Elrohir patted the silk-covered back comfortingly, clenching his fist in
his lap. He tried not to succumb to the torture, nor add any misery to the
matter, neither make light of it, but it really was pathetic. Really
pathetic. Not that that priceless horse didn't mean anything to him, since
it meant a lot as a wedding gift from his grandparents to his own parents,
but the fact that it wasn't the prettiest thing in the House and he knew
his father despised it as well. Then again, his mother was strong on what
stayed and what didn't in the décor apartment, so Elrond didn't have much
of a choice. Elrohir sighed. He felt sad for the golden beauty, and
feared his father's wrath when he heard about it after this little
adventure came to an end, but honestly…
"Glorfindel, you can stop sucking on the lemons now."
Glorfindel glared up at him, hunched over a bowl of lemon rinds and cut up pieces of bright yellow fruit meat. He didn't bother to respond; instead, he stuffed more of the tangy, overly sweet and sour fruit into his mouth, scrunching up his nose at the twin. Elrohir rolled his eyes, sending a pleading look over in his brother's direction. Elladan was no help, since he was busy trying to piece the shot horse together, a shameful Elrond at his side holding a bowl of glue. The little child sniffed, sneezed, lost his hold on the bowl, found it again, but ended up dribbling some of the sticky substance down the side and onto his hands. Of course, he didn't even notice.
The golden haired Elf spit out the chewed up remains, gasping slightly. "That child is going to be the death of me," he muttered to himself, wiping his mouth wit the back of his hand. Sighing heavily, he turned to Elrohir. "I hope you know that I'm holding you two responsible for this when he gets back to normal."
"Ai, Elbereth," Elladan cried, grabbing miserably at the pieces of a mane falling from their glued place and into the bowl of the stuff right at his side. Whimpering, he made a move to fetch it, only to disturb the table and the contents on it, thereby shattering the twin's hard work in a single shake. Elrond squeaked, backing away as Elladan slumped to the floor.
Glorfindel offered no pity. "Remember, Elladan – YOU started this, YOU'RE going to finish this."
Elladan scowled. "Yes, yes, I know, I know… *mother*."
Elrond looked up. "Mother, eh," Glorfindel returned, sitting up straight. Eyes twinkling, he narrowed them into slits. "For such arrogance, I hope your manhood drops off on your wedding night, or, better yet, I shall have it removed and placed in a small jar of brine. A *small* jar."
Elrond's eyes widened. Elrohir winced.
"Are you sure a *small* jar would be enough to hold me, Glorfindel?" Elladan countered back, not missing a beat.
"Indeed."
Elrohir snorted loudly. "How interesting! From a china horse to…"
"Change of subject," Elladan interrupted, grabbing at the strewn pieces tensely. He looked up at Elrond, who was looking down at him, the heavy bowl balanced in his arms none too steadily wavering. Glorfindel scowled, biting into a rineless lemon without flinching at all. Elrohir mildly wondered where the ancient being learned to suck and eat lemons at times of great stress. Maybe because Glory was being such a sourpuss the lemons just countered his moods and… nevermind.
Elrond stepped back to clear the way for Elladan's seeking hands, inching away whenever the twin came close. He was so focused on watching the raven haired beauty that he didn't see the post behind him, and when he went to step back his shoulder blades hit the marble post, which surprised the child, and when a child is surprised and holding something heavy one tends to lose the concentration on it. Elladan just happened to be nearly under the bowl when this took place, and before he knew it, glue was running down his fair face and body.
Glorfindel spit out the chunks of lemon in his mouth and howled with laughter. The expression of sheer annoyance plastered on Elladan's face was enough to make even Thranduil of Mirkwood laugh till he cried (and Thranduil was sometimes known to be a little emotionless.) Elrohir himself had to literally put his nose into a book to suppress the laughter. Oh, how he wished there was some way to capture this moment to share with his unfortunate half in years to come!
Little Elrond meekly set the bowl on the ground, offering a clean towel to Elladan. Elladan slowly took it, wiping his face, making sure to glare at his brother and friend long and hard. Elrond moved away from the red hot aura radiating from Elladan, only to crash securely into a bookcase. It wobbled unsteadily (it was one of the smaller ones), some books shivering and falling to the floor. The simple 'clump' of a book brought the trio's attention directly to Elrond, who stared back at them fearfully.
Silence stilled the room, each holding their breaths.
The bookcase leaned backwards and created a domino effect to five others behind it. Time appeared to slow down during the stunt, each book flying out into the air and landing in various locations on the marble flooring, thee pairs of eyes watching mournfully as each bookcase crashed to its death against each other and the floor. Once all six had gone down, there was a minute of quiet horror. Then the pairs of eyes turned to Elrond, each bearing a different emotion: shock, anger, and pity.
