pleased to find that the agony he had felt in his chest yesterday and too many days before had been reduced to a simple dull ache. He just hoped it would stay that way this time. He was also a lot less exhausted than before. It seemed the rest he had finally been able to receive had helped a lot. Perhaps he'd be able to convince Elrond to let him go back to Mirkwood soon. Actually, he'd probably have to convince Aragorn first.

He smiled at the thought of the human and the relationship that had bloomed between them, the very one he had thought impossible, the one he hadn't even thought of until recently, but was overwhelmed with joy that it had.

"At least one of us is in such a good mood so early," the human next to him suddenly said, causing him to jump slightly, having been lost in his thoughts.

Turning to Aragorn he found the human rubbing sorely at the back of his neck with a grimace marring his handsome features.

"You should have slept in your own room, you know? Indeed, I fear it has become lonely with your continued absence," the archer said with a smirk. He knew the ranger would not leave him, whether he was injured or not.

Aragorn's eyebrows furrowed in sadness. "Oh, you wish to be rid of me…" he said looking down at his hands.

Legolas' jaw dropped in shock. "No… no, of course not. How could you—"

He was cut off by the sound of Aragorn's laughter.

"You are evil," the prince stated, clearly mad at the human.

"Come on. I was just jesting, mellon-nin," Aragorn said with a pout.

"Well, you can go jest with your brothers," Legolas said, turning to look away from the human.

"If I said I was sorry?" the ranger asked desperate for his elf to forgive him. He hadn't' thought it would bother him this much… unless he was messing with him as well…

"…I would consider it."

"I will make it up to you…" Aragorn said teasingly, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He was about to kiss Legolas when he remembered that his father sat on the opposite side of the room and could… should be awake now.

The archer frowned when Aragorn pulled back from him, but accepted it knowingly.

Elrond had indeed awoken; only a few minutes after Legolas had, feeling refreshed for the rest time in weeks. He had watched their exchange in amusement. It had been obvious to him that his son had been jesting with the young elf from the beginning. He had to hold back his laughter at Legolas' expression when he took it seriously, lest he attract their attention. It was good to see the two teasing each other and laughing again... or Aragorn laughing at least.

"I trust you slept well, Ada?" the human asked, trying to mask his embarrassment over the display they had just given the elf-lord. Was it obvious that he had been about to kiss Legolas? He hoped not. He had no explanation for it and was not ready to talk about this quite yet, though he knew he would have to eventually.

If it had been Elrond gave no hint to it as he replied, "Aye, but you should have awoken me. I was going to check Legolas' wound yesterday. Speaking of yesterday…"

Both elf and human gulped, knowing a lecture was on the way.

"You are still not fit for wandering around, Legolas, even if your wound is healing nicely. What would you have done if it had somehow re-opened? Though highly unlikely it is possible," he scolded the elf, clearly unhappy.

Then he turned to his son. "And you, Estel. I'm surprised that you would actually lead him so far from his room! Elladan said you two were in the garden. Explain yourself," he commanded sternly.

Aragorn and Legolas exchanged a quick nervous glance before the human turned back to face his father. "Legolas wished for some fresh air and, seeing as how he hadn't been able to do so for such a long time, I thought it would be good for him; possibly even help him recover," the archer quickly lied, telling his father he same thing he had told Elladan when he had found them. It was half true… well, it was the reason they hadn't rushed back to Legolas' room…

Elrond could tell that his son had left something out, but nodded anyway. He could understand this explanation. Legolas had gone through so much this month and had had little to no time to relax outside.

"Very well, but should you do it again you shall not be forgiven so easily. Do not do it again. Is that clear?" the elf-lord asked as if scolding elflings.

The two nodded quickly, glad to be done with it.

"Good. Now, let me check your wound, penneth," the healer said dropping his stern tone and taking on a caring one.

Legolas nodded and conceded to the procedure.

Looking over at Aragorn he saw him smiling and he smiled warmly back at his love.

Elrond glanced at Aragorn from the corner of his eyes and back to his patient before him.

Something is going on between them... he mused silently. He could have sworn his son was about to kiss the prince before, too, when he had promised to 'make it up' to him for his jest. Why had they really gone to the garden?

He gave up on the subject for now, concentrating fully at the more important task before him.

"You were lucky, penneth, the wound did not re-open," Elrond stated absent-mindedly, now wrapping the wound back up.

Legolas smiled but it turned into a wince when the healer touched a still-tender spot.

"Well, no offense, Ada, but I think we would have noticed if it had…" the ranger said getting quieter seeing the look the elf-lord shot him.

"With how careless you were I know not if that is true, ion-nin," Elrond growled out, not looking up.

Aragorn opened his mouth to make a retort, but the glance that Legolas gave him made him close it. He kept it shut while his father finished with the wound.

