Request: Elladan/Elrohir, R to NC17, a snowfight, a river and the word jewel. No rape, no character death. Summary: The twins encounter a winter snow.

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Elladan and Elrohir spent more time outside than in, especially since their mother had sailed West. Both of them had changed a great deal since that day. Neither of them seemed to be content at home anymore. They needed to be out there, killing Orcs and making their homeland safer for all travelers who came after Celebrian. Mostly they just needed to be away from their father. His pain at the loss of Celebrian only served to make them feel even more guilty about their mother"s attack than they already felt.

So they rode.

This was not to say that their lives had become completely devoid of laughter and smiles. The tragic events had tamped down the wicked humor of the two but not stamped it our entirely. They still laughed when they could and seemed to devour even the tiniest morsels of joy when they had a chance. As a matter of fact, joy and laughter seemed even more important to the twins now that they had become rarer than before.

Even though they lived most of the time out of doors, snow was still a source of joy to both of them. It reminded them of winter days as children when they"d play outdoors until their little cheeks were red from the cold then come in to warm cocoa and a story in front of the fire. Sometimes their father told of brave elves of old and sometimes their mother told tales of wise woodland creatures�- the stories designed to teach them a lesson as well as entertain them. Those days usually ended with them being tucked in by both parents as they drowsily begged for just one more tale.

If snow gave them joy, then this day was a happy one indeed. It had started around midnight and by the time daylight came, the snow was piled up against the opening of their tent, making it difficult to open the flap to go outside. They were camped near a river and the sound of the water was the only sound in the silent snow-covered world.

"I told you we should have headed to the nearest village last night." Elrohir was the youngest and the quiet one but he always had a good-natured �I told you so" for his elder twin.

Elladan said nothing but made his way outside to do things that had to be done first thing in the morning. It *was* cold but the weather didn"t bother him overmuch as he went a ways from the camp to take care of things. When he returned, an idea popped into his head. He began to make a snowball as he called out to his brother.

"Ro, come out here a second. I have something you need to see."

Of course the ever-dutiful younger brother opened the tent flap and popped his head out the opening. Not immediately seeing Elladan, he came all the way out. He looked this way and that and turned to go back into the tent when Elladan popped out from behind the tent and hit him full in the face with a huge snowball.

"You!" Elrohir shouted and of course he retaliated in kind, throwing an even bigger snowball at Elladan. It was hard to hit a moving target though and he had to make several snowballs before he had any success. During this time, Elladan somehow managed to hit him with two more snowballs.

The war escalated until both elves were soaked to the skin and shivering. They laughed until they were completely out of breath. They finally got so cold that their teeth were chattering too hard to talk when Elladan held up one hand.

"I th-think-k we should g-go ins-side before we freeze to death. Father would be furious to find us during the spring thaw." This observation brought another fit of giggles but they did make their way toward the tent.

They went inside their tent and dried off and put on warm clothing, building a fire inside the tent that was made in such a way that the smoke vented out a hole in the top. The warmth was heavenly and they found themselves growing drowsy. The last conscious thought that Elladan had was that he wished their parents were there to tell them a story and tuck the both of them into their warm bed.

*

Elrohir woke several hours later and rose from the warmth of his blankets to peep outside. It had stopped snowing and the sun had come out. The snow looked like sparkling jewels in the bright light. He pulled on his coat and boots and left the tent. He shot a rabbit and dressed it before coming back to camp. He cleared the fire pit of snow, arranged some wood and lit it with dry kindling from his pack. Soon, he had the rabbit roasting over a warm fire.

The delicious smell of the rabbit soon brought Elladan out into the white winter landscape too. Elrohir handed him a cup of fresh brewed tea and smiled.

"Thought you were going to sleep all day." He removed their food from the spit and put it on a metal plate from his pack. He knew it wouldn"t take long to cool in the chilly air but it was too hot to eat right off the fire. He cut it with his knife and speared a bit of the meat, offering it to Elladan.

Elladan smiled at him as he took a bite then licked his lips. "I suppose we should get back home for the Winter Feast this year. Father and Arwen seem to set great store by our presence and I do yearn for Cook"s cobbler. It has been much too long."

Elrohir moved closer to his brother, pushing a stray lock of hair back from the elder twin"s face and kissing his cheek. "It has been too long for many things, El."

Elladan turned to him and returned the kiss, the rabbit forgotten as his lips touched Elrohir"s. This was another part of their lives that they did not share with anyone. It was not because they felt guilt or regret about it. It was rather that they sometimes felt so close that it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began. It was not something anyone else could possibly understand.

They made their way back into the tent, everything forgotten but their sudden need for one another. The fire had died but neither felt the chill inside the tent as they peeled one another"s clothing away. Sparks seemed to fly as skin touched skin. It had always been this way for them.

Elrohir kissed his twin"s suntanned skin, delighting in the scent and taste of his double. He never paused to think how odd it was that the fairest person in his world looked almost exactly like he did. He only thought about how much he wished to please his lover and how much it pleased him to do so. Elladan responded in kind, pleasing his twin as no one else could do.

The sun was near to setting when they finally slept again, the sleep of the sated.

*

The two did not wake until the sun rose again on a new day. The winter wonders were still intact since the weather had warmed none overnight. They ate cold rabbit and fruit and packed their gear.

Home was four days" ride from their campsite and they made it in only three, sleeping a few hours at a time and eating cold food from their packs. When they crossed the bridge over into Imladris, they saw a tiny figure watching from the window. Her black hair flew behind her as she ran to find their father.

Arwen and Elrond were in the courtyard by the time the twins arrived. They were welcomed with hugs from both sister and father as they slipped off their tired mounts.

"I was afraid you wouldn"t come!" Arwen kissed Elladan and hugged him as if to assure herself he was real.

Elrohir fluffed her hair from behind. "We were getting hungry. Cold rabbit and apples get tiring after awhile."

Arwen turned and playfully whacked his shoulder. "Is that the only reason you came home?"

He lifted her and whirled her around before setting her down and making his way to their father.

"My sons! We can have our feast now. My wandering sons are home!" The words were spoken much too fondly to have any chastisement in them at all. Elrond hugged each son in turn then kissed each one"s cold cheek. His face was gentle and a little sad as he motioned them all indoors. "I do believe that Cook has some hot cocoa awaiting your return. She has refused to make any for the rest of us so we were forced to wait until you came home."

When they were all gathered in Elrond"s private sitting room with warm lap rugs over their legs, fresh baked cookies on a plate in front of them, and each with a large mug of cocoa, Elrond opened a book of old tales and began to read.

~The end~