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"Those words, power over flesh. Where did you hear them?"
......
One more chance. Maybe there still was some hope left. He had all but given up, already in the midst of packing up his whole life to leave for the shores of Valinor, a place he had not seen since he was so young. Middle-earth had been his home for most of his life now, and Eregion, a place he had ruled over for hundreds of years, the place he had founded and made his own. The thought of abandoning it now, letting it slowly turn into ruins, was unbearable. He was not ready to return to the shores of Valinor, no, not ready to abandon everything he had built here. To raise up Eregion so its glory could rival the lands across the sea, that had always been his aspirations since the war ended. But he had felt as if there were no other choice left to leave those ambitions behind.
That was, until the Southlander King had shown up early that morning at the break of dawn. It seemed strange, how he was able to walk so upright without showing any sign of pain after he had been on the brink of death the night before. And It seemed odd that he would walk all the way up there, to his old tower's highest point, just to find Galadriel, there was no reason to assume she would be there. Celebrimbor assumed the real reason was his curiosity, and the man had certainly made a bit of a brash impression on him, despite his flattery, the way he seemed so shameless about his appearance, wearing only a night gown and no shoes. Or the way he had quickly made himself at home in his smithy, looking around, touching things. Celebrimbor had half the mind to ask him not to, but he had been told by Galadriel that he was a King among men after all, so perhaps his behavior was to be expected, and he simply didn't have the heart to turn away a fellow smith, especially one as enthusiastic and curious as Halbrand seemed to be.
The second time he came to him was a bit later in the day, now dressed more appropriately for the sight of others, his blue tunic adorned with silver, and he was wearing leather boots this time around, and appeared washed up and much more like the proper image of a low-man King. He looked a handsome thing, despite looking a bit too pale still, haired neatly brushed, and skin all clear of grime and dirt, revealing the almost spotless milky skin underneath.
"The High King will arrive this evening, and I am to convince him we have a solution to our fading when in fact, I'm still not sure that I do at all, to be honest." He told him of his plans earlier that morning, about the fading and his race to find a cure. Halbrand had approached his dilemma with kindness and understanding. And Celebrimbor had spent all morning trying to restructure his plans, trying to come up with something else, something little that could make use of what they were left with, it was no easy task.
"Why are you short of ideas?" Halbrand asked.
"Oh I have some ideas, I just don't quite know how to get there yet," Celebrimbor sighed. "I had hoped to have enough to supply all elves with jewelry that could retain our connection to the Valar, but now, I am left to make something only the King would carry with him wherever he goes. And it would need to be much more powerful than anything I had originally planned, or ever attempted to make before. Something that would be able to hold onto the light of the ore, and truly strengthen it." He paused, a bit embarrassed at his own ramblings, avoiding the other man's gaze. "Sorry, you didn't come here to deal with the Elves's problems, or listen to me ramble about it."
Halbrand gave him a smile. "I actually find it all quite fascinating."
"Well..." Celebrimbor continued, more than happy to have someone to share his ideas with who weren't just the other elves of the Mirdain, it felt refreshing, and their encounter before had made him realize that they might have been too caught up in the traditional ways of the elven craft to even consider any other possibilities which might lay before them. He more than welcomed the human ingenuity of the low-man King. "It is said among our people that certain gems reflect aspects of nature, and so we often use them for the purpose of strengthening our bond with the natural forces. So I had intended to use these gems to perhaps amplify the magic in the ore as well."
He picked up the fiery red Ruby and lied it in the palm of his hand, it almost radiated its own heat, amplified by the warmth of his own skin. His grandfather had often adorned his robes with such gems, the fire of Fëanor's own spirits had always seemed to make them glow. Rolling the gem in his hand, he remembered that warmth so vividly, and the comfort it brought him, and the safety of his presence. A sudden shiver ran all the way up from his arm and down his back as Halbrand closed his fingers on his wrist. It was but a moment, but they seemed to radiate such heat that it seeped into his skin. Studying the young man's face he seemed in deep thought.
