Title & Chapter Number: Misfits 17/30
Author(s): - Author's Index
Fandom: Middle Earth
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I do not own these settings or characters, and am making no profit from the writing and sharing of this story.
Warnings: Haldir's in it. Need I say more? /snicker
Betas: Circe
Cast: Haldir/Melpomaen
Timeline: TA AU
Spoilers: None
Summary: Orophin thinks; Orophin talks to Peony; Orophin and Haldir talk.
Notes: Thanks to everyone who has given commentary, feedback and support.
Orophin had no idea what to do about the situation between his brother and Melpomaen, and he fervently wished that Rumil had never laid this task upon him. It was one thing for Rumil to involve himself in matters that were none of his concern; Rumil had always been the one to offer unsolicited comments, take it upon himself to help where help had not been asked for, or to make other people's affairs his own business. His cheerful, laidback manner allowed him to get away with those things, but Orophin did not have that ability. It seemed to him that the best - and only - thing he could do would be to stand back and wait for the inevitable to happen.
A week had passed since the night he'd managed to get himself invited to play cards with Haldir and Melpomaen. In another week, Lord Elrond's party would be returning to Imladris, and Melpomaen would be going with it. If Haldir and Melpomaen had discussed this directly, Orophin knew nothing of it. It seemed to him that sometimes they danced around the topic; Haldir's indirect questions would be met with oblique answers, and comments that could be interpreted in a variety of ways were made. It was worrisome, to say the least.
Golden light filtered down through the mallorn leaves, brightening the green of Peony's house to the shade of a ripe cooking apple. Peony herself lay in a small black heap by Orophin's feet, legs splayed skyward, head turned, and tongue lolling from the corner of her mouth. Orophin frowned even as he lowered himself to the ground and scratched the puppy's head. She was yet another sign of what was wrong with Haldir, and though he was glad that he'd been allowed to keep her, he was unsettled by the ease with which he'd won that battle - if one could say there'd been a battle at all. Melpomaen had liked Peony; Haldir had buckled.
The elder brother that Orophin knew was often impatient and easy to anger, but he was also stable, reliable, and, most of all, predictable. He was solid, a rock upon which his younger brothers could set their feet or against which they could place their backs: immovable, constant. If their family could be compared to a mallorn, then Haldir would be the roots that lay wide-spread beneath the dark earth: drawing nourishment from the soil, holding the tree in place, strengthening it to withstand the fiercest winds, the harshness of bitter winters, and the heat of summer. Neither rock nor root shifted or swayed, and neither consulted ought but necessity. They did not curry favor or apologize for what they were, and, until recently, neither did Haldir.
There had been no argument over the dog, nor need to muster a defense or summon up crocodile tears, simply because Melpomaen liked Peony. The house Peony lived in featured a hinged roof and aesthetically pleasing style for the same reason. Haldir had taken to cleaning their talan himself, most often in a state of anxious frustration, because of Melpomaen. Because of Melpomaen Haldir restrained his temper as well as and for as long as he could, and for Melpomaen he'd adopted Rumil's style of hair dressing in spite of the fact that loose tresses only accentuated the roundness of his features. Haldir nearly fawned over the dark haired elf, occasionally behaving in a way that was near to sycophantic, and Orophin could only watch in increasing dismay and rising anger.
Melpomaen was darkly lovely; there was no denying that. Orophin might have even developed an interest in him himself had Haldir not been so obviously infatuated with the elf, and if he had not seen the way in which Melpomaen toyed with Haldir's affections. The Imladris elf was at one moment attentive and at the next distant, his expression shifting between distracted worry and complete concentration. Sometimes it seemed to Orophin that he was consciously avoiding Haldir's touch, while at other times he would embrace Haldir with a species of ferocious protectiveness that Orophin could not understand. Haldir needed no one's protection; certainly, he did not need the protection of this diminutive archivist who could not even manage a light bow. Yet, oddly enough, Haldir seemed to think otherwise. He accepted those almost custodial embraces not only willingly, but also eagerly. Outside of their talan, Haldir was as reserved as he'd always been, but within it his body sought Melpomaen's unconsciously, instinctively. Orophin did now know if this inexplicable need was meant to prove something to Melpomaen or to Haldir himself.
