Half the Distance

Title: Half the Distance
Series: Innocence Stripped Away
Chapter: Eighteen : A Stoic Last Stand
Author: Orchyd Constyne
Contact: soultornasunder@gmail.com
Website: http://www.hithanaur.net/
Update List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nairn_orchyd/
Fandom: LOTR
Archive: OEAM
Disclaimer: I do not own LotR or any characters, lands, or items from the Tolkien world. They belong to their respective copyright holders.
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: BDSM, twincest
Beta: Alex Cat
Cast: Erestor/Glorfindel, Glorfindel/Thranduil, Thranduil/OMC, Erestor/OMC, Legolas/Elladan/Elrohir
Summary: Following the events of "Something Special, Something Sacred", Erestor finds himself in a dark pit of despair and fear as his bond with Glorfindel is threatened, stretched, and remade. Legolas returns to the valley where his heart was once broken to find a second chance and a new way of seeing those around him. Thranduil has lusted after Glorfindel's submission for years, and now that Erestor has opened the door for him, he intends to capture the elusive warrior as his own submissive.

---

Imladris, Spring, Third Age 2086

Elladan waited impatiently.

This had been mainly Elrohir's idea, and if he were honest, he couldn't deny his brother anything. Which was why he was about to perform like some circus act for the spoiled princeling of Mirkwood.

Valar!

Legolas made his blood boil, and not in a lovely, passionate way. No. No, the brat made him want to hit something. Very hard. Usually the prince himself.

Elladan didn't actually believe this was going to accomplish anything other than to serve to hurt his brother. Elrohir, Elladan had long ago decided, was too gentle of a soul. He wanted to soothe everyone's hurts, ease everyone's miseries. Elrohir was *good*. Good like very few people -- even Elves -- were. He trusted with innocent belief, which might have been why Elladan had chosen to be his lover all those years back.

Elrohir would have been used.

He was submissive and sweet and so gentle... Elladan knew someone would see that. Would take it and twist it. Make Elrohir into something Elladan cringed to even ponder.

His eyes watched his brother as Elrohir moved about their bedroom. Elegant grace. In everything Elrohir did, there was artistry and grace. Even their first kiss...

Elladan smirked.

"What is that expression for?" Elrohir asked as he slowly crossed the room, his hips swaying ever so slightly.

Elladan felt arousal begin to burn low in his gut. "I was remembering the first time I kissed you."

"Were you?" Elrohir purred. He looked down at his brother briefly before easing himself astride Elladan's lap in the window seat.

It took all his restraint not to groan as Elrohir settled against him. "You looked as if you were about to cry, as I recall."

"I was," Elrohir said.

"You were so sweet, though. Like honey on my tongue," Elladan told him, running his hand lazily up Elrohir's bare back. "I knew in that moment, I had to have you. Always."

Elrohir's beautiful features, so like his own but different to Elladan's eyes, flushed lightly, his eyelashes drooping. "That kiss," he said breathlessly, "made everything make sense in my head. I knew where I belonged. Who would protect me. Love me. Need me like I needed him."

Elladan's hand tangled in the long, loose hair cascading over his brother's back. He tugged sharply, a quiet cry issuing from Elrohir's lips as his head snapped back. Elladan licked from the hollow of Elrohir's throat to the tip of his chin, smiling smugly when Elrohir trembled against him.

They were both aroused now, and Elladan was about to take it a step further, free his brother's erection, when a knock at the door interrupted them. Elladan cursed as Elrohir was pulled out of the sexual cloud they'd immersed themselves in.

"That is most likely the prince," Elrohir said, his words sluggish and eyes unfocused.

"Yes, it most likely is," Elladan said, his tone more curt than he'd intended. The wounded look on Elrohir's face made his heart twist. "Do not look at me like that. I did not want him here."

Elrohir stroked Elladan's face sweetly before leaning in to kiss him. It was deep and tender and... Elladan forgot to be upset with this glorious creature squirming so delightfully in his lap.

Then the knock came again.

"Go let him in," Elladan ordered, because if Elrohir didn't move off of his lap *now*...

Elrohir slipped off of his lap and went to the door, letting in Thranduil's youngest. Legolas looked as if he were about to face his own execution, and the spark of annoyance in Elladan flared into life. Elladan stood, crossing his arms over his chest, eyes on the prince.

