Faramir Fiction Archive

Vengeance or, an attempt on it gone awry (R)

Written by Suryallee

09 January 2012 | 15449 words | Work in Progress

Disclaimer:
Tolkien and all of his works do not belong to me in any form or way, I never planned in the past to make money from this nor do I plan or want to do so in the future! This is just plain Fan-work, nothing more.
Type; continuation
Rating; Mature, R
Summary; One’s loss is another one’s gain. Faramir gets lucky while having a misfortune, Aragorn has to learn a lection, Glorfindel gains a new friend, Erestor gets a little helper and all that chaos happens only because of one bottle wine.
Pairings; Faramir / Glorfindel
Characters appearing in the story;, Aragorn, Erestor, Elladan, Elrohir, Estel, Faramir, Glorfindel and many more (Less in person but mentioned) Ecthelion of Gondolin, Turgon, Gandalf, Gimli, Boromir, Thranduil, Legolas, Elrond, Galadriel, Isildur, Elendil, Anarion, and many others.
Genre; AU
Warnings, This is slightly AU! My grammar and stile since I am Native German and this has not been beta read! I suppose that my bad Humor deserves an extra warning ^^;
Other; Please do not use my story without my permission given, thank you.
Notes: I took on a challenge again.
Challenge: 25 Prompts by December.

I took on two phrases, number 8. Vengeance and number 25. Running Barefoot. The inspired me to write this mess. I hope you enjoy it, I certainly had a lot fun writing this first part!
Your Suryallee

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Part one,

“Oh Valar…my head hurts!”

A rather dirty and strangely haggard looking Glorfindel, formerly of Gondolin and lately of Imladris let out another grunt of pain whilst cradling his all too much hurting head within both hands carefully. Why did his head pound so much? …Oh…oh! The sudden recollection of a grinning Aragorn who gave him a bottle of Thranduil’s finest Dorwinion did fast the trick to make the Elf Lord remember the Why, he was possibly in such pains right now. What it did not explain at all was why he had a half-naked Faramir of Gondor bound in ropes resting next to him. As alluring as the sight of the beautiful young man normally would have been to the Eldar. Right now, it did just confuse Glorfindel endlessly even more if that was possible.

It did also not explain it in any rational way, why he and said Prince of Ithilien looked like both had wadded through every mud and dirt-hole on their way to here. And how they both had ended up inside of a cave on the way between Gondor and Imladris that was well known to Glorfindel eluded the Elf Lord too.

Another low curse and more sounds of pain made it past the lush lips.

Suddenly the ugly feeling to have to throw up came over the now slightly greenish looking Immortal. What gave him an even more oddly complexion as before., Glorfindel got out of the cave in a record time even for his standards. To finally turn around a corner outside to then give into the sick demands of his poor stomach.

Sadly His bad luck for the day did not end there.

Meanwhile the golden haired Lord mused grimly about it what foul concoction Estel could have put into the fine Dorwinion wine to make him this drunk, he did not watch his stepping for a moment as usual. Of course, he had to step into another pool of mud; the universe just seemed to love ironies. He had learned that valuable lection already long time ago in Gondolin when Turgon had caught him and Ecthelion sleeping away their drunken state right inside the empty main fountain right in front of the palace doors…stark naked.

Elrond’s ancestor had not been a happy camper that day and a truly gruesome sight to the roughly woken couple of Gondolin’s resident pranksters. The universal rule certainly explained too why the mud had to smell like a warg had pissed on it sometime prior and why, of course, he did not seem to wear any shoes and was running around barefooted… out of a point that Glorfindel really, really did not even want to know!

How the hell he wondered shortly, did those Hobbit’s keep their hairy feet clean all the times anyways?

Cussing worse as any sailor in all languages that he currently could remember the normally composed and dignified…What everyone else besides of those who knew him better, thought him to be… Eldar hopped around clumsily on his other foot whilst shaking his muddy one madly like a dog would do to get rid of the awful smelling mud all the time. His fair face set into a grimace of equal horror, disgust and fury.

Right in front of the cave, he had left the still sleeping Faramir in.

Said man had been woken up from his own wine infused coma unpleasantly from a lots of loudly cussing. Coming from the outside and now Faramir looked somewhat bleary eyed at the bizarre sight that the Elf unknowingly gave him so freely. Deciding in his still somewhat messed up brain that it really was not worth it to be up this early and that it sometimes really was better not to ask, Faramir who still was drunk like a sailor, fell back down onto his bedding of moss and an odd smelling cloak to promptly fall back into sleep.

The sudden movement of Faramir falling back into the bedding stopped Glorfindel for a moment dead in his tracks to stare aghast at the mortal for being caught in this embarrassing situation. Before he continued his eccentric little dance, albeit now cussing a lot less loudly. No need to embarrass himself more as he had done so already. Hopefully the man would have forgotten it when he woke up the next time. This went on until he reached the small river that he knew did run in the near of the cave.

He was in a dire need for a bath!

There he slipped suddenly on the wet river sand on the bank to practically fall, face forward, into the icy cold water. For moments, only the bubbles reaching the surface gave any indication that something was in the water that did not belong there. Then the elf did burst through the surface. Well, Glorfindel thought, at least I am fully awake now! Slicking back his long tresses with one hand, Glorfindel glared up at the sky for a long moment in his silent fuming.

He did begin with the hard task to strip out of his wet clothing in order to get clean.

Only to remember suddenly that he had no change of dry clothes! Right when he had finally gotten rid of his leggings that now merrily joined his only tunic and other clothing in its rather fast adventure downstream. A new a set of curses, this time in Orcish rung loudly thought the surrounding Forrest while the Elf Lord in his birthday suit frantically hunted down his elusive clothing.

The sun was already setting when Glorfindel finally made it back to the cave. Wet as a rat, in a foul mood and with such a murderous expression on his fair features that he even scared the squirrels and birds away. If they had not already deserted the area before, that was.

At least, the Elf mused he had been lucid enough to have taken his hunting knife with him. He had tossed it on the riverbank before stripping and found it still laying there a long while later on his way back. He had cut and cleaned the fishes with it that had been accidentally caught in the sleeves of his undershirt. At least the human and he would not starve this night.

Said man was nowhere in sight when he reentered the cave. Then a sudden dull thud and a sudden pain on the back of his head made him loose his bearings. Oh, Glorfindel thought, there had Faramir gone to, then everything went black.

The mortal looked mortified down at his captive.

He had somehow deducted that someone had kidnapped him and somehow his still dulled mind had made him believe it that it must have been Orcs or Haradrim. He had gotten rid of his bindings and had positioned himself on the rim of the inside cave entrance with a few heavy rocks. To catch his attackers unawares and simply had thrown one onto the head of the first being that dared to enter.

What, unluckily for Glorfindel, had been him.

What in the name of Arda and the One, did Gimli’s folk mix in their three times cursed brews!? However, it did not explain why he and the Elf were here in the first place. Or why in the name of the Valar he had been bound, without shoes, dirty as an Orc and the Elf…being wet? He must have taken a bath Faramir concluded rightfully. But why had he left Faramir inside the cave?

Dimly the man remembered a strange vision from his former dreams. With Glorfindel hopping around on one leg…maybe he not dreamt that at all as he first had thought. Shaking it off, he jumped down. The man shortly checked on the tall Eldar before he heaved the surprisingly heavy Elf over to the bedding to dispose him onto the same and then to cover him with the cape. With a shrug, Faramir left him there. He would be fine from what Faramir did know about elves and instead he went back over to the entrance to take the several fish from the ground. If a Balrog had not managed it to keep that Elf for longer inside the Halls of Mandos in Glorfindels past then this should heal quite fast. Besides that, Glorfindel was an Elf; they were more resilient as Humans.

For a second time in a relatively short amount of time, Glorfindel woke up with a huge headache in the size of an Oliphant.

Although, he was definitely less drunk this time as he figured out quite fast. The crackling of a merry fire made him carefully move his head to the side to look at it for a moment. “Feeling better, I hope?” Faramir’s worried face came into his vision and Glorfindel could not help to note that the human looked absurdly cute when he bit his lower lip in worry like he did it currently. “Yes…I think. How big was that stone that you threw on my poor head?” He sat up with the carefully help of the man.