Rumil would undoubtedly approach Melpomaen if he was a witness to all of this. Rumil would advise Haldir to ask his lover forthrightly if he planned to stay or go, and whether his feelings were true and lasting, or waxing and waning as the fickle moon. If Orophin were to suggest such a thing, Haldir would almost certainly tell him to mind his own affairs, and be none too gentle in the telling. As for Melpomaen… the dark haired elf was beautiful, and at times he could be pleasant, but at other times he was all frozen intelligence, brittle as a dagger tipped icicle. In a confrontation with Melpomaen, Orophin knew he would find himself flailing for words, lost in the frozen web of logic Melpomaen would be able to weave, unable to find his way to what needed to be said. Or, conversely, he might find himself delivering his speech to a wall that might or might not deign to reply.
Orophin was neither stupid nor simple, though many assumed him to be so. He understood that his brother and Melpomaen were better suited to each other than even they knew. Both were cut off from the world, though in different ways and for different reasons. Both were thought different, and both handled those differences by ignoring them, either by hiding in a library or hiding in the forest. Both were skilled and intelligent in their own ways, and both had been deemed prodigies in their respective fields. Rumil might have used these similarities that did not make a match, but rather described opposing sides of the same coin, to bring them together. Orophin understood emotion far better than he did logic, however, and he had not Rumil's guile. He understood much as Peony understood her master's moods, and, like Peony, he had not the slightest idea as to what he should do, if anything at all.
"Peony, I just don't know how to handle this," he said softly, reaching to scratch her exposed belly. The puppy responded by pedaling her back legs in the air, eliciting a wan smile from the young guardian. "I do not understand this at all."
He continued his efforts, moving upward to scratch beneath her chin, heedless of the stream of drool dripping from the side of her half-open mouth. "They say we are the blessed of the Valar, but I daresay life would be simpler if we were all dogs. We'd be happier, and easier to please; I imagine that were I to find you a large mop and dyed it black, you'd be pleased to spend your life with it, wouldn't you Peony?"
Peony woofed, a high pitched puppy bark that brightened Orophin's smile. He nodded pleasantly, accepting that as a response, and nearly leaped to his feet when a low voice spoke from behind him.
"You're talking to it. Her," Haldir said, and Orophin's face flushed with embarrassment. "Please tell me she doesn't answer you, Orophin."
"No," he muttered down at his hands, "she doesn't. What brings you here?" He raised his gaze slightly, and was surprised to see that Haldir was carrying a plate heavily laden with chicken bones.
"Just getting rid of some garbage." Haldir's expression twisted into something that was almost amusement as Peony, who'd scented the garbage, staggered to her feet and began dancing around his boots. "Here, you miserable beast, I've brought you something." He dumped the bones unceremoniously onto the grass, and Peony, who seemed not in the least disturbed at being addressed as "miserable beast," set to with a will. Haldir was not quite able to hide his smile, and Orophin essayed an uncertain grin. "What is it you do not understand, and why do you want to be a dog?"
"It's nothing important, Haldir." The grin vanished the instant he realized his brother had overheard his conversation with Peony. "Well, it is, but… well, it's just something Rumil said."
"Rumil…" Haldir mused, crossing to Peony's house. He lifted the hinged half of the roof absently, appearing not to notice his youngest brother's fidgeting. "Rumil says a great many things which I do not understand, but I've never let that worry me."
"Until recently, right?" Orophin asked, eyes fixed on the ground. Beside him Peony continued to dine, crunching the bones between her teeth with noisy enthusiasm. Haldir glanced sharply toward him, eyebrow lifted.
"No, I can't say that I've begun worrying about anything he has to say."
"That's not what I meant." He swallowed hard. "I meant that lately you've understood him. Right?"
Orophin could read the impatience in Haldir's expression, and he forced himself to relax, concentrated on loosening the knot in his stomach, the tightness of his clenched fingers. He didn't wait for Haldir to demand that he start making sense, but forged bravely onward. "About Melpomaen."