Legolas kept looking around the bedroom, and Elladan had a moment of perverse pleasure in the confusion on the fair face. While Legolas took in the twins' suite, and Elladan glared, Elrohir took a chair from one of the desks and dragged it through a doorway. Into the playroom. And he didn't re-emerge.

Elladan waited a few heartbeats, and then followed his brother, simply expecting Legolas to follow them. If the prince had even half of Thranduil's wits, Elladan was certain Legolas could figure out what he was to do. Sure enough, as soon as Elladan turned around in the playroom to face the door, Legolas slowly stepped through, his eyes wide.

"Does *everyone* have one of these dungeons?" Legolas demanded with a frown.

"It is not a dungeon," Elladan snapped. "It is a playroom, and any self-respecting Ingor does."

Legolas turned his attention to Elladan, his expression showing he didn't much like Elladan's tone. "Why is that? To hide your shame?"

Elladan laughed. "Shame? Hardly." He walked over to stand in front of Legolas, with the door still open. "Here is your first lesson, Legolas, and learn it well because it is the most important lesson you can *ever* learn from any of us. What goes on in this room has *nothing* to do with what goes on in *that* room," he said, pointing to the bedroom. "This is the playroom. This is where all play stays. It does not cross over into the lovemaking. It is dangerous to do so, and it is not advised." Elladan closed the door and went to stand near the Fëanorian Cross, which Elrohir favoured when bound. "Now," Elladan said, eyes narrowed. "Sit."

"Are you speaking to me or your lapdog of a brother?" Legolas fired back.

Had Elrohir not stepped between the two, Elladan was certain he'd have hit the infernal Elf.

"Please," Elrohir said, his tone gentle and coaxing. "Legolas. Sit in the chair. You agreed to come here, to see what it is we do. If you will only insult us, then what is the purpose of the exercise?" He smiled at Legolas, and Elladan knew that smile. It was the one that could melt the snow on Caradhras. "Sit, watch, and I do hope you will learn that this is nothing to condemn."

Elrohir pivoted on his heel then as Legolas sat, and he began to walk towards his brother. Elladan's mouth went dry as those hips swayed as he walked, as the light made the skin of his bare chest golden and warm. He never knew how Elrohir did it, because *he* didn't possess that sort of grace, but, oh, in one motion, he could set Elladan's blood pounding.

A finger began at the hollow of Elladan's throat and travelled down his chest, over his stomach, and stopped at the band of his leggings. Elrohir smiled at him, fey and sensual, and leaned up to press a soft kiss to his lips. "Ignore him," Elrohir whispered before stepping back and removing his leggings without a thought to their audience.

Nude and semi-aroused, Elrohir stepped up to the Cross and waited. Elladan came up behind his brother, slipping a soft, thin leather collar around his throat. Once the collar was in place, the session began.

"Position thirty-six," Elladan ordered, and Elrohir immediately complied. He stepped up nearly flush to the Cross, arms up and extended in a wide 'V', his legs splayed wide. Elladan fastened restraints around Elrohir's wrists and ankles, anchoring him to the large wooden structure.

Elladan completely ignored Legolas' presence except for the activity he chose. When he had discussed it with Elrohir, his brother had warned that anything too intense might frighten Legolas. They chose something very simple, but terribly enjoyable for Elrohir.

Elladan looked forward to seeing his brother undone by his hand.

He picked up a long, thin but sturdy cane, weighing it in his hand before he stepped up behind Elrohir. His voice was low, though it carried through the room, and he almost purred into Elrohir's ear.

"Are you ready?" he asked him, as he did before every session.

A slight nod of Elrohir's head, and Elladan began.

Elladan stepped back, legs slightly apart, and brought the cane swinging. It was lighter than he tended to be when they started, but he didn't want to shock the prince *too* much. Elrohir made a tiny sound in the back of this throat. Legolas' gasp was the loudest sound in the otherwise silent room. Elladan, though tempted to look at Legolas' expression, focused entirely on Elrohir.

The rhythm was quickly established, and the intensity of the caning increased as time wore on. The golden buttocks of his lover took on a pink tinge, which eventually became red, and then Elladan began to leave welts.

He concentrated solely on Elrohir's backside, his strikes arranged in a particular manner. Elrohir squirmed and writhed under each blow. His moans echoed through the room, and Elladan could see that his brother's cheeks were damp with tears. Elladan paused, his own breath a touch short, and came to press his chest to Elladan's sweaty back. His hand lightly ghosted along the blazing skin of one buttock, and he smiled.

