Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own a grain of Imladrian soil nor do I have any claim on any of the elves living there. They do still, and will sadly continue, to be held property by our favorite author, J.R.R Tolkien. Sigh, a girl can only dream.

Rated M for future language and adult situations.. (Far off in the future.)

Warning! slash, male/male relationships

Summary: A lone elf travels back to the land of his ancestors. Wishing to know more about the past, but also find his place in the future. All the while he learns more about himself than he ever thought to imagine.

Crossing the Sea

The view certainly was more than he had expected. If someone had told him back home that there were places like this on the other side of the sea he would not have believed them. But now, standing before it, he could not deny the beauty of the age old city.

The elf paused atop the crest of the hill overlooking the valley, which lay nestled between flowing river and mountain ridge. The grass swayed in the wind and brought with it a wonderful fragrance of blooming flowers and ripening fruit. His steed, Rhandir, puffed his breath into his neck, more than eager to proceed as they overlooked the grassy plain below. But despite the horse's impatience he couldn't find it in himself to break away from the sight.

The valley lay sheltered by nature, and it only added to its exotic appeal. The buildings were elaborate and very well suited to the environment in which they lay. Lush, surrounding greenery, which were mesmerizing on their own furthered the contrast to the pale white structures. Making it more eye-catching, more grand as the exquisitly carved buildings stood out amongst the trees and waterfalls.

Yet, it was the sign of life in the valley that moved him the most. Elves and fauna existing together in a symbiotic relationship, unaffected by time and death. An ancient culture that seemed unperturbed by the worries of the world.

"Beautiful is it not?" the silvery blond elf beside him asked, as he admired the valley much like himself. Though, perhaps with a little more familiarity.

As always, he found it difficult to read his guide's expression. The taller elf had a mysteriousness he now thought to be a personality trait that most of the remaining elves of Arda had. Back home, there had been no need to talk in riddles or to keep one's thoughts hidden. It would indeed take some time to adjust to.

Nodding silently, as he didn't trust any words good enough to describe his appreciation for the exquisite view, he moved to pat his stallions neck once more. His companion had said that they should be expecting border guards any time now, as they had passed the more distant borders of Rivendell an hour ago.

"Well then," The blonde said to him with a hint of amusement on his face. "Let us get you there in one piece. If we are lucky, there is still breakfast."

.oOo.

Elrohir looked up from the board, eyes catching a glimpse of dark hair rounding the corner before walking swiftly down the garden path.

"Lindir!" he called swiftly, ignoring his brother's irritated look at being ignored.

The call made the shorter elf stop in his tracks, eyes searching among the plants and bush until he found them sitting in one of the garden's gazebos.

"My Lords," he said, giving a small bow in greeting.

"Where's the fire?" the younger brother asked as he walked over to the railing.

"Hey..!"

Elrohir silenced his brother's protest at the interruption of their chess game. The pieces would not move without them after all. Instead he concentrated on Rivendell's famed minstrel and their family friend.

At Elrohir's enquiring gaze Lindir straightened. "Visitors, My Lord. I'm on my way to inform your father."

"Visitors?" Elladan spoke from behind him. "At this time of day?"

"Should we go meet them? To keep them occupied?" Elrohir asked with a grin.

"You're just curious." Elladan shot at his brother.

"So what?"

"Just behave for once, will you?" Groaned the elder brother.

Seeing that the twins had fallen back into their arguing again, Lindir sighed. It was at these times he wished that Arwen had stayed in Imladris..

"I'll fetch your father. I left them in the sunroom." He started excused himself, but stopped in his tracks as if remembering something. His voice turned stern, "Please, try not to break anything."

With that, the minstrel was off in search of their elusive lord, leaving the twins to their verbal showdown.

.oOo.

"You should sit down and wait, you know. Unless you want to give a bad impression," the low voice drawled from behind him.

He stopped his fingering of one of the glass figurines placed on one of the many book shelves. The younger elf found it hard to calm down enough now that they really were in Rivendell.

"Easy for you to say, Lord Gildor." He didn't bother hiding the fact that he was impatient.

"Please, just Gildor. It really makes me feel old when you call me by my title."

"As you wish," he replied, not really caring. Instead he moved over to examine the book collection. The owner most certainly was fond of cultivating plants. He didn't think he ever saw a larger collection on flowers and herb lore... well except perhaps his mother's.

The elves were suddenly distracted by the muffled sound of voices and steps coming from down the hall. Sure enough, soon they heard the door opening and elves entered. Shocked that he didn't have time to prepare himself mentally for their arrival, he hastily turned around only to be struck dumb by what stood before him.

