A/N: XDXD WOW! Another one, this is new. I'm on a roll, which is weird because my life is really hectic! XD I have a Musical Theater production tomorrow, and I'm really nervous... AIUFBIWUF VIY

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

Prompt: Breaking the Habit

Thranduil sat in his large council chair, surrounded by the Lake-men of Esgaroth. They were discussing trading terms, but had now wandered on a tangent. It was quite irritating, especially since he had wanted to be out of here by now. They had been in here all day, starting right after breakfast when the sun was newly in the sky. Now the sun was nearly hidden by the horizon, only a few rays of golden light shining on the palace of Mirkwood; and they still hadn't reached an agreement. To tell you the truth, the king was quite bored, reduced to faking interest and nodding along with what they said—their speeches were unnecessarily long. He decided that most of the things the men said were the obvious and he already knew it. He still paid attention, but that didn't mean he was wholly engrossed in it. He would have rather been outside among the trees and gardens. But no, he was stuck in here.

"Well, what about the price?" The king asked suddenly, raising his blonde eyebrows. This was a matter that most definitely concerned him, plus it would bring them back on subject. "You're telling me about these wonderful deals, but you're not telling me what I'm going to pay. I wouldn't want to think you're trying to outsmart me..." His voice trailed off. The man in front of him wasn't even paying attention. Instead, his eyes had narrowed and were staring contemplatively off to the king's right, his expression searching. Thranduil turned his head to the side—where his son sat—brow furrowed. Legolas was slumped over slightly, chin resting in his hand. Yet, it didn't look as if he was simply bored. His fingers were way to close to his mouth.

Biting nails, again? Thranduil thought in exasperation, rolling his eyes. This was beginning to be a problem, especially if he was being a distraction. Not to mention embarrassing in front of these embassies. Before the representative from Lake Town could search further, he elbowed the Prince in the side. Legolas flinched in surprise, a breathless grunt escaping him.

"Stop," his father hissed without looking at him. Legolas's brow wrinkled while he rubbed his ribs, almost as if he wasn't quite sure what he did wrong. But Thranduil didn't turn back to explain, only smiling slightly at the negotiator.

"Prices?" He asked again, directing the attention away from the blonde prince and back to the initial subject. The man had trouble taking his eyes off the scene at first, but eventually looked away. He then began to lay out what the prices would look like, if the king were to agree with extra barrels and faster transportation. Legolas, however, sighed and shook his blonde head, eyes traveling across the council room. They immediately found his friend Malgel.

The silver-haired Ellon was seated in the middle of the long, triangular table, separating the Wood Elves from the men. He was seated by a sleeping councilman, the human leaning slowly towards him and laying his head on the elf's shoulder. The young guard glared at the sleeping Lake man, causing Legolas to smile. Malgel uncomfortably shrugged him off, the human's head bobbing to the other side. After that, the prince quickly caught his friend's gaze. Malgel looked at him in curiosity.

Legolas then gestured discreetly to his father, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. What did I do? the prince's eyes read. Malgel rolled his green orbs at the Prince and made an exaggerated biting motion on his fingers—he had, of course, seen what had happened. The young Ellon had been in charge of watching Legolas if he ever tried to chew his nails. But as they weren't seated together, there was not that much he could do about it now. And Legolas had just been on the verge of quitting too. He guessed the boredom had been enough to reactivate the bad habit. But that didn't mean that it wasn't slightly amusing, especially since more than one of the Lake Men had seen it. And more then half of them were now giving the Prince—and the other elves too—strange looks.

Across from him, Legolas sighed in realization, shaking his blonde head slowly. His father and his friends had been hounding him for weeks about it. They wanted him to break the habit, but he just couldn't, no matter what he tried. And he had tried everything. At an angle from across the table, Malgel leaned towards the Prince and mouthed something.

"What?" Legolas mouthed back, leaning over the table to try to see what his friend was saying. Malgel sighed in exasperation and said it again, stressing each word. It took a moment of translation, but eventually Legolas could see the words, "Your Adar isn't happy with you." As he said this, the silver-haired elf tilted his head towards the king, though he didn't look in that direction.

It wouldn't do to distract the Council. They would get in trouble if they did that, and Malgel had been on the receiving end of those lectures too many times to count. Legolas didn't bother to look either and rolled his eyes, shifting in his seat and turning back to the council. But what met him was total silence—the room had been silent for quite a long while. Every eye in the room was on them, including the king's.

Silence.

Thranduil shifted and looked at his son with a fake smile, gesturing pleasantly across the table. "You two are chatty today, is there something you two want to say to us?"

They were in trouble.

A/N: What did you think? XD I was really disappointed in my lack to find a really ridiculous habit, so I picked one that a lot of people deal with (including myself) Biting nails. XDXD I had fun writing this, and I've found I really enjoy writing Legolas and Malgel together. XDXD

Review Replies:

nyx thranduillion~ Yeah, I really love the idea of Celebrian having a really -how do I say this?- part in the twins training to become "hunters" I guess. I just really like the image of her having a part in teaching them to hunt, because Celebrian doesn't seem to me like an idle Elleth, if you know what I mean. I mean, her mom was Galadriel, a Noldor and one of the elves in the Rebellion. I would think she knows how to hunt on her own. And yes, she's such an awesome mother. XDXD And yes, I fear what Legolas will do for a hobby if someone doesn't step in know. XDXD