"You are so beautiful, Elrohir," he murmured as his brother shivered. Elladan knew how hypersensitive the abused flesh was, and he dragged his nails over it. "You make the most delicious sounds. They make me want to take your body rough, hard, and fast."

Elrohir moaned long and deep, which was what Elladan had intended to make happen with his words. Elrohir was lost in the wondrous realm that pain took him to, where fantasy was as vivid as reality, and he knew Elrohir was already imagining what that sort of tryst would feel like. Remembering the last time Elladan had him so viciously.

"Time to end this, I think," Elladan said, squeezing a buttock sharply. Elrohir's whole body trembled, his arousal over-engorged and dark. Elladan knew his brother's body as well, if not better, than his own. He returned to his previous position and began to strike the underside of Elrohir's backside, just before the swell. He was relentless, despite Elrohir's cries and movements, always striking the same area with as much force as he could without taking the skin beyond welts and bruising.

He watched.

He was acutely aware of Legolas' eyes on Elrohir.

Elladan waited, eyes eager and intent, wanting to see the results of his efforts. With one more solid strike, Elrohir's body bowed, muscles painfully tense, and a ragged, loud shout escaped his brother's lips as he reached climax. Seed smeared against the Cross as Elrohir sagged forward in his bonds, panting, exhausted and sated.

Elladan returned the cane to its hook upon the wall, and then removed Elrohir's collar, setting on the main table of the room. Once that was done, and the scene officially ended, he hurried to unfasten the restraints, hefting his brother in his arms. He smiled as Elrohir's fingers curled in his hair, as he nuzzled Elladan's throat. It was a warm, loving gesture, and Elladan found that one of the most satisfying moments of their play.

He settled Elrohir on a small cot near the door, as they took nothing of the playroom into their bedroom. Even the caring of injuries was done here. Elladan began to smooth a cooling herbal salve into the heated welts of Elrohir's backside, finally taking the time to glance at Legolas.

"The session has concluded," Elladan informed the Elf. "You can leave your chair."

Legolas seemed to consider this, blinking as if coming out of a daze, and then stood from his chair. He came to crouch near the head of the cot, eying the tears drying on Elrohir's cheeks. Elladan *knew* there were questions, but he didn't prompt Legolas. When Legolas was ready for the answers, he would ask the questions. He chose to tend to the welts, massaging the skin and soothing the worst of the pain.

He was beginning to wonder if they were just going to be gawked at all afternoon when Legolas spoke.

"Does it not hurt?" he asked, his voice sounding very young.

Elrohir smiled, and it made Elladan's heart break with the beauty of it. "Of course," Elrohir croaked out with a laugh. "It is supposed to. But the context of the pain is such that it is also intensely pleasurable."

"And when you stub your toe?" Legolas asked.

"I certainly do not become aroused!" Elrohir said. "Again, context, Legolas. Pain is pain, but how it is given and in what circumstances matters greatly. Falling from a horse hurts and is highly unenjoyable. However, being struck by my lover in our playroom as he speaks sweetly to me is wonderfully arousing."

Legolas' pale features flushed. "You... found release without him touching you..."

Elladan fielded that statement. "Yes, he did. It is something I trained into him decades ago."

"Trained?" Legolas frowned at Elladan. "As if he were a dog."

"No," Elladan said, his voice again tight. "I would appreciate you ceasing to refer to Elrohir as such. He is no dog, and I do not treat him like one. I used a word, Legolas. Only a word because it describes what the activity was."

Legolas looked at the floor. "Trained?"

Elladan nodded as he began to brush out Elrohir's hair. "I would strike him in that area while bringing him to climax. After many sessions doing so, I was able to make his body equate the action of striking that portion of his backside with the action of orgasm. Eventually, he was able to do so with only the cane."

"It is incredibly satisfying," Elrohir purred. "I also feel a great sense of pride."

Legolas was again quiet, mulling this over, before he asked, "Is this the only way you can...?"

Elladan and Elrohir both laughed.

"Oh, no," Elrohir said. "This is just spice, something to do when we have the inclination to do it."

"And sex does not have to happen in here, as you saw," Elladan explained. "Yes, Elrohir climaxed, but I did not, and I do not have to. Neither does he. It was merely what we wanted to do this afternoon. Next time, we will do something completely different, and it may or may not include orgasm for one or both of us. This is sensual, Legolas, but not necessarily *sexual*."

