Hey, folks! I'm so, so sorry for not having updated in so long. Partly it's because I was so busy, but mostly I've just been going through a really rough time. I'm working on two chapters that have been requested, and I'm almost done, but right now I just need to write something happy.

"I think Estel would do well with a warg," Elladan continued as he sipped his wine. "They're equally hairy and smell just as bad as he does."

Elrond hid his smile in his cup as his youngest son tried to strangle his eldest. It was a rare occasion indeed that all four of his male children were in Imladris all together, and none of them were almost-dead. They were celebrating a few decades of peace - though Elrond knew it was a short-sighted celebration, what with the darkness forming in Arda. Nevertheless, everyone was joyful, and he was at peace. And what better way to enjoy the evening than watching his sons attempt to murder each other?

"In all honesty," Elrohir conceded after disentangling the man from his twin. "I think that whoever our little Estel can find to put up with him, we will accept them. I just hope that he is happy."

All the elves raised their goblets in agreement, and toasted Aragorn's future love affairs.

"And what of you, dear prince?" Elrond asked, turning his attention to the younger elf. "When will you be getting married?"

Legolas promptly and gracefully inhaled his wine, and began coughing and spluttering everywhere. He finally cleared his throat, looked at Elrond, raised a finger, and started coughing again. As the awful hacking sound continued, the others frowned.

"Goodness, ada, I think you broke him," Elladan commented concernedly.

From where he was thumping his friend on the back, Estel shot his brother the best glare he could. Only the spark in his eyes betrayed the absolute hilarity he found at the idea of Legolas ever being responsible enough to get married. Finally, with one more cough that almost brought up a lung, the prince recovered enough to hiss.

"Never, ever, ever, in all of arda will I be getting married, thank you very much."

"Why not?" Estel grinned. "You're certainly pretty enough for everyone to notice you. Even a dragon would consider you worth hoarding!"

Elrond seriously considered aiding his son from where he was being pinned to the floor, but instead deigned to sigh contentedly as he watched the sunset through the window. It also helped that from this vantage point, he could not see Estel's face being rubbed across the ground.

XXX

It was meant to be a test of skill and dexterity. It was meant to be a training procedure. It was meant to improve their abilities so they would fare better in battle.

This is what Elladan and Elrohir said as they tried to coax their youngest brother down from the tree.

"He is gone, I swear," the younger twin pleaded, reaching out a hand imploringly to Estel. "Please, gwador, it is after dark."

"Legolas is not angry," Elladan added. "I promise, he does not hold grudges for what was clearly an accident."

"Lies! All lies!" Estel wailed from where he clung to the highest branches of the tree. "He's there, watching, waiting for his opportunity to kill me. I am never coming down!"

It had already been some four hours since the trial began. They had been placed in two teams, each given ten sacks of dye to throw at the other team, and weapons with which to defend themselves. It was meant to avoid ambushes in battle. It was not meant to cause a ball of red to connect with Legolas' face, staining his skin and a good part of his hair, and knocking him to the ground. Estel, who had thrown the ball, immediately ran towards his friend. He just as quickly turned tail and ran in the opposite direction when he saw the look of vexation on Legolas' face. Now, his brothers were trying to lure him down so that the Prince could skin him alive, he was sure of it.

"Look, what if we bring Legolas to you?" Elrohir suggested. "That way, you can see that he is not mad at you."

"No!" the man screeched, almost falling out of the tree. "Do not let him lock his gaze on me. Then he will never rest. Please, just go and leave me to my fate!"

Exasperated, the twins left. An hour later, Glorfindel appeared and gave Estel a firm dressing-down for being ridiculous. After that, Erestor tried to use logic to prove that it would be better if the man simply went and apologised to his friend. It was only after Elrond stood underneath the tree as the first lights of dawn appeared, and bribed his son with talk of protection and a warm bed did Aragorn come down.

That morning at breakfast Legolas was alarmingly cheerful.

The rest of that day, Estel shifted between trying to make it up to his friend, and staying as far away as possible.

By the end of the week, the incident was forgotten.

A month later, and Glorfindel suggested that they try the exercise once more, seeing as they did not exactly do much the time before. Legolas shrugged nonchalantly, so Estel was willing to accept. Just to be sure, he and the Prince were placed on the same team. Elladan and Elrohir glanced nervously at each other before the game began, but were fairly confident that everything was fine. Both teams took a minute to plan their strategies, and the younger idiots were working together, so there was obviously no need to worry. Glorfindel said it was time to start. He counted down. All four brothers raised their first sack of dye in preparation.

It was time to start.

Before anyone even registered what was happening, Legolas has turned on his partner and knocked him to the ground. It only took a moment for Aragorn to feel the liquid on his face, a moment longer to realize what had happened.

By the time he stood, his clothes and skin dyed blue and his hair covered in dust, Legolas had turned and walked away.

But really, what had he expected?

XXX

"You idiotic, thick-skulled, reckless piece of cow-trodden refuse!"

