IV. Phone Bill

Doing the taxes wasn't something that India enjoyed but it was something that she was quite good at. A lifetime of being broke had resulted in her being very good at managing what little money she had and as a result she rarely had to borrow from her parents. This month however was different. Her electricity was the same, her heating, rent, magazine subscriptions - all of them as expected, but her phone bill -

Her phone bill was something else. £1,493.63

She had a heart attack when she saw that figure and had stared at it for a good ten minutes believing that there was a problem with her eyesight. Her eyesight of course was absolutely perfect - £1,493.63, thankfully including VAT. Knowing fine well there was no way she had been on the phone that long, she left her bedroom and made her way through to the living area where Elladan was sat on the couch watching X-Factor.

"Elladan, can we talk for a bit?" India sat on the sofa slowly, feeling a little light-headed from her phone bill fright. He paused the television and turned to face her, with a look of bemusement. "You know how I taught you to use the phone so you could vote for your favourite singer on X-factor?"

"Yes. Kelly, she sings even better than the elf-maiden's back in Rivendell." Elladan chuckled. "If anyone deserves to win it's her."

"How many times did you-" She paused almost frightened to hear the answer. The elf continued to gaze at her expectantly "How many times did you vote for her?"

"I lost track after the fiftieth time." He shrugged. "She got through though. She's in the final now and all she has to do is beat Patricia who can only sing ballads-"

"Elladan you do know that costs me like three pounds every time you call right?"

"Three pounds?"

"Yes, those little round coins that I use to buy us food. I don't know what kind of currency you use in Rivendell, but here we use pounds and-" A guilty expression washed over Elladan's face and India felt her anger leave her.

"I'm really sorry India. I had no idea."

"I know you didn't. I should have told you, it's my fault really." India sighed, slipping her feet up onto the foot rest. She slowly lowered her head to rest on Elladan's shoulder. Sometimes it frightened her, how quickly she'd grown comfortable with her elf. She could scarcely recall a time where he hadn't been squatting in her living room. "We might not be able afford pizza or electricity anymore but we'll make do. I'm pretty sure I've got monopoly in the cupboard and some out of date lentil soup-"

"Would it help if I got a job?" Elladan cut her off.

India was silent for a moment as she considered the gravity of Elladan's offer. It would help her, she couldn't deny that fact. However she couldn't shake the feeling that Elladan wasn't quite ready yet - there was still so much that he didn't know about her world and she was worried that he would get hurt as a result of his ignorance.

"You don't need to Elladan." India told him fluidly. She felt his shoulder tighten and she patted it lightly. "Do you think you're even ready for a job?"

"I'll make myself ready. You've helped me, now let me help you."

Bread, meat, lettuce, cheese, pickles, ketchup, bread. He had memorized the structure determined that by the end of his first day he would be as good at making burgers as he was at butchering orcs. He realized that was a tall order, his sword had been an extension of his arm and he'd heard it said that he was one of the finest elvish warriors to have ever lived. His spatula on the other hand had nothing in common with his sword and it felt unnatural in his grip, like it didn't belong there.

"Too much lettuce pointy-ears, I know you elves like your rabbit food but us mortals aren't big fans" Buddy told him with a smile on his face. It had been India's brother that had got him the job, put a good word in for him, now he was training him up. Elladan removed some of the lettuce and slammed the bread on top. "Better."

Burger Co. was what India had referred to as a fast food restaurant. According to her the people who came here wanted food that was delivered quickly and cheaply rather than quality food that took a little longer and cost a little more. He could think of no similar thing back home, not even in the mortal settlements he'd visited with the Dunedain where money was tighter and time horribly finite.

It wasn't only the concept of a fast food restaurant that eluded him, but the actual food as well. He'd never seen anything edible look so unnatural, he didn't know what horrified him more the red bricks of meat or the squares of plastic cheese that Buddy insisted were "delicious" The restaurant itself looked like a stables, the floor was greasy and black filth lurked in the gaps between the tiles. Elladan wondered if the customers knew that the food they were receiving was utterly unhygienic in addition to being cheap and efficient. Somehow he highly doubted it.

He ignored the filthy restaurant, and the odd looking meat and focused on working to the best of his ability. He didn't need this job, but India did, and for some reason that motivated him to the ignore all the negative aspects of his new job. She had been good to him and showed him unwavering levels kindness that he seldom saw from mortals, or even other elves for that matter. He figured he owed her.

