A/N: sorry for the long delay! –hands out biscuits-
Celebrian smiled gently at Thranduil's words, "Never fear; the twins have prepared us for almost anything."
As if on cue, Elrond ran his hands through his precisely styled hair and sighed in exasperation, "How many times have I told you all this?"
"Too many times," the twins replied in unison, causing little Legolas to giggle. Elrond looked at the young prince and then over to his father, who was leaning on his cane and watching the proceedings with interest. Erestor's chin appeared on Thranduil's shoulder,
"It's bad manners to leave your guests standing on the doorstep thus, my lord."
"Bad manners," Elrond repeated in a whisper. Thranduil raised his left eyebrow and the left corner of his mouth turned up. "Bad manners," Elrond said again, then muttered under his breath, "kill me now.
"Right," he said, more loudly this time, "you two," pointing to the twins, "disappear."
"Come!" Elrohir said brightly to Legolas, "come with us."
"Where to?"
"Our garden of mystique!" Elladan said, waving his fingers mysteriously around his face. Celebrian rolled her eyes and Elrohir winked. Then each taking one of the princeling's hands, they left the courtyard.
"Three birds with two stones," Erestor said, removing his chin from his friend's shoulder. "I don't think we'll see much of them until they get hungry."
Elrond approached the steps, hand extended, "Sons should follow fathers and fathers should follow sons," he said, stiltedly, "Would you care to partake of a little wine in my company, Thranduil?"
Thranduil's eyes sparkled, "So long as it is wine and not just fermented grape juice."
Elrond shrugged, "Well have had a decanter of our finest set aside, I hope the alcohol content will meet up to your... above average expectations. And besides, even if it doesn't to show distain would be to show-"
"Bad manners," the pair said in unison.
"I should never dream of insulting a host so, my lord," Thranduil reassured his host, though Elrond strangely didn't feel all that reassured, "I shall merely lie through my teeth while here and moan to high heaven when I return home."
"It does gladden the heart to know you have your particular sense of humour back, meldir-nín."
"Just get inside!" Celebrian exclaimed, waving them inside.
Elrond and Thranduil made 'oooh' comments, before linking arms – quite possibly to further irk Celebrian who was already shaking her head profusely – and made their way through the corridors to the hall that had been set aside. This left just Celebrian and Erestor outside, looking at each other with lips pursed against the laughter than threatened.
"In all seriousness though, meldir," Elrond continued as he poured two goblets of wine and pressed one into Thranduil's hand, "it is wonderful to see you back to your old self again so soon. It is all too easy to have hang ups, isn't it? But it really is better to completely walk away from your mourning clothes as quickly as possible." He sipped his wine and waited for Thranduil to so the same. But he didn't. "Well?" Elrond pressed after a while, "How do you like it?" Thranduil blinked and dutifully sipped the drink. Elrond watched as Thranduil swallowed and considered,
"It's fine quality," he said. Elrond relaxed – though he'd never admit it to anyone, even himself, Thranduil approving his wine mattered to him. Thranduil smiled slightly.
"So why are you here?"
Thranduil placed his goblet on the table, "No reason really. I just... needed a change of scene... and Legolas and I were beginning to miss you.
"And don't smile like that; it's worrying."
Elrond swiftly wiped the simpering smile from his face – Thranduil hardly ever admitted that he missed anyone here in Imladris – and straightened his robes again. There was a short silence.
"Thranduil?"
"Mae?"
Elrond licked his lips, nervously, "Could you... could you ask the twins not to call you 'Uncle' in future?" Thranduil nodded,
"I didn't ask them to start-"
"I never said you did!" Elrond suddenly snapped. "But every time they call you that it gets me right here." He slapped his hand over his stomach. Thranduil looked on nervously; somehow whenever Elros marched in the direction of a conversation between these two Elves Elrond tended to get violent.
"I'll talk to them," the king promised, "and I won't answer to that address any longer."
Elrond smiled; he didn't want to lose his temper either.
A second longer silence followed.
"Shall I take your coat?" Elrond asked eventually, stepping towards the king.
In answer, Thranduil removed his coat and threw it over the back of a nearby chair. Elrond's expression puzzled him, "What? It may be battered but it's not going to grow legs and walk away! And it's not going to eat the chair either."
Elrond made no reply. His gaze was fixed on Thranduil and, more specifically, on the thick black silk band that ran diagonally across his chest from his left shoulder. Elrond swallowed and looked levelly at Thranduil's bemused face. He licked his lips and asked in a voice laced with disappointment and menace,
"What's the sash in aid of?"
oOo
"Ada's walk is easy," Elladan said, assuming the long, confident strides of Elrond and sweeping round the lawn a few times.
"As is Nana's," Elrohir added, following his twin with quicker, more fluid steps, "But your back is not straight enough."
"You think not?"
"Imagine that you have a long board running down your spine."
Elladan did so and circuited again, this time far more convincingly. Legolas giggled and twisted round in the long grass to make sure the lord was not watching them.
