Haldir awoke tangled in Glorfindel's gentle embrace, their naked bodies intertwined in closely melded perfection. The March Warden sighed contentedly, nuzzling his lover's chin, for nothing was more blissful than the feel of Elven skin upon one's own. Glorfindel murmured softly in his sleep, curling closer still to Haldir's warmth, his arms encircled the archer and drawing him against his chest.

"Mmmmmm. . .meleth nin," Glorfindel mumbled into Haldir's abundance of palely flaxen hair, "how I love awakening wrapped in your embrace."

Haldir smiled gently, trailing one finger along the curvature of Glorfindel's elegant neck and over his jaw line. "And I you, meleth," he said, planting a lingering kiss upon the other's supple lips, "but if we do not rise from this bed soon, I fear I shall have to have you once more."

Glorfindel feigned an expression of horror and pretended to swoon in Haldir's arms. "How terrible that would be!"

The beautiful elf languidly spread himself across the bed, presenting Haldir with a fine view of his naked backside as he stretched his limber muscles with a yawn, glancing teasingly at Haldir over his shoulder through the curtain of his sunny hair.

Haldir chuckled at the golden Lord and kissed the tip of his nose. "You are far too pleasing for my eyes, lirimaer. Now get dressed before I am forced to ravish you."

It was now Glorfindel's turn to laugh. "Perhaps you should cool the heat of your desires within the river, for unfortunately, I have duties I must attend to shortly." He bent to touch his lips to Haldir's own in gently passionate kiss.

Tossing his palely flaxen hair with a smile, Haldir rubbed his hand over the growing bulge beneath the coverlet. "I doubt even the coldest of waters could chase my desire for you from my body."

* * * * * * * * *

Erestor draped his arm lazily across his chest, the other hand trailing freely within the cool waters of the river as he lay sprawled upon one of the many massive rocks that adored the streams edge. Clad only his breeches, he lolled his head over the rocks edge, saturating the loosely plaited thickness of his hair, the river's gentle caress slowly parting the strands into ripples of trailing darkness. He combed his fingers through the damply chilled mass of hair and shook the remnants of his braid free, his nearly waist length hair fanning out upon the waters surface like a coiling mass of writhing serpents streaming behind his head.

Far before any in the House of Elrond had awakened, Erestor had taken his leave for the ritual of bathing in the sunlight as well within the tepid waters of the river. Rarely did he seek the company of others any longer this early, for few were willing to rise from the comfort of their beds. Erestor himself could have done without giving up the warmth of his coverlet, but important discussion with Lord Elrond were imminent and the chief advisor most certainly needed a bath. The pair of unnamed Lorien elves he had partnered with on the previous night had been so full of lustful ardor, Erestor had seriously considered taking his leave rather than spend the evening placating the younglings with his riding crop, for they were clearly most undisciplined. How he tired of these simple excursions where domination was so easily accepted. Defiant resistance was far more intriguing. Such was the March Warden. Erestor felt the muscles of his groin tighten at the mere thought of sampling such a creature, bending his will, tasting the sweet torment of rebellion before savoring the subordinate rapture of relinquishing control.

From the depths of the overgrown brush, Haldir peered at the lounging advisor with a mixture of fascination and disgust. Had the elf no shame? Never mind the fact that Haldir himself had often lain naked amongst the very same bed of rocks in full view of others should they happen to pass. At least Erestor was clothed from the waist down, but there was something almost obscene about the way the dark haired elf was sprawled upon the rock sunning himself, arching his back so that the fullness of his thick hair became saturated by the coolness of the gently lapping water.

Never would Haldir have expected such a finely chiseled body to lie beneath those fitted robes, for Erestors pale form was sleekly defined, each muscle clearly outlined within the milky white flesh, drawing taut as the elf stretched himself further into the river. An expression of heedless bliss adorned the wicked curves of his lips and a contented sigh rose from his chest. Unconsciously, Haldir wet his lips, more so for fear of being caught staring rather than actual lust.

One nimble hand slipped suddenly towards the leather thongs of his breeches and the advisor pulled the knotted cord free with a simple tug, peeling the supple material slowly over his hips, arching his back upward with a seductive wriggle of his arse, shedding the garment as if it were a second skin, leaving it to lie in a pile of wrinkled leather near his ankles before sliding off the rocks and into the water, vanishing completely from Haldir's view.

Peeking over the tops of the hedges, Haldir craned his neck to see just where the other had gone but saw naught but the faint ripples of the advisors departure. Had the silly creature gone and drowned himself? He had been submerged for quite some time. . .

Several tense seconds ticked by with no sign of the dark head and Haldir began to worry. Although he was not very fond of this particular elf, he could not simply stand within the brush and allow him to drown! With a resigned sigh, he leapt over the surrounding foliage and walked hurriedly to the waters edge where he had last seen Erestor before he had mysteriously disappeared. Only the discarded breeches remained upon the rock, the river's clarity yielding no indication of the advisor's whereabouts. Haldir glanced about rather frantically.

"Erestor!" he shouted, planting his hands upon his hips looking the picture of annoyance when his call went unheeded. "Errrreeessstoorrr!"

A pair of wet hands suddenly shot forth from the water and grasped both of his ankles, startling Haldir with a yelp of surprise. The shock of being grabbed offset his precarious perch upon the rocks and he flailed his arms about helplessly in attempts to maintain his balance. Rather by the grace of the Valar or sheer luck, he managed to twist free of the slippery fingers and stumbled away, staggering most ungracefully to the ground and flopping upon his arse in a panting heap.

Sleek arms crept over the rock and hoisted the grinning face of the dark elf upon the edge of the rock as he chuckled at Haldir's expense, propping his chin upon one hand with a self-satisfied smirk of delight.

"Oh, how I do adore it when you call my name in such an urgent manner, Haldiiiirrr," Erestor purred, his absurdly long hair partially draped over one shoulder, the rest rippling far beyond his back in the river's lulling current.

"Bastard!" Haldir hissed, "I thought that you had. . ." he shook his head with a growl. "Never mind."

Erestor cocked a dark brow at the fuming March Warden. "How nice. You were concerned for my well-being. How very touching. . ."

Haldir scrambled to his feet and flung his red cloak over his shoulder haughtily. "Next time I hope you DO drown," he muttered, turning upon his heel to leave, promise of a relaxing bath forgotten.

"Oh. . Haldir?" Erestor called, smiling with amusement as the archer flinched to a halt at the sound of his name upon the lips of the dark advisor. "I do hope you enjoyed watching me undress, although you would have gotten a far better view had you not been hiding in the undergrowth."

One fist clenched and relaxed as the bristling March Warden growled audibly and stormed away, leaving Erestor to chuckle with devious merriment in his wake.