Among the many gifts presented to the newly crowned King Elessar to celebrate his coronation was a small pouch of seeds, carefully guarded throughout the all the trials leading to the destruction of the Ring by the redoubtable Sam. Though the gift may have appeared humble, Aragorn knew that Hobbits had never before shared their most special blend of pipeweed with outsiders.

One late summer evening, Legolas met the King in a walled garden in a hidden corner of the White City, surprised to find his lover carefully tending a small plot of ground. Though the Ranger had often gathered plants and herbs used in healing during the quest, Legolas had never before seen him growing his own, and the Elf did not recognize the leaves the King had gathered to fill his long wooden pipe. "Aragorn," Legolas asked, "what are you doing with this plant?"

"It is a variation of pipeweed," Aragorn answered, a small smile playing around his lips. "Its medicinal uses seem to have been overlooked by the Elves - I am making a special study of it before I advise Lord Elrond about its benefits. Though perhaps we should discover its effects on Elves first..." he suggested, offering the pipe to his golden-haired companion.

"But Aragorn, you know I do not indulge in that nasty habit!" the Elf demurred.

"And I would not ask you, my love, but it is research!" the King countered.

"Ah, well then, for research I will indulge you," Legolas agreed, turning away with a smile at his lover's eagerness.

Aragorn handed Legolas his pipe, hiding his own grin. "Here, 'Lasse, just breathe in and hold the smoke for a moment before you exhale."

Legolas took a draw from the pipe, holding his breath. Aragorn watched in silent amusement as Legolas' face turned from pale white to a somewhat greenish hue.

"Release it!"

Aragorn rubbed Legolas' back soothingly as the Elf coughed and tried to catch his breath.

"I told you only to hold it for a moment, 'Lasse! How do you feel?"

"Confused... and yet... unburdened? How is this possible?" Elven blue eyes pierced Aragorn's before softening in numbness. It didn't take long before the Ranger found his arms full of Elf, his lips being teased with a tender tongue.

Nothing loth to give in to the unspoken request, Aragorn's lips parted on a gentle sigh, letting the Elf explore him freely. The taste of the herb on 'Lasse's tongue was subtle but unneeded - kissing Legolas was itself more than sufficient to set his senses reeling.

When Legolas relinquished his hold on the Man, his head swam slightly; whether from the herb or from the feel of the lush lips upon his own, he could not decide. "I feel as if I could fly, Aragorn. I believe you should take measures to ensure that I do not simply drift away into the sky."

Eyes twinkling, the Elf raised his hands before the ranger in silent request.

With a low growl of desire, Aragorn took the light-headed Elf into his arms. Tangling a foot between the archer's soft boots, he lowered him gently to the ground, settling his body between the slender legs and holding Legolas pinned beneath his hips. "Now you are in no danger of floating away," he husked, lowering his lips to claim the Elf's once more.

"I am never in danger when I am in your arms," Legolas breathed once the Ranger had relinquished his lips. A feral look entered Aragorn's eyes and the Elf beneath him writhed in excitement. "Then again, maybe you are more dangerous than I have given you credit." Reaching under Aragorn's tunic, Legolas unlaced the strings which kept his hands away from the thing he desired most.

Another growl came from the man, this time in the form of the Elf's name, followed by a shudder as the archer's hand surrounded his aching arousal. "Valar! You will be the death of me, meleth."

Determined to bestow on his Elf the same blissful magic the slender white hands were working on his manhood, Aragorn pried apart the clasps holding closed the delicate silken tunic. Baring the pale, smooth chest, his lips found a large, rosy nipple. He lapped around it like Queen Beruthiel's cat with a plate of milk, licking and circling the aureole until Legolas was writhing beneath him. Only when a quiet moan escaped Elven lips did he let his mouth close around the furled tip, suckling in time with the slow pull of his lover's hands on his shaft.

Distracted by Aragorn's attention to his nipple and the flash of light behind his closed eyelids with each suckling motion, Legolas' strokes faltered; his cry at the exquisite torture was swallowed by the stone walls surrounding them.

"Aragorn," he pleaded, his voice as silky as his flaxen hair and replete with yearning as he ground his pelvis up into the Ranger's firm abdomen. His moan at the contact echoed in contrast.

There was no denying the Elf's need or his own any longer. Any attempt to ignore the torrent of passion between them would have led to madness. Sheer willpower alone kept the King from ripping off the archer's leggings in his haste. "Melethron," it was a hungered ache from within, asking a question of assurance for what was about to transpire between them.

"Now," Legolas demanded, his mellifluous voice trembling with the strength of his need for the Man who held his hröa and his fëa in his care. "Love me now, melethron."

Aragorn's cock leapt at the answering hunger in his Elf's voice, but as he had not intended seduction when he invited his love to walk in the gardens, he was not prepared to make things easy. Sitting back on his haunches, he tenderly lowered the archer's leggings, freeing the rosy shaft that already glistened with the pearly essence of Legolas' arousal. Sliding a calloused hand beneath the Elf's backside, Aragorn lifted the slender hips and lowered his head.

Understanding at once what his lover intended, Legolas draped his legs over the Man's broad shoulders, opening himself completely. Even knowing what was to come, he could not hold back the cry of joy when Aragorn's mouth touched him, his tongue moistening the Elf's smooth sacs before teasing over the delicate skin behind them, seeking his most intimate spot.

Milky skin shivered in the moonlight as calloused fingers skimmed his thighs, the onslaught of passion welling within him from the simple touch of tongue on flesh until he was certain his mind would explode from the pleasure.

"Aragorn!" the Elf cried, his restraint at its limits, "I would find my end with you inside me, melethron."

Lowering the archer's hips to the ground, the Ranger's eyes drifted lovingly up the lithe frame until they met their counterpart, his hand seeking the familiar comfort of the silvered strands of Elven hair as he brought their bodies into alignment, his straining shaft nudging against the waiting portal.

"I will grant you that wish, and any other," Aragorn replied, retaking the Elf's mouth with ardent hunger.

Two voices moaned in bliss as their flesh joined in the most intimate of unions. Though Aragorn's body cried out for him to thrust deeply and urgently, he forced himself to move slowly, stirring in the wet velvet of Legolas' clasp. Finding the spot that made the Elf wail in a torrent of garbled Sindarin, the Ranger rocked his hips in minute circles, his tongue delving deeply into his lover's mouth in counterpoint. Only when Legolas stiffened and keened in ecstasy, his rosy shaft spilling the sweet cream of his release between their bodies, did Aragorn unleash the tight rein he had kept on his passion. Lifting the Elf's lissome body against his, he let the quavering channel engulf him, thrusting until his own climax overwhelmed his senses. Throwing back his head, he cried out "'Lasse!" in a hoarse voice, gasping in great shuddering breaths as his body soared in communion with his lover.

Several moments later, when both man and Elf had returned from Ilmen, Legolas turned to his lover, speaking in his usual soft tones. "I believe there is need of more research on this plant, Aragorn. I will clear my schedule so we may discover its many uses in more detail."

A rumble of laughter rippled through the Ranger. "This research could take many moons to fully understand, meleth."

Tilting his head back, blond hair spilled over Aragorn's hand as the Elf took his lips gently with his own. "It is but a small sacrifice to spend more time with you."

(And to this date, the research is still ongoing!)

~END~