“Big enough it seems.” The man chuckled softly. “It knocked you out instantly, sorry for that. I thought you to be some evil being that had kidnapped me.” At that, both Elf and Human chuckled softly.

“Well, considering what my poor brain likes to remember of the night before, it would seem that I indeed somehow well…I kind of abducted you?” Faramir looked confused at the tall Eldar. “Huh? I mean pardon me?” The Elf ruefully laughed quietly again and rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner what made him look like a boy and amused and puzzled Faramir.

“Uhh, as much as I remember, I got under the impression to have to bring you back with me to Rivendell in order to save you from something nasty that I can’t remember right now…sorry!” Both looked at each other incredulously for a few seconds before both broke out in pearls of laughter.

It took a longer while for Glorfindel and Faramir to calm down again from their mirth.

“Alright! You and I, my friend, without doubt got too drunk for our own good last night that much I do understand. I was stupid enough to drink Gimli’s ale and what is your excuse?” The mumbles of killing Aragorn later and the word wine were all Faramir could make out. Faramir finally found his legs back and managed it to get into a sitting position with some difficulties after their next laughter attack. His stomach hurt from the laughing and he rubbed it awkwardly while he addressed the mighty seneschal of Lord Elrond thoughtful again.

“What I don’t understand is why you got so drunk in the first place. Since elves normally need a lot of beverage to even get slightly tipsy at all and what on Arda made you believe, that you had to kidnap me right out of the citadel of Gondor? Not to mention that I wonder how we both managed to get past the guards in the first place and I can’t remember walking here either.”

The Elf could just shrug his wide shoulders at Faramir’s questions with a pout; he had no clue either.

Rescuing one of the fishes from being burned to ash, he handed it over to Faramir to lay it aside before he did the same with the rest of them too. Then Glorfindel laid one fish onto one separate leaf out of the several large and leafs that the mortal must have gathered outside whilst he was out for this purpose . To cool down.

So he could eat the fish later. He turned back to Faramir.

“I only remember some aspects of the time before I got drunk. One of them was Estel; pardon Aragorn, giving me a bottle of Dorwinion wine with a grin. I bet my arse on it that the cunning brat did pour something nasty into the wine that must have made me this drunk to get back on me for getting him drunk the night before the fellowship set out!” Faramir laughed madly at the deft choice of words and the scowl of his elven companion’s face. “However, the rest eludes me as much as you I fear. I can only imagine that I got somewhat befuddled from the drugged wine and mixed up my memories in my head…” He trailed off and starred blindly into the fire next to Faramir and him.

A hand on his shoulder brought the elf out of his reflection again.

For a moment, Glorfindel could only stare into the worried grey eyes of Faramir before he got himself back under his iron control. Covering Faramir’s hand with his own, much bigger one, he tried to reassure his human friend with a hesitant smile. “Worry not for me, my friend. I am fine. Just some unpleasant memories of my past raised their ugly heads. T’his is nothing new to me, Faramir. It happens more often as I would like them to do so and they will do so for the rest of my life, I fear.”

Faramir just nodded at that and with a final squeeze, he let go on the Elf to settle back down next to Glorfindel to eat the now cooler fish. The Elf chose to do the same. One of the things that Glorfindel liked so much on Estel’s Steward was his silent way to deal with everything around him. No matter how strange the situation was that he was in, Faramir would always analyze it first and then react. It was a fine character detail for a warrior or for a Lord to have. Glorfindel knew this all too well. This had been one of the details that had attracted Glorfindel to the silent Faramir on Estel’s coronation. When Glorfindel first had laid eyes on the young Steward and both had become fast friends in the following weeks that the Eldar had stayed in Gondor.

That and the stunning loveliness of the human, if Glorfindel was honest with himself here.

Faramir was witty, good-natured and an honest soul. He was a strong warrior, a reliable advisor and friend for Estel and simply pleasant to have around. The human was stunningly wise for his age and a sensual and artistic soul… and Glorfindel refused adamant to admit it that he was babbling like a lovesick fool inside his mind right now!

In short, he was all the things Glorfindel preferred in a partner or had always searched for in a mate. Just why, in the name of the Valar, had he to be a Gondorian?! Not that, that had stopped Glorfindel in the past from taking a lover, oh no. Just this time he did not dare to go too far.

He could feel it, he would risk losing himself too deeply in the human if he gave in and that was not something he had ever experienced like this before in his very long life.

What said a lot.

Only one had ever come almost this close to him before and that had been Ecthelion. Although in a different way. When he had seen his lover die Glorfindel had felt his heart break apart. He never recovered fully from the loss and Faramir was getting much too close to him without even knowing it. Glorfindel shook his musings off. He could not solve his dilemma out now anyways. Furthermore, the customs of Gondor did not exactly work in his favors here too. He knew that.

They strictly forbade having relationships of the same gender there and those laws practically made all efforts spend in vain in the beforehand.

The penalty for such a thing was to become a pariah of Gondor and the lands that belonged to the Kingdom. The poor ones who were caught were stripped of their ranks and then flogged in public before they were thrown out in front of the gates of the mighty city of men. The rule had been established from one of the first King’s in the far past who had a phobia of this and it stood in order ever since. He would never wish that fate to the noble man, so he kept his mouth shut and his desires under control. Not that Glorfindel thought that this particular rule would stay in order for much longer. Estel had grown up in Imladris and with elves.

He would remove it as soon as he could, Glorfindel was sure of that.

And if it just was to make his dealings with the Elven realms easier in general, whose visitors had to hide it until then if they had spouses or lovers of the same gender.

Especially the twins had to hide the true nature of their relationship from the humans. Since the two had one soulmate together. What was not all too unexpected for the Elves, the two shared one soul after all and that was bound to the said elf. Glorfindel highly doubted it that Faramir or any other Gondorian would understand this as easily as the Elves did it.

“How is the fish? I found some salt in the stored things in the back of the cave.” Faramir gave his companion a questioning look. Clearly, the kind man wanted to distract him from his musings, Glorfindel rightfully thought. He smiled back at Faramir. “Good enough I suppose. They would have tasted better with spices for certes but one has to take what one can get when being foolish enough to run around drunk, I guess.”

Both looked at each other again before they both broke out in rueful chortles.

“So Aragorn wanted to have a little revenge on you?” The innocently asked question brought some more memories of the last night back to Glorfindel. Memories that made him blanch and drop his fish in shock. Alarmed Faramir turned to his friend. “What ails you?!”

But the Eldar did not really hear Faramir right now, too busy was he to recall fully what had happened last night.

The night before had begun innocently enough, with a feast like many other in the late in Gondor.

Aragorn had invited the Eldar and had given him the wine. After that, Glorfindel recalled to have rapidly become drunk and he had wandered around in Gondor for a while. Glorfindel remembered to have pestered several shop owners on his way down the city but all had just smiled the drunken elf and shooed him away from their shops with a smile on their lips. He knew he could behave really silly when drunk. Sometime later in the night he had spotted Faramir, equally tipsy as he was and he had happily gone to the man who had sat hidden away inside a small alcove of one of the gardens of the many taverns in the city.

From there it got a bit fuzzy but in the end, they had just talked as usual, he figured out with some difficulty. Until a group of drunken guards off duty had showed up. They had found both sitting in there and begun to make lewd comments about them. Glorfindel had become increasingly enraged at them and all had ended into an ugly street fight that he had easily won. In the end, there had been several broken noses and other bones and Glorfindel still thought that those men had deserved every single one of them.

At least he was a happy drunk. Those men had been not.

One of them had accidentally beaten Faramir over the head when he tried to stop the fight from breaking out, what had rendered him unconscious and made Glorfindel lose his temper fully. The fight had attracted some of the sober guards who promptly took the side of the drunken ones. The new guards had gone so far to believe their drunken ramblings and had bound Faramir and the elf to bring the two to the prison of Gondor.

They had been no match for the Elda who had faced down Sauron’s witch King of Angmar in the recent past and who had killed a Balrog of Morgoth in the first Age in Gondolin!

He had gotten loose and taken them out faster than lightning. Cursing all the time in old Quenya and then had simply thrown the still lifeless Faramir over his shoulder to run out of the city. The guards on the entrance to the city had looked at them oddly but had been sensible enough not to try to stop an enraged Elven Elda. They had been older and obviously wiser as the ones in the city.

