All Night Long

Part 4 – The Conqueror

The morning sunlight streaming in through the windows found them still intertwined. Elrond stirred, unwilling to wake, but when he felt the firm, warm, undeniably naked body next to him and a strong thigh wedged between his legs, sleep left his mind in a rush.

For a moment he simply could not understand how it had happened that, firstly, he had obviously overslept, something he never did, and secondly, that he was not waking up alone, something he always did. Finally, like the opening of a door, the impossible but true events of the previous night came back to him and he turned his head to look over his shoulder, directly into the clear blue eyes of Haldir of Lorien.

Haldir outwardly looked calm and in control, but inside he was in turmoil. What if the night had mean nothing to Elrond? Vala, he groaned inwardly as he remembered the possessiveness that had overwhelmed him. Having Elrond beneath him had been pure bliss, driving all thoughts of caution from his mind. In fact, from the time he had crept into these rooms the night before he had simply refused to think further than the moment.

At least there was one thing he supposed he wouldn’t have to worry too much about. It was really a little late for the lord of Imladris to actually throw him out.

Haldir studied the expressionless face looking back over a smooth shoulder, taking in the bruised, slightly swollen lips, the visible kiss marks on the neck and, more importantly, the slightly narrowed eyes. Suddenly he wasn’t so sure that it WAS too late to be thrown out.

This was one of the very few times in his life he had acted completely without planning or forethought and he had no idea how the situation might play itself out. In the end he did the only thing that he could think of.

“Good morning, my lord,” he said, and smiled in what he hoped was a relaxed manner.

Figuratively speaking, Elrond’s jaw must have hit the floor in a most un-lord like fashion. After all that had happened between them, all he had to say was ‘ good morning’? He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

“Good morning, Haldir,” he replied evenly.

Haldir watched as Elrond turned over slowly onto his back and propped himself up against the pillows. He could have sworn he saw him wince at least twice, but he was quiet about it.

They lay without speaking for a few minutes, the only sounds in the room being the continuous soft rhythm of the waterfall and the sounds of birdsong.

Eventually, at more or less the same time as Haldir’s usually steady nerves reached breaking point, Elrond turned to face him and said,

“Haldir, I hesitate to ask this, but if I don’t it will bother me for the rest of my life – a long and unpleasant prospect for an elf, you’ll agree. What did I ever say or do to make you believe I would be so easily seduced? What made you believe I would welcome finding a naked elf possessing my bed, that I would even contemplate…”

Haldir broke in quickly.

“Not easy, no, never that,” he said firmly.

Elrond was trying hard to appear angry but Haldir could see he was actually very upset. After all, he HAD welcomed the naked elf he found in his bed – rather enthusiastically in fact. Very soon he was going to have to face this and deal with it.

The elf lord was sitting up now, and the sheet had dropped, unnoticed, down to his waist. He glanced down, saw the pattern of soft red passion marks scattered indiscriminately about his torso and hurriedly pulled the sheet back up, feeling himself beginning to blush – to actually blush. At his age!

The truth was, whatever Haldir may or may not have believed- he had been right. He had walked into that bathroom and Elrond had simply given himself to him, without argument, discussion or reservations, more completely than ever before in his life. A normally conservative bedmate, he had agreed to things – no begged for things – that would have amazed previous lovers.

He looked over at Haldir, who was leaning towards him with a concerned look on his face. He was looking his age this morning – which was very young, compared to Elrond. He was beautiful, experienced, and popular and all the things Elrond had always believed to place him out of his reach.

“What was it?” he asked, his voice rising despite his best efforts to control it. “Some kind of a dare perhaps? You and your brothers are famous for your so-called humor after all. Is that what it was, Haldir? ‘Should be easy to bed him – he’s been alone forever, he’ll probably eat me alive’ – is that how it was?”

“No of course not, don’t insult me or yourself” Haldir exclaimed, reaching out and grasping his arm. ”This was for me. Wanting to be with you was for me. No dare, nothing planned, just something wonderful and unbelievable. For me.”

