#everybody lives

It took a few weeks of observation before Fíli approached you one evening. You weren’t on night watch, not really—Thorin had informally taken up that position most nights with his brooding. You wondered if he was getting any sleep at all. But heaven forbid you question the mighty leader; you were nothing more than a lost soul whom Thorin had long given up on trying to understand. The fact he, and some of the older, grumpier dwarves, simply tolerated your presence was enough for you. Still, you would stiffen whenever Dwalin reached for his axe.

The Company had stopped near a rocky overhang on the ridge-line you’d ridden along for almost a week. The others had long since bedded down, the scent of tobacco fading to give way to the fragrant musk of the cedar crackling in the fire. Only one thin tendril of pipe smoke remained, drifting up from Thorin’s silhouette where he sat against a stump. The last one awake, you thought, other than you. Even Gandalf had drifted off. Bilbo stirred fitfully beneath his blanket, his sleep disturbed no doubt by Fíli and Kíli’s sly warnings of wolves.

“What do you play?” Fíli asked quietly, settling beside you. You jumped, and he held up his hands. “I did not mean to frighten you,” he chuckled.

A few moments of silence passed before you realized he had asked you a question, but you just stared at him in confusion. “Play?”

He quirked an eyebrow, then gestured to your hands in your lap. “You move them. When we sing?”

This time it was the question that startled you. Fíli noticed you? He… watched you? You couldn’t help the slight burning in your cheeks and prayed the orange firelight that licked at the shadows disguised your face. You thought you’d done your best to fit in, to blend in, but clearly you were a fool to think yourself successful. A young, human woman—daughter of Man, you corrected yourself bitterly—from some other world could never truly fit in with such company. No one was exactly pleased with your rather sudden addition to the group.

At least, you hadn’t thought so.

“What do you play?” You turned the question onto the prince instead and took a swig from the waterskin next to you to stall your own answer.

“The violin. Kíli and I, both.” Fíli paused for a moment. “Thorin plays the harp.”

You choked on the water, sending you into a coughing fit that had Fíli thumping you soundly on the back to help clear your lungs. Dwalin’s bear-like snores hitched at the disruption, and you saw Thorin sneak a look over his shoulder at you. You quickly lifted a hand to wave Fíli off. “He plays the what?” you wheezed.

“Don’t be so surprised,” Fíli teased, “he can be quite delicate when the circumstances call for it. Brings a tear to the eye, I swear on my beard.” He flicked a mustache braid with his finger and winked.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” You shook your head and took another drink. “What do you think I play?”

Fíli’s brows knitted together in thought. “I thought at first you might play some kind of drum, with how you could keep time–”

“Anyone can slap their knee to a beat,” you interrupted.

“Yes, but your timing was always perfect—a musician’s timing,” the dwarf insisted. “But then you do this… this tapping…” Fíli imitated your flutterings of the best he could with his gloved hands. “I thought perhaps a flute? You never do it near your face, though. So…?” He abandoned his imitation and motioned toward you again.

Your eyes dropped to your hands, fingers now knitted tightly together in your lap. Truth be told, you hadn’t realized you’d been doing it. “Do you know what a piano is?” you asked at last. Your question was met with a blank look, and your heart sank. “I guess you don’t have them here, then.”

“What do they look like?”

There was a thin stick poking out of the base of the fire. You pulled it out, shook the end of it to extinguish a small ember, and began sketching a keyboard in the dirt.

Fíli leaned over and watched you intently, head cocked.

“These are the keys. You press them down and it makes a sound–”

“Describe it.” His eager curiosity was endearing.

You tipped your head back in thought and closed your eyes, searching for the words. “I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s… clear. Like taking a mallet and hitting a piece of metal, but gentler.”

He nodded along as you continued, explaining which keys made which notes, how the hammers inside the piano struck the strings to make sound, the difference between a grand piano and an upright piano. He’d never heard you so excited.

“So what song were you pretending to play?”

The question was innocent, but it made your chest tighten all the same. You turned your head away and debated if you should answer honestly.

“Y/N?” Fíli nudged you with his shoulder.

“It’s called Für Elise,” you replied quietly, keeping your eyes downcast. “I played it at my last recital.”

The silence between you became chilly. Fíli finally cleared his throat and leaned back, stretching his legs. “I seem to have struck a nerve. I’m sorry.”

You shook your head but still did not look at him. “No, no, it’s fine.”

“I’m sure you did well,” he offered.

“That’s exactly it: I didn’t.” With a weary sigh, you slid down until your back was against the log, rucking up your shirt slightly. Your eyes drifted up to the sky. “I had been practicing, every day, for months. Almost a year. It’s not the most difficult song to play—it’s got this kinda tricky, fast bit in the middle, but it’s mostly repetition. It’s pretty, though. My favorite.”

Fíli slid down as well to join you. He reached over and tugged your shirt back down. You shifted to allow it to settle and gave him a brief smile. “So…?” he pressed.

