“Slay the balrog, Glorfindel. Confront the Witchking, Glorfindel. Rescue the Halflings, Glorfindel. Bah!” Down the back alley of a lonely street, a single figure shoved his hands into the pockets of the long cape-like garment he wore- trench coat, that was it, that was what they called it- and swore as he kicked a chunk of brick down the eroding paved path. “Go find Erestor and bring him back to Valinor, Glorfindel.” He snorted. Was that really all he had become, just a fetcher of missing and misled hobbits and elves? After all his great deeds, all the songs sung of him and ballads written of his glory, he was nothing more than a shepherd, rounding up lost souls.
Rounding the corner, he came onto the busy street again to check the crossing and decided once again he disliked Brady Street. The strange carriages that moved without horses went much too fast, and the road was too narrow. Bright, unnaturally colored lights glared from every corner and every building. The people, at least, were friendly enough, even a little too friendly at times for his taste. All he wanted to do was find the inn he had been directed to by the Valar, collect Erestor, and go home again.
Two maidens were approaching him, one of them smiling and the other pretending not to notice him. Smiling back, he decided that it would be best to ask directions if ever he hoped to find what he was looking for. “Excuse me, ladies,” he said as they were about to pass. The pair stopped, the first still smiling and the second wary. “I was wondering if you could help me to find The Golden Cock. It’s a pub of some sort that I am to meet someone at this evening.”
The smile fell from the lips of the first while the second grinned, and with a swift motion pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “Third one from the corner. Have fun,” she snickered, pulling her friend along. Glorfindel nodded his thanks and proceeded to cross the corner, frowning as he noted he would have to cross the street again.
Luckily there were others waiting to cross, and Glorfindel merely followed them when the carriages all stopped at the same time. The building he came to was squeezed between two others, an old brick structure with heavy black curtains on the windows and sounds of music seeping out from the cracks in the door. He halted when he saw the sign:
NO MEN ALLOWED
Scratching his head and deciding perhaps he had better not enter until he knew more, he looked around for somewhere to wait and ponder his next move. There was a place across the street that was lit up cheerfully, busy with people talking and eating, and he sighed as he approached the corner to cross the road again.
}-~-~-:-~-~-{
“Fetch me a drink, Russ. Sit on my lap, Russ. Sing me a song, Russ. Fuck!” In the back alley of a lonely street, a single figure took a long drag on his cigarette, his elbow resting on the hand of the arm that was positioned across his chest. He swore to himself as he stared vehemently at the back entrance of The Golden Cock and exhaled. “Go fetch everyone a latte from across the street even though you had to perform three times tonight, Russ.” He snorted. Was that really all he had become, just a gopher, waiting on the others as they pleased? Nevermind that he had been the right hand of Lord Elrond and the maker of some of the most important decisions of ages past, he had been working here for years before most of the young, preening peacocks they’d recently hired were legal.
Rounding the corner, he came onto the busy street again to check the crossing and decided once again despite the crap he dealt with nightly, he loved Brady Street. Amazing classic cars and customized beauties drove past, and the street was not so wide that traffic was a problem. Brilliant colors lit up the district, giving the buildings an inviting glow. The people were friendly, much friendlier than they had been in Rivendell.
Reaching to his back pocket with one hand to retrieve his wallet as he took hold of the handle of the door with his other, he paused as he came face to face with the sign on the door.
~No Shoes ~ No Shirt ~ No Service ~
“Well, fuck a duck,” he swore, dropping his hand from the door. Sighing as he realized despite his leather boots and pants, the vest he was wearing hardly qualified as a shirt. Already there were a few strange looks at him from patrons inside who had noticed the loiterer by the door, and he turned around with clenched teeth, determined to go back and tell his coworkers to go get their own goddamned fucking coffee.
}-~-~-:-~-~-{
What he didn’t notice was that one of the patrons had seen him before.
Or so he thought.
“Erestor?” Glorfindel blinked as the figure turned and began to walk down the street. Grabbing his coat from the back of the chair, he left his half-eaten pastry and his tea and hurried to the door. Flinging it open, the bell attached to the top jingled wildly.
