Underneath It All

Disclaimer: Aragorn, Legolas and Boromir belong to J.R.R. Tolkien and his estate.
A/N: This is totally and completely AU and includes mpreg (later). There is no Sauron, no Ring and no Fellowship.

‘thoughts’


The wedding was only three days away, and Boromir still wasn’t talking to him. Aragorn was growing tired of the situation and the toll it was taking on his and Boromir’s relationship. They had been lovers for ten years now, and this was the first time they had had an argument this serious. The King didn’t like it at all. He was angry at his Steward for not being there for him when he needed him the most; and indeed, blaming him for being infatuated with the Elf Prince. What right did he have to judge him so easily? Was it not Boromir himself who had insisted that he should marry and also be friendly and kind to the Elf?

He was also angry at himself for having some quite impure thoughts concerning said Prince, and his mixed feelings had resulted in him avoiding his lover as much as his lover avoided him. And when it came to Legolas… Well, Aragorn had decided to make friends with him, but in the same time to stop thinking about him as a future bed partner but as a fellow ruler instead. ‘It is pure folly to lust after him. Legolas is too young and inexperienced to comprehend lust.’ However, it was hard for him to find rest in the evenings when he knew that the young beauty was sleeping in the same quarters. This added to not seeing Boromir had made the King extremely sexually frustrated.


He was on his way to a meeting with Deallgar, his chief advisor. Upon entering the room he saw that the man was already in, seated in a stuffed chair. “Do not bother to stand up”, Aragorn said with a dismissive wave of his hand, finding himself a seat. The advisor nodded in gratitude. “As you wish, my liege. Thank you for finding time for me.”

The older man had told his King earlier that morning that he and King Thranduil’s advisor had discussed the marriage of King Elessar and Prince Legolas and that he wanted to speak with his King in private.

“Now”, Deallgar started a bit nervously, “Thranduil’s advisor Tiríon insisted that I speak with you about the Prince. Do you mind?”

“Of course I do not”, Aragorn immediately answered. “I am not surprised that he wants you to speak with me. I understand that his people may be unwilling to leave their youngest Prince to live his life among Men and even more to let him marry their King. I will speak with you, and with Tiríon also, if he so wishes.”

“Tiríon will speak with Prince Legolas. After all, it is not only you, my Lord, who needs to consider his future spouse’s needs and expectations”, Deallgar stated. “In order to make your marriage a successful one, Prince Legolas needs to mature some and behave like the Prince he was born to be, instead of a little Elfling his father has allowed him to be for too long.”

Aragorn’s temper rose. “How dare you criticize my husband-to-be”, he snapped. “It may be true that Prince Legolas is not fully matured yet, but that is not fault of his. He is very young still, having come of age only this spring. For his age he is very intelligent and possesses a sharp mind. And after my passing he will be able to provide our son a lot of good advice on how to rule a mighty kingdom”, Aragorn said and sighed wearily. ‘And after our son becomes King, Legolas is free to do as he wishes… Sail into the West or return to his father and find a new mate’, he thought gloomily.

“However, I will not force him to grow up too fast; I will respect him and allow him time to get used to his new status and environment and I really expect the same from you!”

“I understand”, Deallgar replied calmly. “If I may ask, what is the role of Steward Boromir after your wedding to Prince Legolas? After all, it is known to all that he is your lover. If I may suggest, it would be a good idea to keep your relationship secret from Prince Legolas, if possible; he is unaccustomed to these kinds of affairs and would not understand.”

Aragorn blushed in anger. What was his advisor trying to do, anger him? If so, then he surely was successful. “It would be wise to bear in mind that I am your King and my personal affairs are no-one’s business but mine”, he growled. “I have no intention to hurt the Prince’s feelings; but this is a marriage of convenience and I cannot expect him to fulfil my sexual needs. And when it comes to Boromir; he is not my dirty little secret and will not be treated as such.” The King looked defiantly at his advisor before continuing.

