The days of the summer were dwindling. Those who were in Lindon spent the time out of doors when they could, including their King. Gil-Galad sat upon a blanket in the grass as many of his subjects did, lazily drinking wine and watching the breeze sway the trees while children frolicked between the clusters of blankets and elves.

Elrond joined him, a grin on his face after having given many a ride upon his shoulders to the younger elflings. He was slightly out of breath, flopping down on an empty corner of the blue and gold woven cloth. "Your majesty," he said with a smile, tipping his head towards the King slightly.

"Address me as such again, I shall take you over my knee in the open." Gil-Galad's low rumbled threat was unheard by anyone, and an idle one at that, making Elrond's smile all the more brilliant. "I suppose you are thirsty." He offered the goblet to his friend and advisor, in secret his lover, but they hardly entertained the idea that no one knew. There were far too many lingering looks at dinner or in council, and far too many 'late night meetings' held in private chambers for that.

Accepting the wine, Elrond gulped down what was left in the glass, giving a little cough after he finished. Gil-Galad smirked and took back the goblet. "More?" he asked, reaching for a bottle with a large cork stopper in the top.

Giving a nod, Elrond watched as the liquid was replenished with deep red wine instead of the pale white that had been in the glass, the stopper placed back into the top of the bottle. Gil-Galad swirled the liquid round and round, just enough to reach the top, not enough to slosh it over. It seemed to mesmerize Elrond, who kept watch like a hawk. "Would you like another drink?"

Crossing his arms with a huff, Elrond turned his head away, the spell temporarily broken. "I will not be subject to your teasing today. Your majesty."

Stilling his hand, Gil-Galad shook his head. "What a troublesome one you are. If I say you are to be teased, then teased you shall be."

"Oh, and because you are King and decree it?" questioned Elrond, playing along.

"You are the one who insists upon throwing 'your majesty' about."

"I did not know you disliked it, Your Highness."

Gil-Galad sniffed the contents of his glass before taking a sip. "Oh, this is quite nice."

Sitting up a little straighter, Elrond tried to lean closer in hopes the scent would waft his way, but the glass was moved to the side. "Tease."

"Would you like a taste?"

Elrond held his hand out to take the goblet, but Gil-Galad had another idea. Dipping a finger into the glass, Gil-Galad held his hand up to Elrond's lips and smiled.

"Ereinion..."

"I thought you wanted a taste."

"But... with everyone watching..."

"No one is watching. Look around. What happened to my bold little peredhel?"

Grey eyes flitted back and forth, looking at the rest of the elves who were present. Elrond saw no one watching, but still he hesitated.


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"Oh, for pity sake, I wish they would just kiss and be done with it."

Glorfindel opened one eye and then the other, and followed Erestor's line of vision to where the King of the realm sat with his herald, obscenely offering him a taste of wine. "Do you, now?"

"Aye, and then the games could stop. They think no one knows, that no one can tell." Erestor drank wine from his glass as he shook his head. "Well, I can tell. Perhaps due to my superior skills of observation, but it still insults me that they pretend as if I cannot tell that the eight hundredth time they brush against one another making their way into the council room was not an accident." The advisor took hold of a chunk of cheese and bit off a rather large piece, chewing it as he shook his head and continued to watch the pair.

All at once, Glorfindel burst into laughter, and Erestor turned his head round to determine why. "What is the matter with you?"

"Superior skills of observation you say?"

Popping the rest of the cheese into his mouth, Erestor frowned. "Yes, why?"

"I think you are so obsessed with watching the two of them, you can hardly see what is right in front of your own nose."

Erestor's frown deepened. "Stop speaking in riddles and tell me what you mean."

"Finally!" And Glorfindel sat up, came forward, and pushed Erestor gently down onto the blanket.

"What are you doing?!" demanded the shocked ellon.

"Precisely what you told me to," answered the blond as he pinned Erestor's wrists loosely above his head. "Perhaps they will not kiss today, but by Eru, someone is getting kissed right now!"


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The slight bit of commotion that followed caused all heads to turn in the direction of the chief advisor and captain amused the King the most. "I always wondered when he would just get over his fear and kiss him," said Gil-Galad before sucking the wine off of his own finger before it dripped.

"Maybe we should do something," said Elrond in a worried voice, though it appeared that Erestor was not really resisting Glorfindel, and everyone seemed quite giddy over the fact that the chief protector of the realm was passionately kissing a slightly squirmy council member.

"Yes, we really should do something." Gil-Galad dipped his finger into the wine again. "No one is watching," he added when Elrond nervously looked about again.

Timidly, Elrond leaned closer and flicked his tongue out to lap a tiny drop from the end of his lover's finger. "Mmm, that is good."

"More?" Before Elrond could answer, Gil-Galad dipped two fingers into the goblet and presented them. "Go ahead," he coaxed.

"If I find out later anyone saw us..." The sentence left incomplete, Elrond moved forward so that their knees were touching and closed his mouth around Gil-Galad's fingers, sucking the wine from them.

"Make sure you get it all," said Gil-Galad. He added a third finger, sipping the wine from his glass as Elrond strained to make them all fit. "Now this reminds me of something," said the King, moving his hand in and out, more rapidly, deeper, more, four fingers, purring as he drank his wine. Bending his head down, he said, "I think later we may need to have a private meeting, just the two of us, in my chambers. I have a special white wine I think you would enjoy, private stock, if you know what I mean."

With a gasp and a grunt, followed by a sigh, Elrond drew back and rested himself on his palms as he looked at the wet spot that had soaked through to his leggings. "I know exactly what you mean. Perverted old elf, did you really have to do that?"

"Perverted old elf? Far cry from 'Your Highness'," said the King.

"How am I to get inside without anyone seeing me?"

"We could wrap the blanket around you," suggested Gil-Galad, who was standing already and offered his hand to Elrond. "I do think everyone is much more interested in the two of them than they are with the two of us."

On their own blanket some ways away, a flushed Erestor tried to pretend everything was very normal as he snacked on his cheese, while Glorfindel sat very close beside him with the biggest, widest grin possible plastered on his face. Every few seconds Glorfindel whispered something to Erestor, ensuring that his cheeks would stay red for quite some time. Nearly everyone was either stealing peeks at the pair or openly staring at them.

"Good point." Making a hasty retreat to the palace, the couple immediately headed to the royal chambers for what was to be a very long and productive private meeting.