Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author Note: Part Twenty Six in the Violet Nights series.
FROTHY COFFEE AND CONFRONTATIONS
Prices were steeper in this part of the city. Tauriel noticed that immediately. Legolas texted her to announce the same thing. He was unimpressed with most of the people that he'd met thus far but was continuing to talk to them, to try and do as his father wanted. Tauriel did the same.
Thranduil had been clear – he'd heard that the Durins were looking to restart a business relationship with Laketown Breweries for the first time in many years. He had immediately wanted to find out what the Durins were planning, he did not want Smaug roused too greatly again and he did not want Mirkwood's business relationship with Laketown sabotaged either. Thranduil had seen it happen before and wouldn't see it happen again. So his son and his son's friend had been sent out into areas of the city that residents of Mirkwood Community usually avoided. He wasn't going to trust rumour, he needed to be sure.
Tauriel usually worked within Thranduil's small but strong business empire and had rarely ventured this far from Mirkwood before. It was interesting to watch how people interacted, to see in action some of the reasons why Thranduil had erected Mirkwood's gates in the first place. Tauriel saw many homeless people gathered in doorways, some jeered at, many ignored. She received a lot of looks and shouts that didn't feel like compliments and sometimes even hands that tried to grasp her. She didn't break any bones but she made sure that she wasn't touched by the same person twice.
How can they live like this? Legolas wanted to know.
Tauriel shook her head and went through a series of katas in her hotel room. Legolas was only a handful of years younger than her but they understood each other and worked well together. They made plans to meet up for lunch the following day. Neither of them wanted to stay away from Mirkwood for too long.
Tauriel went to sleep surrounded by traffic noise and grey twitching dreams.
Legolas ordered her a large frothy coffee, it was clearly a dare. Tauriel sat down opposite him and sipped the sweet hot liquid. It was overly sugary in her opinion but it was still quite good. She offered it to Legolas, he drank half of it and managed to visibly stain his mouth. Taurial's lips twitched in response until Legolas frowned and examined his reflection in a spoon.
He licked at his lips before removing the foam with a napkin. Tauriel watched for a moment; it was easy to admire Legolas. She saw no shame in it, even if Thranduil had made it completely clear that her attentions weren't welcome. Tauriel had bitten back her reply – that that was Legolas' choice – because while she lived in Mirkwood, Thranduil made the rules. Tauriel had never wanted to live anywhere else. So far, what she'd found beyond Mirkwood's gates wasn't changing her mind.
Still, it was nice to be able to look at Legolas without feeling the radiation of his father's disapproval.
Legolas met her gaze, they stayed locked in a moment of mutual admiration. Then they both turned back to the matter at hand. There was always something more vital to focus on. Tauriel still pressed her foot up against Legolas' though, and felt his press back.
"The Durins still run a nightclub called Erebor," Legolas reported. "And they spend a lot of time at a café called Violet Nights."
Tauriel nodded; she'd gathered the exact same details. It didn't sound as though the Durins were expanding, if anything it sounded like they were very contained. She and Legolas would follow everything up though, nothing but the most finite detail would do for Thranduil.
They made plans to learn more about the Durins before going to Erebor. They stayed drinking coffee for a little while longer. Tauriel's foot stayed right where it was.
The Durins were a large family. Tauriel read all that she could find about them – they were loved by some, hated by others, sometimes simply because of the clientèle they catered for at their club. There was something very abrasive about a lot of them but it didn't offend Tauriel. In fact she was intrigued. These people were considered a threat by Thranduil, she wanted to know why.
She watched them in public, the families, the couples, the children. There was clearly a lot of affection flowing between them; the way they interacted with each other was so different to how Thranduil and Legolas did. It wasn't the first time that Tauriel had been struck by such a thought. As always, she kept it to herself.
Tauriel's parents had passed away when she was young, she had barely known them. She watched Bombur laugh and play with his children, Dis hug her sons, and Belladonna talk proudly about Bilbo.
Fili and Kili were close to Tauriel's age and if she approached them correctly, they would no doubt reveal enough to tell her what she was seeking. So she watched them shop and contrived to browse near a department store changing room, raising an eyebrow when Kili emerged wearing a beaded corset with scruffy-looking jeans, calling for an opinion.
