Chapter Three

Author's Note: About a millennium has passed since the end of last chapter and the beginning of this one.

Elrond was surprised to hear his bedroom door open. Glorfindel was away on an assignment in Mirkwood and there was none other that he imagined would invade his privacy so late at night. Looking over his glass of wine, he saw Erestor walk in, a kind of smile on his face. A smile instantly appeared on Elrond's face. There had been times, long ago, when Erestor would sneak into his room at night. Sometimes they would even spend the night curled up in each other's arms. Elrond missed that. He missed the fact that they weren't nearly as close as they had once been. The thought that Erestor might be reaching out to renew that friendship pleased him. He set the glass of wine down. "It's late, Erestor."

"You didn't always mind. Are you, perhaps, getting old?" Erestor crossed the room and sat on the side of the bed. Over the past few centuries, their friendship had been growing again, slowly, but it was not yet what it had once been. Erestor wanted it to go back to the way it was. He wanted Elrond to always be around; wanted Elrond to be his better half; wanted to always have a shoulder to cry on, a sympathetic ear to complain to, a warm voice to comfort him.

Elrond reached out, his hand closing around Erestor's wrist. In one easy movement, he eliminated the space between them, so that Erestor was leaning slightly against Elrond's chest, his arm loosely around Elrond's waist. "I'm getting old, but so are you. A long time ago, you would have made it harder for me to do that."

"Well, maybe tonight I need someone to talk to." There were many matters weighing heavily on Erestor's heart. And there had been no one he could confide in. Except maybe Elrond, if they were going to try to reforge this old friendship. Erestor rested his head against Elrond's shoulder.

Elrond smiled at this new, but certainly welcome, intimacy. There was, as ever, nothing sexual about Erestor's intentions. And Elrond didn't mind. It would be so awkward, having Erestor for a lover. They had known each other too long. Elrond had missed, though, the times that he could simply hold someone in his arms and the other elf would read only friendship into it. "You have always been able to talk to me, Erestor." He settled down more comfortably, so that he was closer to lying down than sitting up. Erestor snuggled up to him, just like he had once done. "Tell me, what troubles you?"

"Do you remember the fight that I had with Lothmir last week?"

Elrond nodded, even though he knew that Erestor couldn't see it. Erestor's relationship with one of Imladris's cooks had lasted longer than any would have predicted. Though it was, at times, turbulent, the two had managed to make it last. The only thing that had puzzled Elrond at all over the many hundreds of years of this apparent love and commitment was why the two had never bonded. Erestor had told him once, when they were both very young, that he wanted, more than anything, to find someone he could be happy with and bond with them. Elrond couldn't think of any reason why Erestor had obviously never brought it up with Lothmir. It could be their radically different status levels, but Elrond had made it clear to Erestor early on in the relationship that he just wanted Erestor to be happy and that he could bond with whomever he wanted. Other than that, it had seemed like a wonderful relationship, the kind that Elrond had always dreamed about but never achieved. "Yes, I remember."

"Well…it was…she…she gave me an ultimatum…she wants me…to bond with her…or she's leaving me. And I can't let her go, I care about her…love her too much."

"Why can't you bond with her?" Elrond asked practically. It seemed the obvious solution. Elrond felt Erestor's body tense up and then begin to tremble slightly. This was followed only a few seconds later by soft sobbing noises. He buried his face in Elrond's shirt and began to cry. Elrond held his friend, wondering what exactly was on Erestor's mind. It was clear that Erestor loved Lothmir, so why was he so reluctant to be with her? It was a mystery to Elrond. Eventually, when the sobs subsided to mere snifflings, Elrond repeated himself. "Why can't you bond with her, Erestor?"

In a muffled voice, Erestor said, "Because there is another I love…"

Elrond was so surprised by this that he sat up, the motion causing Erestor to lose contact with Elrond. Immediately, Elrond gathered Erestor up in his arms again. Erestor's news stunned him. He had always imagined that Erestor was faithful to the utmost. "Who?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer or not.

