No explanation was asked for, and so, none was given. Tauniel was nowhere to be seen, but faintly Glorfindel could hear her in the tiny kitchen, humming to herself. A few minutes were spent in a relaxed embrace, until Faelion snuck his way under the blanket to join Glorfindel. Faelion snuggled up with his chest to Glorfindel’s back and rested his chin upon the blond’s shoulder. “I adore your wife. She actually helped me strip off my clothing when we noticed you stirring so that you would awaken to beautifully bare me instead of me hopping around with one foot in my pants.”
“Very generous of her, as always,” remarked Glorfindel. One of his arms was draped back around his waist in order to make further contact with Faelion. “I suppose she is making supper?”
“Aye,” mumbled Faelion. He reached over and poked at the pillows that were left unused on the other side of the bed. “I think I saw someone put something under there for you to find.”
“Oh?”
“I know someone did, because I was the one who did it,” whispered Faelion to Glorfindel secretively.
Glorfindel smiled and took hold of the corner of the pillow. He pulled it very slowly and gently aside, and gasped as the object was revealed and filled the space with a bright, concentrated light that was amaranth in hue. “What is it?” he asked as he picked up the multifaceted jewel. It was just a little smaller than the spaced created by the cupped palm of his hand. It was not cold, nor warm, and was precisely cut, but not sharp on any edge. “I have never seen its likes before.”
“It is a preliminary silmaril. This was one of the few that Feanor made early while attempting to hone his skills. He tried many different colors before he chose the one he liked the best.” Faelion pushed the jewel to one side, increasing the brightness of the glow. “Very few of them made it across to this side of the sea.”
“This is beautiful,” said Glorfindel in awe. “How did you come to possess such a thing?”
“My great-grandfather was one of Feanor’s devoted followers. It was given to him before the crossing, and he brought it with him. Ever since, it has passed through the generations, and came to me.” Faelion nudged Glorfindel and added, “I was named after him.”
“After your grandfather?”
Faelion laughed and rested his head back onto the pillow, where he could watch the light play off of the walls. “After Feanor. Do you like it?”
“As I said, it is a thing of great beauty,” confirmed Glorfindel.
“I knew you would like it, so I brought it for you. I want you to give it to your firstborn on the day of their majority,” explained Faelion.
Glorfindel began to lift the stone back to Faelion. “I cannot accept—“
“You most certainly can.” Faelion kissed Glorfindel on the back of the neck as he reached around and closed Glorfindel’s fingers around the gem. “You have given me so much, and I have so little to give to you.”
“I require nothing as repayment for anything you think I might have done,” argued Glorfindel.
“Please, let me give you this. Do not make me beg,” pleaded Faelion. “I would really rather save the begging for something else.” Nuzzling his cheek against Glorfindel’s back, he added, “You would not believe the nightmares I have had. Ever since the call to war I have had them. That was why my uncle worked to keep me here – I was plagued by horrible dreams night after night. He thought it would quell them, but they still would not abate. They became focused upon my friends who went, and mostly, about you – when you returned, they continued, but now they are full of guilt and regret.”
“There is nothing to regret,” crooned Glorfindel. “You and I are merely pawns in the dangerous games of chess played by warlords and kings.”
“Even a pawn can protect a knight,” answered Faelion. “Had I been there, I might have done something. I keep thinking, if only I were there, perhaps the dragon might have hit me instead, or perhaps I could have aided you in some way.”
“Do not say that! It would have been devastating to have seen you fall. It was bad enough that so many did not return.” Glorfindel reached around and clasped one of Faelion’s hands with his free one.
Faelion kissed the knuckles of Glorfindel’s hand. “Still, you cannot know the grief I feel. You are so brave to calmly deal with your fate this way, even if you do not know it.” He squeezed Glorfindel’s hand and added, “Take this, and gift it to your child. It would be an honor to me if you did.”
“Then I will,” replied Glorfindel, whose voice was not without emotion.
