Chapter Two

"Mairon? You need to wake up now."

The soft voice penetrated the haze his mind had slipped into, but he disagreed with it. He knew of no reason to leave this feeling. He was warm and safe, and both of those sensations had been hard to come by in his life. He was going to savor them while he could.

A light came on, visible though his closed eyelids, and the voice continued.

"It's morning, Mairon. You do have to get up, you know."

Mairon grumbled inarticulately and rolled over, burying his head under the pillows. Morning or not, he still had no intentions of waking up.

"I'm not sure he's gotten much sleep in the past month," Námo said softly to Vairë. "And last night was certainly not easy for him."

Mairon stiffened in protest as the covers were pulled down to his waist, but then strong hands were massaging his shoulders and back, and he relaxed again with a happy sigh. The soothing touch, rather than sending him back to sleep, kept him grounded in the waking world, and soon enough he found himself alert. When Námo stopped, he rolled onto his side to look at his lord. Vairë had gone, leaving only he and Námo in the room.

"Are you awake now?" Námo asked, humor lurking in his grey eyes.

"That depends," Mairon responded instantly.

"On?" Námo asked.

"On whether you'll continue if I say no," Mairon returned, losing the battle against the small grin forming on his face. Námo chuckled, rolling his eyes as he gently pushed Mairon back down. Mairon smiled fully. Briefly he thought how different this would be if it were Morgoth, not Námo, behind him. It would have been one of his worst nightmares come to life, Mairon quickly decided—nothing like the absolute trust and security he felt right now.

Mairon felt the bed sink just a little as Námo sat down, and the two-handed massage became a simple circular motion with one.

"Mairon?" Námo said softly.

"Yes?" Mairon turned his head to look at his lord once more.

"I have to ask: out of all the Valar you could have chosen to serve...why me?" Námo asked. Mairon buried his head in the pillows again.

"It's embarrassing!" he protested, voice somewhere between a whine and a wail. Námo didn't say anything, but Mairon knew he was still waiting for an answer.

"You cared," he finally said, still speaking into the pillows. "You held me while I had to tell of my past, and then you held me until I calmed down. You could have just left me with Nienna, but you didn't. Then that night, you came looking for me and held me again. Oh sweet Eru, this makes me sound like a stray puppy… But you were affectionate. I wanted that. I needed that. I knew that someday I could be useful here, but I also knew that I would be useless for a long time, no matter where I went. And I knew, above all else, that I could never again serve a Vala I didn't believe cared for me."

Námo didn't answer, but pulled Mairon up and into his embrace. Mairon hid his still vivid blush against his lord's chest, secretly pleased by the Vala's gesture.

"With you, I feel safe," he whispered, feeling Námo's arms tighten around him. "And right now, that's what I want most."

It was some time before Mairon's blush faded enough for him to raise his head again, but eventually he did, only to meet his lord's fond, amused gaze. Námo gently ran his fingers down the sensitive outer curve of Mairon's left ear, a gesture made only by the Valar to a Maia who served them. There were several quirks in the fánar of the Ainur that were due to their being formed before the Firstborn awoke, and ears more sensitive than those of Elves or Men was one. Since it was the Maiar who chose which Vala they served, the gesture had come to mean that the Vala was fully pleased with the Maia's decision. Mairon blushed again, but could not help smiling in delight.

"Do you want earrings?" Námo asked Mairon. "I know they were not used when you were here before."

"Yes, I do," Mairon replied.

When the Elves had first arrived in Valinor, they had become confused trying to keep straight which Maiar served which Valar. Formalized clothing had first been proposed to differentiate them, but Lady Vairë's people especially had not liked that idea, already accustomed to dressing themselves as they pleased. Eventually, earrings had been decided on, and the different metal and gemstone combinations of the seven small earrings the Maiar wore in their left ear indicated which Vala a particular Maia served.

"Very well," Námo said. "Let me to go get a numbing agent from Estë, and then I will be back." Mairon nodded, and Námo left him briefly. Upon returning, the Vala carefully held a small wad of cotton dipped in anesthetic solution to Mairon's left ear.

Beginning just above the already existing hole where Mairon had previously worn earrings, Námo carefully placed seven small rings made of silver, each set with an onyx bead, into the Maia's ear. By the Vala's power, each of these were sealed into one continuous circle. The column of earrings climbed to just below the pointed tip of Mairon's ear. The space from the tip of his ear to where it attached to his head was left bare, as it was where the espoused Maiar wore a thicker band indicating their married state, finding such more convenient that the finger rings favored by Elves.

Mairon stayed perfectly still, with his head level, while Námo inserted the earrings, deeming the slight pressure and pain still present despite the anesthetic not difficult to endure at all. When Námo had finished and healed the newly formed holes, the Maia looked up and smiled. He was grateful for the normality indicated by the earrings, and he was grateful to Námo for treating him in such a way.

"Come along, my child," Námo told Mairon warmly. "Let us find something to eat, and then, if you are willing, I have a task in mind for you."

"Oh?" Mairon asked as he followed his lord down the hallway.

"You were friends with Maedhros, were you not?" Námo asked him. Mairon nearly stopped dead.

"I am not sure if 'friend' is the right word," Mairon said, quickening his pace to catch up to the Vala once more. "But I felt we could have become so, had we the opportunity to be more open with each other. Why?"

"Because of all the sons of Fëanor here in my halls, he is the most receptive, now that he has realized that neither he nor his family will be thrown to the Void," Námo explained. "If he could be brought to understand that those named in witness to their oath would release them full willing, he could begin to heal, and I feel it likely that the Ambarussa would be willing to follow their older brother's lead. Curufin, Caranthir, and Celegorm seem to remain set in their ways, much like their father, but the other three can perhaps be reached."

"So you wish me to speak with Maedhros?" Mairon asked, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes," Námo replied. "He needs someone to befriend him, and since the two of you already had somewhat of a friendship, I feel you would be the best one to do so. As well, it is unlikely he would feel you are looking down upon him or judging him."

Mairon was silent for a time after that, and Námo let him be, patiently waiting for the young Maia to come to a decision. Námo knew that Mairon would feel highly uncertain about actually beginning to work with those who dwelled here, yet he knew that although Maedhros would be a difficult project, Mairon was up to it. Additionally, it would give the Vala a chance to ease that extreme perfectionism Mairon had been driven to.

Finally, Mairon raised his head again and met Námo's eyes. "I will do it," he said firmly, and Námo smiled.

Bit short, yes. And fluffy. But hey, Mairon deserves a little bit of fluff after what he's been through...Please review!