Let me make it clear that I am not the kind of person to go back on a promise. Once I've given my word, I keep it without question, no matter the consequences to myself. This means that when agreeing to a promise, I have to ensure that (a) the promise is something that I can actually keep, and (b) that there aren't any unfair loopholes.

My promising Gil-Galad to speak to Elrond about this presumed 'disorder' had thus far remained congruent with my goals of protecting Elrond's privacy by means of the simple clause 'when a suitable moment arises.' A suitable moment might not arise for quite some time, for all we knew. The issue might even have 'resolved' on its own before such an opportunity made itself available.

And indeed, the suitable moment was really dragging its feet. Spring had turned to summer, and Gil-Galad was nearly due to move on with his legion to the Grey Havens. Bregedúr had already left to scout out near Mirkwood on a mission only vaguely official in nature. In all, things were mostly pretty quiet on the home front, with one exception.

In the lead-up to his departure, Gil-Galad was revealing himself to have skills in worry-wartery that rivalled even Elrond's best efforts.

It was an achievement that in theory would have had me in awe were it not for the fact that in practice, it was getting quite repetitive. Since our first conversation about Elrond's wellbeing, Gil-Galad had been going out of his way to spend time with me in private to worry over our beloved pal, and my knowing the true underlying cause of Elrond's 'symptoms' had only made these meetings yet more interminable.

There was no question that Gil-Galad was one of my best friends. I loved him dearly, and we always had a swell old time together, but rehashing a topic at every opportunity, even when the surrounding activity is fun, gets old pretty quick.

About a week before he was due to ship out, Gil-Galad had asked me indulge him in a scintillating post-lunch round of yahtzee (I had recently carved my own dice, and the game had become an instant favourite of his) along with a slice of orange cake in my office. He hadn't mentioned badgering me about Elrond, but I knew that would be on the cards as well.

"A full house, Rhodri!" Gil-Galad exclaimed after checking the dice, noting my score down on a scrap of paper. "That puts you at 97."

I had made Gil-Galad assume the yahtzee scorekeeping duties this time, partly because I loathed arithmetic, and partly in the hopes it would keep him too busy to launch into the trials and tribulations of Elrond.

That, however, was not to be. Gil-Galad won the first round, and it seemed to have emboldened him to multi-task.

"Elrond hasn't really improved much," Gil-Galad lamented as he tossed the dice out of the cup.

"Well, to be fair, Gil-Galad, this has been going on for a few months now, and it's only been about 48 hours since we last discussed it," I patiently pointed out as I picked at the icing on my cake. "Such a rapid and significant change in behaviour is quite unlikely at this point, unless Elrond accidentally slips and smashes his head on a rock. Which, by the way," I added quickly, holding up a warning finger as Gil-Galad looked up in interest, "is not a solution to this."

Gil-Galad sighed in defeat and tapped the pencil on the desk.

"Do you think you'll be able to talk to him about it any time soon?" he asked.

I kept my face as expressionless as I could, allowing myself to sigh on the inside only. Our meet-ups was going to go on like this until I snapped and did something harsh like instigate a moratorium on Gil-Galad's yahtzee privileges. I had to grasp the nettle now or risk doing something I'd regret later.

"Hmm, well, I'm seeing Elrond this afternoon," I said after a moment. "I'll try bringing it up then."

Gil-Galad settled down quite nicely after that, which I loved for the conspicuous absence of his carping, but regretted because it somehow made it even easier for him to continue wiping the floor with me in our successive yahtzee rounds. It was a game of chance, and yet he still won every time, just like in checkers. Inconceivable.

After Gil-Galad and I had packed up and clapped each other on the shoulder in farewell, I made for Elrond's study for Happy Hour, feeling like a lady of leisure who spent her days flitting from one social event to the next.

I intentionally took my time getting there because I wondered how on earth I would broach the topic about Elrond's changed behaviour in a way that left his romantic life out of the picture.

By the time I had reached the door to Elrond's study and did my characteristic 'shave and a haircut' knock, I had formulated a half-baked plan that with any luck, improvisation would round out nicely as I went.

"Hello, Rhodri," Elrond greeted me with a fond smile as he opened the door and joined me in the corridor. "Where will our brisk walk take us today?"

"Hmm, ideally somewhere quite secluded, if possible," I requested. "There's something I'd like to talk to you about, Elrond. Rather personal, you know how it is."

Elrond's face made an understanding sort of expression.

"Ah, yes, I've been expecting this," he said in an intuitive tone, missing, or perhaps politely overlooking the fact that my jaw had just dropped like a stone. "Perhaps we should leave the walk for today and take the discussion in here over a glass of wine. Is that agreeable to you, Rhodri?"

I snapped out of my shock at that point. "Ah, yes! Great. Thanks very much, Elrond, that'd be lovely."

We stepped back into his study, where Elrond filled two glasses with sweet white wine, and then headed out to our usual spot on the balcony.

"So, ah, you've been expecting this, you say, Elrond?" I broached tentatively.

"Indeed I have. I had been planning to broach it with you today, myself," Elrond replied with a small nod.

This was not the response I had been banking on. I had assumed that this entire thing was going to take him by surprise in the extreme, enough that I wondered if I would need to keep smelling salts on hand in case he passed out. Still, I was happy that such measures seemed unnecessary today, and so I indulged my curiosity a little further.