Instinctively, Erestor looked over his shoulder. After doing a double take, he blinked and tilted his head. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. And blinked again. And took a look around to make sure no one else was within earshot before he said, “Glorfindel?”
“It is you! But you-“ Glorfindel stepped up to Erestor and clasped his arm. “-you look well,” he said abruptly. “You, uhm...” Taking another look, he found himself at a slight loss. He had expected to find the calm, conservative elf looking a bit more like he had in Rivendell. Instead, standing before him was most definitely Elrond’s old advisor, but robes were replaced with skin-tight clothing - still the customary black, Glorfindel noted. No braids were woven into the dark hair, indeed Glorfindel momentarily wondered if the shoulder-length locks were long enough to be plaited. But still, despite these and other minor differences, there was no mistaking the deep, thoughtful eyes that looked back at him. “You look very well,” he said, releasing his grip on Erestor’s arm.
“As do you. But... how are you here?” whispered Erestor. “You sailed, I watched you sail with my own eyes. Yet, here you are before me.”
“Questions I can answer, but not here,” Glorfindel answered, remembering that they were in public.
Erestor nodded. “Come with me. I have to close up tonight where I work, and it’s nearly closing time. We can talk there once everyone else goes home.”
}-~-~-:-~-~-{
“They want me to come to Valinor.”
“Yes.”
“To teach you about this modern society, so that you can all come back.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Glorfindel opened his mouth, and then shut it. “I’m not sure about that. The only thing Orome and Nessa were clear about was me getting you back to the West.”
“So, do we go now or in the morning? And how long do you need me? A few days? A week? I’d really like to get back by Sunday if at all possible,” he admitted.
“Well...” Glorfindel fiddled with his drink. They were alone in the bar, a club Erestor had called it. From what had been explained, women paid to come in and watch men dance and undress themselves. Something just didn’t seem right about it. “Actually, I’m to stay and learn a little about the culture and then we will both go to Valinor to teach everyone else. We will likely be gone for a few decades at least.”
“Oh.”
“But we’ll still be here for a few months I think before we leave.”
“I see.” Erestor’s finger ran up and down the side of his glass. “What if I decide not to come with you?”
“I... again, they weren’t very clear about everything,” admitted Glorfindel. There was a lengthy pause before he spoke again. “So you... you...” Glorfindel couldn’t bring himself to look into Erestor’s eyes and say the words, so he turned away and said, “sell yourself to them, do you?”
Erestor chuckled softly. “No, I don’t sell myself. I just... dance is all,” he said. “It makes me feel free, uninhibited. My life was so structured, continued to be that way. One day, when I was an account executive, I was invited to a club after work. I was in awe of the grace and beauty of them. And everyone watching them.” His voice took on a different tone, a wistful one. “Do you know how long I stood behind, off in the corner? Just another elf behind the ruler of a realm, scribbling notes and advising lords and kings? I didn’t have a claim to fame like you did. I didn’t come from an affluent family like Elrond. I had to work hard for the recognition I got, and always I had to work to keep it.”
“I’m sorry,” apologized Glorfindel.
“Don’t be,” replied Erestor. “You don’t understand this world. Or mine,” he added. “I spent thousands of years to gain little acknowledgement in Imladris, but here, up on that stage...” Erestor looked across the room from where they sat alone at one of the tables and sighed. “Up there, everyone watches me. Up there, I’m the star. For once, it’s all about me.”
Glorfindel nodded. “I guess if you’re just up there dancing, you’re not really doing anything wrong,” he said, trying to sound approving.
“Well...” Erestor smiled shyly, a contrast somewhat to the rest of him – the tight leather pants he wore seemed to make him look much bolder than he ever did, even in battles long ago. Rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand as his right fidgeted with his glass of orange soda, he said, “When I first got into this business, I may have done a few things more. But now I’m strictly on the stage.” Glorfindel quirked a brow, to which Erestor replied, “I used to give lap dances.”
