The next morning Legolas awoke with a song in his heart and a pounding in his ears. It took him several seconds to shake off his drowsiness enough so that he could identify the reasons for both. The source of the song was the easiest one for him to sort out, as he'd been dreaming about it since he'd fallen asleep the night before: Eomer. Taking a chance and kissing Eomer, having Eomer kiss him back, listening in elated disbelief as Eomer told him that he'd cared about him since before Caladel was born; the feeling of joy and desire as his mouth met Eomer's once more, over and over again as they went together into Eomer's bedchamber…. Legolas smiled lazily but contentedly, still half-asleep, for of all the Men in Middle-earth he had been lucky enough to somehow capture the affection of the best of them.

To think, he'd spent weeks trying to convince himself that there was no reason to tell Eomer how he felt because there was no way that the Man returned those feelings! Legolas would have laughed at himself out loud if that much activity hadn't required him to be a little more conscious. Weeks of nights filled with inadequate satisfaction and growing frustration; days of denials and cold baths to fight back the desire and he refused to acknowledge even to himself; every moment when his heart broke a little as he told himself that Eomer could never care about him beyond the affections of a friend – in the course of five minutes or less he'd let himself forget about all of that. What's more, now he knew that he was better off for it.

Eomer cared for him in a more-than-friendly way. Eomer had the same dreams that he did about the two of them being together. Eomer had kissed him: kisses that still made Legolas grin foolishly every time that the thought about them, full of sweetness and passion. They made him feel like he was cherished while bringing to the surface the desires that he'd been repressing. Legolas hadn't felt this way about anyone in almost six years; more importantly, for the first time in that long he wanted to feel that way about someone.

It felt as if he was getting second chance; another shot at having complete happiness and a healthy, supportive relationship with someone that he trusted totally. Not everyone got even their first chance and here he was, fortunate and blessed with a second. Of course, he would have preferred it if this opportunity had come earlier – almost six years ago when he found out that he was pregnant, or a few weeks ago before he wasted so much time and energy denying everything – but now Legolas was nothing but grateful. He'd never been one to take the easy route when it came to the important things in life, anyway. That just made finally getting to this place in his life more fulfilling; he couldn't wait to put aside the darkness of the last few years and enjoy being happy again at last.

It took him a few more seconds to discern where the pounding was coming from; not from any special place inside of him, but from the other side of the door. Legolas' heart leapt for a moment, thinking that his visitor was Eomer. Then he realized that, first of all, Eomer probably wouldn't be knocking on his doors so early after they'd both had such a long light; and, secondly, if he had found some reason to do so most likely he wouldn't be doing it in such an – annoyed – fashion. After all, he had no cause to be annoyed.

The pounding increased, loud and insistent, and Legolas grew worried that it would wake Caladel soon if he didn't put a stop to it. "Yes, who is it?" he called, sleep still clinging to his voice.

"Blast you, you confounded elf!" Gimli's voice yelled back at him. Yes, Legolas could tell instantly that the dwarf was peeved about something. But it couldn't be at him, right? After all, he'd only just woken up! "Open this door right now if you know what's good for you!"

"You woke me up," Legolas called back accusingly. "Come back when it's time for breakfast."

Gimli snorted irritably. "That time has come and gone," he informed him in an exasperated tone. "Do you have any idea how late it is? Now open this door so I don't end up disturbing everyone else – you know, the people who actually dragged their lazy bones out of bed at a decent hour?"

"All right, all right, I'm coming," groused Legolas, knowing full well that the dwarf's consideration for others wouldn't be enough to stop him from yelling a good scolding from across a mountain range if he felt that Legolas needed one bad enough. He pulled back the covers and stumbled out of bed, crinkling his nose a little in bewilderment when he noticed how much colder the air outside of his bed felt compared to the warmth under his blankets. Shrugging it off, he walked toward the door and then stopped short when he finally processed the reason for that: he was completely nude. The previous night he'd been so tired when he finally returned to his bedchamber that he hadn't bothered changing into his sleeping clothes; he'd just shed his robe and still-damp undergarment and hopped into bed.

