Title: Erestor and the monkey.

Author: Chaotic-Binky

Rating: PG-13 

Pairing: Erestor/Glorfindel

Summary: Glorfindel buys a monkey and names it Erestor. Erestor
threatens to leave Imladris and Elrond loses his temper with Glorfindel
who now has to rescue the situation.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, I just dream about them!

Warnings: AU. Angst, slight humour, slash, language, 


Glorfindel was bored; he had fulfilled his duties, didn’t want to read
a book and did not want to walk in the gardens.  He had thought to go
to Erestors office with a picnic and see if he wanted to join him for a
swim but Erestor had merely raised an eyebrow and asked him why he
would go anywhere with someone who teased and publicly laughed at him.

‘I can’t find anyone else that’s why’ laughed Glorfindel ‘you were
obviously my last choice’

Erestor was used to Glorfindel and merely answered ‘A last choice I may
be, but dear Glorfindel, with me you would never be a choice, not even
a last one’

Glorfindel looked at Erestor, who ignored him ‘Erestor…’

‘Get out’ 

‘I was joking’

The dark haired elf looked up ‘Go away, I’m not interested, get out!’
he took Glorfindels arm and propelled him towards the door.

Glorfindel took his picnic basket and threw it back into the room ‘Here
have this – I thought we could be friends but it seems not!’

There was no answer, only the scratching of a quill upon parchment.

Glorfindel decided to pay a visit to the market; Erestors’ hostility,
though somewhat deserved had unsettled him. He wondered why they
constantly argued and were hateful to one another and why they both
said the things they did.

In the market there was a pet stall, Glorfindel liked to stroke the
kittens and puppies. He found the lizards fascinating especially the
ones that could swivel their eyes around and the baby rabbits were so
cute he wanted to take them all home. Then he saw it, a small monkey on
the shoulder of the stall owner; he had to have it! 

‘How much for the monkey?’ he asked.

‘Five gold pieces’ was the hopeful reply.

This was considered for a moment, and then Glorfindel grinned and gave
the stall holder the money. He then went to the dressmaker, a wig stand
and a perfumer stall, bought several packages and went back to the
house. The monkey stayed in the bedroom until evening and Glorfindel
gave it a wash in vanilla sorbet bath oils, put a t-shirt on it and
took it along to the Hall of Fire.

The monkey drew amused glances and outright howls of laughter from the
other diners.

‘Ah. I see you have bought your little baby son to dinner’ smirked
Erestor.

Glorfindel smiled ‘Look’ he said holding the monkey up so his t-shirt
could be read ‘it says - my name is Lord Erestor’

Erestors’ mouth hung open in shock as Glorfindel walked triumphantly by
him to the table and sat down.

Elrond thought that the t-shirt was very funny and remarked that the
monkey smelled of Erestors’ favourite bath oil ‘Well this little monkey
is Erestor after all’ chuckled Glorfindel as he pulled out a little
black robe and a black wig from his pocket.  He put them on the monkey
and sat him on Erestors chair.

‘Move it’ said Erestor about the monkey.

Glorfindel asked Erestor the monkey if he would give up his chair and
the monkey let out a scream in reply. Elrond told Erestor to go sit
somewhere else, he found the monkey captivating and said as a joke that
the monkey might be just as good an advisor. Erestor sat further up the
table and looked enviously at where he should be and hated Glorfindel
with a passion; who did he think he was, he wondered. 

He pondered the question of what to do about Glorfindel. Erestor knew
that his position had not made him any friends and often his decisions
were unpopular but the running of Imladris had to come first and he
could not afford to show favouritism. It did not help that he was
naturally shy and used irony and caustic wit as defence measures to
keep others at arms length. The Chief Advisor would have loved to go on
a picnic with Glorfindel or any elf for that matter but was scared
because he didn’t know how to act normally in social situations anymore
and trust was difficult as he had been hurt before. Erestor felt
intensely lonely and felt a large lump forming in his chest as his
heart was in pain; it was a feeling that he was intimately familiar
with. 

After the meal Erestor went to his rooms whilst Glorfindel and his
monkey delighted those who had decided to stay in the hall. Elrond was
probably the only one who noticed Erestor had gone and had seen the
look on his face.

