Summary: Old friends are gathering together to celebrate the King's birthday but things can never go to plan and Legolas is accused of having an affair with the Queen. Friendship story. Post-LOTR. Set after Aragorn is crowned but before Frodo leaves for the Grey Havens.

AN: This is completely stupid and full of pointless fluff, the idea of it just amused me so I thought I would share it with you. I am of the fandom that Aragorn grew up in Rivendell with Elrond as his foster father and that he and Legolas are old friends, it is not linked to my other LOTR stories.

Warnings: Mentions of nudity, the thought that elves are comfortable with each other in a 'natural' way and misunderstandings of their nature by poor mortals.

Chapter 1

Legolas was tired, which didn't happen often, he was also wet which was not helping his sour mood. He had received an urgent summons by messenger bird to the colony of Ithilien requesting he travel to Minas Tirith immediately. Thinking the request was a tiding of bad news he immediately packed a small travel bag, collected his weapons and set out on his horse Arod with all haste.

The elf had travelled as far as he could but his horse needed to rest periodically which meant he could not travel solidly as he wished, because of this it would take many days to reach the white city.

Legolas was too worried to think of resting himself and while elves could go for long periods without sleep his concern over what could be so important in Minas Tirith was taking its toll on him.

It had begun to rain after the second day of their journey in thick torrential bouts; he and Arod were both soaked as they travelled through the mud. He was glad he didn't feel the cold as a mortal would as his cloak had given up its water resistance to the elements many days ago, he was uncomfortably aware of the water running down his back.

He spurred Arod on faster as they finally reached the open plains that led to the city, feeling the horse's hooves slipping on the mud and wet grass, he could feel his boots squelch as he gripped tightly with his legs to stay seated.

All in all Legolas could not wait to reach the city and be dry again.

Arod came to a halt in front of the gates, one of the guards coming down to see who had arrived as nothing could be seen from the top of the gate through the driving mists of sleety rain.

As soon as he caught sight of the blonde hair and pointed ears he instantly called for the gates to be opened.

Legolas nodded his thanks and kicked Arod on and up through the streets, thankful it was quiet, the rain and cold keeping people in the warmth of their homes.

Faramir stood waiting under the archway which led to the palace; he had heard of the elf's approach and wondered what had happened for the Prince to be in such a hurry.

On seeing the man sheltering Legolas gestured him to stay where he was as he slid from Arod's back, he smiled "There is no use in us both being wet" he called over the hammering rain.

Faramir stepped back, glad he didn't have to go out, he would be soaked in seconds.

Legolas handed Arod off to a stable boy with his thanks then quickly darted under the archway, there wasn't really any point though; he was already as wet as he could be.

The man smiled as the elf dripped onto the stone steps, holding a hand out in greeting "You appear to be in a hurry my friend" Legolas took the proffered hand smiling as Faramir hid a disgusted expression when his sleeve and hand were instantly soaked.

The Steward shook his hand to remove the excess water as Legolas spoke "I received an urgent summons to come, I trust I am not late, is everyone well? Is everything alright?"

Faramir blinked at the rush of words, "Summons? Oh my friend, a few messages were sent but they were not urgent, nothing dire has happened"

Legolas blinked "Oh, I am afraid I may have just assumed the worst"

The Steward smiled raising his arm to place it around the elf's shoulders, planning to steer him inside but then he thought better of it seeing the water running off the Prince "I believe you may be in need of a change of clothing"

They both looked down at the steadily growing puddle, the elf looking up guiltily as water dripped down his face from his hair "I believe you may be right"

Faramir gestured to a maid who stood nearby "Could you take the prince's things and have a hot bath drawn for him" the girl nodded gingerly taking the sodden cloak and rushing off, holding it away from her body.

Legolas smiled "You have no idea how heavenly that sounds"

The man smiled, "You look like you need it, sleep as well"

The elf nodded "Aye, unfortunately I was unable to find any rest on my way here, I was too concerned"

Faramir placed his hand comfortingly on the Prince's shoulder, ignoring the feel of the wet fabric "All is well my friend, rest and in the morning we shall have words with Elessar"

Legolas smiled blinking sleepily "Yes we shall" he stifled a yawn, apologising but Faramir waved him off "Will you be able to find your room or do you need assistance?"

