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the-really-lonely-mountain · 4 months

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Along for The Ride - Part 1

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Summary: Transported to Middle Earth, you must Join Thorin Oakenshield's Company as they travel to reclaim Erebor! OR: My take on the classic 'modern girl in Middle Earth' troupe. With this first installment, we are following the first movie of The Hobbit trilogy, and falling in love with Kili on the way! Slow burn with this one y'all, nothing spicy till the next work I'm afraid.

Tags: Kili / Reader, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Modern Character in Middle Earth, During The Hobbit, How Do I Tag, Canon-Typical Violence, Kíli Is a Little Shit (Tolkien), wrote this while I had covid, in like 4 days lol, implied soulmates, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Freeform, Holding Hands, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sleepy Cuddles, Protective Thorin Oakenshield Company Members, Dwalin & Thorin Oakenshield Friendship, Fluff and Humor, Domestic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Where In Middle-Earth Is Gandalf?, Hair Braiding, Dwarf Courting, My First Tumblr Fic, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fíli & Kíli & Thorin Live, Thorin Oakenshield Lives, Fíli Lives (Tolkien), Kíli Lives (Tolkien)

Word Count: 6,292

A/N: I was utterly appalled by the lack of Kili writers on here and Ao3. Y'all who write for Kili, I've been eating your crumbs like it's the shit (cause it is) for weeks, but one can't be sustained on crumbs alone so I've prepared a feast!! This is the first fic I've ever wanted to post, please be gentle. Comments, Likes, and Reblogs are loved and treasured!!

Tagging the amazing Kili writers I've been living off of for the past few weeks and who have inspired me so they might share in the feast as well lol go check out their stuff too: @mikathemonster, @cowboybeepboop, @littleenglishfangirl, @ethereal-inquisitor, @sweetpeakili

Photo credit: @immawriteyouthings

Divider credit: @cafekitsune

You were having one of those days that made you want to run away from everything. Instead, you walked on the golf course behind your house after hours; no phone, no umbrella, no bag this time, just you. You had what you could fit from your hands in your jean pockets as you walked the grassy field. Something twinkled and caught your eye on the far side of the fairway, there was a sparkle in the ferns. You walked over and began looking through the underbrush. Your hand grazed a smooth stick with a mangled end that encased a gem. You picked it up hoping for a better look but were transported to another world instead!

You appeared in the new world holding the staff. You were standing beside an older fellow with a pointy hat and long grey beard. You looked around and saw many other gruff, burly-looking men sitting in an encampment. They looked as confused as you. You did the only thing you could think of doing at that moment.

You turned around and took off running as fast as you could.

The wizard whose staff you were running away with asked the younger dwarves in his company to fetch you for him. They ran after you as quick as the wind. You dodged trees and hurdled bushes, making an all-around great effort. You were slowing down though. You stopped for a moment to catch your breath and plan. A twig snapped in the distance; quick footsteps closed in on you. You took off again. You needed a place to hide, a moment to think for God's sake. You were afforded no such luxuries. They were gaining, you were tiring. In your drained haste, you tripped on a bush which sent you stumbling and struggling to regain your footing given your momentum. You finally fell and scampered to take cover behind the roots of a great tree. Their footfalls grew slower and drew nearer. They were so close you could hear their words now.

“…She’s hiding, Fili,” one said much closer than you expected them to be.

You tried your best to steady your breathing. Your heartbeat was so loud you knew they could hear it.

“Stop scaring her Kili,” The other chastised. “You know she’s got to be scared half to death”. He walked past you, studying the ground. The other came up the other side of the tree doing the same.

You gripped the staff preparing yourself to be found. They turned in unison following the same tracks and looked up at you simultaneously. They were both panting but not as hard as you. Fili, the elder and more experienced of the two knelt where he stood a few yards from your curled trembling form.

“My name is Fili” He put his hand on his chest and motioned to the man next to him, “This is my brother Kili. We mean no harm to you.” He kept his distance and showed his empty hands. You stayed firmly pressed against the tree trunk, your chest heaving rapidly and your eyes as large as saucers. They could have tackled you, beaten you, or done any number of terrible violating things, but they kept their distance and spoke softly.

“What’s your name?” Kili asked, with a charming smile as he crouched beside his brother.

“Y/N,” you said in a shaky freaked-out tone.

“Y/N, that’s our friend wizard’s staff,” Fili said, “If anyone can figure out how you got here, he can.”

“But you gotta come back to camp with us,” Kili said reaching out his hand as a peace offering. So many horrible things could happen to you in the wild of this new world, but even more on top of that could if you didn’t go with them.

“How can I trust you?” You asked them. They looked at each other.

“How can we trust you?” Kili threw back at you with a suspicious look and recoiled his hand.

“Touche” you nodded returning his look.

“Seems we are at an impasse then,” Fili huffed at his brother, “You want to get home, and our wizard can do that. The only way that can happen is if you come with us back to our camp. We can only offer you our word and promise on our honor as dwarven princes that you will not be harmed by any in our company.”

You thought for a moment and nibbled at your lip, “You promise?” you looked up at Kili this time.

Kili looked you deep in the eyes, and very seriously said: “No harm will ever come to you, on my honor as a prince.”

You nodded at this, “Very well”, and tried to stand up but were stuck against the tree. The 2 men easily lifted you back to your feet. You followed them back to the camp.

You tried your best to hide behind Kili as you approached the wizard smoking a pipe. You peeked from around his shoulder at the other men in the camp. They were looking at you.

“Please sit, my dear,” The wizard said to you, motioning to the rest of the long log beside him “We have much to discuss.”

Your legs wouldn’t move you from behind the dwarf. You were still quite afraid.

“She seems to have taken a liking to you Kili,” the wizard said to him. The rest of the company let out a soft chuckle of agreement. You couldn’t see it from your angle, but Kili smiled and nodded.

“Sit down child, we aren’t going to hurt you,” One of the dwarves sitting across the fire said. You took a deep breath to gather your courage. One false move by any of the others would have you bolting again.

You moved from behind Kili and sat beside the wizard still clutching the staff.

“May I take that from you?” the wizard politely asked. You handed it to him. He explained how this type of thing had happened to a couple of his wizard friends before, but he didn’t know the remedy or spell to undo it or how to prevent it from happening again. You sat quietly listening and nodding. He explained to you and the rest of the company that he was leaving to travel to his friend and inquire about your predicament. In the meantime, he convinced the company and its leader, Thorin you came to know, to keep you in the company as an innocent bystander to help around the camp and whatnot till Gandalf (the wizard) could figure out what to do with you. Gandalf gave you a small sack of coins, instructing you to get a bag, a bedroll, clothes, and any other necessities you’ll need at the next town.

As the fire died down so did the company. They got out their bedrolls and sleeping gear like a synchronized unit and as quickly as they started, they were all asleep snoring softly. Kili had first watch and was sitting on the ground next to you leaning against the log you were on. You slid onto the ground next to him curled with your knees to your chest. He looked over at you. You looked over at him.

“I don’t know what to do now,” you said not hiding the waver in your voice very well, “I’m so scared.” You couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. You cried into your hands as quietly as possible, so you didn’t disturb and anger the others. If you had looked at Kili, you would have seen him in a slight panic and at a loss for what to do, he didn’t know how to console crying women. You sobbed into your hands knowing you just needed to let it all out then you’d be fine. Kili looked at the fire and put his hand on your back. Physical contact of any kind back home was next to nonexistent, it felt nice to know he was trying his best to comfort you. After a few minutes of uncontrollable sobbing and hiccups wracking through you, you began calming down. When you were able to breathe properly, you wiped your face even though tears kept falling. You sniffled and rested your chin on your knees letting the tears fall silently now.

“Do you feel better?” Kili guessed in a soft tone and rubbed his hand on your back.

You nodded at him, “Yes” You took a deep breath and wiped the tears from your eyes as best you could, “Thank you” You looked at him and smiled a little. He smiled and nodded too, still concerned but returned his hand to his lap. You sniffled and looked at the fire.

“Really though I don’t know what I’m doing,” you said. “I’ve never been camping before,” you paused to think. “I don’t know how to fight or use a sword or make a fire or hunt or-or—” You were working yourself up and starting to cry again. Kili cut you off before you could start sobbing hysterically again.

“WOAH! Woah!!” alarmed, he put his hand on your back again, “It’s ok. Calm down.” he said harshly, “Take a deep breath, that seemed to help last time,” He mumbled the last part under his breath. That made you smile despite yourself.

“You don’t know how to console someone, do you?” You took a deep breath and wiped your eyes. He shook his head and took his hand from you. “Seems we’re both out of our depth then,” you said making the mood a bit lighter.

“In my defense, I was raised in a pack of manly men,” He smiled fondly “It’s a wonder my mother got through to me at all.”

“So, you do have a mother,” you said, making him look at you quizzically “I assumed you were raised by wolves,” You shrugged. He laughed and you couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re not completely wrong about that,” He smiled, looking over at the men across the fire. There was a momentary silence. “We’ll teach you those things, how to fight, how to make a fire, all that,” He looked over at you, “I mean who knows how long Gandalf will be, and you’d have to be pretty stupid not to pick up a thing or two even from this bunch.” You smiled and nodded; this calmed your nerves a little. A moment of silence fell between you again.

“Is it ok if I stay up with you?” you innocently asked, “I’m not very tired.”

“Sure,” he said casually, “May I ask about your life back in your world?”

“OK,” You nodded.

“What do you do?” he asked, you gave him a weird look. “Like for a living, how do you make money, how do you spend your days?”

“I’m a student at university at the moment.” He looked at you confused this time. “I spend my days studying at a desk, it’s boring and dull” You quickly summed up.

“Ooohh,” He said, “No wonder you couldn’t run for shit,” He laughed.

You scoffed, “So rude,” You huffed, failing to hide your smile. He was glad you were cheering up a bit.

“If it’s so boring and dull, why don’t you do something else?” He asked, naive to your world and its ways.

“It’s…complicated” you sighed “I have to study to do what I want to do for work even though I don’t want to work or study or do any of that, but I have to make money somehow because I need money to do stuff and buy things because the world I live in is shitty that way and it’s so frustrating sometimes,” you gritted your teeth to make your point.

“Well, what do you want to do then?” he asked, trying to understand your strange world.

“Sit on the beach,” You said without hesitation “…Listen to the waves…sleep on a blanket in the sun,” you sighed wistfully. “Die happy and rich.”

“That does sound nice” He agreed “I’ve never seen a tropical ocean before, the seas near the Blue Mountains are all frozen over.”

“Surely there’s a beach somewhere in this world,” You refused to believe the universe sent you to a world without a beach.

“There is! I’ve heard stories of Southern Gondor, where the sun makes the sand hotter than forges, and the water falls over the horizon in every direction.”

“That sounds like the beaches from back home,” You felt a little bad for him. You’d been practically raised at the beach because it was the only free thing to do in your hometown.

“May I ask a question?” you asked this time.

“Of course,” He shifted to lean against the log and face you.

“What are you guys doing?” you gestured to the camp around you.

“We are on a quest!” He said proudly, “A quest to take back our ancestral home from the dread dragon Smaug,” he said in a sinister voice. He explained about Erebor and the dragon and Thorin to catch you up. You listened, nodded, and took it all in, asking questions and giggling at his jokes. He was a decent storyteller.

“And I’m just along for the ride I guess,” you said deflated about your role in all this.

“If it’s any consolation, you’re quite good company,” He indulged; Kili always got so lonely on watch.

“Yay!” you said over a yawn, “I’d hate to bore any of you,” you replied, genuinely fearing your stories may never measure up to theirs. You leaned over and laid on the soft grass, curled in a ball with your arm as a pillow. You tried not to shiver from the cool evening breeze. You heard some shuffling of fabric, and then a blanket fluttered on top of you. You looked at Kili who smiled and said: “I’m quite the furnace at night, I’ll be fine without it,” he reassured.

“Thank you,” you said over another yawn. You didn’t expect to fall asleep but the next thing you knew it was early morning and you were awoken by the clanging of pots and spoons. You sat up and looked around to get your bearings.

‘Still in the same strange world’ you thought not fully awake. Kili appeared, greeted you good morning, and handed you a bowl of white goo he called porridge. You thanked him and ate your breakfast in silence like the rest of the company. While the men packed up the camp you were tasked with washing the dishes in a nearby stream. You were struck by the beauty of the incredible woods around you even in the dim morning light. You returned to camp and put the dishes in their bag, which was taken by one of your new companions. You felt out of place without a task among everyone who knew what to do. Balin saw you standing in the middle of the camp looking lost. He asked Thorin what they were to do about their lack of an extra pony for you. They decided you could ride with Kili seeing as he was the lightest (next to Bilbo) and his pony could take the weight and because you seemed the most comfortable with him. The old dwarf with a white-grey beard curled up at the ends approached you with as much of a nonthreatening air as he could muster.

“Good morning, my dear!” He greeted you with a chipper smile. “My name is Balin”

“Good morning,” you replied. “I don't quite know what I’m to be doing,” you said sheepishly.

“That’s ok lass, it’ll come with time,” he reassured, “For now, you’ll ride with Kili so you can see if he needs help getting ready.”

“Ok,” You nodded and started walking in Kili’s direction. You stopped in front of his pony and petted its nose and down its neck. “I’ve been told that I’m to ride with you,” you said timidly looking at him adjust his saddle. Kili looked at you and nodded.

“I’ll be happy to have a lovely conversation again” He smiled and looked back at his saddle, making the final arrangements.

