Erestor growled to himself. That humming sound would not go away. It was like a cheery little fly… and by the sound of it, it was coming right for him. Just what he needed on that day of all days.
"Well, what a beautiful day it is, eh Erestor?" Glorfindel declared with bursting enthusiasm.
"Hm" was Erestor's idea of an answer. "Does anything of import or specific interest to me bring you here, or was it just an ill wind?"
"Oh, something of great import brings me to you! Do you not know what today is?" Glorfindel said in that cajoling tone that made Erestor want to compare the strength of his fist against that of Glorfindel's jaw.
"Of course I know what today is, you halfwit! Why would I, of all, not know?" Erestor wasn't in his best mood as he stabbed a finger at the freshly dated parchment in front of him and leafing through a stack of similarly dated pages. "It is Orgilion… the first one of Lothron. And I was attempting to enjoy the Valar-graced weather by getting my work done… until I was interrupted."
Glorfindel only smirked. "Working is no way to 'enjoy' a day like this."
"Why not? It is how I enjoy every other day and I see no reason for this day to be considered any different. My desk is near the balcony and at this hour the sun shines down on me warmly, the flowering trees overhanging the balcony whisper to me in the breeze and release their sweet perfumes, and I can see the entire blossoming valley from right here. Now, as I am sensing all of these things, I do not find it too much to get some things done so that the beautiful valley does not find itself falling into disrepair."
"All right… I suppose you don't have the best view in Imladris for nothing," Glorfindel conceded and went to sit on Erestor's balcony. Erestor shot a glare at his back, how rude did one have to be to simply walk into another's workspace and do whatever they pleased, without a 'by your leave'? The golden lord just sat there, continuing his humming, which had the sing-song rhythm of the sort of chants elflings used to tease each other. The humming turned into words, "I know something you don't know," and within moments Erestor was boiling.
"Stop that!" Erestor snapped. "What? What do you bloody know?"
"Really, Ere', you shouldn't let yourself be goaded so easily!" Glorfindel chided, turning to look in from the balcony with a big smile.
"What do you know?" Erestor demanded in a low, warning growl.
Glorfindel said nothing but walked back into the study and leaned against Erestor's desk in front of him, locking eyes with the advisor. Glorfindel reached a hand out to twist a long finger around a braided raven lock. Most people would not even go near Erestor when he was in a snappish mood… but Glorfindel was decidedly not most people. "I know something about you, melme," he cooed.
At first Erestor turned a fascinating shade of red, but quickly the white pallor of ire washed over his face as he swatted Glorfindel's hand away and hissed, "do not call me that again! And tell me whatever it is you think you know, so that I can prove you wrong."
"I know something you do know, but you don't know that I know it… yet." Glorfindel grinned in such a way that made him seem to glow just a little bit more, with his unbraided locks draping about his shoulders, slipping over his arms, down his back. Erestor glared, he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed, or a bath, and it was unseemly for a lord to go about like that!
"I know your echádaur," Glorfindel said smugly, sitting back and making himself perfectly comfortable in one of Erestor's chairs by the hearth.
"No, you do not," Erestor said calmly, matter-of-factly. He was entirely certain that no one, but no one, knew that one. Not even Elrond knew that. He couldn't, not even with his mind-seeing ability, for Erestor had scarcely even thought about it in centuries.
"Aye, I do, melethron," Glorfindel replied just as surely.
"Do not call me that either!" Erestor nearly shouted.
Glorfindel's smile only grew. "And it happens to be this very day: Lothron eneg."
Erestor stared harshly. He wanted to rant and shout and hurl Dwavish curses at the Balrog-slayer, but… he was just too angry. He could not refute Glorfindel. He was right. How he was right was beyond Erestor's knowledge, but he was right, and it enraged Erestor to the point of muteness.
"How…?" he asked, his voice faltering a bit and almost making Glorfindel feel guilty. "How did you ever learn that?" Anger and shock warred for control of Erestor, it was obvious in his furrowed brow, those delicately arched eyebrows, usually so perfectly arranged to suit Erestor's present level of "arrogance and disdain," seemed all off kilter now.