.oOo.

"Gildor!" Elladan greeted as he entered the room.

The elder elf looked exactly as he had done last time he visited. His laid back attitude showing in how he sat sprawled in the comfortable armchair in the room. The elf was a regular visitor and always took care to stop by whenever his wanderings brought him close to Rivendell.

"Ah! Elladan and Elrohir!" Gildor greeted happily as he started to stand up from his seat.

Elladan watched as his brother wrapped the elf in one of their warrior hugs, and chuckled softly as Gildor was still a little unaccustomed to their more human like manners.

"What brings you here, friend?" Elrohir asked as he released him from the embrace.

The other elf smiled a little awkwardly. "Yes, well," he said as he regained his bearings. "Actually, I was asked to escort a friend from the Havens." At this, the blond elf gestured over to the window. The sunny backdrop somewhat obscured the features of his companion for a moment until their eyes adjusted. There stood an elf, shorter than him, but dark haired.

Elladan moved a little closer just to get out of the sun's glare, only to stop and stare baffled. The image before him was shocking. He heard his brother step up behind him, but couldn't stop staring.

"Elladan?" Elrohir asked curiously.

The name somehow made the figure in front of them flinch. The movement caused his twin to zoom in on the elf, lips whispering in disbelief, "What..?"

Elladan took in the appearance of the elf before him. The elf looked quite young, that he was sure of. Couldn't be more than a couple of centuries past his majority. He was shorter in stature, but it was made up for by his waist long hair that was dark as the midnight sky. The ellon was slender and long limbed with beautiful features as most elves. But the most stunning part of him was his eyes. Very familiar lavender blue eyes.

If he wasn't perfectly aware of his sister's current whereabouts Elladan would have said it was Arwen standing there. The eyes were exactly the same in shape and color, for where they had inherited the grey eyes of their father, Arwen had always had their mother's eyes.

"You.." Elrohir started, suddenly at a loss for words.

Elladan shook his head as if to free himself of the vision of his sister, but the elf remained. His eyes as deep and curious as hers, but where his sister's complexion was a pale snow, this elf was a tan gold, even more so than their father.

"Ah, let me introduce you," came Gildor's voice as he without hesitation stepped in between the twins and the unknown elf. "Aerandir, meet Lord Elladan and Lord Elrohir."

They watched as the elder elf put a steadying hand on the other elf's shoulder. Moving closer to his ear, he whispered more silently, "Lord Elrond's sons."

"I know who they are..." Aerandir replied softly.

The young elf straitened before going into a well practiced bow. "Aerandir, son of Falma, my lords."

The twins were both startled by the softness of his voice. The bent over form remained in position as if waiting for something.

"Please, rise," Elladan said awkwardly. Always uncomfortable with the formality he was met with.

Aerandir met the surprised eyes of the other elf. Obviously not expecting the lack of formality. The passing look between the two visiting elves told Elladan that Gildor had not talked as much about them as they had thought.

"Welcome, Aerandir Falmarion, to Rivendell." The twins both made their own elvish greeting with their right hand on their heart. "I hope you have not found your reception lacking... We currently lack our hostess.."

"Not at all," said Aerandir, eyes averted somewhat, as if shy to look at them head on.

"My friend is under Cirdan's protection but expressed a wish to visit your valley," Gildor started in his normal diplomatic way. "Truly, how could I have refused such honorable company, since I was on my way here anyway?"

There was a certain amount of teasing in the tone and Elladan was having trouble determining if it was aimed at the youngling or them.

Elrohir cracked a smile. "Yes, you are as frivolous in your wanderings as always, my friend. How any can stand being in your presence for extended amounts of time is a mystery."

"That goes both ways, I assure you." Gildor said as he winked at his companion, causing the younger elf to fluster slightly.

.oOo.

Aerandir fought to keep the blush down at the other's teasing. After three weeks of travelling with the elf he was well aware of Gildor's personality. But that didn't mean Aerandir had grown immune to his charms. Before travelling to Rivendell, Lord Cirdan had warned him of the elf's flirting nature, but it still threw him off guard when he heard such comments.

"You have all been most hospitable to us. We are well aware that we arrived at a most inappropriate hour and without prior notice. I especially did not mean to intrude on your activities." Aerandir found his tongue running outside his control, but it was strange to see these two mirror images before him.

Indeed, the twins of Elrond looked precisely as they were described to him. The few paintings and drawings of them that he had seen made them little justice. They really were prime examples of handsome elflords.

