A/N: The title for this chapter comes from "Collide" by Howie Day. Here are the relevant lyrics:

I'm quiet you know
You make a first impression
I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind

Chorus: Even the best fall down sometimes
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme
Out of the doubt that fills my mind
I somehow find
You and I collide

Don't stop here
I've lost my place
I'm close behind

"You've gone too far this time, Eomer," said Legolas, shaking his head in amazement and horror.

The Man simply smiled like the cat that just caught and ate an elusive bird. "There is no such thing as too far today," he countered in a tempting purr. "Not after all of the turmoil, upheaval, and waiting of the last year. You must admit that you're excited too."

"You went to a lot of trouble, I'll grant you that," conceded Legolas as he squared his jaw stubbornly. He couldn't allow himself to give in to Eomer's persuasions, not when he could see all of the disasters that would come from it! "But there are boundaries that we dare not cross, not if we still hope to have a calm and normal life on the other side of today."

"Calm and normal don't seem to suit you all that well, Legolas," replied Eomer. "The elf who slid down the stairs of the Deeping Wall on a shield during battle and took on a mumakil all by himself is more the type to live for excitement. Come on, admit it: you're getting more and more enticed by it as we speak."

He tried to remain stern and strong but Legolas couldn't stop the smile that broke out across his face. He could feel his mind starting to surrender. "Maybe a little…"

"Ahem," the third person, who was standing right next to them, cleared his throat deliberately conspicuously. Legolas rolled his eyes and winked at Eomer, who let out a sigh as he knew what was coming. Together they looked over and down to see Gimli raising an eyebrow at them and crossing his arms. "Is this what that boy of yours keeps telling me about?"

"I'm sure that I don't know what you're talking about," said Legolas flippantly. "Really, Gimli; you might officially be Caladel's guest but that doesn't mean that Eomer and I have to tolerate your rudeness. Don't make me ruin my son's fifth birthday party by forcing me to have you escorted firmly from the premises for implying that our dear, sweet, innocent child would say anything behind our backs."

"It's nothing that he wouldn't also say to your faces," Gimli informed him. "You should hear him go on about it! I asked him about how you two were really getting along" –

"He's trying to turn our son into a spy, Eomer," interrupted Legolas, fake-whispering to the Man. Eomer, who still vividly remembered being threatened with an axe the last time he'd spoken tartly to the dwarf, wisely kept his mouth shut.

"A child needs to know that he can turn to someone other than his parents with any thought or concern that he has if he needs to!" Gimli defended himself. "Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I asked Caladel that and he started going on about how you two were always talking to each other as if you were fighting or something, even though you're really only just playing. I think he thinks that's odd, though I can't see why."

Eomer coughed to disguise his laughter. From what he observed, insults and fake arguing were the only way that Legolas and Gimli knew how to communicate most of the time; and he for one had never seen more devoted friends. Maybe they should have Caladel spend time around those two more often so that he could get a better understanding of it.

"And," announced Gimli, looking at Eomer sharply, "he also told me about that little incident at the Solstice celebration – are you trying to take advantage of my friend here, Eomer?"

The Man forced another laugh to conceal his nervousness. "Actually, he kissed me."

"I did," confirmed Legolas, falsely solemn. "It was disgraceful."

"Don't try my patience now, little princeling," warned Gimli sternly, looking quite pleased with himself when Legolas genuinely glowered at him. "If you don't want me butting in on your business then don't do anything that I'd feel compelled to butt into."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Legolas dryly.

"Mind that you do," Gimli told me. His face brightened up. "Now, what is it that you two were just going on about? Does it have anything to do with the reason why we just left the kitchen and its unfortunate staff at the mercy of a group of four-and-five-year-olds who are under the influence of birthday cake?"

"No, no reason at all," replied Legolas with exaggerated innocence. "We just figured that it was better them than us."

