"Elladan, wake up! Are you still in bed?"

The voice of Elrohir invaded Elladan's sleep. He tossed a pillow at his brother and rolled back over. "Leave me in peace, Elrohir."

"It is nearly noon, and not like you at all to stay abed past dawn. Were you up late lying beneath the Marchwarden?"

"No!"

"Mores the pity. Had I known you were going to leave him so lonely I would have had him join in with me and Orophin and Rúmil. Or perhaps he is not to your taste -- would you like one of them? I know Rúmil is eager to apologize to you…"

Elladan threw his other pillow at Elrohir. "Will you not stop talking and go away?"

"I thought you were going riding with Father."

"Ai," Elladan moaned. He sat up and glared at his twin, who was wearing only a thin silk dressing robe. "What are you doing in my room besides driving me mad?"

"I want to borrow your grey tunic. Mine was torn when we fought that band of orcs in the mountains." Elrohir began to paw through Elladan's wardrobe. "And also some leggings. For some reason yours are always more comfortable."

Elladan had gotten very little sleep. It had been very late when he and Haldir returned from the garden. He had been slightly disappointed that Haldir had refused to lay another hand on him last night, but now he was glad. They had spoken of so many different things in the moonlight, and Elladan had come to realize how much they had in common. Haldir was honorable and duty-bound as well as brazen, authoritative and attractive. Elladan had been too wound up to sleep when he returned to his room and had tossed and turned until just an hour or two ago when he had finally fallen asleep.

He realized that it must be late indeed for Elrohir to be so chipper. His twin was never the early riser. Elladan rubbed his eyes with his fists. "Is it truly almost noon?"

"Indeed it is, my brother. Shall we dress exactly alike today? I think I should torture Rúmil a bit. He really is distressed about 'the incident' as you like to call it. I could have a great deal of fun pretending to be you, and you could drive the Marchwarden insane pretending to be me."

"First of all, that is cruel, given that Rúmil is supposed to be your friend and your lover. Second of all, I will certainly not do that to Haldir. I want him to like me--"

"I knew as much!" Elrohir crowed.

"And thirdly, we cannot dress alike if your grey tunic has been shredded by orcs. Hand me the red the one. I would look as different as possible from you today," Elladan said. During this impassioned speech he had climbed out of bed and stalked over to the wardrobe beside his troublemaking brother.

"You certainly will look different if you leave your hair like that," Elrohir commented. "Are you certain you did not roll in the flowerbeds with Haldir?"

Elladan did not reply as he put his clothes on and searched for his brush so he might straighten out his hair before meeting their father. He found the brush after several minutes in Elrohir's hand, as his twin fixed his own locks, though they had not been in much disarray. Elladan sighed inwardly. He loved his brother deeply, but some days there was nothing to be done with him.

"Sit down," Elrohir said finally, pulling up a small straight-backed chair. "I will fix it."

Elladan sat down and let his brother untangle his long, dark locks. He was too tired to do it himself and he certainly did not wish to hear any comments from Elrond about it. It was bad enough to have Elrohir speculating about him and Haldir. He did not need Elrond doing it, too. Of course, Elrond had not caught him in the Marchwarden's bed yesterday afternoon -- even if nothing had happened there. At least he could count on Elrohir to keep his silence about it. Elladan's twin would not want his own exploits getting back to their father and would therefore maintain silence for that reason if not for the loyalty that lay between them as twins.

It was quite soothing having Elrohir brush his hair. Elrohir was quiet as he worked, which gave Elladan a few moments to wake up and to process his own thoughts. He thought about 'the incident' and wondered if he ought to clear things up with Rúmil. After all, the elf of the Galadhrim had tried to apologize to him several times and Elladan had fled his presence. He had always liked Rúmil and it really was a shame to let this hang between them forever. It had been a mistake, an error. It had not been deliberate.

Still, it was a deep embarrassment to Elladan and even thinking about it made his cheeks burn. How could he discuss it with the other elf? It helped nothing that Elrohir seemed to find the whole situation amusing. Of course, he would, and it had turned out to his advantage anyway since he was now sleeping with Rúmil. And Orophin. Again Elladan wondered if Haldir knew about what had happened.

"You look far more presentable," Elrohir said, patting Elladan on top of his head.

"Thank you," Elladan said quietly. He stood up and Elrohir did not waste the opportunity to smack his twin's behind hard with the brush. "Ow! Elrohir!"

"You would have done the same," Elrohir smirked.

"Think you so? Then I shall pay you back in kind right now," Elladan said, smiling wickedly at his brother. He advanced on his twin, who dropped the brush in his surprise. Elladan scooped it up and leapt lightly over the chair. Elrohir's eyes widened, then he turned tail and ran.

"No, Elladan, you know not what you are doing! Lack of a bed-partner has maddened you," Elrohir teased as he fled out of the room and down the hallway.

Elladan ran after him, brandishing the brush. "And having too many bed-partners has addled your brain," he shouted.

There was a rush in this adolescent behavior. It felt good to chase his brother down the hallway like puppies, their hair flying out behind them. Elladan felt close to Elrohir in that moment, the way he once had every day. Elladan launched himself into the air, throwing himself at his brother. He landed on Elrohir's back and knocked him to the floor. Elrohir moaned as he hit the marble.

"I will be bruised!"

"It serves you right," Elladan said, smirking.

"Let me up, Elladan."

"Not until I return that smack. And, I think, a few others that I have been owing you." Elladan twirled the brush in his hand and sat up on Elrohir's legs, pinning him to the floor. He brought it down hard on his brother's curved behind.

"Ow! After I was so nice to you this morning--"

"Waking me up when I was wont to sleep?" The brush came down again.

"So you would not be late to go riding with Father. Ow! Elladan! You had better go…"

"As I am now already late, I think a few moments longer will harm nothing, except perhaps your rear end." He brought the brush down three more times in succession, not hard enough to cause serious damage to his twin's posterior but definitely with enough force to sting.

Elrohir laid his head down on the floor and moaned. "I will repay you for this."

"I do not doubt it," Elladan said frankly as he continued with the spanking, though suddenly it occurred to him that Elrohir might be enjoying this more than he let on. Elrohir squirmed beneath him, reaching out for the leg of a small decorative table that sat in the hall. The table was covered with a long lace mantle and topped by a small vase filled with purple flowers. Elrohir grabbed the mantle and accidentally yanked it off the table, sending the vase crashing to the to the floor. It shattered, splashing water, flowers and shards of crystal everywhere.

"Let me up," Elrohir said again, but he did not sound so much like he meant it.

"No. I think I shall have to punish you for destroying that vase," Elladan teased, brandishing the brush again, but as he brought it down on Elrohir's backside, a familiar voice stopped him cold. Elladan looked up in horror at the words.

"What exactly is going on here?"