Snowstorm

Title: Snowstorm
Rating: NC-17
Type: FPS
Pairings: Erestor/Glorfindel
Author: Aglarien
Disclaimer: Alas, not mine. Master Tolkien owns all. I promise to return his elves when I’m done playing with them.
Warning: AU. Excessive sweetness, fluffiness and romance.
Summary: Glorfindel and a wounded Erestor are caught in a snowstorm on their way home from Mirkwood.

This was meant to be a one-chapter stand alone, but it's getting a little long. Will probably have only 3 parts. Not connected with my other Erestor/Glorfindel universe.

Chapter 1

They had managed to make it over the highest passes of the Misty Mountains before the full force of the snowstorm hit. Winter was coming unexpectedly early to the mountains. “Erestor, we must keep going,” Glorfindel yelled over the brutal wind, even though they rode closely together, side by side. “Can you make it until we find shelter?” Erestor nodded, his face barely visible around the cloak hood pulled over his head.

Glorfindel grimaced at the councilor’s wounded thigh. Blood was seeping through the bandages they had hastily tied around it to staunch the bleeding, and if Glorfindel hadn’t already known the blade had been poisoned, the sweat pouring off Erestor’s face in the bitter cold would have told him. Returning from a diplomatic mission in Mirkwood, the two had encountered a small group of Orcs. They had dealt with the foul creatures, but Erestor had been wounded in the process. With only the two of them, they had to leave the area quickly, not knowing how many more Orcs were there, and now they had the early snowstorm to deal with.

“There is a cabin the border patrol uses a few hours from here. Hold on, Erestor. Just hold on.” There was no way they could even stop in this storm for him to locate more healing herbs in his pack. The wind would tear anything out of his hands. It was better to just keep moving.

Two hours later, Erestor was swaying, barely maintaining his hold on the horse. Glorfindel reached over and dragged his friend from his mount, finally managing to get the councilor in front of him on Asfaloth. He quickly tied the reins of the riderless horse to his saddle, fearful that the animal would be lost in the blinding storm. Holding tightly onto Erestor, they slowly trudged on. Glorfindel would not stop; it didn’t matter if it was day or night, as he couldn’t see in the storm anyway. He had to get Erestor to shelter.

Glorfindel estimated it was sometime shortly after dawn when he finally spotted the cabin, already half buried in the snow. Erestor had lost consciousness several hours ago, and he sighed in relief at the sight. With any luck, the cabin and its small attached stable would be stocked with supplies. At least it would give them shelter from the storm and allow him to take care of Erestor’s wound.

Finally reaching the cabin, he draped Erestor over the horse and jumped down. Hurriedly opening the stable door, he led the horses in. He pulled Erestor into his arms, telling the horses, “I will return soon to care for you, my friends, but I must take care of Erestor first.” Asfaloth snorted in agreement, as Erestor’s black stallion nudged his master with his nose. “I will take care of him, Durion, I promise. I will return.”

Glorfindel carried Erestor through a small door into the adjoining cabin. He laid Erestor on the bed, quickly removed the councilor’s wet cloak, and covered him with a warm blanket. He looked around the small room and started opening cupboards and chests. There were healing supplies, dried meat, dried fruits and vegetables, grains for porridge and breads, honey, herbs for tea, more blankets, and clothing. Sending a silent thank you to the elves who had last stocked the cabin, he started a fire blazing in the fireplace, then grabbed a kettle for heating water and a large cooking pot. Snow was piled against the cabin door and he could not push it open. Luckily, the stable was on higher ground, so he ran back through the stable door to fill them both with fresh fallen snow.

Returning to the cabin, he placed the kettle on the large hook over the fire. Emptying some of the snow from the pot into a bowl, he placed both the bowl and the pot in front of the fire. He would find another pot to cook Erestor a hot broth later, but first he had to treat his wound. The healing herbs in their packs were fresher than those in the cabin, so he returned to the horses. After unfastening their packs, he quickly removed the horses’ saddles and gear, tossing them aside for now, and uncovered some hay for the animals. Grabbing their packs, he ran back to the cabin.

Emptying the contents of his pack on the table, he found the herbs he was looking for. The snow in the bowl had melted, so he added some hot water from the kettle and healing herbs. More herbs went into a cup with hot water to steep, and another handful into a separate bowl with a little water to moisten them. He moved all of his bowls and cups to the stand next to Erestor’s bed, along with his knife, fresh bandages, and washing cloths.