"I cannot tell you." Ever since that time when he had caught Glorfindel crying over Elrond, Erestor had made about monthly visits to Glorfindel. No questions were asked when Erestor let himself into Glorfindel's room, silently stripped, and joined Glorfindel in bed. They made love, and then Erestor would leave again. Not once had Erestor spent the entire night with Glorfindel. Erestor had occasionally made efforts to break himself of this terrible addiction, but had found it impossible to give up Glorfindel for more than three months. Glorfindel had never asked him to stay again after the first time. In fact, barely a dozen words were exchanged between them in each of these encounters. Erestor did not feel that this was a satisfactory arrangement, but there was nothing he could do to improve it. But he could tell Elrond none of this.

Elrond sighed. He would have thought that Erestor would be more open to him. Maybe through some careful investigation, he would be able to discover Erestor's other lover. "How long has this…affair lasted?"

Erestor bit his lip. He didn't want to tell Elrond the truth, because Elrond would surely piece it all together. But he hated lying to Elrond. So he settled for a half-truth. "Probably about…nearly a millennium."

Elrond was once again stunned. Erestor had so many secrets that he had not been privy to. Once, a long time ago, Elrond would have known these things the moment that they had started, because Erestor had no qualms in confiding in him. "Well," said Elrond practically, "whoever it is, just tell her…"

"Him," said Erestor quietly.

Elrond was speechless again for another long moment. He had never thought that Erestor had any interest whatsoever in males. If I had known, I might have made a play for Erestor. But he knew that that thought was a lie. He was much more content with Erestor as a dear friend than a lover. Finally finding his voice again, he said, "Well, tell him that it's got to be over. I know that you must care deeply for him, but if you don't break it off, you will never be happy with Lothmir as your bonded mate. Either that, or break it off with Lothmir and make your affair with whomever it is public. I don't care, either way. If you think you would be happier with the other elf, fine."

"I don't think so…it's just going to be so hard. To tell him…it's going to break his heart…and I don't want to hurt him."

"Will you tell me who it is? I may be able to give you more helpful advice if I know who your heart belongs to." Elrond rested his chin on the top of Erestor's head, sighing. If he had tried harder to maintain this closeness, he might have been able to nip this in the bud. Elrond searched his mind, thinking of anyone that Erestor might be attracted to; not knowing how Erestor's taste in males ran, though, it was difficult. "Is he…a scribe?"

"No." Glorfindel could not, by any definition, be called a scribe.

"A warrior, then?"

"Yes." Technically, it wasn't even a lie. "I don't want to talk about it, Elrond. I don't know what to do…I've tried to end it so many times…I always knew that this day was coming…but I've always told myself that it's not going to be tomorrow, and so that I can enjoy myself just one more time and break it off next week or next month or next year." Erestor took a deep breath, trying to control the emotions coursing through his veins. "Can I stay here tonight, Elrond? Like we…like we used to?"

"Of course you can." Elrond kissed Erestor lightly, chastely, on the forehead, and blew out the candle that was the only illumination in the room. Erestor threw one arm across Elrond's chest and held him close. Elrond rubbed his friend's back soothingly until Erestor fell asleep long moments later. Sleep came easier for Elrond than usual, and he knew exactly whom to attribute that to.

The sun was just beginning to rise when Glorfindel rode into the courtyard. Swinging agilely off his horse and handing the reigns to some Elfling, he wandered through Imladris, trying to decide whether he was tired enough to go join Elrond in bed or if he should just start his day. Eventually, the prospect of seeing Elrond again won over, and he headed in that direction.

What he saw in Elrond's room shocked him for a moment. Elrond and Erestor were curled up on the bed like lovers, except for the fact that both were fully dressed. Glorfindel remembered finding them like this occasionally, millennia ago. Part of him was insanely jealous, though. Erestor refused to spend the night with him after they made love because Lothmir was in his room. Yet now it appeared that Erestor was willing to spend the night with Elrond with no regard whatsoever to the consequences.

He cleared his throat, and Elrond's eyes opened. When he saw Glorfindel standing at the foot of the bed, a frown on his face, a slight smile appeared on his face. "Erestor was extremely upset last night. He came to talk to me and then we spent the night together." Elrond hoped that Glorfindel understood that he needed Erestor close like this sometimes.

