A/N: Before we begin, we realized after we posted chapter 28 that in the last scene, when the group arrives back in Edoras, we forgot to include Merry and Pippin. Let's just pretend we did mention them shall we and that they are in Edoras now because...well...we don't want to go back and repost chapter 28. Sorry about that but I guess we just got used to the men, elf, wizard and dwarf traveling without Merry and Pippin so it didn't dawn on us until too late that the hobbits left Isengard with them.
Anyway, on with chapter 29...
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Chapter 29
TA 3019 March 6 Early afternoon
"Tomorrow we shall celebrate our victory against Saruman's army. Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country." Theoden said to the gathered men of Rohan, "Hail the victorious dead!"
Aragorn lifted his tankard of ale with the others but his voice didn't join the chorus of 'Hail!' He didn't want to be there. He wanted...needed...to be with Legolas.
Unfortunately, Farothen and Gandalf had quickly tired of him hovering nearby and asking questions any healer such as himself should know the answers to. But seeing Legolas looking so pale and weak had put Aragorn firmly in panic mode so his mind registered nothing beyond the fact that his love was unwell.
The result of that all was Aragorn had been banished from the room. Gimli and Boromir had been charged with guarding the door and barring him from entering. Left with nothing to keep himself busy Aragorn had attended the impromptu memorial service for the lives lost at Helm's Deep.
The whole time his mind had been on his husband and how he was fairing. As a result he'd missed all of Theoden's speech except for the last part. And as he sipped his ale he wished once more that he was with Legolas where he belonged.
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Gandalf settled a blanket over Legolas, who was sleeping peacefully after grudgingly eating a small meal at Gandalf's urging. Truthfully, the wizard had to wonder if the achievement had been more a result of Boromir's unspoken order as the man had given a warning grunt when Legolas had at first refused to eat. So long as the elf ate that was all Gandalf cared, though. Legolas needed food and rest and the rest of his pregnancy should go by normally.
Spreading the blanket more fully over the elf Gandalf turned to face the lounging chair in the corner to check on his recently acquired other patient. Farothen had merely sat down for a moment to ride out a slight wave of dizziness while Gandalf took care of Legolas. The next time the wizard had looked over the young half-elf had been tightly curled into a ball in the chair, fast asleep.
Smiling Gandalf grabbed another blanket and crossed to the chair and settled the blanket over Farothen. As he did he sighed. Another charge added to his list of who to look after. A wizard's work was never done. With a final check on each of his patients Gandalf made his way to the door and stepped out into the hall.
Almost immediately he noticed Boromir and Gimli were missing. Glancing down he chuckled. Boromir was lying along the wall on his side with his head pillowed on his Elven cloak from Lorien. Gimli was sitting at Boromir's feet, leaning against the wall with his head bowed. Both were sleeping.
Hearing someone approach Gandalf looked up just as Aragorn stopped in front of him. Motioning to his slumbering friends the ranger asked, "How long have they been out?"
Gandalf shrugged, "I just found them asleep, myself."
As if in reply to that Gimli shifted and began snoring. Boromir gave a grunt and lifted his head to glare at the dwarf before kicking him and getting to his feet. With barely a glance at either Aragorn or Gandalf the younger man walked into the room.
Stopping just inside the door he scowled at the wizard and ranger, pointing down at Gimli, "You let him in here and I will kill him."
At that the door was closed and the lock slid into place. Gandalf chuckled as Aragorn merely blinked in shock.
After a moment the man sighed, "I was hoping to check on Legolas."
"Well, I can tell you he is resting peacefully. It is the best thing for him now." Gandalf said reassuringly, "But since I know you will not be at ease until you see him for yourself..."
The wizard trailed off as he handed Aragorn a key. The ranger smiled, snatched the key from Gandalf's hand and dived at the door.
Gandalf chuckled again, "I will be talking to Theoden."
"Uh-huh," Aragorn muttered, getting the door open and stepping into the room while Gandalf walked away.
