Love Is A Risky Business by just_jenni

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: Day 1: Prompt: Friendship
Format: Short Story
Genre: Romance
Rating: R
Warnings: Fluff, Slash, some sexual descriptions
Characters: Maedhros, Fingon, Feanor, Nerdanel
Pairings: Maedhros/Fingon
Word Count: 2,441
Summary: This is the second chapter in the series. Each one will describe a risk that Maedhros and Fingon will undertake while discovering, then fully realizing their love for each other.



Chapter Two


Fingon was surprised by Maedhros some weeks after his coming of age celebration when his cousin arrived at his house to collect him. Fingon hadn't seen him since that night when his cousin shocked him with an intimate kiss, and was surprised again that Nelyafinwe would be arriving so abruptly without any warning that he was planning to visit. However, "Come on, we're going for a ride," was all it took for Fingon to fly out the door with a hasty "Don't expect me back too early!" tossed in his parents' direction. With both red and black hair billowing behind them in the wind, the two elves galloped over meadow and hill, rill and stream, taking the long way to reach Maedhros' house. When they arrived, faces flushed from the brisk wind and cool air, Maedhros led Fingon into his bedroom. "My parents and brothers are all out for the day," he explained with some urgency. Fingon raised a brow at that but said nothing, fearing to spoil whatever surprise his cousin might have planned.

Sitting on Maedhros' four-poster bed, Fingon looked around the newly-decorated room. Besides the two large, ornate beds of exactly the same size were opulent draperies in green and gold, two colours that suited Maedhros' own vibrant colouring especially well, traces of gold adorning all of the accessories such as candlesticks, bowls, basins and jars. Even the cushions tossed carelessly on the beds bore golden tassels and were strung with jewels of many hues. Fingon nodded, impressed by the redecoration that had been done since his last visit. He thought the rich embellishments well suited his cousin's own stately magnificence.

Maedhros had entered the adjoining bathroom, saying he needed to clean up after the ride. Fingon made himself comfortable on one of the beds while he waited, one foot planted on the floor and his other leg up on the mattress, knee bent with foot pressed against his inner thigh. Proud of his flexibility, Fingon did stretching exercises every day to keep himself limber. While he waited he played with his long plume of unbraided hair, combing it with his slender fingers while considering whether or not to attempt the same approach with Maedhros that he had tried more than a year ago only to be rebuffed so hurtfully. He decided against trying to impose himself on his cousin once again but the memory of the kiss Nelyo had bestowed on him at his party came to mind and he sighed longingly. There was no doubt he was confused about Maedhros’ intentions.

Before he could form any further thoughts, the bathroom door opened and Maedhros emerged, wrapped in a towel, his fiery red hair wet and falling about his shoulders in a mass of tangles. His skin glowed with dampness from the bathwater. He strode to the empty bed and flung himself upon it. Fingon watched him carefully, taking in the sight of his cousin's wild hair spread across the pillow and his long, shapely limbs stretched on top of the emerald brocade of the bedspread. An exotic scent of cinnamon and honey wafted below Fingon's nostrils, making him feel pangs of hunger although it wasn't food that he craved.

"Um...Findekano..." Maedhros began.

"Yes, my dear Nelyo?"

“It has been ages since we last spoke.”

“It has indeed.”

“I do miss the things we did together.”

“I miss your company more than the actual things we did.”

Maedhros laughed. "Do you recall the time you um...surprised me outside the bathroom that day?"

Fingon felt his heart miss a beat or so. "Yes?" He sat up straight, pulling his other leg up and fixing both limbs into the lotus position.

"Yes, well...I...I...wondered what it would be like..." Maedhros continued, then stopped.

Fingon waited a moment but there was nothing more forthcoming, so he tried to finish his cousin's thought for him. "What it would feel like to explore each other? I mean, intimately?"

Maedhros covered his face with his hands and sighed. Placing one hand over his heart, he said, "Valar protect us, Kano, but you do not mince words, do you? My heart is beating so fast it feels as if it could burst out of my chest." He forced himself to emit an awkward chortle.

Fingon tossed his mane of raven hair from one shoulder to the other and regarded Maedhros carefully from under a curtain of heavy black lashes.

