A/N: I can't quite believe we're almost finished here... definitely gonna have to have another story dedicated to one-shots of El & her family. Would you guys still read that?

Anyway, this one is a longer one, but those are always best, right? It focuses on the make-up between Eleniel and *shivers* Beinion, something I've had planned for a while but never knew which title to put it under.

Set after chapter 19: Inner Beauty.

Fellow Sufferer

Eleniel: 15

If Eleniel's future-self told her that she would soon find herself outside a house in the Valley with the one ellon who had done nothing but torment her seemingly every time they saw each other, she doubted she would believe it. Nevertheless, there she was, standing in front of the door, hands fidgeting, while Beinion leaned against the wall, crossed arms over his chest.

It had been no less than fifteen minutes since her father had spoken to Glorfindel about the young ellon's most recent 'escapade' and the two had strode right off to his house, Elrond holding her hand as they went. Listening to the balrog-slayer's incessant complaining and threats the entire journey did not help quench Eleniel's nerves, either. Of course, she was sick of Beinion's acts, but her father – and Glorfindel – had spoken to his own father before, and she did not want to make it seem as though she couldn't stick up for herself or was too weak to defend herself.

Needless to say, Beinion's father had been quite surprised to see the two lords on his doorstep, but at the same time, he'd known the exact reason for the visit, and had thoroughly expressed how embarrassed and sorry he was countless times before Glorfindel shuffled both children outside to wait for them – not without sending the ellon a look of warning, however, which seemed to have done the trick since he had been silent for the past five minutes.

That silence was quickly becoming deafening, though, and Eleniel wanted nothing more than for her father and Glorfindel to finish up so she could go home. She glanced over at Beinion, noting the displeased expression on his face, and immediately grimaced. Perhaps starting up a conversation with him would not be the best idea… but, then again, she doubted he would try to do much after that glare the blond had sent his way.

She heaved a sigh. "You have a nice house," she said. Well. If anybody needed ideas for conversation starters, they definitely would not come to her. Even Beinion seemed confused as he turned to face her. He looked at her for a moment, noting her fidgeting hands, before looking away again.

"Yours is nicer," he mumbled.

Eleniel frowned at that but chose not to talk more on it. She twisted slightly at the sound of movement in the house but when no further sounds came, she sighed and turned back to Beinion. Speaking was worse than awkwardness, yes? "Do you truly think I am ugly and do not deserve to be my adar's daughter?" She had in no way thought about her words, though she supposed the question had been lingering in her mind for some time and had since made their way down to her tongue.

Beinion rolled his eyes. "Why else would I have said it?" he snapped, but the moment Eleniel quickly turned her head away from his gaze, his expression dropped the faintest bit. He waited a moment before speaking up again. "No," he said quietly, "I don't."

Eleniel didn't move, but her eyes widened the slightest bit from where she was staring ahead at some seemingly interesting trees. "Then… why say it?"

She heard a small sigh. "Because I was angry."

She would have scoffed but did not think it wise to antagonise him. "You are always angry at me," she told him, absently kicking at a stone.

Beinion shrugged. "I have reason."

It was at this that Eleniel grew slightly frustrated, the Celebrian in her shining brightly. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to fully face the ellon standing not far from her. "What reason?" she asked almost icily. "What have I ever done to you? To upset you? To anger you? I have tried to be kind… to be your friend, but all you do is call me names, chase me, and- and… hurt me."

He seemed more surprised at the last two words of her sentence than the entire outburst together. "I have not hurt you," he said, furrowing his eyebrows and turning to mirror her stance.

Eleniel rolled her eyes. "Not all hurt is physical," she told him, choosing not to mention the instance in which his bullying had – unknowingly on his part – resulted in her falling from a tree and cutting her arm. "Emotions… emotions are not something which should be toyed with." Her voice lowered and she dipped her head once again to stare down at the ground. She couldn't see Beinion, but she could hear him shuffling slightly in front of her.

"I hurt you emotionally." It was a clear statement, but it had Eleniel looking up slightly to meet his gaze.

"You called me ugly," she pointed out. "Nobody likes to be called that… and nobody has ever said such a thing to me before."

"That is because your life is so perfect." For the briefest of moments, spite re-entered his voice and he reverted back to the cold, demeaning ellon who turned on her at every moment. Eleniel typically would have stepped back at that, eager to run if need be, but something in the way he spoke those words made her stop in confusion and slight disbelief.

"Perfect?" she asked. "Is that why you are horrible to me? Because of jealousy?"

Beinion uncrossed his arms and threw them up in the air, shaking his head and glaring daggers at her. "You live in a huge house, you have a wonderful family, you are amazing with the sword and the bow, and everybody loves you… I am not jealous." He turned his back on her, and Eleniel wondered if the cold-hearted ellon had finally let his emotions overpower him. "Just… I just wish my life could be somewhat like yours."

She rose an eyebrow slightly. Jealousy, then. "Does your adar not love you?" she asked.

