Rationalising MPreg

Title: Rationalising MPreg

Author: sylc

Summary: Lindir, a former thrall, is forced against his will to become a witness in Sauron's trial on Taniquetil in the Fourth Age.

Characters/Pairings: Glorfindel/Lindir, Sauron/Lindir, OMC/Lindir, OMC/Lindir, Ingwë, Eönwë, Silmo, Elrond, Ecthelion, OMCs, OFCs

Rating: NC-17 (for series)

Warnings: Slash, MPreg, Angst, Slavery, Noncon, Tentacles, Body manipulation, Mind control, Oral, Violence, Minor involved

Disclaimer: I do not own nor do I make money from this.





The few months that passed between their arrival at the halls and Lindir's disappearance to attend to the trial were short, but for the most part, harmonious and sweet. After hearing Ingwë's words that morning in the bath and learning, in addition to the forcefulness with which the Valar had forced Lindir's decision, that Lindir had scant time with him left before the Valar would take apart his memories, had provoked Glorfindel to resolve never to show or misdirect his anger towards Lindir and at all times, to ensure that he made Lindir's remaining time with him as enjoyable and restful as possible.



Lindir, in turn, sensing his spouse's avoidance of the topical subject for his sake, thankfully took advantage of this silence on Glorfindel's part and, aside from allowing Glorfindel to milk him, let the matter drift.



Both of them turned their attention to both enjoying one another's company as much as possible and spending time with those of their children that were present with them. In particular, Glingal proved a great distraction for the elf had, through some miraculous feat that the rest of them never managed to work out, managed to find a sweetheart out of one of his cousins, twice removed. In addition to which had come the greater feat, which was that he had managed to befriend all of her family as well.



"How they can so easily accept Glingal, the son of one who is disowned and a cursed thrall, and not at least accept the disowned father, is beyond me," Glorfindel muttered in Lindir's ear on the night after Glingal had nervously brought the girl over to the courtyard near Glorfindel's rooms to introduce her to them.



"The younger generation is more open minded than the older -- this bodes well. Perhaps if they decide to bond, the older generation will be forced to forgive and forget their grievances," Lindir replied with a smile, wrapping his robes more closely around him -- a slight chill was in the air, a faint memory of Winter before Spring and a reminder of the season that currently held sway over the valley's hinterlands. "Linden, also, seems to have found some new friends out of her cousins." He shifted slightly on the stone seat that they shared, his smile widening when he felt Glorfindel's arm reposition itself around his shoulders.



"And Laiglas?" Glorfindel was smirking now, already knowing the answer and anticipating Lindir's annoyed look and response at the very insinuation that Laiglas might want to have anything to do with his cousins. He chuckled when Lindir nudged him sharply.



"He keeps to himself," Lindir said quietly. "If he enjoys it, I think that is well for him."



"Yes, yes. Social reclusiveness is indeed enjoyable for some elves." Glorfindel laughed again when Lindir nudged him again.



Of late, Laiglas had not been spending much time with any of them, not even Lindir, though when he did call, he always greeted Lindir first of all of them. Sometimes, Linden disappeared with him and through conversations with Ecthelion, Elrond, and various other former colleagues and acquaintances in the realm, Glorfindel quickly learnt that Laiglas was spending inordinately large amounts of time in the library and on the lower slopes of Taniquetil. At first, he had decided not to trouble Lindir to give him an explanation, though he was certain that Lindir probably knew best of what was going on in Laiglas's mind. And then, when he had seen Laiglas in the library and pouring over maps of Taniquetil, realised then that Lindir's eldest was doing the task from which the rest of them were trying their very hardest to distract themselves. That Laiglas, the son, and not he, Glorfindel, the spouse, was the one ahead in the struggle to find out all the possible and certain details related to Lindir's participation in the trial was an extremely sobering thought.



