Three months later, upon returning to Hithlum. . .

Rain hissed outside the windows. This was the army's second night home, and their second night of storm.

Slumped over the fireplace in their side of palace, Maedhros and Maglor wearily tried to make conversation, since sleep stayed away no matter what they tried.

"Did we lose any soldiers on the return trip?" Maedhros sighed, eyes riveted to the warm, flickering light.

"Fifteen of the five hundred we had left," Maglor replied with an equally absent tone.

"And the prisoners? Please tell me you have them under guard."

Maglor shot his brother a disgusted glance. "Neylo, really? They're only children!" He rolled his blue eyes and sighed, "They have no guard, but I've locked their room both nights."

"Good. The last thing I need is twins in my bed waking me up for a story," the redhead smirked. He stood up.

"Sleep?" Maglor blinked slowly.

Maedhros nodded.

"I envy you," Maglor's icy eyes sparkeld with mischief for a split second.

"Don't. Things tend to happen in my dreams," Maedhros said over his shoulder as he left.

Meanwhile, in a small spare bedroom, Elros and Elrond lay curled around one another, whimpering and shuddering every few seconds when lightning branded the sky and thunder shook the stars.

"I--I think the sky's gonna fall!" Elros hissed to his younger brother.

"Me too," Elrond cowered deeper into their shared blanket.

"I wish Nana was here," the older boy wrapped an arm around his brother, more for his own comfort than Elrond's.

"Me too," Elrond nodded, unable to do anything but agree.

A huge flash of lighting sliced through the dark. Thunder roared in its wake.

"DRAGIN!!!" screeched Elros.

"W-what's a d-dragin, brudder?" his brother asked. Nothing had ever scared his twin this badly.

"Uncle Cirdain told me once--it's huge, has wings, breathes fire, and makes crushing noises!"

"D-does it eat meat? Gulp. Us?!"

Elros nodded very slowly; they were now the most doomed boys in Arda.

"Wha' we gonna do?" The brown hair on Elrond's neck stood with fear and electricity. Darting his eyes across the room, the little boy peeked out from under a fold in the blanket, only for another claw of light to dart across the sky.

Elros looked at Elrond flatly. "Run," he whispered.

They tried the door; it was loose, for Maglor had actually lied.

The twins scurried for their lives along the dark palace halls. The twists and turns of torch-less stone walls made them dizzy with confusion, but they pitter-patted their way along the cheerless maze. By a bright stroke of lightning, they found one bedroom door ajar.

Elrond was the first inside. There was a little candle on meager table. Aside from that, there was a worm writing desk against the wall and a chest similar to the twins—less ornate and crowded with clothes that only a single, burnt out male could store.

"This must be where the dragin lives," Elros whispered with disgust when he came in after his brother.

"Smells bad," Elrond wrinkled his nose at the room's musty reek. Just then, a loud, tired snore rippled across the dimly lit room. "And sounds bad," he added.

CRASH!!

"Don't eat meeeeee!!" Elrond pleaded.

His brother immediately leapt into the rickety bed and snatched up the covers. "Get in, brudder!" he hissed.

They felt something roll beside them.

"WHAT!?! How are you here, runts?!" Maedhros awoke with a snarl.

"There's a dragin in our room!" the twins said simultaneously.

"A dragon?" Maedhros raised an eyebrow.

Elrond pounced on him softly. "Yeah, it's a dragin, and it's gonna eat me and Ros!"

The oldest son of Fëanor fought back laughter. "I've seen dragons up close, runts. This is a kitten's purr."

Elros forgot about the storm. His grey eyes sparkled with curiosity. "You saw a real dragin?"

"Oh yes," Maedhros sat up, still wishing they would lose interest and let him sleep.

"Tell us! Tell us! Pleeeeeease?" Elrond snuggled up to the massive elf.

Maedhros huffed. He looked into the boys' eager eyes, and couldn't help but remember a certain set of amber eyes all the way back in Aman who had begged their big brother for a story nearly every Setting of the Trees.

He smirked. "One story, runts."

"YAAAAAY! Thank you, thank you thank you!" Elros leapt on him, then bounced around the crumbling bed.

"Ssshh, Ros, I wanna hear!" Elrond yanked his twin down by the pants.

"Alright, settle down, I'm not infinitely patient, " the warrior grunted.

The boys froze, their sparkling eyes fixed on him and his every breath.

Maedhros cleared his throat. "Ahem, uh, Kano—I mean Maglor—usually does this. I haven't told a story in centuries. Alright, here goes. I was young in those days. Not small, like you. Naïve, mostly. And back then—" Maedhros glanced down at his right side, "I had both hands."

Elros looked at Elrond and shrugged, not really understanding the time frame.

"Er, as I was saying...there was not one dragon there, but TEN!"

"Noooo! Not ten!" Elrond wailed. "Please don't let 'em eat meeeee!" he clung to the balnlets and sobbed.

"Wait, nu-nu-nu-nu-no! Please stop cry—Eru, help me! I can't handle elflings!"

Elrond clung to Maedhros's shirt collar, praying that no dragons were nearby.

Maglor came running. "What on Arda? I heard screaming!"

"My bruder was cryin' cuz your brudder told us 'bout dragins," Elros explained, pointing to Elrond clamped to a flustered Maedhros.

"You? Tales? I'm surprised the boys aren't dead!" Maglor leaned against the door.

"I was—definitely not trying to bond. I needed them out of my room. You know me. Sleep, or cak lf it, and children, don't mix." Maedhros edged away from the twins.

"Suuuuuure," his brother smirked. "I'll be back in a moment—give 'em time to say goodbye."

"Wait, don't leave me!" his brother called after him. Maglor was out of reach by then.

When Maglor returned a few minutes later, he found what he was looking for.

Maedhros lay snoring obviously, one twin snuggled under each arm.

As promised! I waited a while just because I wanted more reads before updating. Hope you enjoy some of the upcoming fluff. Is that enough Maedhros, guys?