"Yes, of course he does, and I love him… but we are all we have. You have a big family." His voice significantly lowered at the end, and she was uncertain on whether or not she should continue or leave him to ponder things by himself. However, the curious side of her eventually won, and she stepped forward, though only a small bit.

"I do," she said slowly, "but that still does not mean it is perfect. It would be if I had my nana, but…" She trailed off, straightening herself and sighing. Beinion turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder.

"You don't?"

She stared at him for a moment as though attempting to figure out whether he was being serious or not. There was nobody in Imladris who did not know of her mother and everything she had gone through that eventually caused her to sail to Valinor. His expression did not change, and she frowned before asking the inevitable. "How long have you lived here?"

He shrugged lightly. "A few months. My adar and I moved after an orc group raided our village. My naneth died…" He swiftly turned his attention back to whatever was in front of him.

Eleniel's expression softened. "Mine sailed not three days after I was born," she told him. "She had been taken by orcs and..." She shook her head slightly as though to rid herself of memories she did not wish to possess. "She was the Lady Celebrian."

Beinion nodded and, slowly, he started to move back around to face her. "Mine was Aelena. I did not know about yours… I admit I have heard of Celebrian, but I did not realise she had been the Lady of Imladris."

"And I did not know about yours," Eleniel said. The two went quiet for a moment, each thinking to themselves. For some reason, Eleniel felt as though she was being introduced to a side of Beinion that he did not reveal to many. How strange it was that they were finally doing something other than hate each other. She supposed it was to do with the fact that they were finally able to relate to each other in some way, even if that was only through their mothers. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.

He glanced up and blinked before moving to bite his lip. "I guess. I always think about her… my nana. We lost everything in that raid… Ada could not bear to live there any longer, and so we packed all we had left up and moved here."

Eleniel nodded in understanding. "That must have been difficult."

"It was." His dark eyes locked on hers. "I… I am sorry for all that I have done to upset you, Eleniel. I brought my anger from that village here, when I should have left it there." He shook his head and chuckled humourlessly. "I have become quite the monster, haven't I? I took it all out on you because I believed you to have the life of which I had lost… but I suppose we do have something in common, after all." He tried a small smile and was incredibly relieved when she returned one of her own.

"You are not a monster," she said assuredly. "Of course, you said some hurtful things… but I understand now that you went through a lot of trauma, and so, really, it is only natural that it all still feels quite raw." She sighed and shook her head. "Thank you for apologising, though. I do appreciate it."

Beinion nodded and jerked his head towards the door. "Do you think they are done in there?"

Eleniel shrugged. She moved to open her mouth but quickly shut it as a bang sounded at the door. Both she and Beinion turned to look at each other before the corners of the ellon's mouth curled upwards and Eleniel rolled her eyes. She shook a finger at him before bringing it up to her lips in a hushing motion. "You know," she said loudly, "my family is not as perfect as you may think. I mean, have you seen the way Glorfindel walks onto the training grounds first thing in the morning? He looks the epitome of a bad hair day, do you not think? I mean, he could at least brush-"

"Alright, alright! That is enough talk out of you, little balrog!" The door burst open and Glorfindel came right out, wrapping his arms around Eleniel and nuzzling his nose against her neck. She attempted to control her child-like laughter, what with Beinion standing a little awkwardly opposite them, but it was near impossible. She eventually pushed his face away and turned her head to look up at him. "Were you spying on us, Fin?" she asked.

Glorfindel mock-gasped. "Would I ever!"

"Of course," Elrond said as he and Beinion's father walked out, "because me trying to get past you pressed up against the door was not spying, was it, Glorfindel?" The only response he received at that was a wink and a smirk.

"We were going to come out, but then I heard you speaking to each other, and so thought we should wait it out and see what becomes of it," he said sincerely. He glanced up at Beinion, eyes narrowing slightly. "I trust that, now that the matter has been settled, we will hear nothing of you ever bullying her again. Words you have used should not and will not be used again in this Valley."

Beinion nodded. "Yes, Hir nin."

Elrond smiled warmly and walked up to the young ellon, placing his hands on his shoulders. "You have a kind heart," he said softly. "Learn to use it, and you shall soon find that much good will come from it." Beinion smiled a little nervously back up at him.

"He will do, Hir nin, I will make sure of it," his father said with a nod of assurance.

"Thank you, Tûrin," the elf lord said. "Remember what I have told you. If there is ever anything that you may need, do not hesitate to speak to me." Tûrin smiled in thanks and bowed his head before placing an arm around his son's shoulders.

Beinion looked across at Eleniel. "Um… I will see you tomorrow during training?"

Eleniel nodded. "Yes. See you then." She gave a slight wave before turning to walk back to the House with her father and the balrog-slayer. In a sudden burst of mischief, she glanced over her shoulder and grinned. "Watch out for his unbrushed hair! You will see that I am right!" she called back, and Beinion laughed as she yelped, racing off with Glorfindel hot on her heels while Elrond simply shook his head and rolled his eyes.

Elvish used:

Adar – Father

Ada – Dad/Daddy

Hir nin – My Lord