Chapter 1
Author's Note: I swear that this one is going to be short, four chapters at most.
WARNING: there's some explicit-ish slash in here. So don't read it if you're not into that. I would think that that was fairly obvious, but don't want flames.
Another note: This is AU and non-canon, just like all of my stories

Things were finally winding down; it was finally almost over. Sauron had been defeated and while there were a few minor battles every couple days, the result was known. The Last Alliance had triumphed against all odds. Now, most elves were of two minds. They were glad, overjoyed even, that the war had been won, but they harbored some sadness for all the lives that the war had claimed, both Men and Elves. In most elves, the joy by far outweighed the sorrow.

But for some the sorrow was too great for even the word of Sauron's defeat to comfort them. Especially among this number were those who had been close to Gil-Galad. There was another, though, who was missing and presumed dead. It was one of Gil-Galad's younger advisors, a half-elf called Elrond. None had seen him fall, but similarly, none had seen him alive since the end of this last (or nearly last) battle. Elrond, while not as well known as his master, still had enough concerned friends that a small gathering was held to mourn his presumed passing.

Among these mourners, two were especially prominent, but for two radically different reasons. The first of these was Glorfindel of Gondolin, famed warrior and Balrog-slayer. He had been Elrond's protector ever since he had been returned to Arda, and personally blamed himself for allowing Elrond to be killed. Though he was prominent for his old life's worth of fame, he was also known as Elrond's sometimes lover and adoring partner. Both had planned on returning to Imladris together after this was over, perhaps as lovers, but just as likely only friends. None who knew the two faulted their love. Both deserved more happiness than their individual lives had granted them; maybe they would be able to find more happiness together.

The second was a very quiet elf. Few knew him, and that was fine by him. He was Erestor, Elrond's best friend since childhood. Though he was a skilled warrior, he was a more renowned scholar and poet. His looks were so similar to those of Elrond, and his patterns of thinking echoed Elrond's nearly exactly, that more than once he had been sent to a meeting in Elrond's stead, and few (if any) knew that any switch had occurred.

The two elves were friends, but only in that they both knew and cared about Elrond. Erestor disliked Glorfindel's brash manner and Glorfindel couldn't stand Erestor's occasional fits of timidity. Still, on Elrond's insistence, they had slowly become closer to each other. Now they could stand to be in each other's company, which was a vast improvement on their initial meeting.

Glorfindel knew that he was expected to act strong; that was his personality, and that was what he was famous for. That didn't change the fact that he wanted to find a corner to break down in to cry. Even one as famous as him for calm competence needed to be able to let go, just for a little while. Only there was no one in whom he could confide. Elrond had always been that elf. So he wandered among the other elves. They all smelled of battle and death, blood and sweat. None cared, though. It was a stench that they had all become immune to through long exposure. Some were recounting the battle; it made Glorfindel faintly sick to his stomach to do that. He made very little conversation, but thankfully, no one really expected him to. He could only stand so much of this gathering though, and made his excuses less than an hour after it began.

Erestor was watching Glorfindel make his way through the other elves. He felt like doing the same, but felt, that for the sake of Elrond's memory, that he was obligated to linger here a little longer. His grief was hard to contain. He had known Elrond since the two were very young, and it was almost as if he had lost his other half. The emptiness that encompassed him was deathly and terrible. It was all he could do not to collapse. Everyone seemed to sense this and so did not press him into conversation. For that much, at least, he could be grateful. When he noticed that his hands had begun to shake with the effort of containing grief, he decided that it was time to leave.

Then a light hand pressed down on his shoulder. Though the touch was barely feather-light, Erestor nearly collapsed beneath its weight. A strong arm wrapped its way around Erestor's shoulders, supporting him completely. It did not take long for Erestor to realize who this had to be. "What do you want, Haldir?" He heard, to his immense displeasure, that his voice was shaking. Taking a deep, calming breath, he pulled away from Haldir's half-embrace and turned to face the older elf.

"I wanted to make sure that you were okay," said Haldir softly, kindly. "It seemed that you were ready to collapse…and I apparently walked over at just the right moment. Let's sit down…or get out of here. This air is going to stifle you soon. I don't think that you really want to deal with all these people right now, do you?"

