I wish that I had changed into
something else, for when Glorfindel entered, I felt completely indecent in what
I had on. Not until he sat down in
the seat I offered him by the fire did I realize he was in the colors of his
house, dressed as often he had been in Gondolin.
We did not speak for long, finding
comfort in the company of each other. The
fire warmed us, as did the wine, and I found need to open the window.
A fresh breeze drifted through the room, and Glorfindel looked at me as I
returned, and though he blamed his shiver on the wind, I knew better from the
look in his eyes.
Erestor dipped his quill into the jar of ink and frowned as
he reread the words. Shifting in
bed to gain a better position in which to write – as well as a more
comfortable position for his sore posterior, Erestor paused to think.
He never would have guessed that
the act of making love would cause one to become quite as famished as he was.
Glorfindel kindly offered to prepare a snack and bring it back to the
room, if Erestor would consider completing a task for him.
Disappearing into the back rooms,
Glorfindel returned with the journal, as well as a quill and a bottle of silvery
grey ink. “I record a lot of
daily notes, as you know, and sometimes I write fictional stories to pass the
time. I would love for you to…
document our encounter for… historical purposes,” Glorfindel had told
Erestor carefully before peppering his cheeks with kisses and then leaving the
room.
Realizing that in all honesty he could probably skip the
small talk, Erestor began to write once again.
His eyes wandered across my body,
and I felt his touch as well as if it had been his own hand, my breath catching
in my throat as his stare lingered. Abruptly,
he turned to look at the fire and spoke. “The
hour is late. I should retire.” Glorfindel
stood up and nodded toward me. I stood as the next words tumbled from my mouth.
“It would be folly for you to
leave,” I said to him. He turned
and answered,
“It would be folly for me to
stay. Unless you have reason
otherwise.”
“There is already a fire burning
here,” I quickly said, motioning to the small hearth.
“It would be wasteful to start another.”
Glorfindel sat back down and
regarded me curiously as I seated myself. “I
do need to rest,” he told me carefully.
“Is not my bed large enough for
two?” My stomach knotted, and I
added, “It would be just like when we would camp beneath the stars in Gondolin
with Ecthelion.”
“No, it wouldn’t,” chuckled
Glorfindel.
Sighing deeply, I said, “No, I
suppose not.” This was becoming
more awkward than I had expected, considering the words Glorfindel had shared
with me. “Glorfindel, will you
spend this night with me?”
Glorfindel did not answer, instead
swirling his drink in his glass. Frustrated,
I let my fist drop onto the arm of my chair, startling Fin.
“Do you know how difficult this is for me?”
“I told you, you didn’t have
to do anything if you didn’t want to. I
promise you, I shall never take another to my bed, and I will not force you to
let me into yours.”
Closing my eyes, I rubbed the
bridge of my nose. It was then that
I realized how formal this was. Had
I ever considered saying anything so intimate to a lover while sitting across
the room? Had I thought properly of
this, I would have asked him to join me on the furs before the fire instead of
the chairs nearby.
In one fluid motion, I was
standing and another moment later, knelt before Glorfindel and took his free
hand into mine. “Aiya, Fin, you
make things so difficult,” I chided, ignoring his sudden look of confusion as
he placed his glass aside and curled his other hand around mine.
“Too long have I been alone, dear Fin.
I wish to be complete, and you are the one who completes me.”
Playing with my fingers, rubbing
them in his own hands, he leaned forward as he bent nearer.
Something of the old Glorfindel was there in his eyes, the Glorfindel I
met in Gondolin, that quiet and reserved elf that I thought had perished long
ago. “Would you permit me to kiss
you, Erestor?”
My throat constricted upon his
request, but I managed to nod my consent to him. Softly our lips met, then slid, parted, and opened.
I surprised myself as I let my tongue glide over his, exploring his mouth
hungrily and more boldly than I had planned to.
I withdrew abruptly, feeling guilty as I saw his wide-eyed stare.
Blushing, I turned my head and
swallowed hard as I tried to pull myself up. Instead, Glorfindel moved forward and fell to his own knees
on the floor. His hands left mine
and found their way to my burning cheeks, and with some trepidation, I looked up
into his eyes.
