Chapter Text
Erestor leaned back against his couch, his foot propped up on a pillow and his ice cream cradled in the crook of his elbow, as the intro song to his favorite show began to play on his laptop. He had fallen down the stairs of his apartment building that morning, twisting his ankle to the point that Lindir had taken him to the local Urgent Care unit. The doctor there had told Erestor to keep it elevated and iced for a day. Lindir had already been on the phone with Elrond, tattling on him, so Erestor had resigned himself to company later that night.
As it was Erestor wasn't mad about missing a day of work. His cubicle at the company would be there tomorrow and one accountant out sick wasn't going to bring the walls down around them. That also meant that Erestor got a day off, an entire ice cream pint to himself, and the company of his friends when they got to his apartment after work hours let them off. All he had to do now was catch up on their favorite show so he could watch the newest episode with his friends that night.
The Labyrinth was the hottest drama on the charts. Taking place in a very fictionalized First Age, where the nations of Beleriand were all confined to strange pockets of – well, Erestor wasn't quite sure just what they were, alternate dimensions? Who knew – space in a massive labyrinth that made up all of western Arda. The Morgoth in the show was some nebulous Evil Bad Guy who existed outside of space and time in the Outer Halls, while his henchman Sauron was the one in charge of the Evil Castle called Angband.
(The history faux pas in this show were terrible. It made Lindir howl with rage half the time and Elrond watch through his fingers. Erestor had paid little attention to history class in school, so he just enjoyed the plot lines for what they were.)
Anyways.
As far as Erestor understood there were several main characters in this show, all from the different kingdoms of this strange version of Beleriand. Galadriel was searching for her brother Finrod, who had been taken by Sauron's agents, and was on a quest to kill this Sauron and free her brother. But Galadriel did not know that Finrod had escaped his captures due to the help of a appropriately Dark and Dramatic Woman who went about half the time with a hood all but covering her face.
Erestor still didn't now how Andreth could see in that thing.
On the other hand there was Maedhros who had also been captured by Sauron's agents – though the first season made it seem like it was Morgoth's agents, so Erestor wasn't sure if that was a plot hole or there was a deeper plot line going on there – and was held in a cage atop a peak of Thangorodrim. And of course Maedhros had been kidnapped on the eve of his wedding to Fingon, though no one knew he had been taken, so everyone thought that Maedhros had skipped out and left Fingon at the altar. There was also Túrin, who had fled from Doriath after killing an elf who had been about to attack the Princess Lúthien, and had then promptly been lost into the Labyrinth when he had fled that dark kingdom. Searching for him was an elf called Beleg and the internet had yet to make up its mind if they were shipping that pair or waiting for them to fight to the death in an Epic Battle that would – if the show stayed true to its tropes – take place during a storm and in the pouring rain.
The Labyrinth was absolute trash and Erestor hated to admit that he loved it.
Erestor's favorite plot line was about Gondolin – or rather about Glorfindel, Ecthelion, and Elemmakil of that fabled kingdom. The Captain of the Dark Guard had been a mole of Maeglin's but had renounced his allegiance to that traitor when he had fallen in love with Ecthelion...who was in love with Glorfindel, who seemed to have not a single clue about how the other two felt. Erestor was just finishing the last of the episodes he needed to catch up on when his door let out a suspicious number of thumps and then Lindir was all but falling through the open door.
“Are you drunk?” Erestor peered at his friend from over the back of his ratty couch.
“I wish,” the miserable, wet lump of elf on his floor said. “I hate yuletide shoppers. They're mean.”
Erestor made a face in sympathy. “Want to order pizza?”
“Please.”
By the time the pizza arrived and Lindir was in an old pair of Erestor's pajamas his friend's hair was starting to dry and he was much more cheerful – though that could have also been due to the very large cup of hot chocolate Lindir had clutched in one hand. Elrond, they learned, had a date and they were told that they should go ahead and watch the episode without him, since Celebrían seemed to be a fan of the show as well and the two of them were going back to her place to watch it together.
They had heckled their friend about that fact until Elrond had hung up on them.
To Erestor's delight the new episode started with his favorite story line, but that happiness turned to dismay as they watched Glorfindel, Ecthelion, and Elemmakil be banished from Gondolin to enter the Labyrinth due to Maeglin's machinations. The Labyrinth itself was some sort of dark magic work done by Morgoth to twist this fictionalized Beleriand into a maze so that the different kingdoms of elves could not easily ally with each other and put an end to Morgoth and his cronies. They also watched as Maglor and Fingon had a Very Dramatic Argument – also in the rain – in which Maglor showed Fingon Maedhros' love letters about Fingon, trying to prove to Fingon that Maedhros would have never left him at the altar. That meant that the two somehow got caught up in an assassination attempt and fled...
Right into the Labyrinth, along with the other protagonists of the series.
“Oh,” Erestor drew out the word. “I think I know how this is going to play out.”
“No spoilers!” Lindir clamped his hands over his ears. “Lalala I can't hear you!”
“It's just a theory!”
“I SAID NO SPOILERS!”
“Fine, fine,” Erestor shoved at Lindir's shoulder. “Stop shouting or my neighbors will bang on the wall.”
“The last time you had a theory you spoiled the end of The Quest for Erebor,” Lindir said as he dropped his hands from his ears. “So excuse me if I don't want to hear your theory.”
“That show actually followed the myth! There was no spoiling to be had!”
Lindir sputtered out a raspberry. “Oh, like you think there was an actual Battle of Five Armies, wherein one of the armies was a bunch of semi-intelligent eagles?”
“Well,” Erestor said.
“That's what I thought,” Lindir huffed. “You, sir, are not allowed to tell me your theories until the show is over, thank you.”
“I did not predict the wedding. I didn't ruin that.”
