It had been some days since the company had departed from Rivendell. At Legolas' request, he and Gimli had been allowed to share a boat. Usually Gimli rowed while Legolas played with the Dwarf's hair. There must have been a thousand tiny braids by now, and Gimli had given up any attempts to keep their relationship - such as it was - a secret.

He had also given up any attempt at wearing his helmet. Instead, he had turned the thing into a bit of a nest for Niben, as they had named the beardbug. It made sense, actually, since the pest had recently burrowed into the metal of the helmet, rendering it useless as headgear.

Gimli rowed steadily, letting the Elf's fingers in his hair relax him. He could feel a shifting in the boat and Legolas slid forward, his legs on either side of Gimli's. "What are you up to, Elf?" He asked gruffly.

"I need to get at the top," he replied cheerfully. Gimli could hear the Elf cooing at Niben, who had until then been resting atop Legolas' head, basking in the sun. "Can you hold him, Gimli?" Without waiting for an answer, Legolas reached around the Dwarf and set the bug on the patch of hair covering Gimli's chin. The dwarf could feel the creature wriggling down to nestle closer to his chest, which was warmer even than Legolas' sunwarmed head.

Some time later, they dragged the boats ashore, having reached an impasse. Frodo had wandered off alone to decide, and Legolas contented himself with braiding Gimli's hair, having long since finished with his beard. He occasionally found his eyes wandering, his hands twitching as he thought of the heads - and feet - of the others, but Gimli's hair and beard were more than enough to keep him happy. The fact that the Dwarf was obsessive about keeping his axes sharp didn't promote wandering hands, either.

Gimli felt Legolas' braiding come to a halt and the elf sighed behind him. "What's wrong?" he growled quietly.

"There's ... There's nothing left ..." Legolas sounded crushed, and his fingers gathered the tiny but heavy braids and slid through them.

"Don't be so sure, elf." Gimli stood and turned, his eyes sparkling as he looked down at the Elf. "Come with me, I'll prove you wrong."

Legolas looked Gimli up and down, his eyes growing wide as he realized the Dwarf's implications. "You ... you would ..." he was speechless as well as breathless.

"Aye," he replied softly. "But not here," his eyes darted about, indicating the others in the Company.

Legolas nodded and stood, trailing Gimli into the woods. Before he was out of sight, he turned to the company and excused them, offering the excuse that they were looking for firewood.

Pippin glanced at Merry, then at the large pile of firewood already gathered. "Isn't that where Boromir went?"

"It's a big people thing, Pippin," Merry replied, toying with the delicate hairs of his friend's feet.

After catching up with Gimli, Legolas saw the Dwarf beginning to take off his armor. When the arms were exposed, Legolas gasped softly, seeing the furrlike hair that covered them. A full fledged whimper left him as he could see thick tufts of hair peeking through the tunic, which, along with his breeches, was all the Dwarf remained wearing.

"Gimli," Legolas purred, kneeling before the Dwarf, splaying his hands over the broad, hirsute chest. "It's magnificent." His blue eyes shone as he met Gimli's brown ones. "You're magnificent." Legolas curled his fingers around Gimli's chest hair, tugging the Dwarf closer. Their first kiss was sweet. Their second sweeter. Pulling back from the third, they were both breathless.

It wasn't until some time later that either spoke again. "So ... Elves do have hair besides this," Gimli murmured, stroking Legolas' hair as it lay draped across his chest. Looking at the brown and gold intermingled hair, Gimli decided he'd never been so content. He was even disposed to liking Niben, who was currently nestled in the hair atop Legolas' head. It had been the only safe haven during the recent storm of activity between the two males.

"Yes, and I had not expected quite ... that reaction." Gimli could almost hear the blush in Legolas' voice. Reluctantly, the Elf sat up, "We should get back to camp before they wonder where we've got to."

Gimli laughed as he stood. "With all the noise one of us made, I doubt there's any question of our activities."

Legolas had the grace to blush to the tips of his recently chewed ears. "You are rather ... forceful, Gimli," he demurred.

"Didn't hear you complaining at the time," Gimli buckled his trousers and reached for his mail shirt.

"Nor am I now," he reached for Gimli's beard. Burying his fingers in the mass of braids, he tugged the Dwarf closer for a kiss before standing and pulling his own leggings on.

Fully dressed once again, they headed back towards camp, meeting a distressed looking Boromir on the way. The Man glanced quizzically at Legolas' head. He had not seen the strange creature before, and immediately took it for an enemy. "Legolas, hold still, there's something crawling on your head." He reached for Niben but was stopped by something lodged deep in his stomach. Looking down, the Son of the Steward was surprised to find an arrow sticking out of his torso. Legolas turned to see Gimli lowering the bow. "No one touches Niben," the Dwarf growled, grabbing another arrow from Legolas' quiver. At his lover's questioning look, he shrugged. "It was faster than the axe." He shot Boromir again, several more times.

"Gimli ... how can we ... what about?" Legolas was distressed, running his finger's through Gimli's beard to calm himself.

Gimli pulled the Elf in for a long kiss, stroking his hair possessively. "We'll tell them it was orcs."