We held that gaze for some time as
the wood in the fireplace snapped and spit, rain beginning to run down the high
windows, errant drops hitting the floor beneath the open one.
I did not expect him to lunge at me as he did, but if he had been slower,
I may have turned away once more. His
tongue thrust into my mouth, hands sliding back into my hair.
I had little choice but to submit, my own fingers wrapping around his
shoulders, clawing and kneading as he fed my long hidden hunger.
Neither of us made any attempt to
change our position, simply kissing and caressing one another, saying nothing.
It was so easy to simply love and be loved, after living so long without
love. I jerked slightly when
Glorfindel’s hand found its way deep into the folds of my robe and beneath the
fabric that covered lower, and he began to pull away.
Catching his wrist, I placed his hand back where it had been.
“Touch me, Fin.
Help me, please. Satisfy this need I did not know I had.”
“But am I to satisfy your need
or are you to satisfy mine?” he asked cryptically.
I paused, stopping my hands where they were upon his thighs.
“Are they not one in the
same?”
“Dear Erestor, there is a great
amount of physical improbability to what you suggest,” he answered with a
wink. His hands and lips began to
move once more over my clothed body. Drawing
his tongue over the curve of my ear to the point, he nipped and asked, “Do you
wish to give or to receive?”
That is when the impact of what I
was about to partake in finally came to me. When morning came, my soul would be bound – fused forever
to Glorfindel’s. I was filled
with fear, and with excitement, and could not seem to think.
“Erestor?”
Glorfindel drew back and his eyes searched mine as his hand began to
slowly stroke the inside of my thigh, letting his hand wander slowly.
“I don’t know, Glorfindel,”
I panted truthfully, letting my eyelids droop.
“Tell me how you feel, beautiful
Erestor,” purred Glorfindel. He
licked my throat, and I bent my head back, encouraging his touch.
His fingers gently slid the meager robe from my shoulders, and as it fell
to the ground, his hands pushed down the material that hindered him below.
“Tell me truly.”
“I burn,” I gasped, digging my
fingers into his upper arms as he curled his own around my most private of
places. “You have set me on fire,
and I burn for you. I wish to be
yours. Completely yours.”
“Then I shall have you,” he
growled, low and soft, and began to nuzzle at my neck as his hands began the
task of removing the rest of my clothing. I
found I could do little more than steady myself, hands upon his shoulders, as he
kissed my throat and pulled at the sash that had been tied about his own waist,
dropping it to the floor. “Erestor…”
he whispered against my skin. “My Erestor…”
I shuddered and exploded despite
the lack of his physical touch, and blushed a deep crimson this time.
There was a sort of dumb look on Glorfindel’s face as he ran his
fingers through the silvery discharge that had sprayed upon my skin, as if he
needed contact with the proof before believing it.
“You are a most sensual elf,” he told me, looking around for
something to clean things up.
“Nay, it is you,” I countered,
breathing heavily, still holding him within my grasp.
“Your words are the perfect intercourse.”
“You only think that because I
haven’t had my way with you yet,” he smirked, pulling the sash he had
discarded moments ago from the discarded clothing and using it to clean me.
He stopped before entirely finishing, and bowed his head, lowering his
body down.
I held my breath as his tongue
came in contact with my flesh, licking the droplets that had not yet been
cleaned from my stomach and thighs. “Fin,”
I whimpered as the tip of his tongue flicked out and danced across my skin,
panicking now as I began to realize just what I was getting myself into.
“Fin…I can’t…It’s just, I don’t…”
My protest died as I felt a sudden warmth flood my body.
I looked down and beheld such a sight as never I expected. Waves of pleasure overtook my fears, and I rested my hands on
his shoulders, head thrown back as he provided such stimulation as I had never
known.
The rhythm Glorfindel set was
exquisite, and soon my words were nothing more than mewls and whimpers, sounds I
never thought myself capable of making. Once
more was I erect, and he took me fully into his mouth before letting me go,
dragging his teeth lightly across my flesh so that I cried out, cursing, and
begging when the sensation ebbed away.
“I think you can,” he purred.
“I think you want to,” he pressed.
Glorfindel stood and looked down as I lifted my chin, gazing up at him.