His voice dropped abruptly. “I had hoped it would be wonderful for you as well. I thought that, if you just gave me a chance to show you the way it could be between us, things might change.”

“Why? For Elbereth’s sake, why?” Elrond asked, unsuccessfully trying to keep his voice down. “What was the point? What have you proved? That I was a good fuck, a convenience to look up next time you are in Imladris? Or now that you’ve had what you wanted, will you even go to the trouble of looking me up next time?”

His shoulders slumped slightly and he turned away, his voice low. “Of the two I would prefer the second. I am better off being alone.”

With something akin to horror Haldir saw the vulnerability etched on his face. He caught Elrond’s hand and caressed it, holding it to his cheek.

“I would never leave you alone unless you told me to and I believed you meant it.” he said firmly, looking into the wide gray eyes. “Otherwise, I am here, I am going nowhere. Do you really want me to leave?”

Elrond looked down for a moment, then raised his eyes to Haldir’s and in them was the same look that had been there when he had decided for the rope.

“No.”

It came out as a whisper, on an unsteady voice, almost a question rather than a declaration.

“But I don’t understand why you would want to stay now? You had what you wanted.”

The eyes that studied his held a world of uncertainty, of old and remembered hurts, and an aching depth of loneliness, making Haldir’s heart contract with tenderness.

“What I wanted? You gave me even more than I could ever have asked for,” Haldir said, resting the palm of his hand against Elrond’s cheek.

“What you gave me was a gift. When you gave yourself so completely over to me it was…” Haldir paused, considering. “…beyond words, beyond my wildest dreams.”

Elrond looked at him, eyebrow raised, uncertainty written on his face. Haldir shook his head and stroked his thumb across the smooth cheek.

“You aren’t making this easy for me, are you?” Elrond couldn’t resist a slight smile, but waited for Haldir to continue.

“What I’m trying to say is…I want to – no, I need to stay. I love you!”

The words hung on the warm air between them, surprising Haldir almost as much as they did Elrond himself. Haldir took a deep breath. He had come this far, might as well finish what he had started and see how the pieces fell.

“I have loved you for such a long time and there was never a chance, never a right moment. Then last night when I arrived and asked where you were, I was finally given an opportunity.”

He smiled shamefacedly.

“I wasn’t honest with you, I’m afraid, I do have a letter for you, from your daughter actually. Anyway, I was told you had gone to your rooms and I came up here and the door was open. You weren’t here yet and I thought – what’s the worst he can do?”

“So you undressed, got into my bed and…”

“Fell asleep.” Haldir started chuckling. “It’s a very long ride from ‘Lorien.”

Elrond was smiling back at him, a little uncertainly, true, but it was a smile nonetheless. He took Haldir’s free hand and drew a deep breath.

“I suppose since you poured your heart out, it would only be fair that I did the same.”

Haldir raised Elrond’s hand to his lips and kissed it in answer.

“I have known you for a very long time.” Elrond said, choosing his words carefully.“ From the day I first saw you, I was fascinated by you, by everything about you. Your hair, your eyes, the way you moved, your laugh… But as time went by, I realized that you never noticed me in anything other than an official capacity. It hurt, it hurt terribly but I was too afraid to say anything to you because, while I wanted you so badly, I was terrified that you would actually say yes.”

“That I would say yes?” Haldir asked, puzzled.

“That you would say yes, to the Lord of Imladris, but not to me.”

Haldir stroked soft, tangled hair back from a still troubled looking face with gentle fingers, nodding slowly.

“Yes, I can understand that,” he said softly .”I suppose I was afraid to approach you for much the same reason – that you would think I wanted to catch myself a lord.” He chuckled slightly. “I know I don’t have the best of reputations after all,” he admitted with honesty

He drew Elrond into his arms, holding him in a loose embrace. His heart thrilled at the way his lover – unbelievably yet true, Elrond really was his lover – rested his head against his shoulder and took a lock of hair between his fingers to toy with.

