“Elrohir!” Erestor raced across the garden, screaming the Elfling’s name, his heart pounding. The thin branch bent and cracked as the small child reached for the red apple, and Elrohir shrieked as his foothold fell away.

Erestor’s heart momentarily stopped altogether as he threw himself forward to catch the falling child, clutching the Elfling tightly against his chest and dropping to his knees. He gasped for breath as he cradled Elrohir in his arms and rested his chin on the small head.

The Elfling giggled and squirmed in Erestor’s arms. “Appo, Ewestow! Appo fo you!” He displayed the perfect red apple, still clinched in the fingers of one hand.

Erestor finally breathed a sigh of relief and pressed his lips to the Elfling’s soft brow. “Elrohir,” he whispered, “never, never climb a tree without your ada or nana or me or Glorfindel being with you. Promise me?”

Elrohir thought that was silly, but if that’s what his friend wanted him to do, he would. Nodding in agreement, he threw his short arms around Erestor’s neck. “I love you, Ewestow,” he whispered.

“I love you too, young one,” Erestor whispered back.

---

Erestor walked to the orchard, looking forward to spending a relaxing hour with his book. The trees were heavily laden with fruit and the ground was lush with the grasses and fallen leaves of autumn. Selecting a large, old apple tree, he settled at its base and opened his book.

Elrohir spied Erestor sitting below him, the unsuspecting counselor totally unaware of his presence. Slowly, carefully, he plucked a large apple, moving as stealthily as a Wood Elf. Cautiously wrapping his legs around the branch he was seated on, he let himself drop.

Erestor jumped and squealed in a most undignified manner when the upside down Peredhel appeared before his eyes. Elrohir’s face wore a grin, which appeared most peculiar in its upside-down condition.

“Apple, Erestor?” Elrohir asked, displaying the ripe fruit as he dangled before the startled counselor.

“I thought I told you never to climb trees without me or Glorfindel or your father watching you,” Erestor replied, trying to achieve a stern mien and failing abysmally.

Elrohir chuckled and dropped the apple into Erestor’s lap. With a little push with his legs, he propelled himself forward, grabbed the counselor around the waist and bestowed a passionate kiss on the soft lips. When the kiss ended, he released the dazed counselor and dropped from the tree. Landing beside the elder Elf, he pulled his mate into his arms and whispered, “I love you, Erestor.”

“I love you too, young one,” Erestor whispered back.