"If you like that sort of thing..." was her leading reply.
Kili immediately pounced on that and the two of them began discussing what materials could actually be considered garish and what jewellery helped or hindered. Fili listened amused, playing with his phone but keeping an eye on his brother. They invited Tauriel to join them for lunch. She found herself enjoying their company – the sharp affectionate banter between them, the individual ways they dressed and were both wholly comfortable with, how easily they talked of family and friends.
Kili revealed that he and Fili were taking on more responsibilities at Erebor and that he was hoping to spearhead an important deal soon. Tauriel told them that she was in charge of a large department in a company that had survived the banking crisis. They congratulated her and asked if she wanted to partner with Violet Nights? Bilbo Baggins was the best baker in the city bar none and the café was quietly making a quality reputation for itself. Tauriel wondered if Bilbo ever baked cinnamon whirls.
She promised to visit Erebor that week and to meet up with them the next day for another chat. She watched them leave; their elbows locked together, how close they were. She texted Legolas to inform him, he rang her testily because he'd somehow ended up spending most of the afternoon arguing with Gloin's son Gimli. Tauriel listened to him with a slight smile. Thranduil would not approve of Legolas' afternoon. Tauriel would not reveal it though; she rarely heard Legolas so effusively outraged. It was intriguing to hear such a new tone in his voice.
She wondered if her own voice contained any new tones. Both she and Legolas kept their council.
Erebor was loud and full. Its clientèle seemed very happy to be there. Tauriel slipped between the patrons and ordered a drink at the bar. The music was eclectic, seeming to slip through her. She found she was enjoying the atmosphere. A few of the barstaff were recognisably Durins – Bofur with his thick styled moustache and a hat with earflaps that didn't seem to fit in at all, Bombur who was very heavily-built with a jovial smile and long braided red hair, and there was Kili wearing a corset that sparkled under the flashing lights. Tauriel watched how easily he flirted but how he left his duty for no one, she watched how Fili's eyes so often followed him carefully.
Tauriel didn't dance but she did spot Legolas's graceful silent movements, so at odds with the club's other dancers, so reminding Tauriel of the recitals he often gave at Mirkwood. He easily drew people's eyes. If he was gifting her a distraction, she was grateful though sorry that she couldn't spend more time watching him dance.
Kili didn't have time to talk to her and Fili was deeply involved in a conversation. Tauriel's gaze drifted upwards, to the balcony where Thorin himself had been seen several times, the balcony led to a small office. If she was going to find irrefutably proof of what Thranduil needed to know, she would find it there. She arched eyebrows at Legolas who kept dancing with a slight nod. He was dressed simply and seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself. Tauriel enjoyed witnessing that, sensing Legolas drinking her in in a similar manner. Back in Mirkwood, they didn't have this freedom. But they would still return home, it meant more than any new tones. Perhaps it always would.
Tauriel had reached the second step of the staircase when a powerful hand gripped her arm and stopped her in her tracks. Tauriel stilled instantly.
"Staff only," the deep voice informed her. "This way."
She didn't resist – what would be the point? It wouldn't get her the information she wanted, but conversation or confrontation might. So she allowed herself to be escorted back to the front door, to where there was a little space to talk and breathe. She regretted how muted the music now was. The Durin who had hold of her was covered in tattoos; the one beside him was wearing a handknitted sweater over a fawn-coloured shirt. Tauriel looked pointedly at the gnarled hand still grasping her arm.
"I won't run."
"Too right you won't," Dwalin, the older tattooed Durin retorted.
He let go and Ori, his boyfriend in the sweater, eyed Tauriel curiously, "What did you want up there?"
Tauriel kept herself relaxed. If Legolas was currently trying to find a way to keep an eye on her, she didn't want to give any indication that she needed rescuing. A fight would not help anybody, except perhaps Smaug. Tauriel had heard enough talk of him, there was a very painful explanation behind the burns that Thranduil's face still bore.
"Information, for Thranduil."