The sight that greeted him had him grinning. Farothen was curled up in the chair, fast asleep. Legolas lay on one side of the bed under the covers cuddling a pillow to his chest. Boromir had spread out on the other side of the bed on his stomach with his feet and one arm hanging off the edges of the mattress.
Kneeling down by Legolas Aragorn lightly ran his fingers through the elf's hair, carefully undoing the braids. That done he put one hand on his husband's belly and whispered a good-night to his family, pressed a kiss to Legolas' lips and got to his feet.
Grabbing the last spare blanket he rounded the bed and spread it over Boromir, murmuring, "Protect my family well, my friend."
Boromir shifted slightly in his sleep and gave a muffled, "Mmhmm."
Shaking his head in amusement Aragorn made sure all three were securely tucked in and left the room.
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March 7 Morning
Boromir groaned as he lifted his head from the pillow, 'Ai Valar, I hate it when I wake up with a headache.'
"I hope Theoden has toast and honey at breakfast," he mumbled aloud.
"Boromir, is that you?" Farothen's voice asked from across the room, "Why are you...sleeping with my adar?"
"I'm not." Boromir declared as he rolled over in bed and caught a glimpse of blond hair and a still lump under the covers, "Oh. I am."
Boromir swung his legs over the side of the bed despite the fact that they were technically already hanging off the end, and stood up. The sudden movement gave him a bit of a head rush and he stumbled almost immediately
"Boromir...were you drinking last night?" Farothen asked in a tone that clearly said the answer had better be no.
"No...At least I don't think I was." Boromir answered rubbing his aching head. He then caught sight of his up until then invisible husband. At the sight of the young half-elf curled up into a tight, blanket wrapped ball in the chair he winced, "Is that comfortable?"
Farothen rolled his eyes skyward as if he was debating the answer then he groaned in response, "No. In fact, I think my back is broken and my joints are frozen in this position. I will never be able to move again."
Boromir smiled tenderly at his husband before quickly crossing the room and picking the half elf up, blanket and all.
"Boromir, don't wanna move," Farothen whined, "Sleepy."
Boromir kissed Farothen's forehead, "That's why I'm moving you to the bed, little elf."
Farothen smiled at his husband as he was laid on the bed. Before Boromir could react Farothen pulled the older man's head down for a kiss. Both sighed into the kiss as it deepened.
"If you two are going to go much further with this might I suggest you get another room, for I will have you know...this one is mine." Legolas' muffled voice came from the other side of the bed.
Boromir and Farothen grinned at each other as they ended their kiss. Boromir then turned his head toward Legolas as the elf turned to face the couple.
"Good morning, beautiful. Care for some breakfast?" Boromir asked.
Legolas groaned and seemed to burrow even deeper into his nest of blankets, "Must I eat?"
Farothen and Boromir exchanged a worried glance before looking back at Legolas. With a serious expression Boromir said, "Legolas, we are all worried about you. You have to eat something."
Legolas responded by rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. Boromir's expression once more became a grin, "Come on, elf...I'm sure there will be strawberries. And I think I still have some lembas in my pack..."
He trailed off as Legolas sat up looking for all the world like an eager fiver-year-old, "For me?"
Boromir straightened up and headed toward the door beckoning for his father-in-law to follow. Legolas responded by jumping up and running after Boromir with a smile on his face and his normally tidy hair sticking up all over the place.
"For strawberries I would go to Mount Doom!"
Farothen stared after his family in amazement, "Ai Elbereth, this is so wrong. My husband just left with my adar." In the next second he, too, was on his feet and running out the door, in spite of the fact that he was still tired, "Well...I am not about to miss my chance for strawberries either!"
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Aragorn had just taken a bite of bacon when Eomer stumbled in holding a hand to his stomach. As the younger man sat down across from him and demanded 'tea...and lots of it' Aragorn cocked a brow questioningly.
"Something wrong, Eomer?"
Eomer's reply was merely a scowl and a mumbled, "I just spent at least half my lifetime emptying my stomach and feel as if I am about to begin again any second now."
With a small cough Aragorn asked, "Too much to drink last night?"