Eomer smiled with delight and relief as he watched the elf and dwarf bicker good-naturedly. It was so refreshing to see Legolas acting like his usual self again! There hadn't been another episode like the morning of a few weeks earlier when Legolas had shown up extremely late for breakfast, obviously distressed and agitated – Eomer would have summoned the healers long ago had that odd mood persisted. Still, something had still been off ever since. The prince had started taking cold baths at least two mornings a week (usually more) and had begun to act more…distracted. Eomer had caught him on more than one occasion staring off into space and whenever he'd gotten his attention Legolas had always seemed to have a hard time looking him in the eye. The king was beginning to worry that Legolas' old fears were returning, or that he was feeling guilty about something; but there seemed to be no sign of any of that on that day.

"Let me assure you, Master Dwarf," Eomer said, "that we are not simply abandoning our duties as parents and hosts. I was just slipping away for a moment to see if my surprise was ready and a certain someone followed me to get a peek."

"Eomer! Calling Gimli nosy to his face? I'm appalled," Legolas feigned dismay. Eomer gave him a Look and the elf turned incredulous. "Surely you weren't speaking about me? I just wanted to see what you've been going on about for weeks. I must say, when you first suggested it I thought that it couldn't happen; now that I've seen it I know that after today Caladel cannot help but become irreversibly spoiled."

"Is that right?" asked Gimli, curiosity breaking through his tone. "Let me have a look."

Legolas caught Eomer's eye and they grinned as they blocked the door. "It's a secret," they said in unison.

"I am that boy's honorary uncle/grandfather/very important relative!" protested Gimli indignantly. "I should be well-informed about this sort of thing!"

"If it will make you feel any better we can go get the birthday boy and his friends so that we can unveil the secret properly," offered Eomer.

"No need for that," observed Legolas as a low rumbling sound came to his ears. Elbereth, were the walls vibrating too? "I think I hear the pitter-patter of little feet stampeding our way right now."

Sure enough not one minute had passed before Caladel and a small group of his closest friends came bounding down the corridor to find them. Most of the children calmed down at the sight of their king and the elf prince, both of whom were figures held in much awe and respect in Rohan, but Caladel ran forward with a big smile on his face. "There you are!" declared the boy, a little too hyper. "I was wondering where you went and then I remembered my big secret that you've been hiding away in the festivities chamber! I haven't peeked at it once so the surprise hasn't been ruined."

"I believe you," said Eomer indulgently.

"You wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret if you had," added Legolas knowingly.

"Can I see it now?" begged Caladel. "I've been good! Please?"

Eomer pretended to think it over. "Well I suppose that it's your birthday and all," he finally 'gave in'. Caladel's face instantly lit up in excitement. "Everyone gather around in front of the doors! Now Caladel, please tell us: if you could do anything on your birthday, what would it be?"

"Go swimming," answered Caladel politely but promptly. "But I can't because it's cold outside and the water's too icy."

The Man looked over at Legolas, who raised his eyebrows and nodded, and dramatically threw open the doors. A collective gasp rose when the boys – and even Gimli – saw what was in there. All of the tables and benches had been either removed or pushed against the walls to make room for the swimming pool that was sitting right there in the middle of the floor. It was wide enough to accommodate the number of children there and just deep enough to come up to the upper chest of someone roughly Caladel's height. The water had been preheated; and hot stones around the pool's base as well as small fire pits at strategic points all around the chamber kept its temperature reasonably warm.

The pool had been a nightmare to build and a constant trial to fill with water; but all of that work had been worth it just to see the look on Caladel's face. "Oh, Papa!" he gasped.

"I'm afraid that this is only for today," warned Eomer. "It'll have to come down tomorrow but your ada and I know how much you wanted to go swimming on your birthday and five is such a special year to celebrate."

"Thank you!" cried Caladel, ecstatic. "Thank you so much to both of you! Come on, everyone: let's go swimming!"

