In Twilight

A/N: Big thanks to Ilye again for beta reading. Just five for chapters then I can start another story. Hope you all are enjoying this story.

/ / denotes thoughts.
~~~~~~~~~~ denotes changes in scene or POV.

Chapter 16: Before the War
Summary: The lovers are reunited and spend the night under the stars, sharing whispered promises and heartfelt caresses, and dreading the day to come yet welcoming it all the same (slash).

Valar, it felt like forever since he last saw him! Once the group of Northern Dunedain had finally caught up with Estel and the company of Rohan, Elladan was at last allowed to be reunited with Legolas. How he had missed him! Not even a full year had passed since they parted, and that to an elf is nothing. At the same time, however, it felt like forever to Elladan. He had spent many a night worrying over how Legolas was faring on the journey and whether or not he had helped Frodo complete the quest they were sent out on.

The lovers were reunited now, yet they were not yet allowed their time alone. There was much that the twins needed to discuss with Estel, messages from their father, sister and grandmother they needed to relate and instructions to give. There wtilltill work to be done against the evil growing stronger in the land. But, at sam same time, those against the Dark Lord needed much rest before they would possess the strength to complete their work.

“Then the Paths of the Dead is the road we must take?” Estel said during the private discussion he was having with the twins alone. “Ada suggest that to be the best route? ‘Tis is a perilous road.”

“Aye, it is,” Elladan replied. “Only you have the power to command the dead that resiherehere, Estel. It is the shortest distance from here, and a path in which you can gather a great number of warriors at one time.”

“But who would follow me into such a path?”

“We would,” Elrohir said. “You are our foster-brother and a dear friend; we would follow you to the end. The Dunedain would follow, for you are their chief; and certainly Legolas and Gimli will not abandon you after traveling in your company this far.”

“You are both right. The Rohirrim will ride forth towards Gondor of their own accord while we take the more perilous route. Come then, let us take out rest tonight. Tomorrow will be an eventful day at the very least.”

The twins nodded their agreement before parting from his company. Halbarad and the other Dunedain had already set up camp and constructed a fire, which everyone was gathered around for warmth. Rations for the night were being passed around as the twins joined them, followed shortly after by Estel. The company spent the evening in quiet whispers; the center of their conversation was the path they should take to get to Gondor and the final confrontation with the Dark Lord.

Elladan, though, spent most of the evening giving his lover sidelong glances; most of the time, he also caught Gimli staring at him and often had to look away, embarrassed. The Dwarf thought long and hard about the glances he saw being shared between his friend and the eldest son of Elrond. Come to think of it, he had also seen similar looks during his stay at Imladris; he wondered what it all meant.

“Legolas,” the Dwarf said, turning to his companion. “Is there something going on between you and Elrond’s son?”

“Why, of course, my friend,” Legolas said very casually as he nibbled on a wafer of lembas. “We have been friends for nearly five hundred years. We’ve gone hunting, riding, traveling, almost everything together. Elrohir and I are very close friends, almost brothers.”

“Is that one Elrohir?” Gimli, not being able to tell the twins apart, simply pointed at Elladan and watched as Legolas’ gaze followed his finger.

“Nay, ’tis Elladan, his elder brother.”

“All right then, what is your relationship with him?” Gimli huffed; was the elf actually blushing? Always composed and poised, Legolas was actually feeling embarrassed? What was the world coming to?!

“Well…um…”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know how to say this…”

The Dwarf was getting rather impatient with all the evasive statements his elf friend was making. “So just say it!”

“I…I think I’m going to go clean up a bit.” And, with that, Legolas jumped to his feet in no time at all and all but dashed from Gimli’s side. The Dwarf was left in utter confusion with a snickering Aragorn for company.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“No, nothing at all, Gimli,” Aragorn replied, stifling the rest of his laughter.

“Indeed, you did nothing but embarrass our fair Mirkwood elf,” Elrohir said as he came to claim the spot Legolas just vacated. “Which, might I add, is a fair accomplishment in itself.”

“Just what did I say to embarrass him?” Gimli asked, turning to pin Elladan with his gaze.

The eldest son of Elrond swallowed thickly as the dark gaze fixated upon his person. He squirmed under the intense look and felt the heat rise to his cheeks as Aragorn and Elrohir turned to look at him as well. Hastily, Elladan got to his feet and smoothed out his tunic in a nervous manner. “I…um…think I’ll go clean up a bit.”

“You elves are always cleaning yourselves up,” Gimli replied while puffing on his pipe. “A little dirt and grime isn’t going to hurt you.” The Dwarf huffed again as Elrohir rolled his eyes, while his twin attempted to defend himself.

“We have been riding for days, Master Dwarf.”

“And we’ve been running for days, not to mention fighting stinking Uruk-Hai in near darkness, with rain pouring throughout the night.”

Elladan sputtered, not quite knowing how to respond. He had his own intentions for leaving, but wasn’t about to let the Dwarf know what they were. He shot Aragorn a piercing glance when the Dunedan burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. “I will grant you the benefit of the doubt, Master Dwarf. But I am still in need of some clea up. up.”

“So what are you still doing here?!” Elrohir exclaimed, throwing a half-eaten wafer of lembas at his twin, who narrowed missed the flying projectile. “Get on with it and stop standing around arguing, conversing, implying…whatever in the Valar’s name you are doing! Go to it already!” The younger twin batted some hair out of his eyes as Elladan took off in the direction Legolas had previously left in.

Gimli was left looking quite confused as Elrohir stood and retrieved the lembas, muttering something about his twin losing half his wits at birth, and Aragorn burst into a new round of laughter. “Did I miss something?” the Dwarf as scr scratching the coarse hair upon his head.

“Nay Gimli,” Aragorn replied through snickers as Elrohir reclaimed his seat and bit into his wafer. “Just a little brotherly banter is all. This happened quite often in the past.” He snickered again as Elrohir rolled his eyes and said something about an understatement. It was then that Gimli decided that, though he had came to appreciate elves, he would never understand them.