He turned to you and said, “I’ll give you a leg up,” And jabbed a thumb at his pony. You nodded and approached the animal. You put your hands on the ponies back and bent your leg waiting for him to help. He leaned forward so he could whisper in your ear: “Wrong leg”. You blushed quite profusely at that and switched legs. He heaved you with such strength he nearly threw you over the other side of the pony. You made yourself comfortable behind the saddle before he hooked his foot in the stirrup and carefully mounted so he didn’t knock you off.

“You ok?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Yep!” you smiled. He nodded. You were excited to see new lands even though you feared what they harbored.

“If you need to hold on to me when we get going you can,” he said, making you both blush despite yourselves.

A few moments later Thorin called out: “Company ready?” in a deep booming voice, “Aye!” They all replied in unison. “Company, move out!” He bellowed and urged his pony forward. The rest followed behind him one by one. When your animal lurched forward you grabbed Kili's waist for dear life. The company was silent till they got to the end of the forest. You had your cheek pressed against Kili’s shoulder and your chest against his back. The fur of his coat was very soft against your face as you turned your head to look over his other shoulder. You yawned but didn’t realize you did it right next to his ear and breathed down his neck. He determinedly kept his eyes on the pony ahead of him to keep the blush rising in his chest at bay.

“You can take a nap if you need to,” he said over his shoulder in a soft voice for only you to hear.

“That sounds like a good idea,” You yawned again. You buried your face in the soft spare fabric of the hood on his back and cuddled closer to him to rest your head on his shoulder. You closed your eyes and sleep swiftly took you. He knew this because he could feel your breathing slow on the back of his neck. He was happy you could sleep and couldn’t help his smile. You shifted now and then, turning your head one way then a while later turning it the other. Kili tried not to talk or move too much in fear of waking your delicate slumber. By midday, you felt very well rested. You took a deep breath and released your grasp on Kili to stretch your arms above your head, arching your back to wake yourself up. You quickly slipped your arms around him again, so you didn’t fall.

“Good morning!” He chirped, “Well afternoon really,” he corrected with a smile, “Sleep well?”

“Mhm,” You hummed against his shoulder “I haven’t slept that well in a long time,” you said thinking back on the restless weeks before your arrival in Middle Earth.

“Good,” He nodded. “Happy I could be of service.”

“Yes, you make quite the comfortable bed,” you replied.

An easy silence settled between you for a while. You contentedly watched the landscape pass by while he kept the pony on the path.

“What’s a good weapon for a beginner?” You asked knowing you needed to start wrapping your head around the fact that you could be stuck here forever and needed to protect yourself. He thought about that for a few moments.

“I’d have to say a bow,” He shrugged, “I don’t know honestly, lemme ask Fili,” he kicked up his pony to walk faster to be next to his brother. “What is the best weapon for a beginner?” He asked him. Fili glanced at you and thought for a moment.

“Hmm I think a sword would be easiest,” He replied, contradicting his brother.

“A sword?!” Kili said incredulously “No that’s one of the harder ones,” He swatted his hand as if to swipe the words from the air.

Fili scoffed “For you maybe,” he said barely keeping his teasing smile under control “But not to the rest of us, my weapon-challenged brother.” That made you giggle. Kili huffed and pulled his horse back, so he wasn’t beside his brother anymore.

“Are you that bad with a sword?” you asked, trying not to laugh too much.

“No!” he exclaimed, “I’m just better with a bow and arrows,” he pouted.

‘Awe he’s so cute when he pouts’ Your thought took you by surprise.

“Perhaps you can teach me, Archer,” Your voice was lower than you intended, making you both blush. Your breath ghosted over his ear making him shiver just a little. He turned his head to look at you over his shoulder, his face so close to yours. He looked at your lips then deep into your eyes holding eye contact.

“Maybe I will,” he said in a deep gruff whisper that made you gasp and goosebumps rush over your skin. He turned back and smiled; proud he could get a rise out of you. You huffed and distanced yourself from him by leaning back, needing the space to calm down.

As night drew closer, Thorin led the company to the edge of a forest and found a shallow cave, more like a cliff overhang to make camp for the night. He told Fili and Kili to take care of the ponies and Oin and Gloin to make the fire. After the meals had been handed out Thorin told you to take Fili and Kili a bowl. You walked through the forest and found them looking at a downed tree in panicked awe.

“Something took 4 of the ponies,” Fili said to you, hoping you’d have the answer to their predicament.

“Yes, and…” you nodded at them trying not to panic yourself “What are you going to do about it since it’s your problem?”

The brothers decided to see what took the ponies and if they could handle it themselves, no need to worry Thorin, right? You followed them as they tracked the pony-nappers. Kili hid behind a tree and peeked around, you hid behind him and peeked over his shoulder. 3 large trolls were something to worry about, and a sight that made that dreadful feeling drop from your chest into your stomach. Your grip on Kili’s coat tightened.

He turned to you and said in barely a whisper, “Go back to camp and tell Thorin”.

Fili was immediately against it, huffing and puffing from behind his tree. Kili shrugged and motioned with hands as if to say, ‘What else would you have us do?!’ Fili huffed again and snuck around the tree. He tried to cut the rope fence with his sword, but he took too long. The trolls caught him. They were deciding ways to eat him when Kili looked at you in alarm and told you to go back to camp. You ran as fast as you could.

“Ponies! Big grey troll things took the ponies!” You said out of breath pointing the way you just came “Fili…in…danger”. Thorin cursed in dwarfish and rallied the company. Balin told you to keep your distance, so you didn’t get caught in the fight.

The dwarves fought bravely but were captured. Bilbo bid for more time while you thought of a plan. You heard the trolls complain about daylight coming and that gave you an idea. You saw the trolls had made camp in the shade cast by a large boulder. You wedged a branch under the rock and used the leverage to try to roll it. It was very heavy, and you were not. It took everything in your power to push the branch to roll the boulder down the ditch edge it rested on. The trolls were washed in sunlight, turning them to stone and freeing the company. They cheered when you stepped over the branch and into the clearing. You helped them from their confines and smiled and blushed when they praised your good job.

Back at camp the company gathered their things and discussed what to do now. Fili suddenly hushed the company.

“Warg howls in the distance,” He whispered to Thorin “They are coming!”

“RUN!” Thorin yelled at the company. Following Thorin everyone started running. You all ran as fast as you could onto a hilly plane sprinkled with trees and boulders. You ran and ran till the Wargs finally caught up. They began to encircle you. The company fought the beasts, taking them down as still more came at them. You went to hide behind the rock formation but fell into it instead. You climbed out as the Wargs were closing in.

“Down here!” you called “There’s a passage this way!” you slid down to make room for the others. Thorin was the last one, as he slid down a horn was blown near the entrance to the passage.

“I can’t see where it leads, do we follow?” One of the dwarves asked.

“Yes! We follow!” Thorin barged through the dwarves and led the company through the narrow pass. You all walked for a few minutes, but then Thorin rounded a corner and slowed as he realized where he’d unwittingly led the company. The rest kept walking around him, but Bilbo stopped and said in admiration: “Rivendell”. You stopped as well to take in the view before you. It was the most beautiful thing you had ever seen. A small town on the side of a mountain with water flowing from beneath some of the glittering structures.

As Thorin led the company over a bridge, you grabbed Kili’s arm to steady yourself as you looked around and took in the ornate statues and architecture of the front steps of a large building. A man much taller than you or the dwarves approached the group.

“We would like to speak to Lord Elrond,” Thorin said through gritted teeth. He was swallowing his pride for the betterment of the quest, that much was clear through his clenched fists and tense shoulders.

“Lord Elrond isn’t here,” The elf said regretfully.

“Then where is he?” Thorin’s patience was growing thin. A horn was sounded on the other side of the bridge you’d just crossed. Everyone turned to see a group of horses galloping towards them. The dwarves began shouting in dwarfish and closing ranks with their weapons ready for battle. You were pushed into the very center of the circle as tall horses and riders circled you. They stopped suddenly and the one on a black horse dismounted.

“My Lord Elrond,” The elf who first approached you said with a bow.

“Lindir” Elrond bowed his head at him then turned to the leader of your group, “Welcome Thorin son of Thrain,” He looked over the dwarf “You have your grandfather's bearings.”

“I’m afraid I know you only from the stories my grandfather told me,” Thorin was doing his best to be polite. (You were later informed that the stories were mostly about him being a ninny.)

“I’d like to offer you and your company a taste of our elfish hospitality,” Elrond said with a warm smile.

“Does that mean we’ll eat?!” Bombur called from the back. The company chuckled at him.

“Yes Bombur, that means we’ll eat” Dori replied. The company cheered at the prospect of a full belly and a warm hearth.

Not long after, you were sat next to Bilbo and Kili at a large table. The salad appetizers were very good despite the dwarves not liking green food very much. You giggled at their jokes about how bad the music was or how they wanted chips and meat. Thorin was sat at another table across from Elrond discussing something you couldn’t hear, but you could tell it pained Thorin to be in the other man's presence.

You turned to Kili beside you. “Thorin looks constipated,” you said in a low voice barely containing your laughter “He can’t even pretend to be enjoying this”. Kili looked over at his uncle and laughed with you.

When the meals were served there was boisterous laughter and general dwarfish shenanigans, the usual at any merry dwarfish gathering. Bilbo looked like he was having PTSD from when they were doing the same at his house at the beginning of the quest. At the end of the meal, Thorin and Balin disappeared with Elrond to discuss a map. You asked Kili if he would escort you to the markets with as much innocent girlish need as you could muster to solidify your security. He agreed and walked with you through the corridors and to the market. He helped you get a fair price on a bag, a blanket, and a bedroll. The next thing you needed was clothes to blend in.

“What do the women around here wear exactly?” You asked him. He shrugged.

“It depends, I guess” He had his hands shoved in his pockets as he followed you around the clothing stalls like a puppy.

“Gee, that’s a big help.” You teased.

After some more wandering you found a stall selling clothes that looked your size. You purchased a dark blue form-fitting tunic that stopped above your knees and had slits on the sides that went up to your hips. It paired very nicely with the brown pants and brown coat with dark blue highlights you bought as well. Kili helped barter with the merchants since you didn’t know the fair price of things here. In another section of the market, you bought spools of black, blue, and pink thread. You put your belongings in your new bag.

“Are we done?” Kili asked, sounding slightly annoyed. He was ready to go back to the others and be away from so many elves. You sighed and rolled your eyes playfully and nodded. He led you through the busy crowded markets by holding your hand. You were thankful he was in front of you so he couldn’t see your blush. You made it back to the group, who had set up camp in a courtyard garden at the end of a hallway. Just as you arrived two female and two male elves came down the hallway.

One of the males stepped forward, “The bathhouse is ready for you now” he said to the group.

“Bath?! We don’t need no stinkin’ bath!” Exclaimed a dwarf from behind the fire. The rest heartily agreed, not ready to drop their pants on elvish soil it seemed.

“I’d like a bath” you timidly said, not wanting to make a fuss but very much wanting to be clean.

“Very good mistress dwarf, if you’ll follow us,” one of the female elves said. You were tense as you followed the four elves down the corridor, not sure what you were doing.

“You best go with her lad,” Dori said to Kili, “You never know what an elf might try to pull.” He glared at the back of the elves as they walked away. Kili nodded and ran after you.

“Y/N!” He called making you and the elves stop.

“Oh, change your mind, Kili?” You asked with an innocent smile, happy to have his company.

“Yeah, I guess so.” He smiled too.

You were led to a large door that opened into a covered hot spring that flowed over the balcony to create an assumably gorgeous waterfall. Columns lined the outer edge of the room which was split down the middle by a cloth partition. The male elves walked to one side of the divider with Kili in tow, while the females walked to the other. The elves asked that you wash under the heated shower of water off to the side before entering the hot springs. They left you to your own devices.

“I’ve never seen anything like this have you?” You asked Kili across the large room.

“No” He smiled at the wonder in your voice from seeing new things and making discoveries. He thought it was very cute.

You placed your bag and new clothes on the vanity in the corner. You undressed and stepped under the warm shower. You used the bar of soap you found to wash your hair and body. It was the best-smelling soap you’d ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

“Hey, Kee?” You hollered.

“Yeah?” He yelled back.

“Do you plan on keeping your soap?”

“No…Why?”

“I’ll take it then. I’ll need extra anyway,” And you were so happy you did. That soap made your hair silky smooth and stronger than ever. You rinsed the suds away then stepped into the hot springs.

It felt luxurious. You couldn’t help but moan a little as the heat pulled every knot and tense muscle from you. Relaxed, you floated in the steamy water.

“You still there Kili?” you asked suddenly nervous he’d left you.

“Yeah, I’m here” He replied, “We shouldn’t take too much longer though, Thorin could be back any minute and who knows what kind of a mood he’ll be in.”

That made you enjoy the bath a little faster. Not long after you began drying off and getting dressed. You took the hairbrush and beads and other miscellaneous hair trinkets that were on the vanity. You looked in the mirror at your new outfit. It fit as you thought, though a little snugger in some places than others, hugging your curves to allow for movement yet still baggy for breathability and insulation. Overall, a nice ensemble.

“Ready Y/N?” Kili asked from across the partition.

“Yeah, you can come over, I’m just packing my things.” You replied, folding your old clothes, and putting them in your bag with the rest of your things.

“Here’s the soap” He handed it to you.

“Thanks!” You smiled at him; you simply wrote his flushed cheeks off to the hot water. When you stood, he was able to get a much better look at you in your new clothes.

“A perfect fit I see” He smiled, looking you up and down. He couldn’t help but imagine what you’d look like wearing nothing but his tunic. A line of thought he blushed at and quickly willed away.

“Does it look alright? I don’t know how it’s supposed to fit” You fussed with the hems and the folds trying to make them lay better. He grabbed your hand to make you stop fidgeting.

“You look great,” he said with a genuine smile. You smiled and nodded your appreciation.