"So you could use these gems to amplify the magic of the ore?" The man asked.
"That was the plan originally, when I thought we would have more Mithril at hand." Celebrimbor sighed, placing the gem back in the wooden box. "I guess I could place them on smaller objects, but what, I am not sure."
"Why not make a crown for the High-King himself?" Halbrand suggested. "Did you not say it needed to be something he could always carry?"
Celebrimbor stopped in thoughts, although it may present some controversy, that would give him the most ideal shape for the light of the Mithril to take full effect, making the light shine in all directions and to amplify the magic within it. "And where that light shines, it strengthens and purifies all that surrounds him, wherever he goes?" Celebrimbor mumbled, more to himself than to the man before him. "Yes, yes that could work!"
A feeling of relief washed over him, and eagerness. He would have to test it out of course, figure out how the mithril could be forged, how to melt it down, what other materials it would need to mix with in order to properly amplify its qualities, but making a crown, adorn with 3 jewels, as Morgoth had once made, but with the intention of good, surely such an artifact must be powerful enough? Should the High-King accept such an idea, he would have to choose his words carefully, for it would certainly not be without controversy. Halbrand's smiled at him, it was almost as bright as his. But in that smile he saw something about the man that seemed different, beyond the valor of a King or a Knight, something that Celebrimbor couldn't quite catch, but whatever it was, it made him suddenly avert his gaze, afraid that if he stared too long into those depths, he would lose complete track of his own thoughts.
"May I ask you something?" Celebrimbor jumped, startled, he had not even noticed when Halbrand walked up as close as he had. He looked up to meet the slightly taller man's gaze, not able to quite look away after all. They were close enough to touch and Halbrand had placed a hand on his arm, it felt scorching hot, as if had just been placed in boiling water, a visible shudder went up his spine, he gaped but before he could even reply to his question, the Southlander continued.
"Has there not been something else on your mind this morning?" Halbrand asked.
"What... are you asking?" Celebrimbor felt his heart suddenly pumping, but surely the man didn't mean what he thought he meant.
"I saw the way you looked at me, earlier, when we first met." The man wore a shy smirk on his face, for a moment avoiding his gaze. Celebrimbor's heart raced, his head scrambling for an answer.
"It was... hard to avoid." Celebrimbor swallowed. The low-man had wrapped his hand around his own, lifting it carefully and placing a kiss right above his wrist, near the palm of his hand, his lips burned and Celebrimbor could feel his own blood pumping through every vein of his body now.
"I wouldn't be opposed to it if we acted out any of the thoughts you might have had about me." Halbrand smirked at him.
"This-...this is a bit sudden, isn't it?" Celebrimbor remarked nervously, not able to hide his visible fluster.
"Is it?" Halbrand leant in closer, so close Celebrimbor felt his warm breath on his cheeks. There seemed to be no way of escaping it, there was something just so intoxicating about this rugged low-man King, and he could not bear to turn him down. The way his eyes seemed to change color with each different shade of light, his form, tall and lean, in a way an elf could never be. Celebrimbor would admit, Halbrand would hardly be the first human man he'd share his bed with. It was not unlike elves to be tempted at the prospect of intimacy with mortal men, despite how controversial such a pairing often was in the eyes of fellow elves. Attachment to such short lived beings brought nothing but pain to his kin, he knew that. But the simple pleasure of flesh, no matter how much other elves might frown upon such a union, was a different matter. For unlike elves, men were much more fleeting with whom they bonded and bedded with. An aspect of them many of his kin envied, and he could not help but find it slightly arousing.
He was staring temptation in the face now, and after so much stress, he wanted nothing but to drown in it, drown in the man before him, and to release all that pent up frustrating and emotion on the young man, and Halbrand seemed to have picked up on his innermost feelings somehow, as if reading him like an open book. Halbrand said nothing as he ran his hands down to his hips, slowly lifting up his robe as he looked at him, it was as if he already knew what his response would be. It wasn't until then Celebrimbor noticed to his own embarrassment that he had already grown hard from the man's mere suggestions. Those surprisingly soft and warm hands slipped up into his robe, until the low-man King let out a heavy breath in satisfaction as he wrapped his hand around his already aching hardness. He was standing so close now, their chests almost touching, and if he only leant in a little closer their lips would be touching.
