Lord Glorfindel hummed one of Elrond's favorite songs, an old ballad about a fool of a king who had thrown himself into the sea in the name of love, as he strutted through the halls of the Last Homely House on the way to the kitchen to fetch a bottle of wine for Thranduil. He could not have imagined that this night would turn out as well as it did, and he had Elrohir's meddling to thank for it.

He could not wait to join Thranduil in his room. A second time could only be better than the first, and the first had been unimaginably satisfying. He hoped the King would be pleased enough to keep him as a bed partner for the rest of his stay in Imladris. After that perhaps Glorfindel could convince Elrond to let him go to Mirkwood for awhile...

He wondered how he would look with an earring. He would not dare put one through a nipple but a ring through the lobe would not be so bad -- and it would certainly be more visible. Thranduil had a reputation to keep up after all, Glorfindel thought, smirking slightly.

The kitchens were deserted at this late hour. Glorfindel fixed a plate of cheese and grapes, trying to arrange everything attractively on the plate to please the King. He spent the next ten minutes debating which among the available bottles in the kitchens was of the best quality or whether he should go down to the wine cellar and pinch one of the really good ones he knew Elrond secreted away when Thranduil was in Imladris.

Realizing he was keeping Thranduil waiting, Glorfindel decided against ransacking the wine cellar and picked up a bottle of white wine from the rack in the kitchen.

"King Thranduil prefers the red," came a voice from behind him.

Glorfindel whirled around and the bottle slipped out of his hand. With a crash it broke on the hard stone floor. He found himself facing Erestor. They both looked down at the bottle and frowned. The Chief Advisor took a step backwards to avoid having the hem of his robe soiled.

"Red it is," said Glorfindel cheerfully, grinning at him.

Erestor was still frowning. His eyes raked over Glorfindel slowly, making him wonder if he had put his clothing on backwards or something.

"I see you have arranged your snack in the shape of a smiling face," Erestor said dryly, indicating the plate which was still safely on the counter. "Bringing that to Thranduil as well?"

"As a matter of fact, I am."

"Lovely."

"How did you know I was with Thranduil, anyway, Erestor?" Glorfindel demanded.

"I have my ways of knowing what goes on inside this house," Erestor replied, lifting his chin slightly.

"Lovely," Glorfindel mimicked him. "Now if you will excuse me, I do not wish to keep him waiting."

Erestor stood staunchly in the way, folding his slender arms over his chest. "I thought you were in love with Elrohir."

The words stung. Glorfindel had no idea that anyone knew about his feelings for the son of Elrond or their affair, except maybe Elladan. He did not bother to ask Erestor how he knew that, knowing he would only receive another disdainful and uninformative reply.

"Thranduil showed me otherwise," Glorfindel said quietly. "I suppose in some ways he put an end to my...obsession... with Elrohir."

"That is just as well," Erestor said a bit more gently.

"Yes."

"Unless, of course, you are now going to find yourself obsessed with Thranduil."

Glorfindel glared at him. "Why does it concern you?"

"We have been friends for a great many years, Lord Glorfindel."

"You are a friend of Thranduil?" Glorfindel asked suspiciously.

"I meant you and I," Erestor sighed. "Never mind, I can certainly see that you are not interested in my advice."

"I can take care of myself," Glorfindel said softly, but he stepped forward and put a hand on Erestor's shoulder. As he did, he heard the glass crunch underneath his feet. He was glad he had put his boots back on. Erestor looked down at the mess and sighed.

"Why do you not go? I will have this cleaned up."

"Thank you."

"I am just glad to see you are well and were not abused at the hands of that miserable--"

"Please, hold your tongue. Thranduil is more kind than you might imagine."

Erestor simply shook his head. He picked up the plate of food and the bottle of red wine and thrust them into Glorfindel's hands. Glorfindel left him there to deal with the broken bottle on the floor, wondering at Erestor's interest in his health. The Chief Advisor certainly had ways of surprising him, that was for certain.

But Erestor was quickly forgotten as Glorfindel made his way to the room reserved for Thranduil, the biggest guest suite in the palace. It amused Glorfindel that Elrond, who often seemed to dislike the King of Mirkwood, would go out of his way to entertain him so lavishly. Glorfindel knew as well as anyone else that Thranduil's appearance at the beginning of wine-making season was no coincidence. Wine was not made in Mirkwood and Thranduil had to import it. Elrond usually gave him a generous supply. Glorfindel decided he would volunteer to help get the shipment back to Mirkwood, since no one had come with the King besides his son this time.

Balancing the bottle and the plate carefully, Glorfindel entered the large room. He called out the King's name but the room was empty. Setting down his burdens, Glorfindel rearranged the food on the plate. Erestor was right, the smiling face was a bit over the top. He poured two glasses of wine and dimly lit the lamps around the bed so that they would be able to see each other. Thranduil was too beautiful to make love to in a dark room.

Glorfindel took off his clothing and lay in the center of the bed, arranging his hair over his shoulders to present an enticing picture to the King. Then he decided that Thranduil might prefer to take his clothing off of him since he had not gotten to do it the first time, so he put all his clothes back on and lay down again. He had just decided that perhaps naked was best after all and was kneeling on the bed with his tunic half way over his head when the door opened and Thranduil came in.

Thranduil chuckled and Glorfindel pulled it the rest of the way off, feeling his ears heat up slightly as a blush spread over his fair cheeks.

"I trust you did not think I meant not to join you," Thranduil said. "Legolas was hurt, and I went to look in on him."

"The Prince was hurt?" Glorfindel said with alarm. "What happened?"

"Apparently Elrond's friend Radagast accidentally conjured up a troll of some sort. Wizards. I never did like them -- aside from Gandalf. Legolas killed the troll but was injured."

"You should have stayed by his side! You need not leave your son for me," Glorfindel insisted. Thranduil smiled at him and came forward to lay a hand on his cheek.

"Orophin is attending to him. And quite well, from what I saw. I do not think they even noticed my visit."

Glorfindel's eyes widened. He was not quite sure how to respond to that. Luckily, Thranduil bent and took his lips and saved him from any further thought at all.