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“Sauron is my enemy as much as yours,” Adar said, as Galadriel struggled against the blade now held against her throat by one of his Orcs. “Give me what I need to defeat him and let us all be rid of him.”
“Is it not you that has done his bidding by laying siege to Eregion?” Elrond said incredulously.
“Eregion has fallen into shadow. It belongs to the Deceiver now, as does every Elf within its walls.”
Elrond’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Not Lord Celebrimbor,” he argued with a shake of his head.
“It was Celebrimbor himself who welcomed Sauron in,” Adar said, sounding almost exasperated, and Elrond hesitated. It couldn’t be true, and yet… what if it was? How else could Sauron have entered the city, if he had not been welcomed by the one who had sworn to protect it? A hollow nausea settled sour and heavy in his stomach.
“You cannot save him,” Adar continued. “You can save Galadriel.” He glanced to his left, and Elrond followed his line of sight to where Galadriel leaned against a wooden post, a blade still held against her skin. Elrond’s composure slipped for merely a moment upon seeing her that way, before his jaw tightened once more as Adar spoke again.
“It is an earnest offer,” he said, seeming restless. “I suggest you take it, and leave Sauron to me.” He rose from his seat then, eyes never leaving Elrond’s face. A curious expression passed over his features - something soft, almost admiring - and he stilled for a moment, but just as quickly he looked away and continued on his path with an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
“You have the beauty of your foremother, Melian of the Valar,” he said, and realization hit Elrond. He knew now what that look had been, and it wasn’t admiration - it was want. And that was something he could use to his advantage.
“If even a fragment of her wisdom is in your veins,” Adar continued, “you must know you cannot defeat me in battle.” He did not look at Elrond as he said this. It was only after he stopped for a second and took a breath that he met Elrond’s gaze again and took a few more steps toward him.
“I will outmaneuver you, my forces outfight yours, and you will fall,” he said, but now that Elrond was actually listening to him, trying to find a way to weaken his defences, it sounded more like a warning to heed than an outright threat.
“Not before you have painted the sands of the Glanduin black with the blood of your kin,” Elrond answered, and in that moment, a half formed plan in mind, he made a split-second decision, one he hoped would turn the tide of the conversation in his favour. He rose from his seat, stepping so close to Adar that he could see flecks of silver in his otherwise grey eyes - eyes that widened slightly before settling into a glare as the Orcs around them let out a growl of disapproval.
“My children have endured cruelties your bravest couldn’t bear to hear spoken aloud,” Adar said, and his voice was heavy with the truth of the statement. Elrond’s heart ached for him, then - for the love he so clearly held for them, even if it led to poorly misguided actions.
“Are you prepared to spend their lives so freely, Adar?” Elrond pushed, and the corners of Adar’s mouth, which until now had pointed up in a seemingly permanent sneer, turned down. “Are they?” Elrond continued, the question aimed not at Adar, but at the Orcs in the room, who shifted and glanced at each other uncomfortably.
Adar stared at him, his chest heaving, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to lunge at Elrond… which was, in a way, exactly what Elrond wanted.
“The Ring for Galadriel’s life,” Adar said after a few breaths, but there was no force behind it anymore. “What is it to be?”
Elrond let his gaze trickle down the length of Adar’s body before rising to settle at his lips, and then back up to his waiting gaze. He was satisfied to see the flutter of Adar’s pulse quickening under the skin of his jaw. He paced around him, removing the clasp of his cloak as he did so, Adar’s gaze following his every movement. The action served two purposes; the first being to get it ready to hand off to Galadriel (it would be a lot more difficult to remove it once he had the eyes of all the Orcs on him), and the second being to ignite some image in Adar’s mind of removing… more. He had Adar almost where he wanted him - almost.
“Ask me on the field,” Elrond said, stepping into Adar’s space, “when the neck with a blade against it is yours.”
He refused to look away, refused to look anywhere but into Adar’s eyes, even as the silence between them and the unhappy grumblings of the Orcs pressed on.
Finally, Adar spoke, but it was quiet, breathy… disappointed. Elrond had hoped he would continue to taunt him, but it seemed he might have pushed too far. Had he missed a cue that Adar had already presented to him? He needed Adar to look at him with fire in his eyes for his plan to work, not with acquiescence.
“Very well,” Adar said, and he was the one to break eye contact, looking down at the ground with the smallest shake of his head. He looked up again almost immediately, but said nothing. All he did was stare, until eventually he said, “I will meet you there… with her head on a pike.” Still, despite the rather vivid image, his words bore no real venom, and he had taken yet another step towards Elrond as he spoke - so Elrond’s plan was not completely foiled.