"Melpomaen." Haldir's voice had taken on a measured quality with which Orophin was familiar. "I have noticed that you've taken a remarkable interest in him. What exactly has Rumil told you?"
"I'm not interested in him," Orophin said in a rush. "I'm interested in you."
"Oh, this gets more and more interesting all the time." Haldir's expression was a blend of amusement and mock lechery, and Orophin's color abruptly shifted from white to scarlet.
"I didn't mean that, either!" he blurted. "I meant you and Melpomaen. I want you to be happy, Haldir."
"And I'm not?" Again he raised an eyebrow, leaning against Peony's house while waving his hand in an expansive gesture. "What's there not to be happy about, Orophin? Here I am with a young lover, a home, my dear brothers - one of whom is interested in me- and a dog. I'm ecstatic, Orophin, simply overflowing with joy."
"What are you going to do when he leaves?"
For a long moment there was silence, and Orophin thought that Haldir would not answer him, that he would turn on his heel and return to their talan. At last he did speak, though, and the words he spoke came as no surprise.
"That's none of your concern."
"It is. Because…"
"Because you want me to be happy; I'm sorry, I forgot." The expression in Haldir's eyes was hard and flat. He stared at Peony, and his face set in a grimace as she swallowed the last of the bones and then loped back to frisk at his ankles. "Can't you do something about her?"
"No. You made friends with her when you gave her food." Orophin did not raise his eyes as he spoke, but continued to speak to the grass growing in Haldir's shadow. "Why are you being like this? Why did you come down here?"
"Being like what?" Haldir asked, voice tight. Orophin made no response, and, with a heavy sigh, Haldir continued. "What exactly did Rumil say to you?"
"He just said that he was excited about you and Melpomaen, and that I should try to be more helpful." It was not quite all of the truth, but it was all he intended to share. He watched Haldir's shadow nod its head slowly.
"And being nice apparently includes being underfoot. Well, I am at least relieved to know that Melpomaen is not the source of your fascination. I would have hated to have had to cut off any parts of you."
The words were spoken lightly, and Orophin glanced up long enough to shoot him a glare from behind the golden veil of his hair. "We care about you, Haldir. Much as you seem to hate it, we do."
"I know." Haldir nudged the puppy aside with his foot and moved to stand beside Orophin's seated figure. "And I'm grateful, Orophin. Really." The awkwardness of his tone indicated sincerity, and Orophin blinked in surprise when a large hand settled on his shoulder. "I appreciate it. But… back off a little, Orophin. Matters will go as they will, and there is little that either you or I can do about it. Rather like this beast of yours."
"She's not a beast," Orophin said, and Haldir chuckled, though the sound was lacking in humor.
"No, I suppose she isn't. And I really did come here to give her the scraps. I didn't know you were here."
"I wish Rumil was here," he said glumly, and Haldir settled down beside him.
"Rumil has a way of overstepping himself. Did he charge you with watching out for me, or some other such ridiculousness?" Orophin's surprised glance told Haldir everything he needed to know. The older elf laughed humorlessly, lips twisting into a sneer. "I think I need to have a talk with dear brother Rumil. How did he manage to talk you into such nonsense?"
"He didn't give me much choice."
"I see." He clapped Orophin's back in a reassuring manner. "Well, you can see that I'm doing quite well, and that I'm managing Melpomaen without any troubles."
Orophin saw nothing of the sort, and if any managing was being done, it didn't seem to him that it was his brother doing it. He blinked and nodded uncertainly, and Haldir flashed one of his new, dazzling and disconcerting smiles. "You can give yourself a break. Go visit Renaelle and her friends tonight."
"I'm sorry, Haldir. I just wanted-"
"To help, I know." The smile was beginning to curdle around the edges, and Orophin took his cue. Rising to his feet, he beamed an equally false smile back at his eldest brother.
"I'll see you later tonight or tomorrow, then."
"Yes. Have fun, Orophin."
Orophin let his smile drop the instant his back was to Haldir. His brother's words had given him more to worry about rather than less, and, though his steps were light and quick as he approached the bottom of the stairs, his heart was heavy. Casting one last glance behind him he saw that Peony was once again lying spraddle-legged, this time with Haldir absently scratching her black furred chest.
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