“I had it memorized perfectly. Forwards, backwards, in my sleep. I even practiced it on the piano onstage before the recital began. So my turn comes, and I go up on stage, all dressed up, and start to play. And it was fine at first. Then, just like that–” you snap your fingers, “–my mind goes blank.”

Fíli’s eyebrows shoot up.

“I completely froze. I looked over at my teacher in the first row—it was obvious to everyone that I forgot. I plunked out the last few measures, curtsied, and left the stage. I have never been so humiliated in my entire life.”

Fíli was quiet. Then a hand patted your shoulder hesitantly. “Maybe someday you’ll be able to play it for us.”

You looked back over at him with a rueful smile. “Yeah. Maybe.” Standing and stretching, you yawned. “I’m going to get some sleep. G’night, Fíli.”

A shadow flickered across his face, but it was quickly replaced by a polite smile. “Sleep well.”

Fíli watched you pick your way through the snoring dwarves to your bedroll. His chest was tight and he felt oddly warm, almost hot. He had to force himself to look away when you nearly tripped over Dori.

Curiosity, he told himself firmly. You’re just curious.

He wasn’t sure if he believed himself.

Pain flared in your shoulder as an elf shoved you roughly into a small cleft in the stone, slamming the iron door behind you.

Carefully, you felt around your shoulder blade, only for your fingers to come back red with blood. Your mind, clouded from the effects of the forest and whatever kept you incapacitated inside the spiders’ webs, began to clear. The gnawing in your stomach told you that you must not have eaten in several days. Other aches and pains seeped into your limbs, bruises and cuts making themselves known. Shouts from the dwarves echoing around the caves made your head pound.

Everything hit you all at once. You stumbled backwards into the wall and slid down to the floor. Tears spilled down your cheeks, your shoulders shaking as you dropped your head and cried.

“Y/N!” One of the voices cut through the din more clearly. “Y/N, can you hear me? Are you alright?” The calls became laced with panic when you didn’t respond immediately.

You wiped the tears away with the back of your hand and crawled to the door. Craning your head, you could just barely see glimpse another cell up a small set of stairs, and a flash of blonde hair. “Fíli?”

“Are you alright?” he repeated.

“I’m fine,” you croaked unconvincingly.

“You’re crying,” the prince pressed. You couldn’t see his face, but you could imagine his scrutinizing squint and brows set low. “Are you hurt?”

The blood was drying on your fingers, but the wound was still warm and sticky, the pain throbbing in time with your heartbeat. You nodded slowly before remembering that Fíli couldn’t see you. “A little.”

He was silent. “I should have protected you better,” Fíli finally forced out through gritted teeth. “Those foul beasts should never have touched you.”

You bristled for a moment at the idea that you needed to be protected like some helpless child, but the indignation was short-lived. You did need to be protected. When the others jumped into the fray against Azog and his wargs, you were scrambling to keep your grip on the tree. It didn’t matter that you had no training, or that the high, thin branches around you were the first to break when the tree began to fall. As the Company fought, you dangled uselessly. And when Thorin praised Bilbo, you were hiding behind a boulder and retching up bile. It didn’t matter that you were more motion sick than you’d been in your life after narrowly escaping death in the talons of an eagle. Weak, you scolded yourself.

Fíli had vowed, then, to teach you proper swordsmanship. You were a quick study, though the prince went easy on you at first. Certainly a quicker study than Bilbo, though the hobbit matched your determination. You’d bonded over both feeling useless, targets of Thorin’s disdain.

“Up.” A curt voice shook you from your thoughts. A tall elf stood over you, unlocking the door and waving you out of the cell. She did not touch you, but escape wasn’t a thought in your mind. Fíli was only a short distance ahead, craning his neck to look over his shoulder at you. He flashed you a tight smile that you struggled to return.

The guards led you and a handful of the others to a small cavern with a spring, letting you relieve yourself. You went last, as the only woman, and they mercifully allowed you to rinse off some of the grime coating your skin. They handed a waterskin and some bread to each of you before escorting you back to the dungeons.

But as they took the group to your cells, Fíli moved next to you and gently took your arm. As one guard secured Ori, Fíli swiftly pulled you into his cell with him. You were too confused, and too tired, to protest.

He eased you to the ground and knelt before you. “That needs to be bandaged,” he said quietly. “Let me find–”

His next words are drowned out by a loud clang as the door swings shut behind him. With Fíli in front of you, the guard didn’t notice that the cell had an extra prisoner. The mistake must have been quickly realized when she got to your cell. The guard reappeared, peering in at you and Fíli. He glowered at the elf, putting out an arm to shield you. She frowned, then huffed out a sigh and turned away, leaving you alone in the cramped, damp space with the dwarf prince.

Fíli relaxed as the echo of her steps faded. “Alright,” he sighed. “Let’s get this looked at.”