Erestor found no fault with Haldir's arguments, save one. More than anything, he would like to be able to leave here. Only he would prefer to do it alone. Haldir had always been a good friend to him, but Haldir didn't understand how deeply his emotions regarding Elrond ran. Elrond was like a brother to him, his closest friend, his soulmate in all but the most sexual of ways. They had hugged, kissed even, but there had never been anything further than that. Their souls were more entwined than any lovers', they needed no sexual quality to their relationship to make it last. Their intimacy was of a much more spiritual nature. "I will be fine, Haldir," he finally managed to say. Not intending rudeness, but nevertheless just needing to be alone, he walked away from Haldir and away from the crowd of people. Walking under the stars, breathing the fresh air, did wonders for his nerves.

He found his feet steering him towards Glorfindel's tent, for some unknown reason. Erestor would count Glorfindel as a friend, but he did not feel that Glorfindel, though he had known Elrond well, was one that Erestor could really talk to. He had a hopelessly warrior-like mentality. Erestor couldn't imagine what Elrond had seen in him. Still, he found his hand rising to rap lightly on the wood outside to signal his approach.

"Go away," said a reasonably steady voice. Erestor, though, could detect faint tremors in it.

He walked in anyway. No conscious thought was guiding him at this point. He did this at times; allowed his subconscious to do with him as it pleased. It was easier to block out emotions that way. And there were certainly enough things that he wanted to block out right now. "It's just me, Glorfindel."

"What do you want, Erestor?"

Erestor was at a loss for words. His subconscious had not prepared him for that. Almost, he retreated from the tent. But, deep down, he knew that this elf was the only one whose emotions regarding Elrond ran as deeply as his. Feeling like an idiot (which was rare), he managed to say, "I wanted to be with someone who understands what I'm feeling right now."

Glorfindel nodded in understanding. Elrond and Erestor had often seemed as if they shared a soul and a mind, split into two bodies. He imagined that Erestor was mourning Elrond's passing even more than he was. "I fear that I make poor company this night, Erestor."

Still acting on instinct, he walked forwards and wrapped his arms around Glorfindel in a tight embrace. Glorfindel understood; Erestor was giving him a chance to let his feelings out. Though he would have never thought it possible, he found himself crying on Erestor's shoulder. When the sobs subsided, he looked up into Erestor's blue-gray eyes, so like Elrond's.

Before Erestor really knew what he was doing, he had leaned forward and kissed Glorfindel. Glorfindel pulled away in surprise. Erestor had never shown any interest in him before, in fact, had done his best to radiate polite disgust at all times. Then he realized that this wasn't above love, or even lust. This was about forgetting. "Are you sure you want this?" he asked. When he saw Erestor nod, he smiled softly and kissed Erestor. His arms tightened around Erestor's waist, and he began to pull Erestor back towards his bed (as it were; it was truly no more than a collection of a few blankets and pillows).

At this point, Erestor pulled away a little and looked at the ground. "I have never…this is…"

Glorfindel smiled at Erestor's inability to find the right words. "This is your first time with a male?" he asked gently, his smile broadening when he saw Erestor nod and a faint pink blush stain his otherwise pale cheeks. "I'll be gentle…I'll make this good for you." He kissed Erestor again. Unlike the other time, Erestor really responded this time, his tongue invading and exploring Glorfindel's mouth. Glorfindel let Erestor amuse himself with that while he concentrated on getting at least some of their clothes off.

He managed to get Erestor's shirt off before Erestor bowed his head, resting it against Glorfindel's collarbone. "I'm scared, Glorfindel. What's going to happen to all of us…now that Elrond's gone? What will we do?"

Glorfindel lifted Erestor's head up and kissed him on the forehead. "Tomorrow, we worry about picking up the pieces. Tonight, it's just the two of us. There are no problems, no worries, no doubts. Just you and me." He began kissing a delicate trail down Erestor's face, to nip lightly at his neck and run his tongue across Erestor's collarbone. It was about then that Erestor's hands searchingly roamed under Glorfindel's shirt, finally managing to remove it.