Legolas gave a small laugh "I still remember the way"

Faramir nodded watching the elf slowly walk up the stairs leaving a trail of water in his wake, he then looked down at his hand and wiped the excess water off onto his tunic.

###

Faramir returned towards the King's office, smiling to himself. Aragorn and he had been in conference while slowly working their way through mounds of parchment that littered the King's desk. They had been interrupted by the news that a single cloaked figure had been seen heading towards the city, riding at full speed. The King groaned, nodding, beginning to rise but Faramir waved his hand "I will see to it, I know how much you are looking forward to reading through the trade agreement for Lake town" he laughed as Aragorn made a face "If I stay sitting in this chair any longer I will become a part of it"

"Perhaps you need a small respite…"

A soft knock on the door interrupted them, Arwen swept regally in, holding a small tray with two glasses of wine and a few small cakes "I think you two have been working far too hard and could use a small rest?" she smiled and Faramir couldn't help a small catch of breath, in all the years of knowing her…her beauty could still catch him off guard. He shook his head motioning to the door "Thank you my lady but I need to see a messenger that has just arrived. I will leave the King in your capable hands"

Arwen gave Faramir a small smile and the man closed the door as the King pulled her down to his lap for a kiss.

Faramir was walking back down the corridor to Aragorn's office when he caught sight of Arwen slipping quietly from the room. She paused as she felt someone watching her, smiling at Faramir "Was it anything urgent?"

The man shook his head "Nay, the messenger turned out to be Legolas; he arrived in quite a hurry. He misread Aragorn's summons and thought something had befallen us"

She anxiously glanced out of the window seeing the sleet driving hard against the glass "He travelled here in this?"

"Aye, he was concerned for you both and the city"

She smiled to herself in fondness "I shall go see him"

Faramir shook his head "He travelled straight here with little rest, if you go now you will catch him bathing"

She blinked looking confused "What is wrong with that?"

The man wasn't quite sure where the confusion was "Well…he will be…" he wanted to say naked but couldn't bring himself to say that word to the Queen "bathing"

Her expression cleared and she smiled, a small amount of mischief in her eyes "My dear Faramir, I have known Legolas for many years. In fact I looked after him when he was a very small elfling, as such there is nothing I have not seen before" she gave a small laugh then swept away towards the Prince's chambers.

Faramir shook his head; sometimes the ways of the elves confused him greatly.

###

Legolas entered his chambers just as one of the maids was leaving, an empty bucket in each hand. She squeaked as she came face to face with the elf, freezing. Legolas smiled bowing his head "My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you"

"Oh, no…your highness. I…Uh…Did you need anything else?"

The elf looked around the room, his eyes lighting on the large tub of steaming water through the open doorway to the side "Some food would be most appreciated"

She nodded "I'll get you a tray from the kitchen"

Legolas shed his weapons, unsheathing his knives and emptying his quiver, feeling guilty as water splashed onto the floor. He left them in all front of the fireplace to dry, he would have to make the sure the water had not warped the wood in his arrows.

He stripped off his clothing leaving it hanging over a small wooden bench near the tub and groaned in pleasure as he sunk into the hot water, not even bothering to un-braid his hair.

He lay allowing the heat to sooth his aching muscles; he had ridden hard to get here which left his shoulder and thigh muscles feeling tight.

The warmth was pulling him towards sleep when he heard a small knock at his door, thinking it was the maid he simply called out "Come in, could you place it on the table, I shall eat later" he really didn't want to get out yet.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

Legolas jumped splashing some of the water over the edge "Arwen! Do not do that, I will already be in trouble for leaving a mess in the halls"

She smiled "How do you think I found where you were, I simply followed the trail of water"

Legolas gave a small huff and leant back against the edge "If you had not noticed, it is raining outside"

She laughed while picking his sodden clothing up and placing them into one of the empty buckets that had been used to fill the tub to stop them adding to the growing puddle on the floor. She then picked up his bag beginning to unpack it, frowning as the clothing inside was also damp "Oh Penneth, you did not have to rush so"

Legolas gave a slight protesting noise at being called young one but he really was too tired to argue "I am aware of that now" he closed his eyes "what was the message about anyway?"

"It should have been an invite to Estel's birthday celebration next week, but I fear he may have worded it differently to ensure you came."