“You didn't ruin it,” Lindir rolled his eyes at him. “You know that.”
Erestor looked away but leaned in to the press of Lindir's shoulder against his. “At least the three idiots are forced to work together now,” he said to change the subject.
“That's such a disaster,” Lindir's smile returned at that. “Though they had better not try to make some stupid love triangle with Fingon, Maedhros, and Maglor.”
“Oh, why's that?”
Lindir turned his nose in the air. “I may or may not have money riding on a happily ever after for Maedhros and Fingon.”
“But they're one of the canon couples in the show?”
“Yes, but with this mess of writing who knows what they'll do. I wouldn't put it past them to try to make Maglor have feelings for Fingon or some such rot, and have some stupid story line where Maglor tries to woo Fingon away from Maedhros.” Lindir scowled at the laptop.
“Did you just say woo?”
“Oh, shut your mouth. Like you're not drooling over the Gondolin idiots.”
“That,” Erestor pointed a finger at his friend. “Is just good taste.”
“If you're blind.”
“Hey!”
“Come on, come on, let's finish the episode.”
Erestor pinched Lindir's side but hit play as his friend yelped and swatted at his hands.
There was less than ten minutes left from where they had paused the show. Erestor found himself biting at his thumbnail as the point of view shifted between Fingon and Maglor and then to the three from Gondolin. The storm in the show was as bad as the one taking place outside the apartment, with the wind howling and the rain lashing at the windows. Erestor would never admit that when a bright flash of lightning in the show coincided with one outside the window that he jumped and had to bite back a yelp of surprise. The Labyrinth was a dangerous place, full of camps of orcs and other strange challenges that made navigating it almost impossible. Erestor could almost see how the plot lines were going to come together, how each of the different protagonists would need to overcome some sort of personal hurdle until all the different groups were brought together in some way.
But as the final few moments of the episode played out, a new twist was shown. For just as both Fingon and Maglor, as well as the three from Gondolin, found a safe camp during the raging storm in the show, they each found a collapsed stranger just as the thunder cracked and the lightning flashed across the sky.
Then the episode ended.
“No,” Lindir breathed.
“Well, I didn't see that coming,” Erestor said.
“Who the heck are the new people?”
“More drama?” Erestor offered.
“This is going to make the betting pool so messy,” Lindir pulled at his hair. “Why is the next episode a week away?”
“This is why we should wait and binge entire seasons at once.”
“But then we would have to wait longer. No,” Lindir shook his head. “Oh, man, I am going to have so many theories by next week.”
“Still think Maglor is going to try to woo Fingon?” Erestor laughed as his friend started to hit him with a pillow. “I yield, I yield! Sorry,” he continued to laugh. “Maybe this new stranger will be the one Maglor will fall in love with.”
“But the weird love triangle with the brothers and Fingon was so nicely contained,” Lindir whined. “The new elf with the three from Gondolin just makes that whole situation even messier.”
“Oh, I agree,” Erestor raked his hair from his eyes. “I thought Elemmakil was going to confess to Ecthelion this episode at least.”
“It did seem like they were working up to that.”
“It still seems rather forced though,” Erestor sighed. The actors for the three from Gondolin had great chemistry together but the strange love triangle plot line the writers had forced on them was just...awkward. “But at least Glorfindel seems to have gotten some sort of clue about how Ecthelion feels about him?”
“Yeah, but that would put poor Elemmakil all on his lonesome,” Lindir wrinkled his nose. “Oh, maybe this new elf will force them all to recognize their feelings and then they could all get together?”
Erestor looked up at the ceiling. “That...would...be good...”
“You're blushing.”
“I am not!”
“Blushing,” Lindir drew out the word. Erestor pushed his face away with one hand as he sputtered.
“Can a body enjoy at least someone getting a romantic partner or two?”
“Or three? Or four?”
Erestor made a face. “How would that even work?”
“Well, when two elves – or multiple, really, though you do have to become rather flexible – really love each other –”
“Lindir! Shut! Up!”
Their laughter filled the room even as with one last loud crack the power flickered and went out.
“Well then,” Lindir said as they squinted into the darkness. “It seems as though that's our cue to go to sleep.”
“That sounded close,” Erestor looked up at the ceiling again. More thunder grumbled outside their windows. The wind and rain had yet to ease up.
“Want help up?” Lindir stood and held out a hand.
“Thank you,” Erestor stood on his one good foot and tried to put some weight on his other ankle. He hissed but the pain wasn't as bad, so he took that as a sign that the sprain was improving. “Better,” he told the hovering Lindir. “But could I use you as a crutch to get to the bed?”
“Of course, silly. Come on, let's get under the covers before it gets cold.”
With Lindir's help Erestor hopped his way to the bedroom and got into bed. Lindir went back out into the living room to put away their bowls of ice cream and the pizza box into the bin. Erestor was curled up under a pile of blankets when Lindir got in next to him. “I turned off all the lights,” his friend whispered as they settled in. “The outage map is huge. It's going to be a nasty clean up.”
“It will be fine,” Erestor murmured at him, feeling sleep already tugging at his eyes. “Maybe we won't have to go to work tomorrow because the power will be out downtown. Then we can watch more dramas on the laptop.”
“Promises, promises,” Lindir murmured back through a yawn. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
But another day of watching dramas on Erestor's laptop was not to be. For as the storm raged over head and sleep took them, when Erestor woke it was not to his warm bed with Lindir at his side, but it was to a rocky ground and a thin cloak to cover him. And, when he blinked up through wet lashes to look around, it was to see one Glorfindel of the Golden Flower looking down at him with a frown on his face.
And, many, many miles away, Lindir woke up to see Fingon leaning over him with Maglor scowling at them from over Fingon's shoulder.