Really, it was nothing that Gimli hadn't seen before during the War at the few times that the Fellowship had been able to take the time to bathe. Then again, Legolas had the big announcement about him and Eomer starting a relationship to make to him and he wasn't sure how the overprotective dwarf was going to take the news. Perhaps it was best not to stress Gimli's sensibilities right now.

Ruefully the elf slipped on his robe, tied it securely shut, and made his way over to the door, opening it and peering down at his friend. "Good" – he yawned loudly – "Good morning, Gimli."

"Aüle," Gimli rolled his eyes as he took in Legolas' present state. "What do you think you're doing, staying in bed so late? It's mid-morning already! What's the big idea, making your guest wait for breakfast when he's so hungry?"

"You didn't have to wait for me to eat," countered Legolas. "Besides, officially you're Caladel's guest and you'll be waiting for quite awhile yet before he wakes up. And as for your first question, I had a late night last night – come in," he added as he stepped aside and gestured for Gimli to enter, not particularly wanting to have the upcoming conversation in the corridor.

"You went to bed the same time that I did," argued Gimli as he walked into the bedchamber. "So don't go giving me that excuse."

Legolas did a cursory check for any guards or servants before he shut the door. Not that any of them would knowingly eavesdrop on what was clearly a private conversation; but he still didn't want to try anyone's ability to not spread rumors by having them accidentally overhear when he was about to tell Gimli. "No, I didn't," he explained to the dwarf. "I only put Caladel to bed. After that I went back to the festivities chamber; I wanted the chance to enjoy the pool when there wasn't a group of screaming children in it."

"Now I see where that boy of yours gets it from," Gimli shook his head. He would never understand his elvish friend's strange love for being in the open water; and the boy was just as bad, if not worse. "You've both got so much water in your heads that you think nothing about starving your poor guest!"

"Go down to the dining hall and eat if you're so hungry," Legolas told him, getting annoyed in his turn that Gimli could only seemingly think of his stomach when he had such exciting news to tell. "I'm sure that the kitchen staff can find it in their hearts to scrounge up some scraps so that you don't waste away into nothing."

"I like eating with people," protested Gimli firmly. "And that goes double at the times when I'm visiting friends that I haven't been able to spend enough time with lately, and his son. Gracious, even Eomer is still in bed at this late hour and you know how much he likes getting a jump on the day. Maybe all of this laziness is catching."

"He's allowed to be tired every once in awhile," said Legolas, surprising himself with how defensive he unexpectedly felt. He knew that Gimli didn't mean it as an insult but that didn't mean that he had to like that the dwarf had said something less-than-flattering about Eomer. "He ended up going down to the pool last night too; and then afterward we ended up talking for a bit…"

There was a catch in the elf's voice that made Gimli realize that he needed to temporarily put aside his rumbling stomach until he got to the bottom of it. Crossing his arms, he looked at his friend hard. "About what?" he asked suspiciously. Legolas bit his lip and smiled. "All right, enough of that now! I can plainly see that you're itching to get something off of your chest – out with it!"

"Before I say anything," said Legolas, "I want you to make me a promise that you won't get all worked up until after I tell you everything. All right, Gimli?"

Gimli fell back into a chair. "Something tells me that I'll want to be sitting down for this," he sighed. "Well? I'm waiting – don't keep me in suspense."

"Eomer and I – last night we kissed each other in the pool," confided Legolas in a low voice. Gimli cocked his head at him but otherwise kept his expression unreadable. "And then we kissed a few more times in the corridor outside of his bedchamber; and in his bedchamber" –

"I'll go get my axe," interrupted Gimli in a tight voice, his knuckles turning painfully white as his grip on the chair's arms became like iron.

"It wasn't like that!" Legolas told him in an exasperated tone. "We just needed somewhere private to talk and his bedchamber happened to be the closest place. I can learn from the past, you know. I am fully aware that jumping into bed almost immediately after you and a friend have decided to be more than just friends is a good way to lose a friendship, not to mention five years of your life to exile in Fangorn. We didn't do anything but talk and kiss a little." Gimli gave him a pointed Look. "All right, a lot – but that was it!"

The dwarf relaxed slightly. "And what did you two talk about when you came up for air?" he pressed.