Using his knife, he cut away the old bandage on Erestor’s thigh, then cut away the legging, exposing the ugly wound. He dipped a cloth into the water with the herbs, and working as carefully as he could, cleaned the wound until all he could see was raw flesh and fresh bleeding. Retrieving a needle and thread from his pack, he carefully stitched the gaping cut closed, grateful his friend was still unconscious. He took the herbs he had moistened with water and packed them onto the wound, then bound it with clean bandages.

Erestor was burning with fever, so Glorfindel removed the remainder of his clothing and gently washed his friend’s body with cool, herb-laced water. He wanted Erestor to drink the tea he had made, but that was impossible until he woke. All he could do now was watch the councilor carefully and make him as comfortable as he could. And wait. He wrapped Erestor in warm blankets, and set the tea next to the fire to keep warm.

Glorfindel tidied away his healing supplies, dumping the used water in the privy, which thankfully connected to the cabin through a small hallway. He found a smaller cooking pot, filled it with the melting snow from the large pot, added dried meat and vegetables to make a broth, and hung it over the fire to cook. Taking the large pot he returned to the stable. He filled the horses’ trough with the water left in the pot, then refilled it with fresh snow. After rubbing down Asfaloth and Durion and making sure they had enough hay and water, he took the pot and returned to the cabin.

He removed his wet clothing and put on a clean tunic and leggings from his pack. He rummaged through Erestor’s pack and found fresh clothing for him, leaving it on the table. After laying their wet clothing out to dry before the fire, he wearily collapsed onto the bed next to Erestor, falling almost immediately into an exhausted sleep.

~~~*~~~

Glorfindel awoke the instant he heard Erestor’s moan. The councilor was still unconscious and burning with fever. He ran to the fire and grabbed the cup of tea. Returning to the bed, he set the cup down on the stand and pulled his friend into a sitting position, holding him up with an arm wrapped around him. “Erestor, you must wake up now. Do you hear me? You must wake and drink this tea. Wake now.”

Erestor mumbled something unintelligible as Glorfindel took the cup and raised it to his lips. “Drink, Erestor. You were wounded with a poisoned blade, my friend. You must drink.” He kept talking and telling Erestor to wake, resisting the urge to shake him. Slowly, little by little, he managed to get most of the tea down his friend. Setting the cup aside, he gently laid Erestor back down and tucked the blankets around him.

One cup was good, but Erestor needed much more. He would just have to wake him every hour or so and get more down him. He prepared more tea to steep, stirred the soup bubbling over the fire, and pulling a chair next to the bed, sat down to wait. Erestor’s sleep was now restless, and he would mumble something Glorfindel couldn’t understand every so often.

Glorfindel decided he would not wait an hour. As soon as the tea had steeped, he would try again. He would not lose Erestor. The two had been close friends for over two millennia, and he could not imagine his life without Erestor in it.

Only Elrond really understood the relationship between his Chief Councilor and the Captain of his guards. Most of the others saw only a sharp-tongued advisor and a warrior who was full of life, poking fun at each other and trying to slay each other with their words. Two tall elves, matched in wit and intelligence, one light and one dark.

Few others even knew of the late nights they spent sitting in each other’s company, sometimes talking or reading to each other, sometimes crouched over a game of chess, and sometimes simply sitting with the other in silence. Only Elrond knew of the hug Glorfindel would give the councilor when he left on patrol, and the hug Erestor always greeted the warrior with when he returned. In the beginning, Glorfindel had wondered if Erestor was attracted to him, but the councilor had never shown any interest beyond companionship, and so their relationship had grown into one of deep friendship.

No, he would not lose Erestor to this. He refused to. He rose to get the tea, and once again managed to get more of it down Erestor. Laying his friend back down, he removed the blankets and again wiped the sweating face and body down with cool water and herbs, then tenderly tucked the blankets back around him.

Erestor trashed and mumbled, so Glorfindel sat next to him, stroking his forehead or his hair, and finally pulled the delirious elf into his arms to hold him against his chest. Erestor mumbled something that sounded like “why…why”.

“Shhh…It is all right now, Erestor. I have you, dear friend. I will take care of you,” Glorfindel whispered.

“Why…can’t he… love…me,” Erestor mumbled. “He does not… love me…loved him…for so long…why?”

Erestor was in love with someone? How could he not know that? And who was it? Suddenly the thought of Erestor loving someone else, someone he would be closer with than himself nearly panicked the warrior, and he felt a pain in his chest. He could lose his dearest friend to someone else, and there would be no more late nights filled with his companionship. But he was being selfish and he knew it. Erestor’s happiness had to come first. Glorfindel would make sure he survived the poison, and would help him when they returned home. Maybe he could even intercede with this other elf for him. But first he had to find out who it was. Erestor had never hinted that he was in love, so Glorfindel realized if he didn’t find out now, he never would.

“Who is it that you love, dear friend? Who is it that does not love you? Tell me,” he whispered.

“Never…sees… my love…why can’t he… love me?”

“Who is it, Erestor? Tell me who it is you love.”

“Glor…fin…del.”

Was Erestor simply saying his name? Or was he saying he loved him? Glorfindel asked again, “Tell me who you love, Erestor,” and held his breath.

“Love…Glor…fin…del…Why doesn’t… he… love me? Loved him…so long. He…never sees…I love him. Why… can’t he… see?”

Glorfindel drew in a sharp, shocked breath. He was a fool. “He sees now, dear friend, he sees now,” the warrior whispered, and swallowed a lump in his throat. He had been a blind fool. He should have acted on his feelings millennia ago when he first thought Erestor was attracted to him. Instead, he had pushed his feelings aside, along with his own attraction for his dark friend. They could have been together all these years, and instead he had made his dearest friend suffer the loneliness of unrequited love. “I promise you, Erestor, he sees now. And he loves you. I think he has always loved you.” Tears of regret spilled from his eyes. “Forgive me, Erestor. Forgive me. The pain I have caused you. Forgive my blindness. I love you, Erestor. I love you,” he whispered, sobbing into Erestor’s dark hair.

Glorfindel continued to hold Erestor close, his tears falling on the dark head. Finally he drew a deep breath and raised his head. This was not going to help Erestor, and it was time for more tea. He gently laid Erestor back down on the bed, kissed his brow softly, and went to fix more tea.

Again and again he coaxed more tea into Erestor. He carried his delirious love to the privy and helped him relieve himself. He got him to take a few spoonfuls of the hot broth and more tea, and bathed his body once again. The routine continued for the rest of the day and night, and half of the next day before the fever finally broke.

When Erestor finally lay in a deep healing sleep, Glorfindel filled a bowl with the rich, thick broth. The dried meat and vegetables had dissolved into the broth. He broke some dried crackers he found in the cabin into the broth, and sat at the table where he could watch the bed. He had taken nothing for himself for nearly two days, and was starving. After he ate, he checked on the horses, then lay beside Erestor, holding him in his arms, and fell into an exhausted sleep.