You walked back to camp, making moneyless bets on what mood Thorin would be in when he returned.

As you approached Fili saw you in your new outfit and said, “Well look at this…” Making the rest of the company look at you too, “Our wee lass looks like a bona fide middle earther now!” They cheered at your near-complete indoctrination.

“Now she just needs to learn how to fight like one.” Bofur quipped from beside the fire.

“Then I wouldn’t need any of you to protect me!” You put the back of your hand to your forehead feigning a damsel in distress, making the company laugh. You sat on the ground beside the long chair Kili was now examining his weapons in and leaned against it. You held out a stone fish figurine to him.

“As a thank you for helping me” you cleared your throat “…And for being my friend.” You couldn’t meet his eyes, but you knew he was smiling a little around his reed pipe. He took it from your open hands. You know it wasn’t much but it’s all you could offer.

“Maybe one day you can return it to the ocean,” you said, referring to your previous conversation.

“Maybe I will,” he smiled down at you with genuine fondness.

“Bombur!” Bofur called before throwing a sausage to his cousin. The table, which took skilled elfin craftsman months, even years to craft and carve out of solid wood, collapsed under the massive weight of Bombur. Everyone erupted in laughter, it was nice to be part of the group and share in the merriment.

Thorin stopped Balin on their way back to the camp, “We should leave her here,” He said, “She is a liability.”

Balin had a terrible sinking feeling in his round tummy when he thought of splitting you up.

“So what if she is, Thorin?” Balin said near pleading. “Have you ever seen your nephew that happy or open with a girl that quick before? I’ve never seen the lad so engaged in a conversation that didn’t have to do with weapons before last night. So what if she dies on our quest, at least we gave them a chance to happen, and if fate finds their pairing favorable it will all work out!” Balin was desperate to keep you and the young prince together if only to keep the sinking feeling at bay.

Thorin huffed, “Very well, but her blood is not on my hands,” He walked away and into the camp.

Thorin and Balin returned, and the tone became slightly more serious—slightly. The company settled and laid their bedrolls in the grassy parts of the garden. You laid yours out as well and prepped for sleep by removing your shoes and coat. The night was warm enough that your blanket would suffice. You looked up at the stars wondering if any of the constellations were the same as back home. You cuddled your coat to your chest relishing the feel of the soft fabric. The low conversation between Fili and Kili, while they sat on watch across the fire, lulled you to sleep.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

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studiohjibble · 18 days

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The helm sat on a satin cushion in an acrylic case in Prowl’s backseat, separated from Ironhide by the police grate. He would look at it through the rearview mirror, to stare at the dead optics of Megatron. He digs out his cigarettes, and Ironhide places one in between his lips. It hangs in his mouth, clicking the zippo back and forth before sparking it and lighting the end.

Taken from Mercy-Freeform Chapter 23.

#fanart #sketch #fanfiction #transformers #maccadam #digital art #my art #Another case of me being so normal about my work #mercy-freeform #also apologies to any first time readers who decide to check it out from this post.#this is a major spoiler

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nostalgia-tblr · 3 months

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risking Discourse here perhaps but how do yous interpret "Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings"? i know it's supposed to mean what it says on the tin (ie that the creator chose not to use the usual warnings system for some unspecified reason) but since that includes both "this fic is full of fucked up shit but i don't want to spoiler anyone for it" AND "there's nothing in this that would need one of the required warnings, i just can't be arsed to use them" i am wondering if this is a bit like Dead Dove where there's a bit of drift in the meaning at least for some people?

#ao3 #question is for both readers and writers btw #as there's no point in writers all thinking it means one thing if the readers disagree with that consensus #full disclosure: i've only CNTW myself to conceal whether or not someone dies in the end #which i am sure many people would think is twatty of me but that's kind of why i'm asking (in general)#oh and once i used it because i was very unsure if the dubcon had edged into non-con and i didn't want to get caught out by subjectivity #so i slapped some explanatory freeform tags/a note on that and CNTW so i wouldnt get banned if i'd made the wrong call on it #fandom

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randomanimehoe · 5 months

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Yurio x Reader who grew up in agriculture. Part 2!

Part 2

Alrighty everyone I’m back with round two of this post. Since y’all seemed to like it I made a part two! Enjoy :3

Description: Yurio attempts to help with farm chores: it doesn’t go well

One day during the off season you and Yuri made plans for him to come visit your family. After settling in for a few days you tell Yuri that you have chores to take care of due to the fair coming up. Out of curiosity (and not wanting to be left alone with your dad who barely spoke) he decided to join you.

he didn’t know what he was getting into

Wasn’t expecting to be woken up at the ass crack of dawn but you know, he wanted to help. He would slowly get dressed and trudge into the kitchen to find you waiting with a hot cup of coffee for him- which he down’s gratefully

After y’all head to the barn to feed the animals. He watched with great interest as you show him the clipboard of the different nutritional needs of all the different animals and is amazed at how fast you prepare the feed. Seriously he’s only mixed up the feed for one horse and you’ve already fed 4!

Once the horses are fed the both of you bring hay out to the cattle(he struggles lifting the bales)

Finally it’s time for his least favorite animals: chickens

He’s hesitant to enter the chicken coop. He says it smells…

He’s actually afraid of your larger laying hen Bethany who chased him around the day he arrived

You laugh and tell him to quite whining.

He’s shaking as he’s filling the feeder and cleaning the water dish.

You roll your eyes and collect the eggs.

Once morning chores are done it’s time for breakfast and oh boy he has never been so hungry. (I think he normally has a very small, light breakfast because of skating. )

You both go inside to find your mother and sister setting the table with trays of eggs, bacon, French toast and fruit. You have to drag him to go wash up because he’s standing there with him mouth open, practically drooling. You can bet that once he finally gets to get he practically chokes with how fast he’s eating…

The day isn’t over yet though.

After breakfast it’s time to tend to the family garden while your dad takes care of the larger fields of feed corn he’s growing. Even still, that family garden is a lot bigger than Yuri anticipated….

Still he has fun weeding. The both of you make it into a game of who can pull the most weeds within a certain time period. You guys just repeat that until all the weeds are gone which takes about an hour.

After that you divide and conquer with the watering: he does the smaller plants with the watering can while you handle the larger ones with the garden hose.

It’s not time to harvest anything yet so you guys are done with that for the day.

Now it’s time to work your show steer and after exercise a few horses before turning the rest out.

This is the part that Yuri is excited for!

You catch your steer and show Yuri how to lead him around as well as the basics of showmanship. He drinks in every word you say about body composition, weight, muscle, behavior etc. Congratulations you now have a wannabe 4H kiddo

He gets a little sad though when he learns that the steers get sold to market. (Please give him a hug he’s in tears)

To cheer him up you decide to show him the horses and honestly he’s a little scared of them at first, they’re just so big-

You notice this and hand him a chunk of apple to give to your horse, showing him to hold his hand flat. He chuckles when he feels how soft the muzzle is and perks right up.

Should I make a part 3?

#yuri on ice #yurio plisetsky #yuri on ice headcannons #yuri plisetsky x reader #xreader #agriculture #ffa/4H kiddos where you at?#Yuri on ice freeform #Au #Yurio

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bunni-writing-desk · 1 year

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Hey there! Not sure if you’re doing requests, but if you are, could I request something with Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy? I’ve been having a really bad couple weeks with my mental health and it seems like things are only getting worse. Could you incorporate that into something where Patrick can tell how bad you’re stressing and tries to make you feel better? Sorry if this didn’t make any sense. Love your writing!

dw I understand you :] I hope things get better and here's a fic to help

"Help"

Patrick Stump x reader (gender not mentioned)

not really proof read so there may be some mistakes. Not really sure how to feel about how this turned out, but I think it's okay. Sorry this took so long to get out, life's been crazy and had a bit of a writer's block for a while, I hope you like it :]

Now cross posted to A03!

(this is one of my favorite Patrick photos cause he looks a bit like SpongeBob)

You had been sitting in your room for a while, waiting for your boyfriend Patrick to get home from the studio. You had been stressed to all ends with work recently and you had started to stumble through the days. Your giant fluffy blanket Pat had given you was wrapped around your shoulders, keeping you warm in the cold house. The house had been cold all day since you didn't have the energy to get up and turn up the heat. Your body was aching and your muscles felt like you had run a marathon the day before. It had been especially bad today and you didn't know why. You had been trying to hide how tired you were from your boyfriend, thinking that he was stressed enough with making a new album.

The next moment you could hear the front door unlocking and swinging open. You lifted up your head from your hands when you heard Patrick call out to you from the front hallway. "Y/N? You still awake?" Still awake? How late had it gotten? You looked at the windows covered with thin curtains and found no light coming through the fabric, showing that the sun had long ago gone down.

The door to your shared room opened, Patrick peaking into the room. He looked you over then softly asked, "You okay?" He walked into the room and shut the door behind him after you made a humming noise. He walked up to the bed and sat on the edge of it next to you. He raised a hand up to set over your shoulders before hesitating. "Are you okay with touch right now?" You gave a quick nod and he gently set a hand on your shoulder, going back and forth between your shoulder blade and upper shoulder. He made the small motion for a little bit, wanting you give you space before he asked another question.

Patrick started humming, some sort of song. The tune wasn't fast or rushed and his voice was light. You didn't recognize the melody, presuming that it was a song on the new album that Fall Out Boy was recording. After he had hummed the tune for a little he trailed out, letting the both of you sit in silence for a small while. "Did something happen, baby?" You made a little noise, you honestly didn't know if one thing had caused this feeling. "A lot of things," You answered softly and slowly. "Just been.. stressed out.." Patrick nodded and ran his hand up and down your back, encouraging you to talk more if you needed to. "Alright.. here's some things I can do to help, let me know if any of these can work for you, okay?" You barely nodded, twitching your head down to show him you understand.

"I can.. give you some space if you need it, I can run a bath for you to help you relax, and/or I can just sit here with you as long as you like." He tenderly smiled at you. "and don't worry about if I want to do any of that because I do, I want to help in whatever way works for you."

A faint smile played over the corners of your lips. "Could you.. run me a bath? and stay with me?" You softly mumbled out the words, just loud enough for your boyfriend to hear.

"Of course, baby." Patrick stood up from the bed and pressed a kiss to your forehead. "I'll be back." He slowly left the bedroom, leaving the door open a little bit so you won't feel so closed off from the rest of the house. A small stretch rippled through your muscles, finally moving after so long. You groaned, most everything still in pain. Lifting the blanket off of your shoulders and getting up from the bed. A sigh fell from your mouth as you strain your arms up, some of the tension disappearing.

Footsteps near the entrance to the room brought your attention up. Seeing the strawberry blond hair of your boyfriend, flop in front of his face. "Bath is ready, hun." His gentle voice reached you and you responded with a nod. Stretching cause more pain, but it helped you into getting the motivation to start walking. The first few steps out the door felt like a breath of fresh air. You hadn't realized how stuffy the room had felt until you were out in the hallway.

When you got into the bathroom, steam was rolling off of the water in the tub and a small stool had been sat next to the edge for Patrick to sit by you. The two of you had set boundaries a while ago and you were comfortable being undressed while around him and not expecting anything to happen. This type of situation had happened before and Patrick ensured everytime that he was only there to make you feel better.

Still, often he would ask things like he did now, "I can turn around while you get undressed, if you're not comfortable with me seeing you right now." You were always enamored with how much he cared, how he would always ask such simple things that meant everything to you.

You nodded your head yes to his question, a little self conscious at the moment. He turned around, facing his back to you and putting his hands over his eyes, which made you chuckle softly. You peeled off your clothes and put them as neatly as you could in a pile on the counter.

The water was warm and comforting as you stepped into the bath. "You can turn around now." You let Patrick know that you were okay and he turned back to sit on the little stool.

He rested his chin on the palm of his hand, staring lovingly at your face. "You're so pretty, my love." His compliment made little butterflies fly around in your stomach.

For a while the two of you sat and talked, occasionally Patrick would sing some of the experimental lyrics to songs he had thought up. After maybe an hour of soaking in the bath you felt extremely tired, nearly nodding off while the strawberry blond was speaking to you. Patrick hummed in thought. "I think it's time we go get some sleep. It's pretty late now." You nodded and he pulled the drain from the bathtub, letting the water out.

As soon as you stepped over the edge of the tub Patrick handed you a fluffy towel. One that was not too fluffy that wouldn't dry but was soft enough to not feel harsh. You dried your hair then dried the rest of yourself while Patrick was facing away again. Some fresh clothes were folded on top of the counter, which you took and dressed into. The clothes were some of your favorites, your long and soft plaid pajama pants and one of Patrick's worn out band t-shirts.

Pat turned back to face you when he stopped hearing the shuffling of clothes. "Ready for bed?" He had a smile on his face, a loving gleam to his eyes from seeing you wearing his shirt. You nodded, a gentle smile now gracing your features. You were still tired and of course not everything felt better, but the world felt a little lighter with Patrick right there with you.

Both of you climbed into the bed, Pat turning off the bedside light. He pulled the blanket up over both of you and pulled you closer to himself. You cuddled a little into his chest. The tired feeling only persisted, but with Patrick holding you, you fell asleep quickly. He pressed a soft kiss to the top of your head before drifting off himself, happy he could help you feel a but better.

#patrick stump x reader #patrick stump freeform #patrick stump #fall out boy #fall out boy x reader #patrick stump x gender neutral reader #fanfic writing #fanfic #FOB #fall out boy fanfiction #x reader fanfiction

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my-watch-begins · 1 year

Text

A match for love. Part X.

Pairing: Harwin Strong x Female!OC.

Words: 6k.

