Disclaimer: Most of the characters are J.R. Tolkien's, not mine.

Rating: PG-13 – to be on the safe side, for fluffy, non-explicit m/m.

Summary: This story is a sequel to First Meetings, but can be read by itself. It tells the story of Aragorn's and Legolas' friendship and love, how they grow up and find their own places and roles. Much of it is Elrond's PoV. Very fluffy A/L. Complete.

Time: About 70 years before LoTR.

Author's note: This story was my first fanfiction ever. I started writing it because I wanted to create a story that was roughly in line with both book and movie canon (with some liberties), where the characters stayed 'in character', and which dealt with developing relationships between characters, both of a general and romantic nature. There were to be no female inserts (they always smack of Mary Sue), and I did not want to over- emphasise Arwen's role since she does not play an important role in the book. But I wanted some romance, soI ended up with m/m relationships. There are no explicit or graphic scenes, it is all very fluffy. But you have been warned, if you do not like this or cannot cope with it, please do not continue. This has not been beta-ed, all errors are mine. Please read and review, flames are not accepted.

June 2005: This story is currently being edited chapter by chapter, there may be some minor inconsistencies.

To Make a Choice

Chapter 1

Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, sat at his desk, working on some trade agreements. He was restless, unable to concentrate on the documents in front of him. With a sigh he looked out of the window, only to see his twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, practicing their archery skills.

Suddenly there was a commotion as two riders approached the yard. With a surprised smile Elrond saw that it was Estel, his adopted human son. His smile faded somewhat when he saw that Estel's companion was Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood and heir of King Thranduil.

Legolas was young for an elf, indeed he had only reached his majority about twenty five years ago, which made him a very young elf. He was also the son of King Thranduil of the Mirkwood Realm, and Lord Elrond and Thranduil had not been on good terms since the War of the Last Alliance three thousand years ago.

Estel and Legolas had known each other since Estel had been about fifteen years old. Elrond and his sons had visited Lasgalen, and it was on this first visit that Estel and Legolas became friends. They also fell in love with each other, but kept that quiet for a while. Since then, the young man had passed his coming of age, and the relationship between him and the prince had deepened over time.

Elrond had spoken to Estel about this relationship, the difficulties it relationship presented both for the young people and their fathers. He was convinced that Thandruil was equally unimpressed by this connection, and probably even less tolerant since Estel was not an elf, which added yet another dimension to the issue. However, neither father had succedded in breaking the relationship between the two, and finally an uneasy truce was reached.

Estel would travel to Mirkwood for several weeks a year. He did not talk much about these visits, and Elrond suspected that his welcome was not a warm one. However, Estel seemed to consider this price worthwhile paying to see Legolas. He was now a grown man, albeit a young one, so Elrond had decided to let him make his own decisions and keep the doors of his home open for his son and his friend, although he was well aware that Legolas' welcome in Imladris had always been a cool one.

As his son and his friend approached, Elrond observed his son and his lover. Estel was tall, and for a human, slender and graceful. His dark hair was long and tied with a catch at the back of his neck to keep it out of his face. His face was clean shaven and had not yet lost its all of its boyish roundness, with sensitive features and grey eyes. He wore a simple brown tunic and dark leggings. At his coming of age a few years ago, he had been told of his heritage as Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This had come as a shock to him, but Elrond suspected that in many ways Estel had not really taken on board the significance of this information. For the time being he was Estel Elrondion of Imladris.

Legolas was of about the same height as Estel, but much slighter in built, although every movement betrayed a subtle strength. He was very graceful, with a fine-featured face and blue eyes so dark that they looked almost black. His long blond hair was usually braided away from his face in Mirkwood warrior fashion. Elrond knew that the young elf had a reputation as a superb archer and outstanding swordsman. However, Elrond had very rarely seen Legolas smile or indeed betray any emotion at all. He always looked slightly aloof to the point of arrogance, a trait that Elrond did not appreciate in a partner for any of his sons. He just hoped that Estel would not get hurt in this relationship.

Elrond gave up his position on the balcony and made his way down stairs to welcome his son and his friend. Elladan and Elrohir had already abandoned their archery practice and were approaching the two newcomers. Elrond observed with interest the interaction between the four young people.

As soon as the two riders were within the courtyard, the twins ran up to their brother. Elrohir pulled Estel from his horse, hugging him, laughing and talking. Elladan joined into the happy melee. Legolas was for the time being ignored. He slipped gracefully of his horse and also took the reins of Estel's horse to lead the horses in the direction of the stables.

o-o-o-

Legolas sighted inwardly. He had not looked forward to coming to Rivendell. He knew only too well that Lord Elrond and his sons did not appreciate his relationship with Estel but tolerated his presence for Estel's sake. It was, of course, not much different when Estel visited Mirkwood. Therefore Legolas most liked the times when he and Estel were alone hunting or travelling. But both Aragorn and himself had duties in their respective homes and these needed to be seen to.