Glorfindel had to make it sound like he didn't care too much. He and Erestor had, publicly, become closer friends, but not all that close. So, in as casual a voice as he could manage, he asked, "What troubles Erestor?"

Elrond shook his head. "Erestor confides in me, Glorfindel. I cannot tell you what he told me in private. I am sorry." He shook Erestor slightly, who immediately mumbled something unintelligible and made the desperate effort to not wake up. Elrond's abrupt departure from the bed, though, woke him up. "Get up, Erestor. There is work that you must get done today…and talk to Lothmir. Swear to me that you will."

Erestor sighed, but nodded. "Very well, Elrond." He smiled at Glorfindel. "Good morning, Glorfindel. I remember now why you like to spend so many nights in Elrond's bed. He makes a wonderful pillow." He got out of bed and stretched slowly, then walked past Glorfindel and out of the room.

Glorfindel was standing outside the door of Erestor's office, debating on whether or not to walk in. He berated himself for his lack of courage, but knew that what he had Erestor shared was even less than what he and Elrond shared. It was just a night or so every month, with hardly any interaction in between. Still, the knowledge that Erestor was upset about something made him want to go in there and hold Erestor, help him through whatever it was.

Eventually, he opened the door and saw Erestor look up at him, a slight smile on his face. "What can I do for you, Glorfindel?"

Glorfindel closed the door. "Elrond said that you went to him last night because you were upset about something." He approached, cleared a space for himself, and sat on the desk. "What's wrong? You can tell me, mellon-nin."

"Elrond and I talked about it and there is no longer a problem, Glorfindel." Erestor frowned. "Now, if that's all, I do have some work that I need to get done. And I am almost certain that there is work you should be doing. Elrond doesn't like us to have nothing to do, and if you indeed are taskless, I think that either he or I can find something worthwhile for you to do."

"Well," said Glorfindel seductively, "there is something that you can do for me." He reached out and caressed Erestor's cheek.

Erestor grinned and pushed the hand away. "Don't, Glorfindel. For one, the door isn't locked and I have people walk in on me all the time. That's the last thing I want anyone to find out. And second, I spent the night with you three nights ago. You're not going to get demanding on me, are you?"

"I never figured out why you came back at all."

"Well, I could stop." The truth was, though, that Erestor knew that he couldn't. Now it was him that placed his hand lightly on top of Glorfindel's. "If you want this all to end, just say so."

"No." Glorfindel shook his head. Erestor obviously had no idea how much these nights had come to mean to him. Not that he would ever let Erestor find out how deep his feelings truly ran for Erestor. Glorfindel was in love with Erestor like he had never been with Elrond, or indeed, with anyone. "But I think that it's only fair that, as you spent a night with Elrond, I get to spend a night with you."

Erestor sighed. "Very well. Next time I come to see you, I will spend the night. Satisfied? Now, begone. I have work to do and I can't be dealing with elves like you right now."

"Elves like me?" asked Glorfindel as he walked to the door.

"Beautiful blond elves that distract me from my work," clarified Erestor.

Mock-hurt, Glorfindel demanded, "Oh, so there's more than one beautiful blond elf in your life?"

"Would that upset you?" asked Erestor good-naturedly.

"I'd kill him," replied Glorfindel honestly. He could deal with Lothmir, as he knew that he would never be able to convince Erestor to get rid of her, and it was such a lasting thing that Glorfindel had been forced to adapt.

Erestor chuckled to himself as Glorfindel left the room. The merriment left his face, though, as he realized the decision that he had sworn to make to Elrond today.

Elrond couldn't help but notice that Erestor was not at the evening meal. They had just sat down and the food was being served when he realized that the seat next to him was empty. Despite the fact that Glorfindel had been his kind-of lover for the past few thousand years or so, it was Erestor that occupied the right-hand seat, had always done so, as long as Imladris had been in existence. Glorfindel sat at his left, which had, on more than one occasion, led to some interesting doings underneath the table, things that made Elrond almost lose his famous calm and cool composure.