Warnings: none for this chapter.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

Ayla worked on Harwin's curls carefully, the mane almost seemed to have a mind of its own, loose strands slipped through her fingers when she moved her hand to the opposite sides. Once she managed to gather the ones at the top, she unwrapped a leather from her wrists and tied them together in a half bun.

When she finished, Harwin looked up at her from his seat and frowned at her.

"Why is your breathing so labored?" He placed a hand at her waist "are you alright?"

She took a deep breath and moved to a chair adjacent to his, the food for breakfast on the table still untouched by her. She sat stiffly and sighed.

"It's your child. Look" she motioned at her sides, the seams of her dress stretched, threatening to rip. "Grayce and I were going to the market today to buy fabric to start making dressed for when I'm bigger"

Harwin's hands traced the tautness of her dress, constricting her and the babe inside of her. He then leaned down as Ayla kept talking, took the bottom of the dress with both hands and pulled.

When the sound of fabric ripping reached Ayla's ears, she extended her hands to stop Harwin, but he pulled again and her complaint got caught in her throat.

The dressed, ripped at the middle now, allowed Ayla to breath better. Her stomach peaked from between her ripped dress, leaving it to be seen from under the white fabric of her under skirt.

They exchanged looks, Harwin looking for approval of his work and Ayla one of annoyance at her ruined dressed, a look that quickly went away when she noticed how free she felt, able to lean back on the chair and breath normally.

"Better?"

"You're not doing that to all my dresses" she scolded faining annoyance. She looked at the torn fabric and decided she could sow the edges, it would have to do until she could make more.

"I had a dream" Harwin said, his hand sneaking under the fabric to touch her stomach, hoping that now that the child was bigger, he would feel it move like Ayla had the last couple of days.

"Really? Tell me about it" her hand pressed on top of his and moved it around to where she felt the babe could kick next.

"I dreamt that you called me to a room and presented me a son"

She smiled at the image of that, her fingers caressing Harwin's own over her stomach.

"I wish that comes true for you, my love. For your sake and your father's"

Harwin moved his hand, growing impatient that his child would not wake up to greet him.

"I don't care what my father wants or expects from my child"

"It's the insurance for the male heir" Ayla also grew impatient that Harwin did not receive a kick, she leaned over the table determined to eat somethings.

"Any daughter that takes after you will be ten times better suited to run Harrenhal than any sons that take after me. Should anyone find a problem with that will meet the edges of my sword"

Ayla smiled, content with the vote on confidence Harwin placed on their child, regardless of the gender.

"I do wish for a son for my own sake. It's my biggest dream to have another pair of eyes like yours to look at"

They shared a tender smile, Harwin leaned to her to kiss her lips in slow pecks, retreating mere inches from them to kiss them in another angle. Ayla hummed in content, then gasped when Harwin's hand rested at her thigh. His fingers gripped between her legs, a move so simple that had her drenched in seconds.

Harwin pulled back with a displeased grunt when the door knocked and opened instantly, his hand retreating from her thighs.

"Are you ready Ayla?" Grayce spoke from the door, then frowned and walked to her "what happened to your dress?"

"Your brother happened"

Harwin exchanged the same pleased smirk and annoyed stare with his sister.

"I'll look for something to fix it quickly and then head out" she assured. Ayla nodded thankful and watched Grayce walk to the door, halfway she stopped and turned "oh, and Adrian wanted to accompany us, if that's okay"

"Of course he does" she muttered under her breath, Grayce questioned her with a frown "I don't mind" she spoke quickly, kicking herself for letting her displeasure be the first reaction.

"I'm coming as well" Harwin chimed in. Once Grayce was out of the room, Ayla looked at him with a twist of her lips.

It was no secret that Adrian and Grayce were courting eachother, or at least that's what she perceived every time she saw them talk shoulder to shoulder in hushed tones or walk the gardens, not to mention the time she had seen them kiss at the entrance of his room.

Harwin and Ayla had already disagreed on that to do in regards to their respective siblings. Ayla stood her ground to try and keep her brother away from the Strong girl, noting that he was promised to the Queen's guard and in due time he would have to assume his role in it, unable to take wife and father children.

He was more of the idea of letting things run their course without their intromission. At the first sign of disagreement when they discussed the matter, and noticing that the both of them were dead set on their points of view, they both silently agreed to not discuss it further.

"Once we return, might we discuss some things?" She offered, her hand extended over the table. Harwin took it while looking at her with worry in his eyes.

"Any concerns I would like them voiced as soon as possible, Ayla"

She gave him a dismissing smile with a shake of her head.

"They're not concerns, I assure you. I just want to talk about the near future"

She led his hand to her lips and kissed the back of it, hoping to reassure that she had no bad news to give him.

Grayce helped Ayla with her dress, between the two they mended the fabric and headed out the room. As they walked intending to leave the tower of the Hand, Lord Lyonel gave the party a look as he entered.

"Where are you heading?" He asks, his eyes leaving a piece of parchment shortly to address them.

"We're going to the market. Ayla needs new dresses" Grayce explained, her arms linked with Ayla's.

"Is Jaena not going with you?"

"No, she didn't wish to"

"Well, after you return, might I speak with you Ayla?"

She was surprised to be addressed, after exchanging a short but inquisitive glance with her husband, she nodded.

"Of course"

"I'll see you when you return then" he excused himself with a short nod, one that the three of them replicated in respect.

Ayla had much in her mind as she looked at the different fabrics in the market. One was; why would Lord Lyonel want to talk with her. She had a feeling it couldn't be anything good, even though she hadn't done anything to get on her Good Father's bad side.

The other thing that plagued her mind was Jaena's sudden withdrawal. She knew the exact reason of it though. Again, it was Adrian and Grayce's closeness. She was very aware that both of the girls fancied her bother, but she couldn't fathom that their infatuation was so that they would retreat from the family in jealousy. Jaena, the closest one to Ayla because of their similar personalities, had stopped hanging out with her and preferred to either be alone or in the company of other ladies at court, they only shared meals in silence.

It gave Ayla all the more reason to want to keep her brother away. She was already in open war with Larys, she didn't wish to also astray herself from Jaena.

Once back in the tower of the Hand, Grayce and the seamstress worked on Ayla's overall measures. She gave them one of her dresses and asked to keep the style like it. After an hour she was free, and the first thing she did with her freedom was go downstairs to the office of the Hand.

Lord Lyonel seemed to have been in it since they left and when Ayla arrived he was about to walk out of it.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked, her hands holding each other over her stomach. Lord Lyonel dedicated a short smile to her, then looked at the table that never seemed to be free of unread parchments of paper.

Ayla looked between the table and then him with a frown of misunderstandment.

"When I told you you were too smart for your own good Ayla, I was being truthful. You have a keen eye for certain things. If your father trusted you with secrets of the Vale, then I believe I can trust you with some, the little ones, of the Realm. And I also trust that if you come in contact with something you weren't supposed to know, you'll be discreet about it"

Not in her wildest dreams she thought that Lord Lyonel would offer her to peak at the Hand's correspondance.

"I truly don't know what to say" she muttered, looking at the pile of parchment on the table "it's one of the biggest forms of trust I've received, maybe ever" she then looked at him, her face was serious and didn't reflect the inner excitement she felt "thank you, Lord Lyonel. I hope I can meet your expectations"

"I'm sure you will" he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, finally allowing her to let out a smile.

"I wouldn't know how or what to do"

"Worry not" he reassured again.

He explained that the marriages and the changes of them had to be written down in the books by the maesters, but the Hand had the privilege of reading them first. It was a simple task and it was true that the Hand was right in not needing to know absolutely everything. He wanted Ayla to fill herself with the knowledge, relate it to the maesters and then tell him only the important things.

She assured that she would start the following morning. After dinner, once her and her husband were in their room and getting undressed to head to bed, Ayla spoke to him over her shoulder.

"Your father has offered me a job" she mentioned, slipping into her long nightgown, one that she would soon need to replace as well.

She turned on her heels and sat on the bed, cradling her stomach as she leaned back on the headrest, fluffing a pillow under her. Harwin had already slipped in bed, one of his hands laid on top of his chest as the other one cradled his neck.

"Doing what exactly my love?" He inquired, glancing in between her and her stomach.

"Reading mostly" she had asked for permission of the Hand to tell Harwin about the offer. He had told her to keep it simple in terms of content.

"That's wonderful, Ayla. I'm glad you and my father are better acquainted" he pushed himself up the bed to match Ayla's leaning position on the headrest "I'm glad you're thriving in King's Landing" he pressed a hand to her knee and gave it a squeeze "it was the thing I was most worried about. Bringing you here and you hating every second of it"

Ayla gave him a shake of her head as she pulled a smile.

"I do like living at the capital. Though things are definitely different here"

Harwin suddenly remembered that she wanted to speak with him, he shuffled himself closer and moved his hand from her knee to her outer thigh.

"You wanted to speak with me earlier?"

"Ah, yes. It truly is nothing" she shook her head again, the closeness of him allowed her to hold the arm that was holding her, press a kiss to his shoulder and finally place her chin over it as she talked "there's just some things that are done differently here than in the Vale. Mostly relating to children and how to have them and raise them"

She searched in his eyes any indication that he knew what she was talking about. Harwin just waited patiently until she spoke again.

"I've spoken with other ladies at court and the about what they do here, as soon as they have their child they have wetnurses and people to take care of the child. I wish for none of that"

Harwin straightened, boring his eyes into hers.

"Everything will be done as you want, you are the one facing this and I wish nothing more than you to be pleased, specially with the pain you are to endure to have our child"

"But?"

"But" he leaned into her again, their noses almost touching "they're there to help you, if you're working with my father and also taking care of a child, you'll exhaust yourself" he leaned back and looked between her and her stomach again "I also don't think this is the only child we will have, do you?"

Ayla smiled at the weariness with which he mentioned having more children, almost fearing her answer.

"I think we stand to give my father more grandchildren than all my four brothers combined" she joked. He exhaled, not wanting to let Ayla know that he was holding his breath at her answer, but the relief he felt was hard to hide.

"All the more reason my love. I wish for you to be replenish. If you don't want them then we won't have them, but know that they're at your disposal whenever you need them"

Ayla smiled in content, then leaned in to kiss him.

She pulled back with a little gasp, then her hand quickly searched for his and placed it over her stomach, covering almost half of it with it's extension.

They waited in silence, looking down at Harwin's hand expectantly until he felt it, the kick at the palm of his hand, so tiny yet so powerful he almost felt like crying.

"Did you feel that?" She asked excitedly. Harwin only replied by leaning down and placing several kisses over the spot where he had been kicked, hopeful that the babe would still be there to receive the kisses.

The first week of being in the Hand's office looking into the letters had gone smoothly, she had a parchment where she would write down what needed to be related to the maesters and keep the scrolls that needed to be related to the Hand.

She enjoyed the job, it stimulated her mind more than anything, allowed her to make acquaintance with the maesters and read their books. The books of the big families had to be updated in both sides of the families, so she had a chance to also peak at her own family book and was proud when she saw that the last update on the Strong's family page had been "Ser Harwin Strong took to wife Lady Ayla Redfort, now Lady Ayla Strong"

Upon telling Lord Lyonel what she had chosen to let him know, he was pleased with how her view matched his, which gave him more confidence in her work.

With her new responsability she had even forgotten about her worries with the Princess, internally knowing that she didn't need to worry.

Her ever lasting problem was now sitting in front of her, looking at her with his always present eerie smile.

"So now you've taken to read my father's correspondence when he's away" Larys accused.

"I have, not without his permission though" Ayla replied her eyes not leaving the scrolls as she read them.

"I doubt my father has given you such permission"

"I'm sure he can ease your doubts if you go to him and present them"

She left one of the scrolls to the side and took another one, breaking the seal to open it and read it.

"And later you, what? Tell him what each one of this scrolls says?"

"Not all of them, only the important ones"

"And who are you to decide what is important and what isn't?"

Ayla left the piece of scroll on the table, her fisted hand coming down on the table as well harder than what she intended, giving it a slam.

"I am the person who the Hand of the King has named and trusts to decide what is important and what isn't" she spat. She was having recent difficulty controlling her outbursts.

Her eyes focused behind Larys, the open arch gave way to the entrance and the figure of Harwin, who was approaching them with a frown after having changed his armor and not have his every move accounted for with the noise it made.

"You best leave" she muttered only to him, giving that Harwin was approaching them with clear intentions of figuring out why a table had been smashed in anger.

Larys stood and left her, not without giving him a winning smirk and avoiding his brother's stare.

Harwin stared down at his brother as he retreated from the office, then Ayla who was reading the scrolls with fire in her eyes.

He took one of the chairs and pulled it around the desk, setting it next to her and sitting down on it.

"What happened?"

"Nothing" she dismissed almost too fast. Harwin's hand came to her stomach and she leaned back on the chair to give him more access.

"That didn't sound like nothing" he pushed.

"Your brother likes to undermine me, that's all"

"And you don't think something should be done about that?"

"I can handle your brother"

"Maybe I don't want you to handle my brother. Maybe I want to handle him for you"

Ayla chuckled once, leaving the scrolls and placing her hand over his, her eyes finally meeting his.

"Do you consider me so thin skinned, husband?"

Harwin held her stare. Every second of every day she challenged his mind with questions and scenarios and what to say and how to react. Though it was true they had only known each other for barely a year, he enjoyed when the conversations weren't one sided, when she didn't recoil, when she didn't retreat, when she looked at him through her lashes as she quipped a remark.

He felt like he knew her like the back of his hand, and even though she prided herself in being a little conniver and mysterious, she was actually an open book.

"I consider you too thick skinned and too stubborn for your own good" his hand moved to run the back of his finger on her cheek "I think that you hold too much in, it's okay to let your guard down sometimes"

He knew he was right in his assumptions by the way her lips tightened and she swallowed in nervousness.

