Hi everyone! I am sooooo sorry for taking this long to update! I'll blame that on my teachers! They buried us, poor and innocent students, under a ton of papers and books and projects and AAARRRGH! Why in the world does it have to exist so many different laws :S - tears the civil code with teeth - Whoa! That felt good! hehehehehehe

I wanna thank all of you who left a review! Thanks for taking interest in the story and for taking the time to tell me what you thought about it! They made my day! Each one of them! Hope you keep liking it so you can keep the reviews coming!

Keep in mind that English is not my first language, so please forgive any grammar and spelling mistakes! Any comments and critics are welcome and will be taken in consideration :)

Just one more thing! I swear :D Since our beloved Tolkien didn't leave anything in his works to let us know who was the first born, Elladan or Elrohir, I'm taking that Elladan was the first one to come to this world, which means that Elrohir was next! hehehehe

:D Now... with no further delays... on with the story :D

A BROTHER'S LOVE – chapter 2

His heart was racing, both from the physical exertion and the fear for his friend. He changed his clothes at a lightening speed, eager to start searching for the missing elf.

But first he had to calm down. He had come up in such a hurry and changed so fast that when he got to his room's door he realized he hadn't even stopped to think where to start…

You won't help him in any way by acting like this… just focus! He chastised himself as he took a couple of deep breaths to calm his breathing and his mind.

Having done that, he was all business.

Now… Where could have he gone?

He thought for a moment and decided that the best course of action was to scour the whole area so he would not miss anything. Having known the elf for as long as he did, he knew his favorite spots, his places of solitude, and all the other possible locations that his friend could have gone to. Making a mental list of such places, he started by checking the number one and most obvious place on the list... the elf's tree.

That was how Aragorn found himself running outside the gates, trying to get to it as fast as his legs could carry him.

Getting there, he looked up to the thick foliage but couldn't make out the form of his friend amongst the leaves… but decided to call out anyway, just to be sure.

"Legolas! Legolas are you up there?"

Silence was his only response.

He knew that if Legolas was at the tree or at earshot range, he would've made it known, even if he didn't want to talk to him…for that's how they worked. They had a friendship forged on honesty and love and they were always true to each other – except when they were engaged in some sort of mischief or, and that was much to Aragorn's dislike, when the elf hid any sort of injury, which always made the man totally disregard the statement whenever his friend declared that he 'was fine'...

He pushed these thoughts out of his mind, quickly returning to the present situation... calling out one more time for the sake of his own peace of mind, even though he knew that if the elf didn't answer when he first called, then he was definitely not around.

"Mellon nin… if you're up there, please, talk to me!"

Again, not even a sound!

He took that for what it was this time! A clear sign that he should get moving if he wanted to find his friend anytime soon. And so he turned to leave for the second place on his list.

However, before he could even take the first step, something occurred to him. Legolas' stallion. He remembered wryly. If Legolas had left on his horse he would be far by now, and only Eru knows where!

He wasted no time as he ran to the stables going straight to the bay where Legolas' horse used to be kept in.

"Thalion!" he said a little out of breath when he finally reached the intended place. "It's so good to see you here!" For it means Legolas is still on foot! Aragorn though with great relief, knowing that with the elf not using the aid of his four-legged friend, he would be much easier to reach than if his fears were proven to be true.

He reached a hand and stroke the horse's nose, peering into the bay in hopes that, maybe, the elf went there, but its only occupant was Thalion, who looked at him with mild curiosity, inspecting the human with those big brown eyes, as if wondering what he was doing there.

"Where has your master gone, huh, Thalion? What happened to him?" Aragorn asked quietly, talking more to himself than actually the horse.

The big animal just snickered as if showing the man that he knew as much as he did about his master's whereabouts. Aragorn petted the horse one more time, running his hand along the beast's neck, leaving the horse alone. And so he continued his quest in search for Legolas.

It had been hours now. Hours looking restlessly for the elf and not a sign of his friend. Aragorn felt tired and anguished. He had been to the elf's tree, the stables, library, kitchens, halls, rooms, porches, surrounding woods, he searched through the gardens – ALL of them – and nothing! Legolas was still nowhere to be found. Aragorn was totally clueless to where else to look. A horrible feeling of helplessness started to well up inside of him, as he made his way back to the elf's room hoping against hope that maybe, after all this time, his friend had decided to go back there.

Getting at his destination, he stopped at the doors staring longingly, as he prayed to the Valar that Legolas was indeed in there. But as he entered the room, the place was just spotless… not even a wrinkle on the bed sheets to at least point out that the elf had been inside.

"If only the whole population of Imladris wasn't made of elves..." he whispered tiredly to himself, frustration clear in every single word, cursing his inability to use his tracking skills to find Legolas in a place where all but him were elves.

Aragorn sat on the bed, dropping his head into his hand, trying to subside the growing sense of dread that was wanting to take over, and not to mention the incredible headache that was now plaguing him. He desperately needed to talk to his friend, just to know what happened, what made him so upset earlier, to make sure that all was well with him, but no matter how hard he looked, the elf just seemed to have vanished.

He started considering looking at the not so usual places, like the roof or inside the well or even the nearby caves for an instance. But before he could put his ideas into action, the doors to the elf's room opened, and no other than the subject of all his worry slowly walked in, calm and composed, the complete opposite of how he had seen him last.

"LEGOLAS!", he shouted as he ran to the elf, grabbing his friend by the shoulders and looking all over him as if trying to find something amiss. "Are you alright? What happened? Where were you?"