"No." Eomer growled then looked at a serving maid, "Where's the bloody tea?!"
While the maid skittered away in search of the elusive tea Boromir strode into the hall rubbing his temples and sat down beside Eomer. Legolas and Farothen followed closely behind and also sat down with identical eager looks.
"Toast and honey for me," Boromir ordered, then jerked a thumb in Legolas' direction and I promised him lembas and strawberries. Farothen too."
Aragorn pushed the requested food in Boromir, Legolas and Farothen's direction, asking his husband, "Did you sleep well, meleth nin?"
Legolas gave a bobbing nod and smiled around a mouthful of strawberries, not remembering for the moment that he was still mad at Aragorn, "Yesh, ver'...wew."
With a grin Aragorn turned to his son, "And you, ion nin?"
"Hmm," was all Farothen could manage as he put another strawberry in his mouth.
A grunt of pain drew Aragorn's attention back to Boromir in time to see the younger man once again rub his temples. Reaching into the small herb pouch he always kept with him Aragorn pulled out a small packet and tossed it to Boromir.
"Put a pinch in your water. It will help with the pain. It always helps me when I wake up with a headache."
Boromir grunted a thank you and Aragorn turned back to his husband, reaching for a strawberry before the elf and Farothen ate them all.
Legolas grabbed Aragorn's hand with lightning reflexes and warned, "Take my strawberries and die ranger."
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Eomer disappeared a few minutes later when Merry and Pippin came in still smoking their pipes. As soon as the smoke reached his nose Eomer's hand flew to his mouth and he quickly got to his feet and fled from the hall. Ironically, the moment the hobbits sat down, one beside Farothen, the other across from him, the young half-elf was mirroring Eomer's frantic rush from the hall. Feeling guilty, Merry and Pippin quickly got up to run outside to finish smoking.
Aragorn blinked, startled, as his son disappeared, "What was that? Smoke has never made him sick before."
Legolas gave a nonchalant shrug, eyeing Farothen's strawberries out of the corner of his eye, "He is half adan, Aragorn, it is most likely just what you mortals call a bug."
"Maybe I should go look him over..."
"No," Legolas said a bit too abruptly, "I'm sure he is fine."
"Legolas is right, Aragorn. I checked Farothen over last night once Legolas was settled." Gandalf lied from his place a couple seats away, "He just suffers a bit of the flu or something similar. Do not worry."
"Alright," Aragorn sighed reluctantly, "If you say so."
Meeting the wizard's gaze Legolas gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. It seemed he was not the only one with suspicions.
Everyone's attention was suddenly drawn to Boromir as he stood up and said, "I think I'm going to go sleep off this headache. If you need me...Please ignore the need."
With that Boromir wandered out, leaving Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas alone at the table. Gimli arrived shortly after and glanced around, "Where is everybody?"
"Well," Legolas began, "Boromir is sleeping off a headache, Eomer and Farothen are currently being ill, Theoden and Eowyn are Elbereth knows where. Frodo and San are on their way to Mordor. Merry and Pippin are..."
Gimli held up a hand to stop the elf, "Sorry I asked."
Legolas merely grinned."
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Gimli helped himself to breakfast as Gandalf wandered out to join Merry and Pippin in smoking a pipe, which left Aragorn and Legolas alone for the moment.
"Well," Legolas said, "I guess I should thank Farothen."
"What for?" Aragorn asked.
"Because," Legolas replied, reaching for his son's abandoned plate, "More strawberries for me."
Before Aragorn could come up with an intelligent response Legolas jumped up from the table with his pilfered strawberries and started walking down the hall.
"Where are you going?" Aragorn asked.
"Boromir said that if I did not get back to bed to rest after breakfast on my own he would personally tie me to the bed," Legolas answered.
Aragorn shook his head. Boromir may have been a little high handed with his future Prince Consort but at least he was getting the stubborn elf to take care of himself.
Realizing he was behind left behind Aragorn snagged a last piece of bacon and ran after his husband. He had some things he wanted to discuss with his elf and there was no better time than the present. He caught up with Legolas outside the guest chamber they'd been given.