The idiot in question was being tried up similar to game after slaughter, only the healers were relatively sure that everything they had killed combined hadn't complained as much as he was.

"Elrohir, be quiet. It is my turn to insult him."

"How can it be your turn? You were not the one who had to feed him soup for the past fortnight."

"Yes, but you were not the one who had to rebind his wounds over the same length of time!"

It was time for someone of intelligence to join in the conversation.

"I do not see why you cannot both insult him at the same time."

"Quiet, Estel, or we will be forced to go at you as well!"

To be fair, the twins had been remarkably helpful, the man reasoned, as their father was away on a war meeting and he himself was bedridden. Legolas, as usual, was injured, and was being even more stubborn than usual in terms of cooperating. Estel suspected that it was due to the lack of either of his fathers' intimidating presence.

"For the last time, I am completely fine!" Legolas shrieked as he tried to fight his way free of the ropes and bandages that confined him. "I was barely even grazed, and my father's healers looked over me before I left. You should be attending to your idiot brother."

"We are attending to our idiot brother," Elrohir said pointedly as he tried to shove a foul-smelling concoction down Legolas' throat.

"I mean the one with the broken leg and sprained arm," the Prince countered, shoving the twin away with his one free hand.

"Help me with this?" Elrohir said to his older brother, and within a moment Legolas was gasping at the horrible taste of something-or-other that was probably good for him.

Estel, to his credit and favour as a true friend, sat there and laughed as the Greenwood elf coughed and gagged at the awful administrations his brothers were putting him through. He honestly had no idea what was actually wrong with Legolas - he doubted the twins did, either - but he was sure that it had to be something. He had blood on his tunic and bruises everywhere, and had looked far too pale upon his arrival mere hours ago. With their father not available, Elladan and Elrohir of course took it upon themselves to keep their wreck of a friend alive.

"Check his back," the older twin suggested as he held Legolas in a headlock.

Once his entire torso had been pronounced healthy, save for some bruising, the twins took it upon themselves to test his blood for poisons. After that turned up normal, they tapped and pressed on each and every one of his bones, searching for breaks. They looked him over to make sure he was eating. They glared at his fëa for awhile to make sure he wasn't fading. Only then did they turn confused eyes to each other, and then glower at Legolas as though he had betrayed them.

"Alright, was is wrong with you?" Elladan snapped.

"Nothing," Legolas sighed. "I have slight bruising, nothing more."

"A new poison we can't detect? Internal trauma? A curse? What?"

"None of that. I am completely healthy."

"How do you explain the blood, then?"

"I ran into some trouble on the way here, but I swear by the Valar, it is not mine."

"And how do we know that? You could be hiding an injury from us!"

The Prince groaned and threw his head back against his pillow in defeat. Elladan snarled and was about to dive into examinations again when his twin stopped him.

"Wait, is there actually nothing ailing you?" he asked his friend incredulously.

"Yes!" Legolas exclaimed. "That is what I have been telling you."

The twins blinked, then glanced at each other, then swallowed nervously.

"I do not know what to do now," Elladan admitted. "I'd forgotten what it was like to have him in the wing without him being basically dead."

"Should we toss him off the balcony?" Elrohir suggested. "So we can fix him up?"

"And that way we will even know the cause of his injuries!" the elder twin agreed enthusiastically.

It was only to be expected for them to turn back to their patient, only to find that he had extricated himself from the many bindings the twins had used to keep him on the bed. He was probably far away, hiding from them as best as he could. What they did not expect was for Aragorn to have slipped off as well.

"The imbeciles!" Elladan yelled as he and his twin ran down the halls.

Twelve hours later, Elrond returned home to find guards roaming the lands, frantic voices everywhere, and his eldest sons flailing around the halls like madmen. After hearing the situation from several people in even more languages, the elf lord sighed and began his own search of the halls. He started with their rooms, and then the dining hall, and checked in with the search party that had looked over all of their usual hideaways.

It was then that a thought occurred to him. Walking calmly through his home and ignoring the twins' frantic pleas for mercy from what they assumed to be his wrath, Elrond made his way to the hall of healing. There, as he expected, were two idiots in the farthest, darkest corner of the room, fast asleep and oblivious to the frantic search taking place not ten paces from them.

Elrond seriously considered putting his elder son's minds to rest, he really did, but it had been a long journey, and in his old age he was becoming a little forgetful. So he did manage to mention to one of the guards that all was well, but that was only after Elladan and Elrohir had run off to search the bathing pools. They would find out sooner or later, he was sure. And when they did, he would be locked away in his study, far away from the ferocious vengeance that would be set forth at the sight of their brothers safe and sound.

It was simply one of the joys of being a father.

That's all for now, folks! I'm off school for awhile due to surgery, so hopefully I'll be uploading more in days to come. I'll also be sure to keep working on "Moments In Time" and maybe even starting a few new works. Either way, sorry for the delay, and let me know if there's anything you'd like me to write about. Bye!