Glorfindel apparently noticed it as well. He leaned over to Elrond and murmured, "Where's Erestor?" A frown appeared on his face. It was not like Erestor to miss meals, and Glorfindel could remember very few times that he had done so, excepting, of course, the times when he had not actually been in Imladris and the times of great crisis, like right after Celebrian was brought back to Imladris half-dead. But, as far as Glorfindel knew, Erestor was both in Imladris and there was no impending doom weighing down on Imladris.

Elrond shook his head. "I have no idea." He was pleased to see Glorfindel showing some kind of compassion for Erestor. They had slowly grown to be friends, but there had been some astonishingly bitter fights and arguments between them over the millennia, some which had degenerated into violence. Over the past few centuries, though, they had become more civil to each other and had progressed to cool bantering, though even that occasionally took on a sarcastic, bitter taste when either of them had had a bad day. "He was upset this afternoon again, when I went to see him. He is perhaps in his rooms. I'll check on him after the meal."

Glorfindel grimaced. More than anything, he wanted to know what was hurting the love of his life so much. But he couldn't show more than the usual amount of compassion. They had managed to hide this from Elrond for a very long time, and Glorfindel was not about to slip up now. To distract both of them from Erestor, Glorfindel reached under the table and slid his hand slowly up Elrond's inner thigh.

Maintaining a calm and stoic expression on his face, Elrond reached under the table as well, and lightly slapped the offending hand. Glorfindel's hand retreated a little and rested on Elrond's knee. However, on a whim, Glorfindel captured Elrond's hand and refused to let it go. It was Elrond's left hand, though, so it only affected Elrond's ability to eat a little. Glorfindel, though, had considerably more trouble, and had to settle for easy-to-eat items, like grapes and crackers.

Elrond excused himself from the meal early and headed up to Erestor's rooms. Erestor was indeed there, lying on his back in his bed. Elrond sat on the side of the bed. "You missed the meal," he said softly, stroking Erestor's silky dark hair.

"I was tired," said Erestor unconvincingly.

"Really?" Elrond stretched out beside Erestor. "So, did you talk to Lothmir like you promised me you would?"

Erestor sighed heavily. "Yes, she and I talked." He rested his head on Elrond's chest, glad that he had reached out last night and at least taken the first steps towards mending all that had gone wrong between them over the centuries. Elrond took his hand and began to rub Erestor's knuckles gently, soothingly.

"And?"

"We agreed to be bonded."

For something that was usually greatly anticipated in any elf's life, Erestor said this with the deepest resignation, as if it were a particularly distasteful chore that had to be completed. Elrond, though, knew why Erestor sounded like this. "Have you talked to…him yet?" Elrond sighed. "I wish that you'd tell me who it is. I want to be able to help you in whatever way I can." A long pause. "Is it someone that I actually know?" Truth be told, before Erestor had become involved with Lothmir, Elrond had barely known she had existed. It wasn't that he didn't care, per se, but more that there were just so many people in Imladris. The same went with his warriors. He knew the ones that had distinguished themselves in one way or another, but there were just too many of them for him to know them all. And that was assuming that Erestor's lover actually resided in Imladris.

"Yes, you know him," confirmed Erestor. And you would hate me if you knew that it was Glorfindel. "But I won't give his name to you…it would bring disgrace upon him for our relationship to be uncovered."

"You can be sure that I would tell no one," replied Elrond. Elrond, now, was more curious than ever. This elf had to be bonded already, perhaps of a distinguished family. Elrond mentally went through the list of all the warriors he knew, selecting about a dozen likely candidates. Through careful surveillance, he was confident that he would be able to discover which one had captured Erestor's heart. "But if you do not wish to tell me, I will not force you to. Do you want me to stay the night with you?"

"No." I have to go find Glorfindel and tell him that I have ruined what was a happy relationship between us. Damn Elrond, damn Lothmir, damn Glorfindel. "There is business that I must attend to tonight." He knew that Elrond would know what he meant by that. He pressed a gentle kiss to Elrond's chest and then sat up. "There are something things that I have to deal with before that, though. I will see you tomorrow, Elrond."

