A/N: I want to thank all the wonderful reviews. You really, really help me write the next chapters. 'group huggle'

Chapter 2: Journeying

Early the next morning Legolas and Aragorn shouldered their packs, waved Aragorn's family goodbye and set out from the Last Homely House. Their trip would take them eastwards through the valley, over wide plains with green grasses that swayed in the gentle breeze of the afternoon, and through dark woods that lined the many streams that meandered through the valley. When they walked briskly but still relaxed, they would reach the cave system shortly after nightfall.

The cooks of Lord Elrond's household had packed cold meat and fresh bread, as well as cheese and some vegetables into their packs, and their flasks were filled with sweet juice. There were enough streams flowing through the valley that there was no need to burden themselves with water flasks.

For most of the morning Aragorn and Legolas marched eastwards without pause, but around early midday the sun became too harsh and the temperature too warm for the young man to bear. Therefore, they sought the shadows of trees whenever it was available, moving more slowly. Legolas did not mind the unhurried pace, for it gave him the opportunity to enjoy the scenery of Imladris, the twittering of the many birds, the humming of the bees and the gurgling of the brooks.

They stopped at noon for rest, sitting down under a century old oak. A gentle breeze stirred the grasses that grew around the thick trunk, but it brought them no refreshment, but only more warm air. Sighing, Aragorn wiped his hand across his sweaty forehead. His dark tresses clung to his temples, and he had long ago abandoned even his linen shirt in an attempt to cool down somewhat.

"We should have journeyed at night." The young ranger grumbled, taking a big gulp from his flasks. "This heat is simply unbearable." As if to underline his words, Aragorn moved his hand once more across his forehead, before he wiped it clean at his leggings.

Legolas, leaning against the trunk of the tree with his feet crossed at the ankles, gave Aragorn an innocent smile, "I like the sun and warmth." And with a wink in the man's direction, he added smugly, "And the view."

With a mock-annoyed gesture Aragorn swatted at Legolas half-heartedly. "It is simply too hot to wear my shirt, Legolas. Not all of us are so unaffected by the weather."

"Am I complaining?" Turning huge eyes on the young ranger, Legolas began to pout slightly.

For the first few moments Aragorn actually managed to keep a straight face, but then Legolas's bottom lip began to quiver, causing Aragorn to burst into a laugh. "All right, all right."

Grinning, Legolas leaned forwards to give Aragorn a sweet kiss. "Just be careful, Estel, if you keep this shirtlessness up, I might be tempted to do something I would surely not regret later, but that might prompt your brothers to chase me out of the valley." Legolas said, his eyes glimmering with mischief.

"Oh, is that so?" Kissing Legolas on those red lips of his, Aragorn traced a finger down the elf's cheek.

"Oh yes." Legolas said softly, brushing his lips gently against the man's, tasting the sweet juice the man had just drunken. A moment later their lips met in a lingering kiss, letting them forget the world around them. They sunk down into the lush grass, and their hands soon found just the right spots to caress and massage. One kiss turned into many more, and when they parted, they both panted slightly.

Tucking a strand of blond hair behind Legolas's ear, Aragorn smiled at the elf. "I could do this for hours, Legolas. But if we want to reach the caves today, we should leave now."

A heartfelt sigh escaped the Wood-elf, but he nodded. "Ai, I think you are right." He climbed nimbly to his feet and extended a hand to help Aragorn up. "Let us be gone, then. The sooner we arrive at the caves, the more time we have for other things." There was no way Aragorn could have missed the lovely sparkle in Legolas's eyes, and with a grin, the man let himself be helped to his feet.

They quickly packed their things and set out again, but they had not gone very far yet when the forest they had been walking through thinned out, and the last trees fell away behind them. Before them, a wide meadow spread from left to right, with a few small brooks running through it. There was no tree or large boulder to be seen, and Aragorn sighed dejectedly.

With a look that reminded Legolas very much of a disgruntled puppy, the young man took his pack from his shoulders and began to rummage through it. After a few moments of searching, he took something out that looked like a piece of white clothing, before he closed his pack again and swung it across his shoulders.