"You are wearing a very droll face," Elrond had remarked to him a few minutes afterwards, when Glorfindel had moved to sit down beside him and the piles of papers that the half-elf appeared to be sorting through, assumedly in preparation for his own participation in Sauron's ongoing trial. "You do not intend to mope and melt all over these papers, I hope? I imagine you, unlike most characters, would be quite the task to mop up."



Glorfindel, his chin on his hand, turned his head towards him and shot him a sour look. The he turned his head to regard the piles of papers. "Are you still working on these notes?"



"Ah, no. My lady found them in storage after I left the city and sent them after me; they arrived this morning," Elrond said, reaching forward to rummage through the pile. He withdrew a small wooden box. "She also sent me these... and as she is of the kind of female who likes to complain about my weight one minute, then try to dose me up with caramels the next, I am now the kind of male who likes to pass around her edible gifts rather than to glut myself on them." He slid open the lid and waited until Glorfindel had obligingly taken two caramels, then slid the lid home.



"Thank you," Glorfindel popped one of the squares into his mouth and nodded his approval of the morsel with a smile.



"Welcome -- I have never understood the mentality of being appreciative for gifts that cause one heart pains," Elrond replied, putting down the box and recovering it with papers. "And eat those discreetly -- we are not supposed to eat in here. Those senior librarians are even more snarky about library rules than Erestor."



Glorfindel snorted and popped the other morsel into his mouth. Privately, he reckoned that Elrond had probably never seen Erestor at his snarkiest worst -- Elrond had always, after all, been Erestor's superior since the pair had met each other in Imladris. He watched Elrond work for a little bit, then as he grew bored, looked back at Laiglas who was now copying down notes feverishly, and quietly sighed. Even if he did decide to devote himself to uncovering the details of Lindir's trial, not only would he probably be walking in footsteps already made by Laiglas, but he would be sacrificing this opportunity to spend as much time with Lindir.



And speaking of Lindir...



He rose and smiled politely at Elrond when the half-elf looked up.



"Oh, are you leaving already?"



"Aye. Oh, may I ask when you are going to appear before the trial?"



Elrond smiled obligingly. "Any time now; I am waiting on their call."



Glorfindel's smile thinned. "Ah, so if you are spirited away tomorrow, I need only pray to the Valar."



Elrond blinked. Then, on reading Glorfindel's misdirected bitterness, shrugged and smiled. "I suppose so. Take care, Glorfindel."



"Aye. And you." And Glorfindel turned away and left the room in search of Lindir and an activity with which to amuse and occupy his spouse. Perhaps he should take him on a tour of the kingdom. As he passed by Ecthelion in the hallway, it suddenly occurred to him that Lindir was not well acquainted with his former Gondolin colleague and that Lindir and the family, in spite of living in Ecthelion's house in Tirion, had only dined with the elf once. So he went over and promptly invited the elf to dine with them. Ecthelion had cheerfully accepted and when the date of the dinner had arrived, all of them were surprised and pleased when Glingal arrived in the allotted courtyard with his sweetheart on his arm and Linden, with said sweetheart's brother, another cousin, with hers on his. "There is nothing between him and I," Linden had said later to them, when she had caught Glorfindel and Lindir discussing the suitability of the match between the brother and her and her failure to tell them until now, "And that is why I said nothing to you. He simply wished to keep an eye on her, as is acceptable and perfectly normal for an older brother towards his younger and only sister."



"Indeed," Glorfindel had remarked. "And so, pray tell me, how is it that you both came to meet one another and strike up your so-called innocent relationship?"



Linden tilted her head, her hands on her hips, and shot him a narrow look, a smile on her lips. "But of course, I was the one Glingal asked to accompany him to the family's house. We met there."



"He asked you to accompany him to her house?"



"But of course. Who else could he have asked?" Linden asked. "Do you think he would have asked Laiglas or his parents to show up on their doorstep with him? One would have scared the family away and the others would have rendered him unable to ascend their front steps out of embarrassment." She snickered and turned away to return to the cousin's side.