Legolas made a small noise of disapproval which caused her to look up, her face softening as she watched him dozing. He would spend the night in the bath at this rate, she frowned down at the long sleeves on her dress and realised they would hinder her efforts. She slipped the heavy velvet off, leaving her clothed in a simple white under slip, fitted but still modest.

Picking up a comb from the dresser she seated herself on a small wooden stool next to the bath and used the small teeth of the comb to unpick the braids in Legolas' hair.

"You do not need to…" came the sleepy response but she interrupted "Hush, otherwise you will never get to bed."

The Prince smiled "Who am I to argue with the Queen"

She began to hum a lullaby that had been a favourite of his when he was an elfling and he felt sleep taking over as she deftly undid his warrior braids.

"Sit forward"

He roused himself enough to follow her command then sighed as she began to wash his hair, it had been a very long time since anyone had cared for him in this manner, he did not realise how much he had missed another's touch until now. "You are too good to me"

She smiled "Rinse"

He ducked under the water to remove the soap from his hair then sat forward again allowing her access to his back with the wash cloth.

He groaned as her fingers found a particularly hard knot in his shoulder "What have you been doing?" her voice quietly asked as she began to massage the area, causing him to moan again.

They were so busy that they didn't notice the maid enter the room with a small tray of food, she froze as a groan came from the bathroom. Blinking, she decided it was really none of her business but on catching sight of a familiar red velvet dress laid on the bed she couldn't help her curiosity. Tiptoeing to the bathroom door she peered through the crack, if she had been still holding the tray she would have dropped it. The Queen was…she was…and Prince Legolas…they were…Oh. She didn't know what to think, there was another groan which made her blush and she watched the Prince take the Queen's hand, kissing the palm and speaking softly to her in Elvish. She smiled fondly at him, kissing his temple and responding quietly to him.

The maid had seen enough, she needed to tell someone, anyone…the King? No, he wouldn't believe her, she would go back to the kitchens, perhaps the other staff would know what to do. She slipped silently from the room, quietly closing the door after her.

Legolas groaned as Arwen's fingers worked the sore knot in his shoulder, freeing it. He caught her hand "You have your father's healing touch" he kissed her palm "What have I done to deserve this?"

She smiled kissing his temple "It has been too long since anyone has looked after your needs Tithen Penn" ((Little one))

He scowled at the moniker which made her laugh, she threw the cloth at his face which he only just caught "Come, finish bathing and I will find something for you to wear to bed, everything you brought with you is soaked"

Arwen made sure he was not going back to sleep then moved to the chest of drawers, removing a simple white shirt and a light pair of leggings, slipping her dress back on and turning the bed down while waiting for him.

Legolas exited the bathroom wrapped in a towel, blinking sleepily at her as he moved his weapons out of the way then sat down in front of the fire, using the heat to dry his hair. She took the hand towel from him and dried his hair as best she could, re-combing the blonde locks with her fingers.

Arwen reached for the tray of food prompting the Prince to eat and handed him the clothing, not really paying attention to him as he dressed.

Once clothed she settled closer to him, taking a few of the grapes from the tray to eat herself.

"Does Estel know?" she started at his quiet words.

"What do you…"

Legolas raised one eyebrow giving her a look that was reminiscent of when she had been younger and her father knew she had done something wrong but was waiting for her to confess.

She looked down; ringing her fingers together in her lap "Not yet, how did you..?"

Legolas reached over stilling her movements then drew her hand up to her stomach, resting their joined hands there, she looked down at her abdomen, not yet swollen or showing any signs "I was going to tell him in the morning. The messages sent out were not urgent, he believes them to be for his birthday celebration next week. I was expecting you and our other friends to arrive over the next day or so and we would tell you the news when we were altogether. How did you know?"

Legolas smiled, a teasing glint in his eye "You mean besides your sudden need to care for me as if I was an elfling…you have an aura around you I have not seen before" he brushed his fingers over her cheek.

She smiled hugging him close "Please do not tell him"

"I would not take that away from you, he should hear it from your lips and no others"

She kissed his cheek, "Thank you"

He stood offering his hand to help her rise, both of them laughing as he stifled a yawn

"I think it's time for little elven Prince's to be in bed"

He nodded smiling at her jest "I think you are right" he wandered to the bed, flopping down into the soft covers.

Arwen stroked his hair affectionately then tucked him in, leaving the room with the empty food tray in hand as he settled into elven dreams.