Glorfindel then had a small victory; he managed to steer them onto the bed. He let Erestor lie on top of him, not wanting the younger elf to be intimidated. Erestor had to be absolutely comfortable with this or they would never get anywhere. He amused himself by toying with Erestor's nipples and watching Erestor's reactions.

This foreplay did not last very long. This wasn't about love. Glorfindel's hands cautiously wandered down to the lacings of Erestor's leggings. Erestor made no protest at all, so Glorfindel unlaced them and slipped them off. Erestor was hard and needy, thrusting into Glorfindel's warm hand. "Not yet, mellon," whispered Glorfindel enticingly, freeing himself from his own leggings. Now he rolled on top of Erestor. Fear immediately surfaced in the darkening eyes. "I won't hurt you, Erestor," he promised. And indeed, he had no intention of doing so. To calm Erestor's fears, he kissed Erestor hard while reaching down to stroke him lightly. Erestor moaned and Glorfindel felt Erestor relax a little.

Glorfindel reached out blindly, not wanting to leave the comfort of these blankets and Erestor lying beneath him, trying to find the oil. It proved elusive. Of course. Glorfindel mumbled something unintelligible under his breath and sat up, eliciting a small moan of disapproval from Erestor. "I have to find something," said Glorfindel, reluctantly getting up. Of course, once he stood up, the oil immediately presented itself to him. Snatching it up, he returned to his former position.

This, for some reason, seemed to resume their foreplay (not that Glorfindel was really complaining). Erestor took his time on a lengthy exploration of Glorfindel's upper body, his hand occasionally stealing down to Glorfindel's erection (but not nearly enough for Glorfindel's peace of mind). Glorfindel allowed himself to be rolled onto his back again as Erestor's warm mouth descended on his hard nipples. In only a few seconds, he had Glorfindel on the brink of coming. Knowing that he had to resume control, Glorfindel quickly reversed their positions, sliding down Erestor's body, leaving a trail of gentle kisses behind him.

Erestor knew, generally, how males made love. It had sounded painful to him. He had put it off for as long as he could manage, but now it looked like Glorfindel was going to take what he wanted. He closed his eyes tightly, hoping that Glorfindel would keep his promise and keep the pain to a minimum.

Glorfindel felt Erestor tense up again and looked up to see that Erestor's eyes were clenched tightly shut, his fists gripping blankets tightly. He looked as though he was ready to be severely hurt. Glorfindel shook his head. He had meant it when he said that he was going to make this good for Erestor. So he decided to distract Erestor. Lovingly, he ran his tongue down Erestor's erection. Placing one hand across Erestor's hips to prevent him from thrusting too hard, Glorfindel took Erestor's erection into his mouth, while his other hand opened the bottle and coated one finger in oil. He sought out Erestor's passage and gently eased his finger into it. Erestor felt so tight. Fortunately, Erestor was so wrapped in Glorfindel's other activities that he barely noticed the intrusion. After a little while, Glorfindel inserted another finger. This, too, Erestor did not really feel. But when it was upped to three fingers, Erestor twisted away from him, starting to feel a throbbing ache.

"Aiya, Glorfindel, that hurts!"

Glorfindel winced. "Try to relax, Erestor. This is your first time; there will be some pain, but I will do my best to make sure it is not too much." Erestor did not look convinced, but tried to relax himself as much as possible. Glorfindel resumed his work on preparing Erestor while placing gentle kisses on Erestor's thighs and lower abdomen. Finally, Glorfindel was convinced that Erestor was as prepared as he was likely to get, and covered his erection liberally with oil.

He moved back up Erestor's body and kissed Erestor passionately. "Do you trust me?" he whispered.

It took a long time for Erestor to answer, but finally he said, "Yes." He felt Glorfindel's hands pushing his knees towards his chest and settling down in between them.

"I'm going to go slowly," Glorfindel said, surprised that he could still make coherent sentences at this point. "Tell me if you want me to stop and I swear that I will." Carefully, slowly, gently, he began to enter Erestor. He saw Erestor's face screw up in pain and kissed him lightly, not wanting to cause this beautiful creature any pain. After a while, Erestor seemed to relax again, but it was difficult to tell if it was the real thing or just a surprisingly convincing act. Finally, he was all the way in. Erestor was so tight that it was painful bliss for Glorfindel to control himself as much as he was. He lay still for a couple of minutes, allowing Erestor to get used to the sensation. Then he began to thrust slowly, stroking Erestor's erection in time to his thrusts.

