A/N: I'm excited to upload this chapter (also nervous, you'll understand why when you're finished).

You shall pass now, it is edited.

A month went by silently, completely unnoticed for those who didn't track time. Part of Dain's people considered it wise to stay in Erebor and helped rebuild its glory; in a slow but steady rhythm the halls of the underground palace became full of people, the miserable conditions Smaug had made Erebor endure for years were nothing but a myth, a faraway memory in just a month.

Many of those who lived to witness that reconstruction understood the importance of never underestimating a dwarf. The same couldn't be said about Dale, Dwarves helped every now and then, but Men were building Dale on their own accord and followed no other drum but their own. Some of them still longed for Esgaroth –or Laketown as they would so often call it; some others were busy shaping the legend of Bard the Bowman, slayer of the Dragon, the infamous Smaug… Men, was decided among the other races, were easily distracted and that was why Dale was taking them so long.

Mirkwood, Erebor and Dale were now working on trading treaties and they all seemed to be progressing, the benefit of the other also seemed to benefit them.

Regardless of the pace physical changes had, people were happy. Tauriel saw it in their faces whenever she visited, she could breathe it in the air and feel it all around her…

"Why do you spend so much time out here? Balconies are dangerous." She liked watching the landscape from up high, and Erebor was so beautifully located it made the whole experience something incredibly relaxing. She often forgot it wasn't her home and that she couldn't stay for much longer.

… Why couldn't she feel like them?

"Why did you have it built, then?" she asked, turning on her heels to meet Kili. He was taller than most dwarves, but she still had to look down when they talked sometimes. Tauriel smiled, glad to see he was completely recovered; all that remained were faint scars. Kili walked up to her, he took her hands in his and kissed them. Ever since she met him, Tauriel spent half of her time blushing; the other half she was busy feeling butterflies… the last month could compensate just fine for a lifetime of non-existent romance. She loved him for finding the time to be with her, now that he was officially the new heir, Thorin liked to keep him busy.

Kili gave her a look that could bring her to her knees. "I built it because it would make you happy. I know how much you love the stars and the Moon and everything involving the sky… But you're always here, are you avoiding me?" the concern in his voice was evident despite his attempts at hiding it.

Her spirit, which had been soaring happily above her head seconds before, dropped on her like a rock and she felt crushed. "Of course I'm not avoiding you, I'm just…"

"You still haven't told me what happened in the battle, how you seemed to know what was going to happen, how and when… I've been trying to give you time because I know it can't be easy for you either, but Tauriel, I need to know."

Tauriel turned and walked to the stone railing of the balcony, she sat down and passed her long legs through the short columns, letting them hang like two pendulums in the wind. Kili followed her and rested his back against the railing, he didn't sit. She cherished those little moments in which he secretly loved being taller than her but would never admit it out loud. He just folded his arms and nodded his head to no one in particular: that was her cue to start telling the story.

"I saw you die…"

By the time Tauriel finished her fantastic narration Kili was sitting right next to her, she thought she'd seen his knees giving in at some point but wouldn't call that out on him; Kili was clearly shocked. Meanwhile she found it hard to look at him…

"I –I don't know what to say…" Kili clasped his hands and turned his head to fix his eyes on her.

"I regret being selfish, but I don't regret saving you or Thorin. The only thing I'm truly sorry for is…" there were ravens flying around, like spies to their conversation. Tauriel tried to focus on them to soothe her spirit.

"Fili. I know; you needn't say it. I sensed something was going on when you woke up and apologized like it had been your fault; I just never imagined it would be something like this…" Kili took a deep breath. "Did you really meet Mahal? I mean, Aulë?

Tauriel nodded.

"What happened after we died?"

"Erebor was abandoned; it served as your tomb; I reckon some people plundered it but the greater part of the riches remained here. Men rebuilt Dale, us Elves went back to Mirkwood and tried to go on with our lives."

"But you couldn't."

"I didn't want to. I was good at losing people until I lost the one I had been living to find."

The redhead finally raised her gaze to him when she saw his hand resting on her thigh, the touch so soft and light she wouldn't have believed it real were it not for her eyes, fixed on his hand seconds before she decided it was time to look at his face. His eyes were sparkling with unshed tears and she perfectly understood what lied in the depths of his heart, the feeling of being incomplete she knew all too well. Tauriel had been in the exact same position when he died.

