Chapter 1
Kili was exhausted from a hard day's work at his uncle's flower shop. Oaken Trees & Flower Seeds wasn't just any old flower shop, either; it was run by family and thrived off of love and hard work. The last bit is what had Kili so damn tired. Uncle Thorin was constantly pushing his nephews to do their best and make sure that the shop was in pristine condition, just like the flowers they so happily sold.
After a long day of having to deal with three mishaps, two cancelations, and one very rude customer, it was all Kili could do to keep from barging into the restaurant in front of him and demanding they just pack up the entire kitchen so that he could take it home. Thank Mahal he had called in and ordered his food to-go just thirty minutes earlier as he was closing up the shop, or else nothing could have stopped him.
Dressed in his usual work attire of dark wash blue jeans and a white v-neck t-shirt, Kili ascended the stairs leading up to the quite fancy looking restaurant Imladris; also known as his usual after work hotspot (seeing as he couldn't cook for shit).
Imladris wasn't your usual restaurant. For one, it had a genuine homely feeling to it for being one of the fanciest places in town. As comfortable as it was, however, it gleamed from the inside out, with a thick air of sophistication lying about it. The interior was made up of brick walls painted a beautiful eggshell color with floor to ceiling windows covering the entire back wall of the restaurant. Light beige colored chairs and booths were individually cushioned with burlap looking material that had the feeling of cotton, and the square tables were topped with grey marble. And yet with all of its glorious being, not once did it ever feel uncomfortable to Kili. Plus they had good food to-go. Who could complain?
As he entered the restaurant, his eyes were immediately drawn to the gorgeous woman in the green dress with the flaming red hair sitting all alone at a table across the room.
She was very beautiful, and, from the looks of it, very alone. As Kili stood frozen in the doorway, he noticed that her back was stiff as a board and she bounced her leg up and down anxiously. She checked her phone every few seconds as that her face alternated between expressions of anger and panic.
A waitress approached her, an apologetic look showing clearly on her face.
"Miss, can I get you anything to eat? It's been almost an hour…"
The woman shook her head.
"No thank you, he should be here any minute now." she replied.
The waitress nodded her head and quickly walked away, throwing a sympathetic glance over her shoulder as she made her way to the waitress station where she began whispering to a coworker and gesturing towards the woman's table.
Shit, she's been stood up! Kili thought, shocked that anyone in their right mind would leave a woman like this hanging.
Looking around the room, he could tell that the other couples in attendance were staring at her; pity shining brightly in their eyes. This seemed to make the woman even more uncomfortable as she squirmed in her seat and a sour look covered her face.
Kili made a split-second decision to abandon his pre-ordered food and rush over to the fire haired beauty. Striding across the room, he sat down in the chair opposite the woman with the red hair and spoke as if they'd been dating for years.
"Hi beautiful! Sorry I was running so late tonight. I got hung up at the office again and traffic was an absolute nightmare!"
The woman in front of him was even more exquisite than he'd originally realized. With her high cheekbones and milky white complexion, her emerald colored eyes stood out against the rest of her face leaving the only other thing of color to be her soft pink lips and the rosy tint to her cheeks.
"Hi, I'm Kili. Just roll with it, alright?" Kili whispered to the slightly shocked woman.
The woman eyed him up and down, taking in his appearance and trying to accurately judge his character. His 5'6" frame was well built with broad shoulders and muscled arms. Wavy brown hair fell to his shoulders and a five o'clock shadow graced his handsome face along with the kindest smile she'd ever seen in her life.
As her eyes met his, she visibly relaxed. With a short nod of her head, she responded with a whisper so soft Kili could barely hear her.
"Tauriel."
Kili's smile stretched across his face as Tauriel grinned and began to play along.
The entire restaurant heaved an audible sigh of relief when Kili had sat down with her, and now they were waiting to see what happened.
"Hi honey, I'm so glad that you could make it! I was worried sick, especially when I didn't get any text messages or calls from you."