Now Erestor began to react, arching his back upwards, driving Glorfindel deeper into Erestor. Trying desperately to remain in control, Glorfindel leaned down and kissed Erestor. Erestor began to run his hands almost feverishly across Glorfindel's body. Each touch was like a kiss, and it drove Glorfindel mad.

Erestor came first, and that pushed Glorfindel over the edge, spilling his seed deep inside Erestor. He remained inside Erestor for a few more minutes, then pulled out slowly and rolled off of Erestor. He kissed Erestor on the cheek. "Did I hurt you?" he asked softly.

Erestor shook his head. "No…it was…perfect." He sat up and began searching for his clothes.

Glorfindel shook his head. "You know that you don't have to go? I have to leave tomorrow morning…well, this morning, I guess…in only a couple hours…they want me to make sure that there aren't any more orcs roaming around…you are more than welcome to stay." He cursed his clumsy way of talking. Erestor would think him no better than a fool. Then he wondered why it suddenly mattered so urgently what Erestor thought of him.

Erestor smiled and lay back down. "I suppose that I wouldn't mind some company." He pulled a blanket up over his shoulders and turned away from Glorfindel. He felt Glorfindel put an arm around his waist and pull their bodies together. Glorfindel rested his head on Erestor's shoulder, and his soft breathing eventually lulled Erestor to sleep.

Glorfindel woke up when it was still dark outside, quietly moved away from Erestor and began to get dressed. He felt so refreshed from last night's activities; he felt like he was invincible now. Even the sting of Elrond's death was not so strong anymore. As he finished getting dressed, he crouched down beside Erestor's sleeping form. He ran his hand gently across the raven hair. This was one sight that he would never be able to get enough of. Sadly, though, he knew that Erestor had no real feelings for him. Last night had been catharsis. Both of them would be better off for it, but that wouldn't change the fact that Glorfindel would love to see Erestor in his bed again.

Erestor stirred and saw Glorfindel staring at him. "Good morning," he managed to mumble. He saw that Glorfindel was fully dressed and regretted that a little. He wouldn't have said no to a little more sex. But that would never happen. Glorfindel and he had been driven into each other's arms through grief and loss. That was all.

Though he knew it was a stupid thing to do, Glorfindel leaned down and kissed Erestor. He was pleasantly surprised by Erestor's reaction. Erestor pulled him down so that he lay fully on top of Erestor. Not able to really control himself, he allowed Erestor's hands to stray into his clothes to reveal first a strongly muscled chest and was about to strip away the leggings when someone knocked. Glorfindel rolled onto his feet and put his shirt on in one swift movement, threw a blanket over Erestor's nude form and opened the tent flap. It was a commander from Lorien that he had only met once. "What do you want?" he snapped.

"It's time for the patrol to leave, sir," said the other elf. He looked past Glorfindel and saw an elf lying in bed. He did not recognize the elf, but that was unimportant. "We will be awaiting you, sir," he said, walking away, giving Glorfindel a few more precious minutes with Erestor.

Glorfindel knew that once he left that this would all end and that they would never spend another night together. "You know, they're going to keep coming until I actually go. So…I really should be going…I don't know when I'm going to be back." Glorfindel couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't make him out to be a complete idiot. So he decided that the best plan of action would perhaps be to just shut up.

Erestor threw the blanket aside and stood up. He walked over to Glorfindel and pulled their bodies together. "I want you to be careful, Glorfindel." He kissed Glorfindel lightly. "And I want to see you again when you get back." His stomach knotted; that made it sound like he really was attracted to Glorfindel. Which he was, but he was sure that it was not reciprocated.

A grin appeared on Glorfindel's face. "Excellent." He kissed Erestor passionately, and then pulled back. "Get dressed. You know how the rumors will spread…do you care?"

