"Ada," He could tell it was hard for him to talk, his breaths were ragged at best. "Can you tell me something nice?"

He tried to ignore the warmth growing on his own pant legs as more of his sons blood seeped into them, "Of course, my little leaf. Of course I can."

But the blood wasn't the problem.

The venom was the problem. One he did not have a solution for.

He adjusted how he was sitting, so that he could cradle Legolas rather than simply support him, he hoped he wasn't shaking. "Somewhere there's a place for us, that has peace and quiet and open air."

He moved Legolas' hands so that he could hold those too, as they grew slowly colder.

"Somewhere, there's a time for us."

Legolas' breaths grew even more strained, and Thranduil wanted to close his eyes against it all. But he could never do that to his son. "Someday, a time for us."

The forest had grown absolutely still around them, watching with held breath as their Prince tried to remember how to stay alive.

"Time together with time to spare," He kissed his forehead, trying to ignore how it burned with a deadly fever. "Time to look, and time to care."

Tears began to slip from Legolas eyes and he didn't know if was in pain, fear, or sorrow. He wiped them away all the same and held his beautiful son closer, "Somewhere, little leaf, we'll find a new way of living."

He felt the presence of Lady Yavanna's spirit close by, the sorrow of the forest having brought her attention all the way from Aman.

He could tell that Legolas was starting to fall asleep. He gripped him tighter, wanting him to know that he wasn't alone.

He was never alone.

"Somewhere, there's a place where we can start healing, and forgiving."

Ferdan fell to his knees next to him, unable to speak. Voice stolen with the unfairness of it all.

This time Thranduil did close his eyes, "Somewhere there's a time and place for us, someday finally time for us."

Slowly Legolas' hands seemed to be losing their grip. "Hold my hand, and we're halfway there."

But his grip just grew weaker.

Thranduil heard his own voice break along with his heart, "Hold my hand, little leaf, and I'll take you there."

"Somewhere, someday, I'll take you there."

Legolas head went limp against his shoulder, and the only thing that kept Thranduil upright was Ferdans strong arms.

It should have already been too late to save him when Avaleina dropped from the trees with a fresh antidote, having been sent to meet with another patrol to retrieve it.

But somehow, some way, that day it wasn't.

0.00.0..0.0

"Ada, come! I want to show you something!" Legolas said by way of warning four seconds before he took Thranduil and Orophers hands, and began pulling them both up the hill at high speeds.

With a gleeful laugh, Thranduil allowed it. Watching as his own father pulled ahead of the other two, slightly.

Oropher looked back at the two with a teasing smile, "Well, come on then."

Both of the other elves could tell when they were being challenged to a race.

They quickened their own paces, blowing past several very startled and serene looking Noldor on their way up.

That only made the three of them laugh harder.

In the end it was Thranduil who won, if only by a fraction of a second. He turned to the other two with a triumphant smile, "You two ought to know better than that."

Hands on his knees Legolas looked up with offense, "Excuse me! I have won races against you on three occasions!"

"Name them."

"Arwens 2000th birthday, that one summer solstice when Farlen got so drunk he fell out of the tree, and in Ilithein at my and Avaleinas wedding." Legolas ticked each of them off with his fingers.

"Your wedding doesn't count, it was your wedding. I let you win."

Legolas somehow both scoffed and snorted, "Slander! You were just too drunk to see straight!"

"So were you!"

Oropher watched them with extreme fondness.

"And I still beat you!"

Thranduil waved a hand, "Fine. You have three victories out of how many?"

"Doesn't matter. I still have three victories."

"What did you want to show him, leafling?" Oropher interrupted smoothly.

"Oh, yes!" Legolas sprang forward again, pulling only his father along this time. Oropher followed regardless.

He pulled him until Thranduil could see the entire expanse of their new home spread out before them. The great and powerful forest that's Lady Yavanna had grown for them, grown entirely from the seedlings of their old forest in Arda.

Legolas gestured to with grandeur, "We finally found Somehwere."

0.0.0.

(Most of the dialogue in the first part is from the song "Somewhere" in west side story )

For Lusseeldalion, thank you for everything!