Second Lives, Second Chances by chrissystriped

Chapter Three

“I’ve noticed you’re coming here quite often”, Rog said softly. Glorfindel caressed Rog’s arm as they lay beside each other.

Glorfindel always took care to let him know when he’d be here well in advance and Rog admitted to himself that he timed his travels in the forest so he’d be in the forest town when Glorfindel was here. He liked to see him.

“Because I wish to be with you.” Glorfindel smiled at him. “And you hate the city. And also… I’ll admit, I feel more at ease here than in Tirion, too. All the attention I’m getting there…”

“You don’t like being famous?”

Rog lifted his head to look at him with surprise. Glorfindel had always been a sociable elf, who seemed to like being in the middle of a crowd.

“No.” Glorfindel shook his head. “Not that way at least. Everyone wants to hear about it — and I just want to forget that fight. I can understand why you stay in your forest.”

“It’s the closes to what my home in Middle-earth was.”

Glorfindel’s fingers traced the pale lines that remained of his story. In the strange way of rebirth, the pictures that had been inked under his skin were now a part of his body — because his fea had felt it that way.

“What do they mean?”, Glorfindel asked softly.

“It’s my life”, Rog answered. “The pattern of my family, my deeds and achievements.”

“I think it is very pretty.”

"I'm glad you like it", Rog answered.

He snuggled closer, although he knew he should leave. His eyes drooped, tiredness seeping into his muscles after the sex, Glorfindel’s fingers caressing him.

He startled awake from a few seconds’ sleep. He longed to fall asleep in Glorfindel’s arms, but he couldn’t.

“I need to leave”, he mumbled and sat up, averting his gaze from the disappointment in Glorfindel eyes.

He knew he was hurting him with keeping his distance, but he couldn’t let him see him like that. The wrongness of it would only make Glorfindel turn away from him — and although he tried to tell himself that this relationship was not serious, he knew deep down he cared. He kissed Glorfindel good night.

“See you tomorrow afternoon.”

Glorfindel thought, he was riding home each night. He didn’t need to know that Rog had made camp in the eaves of the forest, as close to the house as possible without being seen.