"You haven't done this in a while, have you?" Halbrand noted, stroking him slowly, his breath tickling against Celebrimbor's lips as he spoke, and he leant in even closer, his lips brushing against his cheeks and sending more shivers down his spine.
"Not in over a century," Celebrimbor breathed. To think that it had already been that long, even for an elf that felt like an eternity right now.
Halbrand gave a short snicker. "That's far longer than I have been alive, I'd be glad to shorten it a bit for you."
Then the other man finally kissed him, deeply, and a strange feeling of intimacy overcame him, somehow making him feel much more naked and exposed than he already was. It felt like a strange kind of bonding, when he thought this would be nothing but the joining of their flesh, yet the low-man almost seemed to kiss him with the intimacy of a caring lover. His lips caressing his own gently and lovingly, sucking on his lower lips before slipping his tongue inside, sliding it against his own. All notion of time seemed to slip from his mind then, and when it was over, he seemed to have lost all notion of Halbrand having undressed them both as well, in a way that felt almost unnatural, but he pushed the strange feeling aside, too eager to continue. Halbrand took a step back, leaning against the anvil, giving him some space, and Celebrimbor finally had the chance to truly look at the other man in front of him, fully naked and exposed before him. The infected wound he had rode in with seemed almost completely gone, just a faint bruise and scar remaining, despite only having had one night to heal, strange even for elven healing to have recovered that fast. But that thought slipped right from his mind, as he could not help but get lost at the sight of the rest of him.
He'd always had a weakness for the more rugged nature of men, as well as dwarves, their skin always felt so much more firm to the touch. Not to mention the rugs of hair that men often seemed to have, and Halbrand had a generous amount. He felt himself already longing to touch it, the hairs of his arms and legs tickling against his own skin, the strands of hair against his fingers as he traced his chest, which he noted had a faint chain of scars on them, a few inches below his nippels, shaped like four sided stars. His muscles were more defined and chiseled, much more like that of a blacksmith than a silversmith like himself. A trail of hair traveled from below his belly button to between his legs, ending in a generous patch of hair barely hiding not the hardened arousal he expected to see, but instead a wet slit and pink lips below, for a moment, he felt somewhat taken back in surprise, but somehow it stirred something inside of him, more than it might have had otherwise. He felt a heavy pulse between his own legs, suddenly very painfully aware of his own arousal.
"Not what you expected?" Halbrand asked, seemingly shameless as he spread his legs further apart, giving him a better look. "We could always stop it right here."
"No it's- ... more of a pleasant surprise," Celebrimbor replied in honesty, if anything, it made the prospect of what they were about to do that much more exciting to him.
Halbrand stepped closer to him again, his hands traveling up his bare biceps and then wrapped around his neck as he kissed him again, pulling him close. It was just now that he felt the true sensation of the heat the man seemed to radiate, it engulfed him, wrapped around him like tendrils as he felt the man press his naked body against his, the soft hairs of his chest tickling against the smooth skin of his own.
"Do you want to take this all the way then?" Halbrand whispered against his lips.
Yes, he thought, more than anything right now. Few other thoughts filled his mind at the moment but the idea of joining his body together with the man in front of him, to feel what it would be like to be fully inside that intoxicating heat of his. With a hand on his arm, the man guided him to the anvil behind them, seating himself on it and pulled him close between his legs. Celebrimbor let out a faint gasp as he felt his hardness slide against the man's slick slit, covered in a soft patch of dark hair that tickled against his engorged and sensitive head. With a sly smirk Halbrand wrapped a hand around his base, slowly guiding him to his opening. Celebrimbor braced his two hands down on the cold metal of the anvil next to the man's hips, slowly pushing into him, the low-man was a lot tighter than he imagined he would be, despite being so soaked with slick, it took a rather forceful thrust to fully push his head inside, which rewarded him with a low gasp from the low-man. Halbrand felt so warm, almost to the point where it was painful, but just enough that it was still so pleasurable.
