Rivendell.
Fili tried to find fault with it, but failed. Yes, it was the home of the elves, for whom Thorin held so much disdain. And yes, they did serve far too many vegetables. But there were many other amenities that far outshone the cuisine and the decades-old grudge.
Rivendell was beautiful, clean and so, so quiet, when the air wasn't filled with lilting music or the sounds of trickling water from the many scenic waterfalls. It smelled good—of lilac, jasmine and incense. The architecture was a marvel, their arsenal was impressive and their accommodations lavish. The elves, haughty as many of them were, were an objectively attractive, well-dressed race. So far, Fili could find no fault with them or their hospitality.
After they had been fed, the dark-haired elf who had greeted them upon their arrival—whom they later found out was called Lindir—offered them an opportunity to bathe. He showed the company to a cavernous room not from the quarters they'd been offered for the night. And, what wonders! The room's focal point was a spacious in-ground pool; Heated, clearly, as steam rose in waves from it. Water flowed from above, refreshing the supply. Next to the pool were many cushions, racks of bathing implements and oils, and towels.
Most of the dwarfs hadn't had a hot bath in weeks—or longer—and needed little further invitation.
Kili turned to his brother with a grin, "By Aulë, brother! We have found paradise!" He shucked off his leather jerkin and pushed past several of the company to explore the bath house. Fili chuckled at his exuberance. He felt bad that Balin, Thorin and their burglar were missing out on this.
Never terribly comfortable with being undressed around others, it took Fili some time to join his friends in the water. Even Bombur shed his inhibitions along with his clothing and was reclining in the warm waters, face red from the heat and smiling with content.
Fili removed all the clips from his hair and undid the braids, clearly aware of Kili's eyes on him. Since childhood, Kili had been enamored of Fili's hair and all things associated with it. Kili's eyes smoldered as Fili ran his fingers through the curling tendrils. Leonine, Fili strode to the pool and down the three steps into it. The heat slowly began to work its way up his body and matched the heat telegraphed from his younger brother.
Often a look from those eyes alone was enough to get Fili excited down there. He prayed that didn't happen now, in front of the rest of the company. Not that they didn't know, or at least suspect, that he and Kili were lovers and had been for some time.
He didn't want to make them uncomfortable. Kili was doing that just fine on his own.
Kili had a lithe, compact body, the skin golden and sparsely-haired—especially for a dwarf with such dark features. He stood up under one of the streams of water gushing from the pipes above, back to the rest of them and let the water stream down over him, head thrown back and the perfect globes of his ass visible just above the water line. He let out a lengthy, pleasured moan that had several of the others squirming uncomfortably.
Bofur cleared his throat nervously and jabbed Ori, who couldn't stop gaping at Kili, in the ribs with his elbow.
"By Mahal!" Ori muttered under his breath to Bofur. "Must he do that?"
"Oh, yes," Nori didn't hide the fact that he was lustily contemplating the planes of Kili's rear. "He certainly must."
Fili felt the first tinges of possessiveness uncurling in his stomach. Looking around at his friends, he noticed that most were wisely minding their own business. But not Dwalin. Dwalin openly appraised Kili, arms crossed. His eyes roved slowly up and down the glistening body as Kili allowed the water to caress him. As if he could feel Fili's gaze, Dwalin turned to him and smirked. Smirked.
Fili faced the older dwarf down, and Dwalin finally looked away first. "He's got less hair than most women I've known," Dwalin dismissed them, climbing out of the water. "But to each his own, I suppose."
Fili didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until the brawny, tattooed fellow had picked up a towel. Then, Fili let it out with a sigh. He'd better reel his brother in a bit, before his antics got back to Thorin.
To be continued…