His smile was warm and lazy as he set his hand upon my head, dragging his
fingers back through my hair. “I
think you will.”
Before I could answer, he left.
His hand was gone from my hair, he from my chambers, and I knelt upon the
floor, with nothing more than my own labored breath to hear.
Settling back, balancing on the palms of my hands, I knew the choice
before me.
His promise was never to bring up
the matter again, not unless I had. And
I had. Oh, had I ever.
Yet, close at it had come, he still gave me the choice.
A final means to escape my fate. Our
fate. Predestined. I shuddered. I
never had a choice, I realized, and yet, through this act of concession on his
part, the choice was now clear in my mind.
I stood, and I ached, but it was
my soul and not my body that controlled my thoughts now.
No longer was I listening to what I thought, but instead, to what I felt.
What I knew, and had always somehow known.
Presently, Glorfindel entered through the open doorway,
bringing with him a large steaming plate and a pitcher of cool water.
Setting them on a long table that was against the wall, he leaned over to
kiss Erestor’s cheek, and then headed into the back rooms, coming back with a
pair of drinking glasses. “How is
it coming along?” Glorfindel asked, settling down on the bed next to where
Erestor was propped up against the pillows.
Erestor moved a little more toward the center to give Glorfindel more
space and counted the pages he had written in.
“I’ve finished seven pages,” Erestor told him,
handing Glorfindel the quill so that it could be placed aside.
“What have you brought?”
“I’ve brought you something delicious,” replied
Glorfindel. Erestor awaited an
answer, and Glorfindel grinned. “Oh,
you mean the food…” He reached around to retrieve the snack while Erestor
slapped his shoulder. Chuckling,
Glorfindel held the plate with one hand and pulled one of the treats from it, a
trail of melted cheese clinging to it as he lifted it in front of Erestor’s
mouth.
“What are they?” Erestor asked, putting the book aside.
“They’re very good,” answered Glorfindel.
Erestor laughed. “You
haven’t a clue!”
“It’s something the Halflings eat, you must trust me!
It’s good. Very good,”
he corrected.
Leaning forward, Erestor bit into the food he was offered.
Hidden under the cheese were buttered mushrooms, slices of pepper, and
chunks of tomato on top of bread. “This
is very good. Much better than what
I did for dinner.”
“It’s nothing, really,” Glorfindel smiled, feeding
the rest of that slice to Erestor. “You
know, this has been quite a day,” he said, licking his buttery fingers.
“Mmmhmm,” agreed Erestor as he chewed.
After swallowing, he said, “Quite an incredible day.”
“I’m sorry about your library,” blurted out
Glorfindel. “I know how much work
you put into it, and what you had to do to convince Elrond to even build one,
which seems so silly considering the hours he used to spend in it.
But, it wasn’t his library, it was your library, and I’m sure when we
get to Valinor, he’s going to just let you still keep the books where you
would like, or, is there a public library in Valinor? I’m sorry, I don’t know some of these things, and I just
hate to see you unhappy.”
Erestor picked up one of the cheesy slices of bread and ate
it quietly. When he finished, he
said, “Today I realized how much I am going to miss Imladris.
It isn’t just the books, Fin, it’s the entire place.
Everywhere else I lived never seemed quite like home, quite like Valinor. But this house comes close.”
“You’re still going to sail eventually?” asked
Glorfindel with worry.
“Oh, yes,” replied Erestor.
“In time. But I will miss
Imladris.” Sighing, he added,
“I think now I may miss it even more.”
His eyes had a faraway look, and he closed them as his chin trembled.
Glorfindel put aside the plate and drew his arms around
Erestor. “We’re not leaving
yet,” he said in a happy and slightly silly voice that immediately became
serious. “Please don’t cry,
Erestor,” he said, soft and low, “I can’t stand the pain of it.”
“I’m not going to cry, Glorfindel,” Erestor assured
him, “though, I think right now, I might be amiable to any of the comforting,
holding, and… and kissing that you wrote about earlier.”
“Only kissing?” sighed Glorfindel playfully.
“Comforting and holding were also mentioned.”
This caused Glorfindel to pout. “That appears to be a very limited list of options you’ve
given me, Ress.”
“Ress? Who’s
Ress?”