"Let me tell you, cousin, what my love life has been like these past few years since my own coming of age. I have had a series of unsatisfying affairs and flings with increasingly unsuitable females. I've tried to please my parents by finding the perfect woman to be my wife, believing that only my marriage and the provision of grandchildren would make them happy since I would seem to be a failure as a student."

"Your sense of loyalty has been ruling your heart," said Fingon sympathetically, his fine eyebrows drawing together in a pained expression.

"Lately I have been questioning my own behaviour," Maedhros replied, crimson-faced. "I have been recklessly promiscuous for years and have unknowingly until recently developed a reputation among almost all of the eligible young ladies of Tirion for being a heartless, trifling fool. I doubt there is a single attractive young woman remaining in the city that I have not lain with."

"So," Fingon replied, shifting uncomfortably on the bed, changing his position to one with bent knees drawn up, chin resting on them. Disappointment rose in him like a huge wave about to crash upon the shore. "Is this what you wanted to tell me? That you are interested in all the young women of Tirion but not in me? Could you not have told me that at my house without bringing me all the way here?"

He lowered his eyelids so that Maedhros could not see the anguish in his eyes. Why did you bring me here only to have me see what I have longed for, what I have missed these last few lonely years tempting me like an elusive fruit too high in the tree to reach?

"No," Maedhros replied, shaking his head fiercely, his now-dried locks shifting restlessly about his shoulders. "I was looking for something I could never find, something I needed but it was such a maddeningly elusive thing that I could never find it."

Fingon swallowed and bit his lip, forcing back tears that had welled up in his eyes.

"I don't think I am ever going to find what I need with a girl," Maedhros whispered. "And I will admit to you that I am very afraid for what that means."

Fingon let out a deep, shuddering sigh. "You never need feel fear when you are with me," he said.

"But I am afraid, so afraid," Maedhros' bottom lip quivered. "Turning what I feel into reality would change everything I have believed my parents wanted from me. They would have no large wedding to celebrate, no grandchildren. And it is not only that, Findekano. The thought of the physical reality scares me too." He bent his head and Fingon thought he could see a tear falling down Maedhros' cheek to his chin.

"I have heard the first time is always difficult," Fingon said quietly. “As for grandchildren, you have six brothers who could provide them.”

Maedhros lifted his head and stared at his cousin. His brilliant eyes glistened wetly. "Listen to you," his voice was whispery. "Such a wise man. You are much younger than me and you are not going to tell me that you have done it before."

Fingon shook his head and glared at his cousin, his brows knitted together into a fierce line above his gleaming dark eyes. "No. But I am not like you, Nelyafinwe. I know exactly what I want."

Maedhros' voice caught in his throat. "Then show me, Findekano," he said in a throaty growl. "Show me what you want." He brushed the tears from his cheeks with elegantly trembling fingers.

Feeling as if he were floating, Fingon rose from his bed and joined Maedhros upon the emerald green coverlet. It smelled sweet and musky from Maedhros' lingering scent of nutmeg and roses in the spot where he had had been lying before moving over to make room for his cousin. "Are you sure about this, Nelyafinwe? Are you sure this is what you really want? I worry that you look so sad, shedding tears..."

Neither of them had touched each other, but Fingon reached out to tentatively brush Maedhros' cheek.

Maedhros stared into his cousin's eyes. "I cannot be the one to make the first move," he gulped. "I am frozen like some inert substance in my father’s laboratory."

"I have never done this with anyone else, except for that first time when you came out of the bathroom and I was...so clumsy..."

"Please try again," Maedros’ voice was as soft as the spring breeze. He traced Fingon's forearm delicately with sensitive fingers. "I promise that this time I will not back away."

Fingon's breathing became quicker. His lips parted, desire welling in him until he could not stop himself from trembling.

Maedhros reached up and placed one slender finger upon Fingon's parted lips. "Would it help if I were naked?" he asked.

Fingon's breath became rapid. He nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Both elves clutched at Maedhros' towel at the same time, Fingon successful at tearing it away and tossing it aside.