Legolas sat back on his heels and regarded them both with confused eyes. "I do not know what it is I feel after having witnessed this."

There was an unspoken conversation between the twins, and then Elladan turned his grey gaze to Legolas. "Would you be willing to try it? Nothing too overwhelming, but something that you can experience so that understanding might be easier to come by?"

They expected him to immediately decline.

Legolas again was silent.

Then he raised his blue eyes, met Elladan's, and nodded. Elladan didn't bother hiding his surprise, which made Legolas smile. "I am trying, Elladan," Legolas murmured.

"Then so will I," Elladan replied. "Remove your clothes, Legolas, and go to the Cross."

Elladan left Elrohir's side, allowing his lover time to regain himself, and followed Legolas. He admired the prince's body as it was revealed to him. It was an archer's body, lithe and wiry, and Legolas was particularly pale.

Legolas paused as he stepped up to the Cross, but Elladan saw him set his jaw and put his arms and legs into position. Elladan fastened the restraints, and spoke as he did so. "There is one rule that truly governs this room, Legolas: this stops when you say it does. However, there is only one way to stop it, and that is by using the safe word. If the session becomes too much for you, you say that word and all play ceases immediately. It is the foundation of trust. I trust you to know your limits, and you trust me to respect them. Do you understand?" he asked as he stood up, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Yes," Legolas said with a tremor in his voice.

"The safe word is 'habad'."

"Habad," Legolas repeated.

"Yes. Use it should you wish me to stop," Elladan reiterated. "Are you ready?"

Legolas closed his eyes, swallowed, and nodded once.

The sound of Elladan's open hand connecting with Legolas' backside reverberated through the room. Legolas' cry of surprise was loud, and Elladan sought to soothe him. He placed a hand on the centre of Legolas' back, warm and reassuring, and when Legolas relaxed again, Elladan resumed.

He built a *very* slow rhythm. The force of his hand increased little by little. Elladan watched Legolas' body, his face, listened to him as Elladan introduced him to this world. It was gentle, if such a word could be used, and Elladan was careful with the trust the prince placed in him.

Legolas' cheeks became a deep red, and his body continually tried to pull away from Elladan's hand. Elladan glanced over the Elf's shoulder, taking note that there wasn't even a stirring of arousal between Legolas' legs. When his hand began to ache, he reached over and took down a simple paddle. Again, he started slowly, using very little strength.

Still, it was only four strikes in when Legolas cried out.

"Habad!"

Immediately, Elladan stepped back, put the paddle on the table, and released the restraints on the Cross. Legolas stumbled back, and Elladan caught him, concern on his face.

"Are you all right, Legolas?" he asked, and was soon joined by Elrohir.

"You stopped," Legolas said slowly.

Elrohir smiled at Legolas, brushing the blond hair from the prince's face. "Yes, he did. You said the word."

Legolas shook his head, reaching down to grab his clothing. "I think... I need to go."

"Legolas," Elladan said, his voice firmer as he gripped the Elf's arm. "Are you all right?"

Legolas offered them a hesitant smile, the first since they'd met. "Physically, yes, but there are things I must think about now. Forgive me."

"If you decide you want to talk..." Elrohir said softly, cupping Legolas' cheek.

"Then I will come to you," Legolas finished. "Please, excuse me."

The twins watched Legolas rush out of the playroom and, after a brief time, heard the door to their bedchamber slam shut.

"That went well," Elrohir said, putting the paddle away.

Elladan gave him a wry smile. "You think so?"

Elrohir walked out of the playroom, motioning for Elladan to follow him. "He did not run screaming from the room, nor did he say anything horribly derisive. He even smiled."

The playroom door was shut, and Elladan leaned against it. "I suppose you are right, brother-mine." Elrohir sat upon the bed, moaning softly as his sore backside was rubbed by the rough coverlet. Elladan hardened instantly. "It is wise he left now," Elladan practically growled as he stalked across the room to his brother's now supine form.

Elrohir, eyes sparkling, asked innocently, "And why is that, dear Elladan?"

"Because I think he might have run screaming from the room when he saw me do this." Elladan bent over and took his brother's semi-aroused member between his lips, groaning at the taste.

"Ai, Elladan!" Elrohir gasped, arching up into Elladan's mouth, hands flying to tangle in sable hair. "Do not stop..."

TBC...