Elrond opened an eye at a time to bear these emotions, bottom lip quivering. Looking nervously over his shoulder and back at the witnesses, he mumbled something about freeing the dust bunnies before they rioted and ate him up. Glorfindel fainted back against the cold floor, a hand placed over his forehead dramatically.
Elladan gawked wordlessly, refusing to believe what had happened right before his eyes. Elrohir calmly stood and picked up the near-crying Elf child, patting his back comfortingly. Elrond began to bawl, grabbing the Elf's robes and burying his face in his shoulder, positive he was going to be punished badly for sure this time. But the gentle Elf holding him was sympathetic, stroking the child's long dark locks, whispering soothing words into his ear.
After awhile, Elrond's sobs began to dwindle, two big puffy eyes still rimmed with tears staring out at Elladan and his glue-cloaked form making the older twin almost break down crying himself. Elrohir patted Elrond's back a few more times, then turned around to confront Elladan. Glorfindel was still out cold on the floor, no signs of awakening visible.
"He just wanted the dust bunnies to be free, Elladan. Is that too much to ask? How would you feel if you were a dust bunny trapped under that ancient bookcase all those years, pleading for a ticket to freedom? The only thing Elrond wanted was for them to be happy, and now they can be sad no more. It's hard being a dust bunny, I'm sure! All squished together with other bunnies and grime and whatnot, keeping dust all to yourself – it's hard work, even though it may not sound like it! I think he deserves a reward for his good, warm-hearted deed."
Elladan held out a long pause. "Perhaps it would be a bad idea for you to raise children."
"The dust bunnies, Elladan! Think of the dust bunnies!"
"Your sanity is scaring me enough."
"You're just jealous *you* didn't free the dust bunnies!"
"I am *not* jealous about any stupid *dust bunny*…"
"C'mon, Elrond, Elladan's being a prick. Let's go get some of that dark chocolate cake, shall we?"
"!!!!"
"Oh, and Elladan – please remember to clean yourself up and do something about Glorfindel. He'll be attracting more Balrogs if you just leave him there – you know sourpusses attract other sourpusses." Elrohir stalked happily out of the study, a gleeful little Elfie Elrond in his arms.
Elladan glared at Glorfindel's prone body, and glared even harder at the doorway where Elrohir retreated through. Standing up, he reached down to lift Glorfindel into his arms when an idea struck him at full force. His frown eventually mutated into a grin that would make a Cheshire Cat proud. Hoisting the Elf over his shoulder, the mischievous son of Elrond scampered out of the study towards his room, leaving little gluey footprints in his wake.
"Glorfindel, you can stop sucking on the lemons now."
Glorfindel glared up at him, hunched over a bowl of lemon rinds and cut up pieces of bright yellow fruit meat. He didn't bother to respond; instead, he stuffed more of the tangy, overly sweet and sour fruit into his mouth, scrunching up his nose at the twin. Elrohir rolled his eyes, sending a pleading look over in his brother's direction. Elladan was no help, since he was busy trying to piece the shot horse together, a shameful Elrond at his side holding a bowl of glue. The little child sniffed, sneezed, lost his hold on the bowl, found it again, but ended up dribbling some of the sticky substance down the side and onto his hands. Of course, he didn't even notice.
The golden haired Elf spit out the chewed up remains, gasping slightly. "That child is going to be the death of me," he muttered to himself, wiping his mouth wit the back of his hand. Sighing heavily, he turned to Elrohir. "I hope you know that I'm holding you two responsible for this when he gets back to normal."
"Ai, Elbereth," Elladan cried, grabbing miserably at the pieces of a mane falling from their glued place and into the bowl of the stuff right at his side. Whimpering, he made a move to fetch it, only to disturb the table and the contents on it, thereby shattering the twin's hard work in a single shake. Elrond squeaked, backing away as Elladan slumped to the floor.
Glorfindel offered no pity. "Remember, Elladan – YOU started this, YOU'RE going to finish this."
Elladan scowled. "Yes, yes, I know, I know… *mother*."
Elrond looked up. "Mother, eh," Glorfindel returned, sitting up straight. Eyes twinkling, he narrowed them into slits. "For such arrogance, I hope your manhood drops off on your wedding night, or, better yet, I shall have it removed and placed in a small jar of brine. A *small* jar."
Elrond's eyes widened. Elrohir winced.
"Are you sure a *small* jar would be enough to hold me, Glorfindel?" Elladan countered back, not missing a beat.
"Indeed."