It was almost alarming to see how quickly the children stripped down to their undergarments and clamored to the small steps in order to climb in. The first splash in by Caladel got his best friend wet, which the other boy couldn't let happen without some retaliation. The full-scale monsoon that was the ensuing water fight had commenced before the last little boy had even gotten into the pool.

Eomer sighed as he heard the sound of water hitting the floor. "I'll go inform the servants to keep some replacement water ready for use," he said.

"We'll keep an eye on the wild ones while you're gone," Legolas reassured him. Eomer put a grateful hand on his arm and, with one last resigned glance at the boys, went off. The elf watched him go before he became aware that he too was being watched. "What?" he asked Gimli.

"Are you blushing?" demanded Gimli. "And what's that look in your eyes?"

"You're imagining things," scoffed Legolas, mentally reigning in his emotions. Knowing Gimli, if he ever learned about the elf's rapidly more confusing feelings for Eomer he'd try to interfere and end up complicating matters needlessly.

"That's not the sort of thing I'd imagine," commented Gimli.

"Let's just worry about what's going on in the pool right now," suggested Legolas pointedly. "Goodness, they're rambunctious, aren't they? Perhaps you should join them, Gimli."

Gimli snorted. "Don't be a spoilsport," Legolas scolded him. "I know that those boys aren't little hairy women but they're all one of those things, at least."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

By nighttime all the commotion in Meduseld was either gone or else had died down. Caladel's guests' parents had come to retrieve their children after a lovely, if not extremely noisy feast; and by that time neither Legolas nor Eomer could say that they were unhappy to see them go. As for their son, it had taken a considerable amount of time for the sugar and excitement to leave his system, especially since Gimli would be staying with them and the boy was eager to speak with his pseudo uncle/grandfather in a way that he couldn't writing letters. But the Valar had at last merciful to the hapless parents and the sugar crash, combined with his exhaustion after a day of playing and swimming, finally had propelled Caladel into a deep sleep.

As Legolas, Eomer, and Gimli didn't feel up to carry on after the elfling lost his battle against sleep, they each retired for the night. After bidding the Man a fond goodnight Legolas carried Caladel back to their suite, nodding his thanks to Gimli for holding the door open for the two of them as he went inside. He briefly debated whether or not to change his son into his pajamas but decided against it, not wanting to disturb him unnecessarily; in fact, he didn't even bother to pull down the blankets on the boy's bed, opting instead to put Caladel down on top and covering him with a heavy quilt.

Caladel sighed in his sleep as he snuggled underneath the warmth. "Sweet dreams, my precious son," whispered Legolas, leaning down and kissing his cheek. The boy didn't stir; Legolas knew that he wouldn't be waking up until late the next morning. "I thank Elbereth every day for you, but on this day most of all. I love you."

Legolas stroked his child's hair and then left to go into his own bedchamber, shutting the dividing door behind him. He swiftly changed into his sleeping tunic and leggings, anticipating climbing into him warm and comfortable bed with considerable relief, when a thought suddenly came to him: he could go to the pool. He loved being in the water just as much as Caladel did but hadn't had the opportunity to enjoy the experience that afternoon with a group of overly-simulated five-year-olds in there too.

He wouldn't be in there for long; and anyway, Caladel was now at home in Meduseld so if he woke up to find his ada not there he would just go find someone else to help look for him. Resolved, Legolas grabbed his sleeping robe, threw it on hastily and tied it at the waist, listened for a moment for any sign of movement on his son's part, and when he didn't hear any headed out of the suite. "Guard," he called softly to the first guard he saw.

"Yes, Master Elf?" asked the guard.

"I'll be at the festivities hall for a short while," explained Legolas. He gestured toward his door. "Please send Caladel there, should he come looking for me."

"I'd be happy to," replied the guard with a kind smile. "Little scamp looked like he was all partied out, however. Did he have a nice birthday?"

"He did, thank you," Legolas smiled back, and with a nod went on his way down the dimly lit corridor to the hall where the pool and its water was practically calling for him.

