"Father!" Erestor ran down the steps with the greatest of joy and wrapped himself in the embrace of the tall figure before him. Orome closed his eyes and smiled, holding his son until it was Erestor who deemed it time to stop. "It has been so long," he said, pressing his forehead against Orome's with a sigh. "I do wish you would visit more often." Erestor reached a hand out to his sister, who grinned and embraced him.
"I have been away," apologized Orome, and Erestor asked no more. It was to Middle-earth that his father and Nieliqui had traveled, that he knew. He had been granted that same privilege if he chose - free travel between elvenhome and the realms of Man, but he had declined once and forever, not wishing to leave Glorfindel for any duration of time.
It was the thought of the golden-haired Elda that reminded Erestor of a question that had been plaguing him for some time. Since reentering Valinor, he had not thought of it until the night he had been asked by Glorfindel.
"Father, I have a question. Actually, it is Glorfindel who has the question, but I am curious about the answer now as well," said Erestor as they strolled to the house, arm in arm.
"I suspect this is a very intriguing question, if you did not know and could not find the answer," remarked Orome. The pair sat down on the bench on the porch as a cool breeze rustled through the trees.
Instead of taking a place next to them, Nieliqui entered the house to find her brother-in-law, and stumbled upon him almost immediately in the parlor, lounging on the floor, nestled in a pile of cushions and furs and reading a book. "I don't suppose you remember me," she joked.
"Nieliqui! I mean, who are you again?" Glorfindel untangled himself and tossed the book into his nest. "I feel it has been ages! Tell me, what news from abroad?"
The vala stuck out her tongue - something Glorfindel had taught her to do - and they laughed in spite of it. "Father loves to walk among them, but I tire easily of them now. I much prefer the company of Elves. Especially those who are fair, whom are related to me, and make delicious lemonade."
"Is that so?" laughed Glorfindel, walking to the kitchen. "You are most fortunate that we have lemons in the house today, dear sister, or you would have to be resigned to having apple juice." Glorfindel looked up to get her response, but noticed with a smile that she had already left the house again.
"You have been practicing your role since were a child, though you were most active when you were in Middle-earth," explained Orome as the door opened.
Glorfindel stepped onto the porch carrying a tray with four glasses of sweet lemony juice. It was a silly thing, something he had learned on his own, but the Valar, all of them, were incredibly fond of things that were sweet, and so he was careful to mind which of the glasses was his and which were the overly sweetened ones as he offered the drinks to the others on the porch before sitting down in a chair next to Nieliqui across the porch from Orome and Erestor.
Erestor screwed up his face and said, "That's a little… vague. Considering I spent nearly eight thousand years there."
"Think of all of the letters you have written. All of the poems you penned."
Across the porch, Glorfindel whispered something to Nieliqui. Smiling, she cupped her free hand around her mouth and whispered something back, to which both of them laughed. Erestor shot Glorfindel a contemptuous look, and the blonde suddenly found his glass of lemonade to be very interesting.
"So… I'm the Vala of writing? Communication? Correspondence?" Each guess Erestor made only caused Orome to smile more. "Vala of the incredibly boring lifestyle?" he tried dryly.
"You brought Celeborn to Middle-earth. You brought Elodien to Valinor."
"Vala of public relations?" At this guess, Nieliqui burst out laughing. Erestor huffed as he lifted his glass and finished the rest of his drink. "Can you not just tell me?"
"It is more fun to have you guess," replied Orome. "You will figure it out in time. You are intelligent, and it will come to you." Orome set the empty glass down on the windowsill behind him and took Erestor's hand in his. "I will visit you again in a few days. We have only just returned, and I wish to accompany Nieliqui home."
"Of course," replied Erestor, standing as his father did. "You have given me much to think about."
"No doubt you are thinking about it already," answered Orome. He turned and held out a hand to his daughter, who hopped up and skipped her way over to him. Giving a nod to Glorfindel, the blonde elf raised his glass in the air as a salute of sorts, and received an approving laugh from Orome before he and his daughter took their leave of the cottage by the sea.
