Fandom: Lord of the Rings
Universe: AU
Story Rating: M
Chapter Rating: T, to be safe

Evan and Erulissë belong to my friend Anna; Candis, Celelas, Círa, Erurainon, Indilwen, Maríka and Rinion are mine and everyone else is Tolkien's.

Maríka is pronounced 'Mah-REE-kah', and the abbreviation, Marí, is pronounced like 'Mary'. Círa is the same character as Keira - I have just changed the spelling of her name to (Sindarin) Elvish spelling. It's still pronounced the same. (I don't know if any of you are familiar with Keira, but I thought I'd tell you just in case you were and got confused. :3)

Since I cut the last chapter in half, those that have followed this story up to this point will have already read the first half of this chapter, but the second half is all new.

Previously on Far Longer Than Forever:

Ereinion broke the embrace and placed a finger under Elrond's chin, tilting the half-elf's face up so he could look into his eyes. "I am here, I'm real. I promise."

Blinking back tears, Elrond shook his head. "Prove it," he pleaded. "I can't believe that they'd give you back so please, prove it."

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment and then all of a sudden Ereinion's hands were entangled in Elrond's hair and the King's lips were pressed against his own.

Acting on reflex, Elrond returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around Ereinion's waist, allowing his eyes to slip closed. Ereinion's heart soared and he felt light flood through him. The memory of holding Elrond and being held by him in return, of kissing him, had been one of the only things that had made his long years in the Halls bearable. He had missed his half-elven lover desperately, and to be kissing him again after all this time was paradise.

Elrond melted into Ereinion's touch. The lips against his own, the long-fingered hands threaded in his hair, the feel of the muscles in Ereinion's back shifting under his touch - all was wonderfully familiar and Elrond found himself also realising how much he had missed this; how much he had missed Ereinion. It felt so natural, so right. Kissing his wife had never felt like this.

All of a sudden Elrond's eyes flew open. He was married. He shouldn't be doing this. He let go of Ereinion's waist, pressed his hands against the former King's chest and pushed him away.

Ereinion registered that Elrond's hands were on his chest and then the pressure on his lips was gone. Elrond had pulled away and stepped back, and was now looking at him with horror in his wide eyes, a hand covering his mouth.

Elrond stared at Ereinion, numb all over and only half-knowing why he had just pulled away. He tried to regain his breath as his mind screamed blue murder at him.

Why did you pull away? You don't want to stop kissing him! For the love of the Valar, why did you do that? And then, as the silence between them grew heavier, Say something you idiot!

He was married. He had children. Celebrían had not even been gone for half a year and already he was kissing someone else. Guilt at this new development flooded through him even as a small voice in the back of his mind whispered that kissing Ereinion was not cheating, after all, he and Ereinion had been lovers for millennia before he married Celebrían...

Conflicting emotions swirled through Elrond and made his head pound. He couldn't decide what he felt, and quite honestly did not have the energy to. This last year had been far too taxing on him and now with Ereinion back he couldn't cope with the new feelings that the King's reappearance had caused. He had wanted this, had ached for this, for so long. Now Ereinion really was back and Elrond was too much of an emotional wreck to deal with it.

Ereinion swiftly looked away, closing his eyes as he also mentally berated himself. Kissing Elrond was a stupid thing to do, stupid! He was married, he had a family. He had moved on, and Ereinion no longer had a place at his side.

Elrond was the first to recover his voice and swallowed hard. "Ereinion..." They had to talk about this. He had to tell Ereinion that he hadn't meant to pull away, that he didn't know what he was feeling, that he just needed time.

Ereinion took a deep breath and spoke before Elrond got a chance to even start to explain himself. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. It was a really stupid thing to do. I shouldn't have-...I-I think it's best if I just...go now."

He walked quickly out of the room without a backwards glance, heading for the Hall of Fire and hoping to recover some semblance of his self-control there.

