Walking into the tavern together, Kili, Y/n, Fili and Ori soon found the rangers. They brooded in a corner, and spoke in low whispers. A classic aesthetic, Y/n thought. She was already bored of their antics.

Walking into the tavern together, Kili, Y/n, Fili and Ori soon found the rangers. They brooded in a corner, and spoke in low whispers. A classic aesthetic, Y/n thought. She was already bored of their antics.

Now, being the only girl in the group, Y/n felt it her duty to carry out said flirting.

Whipping her head all around, as to let her locks fall loose, Y/n made herself more presentable. Kili watched on, with an evident swallow of his nerves.

Quickly creasing his brows, he held her arm in place, as to stop her preening movements.

“Perhaps we should organise another plan,” Kili said, speaking to the group as a whole.

“We barely organised this one,” Fili pointed out, glancing between his brother and Y/n.

“I agree, besides, we have no time left to think of a new approach,” Y/n added on, looking over her shoulder.

Clenching his jaw, Kili slowly let go of Y/n’s arm.

Shaking her hair out one last time, and smoothing down her tunic, Y/n turned around to face the boys.

“Okay, how do I look?” she asked.

“Good enough to talk to some sleazy men,” Fili remarked.

“You look most lovely, Miss L/n!” Ori asserted, nodding his chin high in resolution.

“Aw,” Y/n cooed, placing a hand over her chest. “There’s nothing better than being complimented on how good you look, when it comes to manipulating men.”

Jealous of the attention she gave Ori, Kili quickly darted his eyes between them both. He then landed them on Y/n, and sputtered a response aloud.

“Indeed! You look like a prostitute!” he attempted to flatter.

An awkward tension quickly befell the four. Y/n creased her features, and pressed her lips into a tight line.

“Well, anyways…” Y/n quickly changed the topic, turning on her heels. “I ought to get started. Thorin wants us back very soon in the morning.”

“Good luck,” Fili whispered, pushing her along by her back.

Watching as the girl weaved in and out of the tavern, the three boys stood in a line.

“Prostitute? Really?” Fili flatly repeated.

“It was all I could think of!” Kili defended himself, with a folding of his arms.

“You’ll never braid her hair at this rate,” Ori remarked, pursing his lips to one side.

Scoffing, Kili sent the youngest Dwarf an offended look.

“Be quiet, you,” he said. “You’re not even old enough to court!”

“Exactly,” Ori knowingly replied, “but YOU are, which makes it all the more sadder that you can’t even compliment her.”

Growling, Kili rolled his eyes.

“Just you watch,” he said, nodding his head resolutely in Y/n’s direction. “By the time we reclaim Erebor, Y/n will have a thousand braids in her hair!”

“No doubt,” Fili said, smirking. “However, we’ll just have to see if you’re the one to put them there!”

As Fili and Ori fell into snickers, Y/n made her way on over towards the rangers. At the same time, a nearby bartender, cleaning a tankard, eavesdropped on the Dwarves’ conversation.

“If you’re sending that lass on over there, to use her womanly charms on that lot,” he spoke up, “then you’re in for a rude shock.”

All turning their heads over their shoulders at once, the three boys furrowed their brows at the taller, and older man.

“Why’s that?” Kili asked.

“Let’s just say,” the man began again, chuckling, with a raise of his brows, “that those particular rangers like their women the way they like their bounties; above eighteen-years-old, and men.”

As the realisation slowly dawned on them, the three Dwarves widened their eyes. In unison, they each all quickly shot their attention back up front. They then observed Y/n attempt to flirt with a group of men most inclined to not find her attractive.

“We have to save her!” Kili frantically said.

“Aye, already on it!” Ori answered.

Looking all around themselves for the shorter Dwarf, both Kili and Fili were confused, as they found him nowhere in sight.

Lifting their heads, they each groaned in anxious dread. Ori was already making his way on over towards the hidden table, as to take Y/n’s place in the position of flirting.

Hastily, the brothers ran after Ori, for they knew one of them had better handle it.

“Are you sure?” Y/n confusedly asked the table. “B-Because I’m offering? You really aren’t interested?”

“Look, lady,” one seethed, squeezing his tankard tighter. “Whatever you’re selling, we don’t exactly have the currency for!”

Afraid they were poking fun at her appearance, and not at all realizing their underlying subtext, Y/n hardened her features.

“Well, no need to have your heads so far up your-“ she had gone to say.

However, Ori had swiftly jumped in, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Woah, woah, woah,” he calmly said. “What seems to be the problem here?”

Y/n didn’t know if the question was directed at her, or the table. Though, before she could figure it out, Ori had directed his attention at the men, whose eyes all brightened at the sight of the young Dwarf.