The twins were both tall from their Noldor background. They towered at least one and a half head above his own height. Their frames were wider than he was accustomed to, muscular but slender. Both had the same long, silky inky-black hair that framed their chiseled pale faces nicely and matched their silver eyes. Truly, the stories circling about the ladies circles were not unfounded. He could tell that they would create havoc back home once they sailed.

The Elrondion twins were staring at him curiously, and he felt that although they were somewhat thrown off by his appearance, they had not yet managed to connect the dots. Smiling softly, he tried to show that he meant them no harm. The action caused the elder twin – Elladan was it? – to relax and answer with his own. The younger still stared at him with some suspicion, but was not guarded.

"Please, let us move over to sit." Elladan motioned to a group of seats in the sunny part of the sunroom. The twins didn't look out-of-place amidst the greenery, in fact they looked at home. He assumed they spent quite some time in the wild.

"So, what has brought you here?" Elrohir asked.

Aerandir shifted in his seat, adjusting his hold on the tea-cup that the minstrel, Lindir, had obtained for them before leaving. The tea had gone cold, but he felt the need to hold on to something lest his fingers shake too obviously. "I heard that Imladris is one of the pearls of Arda. As I am visiting these lands, I wanted to experience it myself."

"Hmm.." Elladan sounded. "You're travelling for the first time? You seem quite young."

"I turned 300 last spring," he offered.

"Really? I would have thought you were no more than 150," Elrohir said somewhat surprised.

"I'm shorter than most.. From my father's side of the family. Not all have been blessed with great height." He said a bit annoyed but tried not to be rude.

Gildor chuckled, not even bothering to hide his amusement. "Let me tell you, Elrohir, this one is not too keen to be reminded of his short stature." The comment earned him a light slap on the arm from said elf.

The twins laughed softly at the display. The pair was acting like they and Arwen had when they were younger. It was nice to see some lighthearted behavior at these troubled times. Elladan was about to say something when the door opened and a disheveled Lindir entered, followed by a tall figure. The minstrel immediately went about apologizing for his lateness and didn't even notice when his lord froze in his tracks behind him.

.oOo.

Aerandir watched the tall, darkhaired elf that he could only assume to be Lord Elrond himself. He had very strong, but beautiful features that was a perfect mix of his heritage. In the same way, the elf was almost like an elder version of the twins. His eyes were more wise, his shoulder's a bit wider, but otherwise no one could miss the connection.

"Arwen.." murmured his dark, low voice.

His robes flowed with his movements as he moved closer to them, deep silver eyes focused on Aerandir's face. His eyes travelled his features and soon stopped in disbelief, as if he couldn't understand why the eyes didn't match the face.

"Father," Elladan said as he reached out with a hand to his father's arm. With the right, he motioned towards the younger elf. "Aerandir, my father Lord Elrond. Father, this is Aerandir Falmarion, he has come from Mithlond."

"Aerandir..." his name whispered over the Lords lips.

"My Lord Elrond," Gildor intervened, his hand pushed his companion into a reverent bow as well. "Long time no see."

The lord turned to the blonde. "I have missed you, my friend," Elrond responded, his silver gaze greeted the elder elf before returning to land on the younger, dark haired one. "Though, you have a penchant for trouble." The hidden meaning did not go lost on the elder elf, who smiled secretly as he pulled the younger up to greet the Lord.

Lindir cleared his throat once, bringing him to attention again.

"Ah, yes. I was told you haven't had breakfast yet? Please," Elrond addressed the younger, "follow Lindir. He will show you to your quarters and then you can follow him to the great hall."

Aerandir nodded silently. His nerves were firing at him how wrong this situation was. He really shouldn't be here. But in all reality, how could he meet one while avoiding the other? Sighing inwardly at his own cowardice, he started to raise himself from his chair only for Elladan to follow his actions.

"I'm sure it will be much more fun with extra company through the long winding corridors of Imladris," Elladan said as he winked conspiratorially at Aerandir.

This caused Aerandir's ears to flush in embarrassment. Why did every one think it was so fun to tease him all the time? He threw a last look at Gildor before following the minstrel out of the room.

The tension in the room after their leaving surged. Elrond was all on edge and Gildor covered his face with his hand. Elrohir, who had stayed behind immediately noticed the change and cocked his head in question at his father.

"It is nothing, Elrohir," Elrond reassured him.

"It doesn't look like nothing.."

"Elrohir," the Lord said sternly.

"Alright, alright!" He moved towards the door. "Just know that whatever you're hiding I will find out sooner or later."

The door slammed as the grumpy youth exited the room.

Elrond let out an audible groan. Fingers rubbing his temples slowly. Crossing his arms over his chest, he addressed the only remaining elf in the room.

"Let's go to my office."

#To be continued