~~~*~~~
Erestor groaned as he slowly awoke. His thigh was painful and throbbed. A gentle hand moved his hair from his face, and he looked up into the blue eyes he so loved. “Where are we, Glorfindel? What happened? The storm…” His voice was weak and shaky.

“We are in a cabin that our patrols use, and the horses are safe in the stable. You have been delirious with fever for nearly two days. Oh, Erestor, I thought I would lose you. The poison…” Tears began to pool in Glorfindel’s eyes. “Thank the Valar, you are recovering now.”

Erestor reached a hand up to touch Glorfindel’s face. “Why do you weep?” he whispered.

“I nearly lost you, Erestor. I…I have not had much sleep. It is nothing, dear friend.” He smiled down at Erestor. Now was not the time to tell Erestor what he had said in his delirium. “How do you feel? Are you in pain?”

Erestor nodded. “My leg hurts…throbs. I need to go and relieve myself, and I am very thirsty…and hungry.”

Glorfindel reached for the glass of water he had left on the stand. “Have a drink first, then I will help you to the privy. I have some soup waiting for you – very good soup, if I do say so myself. Then we must check how your leg is healing.”

Erestor drank the entire glass of water thirstily. “I do not think I can walk, Glorfindel.”

“You do not have to.” He pulled the blanket around Erestor. Picking his soon-to-be-lover up in his arms, he carried him to the privy. “I will hold you, don’t worry,” he said, as he slowly set Erestor on his feet and held him firmly, arms around his chest.