Erestor shrugged. "What happens, happens. There's nothing I can do about it." He turned away from Glorfindel and began to get dressed.

Glorfindel walked out of the tent, feeling like there might actually be some point to living now, even though Elrond was dead.

One of their jobs, besides hunting down any stray orcs, was to find the dead and take them back to the main camp so that they could be afforded a proper burial. This task was not without tears, for even among warriors, seeing a brother or father staring sightlessly at the sky was too much.

Glorfindel, personally, was dreading finding Elrond. If they never found his body, then he could blithely assume that Elrond had not been killed. Then he spotted an elf that looked about Elrond's size, dressed in the right uniform. Dismounting, he walked over to the figure and knelt beside it. Gently rolling the body over, he saw that it was indeed Elrond.

But he was not dead. Weak and injured, yes, but there were faint gasps for breath and the eyes had not yet lost all their light. "Elrond, mellon, stay with me. Please do not give up. We have found you!" He excitedly called the others over. A few of them had known Elrond and were similarly overjoyed to find that he was not dead.

Glorfindel carefully pulled Elrond up onto the horse with him. Elrond lay limply in his arms, wavering on the edge of consciousness. As leader of the patrol, Glorfindel could not turn around and take Elrond back to the camp. So he had to reluctantly give up Elrond to another elf who departed quickly. Elrond was sorely in need of a healer.

The patrol lasted nearly a week. Glorfindel was sick of it by the end of the first day. At first, he had welcomed it, with the thought that it would get his mind off of Elrond. But now that he knew Elrond was alive, it was maddening to not know how he was doing, and if, the Valar forbid, he had died. So Glorfindel was easily the most impatient of them all to get back to the camp.

Erestor was milling around camp, helping to clear up and helping with a few minor injuries. Elrond had taught him some healing skills, though he would never come close to being the master that Elrond was. That was why he was in the area they were using for the injured when the horse galloped up and an elf jumped off, holding an unconscious elf in his arms. Erestor immediately recognized the elf as Elrond.

His heart rose and sank in the same instant. His closest friend had not been killed, and for that he would gladly thank the Valar every day of his life. Elrond meant the world to him, and he would gladly die for Elrond. But he knew that Elrond and Glorfindel were lovers most of the time and Erestor was sure that things would return to that state once Glorfindel returned from the patrol and Elrond healed from his injuries.

He felt no hatred at all towards Elrond. It was not Elrond's fault that Erestor had fallen head over heels for Glorfindel. Gently, he took Elrond from the other elf and quickly surveyed his injuries. There were several deep sword slashes, notably in his right thigh and lower torso. They appeared to be the main injuries, and from that there had been a lot of blood loss. He would need a lot of luck, but Erestor had faith in Elrond. Elrond had always been strong.

It was Erestor that was at Elrond's side when he regained consciousness a few hours later. Elrond opened cloudy eyes and immediately saw the face of the elf he cared about most on Arda. "Erestor," he said in a hoarse voice. "How are you?"

Erestor smiled at Elrond's concern for him. "I'm fine, mellon. And you should be resting. You had me and Glorfindel out of our minds with worry." He saw Elrond's hand moving about, obviously searching for his, and Erestor took Elrond's rather cool hand in his.

"Where is Glorfindel?"

"I presume that he was with the elves that found you. He is on patrol…he won't be returning for about a week, I'm afraid. But you'll be a while recuperating." Elrond began to try to sit up, but Erestor pushed him firmly back down. "You're not getting up until the healers say you can," said Erestor in a very final sort of voice.

"I am a healer," said Elrond, clearly not happy about this kind of order. With his other hand, he began to probe his body, determining the extent of his injuries. Sighing, he realized that they were as bad as Erestor seemed to think they were. "Fine," he said. "But I'm afraid that you're going to have to keep me company." He saw the spark of joy in Erestor's eyes, and wondered what had brought it about. Surely his own return would not have provoked such a strong emotion? Elrond shook his head mentally, deciding to worry about it later.

"That is no burden at all, Elrond. I am your best friend." Erestor settled down comfortably on the ground beside Elrond, still holding his hand. It felt so good to be around someone who knew him down to the core of his soul. The one thing that he did not know, the one thing that he could never find out, was what happened last night. That was not for Elrond to hear, that was never for Elrond to hear.