“Lap dances?” questioned Glorfindel. “What’s that? Some sort of dance while you’re sitting?”
“Close,” answered Erestor, biting his lip. “It’s actually when another person is sitting, it’s a more private sort of dance. In... their lap,” he finally said when Glorfindel still appeared confused.
“Oh.” Glorfindel sipped his wine. “Oh.” Glorfindel finished the rest of his wine. “I see.” There was a long pause before he said, “That... that sounds an awful lot like... well, not like dancing.”
“It’s nothing like that,” objected Erestor, pushing his glass toward the center of the table as he stood up. “Here, back up a little.”
“Why?” asked Glorfindel warily.
“Just do it,” insisted Erestor. “It’s so much easier to show you than to explain it.”
Glorfindel lifted his glass, and finding it empty, admitted his defeat and slid his chair back after putting the glass back onto the table.
“It only lasts a minute or two,” said Erestor, settling into Glorfindel’s lap. Not knowing where to put his hands, Glorfindel held onto the seat of the chair, one hand on either side, and tried to listen to the words Erestor said, but the warmth that was spreading through him made for quite a distraction. “Sometimes I sit like this, but most often, like this,” Erestor continued, turning around and lifting one leg over so that he was straddling Glorfindel. “Usually there is music, so I’ll just have to pretend.” Erestor closed his eyes, and after a few moments began to sway a little and gyrate to some unheard tune. Glorfindel had not the heart to break it to Erestor that this was almost EXACTLY like THAT.
“And I move a bit like this... use my hands, here, maybe here, and here...” Erestor touched the golden elf in a very friendly sort of manner, his shoulders, neck, chest, and so on, all while continuing to dance to the silence that filled the spacious room. “Depends on what they want,” he said, and suddenly stopped. Looking abruptly down into Glorfindel’s lap, Erestor scrambled away. “What’s that all about?” he demanded.
Glorfindel fumbled to cover his obvious erection, finally opting to scoot back under the table as well as he could. “You mean to tell me you’ve been doing this for how long, and not once had that happen?”
“No!” Erestor cautiously sat down in his own seat. “This is a ladies only establishment. I’ve never danced on the lap of another male until just now.”
“How do you keep yourself from being aroused, then?” questioned Glorfindel.
“Oh, well...” Erestor shrugged. “Never really been interested in them,” he admitted. “That’s what made this so easy. I wasn’t running the risk of falling in love or being sexually stimulated by any of them.”
“Really?” asked Glorfindel, though the question was more rhetoric. Perhaps the journey back to Valinor wouldn’t be so boring after all.
“So... where are you staying?” asked Erestor, reaching into the pocket of his vest. He pulled out a long pack of cigarettes and held out the open end toward Glorfindel, who shook his head with a crinkled nose. Erestor lit a cigarette for himself and looked across the table at the other elf.
Glorfindel shook his head. “I’ve not thought that far. This is only my second day here. I was given coins and paper money by the Valar, but my main goal was to find you first.”
“You need to sleep somewhere,” mused Erestor, stretching his arms and rolling his head back to get the kinks out of his neck. “I have a place not too far from here. I think it best, being just your second night here, that you come home with me for now.”
}-~-~-:-~-~-{
“This is a lovely place you have,” complimented Glorfindel as he strolled across the wide open space. One corner looked much like a kitchen, another like a dining room of sorts. There was a large space with a couch on one side and a noisy moving picture box on the other, but this one sat on the floor and was larger than the one he had seen in the bar. There were smaller black boxes on top of it, and he could only venture that these were other different fabulous inventions that had come about in modern Middle-earth.
Erestor looked over his shoulder and grinned. “Thanks. You wouldn’t believe who you have to fuck around here to get a place like this.” When Glorfindel gave him a puzzled look, his smile fell from his face. “Sorry, I didn’t mean literally. I don’t whore around, it’s just a figure of speech.”
Glorfindel’s frown deepened. “That’s two words now I don’t understand.”
“Which ones? Oh!” Erestor, unexpectedly, blushed as he headed into a small doorway and suddenly light streamed out of it. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be teaching you things like that. The Valar will strike me down if I’m not careful!”