One had just run back into the city to alarm the King of the oddly behavior of the living legend and their beloved steward.

How and when both had lost their footwear was not clear to Glorfindel, but somewhere between here and Gondor they had. Along with the upper and under tunics of Faramir as it looked. Most likely inside the swamps that lay on the way to here. He even recalled a friendly horse that had let the two ride on it for a while. Although Glorfindel could not tell for the life of him where he had lost it or better said, the horse, them! Now it made sense to Glorfindel why he had felt like he had to rescue Faramir in the first place.

If those fools had already, spread the rumors around that they had invented the last night, then even Estel would have a hard time currently to get this sorted out.

Not to mention that Faramir now really could not go back until this was solved! Glorfindel groaned.

The next hour he explained this all to the shocked Faramir who by the end wanted nothing other as to strangle those guards for getting him into this crazy position in the first place. He was white as a ghost. He in turn explained to Glorfindel how the rumors had started to begin with.

“My father started them on purpose when he was losing his mind, Glorfindel. Back then, he was consumed from the Seeing Stone already too much and did in his madness everything he could to mar my reputation when Boromir was not around to keep him from it. He called me names in public like being too womanly or being too soft to be a true man and such…in the end some believed me to have unnatural urges.”

The man gripped his hair with both hands in his frustration. Then he stood to pace agitated around and closed his eyes for some long minutes before he did speak again.

“Some of the city guards worshiped him and followed his lead and often made my life a living hell. Those ones we met must have been a few of the left ones. Aragorn thought he had gotten them all sorted and straightened out. I am sorry that you had to witness that, my friend! They were not so far off I fear. To be honest, I found out a long time ago that I like both genders in some way I do not understand. I always hid it in the past. I know that it is wrong, please don’t be mad and don’t hate me now?”

Glorfindel simply could not help himself; he got up and enfolded the man into his arms as instantly as Faramir’s anguished eyes met his.

“Hush! It is not wrong at all, Faramir. Your people just chose to make this rule one day in the past to forbid such pairings because one of your former Kings thought of it as wrong. However, the truth is that it is not in the slightest way wrong or unnatural at all…Valar I wish you had grown up under elves like Estel did it, then you would have known that my people often have such relationships.

As do the men of Rohan or everywhere else besides Gondor do have them too, or at least they permit such pairs to have them as long as it does not affect the majority negatively, what they almost never do. We all actually find it rather perplexing that in Gondor the people condemn such pairs and force them to become outcasts.” He fell silent and simply held the man until his crying fit ceased after a while. Then he made him lay down to sleep.

Although Glorfindel was rejoicing inwardly, outwardly he showed nothing of his glee besides the soft glow that suddenly surrounded them both and that seem to come from the inside of the golden haired Elf.

Later, whilst guarding Faramirs sleep, he simply marveled at the new knowledge that maybe, just maybe he still had a chance in wooing the human over and into his arms. And said arms felt extremely empty since Faramir had gone to sleep!

Still Glorfindel did not dare to approach Faramir yet, to fresh were the wounds of his friend to deal with more confusing news now, and the man had first to get more to terms with what he had been taught to be wrong for all of his life and what he desired. The journey to Rivendell would do that trick of that Glorfindel was certain. If not, then living there for a while certainly would. Especially when he introduced Faramir to Elladan, Elrohir and Erestor. Those three would take a good care of Faramir and would make a short work on his fears.

He could woo Faramir over slowly and in the end, he would get what he wanted if he was clever and patient enough to get it. Glorfindel had enough patience for both of them, and then some if needed be. If he played his cards right, he would have the man in the end but he was not certain if he would give him back then to Estel then without a fight. If he had his way, Faramir would stay in Rivendell with the twins and him forever.

Elrond planned to sail in the next years, to much the Elf Lord missed his wife.

It was not surprising Glorfindel at all. He had seen the love between the two in the past and only wished his old friend and his wife happiness and an end of their pain and sorrows. He would stay as he once had sworn it to the Valar and protect Eärendil’s line until the last member had left Arda, then and only then Glorfindel would leave too.

Both twin’s and their mate wanted to stay until their sister and foster brother had gone from Arda to the realm where the souls of the mortals go after death.

Surprisingly many Elves out of the different realms wanted to stay a while longer in the now, evil free world. To help it recover and see what the humans made out of it. The most of the Greenwood Elves and their King for example did not even want to leave forever. Feeling deprived of their time in Arda by the Valar and Sauron they did not accept it that they should not life in the peaceful times now too that they had helped to earn with so much pain, blood and death. They had mostly chosen to fade with their beloved wood. Much to the sadness of the Valar as much as Glorfindel did know of. To choose from what Gandalf had told him before the powers still tried to find a way to get those elves to Valinor. He shook his head. Many of the other Elves would go. Tmajority of the reminding elves in fact felt weary of their time in Arda. Mostly the Noldor would leave, but even from them, some wanted to stay for a while longer, feeling a lot like the Sindar and Sylvan of the green realm of Thranduil or the golden wood in this.

It made a lovely mess, Glorfindel thought.

He could understand their arguments. Having once lost his own beautiful city of stone in the far past. For a moment, his eyes misted over from all the memories that still lived on vividly in his mind. With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes and face. No good it did him to think of this now, Glorfindel realised that. Sometimes the true age of the Elda showed.

His un-freely stay in the halls had muted some of his memories and pains but they were always there. Forever branded into his mind and soul.

Sometimes, Glorfindel felt so incredibly old and lonely that his entire being was arching in the shocks of the pains that came from his very soul then.

His entire life had been dedicated to the happiness of others. He rued it not; it had made life interesting for sure. For example, he would never have seen the Hobbit’s if he had stayed dead. Or meet Faramir, a hand found its way into the soft curls of the sleeping man to pet them for a moment. His blue eyes closed for a minute. And if it only was for a short time if given maybe a while longer, agreed Faramir would life the longer life of the Numorian, Glorfindel wanted to keep the man with him for as long as the Valar saw fit and be content.

For one time only, Glorfindel wished that he could keep someone for himself that he would not have to lose again. Although he knew too well that, the man would die one day and leave him anyways. Well if he could woo him over that was…with another groan, the Elda reopened his eyes. He wished the Valar would let him know a little happiness too for once. He was tired of this lonely life, so unbelievingly tired!

In the beginning, he had still hoped to find the someone made for him.

With the centuries, he slowly gave up. When Erestor finally found his mate in the twin brothers soul his hopes had recovered for a short while only to be crushed again. He had been ready to sail or to omit suicide when the Valar had seen it fit to let Faramir run over his way!

It was simply not fair!

Laying down with a troubled mind the Elf Lord tried to think of nothing at all and to find some rest for himself. He would need his bearings tomorrow. He was rudely awoken a little while later from a wildly trashing Faramir next to him who hit him accidentally in the stomach with his elbow. The man surely had a bad case of nightmare, Glorfindel rightfully figured.

With a sudden gasp, the former ranger awoke and sat up.

It was not the first time that Glorfindel had witnessed that the man had nightmares; he knew Faramir had them frequently since the ill-fated battle and the war. Partly it was survivor’s guild and partly it was the horror he had witnessed. As a fellow warrior who had seen his own fair share of such wars, Glorfindel could easily understand the man and relate to this. He had his own devils to fight off every night. Wincing and rubbing his sore belly, he kept his voice low and soothing to not spook the man more who now tried to get out of the grip of the fading nightmare when he addressed Faramir. “Are you well?” “Gods, Glorfindel! That was one of the worst! Sorry did I hurt you badly?” “No, just my pride.” The Elf grinned. It did the trick with a first hollow laugh that grew rapidly more honest the man began to relax again.

Falling down backwards Faramir fell silent. Then, gradually over the next minutes, he told Glorfindel in a silent voice of some of the things that he had seen and that had happened to Faramir in the past and had lead to the nightmares for him in the end. In turn, the Eldar did something that he rarely did since his return. He told Faramir of some of the things that he had experienced in the halls and before. Of his fear of fire, that still he harbored, although he had it under control now. That he still missed his old friends and his house and foremost of all of this that he still was mourning over the dead of his best friend and lover.

