Estel's Thumb By Manwathiel Melda
Rating: K
Characters: Estel, Elladan, Elrohir, Elrond, Glorfindel, Mellon
Summary: Ten-year-old Estel has a bad habit. He sucks his thumb when he sleeps. Will Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, and everyone else in Rivendell be able to help him stop?
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Tolkien, except Mellon.

"Estel, you must stop sucking your thumb!" A voice could be heard throughout the Halls of Rivendell. The ten-year-old human looked up at his brother. Elrohir looked at Estel, with his grey eyes and thumb in his mouth. He held his stuffed horse Mellon in the other hand. The little boy's tunic had dirt smudged all over it, and Estel's dark hair was messy. The elf could hardly keep from laughing at the comical sight.

"Why?" Estel asked, his voice stubborn. His face, which had a smudge of dirt on the cheek, was confused making it harder for Elrohir not to laugh at his brother.

"Because…" Elrohir paused. Why was he the one explaining this to his brother? 'Ada should be the one,' he thought. 'But Ada is in a council session right now.'

Elrohir jerked out of his thoughts when he heard someone call his name. He turned around to see his identical twin brother coming toward them.

"Erestor wants to see you, 'Ro," Elladan reported, calling his twin by his nickname. "And Estel, Glorfindel said it's almost time for lunch. Why don't you change into different clothes and put Mellon in your room," he suggested. "Ada has guests today, so he wants us to look nice."

"Guess I should change too before lunch," Elrohir muttered under his breath. His tunic was dirty from a morning of playing outside with his brothers, and he knew Ada would want him clean.

"Yeah, you probably should," Elladan whispered, catching his twin's murmur. "Let's go, Estel." Estel followed him to the young human's room, and Elladan watched as Estel placed the stuffed horse gently on his bed. Then they met Elrohir in the hallway and walked to the dining hall together.

*****

Elrond walked out of his council room and sighed. Gandalf was one of his good friends, and he did not mind helping the wizard. But the Elven Lord was not fond of Dwarves, although he had just spent the last hour in the council room, talking with Gandalf and Thorin. He was also tired, for he had been up late the past few night, either working or helping Gandalf or taking care of Estel. He sighed rather loudly, slightly annoyed that the Dwarves would be around for several days, which meant he would have less time to spend with his children. Or, at least the ones who were around. Arwen was off in Lothlorien, the home of her mother.

"Ah, Cele, I miss you," he said softly to himself. As he entered the dining hall, he found everyone already seated.

"Ada! You're here!" a young voice exclaimed. Elrond looked over to see his son jumping down from the table.

"Estel, ion-nin," he said, smiling. He picked up the small ten-year-old and swung him around.

"Ada, Elrohir told me that I need to stop sucking my thumb." Estel looked solemnly up at his father, his grey eyes sad. "Why?" Elrond led Estel into the kitchen, away from the family.

"Estel, my son, you turned ten this year. You are a big boy," Elrond said. "As you grow up, you stop doing things you did as a baby. Maybe, instead of sucking your thumb, you could cuddle Mellon," he suggested. Estel paused as he thought about it. Elrond knew not to pressure his son, for it took Estel time to think things through. Finally the dark-haired boy nodded.

"Okay. I will try," Estel said. Elrond nodded.

"That is all I ask, ion-nin," the Elven Lord replied with a smile. "Now, I believe Erestor has made something special for dessert."

*****

After lunch, Estel went back to his room for relaxing time. He was tired, as he had been playing all morning with Elladan and Elrohir. The human brushed his messy hair and lay down on his bed. He picked up Mellon and petted the white horse.

"Mellon, Ada and Elrohir say I must stop sucking my thumb," he said, his voice sad. "But I like sucking my thumb. It makes me happy. It helps comfort me when I dream about my daddy." He stared at his horse, wishing it could talk. The dreams about his real father haunted him, often scaring him and forcing him to seek refuge in Ada's bed.

"Of course, you help too, Mellon," he added, looking at the horse. "I wish you could talk to me. Ada said I should try holding onto you when I sleep. But I do that anyways."

"Estel, are you in there?" a voice asked from outside.

"Yes," Estel answered. "Come in." Glorfindel walked into Estel's room with a book in his hand.

"It is time for afternoon lessons, Estel," the blond elf said softly. Estel nodded and tried not to groan. He did not care for lessons, but Ada insisted that he have them.

"Alright, Glorfy," he muttered, and followed the elf out of his room and to the library.

*****

Much later, Estel was getting ready for bed. He was exhausted. It had been a very long day. He slipped into his pajamas and brushed his dark hair. Then he climbed into bed and waited for his father. When Elrond entered the room, Estel sat up.

"Ada, will you tell me a story?" he asked.

"Of course," Elrond replied. "What kind of story would you like to hear tonight?"

"I want a story about Elladan and Elrohir when they were little!" the boy exclaimed happily.

Elrond sat silently for several seconds, trying to come up with a good story about the twins that would not embarrass them. Unfortunately, most of the good stories with them were embarrassing ones when they played tricks on people or did something else like that.

"What story are you going to tell, Ada?" Estel asked, his voice bringing Elrond out of his thoughts.

"How about I tell you a story about Elladan and Elrohir when our family took a trip to Mirkwood for the first time in many years. Does that sound good?" Elrond asked. Estel nodded, so Elrond began the story. He told about the time, which had been shortly after Legolas's mother's death, and Elrond's family had visited them. Legolas and Elrohir had been late for supper many times that trip, and Thranduil had gotten very angry. Elrond continued the story until Estel was breathing evenly and had fallen asleep.

"Good night, Estel my son," the Elven Lord whispered softly as he exited the room. He took one last glance at his sleeping son and noticed that Estel did not have his thumb in his mouth. He smiled. Perhaps bad habits could be broken.