He was so close now that Elrond could easily lean forward and close the distance between them - but he knew that he needed to do something else first, something that would weaken the last, small bit of resolve he could still see in Adar’s eyes, and stoke the fire that had fueled him earlier. He knew precisely what needed to be done. He didn’t like it one bit, but it was his only option.
“If that is to be the way of things, I should like to bid her farewell,” Elrond said evenly.
Adar was quiet, his gaze falling to the floor once more before he slowly looked up at the Orc holding Galadriel captive.
“He’s unarmed,” the Orc said in reply to his silent question.
Adar wavered, calculating, as he looked back at Elrond. Then he nodded reluctantly in Galadriel’s direction, giving his permission.
Elrond turned around quickly, before he could change his mind, his heart hammering in his chest at what he was about to do.
“Forgive me,” he said quietly in Sindarin to Galadriel when he was close enough that a whisper would suffice. She looked at him with only understanding and empathy.
“Win,” she said in their shared tongue, and he nodded, resting a gentle hand against her cheek.
He spared only a short glance back to make sure Adar was watching them, before leaning forward and placing a kiss - soft, sweet, and simple, but lingering nonetheless - to Galadriel’s lips. He pulled back, keeping their bodies close as he handed her the clasp he’d removed from his cloak earlier. She raised her eyebrows slightly, but made no other indication that would alert those around them to what had transpired.
He stepped away towards the exit and called for Vorohil to follow him, hoping that the second part of his plan had worked, hoping that Adar would –
“Wait!” Adar called, and Elrond closed his eyes in a mixture of relief and resignation - relief at knowing his plan had succeeded, resignation at the fact he would have to follow through with it. But Galadriel had been right. The ring could not fall into Sauron’s hands, and they had to do anything in their power to keep it from him, to bring him down. Anything. And by all accounts, allying with Adar was their best shot at that. Fixing his expression into something neutral, Elrond turned to face Adar.
Adar was frowning, the eyes of his Orcs all focused on him. He had seemed to be many things in the short while Elrond had known him, but this was the first time he appeared unsure.
Adar opened his mouth to speak, took a breath, and closed it once more, his lips forming a hard line.
“Yes?” Elrond prompted with forced pleasantry.
Adar glared at him, his frown deepening for a moment before he said, “I have a proposition for you.”
Elrond motioned for him to continue, but Adar shook his head.
“It is not one I would make among present company,” he said. His eyes landed not on Galadriel, or even Vorohil, but on his Orcs - this was something he did not want his children to hear.
Off to the side, Galadriel gasped quietly, and Elrond knew she had figured out what he was doing.
There was no use in dragging out the inevitable, and so Elrond inclined his head graciously.
“Very well,” he said to Adar. “Let us speak somewhere more private.”
Elrond held up a hand to stop Vorohir, who had begun to protest, just as Adar was forced to do the same when his Orcs exclaimed their disagreement.
“This way,” Adar said, walking past Elrond and out of the tent. Elrond spared a glance back at Galadriel as he followed, her eyes wide with disbelief, and offered her a reassuring smile… even though he was anything but sure himself.
The mud they walked through was sticky and clung to his boots, but they didn’t have to walk very far before Adar came to a stop in front of another tent, this one slightly smaller than the one they’d just left. He held it open for Elrond, who stepped through with a nod of thanks.
The tent was… warmer than Elrond had expected. Furs lined the walls, insulating them from the cold outside. Coals glowed orange and red in a pit in the centre of the room, casting heat and light upon everything around it. A small wooden table stood at one end, where Adar was busying himself with pouring out two glasses of golden liquor. At the other end was a bed; large, plush, and covered in woolen blankets. It was cozy. Had he not known it to be Adar’s room, Elrond would never have guessed it.
Adar offered Elrond one of the glasses, and he took it, noticing as he did so that Adar’s own was already half empty.
“So,” Elrond said, taking a small sip of the drink. He was pleasantly surprised to find it was a smooth, sweet mead. “Am I to assume this proposition you mentioned would allow Galadriel to go free?” He asked the question as if he hadn’t already slipped her a method of escape. She would be safe, regardless of how this little meeting went. This wasn’t about her anymore, this was about winning Adar to their cause.
Adar tapped a finger against his glass as he watched Elrond with rapt attention.
“It could,” he said.
“Then I would be more than happy to hear it,” Elrond said.
Adar nodded, then downed the rest of his glass in one quick motion. He turned his back on Elrond, and strode back over to the table to refill his drink. He took a sip, then set the glass down and stood there for a moment, palms open atop the table and shoulders hunched, his hair falling to cover his face. Something in Elrond wanted to reach out, then, to grasp a shoulder or lay a hand reassuringly upon Adar’s - he knew the heat of inner turmoil too well not to recognize it in someone else. But this was Adar, and he knew why he had been brought here. He would not comfort the one who would soon, no doubt, be breaking him apart without so much as a thought to his own comfort.