Celebrimbor's hands shook as he grabbed the man's hips, pushing himself the rest of the way into that slick heat and letting out a moan, his head resting against Halbrand's shoulders as he lost himself to the heat and the pleasure, the low-man's hands wrapped tightly around his back, shamelessly letting his own pleasure be heard as Celebrimbor felt himself bump against his inner walls, pushing as far as he could go. His thrusting felt awkward at first, it had been so long now, that he almost forgot how to give and receive such pleasure. Halbrand seemed to reassure him, guiding him just right, so that eventually their hips met in a more synchronized motion. It was almost strange just how soft the man felt, even the hairs on his arms and his tights did not feel nearly as coarse as he had expected from a man, they felt like strands of silk against his own hairless skin. But nothing felt as soft as the man did around him. He tried not to get too lost in it, to restrain himself so that this moment would last as long as possible. He let his lips trace against the man's chin, craving to feel the stubble against them, and once again the hair felt so soft against his lips. Halbrand let out a peculiar sound in response to his affection, a halfway between a moan and what almost sounded like a purr. His hand came to grab the back of Celebrimbor's head, bringing him in closer, leaning the both of them back until Halbrand was laying on the anvil and Celebrimbor hovered over him, hands still placed firmly on the other man's hips.
He looked down on the low-man, Halbrand's lips parted as he panted, his cheeks flushed with lust, there seemed to be almost a hint of red hue in his eyes, bright like flame. His legs spread out even more as he lay there under him, a hand on his hips pushed Celebrimbor as deep inside of him as he could possibly go, and he gasped as he felt the head of his cock collide against the mouth of Halbrand's womb. His own lust seemed to overtake him then, and he thrusted down into the other man with all his vitality, chasing both of their pleasures and Halbrand seemed to respond in kind, his muscles clenching around him with each thrust into him, and his hands gripped at his shoulder blades now, blunt fingernails scraping against his skin.
After a short while Celebrimbor lost all track of his thoughts, all that existed was him and the man wrapped all around him, no other thoughts or or feelings existed outside of the two of them, and the only thing that mattered was chasing their bodily bliss. Halbrand seemed to come undone beneath him after a while, moaning loudly as he trembled in his arms, legs closing around him and bringing him in close, his inner muscles clamping all around him, to the point where moving became almost constraining., He felt almost stuck inside him now, but that was enough to send him over the edge. His own climax shook his entire being, leaving him shivering and clinging onto the man as his hips collided into the other man's, trying to go as deep as possible again, desperately wanting to stay buried deep within that radiating heat. Whatever he was doing must have given the other man great pleasure as well, because he suddenly heard his desperate whines again as Halbrand buried his head against his shoulders and Celebrimbor felt him clamping around him once more.
The other man had his head buried in his neck as they both reveled in the afterglow and Celebrimbor buried his face in the low-man's hair, taking in his scent, which now had an unmistakable smell of ash. Halbrand’s arms were still wrapped tightly around his shoulders in a tight embrace. Celebrimbor wished he could stay like this until dusk, chained by the man's embrace and buried in his warmth. But it was hours until the High King would arrive, and he would have to greet him in the exact same place he was now bent over this human, his softening cock still inside of him.