You shied away a bit as he reached for you. “Shouldn’t Óin be doing this?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to be stuck in a cell with him instead? I know how to tie a rag around a wound, lass.”

You yielded. Fíli carefully pried the fabric of your shirt away from the cut, wincing sympathetically. He stared at the wound for a beat. “I can’t… I can’t get to it with your shirt… if I could cut the sleeve off, but I don’t have a knife…” He trailed off with wide eyes as you reached behind you and pulled a small carving knife from beneath your shirt. “How did you hide that?”

“Bra strap,” you stated, snapping the strap against your back. “I guess they didn’t want to frisk a woman too closely.”

“How honorable of them,” Fíli remarked dryly. He wielded the sharp knife with precision. Not once were you afraid that the blade would slip and cut you. Carefully, he cut along the seam of your sleeve until he could pull the torn and bloodied fabric off of your arm. “We can cut that into strips. Use the clean bits for the bandages.”

With gentle hands, Fíli wiped dried blood from your skin with a scrap of wet cloth. A shock of fresh pain made you yelp as he poured cold water over the wound. “I know it hurts, but I don’t want to seal any dirt under the dressings.”

You bit your lip and nodded, squeezing your eyes shut and trying to think of something else while he rinsed it.

“Lift your arm a bit.” Fíli passed the end of a strip of cloth beneath your armpit, wrapped it tightly around your shoulder and tied it off. “That should do for a while.”

You replaced the knife in your bra strap and sat back against the wall. “Thank you.”

“Comfortable?”

“Not really.”

“Here, then.” Fíli reached out and tugged you towards him. To your surprise, and slight alarm, he positioned you between his outstretched legs, your back against his chest. Shrugging out of his coat, he laid it across the two of you like a blanket. “Better?”

“Yeah, sure,” you breathed out shakily. “Not very proper for a gentleman, but it’ll do.”

“You could shout. Get the elves to put you back in your own cell.”

“I could.”

“But you aren’t.” He rested his chin on your uninjured shoulder.

“I’m not.”

“Or I could yell.”

“But you aren’t.”

“I’m not. It seems we’re at an impasse.” Fíli heaved an exaggerated sigh. His thick fingers drifted along your arm, not quite close enough to touch. “You know what would pass the time?”

“Hm?” You found yourself growing drowsy against his warmth.

“That song you used to play. Elise-something.”

“Für Elise.”

“That one. Can you sing it?”

You sat in silence for a few moments. Then, slowly, you began to hum the melody, relaxing fully against Fíli while he moved his chin to your head.

And for the first time since you’d entered those foul woods, you smiled.

“Hail the King Under the Mountain!”

The shout was met with a roar from the dwarves in the dining hall and cheerful, drunken yells. The actual coronation ceremony had ended hours earlier, leaving plenty of time for revelry. Alcohol and food flew through the air in equal measure, the dwarves’ self-control dampened by copious amounts of ale.

You stood against the wall of green stone, nursing some wine and observing. Inwardly, you marveled at how the mountain had transformed in just a few short months. The only thing that delayed Thorin’s coronation, and the official recognition of Fíli and Kíli as princes, was getting the food shipped to Erebor. Torches and candles filled the hall with a warm glow while dwarves bustled around with plates of food and mugs of ale. Thorin was nowhere to be seen, but Kíli was enthusiastically trading drinking songs with Bofur and Nori.

But despite the all the joy and celebration surrounding you, you couldn’t bring yourself to join in. The little voice in the back of your mind had grown louder over the months since the battle. You kept busy. Running messages for Thorin, helping sort the artifacts recovered from the dragon’s hoard, anything to silence the voice.

Placing your glass on a nearby table, you slipped out into the empty corridor. Your footsteps echoed through the cavernous halls, carrying you anywhere but from where you came. You wouldn’t dare bring down the mood with your brooding. Slowly, the din began to fade, as did the warmth. A shiver ran down your spine, and you pulled down the sleeves of your ill-fitting dress to cover your hands. Maybe leaving was a mistake—out in the corridors, there was nothing to distract you.

What would you do now? You weren’t a dwarf. You had no place beneath the mountain. But the idea of leaving filled you with dread. The rest of Men weren’t like you. You didn’t belong among them, in this world. You had nothing to offer it.

“Cold?”

A cloak came out of nowhere to rest on your shoulders. It was thick and dark brown, decorated with golden embroidery. A royal cloak. You whirled around and reached for a weapon that was not there.

“Did you think you could escape unnoticed?” Fíli’s face was flushed from drinking, but his eyes were as sharp as ever.

“Fíli! You scared me!” you hissed, giving him a shove. It didn’t sway him; either he had incredible tolerance, or barely drank. “Why’d you follow me?”

“Why’d you leave?” He turned the question back on you.

“I just… I needed to think. Things will be different now.”

“I don’t see why they have to be.”

You scoffed. “Of course things will be different. You’re the crown prince, and I’m–” I’m nothing, you finished silently.

