Disclaimer. If they were mine, there would be no disclaimers, I'd be filthy rich, and dead.

A/N: This chap has a very different tone. It's more happy than the others. I did say the day started out good. I am preparing for a major angsty event, not the one that happens in the next chappie. It is a little long way from coming, but my mind is already there. Besides, my mood is too happy to be able to write another angst chap. Call it a major mood swing. This is what Glorfindel has to live with.

Twelve years ago…yet only yesterday.

It was a beautiful day. Glorfindel smiled as he let the sun warm him, surround him. He exhaled slowly.

"Morning." Erestor greeted his friend as he joined him in the balcony.

Glorfindel did not bother looking at Erestor. Instead, he let his gaze scan the horizon.

"Good morning, Erestor. It is such a beautiful day, is it not?"

"You are not just saying that because a certain someone is arriving today, right?" Erestor continued to tease him about Haldir, even though he had already cleared the nature of his relationship with the Lorien elf to his longtime friend. But Erestor stubbornly refused to believe that their relationship was based on pure lust. Elrond's adviser had seen the seneschal and the March Warden together. He knew there was something else, even if the two were too foolish to see it.

"If you are referring to Haldir, no. The day is truly beautiful But I will not deny that I am glad he is visiting, so I can have someone to warm my bed tonight." Glorfindel answered. He was trying to make it sound like he did not care that Haldir was there while also admitting to it. But he did not realize the impact of his words.

Erestor shook his head. "First, you deny you feel anything for him other than lust. Now you reduce him to the statute of a whore?"

Glorfindel was taken aback at his friends blunt statement. He had not meant to make Haldir out as…that. He would never do that! Haldir was far more than that. He was…he was…

"Of course not! No! Haldir is NOT a whore! Don't you ever call him that again." He had advanced towards his friend, ready to strangle him for even suggesting the idea.

"Calm down, Glorfindel. Of course I am not saying that he's a whore. YOU were the one who made it sound like that."

Glorfindel's anger was pacified at that. He stopped.

Erestor was right. It was he who had described Haldir in that demeaning manner. He had not meant to. He would never think of Haldir like that.

"I…I am sorry. I did not know what came over me. You are right. It is I who should be chastised."

Erestor sighed. "Do not be too hard on yourself. You are in denial. It happens." His friend gave him a sheepish grin.

"Denial?" Glorfindel was not sure what his friend was getting at.

"You are denying that you are in love with him. So, to cover it up, you pretend that you don't. To do that, you reduce him as much as possible into anything other than what he really is to you – your love, your life, your whole world…" Erestor began making gestures, and he made his voice sound overly dramatic even as he clutched Glorfindel's robes in mock drama. "But you cannot admit it. No…"

Glorfindel rolled his eyes at his friend's ridiculous ideas.

"I am not in love with him."

Erestor released him. "Of course not. If you had said you were, you would not be in denial."

"I AM NOT!!!"

"Glorfindel, really, not too loud. You'll wake everyone in Rivendell. Shush."

With an irritated groan, the blond elf gathered his robes and left his smiling friend in the balcony.

He was NOT in love with the Lorien elf.

Glorfindel stalked away, still mentally chastising Erestor and his ridiculous ideas. He was about to go to his rooms when Lord Elrond met him in the hallway.

"Good morning. Glorfindel."

He mumbled a reply.

"Erestor annoying you again?"

Another grumble.

"I see. Try not to kill him. I need him as an adviser."

Glorfindel excused himself, still mumbling to himself. "Oh but you need him more than that, my lord" he was saying even as he walked away. "You need him more than anyone. If only you'd see it. Hah, I am not the only one in denial!" Glorfindel stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep calming breath. "I am not the one in denial. Not the one. That's what I meant to say. Not the one." /I am going to kill you, Erestor./

Breakfast was a rather quiet affair. Glorfindel refused to speak to Erestor. The twins looked at the three older elves. Something was going on.

"Ada, we will be out patrolling today, if you need us." Elladan broke the silence as he was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Very well. How about you, Glorfindel? I know you are off-duty, but in case you suddenly change your mind…" Lord Elrond let his sentence hang in the air, but was not expecting Erestor to take the bait.

"…seeing as we have special guests arriving…" his adviser continued.

"More special to you than to any of us, really." Elrohir joined in.

"…since we know how close you are to one of the elves…" Elladan added.

"…a certain blonde elf…"

Do elven eyes twitch? Glorfindel's were beginning to. His eyes narrowed.

"…from Lorien…"

"Yeah, March Warden…"

"Yes, the March Warden…Haldir, right?"

"Right! Him, he and Glorfindel are very close…"

"Very, very close…"

"Especially behind closed doors…"

"Without clothes…"

"Enough!" Lord Elrond decided to interfere before his seneschal murdered his twin sons and his adviser on the spot. "You three, stop teasing."

Only one elf was not amused.

"But, Glorfindel, should you…realize that there is a…special elf in the arriving party, you have my permission to lead the welcome party." Lord Elrond said, which elicited several grins from the other elves in the table.

Glorfindel closed his eyes. Even Elrond was teasing him already.

"Thank you, my lord. I will remember that." He decided against any other form of retort, as he will be against four elves who seemed to have made it a point to tease him every breakfast.

Glorfindel sat atop his horse, trying to ignore Elladan and Elrohir who were snickering behind him. He was only out here, meeting the Lorien elves because Lord Elrond had asked him to. Not directly, but it was obvious that he wanted Glorfindel to lead the welcome party. That's why he was here. He was a mere seneschal. He could not go against his lord. It has nothing to do with the fact that his lover was among the arriving elves. Dammit.

"Will you two be quiet?" he told the twins, his annoyance finally getting the better of him. Instead of doing as he asked, the twins burst into all out laughter.

Glorfindel sighed. This was going nowhere. He may as well give up before he'd make it worse.

Suddenly, they heard shouts from the horizon. They were from the outside boarder patrol.

Glorfindel and the twins spurned their mounts forward.

"What is it?" Glorfindel demanded the first member of the patrol he met.

"Orcs. Attacked, near the boarder." The elf was injured and could only breath out a few words.

"The Lorien elves?" Elladan inquired.

"They were trapped. We tried to help, but there were too many." The elf sagged as his injuries drained his energy. But Glorfindel needed no more information.

After leaving instructions to one of his elves to go alert Rivendell, he directed his team towards the attacked area.

Glorfindel rode hard and fast. Fear gripped his heart. In that moment, he forgot that he did not care for Haldir. He forgot that they only lusted for each other.

/Haldir. I am coming. Please, be safe./

He forced his horse to go even faster.

/Please, be alive./

He knew that Haldir was a great warrior, but still…

/Valar, do not take him away from me./

He prayed they were not too late.

TBC

A/N: PLS REVIEW!!! Is the mood shift okay? Thankies!!!