‘Well it was nice meeting your monkey Glorfindel’ he said.

‘Where are you going?’ laughed Glorfindel delighted at the little dance
Erestor the monkey was doing.

‘I’m going to see if Erestor is alright’

‘Why?’

‘Because I have hurt him, that’s why’ replied an unsmiling Elrond.

The monkey pulled the black robe above his head and was wiggling its
bum. The crowd around the table laughed at were loudly comparing the
monkey to Erestor and goading it on to more outrageous antics. Elrond
glared at Glorfindel who reddened; it didn’t seem so funny anymore and
he knew he should apologise but also knew that he would be rejected.
The monkey was pulled up to the warriors’ chest and he left the hall.

Erestor heard the knock at the door and ignored it. He lay in his bed
deciding what to do with his future. Now that he was a laughing stock
in Imladris perhaps it was time to leave and offer his services
elsewhere. Thranduil had been quite clear on his last visit that
Erestor would be a valued member of his council if he should take up
the offer and go to live in Mirkwood. What did he have to lose and who
would miss him; everyone seemed enamoured of Glorfindel even Elrond
whom he had thought of as a friend, but now he knew this was not so, it
was so sad. Erestor hugged the pillows tighter and decided that seemed
the best course of action.

Elrond entered through the door; he knew Erestor was in his rooms and
felt so contrite that he would not be able to sleep without apologising
and making everything alright with his old friend. He walked over to
the bed and sat on the side; Erestor felt the dip, turned and pushed
his hands forcefully against Elronds chest. Elrond held him tight.

‘I’m sorry Erestor, I behaved despicably’

‘I am leaving; I’m not staying here to be ridiculed’ shouted Erestor,
his body a bundle of raw shaking energy.

Elrond continued to hold his friend ‘You are leaving? But Erestor I
need you, who can advise as well as you my friend?’

‘A monkey apparently’ came the hurt and angry retort.

‘I was wrong to say that’ Elrond admitted ‘and I was also wrong to send
you to another seat’.

‘It doesn’t matter, I am leaving for Mirkwood; Thranduil offered me a
position when he was here and like a fool I refused.’

Elrond began to panic; he knew he had no right to try and make Erestor
stay especially after the public humiliation he had endured but he did
not want to lose the only friend he had left from his childhood and
certainly did not want Erestor as a powerful adversary in the court of
Thranduil.

Erestor was hugged closer; he was now unresisting and it felt good to
have another hold him like this ‘Erestor, I understand that you have
never got along with Glorfindel and I also understand that by playing
with the monkey I was also condoning his thoughtless actions but please
believe me when I say that I had no intention of hurting you. I thought
you would see the funny side of this and I think that if I hadn’t told
you to sit elsewhere things wouldn’t have gone as far as they did.’

Erestor sighed and his voice caught ‘I saw the robe and wig he put on
it and I heard what everyone was saying; how can I face anyone now. No,
I am leaving and that is that.’

Elrond looked intently into Erestors’ face ‘You normally give as good
as you get. What has changed my friend?’

‘Am I your friend’ asked Erestor in obvious distress ‘because I don’t
know anymore’

Erestor was hugged tight into Elrond’s chest and he spoke reassuring
and soothing words to his friend, meaning every one. It was apparent
that Erestor wasn’t just hurt over this slight, but also about every
thoughtless injustice and unkindness that had come his way in the
recent past. This latest incident was the straw that broke the camels
back, the final unkindness that could be tolerated no more.

‘Erestor I will do anything to keep you here, I would even send
Glorfindel away; it’s not just because I need you as an advisor but
because you are my friend. Just tell me what it is that I should do so
that you will stay’

Erestor was beginning to soften; Elrond was obviously very troubled by
what had happened and his own part in it and wanted to make amends.

‘I don’t know what can be done Elrond. Sending Glorfindel away will
just make everyone hate me more.’

‘I am sure no one hates you.’

‘I am sure they do’

Elrond knew it would be pointless to argue and decided that pleading
was about where he should be positioning his statements from ‘Please
let me try and make things better Erestor, please let me try before you
go. I can’t stop you from going but I will miss you and I’m sure others
will when they realise what they have lost.’

