Chapter Text
“Estel,” Elrond said slowly, raising one eyebrow. “There is mud on my floor.”
Estel, fully grown and shamelessly dripping with muck, shrugged. “It’ll get cleaned,” he said easily, shucking his outer clothing and ruining the fabric of Elrond’s study-couch. “I just missed you.”
Well, that was sweet, and Elrond had missed him too— the length between his visits grew longer each time. The sentiment would mean more if he was not getting mud all over his study.
“Okay, no,” Elrond said firmly, rising from his seat. He took Estel’s hand and drew him out the door, with not a single forlorn glance back to the mess, which warranted commendation. “I know I taught you to bathe properly. How do you even get like this?”
Estel just laughed brightly. Elrond’s heart warmed.
This did not stop him from tossing his foster-son fully-clothed into the bath he later prepared, with less grace than one of the newborn hunt-hounds.
He left to give Estel privacy, and toyed with the idea of returning to his work while he waited. Or, at least cleaning the mud from his study.
Elrond instead sat himself right in the seat in the hall outside, and waited with his hands in his lap.
When Estel at last emerged, clean and wet and bearing a wide smile, Elrond rose and held him close, head tucked under his chin.
“Now I can hold you,” Elrond said, faintly amused. “It’s that I don’t love you, I could just do without the mud.”
Estel snorted into his neck. “Missed you,” he said. Elrond tilted backwards and dropped into the chair again, tucking Estel’s gangly limbs into his lap like he had when he was young.
“I missed you too,” Elrond murmured into his hair. “Come sooner next time.”
He could feel Estel’s grin against the skin of his neck. “I will. I hope your study is ready for me again.”
Elrond thumped him on the head. “No.”
fin.