#wit.fics

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Erebor’s main market was particularly overflowing today, with dwarves and men alike. Cheerful conversation mixed into a pleasant buzz as everyone went about their business. However now, in the middle of June, mundane chores were brushed aside, and preparations for a Midsummer festival were in full swing.

Dwarves just loved winter holidays - Durin’s Day, Yule, and any other you could possibly think of - but you had to admit, they did not dismiss the summer solstice. And neither did the men from the kingdom of Dale, preparing countless bonfires, boats and lanterns.

Despite the festival being in over a week, your dear hobbit friend, Axe, absolutely insisted on going to the market today in search of the best ingredients for any holiday dish there might be in store. Now, you tried to keep up with her as you pushed through the dense crowd.

“Those look just wonderful, don’t you think?” Axe said as she held up a pair of earrings next to her face, the precious gems gleaming, the metal around them smithed with finesse.

“Will you be buying them for the celebrations?” You stood behind her, gazing in the small mirror and admiring the dwarven craft.

“I don’t know, maybe. I heard those stones are a good-luck charm around here.”

“Let’s hope your favourite warrior attends the feast then, so the charm will have a chance to work, hm?” You grinned mischievously as the hobbit blushed a deep cherry, muttering something about Dwalin “having to attend as a royal guard” and “totally not going there to see anyone”. In an attempt to recover, she quickly changed the topic, rambling about the Shire’s customs - the dances, gathering herbs, baking and, above all, Gandalf’s fireworks.

“Well now, now, you didn’t tell me about your traditions! I must hear them!” She bumped your shoulder encouragingly.

“We celebrate the night of the solstice, and there’s lots of stuff about bonfires - dancing around them, jumping over the fire, burning herbs. Wreaths are a big thing - they’re woven out of flowers and herbs. In the old times, young maidens used to place a candle in their wreath and let it float down a river. Boys would wait lower, and if they caught a wreath, they’d go and search for its owner, and often that’s how romance started. Nowadays, even giving someone a flower crown on that night can be a romantic sign.”

Axe seemed to be deep in thought all of a sudden. “So, a nice wreath on the night of midsummer could be a courting gift? A way to ask someone out?”

“Pretty much, yeah” you replied, brows furrowed at your friend’s odd antics. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I was just curious.”

←→

The day finally came, and it was filled with laughter, songs, food and drinks. Ribbons decorated all of Dale, and banners with intricate patterns were hung in Erebor. Dwarves, per their tradition, spent most of the day in the forges. The fires of hearths at midsummer were thought to be sacred, and their heat could forge the strongest weapons that were usually meant as a gift for royalty or loved ones.You could have sworn you saw the King, Thorin Oakenshield himself sneaking out of the forges with a mysterious package, but you had to wait until the evening to find out what it could have been.

And finally, the night came, and when it did, it was unrivalled in its splendour. The air was hot and thick with smoke, and the stars shone bright over the cities. It was one of the very few nights when most of Erebor dined and celebrated under the night sky, not in their glorious stone halls. Dozens of people joined together to dance through the streets, and around the tall bonfires. The herbs that were burned gave the air an intoxicating scent, which only seemed to encourage you to fill your goblet and dance away the night.

Your friends seemed to have disappeared somewhere into the crowd, so not thinking much, you joined the nearest group and let yourself be carried through the fields. You twirled, jumped and laughed, trying to sing along to the foreign tune of people from Dale, and marvelling at their flutes and bagpipes. Their culture was still foreign to you, as you were someone from outside of Middle Earth. Your white linen shirt and its embroideries did not match their garb, but they took you in with open arms like their kin, and you celebrated among them.

The dancing crowd carried you to the tallest hill between Dale and Erebor, and in your fervour you bumped into a large wooden table, and promptly apologised as you almost knocked out a pint of ale.

Only when Fili laughed lightheartedly at you, had you realised that this table is the royal one, with Thorin's throne in the middle, and the whole court sat around it.

And as you were pushed away again, you saw Kili.

You had always been drawn to him, ever since meeting him, ever since going on a perilous journey by his side. Even if other dwarves had taunted him for his lack of beard or pointy features, you had always quietly admired his beauty. To be honest, you didn't even notice the day when you woke up, and he was already engrained deep in your heart.

And he wasn't helping at all. He sat next to you by the fire, sharpened your weapons, defended you from orcs even when he didn't have to.

You danced around each other during the journey, unsure of the other’s feelings, afraid of rejection and humiliation, but constantly in fear the other might perish in battle. Now, in times of peace, it seemed even harder. Royal duties took his company away from you, the two of you only sharing looks across corridors now instead of honest conversations by the fire as you used to.

But now, there he was - mithril and gems that were sewn into his tunic gleaming in firelight, his eyes trained on you. You broke away from the dancing circle and sent him a smile over the flames.

Maybe tonight, fate would bring you two together. It was the summer solstice after all, a night of magic and festivities. But no, you brushed that idea aside. To dwarves, the solstice was barely a milestone, an indicator that it’s already halfway to the Day of Durin. Maybe it was a day full of festivities, but it was nothing like it was back home. In your culture, the solstice, Kupała’s night, was truly a day of fire: jumping over bonfires, walking on coals and dancing with torches, but first and foremost, it was a day of fire in lovers’ hearts. Wreaths were woven with the intention of finding love, soft promises were spoken under the moonlight, and often this was the only night when two young people were allowed to walk away and cherish one another’s company in quiet groves.