Glorfindel and Lindir watched her interact with the cousin for a few moments. Then Lindir stirred and said, blandly, "There is definitely something between them."



"I agree," Glorfindel said. "He is smiling too much."



"And she keeps on patting his arm," Lindir said. He looked over to where Ecthelion was talking with Glingal and their son's sweetheart. "Why did you request that we not ask after Ecthelion's reasons for being in the kingdom?"



"He is here to support his brother who is a former thrall," Glorfindel said shortly. "And speaking of support, where is Laiglas? I have not seen him these past few days." He looked at Lindir and was surprised to observe his spouse's lips purse and an anxious expression enter the smaller elf's fair face.



"Oh. I have not seen him lately either," Lindir said. "He usually visits me in the morning, but yesterday and today he failed to do so." He exhaled softly, concern colouring the quiet breath.



Glorfindel's brow knit. He would have proposed, judging from Lindir's expression, that they go and search for Laiglas immediately, but the presence of Ecthelion and their potential future daughter-in-law and son-in-law made excusing themselves rather awkward. So instead he proposed, "Should we search for him after the meal?"



"Aye. Please."



The "please" caught Glorfindel's attention. "Do you sense that something is wrong?" he asked quickly.



"Oh, no, I sense nothing of the kind, but his absence without informing me still worries me," Lindir said.



In truth, Lindir was very worried. It was indeed extremely unlike Laiglas to disappear for more than a day without telling him. Ever since Laiglas had been born, the elf had shown an unusually strong attachment to him and protectiveness of him. At first, Lindir had thought that it was simply the way of a parent-child relationship, but then he had had Lindo... and then Linden... and then Gloredhel and Glingal. None of these other children had shown Laiglas' arguably obsessive interest in him. And especially now, when there was no one else in this kingdom who understood him save perhaps the Valar and Maiar, Laiglas' presence was a significant support and comfort to him.



If Sauron is indeed his father, that would explain his talent for obsessiveness, he thought, watching Linden patting her cousin's arm yet again. He felt Glorfindel's arm slide around his shoulders and he gratefully leaned into the slight embrace. "I want to return to the table," he said, and looked pointedly at the table that had been temporarily set up in the middle of the courtyard for the purpose of their meal.



Glorfindel followed his gaze and looked at the remnants of food that still strewed the table top. "Still hungry? There looks to be some cake left."



"Not hungry; just tired." Lindir said, inwardly wondering whether or not Glorfindel would, after escorting him to the table, help himself to the remains of the cake. To his amusement, his suspicions were proved correct.



Less to his amusement was the fact that they did not manage to locate Laiglas by the end of the day. As he lay awake in his own bed that night -- he had insisted to Glorfindel that they try to stick to Ingwë's request that they keep their relationship low key -- he wondered if Laiglas had also been asked to participate in the trial as a witness. Just like him.



Or not like me, he supposed. Sauron has enough of a witness in me. He rolled over, wrapping his arm around one of his pillows and pulling it down to hug it tightly to his chest. I wonder if Laiglas found something while he was looking up all those books.



It was then that his thoughts returned, suddenly, to Silmo and the Maia's parting words to him.



“I am a servant of Irmo, the Master of Dreams,” the Maia had said. “Speak to me in your dreams and I will attend to you.”



On the edge of sleep, Lindir stretched out his consciousness towards thoughts of Silmo and made a plea for help and a request for company in his isolation. And then he sat up, still hugging his pillow, and waited, staring into the shadowed and lonely gloom of his bedroom, wondering how Silmo might appear to him.



And waited. And waited.



And then, tired of waiting and the tension, he shifted himself back across the bed so that his back was leaning against the headboard and relaxed, resigned to a night alone. He would search harder for Laiglas tomorrow.