"Ereinion!" Elrond called as the King all but ran out of the room. Ereinion kept going and Elrond sighed deeply, running a hand over his face. "Nice going, Peredhel," he muttered to himself. He ran a hand through his hair and then turned and followed Ereinion out of the room, closing the door after him. His emotions were even more in turmoil now than they had been before and he felt that if he did not sort them out he would explode. With a sigh he bypassed his study and headed towards Erestor's, praying that his friend was alone and could help him.

Elrond came to a stop in front of Erestor's study, placed his hand on the door handle, and hesitated. What if Erestor was busy? What if he had company? Elrond bit his lip and let go of the door handle, knocking softly on the door instead.

"Come in."

Elrond pushed the door open slowly, peering inside to see if anyone else was in there. Erestor was alone. Breathing an inaudible sigh of relief, Elrond stepped inside and shut the door behind him. Erestor glanced up to see who it was and smiled bemusedly.

"You never knock."

"First time for everything," Elrond shrugged. "...Are you busy?"

"No, of course not. Have a seat." Erestor put his quill in the inkpot in front of him and pushed the reports to the side. He frowned slightly when he saw that the half-elf seemed shaken. What could have happened in the space of a few hours that would have had this effect on Elrond? His mind came to the obvious conclusion, but he would have thought that finding Ereinion alive again would be a cause for joy, not apprehension. "Elrond, mellon-nîn, what has happened?"

Elrond sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I kissed Ereinion. Well, actually, he kissed me."

"Wait, what?" Erestor realised his mouth was open and he promptly shut it. "Well, he certainly didn't waste any time!" a quick glance at Elrond's face revealed that the half-elf was not laughing and Erestor sobered. "Okay. Tell me what happened."

Elrond relayed to Erestor the events of that morning, how Candis had came in with his tea and mentioned the King, assuming that Elrond knew he was back; and how Elrond went to find Ereinion and found him in his old rooms.

"I was...shocked, to say the least. I didn't believe that he was really back, didn't believe that I could be that lucky. So I asked him to prove it and he kissed me."

Erestor nodded slowly, going through this information in his head. He still didn't quite understand Elrond's reaction. "Okay. And this is a bad thing...why?"

"Because I pushed him away."

"Oh. Did you not want him to kiss you?"

Elrond threw his hands up in exasperation. "I don't know! I mean, of course I wanted him to kiss me, I was standing less than a foot away from him and if I didn't want him to kiss me I'd've been standing further back-" he sighed again and took a deep breath, and continued more calmly, "It's just- I'm so confused about this whole thing. An hour ago I thought he was still dead, and now I'm snogging him and-" Elrond broke off, gesticulating to compensate for his loss of words.

He exhaled. "There are so many other things to consider now. I've been married for almost as long as I was involved with him and it's not something I can put in the past straightaway. Not to mention I now have to think of my children and what they're going to think of my actions."

Erestor had not considered that the children might react badly - he tended to forget that only a select few of the residents in Imladris knew the true nature of the relationship between the King and their Lord, and Elrond wanted to keep it that way; even though that relationship was not necessarily something he was ashamed of. It was, however, his own business, and did not concern anyone but Ereinion and him. The advisor nodded. "You need to tell him that. If I were you I'd just leave him be for a while and-"

"-Let him come to me," Elrond finished. "Yes, I am aware of what to do in this situation. I do know him, you know." One corner of Elrond's mouth quirked up, taking the sting out of his words.

"Of course you do. Sorry."

Elrond waved away the apology. Erestor leant forward. "Before you talk to him, there is one question you need to seriously consider so that there are no misunderstandings."

"What question is that?" Elrond asked, although he had a pretty good idea of what Erestor would say next.

"Do you want him back as just a friend, or as your lover?"

