Disclaimer: I own nothing.
It was easy to see that they were not getting along as they usually did. The twins were ignoring each other and even evading their parents attempts to get them to talk. It was apparent that they had reached adolescence and it was rearing it's ugly head very strongly in the boys. No one knew yet why they acted like they did but as long as they weren't being openly aggressive against one another it didn't really matter.
One day unfortunately it got out of control. Glorfindel was training them when they suddenly started yelling at each other over something the warrior couldn't figure out from their angry insults. He tried telling them to stop but they just started wrestling.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered as he grabbed his sword and worked them apart. Finally after a few minutes of trying to break them up without hurting them he managed to get them both on the ground. His knee pinned Elrohir down as his sword pressed lightly against Elladan's throat. At the realization of their position they both grew still. Glorfindel glared at them in irritation, "Now, what is this all about?"
Both of them began telling their side of the story at the same time and after a few moments their captor held up his free hand and they fell silent again. The golden haired elf sighed, "You two mean to tell me that this is all about the fact that you two like the same girl?"
Afraid to speak they both nodded. No sooner had they confirmed this than they were hauled to their feet and half dragged to their Ada's study.
Elrond looked up as the door opened and his friend, Glorfindel, entered gripping each of his sons by one of their upper arms. His brows furrowed in confusion at this and he listened as Glorfindel explained what had happened. He nodded and waved a dismissive hand at his friend. Once the blonde Noldo had left the twins, unsure if their Adar had meant all of them, turned to leave as well.
"Hold it," they froze in fear at their Adar's angry tone, "Sit down."
They sat at the chairs facing the desk and Elladan tried to speak, "Ada, we meant no harm. Saes…"
The elder elf raised a hand, "Quiet. I will deal with the both of you in a moment," silence filled the room as the boys waited for him to finish the document he was writing. By the time he set it aside they were both shifting uncomfortably in their seats with anticipation. Elrond looked at his children sternly, "So, who wants to go first?"
Their eyes widened. They knew what it meant when he said that. Both of them swallowed. This time it was Elrohir that spoke, "Ada that's a little bit much don't you think?"
In response the elder's eyes flared with anger, "Much? You think disciplining you is a little bit much. You two are throwing your brotherhood out the window and for what? One girl. You know nothing of love yet. You have no experience in it thus far other than a few stirrings and until you find the girl you will spend the rest of eternity with your romantic pursuits will come and go. Tell me. Is it worth ridding yourselves of your love for someone you will always be related to for a maiden you probably won't stay with anyway?"
The twins looked at each other from their seats. Realizing that as usual their Adar was right their expressions filled with shame. Tears filled their eyes and they shook their heads no, returning their attentions to their Ada.
He nodded his approval at their answers, "So you both agree that this little rivalry of yours has got to stop?"
They both nodded and muttered a not so simultaneous, "Yes, Ada."
Again he nodded in approval, "Then allow me to help you. I repeat. Who wants to go first?"
Elrohir did his best to look smaller in his chair. This didn't go unnoticed by his brother who knew how much he hated getting negative attention from their Ada. On the other hand Elladan just wanted to get it over with. He stood slowly, "I'll go first Ada."
The younger twin's eyes stayed trained on his brother as he circled around the desk and laid over their Ada's lap. He bit his lip at the sound of leggings being pulled down. They were really in for it if the leggings were coming down. The first smack was loud enough to make him jump. Elladan, knowing Elrohir was scared enough already, held his breath to muffle the urge to cry out. After a few minutes of this, taking small breaths between smacks, he had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop himself from making noise. Tears streamed down his face and finally even his hand couldn't hide the whimpers of pain.
Hidden behind the desk from him, Elrohir hadn't been able to see the effort his brother made to be quiet but he knew anyway from previous spankings. As soon as he heard the whimpers he bowed his head and let out a sob which soon turned into him clutching his arms to his stomach as he doubled over in the chair crying loudly.
Elrond hated hurting his sons and at the first sound of pain his own tears for his children rolled down his cheeks. He didn't stop though. They needed this discipline. At their age and with their hormones raging they could easily forget this lesson if he were too lenient. It had been years since he had managed to make Elladan cry out more than just a little during a spanking as the boy's pain threshold expanded with combat training. When he finally heard Elladan begin to cry loudly through his hand he knew his eldest had, had enough and rubbed gentle circles on the reddened skin to let him know his part was over.
Elladan got up slowly and accepted the comforting hug from his Adar. He cried on his shoulder and felt the elder elf pull his leggings back over his now sore buttocks as gently as possible. It hurt greatly and he whimpered through his tears. After a few minutes and some encouraging words he finally settled down enough to move to the couch and laid on his stomach to wait out the rest.
Elrond moved around the desk to his youngest son who was now on the floor heaving with what to most would appear to be sobs. As a healer however Elrond could tell by the motion of the muscles and the way his son leaned forward slightly with each one that he was about to vomit. Thinking quickly he grabbed a vase and helped Elrohir position himself to throw up in it. After a few minutes the elfling sat back and went into a bout of shaking that was common after throwing up. He knew it wouldn't be safe to have him over his lap in case he might throw up again as the jerking motion alone could cause him to choke. He needed to be able to see if his son was going to hurl again and being bent over anything would limit his range of motion too much to be able to tell.
"Elrohir I want you to hold onto that for now. If you need to vomit again I will stop and wait for you to finish before continuing. Alright," he rubbed the boy's back as he spoke sadly, wishing he didn't have to do this.
Elrohir nodded and felt his leggings being pulled down where he kneeled. He didn't hold back any tears as his Adar proceeded to discipline him. It hurt and he wasn't one to hide his pain when he knew it was safe to let it go. In battle of course he would endure it with as little whining as possible until the battle was over but with his parents he knew it was healthier to just let it out. His Ada had to stop a few times to let the elfling hurl into the vase again before continuing after getting a confirming nod that it was safe. Finally after what seemed to the both of them like hours Elrond stopped and gently pulled his sons leggings back up.
The comfort took almost as long and finally Elrohir joined his brother on the couch, flinching as he sat down. Elladan knew he needed to pay attention now and sat up painfully. Their Ada stood before them with tears staining his cheeks.
"Now, you both understand that I don't like punishing you. I only do it because I love you and you need to learn. You can't let mediocre things come between you. Twins or not you are brothers and your sister looks up to you to set an example for her. What do you think she'll learn if you let minor arguments tear you apart," he said trying to sound as firm yet loving as possible with tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat.
"Nothing good," Elladan guessed.
Elrond nodded, "Do you two still love one another?"
"Yes," they answered simultaneously.
He crossed his arms and gave them as stern a look as he could manage, "Then both of you apologize to your brother and make up. This constant tension between you is putting a strain on our whole family."
Elrohir responded almost immediately, "I'm sorry Elladan," he hugged his twin and cried on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry too. Let's promise never to let a girl come between us again. Deal," the older twin replied.
"Deal," Elrohir agreed, wiping his eyes.
They both looked back at their Adar, "We're sorry for all the trouble we caused Ada," Elladan spoke up.
"We didn't mean it. We were just being stupid," Elrohir added.
"It's okay boys," he held his arms out and they rushed into his waiting embrace, "All is forgiven. Now let's get you two to bed. It's been a long day," he placed a loving kiss on each of their heads.
They nodded and let him guide them out of his study. They agreed silently in their minds that Arwen would be the only girl to get between them and only because they couldn't swing her as they walked like she liked them to if she wasn't in the middle.
The End