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“Is something burning?” Celebrían asked from where she stood at the kitchen bench, slicing strawberries.
Horrified, Elrond turned on his heel to check the bread oven. The scones at the back were, indeed, turning a very dark shade of brown. He hissed a curse and reached in to fish them out, dropping them one by one on the bench.
Celebrían gave him a longsuffering, dry look.
“That’s what that is for." She gestured to the wooden baker’s paddle hanging on the wall.
“Waste of time,” Elrond said, blowing on his scorched fingers and muttering a healing cantrip.
He’d gotten so focused on the hollandaise sauce for the eggs benedict that he’d forgotten to rotate the scones at the correct time, but at least breakfast didn’t look to be utterly unsalvageable. Celebrían reached over and picked through the pastries. Most of them were still perfectly good, with nice crunchy rosy-brown crusts. She selected those out of the pile and began to split them, enlisting Elrond to whip the cream.
The sun was only just rising over the peaks of the Misty Mountains as they climbed the stairs to their bedroom, trays in hand. Lindir was still fast asleep in bed, curled beneath the eiderdown duvet, dark hair fanned out on his pillow, face flushed from a long night’s sleep. They tiptoed in as quietly as they could and set out the trays on the bedside table.
“He’s perfect,” Celebrían murmured with a fond look cast Lindir’s way as she poured three cups of tea and sweetened each.
Elrond merely hummed in agreement and sank onto the bed to press a warm kiss to Lindir’s cheek.
Lindir stirred, leaning into the touch. His eyes fluttered open. He turned to give Elrond a sleepy smile and mindlessly sought a hug, which Elrond drew him into without a second thought.
Then, it registered.
Lindir’s face pinched in that cute way it always did and he observed a bit groggily: “You— you are already dressed?” He worked himself upright with a rising note of panic in his voice, “ Oh! Oh dear. I’ve overslept. I apologize—“
“—you have not,” Celebrían reassured with a little laugh. “We were up early.”
“We made you breakfast,” Elrond said.
Lindir’s eyes grew saucer-wide and luminous. His cheeks stained pink. He sat up just a little more and spied the trays on the bedside table. Celebrían handed him a steaming cup of tea and sat on the edge of the bed. Lindir took it, looking thoroughly befuddled.
“It’s not my begetting day,” he said, twisting around to look up at Elrond.
“No,” Elrond agreed, leaning against the headboard and guiding Lindir to rest back against his chest. “But you’ve been overworking yourself of late.“
“—if I’ve been neglecting anything—“ Lindir began anxiously.
“You haven’t,” Elrond interrupted gently. “We only thought that you ought to have someone look after you for a change.”
Lindir opened his mouth, no doubt to find some other reason to protest, but Celebrían pressed a finger to it before he could get very far and said: “Hush. Let us spoil you, mîr mín. I can think of no one in this city more deserving of it than you.”
“Elrond—” Lindir attempted.
Elrond chuckled and kissed his cheek. “I am spoiled by you both. Rest. I will command it if I must.”
That seemed to assuage him. Lindir’s spine melted. He took a sip of his tea, then mumbled into the rim of his cup: “ Are those strawberry scones?”
Celebrían and Elrond exchanged a knowing smile. Celebrían reached over to pick one up and set it on a plate and held it out of him. “We know how much you like them.”
Lindir accepted the plate, blushing an even deeper shade of red, looking pleased, and leaned over to set his teacup on the table so he could eat. They spend the morning that way: Lindir curled up into Elrond’s side, Celebrían opposite them both, crosslegged on the bed, enjoying the scones and eggs’ benedict and tea with more sugar than was probably strictly good for them. When Lindir stirred again to begin habitually collecting the dishes, Elrond stayed his hand and did it for him.
“Might we…?” Lindir fidgeted with his hands. Celebrían and Elrond were patient. At last he landed on: “Might we stay like this? Just for a little while?”
Elrond just smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Today? We will stay just like this for as long as you wish, my Lindir.”
Lindir’s shy little smile burst into something radiant. When he took the last strawberry scone for himself without asking first, Elrond and Celebrían counted themselves victorious.