“Well, well, well,” one man said. “And who might you be?”

“Ori,” he replied, smiling brightly.

All at once, every man on the table turned their attention to Y/n. Before she could question aloud, Ori had placed a façade on, and scowled at her.

“Get out of here, old lady!” he shouted, understanding the table’s silent thoughts.

Dropping her features, Y/n gaped down at Ori. Old lady? What? She was barely a few years his senior!

Sensing an underlying charade nonetheless, Y/n scoffed in offence. Glaring down at Ori, Y/n warned him both in and outside of the game.

“Alright, but this isn’t over,” she lowly warned.

With that, Y/n gave a gulping and tightly grinning Ori a threatening raise of her brows, before she left the table.

Rushing past both Fili and Kili, with a clearly set jaw, and angered gaze, Y/n made her way towards the wooden steps, which led upwards to the rooms.

“Are you alright?” Kili asked in concern.

“Wonderful,” Y/n tightly replied. “Just apparently look as old as an Elf, without the charm.”

Watching, as the young woman headed upstairs, both Fili and Kili glanced between one another. The older brother then slowly bared his teeth in wincing cringe, and hissed.

“That’s your chance, if you’re wondering,” Fili advised, nodding his head between his younger brother, and the stairs.

Gulping heavily, Kili looked up the steps once more. Setting his jaw, he too ascended them, with only the thoughts of Y/n on his mind.

~

Sat on the bed, with her legs folded beneath her, Y/n held a mirror. She inspected every fine line, and little feature, which made her appear older than she actually was.

With a growl tearing through her throat, she threw the mirror across the bed.

At that moment, a small knock had come from the door. Turning her head, she glared at Kili, though, she meant him no harm.

“I’m pretty sure that’s bad luck,” Kili remarked, pointing at the now cracked mirror.

“It makes no difference to me, and my cursed genes!” Y/n complained, using a fanatic hand gesture to elaborate. “Can you believe what that little horse turd said? He called me OLD LADY! I’m barely older than HIM!”

“He called you an old lady?” Kili snickered, trying his hardest to bite back a grin. However, his humour did not slip Y/n’s attention.

“What? You think this is funny?” Y/n seethed, deepening her glare.

At once, Kili’s features dropped, and he turned ghostly.

“No, no! Of course not!” he promised, quickly crawling into the sheets. “I would never think you silly! Or your skewered vision of yourself…”

“My what?” she bit back, growling at him.

“I-uh! Just mean, that you…well, you know,” Kili fumbled, trying to come up with an elaborate answer. “You’re already so pretty, I just don’t understand why you’d fixate on small details?”

“The small things add up,” Y/n replied, pulling at the skin surrounding her eyes. She completely missed his compliment – too caught up in her own insecurities.  

“Well, yes, they do,” Kili lightly chuckled – reeling it in, however, the moment Y/n’s burning gaze snapped to him. “Look, Y/n…I just don’t think you should waste so much energy fussing over your appearance. So, you look a little older than what you actually are, so what? It’s paid off before, has it not? Many in the company take you seriously, more than they do me, Ori or even Fili!”

Nodding her head from side to side in thought, Y/n considered his words.

“Besides,” Kili casually pressed on, with a drawl of the words, “aging isn’t a terrible thing in itself. In our lifestyle, it’s a blessing to have made it so far, as to even develop silver hairs, or fine lines in the first place!”

Knowing his words were true, Y/n allowed a chuckle to break through. She dropped her head, to stare at her legs, and racked her shoulders with every little laugh.

“Yes, that is true,” Y/n laughed.

“Exactly!” Kili pressed on, pointing across at her.

Studying her features, Kili warmly smiled. He then reached a few fingers into her hair – the hair he craved so deeply to braid – and twirled the strands around.

“And anyways…silver is the new sexy,” he allusively drawled, waggling his brows up and down.

Before she could laugh at his flirtatious comment, she gasped. Reaching her own hands up into her hair, she yanked on the locks.

“I have silver stands?!” she exclaimed in horror.

Keeling back in laughter, Kili quickly shook his head.

“I’m only teasing!” he promised.

Now, slowly allowing a smirk to grace her features, Y/n playfully glared at Kili, and punched his shoulder.

“Not nice,” she remarked.

“No, but you are,” Kili said, in a completely earnest voice, as he revered her with adoring eyes, “to look at, I mean.”

Softly smiling back, Y/n observed her own friend. How lucky was she, to have such a dear companion in her life? She never had to feel insecure when he was around, for he saw past the very same things she scrutinised herself for.

“Thank you, Kili,” she quietly said, feeling a whole lot better.

“Of course,” he replied, smiling in response.

If he thought she was pretty, then she thought so too.