"About us," replied Legolas, sitting down heavily on the bed across from Gimli's chair. "About how we wanted our relationship to change; and about how such a change might affect both us and Caladel. It wasn't just him trying to get physical for one night – he told me that he thinks that it's worth taking a chance if it means that we can be together. He wants for us to have a real relationship, Gimli."

"He'd better," growled the dwarf. His expression turned from menacing to serious as he took a good look at the elf. "But what do you want? I don't want you to think about Caladel or Eomer; or anyone or anything else when you answer. This question isn't about anything else: what does Legolas want for himself?"

"I want to be happy and I want to be with Eomer," answered Legolas with conviction. "I know what you're worried about – you think that I'm just grateful for everything that he's done for me and Caladel, and that what I'm feeling is obligation not to turn him down; but that's not true. I've been having some rather…potent romantic feelings for him lately; I'm just fortunate enough that he returns them."

"Luck's got nothing to do with it," scoffed Gimli dismissively. "He's been looking at you with those lovelorn eyes for quite a long time. You've just been so wrapped up with how – how things with…" he glanced at Caladel's closed door – "you know who I'm talking about…"

Legolas tensed. "He has nothing to do with this," he said a little too harshly. Of course Gimli meant well, but why did he have to bring up Aragorn now?

"I know that," the dwarf told him. "I was just pointing out that you've been so preoccupied with how things ended between the two of you that you couldn't see that he wasn't going to be the only person in your lifetime who would want you."

He paused for a second as if contemplating if he should ask the question that had just occurred to him. He could have spared himself – and Legolas – the internal debate, as no question that popped into Gimli son of Gloin's mind didn't end up popping out of his mouth as well. "Do you love him?"

"That means so many things," remarked Legolas uncomfortably. He crossed his arms over his chest as if he were attempting to hide himself and protect his heart. "I love him as a friend and would be devastated to lose that part of my relationship with him. I love him as Caladel's other father and couldn't imagine anyone else doing a better job with that. I care about him deeply and want that part of our relationship to progress and deepen, but am I in love with him? No. I mean, I could be one day and perhaps I will be; but I'm just – not there yet."

"And there's no rush for you to get there before you're ready," advised Gimli protectively. He knew that the Man was probably in love with his friend, but Eomer had waited for so long already that Gimli couldn't see the harm in making him wait for a while longer. "Make sure that you know for certain that you are before you say something. You can't unsay those words once they've been spoken."

"Honestly, Gimli, I'm not even to the point that I'm worried about that part of it yet. I'm too busy mulling over how we're going to tell Caladel, and the people of Rohan…and my father."

"I don't think that you'll have anything to worry about there," Gimli reassured him. "First of all, I can't see why Caladel wouldn't be anything but thrilled that his parents have decided to become a couple, seeing that most people actually decide to become that first before they become parents. As for the Rohirrim, odds are that a good deal of them have assumed that you two are already an item. They might not be entirely happy that their king has overlooked all of the local girls and chosen a male elf; but they love you and you've already proven that you can bear children. Truth be told, I don't think that Eomer has been this interested in having a romance in his life - they'll most likely simply be relieved that they're that much closer to having a legitimate blood heir to the throne."

"I guess all of that is true," conceded Legolas reluctantly as his face blanched a little. He hated getting his hopes up that everything was going to be as easy as that; and what's more Gimli had touched on what was still a looming potential problem. "But as for Ada…"

Gimli grimaced distastefully. "The Elvenking?" he asked, running the two words together like his own father and the rest of Thorin's company did. It was not a term of respect or endearment. "What, does he not approve of Eomer or something? I've heard that he has a hard time getting along" –

"Enough," Legolas cut him off wearily. "Don't let your head get all big, but I love you both and I'm sick of being in between your insults. You two met once, for Elbereth's sake! That's not long enough to build up a lasting feud that doesn't need the mistakes of the past to survive. I'm not asking you to like each other; just – I don't know – if you have something to say that isn't nice or polite then don't say it to me."

"Fine, fine; if it means that much to you, fine," agreed Gimli, though it sounded more like he was complaining. "I'll let the insults eat away at my insides while you tell me why you don't want to tell him."

