Author's Note: It's a fluffy pointless little chapter, but it can't all be trials and kidnappings. There are times in between when they simply relax before riding off to do their respective 'six impossible things', and this is one of them. Probably just after the trial.

"Glorfindel?"

The seneschal turned towards the small, bewildered voice to see a very ill at ease Prince of Mirkwood staring anxiously at him. For a moment it almost seemed as if the centuries had not passed, and that the young blond was once more afraid for having done something he shouldn't have. But then time shifted back and the young elf was no longer so young, or so afraid of the Lord of Imladris' stern eye.

"Yes?"

"Glorfindel, I... is there no way to stop him?"

Glorfindel considered the options. "No," he said positively, turning to go before he said something he might regret later. A timid hand on his arm stopped him. "Yes?"

"Will he win?"

Again, Glorfindel considered the options. "Perhaps."

"Glorfindel!"

"What would you have me say? No, he is not yet up to full strength, but then he has fought many battles with grievous injuries, as have we all. No, there is no way to stop him because he is as stubborn as you are and has more right to claim insult than you ever did. Come that dawn, Elrond will fight Aurief. And he will not suffer us to question his judgement. May I have my arm back?"

Legolas let go but Glorfindel still felt chained to the spot. He dreaded hearing the next question- "You are angry with me. Why?"

He counted slowly from one to ten in Quenya, then in Sindarin, and finally in dwarvish for good measure before beginning his speech. "You were warned not to persist in this plan of yours to reclaim honour. In those six months that you observed Aurief, you did not ever think that he would scorn you for your chivalric behaviour? And did you not foresee that he would scorn not only you, but your reasons? Think, Legolas- your reason was Elrond, and Aurief has never shown him the least civility. How did you imagine Elrond would simply sit back and not lash out when the chance was presented to him? And you, pen-neth, certainly presented him with the chance!"

Legolas blinked large blue eyes. It seemed so obvious now that Glorfindel pointed it out, but in the weeks before this he hadn't seen this pattern. He'd been so lost to his own feelings that he had forgotten how this might affect those around him. The shimmer of stars in the gathering darkness did nothing to help his misery. Indeed, he felt as if there was lead in his chest for all the joy he had left to him.

Glorfindel sighed, watching worry and fear intermingle and colour those darkening blue eyes. There were times, he thought to himself, when he wondered whether his Lord had been quite sane to even imagine dragging a child so obviously sheltered into a relationship beyond the platonic.

"It is not your fault," he sighed heavily, picking up a stick of driftwood and absently swinging it at a pile of soft snow, "The damage always seems perfectly foreseeable in hindsight. Besides, this way will at least give him a legal avenue to work out his rage; in other circumstances he might have simply strangled him with his bare hands."

Legolas smiled but shivered as well. "He did look rather terrible," he agreed composedly.

"Are we speaking of Ada again?" Elrohir demanding, sneaking up behind the two with his twin, "Are we not done with this topic?"

Glorfindel turned a stern eye on the irrepressible two and frowned his best tutor's glare. All he got from it was a sweet smile of innocence from both Peredhils, smiles that he knew better than to believe.

"We were discussing whether there was not some way in which to stop Elrond reclaiming honour," Legolas explained, "Do you have any suggestions beyond kidnapping him again? It's not that I really mind kidnapping; it's just that all this snow tends to make him cold."

"We could ask him to use Vilya to clear it," Elladan teased.

Elrohir snorted and shook his head. "Just think of how that would sound- "Ada, could you please clear the snow from Imladris so that you won't suffer the cold when we kidnap you?" Yes, gwanur; he would feel most obliged to do as we ask!"

Glorfindel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming on. He loved these twin elves as if he were their second father, but sometimes they were simply too painful to listen to.

Legolas, however, let out a bark of laughter, a sound that he tempered as Arwen and Aragorn took precious moments from their short time together to join the group, holding hands and looking thoroughly moonstruck. Legolas felt very old as he thought back fondly to doing the same.

True, he had not exactly held hands and his entire relationship extended to four nights and a baby, but still! Legolas was fairly certain that it had been tempestuous, mutual and unutterably romantic... on second thoughts, he began to feel a little bit sheepish. After all, there had been that incident with his tongue and Elrond's fingers...

"Legolas, why are you blushing?"

Five very interested faces turned to look at his burning cheeks, which no amount of pride could chase away. In the end he took to drawing small circles in the snowy ground with the tip of his left shoe. "I was thinking," he murmured cryptically.

"Of a certain dark-haired Elf Lord with grey eyes?" Elladan teased.

Glorfindel bit back a smile as he tutted at the twins with mock disapproval. "Elladan! If Legolas must cheat on Elrond with Erestor, I am certain it need not be shouted out in public!"

"Erestor? Oh Valar, poor Thranduil will murder you most likely!"

"Hush! Ada approaches. Uh, and he is with King Thranduil, Legolas, so please stop looking quite so lovestruck."

"I was not-" was all that the indignant elf had time to say before the two reached hearing distance. "Ada, these elves are insufferable!"

"Naturally," Thranduil murmured, a smile playing somewhere around the corners of his lips, "Have I not always said so?"

Elrond suppressed a sigh and looked at his sons with a disillusioned eye. "What have you said now?" he accused.

"Ada! As if we would..."

"Never in our lives would we ever..."

"Be so disrespectful..."

"So obviously uncouth..."

"To a friend..."

"A person of rank no less..."

"A political ally..."

"The prince of mighty Mirkwood..."

"How can you think..."

"Why would you ever believe..."

"Such lies..."

"Such slander..."

A hand rose and effectively stopped the interweaving exclamations of mock outrage, causing the graceless two to collapse into the snow with muffled laughter. Business-like and very serious, he bent down and collected two handfuls of snow. One he solemnly handed to Arwen and then the two promptly proceeded to throw it at the twins.

Legolas and Thranduil shared a look as much as if to say- "these crazy Noldor!" and Glorfindel only made the strategic move of being out of the way of a potential snowball fight. Luckily for everyone concerned, Elladan and Elrohir declined the challenge and only stood up, brushing the snow from their clothes and stifling giggles. Elrond simply stood and debated whether he was allowed to enjoy the sight of his sons behaving like elflings or whether he should look stern and growl. He settled on smiling with a resigned sigh.

"You never learn," he deplored, before turning to Legolas, "My sons are notoriously bad mannered, Legolas. I assume they said something vaguely annoying?"

"Well..."

"Excellent! Let us put this whole dispute behind us."

Legolas looked mutinous and then reluctantly grinned, noticing the warm look in the grey eyes laughing at him. How, he wondered, had he ever believed that Elrond was only stern until the first time they had kissed? The Elf Lord was anything but, if one learned to read his eyes.

The touch of a hand on his shoulder startled the prince from his self-reflection and he turned a hasty look of innocent enquiry to his father, ignoring the smirks levelled in his direction. Indeed, Aragorn was having a mild coughing fit at his expense.

"Ion nin, please refrain from staring at others," Thranduil said blandly, "And I asked whether you had no qualms about this new turn of events?"

Legolas turned the thought over in his head, remembered Glorfindel's depressing advice and then shook his head.

"Very well then; perhaps we can leave the cold of the winter and retreat to a warmer room in the house? I believe the challenger is in danger of catching cold when out in snow."

Elrond glared at Thranduil, all the while knowing that it would have no effect, and predicted blackly that King Gorrofer had better not try to intercept him anywhere in the next few hours on pain of having his nose bitten off.