Disclaimer: please see previous chapters

Time frame: The twins are very young, probably around seven or eight.

A/N: Lol, so I realized today that I've had this one finished for like...4 or 5 days now. Oops! Haha. I finally went through and finished editing and am finally uploading. And yes, this is actually based off of what I've felt like for the majority of this week. Can I just say right now that I despise Weight Training, and the only reason I'm taking it is because I need another PE class to graduate because at my old school you only needed one semester and here now you need two, and it was either Weight Training or Freshman PE which I was NOT going to do. Haha. Anyway, so now you know the reason for my writing this, and just remember...this was my agony. Oh, and again, you'll understand the whole badger thing if you've read Crookneck's fic called Twelve Tunics. For some strange reason, I seem to have a fascination with that badger. And I hope, Crookneck, that where I went with it/the mention that I made in here doesn't bother you with how I took it!

Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed! This is now my second most reviewed story EVER, and it was the first to break the previous record of 36! (Poisoned Star is currently my most-reviewed, but that happened after this one broke 36) So thanks again, for reading AND reviewing! Enjoy!

Translations:

Meleth: Love

~Knots~

Celebrían knew that there was something wrong as soon as he hobbled in through the door and allowed it to bang shut behind him. She leapt to her feet and rushed to her husband's side, taking his arm and leading him imperiously to the couch that she had only just vacated, despite his protestations.

"I am fine, Celebrían," Elrond insisted, trying in vain to pull his arm from her grasp.

Celebrían looked at her lover with ill-disguised disbelief. "No, you are not," she told him sternly and glared at him until he sat, an expression that, had it been on any other face but the Elven lord of Imladris's, would have been described as sheepish.

"Now tell me, what is the matter?" Celebrían commanded as she sat down beside him, although there was both an amused and slightly worried lilt to her voice. "Are you injured?" Elrond shook his head mutely, but did not fully meet her gaze. "Are you positive?" Celebrían did not sound entirely convinced.

"Yes, Meleth, I am sure," Elrond said, and then reached out to draw her into an embrace. He winced as he moved his arms however, something which Celebrían was quick to see. She stood quickly and turned to face her husband.

"Take off your robes," she ordered. When Elrond hesitated her blue eyes flashed, and Elrond found that was strongly reminded of her mother. He stood, although not as quickly as he seemed to have intended to, wincing as his legs once more bore his weight. Celebrían raised one sweeping eyebrow. She could not quite hide the worry in her face, however, even as she fixed her mate with a hard stare until he complied with her command.

Elrond shrugged off the thickly embroidered mantle, and then divested himself of the under-robe, until he was standing before his wife clad only in a loose silk shirt and leggings.

Celebrían examined him with a careful, critical eye, looking for the telltale lumps of bandages wound about shoulder or knee, or the blotches and stains that would indicate blood. She found neither, much to her relief.

"See, Meleth?" Elrond asked, spreading his hands out to his sides. "I am well. No injuries to be seen." Celebrían frowned at his words, and Elrond seemed to realize just what he had implied with his choice of words for he sighed, grimacing again. "Truly, Meleth, I am well," he promised, and took a step forward.

It was only then, unburdened by the thick material of his robes, that Celebrían was able to see the odd tightening of his chest as he moved, and the way that he overcompensated for barely bending his knees as he stepped forward, which made him look as if he were hobbling. Suddenly, Celebrían thought she knew what was ailing him.

Celebrían laughed lightly and, stepping forward, she placed one hand upon his breast and gently pushed him back down to the sofa.

"Lie down," she bade, her voice now soft and sympathetic. Elrond sighed, but he complied nonetheless, even turning over onto his stomach at Celebrían's light touch.

Celebrían found the first knot almost immediately. It was just inside the right shoulder blade, and the skin above the cramping muscle was discernibly warm, even through the shirt. As she pressed down against his gently, fingers probing to find the full extent of the knot, Elrond hissed and flinched.

"This will go better if you take your shirt off as well," Celebrían said, pulling her hands back. Elrond moaned, but sat up and began to pull the shirt over his head. He stopped before he had it halfway up, grimacing in pain. Celebrían smiled softly and gently took the hem from his hands, then pulled the fabric over his head for him, his arms sliding through. She dropped it atop the pile of his discarded robes, and Elrond carefully lay back down once more.