“I already told you, they aren’t going to do that. You’re a bridge for us, to tell us what to expect upon our return,” Glorfindel began to explain again. Erestor reemerged, stripped of the outfit he had been wearing at the club and now dressed in loose fitting pants that he was tying off the cord of. “Which means I should learn as much from you as I can, and things like ‘fuck’ and ‘whore’ are probably as good a place as any to start.”
Erestor stared at Glorfindel for a moment and then burst out laughing. This puzzled Glorfindel even more, and Erestor closed the gap between them and patted the golden haired elf’s cheek. “You’re just as cute as I remember,” he responded, and then walked past to something that was on the wall. He picked up a something that was affixed there, pressed a button, and held it to his ear. “Hello? Yeah, this is Russ, how’s it going, Tim? Yeah, no, I need this delivered. The usual, yeah, and an extra order of garlic bread. Canoli? Oh, all right, sold. No, I need two of them. Yeah, I’ve got company.” There was some chuckling, and then, “No. No. Perhaps… Okay, half hour? See ya then.” He put the object back in place and then said, “Telephone. You use it to communicate with people who are further away. Very, very handy.”
“You can’t just use your mind?”
“Race of men,” Erestor reminded him. “Mingled with halfling and dwarven blood, and a few rare ones with a little of the Eldar, but, sadly, no, I have to use the telephone. Well, not entirely true,” he mused. “See, they have people around, they say they’re ‘gifted’ or ‘telepathic’ or something- means they have a little elvish blood. Descendants of Elrond through Arwen or the twins. How is he these days, by the way?”
“Still grieves for his children,” Glorfindel said sadly. “Celebrian is good to him, and he is good to her. The West keeps them strong, but there are times when I think he regrets his choice.”
“He shouldn’t,” Erestor responded, opening up a little door on a very large box that was almost as tall as he was. He pulled out two bottles of amber liquid and closed the door. “I’ll have to remember to tell him how happy his children were, how much joy they had and how much joy they brought their spouses. And of his grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I kept track of them, all of them, as long as I could. He had some terrific ones, that’s for sure. Kings, queens, doctors... there was one accountant, I’m not sure how that came about.” Erestor used a small metal object and removed the lids of each of the bottles before handing one to Glorfindel.
Glorfindel stared at the bottle, which proudly proclaimed ‘It’s Miller Time!’ on the side. “I don’t think I can get used to this place,” he said. “This is all so overwhelming.”
Tilting his head to the side, Erestor smiled warmly and looped his arm through Glorfindel’s. “Come on, let’s watch TV until the pizza gets here. We’ll get you some food, and then hit the sack and-“ Erestor stopped as they reached the couch and an expression of one who had forgotten about something and suddenly remembered it came over his face.
“What?” asked Glorfindel with worry in his voice.
“Nothing,” said Erestor, pulling him down onto the couch. “Oh, look, Wheel of Fortune reruns, I love this game!” he announced after hitting something on the small pad that he had picked up. A smiling lady touched magic boxes that lit up, and letters appeared on them.
“It plays games, too?” asked Glorfindel with surprise.
}-~-~-:-~-~-{
“I like pizza,” decided Glorfindel once the meal had been eaten and the pair was sitting on the couch once more. Erestor smiled and pushed the small control over and over again, then sighed and made the picture on the box disappear.
“Nine hundred channels, not a thing to watch,” he declared.
Nodding in agreement, Glorfindel waited to see if Erestor would continue, and when he didn’t, asked, “Why did you do it?”
“Do what?”
Glorfindel turned a little to face Erestor. “Well, a lot of things. Why did you stay here, why did you start dancing, why did you cut your hair, why did you... get... those...” he said, motioning to the piercings in Erestor’s ears and navel. “Why didn’t you cross the sea, why, why, why, I just have too many, I don’t quite know where to begin.”
“I already told you. It makes me feel free.” Erestor strummed his fingers on the cushion, and then snapped them suddenly. “I know! If I dance for you, maybe you’ll understand.”