~~~~~~~~~~

Elladan, by this time, had successfully made his way out of the camp and towards a small nearby stream; he reminded himself to both thank and throttle Elrohir later for the exchange that had occurred between them. His twin had nearly given away the comings and goings of what went on between the eldest son of Elrond and the youngest prince of Mirkwood, something Elladan did not want Gimli to be aware of yet.

He wasn’t afraid of any disapproving remarks the Dwarf would make; in fact, if Gimli even uttered a word against their relationship, Elladan would make sure he lived to regret it. No, it was more along the lines that the Peredhel didn’t have the energy at the moment to put up with all the teasing Gimli could possibly rain down on the pair. Plenty of time later for teasing; right now Elladan was more interested in resting with his lover.

Rounding a tree, Elladan suddenly found himself braced against the rough trunk as a pair of lips claimed his hungrily and eager hands roamed the front of his tunic. He moaned wantonly as he returned the caresses, remembering familiar peaks and plateaus whilst wrestling with the all too demanding tongue that sparred with his own.

“What took you so long?” Legolas asked breathlessly as they parted, before his lips claimed the point of an ear.

“Master Dwarf demanded an argument fme bme before I was allowed my leave,” Elladan replied, leaning into the touch and drawing his love closer. “Remember when you arrived at Imladris?”

Legolas allowed himself a sly smile as he bit lightly into his lover’s ear and elicited a sigh from Elladan. “How could I forget, ithil-nîn? Did you enjoy the greeting?” Legolas gasped as suddenly the prince of Mirkwood found himself turned and his back pressing against the tree he had previously trapped Elladan against.

“Allow me to ‘greet’ you this time, anor-nîn.”

“How?”

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.” Slender hands made quick work of the prince’s garments as well as his own, tossing the clothing aside as they were slipped from arms and legs. Gently, Elladan guided them towards the ground until Legolas was lying upon the grass with the eldest twin kneeling between his knees. The Peredhel took a moment to admire the beauty he had fallen in love with just over five hundred years ago.

“Like what you see?” Legolas asked teasingly as he observed the darkening orbs of his lover.

“Very much so. But I like touching even more.” Just as he finished speaking, Elladan’s hands began to wander over the pale thighs of his love; he allowed his fingertips to dance over the skin, moving from knees to hips in swirling patterns. He kept his eyes trained on his lover’s chiseled features during his ministrations, a faint smile gracing his lips.

At the warm touches bestowed upon him, Legolas moaned and closed his eyes, drowning in the long-missed contact. “Ithil-nîn…”

“Here.” Elladan leaned forward, pressing a ghost of a kiss upon Legolas’ lips; he bestowed butterfly kisses upon the prince’s cheeks, eyelids, neck and collarbones as his hands busily pleasured his love with faint touches. He knew the light contact was driving Legolas mad, and he delighted in seeing the frustration etched upon that beautifully flushed face. Soon, however, Elladan too was growing impatient. Licking his lips, he moved lower and, with a swift motion, claimed Legolas’ sex entirely with his mouth.

Legolas suppressed a scream at the heated cavern engulfing his erection. Biting down sharply upon his lower lip, his hands strayed to the dark tresses of the twin, fingers tangling within the silken strands. Gasps and moans of pleasure and delight fled his parted lips as he felt himself being taken by that luscious mouth of his lover’s. “Elladan…please, don’t stop.” He raised his hips, seeking to press himself deeper into that warm cavern, but a grunt of frustration sounded as firm hands held him in place.

“Easy, melme,” Elladan whispered after releasing Legolas for a moment. “Just a bit longer.” His tongue flickered over the head of his lover’s erection then swirled down to the base and back up again. Elladan repeated the procedure a few more times before, feeling Legolas about to climax, he swallowed the sex whole and sucked hard.

Not a moment had passed before the prince reached orgasm, spilling his seed down his love’s throat; Elladan followed soon after, releasing himself into the grass before letting Legolas’ lax member slip from his mouth. Crawling forward, he lay down next to his lover and bestowed gentle kisses upon Legolas’ face. The prince smiled and snuggled, feeling strong arms encircling his waist. They lay together quietly for some time, relishing the breeze that cooled their heated skin and the warmth radiating from one another.

“You know,” Legolas mumbled from Elladan’s shoulder. “We ought to head back soon before Gimli decides to come and investigahy ihy it’s taking us so long to bathe.”

Elladan groaned. “You’re right, I wouldn’t want him catching us like this.”

“Afraid he’ll object, ithil-nîn?”

“Nay, I’m afraid of all the teasing that will follow. ‘Why Master Elladan, why didn’t you say you had a thing for the prince here? Comely, isn’t he? Come now, there’s no reason to blush. It’s just mutual, attraction. It is mutual isn’t it? Are you blushing again?’” Elladan rolled his eyes as Legolas let loose a fit of laughter. Once he had calmed down, the pair shared a kiss before rising to their feet and heading to the nearby stream to bathe. Upon getting cleaned, dried and dressed properly again, the lovers took a moment to share an embrace before rejoining the others. The war was about to start; they hoped this wouldn’t be the last time they would be together.

Translations:
Ada-Father
Ithil-nîn-My moon
Anor-nîn-My sun
Melme-Love