"Meleth, wait, I want to talk to you..." Aragorn started.
Legolas sighed quietly, "I am really very tired, Aragorn. I wish to lie down."
"Legolas," Aragorn said, grabbing the elf's arm to keep him from turning away, "You've hardly spoken to me since we left the Deep two days ago."
"Well, there has not been much time with traveling and the showdown with Saruman and..."
"Legolas, look at me." Aragorn pleaded, "Tell me what I have done, guren."
"Your heart?" Legolas said, "I thought the heart could make mistakes!"
"Wha..."
That was as far as Aragorn got before Legolas stepped into their guest chamber and shut the door with a distinctive click and the lock slid home.
"But...I didn't...Legolas?"
"Go...away!"
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Boromir really did need to sleep off his headache...but after breakfast he was concerned about Farothen so he went in search of his missing husband. Luckily he didn't have to search for long.
Farothen was in the room they had previously occupied the last time they had been in Meduseld. He was hunched over the chamber pot retching.
Boromir swallowed the lump in his throat to keep from throwing up himself. Somehow he didn't think Farothen would be amused by the fact that he made his husband sick. Kneeling quietly beside his husband Boromir lifted the half-elf's hair and tenderly rubbed his back, "What ails you, little elf?"
"Elbereth, I do not know!" Farothen groaned, "Ada's smoking never made me sick before!"
"Really?" Boromir asked as he pulled Farothen into his arms, "Pipe smoke always made my stomach turn. That's why I always avoided Gandalf whenever he first arrived in Minas Tirith...he liked to settle in by smoking."
Farothen chuckled lightly despite his still rolling stomach, "Have any remedies for this ailment, my jewel?"
Boromir smiled, "I think I do."
Without another word Boromir scooped up his husband, walked to the bed and laid Farothen down on it. He then followed him down.
"Boromir! You cannot mean to..."
"No, no," Boromir interrupted, "My head is aching so badly I think that it would split down the middle if I tried to do...that!"
In response Farothen angled his head upward and lightly kissed Boromir on the forehead, "Then I think we could both use some rest, my jewel."
"Your breath smells."
Farothen gaped at Boromir and quipped wryly, "Thank you very much for that."
"I did not mean it that way." Boromir defended himself, "But...you did just vomit."
Farothen simply groaned and fell back on the bed, "Since I am tired and feeling completely...well...icky, for lack of a better word, I will let you get away with that."
"Great," Boromir said, yawning.
"Aren't you worried that Ada will come in and see us like this?" Farothen asked with a hitch in his voice.
"I doubt it," Boromir replied, "He looked like he wanted to talk to Legolas about his comment the other day. Maybe even apologize."
"Ada will be groveling tonight," Farothen said in complete monotone as he closed his eyes. But before he could fall into blissful slumber his eyes snapped open as he remembered something important.
"Boromir...do you think any of my strawberries are left?"
Without opening his eyes and already half asleep Boromir answered, "From the way Legolas was eyeing them after you left...I'll say no."
Farothen gave a small huff and snuggled against Boromir's side to pout, "Stupid elf."
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Aragorn wound his way through the crush of bodies crowded into the main hall of Meduseld looking for his companions. He didn't expect to see his husband because Legolas had a high dislike for ale, which he claimed was merely an 'effective way of disguising poison.' Beyond that, he was pregnant and elves never drank any form of alcohol while they were in such a condition.
Gimli, Farothen and Boromir had no such reason not to attend so Aragorn knew they were there somewhere. Merry and Pippin would fight tooth and nail for the chance to drink so they would definitely be there.
'Speaking of the hobbits...' Aragorn thought, chuckling as he stopped beside Gandalf and saw Merry and Pippin singing one of their peculiar drinking songs and dancing on a table surrounded by cheering, laughing, extremely drunk men.
As the hobbits finished their song and clicked their mugs together before drinking Gandalf applauded them with a laugh. Aragorn grinned and shook his head affectionately. This was how hobbits should act, carefree and happy...as well as a bit on the drunk side.
