Thanks for reading! Thank you to my awesome beta, Ella-Whispers-What!
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Rated M for future chapters
Unrequited
Chapter 1 The Fall
Ori can remember the exact moment he realized he was in love with Fili, heir of Durin. It was a warm day in early autumn. The sun was shining brightly and it seemed as though every resident of the Blue Mountains was out soaking up the warmth. Ori had been inside all morning, hard at work at learning the characters of the elven alphabet. He decided he couldn't possibly look at the foreign letters for another moment and left to take a break outside. Ori walked to an open area not far from the forge, where most of his friends and cousins spent their spare time, training, wrestling, smoking, making mischief.
He had taken a seat under a large oak, next to Gloin's young son Gimli, who was bouncing up and down excitedly while watching two dwarves sparring. It was Fili and Kili, matching each other hit for hit and block for block. They had removed their tunics and battled each other bare chested. Ori felt like he was seeing Fili for the first time.
His broad shoulders and barrel chest rippled with muscle, his thick arms delivering one crushing blow after another. His hair flew through the air like a lion's mane as he lunged at his brother, shimmering like gold. But his eyes, what was it in his eyes? Despite the scowl on his face, Fili's sapphire eyes were sparkling with mirth and mischief. That was when Ori realized, it was Fili's countenance, his lightheartedness. The way he was always laughing, radiating joy and pleasure. He was fierce, yet kind. Jovial, but also sincere. Ori knew at that moment he was in love, desperately so.
The years passed and Ori's love did not falter. He spent as much time with the brothers of Durin as he could. He would tag along on whenever they went to the pub, or casually stop by the forge on his way home, even though the forge was out of his way. Ori eventually began regularly looking out the window during his studies in hopes of spotting Fili in the training yard. Wherever the blond prince was, that's where Ori wanted to be.
It's no surprise that when the quest to reclaim Erebor came about, Ori jumped at the chance to go. Of course, his ability to read and write elvish would come in handy, to chronicle the historic journey, but Ori had only one reason to leave his home: Fili.
Through all the years he's been in love with Fili, he'd never so much as hinted his feelings for the prince to anyone. Let alone to the actual object of his love. The blond dwarf was seldom alone; he and his younger brother Kili were practically attached at the hip. And even if Ori had managed to get Fili by himself to confess his feelings, what would he have said? Fili was confident and strong, loud and boisterous, everything that Ori wasn't. Ori was painfully shy and very awkward. He hardly opened his mouth to speak unless he'd been drinking, and even then he didn't say very much. The funny thing was that Ori was actually considered very handsome by dwarf standards. Despite his young age he had an enviable beard and his large nose caught many a dwarf-woman's eye. But his looks did little for his lack of self-confidence. He'd remained shy and bumbling.
Ori decided the quest would be his chance to not only prove he was worthy of Fili, but to confess his love once and for all. It filled him with an excitement he hadn't experienced since he was a dwarfling. And so, with new motivation and hope, Ori prepared for the quest he knew would change his life forever.