He tilted his head and studied you for a while. “Walk with me.” He gently pulled at your hand and began guiding you across catwalks and up staircases. “The mountain has come a long way in such a short time,” he commented.

“It has.” Most of the scorch marks had been cleaned from the dark green stone, letting rivers of gold shine through. “All thanks to that dwarven stubbornness, I suppose. You refuse to stop until it’s done.”

“Stubbornness?!” Fíli recoiled in mock offense. “I think you mean determination.”

“Whatever you say, Prince Fíli.”

His playful air vanished and he looked away. “Don’t… don’t call me that. You don’t need to call me that.”

You looked away too, focusing on your feet. Where was he taking you, anyway? “Why not? Because I’m not part of your kingdom?” You forced the words out through a tightening throat.

His offense was real this time. “Of course you’re part of our kingdom! Why wouldn’t you be?” His eyes darkened with… anger? Or was that sadness?

You flinched away from his raised voice, tears gathering in your eyes. “Fíli, I…” Here we go. “I don’t belong here. We both know that. I’m not a dwarf, these aren’t my people. I don’t have any people.” You wrung your hands anxiously.

Noticing your tears, Fíli’s cooler head prevailed. “Come, sit with me.” He’d led you down a small but intricately carved corridor. With the click of a doorknob, you found yourself in the prince’s bedchambers.

When he tried to guide you down to sit with him on the bed, you pulled away. “I shouldn’t be here,” you insisted. “I should go.”

Unfortunately, his dwarven strength was too much, and you landed next to him on the bedcovers with a thump. Fíli kept a hand on your wrist to prevent you from leaving. “You don’t just mean leaving my room, do you?” he asked quietly. “You mean to leave Erebor.”

Words failing you, you simply nodded. The tears were dangerously close to escaping.

“Why?” Fíli’s voice cracked. His face alarmed you; his eyes were wide and his brow furrowed not in thought, but in pain. It reminded you of the face he made when he was stabbed, when he was almost stolen from you.

But he wasn’t yours in the first place. You had to make him understand! “You’re the crown prince, Fíli,” you started over. “They’ll expect things from you. You’ll be expected to marry, to have heirs. Secure the bloodline.”

When had you grabbed his hand? Your grip tightened. “And you’re a dwarf. You have a One out there, and I know that you don’t all find your Ones, but I know you’ll find yours, and she’ll be your princess, and your queen, and you’ll have children and be happy and I want you to be happy but I can’t stay and watch!” The words spilled from your mouth as the tears spilled from your eyes.

Fíli remained quiet, his face softened. He stared at you in agonizing silence. When you tried to pull your hand away and wipe away the tears, he held tight. With his other hand, he gently cupped your cheek and leaned in to touch his forehead to yours. “I don’t want that life,” he murmured, breath ghosting over your wet skin. “Not without you.”

Nothing could have prepared you for the kiss. It was warm and gentle, but passionate, too—just like Fíli.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he admitted when your lips parted. “I don’t need to find my One. She’s been here all along.”

”What will Thorin think?” You made a poor attempt to wipe your face on your shoulder.

Fíli gently brushed the tears away with his thumb. “Damn what Thorin thinks,” he declared. “He likes you enough, he really does. And if he can learn to accept Kíli’s choice of partner, then he’ll accept you in a heartbeat.”

Your chest tightened, the tears falling faster. “I love you,” you breathed, voice shaking, chin trembling.

Fíli cracked a smile. “I would certainly hope so. I put everything I have into that kiss.” But his face grew serious again. Still soft, but serious. “Stay,” he urged. “Be my princess. Be my queen. I don’t want anyone else.”

You could only nod and go in for another kiss. Fíli lifted you into his lap, where you wrapped your arms around his neck. You buried your face in his shoulder and wept with relief. He rubbed your back and hushed you, murmuring words of comfort until your tears dried. “Do you like your dress?”

The question caught you off guard. You drew back and fixed him with a quizzical look. The dress didn’t sit quite right on you; the sleeves were a bit too long, the bodice a bit too tight. You’d found it hanging on the door of the chambers Thorin granted you after the battle. It suddenly occurred to you how close the little suite was to the royal wing.

“I had it made for you,” he confessed. “As a gift. I know it doesn’t fit exactly—I had to guess at the measurements. You do like it, don’t you?” His eyes were wide with anxious hope.

He ordered you a dress? Your heart ached at the sweet gesture. “It’s wonderful,” you said with a smile. Knowing that it was a gift from Fíli, it suddenly fit perfectly.

Both of you jumped as the door burst open to reveal a swaying Kíli. “I f… I foun-found ‘em!” he called down the hallway, words slurring. When he looked back at you, sitting on Fíli’s lap, his head tilted to the side like a curious puppy. “Whaddare ya… ooh!” His face lit up with a dopey smile. “Issa ‘bout time, Fee! Thought… thought ya’d never tell’er.”