The latter had Faramir look at him with surprise and sadness.

He had not known that Glorfindel had a male lover in the past. It put his fears a little at ease. Getting up a little while leaning on one arm, he looked down on the stunningly attractive Elf next to him. The hair had fanned out like a halo around the lightly tanned face with the sapphire blue eyes. There was no denying it: Glorfindel was radiant in all his glory and beauty!

Blessed with the body and looks of a god and with such a beautiful soul to add, which seemed to shine brightly out of his eyes he was a stunning example of the Elven perfection that Faramir had been told about in the past.

Not many elves had the powerful build that his friend possessed. The most Faramir had meet where more slender in build but not more graceful as his friend.

Glorfindel on the other hand was truly a product of another age, the man realized suddenly. An age, filled with harsh battles of that were songs sung about still until this very days and he had been part of the most of them too. He had seen beings like the Feanorian’s and most likely even known some of them as Faramir did know from his teachings of the ever patient Gandalf in the past. Now all that teachings did him a good service. Not for the first time he mused about this all. He had done so before, tongue tied as Faramir had been around the Eldar in the first days of their strange friendship. While wondering why such a renowned legend had sought him of all people out to befriend him.

It was hard to come to terms with the knowledge that the being you just had met was practically older than dust and had seen the most things you had only read about in history books before with his very own eyes!

Eyes that had a drowning quality Faramir thought and he rigorously got himself in check again before he lay down once more to get a better rest this time hopefully.

“What is running through your mind my friend?”

Glorfindel had barely restrained himself from it to simply kiss Faramir senseless when he had looked down at him with his grey and thoughtful eyes. There had been a look in them for a moment that had made his pulse racing but then the man had lain down again.

“Just the ironies of life, I think.”

Now it was Glorfindel that propped himself up with a laugh to look down at Faramir in confusion. “Huh? Now what do you mean with that please?” His curios eyes made Faramir squirm a little around before a soft blush begun to color his face. What the Elda found irresistibly endearing. “Uhm, it is just that I sometimes forget how old you are exactly. Not that it really matters, mind you but I seem to become reminded of it at the oddest moments you see. Like a few minutes before, when you told me about your city and lover.” He fell silent for a second then he looked up at the ceiling to partly avoid the too alluring eyes and partly to gather himself.

“Sometimes I wonder how it must have been for you. It must have been very hard to adjust to that all. I know that I would have gone insane if I had to face all of what you have had to in the past.” Suddenly the grey eyes went back to the Elf Lord with an intense look in them. Getting up he fixed Glorfindel with them like a spider would her prey and the Eldar found himself spellbound by the look in them.

“Glorfindel? May I ask you a personal question?”

At the stunned look and hesitant nod of the Elf Faramir gulped and then he took all his bravery together.

“Why in the name of the Valar are you still alone? Isn’t that highly unusual even for elves?”

For minutes, the Eldar found no adequate answer to that question himself. Finally, he sat up fully to then stare into the embers of the fire for a while, deep in thought. Faramir did not disturb him. He felt that his friend needed his time to answer and was determined to give it to him. After all, he had asked a rather rude question but it was one that had pestered his agile mind since he had met the stunning creature on Aragorn’s coronation.

Finally, after a longer while the elf’s voice filled the cave out again.

“At first, when I crossed the Hellcaraxe with Fingon’s host, I gave it no mind at all. We had other troubles a plenty to deal with and I was young. Barely past my majority. Turgon finally approached me together with his most trusted advisor and asked me to join him under his rule in Arda as one of his Lords. That day was one of my best in my live.” He looked over his broad shoulder at the silent Faramir who in turn simply looked back at the Elf with a soft smile.

Turning so he could see Faramir better Glorfindel settled and stared off into space again for a while.

“I meet Erestor for the first time in those days too. He had come with the host of Feanor and his sons. He had not partaken in the slayings of Aman being much too young then and for that, I am eternally grateful. He was just twenty-five years old then, but his parents had and they had been on one of the ships that Ulmo and Osse had sunk in his ire of the crossing and theft. An aunt had taken him in and that one had sided over with Turgon the same moment we reached them on the shores of the lake. She was kin to the head advisor of Turgon and so he went with us in the end first to Nevrast and then Ondoline.”

The more Glorfindel talked the more his eyes seem to mist over, Faramir did not mind. He simply stayed silent and listened calmly to what his friend was willing to tell him from his past.

“Another one I meet in those days had partaken, sadly and he rued it to the day of his dead.” He gave Faramir a lopsided grin, one of those sad ones that make the hearts ache of those who see them. Faramir was no exception from that rule. “Ecthelion. He was a strange elf that one. He just walked over to Turgon when we arrived, in his full armor I might add and told him all that he had done. I never found out how the two knew each other but they seem to do and vanished together for hours after that in the surrounding Forrest. When he and Turgon came back, Ecthelion had become part of his court and that was that. I soon learned that he had the same tendency to play pranks that I had too and as you can rightfully figure from this, we both soon became inseparable.” A chagrinned grin run over Glorfindel’s features when he told Faramir that. Both chuckled at the words.

“However, in the following years we became friends, lovers and maybe would have even become mates if not Sauron had not found us first.”

The Elf lord fell silent and this time Faramir could see real pain flash shortly over the fair face.

“The halls are not what one expects, Faramir. It is cold there and strange to say at last. You do not really see the fea in them and still somehow, you sometimes do and know that they are there with your own. You no longer have feelings in a way or hands and a body, just the impression that you do. What is left are the simple fea and your memories. It is hard to explain even to other Elves. I…I saw Ecthelion in there. It was a lot time later. At first, I had searched for his soul under the many others around me but Namo forbade me to do so, telling me that I first should come to terms with my own problems and so I tried to head the Vala of dead.

When I finally did, I did not know how much time had went by, it is impossible to tell of that in there. He had changed Faramir, so much!” He gave the man an anguished look that made Faramir get up and over to the elf to take him his arms. Suddenly Faramir wished he had never asked!

“He had begged to see me before he was released from the halls.

Not to pain me but to ask for my forgiveness.”

“Forgiveness? But for what?” Faramir could not help but to ask, with a sick feeling building suddenly in the pits of his belly, which told to him of a bad insight that he would hear more sad things in the next minutes.

“For leaving me there and having found someone back in the halls that had been his soulmate in Aman. He wanted not to go without me knowing this. I knew him good enough, Faramir; he was always an honest soul. He would never have left me out in the open. He had even tried to tell me once but I have not listened, as I should have or many things had been different.

Instead, I have always wondered why he had refused to bind with me in Gondolin. At that moment, I realized why and I even understood it. It hurt no less to hear him say those words. I have let him go at that moment, what else could I have done? I even wished him happiness. He deserved it after all he had gone through, trust me I know it best.

When we parted, Namo showed me the elf-fea that had been waiting for him in the halls for a long while. He was one of Cirdan’s people. A Noldor had slain him that day when Ecthelion had tried to protect him. What was also the reason why he had sided with Turgon in the end. I had not known of that, nor that, he had been unconscious when someone dragged him with him on one of the ship, thinking he had fought with other Noldor and not against them.

For a long while, I was still hurt beyond words.

But then I resolved myself to that if he could find his soulmate, that I surely would too and so it stayed until I was asked to return to Arda to serve the heir of Turgon’s daughter child.”

Glorfindel snuggled more into the caring arms of Faramir.

He knew that he was acting partly selfish here but the truth was that he needed to tell someone about this and that he needed someone to hold him right now. Why he told Faramir of all people when he had even refused to tell Elrond and Erestor of this, was not clear to him, just that it felt right.

“Of course I took the chance. They would have let me go to Aman if I wished it, but there I would have to face Ecthelion eventually and I did not want that.

In Lindon, I met Elrond and Erestor was there too, so I did not feel too alone. He had survived the fall and gone with Idril and Tuor. And later he had served their son until the sons of Feanor came for the reminding Silmarill. He then had gone with the twin sons of them to Maglor and raised them there with the poor tormented Maglor and his brother until they were given into the care of Ereinion.

There I finally met them after my return.

In the following years and centuries I still believed I would find someone, and Faramir, gods did I try to find one!”

