Leareth notices that he does not have to do anything about that observation, it's not even a request actually–

–he leaves it for another ten seconds or so, looking Maitimo in the eye, and then he bends to kisses him and releases the compulsion. :...You can keep doing it if you want: he adds. 

No, actually, he's just kind of going to lie here. Smile at him, vaguely.

The thing that expression makes Leareth want to do is scoop Maitimo into his arms and just hold him, gently, so he does that. 

:...How are you?: he asks, finally, when it's been a minute or two in silence. 

Good. Are you enjoying yourself?

:Very much so. That was - very good: It's hard to find exact words for why, still. :...It seemed like it was a little frightening, though? You were - worried about whether you would be able to object, if you had wanted to?: The worst part is that he kind of enjoyed that too, and it's even harder to figure out why, but - he doesn't actually feel good about Maitimo feeling that way. 

I think when I'm not here, and very turned on, and pleased about being right about you, and mentally comparing to a thought that got stuck in my head six years ago, about what you were capable of - 

- I should probably think through whether I like being afraid, or not, and what I'd want instead, and - how I'd want to get it - I mostly don't want to get things by you feeling worried and backing off, not if we can work them out some other way - 

Leareth's feelings don't seem confusing at all. Having power over people is objectively hot even though he suspects you're not really supposed to think so. Winning is good, winning very thoroughly is more good. 

Leareth chuckles. :Winning is good, winning more thoroughly is more good. I like that: He carefully reaches in and runs his fingers through Maitimo's hair. :Probably relatedly, I also like you: 

I know. It's part of how he is balancing it all in his head, because, see, he also likes winning, and yet has reasonable expectations about how any game like this he plays with Leareth will go - but Leareth came to his world and fought its evil god and fell in love with him and will be his ally and bodyguard if he needs one and will look at him very unhappily in a way no one else can see, in public, and that's winning, and he told Findekáno that he wanted to draw out all the other pieces of Leareth that Velgarth had scraped away, and here they are for him to see and admire and make sense of for Leareth who has apparently never thought about them before, and that's winning.

(and he tucks some other thoughts out of sight for being terrible for the mood).

Leareth's first response is to feel a wash of affection, and something brighter and hotter than affection. Maitimo is so pleased with himself, for that win, and he should be, honestly, it's quite impressive on his part. And there's a thing where– well, never is a long time, Leareth may well have thought about these particular pieces a thousand years ago. But - it's less clear that they'd be pieces that made his life better, right, in the kind of place Velgarth was a thousand years ago, where there wasn't anyone like Maitimo around, it's unclear he could have found anything that was - this level of beautiful and satisfying, and–

–and it's a distraction, (a gloriously shiny and wonderful distraction), and in Velgarth he didn't feel he had the spare resources to afford that, he was focused on winning the longest game instead. Which brings up the question of whether it's a luxury it makes sense to indulge in now...

Well, there's a case to be made now that it makes him stronger, overall, having a chance to be all of the parts of himself. Leareth remembers how tired he felt, in that one conversation before he was captured, thinking through the implications that there are almost certainly more than two. Recognizing that he won't be done when Velgarth is fixed. And maybe a marathon pace that he can hold for two thousand years becomes unsustainable if instead it's ten or a hundred times that, and - and actually it just makes sense, to allow himself this as well. To set up a life that he'll be delighted to live for the next hundred thousand years...

Leareth tugs his thoughts back to the moment. He lifts a lock of hair aside to kiss Maitimo's neck. :I think there are some games between us that you will always win: 

Oh, there are. Half of them you haven't yet noticed I'm playing. Kiss.

:I believe it: 

At some point he needs to think about prerequisites for their being able to visit Velgarth, but for right now, Leareth is very happy to be exactly where he is and let Maitimo continue to be an extremely shiny distraction. 

Being able to visit Velgarth would be really nice because he can't explain a lot of sudden absences, he's been careful about that for hundreds of years and can't have it fall apart on him now. The plan of making it unclear which continent they're on only works so long as no one has anything urgent enough to Gate over themselves and ask after him on the other side.

He has a fierce internal debate about whether to tell Larya where to interrupt him if anything really important happens. Decides to, eventually; where to interrupt him is itself not that much evidence of anything suspicious. (If she did interrupt, and he needed to, he could have Leareth make sure she didn't say - no, that'd be monstrous -)

And he tries not to need interrupting very often. There is after all a lot of work to do and if he does it somewhere far away from Leareth he mostly won't be distracted.

Leareth works with Vanyel on the artifacts for Findekáno, and on a safer Gate design, and once he has the notes he requested, pokes at using some clever alteration of the Gate-spell for rescuing Olórin. He's long suspected that the method for Gating is a much more broadly applicable technique than is generally realized, and - what goes through the Void and searches the material plane from that 'side' can, perhaps, instead search the Void itself directly. Using a specific Maia as the search-destination is a lot trickier. Olórin ended up in the same place as all of the Maiar in Angband, after all, and Leareth very much does not want to take any risk of instead grabbing one (or several) of them back.

He and Vanyel divide up the work for the artifacts, and Leareth does his as fast as reasonably possible. He's better at it than Vanyel, even after ten years out of practice, and it's a good thing to focus on instead of being irritated that Maitimo has so much work to do and can't explain too many sudden absences. 

As long as they get word from the Companions that he's welcome in Valdemar, he ought to be done his half of the current project and ready to go within two weeks.

It takes a while for the Companions to venture a decision, apparently, but Savil does check in just before the fortnight is past, and informs Vanyel that Rolan has approved the visit. In fact, they'd like Leareth to do some actual work on the trip; there's been discussion of incorporating more of Arda's sort of artifact into Valdemar's day to day functioning, since Arda magic does seem to work in Velgarth, and Leareth's opinion on this would be appreciated. 

Oh good! He too can get projects handed off or squared away or rescheduled so that he won't be missed for an extended trip in Velgarth. 

Leareth packs up the notes he definitely wants to have with him, but there's no point hauling everything when they're such an easy Gate-hop away; the Gate-research is hard to work on solo without Vanyel, and in the unlikely case that he gets bored and wants to keep poking at the Olórin rescue scheme, he can just request those notes be sent back across. 

Vanyel comes out to see them off. "Say hello to my aunt and the others for me, all right?" 

"Absolutely."

“And I wish you a very enjoyable trip,” Vanyel adds. “Good skill.” He likes that particular saying a lot.

“Thank you.” And Leareth activates the Gate - it glows as usual, but shows a milky film rather than the destination - and they cross. 

The other side has them stepping across an equally beautifully sculpted threshold, this one of two Companions as though leaping in midair guarding the archway, and a beautiful outdoor garden with fountains and flowers. It happens to be night in Haven. The area is lit by delicate mage-lights strung through the shrubbery like so many fireflies, not bright enough to drown out the sky full of stars above them. 

- oh, it's lovely.

:I would not be surprised if this is the most thoroughly beautified area of the city, since it is what Quendi diplomats would see first, but I am sure the rest is very nice as well: He points at the path ahead, subtly lit by more mage-lights. :Shall we?:

Yes! They should go see everything!

Dara comes out to meet them. "Prince Nelyafinwë! Leareth. Welcome. I'm delighted both of you are finally visiting. If you'd like to come this way - er, honestly not all of Haven is this nice, but everything between here and the new diplomatic guest wing is, in my opinion, rather spectacular." 

Leareth nods to her; he isn't sure how to interact with the King's Own Herald, still, so he says nothing and just glances at Maitimo before following her.