There was no way that Fili could go to his happily married brother or Uncle when it came to the matters of his own marriage. He could only imagine that they would continue to wax on beautiful sonnets or romantic poetry or songs about their precious Ones.

Really, Fili thought, they were lucky that their Ones were found in a race that held similar beliefs as Dwarrows when it came to destined partners. Like Dwarrow, Hobbits had what they called Homes, their partners in life where they could find all the comforts in and build their own family with. Elves, didn't really have destined partners, but they only loved once in their long life, which is one thing they had in common with the Dwarves (as begrudging as some may find that information to be).

But Humans held no such beliefs, and had no destined partners. Their hearts were fickle, and love not as steadfast. And it just so happened that Fili's One was a Daughter of Man.

He could remember the first time he met her, for who could forget the first time they met their One? Fili had just been stabbed through the chest by Azog and dropped from the tower, left for dead. It stung every now and then just thinking that for those long agonizing moments, when everyone thought him dead, that no one had bothered to stay and mourn for him. If they had, they would have known he was actually alive and very scared.

The only comfort he could draw from as he felt himself drawing his last breaths was that at least Kili had Tauriel, and his Uncle had Bilbo.

But it was a little comfort if he were honest with himself.

He was watching the eagles up ahead pass by him, and he thought, surely he was a dead dwarf, when suddenly a young Maiden came running up the Raven Hill. She had a fisherman spear, and she was caked with black blood, her eyes wild as she scanned the frozen landscape. She wasn't in battle armor, just simple pants and a dark shirt and heavy coat. Her hair had been pulled away from her face but it seemed in the heat of battle, her tresses of (h/c) hair fell around her face. Fili let out a strangled gasp as his eyes found hers and for once in his life, he felt complete. And then the panic set in.

"Please Mahal, please don't be cruel. I just found her, please don't let me leave her," Fili prayed fervently in his head, hoping with all his might that his Maker would not do him this injustice.

Her (e/c) eyes met his, and widened a fraction, before she ran swiftly, dropping to her knees as soon as she reached him. Her eyes had scanned his form, assessing the damage, as she dropped her spear by her side and shifted the pack that he hadn't noticed by her side. Bringing it towards the front, she brought out bandages before divesting him of his armor gently and ripping his shirt. Fili grunted as he tried to speak, but his heavy-ladened tongue had refused to work. Her eyes had snapped towards his face, her hands still busy with working on his bandages as she said calmly, "I'm sorry Master Dwarf, I will work quickly."

He could only breathe heavily in response as he watched her work. It hurt, but not as much as could have been though. She had a steady hand, he had thought as she had finished tying off the bandage on his chest. She let out a relieved huff as she gave him a small smile, "You are in luck Master Dwarf, if the wound was five inches to the left, he would have pierced your heart."

Fili felt his lips twitch despite himself as he asked quietly, "Wh..... Who.. Are... Y-you?"

She shifted closer and cradled his head, stroking his hair, "Shh, save your strength. We still need to get you to the healers. Does it hurt anywhere else?"

Fili shook his head minutely before he clutched her wrist gently, his eyes reflecting his deep need of wanting to know her name. It seemed that his message was conveyed as her shoulders slumped slightly before saying, "My name is (Y/n), of Laketown.... Er... Dale."

The Heir of Erebor did manage a smile this time as he repeated, "Y/n." He would later chalk it to blood loss to hearing her hitch in breath, but in the moment he had assumed that she had felt what he did. That she knew he was hers, as she was his.

Fili took in a few deep breaths before introducing himself, "I am.. Fili... Durin."

He didn't imagine her eyes widen, or the way her eyes once more scanned him, before landing on his golden hair. She quickly removed her hands and awkwardly bowed, "I'm so sorry Your Majesty. Forgive my impertinence." Fili frowned but said nothing waiting for her to continue. He could only watch with confusion as she took off her coat and wrapped him up in it to keep him warm as she smiled down at him, "I hope it brings you comfort in knowing that your Brother and Uncle are alive and have made it to the healers tent to be treated. I was sent up here by Oin to find you to be honest."

Fili felt very conflicted in that moment, once again feeling hurt that no one in the company had bothered to find him themselves, but happy that he had met his One because of it.

He frowned, "Alive... Or de-dead?"

It seemed his response had shocked her into silence for a few minutes before she frowned and settled her hand back in his hair. Fili felt himself relax further into her lap at the delicate fingers detangling his hair. With a heavy sigh she responded, "I believe they assumed the worst." Fili huffed and turned his head away to look up at the damned tower he almost died from.

"But," she began, causing him to turn his attention back to her, "I have no doubt they will be happy to know you have survived. Your brother... He was most distraught. He had to have most of the Dwarves in your company hold him down even though he himself was severely injured. He was ready to march right back up here to find you. That is why, I think none of them are here now, they are helping Oin calm him and help in any way they can. I just volunteered to help, I know what it's like to lose family.."