Ereinion sat curled up in an armchair in one corner of the Hall of Fire, nursing a glass of warm spiced wine and staring at the fireplace in front of him. The flames weaved and danced, crackling merrily, oblivious to his inner turmoil. Of all the ways he could have proved his existence, he chose the one way that would cause the most trouble. He should have realised that Elrond's emotional state would be fragile, to say the least. He could have at least waited a few days before taking such liberties, but no. Ereinion took a sip of his drink and sighed. He had not known that having Elrond that close after all that time would be so intoxicating, and that it would be so hard to maintain his distance. Taking another sip, he idly wondered how long it would be before the gossip mills were up and running again, if they were not already doing so. Ereinion remembered how it had been in Lindon, when he and Elrond had been the favourite subject of gossip, even when they were careful to conceal their tracks as much as they could.

Perhaps that had only added to the fascination with their relationship.

Lost in his thoughts, Ereinion barely registered the sound of an elf entering the Hall. He paid no attention to the new arrival until she dropped the mug of tea that she was holding. It smashed, splashing tea over the floorboards and the hem of her dress.

"Ereinion?" Maríka breathed the name, barely believing her eyes. The elf in question glanced up sharply at the sound of his name, a similar expression of shock on his face as he recognised his sister. She grinned, and he stood up as she rushed over to him and threw her arms around his neck. "By the Valar, it is true!"

Ereinion wordlessly returned the hug, wondering how he could have forgotten about her. He bent over and buried his face in her neck, inhaling her familiar scent. "Marí..."

Maríka pulled away, tears of joy glistening in her blue eyes. "I heard whispers of your return but I thought it was just gossip." She touched his forehead, smoothing away the lines of worry. "I am glad it is not so."

Ereinion smiled. "I didn't know you lived here - I assumed you had stayed in Lindon, or travelled to Mithlond."

Maríka laughed. "You've missed a lot. Come on, let's go outside and I'll fill you in." At that moment she remembered the mug. "Perhaps I better clean the tea up first."

Ereinion glanced over her shoulder and saw that Glorfindel, who had heard the sound of the mug breaking and had come to investigate, had stacked the broken pieces of china in a small pile and was now mopping the tea up with a cloth. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

Maríka turned around and also noticed Glorfindel. The golden-haired elf glanced up as the siblings approached the spot where he was kneeling on the floor and smiled at them.

"Good thing this spilt on the floorboards and not the rugs, Marí," he commented. "If you got tea on the carpet I don't think Celelas would forgive you."

Maríka chuckled and then cleared her throat in a slight warning. Glorfindel took the hint and with a knowing smile, he finished his task, picked up the broken mug, and headed to the kitchen. If Ereinion was left a little confused at the encounter between his best friend and his sister, he had no time to think of it as Maríka took his hand and led him out to the garden. They chose a shady seat that faced the rose garden and sat down, and Maríka began to fill her brother in on the parts of her life that he had missed.

Ereinion and Maríka spent most of the afternoon catching up. He told her about existence in the Halls, how he had been reunited with their mother, his first reincarnation and life in Tirion. He told her about Vairë's legendary hall of tapestries, and about Námo, Irmo and Tulkas, whom he had met.

She told him how she had renounced her title and moved to Imladris, where Elrond, knowing that she loved making clothes and was good at it, gave her a job as official dressmaker. She told him about Elrond's children and Ereinion said that he had already met Elladan; Maríka promised to introduce him to the others before dinner. They discussed a few other things like diplomatic relations with neighbouring towns and which courtiers, officials and councillors had sailed to Valinor before Maríka got up the courage to reveal the most important thing regarding her new life.

She need not have bothered.

"So," Ereinion said, leaning back on the garden bench that they currently occupied, "how many years have you been married?"

Maríka's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

Ereinion laughed. "Give me some credit, Marí, I am your brother. I noticed this afternoon that Celelas wears a wedding band decorated with a leaf and rose pattern; and I saw that you were wearing an identical one when you embraced me inside. You're not wearing it right now but there's a mark on your finger where it usually sits and I saw you take it off just as we came out here."

