#me: no post-rotk stuff absolutely not I CAN HURT T H A T HARD

[meadowsofmay]

thanks to julia now i am thinking about thranduil seeing his son grieving his friends after the passing of gimli, the last mortal one, in undying lands. him sitting by his side on the shore, hugging his hunched shoulders, and legolas leaning onto him, hiding his tear-stained face in his chest as he mutters almost illegibly their names. one by one. starting with aragorn and finishing with the hobbits.

i grew accustomed to the thought that i would lose most of them in the battle, he says, clutching his father's bright green gentle robes, but why does it hurt so much more to lose them to the passing of time, father?

thranduil shuts his eyes tightly and kisses the crown of his son's golden hair, as he takes a deep breath to say the truth that he himself barely accepted,

the war is over, my love.

legolas stills in his embrace, only the rapid beating if his heart gives away his inner turmoil. thranduil is all the more aware of it as it is his guidance on how well of a job he does to console his son.

it might be hard to accept, but legolas, don't grieve those who left the world of living content and settled and loved. they won't want that of you. they would want you to remember, his hand softly finds its way on legolas' chest, and i know you will, you will keep them close for they were the most dear to you. so it's okay to cry, it's okay to hurt for goodbye is always the hardest part. but they deserved their peace after all the great deeds they dedicated themselves to. hold onto that because it is time for you to let yourself accept your well-deserved peace, too.

and he is left to only hope that legolas will listen. that he won't torture his gentle but all the more stoic heart with the memories of funerals. thranduil can only hope as his son fell into slumber in his hands to the sound of waves' lulling murmur.