Haldir’s blue eyes sparkled with sudden mischief. He tipped Elrond’s head back slightly, making him look up.

“One more instruction, my lord”, he said with laughter in his voice.

Elrond raised an eloquent brow. “And what would that be this time, Haldir?” he asked.

Haldir kissed him softly on the cheek

“Simply this. Whenever we are in sight of others, I will always give you the respect due to you and more, but when we are alone…” He kissed him again, this time lightly on the lips.

“….when we are alone there will just be two elves, who happen to be called Elrond and Haldir, who love one another and whose biggest problem is going to be how Haldir is going to manage to spend enough regular time in Imladris to keep his lover content and happy, to say nothing of satisfied.”

Elrond smiled, stretched slightly in Haldir’s grasp and then proceeded to twine his arms around the blonde elf’s neck.

“Then possibly Haldir, you should talk less and satisfy more,” he suggested softly, nuzzling the nearest ear. Chuckling again Haldir proceeded to indulge them both in a long, thorough and deeply satisfying kiss, before turning to the task of keeping Elrond content, happy and very satisfied indeed.

This time their joining bore no resemblance to the erotic passion of the night before.. Instead it was a slow, sweet, tender bout of love making, accompanied by soft sighs and whispered nonsense, with regular pauses for the exchange of lingering kisses and tender caresses..

Haldir was especially gentle, having a fair idea of how sensitive his lover was most probably feeling after the night’s activities. It occurred to him that he had never thought of anyone as his lover before, and that it was one of the most wonderful words he knew. He discovered that nothing from his past had prepared him for the sweetness of making love with Elrond, who had left behind the uncertainty of the previous night and was now emotionally open, giving proof of his trust and love in every touch, every kiss.

In time Haldir entered him, slowly and carefully. He remembered with some unease the roughness of the night before, but he was welcomed with joy and no signs of discomfort. However, when the long legs were once again wrapped tightly around his waist, the arms around his neck, and Elrond was moving under him needfully, murmuring his name, he found himself distracted for a moment by an unfamiliar sensation.

‘I’m crying’, he realized in disbelief. Tears were slipping from the corners of his eyes, clinging to his eyelashes.. He was as close to coming as one could be and still entertain rational thought. The sensations pulsing within him, particularly in the area that mattered, were incredible. Equal to this, however, there was an almost painful feeling in his chest, a feeling of such intense tenderness and care as to have produced this wholly out of character reaction.

He leaned forward and claimed Elrond’s lips in a deep kiss as he continued to move within him, all his concentration now fixed on giving his lover the greatest amount of pleasure his ability and experience could offer.

He established a rhythm of deep, smooth thrusts, keeping his cock in almost constant contact with Elrond’s pleasure center. He took him to the edge and held him there, delighting in the whimpering sounds his love was making in his throat. This, plus the strong fingers flexing and grasping at his shoulders and tangling in his hair, and the upward-arching, urgently responsive body beneath his, fed his own building desire until finally it threatened to overwhelm him.

Realizing they both had very little time left, he adjusted the angle of his thrusts slightly, and then, purely by means of the exquisite internal stimulation, carried Elrond over the edge, crying out and biting into Haldir’s shoulder as his erection pumped creamy liquid over his stomach and chest. Spurred on more by the voice crying his name than by the intense contractions around his hardness, or the teeth sinking into his skin, Haldir came moments later.

They separated slowly and for a while lay side-by-side seeking to catch their breath and get their heart rate back under some kind of control. Eventually Haldir reached out and drew Elrond back to him, wrapping his arms around him and holding the strong, slender body tightly against his own.

“Mine?” he asked quietly.

Elrond threaded his fingers in silk smooth blonde hair and pushed Haldir back so that they could make eye contact, and smiled with complete trust and certainty into that blue gaze.

“Yours,” he answered softly. “Always yours.”

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Finis

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AN: All art by Becky Wedge. Thank you so much!