Where Could He Go

Seven of them were sitting in circle, facing the others, some of them smoking. Silence among them was almost tangible.
"Where is that damned elf?" Gimli growled, stroking his beard. They'd been waiting for Legolas for two hours and their patience was slowly fading. Since their arrival to Lothlorien, Legolas had been acting oddly. He was wool-gathering, absent, they barely got to see him, they didn't even know where did he sleep. As long as they were occupied by discovering miracles of the Golden forest, they didn't mind. But that was their last evening there and they needed to consult what they were going to do next. At least, they wanted to. But one elf of blond hair and extremely accurate bow was STILL missing.
"That irresponsible elvish princeling!" Boromir spit out. "You still think we can trust him? He's not even able to come on time when we ask him to do so."
"Calm down, Boromir. You don't know his reasons." Aragorn blew some circles of smoke. He was the only one that seemed calm.
"And you do?"
"No, I don't. But I trust him."
"Enough! We'll go get him!" Pipin was fed up with all that arguing. He grasped Merrys hand and they disappeared to darkness, leaving the rest of folks speechless and stunned.

"Where do you think he could go?" Merry asked after about ten minutes of pointless walking.
"I have no clue, bro... You know, it's kinda difficult to chase after an elf."
"So, instead of talking about impossibility of finding him, why couldn't we just try it?"
"Good idea, but where should we start?"
Pipin didn't even need to answer. Before he knew it, he was in some bush again. "Wha-?"
"Shh, watch!"
And Pipin watched. Two elves walking the path, holding hands, both visibly sad. One of them, Legolas. Both hobbits almost stopped breathing.

"They will be mad, honey... I should have been there two hours ago..."
"I'm so sorry, my little Greenleaf, so sorry... It's my fault... I wanted to steal you away for myself, for this last moment... I was so selfish..."
"No, don't be... I wanted it too. Valar know when I will see you again, beloved."
"Don't cry, Legolas, please. I promise, when this war ends, when you're back home, we will spend eternity together. I will go with you."
The golden haired elf was so tender with Legolas, as he took his chin between two fingers and gently kissed his lips. Both hidden hobbits were almost paralyzed. They hadn't seen Legolas in this state before and it kinda confused them. Warrior, always behaving so cold, and now this. And who was this strange elf? They both knew they had seen him before, but couldn't realize when or where. Merry and Pipin didn't know what to think. So they stayed still and waited.
"But what if one of us won't return?"
"Shh, don't even think about it, my dear. Everything will be okay, I promise... Frodo is strong. He'll do it. And Aragorn is a great leader, he will lead men to victory."
"I'm sorry, I'm just...afraid." Legolas' eyes were firmly fixed to that Galadhrim, full of hope and love. And tears.
"I know, and to be honest, I'm afraid too, but it's war, we would be silly if we weren't scared. I won't lie to you, Legolas, there will be a lot of pain before we'll meet again. But there will be some brighter moments too. When you came into our forest, with all of these ... friends of yours... and I saw you speaking with my brother, I thought that that permanent longing for you made my mind go crazy. But you're here. Outside there, people, elves, dwarves and other nations die, but we're here. We love each other and that's all that matters. I know that what I say doesn't make much sense, but understand me..." Instead of words, he just hugged Legolas tightly and petted him gently. And Legolas sobbed in his arms, smiling anyway.
"I should go, my beloved one. I can feel their anger. They're probably gonna kill me before the war itself starts."
"They would have to deal with me then. But yes, you should go. They could see us together. As you said, you're two hours late. But you must admit, it was just great!" He smirked.
"Don't play with me, Rúmil. You know how difficult is it, to leave you here and go away. I feel so alone when you are not around. You know that even if I can't see you for a few years, I'm still yours, my heart, soul and body. I so love you..."
"Oh, I love you too, Legolas-nîn... But it's getting more and more impossible to say goodbye by every second. Good luck, my little one, take care. And remember me sometimes..."
"Always..."
One last quick kiss, one last touch and they parted, not even looking at each other. It would be even worse.

Legolas wiped away his tears, made up his hair and ran to the council. The two hobbits were shocked. They just witnessed to something that noone was ever allowed to see. Legolas' feelings. All of a sudden, he seemed more human-like to them.
They didn't say a word until they reached the place where all the Fellowship was gathered.

"Where have you been, little guys? And why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?" It was that old careless Legolas. How could he switch to this mode in such a short time, hobbits had no clue. He was one of the best actors they had ever seen. But they decided to keep their little secret hidden, as long as Legolas and that... Rúmil... wanted to keep it for themselves.