The elf raised his hands, taking a step back, an amused expression etched in his face.

"Easy, Estel! Or you will end up choking in your own questions!" he said laughing lightly.

Aragorn frowned at his friend… confusion was easily read in the man's face, as if unable to make sense of what he was seeing and hearing.

"What is wrong, mellon nin? What troubles you so?" the elf asked, now with a good measure of concern, but keeping his voice calm and soothing.

"What troubles me? You trouble me, Legolas! I was worried about you! Where have you been all day?" Aragorn asked, unable to hide the shaking in his voice caused by the mixed emotions of relief for finally finding his friend and the lingering effects of the fear and anguish that not a minute ago were tormenting him.

"If I knew that me going out for a walk would be the source of this much worry I would have said something!" Legolas said, putting a hand on the man's arm, as he studied his friend's distressed stance. "Estel… are you sure you are alright?"

Aragorn looked at his friend, still unable to hide all the emotions still raging inside of him. "Legolas… I saw you this morning from my window. You were coming from the woods when you found some sort of a note...I don't know what it said but if I was to guess I am sure it was something really bad for the way you reacted..." His voice faltered for a moment as the memories of that morning's events came to his mind... the despair he had seen in his friend's face still too hard fro him to remember...

Finding his voice again, he continued with the same intensity that his emotions were lending to the speech. "I had never seen you like that! I went down to know what was it, but when I got there you were gone! And now I find you as if nothing happened! It doesn't make any sense!"

"Oh... that..." he whispered, his voice so low that Aragorn barely heard it. He didn't miss how the elf had gotten instantly somber at the mention of the note, and was now waiting for his friend to offer an explanation.

Legolas took a deep breath and looked at Aragorn in his eyes, answering with a tight smile.

"Believe me my friend when I tell you that it was actually nothing."

Aragorn stared at the elf in disbelief, not able to find the words to express his astonishment at what was just said to him. Does he really expects me to believe that?

As if reading his friend's mind, the elf explained.

"It was just a very sick joke someone tried to pull on me. They left a note addressed to me saying that Thalion had fallen ill and perished this night." Aragorn winced at that, knowing how much that must have hurt Legolas.

"So I ran to the stables to check up on him, but he was just fine." he said shaking his head. "Some elfling needs desperately to review their concept of humor."

This is reasonable enough, thought Aragorn, for he knew how deeply his friend loved that horse as if the beast was almost a brother… but for some reason, one that he couldn't understand, something about that whole situation still didn't seem right. After all those years of friendship, Aragorn could read Legolas well, and he felt that, regardless of the elf's reassurance that all was fine, he still felt this warning in the back of his mind telling him that all was not fine... it was actually far from it.

"Are you sure that was all, gwandor nin?" And this time he said it looking straight into the blue orbs, trying to read anything that might give him a light on what was going on. And he saw it. For nothing but a moment, he could see hesitation and conflict in Legolas' eyes, which was quickly replaced by the stoic calmness of the elf.

"Yes, Estel. Everything is…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the doors burst open, and two very known figures entered the room, in the middle of a very 'cheerful' debate.

"I did not miss it! And you know that!" the younger twin spat, unable to hide his annoyance.

"The deer was 30 feet away from you, and you managed to shoot a tree! I'd call that missing..." Elladan retorted with a smirk. "Unless you were actually planning on hunting that poor tree!"

Elrohir glared at his brother. "It was your fault! You tripped me! So... technically I did not miss!" He said it in a final tone.

Elladan turned to the pair standing in front of them and said in a loud whisper, with the most conspiratorial tone. "He missed a shot... well, actually he missed a very easy shot and he just can't admit it!"

Elrohir felt like strangling his twin. "I . DID . NOT . MISS!" he hissed, looking defiantly at Elladan, daring him to continue the matter.

Elladan just shrugged, raising his hands in defeat. "Whatever you say, little brother."

Aragorn and Legolas had been watching the exchange between the twins with amusement. Even though they were almost 3 millennia old, they still managed act like elflings when with each other.

Legolas used the small brake in their quarrel to barge in.

"My friends!" said Legolas embracing the identical duo warmly. "How was the hunting trip?"

Elladan smiled broadly, and stated "It was pretty…. entertaining!" He said that looking mischievously at his twin, who, in turn, did nothing but rolled his eyes, giving an exasperated sigh.

Legolas laughed merrily, enjoying the presence of the twins and thanking the Valar for their timely arrival, for it would divert Aragorn's attention from him. Maybe this would be enough for the man to forget about the matter.

"Come", he said wasting no time, "let's get out of here… maybe you could share some of these entertaining stories about this hunting trip of yours".

With that they all left together to the Hall of Fire, where they stayed the remaining hours of the day, talking and laughing, simply enjoying each other's company. All but Aragorn, who was still not assured by his friend's words.

If everything was fine, Legolas would not have hesitated before saying so… but what could it be? And why wouldn't he tell him?

These questions plagued Aragorn's mind, not allowing him to experience that moment of fellowship. It disturbed him much that Legolas was holding information on him. They were friends, brothers in heart, confidants for years now. It was unnerving to think that the elf might be lying to him.

No… he knew that Legolas would never lie to him. So he quickly dismissed that thought. But he also knew that there was something wrong with his friend, and he was surer of that with each passing moment. So he made the quiet decision to confront his friend later. At the right moment he would talk to the elf and ask for the truth, and he would accept nothing less.

TBC...

So... what did you think? Is it bad? Is it terrible? Or maybe... is it good :) Let me have a piece of your mind! Till next time:)