It was late afternoon, during the hour before dinner preparations usually began and Maedhros had pulled his drapes closed so that the golden light of Laurelin would not invade the room with brightness. He had lit a single candle instead, and its dim yellow light and scent of roses wafted over the two elves. He knelt upon the bed, exposed, swollen and aroused. "This feels very strange," he said to Fingon.

Fingon shifted into a kneeling position as well. Although he was just past his majority he was beginning to look as he would later in adulthood: virile, strong, well-muscled yet slender, his face all handsome lines and fine features, his eyes dark grey and piercing, his hair a black sweep of glistening dark waves with a tendency to fall over his face unless bound back behind his shoulders. At the moment his head was bent downwards, his hair obscuring his face while his gaze was transfixed by the sight of his cousin's erect phallus. He reached out for Maedhros' hand and moved it to his own loins, letting him feel the hardness bulging between his own legs, beneath the fabric of his leggings. "How does that feel?" he whispered.

Maedhros gulped and stared into Fingon's eyes, brushing his cousin’s hair back from his face, his own green eyes sparkling with warmth and wide open, his huge pupils dark and dilated. "It feels good," he whispered, speaking as eloquently as he was capable.

Fingon closed the small gap between them, leaning in to kiss Maedhros, his lips tentative and searching. He found his cousin's mouth surprisingly soft and yielding. He did not know how to use his tongue and just left his lips touching upon Maedhros', enjoying the lightness he felt throughout his body and the sweet taste of those lips. Maedhros remained as he was also, his arms dangling by his sides, too afraid to embrace Fingon, who broke the kiss, pulling away reluctantly. "I think I should undress too," he remarked with a shy smile. "I think it might help."

He leaned back, pulling his breeches down slowly over his hips and when the top half of his shaft was exposed, Maedhros reached out and grasped his hand. "No," he said, "please let me."

When it was done and both elves were fully naked and erect, facing each other, Maedhros paused. "What should we do now? I feel hot and ready for release soon, but I don't know how to do it with a male."

"I think we should kiss again and hold each other closely," Fingon told him, sliding across the bedcovers, locking Maedhros into another kiss. When they embraced, they felt each other's bodies pressing together and it enhanced their passion, making them both desire to begin to experiment. Fingon reached for Maedhros' erection, grasping its length firmly in his hand. Soon after this he felt he needed to touch it with his mouth, and pushed Maedhros firmly back on the coverlet. Carefully, he slid his lips over the corona, savouring the first sweet taste of his cousin in his mouth. Overcome with emotion, both elves let nature take over and guide them into giving each other as much pleasure as was possible on that first day.

Both had climaxed when they heard an abrupt sound outside. Lying in each other's arms they listened silently to a rustling noise approaching down the hallway. Maedhros had locked his door but the two young elves sprang apart anyway, startled and embarrassed. Hastily they scrambled for their clothing and dressed themselves rapidly. The familiar voices of Feanor and Nerdanel, Maedhros' parents, could be heard just outside their oldest son’s bedroom door.

"What is Nelyo doing locked in his room at this time of day?" Feanor was asking. He sounded testy, as if he had just been arguing with someone.

"How should I know, Feanor?" Nerdanel’s voice was chippy. "He is probably studying for his upcoming examination. Let's not disturb him."

"He should have started dinner preparations," Feanor remarked, his tone cranky.

"Why do you let every little thing bother you?" Nerdanel's voice sounded diminished in volume as if she was walking back down the hallway to the kitchen area. "It has the effect of annoying everyone around you."

Maedhros and Fingon stared at each other. "I want more," Fingon said.

"So do I," whispered Maedhros in return.

"Where, then? And when?" Fingon's hushed tone was urgent.

"Atar and Amme are going to Uncle Arafinwe's next weekend. They will stay overnight for two nights. Come to my room on the Friday night when they have gone and everyone else is in bed. We can spend a full night together."

Fingon smiled. They exchanged a brief kiss before Maedhros opened the door and they both stepped into the hallway. Seeing them, Feanor looked startled, his gaze flickering from first one flushed face to the other. "What were you boys doing locked together in Nelyo's room?" he demanded, his raised eyebrows showing his curiosity.

Maedhros and Fingon glanced at each other, their expressions both serious. "We were studying," Maedhros said without cracking a smile.