"I can't let my guard down, it's not who I am, I'm always on the offensive and you now that" she wanted to scream 'specially not with Larys'. But she didn't. She felt it was still too soon to let Harwin know about her suspicions of his involvement in the attempt of her murder at her wedding.

"It's going to break you someday"

"I'm far from my breaking point, Harwin"

With the hardness in her voice, Harwin only nodded and leaned in for a short kiss to her forehead. He would have to pay double attention to her now.

It took Ayla another month before she finally broke. It started with the disaster she witnessed when she saw the first one of the new dresses presented to her, she thanked the seamstress and told her she wouldn't be needing the others, then proceeded to tear it down and redoing most of it, cursing to herself and wondering why in the Seven Hells would she wear three layers of fabric clinging to her waist and puffed long sleeves in the hot summer the were currently passing through.

She took to make her own in the style she wore in the Vale with the help of Grayce, who found the sleeveless and open cleavage a bit too much for a pregnant woman, but made Harwin stop in his tracks when he saw her walk the corridors.

She had taken a new responsability whilst working with Lord Lyonel, besides now looking at the majority of his mail as it reached the Tower, he had also asked for her to look through the other letters, the kinds he wished he'd never asked her to look for. Marriage proposals.

It wasn't long after Grayce's sixteenth name day that he asked, trusting that Ayla would know enough and use her feminine intuition to find her a suitable partner. The first time she read through them, he was sitting across them also entertaining some with her.

"You're not blind, are you?" She asked all the sudden, looking at him over the letter. They had gotten along so well since she started helping him that she took the liberty of speaking to him freely.

Lord Lyonel had also taken to treat her like his own daughter. His eyes lingered on hers before she spoke.

"I am not. But I feel your father would have my head if I even presented that offer"

"I feel the same" she said with a sigh "I told my brother to not pursue this adventure with Grayce. I don't know how well either of them are going to take this"

"We shall see" was the only thing he said. Ayla did ask him to not tell either of them that she had any involvement or opinions.

Her very stressful week ended, when she was about eight weeks before her babe's arrival, with a knight intercepting her in the hallway as she intended to reach the Hand's office near the room of the Small Council.

Her walk was interrupted by the knight when he approached her. Her hands quickly came to her middle as she looked up and down at him with a worried frown.

"Lady Ayla" he said, taking his sleeve and turning it upside down, the crest of House Redfort revealed itself. When she recognized the sigil, she relaxed just a bit. The man looked to his side and grabbed his bag, pulling a package from it "your father prays you are careful"

Ayla took it and before she said anything, he left her in the hallway.

She walked hastily to her brother's room, since it wasn't in the tower but in the outskirts of the Keep, she found herself free from prying eyes and able to look at the package in peace. Adrian was there about to change for his practice after his shift at the city watch. They exchanged worried looks when she recalled the interaction, then sat at his bed and unwrapped the package.

Inside, she found her own letters she'd written to her father in the last month, she looked through them with a frown, then saw a wax stamp with the sigil of House Redfort. She didn't understand what any of it meant until she read the letter her father had written to her.

"My dearest daughter. I suspect, by the look of the seals, that your mail has been intercepted" she read out loud, her stomach twisted and cramped, looking at her brother with worry. He returned the same look. "I've sent you a new wax seal, more intricate and harder to replicate. Please, take care of yourself and lean on your brother while you can, I'll be in King's Landing by the birth of my grandchild as promised. I'll see you then"

They spent a good amount of time looking at the seals, noticing that they were different from the one her father had sent him. When they compared it to the one her brother had brought from the Redfort, the sigils matched to the one or her letters but were still different. The wax had been melted again, giving it a slightly darker red color than the original wax she used. Adrian noted that it smelled burnt too. He took to read some of the letters as Ayla worked on her breath, looking over the package as she thought.

"At least there isn't anything incriminating in them"

"Of course there's not. I haven't even told father of my work with Lord Lyonel. I'm not an idiot" she huffed in annoyance.

"So, what do you think we should do?"

She looked at the package and the new seal, her hand pressed against her tight stomach, uncomfortable at the twist in it that wasn't product of her child moving around.

"I think this is exactly what I needed" she took the letter and looked at it pensively "up until this moment I only had hearsay to go against Larys. But if he's truly intercepting my mail hoping that I'm telling my father about my work with Lord Lyonel, then I finally have something to accuse him with"

She looked at her brother. He left the letter and leaned forward, his forearms coming to his legs.

"I think we still have to confirm it's him, that he forged the seal"

"How?"

"You send a letter" he began to explain "like normal, seal it and take it to the maesters, where do they usually send them from?"

"I send the scrolls from the east tower, with the ravens that go to the Vale"

"Next time you send one I'll be there, I'll be able to back you up if they don't believe you"

"Harwin already knows that his brother and I don't get along, he's witnessed some of those fights, so have his sisters. Lord Lyonel... I don't know if he'll turn against him though"

Ayla took a deep breath, feeling her stomach tighten on its own again. She pressed her hand at her base and the top. Adrian's hand carefully came on top of hers.

"Do you need to go to the maesters? Does it hurt?"

"No" she released her breath "it's just uncomfortable"

"I'll take you to your room to rest"

Two days later, Ayla stormed into the common area, walked to the table were Larys was sitting and having some tea, then threw the wax seal on the table. It clattered two times before it rolled next to his tea pot. He looked at her with interest.

"You're spying on my personal letters now?" She accused.

"I don't understand what you mean"

"Don't fuck with me Larys" she threatened, the angry scowl she had in her face was one Larys had rarely seen, using a language so foul that she hoped would convey her state, giving that she didn't look so menacing whilst pregnant.

Ayla had seen from her peripheral Jaena round the corner wearily and look at them fight, a book hugged against her chest.

"What is it going to take for you to drop your suspicions against me? How many more of your accusations will I have to fend? Are you ready to call my child a bastard as well?"

Larys looked very unimpressed, eyeing her from the table, twisted to the side, it infuriated her even more.

"Sadly that can't be said of you. I believe the child, though collateral damage, is my brothers'"

"Collateral?" She whispered, twisting her head slightly to the side.

Jaena had approached them and now stood between them, her head bobbed from side to side following both parts of the argument.

"You spied on her letters?" She asked, her high pitch voice giving away her disbelief. Larys didn't answer "how do you know that?" She now asked Ayla.

"My father sent me back my letters with the forged wax seal, your steel workers aren't as good as you think they are" Ayla spat accusingly, her eyes never leaving Larys'.

"Why would you do that?" Jaena asked to Larys again. He just scoffed at her and shook his head.

"I won't waste my breath in explaining things that are beyond your understanding. I had my reasons and you need not to know them"

Jaena seemed to have taken great offense at Larys' dismissiveness. Jaena threw the book on the table angrily and turned around.

"Jaena" Ayla said wearily "where are you going?"

"To look for my brother" she continued walking. Ayla now walked behind her and attempted to catch her

"Jaena, please don't" she begged "I don't want to involve Harwin"

"Enough is enough, Ayla" she whipped around, also looking at her with a begging frown "and it's not because of you, it's because he called me shortsighted and I will not have that"

"Jaena, please" Ayla begged again, her voice quivered when Jaena turned on her heels again and walked out. She let out a shaky sigh, then straightened herself and turned around.

Larys had not stood up from his seat, but he definitely tensed when Ayla turned and then, out the sudden, smiled.

She hadn't planned for Jaena to be there, much less for her to defend her given that Jaena seemed to be avoiding Ayla as well as her own sister. It had all gone perfectly.

After dedicating a winning smile to Larys, she headed up to her room. All she had to do now was wait.

Not even ten minutes after she laid back on the loveseat in front of the fire, Harwin stormed in the room, standing in front of her with his hands fisted at his sides.

"Speak" he demanded. She took a breath, ready to tell him to drop it and it was nothing, but Harwin anticipated that. He leaned over her and gripped each armrest of the love seat, his eyes and jaw hardening on her "Ayla, speak"

She swallowed, thinking that maybe things had gotten out of hand. She shrunk under his stare, feeling no longer in control of the situation.

"Ayla" he called again. She figured Harwin already knew everything, but he needed to hear it from her.

"Larys has been weary of me since I... Well, since always. Now he's taken to read my letters to my father because he thinks I'm sending him information about the work I do for your father"

Harwin huffed and pulled back. "How do you know that?"

She moved to stand up, Harwin's hand shoot up instantly in front of her. She took it and stood up heavily from the chair.

"My father sent me back my letters" she searched in one of the drawers of Harwin's desk, tucked back and covered was the package her father had sent her. She gave it to him and he inspected it.

"How do you know they are forged?" He asked, looking at the seals. His demeanor had calmed, he now spoke sternly but in an even tone, she didn't feel like he would suddenly burst in shouts.

"The seals, they're different, and the was has been melted twice"

"Where's your seal?" He motioned at the drawers where Ayla kept her things for writing letters, she searched for it and gave it to him.

"I only learned about this two days ago" she murmured, feeling herself shrink at his heavy gaze.

"Why would my brother go through all this trouble to look at your letters?"

Ayla could only roll her eyes, feeling her throat tighten.

"Because he's got it in his head that I only married you for my father to get Harrenhal, for him to work with his troops there, he thinks I give him information about the Hand, about the state of the troops here, the captains, to hopefully get him here to be the Master of War. He thinks that I'm just using you, that I don't love you, that our -"

She stopped herself to take a breath, holding both hands to her stomach as she felt it twist. Heavy tears streamed down her face and Harwin wiped them with the back of his hand.

"Our child what?" He pushed. He had heard enough, the word vomit in her part had been genuine and persuasive enough to want to make him go down there and tear his brother appart. She refused to speak when he demanded it "our child what, Ayla?" He tried again, now taking another step to her and leaning his head down to meet her gaze.

"I don't know what he's implying" she said after letting out a shaky breath. She shrugged "I truly don't know, and I don't want to think about it"

Ayla's shoulders slumped when Harwin took a step to the side and began walking out of the room.

He skipped the steps and walked with the package in hand. Both of his sister's, Adrian and his own father were talking around the table, as soon as his eyes focused on Larys sitting next to his father, he quickened his pace. With clear intentions on his face, his father took a step to him and extended his hands to stop him, so did Adrian, attempting to grab him from his arm.

"Today is the last day you will speak to my wife Larys, I am done with your disrespect" he said through gritted teeth, his finger pointing threateningly at him over his father's shoulder.

"I will have the truth of this at once" his father demanded, making Harwin take a step back and hand his father the package.

"Ayla believes Larys has intercepted her letters, hoping to catch her inexistent treason"

"Not inexistent, but late it it's manifestation. We shall give her time" he quipped. It took a lot of self restraint for Harwin to not push his father aside and engage with Larys.

"Quiet!" Lord Lyonel demanded. Whilst he inspected the letters and the seals he wasn't a stranger to the fight between Grayce, Jaena and Larys, recalling the other instances where Larys had made distasteful comments to and about Ayla. Both Harwin and Lord Lyonel were surprised at the ongoing fight the two had and neither of them were aware of.

Ayla had given Harwin the wax seal that her father had sent her. The new one had even more intricate fine lines in the bricks of the castle put to shame Larys' faux one. The forgery was abundantly clear then.

"I'm absolutely dumbfounded at this treachery to your own family, Larys" Lord Lyonel spoke, the disappointment and anger clear in his voice "Never mind your brother's own happiness, his union with House Redfort is the biggest alliance House Strong could have made. You could've made us a terrible enemy. You should be thankful that Lady Ayla decided to face you herself instead of presenting this matter to Lord Edder"

Larys remained quiet, searching in all the faces in front of him, finding no allies in the people in the room. He focused on a spot behind them, not wanting to look down like a scolded puppy but neither at his father's own disappointed glare.

"Larys will leave the Tower of the Hand and live in the other side of the castle at once, where he can't run into Ayla anymore" Harwin spoke with authority "if not, Ayla and I will leave for Harrenhal away from such troubles. The Gods know she's dealt with enough"

"That won't be necessary" Lord Lyonel replied, giving Harwin a quick glance "Larys will leave the Tower, I'll have accomodations settles for him right now"

Larys looked at his father, the anger he felt at his exile didn't reflect on his face, he played it nonchalantly, as if it didn't cut him deeply that his whole family had chosen a woman that had been part of it for less than a year. Instead he bottled his feelings and diligently stood up, shuffling with his cane as we walked to the front door of the Tower.

Harwin approached him and cut off his walk, looking down at him with a glint of sadness in his eyes.

"I'm saddened that this had to be this way. But I will not allow such disrespect towards my wife and child from anyone. As far as I'm concerned I no longer have a brother"

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khasiehondra · 11 months

Text

It Can't Be...Can It?

SUMMARY: Ghosts were real. He had seen them his entirety of his time at Hogwarts. He had even seen a few while on missions. But he didn't expect to see her at his favorite cafe on a Saturday morning. He had lived in Edinburgh for years after returning from France. The final year of his rotational training program led him to beautiful sights, new food, and some fun company. But he knew something was missing. His fulfilling work didn't distract him from her. The woman he had dreamed about more nights than he wanted to admit. The one who helped heal so many broken parts of him. And the one who threw his heart against the floor like it was glass. It wasn't just seeing her that made this difficult. But she was tiny. * Sebastian couldn’t believe that the love of his life walked into his favorite cafe, but the little girl next to her could have been a problem. Little does he know, Annie is his and Alice wants to keep it a secret.

Chapter 1: A Little Hiccup In The Plan

Alice

"There, there, love. Better out than in." Alice held onto the toilet for dear life. Her knuckles were white and she had a thin sheen of sweat forming on her brow.