Elrond smiled once more as he felt a healing sleep descending on him. The last thing he saw before he drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep was the smile of the only elf that he had truly loved.

Glorfindel was, in a way, scared to enter the camp. He had seen how badly injured Elrond was and it was hardly impossible that Elrond was dead. If he stayed out here, though, he would never have to know one way or the other. On the other hand, though, Erestor was in the camp, and if Elrond was dead, Erestor might need him again. Then another thing occurred to him. If Elrond was alive, where did that put his and Erestor's relationship? He shook his head. He and Erestor did not have a relationship; they had slept together the night after they had thought one of their closest friends had died. It was completely different. But he knew that he was just kidding himself when he thought of that. The sex might have been purely to console each other, but the events of the next morning had not been.

That was ultimately what made up Glorfindel's mind. Either way, he had someone in the camp that cared about him and that would want to see him again. Dismounting from his horse and handing it to another elf, he wandered into camp. First, he checked Erestor's tent, which was devoid of Erestor. Then he went back to his tent to change and clean up a little. Erestor was also not there. The next place he could think of to look would be the healing area. It took him a while to find it, but once he did, he saw Erestor and Elrond immediately.

They were sitting, talking happily, Elrond leaning on Erestor, whose arm was loosely around Elrond's waist. A surge of jealousy pulsed through him, but he had seen the two like this before. He knew by now that they were no more than friends, yet bonded in a way that Glorfindel knew that he would never be able to achieve with Elrond. "Elrond, 'tis good to see that you did survive."

Elrond looked up at him and stood up shakily. Erestor was on his feet in an instant, steadying Elrond. "Mellon, I hear that you saved my life. Another debt I owe you, I suppose." He found immense comfort in Glorfindel's arms, but there was a connection that Elrond liked to feel with his lovers that he did not feel with Glorfindel. On more than one occasion, Elrond had wondered if Erestor was the better choice for him, but Erestor had never indicated that he had any interest in him, so Elrond had not pressed the matter.

"It is as much Erestor as me, Elrond. We are both here for you, you know that." Glorfindel wrapped his arms around the slightly shorter elf, finally feeling at peace again. He kissed the top of Elrond's head. "I am so glad to see that you are alive, Elrond." He looked up and caught Erestor's eye. To his surprise, Erestor did not appear the slightest bit bitter. He appeared to accept this for what it was, and accept last night for a one-night stand.

There were more months of tedious battles whose outcomes were already determined. The orcs had no power now that Sauron had been defeated, but they fought because there was nothing else for them to do. Neither Glorfindel nor Elrond sustained any injuries in these battles, though Erestor took a slight wound to the head and was out of the action for nearly a month. Finally, though, it was all over. No one was sure how long it would be before evil re-emerged, for the story of the failed destruction of the One Ring had circulated pretty well among the elves, though most of the Men refused to believe that it was true.

Elrond welcomed any that chose to come back with him to Imladris. The group set out in the winter and arrived at Imladris just as spring was breaking. It was Elrond's favorite time of year, and they could all tell that he was glad to be back here, in the place that he loved.

Though he would never admit it, Erestor was sickeningly jealous of the relationship between Glorfindel and Elrond. It was hard for Erestor to maintain the same kind of friendship that he had had with Elrond before, and he soon stopped trying. Elrond attributed it to the horrors of war, but Glorfindel sensed that he knew the truth. Glorfindel was torn. He loved Elrond dearly, but his single night with Erestor had awakened emotions in him that he had not even known existed.

Elrond was mostly oblivious to this, though he did try to figure it out. Both Glorfindel and Erestor seemed more distant than they had before he had disappeared. He had questioned both about it, but both had been very reluctant to answer his questions. Eventually, he dropped the matter, and accepted the fact that he would never again be quite as close to Erestor as before.

Everything remained in a happy balance for millennia. Elrond eventually bonded with Celebrian in order to produce heirs. He had three children, Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen. They were all quite young and life could not be happier in Imladris.

But, as always, good things must come to an end.

TBC…