Adar tugged the gauntlet he wore from his hand, tossing it down on the table in front of him. He picked up his glass again and turned slowly, letting out a singular, low chuckle when he saw Elrond’s gaze so focused on him. And yet, he wore no malice now. Removed from his followers, away from their expectations and eyes, this was the most relaxed Elrond had seen him yet. The glow of the embers warmed Adar’s skin, and Elrond reluctantly had to admit that he might have an easier time with what awaited him than he’d previously anticipated. His high cheekbones, long, dark hair, and piercing eyes made for a rather striking figure, all things considered.
Elrond didn’t know whether he should be repulsed or glad that he’d managed some sort of attraction to him.
“You are very beautiful,” Adar said softly, apparently having taken the time to admire Elrond in turn.
“You said as much while we were with the others,” Elrond reminded.
Adar smiled - a genuine smile, not a sneer or smirk. “You listened.”
“Of course,” Elrond said. “And I would also listen if you would tell me what I can do to ensure Galadriel goes free.”
He was so close to saying it, Elrond could tell, and yet still he said nothing.
“Tell me what you want, Adar,” Elrond said.
Something sparked in Adar’s eyes.
“I want –” Adar licked his lips. “I want…”
“Yes?” Elrond coaxed, taking a step toward him. Come on, he thought. Just say it, and let us be done with it!
Adar’s gaze dropped to Elrond’s lips as he took another step closer. “I want…”
“Adar…” Elrond said, taking another step. Adar’s breath hitched, and his eyes shot back up to meet Elrond’s. “Tell me,” Elrond said firmly.
Something broke behind Adar’s eyes, a dam flooding forth, baring things Elrond couldn’t even begin to decipher.
“You,” he said finally, breathily. “I want… you.” As if realizing too late what he had said, his mouth dropped open slightly and he took a step back. “I’m sorry,” he said, and if the way he flinched and dropped his gaze to the floor was any indication, he meant it sincerely.
Elrond reached out and grasped his wrist before he could get any further, and the motion was enough to tear Adar’s gaze back to his. This was… not how Elrond had expected this to go.
“Why are you – ” Elrond started, brows furrowed in confusion, but he was cut off.
“This is not who I am,” Adar said quietly. He tried to pull free of Elrond’s hold, but there was such little effort behind it that it did nothing. He sighed, a long, drawn out sound. “It is only, you are – ”
“Beautiful?” Elrond suggested, recalling his earlier words with a quirk of his lips.
“Yes,” Adar agreed seriously. “You are… incredibly beautiful. And I – I am so incredibly tired.” He laughed, and it was dry, devoid of emotion. “I’m tired, I am weak, and you are too much, at a time when even a little would have done enough.”
Elrond could feel his plan slipping away, and he tried to catch onto the last threads before they fell through his fingers.
“If that’s what it takes to let Galadriel go free, I’ll – ”
Adar frowned, pained. “No,” he said with a wave of his hand. “You can take her with you. I do not require… that from you.”
Elrond swallowed. He should leave now. Adar was speaking the truth, he was sure of it, and thus he had fulfilled his purpose here. And yet… he wanted to stay, for some reason that eluded him. This was something he should really take the time to think over, but he didn’t exactly have the luxury of time at hand. He could make no sense of it, but perhaps he didn’t need to. Perhaps, just this once, he could follow what he felt instead of what he believed to be most logical. He tightened his fingers where they held Adar’s wrist.
“What are you – ” Adar started.
“Do you want me?” Elrond said quickly, before the words had the chance to fade from him.
Adar shook his head. “I just told you, you do not – ”
“That’s not what I asked,” Elrond said. “Assume… assume that I want it, too – ” Adar’s eyes widened. “Do you want me?” Elrond repeated.
Adar searched his face - for a hint of deceit, of trickery, Elrond was sure. After a moment, seemingly finding nothing but honesty in Elrond’s eyes, he said quietly, cautiously, “In this moment? More than I have ever wanted for anything.”
“Then you may have me,” Elrond said.
For a second, it seemed Adar would take him up on the offer. He swayed forward slightly, his eyes trailing to Elrond’s lips… and then took a step back. Elrond allowed his fingers to fall from his wrist as he moved out of reach.
“I cannot,” Adar said quietly, his back towards him. He drank what was left of the mead in his glass.
“Why?” Elrond asked.
Adar slammed the empty glass down on the table in front of him and spun around.
“Because I would not taint you as he did me!” Adar yelled. There were tears, round and glistening, in the corners of Adar’s eyes, and Elrond’s chest tightened. He did not flinch as Adar stalked closer, nor even as he came to a standstill mere inches from his face. Elrond could see every starburst of silver in his irises when they were this close. Every flutter of his pulse beneath scar-marked skin, every tremble of his lips that he tried to hide by tightening his jaw.
