Oropher crossed his arms with obvious and near palpable displeasure as the cell door slowly clanged open. Even though it was literally impossible for it to be so, Thranduil pretended that he hadn't heard a single thing. All the while the sound echoed down the long corridor which had long since been emptied of all the other captured young party-goers from the night before.
Oropher had decided to retrieve his own troublesome excuse for an offspring near the end of the day. That way at least he would have at least once, he could have a full day of peace knowing that for once since Thranduil had learned to walk he was certain he knew where his son was. That for once, it wasn't somewhere she he should not be.
Thranduil swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched leisurely, "Took you long enough."
"I could have left you in here overnight."
"Do it then," Thranduil almost yawned, unconcerned entirely.
With a sigh Oropher turned and began to make his way back home, "I dont know what I did to deserve you."
Thranduils voice echoed after him, "I'm not sure but it must have been just awful."
Fingers held firmly against throbbing temples Oropher said, "Thranduil, I swear, sometimes you do absolutely everything in your power to be as difficult as physically possible."
"Hardly," He heard his son scoff as he continued to stare as his desk, unwilling to subjugate his gaze to another smug smile. "I'm your son, it comes naturally to me. Like breathing, but even more-so."
Defeated, a head thunked onto a desk surface, "I don't know what I did to deserve you."
"No idea, but I'm sure the Valar are justified in their decision.
There were face, so many faces. All of them assumed to have been lost in the city as it burned a week ago, none believed that any could have escaped other than through the tunnel.
And yet here they were standing. Rough, defeated, angry, empty. But here.
The crowd parted for him more hastily than a rushing stream does part around a boulder determined to block its path. Oropher could feel the pace of his steps increase as he neared Thranduil.
Who looked even more defeated, angry, and empty than everybody else. But he also looked like a leader, their prince, a glorious leading star in the false night created by the continued smouldering of their city.
He didn't know if Thranduil fell into his arms or if it was him that had accidentally overused his strength to pull him to his arms but it didn't matter once he got there.
Holding Thranduil as close as one would the most valuable treasure, Oropher whispered to his hairline over spilling with love and pride, "I dont know what I did to desrve you."
Voice thick with choking tears Thranduil said, "At this point, it just has to be a bad joke."
The agonized screaming had finally drawn to complete silence, not even a whimper of flinching pain interrupted Thranduils sleeping. It was the first time the universe had allowed him peace in nearing a month.
For even when he was driven unconscious from the pain of his dragon burns, Thranduil screamed. The deafening pain had been made all the more unbearable as equal agony ripped itself from Ferdan's throat on the bed to Orophers other side.
Settling back into his chair as replacing all of the cool clothes on Ferdan, Oropher set himself to the task of doing the same for his son. He wanted to hold him close, to give him any sort of comfrot but that would only bring him more agony. So he had to settle for cool water and fabric.
It felt like the most pathetic excuse to help what might arguably be one of, if not, the worst things an elf had ever survived.
And Thranduil had done it on purpose, faced the dragon to slay it and save his people who could not face another incineration of their numbers and spirits.
"You're too brave and good for this world, my son," Oropher whispered, "I don't know what I did to deserve you."
The scent of spring was beyond refreshing, it danced through his hair and his mind like a wave of peace and tranquility. Tilting his face towards the sun like an extremely large sunflower, Oropher very nearly let out a hum of absolute satisfaction.
A high pitched whistle shocked then ripped him out of his bubble of serenity, much too close to his ear than any such horrible noise had any business of being. Even the sound of Thranduil's absolute hystericas could cover the small sound of surprise Oropher had made.
Scowling down at his son who had literally collapsed to the earth in his laughter Oropher began losing a battle with his own as he said, "I don't know what I did to deserve you."
Just when he thought he was safe, Oropher realized that probably at least half of the reason Thranduil was laughing so hard was becuase Ferdan was using this oppertunity to sneak up behind him.
Oropher realized this of course when another near shattering whistle assulted his eardrums. Now it was Ferdan's delight that echoed towards their people, as Thranduil grew nearly silent form lack of breath.
Oropher swatted Ferdan on the arm, the sentence clawing its way out into the world around Oropher's laughter he said, "Nobody, not even Morgoth himself deserves to be saddled with the two of you for centuries!"
In response, Ferdan's knee's gave way beneath him and he crashed to the grass next to his best friend and began slapping the ground with utter glee.
"Maybe not," Ferdan gasped.
"But you have to admit," Thranduil struggled to finish, "At least it's been eventful!"