"I'm going to kill him. But first, I'm going to slam my head into a wall for being so stupid." Another wave of nausea hit her and the room was slowly spinning.

Garreth Weasley was rubbing her back as she tried to breathe deeply. "Would you rather I make a spectacle of his demise? Did he not read the footnotes when he said he made some of the potion?"

"Apparently not. Help me up, will you?" Garreth gripped the girl's hand and pulled her from the floor. "After the first round of vomit this morning I researched the potion myself. Only ninety percent effective. Lucky me. I've fallen into the ten. C'mon, we should get you out of here."

Alice slowly peaked out from the girls bathroom and looked around before motioning to Garreth the coast was clear. He placed a hand on her back. "We could go to the hospital wing. What do you want to do? Studying for our exam can wait."

It might have been the hormones but Alice thought she would cry. One of her dearest friends was helping her through the most intense moments of her life. And she had stopped a goblin rebellion for Merlin's sake! This should feel like a walk in the park. "I'm keeping it. I can talk to him about it. It would mean some of our plans would change, and I'll have to write to my father for support. Hopefully I can open the howler he will send in private."

"Whatever you need, I'll be there for you, brainiac." Alice embraced him and started to walk with him toward the hospital wing.

All of her plans were about to change. But it wasn't a mistake. All things happen for a reason. Maybe earlier than she expected, but deep down she knew that everything would fall into place.

When she got back to her dormitory later that evening, Samantha was sitting on Alice’s bed, arms crossed. "Alice, I know what is going on. How do you think you'll be able to hide this for a month? What do you need me to do?" At her words, Alice did cry. Samantha was one of her closest friends and she didn't know how to tell her that she was lucky they only had one month left at Hogwarts.

"I think I'm going to tell Sebastian. Tomorrow on a picnic by the lake. We already planned on lunch together. We already planned on being together as soon as we could after graduation. This would just expedite that." Samantha gave her a soft smile.

"Alice, do you think you'll be able to work for a while? Or more importantly, if I could piece together your odd behavior, aren't you worried someone else will?" Alice pursed her lips and gave it a thought.

"I can start work late. It'll be tight on money, but I don't think my father would leave me to the mongrels. He would help for a bit. And even though it is summer, I'll just wear my robes and skirts. No one else may even notice!" This was Alice putting her hopes out into the world. If she believed it then no one would question it.

"As long as you're happy. I can help once things get farther along. I know Poppy is one of your other best friends but remember, the only creatures she handles are magical."

Alice cut her off, "this one will most likely be magical."

Samantha laughed and lightly shoved her friend. "You are such a smartalic!"

T he next day, Alice tried her best to set everything up perfectly. The blanket was laid out and protected from bugs, all of Sebastian's favorite foods were packed-minus the wine, and Alice held the letter from her father stating he would help them. She was absolutely giddy when one o'clock rolled around. She had worn her favorite everyday outfit: a cotton blue dress with a peach bodice underneath. It was her determination to wear all her favorite things before she couldn't.

Sebastian came across the grounds, his grey trousers tapered perfectly to his long legs. The green sweater she guessed he had been wearing was bunched over his shoulder, the white shirt he had on was rolled at the sleeves. The sight of him still made her heart flutter. She had a crush on him after their encounter in the Restricted Section and almost a year later he confessed his own feelings to her. Ever since their first date they talked about a life together. When she experienced her first time with him, he praised her and doted on her every second. His vulnerability was something hidden behind doors, but she loved that he trusted her enough to see it.

"Sorry I'm running late. I think Weasley’s lost his gobstones. He kept asking me how you're doing. When I told him that you were as wonderful as always, and thoroughly ravished the last few nights, he smacked my arm. That's our thing! Stupid and immature jests." Alice laughed. Garreth was horrible at secrets when they were someone else's.

She started pouring the butterbeer and telling him about the nasty astronomy essay she had finished the night before. The rhythm between them was always easy. Halfway through the meal, Sebastian had pulled her into his lap and gave her soft kisses along her jaw. After almost two years, she could barely keep her hands off him herself. His lips found her and it was as if the world was silenced. Nothing else mattered. They were in their own universe. If Alice kept kissing him she thought the passion would consume her, but then again, if he stopped, she thought she might go mad. His kisses got hungrier and his hands started to roam over the shape of her waist.

She broke their kiss before he could get any further. "How is the job hunt going? Did you hear back about the Auror program?"

His glazed eyes took a minute to piece together what she had just asked him. When he finally was able to form a coherent thought, he smiled and bumped his nose to hers. "Fantastic news actually. They want me in the program, but they are trying a rotational system to help new Aurors with experience. I would go through a month's training before heading to America and then I would get my next assignment after a year. Isn’t that exciting! Since you want to be a healer that means you could get a job anywhere! We could still be together."

Her face didn't miss the beat her heart skipped over. Alice felt her heart drop into her stomach. I can't leave. Sebastian, we are about to have a baby. That much travel is so stressful. And I can't work. We would need the money. But this is his dream. He's lost so much I can't ask him to sacrifice everything. "Sebastian, what if a child is involved?"

"We don't have to worry about that for a long time! Even if we had one within the first year, we would have saved enough. You'll quit your job and be at home." Her face faltered this time.

"But you'd still want to do these traveling rotations with a family?" She raised her brow and pushed back, creating more space between them. "I want our child to have both their parents around if they can, Sebastian."

"I understand, sweet. But the initial rotation period is three years before getting a final station of our request. Would it be alright if we wait for a baby? You'd make a fantastic mother and the thought of you carrying our child makes my mind buzz with excitement. But I want to be selfish with you."

But you can't. The entire conversation was infuriating her. Alice was angry. Angry that he couldn’t stay in London and expected her to go everywhere with him for three years. That he just expects her to give up her career once the baby was born, and most of all she was angry that she didn't want him involved anymore. "You are being selfish with me, like always." The venom in her words startled him.

"Alice, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but it only makes sense if you follow me." He cupped her cheek but she threw her head out of his grasp.

"Actually, I think this entire conversation made me realize how selfish you are. Ever since our fifth year I've been following you around. Bending backwards to your requests, even when my favors to you had been paid. I told Ominis that I didn’t think you should go to Azkaban! I was there when you buried Anne! I think I have been more than supportive and you just want me to give up everything. Here I go, following you around like always!" The echoes of her shouts across the lake were deafening.

Sebastian's cheeks flushed and he rose to his feet. "If you're so tired of me then it's good we found this out now. You know, life is different outside of the castle. I'm glad we found out we want different things before we were trapped with one another." He turned to leave before facing her. His hand in his pocket. "Oh yeah, here. I don’t want it anymore." He dropped whatever he grabbed on the blanket and stormed off.

Reaching down, Alice found whatever had bounced on the ground. The tears started to flow once she saw what it was. It wasn’t anything magnificent but it would have been everything. The thin bronze band glinted in the afternoon sun. Infuriated, Alice turned and threw it in the lake.

8 years later

Sebastian

Ghosts were real. He had seen them his entirety of his time at Hogwarts. He had even seen a few while on missions. But he didn't expect to see her at his favorite cafe on a Saturday morning. He had lived in Edinburgh for years after returning from France. The final year of his rotational training program led him to beautiful sights, new food, and some fun company. But he knew something was missing. His fulfilling work didn't distract him from her. The woman he had dreamed about more nights than he wanted to admit. The one who helped heal so many broken parts of him. And the one who threw his heart against the floor like it was glass. It wasn't just seeing her that made this difficult. But she was tiny.

Over the top of his paper the small child peered into the glass display case like everything inside was made of precious gemstones. Her dark hair hit to about her mid back and curled at the ends. She looked exactly like Alice except for the nose covered in freckles and brown eyes instead of green. Denial is the first step of accepting loss. But creating completely unrealistic situations is also denial. Sebastian kept thinking this had to be a coincidence. No way in all of Europe would a small Alice be here. Alice wouldn't live here.

Except she walked straight through the door. Taking a look around she walked over to the child. People would have said it was like time travel seeing the two together. The girl couldn't be older than eight or nine and Alice…oh Alice. She was a vision.

If he didn't have his coffee to his lips he would have sworn his jaw would be on the floor. The woman who amazed everyone looked like a picture in a book. Her hair was half pulled up, very different to society's standards, and her shirtwaist lacked much of the ruffles and lace most do. No matter how simple she dressed, her face had aged like wine. Her full cheeks now had high cheekbones, and her eyes sparkled like stars. Aphrodite couldn't even compare to her.

They could be sisters. Her father and mother were still young. I don’t see a ring on her finger. Alice was finishing up her purchase of bread. She took the young girl's hand and they made their way from the Cafe. But Sebastian wasn't going to lose her this time. He dropped his paper, grabbed his coat, and ran from the shop.

The two were walking down the cobblestone street toward the carriage call. "Alice!" Sebastian shouted and ran toward her as she stood rigid. Not a good sign.

Once he had caught up he could see the young girl peering from around Alice’s skirt. But he couldn't tell what the look on Alice’s face was. Anger? Warranted. Sadness? Also warranted. But a small part looked like fear. Why would she be afraid of him?

"Se-Sebastian. Long time no see." She barely met his eyes and he felt his heart pang. Please. Look at me.

"Alice, this is surely a surprise. I thought you lived in London. Ominis told me that you lived at home in your family's manor. I would have never expected to see you in Edinburgh." He stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to keep from twiddling his fingers.

She finally looked at him. "I did. A few years after graduation I worked as a potioneer for healing research. Easy enough work to do from home. Mother and father just built a small manor on the outskirts of the city. We wanted a place to call our own so we will live here and they will come visit during holiday." So that is her child.

Sebastian looked at the child who was holding her mother's hand. "And who is this young lady?"

"Annie Shaw." The young girl squeaked.

"Annie, proper like we practiced." Alixe put comforting hands around her daughter's shoulders. "Sebastian was a very very dear friend of mine when I was at Hogwarts."

Annie smiled up at him. She grabbed her skirt and curtsied. Sebastian couldn't help but be amused by the small thing. He dipped his hat in return and humored her. "Good afternoon, Annie. My name is Sebastian Sallow, but I don’t want any of that Mister Sallow nonsense from you. "

She giggled and tugged on her mother's sleeve. "Mama, could Sebastian join us for dinner?"

"Oh, Annie, Sebastian probably already has plans on his own."

"Dinner sounds lovely. I would love to see your new estate. The one in London was beautiful. Your parents have fine taste. But then again, you never cared about that." Their eyes met and fire danced between them.

"Alright." Alice let her shoulders fall in defeat. "But Annie, you need to practice piano right after."

The carriage ride back was longer than Sebastian had anticipated. It was understandable why Alice didn't want to apparate. Annie was just too little. It would have been worth the half hour out of the city just to avoid the young girl's arms getting splinched.

Alice had been right. The manor was smaller. But that isn't saying much considering how big the one in London was. A corgi was waddling down the slopping hill toward the carriage and Annie leapt from the top step and held out her arms for the pup. "That's Winston, too bad in a few years she won't be able to take him to Hogwarts."

"Already showing signs of magic? No squib-like tendencies until she turns fifteen like another woman I know?" The lopsided grin on his face and raised brow were pointed at her in a jest.

"You know, even being behind, I recall beating your arse in a duel or two…or thirty-seven." She reached out to his hand as they exited and walked toward the formidable building.

Breaking the silence first, Sebastian cleared his throat. "So, will I have the honor of meeting Annie's father at dinner? I would like to meet the chap that you married "

"Her father wasn't around. But she is exactly like him in every way. I was young and stupid, but I can’t deny how much they are alike." He could hear the sadness in her voice.

"May I ask what happened?" It was dangerous waters to tread but he had to know.

Alice was silent as they followed Annie through the large walnut doors. "He and I just didn't work out. Annie wasn't a part of his future. So I never told him. I think he would have loved her though, the little devil. You know, when she was two I found her playing in my garden. But I couldn't get mad because all of the seeds she threw on the group sprouted into beautiful wildflowers. It was the purest magic I had ever seen." Sebastian saw the adoration in Alice’s eyes.

"Mama, can Sebastian come see my nifflers?" Annie's little curls popped from around a corner. "Juels said that it'll be a while until dinner."

"Alright, Annie, but remember the way to unlock the greenhouse. We can't have them getting out again. I'll meet up with you two later. I need to talk to the kitchen staff."

Sebastian was pulled forward by the child. She seemed so happy and full of life. "Oh, you'll just love Sugar and Cream and Nigel and Ruby!"

"Are those foods or your nifflers?" Sebastian laughed as she tried to get him to walk faster. "Did you know your mother had a niffler den she took care of whilst we were at school?"

"Really! Mama tells me stories of her adventures, but she mainly talks about Aunt Poppy and Uncle Ominis. Mister Weasley came by our house in London and he said that he helped take care of Mama when he found out she was going to have me." Each of the words sounded like a stab to the heart.

"Your Uncle Ominis is actually my best friend. I saw him just last week." Annie looked up at him with a pout.

"If Uncle Ominis is your best friend then how come he and mama never talk about you?" He didn't know how to answer that one. Because I loved your mother and I broke her heart over my damn pride? That Ominis told me I was the biggest idiot for how I handled the situation? The idea of bringing up a man who was never around would possibly only confuse the child? Yup. Wonderful answers.

"Your mother and I had a huge fight one day. I had really hurt her feelings." He looked back at the manor as they entered the greenhouse. "Don't tell her this, but I wrote her an apology over a hundred times but I was too scared to send her a single one."

"Doesn't that make you a coward? It's just a letter." Her comment felt like someone had twisted the knife in his chest.

"You're right, Annie. I was a coward. I'm not afraid of bad people or dangerous situations. I am scared of being rejected by someone who meant alot to me." Annie tapped some flower pots in a certain order and a hidden entrance opened. The inside reminded Sebastian of the Vivariums. Actually…it was the vivarium. Did Alice let her have one while she tended the rest?

