You all had been lucky. After moving from one cave to the next, from one cavern to the next, you and the Company had finally settled into an old abandoned barn where you all felt safe for the night. Even still, with Bofur on the first watch as others began to settle in you decided to keep the dwarf company during his few hours on guard. You were a nomad they had picked up along the way, a human no less, but no one had a race in this group, they were all family and more than willing to keep you around.
"You don't have to stay up with me lass." He whispered to you as the rest of the men had settled down, but you paid him no heed, sitting on the ground beside him, your skirts in layers all around your booted feet.
"I'll be alright, no reason for you to be alone." You confessed. He smiled back at you genuinely, his hand brushing against yours. You had been with the troupe for a few months now, and whereas you found all the men to be your family.. there was just something about Bofur that meant so much more to you. Maybe it was the way he stuck up for you when Thorin didn't want you to come along, or how he keeps the brothers from pranking you, sometimes taking the brunt of it himself.
"Ah lass, if you're going to stay up with me, why don't we at least make the most of it. Come here, let me make you an honorary dwarf." He offered. It was your turn to grin happily as you scooted, sitting between his legs as he got a chair to sit above you for a better view. Your hair was wild and unkempt with waves, and with no brush in sight it probably would be easier to keep with a few braids.
"I'd love that." You whisper, a soft blush coating the cheeks of the dwarf, but you merely dismiss it as the low lighting.
Working his way through your long locks, you're surprised as to how delicate Bofur's hands are as he tries to unknot your hair. Carefully he runs two or three fingers at a time through it, getting the worst of the matts, his hands unsteady on occasions when they lightly brush against your ear or your neck.
"Don't let me hurt you lass." He whispers.
"Don't worry, you won't." You reply, almost purring from the relief. You're careful to not move your head or disturb him as he works, but you two talk of your lives before meeting, whispering secrets by the light of the lanterns. You feel as he changes his pace, slowly braiding a large long braid down the center of your hair, keeping half up and half down while another runs behind your ear and is much smaller. Both braids he secures with bronze clasps, resting his hands on your shoulders when he finishes.
"All done lass." He tells you as his shift ends and Fili scrounges to wake up from his deep sleep. Bofur smiles at you, satisfied with his work when you look up at him, running his fingers along your face, but you're both unsure as to what to say, or if words are even required.
"Bofur…. Are you..?" Fili asks, but Bofur shushed him quickly trying to defuse a situation, all leaving you confused as Bofur helps you stand and you both move to your corner of the barn away from some of their rumbling snores.
"What was that about?" You ask as you lay down beside him, you both resting under separate blankets, but near enough that he can talk you to sleep, the same as he had from the moment he found you, from the moment he saved you.
"Ah, it was nothing lass, get some rest we'll be heading out early."
"Please, tell me?" You insist.
"It's just… nah lass, let's turn in." he whispered back to you, his hand touching your face gently before pulling you close to him your back against his chest, the bristles of his beard gently brushing against your shoulder, the back of your neck. It was so much easier to keep warm this way.
"Please Bofur? You know you can trust me." You urge.
"Aye I can." He said, his face solemn as if he was afraid to share. With a soft sigh, he began. "It's just.. well lass… in my culture, hair braiding is very intimate, it shows trust, and security and a bond between people. Because of all these things.." His hand grazed your hip as you felt the heat from the blush on his cheek against your neck. "It's a dating ritual as well." The words rang in your ear as he spoke them.
"Bofur." You said over your shoulder, but he was already backpedaling.
"I'm so sorry lass, I know I shouldn't have. I mean you've been so gracious to me and kind but I know your kind of folk don't make a second glance at my kind of folk. You've been kind enough to let a dwarf feel needed, but I know we're repulsive to…" he began to babble, nervous as he started to pull away, the insecurity reflecting in his eyes.
"Bofur." You said at last, shaking your head as you stroked his hair gently, "Bofur I feel quite the same." You whisper to him softly before brushing your lips against his. The dwarf's mustache tickles you as you two connect, his arm wrapping around your waist, his other arm used to prop up as he slowly guides you onto your back.
"Oh lass…" He breathed before you both spent truly your first night together quietly while the others slept. Something changing and yet feeling all so familiar.