Arrey and Nimfinwë belong to my friend Embrethil, and this came about after we had a conversation about how Arrey reacts to the idea of homosexuality. Since my Ereinion is always of such a persuasion, this scene popped into my head when she mentioned that he found it a little weird, and would not expect Ereinion to be gay.

They're living on the Isle of Balar, and this is after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Arrey and Ereinion are the equivalent of about 15 or 16 here.

Alyss belongs to me and Embrethil
Ereinion is Tolkien's

It was late afternoon when Ereinion arrived at his destination and hesitantly raised a hand to knock on the door. It hovered in mid-air for a moment, before falling back to his side.

Just do it.

Taking a breath and steeling himself, Ereinion raised his fist again and knocked three times on the door. A few moments later it opened and Lord Nimfinwë's housekeeper peeked her head out.

"My Lord Ereinion! Come in, come in." She opened the door wider and ushered him inside, where she promptly took his cloak and hung it on the hook for him. "Is there anything I can get you?"

"No thank you, Alyss. Is Arrey home?"

Alyss nodded. "Yes, my Lord. He's in his room."

Ereinion nodded and headed up the stairs, rehearsing what he needed to say as he went. By the time he got to Arrey's bedroom he had decided to forget pretences and flowery words and just say it. It would be easier that way.

He knocked on the door and then pushed it open, peering around the edge of the wood. "Arrey?"

The blond-haired elf looked up from his book and grinned at his friend. "Ereinion! What brings you to my neck of the woods?" he cleared a space on the bed for the Noldo and gestured for him to sit down but Ereinion shook his head, preferring to stay standing.

"Um, there's something that I need to tell you."

Arrey regarded Ereinion carefully. "Is it...bad?" the prince seemed to be very nervous and Arrey wondered what in the world could make Ereinion that apprehensive.

"No." Ereinion moistened his lips. "Not bad, as such. Just...monumental."

Arrey shifted off of his stomach into a sitting position, and folded his hands in his lap. "Okay. I'm listening."

Ereinion took a deep breath. "It's just...well, um..." Why was this so hard?

For the love of the Valar, Ereinion just say it!"I'm gay."

Arrey's mouth dropped open. Of all the things Ereinion could have said, that was the one that Arrey least expected.

"...Are you sure?" as soon as the words left his mouth Arrey regretted them. He mentally slapped himself. Nice going. Ask a more obvious question, will you?

Ereinion nodded, eyes downcast. He was afraid to look at his friend's face, afraid of what he would find there. "Yes, I'm sure."

His voice was barely above a whisper and Arrey hated himself for not knowing what to say. Ereinion probably thought that Arrey hated him now. Despite the fact that his father was married to another man, Arrey was not entirely comfortable around those who were same-sex oriented, and Ereinion knew that. The blond elf acutely remembered the conversation they had had about that a few weeks ago. Had Ereinion been gauging his potential reaction then? Arrey swallowed nervously. What kind of impression had he left? He needed to make this better.

But what could he say? He had never even suspected that Ereinion was that way inclined and this admission was so out of the blue that Arrey could do little more than stare at him.

Ereinion blinked slowly and gathered the courage to raise his eyes. Arrey was staring at him, his expression unreadable. Ereinion thought he had a pretty good idea of the thoughts that were probably running through the other elf's head. How could I be friends with a degenerate...he knows how I feel about them, how could he do this to me...I hope he's not attracted to me, that would be so awkward...if he's going to choose that kind of lifestyle I never want to see him again...

Ereinion cleared his throat and gestured vaguely towards the door. "I'll just- I better go."

And then he was gone from the room, and it was not until Arrey heard him step on the creaky board at the bottom of the stairs that he recovered.

"Ereinion, wait!" he sprinted after the prince but the dark-haired elf was already rounding the corner at the end of the block by the time Arrey reached the door. The blond elf smacked himself in the forehead. "Idiot!"

"Arrey?" Nimfinwë had emerged from the study when he heard running, and approached his son. "What happened?"

Arrey sighed. "Ereinion just came out to me, and all I could do was stare at him with my mouth open like a fish."

"Ah." Nimfinwë looked down at the younger elf. "Does it affect your opinion of him?"

"Of course not!" Arrey passed a hand over his face. "It's just unexpected, that's all. It was the last thing I expected him to say."

Nimfinwë raised an eyebrow at the last part of Arrey's reply. "Really?"

Arrey nodded. "I mean, he's not interested in any of the girls at school but none of them are especially attractive so I never thought anything of it." He turned to look at his father. "Do you think I should go after him?"

"No."

It was Arrey's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Not yet," Nimfinwë clarified. "Wait until after dinner, and then go and talk to him. Give him a chance to calm down a bit, and take the time to figure out exactly what you want to say to him."

"Alright," Arrey replied quietly. "I'll do that."

Nimfinwë nodded, satisfied, and went back into his study. Arrey looked out of the door at the empty street for a few moments before closing the door and heading back up to his room to try and figure out a way to fix this.

Sequel coming soon.