Curufin kept his arms around his brother while he told his story. He was a little startled, though, when Maedhros objected to his way of loving, and he had to answer.

"I loved a man named Yukari Mishakuji, and for a while, we were happy. Eventually, our ways of thinking drove us apart, but we managed to talk it out and get back together. Still, I guess our reconciliation was not enough. There were forces at work that no one really understands, and in the end, Yukari slipped away into the darkness of nonbeing. I am not sorry to have loved him and I will always remember him. But you know how I am, Nelyo. I never was and I never will be content to love once and never again. The communion of spirits I understand well, and the union of bodies. But marriage in the sense that the Valar would understand it is not for me."

And he smiled to see that Maedhros understood what he had said about compassion.

"I know you would do much for me. I have always been grateful for you love and care."