Chapter Text
Thranduil was having an unusually peaceful morning. Strangely so, because tranquility was rare in his life. The sun streamed beautifully through the open windows, warming the office in a cozy way. Branches subtly wrapped around the window frames, as if reaching for the king seated comfortably in a red velvet armchair. Birds sang such beautiful melodies that Thranduil found himself nodding in time.
No one had come to bother him with important but infinitely boring documents. No one had come to pester him with political meetings that would last hours and hours, where he would have to feign completeness in front of his advisors, when inside he felt like throwing himself out the window. No one had come to irritate him with trivial matters that could be resolved by anyone other than himself, taking away the king's already very rare peace.
Galion was in the cellar, supposedly supervising the wine, but in practice he was definitely drinking. Thranduil could practically feel the Dorwinion leaving him. Thoronthur must have been with Galion, taking advantage of the moment to complain about all of Oropher's heirs. Lindus had gone to settle some treaties outside the palace, and Legolas was supervising the training of the elite soldiers.
There was no advisor, soldier, friend, or son nearby. May the Valar bless this miracle.
His royal majesty sighed deeply in satisfaction, snuggling deeper into the soft armchair. He raised his glass in the air in a toast to himself and smiled.
Thranduil enjoyed something very rare in his reign since becoming a father:
Ah, peace.
Ah, the silence.
Ah, the calm.
The elven king swirled the wine in his cup, took a sip, and closed his eyes, content to simply feel the sunlight on his face. Distracted as he was, wrapped in his cloak almost like a blanket, he didn't sense the storm about to descend upon his head and dramatically topple the crown of branches.
- Ada!
The door to the Elven King's office was flung open, a harbinger of chaos.
- Ada!
Thranduil remained with his eyes closed, muttering a prayer under his breath that this would be nothing more than a nightmare.
- Ada, we need to talk! - Legolas said, his voice full of theatricality.
The king slowly opened his eyes. Very slowly. Deliberately slowly, so unwilling was he to see his surroundings. And there, before him, stood Legolas, the exemplary son, unbeatable warrior, crown prince, skilled diplomat, married to Thoronthur's beautiful daughter, and...visibly panicked. His golden hair was still perfect, of course (Thranduil expected no less from his heir), but his chest rose and fell beneath his tight tunic in dramatic sighs, and his mouth was half-open as if about to pronounce a fatal sentence.
- Is Evalin hurt? - was the first question Thranduil asked.
- No - Legolas replied too loudly, as he rushed towards his father's table and threw himself dramatically into a chair.
- Lindus?
- No
- Did Thoronthur resign and go live in a hut with Radagast?
- No
- Galion poisoned my wine? - He looked suspiciously at the glass.
- Ada!
Legolas got up from where he was (dramatically) lying and walked around the table to lean (dramatically) on his father's shoulder, while sighing (dramatically) and twirling Thranduil's blond locks around his finger.
- Yes, of course, make me your backrest. I'm not even a respectable king, I'm just the back of a chair and...
Legolas, in response, only leaned more of his weight on his father's shoulder, provocative as he was, as he stared (dramatically) nowhere in particular, looking utterly desolate, hopeless, with an expression that carried all the weight of a personal tragedy.
The king reached out, trying to grab a document. Legolas blocked it with a careless wave of his hand and the most angelic expression on his face. He tried to grab a book and confirm some information. Legolas wouldn't let him, pushing his weight even further onto his father and bumping into his hands.
Thranduil, in a final act of strength, downed the rest of the wine in one gulp and prepared to fill the goblet. He reached out and— Legolas pushed the bottle away and sighed audibly again. Okay. Understood.
- Yes, ion nin? - Thranduil said, already feeling his temple begin to throb.
- Aaaaaaah, look, you realized that children need their parents' complete attention now, right? - sighed Legolas, again dramatically, his voice full of false, contained emotion - I was already feeling ignored, disowned, excluded, forgotten...
- Has anyone ever told you you're annoying? - Thranduil grumbled.