Aragorn's thoughts drifted to Frodo and Sam on their way to Mordor. Sighing he turned to Gandalf and quietly asked, "No news of Frodo?"
Gandalf echoed the ranger's sigh and shook his head, "No, nothing."
"But you must know in your heart, Frodo moves closer to Mordor each day." Aragorn softly assured the wizard, "We would know if Sauron had the ring. There would be no reason for us to continue fighting. No reason for these men to celebrate."
Gandalf remained silent, pondering the ranger's words. Aragorn let the silence hang between them as long as he could take it then prompted, "Gandalf?"
The wizard met his gaze with a smile, "You are right. He is alive and continuing on his path. He will succeed."
Their conversation was interrupted by a shouted, "Strider! Where have you been? Come, there's ale aplenty!"
Aragorn hesitated, knowing from stories old Bilbo had told him that these two hobbits were extremely troublesome when they were drunk. He was not sure he was up to dealing with the likes of them at the moment.
As if sensing Aragorn's thoughts Gandalf chuckled evilly and said, "Yes, Aragorn. Keep them company. You will find the experience...well worth it."
In the next second the wizard was gone, moving extremely fast for one of his considerable age, leaving Aragorn in charge of two very drunk hobbits, who had a tendency to cause trouble when they were sober, much less drunk. As Merry and Pippin grabbed Aragorn's hands and dragged him into the crowd in search of the nearest keg of ale a small whimper escaped the ranger.
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Farothen stared at his husband in total amazement. Just a couple hours ago Boromir had been sleeping off a horrible headache and now he seemed intent on giving himself another.
Throwing back his head to finish off his pint of ale, Boromir slammed the mug down on the table in the same motion. Despite the fact that he had tears in his eyes he was still conscious and in the game, "Give up, man of Rohan! I have at least ten years more of drinking experience than you do!"
Eomer laughed as he chugged his own beverage, "The men of the Riddermark do not surrender...not even to the Captain-General of Gondor."
Boromir stood up and swayed on his feet as he peered at Eomer in confusion. Pointing at his own chest he asked, "That's me right?"
"Yeah...I think so."
Dwarvish laughter followed that statement, "I'm thinking you should both be giving up, laddies! You cannot beat the dwarf!"
It was about this time that Legolas walked up and stood beside his son, who was looking at the trio like they were idiots.
"So this is a...drinking game?" Legolas asked as he stared at them.
"Aye!" Gimli shouted as Eomer and Boromir toasted the elf and took another chug from their now full mugs.
"What exactly is the point?" Legolas asked.
Gimli managed to look insulted as he huffed, "Last one standing wins! Want to join? I'd enjoy beating a pointy-ear!"
"I cannot," Legolas said, "Elves do not drink when they are pregnant. And for your information, I have been drinking Mirkwood's wine for over 27 centuries. And our wine is as strong as any of your ales. There is no chance you could beat me."
Gimli scoffed, "How could you out-drink a dwarf? From the way you speak it doesn't sound as if you wood elves have drinking games."
"No we do not." Legolas admitted, "We prefer to just drink."
"I'll second that notion," Boromir said as he raised his mug then promptly tripped over his own feet and fell on his butt...succeeding in completely spilling his ale all over himself. He looked at his empty mug in abject confusion, "Didn't I have a drink?"
Eomer and Gimli both laughed. Although Gimli's was triumphant, "Ya see, elf?! I'll win this easily."
Unfortunately, Gimli hadn't taken into account the fact that he was in the middle of a rowdy and drunk crowd and anything could happen there. At that moment one of the groups of men had a toast and one of the mugs went flying through the air to hit Gimli smack in the head.
The dwarf swayed on his feet for a few seconds before falling flat on his face...completely unconscious.
"You're out!" Boromir and Eomer shouted.
Farothen rolled his eyes, more than a little irritated with his husband, while Legolas, in one of his giddy moods, just grinned down at Gimli's still form. 'Thank you, Elbereth. I'm never going to let him live this one down.'