- - -
Erestor sat on the cliff overlooking the sea. From his height, he could see Elrond's house on the beach, though those in the house could not see him. He could see a pair walking along the sandy beach, and though he could not see their expressions, he knew they were happy, hand in hand, and that made him happy. He watched as Celeborn bent and picked up a stone and skipped it across the calm water before resuming his walk with Artanis once more.
Letting out a sigh, Erestor tried to piece it together. Celeborn, Elodien, letters, poems, and Middle-earth. Warm, gentle hands on his shoulders made him close his eyes and mumble an incoherent greeting to Glorfindel as the elf sat down behind him. Erestor closed his eyes and let his head drop forward as Glorfindel massaged his worries away.
"You'll get it in time, love," said Glorfindel as he bent around to kiss Erestor's cheek. "You always do. Not as if you have a time limit, either. You love puzzles like this."
"I love puzzles I can solve and riddles I can read," said Erestor angrily, but in the state of relaxation he was in, it came out as more of a pout.
Working his hands down Erestor's back, Glorfindel leaned close to his lover's ear, happy that Erestor had braided his dark mane in one long rope that kept from getting in his way at the moment. "Can you guess what I would love to do right now? If I had no modesty at all, I'd strip you down right here and make love to you while the sounds of the ocean mimicked the rise and fall of our own breathing. The setting sun would paint our skin with a fiery glow and as all the land fell into slumber, I would awaken your body and your very soul."
"You have no modesty," purred Erestor, turning in Glorfindel's arms, "so I don't know why you waste your time talking about it."
- - -
"Do you recall the night we loved, and then as we lay in each other's arms, I asked you all of the questions I had?"
Erestor made some sort of muffled noise of acknowledgement. He had closed his eyes and was concentrating on the scent of his lover, losing himself in the glorious earthy smell, and not paying a great deal of attention to what was being said.
"The last question I asked was one you did not know the answer to, and you asked your father, and yet, still you do not have the answer?" Glorfindel waited for a response, but he did not receive one, save for the soft sounds Erestor made as he kissed his way along Glorfindel's arm. "I think I have a theory, an idea of what it is you are." Erestor sat up straight, causing Glorfindel to lose his balance and roll onto his back. Quickly he propped himself up using his palms. "You have to promise not to laugh." He bit his lip and added, "Or get upset."
"Tell me," demanded Erestor.
"I gave it some thought," explained the golden elf, "and considered, well, what was already taken. Also, I gave thought to what Orome said--"
"Get on with it!"
"I think you're the Vala of Love," Glorfindel quickly said, then shrugged and added, "Maybe?" When Erestor did not respond, Glorfindel tenderly pulled him back to the ground and reflected on his dark lover's past in regards to his idea. "The elflings, too, you always love them. And you talk to creatures, big and small, and you love them like they were your own kin. Not to mention, even after you were attacked by men, you still took pity on them, and told me you forgave them. If you aren't the Vala of Love, well, then I just don't know what you are," he admitted.
It took a long time for Erestor to say anything, long into the night before he spoke his thoughts. "If only I had known sooner," he said. "Perhaps… perhaps things never would have happened as they had."
"What things?" questioned Glorfindel.
"The Noldor. The wars. The fighting, the suffering, the killing."
"What were you going to do?" questioned Glorfindel. "Establish an official day of hugging?"
"It would have been a good start," Erestor said. He and Glorfindel looked at one another, and burst out laughing.
"I don't think you can be faulted for what you did or what you didn't do," Glorfindel finally said.
Snuggling close to his lover once more, Erestor asked, "How do you come to that conclusion?"
"You did what you did because you wanted to, not because you felt you had to." Glorfindel held Erestor tight and said, "When we discovered we were bound, I already knew I loved you, but I never wanted you to feel you had to love me back. I wanted you to love me because you wanted to love me."
"And I do, Fin," answered Erestor, leaning up to kiss his lover. "Truly, I do."
Love, Maybe by Zhie
Story Notes:
Originally entitled 'Puzzles II'