He looked up into the grey eyes of his friend.

“You are right, elves are not meant to stay alone and live in solitude. I had my share of lovers, male, female that does not matter to us. It is the soul that counts, not the hull. I had many partners even some relationships that lasted a while. Somehow, there was never one who sparked the wish in me to keep that soul with me for eternity, and never was one under them who wanted to keep mine.

I think Ecthelion’s soul was nearly the one that was meant for me, but not quite the one, do you understand?” At the hesitant nod of his silent listener and comforter, the elf went on.

“I never found another that was this close or the real match…so I simply kept to myself after some time. The most just wanted to have me only to show me off to their friends like a trophy or were so awestruck that they confused love with admiration. I soon tired of them and simply staid alone.

That is why I am still un-bound. Even for my kin this is rare. I know that, but it simply… happened?”

He felt it more then seeing it when Faramir nodded slowly.

“I am sorry Glorfindel, I should not have asked.”

The Elda shook his head. “No! I think it was good that you did. For a long time I did try to forget this all, so hard in fact that I finally nearly did. But that was wrong. I should have headed Namo’s advice in the halls better. He told me before I left that I had to come to terms with it. I choose to ignore it in my pain and want to escape. You just happened to help me reflect on it. I think it will help me, Faramir. I needed to tell someone anyways.”

“You never before did? Not even to your friends?”

The elf shook his head sadly.

“No, I never did. I don’t know why either.”

The man shook his head in silent wonderment and Faramir silently vowed to never tell a soul of this. He instead did choose to feel honored for the trust that he was shown and with a smile, he left it at that. Although he wished, his friend would find someone to keep too.

The two staid like this until the first rays of the morning sun reached over the horizon.

Chapter 2

“How much longer until we reach that cave that you spoke about before, Glorfindel?”

Faramir asked as he tried to climb over another root, one of many in the last days. He envied his elven friend who had seemingly no trouble to simply hop over them, barefooted or not. He had found some abandoned leathers in the pile in the cave and had managed to fashion himself a pair of odd shoes that would have to do for the now as well as a shirt and an abandoned cape. Faramir had bathed before they went off. The river had been cold; to say at last but at least he had felt better before they went on their way.

At least they were now halfway descent to wander around. Not that someone cared anyways, since no one else besides them was seeing them.

The four days they did now travel together, having agreed to go to Rivendell until the chaos in Gondor was solved out, had brought them much nearer to the realm of Elrond half elven and had deepened their friendship too.

His friend had told him about another cave that they could use on their way. Both did not want to spend another night under the stars as beautiful sparkly as they were. It was late autumn and rather cold outside now at night. Thus that, Glorfindel feared that Faramir would become sick.

Faramir had even created himself a crude bow and some arrows and used it to get them a meal on their travel.

Glorfindel did currently the same while walking unperturbed. The man envied his graceful friend for his natural grace and seemingly easy way to avoid to fall or become tangled up in the wood while walking blindly through it. It had no use anyways, Glorfindel was an elf and as such, he was born with the natural grace and senses that his kin possessed. For a moment, he felt petty but then he stopped his stupid thoughts and concentrated on his way again.

The Elda just wanted to answer him when the faint sound of hooves reached his sensitive ears and he stopped abruptly to walk on. After a few seconds, Faramir did hear it too and both shared an alarmed look before they searched for cover.

They should not have worried.

The riders that reached them a short while later had been searching for the pair since a few days now. They had left Rivendell as fast as the message from Arwen had reached them. Both of her brothers were in the group and now looked relived when the Eldar jumped out of a bush to greet them with a grin.

“…? …Lord Faramir what in the name of the Valar do you wear and where are your shoes Glorfindel?!”

The entire group around Faramir and Glorfindel broke out in uproarious laughter when they spotted the twos travel gear. Glorfindel and Faramir just shared a short glance before the human answered them in elvish.

“What can we say? That’s what happens when you get abducted out of Gondor stark drunk by an equally drunk elf.” That got him another wave of hilarious laughter and soon he had several helpful elves around him who offered him better travel gear that he gratefully took as did Glorfindel who was offered the same under much teasing.

“Well my friends you have something to explain to us later. Aragorn already threatened to send an army after you two!”

The man and elf in question shrugged their shoulders in unison while changing clothes. “For all I care the brat shall do so! It was his peoples fault in the very first place that we ended up like this, Elladan.” The Elda told the twin who had asked.

Both sons of Elrond shared a puzzled look at that with each other.

“What do you mean? He said nothing of such! What did he do this time?” Both suddenly asked at the same time what bemused Faramir a moment until he did remember what his friend had told him about them before.

“Not he did something, my Lords, his guardians did.” Faramir’s voice was slightly muffled since he was half in and half out of the shirt that he currently tried to get over his head. Finally getting in he turned his grey eyes to the interested twin gaze of the brothers.

“They chased us out in a way I fear…did he tell you nothing?”

Both shook their heads in such a unison that it was eerie to watch. Even their hairs seem to fall the same way! “No, I think he forgot to mention that important detail!” The left one that Faramir identified as Elladan from the color of the braids told him in a calm voice. Glorfindel had told him the day before how he could keep them apart should he meet them in the next days. Elladan wore blue pearls on the ends and Elrohir wore silver ones. “I think we should pay our beloved sibling a visit soon, Elladan!” Elrohir told his twin in an equally quiet voice that had Glorfindel laughing.

“Oh why not? He could use some help I suppose. Especially with his paperwork since he now lacks a certain Steward of him who usually takes care of that alone, I might add.” That had Faramir laughing loudly. Both knew how much Aragorn hated that part of his new job. He complained on daily basis about it.

The brothers joined them in their mirth; they too had already learned that.

“No wonder that he never wanted to become King…”

“he always hated to do any paperwork when he was little!”

First Elrohir and then Elladan told them later.

“Careful you two. Faramir is not used to the twin-speak of yours.” Glorfindel admonished his former charges when he saw the Faramir shifting his head sideways in his perplexity. The two just grinned. “Then he will have to get used to it. After all he will stay a while with us from what I have understood?” Elladan asked his former tutor. Glorfindel nodded grimly.

“Ahh. I see there is more to it, Glorfindel. You make a face that could turn milk sour and he is looking rather uncomfortable.” Elrohir added seeing his look.

They saddled up and on the ride back to Rivendell; the Eldar explained the most of the situation to the twin Lords of Rivendell.

It was much later, almost midnight when they reached the valley and got Faramir settled into a big suite. Both elven Lords had winced when being told what had occurred. On their many travels, they had often visited Gondor and so both knew about that stupid law and the troubles first hand.

What got Faramir unasked the entire sympathy of the elves and so a big suite and many friendly offers to become friends with them in the end. Lying in his temporally new bed, the poor man tried to sort his mind out. The day had tired him out more than the ones before. He still was confused how he had ended up in this grand suite and all. He idly asked himself how he could survive their care the next days! He had become the owner of a kitten in less than ten minutes…much to his chagrin. It was hard to refuse Lord Erestor when he put on that pout, Faramir had found out fast under the laughter of Glorfindel who had helped not at all to avoid the situation. Not that he minded it, he loved cats just as the next one did but the quickness of how it happened had stunned him speechless.

Shaking his head Faramir called it a night and went to rest. The kitten a little black one that had claimed the couch cushion, did the same.

The next day’s did not help Faramir much to get his bearings back.

Each time he felt safe; someone came and did something weird to confuse him anew. As Lindir did it, right this moment with ease. “Master Lindir, may I ask how exactly you did get your head stuck in the wall in the first place?” He had stumbled over the poor minstrel by accident when he had heard muffled screams for help. Now he faced a dilemma that was a little tricky to solve whilst trying his hardest to not outright laugh at the poor soul.

The elf muffled an answer that was dulled by the wall but Faramir still understood enough to have to fight down the sudden urge to burst out into pearls of laughter.

“Let’s see that I got that right, your pet squirrel hid one of your sheets in there and you couldn’t get out of hole again because you got stuck in it somehow with your ears when you were looking for it in the wall?!” He could not believe it! Shaking his head, he craned his neck to see if someone else was around, he saw no one.

“Lindir, I want you to keep still and to close your eyes and mouth for a moment, do you understand me?”