Faelion snuggled up closer to Glorfindel’s back. The ragged, uneven breathing amplified through Glorfindel’s back and into Faelion’s ear. A few moments later, Glorfindel could feel warm tears on his skin, and heard the soft sobbing behind him. “Shh... hush, my darling, there is no reason to cry.”
“I have tried so hard not to,” admitted Faelion. “But it is so hard, to love someone so much and know they will not always be there.”
“I will remain, in some small part – through my son, and through those I have known.” Glorfindel sighed and watched the glow of the gem fade and brighten, from deep rose to pale pink, like a throbbing heart.
“How long do you have?” Faelion dared to ask.
“That is something I have been trying not to dwell upon. Hopefully, enough time to be a father and if I am lucky, a few years of being a grandfather. To me, those two things are all that matter right now.”
Faelion brushed the tears from his cheeks and kissed the stray ones from Glorfindel’s back. “You are going to help make the most adorable babies.”
“I just want him to be healthy and strong and... not like me when it comes to romance. I want him to be so in love with the fairer sex that they just swarm him and swoon upon sight of him. Or something like that.”
“Everything will work out for the best,” said Faelion. He let go of Glorfindel’s hand and rested it upon his shoulder. “Oh, you are so tense.” Faelion nudged Glorfindel onto his stomach and began to massage Glorfindel’s shoulders and back.
Glorfindel rolled the jewel back and forth on the mattress, and as he began to relax, tucked it under the pillow in order to dim the room. “This has to be a family trait,” mumbled Glorfindel as Faelion dug his fingers into just the right spot in Glorfindel’s lower back.
“Yes, my uncle taught me the art of massage. Well, not all of it,” chuckled Faelion. “I have watched him give Duilin and the servants a lot of massages, though.”
“He massages the maids?” questioned Glorfindel.
“And the butler and the minstrels and the rest. He is a firm believer in relaxation of both mind and body in order to think and create better. I think it came from the early days, when he was a boxer.”
Glorfindel found himself relaxing into a blissful state from the firm, yet gentle touches. He missed the entrance of Tauniel into the room, or the motion Faelion made from her to the bottle of oil sitting on the nightstand. Vaguely, he felt the mattress dip down slightly when she sat down and held out the uncorked bottle to Faelion, who held out his palm.
A slick hand slid slowly down Glorfindel, from the back of his neck to his rear, which was given a strong groping that made him groan and stretch. As Glorfindel took his next breath, Faelion slipped his middle digit all the way into the tight passage. “Tauniel told me how much you like this little move,” Faelion said as he lightly rubbed his oil finger deep inside of Glorfindel. The blond panted and pushed back against the welcomed assault.
“Easy now, love, try not to waste it on the bed sheet,” teased Tauniel as Glorfindel began to rock against the bed.
Faelion continued to lovingly stroke Glorfindel to arousal, preparing him as if they were the only ones in the room. Tauniel watched, intrigued and becoming excited herself, while she undressed. As she stepped out of her skirt, she caught Faelion’s gaze. He merely motioned with a tilt of his head, and nervously she joined them on the bed again.
“Time to get up,” whispered Faelion. With two fingers lodged within Glorfindel, he slowly put a little pressure upwards, causing Glorfindel to gasp, shudder, and shakily pull himself up onto his hands and knees. “Beautiful, darling. You are absolutely stunning – I want you,” whispered Faelion into Glorfindel’s ear. He was met with another hopeful gasp. Faelion glanced at the third party in the room. “Tauniel...”
Tauniel nodded and while Faelion held Glorfindel on the edge of completion, she managed to crawl beneath Glorfindel. Once she settled herself, she gave a little nod to Faelion and reached up to place her hands upon Glorfindel’s hips.
“Showtime.” Faelion pressed his unburied hand against Glorfindel’s back. Into Glorfindel’s ear he whispered, “Just close your eyes... pretend that right now, that is me writhing beneath you.” He dipped his head lower, and to Tauniel whispered, “Close your eyes, sweetheart. Think of Aranel. Think of how good it is when she is with you.”
