Elrond swept along the corridor in silence, his friend keeping up without difficulty. Glorfindel snatched a glance at his friend's face with its usual expression of calm. He was lucky to have such a good friend. One who would trust him in even the most doubtful circumstances.

"Thank you for your support Elrond." Glorfindel spoke cheerfully. "I was afraid that you might see things differently."

Elrond did not reply and stared straight ahead.

"It was a difficult situation." Glorfindel rambled on giving Elrond a friendly slap on the shoulder. Elrond's entire body stiffened. "We make a fine team."

Glorfindel began subconsciously walking in step with Elrond; their light footsteps still easily audible in the quiet halls. Gaining no response from his previous efforts Glorfindel attempted a second topic of conversation, one sure to capture his friend's interest.

"Celebrian is a very pretty girl." Glorfindel was happily oblivious of the dark red spots of colour appearing on Elrond's cheeks. "She has a fine. . . a healthy body."

Elrond halted awkwardly before resuming his pace, breaking the synchrony of step between the pair. His dark brows were steadily lowering and the grey eyes did not seem to be focussed on anything in particular.

"She swims well." Glorfindel added helpfully, skipping forwards a few steps to resume the bond. He was beginning to find the conversation a little laboured. "Is that not a fine thing in a woman?"

Scowling Elrond walked faster. Glorfindel increased his pace to match that of his friend. Elrond again lengthened his strides in an attempt to outstrip the blond elf. Glorfindel, who was a little taller than Elrond, had no trouble keeping up.

"You hurry. Have I delayed you?" Glorfindel asked innocently. "Perhaps I could assist with your duties this morning if you have lost time coming to my aid."

"That will not be necessary." Elrond spoke tightly, becoming aware that their flight through the hallways was drawing unwelcome attention. Turning sharply to the left he walked to his study and allowed the blond elf to enter first before shutting the door with a deliberately quiet click.

"Oh no, I would like to help." Glorfindel said earnestly, flopping himself down on the large ornate chair and helping himself to some grapes from a bowl on the desk. The foreboding silence caused him to turn to his friend. Elrond was glowering at him, fists clenched. "Why Elrond, does something bother you?"

Elrond did not reply, instead staring at Glorfindel with an expression not unlike a bull about to charge.

"Oh." Guiltily Glorfindel stood up and slipped the remainder of his handful of grapes back into the bowl. To his surprise this action did not appear to appease his friend, leaving him no choice but to try again. "I am sorry Elrond. But for the love of Eru, if you eat all these grapes you will not have a pleasant night."

Elrond's scowl only deepened and he advanced towards Glorfindel with carefully measured steps. Glorfindel took a few tentative steps backwards. Elrond followed him with an air of quiet calm. Glorfindel quickly sidestepped to put the width of the desk between himself and the Lord of Imladris. It seemed that he had mistaken Elrond's placid expression. He may have been calm, but it had been the calm before the storm.

"Elrond. My friend." Glorfindel hastily ran around the desk to avoid the half-elf. "Surely if we have a disagreement we can sit and discuss this like. . ."

Elrond raced around the obstacle and made a grab at the blond elf, resulting in an end to his pleas as he clambered over the table to escape. Deciding to write off the discussion as a dead loss, Glorfindel cast a glance at the door.

"Well Elrond." Glorfindel tried to keep a reasonable voice as he edged towards the doorway. "I see that we have come across a slight difference of opinion."

Elrond glared at him, his face full of barely contained rage.

"I assume that you have . . . er. . ." Glorfindel took three large steps backwards, his hands held out before him in a gesture of peace, ". . .misinterpreted my actions."

Elrond looked between Glorfindel and the door, measuring his progress towards escape. He began to stride decisively towards the exit, speaking in a voice full of the hurt that his anger had masked.

"You lied to me Glor."

"No! No!" Glorfindel stood for a moment too long denying the accusation. Then seeing his escape route being cut off he turned and ran towards the door.

"Oh no you do not!" Elrond muttered and raced after the blond elf. Glorfindel however had taken a good start and would have reached the door handle had Elrond not launched himself at his friend and tackled him with a ferocious battle cry. Both elf-lords hit the ground with a crash, Glorfindel slightly the worse off as he caught his forehead on the door handle as he fell.

"You promised me!" Elrond shouted angrily as he sat up, still keeping a firm grip around Glorfindel's knees.

Glorfindel looked at him with a dazed expression not helped by the slow beading of blood from the graze on his forehead. His kneecaps had taken the brunt of the impact and he narrowed his eyes with pain as he looked at his friend.

"Honestly Elrond, you must believe me. I did not intend for this to happen."

"No?" Elrond clenched his fist and taking advantage of his opponent's dizziness took aim. "Then what happened? Did she just happen to fall?"

"Well, yes. She did actually. . ." Glorfindel spoke with apologetic meekness, his attempt to duck far too little too late, as the fist collided with his jaw with a dull thud. His blue eyes wide as he attempted to block out the throbbing pain, he again held out his palms for peace. "Elrond. I did not. . ."

Elrond's fist this time found a soft target in his eye socket. Glorfindel winced in spite of himself.

"Elrond. Please?" Glorfindel made a last attempt at peace before diving to the side to avoid a third punch, and launching his own attack.

~*~

The first thing that the High King of the Noldor noticed when he entered the west hall in search of Elrond, was the atmosphere of awkward curiosity among the elves that lingered there. The second thing he noticed was the raised voices and thumps from Elrond's' study. His interest raised, he rapped lightly on the door and entered to find the two elf-lords deep in combat, each with a firm grip on the other as they struggled to hit their target. Thankfully neither had had the presence of mind to employ the paper knifes that rested on a bookshelf.

Gil-galad was across the room in five long strides and with a firm grasp on the back of the two tunics dragged them apart. Shoving Glorfindel into a corner and holding Elrond firmly he looked between the two flushed and angry faces with an amazed expression.

"By the Valar! What are you doing?"

Miraculously recognising the question as rhetorical Glorfindel kept silent; backing away from his attacker with the mournful expression of a puppy that had been reprimanded for something it had not done.

Elrond stood up straight, shaking off the hold on his tunic and unclenching his fists to allow a handful of long blond hairs to fall to the ground. Gil- galad raised his eyebrows in silent enquiry.

"I believe that I shall change before breakfast." Elrond assumed an air of dignity and stalked out of the room, every movement and breath carefully controlled.

"Glorfindel?" Gil-galad walked over to the blond elf who was staring morosely out of the window. "What happened?"

Glorfindel continued staring out of the window for a time, his eyes moving slightly as he thought.

"I do not know. He did not believe me." He sounded so forlorn that Gil- galad placed a hand on his arm to comfort him.

"You should go to the infirmary. Have that looked at." Gil-galad indicated the blond elf's swollen jaw.

"Nay. I am well." Glorfindel insisted, his voice changed slightly by the tenderness of his jaw. "I think I shall walk a little while."

"Would you like company?" Gil-galad offered, feeling a slight sense of discomfort about letting the elf disappear when in this mood.

"No. I wish to think." Glorfindel said quietly and left the room, drifting down to the gardens like a lost soul.