Finally satisfied, Elrond stood up. "I shall get some food for us. Do not move, especially you, Legolas," he commanded. Getting a pair of nods in return he left.

The human and elf looked at each other obviously not happy about being ordered around as if mere elflings – or children.

"Did he say 'us'?" Legolas finally spoke.

"Aye, I fear he did," Aragorn answered with a sigh. "I guess he does not trust us on our own for long."

"That is a shame," the blonde said with a smirk.

"It truly is. I still need to make up for my mistake," the ranger said, leaning forward he kissed the elf. The kiss deepened when Legolas opened his mouth for the human to taste.

They broke apart reluctantly, breathing heavily; faces flushed. Both knew that it was only a matter of minutes before the elf-lord returned and neither wanted another awkward situation to occur between them again.

"Quick thinking back there, by the way," the archer stated after a moment of silence.

Aragorn looked at the prince in confusion for a moment before he realized what he was talking about. "Oh… well, I just used the same excuse that I told Elladan when he found us," he replied with a smile.

Legolas laughed and Aragorn soon joined in.

"Looks like we missed something funny," a voice said in mock-sadness.

"Aye, we were late," a voice much the same said in agreement.

Legolas looked up from Aragorn, who turned to look as well, and saw the twins standing in the doorway, Elrohir being supported by the elder twin.

"Seems like we have even more company," the human muttered. While he was ecstatic to see his brothers, especially the injured Elrohir, he wished for some time with Legolas… alone. They did have things to talk about, things that could only be discussed between the two of them. Three people were harder to get rid of than one.

Nevertheless, the human quickly stood up and helped Elrohir to a chair next to the one he had been sitting in.

"Hannon le, brother," the younger twin said gratefully, wincing slightly at the pain all the recent movement had caused. He, unlike Legolas, had listened to his father and brothers' instructions and had stayed in bed, though it had been hard. The only thing about that was that it had made his joints a bit stiff and took a while to get them to fully cooperate with him.

Aragorn nodded, and then gestured for Elladan to take his seat.

"Nay, you are still healing. You sit," the elder twin said caringly.

The ranger sighed and sat down, saying nothing.

Why does he seem so down? Elladan wondered with concern. Before he could inquire Elrond entered the room with enough food for all of them. He had run into the twins in the hall. To say the least he had not been pleased, but since it was just down the hall and Elrohir had actually listened to him he had allowed it.

The five of them settled down in chairs. They had grabbed a couple of them from the balcony so both Elrond and Elladan could sit down as well.

All of them ate and conversed, glad that they were still able to do so after all they had gone through, and were especially glad that Legolas was still with them after all the close calls.

Blah… so slow. Hopefully the next chapter will pick up. Btw, I have kinda changed the main idea a bit so if some parts seem odd or whatever then that's why. I will try to change some parts so they'll make sense. I'm so sorry for the inconvenience. It's the mistake of a novice writer and hopefully will never happen again. Unfortunately, I can only hope…

I just wasted so much time watching an anime movie cuz I thought it would get better, which it didn't. XD Makes me mad, too, since I have something else to type up… .:sighs:. Whatever…

Review Responses

Adrianna – Wow, dude, that was extra weird.

MCJS – Of course I will. n.n And thx.

InsanePirate – Thank you. And for the suggestion, too. I think I have finally come up with something that's… not quite anywhere near where I was thinking' before, but might do. No yahoo? Aww, that's no fun. I was wondering why you hadn't been on for so long… well, until I first read your review. XD

empath89 - Lol. Glad ya liked it. I don't quite know if it was well-written but… yeah. I know, they're my fav couple, too, so it's very likely that I won't split them apart. n.n

Anonymous Noldo – Yeah, you're right. Thank you so much for saying that. You helped me out a lot. I think I may have finally figured out what I can do. I kinda spaced on that whole part, which is freakin' horrible since that's a major part… .:sighs:. What can I say? I think I need some sleep… But thanks again!

Cute little Legolas – Lol. Glad ya like the fluff. n.n

Enelya Aldarion – Lmao! That's great, man. And, yeah, you're right. I think I may have figured something about finally, though, so that's alright. Has nothing to do with what I was saying before, but… .:shrugs:. Hopefully it'll work and won't disappoint people… Lol… yeah, I had to let him get some sleep. I mean, sheesh, the poor elf gets none! Ohhh… I remember someone telling me that. Lol, thx. n.n Hope the alert works again… sheesh… they need to fix it for sure already…

Thanks for the reviews! Each and every one of them is very much appreciated! n.n

Alright, so hopefully some of you peoples enjoyed this extra slow chapter. Man, I really need to pick it up. I'm boring myself. XD .:ahem:. But seriously… yeah, forgot where I was goin' with that thought…

Plz Review

Ja ne