Maríka had to laugh. "I forgot that nothing gets past you." She took her gold wedding band - decorated with a pattern of entwining leaves and roses, just as Ereinion described - out of her pocket and slipped it on her finger. "We were married not ten years after Elrond and Celebrían. I imagine that our union will come as no surprise to you."

Ereinion shook his head with a smile. His sister and housekeeper had had feelings for each other ever since Celelas had been employed in Fingon's household at the age of 80. They had been unable to enter into a relationship for obvious reasons: he was a housekeeper and she a princess. Holding out hope that one day they would be able to be together, Maríka, like her brother, had denied all proposals of marriage. Neither sibling had felt able to enter into a loveless political marriage due to the feelings they each held for someone they could not be with.

"Celelas was the first to move here, in the third year of the war. Lindon's population had already started to decline by then as the first lists of dead arrived, and it got so that some of our house staff were unneeded. Some moved here, others were freed by Círdan. I stayed on in Lindon, helping Círdan carry out his duties as Steward until the end of the war, and news of your death reached us." Her voice trembled a bit and Ereinion scooted a little closer, taking hold of her hand. She swallowed and continued.

"Elrond made it clear that he did not want to take the crown, and I did not wish to either. He formally abdicated the throne, and everyone knew that I had no wish to be Queen. I was not required to abdicate, as you had not proclaimed me formally in line to the throne. Of those who did not sail, the majority moved here to Imladris, some travelled to Lothlorien and the rest went to Mithlond. Very few stayed, but we allowed those that did to move into the palace - neither Elrond, Círdan, nor I wanted to see it fall into disrepair. It is maintained in the state that you left it, and every year it gets some visitors who want to see for themselves the former glory of the elven High Kingdom. However, the royal wing is sectioned off and remains closed to visitors."

Her brother nodded as he absorbed all of this. "I had not really expected Elrond to take the throne. Naming him heir was just a formality." After a moment, he inquired about the other elven realms.

"Galadriel and Celeborn are still in Lothlorien. A few years ago they adopted the children of a distant cousin of Celeborn's - twins, a boy and a girl, named Evan and Erulissë. Their mother died in childbirth, and their father was taking the twins to Lothlorien when he was hit with an orc's arrow; he was already weak after the passing of his wife and he died just as he reached the border."

Ereinion covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh, that's awful."

Maríka nodded and then shrugged. "The twins are only very young, four years old this year: they will not remember their birth parents. The Lord and Lady will tell them the truth when they are old enough."

"And Greenwood?"

"Thranduil ascended the throne, as expected. He married Lady Indilwen, and they have three sons: Rinion, Erurainon, and Legolas. It is something of a private joke here in Imladris that Thranduil will not be beaten by Elrond in anything - Rinion was born the same year as Elrond's twins, Erurainon was born a few months after Arwen and Legolas is seven months older than Círa."

Ereinion laughed. "Somehow I don't think that's a coincidence."

Maríka shook her head with a smile. She watched as her brother sobered and became lost in his thoughts. She nudged his leg with her foot. "That's the second time today that I've seen that look on you. What happened this afternoon?"

Ereinion sighed. "I was getting settled back in when Elrond came into my rooms. He was shocked to see me, understandably, and thought I was just a hallucination. I said I wasn't and he asked me to prove it...so I kissed him."

It was Maríka's turn to cover her mouth with her hand. Ereinion met her gaze and nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly how he looked afterwards."

Maríka recovered from the shock and took her hand away. "Well, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Do you want to go back to what you had?"

Ereinion leant forward, elbows on his knees, and passed a hand over his face. "More than anything," he replied, looking back over his shoulder at Maríka. "But it isn't that simple. His wife has only been gone a few months, and he and his children are still in shock. And then there's the fact that they may not accept a relationship between me and their father."

"I doubt you'd have a problem with Elladan and Elrohir," Maríka said after a moment's consideration. "They're old enough to understand that you're not replacing their mother, and would put their father's happiness before their own feelings. Besides, Elladan has known about the two of you for quite a few years now: I don't know if he has told Elrohir or not. Círa is too young to really understand what has happened - all she knows is that her mother has gone away and that it has made her father sad. I think that if you were to get back with him then she would accept you because you would make him happy again."