Elrond’s fingers twitched at his side, wanting nothing more than to ease the unrest coursing through him. But touch, he thought, was probably the last thing Adar would want from him right now.
Without a reaction from Elrond, Adar spun again with another dry laugh. Elrond was only able to briefly glimpse as the tears fell and rolled down his cheeks before dark hair obscured them from view. Adar was leaning against the table, shoulders tensed in an effort to keep them from shaking as he fought to control his breath.
Elrond remained where he was, waiting. He did not know exactly how long, but by the time Adar broke the heavy silence, the coals lighting the room had dwindled to almost half their original size.
“I thought I could have this,” Adar said, so soft that Elrond almost missed it. He straightened, wiping at his face with annoyance before turning to face Elrond, his hip pressed to the side of the table as he leaned against it.
“Have what?” Elrond asked. Tear streaks lined Adar’s face, thrown into sharp relief by the light in the room. There were far more than just the two Elrond had seen fall.
“A moment,” Adar clarified. “Just a moment, untarnished by him. Something of my own. Something he’s never had the chance to steal, to turn to rot in his hands.”
Elrond felt his stomach sink as he realized the meaning of Adar’s words.
“But he’s everywhere,” Adar spat. “Because he’s in me. Everywhere I go, so does he. He’s in my words, in my skin,” he paused to scowl at the scars that wrapped around his hands. “He’s in everything I do, and I can’t — I no longer wish to do as he did. I do not want to put a stain on everything I touch.”
Elrond stepped forward, his heart in his throat.
“Your hesitation itself proves you better than him,” Elrond said gently. “I do not doubt your intentions.”
“You should not want me,” Adar berated.
“No,” Elrond agreed, smiling at him when he frowned. “And yet, I find that I do.” Adar still seemed uncertain, and so Elrond said, “You mentioned my foremother, Melian of the Valar.” The tilt of Adar’s head as he tried to find the connection in what Elrond was saying made a warmth fill his chest. “Her light does not stain so easily, Adar.”
Adar swallowed.
“I would not take you under the pretense of offering anything in return,” he cautioned.
“It would not be taking,” Elrond assured. “I offer myself freely, with no need of anything in return but yourself.”
“Why?” Adar asked. “I have already promised Galadriel’s freedom, and that was the reason you allowed me to bring you here.” So he had known all along. “So why, still, do you offer yourself to me?”
Elrond didn’t have a good answer. Because it felt right? Because something inside of him, some small, selfish thing, wanted to do something just because he wanted to, for once?
“I do not know,” Elrond answered truthfully. “It is not something I expected. But now that it has entered my mind, I do not feel that I would be able to rid myself of the thought - and nor do I wish to.”
Adar looked at him, expressionless. Whether he was still trying to find some hidden agenda, or else a flaw in Elrond’s words, he could not tell. Elrond was beginning to think his efforts would end in vain when, finally, Adar’s shoulders relaxed marginally and he spoke.
“Well,” he said, voice low as the corners of his mouth pulled upward just slightly, “far be it from me to deny you, if it is truly what you desire.”
A trickle of heat flowed down Elrond’s spine, settling low in his belly. “It is,” he said, trying to hide the rise in his voice.
Adar pushed away from the table and strode closer until he was right in front of Elrond.
“Then show me, Elrond Peredhel,” he said, his breath warm where it ghosted across Elrond’s lips. “Show me what you want.”
With those words, Elrond wasted no time in breaking the tension that had settled over them, thick and crackling as a storm about to break. And break it did.
In a single, fluid motion, he captured Adar’s lips with his own. For a moment it seemed Adar would hesitate again, but then Elrond felt him smile into the kiss. An arm wrapped around his waist, while fingers weaved into his hair, both serving to tug him impossibly closer to Adar’s solid form. He let out a gasp as his armoured chest collided with the metal of Adar’s own plating, and, well, that simply would not do.
With nimble fingers, he worked at the buckles of Adar’s breastplate, all the while refusing to pull away, even though that would make the task so much easier. Adar was no help, either. He licked at the seam of Elrond’s lips, chuckling lowly when a quick nip with his teeth pulled a groan from him. The sound sent sparks of desire to Elrond’s core, and he redoubled his effort of removing the chest piece. It fell to the floor with a satisfying clang, and was joined quickly by Adar’s boots as he kicked them off.
Elrond’s hands moved to the chainmail draped across Adar, intent on removing that next, but Adar caught his hands to stop him.