"I think I need a drink," Farothen said in a complete monotone. He picked up a half full mug, not caring if it was someone else's, and was about to drink when Legolas and Gandalf, who had just walked up, covered the rim of the mug.
"Farothen, you cannot drink!"
"Of course he can't!" Boromir piped up from the floor, "He's too young ain't he?"
Gandalf tried to keep the smile on his face from turning into a full out laugh. Faramir was right...Boromir was a fun drunk.
"Do not concern yourself with Farothen," Gandalf said, "You should just stick with the game. You are clearly winning."
"I am, aren't I?!" Boromir declared as Gandalf and Legolas walked away with a very confused Farothen. Before the trio left the hall Legolas managed to pry the mug away from his son and set it on a table.
He had intended to take Farothen to the room the half-elf was sharing with Boromir so he could explain the situation in privacy but his son had other ideas. Just as the trio reached the door to the room Farothen managed to wrench himself away from the two and stared at them furiously.
"I am not going a step further until you tell me what is going on!" Farothen yelled.
Gandalf and Legolas looked up and down the hall to make sure no one (or at least not one particular person) was around before turning back to Farothen.
"What are you doing?" Farothen asked
"Making sure Aragorn is not around before we tell you what you need to hear," Legolas answered.
Farothen's eyes darted back and forth between the two, now showing worry rather than anger, "What is going on?"
"Farothen, have you paused to consider the fact that you are...not exactly yourself lately?" Legolas asked.
"How do you mean?" Farothen inquired suspiciously.
"You have a husband now," Gandalf pointed out, not wanting to come to the point directly.
"So?" Farothen said.
"That means you are...bound to experience some...unexpected changes," Legolas explained.
"Would you two get to the point already!" Farothen yelled.
"Farothen, you have been very irritated and short tempered lately," Legolas said.
"The situation we're in is bound to be stressful." Farothen replied.
"You have been very tired of late as well," Gandalf added.
"We were riding nonstop for several days," Farothen answered.
"You have also been sick in the mornings, sick from smells that do not usually make you sick and you have started having food cravings! Taken together with the moodiness and the fatigue, does any of this sound familiar?!" Legolas snapped, losing patience with his son.
Farothen opened his mouth to yell back at the elf but he stopped and went pale. Taking a step backward he instinctively pressed a hand to his stomach as he groaned, "No. No, I...I cannot be."
"As I said," Gandalf said, "You have a husband now. And you were born of two males so you easily have the gift."
"I am not pregnant!" Farothen protested.
"I am sorry, ion nin. I know this is scary for you but I fear that you are. About four weeks along." Legolas whispered, putting a hand on Farothen's shoulder.
"Please tell me I will be around when Aragorn finds out about this," a voice exclaimed from behind them, "His baby not only got married, but got pregnant as well."
"Legolas turned on the speaker and growled, "Haldir, you are not helping!"
The older elf shrugged, "You are the ones who decided to have this conversation outside my door. I am still recovering from my injury at Helm's Deep, so it's not like I could go to the party."
Legolas really wanted to tell Haldir off for being completely unsympathetic but before he could Farothen went into a full blown panic attack.
"Adar, what am I going to do?! Ada does not even want to consider a relationship between me and Boromir! How is he going to react to us already being married and...and...having a baby?!"
"Farothen, you might want to lower your voice," Gandalf said kindly, "Aragorn is still around here somewhere."
Farothen responded by glancing around wildly for a few seconds before bursting into tears and running into his room. Legolas tried to follow him but instead found the door shut in his face and the lock clicked into place.
"Ion nin, please let me in." Legolas pleaded. He didn't want Farothen to be alone when he was this upset. But Gandalf gently placed a hand on Legolas' shoulder and pulled the elf away from the door.
"Come, Legolas. We should let Farothen have some time to get used to the idea."
Without another word the two headed off down the hall with Haldir falling into step, "Are you two going to tell Boromir?"