The elf answered with a barely audible yes. With a well-aimed kick of his new boot, Faramir broke the wooden planks of the wall next to the elf’s head and removed them carefully to not endanger the minstrel with splinters and parts of it even more. Then he stuck his own head and upper body into the newly formed hole in the wall.

“Thank the Valar! I finally can breathe fresh air again! I was stuck in here already for the last hour. No one ever comes here normally; what is why I prefer this part of the house to compose. But today it was not aiding me well.” As it looked to Faramir, the elf indeed was stuck because of his ears and the long hair. Both ears had already splinters in the outer shells and looked reddened to the man. The hole went inwards in the breach and the splitter ends had tangled the hair up so effectively that it had become smaller in the end. What had made it impossible for Lindir to take his head out again without the help of his hands.

“Let’s see if we together can get you out of this situation this time, my poor friend.” He told the elf with a smile. Before he reached through the bigger hole that he had made and tried gently to hold the ears as close to the head of the elf as possible after freeing the caught hair around the hole. After some tries, they managed it together to free the poor soul with both ears still on his head. Faramir got a few splinter in his hands for his help but did not mind it much.

Rubbing his ears and removing some of the splinters still stuck in them, the elf gave the man a grateful look. “Oh gods, I thought I would be stuck in there forever! Thank you Lord Faramir. Please could you not tell this to anyone else? This is embarrassing enough already and will be more so to tell the healers.” The man could only nod. “Of course! It is no problem. You really better let that checked out from the healers my friend.”

The elf nodded. “I will go there right away, although I dread their reactions when they learn of how exactly the splinters got in the ear shells in the first place! If you will excuse me?” With that, the elf gathered the rest of his dignity and left in direction of the healing wing of the house.

Faramir waited until he was sure that the elf was out of earshot before he broke out into a wild laughter.

When he sobered up again his eyes spied a shelf of paper with music notes on it in a corner of his holes side. Reaching in, he took it out under a new bout of laughter and tucked it into his pocket. He would give it the minstrel back later; right now, he had to tell Glorfindel that he had damaged a wall in the house and that it needed to be repaired.

He began to like this place. Everyone here was equally mad Faramir thought.

“He did What? …oh sweat Valar only Lindir can manage to get himself in such a situation. He should have shot that damned squirrel of his a long time ago! It is not the first time that, that furry beast makes us trouble.”

Glorfindel needed a while to sober up again when Faramir told him of his little adventure. He had sworn him into secrecy before he told him and now both chuckled madly at Lindir’s plight.

“You realize my friend that you and your friends have managed in the last days to ruin everything I have ever learned of how your people life and act with ease, yes?” The elf broke out into a new session of laughter. “Aye, I do think that could be the case!” He grinned at Faramir. “It’s not thought that we do so on purpose, you know. Besides, you humans got it all wrong anyways. So why bother with correcting them?” He asked the now sputtering man next to him with another boyish grin.

Later that evening when both strolled into the former office of Lord Elrond they were greeted with a surprising view. Erestor was sitting on the floor with his hair and robes in disarray with a quill tucked behind one ear and another in his hand. Reading a report from the looks of it, the elf was cursing his both of his husband’s under his breath. Right in the middle of a couple of stacks of papers.

Glorfindel found his voice back first. “Don’t tell me they left you with all the paperwork alone again.”

“Why, yes of course they did…or what does that looks like to you?!” The elf laid the report down on one of the stacks with a glare. “The river took a sudden flood and it endangered the fruit fields as well as you know. They went to help. If you go too, can you ask them to send me their seal at least back so I can get some order back into this chaos?” The golden elf nodded and strode fast out again to get it done. He left an amused Faramir standing in the office.

Shrugging his shoulders the man crouched down so he could look at the elf Lord before he addressed him with a smile. “Can I help you somehow, Master Erestor? I am used to paperwork.”

At the nod of the dark haired advisor, the man settled down to sort the papers before him into the order that the elf had already set.

And they said Estel hates paperwork…looks to me they are equally bad as their brother in this! He idly thought with another grin.

When Glorfindel and the twins came back much later the two were still on their work. Faramir barely managed to rescue a stack of freshly sorted papers from topping over when Erestor abruptly jumped up like a cat and over it to get to his two shocked husbands.

“You! One would mind that the two of you know since a few millennia now how to keep an office in order! You are as bad as Estel…” The sudden closing of the door from Glorfindel muted the rest of the lecture. The two looked at each other for a moment before both broke out in laughter. “That two had it coming, trust me.” Glorfindel told Faramir whilst he settled down on the floor next to the man who currently put the papers neatly into the designed boxes to hold them until they later were put together in a map or book.

“Can I help somehow?” he asked Faramir whilst admiring how the candlelight played fiery tricks into the hair of the man. Faramir shook his head. “No, too late for that I fear. We sorted the chaos already and what is with the river?” Glorfindel reached for a paper that had escaped Faramir and gave it to the man. “All went well. We just had to readjust the flood-bed doors to keep the fields from being overflowed. Since the ring lost its power all is a little different, we still adjust but we manage.” He told Faramir with a smile.

The man nodded at that.

“He is right, isn’t he? They are just as bad as Aragorn, don’t they?” Glorfindel could only snigger at that. “I fear that is the exact definition of the situation, my friend. At least Estel has an army of workers to help him out. Even if he has to manage to get them working first. However, we here have only Erestor and his aide any longer and occasionally me and Lindir to help out. It is not even really their fault. It is just that the most who worked here before have left already or are going to in the near future and the elves who has come to live here from the outside are making even more work as before.” He got up to help Faramir to put the rest of the papers and reports away in their designed shelves.

“So, blatantly spoken, Erestor is the only one here who still can do all the work? Why then does he not hire new aides under the newcomers and trains them?” Faramir asked Glorfindel confused. The Elf sighed. “It is not that easy. He has to find some free time to do that first I fear.” Faramir nodded again. It made sense. If the advisor was always busy with the work, then he could not find the time to do the job. Somehow, Faramir got the feeling that he had found a way to keep himself busy until Aragorn found a way to bring him back to Gondor.

“Do you think he would let me help out? I feel useless here anyways and I know the work by heart, trust me.” He told the smiling Elf next to him. Before Glorfindel could answer the door burst open and the twin Lords through them into the room. “Help Glorfindel!” “ He is going to eat us alive!” Both told the startled pair in the room.

Behind them Erestor caught up with them quickly.

“Don’t you two dare to get the poor Glorfindel and Faramir involved into your troubles, Elladan and Elrohir! And what was that? Did you really mean that?” He looked at the dumbfounded Faramir. “Huh? You heard me?” The elf nodded whilst catching one of the twins with one hand expertly before he could slip past him and out of the door and pushing back his now loose black hair with the other. One foot firmly kicked the door shut behind him with a well-aimed kick and so trapped the two twin Lords inside the office with the rest of them effectively.

“Eh? Did we miss something, Elladan?” The caught twin asked surprised his brother who was currently glared into submission from Erestor, and choose to sit rather down as to risk his mate’s ire. “Seems so, brother. What exactly does Erestor mean, Faramir?”

Before the stunned man could answer, Erestor took over.

“If you two had used your ears you would have caught it too. He was not that silent.” He looked up at the human with an apology smile. “Sorry, we just happen to have a much better hearing as humans, Faramir. And the door to the other office and from there to the hall is still open, we run past it and I overheard you by sheer luck. “He pointed behind the elf and man to the indeed open door to the other office next to the main one that they stood in.

Glorfindel and Faramir both chuckled at that.

“Well, I think yes. I am feeling rather useless since I am used to work entire days away in Gondor. As much as I love it to be outdoors, I hate it to have nothing to do. Moreover, as I have understood Glorfindel you need someone to help you out constantly until you could train others to help you. As it looks, everyone here has more than enough already on their respective plates as it is. So, yes, I would like to offer my help if you want it, Lord Erestor.”