"We should... get dressed, before anyone catches us like this," He said, his head still buried in Halbrand's hair. Celebrimbor stood back up and it took all of his strength to release his grip on the other man and pull himself out of him. He watched as a few drops of his seed trickled down on the anvil where the man was laying. Suddenly, feeling very flustered, he quickly turned from him to pick up his robes. Halbrand however, did not appear the least bit embarrassed or bothered about the whole ordeal, he simply rolled himself off with a small groan, stretching his arms over his head and went to pick up his own clothes. The almost careless attitude put Celebrimbor more at ease. In fact, Halbrand almost appeared as some humans might say: 'insufferably pleased with himself'. And perhaps he should be; it wasn't many men who could say they managed to bed an Elf-Lord, especially one they had barely met, but he himself felt surprisingly little shame about that. But for some reason however, he had a feeling that the smile on the man's face and the glee in his eyes were for an entirely different reason.
"Maybe there is more you could do." Halbrand was standing naked in the shadows, veiled behind the beams of light where Celebrimbor stood in the center of the room. The man's skin pale like snow.
"Like what?" Celebrimbor asked.
"It may be a bit....controversial," Halbrand said.
Celebrimbor gave a short laugh. "I suppose all ideas are controversial to some, And I am not opposed to hearing about them. Besides, our last idea would already be controversial in the eyes of the High-King, I reckon."
"I was thinking that, might there not be a way for you to better tap into the magic of that ore, truly amplifying it?" Halbrand proposed it so casually as he picked up his tunic from the floor. "I've heard legends of magic that could weave unknown power into arms and armor, tapping into the unseen world, even claim power over flesh."
There was a pregnant pause between them, as Celebrimbor considered his words. "What you are suggesting is far more than anything I've ever attempted, probably more than any of my kin have, even Fëanor." As he spoke those words, he felt almost a kindle inside him, a sudden eagerness to consider these ideas. He didn't know how or why, but it almost felt as if fate had put this man before him to inspire him somehow. "All our craft consists of some degree of what most humans would consider magic, but nothing like what you are suggesting."
"But do you think it's possible?" Halbrand was looking at him with an expression he could only describe as holding the curiosity of a child. And yes, surely it was possible. How? He was not sure yet, but the suggestion had sent his mind into a spiral, pondering the real possibilities.
"With time maybe, and experimentation, but we're fairly short on time right now, I'm afraid," Celebrimbor sighed.
Halbrand walked up to him again, once again placing a hand on his arm as he had before. He dragged him into the shadows with him, placing a warm kiss on his cheek before whispering.
"But you, the greatest smith to walk Middle-earth, I'm sure there must be something you can do, right? Even now. Even if time is short." Celebrimbor let out a breathy laugh, he wasn't really sure how to respond to that, and for a moment, it felt as if Halbrand’s demeanor had changed, something about the look of his eyes, the tone of his voice, the way he whispered those words, it felt different from the curious low-man that had first walked into his workshop. It almost took him out of the moment for a bit. And as much as he appreciated Halbrand's flattery, the man might have a bit too high expectations of him and his skill, even if that hurt to admit to himself. He had never dabbled in what the man was suggesting. Celebrimbor placed his hands on the man's biceps, trying to hold him at an arm's length, he felt as if he let the man get too close, he would not be able to resist taking him yet again, but there was no more time for that.
"What you are suggesting is-, not something I am familiar with... And it would indeed be controversial." Celebrimbor shook his head slightly. He had to think on it, his mind was racing now, it was hard to focus on anything, especially after what had just transpired between the two of them. "But, I-... I cannot say I am opposed to exploring such a thing."
There seemed to be a strange kind of gleam in Halbrand's eyes at his words, it felt almost like the same gleam he had seen in his grandfather's eyes when speaking of his creations.
"I don't wish to intrude upon your work, or take up more of your time... But, if there is any help you'd need, I'd be glad to offer it. I know my skills can't rival you and your kin but, since I'm here, I would like to be of some use to you... If I may?"
Celebrimbor looked into the man's eyes again, the same reddish hue shining in his eyes once again, and an eagerness and curiosity he had not seen even in his most starry eyed apprentices. "I would welcome any assistance you bring, Halbrand." Celebrimbor smiled.
"Thank you." Halbrand gave him a smile. Leaving him in the shadow of the workshop, Celebrimbor was left to ponder in the dark.