“Yours first,” he said by way of explanation. He set to work on the fastenings of Elrond’s armour, and soon his chestplate, vambraces, pauldrons, and cloak joined Adar’s armour on the floor of the tent. This was all done hurriedly, neither of them keen on separating for too long. When it came to his boots, however, Adar gave him a look filled with heat and pushed him gently to sit at the edge of the bed. He sank to his knees on the floor in front of Elrond, running a hand down his shoulder, his side, his thigh as he did so.
Elrond’s breath hitched as Adar’s fingers trailed dangerously close to the growing hardness beneath his trousers, and Adar smirked up at him knowingly. Elrond wanted to lean down, to recapture his lips and wipe that smirk from his face, but instead he grasped at the blankets beneath his hands and forced himself to stay still as Adar removed one boot, then the other.
Adar began to rise, and Elrond rose with him, one hand coming up to cup his jaw, the skin rough beneath his hand. Adar’s gaze softened as he leaned into the touch, a sigh parting his lips as Elrond kissed him again. Elrond took the opportunity to slide his tongue between those lips, licking into his mouth. Adar answered back hungrily, his movement hurried and desperate. Each stroke of Elrond’s tongue was matched by a press just as insistent from Adar. Elrond was struggling to catch his breath, drowning in everything Adar was giving him, and still it wasn’t enough.
“May I…?” Elrond asked, his chest heaving with gasps as he pulled away from Adar’s lips and tugged lightly at the chainmail that still covered him.
Adar nodded, leaning back to undo the ties at his sides and pulling the chainmail up over his head in an easy, practiced movement that made the heat in Elrond’s blood flare.
“Come here,” Elrond gasped, pulling Adar into a deep kiss, and moaned when Adar slid a leg between his thighs. The last of their armour now gone, he could feel the outline of Adar’s length against his hip with every roll of his hips, just as he was sure Adar could feel his own need against his leather-clad thigh.
“How much do you want?” Adar whispered into his ear, nipping at the lobe before moving to lick along Elrond’s jaw.
Elrond let out a shuddering breath, his hips jerking in response to Adar’s tongue on his skin.
“Everything,” he managed, tilting his head to the side to give him better access. “Give me everything.”
Adar hummed, a satisfied sound that resonated in the pack of his throat like a quiet purr.
“As you wish,” he said against his throat, pressing an open mouthed kiss to his pulse before he drew back.
He held Elrond’s waist and pulled him flush against his thigh as he rolled his hips, eliciting a breathy moan. He moved his hands down to the edge of Elrond’s tunic and tugged it up over his shoulders, tossing it to the side.
Elrond struggled to control the way he shivered when Adar trailed a hand down his exposed chest, fingers brushing against a raised nipple. Adar caught his response and smirked, repeating the action more purposefully before squeezing the nipple between his forefinger and thumb.
The sound that left Elrond was guttural and needy as his hips rocked forward in search of more friction, anything to ease the heat rising within him.
Adar’s hands were at his trousers now, partially pulling them down, but the fabric had caught between their hips. With great reluctance, Elrond put some space between them so he could step out of his clothing fully. Freed from the confining material, his erection strained up against his toned stomach. Adar watched him hungrily, teasing his fingers across the sensitive skin right beside his cock and watching it twitch.
Adar took Elrond’s mouth in a blistering kiss before pushing him back against the bed with a palm against his chest.
“On your stomach,” Adar ordered once they were both kneeling on its plush surface.
Elrond raised an eyebrow, but he was too far gone to protest. He rolled onto his front, unable to resist rocking his hips down against the bed for the friction it provided. Behind him he heard Adar moan, and knew how he must look.
Strong hands pushed his knees apart, and then pulled his hips up just slightly, enough for Adar to slide a pillow beneath him.
“You’ll thank me,” Adar said in answer to the questioning look Elrond threw over his shoulder.
What he would be thankful for, Elrond was unsure, as Adar was still dressed in a tunic and trousers. That thought soon left his mind when powerful fingers massaged at the dip of his spine, moving down until they reached the curve of his ass. Adar squeezed the tender flesh there, and then ran a finger down the cleft separating the two mounds. Elrond’s breath caught in his throat, the heat in his abdomen flaring as he felt the pad of Adar’s finger graze over his hole, and he pressed back against the feeling instinctively.
“So eager,” Adar said, his voice low and rough with lust.
Elrond could manage nothing more than a groan in reply when Adar pushed just a little further with his finger, the tip only barely penetrating the tight ring of muscle. Just as quickly as it had started, it stopped, and Elrond sighed in frustration when he felt the bed dip with Adar’s weight as he moved around behind him.
Adar’s hands were quickly back on him, kneading at the muscles of his ass. A thumb pressed against Elrond’s entrance, teasing, and then…
Elrond let out a shuddering breath as something wet and warm pushed against him. He glanced back to see Adar laying behind him, face hidden between his legs, and then quickly looked forward again with a groan when Adar’s tongue - because that’s what it had been - licked another stripe across his hole.