Fili frowned and opened his mouth to speak but she once again hushed him gently. Before saying, "Let's get you to your people Your Majesty."

"How? The eagles.... The eagles have already passed?" Fili asked heavily, the tiredness beginning to settle in. Y/n just grinned down at him in response before putting her thumb and index finger in her mouth letting out a loud whistle.

It was quiet for a moment before he heard galloping footsteps coming towards them. The prince let out a quiet chuckle at the black stallion with white hair on its hooves. It had to have been the biggest horse he had ever seen, with muscles built sturdy and strong. It slowed to a trot before stopping at their side. Y/n gave a few pats to the stallions side before looking down at Fili, "Do you think you can move?"

With a nod, the two struggled to make their way onto the back of the tall stallion before successfully getting on. Fili was in front and was held close to his One's chest, while she steadied his form behind him. As they made their descent down the mountain side she said calmly, "Try to stay awake, we will be there soon."

He wanted to affirm, he didn't want to cause her strife, but Fili felt his consciousness slipping away. And for a moment, all the aches and pains in his body also vanished, and he knew he really was a dead dwarf. So instead, he kept his last thoughts on his One, he was at least grateful to have met her before returning to the Stones.

When he woke up, he was surprised to find that it was in a warm room, and a large bed covered in furs. His hair had been unbraided, his beads, he found on the bedside resting in a silver tin. His mother was asleep in a chair by his side, his brother curled up at the foot of his bed. He sat up with a grunt, and closed his eyes to keep his vision from swimming and stomach from churning.

Oin had walked in then, his back towards them as he closed the door. But when he turned holding a tray of what Fili assumed was medicine, bandages and soup, he dropped it causing the contents to crash and echo across the room.

Kili shot up like a scared Pebble. Dis had also jumped up, both looking frantically as Oin called out, "By my beard!! It's a blessing from Mahal!! Fili has awoken!!"

"Fili!" Kili had cried as he launched himself further towards his brother and hugged him.

"Don't kill him Kili! I just got my son back!" Dis angrily cried as she thumped the back of her youngest's head. Oin in the back seemed to have gotten out of his stupor as he called out and ran out the door, "I must let Thorin know! The Heir is awake! The Heir is awake!" Fili heard the commotion of the mountain going on beyond the doors, but only focused on his brother who was pulled away, and his mother, who seemed to have set her mind to breaking his ribs again by hugging him.

He listened as his mother scolded him for scaring her like that, he listened as Kili filled him in on all of the things he had missed since he had been asleep. Fili tolerated all the poking and prodding that happened when Oin came back with the original company, plus Tauriel. He was surprised to see her, and even more surprised to find that she was welcomed, but after learning all she had done and sacrificed for his brother it made more sense.

So he smiled at her, and welcomed her to the family. And he listened, all the while, his mind was on the girl who saved him, his One.

It was Bilbo who asked if he was okay, noting that he seemed to be dazing off during their reunion. Thorin immediately turned his steely blue eyes on his nephew, as did everyone else, but the silence finally gave Fili a chance to ask, "Where is Y/n?"

"Who?" Kili immediately asked and the company began to mutter one to another.

Fili frowned and turned his eyes to Oin, "The girl who brought me to the healers' tent."

The old dwarf furrowed his brows in thought before they shot upwards as he loudly exclaimed, "Ah! One of the fisherman's daughters? Aye, she is in Dale last I heard, taking up her late father's profession. It's a damn shame I tell you, she helped me fix ye right up. She's got a steady hand, and keen eyes. Would make a fine healer."

Thorin's deep timber voice washed over them as he watched his nephew closely and questioned, "Why do you ask?"

Fili flitted his eyes nervously, shifting where he sat he answered, "She's my One."

It was quiet for a long moment before Thorin and Bilbo exchanged looks, and Fili wondered as he watched if he and his own One would someday have secret conversations with just their eyes, before Thorin turned back to Fili. He flinched and sat straighter as his Uncle pinned him with a look before saying, "We were already talking to Bard about setting up an alliance somehow between our people, a marriage between Erebor and Dale that will forge stronger bonds. Perhaps, Bard will agree to these terms."

Fili let out a breath he didn't know he was holding until then, as cheers once more rang around the room. His Uncle came and lightly touched foreheads before muttering his congratulations in Khuzdul. He received the same from most of everyone in the room, except from Tauriel and Bilbo. Bilbo had hugged him tightly, sniffling after a moment. Tauriel bent her head and held her hand above her heart as she spoke Sindarian before looking at him and translating the blessing of a long life filled with only love and happiness

Surrounded by family, he smiled and felt that Tauriel's blessing was surely already coming to pass. And he felt that way all throughout his courtship of his One.

It wasn't until Balin, who was visibly distraught, had pulled him aside on Fili's wedding day, did the heir finally learn that Y/n had no idea that she was Fili's One. That she thought this a political marriage, and that she undoubtedly did not feel as strongly as he.