When they had finished, he carried Erestor back to the bed, arranging pillows and blankets behind him so he could sit up, and covering him warmly with blankets again. “I have herbs for your pain, Erestor, but I am afraid they will put you to sleep, and you need to eat to regain your strength.”

“I can bear the pain, my friend. And I am very hungry.”

Glorfindel fixed a bowl of the soup for Erestor, taking lembas from his pack and breaking the way bread into it. Erestor needed the strength it would provide. He sat on the bed and lifted the spoon to the councilor’s mouth.

Erestor opened his mouth and swallowed the soup. “Hmmm…good. But if you give me the bowl, I can feed myself.”

“No, you can’t. You are still too weak. But I will let you take the spoon while I hold the bowl for you.” Glorfindel grinned. “I told you it was good,”

Erestor took the spoon, and quickly emptied the bowl. Sighing, he laid back on his stack of pillows and blankets. “Thank you, Glorfindel, for…everything. You are a wonderful friend, and I do not know what I would do without you right now.”

Glorfindel leaned over and kissed Erestor chastely on the brow. “You are very dear to me, Erestor,” he whispered. “Now let me get your tea.”

Erestor watched Glorfindel as he brewed a cup of tea and added honey from a cupboard. He thanked the Valar for the gift of their friendship. It was all right if Glorfindel didn’t love him as a lover, as long as he loved him as a friend. It was enough, and Erestor was grateful for that.

Glorfindel allowed the tea to cool a little while he fixed a new batch of herbs for Erestor’s leg and got out their healing supplies. He set everything he needed on the stand, then sat next to Erestor. “Drink the tea before I start on your leg, my friend.” He handed the cup to Erestor and watched carefully to make sure he could hold it steady.

Erestor handed the cup back to Glorfindel and nodded for him to start. Glorfindel slid a towel under the councilor’s thigh, then cut the bandages away. He gently removed most of the dried herbs, then used a wet cloth to clean the wound. “It looks good, Erestor. I think I got the poison out of it. It is even beginning to close.”

Erestor looked down at his leg. “You stitched it.”

“I did not want you to have a bad scar. Not as good as Elrond’s stitching, but it will do.”

“It will do very well, Glorfindel. Thank you,” Erestor replied softly.

Glorfindel smiled, and took up the fresh herb paste he had made. He gently spread it over the wound, and wrapped the thigh with fresh bandages. “All done.” Erestor was beginning to nod off. Glorfindel gently removed the extra pillows and blankets from behind Erestor so he could lie down, and drew the blankets up over him.

“Will you come and sleep beside me, Glorfindel? We can keep each other warm, and you need to rest now as well.” Erestor could hear the wind still howling its fury outside the cabin.

“Of course I will. I just need to make sure the horses are well, and it is warm enough in the stable for them. Rest now. Sleep.” He kissed Erestor chastely on the cheek and left to see to the horses.

Snow was drifting in through the crack in the stable door, so he piled hay against it to help keep the cold out. He took blankets and covered the horses’ backs with them. “I am sorry I did not do that last night, my friends, but I could not think of anything but Erestor. He left the door to the cabin open so some of the heat from the fire would find its way into the stable.

He was hungry again, so he quickly ate a bowl of the soup before adding more water, dried meat and vegetables to the soup pot to cook overnight. He found dried fruit, and put it in water to soak overnight and soften. In the morning he would add honey and cook the fruit in porridge for Erestor’s breakfast.

Finally done, he removed all of his clothing except for his loincloth, and crawled into bed beside Erestor. Gathering the sleeping elf in his arms, he drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

~~~*~~~
Erestor awoke just after dawn feeling warm and comfortable. The wind was still howling outside, and he could see snow still falling heavily outside the windows. The fire was lower, but still burned. And Glorfindel was curled up behind him, holding him close. Moving carefully so he did not disturb the still sleeping elf or make his thigh start throbbing again, he rolled over in Glorfindel’s arms until he was facing his warrior friend. Deeply breathing in the scent of the elf he had loved from the first moment they met, he rested his head on the strong shoulder, and slept once more.

Glorfindel had woken when Erestor moved, but stayed still, waiting to see what Erestor would do. He smiled down at the sleeping elf, and gently stroked the dark head. “I love you, Erestor,” he whispered, then joined his love in reverie once more.