Legolas also did not feel very well, in fact, as he got of the horse, he realised that he was not feeling well at all. Three days ago they had traded a few meat pies from a group of men they had encountered on the way between Lasgalen and Rivendell. They had eaten them and almost immediately afterwards, his stomach had started to revolt and he had not been able to keep down any food or drink since. Estel had also felt slightly unwell but it had passed quickly. Legolas was certain that he had food poisoning – elves do not get ill, but they will suffer the effects of poison. By the time they arrived at Rivendell, he had a severe headache and was feeling nauseous and slightly shaky. Legolas had tried hard not to let his friend know how poorly he felt because he knew how much Estel had looked forward to seeing his family gain. They had been on the road for several months and for a young human, this was a long time.

For the time being, however, Estel was busy greeting his brothers and his father, who had come to join the three youngsters.

Legolas quietly led the horses to the stables. Of course he could have let a servant do this, but it gave him an opportunity to slip away unnoticed. He quickly took the saddle of Estel's horse (his friend preferred to ride with a saddle, whereas Legolas himself usually rode bareback) and removed the packs from both horses. He then found a cloth and rubbed both horses down. Afterwards, he quietly made his way to the house and to the room in which he stayed when he was in Rivendell. Despite the tensions, Lord Elrond's hospitality was always faultless, and Legolas had come to view this particular room as somewhat of a refuge when he found the strain of dealing with subtle hostility too much.

He made it to 'his' room unnoticed, and took of his boots and outer tunic. He also quickly unbraided his hair. Only dressed in a light shirt and leggings, he curled up on the bed, pressing a cushion against his cramping stomach. He hoped that the effects of whatever it was that had been in the food would wear of soon; he knew that he was dehydrating and needed to be able to keep down fluid. But so far, every attempt even just with clear water had ended in a retching fit. Once he had lain down, he realised how weary he was and with a sigh of relief, closed his eyes and gave in to sleep.

o-o-o-

In the meantime, Estel was looking for Legolas. He appreciated his friend's thoughtfulness in letting him greet his family by himself, but it was time for Legolas to be greeted as well, even if this was only to make a point.

Estel had seen Legolas leading away the horses and went to the stables. Seeing both horses contently munching on some food, he wondered where Legolas had gone to. He decided that probably a good bet was the garden, which Legolas liked, and where he often spent much time.

Elrond, too, had noticed Legolas' absence, but had interpreted this in a rather different way. He thought of it as shirking an unpleasant event, knowing that the young elf was aware of the fact that he was not truly welcome. However, an elf Lord has certain duties, and greeting guests was one of them. So Elrond made his way up to the guest room, where Legolas usually stayed. He knocked on the door, but there was no response, so he opened it.

Much to his surprise, Legolas was asleep on the bed – with his eyes closed. Elrond's instinct was to touch the young prince and to wake him, but on second thoughts he stood there and looked at this elf, who meant so much to Estel.

Legolas looked unwell. He was very pale with small beads of sweat on his forehead, and slightly flushed cheeks. Elrond's extensive experience as a healer told him that the young elf had a fever, very rare for elves. His position also indicated discomfort in the stomach or abdomen. Most worryingly of all, his eyes were closed, dark lashes stark against pale skin, indicating a high level of exhaustion and weariness. Elves do not usually sleep with their eyes closed.

Apart from all this, Elrond was startled by how young and vulnerable the prince looked. Elrond has always known that Thandruil's son was younger than his own twins and his daughter, but at this moment it struck Elrond forcefully that in elven terms, Legolas was barely out of childhood. For that, the young prince displayed a surprising maturity in his behaviour when dealing with the rather cold welcome he always experienced in Rivendell.

At this moment, there was no trace of the expression of haughtiness that he usually wore, and it was then that Elrond realised he had never truly looked at Legolas. This thought came as a shock to him, after all, he had seen Legolas regularly for a number of years.

Elrond regarded the young elf a long moment in silence. 'I have never given him a chance', he thought with regret. 'I have never even tried to get to know him, and to find out what it is that Estel sees in him. But perhaps it is not yet too late.'

But first things first. Elrond's healer instinct kicked in and he slightly touched Legolas' shoulder to wake him. Legolas woke up with a start and on seeing Lord Elrond bend over him, he sat up quickly, his face setting into the familiar aloof expression.