"I'm terribly sorry, dear! I accidentally broke my phone at the office today. I would have called if I hadn't been the only one there and in such a hurry to leave."
"Your brother," she threw a questioning glance his way as he gave a slight nod to confirm, "should know better than to leave you alone at the office! He knows how much trouble you are." She teased.
Kili scoffed. "You're supposed to be on my side, love! He's the trouble one!"
Tauriel began to giggle, and Kili soon found himself chuckling along with her.
When their laughter had subsided, they slipped into a comfortable silence; mirth sparkling in their eyes.
Kili picked up his menu and gestured toward Tauriel's urging her to do the same.
The waitress from before made her way back to the table with a large, relieved smile on her face.
"What can I get for you this evening?"
After they'd read off their orders and their waitress disappeared into the kitchen, they settled into a comfortable conversation: discussing their days at their respective offices, and having to deal with the daily mishaps that occurred there.
Dinner flew by in a hurry. Kili and Tauriel were having such a great time that it felt like they really had known each other for years instead of only a few hours. Their food was quickly brought out for them to enjoy, but they were both so caught up in the other that they hardly noticed.
They ate their meals slowly with plenty of table talk as they got to know each other a bit more. Soon enough, their plates were empty and their bellies were full.
The waitress collected their plates and offered a delectable dessert in the form of chocolate raspberry cake, which Tauriel and Kili politely declined as they were too full from their meal. She excused herself with the dishes and quickly returned with the bill.
Tauriel slightly raised her hand as if to offer to pay when Kili swiftly plucked the bill out of the waitress's hand as she went to tend to another table.
"Oh, no way! I'm getting dinner tonight, Tauriel. You can pick the place and pay next time if you wish." Kili looked into Tauriel's eyes, almost begging for her to say yes to his offer.
"I'd really like that." she responded with a huge grin.
This perfect stranger, with his caring brown eyes and easy-going smile, had come out of nowhere and rescued her from her embarrassment and misery, and had turned her awful night into an amazing one. She would happily ditch the prick that had stood her up for this amazing man sitting in front of her.
Kili payed for their meal and they exited the restaurant slowly, wanting to prolong their time together.
Being the gentleman that his mother Dís had raised him to be, Kili decided to walk Tauriel to her car, wanting to make sure that she got on her way home safely.
"Oh, I never gave you my number!" Tauriel gasped as they reached her expensive looking silver car.
She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone, pulling up her contact list without any delay.
"Here," she said, thrusting her phone into Kili's large hands.
He entered his number and sent a brief text message to himself explaining whose number it was, and then passed the phone back; his warm hand brushing tenderly against Tauriel's smooth, slender ones as he began to speak.
"Tauriel, I had a really great time tonight. I hope to see you again soon, if that's alright."
"Take a look at your schedule and let me know when you're free. I would love to see you again, Kili. I can't even begin to thank you enough for tonight."
She bowed her head and looked away in embarrassment. While she was angry that she had been stood up by her date, she never once doubted her self-worth. It was just a harsh blow to her confidence levels and left her feeling more pissed off the more she thought about it.
"Hey now," Kili said, reaching up to tilt her face back towards his.
"Whoever it was that left you hanging like that tonight doesn't deserve to be in your thoughts at all, love. And look on the bright side, I got to meet the most spectacular woman in the world all because some idiot decided not to show up."
Tauriel blushed and gave him a small smile. She turned to climb into her car; her lithe 5'10" frame bending gracefully to duck in.
As she closed her door, Kili stepped away to give her room to back out. She rolled down her window and Kili asked her to send him a text message to let him know that she had gotten home alright.
"Of course! And I expect the same from you! Goodnight Kili. Until next time!"
And with that, she drove off, giving a small honk of her car's horn as Kili waved goodbye.
Until next time Kili thought to himself as he climbed into his pickup truck and drove off into the night.