Legolas blushed slightly. "It, uh…it would make him too happy," he mumbled sheepishly.

The dwarf let loose a gigantic guffaw. "I love that!" he exclaimed between stomach-hurting laughs.

"I'm serious!" protested Legolas crossly. "Ada's been both hinting and flat-out telling me that he thinks that it's in my best interest to marry Eomer. It's getting harder to hide that from Eomer too – you should have seen what Ada sent me for Solstice! Thank Elbereth I was lucky enough to realize what it was before I opened it in front of Eomer and Caladel both and got stuck trying to explain what it was for. I don't think he's made his wishes known to Eomer; but if he finds out that we're in a relationship…"

"You could always get married," Gimli couldn't resist teasing him. "Instead of doing everything in order, you can do it all backwards: Child first, then marriage, and then you can fall in love."

"Ha-ha, you're so funny," snapped Legolas sarcastically. "That's not helpful, Gimli!"

Gimli wiped his eyes and attempted to control his chuckles. "I'm sorry, laddie," he said, sobering up a little. "If you want something helpful, here's some advice: while there's very little I like doing less than adding to your father's happiness, you have to tell him. Caladel probably will anyway and you don't want the Elvenking thinking that you and Eomer are hiding something shameful. Besides, I thought that you didn't want to be in a relationship that you had to keep a secret."

"That's true," nodded Legolas, still looking a bit apprehensive. "But what if he" –

"Nip that in the bud," advised Gimli in a conspiratorial voice. "Write to him about you and Eomer and tell him plainly that you aren't thinking about marriage. Let him know that any pressure – well-intentioned or otherwise – on the matter that is applied to either of you – or Caladel – will only make you think about marriage even less until you are living under the same roof with your romantic partner without the benefit of binding vows in perpetuity. He'll back off just to hasten your way into married life."

"That could work," marveled Legolas. His expression softened and he smiled at his friend. "I'm glad that you're here, Gimli."

The dwarf sighed resignedly, got up, and gave Legolas a hug. "Me too," he said. "I lose sleep some nights worrying about you and the decisions you make. Speaking of which, I need to get my axe."

"Don't threaten Eomer with your axe, Gimli."

"No threatening," Gimli promised him. "I might happen to be sharpening it when I have a little chat with him about what he expects to get out of your relationship but I won't threaten."

"Gimli," said Legolas warningly. "That's not necessary. I know what I'm doing."

"I know that," reassured Gimli. He looked at the elf thoughtfully. "But someone's got to look out for you. I don't think you've learned to do that for yourself properly yet."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I can't believe that I slept so late," announced Caladel, dramatically stretching his arms and yawning as he walked into the dining hall. He was feeling very grown-up at the moment; not only was he finally five-years-old and had gotten to say the same thing that his ada and papa always said when they stayed in bed longer than usual but also he had gotten himself ready for the day. Legolas and Eomer hadn't been anywhere in the royal quarters when he'd woken up and the boy had just assumed that they had decided that he was old enough and responsible enough to make sure that he looked presentable.

Actually Legolas and Eomer had come to the dining hall early, having been too worried about how to explain their new situation to their son to give a thought to how Caladel was going to look that day; now, judging by the state that the boy was in, both of them could see that it would be awhile yet before he would no longer need their help in that respect. The front of his hair had been neatly brushed but there was little doubt that the comb had never touched the back of it and the elfling had chosen to wear a tunic that needed a good…throwing out. Still, Caladel had no lessons that day so neither Legolas nor Eomer were all that concerned with his appearance.

"Greetings, ion nin," said Legolas warmly, succeeding for the most part in hiding his amusement. Eomer echoed the sentiment. "I can believe it; what I can't believe is that you managed to wake up this early. I thought that we'd have to tickle you awake for supper tonight."

"Oh, I'm glad you didn't have to do that," said Caladel earnestly, for he didn't much care for being tickled. "But you just said 'greetings' instead of 'good morning' – does that mean it's not morning anymore? And where's Gimli?"

"One question at a time," laughed Eomer, holding up his hand to jokingly ward off any more. "First of all, it is still morning, but just barely. Your ada and I were actually thinking about telling the kitchen staff what we want for lunch. Do you want to wait another half-hour or so, or are you too hungry for that? You may order an early lunch; and it can be of all breakfasts foods too, if you wish."