Glorfindel found it difficult, despite the suggested imagery, to lower himself completely. He could feel just the head of his arousal sliding into something warm and slick, but before it would go further he would jerk back. For Tauniel, the shallow, partial intercourse was much more pleasurable. When she opened her eyes and saw Glorfindel hovered above her with teeth clenched and face contorted in uncertainty, she craned her neck and managed to lock lips with him.
Eyes opened wide, but the ever-watchful Faelion took note and pushed a third well-oiled finger in to join the first two. Glorfindel nervously recalled the act they would perform in public when he was courting Tauniel. His tongue slid boldly along hers, bringing a tingle to his entire body. He closed his eyes again, shoving away the confusing thoughts of love and replacing them with the lustful need for completion. Still, his thrusts were shallow and on occasion missed.
Fingers ran across Glorfindel’s scalp, took hold of the short cropped hair, and pulled his head to the side. Faelion wet his lips and pressed them against Glorfindel’s. His rough kisses further excited Glorfindel, and intrigued Tauniel, who could not stand being left out and joined in.
The lack of oxygen from the intensity of kissing and Glorfindel’s injury was causing him to become lightheaded. One hand slipped, and he caught himself on his elbow but shook his head. “Have to stop,” he panted.
Tauniel shot a look of distress to Faelion. Instead of granting Glorfindel’s request, Faelion sped up his stroking and licked the edge of Glorfindel’s ear to the tip before whispering in a sultry tone, “What if it was Erestor beneath you right now? Would you stop then? Or would you fuck him raw?”
Glorfindel whimpered, gasping and fast losing his strength and balance. He felt traitorous toward the pair in the bed with him, but somewhere, faintly, whether on the sheets or the mattress or in the air, the scent of Erestor still lingered. It intensified as Glorfindel focused on it and on the thought of being with Erestor. He imagined the wet sheath he plunged into was Erestor’s hand, dripping with oil, and the thick trio of fingers within him was Erestor, pounding into him, over and over. His muscles clenched, and he cried out as his release came quickly.
Faelion’s hand was firm on his back, unwilling to allow Glorfindel to move. “Give her a minute, darling,” he said as he rubbed Glorfindel’s lower back and moved the fingers he had slid within him out. Glorfindel let out a contented sigh as the tips of Faelion’s fingers brushed his entrance before they pulled away.
Tauniel let her head loll to one side and smiled. “Mmmm... I think you can let him up, Fae.”
Faelion kissed them each on the cheek before sitting back on his heels. Glorfindel rose up and then rolled over onto his back, while Tauniel scrambled down to sit on the edge of the bed. One of Glorfindel’s hands lightly touched Faelion’s knee. “Did you get to...?”
“No, this is not about me. I am just... lending a hand,” he said with a wink. At the end of the bed, Tauniel giggled.
The oil was placed back where it belonged, and then Faelion sat down on the pillow near Glorfindel’s head and took to quietly stroking his hair. Once Glorfindel managed to catch his breath, he propped himself upon on one elbow and asked, “How long will it take for us to know if it worked?”
“I have no idea,” admitted Tauniel. “I know there will be some strange feeling – and I do feel awfully strange – but I do not quite know what I am hoping to feel.”
“We just need to wait,” said Faelion simply. “Or, she could see a healer – though, that would be best to wait until the morning to do, so, either way, we must wait.”
Glorfindel took hold of the hand that played in the short blond waves that were damp with sweat and pulled it to rest over his heart. “Thank you. You have now done more for me than I could ever repay.” Faelion said nothing, preferring to bend down and nuzzle the crook of Glorfindel’s neck instead.
A sudden gasp came from the end of the bed. “There it is!” exclaimed Tauniel as she pressed her hand against her stomach.
Glorfindel sat up with Faelion’s aid. “Are you sure?” he asked excitedly.
“Umm... well, I feel some—“ Before Tauniel could continue, she opened her mouth and belched. “Sorry, false alarm,” she said sheepishly as Glorfindel sighed and frowned.
“Do not worry,” said Faelion, his hands upon Glorfindel’s shoulders. “There is plenty of time – the night is young, and I have plenty of oil left.” He kissed the back of Glorfindel’s neck and asked, “Can I interest you in another massage?”