Elrohir snorted loudly. "How interesting! From a china horse to…"
"Change of subject," Elladan interrupted, grabbing at the strewn pieces tensely. He looked up at Elrond, who was looking down at him, the heavy bowl balanced in his arms none too steadily wavering. Glorfindel scowled, biting into a rineless lemon without flinching at all. Elrohir mildly wondered where the ancient being learned to suck and eat lemons at times of great stress. Maybe because Glory was being such a sourpuss the lemons just countered his moods and… nevermind.
Elrond stepped back to clear the way for Elladan's seeking hands, inching away whenever the twin came close. He was so focused on watching the raven haired beauty that he didn't see the post behind him, and when he went to step back his shoulder blades hit the marble post, which surprised the child, and when a child is surprised and holding something heavy one tends to lose the concentration on it. Elladan just happened to be nearly under the bowl when this took place, and before he knew it, glue was running down his fair face and body.
Glorfindel spit out the chunks of lemon in his mouth and howled with laughter. The expression of sheer annoyance plastered on Elladan's face was enough to make even Thranduil of Mirkwood laugh till he cried (and Thranduil was sometimes known to be a little emotionless.) Elrohir himself had to literally put his nose into a book to suppress the laughter. Oh, how he wished there was some way to capture this moment to share with his unfortunate half in years to come!
Little Elrond meekly set the bowl on the ground, offering a clean towel to Elladan. Elladan slowly took it, wiping his face, making sure to glare at his brother and friend long and hard. Elrond moved away from the red hot aura radiating from Elladan, only to crash securely into a bookcase. It wobbled unsteadily (it was one of the smaller ones), some books shivering and falling to the floor. The simple 'clump' of a book brought the trio's attention directly to Elrond, who stared back at them fearfully.
Silence stilled the room, each holding their breaths.
The bookcase leaned backwards and created a domino effect to five others behind it. Time appeared to slow down during the stunt, each book flying out into the air and landing in various locations on the marble flooring, thee pairs of eyes watching mournfully as each bookcase crashed to its death against each other and the floor. Once all six had gone down, there was a minute of quiet horror. Then the pairs of eyes turned to Elrond, each bearing a different emotion: shock, anger, and pity.
Elrond opened an eye at a time to bear these emotions, bottom lip quivering. Looking nervously over his shoulder and back at the witnesses, he mumbled something about freeing the dust bunnies before they rioted and ate him up. Glorfindel fainted back against the cold floor, a hand placed over his forehead dramatically.
Elladan gawked wordlessly, refusing to believe what had happened right before his eyes. Elrohir calmly stood and picked up the near-crying Elf child, patting his back comfortingly. Elrond began to bawl, grabbing the Elf's robes and burying his face in his shoulder, positive he was going to be punished badly for sure this time. But the gentle Elf holding him was sympathetic, stroking the child's long dark locks, whispering soothing words into his ear.
After awhile, Elrond's sobs began to dwindle, two big puffy eyes still rimmed with tears staring out at Elladan and his glue-cloaked form making the older twin almost break down crying himself. Elrohir patted Elrond's back a few more times, then turned around to confront Elladan. Glorfindel was still out cold on the floor, no signs of awakening visible.
"He just wanted the dust bunnies to be free, Elladan. Is that too much to ask? How would you feel if you were a dust bunny trapped under that ancient bookcase all those years, pleading for a ticket to freedom? The only thing Elrond wanted was for them to be happy, and now they can be sad no more. It's hard being a dust bunny, I'm sure! All squished together with other bunnies and grime and whatnot, keeping dust all to yourself – it's hard work, even though it may not sound like it! I think he deserves a reward for his good, warm-hearted deed."
Elladan held out a long pause. "Perhaps it would be a bad idea for you to raise children."
"The dust bunnies, Elladan! Think of the dust bunnies!"
"Your sanity is scaring me enough."
"You're just jealous *you* didn't free the dust bunnies!"
"I am *not* jealous about any stupid *dust bunny*…"
"C'mon, Elrond, Elladan's being a prick. Let's go get some of that dark chocolate cake, shall we?"
"!!!!"
"Oh, and Elladan – please remember to clean yourself up and do something about Glorfindel. He'll be attracting more Balrogs if you just leave him there – you know sourpusses attract other sourpusses." Elrohir stalked happily out of the study, a gleeful little Elfie Elrond in his arms.
Elladan glared at Glorfindel's prone body, and glared even harder at the doorway where Elrohir retreated through. Standing up, he reached down to lift Glorfindel into his arms when an idea struck him at full force. His frown eventually mutated into a grin that would make a Cheshire Cat proud. Hoisting the Elf over his shoulder, the mischievous son of Elrond scampered out of the study towards his room, leaving little gluey footprints in his wake.
