Thank you to jijifiji, Tocki07, and Narsil_Anduril for their kind votes and comments to the previous chapter! 

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With Valentine's Day coming up, I send you many hearts. 

Elrond heard the low voices of his sons and made a dash for the door to fling it open and say what he thought. But Celebrian grabbed his wrist.

"No, Elrond, we have to be calm. I know we were worried and you would like nothing better then to scold until your tongue falls out but this is the first time the twins have disobeyed us since we returned home and they probably doubt us right now."'

Elrond drew in a breath and sat down. "You are right. We have to let them come to us."

"And, when they do," Celebrian said. "We will set them an example of how we will handle all discipline in the future."

Elrond ran a hand through his hair as he heard his sons' outside the door. He knew why they hesitated.

"He is going to be so mad," Elrohir whispered. "We are hours late and we did not even find it."

"We have to face him," Elladan said. "We have to."

"I do not want him to hit me."

"He will not. He cannot. Not after everything we have been through."

Elrond's heart blossomed and Celebrian squeezed his hand. He heard footsteps and Ariel spoke.

"Whatever are you doing sitting in the hall this late?"

"Ada is going to punish us," Elladan said.

There was a short silence. Erestor said, "He came home a changed elf, Elladan. He is more respectful—more considerate. Elrond has learned so much and I am sure he will be reasonable and fair. I do not think he will hit you."

"And, if it helps," Glorfindel said. "We will be outside the door if you need us."

Feet scuffled as the twins stood and made for the door. It cracked open before precipitating Elladan and Elrohir into the room.

Elrond and his wife rose. Elladan clenched Elrohir's hand in his until both their knuckles were white, almost falling as he stumbled to the sofa.

"We have been worried sick about you," Celebrian said. "Where have you been?"

Elrohir swallowed. "We walked out to the cliffs to look for something. When it grew too dark to see, we started home. I know we are late—"

"You are more then late," Elrond said. "You could have hurt yourself or something could have hurt you. Your mother and I were afraid you were injured or lost—or that you had run away."

The twins avoided his eyes as his voice broke and chewed on their lips. Elrond and Celebrian sat down beside them. "What were you looking for?"

Elladan's eyes darted to his twin before he shrugged. "We did not find it."

Elrohir choked past the lump in his throat, "I am really sorry, ada. I never meant to make you and nana so worried and—and scared. I know you are disappointed and I promise it will not happen again."

Elrond hugged him. "I trust you, Elladan, and I am sorry this has put that trust into doubt. So, for the next week, your curfew will be shortened to two o' clock instead of five."

Celebrian rested her hand on Elrohir's back as he nodded. "Okay."

No one spoke and Elrohir fidgeted. The elfling said, "We would not have run away, ada. Not again. Never again."

"We were a little scared to come in," Elladan admitted. "But we—we trusted you and nana would be kind—that you would try to understand."

Elrond smiled. "You were right. This is how we will handle all problems we run into down the road. We want you to know we are here for you, even when you misbehave, and nothing we do to guide you will hurt."

Elrohir wrapped his arms around Elrond's shoulders and hugged him. "I am so glad to hear you say that. I love you."

Elrond kissed the top of his head. "I love you to, ion. Now come eat some dinner and then we will tuck you into bed."

Elrohir held onto him tighter before he relinquished his hold. He lingered behind to grab Elladan's hands and dance in a circle, his smile almost splitting his face. Elrond looked into his wife's eyes before he kissed her, their hearts rising as one at the wholeness of their family.

"If only we had known we could resolve these things so peacefully," Celebrian whispered. "We would not have regrets."

The sheets were cool when Elladan snuggled into bed beside his twin. Elrohir turned onto his side to look at him, the blue cover falling off his shoulder. As he stared into Elladan's eyes, he broke out laughing.

Elladan chuckled. "It feels good, I know."

"I do not know how many times I have gone to bed before with a smarting behind," Elrohir said. "Or ada's angry reprimands ringing in my ears. I am not saying I will misbehave because I can without being spanked for it but . . . well . . . I used to feel bitter when I thought about spanking and our parents but now . . . the memories are not bad because I know it is in the past and I have a bright future to look forward to."

Elladan cocked his head and pressed his chin into his hand. "We did not find it."

"No," said Elrohir. He yawned. "We will look again tomorrow. Goodnight."

Outside the door, Elrond tiptoed away, ignoring Glorfindel's soft jibes about eavesdropping.

"I have a right to know how my sons feel," he hissed.

Glorfindel raised his eyebrows. "In my opinion, asking would have been much better. You could have had a proper discussion."

Elrond threw up his hands and jostled the elf. "I missed you, mellon nin, and I did not miss you."

"I shall take that as a compliment," Glorfindel said.

OoOoO

"I simply cannot understand it," Elrond said, shifting to take Elrohir's elbow out of his ribs.

"It is a bit hard to breath," Celebrian said. "I am afraid Arwen will be squished and I am in serious danger of falling out of bed."

"Me to," Elladan said. "And I am behind you."

"I do not think I can sleep like this," Elrohir observed.

"I simply cannot understand it," Elrond repeated.

A knock sounded on the door and, in his haste to speak, Elrond knocked Elrohir to the floor. The elfling picked himself up with a grumble as Glorfindel peeked into the room with a hand over his eyes. "Is everyone decent?"

"I have no idea," Elrohir retorted. "All I know there is no room in here to breathe and my chin hurts."

Glorfindel chuckled as Elrond sat up, his hand missing Celebrian's nose by inches. "I simply cannot understand it."

"I do," Glorfindel said. "Your bed is too small for the five of you."

"Why," said Elrond. "How good of you to say so. Elrohir, are you alright?"

Elrohir rubbed his chin. "I think so."

Glorfindel held up a hand as Elrond started to speak, "If you say 'I simply cannot understand it' one more time, I will kill you."

Elrond frowned. Celebrian piped in, with her eyes twinkling, "Why, Glorfindel, I simply cannot understand it."

Glorfindel threw up his hands. "I do understand it! You shock me, my lady. The truth of the matter is, the beds in Mirkwood are build larger as a rule, since so many families share."

Elrond put a hand on Elrohir's head. "That makes unfortunate sense."

"I was so looking forward to sleeping with you," Elrohir complained.

Elrond patted his hair. "I know, ion, but there is nothing I can do unless we want to sleep on top of each other. I think you will find your bed much more comfortable. To avoid this issue in the future, I will make some arrangements tomorrow to commander bigger beds for all of us. Elladan, out of the bed, there is no space for you tonight."

Elladan held up his hands. "I am leaving. But I shall be back."

He skipped from the room with Elrohir behind him. Elrond raised his eyebrows, "You wanted something, Glorfindel?"

The elf pursed his lips. "Quite. It seems to have slipped my mind. I think it had something to do with Erestor but I cannot be sure."

"You wanted a laugh," Elrond snapped.

"Why, darling," Celebrian exclaimed. "All Glorfindel wanted was to join us."

Elrond frowned. Glorfindel chuckled. "Your offer is most generous, my lady, but Elrond is too old-fashioned to approve of flirting. I think I will say goodnight to your darling sons."

As he shut the door, Elrond growled, "Are you trying to make me jealous?"

"No, dear," Celebrian sighed. "It is good to be home."

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. :)

Thank you for reading! Your comments and musings mean so much to me as I bring this tale to a near end and contemplate the stories for the future. Thank you for your amazing support and undying encouragement.

Next Chapter: Elladan experiences some Deju Vu, but without one crucial feeling.