"I didn't… I just guessed a day, and, judging by your reaction, I guessed right." Glorfindel's smile was the one that won everyone over, not the big, glaring one, but the warm, quiet one. Erestor was not won, or fooled. "All right, as it was, I just happened to… come by such knowledge," Glorfindel said off-handedly.
"No, you did not. There is nothing, utterly nothing, written about me in any of the books in the library. I know because I have personally read every word, every letter in that room." Erestor was at a loss, where could Glorfindel have found out?
"Did I say I found it in the library?" Glorfindel taunted. "I, unlike some Elves, choose to spend my time in Arda in a variety of locations and activities."
"Well, it matters not. Nowhere is a single thing about me recorded. I have made certain of that over the years, and I want to know where you claim to have found a flaw in my ages of careful work."
Glorfindel let his head drop on the back of the chair and loll over to look at Erestor. "You are wrong, there is much about you recorded."
"Where? Where would you find such knowledge!" Erestor demanded.
Glorfindel ignored Erestor's interruption. "Though I doubt there is anything in Lórien or Taur e-Ndaedelos, certainly not at Mithlond, unless perhaps a passage in someone's journal, reading something about, 'that beautiful, cold Erestor o Imladris….'"
Erestor just glared for a moment, until Glorfindel's hint sunk in. Oh, Valar! How could he have been so foolish! "Tell me you didn't read the whole thing," Erestor pled miserably.
Glorfindel chuckled softly, but, damn, he was actually starting to feel bad about doing that to Erestor. "Of course I did not. I do have some respect for your privacy. I did not pry intentionally, really, quite. I just happened to notice a line at the end of an entry that mentioned 'echádaur tomorrow' with a little frowny face beside the words. I am glad I found out, though, because otherwise I wouldn't have had any excuse to come here and give you this." Glorfindel rose and slipped a hand inside his long tunic, bringing forth a small box tied with a deep red ribbon.
"I do not want any gifts, thank you," Erestor said with all the dignity he had.
"Saes, herven…," Glorfindel coaxed with his best rosy pout, coupled with the hopeful gleam in his azure eyes. "Or is that title not allowed either?"
"If you don't stop angering me, it soon won't be," Erestor threatened, and any other Elf would have taken him quite seriously.
"Anyway, you have to accept it… it's from me," he said with the big, bright smile again.
"Fine… thank you, herven. Now can I go back to work?" Erestor asked hoping that would be sufficient.
"Not a chance. Open it," Glorfindel even risked a kiss to the corner of Erestor's mouth.
Erestor sighed dramatically and pulled at the end of the ribbon until it slipped off and he took the lid off the small cask. Inside was a broach fashioned like two swans, one in opal, the other in onyx.
"You and I," Glorfindel whispered.
"This is beautiful, meleth… hannon le!" Erestor said, his bad mood melting as he reached over the desk to hug his Glor', who had no trouble lifting him up and over to the other side with him for a proper kiss.
"You are most welcome. Now, come on, we need to get you ready. And I still need to do something with my hair."
"Get me ready for what?" Erestor said, slipping back into his less than happy mood. "And yes, you do need to do something with your hair."
"For dinner, melme," Glorfindel said.
"Oh no! I have much too much I need to do here!" Erestor protested.
"Yes, oh yes, dinner, with me. Come on and get ready, it is in your honor," Glorfindel grinned.
"No. No. No. Just say you did not tell all of Imladris about this."
"All right. I did not tell all of Imladris about this," Glorfindel said innocently, just like the twins did when you knew they were up to something. "Alternately, 'I did not tell all of Imladris about this,' 'I did not tell all of Imladris about this,' 'I did not tell all of Imladris about this,' 'I did not tell all of Imladris about this,' or 'I did not tell all of Imladris about this.' Whichever one you like best."
Erestor's eyes and deep sigh evidenced his defeat. "Well, I suppose I can survive one dinner. I can make a speech when necessary, and that will be all the fuss about it, just a few words before dinner and no more," Erestor rationalized with himself.
Glorfindel's poorly hidden laughter spoke a different story though.