Ereinion smiled wryly. "And Arwen?"

Maríka suppressed a sigh. "Arwen...is unpredictable. I honestly don't know how she would take it, but from the petulant way she has been acting lately, I daresay she wouldn't take it well."

Their conversation turned to other topics, and they stayed outside talking until the valley was covered in the pale peach-coloured light of dusk.

"It will be dinnertime soon," Maríka announced. "We should probably go inside."

Ereinion agreed, and they stood and headed inside, arms linked. They encountered the Peredhel children in the entrance hall, and Maríka steered Ereinion towards them. Ereinion suspected that the siblings had been talking about him, as their conversation ebbed away as he approached.

"That is him," Elladan said quietly as the four of them arranged themselves into a line to make introductions easier.

"Ereinion, these are Elrond's children: Elladan, Elrohir, Arwen and Círa," Maríka said, indicating each one as she said their name. "Elladan, you've already met him, everyone else, this is Ereinion Gil-Galad."

Elladan inclined his head. "Good evening, my Lord. Are you enjoying your stay so far?"

Ereinion nodded. "I am, yes. Imladris is just as beautiful as I remember."

Elladan smiled slightly in approval. "I am glad."

Círa, who was next in the line, looked up at the former King with wide eyes. "Were you really the King?"

Ereinion smiled. "Yes, I was."

An expression of total awe appeared on Círa's face and she hid herself behind Elladan's leg, shy in the presence of someone that she regarded as a storybook hero. Elrohir chuckled slightly at her reaction and stepped forward, his right hand extended.

"Elladan has told me about you," he said as Ereinion shook his hand. "But I promise it was all good."

Ereinion laughed. "I should hope so!"

Elrohir stepped back next to his brother and Ereinion's attention turned to Arwen. Maríka's earlier comment replayed itself in his head and he found himself almost dreading her reaction. However, if his presence irked her, she did not outwardly show it.

"Mae govannen, your Majesty," she greeted with a low curtsy. She straightened up and Ereinion inclined his head in response.

"Please, call me Ereinion. I am no longer the King and I have no intention of reclaiming the throne."

Arwen nodded curtly. "Very well."

The bell for dinner sounded and after saying that it was wonderful to meet them, Ereinion excused himself from Elrond's children and allowed Maríka to escort him into the dining room. As he turned away he saw that the look in Arwen's eyes, which had previously been polite, but not truly welcoming, had become as cold as the Helcaraxë. Ereinion made sure to show no reaction, but the resentment in the beautiful blues unnerved him. He instantly got the impression that she knew about him and her father, and his instincts told him to watch out.

He put those thoughts out of his mind as he and his sister entered the dining room and starting moving towards the main table, where their seats were assigned. Glorfindel, who was already seated, patted the chair to his right and Ereinion sank into it, grateful for the few moments of peace he would have before a night full of introductions and questions began.

I apologise if the story is developing slower than you'd like…personally I think it's going too slow but I think if I add any more to the previous chapter it will spoil the suspense. However, I promise that the tension between Elrond and Ereinion will be resolved at the very start of the next chapter. :)

Regarding Maríka: The thing to consider is that when Maríka and Ereinion are reunited, Ereinion has only been in Imladris for a maximum of four hours; and being the reason for his return, Elrond would have been Ereinion's first priority. Even though she is his sister, seeing Maríka would not have entered Ereinion's head - and with the shock of his return, it would not have entered Erestor and Glorfindel's heads either (reasons for Celelas not mentioning her become evident in the next chapter) - and it is possible that he didn't know she was in Imladris. He would have assumed, as he said, that she either stayed in Lindon or moved to Mithlond. He would have watched her in the Halls, of course, but not everything about her life after his death would be revealed to him. Hopefully all of that seems plausible.