"It was productive. I spoke to Vanyel about the - thing - that I wished him to check, and then we had quite a long conversation about his travels before coming here, which I enjoyed. Mostly." 

"Oh, good. I'm so glad for you. For both of you."

"I think this is excellent progress. How was your day?" 

"All right! We've procured some more boats, finally, which should help with scouting out the other continent. Some people are going to get training in Alqualondë on how to sail them."

"Oh. Good. I suppose there is a lot of coastline, and having Vanyel do Gates to places does not exactly scale well as a method of exploration." 

"He's a very good sport about it, but no, it really doesn't. We don't even have guesses about how far south the continent goes. East we at least know it stretches to Cuivienen." He makes a face. "I'm still very irritated with them for shooting at us."

Leareth shivers and curls up tighter against Maitimo. He doesn't really want to think about Cuivienen right now. 

Hug. "I'm sorry. Keep being tempted to go shoot back, which is very bizarre, it wouldn't actually make you any safer." 

...Leareth is so curious what Maitimo is thinking about right now that produced those words, even though it's really not his to know. 

"I think it is an understandable impulse," he says, "even though in practice it would simply escalate the hostility with them further." It makes him feel cared for. 

(And then confused, in the same tangled loop as before, because Maitimo is pouring in so much here, and Leareth is giving back so little in return, and he still doesn't know how to think about that let alone what to do about it.) 

He hugs him. "And I learned a new song about the war! Vanyel will hate it once he hears it if he hasn't already."

"Of course he will. I would like to hear it, though." 

Then he will sing it for him! It's very beautiful and well-crafted and glorious and heroic and complimentary about Vanyel (and also Leareth). 

It's a good song, and of course Maitimo sings it very well, because he's a Quendi. It's sort of strange to hear the parts about him, it feels like the composer must be describing a different person entirely, but unlike Vanyel, Leareth can notice that being embarrassed about it is very pointless.

Being sung to and held tends to make him drowsy even when it's not a magic song. "That is very flattering," Leareth murmurs, sleepily, when Maitimo finishes. "It is accurate about Vanyel...but he will hate it anyway, of course..." 

"Maybe the moreso because it's true, and beautiful." And he'll hold him while he falls asleep.

The next day, Leareth goes to Vanyel, when it seems to be a good moment. "I wished to ask your advice on something." 

"Oh?" Vanyel looks slightly surprised, but nods. "Of course." He peers at Leareth. "Er, is it something you want a privacy barrier for?" 

"...I would certainly not mind." 

Privacy barrier. "What is it?" 

This is, weirdly, one of the most difficult conversations he's ever tried to start. "I - how do you decide if you are in love with someone?" 

Startled look. "What?" 

It's really hard to explain without the context that 'I accidentally read Maitimo's mind and I think he's in love with me', but that is private and Leareth is absolutely not going to go around sharing it behind Maitimo's back, even with someone as trustworthy as Vanyel. 

"I am trying to figure out if I love Maitimo and if I should do anything about that." 

"Oh. I - um - can I have a moment to think about that. That is really not what I was expecting to be asked about today– er, I'm not mad or anything! It...makes a lot of sense." 

"Mmm." Leareth waits, anxiously. 

"Well," Vanyel says finally, folding his hands over his knee, "obviously you need to talk about it with him? I - don't know if he'd, um, interested in anything, since Quendi... But I don't think he'd be mad if you asked." 

Nod.