“Adar,” he gasped as he felt the tongue circling him, dipping inside. He had only a second to wonder at the depravity of calling him Adar during an act such as this before all thoughts were erased from his mind when Adar used his tongue to flick at his rim.
His hips pushed back of their own accord, forcing Adar’s tongue marginally deeper, but that only made him grind down against the ache in his cock, and, Valar save him, this was how he was going to die.
Adar’s hands held him open, the flat of his tongue swiping hot between Elrond’s legs, and then he bit down lightly against the skin of one cheek. Elrond gasped when the sharp pain was followed immediately by the soothe of Adar’s tongue over the tender flesh.
His cock strained between his stomach and the pillow, and he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to push forward to relieve that ache, or push back against Adar’s ministrations.
The fire in his belly was growing almost unbearable now, and he reached a hand down to touch himself, to bring some semblance of lucidity back to his mind, but Adar grabbed his wrist and held it tight.
“Not yet,” he admonished, and Elrond wanted to beg, wanted to plead with him to give him more. Before he could utter a word, however, a single finger pushed in alongside Adar’s tongue, maddeningly slow.
Elrond arched his back, trying to coax it deeper as Adar began to thrust both tongue and finger against the inside of his walls. The combination was overwhelming, sending jolts of pleasure to Elrond’s throbbing, neglected cock. Adar’s tongue worked relentlessly, exploring every fold, every angle, while his finger delved deeper, dragging along Elrond’s walls and catching on his rim.
Elrond was wrecked, his cock leaking onto the fabric beneath him. He was burning up from the inside, and he so desperately needed more.
As if reading his mind, Adar pulled away from him completely, leaving him feeling empty. Elrond turned around to find him standing beside the bed, removing the last pieces of clothing he wore. First went his tunic, revealing a toned abdomen marred by dozens of long, raised scars. Then his trousers were discarded. More scars trailed up his legs, wrapping around the curves of his muscles. Elrond couldn’t tear his eyes away. For one, because he couldn’t begin to imagine the pain Adar had endured to collect so many marks. But secondly, because;
“You are the most exquisite thing I have ever seen,” Elrond breathed truthfully, his eyes devouring every inch of the sight before him until his gaze settled on Adar’s cock.
Adar didn’t reply, but his cheeks coloured ever so slightly, bringing warmth to his otherwise pale skin.
He grabbed a small glass jar which he set down beside Elrond, and then climbed back onto the bed. The kiss he gave Elrond as he lowered himself down atop him was softer than any of the others they’d shared so far.
“I would not say such a thing,” Adar said when he drew back, “when you, yourself, are in this very room.”
Elrond chuckled lightly, cupping the back of his neck and bringing him back down for another kiss. He arched up against Adar, their cocks sliding together with delicious friction, and he felt Adar smile against his lips.
Adar ran a hand along Elrond’s thigh, and he shivered with anticipation.
He sat up between Elrond’s legs, leaning back on his heels. Elrond had only a moment to mourn the loss of contact before Adar gripped him by the backs of his knees and tugged him closer until the small of his back rested on Adar’s strong thighs, his feet planted on the bed on either side of him. Adar’s cock, thick and flushed, was only inches from where he so desperately wanted him to be.
Adar placed a hand on Elrond’s hip, fanning it out across his stomach, reveling in the shivers that ran across his fair skin.
“So beautiful,” Adar said softly, his thumb drawing small circles on the soft skin of Elrond’s belly.
Elrond raised a hand, cradling Adar’s cheek. Silver-speckled grey eyes looked down at him with a vulnerability that left him breathless. Adar leaned over him, and dark hair cascaded over his shoulders, forming a curtain between them and the rest of the world.
Elrond’s fingers moved from Adar’s cheek to tangle in the hair behind his ear, and Adar’s eyelids fluttered shut as he sighed pleasantly. Elrond wondered how long it had been since he’d known touch such as this. Touch that was careful, caring, compassionate. Too long, he would wager.
He used his hold on Adar’s hair to pull him gently down into a kiss before shifting his hips until he felt Adar’s cock nudge against his hole.
“Impatient, are we?” Adar smirked, but the roll of his hips betrayed his own crumbling restraint.
“I need you,” Elrond said, and Adar’s eyes blazed. “Please.”
“How could I refuse,” Adar said, sitting upright and reaching for the glass jar he’d set aside earlier, “when you ask so nicely?”
He opened the jar and dipped his fingers inside, shiny oil coating his skin when he withdrew them.
He pressed the tip of one digit to Elrond’s hole, circling it a few times before dipping inside. Elrond groaned and arched against his touch as he slid the finger deeper, opening him up with deliberate movements. A second finger soon joined the first, the stretch sending a thrill down Elrond’s spine.