Kili gave her a watery smile. "I think it's sad, Tauriel," he whispered. And she asked him to continue with a pleading look in her eyes, for she couldn't find her voice. The knot that was forming inside her throat was so big it would take her hours to swallow it, "tell me, love, why you let it go that far? I'm flattered you did all of that just for my family and I, but it's painful to know I had to die for you to realize you loved me."

A tear rolled down her cheek and Kili brushed it away with his thumb, he pressed his forehead to hers then, and she watched him close his eyes.

"Tauriel, I trust I'll see Fili again someday, sooner or later I'll meet him in Durin's house. The memory of my beloved brother will always be with me, and I won't ever forget him despite the pain his absence causes me. I do think you were selfish, but in your selfishness I also see the most selfless act, you could've died; there were no guarantees you would succeed and still you kept going. And that makes me wonder: what will happen when I die again? I can't escape death, my lifespan is long but I will die, eventually, and I don't believe the Valar can interfere twice… Perhaps it doesn't make sense to you, but if loving a mortal being causes you more pain than joy; then I don't want to be the one you love. I don't want to be the reason you keep making sacrifices."

At her lack of response Kili opened his eyes only to find Tauriel staring back at him with adoration. She twisted her torso a bit more to get a better angle and placed both of her hands on his face, cupping it. The knot disappeared, ran away from her throat at full speed like a deer from a hunter, and then she could breathe. His words hurt her just as much they healed her.

"The second we met I felt something, and by the way you looked at me I knew you had felt it too. It scared me. And it scared me even more the fear that invaded me every time you got in trouble. Do you know what it's like? To fear for the life of someone you barely know? That's why I kept running after you, because even though I refused to admit it, deep down I knew what I felt. I would've never parted ways with you that day had I known it was smarter to follow my heart, it almost feels like a misdeed to have chosen another path. Yet here we are, talking about love like it's something we're familiar with when we haven't even said it to the other…"

The elf laughed between sobs, feeling somewhat flabbergasted with the sound both of those produced when combined.

"In Esgaroth, you asked me if I could have ever loved you," she started, running her thumb across his lower lip "and I could. I'm pretty sure I already did by then, I love you, amralime. I fear there's nothing you can do to change that." By saying that word she confirmed his suspicion: she knew what he had meant.

Tauriel didn't dare move; their faces hovered, inches apart. She liked having him close, the way his heartbeat felt against her palm when she lowered one of her hands to his chest and let it rest there. The last time she had him this kind of near life had abandoned him… Tauriel closed her eyes when Kili moved forward, and two seconds later his lips were on hers. He just moved his lips against hers leisurely, with a tenderness she'd never known before and she liked the way his lips felt on hers. His beard tickled and she thanked he seemed unable to grow it longer than that. Tauriel dipped her head to one side and let him entangle his hand in her long, red hair until he cupped the back of her head.

On mutual agreement, they both opened their mouths and Tauriel instantly loved the way he tasted. She couldn't even describe it because it wouldn't make any sense, it was just pure Kili. As the kiss deepened Tauriel thought it was impossible to love him more, and yet it wouldn't surprise her to find such thing could happen. Her lungs were burning by the time they parted; she welcomed the fresh air but missed his touch immediately. When she blinked her eyes open Kili's smile was so bright she almost went blind.

"Will you stay here in Erebor?" he asked, licking his lips in the process.

"Oh, Kili… I wish I could, but some of your people look at me like I'm an orc; and I still have affairs waiting for me in Mirkwood, some of them I've been postponing for too long…"

"And what if I go to Mirkwood?" Kili knit his brows together after hearing his own suggestion. "Forget that, I'm the…" his throat went dry "I'm the heir. Tauriel, there will never be a place where a dwarf and an elf are good together. "

She nodded.

"You're right, there isn't."

Kili gave her a knowing look and smirked at her the way he had when they first met, back when he was locked up in a cell and she subconsciously refused to leave his side.

"I know there's evil around, but the world is not caught up in its net completely. There are still beautiful places left to visit, oceans I want to sail and mountains I want to climb. Hopefully you'll come along."