"I don't think I can wait," replied Caladel, clutching his stomach as it growled loudly at the promise of food. "And it would be very nice if it was breakfast food – it's very strange to eat something other than that right after you wake up, don't you think?"

Legolas glanced over at a servant that was hovering around the doors that led into the kitchen. She nodded to let him know that she'd heard the elfling's request and headed off to inform the cook. "I'm sure that your food will be ready shortly," he told Caladel as he patted the spot on the bench next to him. "Take a seat."

Caladel obeyed, looking across the table to smile at his papa before turning back to Legolas. "Thank you," he said politely. "Now where's Gimli? Is he coming in a few minutes?"

"He's actually going to be eating lunch with some of the soldiers today," said Legolas carefully, not wanting to reveal too much too soon. "Gimli rarely has the chance to catch up with the other people that he met here during the War; and he wanted to give the three of us some time alone together."

"Why do we need that?" asked Caladel with a confused frown. "The three of us spend time alone together almost every day – we hardly ever get to see him." He suddenly looked very upset as he thought of a reason why the dwarf would think that they needed privacy. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"No," Eomer assured him with a shake of his head. The Man rose from his spot and came around to the other side of the table. He briefly considered sitting down on the other side of his son but decided against it, not wanting to make the boy feel trapped if their news ended up upsetting him. Instead he settled down next to Legolas; perhaps actually seeing them side-by-side would help Caladel understand their new relationship better. "Your ada and I just have something that we want to talk to you about."

Caladel eyed them nervously. He didn't know what to make of the situation – the only other time that his parents had acted anything like this was when they told him that Eomer wanted to be his papa, so whatever they wanted to talk about now could be good; but then again he could only imagine that nothing but bad news would make Gimli stay away from eating with them. "Is it something bad?" he wondered.

"We don't think so," smiled Legolas reassuringly. It was probably best to simply be honest, so he took a steeling breath and plunged ahead. "It's just that your papa and I…we're together now."

"I know," said Caladel plainly. Honestly, adults made so little sense at times! "I saw him walk around and sit next to you."

"No," protested Legolas automatically. "Well, yes he is right here; but that's not what I meant. He and I want to spend more time together."

"You already spend a lot of time together," countered Caladel logically. "Why is Gimli staying away just so you can tell me that?"

This was going to be harder than either of them had thought, and for a completely different reason. "It's going to be a different kind of together," Eomer tried to explain. He hadn't realized before just how much he and Legolas had acted like a couple before they revealed their feelings to each other. Now wonder Caladel was having such a hard time grasping the notion that something had changed between them. "Before, we were friends" –

"You're not going to be friends anymore?" cried Caladel in alarm.

"Yes – yes, of course we're still gong to be friends," said Eomer quickly. "No matter what happens we always want to be friends. But there are different types of friends, Caladel. We, well, we…"

"Eomer and I want to be something more than just friends, little one," broke in Legolas. They should have learned their lesson before – being direct and complete was best when explaining a complicated concept to their son. "Nothing will change about your life – all three of us will still live in Meduseld, your papa and I will still get along and like each other, and we all will still be a family. Eomer and I have simply decided that we want to do…romantic stuff together." He looked back at the Man and smiled affectionately as their eyes locked. Ever so slowly Legolas reached for his hand, laced their fingers together, and brought it to his chest so that Caladel could see what they were doing. "We're going to be holding hands" –

"Oh, and kissing?" interrupted Caladel, catching on. A huge grin broke out across his face when his parents nodded. "That's wonderful! First for the Solstice-Yule holiday and now for my birthday! Can you two kiss right now?"

The child was nothing if not full of surprises. "I beg your pardon?" asked Eomer, laughing a little only because he couldn't think of a more appropriate response to the unexpected request.

"You want to – you both do – I can see it," said Caladel, practically bouncing in his seat with glee. "I know that look; you've been giving it to each other for a long time now. Some of my friends' parents look at each other like that too; only they kiss when they do that and you two haven't been. Well, you did once before at the party; have you done it more times now?"