“More,” Elrond panted, the heat inside him reaching a fever pitch.
Adar obliged. He added a third finger and watched raptly as Elrond took them all, sucking in a breath when Elrond tightened his muscles around the intrusion.
Elrond began to rock his hips in small movements, driving Adar’s fingers deeper still. Pleasure, white hot, coursed through his entire being when one of Adar’s digits dragged along a particularly sensitive spot deep within him, and his thighs tightened around Adar reflexively. His cock was leaking profusely now, his belly slick with it.
“Do you want – ” Adar started, but Elrond answered before he even had a chance to finish asking the question.
“Yes,” Elrond gasped. “Please!”
“Always so polite,” Adar teased. He reached for the jar again, and the heat in Elrond’s core burned impossibly brighter as he watched Adar slick up his cock with the slippery oil. His fingers formed a tight circle around his length as he spread the oil evenly along his skin with a few measured strokes.
With a single hand, he lifted one of Elrond’s legs to rest on top of his shoulder, the new angle lining his cock up perfectly with Elrond’s entrance. He pressed a kiss to the inside of Elrond’s knee, and Elrond’s heart fluttered at the intimacy and tenderness of the gesture.
“Ready?” Adar asked, and Elrond nodded.
Adar’s grip on his hips tightened as he slowly - so agonizingly slowly - began to press forward, the blunt head of his cock stretching at the tight ring of muscle between Elrond’s legs.
Elrond uttered a broken curse in Sindarin as Adar slid deeper, the pressure sending flames of desire licking at his spine. Adar’s gaze never left his face, not even once. He continued his frustratingly slow entry, his fingers pressing so hard against Elrond’s skin as he struggled to maintain control that Elrond knew they would leave behind darkened bruises. He couldn’t bring himself to care. In fact, he realized with a start, he’d rather enjoy it if Adar would leave more marks upon his skin.
Adar bottomed out deep within Elrond, and they both let out similar, strained sighs. Elrond tensed his thighs, urging him to start moving, but Adar groaned and dug his fingers even deeper into his muscles to keep him still.
“Wait,” he said, his brow furrowed and eyes closed as he leaned his head against Elrond’s knee on his shoulder, his chest heaving, and – oh. Oh.
Elrond stilled, but couldn’t help the way his muscles tightened momentarily around Adar at the realization that he’d needed to stop because he was already close to tipping over the edge.
“Sorry,” Elrond gasped when Adar’s nails dug into his skin in response.
After a few breaths, Adar’s grip loosened, and he opened his eyes to stare down at Elrond with an intensity beyond anything he’d ever experienced. Elrond gasped when Adar pulled most of the way out, leaving only the head of his cock buried inside, before slamming back all the way in one quick motion. He grabbed desperately at the sheets beneath him as Adar repeated the motion again. And again. And again.
Each repetition sent a spike of arousal down into the pool of heat building within him, and he heard himself call out Adar’s name more than once.
Adar growled, moving Elrond’s leg from his shoulder to wrap around his waist instead. He leaned down so they were practically chest to chest, the new angle allowing him to thrust harder and deeper than before. Elrond brought his other leg up around Adar’s waist as well, hooking his ankles together and using the leverage to meet each of Adar’s thrusts with one of his own.
Adar panted beside Elrond’s ear before moving to mouth at the side of his neck, tongue skimming across the surface and teeth biting down with just enough force to leave a mark without breaking skin.
Elrond moaned as Adar placed a hand behind his neck, the other moving down to settle at his thigh, holding him close as he increased the pace he had set. This new, closer position trapped Elrond’s cock between their stomachs, every thrust dragging it across taut muscle in bouts of friction that were simultaneously too much and not enough. He wrapped his arms around Adar’s middle in an attempt to grind more solidly against him, but they were already as close as they could possibly be.
In desperation, Elrond grabbed the hand Adar held at his thigh and guided him between their bodies to his aching cock, gasping and arching into his touch when strong fingers wrapped around him. The feeling of Adar both inside and everywhere around him set his senses alight, every nerve in his body screaming for release.
“That feels – ” Elrond broke off in a moan as Adar’s thumb stroked over the top of his leaking slit. “That feels amazing,” he tried again. “You are amazing.”
Adar’s hips stuttered, losing the rhythm he’d set, and Elrond continued.
“You’re so beautiful, Adar.” Adar groaned in his ear. “Gorgeous.” He leaned back enough to look into Adar’s eyes as he continued to pound into him, reaching a hand up to push the hair out of his eyes. “I would have you take me like this every night.”
“Elrond…” Adar breathed raggedly, his tone a warning as he fought to stop his body’s reaction to the onslaught of praise.
“Adar,” Elrond responded, and though he’d said his name countless times already, this instance was apparently the breaking point.
