Repercussions and Remuneration

Title: "Repercussions and Remuneration"

Type: FPS

Author: Nuinzilien cats.meow83@gmail.com

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Legolas/ Elrohir

Warning: Slash, misuse of classic literature

Disclaimer: Not mine. ::points to Tolkien:: His. I'm just having
fun, and no monetary profit is being made. Please don't sue. I'm
already hideously in debt thanks to college. All I've got is a
computer and two cats...and you're not getting the cats. But the comp
really isn't worth suing me for.

Beta: Samantha_Vimes

Timeline: Pre-Fellowship

Notes: Written for Sildil in the Slashy Santa Fic Swap, who requested
this pairing with a disaster/mistake followed by make-up/comfort smut

Summary: Even after 3,000 years you can learn something new.

Chapter 1 : Elves say the Damnedest Things

Legolas snorted. "Why our ellith are fascinated with them, I know
not. Men are filthy, smelly, and have hair in places no respectable
being would tolerate. They look like bears."

The young Sindarin Princeling smirked as the gathering of elves
around him laughed. One of them spoke up. "How do you bear it, my
Prince?"

Legolas turned dismissing the brief flash of black in the corner of
his eye. "Bear what?"

"Come now, Prince Legolas," another added. "All know you took the
little Peredhel as your lover some time ago…"

Elrohir, the "little Peredhel" in question, did not remain to hear
Legolas' snapped response. Mind awhirl, he spun on his heel and sped
to the chambers he had shared with Legolas during his stay in
Mirkwood. The heavy "clunk" of the closing door masked the sound of a
fist hitting the wall.

"Dammit," Elrohir whispered, flexing his knuckles to check for any
lasting damage. //I knew it was too good to be true. All good
things…// Brushing irritably at his cheek, he went in search of his
saddlebags.

~ ~ ~

Struck by the sudden desire to see his lover, Legolas went in search
of Elrohir, finally tracking him down in the stables. His brow
furrowed when he saw the half elf preparing to mount his
horse. "Elrohir? Has something happened in Imladris?"

His dark-haired lover stiffened. "No."

Legolas frowned in confusion. "Then why do you leave?"

Elrohir took a deep breath, refusing to look at him. "Because, as
much as I wish it were otherwise, I cannot help what I am." He
mounted.

"What?"

He tugged on the horse's reins, pulling her around. The eyes staring
into Legolas' were full of anger and pain. "Yes, I am Elf," Elrohir
replied in a cool, distant voice. "But I have Man blood in me too…
with all of the smelly hair that comes with it."

Clicking to his horse, the Elf Knight rode off, leaving a stunned Elf
Prince staring after him.

Legolas came to his senses. "Elrohir, wait!"

Too late. He was gone.

~ ~ ~

Eight months later, Elrohir still refused to speak with him. Legolas
took every opportunity possible to visit Imladris. Yet, every time,
Elrohir was either away for a dozen different reasons, or flat out
refused to grant him audience.

Having finally reached his wit's end, Legolas went to the only one
who would know best how to get around Elrohir's anger

"Legolas," Elladan said, swiping the sharpening stone down the length
of his blade. "What brings you here this time?" Swipe.

Taking heart in the fact that, while somewhat more distant than
normal, Elladan's voice held no actual hostility, Legolas sat down
opposite his old friend, though he kept careful eye on the sword's
location. "I've come to ask for your help."

"With?"

Swipe.

"Elrohir."

Swipe.

Swipe.

Swipe. "What happened?"

Swipe.

Legolas sighed. He knew full well Elladan probably knew as much, if
not more, about the situation than Legolas himself did. He knew what
his long time friend was doing. Elrohir was his brother. He wasn't
about to make it easy on the one who had hurt his twin.

"I thought Elrohir would have told you."

Swipe.

"He did." Swipe

"And?"

Swipe.

Swiiiipe.

Swiiiiiiiipe.

"Elladan –"

"I wish to hear you tell me what happened, Thranduilion." Vicious
swipe.

Legolas winced. Badgering the one who is possibly his only ally would
get him nowhere. Sighing, he relented. "On the day he left for
Imladris, I went looking for him. I found him in the stables,
readying his horse. He seemed upset."

Swipe.

"What did he say?"

"He said something about not being able to be anything but what he
was, that he was Elf, but he was Man as well, smelly hair and – Oh,
Valar!" The light dawned. "He heard."

Flip. Swipe!

"Heard. What?"

Legolas began to curse his loose tongue. He wasn't looking forward to
telling Elladan his thoughts on marriage between the First and Second
born children of Eru. "It was a foolish comment. With as much time as
I have spent away from home, the other warriors were –"

Elladan looked up from his task, eyes glittering angrily. "What. Did.
You. Say?" he asked with quiet heat.

