Glorfindel stretched his arms up over his head and yawned. “I suppose I should take my leave,” he said, tilting the wine bottle back and forth to find they had emptied it.
“We still have the issue of breakfast,” Erestor reminded him. “If you leave now, someone is bound to see you in the halls and that would ruin our little plan. Now, you could crawl out through the window, scale up the side of the building, wedge your window open, climb in, wake early, toss a rope up here for me to catch, climb back up-“
“I’ll just stay here on the couch,” suggested Glorfindel.
A smirk played upon Erestor’s lips. “Alright,” he said finally, and stood up and took hold of his walking stick. Leaving Glorfindel at the table, Erestor made his way to the bed where he leaned his walking stick against the wall. “There should be a quilt in the chest at the end of the bed if you like.”
Carrying the only candle Glorfindel had found with him, he investigated as Erestor felt the blankets on the bed, shoving them back. From the corner of his eye, he caught the dark robe slip from Erestor’s shoulders. Lingering on the sight of the pale elf as he reached behind his ears and untied the mask, stretching his muscles beautifully in the soft glow of the candlelight.
“Ai!” Glorfindel nearly dropped the candle as wax spilled down the back of his hand. Hastily switching to the other hand, he blew on the other.
“Something the matter?”
Erestor was in bed now, and Glorfindel silently cursed to himself for having looked away. “No, I’m quite fine. Just a little burn, worry not. Ah, here is the quilt.” Closing the chest, Glorfindel minded the candle as he set out for the couch. Blowing it out and setting it on the table, Glorfindel undressed, tossing his clothing on the floor, and leaving only his long undershirt on before flopping down on the couch and spreading the quilt over himself.
“Comfy?”
“Are you being sarcastic?”
Erestor chuckled. “Just a little,” he admitted. “Well. Good night.”
“Good night.”
As Glorfindel began to drift off to sleep, he was pounced, very aptly, by Pounce. She padded back and forth across his back as if looking for the best place to sit. Tiptoeing down his leg, she found his uncovered feet and began to lick his big toe.
Lap
Lap
Lap
BITE
“Yie!” Yanking his feet closer and knocking Pounce from her perch, Glorfindel reached under the quilt to poke at his injury while Erestor laughed, muffled, probably into his pillow. “Oh, funny, is it?”
“You’re the one who decided to sleep on her couch.”
“Her couch, is it?” Pounce jumped back up onto Glorfindel, digging her claws in with each step and causing him to wince. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow... no, you can’t... no, bad kitty, bad- eghhh.” Glorfindel wriggled his nose as Pounce stretched out over his chest, rolling onto her back and batting at his face. “Does this go on all night?”
Erestor made a kissy noise, and Pounce sat up, alert. “Pounceable, come here, naughty thing.” The calico launched herself off of Glorfindel, earning another wince, and moments later was being praised by Erestor for being a ‘good girl’.
“And parents wonder these days why their children are so spoiled,” grumbled Glorfindel as he tucked himself under the quilt and fell asleep.
- - -
“Don’t even think it.”
The guard abruptly slid back the foot that he had planned to trip Erestor with. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He said, making a face at Erestor. The other guards around him chuckled.
Leaning on his walking stick, Erestor asked, “Do I need to go and speak with Glorfindel about this?”
“Do you?” the guard flippantly questioned. “I don’t believe any of this talk that the two of you are ‘together’. I think it’s just a big game.” For the past three weeks, the guards had been very careful around Erestor, and avoided Glorfindel whenever they could. The morning after his dinner with Erestor, Glorfindel had summoned the house guards and spent the better part of the morning ‘ripping them a new one’ as he later described it to Erestor. As time wore on, however, the pair did little to enforce the rumors, sometimes seemingly avoiding one another.
“Do you?” Erestor stood up straight and shrugged. “Think what you must, but it doesn’t excuse your behavior.”
“My behavior? At least I have a lover and don’t have to pretend I have one.” The guards began to laugh at Erestor. He turned around, afraid the unseen tears that welled up in his eyes would seep through his mask. The laughter mounted, and he took a shaky step forward.
“Darling. Erestor. Stay.” Glorfindel’s voice grew commanding. “Attention!”
The group suddenly stood still, booth arms at their sides, feet together, eyes forward.
“You are all disgusting. I have, against my better judgment, heeded the advice of the house guard commander to keep you all here. This is it. I’m through. All of you are reassigned to the border guard for the next year. Five years,” he amended when one of them snorted. “You want to make it ten?” he challenged them.
“No, sir!”
“Then get your asses out of my sight.”
The guards effectively scattered, heading either to the house or to the barracks to brood. “Well. That takes care of that,” Glorfindel sighed. “I suppose I might have done that earlier and saved us both a lot of trouble,” he said as he approached Erestor.
“I suppose,” agreed Erestor.
Glorfindel squeezed his shoulder. “Well, it’s been a nice time. Perhaps we can get together again some time. Have dinner, laugh about all of this.”
“What?”
Stepping a little closer, Glorfindel whispered, “Since I just sent them all away. No need to keep up this act.”
“Oh.” Erestor swallowed hard. “Oh. I guess not.” Bowing his head, he bit his lip as it quivered. “I’ll... I’ll miss our dinners together,” he said and turned his back to Glorfindel.
“Erestor.” Glorfindel placed his hands upon Erestor’s shoulders. “Erestor, do you want to... do you think we should continue with this? For a little longer, perhaps?”
“Well... well, I fear that if we stop, they will be harsher on me. They will be back every few weeks on leave; I’ll not be left alone. I can only imagine the torment they will put me through. I have enjoyed these few weeks of freedom. I never used to leave my rooms so often. I never- I never had someone to talk to.” Turning around quickly so that he was practically in Glorfindel’s arms, Erestor pleaded with as much dignity as he could, “Glorfindel, just a little longer. Until I’ve the time to speak with Lord Elrond, and Prince Legolas is coming in a month. Just a month. What is a month? And you like the couch; you’ve admitted to that,” he added.
“Alright, I’ll do it-“
“Thank you-“
“-for a price.”
Erestor nodded. “For what?”
Glorfindel tilted his head to the side slightly and closed his eyes. Erestor had no warning as lips pressed against his. A few moments later, Glorfindel moved away. “A month,” he said, and pecked Erestor on the cheek before heading to the house, with a skip in his step that Erestor did not see when the walking stick dropped from his grasp as he reached up to touch his cheek and lips in surprise.
