a/n: This is a little songfic that popped into my head when I was listening to some old CD’s this afternoon. Reviews are more than welcome, but please no flaming. Archiving is fine, please ask me first though.

The song is Please Remember by LeAnn Rimes, from the Coyote Ugly Soundtrack (the movie isn't a great cinematic acheivement, but I love it anyways.) I highly recommend purchasing this soundtrack - it's wonderful.

On another note, at the request of the site administrator, I have changed the formatting of this fic.  When I wrote it, the lyrics were dispersed throughout in order to enhance and amplify the impact of both the song lyrics and my own writing.  If you wish to read this fic the way I intended it to be read, you can find it here; http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2047321/1/.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters in this story; they are the sole property of the Tolkien Estate. I’m not making any money from this story - it’s just for fun.

The song Please Remember is the sole property of LeAnn Rimes or her record label or whoever.  I don't own it, I'm using it without permission, and I'm not making any money from the use of these lyrics.  No harm is intended.

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Time, sometimes the time just slips away
And you’re left with yesterday
Left with the memories                                                                                                             I’ll always think of you and smile
And be happy for the time
I had you with me
Though we go our separate ways
I won’t forget so don’t forget
The memories we made

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you
And you were there for me                                                                                                

Please remember, our time together
The time was yours and mine
While we were wild and free
Please remember, please remember me

Goodbye, there’s just no sadder word to say
And it’s sad to walk away
With just the memories

Who’s to know what might have been
We’ll leave behind a life and time
We’ll never know again

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you
And you were there for me
And remember, please remember me

Please remember, please remember
I was there for you
And you were there for me

Please remember, our time together
The time was yours and mine
While we were wild and free
Then remember, please remember me

And how we laughed and how we smiled
And how this world was yours and mine
And how a dream was out of reach
I stood by you, you stood by me                                                                                            

We took each day and made it shine
We wrote our names across the sky
We ride so fast, we ride so free
I had you and you had me

Please remember, please remember

Aragorn is lying quietly in his bed, staring at the vaulted ceiling above him. Though in his heart he stills feels young and strong, his body is weak with age.

With a little sigh, he shifts slightly on the down-filled mattress and wonders where the time has gone. It seems like yesterday he was a young man and out wandering Middle-earth with his best friend, and they were getting each other into all sorts of trouble.

The adventures of his youth have made wonderful stories for Aragorn’s many children and grandchildren, and most of them probably think they are little more than fairy-tales meant to calm them when they didn’t want to sleep.

But there are a few who know the truth, and though there are many, many people Aragorn has loved in his long life, there are few who stand out above the rest.

His beloved wife, Arwen. Many tales have been told of her beauty, but Aragorn alone knows the silken feel of her hair, the curve of her thigh and the baby soft feel of her skin after she’s just gotten out of the bath.

All these thoughts make him smile, but he knows that soon she will follow him into eternity and together their souls will fly free from Arda.

It is his life-long best friend who is on his heart now. It is the fate of Legolas, who could not follow him in death no matter how much he might want to, that concerns the King tonight.

Time passes. Aragorn slips in and out of sleep while he waits for his final visitor. Throughout the day, Arwen stays beside him, holding his hand in hers and trying her best to hide her tears from her husband.

Finally, the visitor arrives and he is brought before the dying king with all haste. Arwen leaves for a few minutes, and the two friends are alone for the last time.

“Legolas, mellon nin. Mae Govannen. It is good to see you again.” His voice is tired, and cracks the way a very old tree will creak and groan in the wind.

Legolas, for his part is unchanged. At least, physically. His sapphire eyes echo the sorrow in his heart to witness the passing of the best friend he has ever had. “It is always good to see you, mellon nin.”

He manages a smile, for Aragorn’s sake and the expression brings back a flood of memories as Aragorn echoes the smile.

“Do you remember…?” The question is an old one, and brings back laughter as the old friends recount their many adventures together.

Eventually, the conversation turns to the topic both have been dreading: their last goodbye.

Aragorn leans back into his pillows and looks at his oldest friend with sad eyes. “What will you do now?” There is no need for Aragorn to elaborate any further. They both know what he is talking about.

“Gimli and I have built a ship. We’re going to set sail in a few weeks.”

Nodding, Aragorn smiles. “You’re going west then. Good. There is a couple packages over there for you to take with you. All but one are for Elrond; the last is for you, mellon nin.”

Tears well up in Legolas’ eyes and he grips Aragorn’s hand tightly. “I…” Words fail him for a moment, and all he can do is lay his head on the mattress at his friend’s side. “I don’t want to say goodbye.”

Squeezing Legolas’ hand, Aragorn fights back his own tears. “I know. But we always knew this day would come, mellon nin.”

“It’s not fair.” Legolas spits out the words and jumps up, pacing the room like a caged animal. “Why would Eru grant us such a friendship, then split us up forever!”

Aragorn sighs. “Legolas, we cannot know Eru’s plan. We can only be grateful for the time we had, and cherish the memories always. No matter what happens, we will always have our memories.”

Though Aragorn has so much more to say to his friend, time is no longer on his side and a coughing fit takes him, rattling his frail body like a child’s toy.

“Please…remember…” The words are forced out amid the coughs, as Arwen rushes into the room with the finest healer in Minas Tirith at her heels. Both work quickly to ease Aragorn’s discomfort while Legolas stands sniffling in the corner. This is truly his first look at Mortality and the final cost of a live well-lived.

Finally, the coughing is under control and the healer leaves the room, while Arwen sits quietly in a corner, unwilling to interrupt a conversation she knows is so vital to Aragorn’s peace of mind.

Aragorn, for his part, knows he has little time left and wants to devote as much of it as possible to the love of his life. So, he takes a deep breath and searches for the strength to say goodbye. “Legolas, I thank Eru for you every day. You have saved my life on more than one occasion, and even saved my very soul a few times. No matter what happens, you will always have a place in my heart. Nothing, not even Eru himself can take that away.”

Tears course down Legolas’ cheeks as he nods, utterly unable to speak. He knows, though, that he will have to do this properly, because there are no more second chances. Not with Aragorn. “All the same things apply for me, mellon nin. I thank you for teaching me to love and trust when I thought I would never be able to do so again, and I thank you for all the adventures we had together; which will make excellent stories to tell around the fire in Aman.”

Aragorn laughs and reaches for Legolas’ hand. Legolas complies and the two hold tight to one another for a long moment. Then, with a small sigh, Aragorn squeezes one last time and pulls away. “Legolas, mellon nin, I know you have things to do, so I will not keep you any longer. Good bye, mellon nin.”

Nodding, Legolas let’s his hand drop to his side and swallows the sob that threatens to burst out of this throat. He knows this means Aragorn wants to spend whatever time he has left with Arwen. “Good bye, mellon nin.”

Walking out of the bedchamber, Legolas sniffles and begins to run. He doesn’t stop running until he’s well out of the city and halfway to Ithilien, where Gimli is waiting with the ship they built together.

Slowing to a walk, then stopping in a sunlit field, Legolas flops backwards and stares up at the sky. Overhead, clouds drift slowly by, indifferent to the grieving being beneath them, the sun warms his skin and dries his tears as he releases all his pent-up emotions.

For hours the fair being lies in the grass and weeps, until the sobs slow, and then finally come to a stop. Overhead the stars have come out and gild his handsome features with silvery light and staring up at them, Legolas comes to terms with the loss of his best friend.

“I will remember, Aragorn.” He vows softly, under the starlit sky. Rising to his feet, he heads south to Ithilien, and then sets sail to the West with Gimli.

Please remember, please remember