A small fluff ball scurried over and went straight for the little gold button Annie had in her hand. The baby niffler was the color of milky cream and tucked the button in its pouch. "Cream and I think that you used to like my mother."

"Did you get your brains from your mother? She was in the house with all of the brightest students." He patted her head and leaned down to hold a black niffler waddling over.

"I do, actually. She says I get my blunt attitude from my father. Do you still like my mother?" She pursed her lips and stood very still.

"I never stopped, but from the looks of it. I think I'm barely treading on friend territory. How about we go back? You can give me a tour." Hand in hand they walked back to the beautiful building. Maybe in another life he would have lived there, had his own child with Alice.

Dinner and tea time were filled with laughter and music as Annie played her sonatinas. He had never particularly liked children until this one. She was so much like her mother, but her bits of defiance and boldness made her stand out. At some point in the evening Sebastian and Alice realized it was a little too quiet. They ran about the halls until they saw Annie asleep at a coffee table. Alice walked over and pulled a drawing from underneath the sleeping girl and tucked it away.

Carrying Annie to bed and tucking her in made him want this. He could have been in her life more if he had just apologized sooner. With a soft click of the door, Sebastian knew he had overstayed his welcome. But being there with them made him feel like he was missing something beyond Alice. He wanted a family.

The walk to the front door was silent but he almost preferred it that way. It wasn't until he was about to apparate home that he called out to Alice. Her wavy hair framed her face, making her look so much younger. The girl he saw at the lake. All those times in Hogsmeade. This was his chance to have her in his life again. And he wasn't going to waste it. "I'm sorry for how I acted in our seventh year. I never once asked what you wanted. Never once did I think your mercy for my antics would run out. But when it did, I knew I was a fool. I tried to replace you. Each time was unsuccessful. This isn’t me asking you to forgive me all at once, but if you see it in your heart to let me in your life, I'll be there for you."

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy fanfic #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow smut #sebastian sallow x mc #sebastian sallow x oc #sebastian sallow x playable character #sebastian sallow x reader #smut #sebastian sallow fanfiction #sebastian sallow imagine #ominis gaunt #hogwarts legacy ominis #sebastian sallow becomes a father #daddy sebastian sallow #aged up sebastian sallow #freeform

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wherethewolfsbaneblooms · 4 months

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Shield Me Update:

Hello everyone and thank you for the huge support on Shield Me! I wanted to hop on and give everyone a quick update — I am on vacation till next weekend so updates may be a bit slower than usual. Chapter 4 is written and only needs to be edited. It should be out by either tonight or tomorrow. Also, I am currently working on a map for Shield Me so everyone can follow along with the different locations we visit in-fic since there’s lots of names. Happy reading! — Wolf

#resident evil village #lady dimitrescu x reader #lady dimitrescu #resident evil 8 #alcina dimitrescu #reader insert #alcina x reader #archive of our own #shield me #jarl dimitrescu #alcina dimitriscu x reader #capcom #lady alcina dimitrescu #freeform reader #chapter 4 #fic update

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fandomnerd9602 · 1 year

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Can you do Jenna Marshall x male reader ?

Jenna: tomorrow's my surgery

Y/N: I know and I'll be with you every step of the way

Jenna caresses Y/N's face...

Jenna: thank you

Y/N: just promise you'll still love me, I know I'm not exactly the best looking student around

Jenna giggles...

Jenna: I've felt your face many times, I think I have an idea about what you look like and I love it!

#jenna marshall #jenna marshall x reader #pretty little liars #jenna marshall imagine #abc family #freeform #tammin sursok #hurt and comfort

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the-really-lonely-mountain · 22 days

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Along for the ride, to Erebor - Part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Summary: Transported to Middle Earth, you must Join Thorin Oakenshield's Company as they travel to reclaim Erebor! OR: My take on the classic 'modern girl in Middle Earth' troupe. This is the second installment, so we are following the second movie of The Hobbit trilogy, and falling deeper in love with Kili on the way! This is the first part for the second movie.

Tags: Kili / Reader, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Modern Character in Middle Earth, During The Hobbit, How Do I Tag, Canon-Typical Violence, Kíli Is a Little Shit (Tolkien), implied soulmates, Dwarf Culture & Customs, Freeform, light smut, it's really just a brief description nothing too detailed, Holding Hands, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sleepy Cuddles, Protective Thorin Oakenshield Company Members, Dwalin & Thorin Oakenshield Friendship, Fluff and Humor, Domestic Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Where In Middle-Earth Is Gandalf?, Hair Braiding, Dwarf Courting, My First Tumblr Fic, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fíli & Kíli & Thorin Live, Thorin Oakenshield Lives, Fíli Lives (Tolkien), Kíli Lives (Tolkien), this chapter is domestic as hell, sword fight training, kili is a big ole softy and i love him so much for it

Word Count: 4,977

A/N: Hey y'all!! It's been a crazy couple of months let me tell ya! good god! I've decided to finally post the next part of the story to tumblr despite it not having been beta read. I'll use you guys as my guinea pigs lol so if you see anything that doesn't make sense or is spelled wrong, I'm begging you to please tell me. I can't wait to hear what you think about my pride and joy! <3

Image credit: @iamjaynaemarie

Divider credit: @cafekitsune

The company climbed down the tall rock into the forest below. Having rested on the long flight over, everyone was prepared for a day of walking. Nothing notable happened except innocent conversation to pass the time and the forging of grapes with Bilbo for a snack.

The sun dipped closer to the horizon, casting long shadows through the trees. Thorin found a small river to make camp nearby. Gloin made the fire then Bombur started cooking the food. While the stew was being made, Fili and Kili practiced their swordsmanship under the watchful eyes of Thorin and Dwalin to provide guidance. The dwarves had found a log and brought it over beside the fire. You knelt in the grass on the fire’s side parallel to the log. The others were leaning against it on the opposite side, smoking pipes and making jokes and commentary about the training. You pulled out your thread spools and measured out the first color. You realized you didn’t have scissors and asked the merry gathering in front of you if they did.

“Nah lass,” Dori said, “Our weapons aren’t sharp enough to cut thread, they’ll only fray it” He kicked Nori to quiet him when he started to protest the quality of his weapons, “You’ll want to ask Thorin to borrow his sword.”

You swallowed thickly and looked over at the man in question where he stood with his arms crossed next to Dwalin. He always intimated you but approaching him alone to ask a favor made anxiety spike straight through you.

They were several feet away, but the clanging of metal was still quite loud. The brothers had removed their shirts, as men often did, to escape the insulated heat it provided. Not that you were complaining, eye candy is always welcome in a world of forests and furs.

You timidly approached the taller man as he instructed the brothers. You waited till they started fighting again to say in a shy voice: “Um Thorin?”

He glanced at you to acknowledge your inquisition, “Yes, what is it?” He sounded impatient.

“May I please borrow your sword?” You pointed to the weapon strapped to his side, “I need it to cut some thread” You tried not to sound as scared and skittish as you felt. He looked at you blankly for a moment, surprised by your question.

Kili threw his brother back several feet, allowing him a few seconds to turn to you with a confident smile.

“Hey Y/N,” Kili said, making you and Thorin look at him. You couldn’t help but smile and sheepishly blush as you tried not to ogle his ripped upper body dripping in sweat.

“Hi Kili” you swayed back and forth a little without realizing it. Thorin took note of your fond reaction to his nephew.

Fili let out a mighty roar as he jumped on the back of his brother, taking advantage of his distraction. The dwarves on the log laughed and you giggled at them as they goaded each other on.

“I’ve got you now brother!” Fili triumphantly exclaimed.

“I think not!” Kili replied with a strong thrusting attack.

Thorin sighed, “Very well” He untied his sheathed sword from his belt and handed it to you. You thanked him and began walking back to your previous spot. He looked at the line of dwarves who were still chuckling lightly against the log, “Make sure she doesn’t kill herself” he said to them. They all nodded, including Balin who found this ironic remembering their conversation about leaving you in Rivendell. It would seem the dwarf king was taking a liking to you.

You kneeled, unsheathed the great Goblin Cleaver a few inches, and positioned the hilt between your knees, so it stayed standing on its spine. You measured 7 lengths of thread at about three feet and rubbed them against the fine elfin blade which cut them in one pass to make makeshift embroidery thread. You repeated that 5 times to end up with two groups of pink, two groups of blue, and one group of black thread. You did your best to keep them separated as you bunched them together to fold them in half and tie a loop at the end that you could hook onto a button of your coat. You sheathed the sword and returned it to Thorin knowing he wouldn’t like being without his weapon. You sat on the side of the log with everyone else and secured your coat in your lap so you could pull taught against the threads. You separated the threads and began knotting them over and across each other like how you learned to make friendship bracelets at summer camp. It gave your hands something to do as you sat idly watching the boys trash talk then turn serious and start fighting again.

“What are ya makin’ Y/N?” Ori asked as he watched you.

“I’m making a bracelet” You replied, pleased to see the others taking an interest in your crafting.

“Why’s that lass?” Bifur leaned over to see what you were doing exactly.

“So I can eventually make one for everyone else” You explained how it’s a tradition of sorts in your world to make bracelets for those you care about as a show of kinship and the enduring strength of your friendship and bond. “Since I can’t fight beside you all on the battlefield yet, I thought this could be another way I show my commitment to the company” You smiled at the group. You’d grown very fond of them during your travels and hoped they enjoyed your company as much as you did theirs.

“That’s a very sweet tradition, Y/N,” Balin said, “We look forward to receiving your gifts” The rest of the dwarves confirmed it with ‘Aye’s and a strong nod of the head.

“Supper!” Bombur called while stirring the pot. Everyone got in line except the training group who was going one last round. You all sat down in your previous spots along the log to see the finale of the night’s training.

You finished your dinner quickly so you could take advantage of the distracted troublemakers as well as the river on the other side of the hill. You grabbed your bag and told Gandalf you were going to the river to wash up. You knew he’d keep an eye on the dwarf who often followed you like a puppy and missed you when you weren’t by his side.

You see, Kili had to share most of his things with his brother; toys, motherly attention, food, and this included the women he was interested in. They usually fell for Fili because he was more mature, older, and looked more dwarfish than Kili who had very fine features for a dwarf and was five years younger than his brother. He initially assumed it would happen again with you, so when you didn’t show any interest in his brother, only in him, he couldn’t put into words how happy it made him.

At the river’s edge, you placed your bag and makeshift towel (your shirt from your old world) on a rock and took off your clothes. The water was chilly but nothing a sit by the fire couldn’t fix. You washed your hair and body with the elfish soap you got in Rivendell. As you rinsed in the steady current of the water your thoughts began to wander to what Gandalf said about your predicament.

You felt pulled to Kili, he brought comfort and calmness to a feeling you didn’t even know was in need. His smile and his laugh, every memory and moment you made and shared with the handsome prince of Erebor begged you to stay in Middle Earth.

It was decided then.

When you stood to squeeze the water from your hair you noticed the sun was beginning to set. The others would want to bathe too, or at the very least wash their hands. You dried off and dressed and took a deep breath to enjoy the welcomed privacy one last time.

You reappeared beside the wizard, “Thank you, Gandalf, that was very much needed” You sat next to him on the ground in front of the fire to warm up. “I may be traveling with brutes, but I needn’t smell like one” You joked. He chuckled over his pipe at this.

“I’ve decided to stay here Gandalf.” You informed him. “Something about this place is calling me to stay.” You needn’t tell him about the intense pull to Kili, right?

“Splendid my dear,” He smiled fondly at your decision. “I’m sure you’ll find Middle earth rather agreeable.”

You smiled up at him, happy to have his support.

The boys were still going at it. Kili was making a great effort, but Fili got the upper hand, making Kili’s sword fly out of his hand and sail through the air to stick in the ground. Kili kept fighting though, trying to get Fili’s sword from him. Fili had to force him to the ground with his arms pinned before Kili surrendered.

“Good job lads, good work,” Thorin said as he helped them up. Coins were exchanged against the log from the bets the company members made. The boys started walking towards their bags, but Kili swerved at the last moment to approach you. Your hair was still slightly damp from the river, so it was obvious you’d just bathed. Being the mischievous sweaty dirt-covered mess he was, Kili held his arms out to you for a hug. You watched him in horror as he continued to walk towards you.

“Ew, no Kili stop!” You held your hand up to stop him but to no avail.

“Awe Y/N, just one hug?” Kili pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

You quickly stood and laugh a little at his persistence, “Don’t you fucking dare!” you said and dashed away.

“Come on Y/N, no need to play hard to get!” Kili strained as he chased you around the log and back toward your bags.

“Aaahh!” You made a sharp turn to narrowly avoid a grimy Fili, who stepped in your path, the little shit. This closed the gap so Kili could grab your arm and pull you toward him.

“Nonononononono!” you pleaded as he wrapped his beefy arms around your shoulders, making sure to rub his sweaty dirty face against your hair and pet the side of your face with his equally dirty hand. “Kili!” you drew out the last syllable in complaint.

“You smell so good” He had the nerve to say.

“You smell like Ori’s unwashed socks!” You pushed at his chest still trying to get away. Everyone chuckled at this. “Get off me, ya big olaf” you managed to wriggle out of his grasp, “I’m not coming anywhere near you till you bathe,” you said dead serious, and pointed to the river.

“As you wish” Kili bowed with a smirk, he grabbed his bag on his way to the river to join his brother. You sat in your by the fire with a small smile that seemed permanent whenever you were around him.