Dwalin growled and clenched a fist. Ori touched a hand to him and frowned at Tauriel. They were both capable of being dangerous, Tauriel could clearly see that.
"I thought Thranduil didn't want anything to do with us or anyone else outside of his community?"
Tauriel inclined her head, "He doesn't but he does want information."
"About us?"
"About the deal Kili wants to make with Laketown Brewery."
Dwalin glowered, "How does Thranduil know about that?"
Tauriel gave him a withering look, "He's stayed solvent for a long time. He knows what he needs to know. And if Erebor enters another partnership with Laketown Brewey, he wants to be sure that this isn't the beginning."
"Of what?"
"Of another Durin problem."
Dwalin looked furious at that but Tauriel was unrepentant. She had done a lot of research, she knew what had happened after Gretchen Durin had died and Erebor had passed onto her son. The Durins were fighters at heart; sometimes they fought the wrong battles, sometimes they got fixated on them. A lot of the good relationships that Gretchen had built up had subsequently been destroyed. Thranduil had sworn never to do business with them again, partly blaming them for his burns and for what had happened with Smaug.
"Tauriel!"
Fili appeared at Ori's side, worried and confused as to why Tauriel was being accosted by Dwalin and Ori. She smiled slightly and didn't stop Dwalin from revealing who she was. What would have been the point?
"She's one of Thranduil's."
Fili's eyebrows shot up and he stared at Tauriel. She stared right back.
"You didn't tell us."
"You didn't tell me you were Thorin's nephews."
"We assumed you knew, you did know."
Tauriel nodded, vaguely unhappy about the look on Fili's face. "I enjoyed our conversations."
Fili looked at her for a moment and then nodded. The gesture eased something in Tauriel's chest. "Why did you talk to us?"
"Thranduil's paranoid, again," Dwalin replied for her. "Heard about the Laketown deal."
Fili shook his head, the beads in his hair musically accompanying the movement. "That has nothing to do with him. Our deals don't affect Mirkwood."
Tauriel let out a quiet noise that could have been a laugh. "You should know your history."
She held out a hand and Legolas, who had been covertly watching and waiting close by, grasped it and fluidly pulled her free of the group. The pair of them melted into the crowd and then out the front door, ensuring that they weren't followed. Legolas' eyes were shining as he looked at Tauriel once, twice, as though checking every part of her was present and correct. Tauriel's mouth curled upwards.
"If it is some kind of takeover or trouble, they don't know it is."
Legolas eyed Erebor's front door. "They need to be watched."
Tauriel nodded in agreement. Just because some Durins didn't know, that didn't mean that others didn't. Legolas was still holding her hand, he carefully let go so that he could call and update his father. Tauriel watched him for a beat and then walked stealthily around the nightclub, wanting to get a better sense of it for the future, such a time now felt too inevitable. It was an old building; the muffled music seemed to seep out of it and under Tauriel's skin. She liked that feeling. And there were Fili and Kili just beyond the back door. They were talking, Kili looked agitated, maybe Fili was telling him about his conversation with Tauriel. Then they were pressed together, kissing like it was the same as breathing for them. Tauriel watched for a long moment, then she moved silently away, not drawing any attention to herself. The pair of them were entirely wrapped up in each other anyway.
She doubted Thranduil knew about that relationship. If particularly angered, he would use something like such personal information to cause trouble and pain for them.
Tauriel turned what she had seen over in her mind and then neatly folded it away. It was not her life choice and she did not want to use it, that she was sure of. She would gather no evidence nor would she mention it to Legolas or Thranduil. But she would remember it.
The music was still thrumming under her skin. She and Legolas didn't have to return home just yet, their deadline still lay ahead of them, she imagined that Legolas was currently ensuring this was so. She hoped that she would get a chance to talk again to Kili and Fili. She hoped that she would see Legolas dance once more under colourful flashing lights, she hoped she would hold his hand. But she was looking forward to going home too. She missed the gates.
At the end of the street, Legolas waited for her and held out his hand. Tauriel's mouth twitched, the music still seeping through her, and offered to buy him a frothy coffee.
-the end