It really wasn't fair, for him to live only to have his One not love him. But, the hearts of men were fickle, and he couldn't rely on hers. So he suffered in silence, and didn't go to his brother or Uncle when it came to the matters of his marriage. He just hoped one day, he could win her affection.

Y/n sighed forlornly next to her fellow consorts, Bilbo and Tauriel. They were very pleasant, and all around very welcoming. She found learning from them easier than Ori or Balin who looked at her in a certain way that made her feel.... Well not very welcomed. Oh, don't get her wrong, they were very nice, but there was something they weren't telling her. And it was keeping them from getting too close to her.

As she absent-mindedly crocheted the blanket on her lap, her mind wandered to her Dwarven husband. Y/n could feel her face warm as the memory of golden hair and startling blue eyes entered her mind. Many would compare his eyes to gems, and she could not deny that they did hold some similarities, but it was not what his eyes were like to her. She found that his eyes reminded her of a brook she and her father had been passed one time years ago. It was clear, and strikingly blue, and mesmerizing. Just like Fili.

When another sigh escaped her, she heard a chuckle causing her to look up at the two consorts who were also working on their own projects. Tauriel was also working on a blanket, her stomach slightly round with child, her bump having just been visible to them caused many in Erebor to celebrate (even if she is an elf).

Bilbo put down his quill, he had been working on a book to gift to his and Thorin's soon-to-be son Frodo. He was well and truly Bilbo's cousins child, but they died in an unfortunate accident and Bilbo had been named godfather prior to these events. It was truly a wonder that Bilbo wasn't out of the mountain and halfway to the Shire by now. But wherever the Consort goes, so does the King, and where the King goes, twelve other Dwarrow tend to follow and those twelve Dwarrow happen to be key parts on keeping the kingdom running smoothly. So Gandalf the Wandering Wizard, Legolas Greenleaf, Dis, and some Took relatives of Bilbo's had decided to make the journey for them to ensure the fauntling would make it safely to his new home in Erebor.

Bilbo smiled at Y/n as he inquired, "Are you quite alright dear?"

"Is that pattern giving you a hard time too? I could give you some tips if you like?" Tauriel asked with a pleasant smile on her face.

Y/n just blinked at the pair, feeling a sharp rod of envy stoke the fires in her heart. She could feel the familiar sting of tears well in her eyes, but she fought them back biting her lip before she bursted into tears. Their pleasant countenance quickly melted into one of worry as they watched the young Human girl break in front of them. She wiped the tears away fiercely but more cascaded down, leaving tracks in their wake.

"Oh dear," Bilbo fretted as he stood up quickly and grabbed a nearby handkerchief to help the poor girl. As he began to pat her back he looked at Tauriel and instructed, "Could you get us some tea and cakes dear? And don't be afraid to add a couple drops of whiskey into hers would you?" Tauriel nodded and wordlessly got up to complete her task. All the while Bilbo did his best to calm the young girl in his arms.

After a long moment, Y/n began to settle, an occasional hitch would stutter her breathing but other than that she was fine. She listlessly went with the two when they directed her to sit on the couch, each of them on either side of her. Leaning her head against Tauriel's shoulders, she clutched Bilbo's hand as they watched the fire for a moment before the Hobbit asked, "Now what's this all about?"

She sat up when the elf maiden grabbed her tea and thanked her, bringing the warm liquid to her lips. Pursing her lips, she swallowed and set the cup back down before saying to lap, "I cannot help but envy you both, and it makes me feel horrible."

"What? Why?" Bilbo questioned.

Y/n sighed, "Because you both seem so happy. You two are about to start a family with your husbands, and I.... I can't even get Fili to stay in the same room as me."

"What?" It was Tauriel who spoke this time, seemingly shocked, but both were downright appalled by Y/n's next sentence, "I think he hates me."

"No, that is absolutely not true, Fili loves you," Bilbo argued. But Y/n wouldn't hear of it as she shook her head and challenged, "Then why does he always ignore me?"

Y/n quirked her brows when Bilbo looked up and mumbled, "Yavannah save me from the senselessness of the Durin Line," turning back to the young girl he grumbled, "Look, as someone who has also courted one from the Durin line let me tell you that their stubborness exceeds that beyond a normal Dwarf. Even Kili is not immune to it."

Tauriel nodded sagely, "Yes, the reality is, our love should have been doomed from the start. An Elf and Dwarf? It should not have happened." Y/n's eyes widened and the two older beings next to her were reminded just how young she really was, "Really?"

"Yes, had it not been Kili's stubbornness to talk to me anyways, I would still be Captain of the Guard, and still think ill of my new family," Tauriel ended with a touch of sadness as if the thought broke some part of her. Y/n sat quietly for a moment before turning to Bilbo, "What about you?"