Before long it was time for his break and he found himself sat in the staff room with Buddy who had taken a burger from the kitchen to eat. Elladan had a salad that India had made him, it was a simple thing, some lettuce, tomatoes and little chunks of chicken - but it reminded him of home in a way that those unnatural burgers he had just spent the morning making never could. "I know you don't like it here 'Dan and I don't either but you'll get used to it." Buddy told him carefully. "Just like I did."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this." He didn't think he'd ever get used to this world either, Elladan sighed, taking a large fork-full of salad and swallowing it in a gulp. "This isn't my world and it's times like these that make me realize it."

"I reckon it's probably normal to feel a little homesick." Buddy mused. "I know it's not the same but when I moved out of my parent's house and into my own flat, I felt like I could never get used to it, but I did, and now I've forgotten what it was like before."

Elladan didn't want to forget Rivendell, orcs, goblins, mordor, all of that he would happily forget, but his twin, his sister, his father, his mother - no he would never let himself forget them. He thought of Elrohir, how worried he would have been if the shoe was on the other foot and Elrohir had vanished through a wardrobe. He would have been angry, confused, sad and worried all at once. He wondered if that was how Elrohir was feeling right now, like salt without any pepper to compliment it.

Lostariel was a fixer, she'd see something broken and she'd fix it. Elrohir was broken but she wasn't sure she could fix him. She'd catch him staring out of the window with empty eyes every now and then and her heart would break a little for him. He was hollow, like a pie with all the filling scooped out. Her father had told her to give up on him, told her over and over that a beautiful elleth like her shouldn't waste her time on someone who would give her nothing but misery.

She didn't want misery, but she wanted Elrohir… and it seemed that those two things came hand in hand. She made her way into his chambers, he was sat on the balcony, grey eyes cold like steel staring out across the mountains and their many waterfalls. She silently sat by his side. "I thought I'd keep you company for a while." She slowly spoke. He turned his gaze to her and nodded slowly, no smile upon his face.

"I'm afraid I'm not very good company Lostariel." Elrohir told her carefully.

Lostariel had never been fond of Elladan, she had always thought him a bad influence on his more level-headed brother and she'd wondered sometimes, if Elrohir would have been better off without him. She had her answer now. Absolutely not. Elladan was fire and Elrohir was ice - each needed the other to maintain any sort of balance.

"Arwen misses him. even I miss him… I never thought I'd say that." Lostariel forced herself to chuckle. "You're not alone in your suffering, you should talk to someone, it doesn't have to be me… but…. Promise me you'll talk to someone?"

"Talk to them about what? About how I miss my brother? About how I do not feel whole without him? Lostariel there is nothing to talk about, my soul is growing weary and there is little that I can do to strengthen it." Elrohir's voice was monotone.

"Mithrandir says he could come back, that the magic will reawaken. He is not yet lost, yet you act as though he is..." Lostariel argued. "It strikes me that remaining positive might be in everyone's best interests. It pains me to see you so lifeless -"

"Don't let it pain you. I'm none of your concern." Elrohir shook his head. "Lostariel, you're beautiful, and kind and caring and you deserve an ellon with those same qualities. I'm not that ellon Lostariel. I'm a shadow and shadows belong in the dark."

Lostariel slowly drew to her feet and took her leave of Elrohir's chambers, blowing out his candle on her way. She'd have given anything to see on Elrohir's face, a smile.

"How did it go?" India asked, watching as Elladan settled himself in the passenger's seat of her car. He looked adorable in his uniform, the green t-shirt he was wearing had a burger stitched into the breast and on the other side he wore a badge with, Hello, I'm Elladan, written across it. There was a moment of silence while India waited for a response to her question, she noted that he looked miserable.

"It was alright. Buddy taught me how to do everything and it wasn't that difficult when I got the hang of it." Elladan mused. "It just… it made me feel very far away from home. The food is different, the people are different, the kitchen is different."

"You're homesick, it'll wear off soon don't worry." India supported him, keeping her eyes fixed on the road. Her comment didn't seem to cheer Elladan up any and her brow creased with concern. The elf shifted uncomfortably.

"That just it, I don't want it too." Elladan mused. "I'm worried that I'll stop missing home, I'm worried that I'll forget Elrohir and-"

"You won't forget them. You can still want to go home and enjoy living here. You can still love your brother and like playing Call of Duty with Buddy." India chuckled. "I don't know your family but if they're anything like mine, they won't want you to be unhappy. You might be here for years, surely they'd want you to try and smile right?"

"They would. My naneth would." His eyes went cloudy and India reached over and ruffled his hair, he looked at her before a strange expression touched his face.

A smile.

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