Legolas looked away, rubbing the back of his neck in
embarrassment. "I might have said something about how Men are filthy,
smelly, and have hair in places no respectable being would allow." He
tried to look at his possibly former friend now, but broke under the
intense scrutiny. "I also might have mentioned that I didn't
understand why our ellith found Men attractive…" he trailed off to a
mumble.

He flinched when the whet stone smacked against the low table.

"Aye, Thranduilion, the `little Peredhel' heard it." Elladan studied
the sharpened blade, looking for imperfections.

Legolas frowned. "Wait…if he heard that, then he heard my response,
right?"

Elladan blinked. "Evidently not."

Legolas scowled at the memory. "I sent the impudent bastard to the
infirmary."

The young Peredhel cocked his head in curiosity. "Why?"

The Sindarin prince looked at his companion, incredulous. "You ask me
why?! He insulted your brother, the one I love!"

"The way I see it, he was just following the royal example."

"What?!" came the indignant reply. "I never said –"

"- that Men were filthy, smelly, and had hair in places no
respectable being would tolerate. They look like bears." Elladan's
eyes came back into focus. "I believe that was the exact quote, was
it not?"

Legolas had the good grace to look ashamed. "Aye, it was, though I
don't understand – "

"Legolas, though we never chanced to meet him before his death, our
father's twin was the first King of Numenor. The Princess Idril
married Tuor and bore him Earendil. Luthien Tinuviel defied her
father and Mandos himself to be with Beren Erchamion. We are Elf,
yes, but we are also Man, and we can do naught about it."

"Yes, I know. Elrohir said the same thing before he left. But I still
don't understand. We've joked about it often."

"Have you? Both of you?"

"Of course bo – " Legolas cut himself off as he thought back to the
many times he had made a teasing remark about the sparse hair on his
lover's chest and arms. The more he thought about it, the more he
realized Elrohir's laughter had always been half-hearted, and his
normally cheeky personality grown quiet and restrained
afterwards. "But, he never said…"

Elladan took in the look of dawning horror on the Prince's young
face. "Yes, and that is his mistake. He has always been particularly
sensitive on the subject. Moreso than I."

"Why?

"Well, I didn't catch as much ribbing as he did during our training."

"Wait…" Legolas looked confused. "But, I thought you trained at home,
under Lord Glorfindel?"

Elladan nodded. "We did. But Glorfindel could not protect us from
everything, nor would he have. We were the two odd ones out in an
army of full Elves. We were bound to catch some teasing for it."

"But, you're Lord Elrond's sons! If anything, self preservation
should have kept their mouths shut and their respect intact."

"Yes, and being the Lord's firstborn and heir saved ME from much of
their mockery. But `Roh….he's the Lord's son as well, but he doesn't
stand to inherit unless something were to happen to BOTH Father and
I. Therefore, he had no real power and took the brunt of their
harassment."

"But surely your Father or Lord Glorfindel would have – "

"Would YOU have told them?" Elladan interrupted.

Legolas opened his mouth to respond, and then thought again. Would he
have? He knew what it was like in the patrols. How comraderie could
very well mean the difference between living and dying. A good
warrior would never intentionally ignore another's cry for help, but
they may not go out of their way for someone they don't trust. And
you can't trust someone who goes to your superior over a few
comments. He sighed.

"I thought so. And so did Elrohir. So, he kept quiet, and he made me
keep quiet. From everything he told me, they made his life just short
of a living nightmare, and I know he didn't tell me everything.
Trippings, accidental shoves into the nearest wall when passing…The
communal baths after training were the worst, and he avoided them
when he could. There were the slaps and gropes that every new recruit
deals with, but they didn't stop there. They would dare each other to
run up and "pull the bear's chest hair" or make comments about
how `only the race of Men would be stupid enough to need help finding
their organs, though with as small as they were, it was to be
expected,' and other such nonsense." Elladan's lip curled in
disgust. "And that was when I was present. I dare not begin to think
how much worse it became when I was not."

"But they seem to respect the two of you now."

"Only after we went off on our own to gain Mother's release."

"At least – "

"It did not STOP, Legolas. It just got much more insidious."

Legolas' expression grew darker. "How?"

Elladan didn't respond, carefully examining his blade.

"How, Elladan?" Legolas pressed, growing frustrated.

"It is not my place to tell, Legolas. All I will say is that he had
hoped – we had BOTH hoped – that you would be different."

The Mirkwood prince sat back in his chair, rubbing his eyes with a
sigh. "How do I fix this, `Dan?"

The young Peredhel's eyebrow arched in perfect imitation of his
sire. "I am not going to design your penance for you, Thranduilion.
However, were I in your position, I would figure out which part of my
lover I took offense to and then prove I no longer found it so
odious."

~~ tbc ~~