"What? What did you do? Tell me now," Erestor said, the warning edging into his tone again.
"Naught! Well, practically…." Glorfindel held up his hands defenselessly.
"Of course you did naught. The only sort of celebrations that go on here are the ones I spend months on. If there was to be a surprise celebration for me tonight, I would certainly know each and every detail and have overseen it all." Erestor resumed rationalizing this silliness away. "Like to be no more than a few little decorations and maybe some wine from the cellar."
Glorfindel nodded silently, making Erestor believe he was relatively safe still. It was not further discussed while they changed into their more formal robes and Erestor set to work making Glorfindel's signature tresses look 'respectable.'
Erestor even accepted Glorfindel's arm as they walked to the dining hall, proof that he wasn't really as mad at him as he had made out to be earlier.
"When I think of all the years I did not know about your echádaur…. All the years I could have spent teasing you…," Glorfindel said in his sweetest voice.
Erestor grunted, sure he would have done just that. "It really doesn't matter any more. I have long since stopped counting the years. I don't even count the centuries anymore."
"Everything about you matters to me," Glorfindel assured his lover.
As they approached the dining hall, Erestor sensed that something was not right. Usually the laughter of the twins could be heard above all the rest of the chatter. Tonight even the chatter was not heard and it did not look like any candles were burning in the hall, even though the sun was rapidly setting. "Really, Glorfindel? A surprise dinner that you've already told me about? Now how ought I to react when every Elf in Imladris jumps out and shouts 'surprise' like a bunch of edain fools?"
"Did I say anything about a surprise dinner with every Elf in Imladris?" Glorfindel asked teasingly.
Erestor just rolled his eyes and braced himself when Glorfindel pushed the door the hall open. Even so, Erestor was not ready for what met his eyes. There was no one else in the room but the two of them and the place with adorned with garlands of Erestor's favorite spring-time flowers everywhere. At the far end of the hall there was a small table laden with Erestor's favorite foods and a smaller table, just for two, with two glasses of wine already poured. Erestor had never seen the hall so lavishly decked, even when he had spent months getting everything just right for whatever celebration. The setting sun filled the room with it's vibrant hues, only adding to the show, as Glorfindel quickly light the lights about the room before returning to Erestor's side and escorting him to the other end of the room.
Shaking his head, Erestor took it all in. Everything was so beautiful, so perfectly done, and yet not a single thing had been there that morning at breakfast. "How was this done?" he breathed. "But… you couldn't have even known until last night because I didn't even write what you saw until just before bed. And where is everyone else? What about their supper?"
"By working at it all day; no I did not know until last night; and no one else is going hungry, they are just eating elsewhere right now. Tonight is for you and I alone," Glorfindel answered. "And really, I did not need to tell anyone else that today is your echádaur. I merely mentioned to a few of my friends that I wanted to do something special for you and it was done."
"No one has ever done anything like this… not for me," Erestor said softly. His eyes were getting a bit misty and he was glad that no one else was around but Glor'. "I never imagined that you would…."
"I guessed by the little frowny face you had next to the words 'echádaur tomorrow' that you didn't really like the day very much, and so I didn't think I ought to tell anyone else about it. I am hoping that, slowly, I will get you to enjoy the day much more, and maybe let others honor you once in a while." Glorfindel stroked his lover's dark hair. "I want you to be as amazed with yourself as I am with you."
Erestor lowered his eyes for a few moments before hugging tightly to the warm, golden light that was outshining the fading sun. "Glorfindel… le melin," he whispered. "Hannon le."
"Mereth echádaur, herven, meleth-nín," Glorfindel responded.
Translations:
Orgilion - Saturday
Lothron - May
melme - (Quenya) love
echadaur - my made up word for birthday/begetting day (lit. create-day - note that Elven gestation period is 12 months, so begetting day and birthday is approximately the same day, one year apart).
melethron - male lover
Lothron eneg - May 6
Taur e-Ndaedelos - Sindarin name for Mirkwood
Saes - Please
herven - male spouse
meleth (nin) - love, beloved (my)
hannon le - thank you
edain - mortal Men
le melin - i love you
Mereth - Merry