“Gladly taken, Lord Faramir and please Call me Erestor, it is easier and currently the titles mean not much anyways.” The elf told the man smiling. Behind Erestor, the twins exchanged a meaningful glance with Glorfindel who still stood behind Faramir. If Estel thought that they would give him his advisor back easily he would be in for a surprise, Glorfindel and the brothers thought at the same moment grinning. And if Erestor had his way, then the King of Gondor would wait for that to happen for the rest of his mortal life. It took a while for elven advisor’s to be taught and as it looked to Glorfindel and the twins, Erestor was fond of the man already and that meant he would fight with tooth and nail to keep him in Rivendell with them.

He was not the only one who had become surprisingly fond of Faramir over the last days.

The younger brother of Boromir had managed to befriend almost all of the elves in the valley without to try it much. Even the normally so elusive Lindir had told the healers this evening, that he liked the nice man, as he had called Faramir and that was already a wonderment in itself. He never liked one until he did know them for a few centuries at last. Not to mention that ha was not fond of humans to begin with.

Glorfindel thought that it could not go better for his plans in the late.

As he had thought it before, Faramir had opened up a lot since he was here. That he now tried to help showed how much the man unintentionally had already began to make a life here and that gave the Elda hope for the plans of his. He had talked to Erestor and the twins already of what he wanted and the three had given their consent almost immediately. All were just happy that Glorfindel showed interest in someone again at all after the long time that he had avoided any contact of this kind at all, and were more than glad to offer their support to his plans.

The man in question did not know anything of this at all.

Faramir was simply glad to have something to do again besides playing with his new kitten. He had not lied; he hated sitting around and wasting time. Besides, that he liked to work with the dark Noldor. Erestor had a dry sense of humor that suited the sometimes cynical one of Faramir quite nicely. And together they had made a short work on the paper chaos in the office. Left behind by the Lords of the same room, in the twin’s constant hurry to be outside to fix something, or somewhere else to fix troubles that needed their consent or person to be solved.

In the following weeks through the entire winter, Faramir took over more and more of Erestor’s duties. Since Gandalf and his father’s advisors had taught him in the past how to do the most chores anyways, it was easy for Faramir to get the routine swiftly. Soon he was assisting the elf and the two often found themselves back in different council rooms doing negotiations with outside parties. Faramir took over the ones with the Rohirim and other human realms from Erestor meanwhile the counselor had finally the time to tend to the elven ones.

And all found that both did work well together.

At the same time Glorfindel began to spend progressively of his time with Faramir in private and openly. What got not un-noticed from the rest of the valley population. Soon they left the two mostly alone when they spotted them together playing chess, talking or simply sitting together somewhere. What happened more and more often the longer the winter wore on.

Faramir soon sought the company of the elf out increasingly often. He liked spending time with the Elda and Glorfindel had become a dear friend to him over the last weeks. What unnerved the man was the fact that he got also more attracted to the golden haired elf with the time. It begun harmless enough, with longer lingering looks or simple signs like strange dreams.

Faramir was not a fool; he knew the signs for a crush actually pretty good since he had enough of them when he had been younger. Just, that this was no blushing maiden or someone else here that he had developed a crush on. This was an elf and it never tended to end well in the past when a mortal had loved one of the fair folk.

Thus, that he may have been attracted to the golden Elda or males in general, but Faramir had never before been in a relationship with one before and that scared him a little. Neither did he know how to react to the advances of one. As he found out when Glorfindel began to make it known to him that he liked Faramir more as to just have him as a friend.

And there was no mistaking in that interest anymore either, since Faramir had began to note certain things in the last weeks that did not happen under simple friends, not even under best ones either. Like seats that were kept free for him at the meals, looks that held clear desire in them now and those really nailed the poor man to spot the most of the times when Glorfindel directed them to Faramir or the accidental touches that happened increasingly often in the late.

As he had found out a longer while ago, one could easily drown in the blue eyes of his friend, especially when Glorfindel gave him one of those looks so full of hidden promises and meanings. This Glorfindel seem to know that too because he had stopped to hide his wishes from Faramir in the late. The man supposed that he should have thought of this coming before. Actually, he should have already in that cave at the time when the Elda had answered his question.

Faramir rubbed his eyes before he set down in the hidden alcove of the library where he had fleet too after he had gotten one of the dangerous looks of Glorfindel again at the dinner. To think the situation over in peace before it got too much out of hand. The elf knew all too well how good he looked and how attractive he was to Faramir who had no idea how to defend himself from the growing advances of the elf. He was not even certain of it that he wanted to any longer. Oh, Faramir knew how to deflect unwanted attentions well enough but he had never been pursued like this or from a male and to top that even, from an elf before in his entire life.

Therefore, he was a little at a loss here of what he should do now.

This was how the late nemesis of Faramir found him there a short while later. Having asked around where the human had gone to when he saw Faramir retreat fast after dinner. Glorfindel knew it was time to up the ante a little more to get what he wanted. He had been subtle first, to lure the shy and intelligent man into his web.

By now, Faramir had to know full well, that he wanted him and was most likely confused like hell and trying to make sense of it all. The elf did know that if he wanted the man to give in, he could not to let Faramir think too much about it. Faramir’s own hidden desires would soon do the rest work for Glorfindel from all alone.

“Here you are. I thought that you had to be halfway on the way to Gondor already, from the look you gave me earlier.” He told the shocked human in a low voice when Faramir looked up at the intruder of his peace and found out that it was Glorfindel. Sitting down in the opposite seat of the human, Glorfindel tried to radiate calm and to keep his desires out of his eyes for once. After a few minutes, Faramir relaxed a little.

“It was never my desire to shock you this much, Faramir. It seems I went a little overboard, eh?” For a moment, Faramir eyed him skeptically before he nodded briefly. “A little I guess, although I should have seen it coming, didn’t I?” The Elda smiled softly at Faramir before he nodded and grew serious again. Bending forward slowly and resting his arms on his knees the elf fixed Faramir with his sapphire gaze.

“Maybe you should have but then again, I left you no chance to do so.” He told Faramir with simple honestly. The wide-eyed gaze of the man spoke volumes of his shock at that revelation. “You mean… you mean you did it on purpose this way to distract me from the real intentions? Why?”

Glorfindel smiled softly again but made no further move to breach Faramir’s personal space or to touch him in any way. From now on, he had to treat carefully or the Gondorian would bold at any given time.

“Why you ask? Simple, you would have run from me or would have hated me, or both even, if I had not done so. You were raised in Gondor and told all your life that such a thing like a male desiring another male is wrong. Faramir. The very reason why you accidentally got exiled is the same why you needed time to adjust to the mere thought that such a thing is not so unnatural at all. As a result, you would have run most likely if I had not done so and I did not want that to happen.

That and the little fact that I am an Elf and an Elda to boot. Those combinations alone are already enough to mix a bad blend out of it.

To be honest, I wanted you already when I first laid eyes on you, that day in Gondor. But I would have never said a word if had not found out that you are for one, attracted to males and females equally and two, that I had a chance to win you in the end. I would never have endangered your position in Gondor, Faramir. You were too dear to me already to do such even then. But since the things happened that did, I wanted to try it at last.” Glorfindel leaned back again carefully slowly and for a moment he looked out of the window next to them both before he looked again at Faramir who had listened to him first stunned and then thoughtfully in the last minutes.

“What exactly is it that you want from me, Glorfindel? I know nothing of such relationships, as well as you know. To be honest, I am at a complete loss of what to do, how to react and all else too! I will not lie, I do like you and surely, I have begun to desire you too. I know you have already known that or you would not have begun with this all in the first place.” He looked a little lost at the elf in front of him. “I am feeling bewildered and that a lots lately. From my own wants, from you…from everything I guess…” Faramir trailed off.

The elf just nodded calmly. He had not awaited anything less.

“I am aware. It does not wonder me either, Faramir, it is only natural for you to react this way. What is why I have sought you out today.” Glorfindel tried to look as harmless as he could what was quite a feat since he was a broad shouldered and muscular warrior that was a good head taller as the more slender and lean build Faramir to begin with. It was not that Faramir looked weaker as Glorfindel he just had not the stronger warrior build that his brother too had possessed and in the past, many had misjudged his strength and character because of this.

The elf did not undervalue Faramir in any way. He just did not want the man to feel threatened that was all. Glorfindel actually liked Faramir’s body just the way it was, with all the lean muscles the man had build over the years as a ranger and bowman in the wilds of Ithilien.