"Greetings, Lord Elrond. Please forgive my impoliteness in not greeting immediately after my arrival. I must have been more tired than I realised from our travels."

"Legolas, do not worry about this. I can tell you are not well – you slept with your eyes closed. What happened to you?"

"It is nothing", said Legolas "I am just weary"

"Do not lie to me, young one, my healer instinct tells me that something is wrong with you." With his remark, Elrond stretched out his hand and lightly touched Legolas' forehead.

"You are running a fever. Tell me what happened."

Knowing there was no point in further denying the obvious, Legolas recounted the incident with the meat pies and how they had affected him. Elrond looked at him.

"Tell me how you feel."Elrond demanded.

Legolas complied; he was also now shivering, a fact that Elrond noticed immediately.

"Legolas, get out of these clothes and under the covers. I will bring you some tea to flush the poison from the food out of your system. It will also make you sleep. And before you ask, it will stay down – it is made for instances such as this."

At his moment, Estel arrived at the door. He saw his father and Legolas, and also immediately realised that Legolas was not well.

"What is going on? Legolas, why did you not tell me you were feeling so poorly?"

"I did not want to spoil your homecoming. You were so much looking forward to coming home – I did not want you to be worried about me."

Estel stepped forward and embraced Legolas. "You silly elf, it would not have mattered to be a bit later"

"Father, is there anything you can do?"

Elrond smiled at his son. "Of course there is. It is just a case of some food poising, in a day or two, Legolas will be fine again. I was just leaving to prepare some tea for him. He is supposed to undress and get into bed. Alone" he said with emphasis and a smile. Legolas blushed and returned the smile.

Again, Elrond winced inwardly. He has smiled at me so few times ... in all these years...,' he thought regretfully.

When he returned, Legolas wore his sleep clothes and laid in bed. He looked very tired. After drinking the tea, he fell promptly asleep. Elrond accompanied Estel to his room and said to Estel: "We need to talk".

Estel braced himself for yet another unpleasant conversation about his relationship with Legolas. He sat down on his bed, Elrond sat in a chair facing the foot of the bed. Estel was surprised when his father said:

"I know very well that you care much for Legolas. But I do not understand what you see in him – he is very attractive, is that it? What else makes him special to you?"

Estel was taken aback by this unexpected question, and was silent for a few moments before he replied:

"This is difficult to answer. Probably one of the most important things is that I can be myself with him. He accepts me simply for whom I am. We know each other well and can trust each other fully in any situation. Very often, we can almost read each other's thoughts." Estel paused and continued with a slight blush: "Yes, I also find him attractive but it is much more than this ... maybe better I can show you what he means to me".

With these words, Estel got up from the bed and started rummaging in his still packed travelling pack. He retrieved a small leather-bound book that Elrond had never seen before.

"Last time we were in Lasgalen, one of Legolas' friends made this for me. Legolas has one as well." He opened the little book. It contained a series of pencil sketches showing Legolas in a variety of everyday situations. What struck Elrond was that in none of the pictures, Legolas looked arrogant or aloof, on the contrary, the drawings reflected the image of a young elf with great personal charm and a ready smile.

"Which is your favourite?" Elrond asked quietly after having flipped through the entire booklet.

"I cannot decide between these two." Estel pointed at two of the drawings. One of them showed Legolas laying on his stomach on grass, his face cupped in the palm of his left hand, deeply engrossed in a book. The second one showed Legolas leaning against a tree in a forest glade, an expression of supreme happiness on his face. Both showed aspects of Legolas' personality Elrond had not been aware of. But then, he admitted to himself, he really did not know the young wood-elf at all.

He turned to his son. "I have wronged you and Legolas. I have never given him a chance, have I? I have always only seen his father in him. And of course, having been raised at Thandruil's court, Legolas reacted defensively."

Estel was silent. This admission by his father surprised him, but it also saddened him. How much easier it would have been if it had come earlier! But, he thought, better late than never. Perhaps this summer will be better then we both thought.

Elrond continued: "I will talk to Elladan and Elrohir. They, too, should at least try to get along with Legolas. Even if it is for your sake only."

"Thank you father. I had not expected this."

Elrond smiled sadly, the regret showing clearly in his grey eyes. He quickly leaned over and hugged Estel. "Perhaps it is not yet too late, my son. Come, let us check on Legolas before we go to bed."

Legolas was sound asleep, looking less flushed. His eyes were not closed any longer but had opened into the half-lidded gaze of normal elven-sleep.

TBC.