"What are you suggesting? We run away? Kili, we can't do that. Your uncle needs you here; your people need you here. I don't think Thorin would like you leaving just a week after Lord Balin's departure to the mines of Moria…" she spoke like she was running a marathon, her tongue tried hard to keep up with the pace of her brain and in the end Tauriel wasn't sure Kili had gotten the message. Point was she was against him forgetting his duty.

He played with the hem of his tunic like a child, Tauriel noticed he liked to keep his fingers busy; whenever he was nervous or bored he'd grab whatever was close to his hands to distract himself.

"I'm not saying right now, but it would be nice to go away for some time, don't you think? We could say these are days of peace, I'm sure Thorin doesn't need me every single day at all hours. Hunting fire moons does sound lovely."

Tauriel was about to make him reconsider his plan when a dwarf she'd never seen before found them; he carried a message from the King and let them know Thorin required Kili's presence. The messenger left them right after he delivered the message and both of them watched him go like they were in a trance of some sort. Tauriel admitted Kili's plan was all she needed to be happy, but saying yes would make her feel irresponsible –she didn't want to be the bad influence all mothers worried their children could meet when exposed to the rest of the world. To accept his proposal would mean disappointing Thorin… but what if going away was what made Kili heal? She promised she would keep saving him, after all.

Perhaps staying in Erebor, near the place his brother had died was doing him wrong… And they surely needed time alone to get to know each other better without people judging… Tauriel smiled, feeling embarrassed at the way she had coaxed herself so easily into his insanely attractive idea.

The decision was made without further thinking.

"Then yes," she said, earning a surprised look from the dwarf "when you deem the circumstances appropriate, we shall leave. The throne will wait."

Kili leaned in to kiss her, the gesture caught her by surprise and she kissed him with her eyes still open. He smiled into the kiss and caressed her cheek; when he moved his lips to the corner of her mouth Tauriel finally let her eyelids fall. He kissed her with patience, softly. When he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead she released a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding.

A year after that conversation they were sitting on the top of a small mound in the middle of nowhere, trees were scattered all over the field and the lack of order was evident, it almost seemed like they had grown by accident… that single detail enhanced the exotic beauty of the land. Tauriel was at peace; her worries were left behind in Mirkwood along with Kili's responsibilities, except those took shelter between the solid walls of Erebor.

Above them, the Moon was on fire. It painted red all of Kili's features and her hair looked like pure lava…

"This is by the far the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Tauriel whispered, looking up. The reddish golden glow would dye her dreams forever. She knew he was looking at her when he replied a smooth same, and thanked the Moon for helping her disguise her blush. A year later and he still could make her feel like an in love youngster.

"This is all thanks to you, Tauriel. You gave us this chance. Perhaps our story will be told ages after I'm gone, and you'll be a walking legend."

Her heartbeat sped up.

"Let's not talk about death; it's been plaguing our lives… So let's not talk about it tonight."

Kili nodded. "Of course, we'll talk about it when my hair turns white," then he smiled and patted his lap. Tauriel moved and rested her head on his thighs, enjoying the feeling of Kili's fingers playing with her long tresses right after she settled on his lap.

Tauriel let out a shaky breath.

"Yes… when we're old, we will talk about it."

He stopped his fingers.

"What are you talking about, Tauriel?"

Tauriel rolled on her side to face him, then planted her left forearm on the ground to lift her upper body and stretched her right arm to place her hand on his cheek. Kili's flummoxed stare made her nervous and her stomach was churning; tears welled up in her eyes but not because she was sad.

"I chose to be a mortal with you."

Kili kissed her with a passion that burned like the Moon above their heads.

Continuation of the longest A/N ever: first Beren and Lúthien, then Aragorn and Arwen... Now you can add Tauriel and Kili to your list.

Up there *points to the chapter* is the fluff I promised and the Kiliel everywhere. Perhaps now you see why I was excited, there's a lot going on.

So leave a review! Hopefully you won't hate me for what I did and leave positive feedback, and if you do hate me... Well, I was bound to let you down since the moment you clicked the title of this fic; this was the conclusion I had envisioned.

The epilogue is coming :)