“Go On.” Faramir told the elf after a while. Well knowing that the other did want to ask him something. He just had no idea of what was currently running through Glorfindel’s mind. The elf gave him an evaluating look before he fixed Faramir’s gaze with his own. Blue and grey eyes stared intensely into the other to anchor the owners of the eyes.

“Please allow me to court you properly.”

To say that Faramir was shocked from the words was the understatement of the last millennium! Because those simple seven words made every intention that Glorfindel had regarding Faramir clear as day to the bewildered man in only seconds.

“What… I mean why?!” Faramir was it this time that bend forward to have a better look at the seemingly gone crazy, elf. “I am human, Glorfindel! Have you lost your mind? I will maybe live a hundred or more years longer than a normal human will and I know that I am young for one of my heritage but that still changes not the fact that I will die in a while and that you will not. You will be alone again, and even worst, you would be so until Arda is remade, you foolish Elf!”

The grin of the ‘foolish Elf’ in question grew bigger with every word of the progressively agitated growing Faramir. What seem to exasperate the poor man even more.

“Are you even listening to me?!”

Glorfindel opted for a simple nod instead to answer with words. Still grinning all the time. Faramir threw his hands in the air in his frustration. Did Glorfindel not see the logic in his words? He looked at the Elda again with a huff and then folded his arms with another. Glorfindel could be really infuriating if he wanted it to be, as Faramir became aware in this very moment, and that the elf was as stubborn as Faramir was it was sure too.

“Don’t think that I have not thought of that, Faramir. I am old and have seen such relationships in past before. Who do you thing Arwen went to, when she was questioning herself of what she should do? Not her Adar that’s for sure.” Glorfindel grew somber again. “Do you really believe that I have not thought this through? Now who is foolish here? Of course you know that I did it before and that is scaring you right now more than anything else, are I right?” Faramir thought a moment about that before he nodded hesitantly at Glorfindel. “That and that I still are right, Glorfindel.” He told the elf with a stubborn look that made Glorfindel smirk softly at the human.

“What is to expect from you, I would wonder if you were not stubborn in this. It is only rational as well as is your thinking in this, by the way. It did not escape me, be assured. We both know that this is so. Still, I want to do this. So give me an answer, what shall it be? Do I have your permission to court you or not, Faramir?”

Human and elf held the stare of the other for long, long minutes before Faramir finally looked out of the window with a sigh.

“You are not going down from this, don’t you, Glorfindel?” It was not really a question, more a statement of what both knew. Glorfindel did know that too and choose to stay silent to let Faramir come to terms with it in his own time. After what seemed to be hours, the human finally went his gaze back inside the room and down. Closing his eyes whilst rubbing the bone of his nose, the man finally carved in.

“How long are elven courtships take anyways? Maybe I am lucky and will die before something really serious does happen…”

At that, Glorfindel had to chortle against his will what ended into a full-blown laughter in the end. “You are horrible, you do know that Faramir, yes?” He finally told the unrepentant looking human across from him when he had calmed down a little. Faramir just nodded. “And no, I fear such courtships are only ill intended misinformation’s spread from those who tried to keep poor little elves and humans from each other in the past.” He told the man with mirth in the voice.

Faramir nodded. “I feared as much.” Looking at the ceiling the human contemplated again all over for a short while before he finally nodded sharply.

“You may!” And with those simple words, Faramir felt like he had sealed of his fate, although that he knew that this was just a silly thought.

When across him, Glorfindel grinned from ear to ear like the cat that had just swallowed the canary, Faramir suddenly asked himself idly if it had been a good idea to agree even knowing that it was too late to take his words now back.

It was midwinter when the first complains from Aragorn came in who wanted to have his counselor back. He informed them that he was currently removing that stupid law from the city and asked if Faramir maybe had an idea where certain documents could have wandered off too. What had Glorfindel grinning, Faramir shaking his head, Erestor huff and the twin’s outright laugh at his plight.

The master counselor of Imladris told his former pupil in short words to sort his own troubles out and to leave his new helper alone.

It needed only one week this time for the next message to arrive in Rivendell. In which Aragorn wanted to know how his counselor had suddenly become that of his brothers. In addition, that they should stop with it to try to steal the only ones that Aragorn had from him who could get the job done. Along with a longer rant at them all.

It had Glorfindel laugh that hard that he had tears in his eyes later.

Faramir just shrugged. If his liege wanted him back, then he had to solve the problem out himself this time. Besides, they needed his help here more at the moment and Aragorn had many advisors that he should get to work then if he needed help. With the final question, if it had been his fault that he was here in the first place, the answer was finally sent back to Gondor. Along, with Erestor’s inquire what Arwen did the entire day.

Faramir had enough on his plate already with the strange behavior of Glorfindel anyways in the late. The elf really had meant it when he had said, properly. At the same night, Faramir had found a package on his bed. Inside were a set of expensive robes and travel and house wear for him to wear when he was working and in private. The robes promptly had Erestor make comically round eyes and gap like fish at him the following day when he saw Faramir enter the office in one and they earned Faramir many strange comments and looks from the entire population of Imladris inhabitants that run over his way that day.

A set of fine and practical robes, made from heavy and fine spun silk to keep the chills of the winter away. All colored in the colors dark green and sky blue. With in gold treat hand-stitched small and exquisite looking golden flowers on the trimmings. Golden flowers of a sort that Faramir never had seen before in his life. Erestor hurried to give explanation to the confused man that he currently wore the colors of Glorfindel’s house around in Imladris for all to see and that the flowers had only ever grown in the fields of Gondolin and Aman and that they had given Glorfindel’s house in Gondolin its name.

The house of the golden flower.

“He could also have put a stamp on your forehead with the words; property of Glorfindel of Gondolin, hands off! It would have had the same effect with much less hassle!” The elf snorted. “A more blunt way to warn any other challenger off and that he is willing to bash the head in of any who is dense enough to try to challenge him, is most likely not possible to archive. What was he thinking?” Faramir just rubbed his face wearily and then smiled at the irritated advisor before he began to work.

It did not stay at the robes.

The next was an invitation to a dinner in private. Which Faramir promptly used to give the infuriating elf a piece of his mind about a certain set of robes that had half of Imladris grin at him all the time. Glorfindel just shrugged it off and retorted that they did get exactly the reaction that he had wanted them to get from certain people.

What had Faramir look at the elf in his confusion for a moment, had he missed something?

The next thing Glorfindel came up with was a ride through the snowy Rivendell. What ended into a snowball fight that Faramir won with throwing a snowball right into the tree branch hanging over Glorfindel’s head what made said tree promptly discharge his heavy load of snow onto the surprised Elf Lord who had not seen that coming at all. Under the laughter of the twins who were riding along the way the two had taken, back home just in time to see the entire thins happening. They too were it who helped Faramir to escape Glorfindel’s attempt on retribution.

The letter, which they had sent back to Gondor, got them an irritated Aragorn riding into the valley only two weeks later.

The King had not even dismounted fully from his horse when Erestor already gave him a lecture of how he was supposed to be in Gondor, solving his mess there out and not here. The surprised guards and advisors that he had brought with him could only watch openmouthed as the small looking elf cuffed Aragorn over the head and then drag their King away with him for another lecture.

Unsurprisingly no one volunteered to help him. The petite elf had shocked them all.

What had the elves who had watched the entire spectacle laugh and chortle in no time at all. Lindir finally took pity in the abandoned group and led them to their temporary rooms and out of the cold weather. Faramir, well the man was too busy watching the shouting match between Aragorn, Erestor, the twin Lords and Glorfindel in the main office from out of the safe distance of a corner of the room to that he had emigrated over when Erestor and his King had entered the room earlier.

To say that it was funny to watch them try to tear their respective heads off was an understatement!

That was until Aragorn unfortunately for Faramir turned and saw him leaning against the wall, clad in one of Glorfindel’s courting gift robes. What had the poor King sputter and stare at the alarmed Faramir for a few seconds.

Then all hell broke loose with one simple question asked from Aragorn in a thunderous voice.

“Why, in the name of the Valar, is my Steward wearing the colors of Glorfindel’s house, Erestor?!”

End of chapter one, please leave me a nice response if you liked it,

Love Suryallee^^

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