It was sitting there waiting for him when he opened the hall's doors, all inviting with its calm water and just barely illuminated by the dying flames in the fire pits. Legolas shivered happily as he walked straight for it and skimmed his fingers against the surface. The water wasn't as warm as it had been before but that made little difference to him; as an elf he was aware when something was hot or cold but it never bothered him one way or the other, and even if it had he'd certainly taken enough cold baths in the past few weeks to be used to it by now. Nor was it deep enough to do any real swimming – having been made for young children to use – and for a moment he regretted that. Still, after so many months little bathtubs being the only time he was in any type of water it was going to feel so nice to be able to spread his limbs out again.

Quickly, Legolas made his way back to the doors and shut them into place – no need to put on a show for all of Meduseld, after all – and began to disrobe. Normally he preferred to swim completely naked; but while he wasn't ashamed of his body by any means he was still keenly aware that he was in a public place where in theory anyone could walk in on him and he didn't like the idea of being totally unclad in front of – well, anyone in the building. It was best to play it on the modest side in this situation so he shed all of his garments but left on his undergarment.

Then, with as much enthusiasm as his son displayed earlier he hopped into the pool and immediately rolled onto his back so that he could float. "Mmmmmmm," he hummed contentedly, closing his eyes and just enjoying the feeling of weightlessness that went along with becoming one with the water.

The position that he was in left his ears pretty much submerged; but even then the elf still had an acute sense of his surroundings. That was why he heard the sound of the door opening loud and (somewhat) clear a few minutes later. Slowly his eyes slid open but he did little more than just listen and keep in mind to be a little more alert. There was no point in jumping up, as there was no one in Edoras who would do anything to him. Legolas continued to listen as footsteps entered the chamber and paused for a moment or two before walking forward with more caution. There was nothing to fear; in fact, if his ears and intuition hadn't failed him, the elf even knew who this intruder was.

Soon enough a face appeared, confirming Legolas' suspicions. "Greetings," said Eomer, relaxing his frame a little when he saw both the identity of the nighttime swimmer and that said swimmer was all right. "I thought that I recognized your robe. What are you doing here?"

"Eomer," said Legolas, suddenly very conscious of how disrobed he really was. It was ridiculous – why should a few silly dreams make him feel uncomfortable being in front of the Man like this? The logical part of him argued that Eomer had seen him in about the same amount of clothes when they had gone swimming in one of the rivers in Eryn Lasgalan; but be that as it may he still sat up to provide some coverage for his body. "What brings you here so late?"

"I asked you first," Eomer reminded him, raising his eyebrows.

"Me?" asked Legolas. "I felt like going for a float. "And you?"

"I just wanted to come down and admire the pool one more time before it has to be drained and dismantled," replied Eomer forlornly, sliding his palm along the outside rim. "It took so long to plan, even longer to build properly, and don't get me started on what it took to fill it; and now it's going to be gone with nothing but our memories to prove it was there in the first place."

Legolas choked a little on a snort. "We could always erect a monument," he suggested cheekily. Eomer rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Oh, cheer up, Eomer! Considering how much Caladel enjoyed it today you'll probably be building one next year."

"Next year? You mean that he has one of these birthday-things every year?" joked Eomer. "Valar, I don't think I'll have recovered from today by next year." Absentmindedly he flittered his fingers in the water; and almost immediately jerked his hands back and shivered. "Cold – cold – my goodness, Legolas, how can you stand being in that cold?"

"The water's not cold, it's cool," stressed Legolas, moving his arms around a bit right under the surface. "Although I can understand how you would blend those two temperatures together in your mind, given your – how should I put this? – delicate constitution."

"There's nothing delicate about me," protested Eomer, squaring his shoulders a little to strike a dignified pose. "The problem, simply put, is that you are strange."

"What a load of orc carcasses," scoffed Legolas. "There's nothing wrong with me. You just need to get used to the temperature, that's all."