‘What do I care about the others?’ Erestor asked scornfully.

‘I know you are lonely and I know that when we were younger you had
lots of friends and lovers and were the life and soul of any gathering’

‘Apart from you every one of my friends is dead now’ Erestor said sadly
‘my lovers are all dead too. I feel so old’

Elrond held his forehead against Erestors and bit his lip, he sighed
‘Let me try?’ 

Erestor nodded that he could. ‘I am taking my meals in my room from now
on’ he told Elrond ‘I am too tired to play the game any more.’

Elronds heart was heavy at this but he agreed, if this is what it took
to keep his friend from leaving then so be it. 

‘Erestor, I do not want to leave you like this’

‘Well it will be no different to how I normally am, so feel free to
leave’ Erestor replied softly.

‘Let me stay…..’

‘I am too tired’ interrupted Erestor.

‘No my friend, just let us hold one another’

‘Just go’ was the pained answer and Erestor turned away. Elrond kissed
the top of his head and left the room.

Elrond stormed along the corridor and hammered on Glorfindels door. As
the door opened he marched in and took the blonde warrior by the
throat.

‘Erestor is leaving because you are a thoughtless bastard’

‘It was a joke; don’t you think he is over reacting a tad?’ reasoned a
very surprised Glorfindel.

‘There is nothing I can do to make him stay’ shouted Elrond in his face
‘but I tell you now, you will go before he does’

Glorfindel removed Elronds hand from his throat ‘I’m sorry, it was just
a joke. I thought he would see the funny side of it and you know,
Erestor can give as good as he gets, it’s not as though he’s an
elfling.’

‘This time you went too far’

‘And so did you’ was the angry reply.

‘Regardless of what your personal opinion of Erestor is you will make
it up to him and apologise. If he leaves then, so will you, and your
vow to protect me and my family will no longer stand and your reason
for rebirth will be redundant. Do I make myself clear?’ Elrond said
loudly in the warriors face and then turned about and stormed out of
the room, slamming the door for final emphasis.

Glorfindel sat down and looked ruefully at the monkey; it had all
turned out bad; all he had wanted to do was have a little bit of fun at
Erestors’ expense and it had all got out of hand. Then he wondered why
he had wanted to do that to him. The final result had been far in
excess of anything Erestor deserved from his actions that morning. He
would have to ponder the problem so that he would know what would
hopefully be the best course of action. He reasoned that it was worth
losing sleep over and admitted to himself that he disliked the constant
bickering and bad feeling and that he was responsible at least for some
of it.

The next morning Glorfindel went into the Hall of Fire and was told by
Elrond that Erestor was not coming to the hall for meals anymore as he
couldn’t face those who had laughed about him, he was also told that
the monkey was not welcome at the table. Glorfindel could hear other
elves in the room laughing about Erestor and the monkey, and it was an
unkind laughter that made him feel ashamed. Glorfindel knew then what
he should do and made his way to the market after breakfast.

Erestor woke late and ate the breakfast that had been left for him in
his room. He was late for the council meeting and hurried along the
corridor. As he passed two guards they started whooping and jumping up
and down and then laughed. Erestor turned and grabbed the nearest one
and punched him in the mouth.

‘What did you do that for?’ shouted the other guard. Erestor punched
him too.

They stood there dazed and disbelieving ‘I’m a wild animal of course’
he rejoined sarcastically ‘the wild monkey type I believe!’ and then
walked back to his room, reasoning that nothing had changed and he
wouldn’t have to put up with this shit for much longer, he was
definitely leaving.

Glorfindel walked back to his room from the market with several
packages, just as Erestor had turned the corner, ‘What happened to you
two’ he asked the two guards when he saw their bruised faces.

‘Lord Erestor hit us’ was the reply.

‘What did you do to him?’

‘Nothing’

‘I will ask again; what did you do to him?’

‘We just made whooping noises and jumped up and down that’s all’ one
said defiantly and the other nodded in agreement.

‘You are both suspended and will apologise to Lord Erestor’

‘But he hit us!’

‘If he has hurt his knuckles punching you then you will apologise for
that too’ he continued with raised voice ‘you and all of the guards
will give him the respect he is due; he is Chief Advisor the second
most powerful elf in Imladris and can make your life absolute hell and
there is nothing I can do about it or will do about it – do you
understand?’ 