Adar surged forward, kissing Elrond with ferocity. He pounded into him with abandon while he tightened his grip on Elrond’s cock, the abundance of pre-cum easing the tight heat of his palm as it slid along his length.
Elrond felt the coil in his stomach tighten with every slick stroke, building to an almost insurmountable pressure, until, finally, it reached its peak.
He was barely able to gasp out Adar’s name before the first wave of pleasure hit him, whiting out all of his other senses. His muscles clenched as his cock throbbed, wet heat spurting over Adar’s fingers and onto both their stomachs. Above him, Adar gasped as the sudden tightness around his cock drew him over the precipice. His hips pumped only a handful of times before he faltered, burying himself deep as his cock pulsed within Elrond’s heat, filling him with his need.
Elrond rocked his hips lazily against Adar’s a few more times, drawing out the pleasure as Adar’s cock dragged against his walls and the head of Elrond’s cock slid between the circle of Adar’s fingers.
Adar shuddered against the simulation on his now-oversensitive cock, but he didn’t pull away. As the pleasure slowly began to ebb, Elrond stopped moving altogether, allowing the weight of Adar on top of him to press him into the bed as they both fought to catch their breath.
With his hands resting atop Adar’s back, Elrond lightly grazed his nails along his heated skin, and Adar hummed approvingly against his neck.
After a few minutes, Adar rolled to lay beside Elrond. Elrond made a displeasured noise at the feeling of Adar’s softened cock slipping out of his sensitive hole, and Adar chuckled at him, pulling him closer in a warm embrace.
Without thought, Elrond kissed his forehead, marvelling at how the very idea of doing so would have had him reeling in disbelief mere hours ago.
“What are you thinking?” Adar asked him softly, catching the thoughts behind his eyes.
“I am thinking of you,” Elrond answered. It wasn’t a lie. “What are you thinking?” he shot the question back at him.
“I am thinking,” he said reverently, brushing a stray curl behind Elrond’s ear, “that it would bring me no pain to gaze upon you for all eternity. If this growing darkness overtakes us, and all the stars are hidden from view, at least there would still be you to cast a light.”
Elrond’s breath caught in his throat. “You overestimate me, Adar.”
“No,” Adar shook his head with a frown. “You have done what I thought to be impossible and shown me great kindness this night. Kindness I have not known for a very long time.”
“I did not do this out of kindness,” Elrond protested, tracing a thumb across Adar’s cheekbone. “I did this because I wanted to.”
Adar smiled, capturing the hand on his face with one of his own and holding it there.
“And yet,” he said, “had it not been for kindness, for the value you placed on your friend and the rest of the Elves, you would not have come here.” He thought for a moment, then continued, “I will fight with you tonight, as will the rest of the Uruks. Together, we may be strong enough to purge Sauron from Eregion, even if we are not able to vanquish him outright.”
“I thought you said the Elves remaining in Eregion were under his influence, that they are a lost cause,” Elrond pointed out.
“That may be true,” Adar conceded, “but I may have failed to take into account one of our strongest assets.”
“That being…?”
“Hope.” He said it so simply, so plainly, as if there were no other possible answer. Elrond’s heart swelled, and he could do nothing to stem the tide of rising emotion as he captured Adar’s lips with his own.
“You have surprised me this evening, Adar,” Elrond chuckled when they pulled apart.
Adar laughed along with him, but then his expression grew serious.
“I do need you to promise me one thing in return, however,” he said, and the severity in his tone was like ice in Elrond’s blood.
“What is it?” he frowned.
“You must live, Elrond,” he said. “I would not see you fall in an attempt to save those who might have no chance of being saved.”
Elrond swallowed. “I cannot – ”
“Please,” Adar interrupted him. “Allow me this one, selfish request.”
Elrond sighed, ready to argue, but how could he, when Adar was looking at him as though he might break if he did anything but agree. Instead, he nodded slowly.
“I will make every effort,” he vowed. It wasn’t an all-encompassing yes, but it seemed to satisfy Adar, who relaxed against him.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
“Will you do the same?” Elrond asked, fingers carding through the dark strands of his hair.
“If that is what you wish.”
“It is.”
“Then consider it done,” Adar promised.
They fell into a peaceful quiet, Adar’s chin tucked against Elrond’s shoulder. They would have to leave soon, Elrond knew, but they could take a few minutes for themselves before breaking out of this comfortable sanctuary they had created. Who knew if it would last beyond the four walls of this tent. That thought had Elrond biting back against a sudden queasiness.
When he’d first been brought to this room, he’d thought giving his body to Adar would mean he’d be ripped apart, torn to pieces beneath him. And in a way, he supposed, as Adar pulled him just a little tighter to his chest, he had been.