“You are, my dear,” stated Glorfindel.
“Since when?”
“If I’m Fin, then you’re Ress,” Glorfindel said
matter-of-factly. “Glor-FIN-del,
E-RESS-tor.”
“It’s not E-restor, it’s ER-estor,” corrected
Erestor pointedly. “Honestly.”
“I’m not calling you Er, that just sounds silly, as
does Es. Now, I’ve put a lot of
thought into this, and I think Ress suits you.”
“No, Erestor suits me,” argued the darker elf.
“It is my name, and what I wish to be called.”
Erestor found himself flat on his back and pinned down a
moment later. “I love the sound
of your name,” purred Glorfindel after dragging his tongue along Erestor’s
jaw. “Even more,” he continued,
nipping at the other’s ear, “I love to hear your name on my lips. I think you love to hear your name on my lips even more than
I love saying your name,” he flicked his tongue at the tip of Erestor’s ear
and whispered, “Erestor – Not, E-res-tor…” Even the incorrect
pronunciation made the elf beneath him shudder.
“Now, in the future – in the very near future, I should
hope – when we make love, I should like to have something a bit simpler to
call you. I could simply say—“
Glorfindel sat up and back a little now that Erestor was temporarily subdued,
and taking hold of his lover’s hardening length, continued in a low and
seductive voice, “—I could say to you, as you thrust into me, deep within my
body, I could call out, ‘Oh, yes, my love, yes!’.”
Glorfindel abruptly stopped, and Erestor whined as the touching ceased.
“Very impersonal,” Glorfindel explained, pretending to ignore the
needful moans. “I could also
simply use your entire name. For example,” Glorfindel wrapped his hand around the stiff
member, and resuming his manipulation, cried out rather convincingly, “Oh
Erestor, by the Valar! Do not stop,
Erestor! Do not cease!”
It was not Erestor who paused, but Glorfindel, whose hands
were now firmly on either side of Erestor’s waist. Erestor let out a frustrated sob as Glorfindel lowered
himself again, so that his lips were almost upon Erestor’s ear as he spoke,
and his lover’s erection was pressed between their bodies. “But I think there are enough who call you Erestor, and I
would call you something more personal than that.
Just as you called out to me, your voice hoarse and strained, crying out
to ‘Fin’, telling him to take your flushed, aching, beautiful body, Erestor,
I would have something to scream when it is you who has me undone.”
Words tumbled into Erestor’s ear, words of desire, of
such passion, though neither had penetrated the other’s body, Glorfindel
assaulted Erestor’s mind with such heat, he threw back his head and moaned as
he heard them. “Deeper, Ress,
yes—Oh! Yes… Take me harder, Ress, take me over the edge, do not stop!”
panted Glorfindel, causing himself to be aroused.
“I think the name to be perfect, Ress,” growled Glorfindel, and
Erestor was barely able to nod.
“Now, Ress,” Glorfindel said, propping himself back up
and causing Erestor to become even more frustrated, “I do believe that you
have greatly limited my options for the remainder of the evening.”
“Fin…” Erestor whined and blinked his eyes open.
“I just had hoped not to be so sore come morning.”
Grinning, Glorfindel had their positions reversed moments
later, and winked up at Erestor. “Who
said you’d get to have all the fun?” he asked, folding his arms behind his
head as he spread his legs further apart. Erestor
licked his lips and smiled down at him. “I
don’t expect to be sore, Ress,” Glorfindel continued, “I expect to be
completely unable to walk in the morning.”
“Is that a challenge?” Erestor inquired.
“Oh, I was quite hoping it would be a promise,” said
Glorfindel, conjuring up a very naughty look.
In the early morning hours, while Glorfindel slept,
enfolded in Erestor’s arms, the elder elf recalled the first episode of
lovemaking they had shared late that previous evening in the very bed they
rested. His body hurt, but it was
such a wonderful pain, having exerted himself to exhaustion, but too happy to
rest.
Nestled against him, so tired that he had drifted from
reverie to sleep, Glorfindel was peacefully relaxed in his arms.
Freeing one hand, Erestor used it to lightly touch his newly discovered
lover, smiling as Glorfindel cuddled closer and mumbled a few words.