"I'm not spending the night with Glorfindel tonight," said Elrond, "so if you need to come see me after…afterwards, you are more than welcome to." He did not know for what reason he said that, as he had actually had every intention of sleeping with Glorfindel tonight. But Erestor would more than likely need him tonight and Elrond would be there for his best friend.

Glorfindel had just settled down to sleep when he heard the door open. Sitting up, he smiled when he saw Erestor walk in. "I thought you said that you slept with me three nights ago, so I didn't stand a chance of getting lucky anytime soon." His jovial tone disappeared immediately, though. Erestor refused to look at him, and silently stripped. Once he was naked, he walked over to the bed, lay down beside Glorfindel and closed his eyes.

"I have done a terrible thing," he murmured. The memories of all the time they had spent in this bed flashed in front of his eyes. Thinking about their first night in Glorfindel's tent brought involuntary tears to his eyes. Determined to keep his composure through this ordeal, he opened his eyes and sat up to face Glorfindel.

"You can do no wrong in my eyes," said Glorfindel honestly, pulling Erestor on top of him for a passionate kiss. Though he was determined to find out what was troubling Erestor, he also saw it as his duty to comfort Erestor as best as he could, and, as far as their relationship went, that entailed making love to him so that nothing else could enter Erestor's mind.

Erestor rested his head on Glorfindel's chest. He could hear the gentle rhythm of Glorfindel's heart, and heard the myriad of other noises that kept this beautiful elf that he loved alive. "This you will never forgive me for." Forcing himself to look at Glorfindel, he swallowed hard and said, "I presume you know about the fight I had recently with Lothmir?"

"I do keep track of the two of you, yes," confirmed Glorfindel, as Erestor's hands began to rid Glorfindel of his clothes. This required some creative shifting, as Erestor refused to move off from on top of Glorfindel. Eventually, though, it was managed. "What does that have to do with us, and why does it mean I get an extra visit from you?" A deep, dark part of his mind hoped desperately that Erestor and Lothmir had broken up. Then he would find some way to convince Erestor to make their relationship public.

"We fought because I said that I wasn't ready to bond with her…and she said that she'd leave me if I maintained that stand on the issue. That's why I spent last night with Elrond. I told him that I couldn't bond with Lothmir because there was another in my life." Seeing Glorfindel's slightly alarmed face, he reassured him by saying, "I did not mention you by name, though he pestered me for a name."

"That sounds like him," agreed Glorfindel. As much as he cared about Elrond, he didn't love Elrond the way he loved Erestor. He knew that it would hurt Elrond deeply if their relationship would end, and it would hurt more that Glorfindel was replacing him with Erestor, but such was life. Elrond would get over it. "So, what happened with you and Lothmir?"

Erestor couldn't meet Glorfindel's eyes as he said, "We agreed to be bonded."

Glorfindel felt his heart stop. "What?" he asked, in a voice that he knew betrayed his true feelings for Erestor. But he didn't care right now. All he cared about was the fact that he knew what Erestor was going to say next and he didn't want to hear those words from Erestor's lips.

"I've been trying to figure out how to tell you all day. I'm so sorry, Glorfindel." Despite his best efforts, tears were welling up in his eyes. This had been such a comfortable arrangement and Erestor would be most unhappy to see it evaporate as if it had never existed.

"When are you going to be bonded?" asked Glorfindel, surprised at how remarkably controlled his voice was. He wanted to break down and beg Erestor not to do this, but he knew that it would change nothing. It would be best if this ended on friendly terms, not with terrible accusations and harsh words.

"Soon…I wanted it to be soon. It will be easier for me…for us. I…I understand if you want me to go now…but I thought…that I would like to spend one last night with you…have this one last time." Erestor looked up at Glorfindel hopefully, though he fully expected to be rejected.

Glorfindel wanted nothing more than to tell Erestor to just leave, but he couldn't do that. He knew that he would regret it for the rest of his life. "Of course you can stay tonight…provided that you stay the whole night."