Carefully, methodically, Celebrían worked her way down Elrond's back, finding five more similar knots as she worked her way down toward his hips. His neck, too, was cramping she found a moment later, as were both of his shoulders and upper arms. Celebrían winced in sympathy each time he gasped or flinched.

"What was it that you were doing that would manage to knot yourself up like this?" Celebrían asked as she began to massage his shoulders, carefully beginning to work out the worst of the knots there.

"If you truly wish to know," Elrond retorted, his voice muffled as he spoke into the cushion in which his face was buried, "Ask Glorfindel." Resolving to indeed ask the Balrog Slayer what he had forced her husband to do that day, Celebrían ceased questioning Elrond, instead focusing on forcing the muscle to relax its painful constriction.

"Ow," Elrond groaned a moment later as the muscle finally began to relax. Celebrían could not help but smirk slightly – rarely was he ever so vocal about his pain, and she actually found it to be a tad amusing, despite the distress that she felt at his hurt.

"I can tell that you are laughing, or nearly so," Elrond told his wife, turning his head so that his cheek was pressed against the cushion. Celebrían glanced up at Elrond's face for an instant, before returning her attention to his back.

"Yes, I am," she said and finally allowed herself to chuckle lightly, although she did not expound.

Elrond, unsatisfied, raised an eyebrow. "And why, might I ask, are you laughing?"

Celebrían smirked. "You remind me of an old badger that I met once. It looked as if it had been caught in a trap at some point in its life – in its youth, I believe, for the scars were old and well-worn – and it moved a bit stiffly. It was to both my surprise, as well as my mother's, when the old badger appeared in the clearing and simply stood there, watching us for a long while. Eventually it approached, but only at our coaxing, and it flat out refused to go near enough to my mother that she could have touched it." Elrond's eyebrows crept a little higher, and he urged her to go on with her tale. "However, it came close to me, even so close as to touch my knee with its nose. I held out my hand, and it put its forehead against my palm for just an instant." Celebrían grinned then. "It grumbled the entire time it touched me, and I would swear by the Valar, it sounded as if it were chuckling about something. And then, just as abruptly as it had appeared in the glade, it was gone, loping stiffly off into the underbrush."

"And I remind you of this badger?" Elrond asked, sounding vaguely amused.

"Yes. You do right now at least," she added, and then moved down to work on his lower back. "Grumbling and stiff. And old as well," she put in. Elrond laughed, although it quickly turned into a groan as Celebrían found and began to massage another knotted muscle.

"If I am old, then what does that make you?" he asked a few seconds later.

"Less old," she replied. The final muscle began to relax, the knot slowly loosening.

Celebrían sighed and stretched her fingers. Hearing the sound, Elrond glanced at her and then began to sit up, seeing the faintest signs of strain and pain in her face. Instantaneously her hand was on his bare back and pressing him firmly down once more, however.

"No, Elrond, lie still and let your body relax," she told him. He sighed, but knowing the wisdom in her words, obeyed, and she could feel his muscles loosen once more as he allowed himself to simply lie still.

When he was comfortably settled and not looking as if he intended to move again for a long while, Celebrían bent over and kissed his shoulder – the nearest part of his body to his head that she could reach from her angle – and then stood.

"Where are you going?" he mumbled from the pillow.

Celebrían laughed softly. "To find Glorfindel," she told him. "I think I deserve an explanation. Do not worry, I shall be back soon, and with some chamomile tea for you as well," she promised.

"Celebrían?" Elrond called out as she started for the door, halting her. She turned and saw him rise up onto his side. His silver eyes were gleaming, and a gentle smile was hovering over his delicate lips. "Thank you," he murmured.

Celebrían crossed back to the couch and knelt by his side for an instant – just long enough to press her lips gently to his. When she pulled away, her smile was matching his.

"You are welcome, my love," she replied. "Always."

With that she was gone, the door to their chambers swinging shut behind her and leaving only the soft scent of roses in her wake and her taste on his lips.

A/N II: What it was that Glorfindel did to Elrond I have NO idea. That's why he didn't answer when Celebrian asked. I think it might have something to do with the Twins, but we'll see. I'll probably eventually write something concerning the day in which this takes place, but as for now...use your own imaginations! If you have any ideas, then please, please, PLEASE share them with me! Thanks again for reading, and I hope you'll take the time to drop off a review!