“Oh... um... alright...” Glorfindel stood as Erestor did, and followed him across the room to a pair of doors that slid to either side. Reaching around the corner, Erestor did something to flood the room with light, and something else to slowly dim it to a soft glow.
“This is my bedroom, but I practice here, too.” Erestor took a few steps in before taking hold of the pole that extended from ceiling to floor and pulling himself around it so that he came around to face Glorfindel again. “It’s a water pipe, but it works perfectly. It’s part of why I took this place – was such a great deal, and the pipe wasn’t the hindrance they probably think it is.”
“Wh-wh-wh-wh-what do you d-d-do with it?” Glorfindel asked, mouth open slightly as he stared at the pole that Erestor was clutching. The dark haired elf laughed and wrapped himself around it, bending his head backwards to look at Glorfindel.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he grinned, blowing Glorfindel a kiss. Surprised at this bold move, he swallowed and nodded. “Go sit on the bed, I’ll be right back.”
Erestor left back through the door, leaving a stunned Glorfindel to sink onto the mattress and look around. Along one wall appeared to be a large walk-in closet. There were windows, but they were across the room. There was the bed, which he sat on, and the pole, which he kept staring at, and that was pretty much all besides a small table with a small grey box and red numbers that displayed the time. There was a wide space between the bed and the window, a little more than the width of the bed again. Probably for dancing, he assumed as Erestor reentered.
“I have the perfect song... I used this one last year, but I went back to older music again. Audience seems to like it better, but this one had some great possibilities.” Erestor spoke as he took a flat, round object and approached the table. Hitting something on the side, the top flipped open, causing Glorfindel to give a bit of a hop as the disc was placed into the opening and the top closed again. Erestor smirked as he walked briskly past, stopping at the pole.
A slow, heavy drumming rose up from under other fairly odd sounding instruments and what sounded like a single pair of hands clapping with the beat. A female voice spoke as Erestor stood still at the pole with his hands wrapped around it, standing with his legs spread. Glorfindel’s eyes wandered admiringly down Erestor’s back.
~I know I may be young, but I’ve got feelings too.~
~And I need to do what I feel like doing.~
~So let me go and just listen.~
The first thing Erestor did was swing around to the other side of the pole, so that he was facing Glorfindel. His eyes were focused directly on Glorfindel’s, and he began to dance.
~All you people look at me like I’m a little girl.~
Sway.
~Well did you ever think it be okay for me to step into this world.~
Arch his back.
~Always saying little girl don’t step into the club.~
Bend his knees.
~Well I’m just tryin’ to find out why cause dancing’s what I love.~
Pout.
~I know I may come off quiet, I may come off shy.~
Dip his hips.
~But I feel like talking, feel like dancing when I see this guy.~
Thrust his pelvis.
~What’s practical is logical. What the hell, who cares?~
Licked his lips.
~All I know is I’m so happy when you’re dancing there.~
Is it getting hot in here?
~I’m a slave for you. I cannot hold it; I cannot control it.~
~I’m a slave for you. I won’t deny it; I’m not trying to hide it.~
Glorfindel’s eyes were riveted on the figure before him, the perfectly sculpted muscles, the intense gaze, the sultry looks he was being given, the heat he felt just from watching, everything factored into why he felt his erection straining, why he felt like getting up and pushing Erestor to the ground. Pinning him down. Crushing his mouth against those tempting lips. Fisting his hand in that gorgeous, dark hair, his other hand removing Erestor’s pants.
Perhaps Erestor had heard his thought. Perhaps not. But in the most sexually suggestive manner possible, Erestor continued to dance with the aid of the pole as he slid the pants off and tossed them aside.
Then Erestor looked at him again.
~Baby~
Stared.
~Don’t you wanna~
At him.
~Dance upon me~
Again.
~To another time and place.~
And then...
~Baby~
Crooked his finger...
~Don’t you wanna~
And Glorfindel rose up.
~Dance upon me~
In more ways than one.
~Leaving behind my name, my age.~
Perhaps someone should open a window?