"If that is what you wish." Erestor took a deep, calming breath, wiped his damp eyes and kissed Glorfindel on the forehead.

Glorfindel mumbled something about Erestor obviously having no idea what a proper kiss was and pulled Erestor's head down, kissing him fiercely, almost violently. He reversed their positions, his hands stroking Erestor's sides, finding Erestor's most ticklish spots and taking full and inordinate advantage of them. Erestor responded first by squirming away from Glorfindel but then, as he grew more aroused, by thrusting against Glorfindel, demanding more attention.

Glorfindel sat up at one point, grinning at Erestor's flushed face, eyes dark with arousal, bruised lips slightly parted, his usually neat hair sweaty and messy around his face. Erestor was the most beautiful thing that Glorfindel had ever seen. He pinched Erestor's nipples, causing Erestor to arch his back and moan slightly. Erestor reached up and stroked Glorfindel's chest, as always admiring the muscles and in general flawless body.

Glorfindel remained upright until Erestor summoned the strength to sit up and pull Glorfindel back down on top of him.

Over the millennia, it had become clear that Erestor had no preference for top or bottom. As Glorfindel generally preferred to be on top, it was usually that way around. Erestor was more than capable of taking Glorfindel, though, and those times were among Glorfindel's best memories of their sexual escapades. Glorfindel reached out to the bedside table and found the oil missing. Sitting up with a frown on his face, he looked around for it and could not see it. This reminded him so vividly of their first time that he laughed out loud.

"What?" demanded Erestor, who failed to see any humor in the situation. He was hard and needy and Glorfindel had thus far shown no signs of relieving him anytime soon. He pulled Glorfindel's hand down to his weeping erection. Glorfindel stroked it absent-mindedly, more out of instinct than desire.

This issue of the missing oil was beginning to annoy Glorfindel. He refused to take Erestor without oil, he had no intentions of breaking that promise he had made so long ago to never hurt Erestor. "Did you take the oil?" he demanded unreasonably of Erestor. Erestor would have no use of it outside of this bedroom, so he couldn't see any reason why Erestor would take it. That left only Elrond. But Elrond had oil in his own room and they hadn't slept in here in ages. And the oil had definitely been here three nights ago.

"Why would I do that?" asked Erestor, mumbling a protest as Glorfindel rolled off him and stood him, his glare sweeping the room. "Honestly, Glorfindel, forget it. We've done this enough that I don't care anymore."

"I'm not going to hurt you," said Glorfindel quietly.

"The things that I am going to put you through," replied Erestor just as quietly, "will be more pain than you could ever inflict on me simply by neglecting to use any oil. Come back to bed, Glorfindel. I don't care about the oil. I don't care about the pain. Just give me something to remember."

Glorfindel returned to bed. He didn't want to hurt Erestor, but what Erestor said was true. He flipped Erestor over onto his stomach. He had never taken Erestor this way in the past and hoped that Erestor had some experience with it. Obviously he had, as he raised up on his forearms and knees. Trying to relax as best as he could, it nevertheless did hurt when Glorfindel pushed his way in. Biting his lip so hard he tasted blood, he arched his back, pushing Glorfindel further in. Glorfindel took this as his cue to begin thrusting, which he did hard and roughly. One hand was around Erestor's waist, the other began to roughly stroke Erestor's erection. This was by far the roughest sex they had ever had, and Glorfindel found himself enjoying it. Knowing that he would never get Erestor in his bed after tonight made him want to hurt Erestor more than he knew he could, but, as Erestor had demanded, he would give Erestor something to remember.

This lasted longer than their usual and both were thoroughly exhausted when they finally came. Glorfindel rolled off of Erestor and took Erestor in his arms. He kissed Erestor on the forehead. "You promised that you'd stay the night. Will you keep that promise?"

Erestor smiled. "On this, our last night together, I will honor that promise." Tears flooded his eyes, but he settled down beside Glorfindel, knowing he would find no rest tonight.

Author's Note: Things are going to get worse before they getbetter...if they get better at all.