The guards agreed and were amazed by their Captains’ turnaround of
attitude as was Erestor who had heard everything. He slipped silently
into his room and sat down to read his book.  

Elrond had missed Erestor at the meeting and so he decided to visit him
in his rooms.  When he arrived he was given a full account of the
events of the morning and both agreed that maybe Glorfindel was
changing, although Erestor said it was early days yet, they would have
to wait and see. Elrond was heartened and felt that maybe there was
some hope for the future.

Glorfindel bathed and dressed the monkey, put his clothes on and a
little wig and made his way to Erestors room. He knocked and waited.
Erestor opened the door, there was Lord Glorfindel with a little
dressed up monkey in his arms. He went to slam the door in his face but
the door was pushed open and Glorfindel walked in.

‘Please Erestor, let me apologise’

Erestor glared.

‘I am sorry Erestor and I want us to be friends; I don’t want to argue
anymore. We have both said and done some awful things; lets us put them
aside please?’

‘You bought that monkey to my room’, Erestor felt as though he was
going to explode with anger and kill the damn thing.

‘Look’ said Glorfindel holding the monkey up and Erestor felt the
corners of his mouth going upwards against his will because the monkey
was wearing a pink party dress with ‘Lord Glorfindel balrog slayer’
emblazoned on the chest, white frilly knickers, red tap shoes, lacy
stockings and garter and a little curly blond wig. The monkey even
smelt of Glorfindels favourite bath oil.

‘The difference is Glorfindel; I would not take him to dinner to
humiliate you as you did to me’

‘I am sorry, it was very wrong of me; it actually went much further
than I intended it to’ Glorfindel moved closer and put his hand on
Erestors’ shoulder.

 ‘It matters not,’ sighed Erestor ‘I am going to Mirkwood to live, and
then you will be free of me.’

‘I wish you would not’ replied the warrior placing his other hand on
the back of Erestors’ neck and standing even closer ‘I lied when I said
you were the last person I could ask to go on a picnic; you were the
first and only person I intended to ask.’

I think we have both been guilty of speaking and acting without
thinking haven’t we?’ Erestor asked softly; he could smell the blond
warriors’ scent and feel his warmth, he liked the feel of his hands
upon him.

‘Erestor I want to give you my monkey because I bought it for all the
wrong reasons and I want you to have it as a gift’ he continued ‘I have
destroyed the black wig and robe so it only has the stuff it stands up
in. Please say yes’

‘Does it bite? Erestor asked.

‘I’m not sure; it has never bitten me.’

‘Hm… has potential then,’ Erestor grinned, ‘alright I will have it.’

Glorfindel smiled and kissed Erestors’ forehead ‘Can we go on a picnic
this afternoon please, I want to tell you my bunny up a pole joke and I
feel the strange compulsion to feed you strawberries and show you the
family of deer in the forest and their newest baby faun and I want to
kiss you in the open air and…’

‘I will go on a picnic with you’ said Erestor ‘if you tell me
everything nothing will be a surprise’

Later that day two guards came up to Erestor and apologised most
prettily to him trying not to smirk at the naked monkey sitting on
Erestors shoulder. 

‘Is something funny?’ Erestor asked sternly.

‘No please accept our apologies Lord Erestor’

‘Alright then, you can go now’ Erestor answered and turned away.

‘You will go back to your rooms and pack for your new duties in
Lothlorien’ Glorfindel informed them ‘and you will remain there for two
years’

The two guards looked upset but it could have been worse they reasoned.
‘Isn’t that a bit harsh?’ Erestor questioned.

‘It sends a positive message I think’ smiled Glorfindel.

Glorfindel put his arms around Erestor and kissed him gently on the
lips ‘We are on the same side now’ he grinned ‘we are going to be great
friends and face everything together.’

Erestor smiled ‘I could be happy with that’ he laughed and it seemed to
him that everything was the opposite of what it had been and that it
felt good; no more would he have to defend himself or run away from his
feelings, and he need not feel lonely ever again, because now he had
someone who cared, and who knew where that may lead?.