Pairing: Gimli/Legolas
Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Universe: Sansûkh
Rating: Teen and up
Word count: 1139—-
Inspiration from @determamfidd – specifically Ivy and Diamonds and this post here.
My first time writing anything Tolkien. Unbetaed
—-“Where are you going?” Aragorn asks Legolas as the elf saunters towards the forest.
“Just getting wood,” Legolas replies, though there’s a slight pink tint to his ear tips that tells Aragorn it’s a lie.
“Gimli not coming with you then? To make sure you’re not lost?” There’s a ring to the last word as it slips from Aragorn’s mouth that lets Legolas know that Aragorn knows.
Legolas opens his mouth, his ears now coloured red, but refrains from answering and he bounds into the forest, the eyes of Aragorn upon his back and the knowing smirk upon the ranger’s face something he tries to ignore.
Gimli awaits him at their now usual spot. It had seemed almost too perfect when they discovered it looking for a peaceful place to be alone, a small sheltered place, ringed by trees and tall boulders.
*
“You sure you didn’t sing this into being then, laddie?” Gimli had asked Legolas when he had found the place, brushing aside a curtain of plants hanging down to discover an opening. Legolas had said the kind but Gimli had been too busy staring at the small clearing and the look on Legolas’ face to remember what it was. (Morning Glories, Legolas reminds him of later.)
Legolas had just laughed that true, soaring laughter of his that Gimli so loves and dragged the dwarf down with him, kissing him until they both forgot all else.
*
When Legolas enters, Gimli is waiting for him. Legolas stops dead in his tracks for a moment, watching the sun and shadows play across Gimli’s naked body and a slight breeze rustle his unbound hair and beard.
Again, Legolas finds himself awestruck at the beauty of the dwarf and the folly of his younger self who had called Gimli as he had, who had never thought a dwarf could be pretty. Ah, such a fool he had been.
“You gonna stand there all day, laddie, or are you gonna stare until the sun sets and someone comes looking? Dunno about you, but I’d rather not put on a show for anyone. Except you of course,” Gimli adds, his voice huskier towards the end, a dark glint in his eyes as he locks eyes with Legolas.
Legolas is almost like a blur as he swoops down towards Gimli, shutting his beloved up with a searing kiss.
***
Thorin finds them by going after the sounds coming from the small clearing, too preoccupied to think about the types of sounds coming from there and how Gimli and Legolas says the names of the other person to understand before it’s too late. Passing through the curtain of flowers, he thinks they look beautiful, almost like gold in the sunlight.
And then.
And then he sees, then he realises and Thorin is frozen to the spot. The golden hair on Legolas’ head is spread out around him on the grass, his pale skin flushed, hands spread across Gimli’s broad back and oh…
Gimli’s body is bare, his head crowned with golden flowers and hair undone. For a split second Thorin wonders if he’s ever seen anyone with backside as hairy as Gimli’s, or maybe it’s because the elf lacks hair except that on his head and…
Thorin stops his eyes from wandering further, a hand clasped over his eyes as he lets out a sound that Gimli is thankfully too preoccupied to hear.
When the stars carry him away they burn bright and leaves his eyes burning and for once Thorin finds himself grateful because they might help him in un-seeing what he just witnessed and will never tell anyone about.
But of course he’s not that lucky. His watches are never this short and so when he finds his brother on the way to his workroom, of course Frerin must ask him about it.
“Done so soon, brother? Saw something you didn’t want to?” There’s a teasing tone to Frerin’s voice that briefly makes Thorin wonder if his brother knows. Thorin stares at his brother, so young, so innocent and wonders what he should say, whether or not to spare him this, but it’s too late.
Frerin’s eyes are wide, as wide as the pleading eyes of a Hobbit and Thorin doesn’t say anything. Frerin stares back at him, no sound coming from either of the brothers, because there’s really not much to say in situations like these.
“At least you didn’t see it. I wish I never saw so much of an elf. Or a hairy backside. At least your eyes and mind were spared, nadad.”
They lock eyes, shuddering before looking away, both muttering “‘urrel” under their breath and walking away from the other; Thorin to his forge and Frerin to drink himself stupid.
***
When they’ve rested, Legolas braids Gimli’s hair and beard, attaching the crown of flowers upon his head again, twinning some of his hair around it to keep it in place.
He looks at Gimlin once he’s done, a look of utter adoration on his face.
“Gold suits you, meleth nín. Would that I had some berries for beads, or branches the colour of your hair to go with it…”
“Aye, well, my family and gold don’t go together well to be frank, but this… Sabannimi. Âkminrûk zu, Âzyungeluh.”
His head tipped to the side, Legolas looks upon Gimli with a loving smile on his lips.
“You should teach me your language, Mell nín. As much as I love the way you speak when you you slip into khuzdul, I would prefer to understand what you say and not have to guess from the tone of your voice.”
“Ach, well. I doubt we can upset my kinsmen more than we have already,” Gimli replies, a thoughtful look on his face. “Although, I cannae promise anyone won’t return to the stone were you to greet any of them.” He shrugs, as though what others will think of it doesn’t bother him.
“Say, what did you tell Aragorn we were doing again? Might as well do it, although I’m pretty sure he knows what we’re doing, stealing away from camp as we do.”
Legolas blinks at Gimli, as though the elf had been lost in thought and not realised Gimli has gotten up and gotten ready to leave.
“You’re a lost cause, lad. Can’t go amongst the trees without going odd in the head.” Gimli smiles as Legolas, then kisses him, letting the kiss linger until he feels he needs to end it or they’ll spend more time away from the camp.
“Wood,” Legolas finally replies. “I told him we were getting wood.”
“Well, then. Let’s go chop down some of them poor trees. You just tell me if they’re alive or not first; wouldn’t do good to anger an entire forest now would it?”
Legolas laughs, lilting and light.
ME RN:
sjdhfgkajhdsgajhdfa this is SO FANTASTIC ASJHDFHSGFDGHSD AHHHHH
thank you THANK YOU SO SO SO MUCH – i can’t believe that a one-off line in Ivy and Diamonds elicited such GORGEOUSNESS and ohgod poor ThORIN POOR ICKLE FRERIN HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
and GUH yes nekkid Gimli in a pretty little bower
and GUH yes all the loverly talkings, and nnngh teach-the-language yesss so so beautiful, i love the languid atmosphere and the intimacy and ohhh such love
PLUS I COULDN’T NOT SNORT BC ARAGORN WOULD BE LIKE:
yeah right, Legolas
you sure were ‘getting wood’
Aw Yiss 