"Your family showed more concern when you disappeared than any of you are currently showing for Laiglas," a familiar voice then said, breaking through the quiet. Lindir's eyes refocused and the elf stared at the presence who was sitting just within his closed bedroom windows on the low soft cushions, robed in the deep green of cypress, his face on the profile and half-turned towards the window. Silmo looked older this time, or maybe it was that he was simply not hiding his maturity -- having more reason to be serious on this occasion than friendly and fun. His long brown hair was tied back in a long plait that he had tucked over the front of his shoulder and which trailed down to the polished floorboards. For some reason, Lindir had the feeling that Silmo was not happy to be summoned.



"Is he to become another witness?" Lindir asked then.



"No. He refused," Silmo replied shortly, sounding distracted.



"Ah." Lindir flustered for a bit, supposing that Silmo was busy elsewhere and wondering fretfully what he might do to speed up this discussion as soon as possible so as to let Silmo go sooner. "So you have met him, then?"



"Aye. But it is not as you think -- he came to us, not us to him." Silmo blinked slowly and then turned his head even further away to look back out of the window. "As to where he is now... he obliged me to let him ascend to the summit of Taniquetil." He exhaled quietly, resignation and also what might have been irritation or even resentment colouring his voice.



"Obliged?"



Silmo snorted and now Lindir realised that it was indeed resentment in the Maia's voice. Resentment and anger. "I would have appreciated it," Silmo said coldly, turning his head back to its original position to look back at him sidelong, his eyes narrowed and black in the dim light, "if you had warned me that your son was half-Maia."



Lindir swallowed. He had not anticipated that this matter would be confirmed in such a way. "He... he is?"



"How could you have not known?" Silmo burst out furiously, turning towards him, hands outspread. It was then that Lindir saw that there was a deep cut on the side of Silmo's face that the Maia had kept hidden from him through the tilt of his head. "How could you have not noticed how different he is from a normal elf! He knows his powers all too well to be ignorant of them!"



There was an awkward pause. Lindir had lowered his head and was looking at his hands.



"Lindir, you did know, did you not?"



"I did not."



There was another awkward pause. And then Silmo gave an aggravated sigh and ran a hand through his hair, pulling loose some of the neatly braided tresses. "I suppose it is because you are surrounded by a family that cannot be considered normal. Not even your spouse is seen as a normal elf from what I have gathered from elvish popular opinion." He shook his head and lowered his head to place it in his hands. "I am so embarrassed."



"What is Laiglas doing on the summit?" Lindir pressed, more interested in Laiglas's doings than striking up a conversation about Silmo's reasons for being embarrassed, though inwardly he supposed that even if the two subjects were related, it would be wise to show more interest in the Maia's personal life.



"I do not know."



Eh? The Maia did not know? "What do you mean?" Lindir asked confusedly. Surely Laiglas had not dared to, much less been able to intimidate and mislead one such as Silmo?



"That is why I am so embarrassed!" Silmo burst out, looking back up, spreading his hands again, gesticulating emphatically. "I was so completely distracted by him that by the time I realised his real purpose for speaking to me, he already held the keys to the summit door in his hand and was waving farewell to me."



"And so he is at the summit at the moment? What about the cut on your face?"



"Oh, that was when he came back down," Silmo said bitterly. "I tried to arrest him and to ask what he had done up there. That arrogant, emotionless, rude, spawn of Sauron, horrible creature has no concept of etiquette! I asked him to come quietly and he smashed my own lamp into my face." His fists balled and he punched one of them into the cushion of the windowseat, his face screwed up with the force of his emotion.



Valar, he hates Laiglas. He really hates Laiglas! Lindir thought, staring at him in horror and dread at what this turn of events might do to his own relationship with Silmo. How could things proceed smoothly in terms of the trial if Silmo and Laiglas were at each other's throats. He wondered, confusedly, at what had driven Laiglas to such violence. Or maybe, maybe, oh, please let it be an accident on Laiglas's part. "I... I sincerely apologise for my son's actions," he said, slipping from the bed and bowing deeply to Silmo. "I do not know why he did so, but I understand that it was wrong of him. Please excuse him."



