Weary and muddy Boromir surveyed the camp in the grayish dawn light and allowed his shoulders to slump a bit.
Yes, everything was in order and they could settle down for some hard earned rest after the long march under the cover of the night.
He was bent down on his pack, looking for a dry tunic out, when Aragorn stepped close, so close Boromir could feel the warmth from the ranger's body radiating into him, and pointed to a small path in the thick forest.
"We'd better check that out, the others can stay here. Legolas and Gimli will keep them safe."
With a tired sigh Boromir nodded and followed Aragorn.
***
The path was narrow and overgrown, winding like a maze through the trees and forcing the two men to keep their heads down to avoid the low-hanging branches.
They walked in silence for a while and Boromir felt each step drain the last of his energies until he stopped and called out to the ranger.
"Aragorn, I don't think enemies could attack us in force coming down this way, this is little more than a track made by forest creatures, probably a path to some watering spot. And, quite frankly, even if an enemy were to jump out of these trees right now, I wouldn't have the strength to fight. I'm too tired even to breathe.."
Aragorn turned to stare at Boromir, his face unreadable.
"I'm tired too, Boromir, and I know this area better than you do. That's why I suggested checking this path out. Come, we're quite close to the place I wanted to reach.." Without waiting for Boromir's answer, Aragorn turned again and walked on.
The Gondorian warrior stared after him helplessly, then followed biting his lip, unable to resist the pull Aragorn had on him.
Suddenly the forest opened into a clearing with a small lake. Boromir, his eyes fixed wearily on the ground as if willing his feet to move forward step after step, would have walked straight into the water if Aragorn had not grabbed his arm and held him back.
"I thought we could do with a bath, it would ease some of our weariness, make sleep easier..."
The ranger's voice was even huskier and more insinuating than usual, Boromir thought, or was that just his tired brain imagining things?
In a flash he remembered the night in Rivendell when he'd chanced upon Aragorn and Arwen bathing.. what he'd seen.. what he'd felt.. the nagging impression he'd had that Aragorn had seen him as he watched them from the shadows..
Boromir's mind was swimming with questions. Why had Aragorn brought only him along, why not the others as well? Had the ranger seen him that night, was this in some way connected to that?
Aragorn watched Boromir, something that could as easily be a smile or a sneer curling the corner of his lips, as if he was finding Boromir's uncertainty amusing.
Under Boromir's stare, Aragorn slowly unbelted his sword and shrugged out of his leather overtunic. His tunic followed, baring to the cool dawn air his dark furry chest.
Aragorn held Boromir's gaze, never letting it break contact as his hands moved to the fastenings of his leather pants. The blue eyes scorched like flames, as if they knew just how desperately Boromir wanted to lower his gaze, to feast his eyes on the ranger's naked body..
"So you like to watch, Warrior of Gondor?"
Summary: Follows "Night".
Rated: PG-13
Categories: LOTR FPS Pairing: Aragorn/Boromir
Warnings: NoneChallenges:
Series: NoneChapters: 1 Completed: Yes
Word count: 575 Read: 799
Published: 07 Aug 2009 Updated: 07 Aug 2009