In all but a small portion of middle earth, elves were welcome visitors, but in Dwarven dwellings, they were not so well met. When crossing Dwarf lands, elves were often detained and questioned, and in the past, had even occasionally been tortured a bit for their trespasses. These greetings stirred trepidation in the stoutest elven heart, and continued the long-standing grudge between two of middle earth's most populace races.

Historically, a few friendships had developed between the two opposing peoples, but none that had done anything to change their prejudices against the other. They differed in many ways, and for those ways, each held disdain at the others' shortcomings. Dwarves being industrious, efficient brutes with strong backs and attention to duty, they considered the much slighter, although substantially taller elves frivolous, lazy and carefree. The gentler elves thought the dwarves to be callous bullies who, when finally taking a break from their endless toil, drank themselves into a frenzy and wreaked havoc at whatever establishment had been foolish enough to sell them the ale.

The elves alleged the dwarves to be monstrous and bullheaded. The dwarves countered by saying that the elves were fanciful, vain creatures. However, neither race was branded for wisdom.

The Dwarven Convention was in full swing, and every tribe had been invited. Thousands of dwarves had gathered on the mountain for the largest reunion the planet had ever witnessed. Only a few members of other races had attended, five halfling and two human wives who had risen above discrimination and discovered the benefits of a mixed marriage.

There was an elf present, which had not been well accepted, but the dwarf he accompanied was respected enough to suppress initial outrage. Gimli, son of Gloin, had brought a lovely male Silvan elf named Legolas, who was rumored to be the son of the king of Mirkwood. He and Gimli had been two of the nine walkers who had saved Middle Earth, along with four hobbits, two men, and Gandalf the wizard.

Legolas sat forlornly on a ledge overlooking a deep gully, and watched the stream of water that made its way down the face of the opposite slope. He heard Gimli's approach and turned to sigh at him. "I'm not well accepted here, my friend. Perhaps we should leave early and be on our way. I do not wish to inflict any further dissention."

Gimli shook his head in regret. "I'm sorry, my dear friend. You know better than anyone how stubborn my race is. I truly expected them to be more civil to you once they met you. I suppose I believed that because I fell in love with you, that so would they."

Legolas' sapphire eyes snapped up to meet the dwarf's fond gaze. "I feel the same for you, my sweet dwarf," he murmured. "I don't care if any other dwarf ever welcomes me, I will feel blessed as long as I have you."

Gimli smiled at him warmly. "Then you will always feel blessed, my Legolas," he said, and leaned to hug the seated elf.

Legolas' slender fingers threaded through Gimli's red hair as he held onto the hug. "I wish for more," he said softly against the dwarf's ear. "I would be even more blessed with a kiss."

Gimli chuckled in amused awkwardness. "A kiss?" As he faced him, he found himself staring into those lovely eyes and was taken in by the promise of love they held for him. Unable to speak his mind, because tender words do not come easily to dwarves, he plunged into a kiss.

~~

A scream interrupted their twelfth kiss (or perhaps their twentieth), and the elf's passionate expression changed suddenly to concern as he scanned the gully.

Gimli shielded his eyes against the setting sun and peered into the depth. "What do you see, my love? Who is down there?"

Legolas' eyes frantically searched, and finally located the screamer. "A child!" he cried. "In a tree below!"

"A dwarf? In a tree?"

"An animal frightened him," Legolas said, searching for the straightest path down. The face of the sloping cliff was very steep with damp moss hiding the rocky surface. He was uncertain of a safe descent, but a second scream and the growl of a large beast sent him immediately scaling down the mossy decline.

"Legolas, wait!" Gimli cried, unable to follow the agile elf.

Seventy feet above the gully, the moss snapped loose from the rock and Legolas plummeted headfirst to the sharp rocks below. Springing to his feet, ignoring his injuries, he raced across the space to the tree bow in hand. The dwarf child's feet dangled only inches from the bear's long claws. Legolas shouted loudly, hoping he would not have to kill the creature, and was relieved when it gave up its prey and lumbered quickly away.

Standing below the child, Legolas asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No," the dwarf boy answered, staring at him in awe. "But you are!"

Wiping the blood from his eyes, Legolas tried to assess the damage, but was rocked with dizziness.

"You've busted your head, you know," the child said matter-of-factly. "You might die, if elves can die."

"Oh, yes," Legolas said weakly. "Elves can die, but I do not wish to. For I have just found a reason to live!" And he fell into blackness.

~~

"How many stitches, mother?" a distressed voice asked in the darkness.

Another voice answered, "More than a few! He's a lucky elf, that's all I can say about the matter!"

Gimli's voice stirred Legolas to listen to the conversation. "He will heal? He'll be all right?"

"I can't speak for the elven race. He is frail, but for whatever reason, they live for ages. I'm sure he's not the first of his kind to take a fall. He should be fine."

Gimli's hand rested on Legolas' shoulder. "You may not be happy about my choices, mother, but he's the one I have chosen."

The long sigh was pronounced before a carefully worded response. "That you have found love at all is a miracle, son. Our race is not favored with many females, and there is little hope in your destiny for our lineage to continue. It's not important. That there will be no heirs matters not. That you have found love outside our race with an elf, no less, is beyond my principles, but not beyond my understanding. He is honorable. He saved your cousin, and he has gifted you with love. He is worthy."

Legolas opened his eyes and smiled at the dwarves. Gimli leaned to give him a gentle kiss, and the woman watched on with fond eyes.

"Welcome," she said.