Down by the River

[vamp_ress]

This is actually a continuation of the short ficlet "Cupid" I posted here a while back, but it can be read on its own if you so desire. Also, I know I'm late for this particular fixed-length challenge (that was last month, wasn't it?), but the idea sounded fun, so I tried it.

Title: Down By The River
Author: Michelle
Email: michelle [at] waking-vision.com
Summary: Aragorn is hot.
Pairing: Aragorn/Legolas
Series: Cupid
Genre: slash, humour
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I shoot arrows at elves and rangers and hope no one notices.
Author’s Note: This is the silliest summary I’ve come up with in the last 20 years. And yet it sums up the plot, so we’ll all have to live with it. This was written for Fellowshipofthefics’ Summer Stories 2024 prompt list for week one’s prompt “heatwave”. The ficlet is fixed-length and crosses the finish line with exactly 555 words.

~*~

For three weeks Aragorn had been in Mirkwood and for three weeks Legolas had shown him off to his fellows like a prized possession – something foreign and exotic. Depending on his mood, Aragorn had been either vexed or flattered. Lately though, flattered seemed to win more often than not.

Aragorn knew by now how Legolas’ eyes on him felt like. His intense gaze always left a tingle between Aragorn’s shoulderblades that was not at all unpleasant. If the gaze turned into a stare – which happened all too often as of late – the tingle went down his spine, swirled around in his stomach most pleasantly and then grabbed him firmly between the legs. Like it did right now, leaving him with a yearning his hand alone couldn’t slake. He knew that, he had tried.

Presently, he was lying naked on the soft moss growing along the banks of the Forest River, arms and legs spread wide because it was inhumanly hot this August. Even here, in a forest as dense as Mirkwood, the hot air felt like it was pressing down on him. He alternated between jumping into the river to cool off and lying in the shade. Even unmoving as he was he felt sweat run down his sides in little droplets. It was bearable only because the cool river water was close at hand and because he could suffer in solitude. No perfect elf that was never affected by the elements was near to witness his all-too human predicament.

Or rather: No elf had been near until now.

For now Aragorn was being watched, and the gaze roaming his naked body very much felt like Legolas’. There was a sudden thrill rushing through Aragorn’s body, flooding him with the kind of heat mere weather could never cause. But then he sighed. If he had ever hoped to win the elf over with his comely features, a sweltering body with salty droplets gathering in each and every crevice certainly wasn’t the way to go in his opinion.

And yet the elf was here, was watching him.

Aragorn tried to will both his bodily reaction and his hopefulness away. He was lying motionless, eyes closed, and pretended not to notice the elf creeping nearer step by silent step. When he was in touching distance, the hair on Aragorn’s arms stood up in anticipation.

Nothing happened for one breath. Two breaths. Three breaths and Aragorn fought the urge to open his eyes. He withstood, but only barely until – finally – something touched him.

Not where he had expected to be touched, though. No fist closed around the most intimate part of his body and no lips brushed brazenly against his mouth. Instead, a thumb pressed cautiously against the little hollow where his collarbones met. It dipped into the droplet of sweat that had gathered there and Aragorn’s eyes flew open in surprise.

Legolas’ face hovered above his own, all curious fascination. He brought the thumb to his mouth to taste, humming in appreciation. Aragorn wasn’t sure if he had ever been this aroused in his life.

“Delicious, a most unusual sensation,” Legolas informed the man. “Tell me, do you taste like this everywhere?” The challenge was clear in his voice.

“I don’t know,” Aragorn answered truthfully. “Why don’t you find out?”

- The End

(July 2024)

Comments

[hhimring]

Hot in both senses of the word, yes?
Fortunate that Legolas is fascinated rather than repelled by the differences in Men!

You seem to have done sort of a crossover between more than one of the formal challenges. I think, strictly speaking, we haven't had 555 yet. But it is a really nice number!

[vamp_ress]

Definitely hot in all the senses of the word. Super silly, but I couldn't resist. I got out my inner 13year old and went for it :)

And yeah, I checked the old challenge and it was 333. No biggie, because I have three more ficlets in that universe and the last is 333 words. So apparently I made up my own challenge here. (It's my subconscious telling me I should write for one of these challenges rather sooner than later.)