"Yes," answered Legolas, blunt in his surprise.

"I should have known!" exclaimed Caladel. "The two of you look so happy. I told Alfmund that that you would be so much happier if you just kissed each other whenever you wanted to!" He was so thrilled that he didn't notice Legolas' eyes widen or Eomer's cheeks turn slightly red. "Now that you know too, are you going to do it?"

Eomer winked and smiled secretively. "That sounds like a good plan to me," he declared. With his free hand he cupped one of Legolas' cheeks, caressing it with his thumb. The elf responded by reaching out to touch the Man's face before they both leaned into a mindfully chaste kiss on the lips.

If it was possible Caladel looked even more delighted when he saw them kiss than he did when he first laid eyes on the swimming pool. "I can't wait to tell everybody!" he declared loudly. He bit his lower lip as the couple broke apart and looked at them subdued. "Uh, I can do that, right? This isn't going to be a secret, is it?"

"Not from anyone in Rohan," said Legolas firmly. He supposed that he should have discussed the issue with Eomer before answering their son so resolutely but no matter what he knew that he couldn't have it any other way. He wasn't about to become anyone's dirty little secret.

"We'll have to ask you to hold your tongue until tomorrow," amended Eomer. He saw hurt creep into Legolas' expression and squeezed his hand lovingly. "I'm going to have to officially tell the nobles about our relationship; and for their peace of minds and my poor eardrums and wits it's going to have to be before this is known to the general public. I promise that after breakfast tomorrow you can tell anyone you want, my son."

"That's great," said Caladel, enthused. "I'll have to tell all of my friends, of course; and Alfmund; oh, and the guards too! They've been spending so much time rooting you two on; I've heard more than one guard saying stuff like 'kiss him already!' when they've watched you and now you're going to! Oh, food!" he added, distracted by a servant carrying in a tray.

Legolas and Eomer watched Caladel as he thanked the servant brightly and started eating. "Apparently we've been causing quite a bit of gossip," noted Eomer in a quieter voice as he turned back to the elf, not wanting to disturb the boy's meal with more chit-chat.

"I only wish that our son and the guards would have told us about how obvious it was that we wanted to kiss each other – we could have started doing it a lot sooner," joked Legolas. His face became serious. "I forgot that you would need to make an official announcement to the nobility."

"It's nothing too dire," said Eomer. "They just need to know who might be having more influence over my life; they'll want the chance to approve of the king's new relationship, but I happen to know that not only do they like you but also that the king will prove to be quite defiant if they try to stir up any trouble."

"Oh, really?" asked Legolas playfully. "That's really a shame – I don't know if I can be involved with a king who's known to reject any advice that he doesn't like. My father wouldn't approve."

"Your father seems to be the type who's defied more than a few nobles in his lifetime," countered Eomer. Legolas shrugged his shoulders and looked up; the Man took advantage of the position of his head to kiss the bottom of his jaw where it met his neck. "Have dinner with me."

Legolas cocked an eyebrow at him as Eomer rested their foreheads together. "You don't have to ask me," he said. "That's what I usually do."

"No, not like that," insisted Eomer. "I mean like a just-the-two-of-us meal complete with candlelight, many romantic gestures, and a fantastic meal; something that I've taken weeks to plan because I don't want to mess things up before I have the chance to properly court you."

"You wish to woo me," nodded Legolas in understanding. He kissed the tip of Eomer's nose. "Would it be too forward of me to inform you that such a thing is a little unnecessary at this point?"

"Our situation is less than…traditional," granted Eomer, determination set in his expression, "but that doesn't mean that the wooing part isn't important. I don't just want us to be a couple – I want to show you how special you are to me by sweeping you off of your feet."

Legolas couldn't help loving the sound of that. While he'd only been at the beginning of a romantic relationship twice (and one of those times was rekindling an old relationship) there had never been any proper wooing involved – unless requesting a kiss after shooting yourself in the foot or pressing someone up against a wall in the shadows, lying, and kissing them were considered to be courting techniques. This time, with this Man, it was going to be different. "All right," he said, letting himself smile with anticipation. "I accept your invitation. I would love to have dinner with you."

To be continued…