But how could he know that? The sly smile on his face couldn’t have meant anything. Especially that after breaking eye contact, he seemed to have already forgotten of your existence, filling his goblet with warm wine and chatting with Thorin, who looked off into the distance like he didn’t hear his nephew.

You were taken by the current of the dancing masses, losing sight of the royal table and getting further away from it, even though you desperately wished to go closer. You saw your friends in the crowd - Bofur was already standing on a nearby table and serenading, Axe and Dwalin on his left, holding hands as they finally danced together, both blushing but lost in the moment. Truly, this must have been the very first time you saw the tough warrior’s cheeks redden. Love really has an odd effect on people. And Bilbo, who after all decided to stay in Erebor, tried to look completely unbothered and only interested in the pie before him, but you couldn’t help but notice the not-really-sneaky glances he shot in the general direction of the royal table and Thorin’s chair.

You, however, searched for Kili with your gaze, but found his chair empty and his plate unfinished. He must have disappeared when you weren’t looking, but the rest of his family was seated as before.

“May I have a dance?” A voice from behind startled you, and when you turned around, you were met with the very dwarf you seeked out. Kili stood before you smiling, his hand extended in an invitation. Fire seemed to be dancing in his eyes, lighting up the deep amber and bringing up the ever-present mischievous glint. Your heart started beating a little faster, but you still tried to convince yourself it was just from exertion.

His face lit up as you agreed, and he soon snatched you by your waist and twirled around with you to the new, lively tune. You felt your cheeks redden and hoped he wouldn’t notice in the dim firelight. Strong arms embraced you, and your skin was hot beneath the hands that grasped your waist and shoulder. You couldn’t remember how long it was since Kili was so close to you, your breaths mingling, your gazes never leaving each other.

The song ended too soon, and you both pulled away, suddenly aware of the proximity and warmth that you shared. Kili smirked and bowed low before you, brown hair falling in a beautiful mess around his face. You chuckled at his antics and replied with a pale imitation of a curtsy, before taking his hand in yours again.

“Thank you for the dance. It was… amazing.” Kili blushed and turned his eyes away in embarrassment. For a moment he stroked your palm with his thumb absentmindedly, like he was on a threshold of some important decision. But then, you could see his back straightening as he pulled your hand and started walking towards a nearby birch forest.

“Come on. I want to show you something.”

You raced after him, the laughter of the dancers fading and the light of the fires dimming slowly. Soon it was just the two of you in the serene forest. Kili kept looking behind him to make sure you're still there, even though he could hear you perfectly. Each time, he tightened his hand around yours, as to make sure you're tangible, and not just a figment of his imagination.

And you did the same, because the soft moonlight falling on his features made him look like the most beautiful, ethereal dream, something that can be blown away by the wind. But he was there, and his warmth and strong embrace reassured you.

You jumped over a small stream, your feet landing in soft moss. You let him lead you, through groves and clearings basked in the silvery light. He covered your eyes with his hand, giggling, and guided you through a curtain of vine.

He brought you to the most beautiful place you could imagine. Seemingly untouched by mortal foot, dewy moss laid like a carpet around a sparkling lake. Snowy water lilies softly swayed under the force of countless waterfalls cascading down the rocks, and the sounds of nature were the sweetest music to your ears.

You gasped as you looked around in awe, your fingers still laced softly with your love's. You took all of the beauty in, brushed your hand over the leaves and breathed the fresh air deep, but when you turned back to Kili, his eyes hadn't moved from you.

"Do you like it?"

"Like it? Kili, I- It's gorgeous here!"

"Good thing it's not all. Wait here." He quickly jogged away and pulled something out of a hollow tree. He hid it behind his back as he walked back to you. Your gazes locked as he grabbed your hands and put something cold and soft in them.

A wreath.

A beautiful, hand-woven wreath of wild herbs, white flowers and red berries. You could see Kili's hand in the knots and in the placement of the flowers.

A wreath. A declaration of love. A courting gift, or a marriage proposal. And he didn't know.

Tears started to gather in your eyes. Oh, how much you wished he would know what he had just gifted you.

"Kili, it's beautiful, but I can't-" You outstretched your hands towards him, trying to give him the too generous gift back.

The prince placed a warm hand on yours, and closed them over the crown.

"I mean it."

"You can't possibly know-"

"I know, and I mean it." Kili took a step closer to you, your breaths mixing, the air thick between the two of you. "Your friend told me all about it, and I thought… I thought that if there's a chance that you feel the same about me as I feel about you, then I could at least try."

You were speechless. You had dreamt of this many times, of him somehow returning your feeling. It even felt like a dream, the kind of dream you wake up from with a bitter taste of longing, but then you brought your hand up to your love's cheek, and he was there. He was there, his skin flushing and his heartbeat just as fast as your own.

"Will you be mine, and allow me to be yours?" he asked hopefully. "Will you wear-"

"Yes." you breathed out. "Yes, a thousand times yes."

Two pairs of trembling hands lifted the wraith to the top of your head. Kili's hands set it there, and slid down your hair, ghosting over your temples and cheeks in the most tender caress. And then he captured your lips, soft and full of adoration, and you gladly reciprocated. The world stopped around you as the flame in your hearts burned united, brighter than ever.

You parted for breath. His forehead came to rest gently against yours, and you felt at home. Kili's hair slipped through your fingers as you caressed his cheek and neck. He paid respect to your traditions, and you could do just the same.