Eomer had a really clever retort on the tip of his tongue but it was lost when a small splash unexpectedly hit him in the face. Maintaining his dignified body language – a feat that made Legolas duly impressed – the Man wiped the droplets away from his eyes with one hand while pressing his lips together and blowing. He looked at Legolas, let out a feigned disappointed sigh, and shook his head. "How unfortunate," he noted. "We were having such a nice conversation and now it's come to this."

Legolas watched him closely while trying to back up slowly to the other side of the pool. "Don't think for one second that I can let you get away with that," Eomer went on, watching his friend and secret love trying to sneak off unnoticed. He deftly untied his robe below the pool's edge (and thus out of Legolas' sight); then in one rapid motion the Man threw the garment off and leapt into the water. He ignored the freeze that seemed to penetrate down to his bones as he sent a retaliating splash the elf's way.

Legolas immediately paddled back to him at such speed that Eomer fell back in surprise and ended up sitting in that cold, cold water. "You do realize that this is war, right?" taunted the prince as he took revenge with another splash.

They grinned mischievously at each other and the battle was on. Eomer ventured closer and started slapping the water up into the elf's face. Legolas quickly responded, moving onto his back with his hands against the bottom of the pool, supporting his weight as he began to hit the water in small kicks, sending it all into the Man's face. Not about to just sit there and take it Eomer grabbed his ankles and pushed his legs down until he was in a sitting position again.

At that point they stopped and stared at each other before chuckling simultaneously. "This is absurd," stated Eomer.

"We're adults," concurred Legolas. "We're parents at that."

A beat more of silence and stillness followed and then a full-scale water fight began. They no longer took turns attacking, choosing instead to splash first and care about where it all landed later. Water flew everywhere, hitting the floor in small waves and cascading all over the duo until both Legolas and Eomer were thoroughly drenched and having a wonderful time.

"That's it!" declared Legolas grandly when they paused momentarily to let their arms rest and catch their breath. "I'm ending this now – you're going under!"

He launched himself at Eomer until their bodies were almost touching and started pushing down on his shoulders. "You sneak!" cried Eomer, wrestling the elf a little to make him think that he was trying to throw him off. Legolas didn't realize until it was too late that the Man had in fact managed to snake both arms around his waist. "Well, if I'm going down I'm just going to have to take you with me!"

Neither of them would ever be able to explain clearly how what happened next actually started happening. One moment Legolas was pushing down and Eomer was pulling down; the next something inside of both of them made them stop and look into each other's faces, which had gotten very close in all of their struggles. A split second after that their mouths had found one each other, locking together in a passionate and hungry kiss. Legolas' hands slid across Eomer's shoulders, caressed up his neck, and grasped either one of the Man's cheeks as if he was afraid that he was going to pull away all of the sudden. Eomer loosened his hold on the elf's waist and let his hands travel upwards to stroke Legolas' naked back and urge his body closer until they were completely pressed together.

Legolas was practically (all right, literally) sitting on Eomer's lap now, moaning in the back of his throat as the king explored the inside of his mouth with his tongue. One hand left Eomer's face and fell back to fist the Man's long locks, begging him with his body language not to stop. All the reasons that they'd been telling themselves why something like this couldn't, wouldn't, and shouldn't happen left both of their minds as the elf's tongue became more aggressive and dueled playfully with Eomer's. This was part of what they'd been fantasizing about; but it was better than any dream or daydream because it was, well…real.

"Young Master Elf, I suggest – oh!" Legolas and Eomer broke apart hastily as one of the guards assigned to patrol that public portion of Meduseld entered the festivities chamber. The poor Man's face was beet-red and both prince and king knew that they hadn't separated fast enough – he'd obviously seen everything. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"This" – sputtered Eomer, but said nothing more when his mental groping failed to find the proper words. How could he explain what was just happening when he couldn't explain it himself?