"Daernana's walk is similar to Nana's," Elrohir said once he had the youngest Elf's attention again. He walked close round the prince, his steps long and fluid and his hands trailing slightly behind him. Legolas looked lost.
"You haven't met Galadriel, have you?" Elladan asked. Legolas shook his head. "Then there's no point doing Daerada...Well that was a very good impression of her." Legolas watched the younger twin intently and committed the walk to memory.
"What about your Ada, penneth?" Elrohir asked, kneeling down in the grass next to the Wood-elf. The Elfling thought for a while,
"I don't know... he just walks."
"Naaah, you see? This is the thing about impressions; you have to really look at how people move or talk. You'll soon see individual traits!" Elladan exclaimed. "Thranduil's quite a flamboyant person so..." He walked about a bit with very bouncy steps before turning back to Legolas. "Any good?" Legolas shook his head, grinning at Elladan's failed attempt.
"Your walk's too even," chided Elrohir, the critic. "The king walks with a limp, mae? So you need to be lopsided, like this;" The Peredhel completed the same circuit as his twin, the limp very pronounced.
"That's even worse!" Legolas giggled, "And Ada doesn't bounce."
"Alright then, Herdir Know-it-All," the twins said in unison, crouching down on either side of the prince, "your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to be amazing at impersonating His Majesty next time we visit each other."
Legolas looked at each of the twins in turn, "Alright!
"Ooh, ooh! I know how he acts when getting angry."
"You would," Elladan teased. Legolas carried on as if he hadn't been interrupted
"His face goes all tight like this," Legolas assumed an expression that looked like he'd been sucking a lemon.
"I think everyone does that, penneth," Elrohir said, gently.
"Maaaaeee, but when he's standing up he puts his hands on his hips like so." Legolas scrambled to his feet and put his hands firmly on his hips, cocked his head to one side and glared into the middle distance, his lips becoming more and more pursed to indicate his father's growing distain.
"That is interesting," the twins murmured in unison as Legolas sat back down.
"Ada's eyebrows migrate up his forehead," Elladan said and both twins tried to mimic this with mixed success. "I don't know how he does it."
"I swear his eyebrows are magical."
"Who's eyebrows are magical?" A clipped voice from behind them asked. All three jumped up and turned round to see Erestor gazing at them steadily. "You do know that impressions can be very hurtful?"
"Of course we do," Elladan replied, voice like honey, "we're just entertaining Legolas to keep him out of Uncle's hair."
Erestor looked them all up and down for a few moments, then, "Alright then, but have a care that it doesn't become malicious." The three children nodded obediently. "Remember; I'm watching you," the advisor warned before continuing up to the house. Unfortunately, he wasn't watching them intently enough to notice that the twins' were impersonating his affected regal lope just a few steps behind him.
The twins only followed him for a few yards before returning to fetch their little charge who was snorting in an effort to keep his laughter to himself.
"I don't know about you but all these impersonations have made me peckish," Elladan said, taking Legolas's hand. "I vote we go and raid the kitchens."
Legolas's expression lit up even more, "Do they have honey lembas?"
"Let us find out," Elrohir said, taking the young prince's other hand.
"I love honey lembas; it's so sweet and crunchy," Legolas mumbled wistfully, already licking his lips as he was led up to the house.
On their way to the kitchen, they heard two very familiar voices raised in argument. As they passed an open door to a hall, they could see Thranduil with his back to them, hands fairly glued onto hips. Upon hearing them approaching, the Sinda span round and glared daggers at them. Beyond the king, further into the hall, Elrond could easily be seen, also staring daggers at the next generation. His eyebrows were doing a very good job of merging into his hairline. Fathers and children stared at each other for a few long seconds. Then Thranduil waved them briskly away with his hand,
"Bado!"
Legolas and the twins obediently went. The door slammed shut in their wake.
"Wonder what they were arguing about."
Thranduil leant on the door for a while after slamming it, breathing deeply and watching Elrond with a cold eye. Elrond was doing much the same. Elrond breathed out and began again, this time in his normal speaking voice,
"But seriously, Thranduil, wearing that sash isn't helping you. It's forcing you to remember, forcing
you to grieve."
"Really? Then tell me, if it is making me grieve then why am I not moping around your halls trying to think of ways of killing myself? Why am I not fading away?"
Elrond winced at Thranduil's questions. He couldn't look into his eyes either. "If you doffed the last piece of black you would feel freer, meldir, I can assure you-"
"How dare you assume to know how I would feel, Lord Elrond? You may be a healer but that doesn't mean you know anything about the mind!"
'Lord Elrond', not 'meldir'. Elrond sighed; he may as well give up now. But secretly he was enjoying this. "Well I think experience would have taught me some things that are true for every mind-"
"Think again. You know nothing about how my mind works. Only one person who still lives knows me inside out and that sure as I'm Sinda isn't you!"
Elrond admitted defeat then. Thranduil read his expression. He opened the door while keeping eye contact, then span round it as soon as it was open enough and slammed it behind him. Once he was sure the other was out of earshot, Elrond muttered, "Why didn't you bring Galion with you, then?"