"I cannot excuse him," Silmo said resentfully. "I demand an apology from him and I intend to get it. But as for you, I hold no grudge towards you even though I understand that Laiglas's actions were all done with you at the forefront of his thoughts. Laiglas is responsible for his own actions. Please arise, Lindir."



Lindir straightened, swallowing, and moved forward to peer at the cut on Silmo's face. "May I call a servant to bandage it?"



"No need," Silmo said. "I only kept it to show to you." And before Lindir's eyes, the cut started to close over and heal. Within moments, the skin had smoothed over and the Maia's face was whole again. Silmo pulled his hair out of its plait and his tresses tumbled loose over his shoulders, thick and rich and dark in the shadows.



"Please excuse me for pressing the subject of my son again, but may I ask where Laiglas is now?"



"On his way back here, I expect," Silmo said shortly. "You summoned me a few minutes after he left. Happily, he is only half-Maia and not full-blooded and unable to ride the wind or on the dreams of others." He grinned thinly and for politeness sake, Lindir smiled weakly, though inwardly he was starting to wonder why Silmo was confiding in him and not in one of the Maia's colleagues. Surely choosing to confide a crime in the mother of the culprit was not normal?



Of course, no one of us is normal, he added to himself.



There was a pause before Silmo added, in a more subdued and softer tone. "Unless he has plans to go elsewhere, Laiglas should arrive here before dawn. May I change the subject?"



"Please."



"When are you going to tell Glorfindel the truth about your relationship with Sauron?"



At Lindir's subsequent silence, Silmo added, "Are you going to tell him?" And then, when Lindir still did not respond, he said, "I see."



"I would like to enjoy these last few months with him," Lindir said quietly. "I think telling him will add unnecessary stress -- stress that I do not wish us to face right now and stress that we shall have to undoubtedly deal with soon, anyway. What will be, will be. But do not let it come now."



"And so you would rather he find out his spouse's intimate secrets along with the public than from his spouse in person?" Silmo asked. "Have you thought about this seriously? Did you consider his feelings when you came to your decision?" When Lindir looked away, he frowned. "Lindir! You are a couple! What right do you have to make decisions independently of him?"



"But if I did that..." And here Lindir's voice broke as he started to cry. "If I did that, then I would have to consider Sauron's feelings as well."



It was, as Silmo had said, almost dawn when Laiglas returned. Lindir had fallen asleep not long after Silmo had left his side in the small hours, in spite of his doubts that he would and could do so, and had woken to find Laiglas sitting on the side of the bed, watching him, his hair damp from a recent bath.



"Silmo visited and told me about your disagreement," Lindir said, after he had greeted his son. He had hoped for a peaceful explanation, but instead Laiglas's eyes narrowed and the elf shot him a look that quite plainly told him to not push the subject with him. Unused to being the receipient of such a look, Lindir pressed on anyway. "He expects an apology from you."



Laiglas just reached out and ruffled his hair. "Does he blame you?"



"Eh? No, he said it was not my fault. Laiglas, ai, my hair is saturated enough with tangles."



"Then, if you are not involved, please do not consider our disagreements your concern and do not get involved," Laiglas replied, removing his hand and kissing his cheek. "Did he tell you anything else?"



"Before he left, he told me that my part in the trial would start at the end of this week," Lindir said, thinking back to Silmo's parting comment that his time with Glorfindel was already up; there were precious moments left for them.



For a few moments, he considered raising the subject of Laiglas's sire with his son, but then decided to let the matter drop. What would bringing up the issue at this late date do for either of them? Indeed, Laiglas probably has assumed, all this time, that I knew his parentage.



Laiglas nodded slightly. "I see."



"What were you doing up on the summit?"



"Was I on the summit?"



"Silmo said..." Lindir fell quiet when Laiglas, a cold smile on his lips, touched his lips with his index finger. "Laiglas?"



"I am tired and from the look of your eyes, you are both tired and stressed," Laiglas said softly, gently. "Do not let these petty matters trouble you." And with that, he rose and left the room.