With the white thing in his hand, he looked pleadingly at Legolas, "Promise me that you won't laugh, Legolas."

Having no clue what his friend was talking about, Legolas shrugged with his shoulders, "Why should I laugh, Estel? What is this?" He gestured at the white linen thing in Aragorn's hands, eyeing it curiously.

Another suffering sigh left Aragorn's lips lisp, and with a gesture so full of loathing and defeat, the young man shook the white thing out, before he put it on his head. With an expression of hopefulness he turned to gaze at Legolas, doing his best to give the elf his best wounded puppy look.

For a moment, Legolas was absolutely speechless. He was a yeni old elf, but something this ridiculous he had never seen before. At first he did not even know what it was that Aragorn had placed on his head, but after a moment of staring, his brain told him that the white things actually was supposed to be some sort of hat. A very ugly, disfigured and mean hat, another part of his brain supported helpfully.

"Legolas?" Aragorn's almost timid voice reached the elf's ears, and only then did he realize that he must have stared speechlessly at the hat for many moments. "Is it that bad?"

"No!" Legolas hastened to say, and when he saw the man's wince, he added quickly, "No, Estel. It is quite….charming, actually." It took most of Legolas's self restraint to not move his hand behind his back so that he could cross his fingers at this blunt lie.

Aragorn fingered the rim of the hat for a moment, looking doubtful, "My brothers made it for me some years ago, when we had an equally hot summer. I know that it is…not the most pretty thing, but I never came around to replace it."

Now that his first shock tore off, Legolas had to fight hard to not let a huge smirk cross his face. The hat that the young man was wearing was the most ugly thing he had ever seen, and that included the naked dwarf he had seen shortly after the Battle of the Five Armies. The thing did not even resemble a hat, but looked rather like a wobbly (not so clean) rag. Had Legolas not known better, he would have thought the thing to be some sort of cleaning cloth. And, and that was maybe the most funny thing, the hat made Aragorn look like a toddler again (not that Legolas had ever seen a toddler, but that was how he imagined them to look).

With the golden skin and the dark locks that peeked out from under the broad rim of the hat, and the huge, pleading eyes, Aragorn simply looked….cute. That was the only word that came to Legolas's mind, and he bit his cheek to restrain the stupid grin that wanted to spread over his face.

So, Legolas sought for something to say that would not hurt the young man's pride, and after some seconds of mindless staring, Legolas finally asked, "What are you wearing it for, anyway? It is not raining."

Legolas had not thought it possible, but the pleading look on Aragorn's look became even more pleading. "Don't laugh, Legolas."

"I won't, Estel. So, why are you wearing it?" Legolas gave the hat an experimental tug, before he gazed at his friend once more.

"It is because of the sun, Legolas." Aragorn said, and when he saw Legolas's perplexed look, he elaborated. "One summer, as hot as this one, I played out in the sun for hours when I was younger. My dark hair attracted the sun and in the evening I suffered from a sunstroke. The twins made this hat for me then, and I promised to wear it on days like this. It actually helps."

For Legolas, the fact that the sun could hurt one of Eru's creations was a strange concept. Elves did not suffer from sunstrokes, and he had never heard of it before. While the two friends made their way across the meadow, he asked curiously, "A sunstroke? I have never heard of this. What is it?"

"Well," Aragorn began, trying to find the best way to describe it to his friend. He knew Legolas long enough to know that the concept of human illnesses was strange to the elf, and that he did not feel comfortable whenever this subject was brought up. Therefore, Aragorn tried to explain a sunstroke to Legolas with but a few words, without making it sound too serious, downplaying the things that could happen. He did not want to worry Legolas when there was no need to.

When he was finished, Legolas gave him a strange look, "And that hat helps you to not get a sunstroke?"

"Aye. It is no guarantee, but a very good precaution."

"And if you would get a stroke, you would suffer from fever and dizziness and sickness?"

Aragorn nodded, "Aye, most likely."

