Faramir Fiction Archive

A Steward’s Desire (NC-17)

27 February 2006 | 13627 words

Chapter 7

The next few days were very busy. Faramir and Aragorn seemed intent on avoiding each other, neither wanting to approach the subject of what had so nearly happened between them, only to be told it had been a mistake on the other's part; the influence of alcohol, tiredness, or just loneliness.

The more time passed, the more awkward things got between them, with both spending the bare minimum amount of time together.

Aragorn sat in his study, staring at the space he and Faramir had been kneeling that night. He just could not explain the change in the other man's actions towards him. "He is just teasing with me," he reasoned with himself. "He has suddenly realised I want him, and he is making me pay for how I reacted over Éomer."

Deep down, he knew that it was not true; Faramir was too sweet and gentle to extract revenge on anyone. "He simply absorbs all the bad words and actions directed at him, and shows little emotion," thought Aragorn sadly, knowing that Faramir did not show his feelings easily, making him feel even more guilty for avoiding him.

Further along the corridor, Faramir was sitting in his study also, cursing himself for not acting earlier and berating the injured soldier for developing a fever. He was sure that the moment had passed, and Aragorn had doubtlessly come to his senses by now, which would explain the unusual distantness he was currently faced with when talking to the king.

He vaguely wondered if he should just go for it and make a pass at the handsome king. He could not help but entertain thoughts of marching into Aragorn's study right now and kissing him. "I can not make matters any worse," he thought, chuckling to himself. "And if I do, I could always run away and take refuge with Éomer."

Aragorn groaned as he read the piece of paper which had just been given to him. It appeared that the guards in the White Company had once again failed to turn up for duty, choosing instead, to visit an ale house.

"I though Faramir said he had dealt with this?" muttered Aragorn angrily. He shut his eyes at the realisation that he was going to have to speak to the steward about it, and worse lecture him about his discipline techniques, because whatever he had done obviously had not worked.

He hated questioning Faramir's ability at anything. He was a more than able steward, but he just did not have enough self worth. Aragorn knew that Faramir would get defensive, and take this as yet another failure, and further proof that he was unfit for his position.

Sighing, he set out to find his steward, eventually tracking him down to a bench in one of the private gardens.

This particular garden had been Faramir's mother's, and was one of his favourite places to escape to when he needed time alone.

On this particular afternoon, Faramir had retreated there in order to reflect on the recent incidents involving Aragorn. He wanted him more than anything, and his dreams had become even more graphic since that night in Aragorn's study. He could not help but feeing that if he kept his feelings to himself much longer, he would explode! He had never felt this way about anyone before.

Loathed to disturb the young man, Aragorn was just about to turn away, reasoning that the matter could wait till later, when Faramir caught sight of him and called him over.

"I am sorry, I did not wish to disturb you," Aragorn explained walking over to where the steward sat.

"It is fine, my Lord," replied Faramir. "I was merely enjoying the sunshine for a while. It is a beautiful day is it not?"

"Very beautiful," said Aragorn absentmindedly, too busy admiring the way the sun's rays highlighted the copper colours in Faramir's hair.

Seeing that Aragorn was clearly distracted by something, Faramir decided to prompt him into saying whatever it was he was going to say, silently hoping it was to be an invite to the king's bed chambers, a thought which caused him to blush. "You wished to speak to me my Lord?"

"Yes. I, errrm," stuttered Aragorn, noticing Faramir's blush and guessing that the young man had obviously noticed him staring. He took a moment to collect his thoughts and to decide what the best way of addressing the issue was, before starting to speak.

"Those guards from the White Company have failed to turn up for duty again," said Aragorn, deciding to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Faramir scowled at the news. "What have they been doing instead?" he inquired, not wanting to know the answer.

"Getting drunk."

Faramir ran his hands over his face, taking a moment to compose himself. He was angry at them, "Aragorn is sure to doubt my ability now," he thought to himself.

"I thought you had dealt with them? You did discipline them, did you not?" asked Aragorn. He was clearly unimpressed with this latest development.

"Yes, I had. Although I only spoke with them, I believed that would be enough, my Lord," replied Faramir reluctantly; knowing full well what was coming next.

"They had been skipping duty, and you chose not to discipline them for it?" Aragorn shook his head in disbelief.

"I did not think my charging in and throwing my weight around would help matters, my Lord," Faramir tried to explain. "They knew full well they would not get away with it again. I will see to it now."

"Well just make sure you actually punish them this time, you can not let them get away with things."

"You need to be a bit more forceful with them, show them who's in charge," pressed Aragorn.

Faramir was annoyed; Aragorn obviously had not listened to his explanation of his actions, or the fact that he had already said they would not get away with it again.

"I never asked for this job my Lord. You should never have given it to me if you were concerned about the amount of discipline among my rangers," spat back Faramir, clearly offended by Aragorn's words. "No one has ever expressed a problem before."

"Faramir, that's not what I meant!" Aragorn responded quickly, growing distressed that Faramir had misinterpreted his words, and so was taking this badly. "It's just that the new recruits don't respect you. And that's only because they don't know you. They see your laid back attitude and think they can get away with things. You need to show them that they can't. Once they know they have to do as they're told then you can adopt your laid back attitude."

"Right, I get it! Forceful. Show them who is boss," Faramir replied angrily. He made to get up, and stopped suddenly. He fought off a smile as a realisation hit him, and looked Aragorn right in the eye as he said forcefully "You miss that don't you? You hate being the one to give the orders all the time. You hate the formalities and people doing whatever you want. Is this really about the recruits or yourself? I can take charge. I will show you. But are you ready for it?"

Faramir strode off angrily and full of purpose, leaving Aragorn to ponder exactly what had been meant by those last words.

It was only once he had turned the corner out of sight that Faramir allowed a slow smile to spread across his face, maybe this could work to his advantage after all.

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