"How long have you known? I asked him.

"Oh, the last few months, really, I would say," Elrond answered in a rather casual tone. "Honestly, though, I'm glad you've come to talk to me about it, because it seems like it's been on your mind for quite some time."

"You have no idea," I agreed, nodding fervently.

Elrond gave me a smile as warm as sunlight. "I spoke about it with Glorfindel first," he added. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, no, no, you tell whoever you want, Elrond," I said, giving him the thumbs up and taking a relieved sip of wine.

"It's wonderful, really, isn't it?" Elrond continued before putting a hand on my arm and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I think you and Gil-Galad make an exceptional couple."

I spat my wine out so forcefully that it sprayed all the way across the balcony and into the flowerbox on the balustrade.

Elrond recoiled in his seat in shock. "Goodness, Rhodri, are you all right?" he asked in alarm. "Is something wrong with the wine?"

"Gil-Galad?" I spluttered in disbelief, wine dripping from my chin.

"Y-yes?" Elrond confirmed worriedly, baffled that he had provoked such a reaction.

"You think that Gil-Galad and I are, what… courting?" I squeaked, drying my face with a napkin Elrond passed me.

"Well, yes, Rhodri, I did mean in the romantic sense," Elrond retorted, arching an eyebrow. "Did you think this was about having a companion to play yahtzee with?"

"I didn't think this was about- where did you even get that idea?"

"Oh, come on, Rhodri," Elrond said, gently rolling his eyes now. "There's no need to pretend with me. Gil-Galad has been spending every minute he can get his hands on alone with you these last few months!"

I laughed wildly for a moment as I thought about all the times I had wanted to ping a die or two off Gil-Galad's head when he'd started worrying about Elrond during all this time alone we'd had. To be sure, I had always enjoyed myself overall, but Lord have mercy.

"Look, Elrond, there's been one hell of a misunderstanding here. There is absolutely no way, no way on God's green earth, that Gil-Galad and I will become attached in that way. Best friends forever, yes. Yahtzee partners, yes. Romantic pair, never. There will be a blizzard on Mount Doom before that happens."

Elrond sat there for a moment with his eyes wide as dinner plates while he took all this in. I used this time to rub my temples and prepare for the horrific embarrassment of having to reveal this to Gil-Galad later. What a nightmare.

"Well, if that wasn't what you wanted to talk about, what was, then?" he eventually asked.

I sighed. "Well, what I wanted to speak about is part of why Gil-Galad has been coming to me so frequently of late."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he and I both noticed that you've been acting a little differently since we came home."

Elrond looked a little anxious now.

I gently held up a hand. "Nothing severe," I reassured him. "Just that you seem to have some trouble concentrating sometimes, and occasionally come across as a little nervous. We just want to make sure that everything is all right with you, and that you can come and talk to either of us any time if you ever need anything. You know we'll always be here for you." Now it was my turn to give his arm a small squeeze. "We just care about you and want you to be happy."

I had deliberately avoided asking if anything was wrong, because Elrond gave absolutely no sign of wanting to open up about this. Instead, a loving message of support with a vague opportunity to let him confirm or deny that he was all right skirted around the romance topic but still fulfilled the promise I had made to Gil-Galad.

Elrond's face had become unreadable now, a sure sign that my vague but genuine message was the best response, but then he eventually fell into a small smile.

"Yes," he said with a sigh, "I had wondered if others had noticed. I am well, though, thank you, and I imagine it will pass soon enough." He nodded, like he was forcing himself to believe his own words.

"Well, even if it didn't, or if it got worse, you know we love you just the same," I said with a smile. "You'll always be our Elrond."

His smile broadened and grew more genuine now. "Just like you'll always be our Rhodri," he returned.

There was nothing more to say there, so we enjoyed a companionable silence together for the last quarter hour, our hearts both a little fuller than when we had started out. Once again, Happy Hour had worked its magic on us.

And thank god for that, too, because now I had to have that awkward conversation with Gil-Galad. Elrond and I strolled out of the office and down to the dining hall.

Just outside the hall, we ran into Glorfindel, who strolled up to us with a gentle smile on his face.

"I believe congratulations are in order," Elrond said to us with a laugh, and left us standing in the corridor as he entered the hall alone.

"Oh my god, Glorfindel, no they are not," I said, turning to face Glorfindel quickly.

Glorfindel looked at me worriedly. "Is everything all right?"

"Magnificent, thank you," I answered. "You have been misinformed."

We stood outside a few minutes longer as I explained what had happened, and when I had finished, Glorfindel laughed.

"So no wedding for you and Gil-Galad, is that right?" he giggled.

"That's absolutely right. No wedding whatsoever," I shook my head hard. "Better as a friend, for sure."

"None whatsoever?" he asked. "You don't want to marry at all?"

"Oh, someday I wouldn't mind," I said thoughtfully. "Just not to Gil-Galad," I added with a laugh.

Glorfindel smiled and nodded. "Perfectly fair. Shall we go and eat our bodyweight in food, then?"

I shot him the thumbs-up, and we both bounded cheerfully into the hall with a spring in our step.