"I think that is Farothen's place so you should not say anything either, Haldir." Gandalf replied, "Besides, the man is not in a condition to listen right now anyway."
"What do you mean?" Legolas asked as the trio stepped back into the noisy dining hall.
Gandalf nodded at Eomer, Boromir and Gimli in reply. Boromir was now passed out beside Gimli while Eomer promptly raised his mug in the air and fell over backward.
"You two want to lend a hand?" Gandalf asked as he headed over to the trio.
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Aragorn stepped out of Meduseld and heaved a deep sigh as he lit his pipe. Merry and Pippin had finally conked out a few minutes earlier. Those two could hold a lot of ale in their small bodies.
Exhaling a puff of smoke the ranger glanced around, noticing the hooded figure at the far end of the platform. Knowing instinctively that it was Legolas Aragorn walked over to his husband. The elf neither moved, nor spoke, merely staring out at the lands of Rohan, looking to the east.
"Are we still not speaking, gur..." Aragorn hesitated, not sure if he should finish the endearment, remembering Legolas' reaction the last time.
Legolas sighed, "You hurt me, Aragorn. You spoke of hearts making mistakes because you want to believe the love you see growing between Boromir and Farothen is false..."
"Farothen does not even know what love is." Aragorn argued, "He wants to believe in his heart that his love is real but they have known each other less than two months. He could...his heart could...be mistaken. They have not known each other long enough. That is what I meant."
"Ah," Legolas said sarcastically, "Farothen's heart is wrong because two months is not long enough to truly fall in love."
"Exactly." Aragorn agreed.
"So our hearts may have been mistaken as well." Legolas replied.
"What?!" Aragorn gasped, "No, Legolas. We..."
"Less than a month, Aragorn." Legolas interrupted, "Less than a month and we...believed ourselves to be in love. Less time than it has taken Boromir and Farothen to reach the point where they fell...or are falling...in love."
"But they..." Aragorn started.
"We have no say over where Farothen finds love or how fast he does so." Legolas whispered, "And we cannot condemn him for following a path we have already trod without condemning ourselves."
Aragorn sighed, finally realizing how callous his comment as they left Helm's Deep had truly been. Considering his own past with the elf he began to realize how wrong he'd been to forbid Farothen from choosing his own path and love.
He met Legolas' gaze guiltily, "I am sorry, guren. I was wrong. Please, forgive me."
Legolas smiled cunningly and stepped into his husband's embrace, "Already done, Estel. You are a fool at times and you make mistakes, but I love you. I could never stay mad at you for long...Especially since you are so adorable when you are humbled."
Aragorn pressed a kiss to the elf's mouth, "Have I ever told you, my love, how intriguing I find your devious mind?"
"No, never." Legolas replied with an evil grin, "Well, there was that one time I tied you to the bed...which you thoroughly enjoyed."
A shiver raced up the man's spine at the reminder and he pulled Legolas' mouth back to his, mumbling without thought, "I must warn Boromir, for you passed your devious mind to our son."
"Hmm." Legolas murmured into the kiss. It lasted only a second longer before Legolas jerked back and looked east worriedly.
"What is it?" Aragorn asked, putting a hand on his husband's shoulder.
Legolas swallowed, "The Eye is moving."
Before Aragorn could reply a blood chilling scream came from inside Meduseld and the two spun to face the building.
"He is here!"
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Elvish translation...
Guren – My heart
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bradleigh: So you think Aragorn's been acting strange lately? Well if he is it's completely unintentional but I guess it does kinda work in with where we plan to go with this story. If you figure it out (his strange behavior) let us know.
Arch-Nemesis: OK, I think we have a slight miscommunication thing here. I didn't mean Aragorn wasn't going to find out about Boromir/Farothen. I meant you may not like part of the scene. You have popcorn?
princess-sunshine2003: Boromir as a psychologist? Hmm. It could work. I found a story where Faramir was Aragorn's psychiatrist and the latter had multiple personalities. As for your other questions, we just can't answer them right now without ruining the story for...well...everyone. Sorry.
Anyway, thanks again.
Becky and Brina