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The salty wind stirred the sheer curtains of Elros’s room and swept across the marble floor, leaving behind a chill feeling, the first cold of the coming night after a hot summers day.
Elrond slipped into the room before Elros and stole across the floor. He bent to study Vardamir where he lay in a little ship cradle of white wood. Vardamir smiled and held his hand up to Elrond. Elrond smiled back and lifted Vardamir from his cradle.
'Hi, baby,’ he murmured.
Vardamir cooed, assuming Elrond was his father, as was the problem with identical twins. Elrond smiled down at him.
'Hello, darling.'
'Da,' Vardamir said.
Elrond smiled and kissed him. 'Oh, you are the cutest baby.' He placed kisses on his nephew’s round cheeks. He smelt his hair. 'So cute, and he smells so good. Oh, I am just going to steal you.’
'Are you stealing my child?' Elros asked, in fake horror, from the doorway. Elrond had been fast in his dash to the child.
'Your child thinks I'm his father,' Elrond said. ‘So he’s my child now.'
Elros laughed. He went and looked over Elrond's shoulder at Vardamir.
'Who's your dad?' he asked Vardamir, putting him in quite the spot.
Elrond smiled. 'I am. I am your father, Vardamir.’
'Ahh,' Vardamir said, he looked between them confused and then took a handful of Elrond’s long black hair.
'Ah!’ Elrond cried out in delight. ‘He thinks he's my baby!' Elrond kissed the top of Vardamir’s head. ‘Good baby. You picked the right one.’
'My brother stole my baby,' Elros said to no one in particular.
‘I’m the far better choice.’ Elrond carried the baby to the window. He cuddled him there and pointed out at the silver sea beneath a misty white sunset. 'Look at our ship waiting, my son.'
Elros opened and then shut his mouth. He frowned. ‘Please don’t steal my son, dear. It would make for such a terrible scandal, and I would miss him so.’
‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ Elrond answered. ‘I think it makes for a very amusing scandal with a good end for me.’
Elros sighed deeply. Elrond laughed at him.
‘I’ll take care of your children forever, do you know that?’
‘I’d assumed, of course, given that you can’t stop stealing my child.’
Elrond looked up, pretending to be hurt. ‘I’ve only just started.’
‘You’re a terror.’
‘I am,’ Elrond said lightly. ‘And it would be a deep tragedy if I stopped.’
Elros kissed his cheek. ‘Hate you.’
Elrond smiled and lifted Vardamir up high enough that he could stare straight into his dark grey eyes.
‘I swear I’ll always love you,’ he said. ‘My son,’ he added and ducked away with a laugh as Elros swatted at him. ‘He chose me!’
Vardamir held his arms out to Elros. Elros took him quickly. ‘No, he wants me.’
Vardamir looked back at Elrond, confused, and held his arms out to him instead. Elrond took him back. Vardamir looked back at Elros and whined. He held his arms out to him.
Elros wrapped his arms around both Elrond and Vardamir.
‘You poor confused child,’ he murmured.
‘Maybe you’re gonna have to grow a beard now,’ Elrond teased.
Elros kissed Vardamir. ‘I have a terrible brother, but I have a suspicion he’s going to be the best uncle in the world.’
‘Best father,’ Elrond put in.
‘Stop stealing him.’
‘Never.’
‘Fine, steal him then. I’ll catch up on my sleep.’
Elrond sat on the windowsill. Elros sat beside him and rubbed Vardamir’s back as Elrond held him.
The sea shone silver.