Based on the Tumblr prompt: "Imagine waking up to Dwalin cuddling you in his sleep."
Words: 548 | Characters: Dwalin
You would break him.
Oh yes, you would break him.
He put up a tough unbreakable exterior, but you knew underneath he was as soft as one of Ori's hand knitted sweaters.
The only hard part was getting him to reveal that soft inside.
You had tried everything. Letting him have first choice of food at every meal. Softening his bed roll before he slept in it. You had even managed to convince Thorin to delay the Company's wake up call when you knew he had had a particularly hard day.
But nothing had worked. He still remained as stoic and uncooperative towards you as the day you had met.
This didn't dampen your spirit's however. You were determined to gain his approval, no matter what it took.
"Here, Dwalin," You said brightly, handing the burly dwarf a plate of supper.
He took it from you silently, just as he had every other night. His eyes met yours for a split second and you could have sworn you saw the beginnings of a smile, when he suddenly grunted and stomped away.
You sighed. So close!
"You're not giving up, are you lass?" Bofur asked, grinning.
"Never," You said determinedly, flopping down beside him. "Just one thank you or even a smile! Is that too much to ask?"
"It wouldn't be too much, if it were another dwarf you were asking it of," Bofur said, "He'll come around eventually lass, don't you worry." He winked, a small sparkle of mischief lighting his eyes.
When the time came to settle down for the night, you took your usual place by the fire and began to snuggle up beneath your blankets when you heard heavy footsteps approaching you.
"Shift it over, lass," Dwalin said, looking down at you expectantly.
You jumped over and immediately began fussing over making room for him.
"Stop yer fussing, I'm fine," he grumbled. He settled down into his bed roll and turned his back on you.
You sighed. "Goodnight, Dwalin."
Not knowing if he had heard you or not, you rolled over too and began to drift into a much needed sleep.
You awoke after what felt like hours of sleeping, though the sky was still dark. You felt particularly comfortable and warm, with your body tucked neatly into your furs and blankets and a strong arm draped across your waist-
You gasped and spun around onto your other side in shock. Luckily for you however, the dwarf lying next to you merely grunted in his sleep and tightened his grip on you.
You gaped open mouthed, at the sight before you.
For how many weeks had you been trying to get a mere smile from Dwalin - and now he was practically wrapped around you.
As if on cue, his scarred and tattooed arm wrapped itself fully around your middle and his head came to rest comfortably on your chest.
You smiled, your heart pounding away beneath his head.
You had done it. You had finally found that soft inside you always knew had been there. With that happy thought, you curled back down into your furs and sunk into Dwalin's warmth.
You smiled to yourself as you began to drift asleep again, unaware that Dwalin too was smiling, completely content by your side.