You were working on your bracelet when the brothers returned. The sun had dipped below the horizon making darkness seep into the crevasses of the world. Kili sat behind you on the same long stone Gandalf was perched on and touched the ends of your miraculously dry hair (the elvish soap is magic idk). You stiffened at the unexpected but not necessarily unwelcome contact.

“Can I braid your hair Y/N?” he asked innocently as pink dusted his cheeks. You whipped around aggressively, pulling your hair out of his hand in the process.

“No cause you’re just going to get it all tangled and I’m going to have to spend all night brushing it out!” You weren’t looking forward to that, you thought he was just trying to prank you. Kili’s pout was as cute as ever.

“My dear,” Gandalf budded in before Kili could sulk away, “Braiding hair in dwarfish culture is similar to your tradition of making bracelets for friends, but they take it much more seriously.”

“How much more seriously?” You asked, intrigued about the nature of Kili proposition.

“It’s like…” The wizard took a draw from his pipe while he thought of the words to properly explain it to you, “asking someone to dance, it’s special and a more intimate way of getting to know someone.”

“So, like a date?” You tilted your head in question. You understood his analogy; braiding allows both people to show their level of craftsmanship and commitment, with the added benefit of practicality and looking very nice in the end when done with love and care.

“A bit” Gandalf smiled at your naiveite, “Just know our dear Kili is not trying to prank you when he asks to braid your hair, quite the opposite” He took another draw from his pipe and looked back at the fire.

“In that case, you may braid my hair Kee” You flipped your hair back over your shoulder. You couldn’t see the beaming smile that grew on his handsome face. You dug through your bag to find the hairbrush and other trinkets from Rivendell which you handed to Kili. He kept them in his lap while he brushed your hair. If he came across a knot, he was sure to be incredibly gentle. You enjoyed the physical contact and attention very much.

“Any requests?” He asked sounding confident in his abilities.

“Whatever you think would look best” You couldn’t help but smile a little.

He used your brush to part your hair down the middle. He started braiding at your nape closest to the part. After that you didn’t pay very much attention to what he was doing, instead just relished the experience.

He finished one side and secured it with a bead from your stash, “How’s that feel, too tight?”, he asked and adjusted pieces here and there to make it lay perfectly.

“It feels great!” You chirped happily. You reached a hand to feel what he’d done so far but he shooed it away.

“Not yet, you’ll ruin the surprise!” He started working on the other side.

By the time he was done, you were so relaxed you’d almost fallen asleep on his leg.

“Done!” he said, you could tell he was very pleased with his work, “How do you like it?” He sounded a bit nervous.

You ran your fingers over the braids, feeling how they turned and curved at certain points and went straight in others.

“Kili this is amazing!” You said, very happy with the state of your hair. He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Thank you!” You looked back at him with a smile that was as big as his.

“I’m afraid I can't properly reciprocate though, I don’t know how to braid hair like this, I can only do normal braids.” You regretted never having learned how to French braid now more than ever. “If that’s how this works” You quickly corrected in a slight panic.

He was elated you wanted to return his deed at all, “That’s fine!” He tried not to sound too excited and be cool about it, “I can teach you if you want” he offered.

“I’d appreciate that!” You smiled.

You switched places, so he was sitting between your legs facing the fire. The position was innocent, but his thoughts were anything but. Images of your face beautifully contorted in pleasure from his tongue exploring your most private and intimate parts were most welcomed.

“May I take this out?” you lightly touched the silver clip that held his hair out of his face.

“Sure” He happily shrugged. You dug through his brown hair where the clasp was supposed to be, but your trembling hands couldn’t find it in all his hair.

After he heard you huffing and puffing and hadn’t felt his hair fall from the clip he asked in a soft voice, “Do you need help?”

“Yes,” you sighed, embarrassed you couldn’t even get a damn clip undone. He reached back, and struggled for a few seconds but undid the clasp, and handed it to you.

While you brushed his hair you thought of what you should do to it, or more what you could do with his hair given your limited abilities. You brushed through a few knots if any.

“I think I know what I want to try to do,” You touched the sides of his head just above his temple, “I want to do two small braids on the sides of your head, but I want the topmost part of your hair not to be braided.”

“Let’s try it!” He explained how you needed to part the hair and how to get started. You had his head lying against your thigh in an admittedly awkward and uncomfortable position, but he was quite the trooper. You had to restart the first braid three times but, in the end, he talked you through it and you tied it off with a bead.

“How did you learn to braid so well” you asked, struggling to grip all the pieces of the second braid properly and not pull the strands out of his head.

“My mother was insistent I learned. She knew my brother would have no trouble learning this facet of courting, but she feared I would spend all my time shooting arrows and never learn how to properly court girls.” He talked fondly of the memories, “So one summer when I was about to come of age, I came home from running amuck every day and she’d sit me down at her tapestry’s and make me braid the tassels that ran around the border.”

“Were you any good?” You asked curiously.

“Oh yes, I was very good! For a while, I was even better than Fili!” He was very proud of that.

“Why did he get better than you? Lean forward please,” you politely asked.

“He’s quite the lady’s man, so he had plenty of girls to practice on,” Kili sounded like that brought up memories that weren’t very pleasant. You finished the second braid with a bead like the first.

“Lay your head down for me again” You softly asked, gingerly guiding his head to lay against your other thigh, “Awe, baby Kili didn’t get any coochie did he” You fake pouted to tease him, gently scratching his scalp absentmindedly while you rested your neck for a moment. He liked it, more than he’d care to admit. “I’m in the same boat I’m afraid” You parted the other side of his hair.

“Oh? How so?” He was very surprised by this, “I’d have thought men were practically throwing themselves at you.” This made you laugh and blush.

“I’m awfully flattered you think that highly of me…” You took a moment to focus on a particularly difficult part, “But men from my world didn’t talk to me.”

“I find that completely unbelievable.” He was floored by this.

“I’m serious! I was never asked out on a date and the few times I asked for someone’s number they turned out to be self-centered losers with a ton of issues” You hated how much time you’d wasted on them. He couldn’t wrap his head around that and had to hold his tongue from proclaiming his thoughts of your perfection.

He turned to look at you despite your protests, “Then they are truly blind,” He couldn’t have been more sincere. His eyes blazed in the firelight with a mix of ferocity and sadness on your behalf.

“Thank you, Kee,” You smiled at him. He assumed his previous position so you could end the braid with a bead like the two before and then started on the last one, “And those silly girls are truly blind as well.” You wanted to kiss his slightly flushed cheek.

You were both in your own little world, where the troubles of the outside couldn’t get to you…or the onlookers and peanut gallery for that matter. Gandalf had moved to sit with the company who had been watching from across the fire on the other side of the log since Kili finished your first braid. They couldn’t quite hear your conversation, but they knew their beloved Kili was having the time of his life.

Fili was very proud of his brother. He talked about you all the time, was looking at you all the time; the man was whipped. Fili had to hear about you the entire time he was bathing, poor thing, and he finally got fed up with his brother not making a move.

“Kili, just ask to braid her hair for god’s sake” Fili huffed while he waited for his brother to finish in the river. Kili’s eyes lit up like a forge with the breath from bellows, and his face flushed like he did when he hammered out a new blade.

“I think I will,” Kili nodded, distracted by thoughts of engaging in such an informal and somewhat intimate act.

Thorin was very pleased you were trying to repay his nephew’s advances in equal measure. He’d seen the poor boy flounder with crushes in the past as he tended to be immature, and girls mistook that for uncaring and unable to provide. Something about you brought out the best in his nephew though, he’d never seen him act so mature, for this Thorin was willing to stay some of his distrust and pessimistic opinions about outsiders, at the very least about you.

By the time you finished the last braid, Kili had made himself very comfortable against your leg, with his arm wrapped around your calf, fidgeting with the laces of your boot. He looked so tranquil you hesitated to tell him you’d finished, not ready to leave the sanctuary you were in. You leaned back against your hand while you stared into the fire and gently scratched the nape of his neck.

He hummed half asleep, “Mmm that feels good,” His words were a little slurred, but it made him all the cuter.

You stayed like that till your bottom began to protest the hard rock beneath you. He was right on the cusp of sleep when you shook your leg beneath him, gentle with guilt.

“Kili, I gotta get up,” You softly tried to rouse him. He hummed in protest. “Besides, don’t you want to know how the braids turned out?” You admired your work with pride.

He sat up and stretched to wake his muscles then ran a hand over his new braids, “Wow Y/N! These are so good!” He looked back at you impressed, “You picked up on that fast!”

“Thanks, Kee!” You blushed as you ran a hand over the intricate lines in your hair, “They aren’t half as good as yours, but I think I did great for my first time” You smiled, pleased with yourself.

“Come show us!” someone from the log called, followed by various iterations of the same thing from others. Ever supportive, they were eager to see what you’d both made.

Kili stood and you followed him to the log. You turned so he could show off his creation. The dwarves were very impressed, a few coming up to inspect closer. When Kili turned to show your work, the company was even more impressed given it was your first time.

“Next time you’ll have to make beads for her, Kee” Fili teased making him and Bofur laugh at how Kili blushed.

“Make beads? What does that mean?” You asked the group in confusion.

“You’ll understand when the time comes,” Thorin said in an uncharacteristically happy tone. “For now, we shall rest” With that everyone began prepping their bedding for the night.

You laid your bed roll beside Kili’s like usual, but Bombur reminded you to clean the dishes before they were put away. Gandalf accompanied you so you could see with the light of his staff. Everyone was asleep when you returned to camp, except Thorin who was on watch.

When you sat on your bedroll, which was naturally next to Kili’s, he looked up at you, barely awake with a dopey smile.

“You look so pretty,” he said quietly, drawing out the last syllable of pretty. Red bloomed over your cheeks and down your neck. He loved your hair like that, he loved it even more that he was the one who did it.

“Go to sleep, Kee,” You whispered so you didn’t wake the others, but couldn’t help but smile as you lay on your bedroll next to him.

“But then I can’t look at you” He pouted, quite distraught about this revelation in his sleepy daze.

“Well, no, I suppose you can’t…” You nibbled your bottom lip as you thought of a solution, “Would holding hands appease you, sleepy prince?” you asked and held out the hand that wasn’t cuddling your coat to your chest. He was too out of it to catch your nickname for him. He nodded and held your hand in his, making both your hearts beat just a little faster.

You closed your eyes and rubbed your face against your coat to find a comfortable position. You could feel his eyes on you.

You opened your eyes to see him staring directly at you, “Good night, Kili” you said in a strong nonnegotiable tone.

He hummed and smiled and closed his eyes, “Good night, Y/N.”

~~~

Kili felt your hand grow tighter around his, drawing him from sleep. Then he felt you pulling against it like you were trying to alert him to danger in the camp without making a sound. He opened his eyes ready for war and saw no danger. He looked at you confused but realized you weren’t awake. You were whimpering and mumbling as your head thrashed from side to side.

‘She’s having a nightmare’ he quickly thought. He squeezed your hand and gently shook it.

“Y/N” He tried not to let his worry raise the volume of his voice, “Wake up.”

You didn’t respond, your mumbles turned into clear pleas for help, making him fret even more.

“Y/N!” He shook your shoulder vehemently, “You need to wake up” He had an urgency in his voice. You feebly fought against his hold on your shoulder.

“Please!” you gasped, still breaking from the nightmare when you opened your eyes, “No, please let go!” You begged and continued to push against his hand with tears in your eyes, not knowing who he was while sleep still clouded your vision and mind.

“Y/N, Y/N look at me” he moved his hand from your shoulder to the side of your neck and cheek to call your attention to him, “It was just a dream, you’re safe now.” When you met his eyes, he recognized just how rattled you were.

You were breathing rapidly, and tears were making your eyelashes sparkle in the firelight. He could feel your rapid heartbeat where his hand laid over your pulse point. He could tell you were beginning to wake up because you softly uttered his name and the hand that was fighting his on your neck gently wrapped around his wrist.

“You’re safe, I promise,” His eyebrows were pinched together in worry. You nodded and took a deep breath to try to keep the tears away. It’d been a very long time since you’d had a nightmare that bad.

Kili pulled your bedroll closer to his, “Come here,” He gave you a hug to comfort you, “Do you want to tell me about it?” he asked when you pulled back from the hug too look at him. You laid your head on his upper arm and kept your cuddle coat close to your chest.

“I-I was in a forest at night and there were goblins and orcs and Wargs coming to attack me and-” You were talking quickly, the bad dream still too real, “and I was all alone and I couldn’t defend myself…” You trailed off, the waver in your voice making it hard to talk. “I was so scared, Kili,” You tried to curl into yourself.

“Hey hey hey, look at me” He held the side of your face again, “You’re safe,” he said. You took a deep breath and nodded. “I’d never let anything happen to you, aye?” He promoted you to get you out of your head. You took another deep breath and nodded.

“I’m ok” you repeated “I’m ok.”

“Yes, there ya go!” He nodded, relieved you were coming around. His thumb swept over your cheek to wipe a tear. You took a few minutes to calm down. Kili was falling asleep, but he needed to know you were going to be ok.

“Thank you, Kee,” you said, your whispered voice no longer shaking with fear, he gave a hearty nod in reply before he yawned. His arm was going numb where your head was lying on it, but it was worth it when you rubbed your face against it to get comfortable as you did in that way, which he found utterly adorable. You appreciated the physical comfort you would have never had in your world.

“I’ll teach you how to fight tomorrow” he whispered over a yawn, his eyelids getting heavy again. He moved his hand from your neck to hang over your waist. He wanted to pull you into him, so you’d feel protected on all sides, not for any other selfish deeply personal reasons of course, but he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.

“I’d like that very much,” you smiled and watched as he fell back asleep, not snoring but breathing heavily in that way which you found so adorable. You felt safe with his hand on your waist and fell asleep not long after him with thoughts of training together dancing behind your eyes.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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