8 die, 15 live votes as of 1-13-04. Yes, you can vote again if you want to. And again, and again, and again…

Lunian is capable of getting pregnant, but she's not going to. You could think of it as Legolas agreeing with her—can male elves decide whether or not they want children?—or as her knowing something of herbs. Whatever, it isn't happening, because she doesn't want it to.

Sorry I didn't get this chapter up. This week's been nuts for computer time. Everyone wants on, and I forget to have a disk with me when I'm able to be ehre, so I didn't get this posted. On the other hand, I've nearly got the next one polished up—should be up tomorrow, sometime, unless people who are supposed to get a hold of me actually do, in which case it may be on Thursday… and may even be more than one, cause I've got a couple really short ones trying to come out. If so, they'll all be posted.

Okay, enough babbling… onto something completely different…

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Lunian looked down from the amused look Estel gave her, her cheeks heating. Was it that obvious? She ran a hand through her hair, sure it wasn't so mussed it would give them away. A quick glance down her front assured her no clothing was missing or unfastened.

"Your eyes," he explained softly, noting and correctly interpreting her self-exploration.

She blushed again, and sat beside him in the library. "How was your storm?" she finally asked, seeking to divert his attention any way she could.

"Not as good as yours, I imagine," he teased with a soft chuckle, still amused by the rather obvious display of emotions in her usually enigmatic eyes. "Who would have thought elves to be so rough?" he asked, touching her lip with one finger.

Her fingers flew to her lips, her cheeks coloring yet again as she realized her lips were swollen. She looked down and smiled faintly. "I teased him into it."

"Into what? Bruising you?" At her words Estel frowned slightly and his lips tightened, but she couldn't tell if it was disapproval, concern, anger, or a teasing mockery meant to be a combination of all three.

"Into loosing his control," she answered faintly.

Estel blinked in surprise, looking at her as if she had tried to sell him snake oil. "Legolas lost his control?"

"Mm-hmm," she agreed, picking up a book that had been laid on the floor near where she had put her feet.

"I don't think that's possible," Estel breathed, a stunned look on his face.

She laughed quietly. "It's quite possible. This wasn't the first time…" she trailed off and blushed, before clearing her throat. "That he's lost control of himself. After Calmacil, he nearly snapped in rage. Elrohir barely brought him back."

Aragorn frowned, still unable to think any elf could lose control, much less twice in a single human's life. "Rage I suppose I could see, especially in that case." He would certainly have had a hard time if anyone tried to hurt Arwen. He mentally rolled his eyes at his own assessment. He would have had a hard time retaining control of himself if any woman, whether he knew her or not, was forced or nearly forced into such a situation. "But elves always seem to have so much control," he added, thinking about the cool demeanor elves generally displayed to all the world. Even Arwen… she had burst out in laughter, in smiles, but that was simply not the same, and he'd never seen her lose control.

"Not always," she countered, her voice certain as if it was a long established fact.

"How so?" he asked, intrigued by the possibility.

She looked up at him, another blush darkening her cheeks and neck. Her fingers turned something in her palm, and she bit her lower lip. "You should know," she remanded after a moment, looking down at her hand.

"I don't," he protested.

Her eyes flew to his, suspicion there first, as if she thought he was teasing her. Then surprise, along with a faint sorrow entered her eyes. "You don't know?" she asked, waiting for him to shake his head. "Poor Arwen," she murmured, wagging her head.

"What do you mean?"

Lunian shook her head again and looked up. "Does she touch your ears?"

"Yes," he agreed, thinking of Arwen's seeming obsession with his ears.

"Did you never wonder why?"

"Of course I have."

"But never asked."

"No. Why?"

Lunian rolled her eyes to the ceiling, but her reply was cut off when Legolas entered the room. Aragorn blinked in surprise to see the contented look plainly on Legolas's face as the elf walked silently to them, picked Lunian up as if she weighed no more than a leaf, turned, sat, and settled Lunian onto his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist as he buried his face in her hair with a slight yawn.

Lunian looked at Aragorn for a moment, seeming to seek his attention. Then she shifted in Legolas's arms, one hand moving to pull his head to hers. The kiss was a bit more passionate than Aragorn would have expected to be treated to viewing of, and he was about to look away when Lunian held up a finger, telling him to wait. She then took that finger and traced it lightly up Legolas's ear, paused for a moment on the tip, and then drew down the outer curve.

Aragorn had been watching dispassionately, but stiffened and blinked in surprise at the response the slight touch garnered. Legolas tensed, shuddered, and pulled his mouth away to take a harsh breath of air before he groaned softly and dropped his head, biting Lunian's shoulder lightly as another shudder wracked his frame.

Aragorn blinked again and watched Legolas try to regain his grip of his normally iron control. Lunian's gaze flickered to Aragorn's for an instant before she turned her attention back to the elf holding her, her hand smoothing the material of his sleeve in slow sweeps as she sought to help calm her elven lover down.

Aragorn looked down, frowning slightly as he thought about what he had just witnessed. The tips of elven ears were an erogenous zone? Heat swamped his face and neck as he considered all the times Arwen had touched his ears. Though he had of course touched hers, from time to time, he had never done so intending to stimulate her. Considering Legolas's recent reaction to the light touch, she must have been greatly restrained at those times.

He got up from the bench, noticed only by Lunian. She glanced up at him and nodded slightly before resting her head against Legolas, who was beginning to relax, the line of his shoulders not as rigid as before.

He found his wife with three of their daughters, and watched her for a while. She smiled at him without pausing to more than flicker a look in his direction to indicate she knew he was there. As she laughed with their children, he wondered if the ear thing was something general to all elves, or just males. There could be other qualifiers as well. Maybe it didn't work for her because of her partially human blood.

If it did, it was a source of great power he had been completely unaware of. Aragorn smiled slowly, the planes of his face shifting, a few of his small wrinkles changing direction. He would enjoy finding out.

Later.

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