Legolas made such an innocent face, an expression of such purity, that even Thranduil, who knew perfectly well his son's history, almost believed that he had never done anything wrong in his life.
- Of course not, ada - Legolas said with that charming smile that disarmed anyone. Including Thranduil himself.
- Why don't you go and irritate your wife? You have one. Go to her. In fact...poor thing.
- Because Evalin might force me to sleep on the couch. And I can't sleep well away from her - Legolas said, as if it were obvious. - Now pay attention! For an elven king, you're quite distracted - he teased.
- Fatherhood does that to any elf. I should have sent you to Rivendell when I had the chance. Elrond already has twins; you would be the third twin, and no one would know the difference. The different eyes and hair are mere details, and...
Legolas gave him an amused look, as if confirming his earlier claim about his father being distracted. Thranduil snorted; somehow his impossible son was turning the tables on him, when it was Legolas himself who hadn't told him why he'd come!
- Legolas. Speak directly!
- I came here for a reason! - Legolas gave him a sharp look. Then he paused for a moment, as if to announce the end of time. - Something very important is about to happen, ada! - The crown prince, the powerful warrior, the skilled diplomat, now played with both hands in his father's hair.
Thranduil could already feel the headache coming on.
- Oh, really? - Thranduil turned his face slightly, trying to look at his son. But not too much, so as not to disturb Legolas by playing with his hair.
- And it cannot be postponed!
- What can't be postponed?
- I was training the elite soldiers when I realized it. I stopped right there! Without thinking twice, I turned my back on everyone and came running here. Oh, this matter is so important to me. To us!
- What?
- I was so completely shocked when I realized it.- Legolas pulled away from Thranduil's shoulders and carefully freed his hands from his blond locks. Then he sat (dramatically. Did I say dramatically?) on the table, resting his elbows on his thighs and his face in his hands, but not before making sure his father saw the expression of deep concern on his face, saw his eyes shining with sad agony. Every movement calculated to be shockingly beautiful.
Suspicious and in an attempt to get a quicker answer, Thranduil stared at his son with his sternest expression. It didn't work. It never worked. Not with Legolas. Legolas simply lifted his face from his hands and sighed, unleashing the full power of those blue eyes on his father.
- Stop sighing like a teenager and tell me now, spawn of Sauron.
- I'm your child, Ada. You should be careful with insults where you're insulting yourself.
- Annoying elf! - the king once again reached for the bottle of wine, but Legolas took it and extended his arm, placing the bottle away from his father - Sometimes I wonder what the advantages of fatherhood are
- As I was saying - said Legolas solemnly - I was in the training grounds.
- And where should I go back to?" Thranduil grumbled and gave him an icy look, even though it didn't work.
- As I was saying," Legolas repeated with a small smile, tossing his long blond hair behind his shoulders - I was in the training grounds when...
- I'm going to disinherit you
- You won't. You love me. Can I now tell you what I realized when I was in the training camps?
- If I hear "training camps" one more time, I will personally set the whole place on fire.
- That would just create another problem on top of what we already have, ada
- And what problem do we already have????
- Good...
- Are we at war? Should patrol plans be changed? New spider nest locations? More orc prisoners? Come on, tell me!
- Good...
- May the Valar have mercy on my poor soul. This must be some kind of divine punishment. What sin have I committed?
- Well... there in the training camps, training the elite soldiers, I realized that...
- Realized what, Legolas Thranduilion?
Legolas gestured vaguely in the air and rose from the table, skirting Thranduil on his way to the door. He stopped, lifted his chin imposingly as only a crown prince could, and looked his father in the eye. He tilted his head with that irritating charm he used whenever he wanted to escape a scolding, then smiled.
A slow, charming smile that made courtesans and warriors sigh.
- Oh, it was nothing. I just wanted to bother you. Good morning and good work, Ada.
And Legolas departed, leaving a stunned king behind. At the sound of the door closing, another thud could be heard: the impact of Thranduil's forehead hitting the table.