Erestor was no longer using the pole. Not the stationary pole coming up from the floor, at least. He had approached Glorfindel, predatorily seeking him out, and was using a very still blonde elf- again, there is a truly naughty double meaning here- as his means of ‘keeping balance’.
~Like that~
Preserving his stability.
~You like it~
Maintaining his equilibrium.
~Now watch me~
Dancing in a very erotic and overly suggestive manner.
Erestor firmly placed his hand on the other elf’s chest and pushed. Glorfindel’s legs were still backed up to the edge of the bed, and this caused him to sit down immediately. He grasped the blanket on either side of him as Erestor leaned down and playfully kissed his lips, leaving Glorfindel’s mouth open his hands squeezing the covers tightly as Erestor sashayed back to his pole and took hold of it once again.
~I really wanna dance, tonight with you.~
Leaving Glorfindel-
~I just can’t help myself~
-to wonder-
~I really wanna do what you want me to.~
-exactly how-
~I just feel I let myself go~
-he never noticed how firm Erestor’s backside was before.
‘Damned council robes,’ he thought to himself.
~I really wanna dance, tonight with you.~
And while on the topic-
~Wanna see you move~
-of Erestor-
~I really wanna do what you want me to.~
-had the mission of taking him to Valinor-
~Uh Uh Uh~
-changed to just...
...taking him.
As he watched, Glorfindel began to see a repetitive manner in the way that Erestor was dancing. As long as things remained pretty much the same, he guessed he would be able to regain control again.
But it didn’t.
~I’m a~
‘Did he just?!’
~slave for you.~
‘He did...!’
~I cannot hold it~
‘It certainly LOOKS like you can!’
~I cannot control it.~
‘Sure...’
~I’m a~
‘What?’
~slave~
‘Yes?’
~ for you.~
‘Oh, Eru...’
~I won’t deny it~
‘No?’
~I’m not trying to hide it.~
‘Obviously.’
Every utterance of the word ‘slave caused Erestor to slide down the pole, and then dance his way back up. Glorfindel swallowed hard upon realizing that some of the panting was his own and not part of the music being played. Taking slow, deep breaths, his eyes would not budge from the movements Erestor made. He thought he would nearly burst as Erestor began to grind against the pole again with his head thrown back.
~I’m a~
*Gulp*
~slave~
Slide.
~for you.~
*Shiver*
~I cannot hold it~
Drop.
~I cannot control it.~
‘Drop?’
~I’m a~
Stare.
~slave~
Crawl.
~for you.~
*Shudder*
~I won’t deny it.~
Forward.
~I’m not trying to hide it.~
Reaching Glorfindel, Erestor raised his hands from the ground, slowly sliding them up Glorfindel’s legs. He settled them on his knees, still on his own knees, and threw back his head.
~Like that~
Glorfindel nearly had to pick his jaw up from the ground at the end of the performance. On the floor just a few feet away, Erestor was still on his knees with his head thrown back, skin glistening in the candlelight. Ever so slowly, Erestor tilted his head forward once again to look at Glorfindel, eyes dark, so dark and yet so bright. He still panted slightly, and Glorfindel didn’t know whether to stare or look away. Pleased that the blonde continued to keep his eyes upon him, Erestor licked his lips and narrowed his eyes seductively. “Do you want me?”
Story Notes:
Lyrics in part one are to the song ‘Slave’ as sung by Britney Spears. Never thought I’d live to see the say I’d use a Britney Spears song in a fic about elves. There are also two pictures that go with this that Mei did.
Lyrics in part two are to the song ‘Material Girl’ as sung by Madonna.
Lyrics in part three are to the song ‘Goody Two-Shoes’ as sung by Adam Ant and the song 'Wild Wild West' as sung by The Escape Club. Thank you everyone for reading!
Lyrics in part two are to the song ‘Material Girl’ as sung by Madonna.
Lyrics in part three are to the song ‘Goody Two-Shoes’ as sung by Adam Ant and the song 'Wild Wild West' as sung by The Escape Club. Thank you everyone for reading!