"This is none of my business," the guard supplied for him. "I apologize from the core of my being, King Eomer, Prince Legolas! It's just that I saw the door was opened and I heard someone moving around in the water – oh," he moaned, mortified, as his face flushed even redder. "I thought that Lord Caladel had snuck down here for one final swim. I see now that I was wrong. I'll…I'm sure that there's somewhere that I should be so I'll just leave you two to, um, go about your business. I'm sorry to interrupt," he added.

Legolas stood up as the embarrassed guard practically ran out of the chamber. That interruption had done more to douse his fiery attraction than all the cold baths in Meduseld – would that it had come before anything had happened in the first place! What had he done? Could he not control himself at all? Eomer was either going to discover his attraction now or else just think that he was promiscuous enough to seek physical gratification from the closest not-unwilling body. The Man would be too polite and kind to mention it, of course, but he was going to feel awkward around him all the same. That brought the number of friends that Legolas had lost when he let romantic/sexual feelings get in the way up to two.

"I'd better get back to Caladel," said the elf quietly as he stepped out of the pool.

"And I should get some sleep before I have to work tomorrow," said Eomer, following him. He picked up his robe but found that it was completely soaked – no point in putting that on so he wadded it up and let it drop back to the floor.

The Man's mind was full of elation that was marred by regret as Legolas donned his own dry robe and they both headed for the door. How could he have let one opportunity for some temporary satisfaction ruin the months that he'd spent building up a trust and deep friendship with Legolas? He'd vowed to himself not to make the elf think for a moment that he was only being nice to him because he expected some sort of payment in return and now…now the person that he'd been in love with for over five years was going to believe that he was only using him to sate his own physical desires. With shame he recalled the suspicious looks that some of the elves of Eryn Lasgalan had given him when he first showed up in their realm with Legolas and Caladel. He'd eventually earned most of their trusts; it was an awful feeling to know that he'd just proved himself unworthy of it.

The walk back to the royal quarters was beyond awkward. They walked side-by-side but didn't speak once; Legolas chose to instead busy his hands and mind by anxiously squeezing the sleeping garments that he was holding (having not wanted to take the time to put them back on after what had happened) and Eomer stared resolutely down the darkened corridor. It occurred to both of them to try to come up with an excuse to not have to walk the rest of the way in each other's company: Eomer thought longingly of the robe he'd left behind and Legolas strained his ears in the hopes of hearing Caladel coming to look for him. But they quickly dismissed that possibility – there just didn't seem to be a way that it could be done without making the situation even worse.

The tension from all the words that they weren't saying hung heavily around them in the air. Eomer looked at Legolas once only to turn away when he saw the elf biting his lips and gripping his clothing until his knuckles were white. Of course Legolas was upset, Eomer internally smacked himself – he had just violated all of the trust that the elf had in him. A second later Legolas turned to Eomer and was disheartened when he observed how the Man was deliberately avoiding looking at him. He shouldn't have been surprised; Eomer was probably disgusted at the sight of him.

Finally by the mercy of the Valar they reached Eomer's bedchamber door. "Well," stammered the king.

There were very few times in his life when Legolas had felt more miserable and ashamed than he did at that moment. "Eomer, about what just happened…"

"Don't worry about it," said Eomer, trying to make his tone come across as light and carefree and failing terribly. It was that voice that made the elf really look at him: in his expression there seemed to be…sadness? Wistfulness? What did that mean? "I understand. You got caught up in the moment. It happens to the best of us; please don't worry about it anymore. Have a good night, Legolas."

"Goodnight," echoed Legolas, a bit confused. He took a few steps away but then halted. It had felt so good being with Eomer like that, having those several blissful moments where he didn't deny how he felt about him. Months earlier, when he was trying to explain to himself why he felt so at home in Edoras, Legolas had decided that he didn't like being in transition and was happy to have a place to settle down in but that wasn't the entire truth. The truth was that he hated running from anything, be it an enemy, the past, or his own emotions. The realization was almost blinding: he was so sick of running away fromt he way that he felt about Eomer!