Bilbo huffed in irritation, "Well, let's just say Thorin was not as charming as I know him to be. He was actually quite rude, insulted me in my own home. But, once we talked after everything was over... He told me that he was scared to love me, of what that meant. Although marrying outside of their own does happen, for him to be a royal and ruler scared him of what others would think."

"What changed?" Y/n asked.

There was a pregnant pause before Bilbo answered, "He said he didn't care what anyone thought anymore, he just knew he couldn't go another day without me by his side." Y/n frowned down at her hands looking at the simple golden band on her ring finger before turning back to Bilbo, "I don't know why Fili is being an idiot, but trust me, he loves you."

Y/n could only nod before standing up and saying, "I think I'll go lie down for a moment."

"Of course dear, let us know if you need anything."

Fili was with his Uncle and brother when two angry Consorts made their way into Thorin's office.

All three Durin's turned and began to smile but had taken a half a step back from Thorin's desk when they noticed how angry Tauriel looked and Bilbo... Well Uncle Bilbo looked downright murderous.

He stopped in front of the desk, Thorin looked visibly scared as he asked, "What did I do now Ghivashel?"

Bilbo waved him off, "Nothing love, you have been absolutely perfect." Thorin let out a relieved sigh, Bilbo then adding, "Kili, you are doing outstanding if all that Tauriel says is true." Another sigh soon followed Thorin's.

Fili frowned as he felt all eyes then turn to him, his own scanning the room. Two sets were just as confused as he was, and two could have set him on fire where he was standing.

"What did I do?" Fili asked uncharacteristically timid.

"It's not what you did, it's what you didn't do, brother," Tauriel spat with a coldness that rivaled King Thranduil. Fili shivered in fright before turning to his Uncle Bilbo for more clarification. Bilbo crossed his arms and thumped his foot heavily, his glare turning darker the longer he stared at Fili.

Finally he answered, "You've been neglecting your One Fili."

"What?!" Kili shouted in outrage, his eyes searching his tall wife's before they went back to his brother, "You wouldn't. Tell me they're joking Fi, you'd never do that." When Fili didn't deny the claims, Fili could feel his brother's betrayal as he took a step away. Thorin was calmer, but he didn't look any happier as Bilbo went on, "She admitted as much, in tears Fili. She has been very distraught for who knows how long." Fili felt his own eyes well with tears, but refused to let them fall, instead, he looked away and towards the floor.

Thorin's frown grew deeper as he admitted, "I had hoped Fili, that by seeing the faults in how I handled my relationship with my One you would have learned and done better." Shame sat heavily on his shoulders, and his breathing became deeper.

"Why?" was all his Uncle had to ask before the dam broke and he whirled around and finally admitted it all, "Because she does not love me! Not in the way a One should! Balin told me right before our wedding that Humans do not have Ones, they don't believe in predestined partners! They scoff at the very idea of it! And Y/n.... Y/n only thought this a political marriage.... Now I feel as though I have trapped her here, and I hate myself for it, but I can't let her go either!"

Taking a deep breath, Fili pressed on, "Do you know how scared I was on Ravenhill? I was all alone, and dying, damn it all, I think all of you thought I was already dead! And yet no one came back, no one came to mourn for me, even the Eagles passed me by, I watched them go. And all I could think was that I would die cold, and alone."

The room was silent as he chuckled hysterically, scrubbing his face with his hands before saying with a brilliant smile, "But then, out of nowhere came this beautiful creature, covered in Orc blood, and she held me in her arms. She kept me alive by taking off her own coat to keep me warm... From the first moment I laid eyes on her, I knew she was my One." The silence seemed to be ringing all around them and the tension eased out of Fili's shoulders. Quietly, he ended, "When Balin told me she had no concept of what a One meant, it felt like I died on that damn hill all over again. I almost called off the entire wedding, but... I just knew... If I let her go I would surely die." He heard his brother let out a strangled noise but continued on, "So I'm keeping her by my side so that I can be here for you all, and for her... Even if she does not want me."

The silence continued longer than Fili was comfortable with before he was suddenly tackled in a familiar pair of arms. Fili huffed and wrapped his own around his brother's but was further surprised when Thorin joined in, and then Tauriel and Bilbo. Surrounded by family once more, Fili didn't stop the tears this time as they spilled down his face. When they pulled away Bilbo was also crying, sniffling he grumbled, "You Durin boys are so pigheaded sometimes." The Hobbit got three huffs for his comment which caused him to chuckle before he turned serious as he advised, "Fili my sweet boy, please just talk to her. I think... I think she feels stronger for you than you realize."

Fili frowned, doubt already weighed down his hopes long before, but he gave a curt nod and turned to Thorin who just jerked his head to the door, "Go now, take some time. The mountain will survive without you for a few days."

Fili nodded and made his way towards his shared chambers with his wife. All the while, his heart thundered heavily in his chest as he felt that this might be just the beginning.

Pt. 2