AN: First bonus scene, this one is very angsty, I'm sorry. It's a heated convo between the twins. I wish I could have included this, but there wasn't a place in the story, especially as I wanted Elrohir's feelings to be known only at the very end.

. . .Bonus Scene 1: Heartbreak . . .

The twilight settled over Rivendell like a silken veil, casting long shadows and softening the edges of the stone and trees with its fading light. Elrohir stood at the edge of a balcony, gazing out over the valley, the air heavy with the scent of the river and the lingering warmth of the setting sun. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the breeze brush against his skin, trying to find peace in the calm of the evening.

But he could sense his twin's presence before Elladan even spoke. The tension between them had been simmering for days, and Elrohir knew the moment had come. He turned slowly as Elladan stepped onto the balcony, his face tight with unspoken emotion.

"Elrohir," Elladan said, his voice sharp, strained. "How long were you going to keep this from me?"

Elrohir said nothing for a moment, holding his brother's gaze. He had known this conversation was inevitable, but that didn't make it any easier. "What would you have me say?" he asked quietly.

Elladan took a step closer, his eyes flashing with anger. "You know what this is about," he growled. "Do not pretend otherwise. I have watched you—your silences, your hesitation, the way your gaze lingers on her when you think no one is looking." His voice cracked, a tremor of raw emotion seeping through. "Alysae."

Elrohir flinched, though he tried to hide it. He knew the truth of what Elladan was saying, but hearing her name spoken aloud, in this context, felt like a knife to the heart.

"We've know her since she was a child, Elrohir!" Elladan continued, his voice rising. "A child! Yet you—" He stopped short, his fists clenching at his sides. "You would give up everything for her, wouldn't you? You would forsake your immortality, just as Arwen will for Aragorn. Have you not seen enough loss? Have we not suffered enough?"

Elrohir's jaw tightened, his heart aching with the weight of his brother's words. "Elladan, it is not—"

"She is mortal!" Elladan shouted, cutting him off. "She will wither and die, Elrohir. And if you choose her—" His voice wavered, suddenly thick with grief. "If you choose her, you will die too. And then I will be left alone! Alone to watch our people fade, alone to bear the weight of all this sorrow!" His eyes were wide now, filled with unshed tears. "First our mother, now our sister—Arwen, bound to Estel's fate. We will lose her, Elrohir! She will be taken from us by the curse of mortality, and now you—" His voice broke, and he looked away, swallowing hard. "I cannot lose you too."

Elrohir felt the sting of his brother's pain deep within his own heart, but his expression remained calm, his voice steady as he spoke. "I know what you fear, Elladan. I feel the weight of it just as you do. But you are wrong about me."

Elladan turned back to him, his face tight with disbelief. "Am I?"

"Yes." Elrohir's voice softened, but there was a firmness to it, a resolve. "I will not forsake my immortality. I would never ask you to bear that grief, nor would I burden myself with such a choice. My feelings do not matter, Elladan. They never have."

Elladan's brow furrowed in confusion, his anger still simmering beneath the surface. "What are you saying? You cannot simply dismiss this. I know how you feel about her—"

"Of course you do," Elrohir said bitterly, his own frustration slipping through the cracks in his composure. "You have always known. You are my twin; you know my heart better than anyone. But none of it matters."

Elladan shook his head, struggling to understand. "How can you say that? How can you stand there and pretend—"

"Because she does not love me, Elladan!" Elrohir's voice was sharp now, his pain finally surfacing. "She calls us brothers. That is all we are to her—all we will ever be. I am nothing more than family to her, and she will never see me as anything else."

The silence that followed was thick, oppressive. Elladan stared at him, his anger slowly draining away, replaced by a deep, aching sorrow. "But you love her," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

Elrohir closed his eyes, the weight of the truth pressing down on him. "Yes," he said softly. "I love her. I have loved her for years. But that love will never be returned. And so, I will bury it. I will carry it with me, silently, until the end of my days."

Elladan's breath caught, and for a moment, he looked as though he might break. "Elrohir…"

Elrohir reached out, placing a hand on his twin's shoulder. "You will not lose me," he said quietly, his voice full of quiet determination. "I will not forsake you, nor our family, nor our people. I will remain as I am. And whatever I feel for Alysae will remain unspoken, hidden in the shadows where it belongs."

Elladan's shoulders sagged, the fight gone from him. He bowed his head, his hands trembling slightly. "I cannot bear to lose you," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion.

Elrohir pulled his brother into a tight embrace, resting his forehead against Elladan's. "You won't," he murmured. "I promise you, gwador. I will always be here."

They stood there for a long moment, two brothers bound by love, by loss, by the shared weight of their burdens.

And in the quiet of the night, Elrohir held onto the hope that his unspoken love would never tear their bond apart.