Now that fear was threatening the honesty and easy-going nature of his relationship with Eomer and that wouldn't do. No matter what the consequences were, he couldn't leave things like this between them – or live like that anymore. "Eomer, wait," he called out.

Eomer was about to step inside when the elf's voice stopped him in his tracks. "What is it?" he asked nervously.

Legolas walked back to him. "What just happened – I didn't – it wasn't – oh, bother!" He threw his hands up in the air, let one of them fall gently to the juncture between the Man's neck and shoulder, and leaned forward to plant another, much more chaste kiss on his lips.

It was both the longest and the shortest moment of Eomer's life. This couldn't be real; Legolas wasn't really kissing him when he had no reason to and every reason not to, was he? The confusion and fear stopped him from even trying to return the kiss in any manner. That was something that he instantly regretted when Legolas pulled back and he could see the crestfallen expression that the prince was so desperately trying to hide.

"You don't," Legolas began to explain. He looked down for a second and then up again to start over. "It wasn't that I got caught up in the moment. That implies that something like that would have happened no matter who else was in the pool with me and…and I wouldn't have kissed anyone but you. I've been feeling…you're one of the best friends that I've ever had, Eomer and I don't want to lose you but what I've been feeling about you lately – you don't feel about someone that's just a friend what I've been feeling for you."

"Legolas," breathed Eomer, scarcely daring to hope.

"Let me finish, please," pleaded Legolas, mistaking Eomer's tone and believing that he was trying to be gentlemanly by cutting him off before he said something embarrassing. Taking a deep breath the elf went on. "Those dreams that I've been having so often lately, they've all been about you – and none of them were nightmares." His cheeks turned crimson as he wondered if he'd revealed too much. "Please understand that I'm only telling you this to clear the air between us. We can go back to the way it was before now; I don't want you to feel obliged" –

He couldn't finish his sentence, however; for while he was speaking it finally sunk into Eomer's mind that there was a good chance that his wildest dreams were coming true before his eyes. He'd tenderly reached around to the back of Legolas' head and pulled the elf into a word-robbing kiss. "Feel obliged to what?" asked Eomer shakily when their lips parted. "Return your feelings? Legolas, do you know how long I've felt that same way" – he traced his fingertips on the prince's cheek and chin –"held in those same emotions…dreamed those same dreams?"

"Since – since Solstice?" guessed Legolas, taken off-guard slightly at Eomer's confession. For so long he'd either been very reserved or a complete mess – how could this solid, wonderful Man feel something for him beyond friendship when he was like that?

"Since the last time you stayed in Edoras, after my uncle's funeral procession," corrected Eomer, reaching down for Legolas' hand and bringing it to his lips.

"That long?" Legolas was amazed. "But you never once…"

"I knew that you needed time to heal," explained Eomer. "Whatever happens between us, Legolas, I want it to be genuine and long-lasting; if I'd have mentioned anything earlier we might have never became friends or else we might have had a sort of relationship before you were ready that died too soon. You're worth waiting for something more special and substantial."

"I'm glad that you waited," Legolas told him, a beautiful smile lighting up his fair face. "And I'm very gland that you're still here now – now that I'm ready."

The pair – the couple – moved together to kiss once more; not like the chaste kisses they'd just given each other to prove their points, nor like the sloppier, raw smooch in the pool. This was filled with passion, but a more concentrated one that was confident rather than desperate. Where this relationship would lead them was still a big unknown but at the moment they finally knew how the other felt. And for now that was all that Legolas and Eomer needed.

To be continued…

A/N:I know it's pretty unrealistic that Eomer could have had an actual pool built inside with enough water to fill it and everything; but I was so attached both to the idea of them getting together on Caladel's birthday and to the image of that kiss in the water that a little literary liscence was called for! :)

Some reviewers (or the same reviewer – I can't tell) have been requesting that I elaborate more on Caladel's birth. I am going to do that at some point in the story; I know when it's going to happen, but it's not going to be for awhile. Be assured that your curiosity will be satisfied eventually!