“Prince Legolas has the right to know about Boromir, and Boromir deserves to be acknowledged as my lover. He has been with me for ten years and I will not brush him off just like that just to please you and King Thranduil’s advisor!”

With that the King had left the advisor, never noticing the pleased look that came across the older man’s face at his words.


*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


“Do you understand why it is important for you to listen to and obey King Elessar?” Tiríon asked patiently. Sometimes his Lord’s youngest son indeed was a handful; he was sweet and lovable most of the time but when he decided to be stubborn there was nothing anyone could do about it.

“Because this is his land, he is my King and he knows what is expected of the Prince Consort”, Legolas answered meekly. Inwardly he groaned. ‘If he wanted an obedient little wife why didn’t he marry a woman instead?’

“That is correct, Greenleaf. Now, why such a sour face?” Tiríon tutted. “Getting married to King Elessar cannot be that horrible a fate. I do not know much of him but what I know is quite impressive. He is a fair ruler and loved by all Gondorians. Your father could have picked you a less kind mate.”

Legolas sighed. “I know and I guess I should be thankful for that. This all just makes me feel like a bartering commodity and nothing more. My father sold me to the most powerful Man on Middle-earth, who only accepted me because I can be used as a breeding mare. No-one cared about me enough to ask my opinion on this matter. My father does not love me; he never has and never will! He probably is just happy to see me gone”, Legolas sobbed and hid his beautiful face in his palms. His father’s indifference hurt him greatly; Legolas thought that he no longer cared, having come of age and all, but the truth was that is still hurt. All he had ever wanted was his father’s love and acceptance, but it seemed that there was nothing he could do right.

“Legolas, your father loves you very much, even if he always doesn’t know how to show it”, Tiríon said gently. “You say that your father cares for you not, but that is not true. Did you know that your hand has been asked for marriage continuously ever since you were born? Many an Elf and even a Man has asked your father for his permission to court you but none of them have received it. He did not want to let you marry before you came of age. Surely you know that most fertile Elves get married as soon as they reach sexual maturity, and that happens about a decade ere the actual coming of age”, Tiríon explained, trying to comfort the Prince. “Your father wanted to protect you by not allowing anyone to court you. But this is an alliance he needs desperately; King Elessar is a powerful Man and a significant ally. Maybe your father made a mistake by not asking for your opinion. But it is not my place to criticize my King.”

“No, he doesn’t care!” Legolas cried. “He has never cared about me and my brothers; look what happened with Tavor and Rhavan!” Tavor was the second youngest son of King Thranduil and Legolas’ senior by half a century. Also he had gotten married as soon as he had reached his maturity. “Father made him marry one of his councillors! I have nothing against Rhavan, but for Eru’s sake, he’s even older than Ada himself. I cannot believe that Tavor consented to marry that Elf.”

Tiríon couldn’t help smiling. “Ah, but Legolas, you don’t know everything. The reason why your father insisted that they should marry right away was that Tavor was pregnant. It isn’t befitting for a young Prince to conceive out of wedlock, so King Thranduil wanted them to take responsibility for their actions and marry before the pregnancy became too evident.”

Legolas stared at his father’s advisor in shock. “Do you mean that Tavor and Rhavan were intimate before they were wed?” It didn’t make any sense to him that anyone would engage themselves willingly in such acts. “Why would they do that?”

“Dearest Greenleaf”, Tiríon said gently. “I know it sounds strange to you, but the truth is that Tavor and Rhavan were in love. Mayhap they should have waited until they were legally married, but it didn’t change the outcome. Trust me when I say this: Tavor did want to marry Rhavan and he would have married him sooner or later, baby or not.”

Legolas had hard time trying to understand all this. Of course he remembered that his nephew – Tavor and Rhavan’s son – had been born not a full year after the wedding, but he had never given it much thought. “You make it sound like you should be in love when you get married. Yet I do not love King Elessar; I have only known him for a week”, he said hesitantly.