Legolas made a face, but his eyes remained serious, "That sounds awful. And dangerous." He turned to look at the young ranger, "Estel, why would you think I would laugh at you because you wear a hat to try to prevent something like this?"

"I don't know." Aragorn answered, shrugging his shoulders. "If you say it like this, it really was a stupid thought." The man thought for a moment before he continued, "For me, a sunstroke is something normal, like a cold or another human sickness. But for you, it is just….alien."

Legolas said nothing for a moment, but then he draped an arm across Aragorn's shoulders, "I would never laugh at one of your human traits, Estel. They are what make you so interesting to me, so unique."

"Really?" Aragorn asked skeptically, but when he looked into Legolas's eyes as saw the truth there, he smiled weakly, trying to lift the mood, "But you do realize that I will wear this hat the whole day?"

Legolas gave the hat a queer look, then sighed audibly, "Every good things has its downsides, you know."

Aragorn groaned loudly, but a grin stole itself across his features, "So bad, huh?"

Unable to control his laughter any longer, Legolas laughed heartily, "Aye, Estel. So bad." And with another laugh, Legolas pulled the hat down over Aragorn's eyes, before he sprang away and ran down the field.

"Oh, Legolas! You just wait!" And with a shout of retaliation, Aragorn sprinted after the light-footed elf, a smile on his face.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Late that night, just after it became really dark, Legolas and Aragorn reached the eastern side of the valley, where the cave system was located that Aragorn had mentioned to Legolas. With the setting of the sun, the temperatures had dropped somewhat, but it was sticky and sultry. After a day of journeying, even Legolas looked a bit worse for wear, with his blond hair getting loose from his braids and his clothing clinging to his body.

They set up camp close to the entrance to the caves, but they lit no fire due to the warmth of the night. A narrow brook burbled nearby and they washed the day's sweat and grime from their bodies, before they spread out their bed rolls and settled down comfortably. Neither of the two had a big appetite that evening, and so they simply ate the rest of the meat and some bread, leaving the cheese and fruits for the next day.

Bedding his head on Legolas's chest, Aragorn gazed up at the sky. A myriad of silver stars shone down on them, bathing the night into a silver hue. It accented Legolas's elven glow, causing Aragorn to sigh contentedly. The last weeks had been the most wonderful in his young life, and to be out here in the woods, alone with Legolas, not having to worry about wolves or orcs or any other foul beasts, that was simply too good to be true.

"What makes you smile, Estel?" Legolas asked, stroking the young man's hair fondly.

"Nothing." Smiling up at Legolas, Aragorn shrugged his shoulders. "Everything."

"Ah, we are in a philosophical mood tonight." There was a teasing undertone in Legolas's voice, causing Aragorn to lightly slap Legolas's leg.

"Sush, Legolas. You are destroying my good mood."

Laughing, Legolas shook his head and gave one of Aragorn's locks a soft tug. "Now, and we wouldn't have that, would we?"

"No, of course not." Redirecting his gaze back at the starry sky, Aragorn sighed once more. "That would make this whole trip rather…." But before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly sat up straight and slapped his hand to his ear, shuddering. A colorful curse left his lips, making Legolas raise a finely shaped eyebrow.

"Curse these stupid beasts!" Aragorn exclaimed, rubbing over his ear. "I swear they want to eat me alive." The man frowned, but then he slowly sank back again, shifting into a comfortable position. "How comes it these insects never bite you, Legolas?"

Legolas simply shrugged, "Because I told them not to. Maybe you should try it one time, too."

Aragorn shot him a disbelieving look (which Legolas ignored), before he shook his head, muttering quite audibly under his breath, "Wood-elves."

Legolas stroked Aragorn's hair until the young ranger had fallen asleep, and when his nightmares returned that night, he held him close, whispering reassurances into his ear. They calmed him and soothed him back to a deep sleep without ever waking him. That night, Legolas vowed that he would talk with Aragorn about the nightmares, if he wanted to or not. They could not continue, and Legolas was willing to do anything in his might to stop them.

To be continued