Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, Tolkien created them; I’m just playing with them and filling in the bits he didn’t have time to. The toy soldiers will be returned to the box once I am through.

Chapter Summary: Elladan sprains his ankle and tries to hide it, but Elrohir sees through.

- - -

Bound

Chapter II: Little Hurts

“Faster, faster, faster!” Elladan laughed, rushing ahead of his brother. The two were running down the pathway back to the Last Homely House as dusk fell over Imladris in a blanket of haze that draped itself over the woods, wet from spring showers, blurring the edges of even elven vision.

“Wait up!” Elrohir cried through his laughter and streaming eyes.

“Hurry up!” Elladan called back. “Ada’s letting us stay up tonight to dance in the Hall of Fire!”

“I //am// hurrying!”

Suddenly Elladan found his world slip from under him and his face coming into contact with the wet leaf mulch and gasping. “Omph!”

“’Dan!” Elrohir cried, stopping above his twin. “Are you alright?”

Elladan found his left ankle throbbing as he sat up, but quickly reasoned that if he showed any pain his ada wouldn’t let him stay up or dance at all, and Elrohir would tell if he noticed. Trying desperately not to wince, Elladan stood up with Elrohir’s help. “Fine... just the breath knocked out of me.”

“You are certain?”

“Race you back!” Elladan took off, ignoring the pain each time his left foot came in contact with the ground. He had to bite his lip to keep from crying.

“Hey!” Elrohir protested, taking off after Elladan. Elladan had said he was fine, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind.

- - -

Elladan and Elrohir arrived back, and quickly got changed into more formal attire to meet their naneth at the bottom of the stairs. She quickly plucked a few leaves from their dark hair, and sighed.

“You have not bathed!” Celebrian spat on her handkerchief and rubbed Elrohir’s dirty cheek with it.

He squirmed and scrunched up his face in disgust. “Nana!”

She surveyed them, and then resigned; they were children, after all. “Come... you are permitted today to dine with the adults, and then dance, but only until midnight.”

“Only midnight?”

“No later.”

They both pouted, but no amount of pouting could get Celebrian to shift that time. It had been hard enough to convince Elrond that they could be awake after ten.

- - -

Throughout the entire meal Elladan felt his ankle throb, but tried to ignore it as best as he could. He had been looking forward to the dancing, and had been practicing for the last few weeks to prove his skill, but now he knew it would hurt terribly when he started. He sighed and tried to keep a bright exterior throughout, maintaining his usual incessant chatter with Elrohir. “You know what Glorfie told me he once did in Mirkwood?”

“What?”

“He killeded thirty spiders in one hour.”

“Aw, poor spiders.”

“No, no... //Mirkwood// spiders.”

“What is different about Mirkwood spiders?”

“Well, they are really big.”

“How big?”

Elladan stretched out his arms. “This big, maybe bigger if it’s a grown up one.”

Elrohir’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

“That is right my little one.” Glorfindel said, winking across the table at the twins. “I indeed did.”

“If I recall,” Erestor drawled. “You did indeed, and then had to be bedded down for a week with multiple spider bites.”

Glorfindel glowered. “I still managed to take out thirty in an hour.”

“And then was useless for the rest of the week when you could have done just a few a day and not caused Thranduil’s healers to slave over you for a night.”

“Well... Celvandil was tending me, and I managed to get a walk with her, which is more than you have ever achieved I bet.”

“All have you know I am rather adept in the field of romance...” Erestor and Glorfindel continued arguing, and Elladan turned to Elrohir and shrugged, both feeling rejected from the conversation and ignored.

“Can we go dance now, Nana?” Elrohir asked. “We are both finished eating.”

“Alright, but be careful not to get in the way.”

“C’mon!” Elrohir grabbed his twin’s hand and pulled him down from his seat and into the crowd. Elladan managed not to wince when he landed on his ankle, however, Elrohir did.

Elrohir paused and checked over his own foot, putting his weight on it and feeling nothing. “Shall we do the one Nana taught us?”

“Which?”

“The really fast one.”

“I do not quite think that would match... the... ah... music.” Elladan said.

“Then a slow one? How about the one with all the spinning...” Elrohir said, giggling and doing an elaborate twirl.

“Dancing’s for girls.” Elladan said and crossed his arms across his chest.

“You did not say that yesterday...”

“Well, I changed my mind.”

“Look at all the men dancing... they are graceful too. Glorfindel said that dancing is like sword fighting.”

“It is indeed...” Interrupted said elf-lord, grasping Elladan by the hand and twirling him around once.

“Come now, I will show you.” Glorfindel did a complex little jump and then clapped his hands and Elrohir gasped in delight while even Elladan widened his eyes in admiration.

“Show me!” Said Elrohir, and Glorfindel did it again, slower, and then started showing them the movements, step by step.

“First the left foot forward, heel first, tap, tap... good... back, right foot around... very nice.” Elladan eventually joined in, eventually ignoring his throbbing, sore ankle as he got into the swing of it. Glorfindel was an amazing teacher.

Elladan gave one last hop, and then held out his arms while Glorfindel applauded. “Well done!”

Elrohir gave a gasp and grabbed at his ankle.

“What is it... are you hurt?” Glorfindel picked up the little one and brought him to where Elrond was sitting next to his wife, talking merrily.

Elrond immediately turned his attention to his son. “Are you well?”

“It is not me...” Elrohir said, his brow creasing. “It does not hurt when I press it or anything, but sometimes when I am watching Elladan... it is his foot, I know it!”

“Elladan?”

“His left ankle...” Elrohir hopped down and Elladan sheepishly slunk behind Glorfindel.

“Show me your foot, my little one.” Celebrian said, coaxing Elladan onto her lap.

Elladan climbed onto his naneth’s lap, wincing as he did so. She gently pulled off his shoe and stockings from his swollen foot, and gave a little gasp. “You have been walking on this foot, have you not?”

Elladan nodded, his eyes cast down, little tears shining in them.

“And you did not tell us?” Elrond asked.

Elladan shook his head.

“But then how did Elrohir know...”

“We shall talk about this later...” Celebrian mouthed to Elrond, picking up Elladan into her arms. “Let us get you fixed up.”

- - -

“I am sorry Elladan...” Elrohir said, later on, when he was alone with his brother. “But you were in pain... I knew it.”

“It is well. I should have waited until next time... but I wanted to go dancing so badly.”

“How did you know?”

“I just... did... somehow.”

- - -

“Do you remember when our sons were born...” Celebrian asked.

“However could I forget //that// day.”

Celebrian wasn’t sure if he meant this in a good way or a bad one. “Well, you know that twins can sometimes sense things from one another.”

“Yes.”

“I think it has started... or at least made itself known with our sons.”

“Often they seem to be able to read each other’s thoughts...”

“Well, I do not think that they’re //that// proficient yet, just very good at reading each others’ faces. But perhaps... someday...”

“I dread the day when they can relay information to each other by thought...”

Celebrian giggled. “As do I... though you have to admit, it would be much quieter.”

“Oh yes... it has been a while since we have had any quiet.”

“In fact, it is rather quiet right now, is it not?” Celebrian said, moving closer to her husband, nuzzling her face into his neck. Elrond inhaled the scent of her hair.

“ADA! NANA!” Two voices shrieked, pulling them away from each other quickly.

Celebrian quirked a brow at Elrond. “As I was saying... it was almost too quiet.”

Elrond sighed. “Almost.”

- - -