Dropping the towel from his waist and shucking on a fresh tunic and pair of trousers, Dwalin took a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nose. His skin was hot and still damp beneath the fabric; the water of the Elven fountain had been pleasantly warm and had done wonders for both the company's morale and hygiene, and Dwalin had come away from it relaxed and more at ease in this Homely House than he had thought possible, given its inhabitants.

His good mood had lasted all of five minutes, however, as one glance to his rumpled and certainly-not-how-he-left-it pack revealed that his knuckle dusters were not safely tucked inside, where they should've been.

With a deep growl and a thud of his heavy boots being stomped into he was up and marching swiftly through the smooth archway of his guest chambers, not sparing a second thought as to where he was going. He didn't need to.

Rounding a corner that opened into a small courtyard he found exactly who he was looking for. Nori sat against a wall to Dwalin's left, in the shade of a short awning facing a small pond where bright colored fish glided in lazy circles, basking in the warm light of the setting sun. He had Dwalin's knuckle dusters on his hands which he turned slowly before his eyes, admiring them.

He pretended not to hear the loud stomping of Dwalin's boots until he was only a few steps away, when he tilted his face up to greet him with a friendly half-smile.

"Pretty, these. Though your hands are a sight bigger than mi-"

He choked roughly on the rest of the word as Dwalin grabbed him by the throat in one thick hand and hefted him to his feet, slamming him against the wall he had been sitting against. Pressing only hard enough to hurt just the right amount he snarled and they locked eyes, hard and piercing pale blue with wide, blown hazel.

The knuckle dusters had slipped off of Nori's hands and clattered sharply as they struck the smooth stone floor, but neither of them registered it above the sounds of their hot, panted breathing mingling in their proximity.

Nori gulped, and Dwalin spoke.

"Taking things that don't belong to you, thief?" The words were deep and another growl curled at their edges.

"That is the definition, nice deduction-!" He coughed as Dwalin's hand moved from his throat to fist his collar, pulling him forward a few inches and slamming him back into the wall again.

"My pack was all over the place, meaning you wanted me to- what, come find you and throttle you?" They both knew that Nori never left a trace of evidence if it wasn't his precise intention, and if he'd somehow forgotten it he could read it plain as day in the mischievous glint of those green eyes.

"Oh, would you please, Master Dwalin?" Nori looked up at him fiendishly from under braided brows, after a slow and deliberate glance down at the fist still clutching his collar, tattooed knuckles just brushing his throat. "Are you going to have your way with me?"

Dwalin bared his teeth angrily and let go of the smaller Dwarf, taking a small step back but remaining close enough to keep Nori where he stood.

"You wanted me to come looking for you," he repeated, eyeing his fallen equipment before meeting Nori's gaze again. "What else have you stolen from me?" The angry snarl was back in a low timbre, like a warning.

A warning which Nori took no heed of.

He stood flush against the wall and spread his arms out, sticking his chin out and grinning ever so slightly.

"I guess you'll have to search me and find out."

A sharp exhale and Dwalin was on him, grabbing both Nori's wrists and pinning them roughly on either side of his head. Nori gave a small gasp at the force that spread his grin wider, his eyes dark and glistening and never leaving Dwalin's. The taller Dwarf used one knee to push Nori's apart, and with a sharp look he dared Nori to move as he released his hands and moved to grab either side of the opening in his tunic.

Slowly he spread the garment open, finding Nori's undershirt already untucked and unlaced, baring his pale chest littered with freckles and soft red-brown hair. It was undoubtedly intentional, then, and Dwalin wondered briefly how much of this encounter Nori had planned out. He didn't spare much thought on it, quickly deciding to turn the tables on the oh-so-clever thief.

Gently he reached both his hands into Nori's shirt, sliding them softly down over either side of his round stomach, rubbing his thumbs in soft circles. Nori's gasp this time was one of surprise, and it made Dwalin grin wolfishly, casting his eyes down to the body before him.

His hands reached around and up Nori's back, kneading the soft skin which, like his own, was damp and warm from their bath in the fountain. Another soft exhale of breath and he locked eyes with the thief once more as he felt Nori's arms move from where they were frozen by his head to lay across Dwalin's broad, thick shoulders.

"Is this what you wanted me to do?" He asked softly, digging his fingernails lightly into freckled flesh and grinning when Nori gasped again and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Didn't quite think I'd get this far, t'be honest," he stuttered out on hot breath.

"Oh? Have I caught the sly fox off his guard?" Dwalin drew his hands away from Nori's back to reach out and undo the loose braid that held his wild mass of hair in check, relishing the noise of surprise and pleasure it drew from him. It was an act reserved for times of extreme intimacy, touching another Dwarf's hair or beard, and to do so out of doors where people might see was akin to running around naked at a funeral. It was no secret that Nori fed on attention, his usual ridiculous pointed hairstyle serving as evidence enough.

Dwalin knew quite personally how much Nori liked to break the rules.

He threaded his hands through long red hair that lit up like cascading fire in the setting sun, and tugged sharply. Nori cried out, throwing his head back and his arms tightening around the larger Dwarf's neck and Dwalin moved a hand to grasp at where Nori's neck met his shoulder, thumbing his collarbone sweetly.

His voice was calm yet commanding as he asked again, "What else have you stolen from me?"

Nori leaned a cheek against the hand in his hair and he opened his eyes again, locking with Dwalin's and smiling like the fox he was.

"This," it was little more than a whisper, and before Dwalin could react Nori had leaned in and captured his lips in a soft kiss. It was gentle, warm, and that meant that Nori was playing it safe. That he was at least a little bit nervous at the outcome of his own bravery, and Dwalin found it surprisingly - and annoyingly - endearing. He bit down on Nori's lower lip and he moaned like Dwalin knew he would. He tugged on his hair again and stepped even closer, their bodies flush.

Both hands went to hold his middle, and before they even had to come up for air all sensation was ripped from him, and before him nothing but empty space where Nori was just a moment before.

Whipping around with a shout on his tongue Dwalin saw Nori running away past the pond and out of the courtyard, throwing a cheeky grin over his shoulder that clearly said "come and get me".

The last light of the dying sunlight glinted off the knuckle duster in his hands as he ran.

With something that was somewhere between and growl and a laugh Dwalin took off after his thief, dismissing any thoughts about clever foxes and turning tables.

The End