Tiríon coughed uncomfortably. “Yes, sometimes the reason for marrying is love. But there can also be other reasons, and these marriages have as good an opportunity to succeed as those based on love. I would even say that mutual respect, trust and friendship are the three most important things in a relationship. Often it happens that in time you will learn to love your partner.”

Legolas nodded with a thoughtful expression. “I see. I am most relieved to hear that Tavor wasn’t forced to marry Rhavan. Actually I think they are quite happy together. After all Tavor is now pregnant with another child”, he said and smiled. “I only wish that my marriage will be as good as his. Even if I don’t love King Elessar I do think he will make a fine husband.”

“I believe that, too. Now, tell me the truth, Legolas. Has he made any advances on you?” Tiríon asked bluntly.

“What? Where does that come from?” Legolas all but squealed, blushing hotly. Surely Tiríon could not know that Legolas had had trouble with getting sleep lately, could he? And the reason for this was the King who was sleeping in the room next to his. Legolas didn’t understand it himself. Why did the thoughts about that man make him all hot and excited? Legolas was beginning to suspect that he had caught some sort of illness but it didn’t make any sense, either, since Elves don’t get sick like mortals do.

“Your father told me to keep an eye on him and you. I must say that I do not approve of you moving in the same quarters with him and that is why I have to ask. Has he approached you with improper intentions?” Tiríon asked firmly.

“No, he has not”, Legolas exclaimed, his blue eyes flashing. “He is an honourable man and would not do that kind of thing. You’re insulting me and him by insinuating that he would take advantage of me!”

“You are not to sleep with him ere you are wed, do you understand?” Tiríon asked, unaffected by the Prince’s outburst. “I do agree that King Elessar is not the kind of man who takes something that is not for him to take, but he is a Man nonetheless. Men desire all that is beautiful; they want to conquer and possess. You would do well, Legolas, to bear this in mind. It is not safe to spend time alone with him in your own quarters.”

Legolas was speechless. “I cannot believe you just said that to me”, he finally said, frowning. “You think King Elessar is a brutal Human and I am a weak and helpless maiden? Think again, Tiríon! If, and I say if, Aragorn would attack me I could defend myself against him quite easily. You have no right whatsoever to badmouth him to me or even speak of these matters to me! What I do is my own business and if I wish to sleep with him I will!”

“Legolas…” Tiríon started to say but was interrupted by the irate Prince.

“I am quite tired of this conversation. Good day to you, Tiríon”, he snapped and left.

Tiríon sighed and frowned. ‘I hope that Deallgar had more success with the King than I had with the Prince’, he thought.

Legolas stormed out of the room, heading for his living quarters. His mind was in turmoil. Had he really said that thing about sleeping with the King? That was folly! He was annoyed by the fact that his father’s advisor thought so little of him and Aragorn. ‘He isn’t like that at all’, he thought angrily. ‘Men are lustful, this I have been told many times, but Aragorn is different!’

Soon he reached his quarters and was just about to open the door when he heard something inside. There were two people talking and one of them was Aragorn. Legolas carefully opened the door to peek in. He thought that if it was one of Aragorn’s councillors he would leave, not wanting to disturb an important discussion. He was glad to see that it was Boromir who was speaking with Aragorn; he wasn’t as dull as the rest of Aragorn’s closest men. However, the discussion didn’t seem to be a pleasant one but quite heated instead. Legolas didn’t want to intrude so he started to close the door quietly, but what he saw made him forget all about leaving.

Boromir grabbed Aragorn and pulled him into a passionate kiss and the King answered with equal fervour, slamming his lips against those of his Steward, forcing his tongue inside his mouth.

Legolas gasped aloud. He had never seen two people kissing before, but he guessed that you do that only with people you like really, really much. He closed the door and left in haste. He had told Aragorn earlier that he was allowed to sleep with others; that he didn’t care. But why did seeing Aragorn kissing someone else make his heart ache?


TBC…


A/N: Please review. :)