A/N: Because I still haven't clarified, it seems -Kili is 18 and Tauriel is 22 or 23. If you wanna know anyone else's ages just PM me :)

He was an adult. If he really wanted to get a tattoo just for the sake of decorating his pasty skin then he would. But he wanted Fili to do it and Fili was hard pressed to give the little brother a tattoo without their mother's approval. So Kili could only watch on with a slight twinge of jealousy as his brother showed off his newer flesh art and some additions to his own portfolio. He was praised by everyone for his impeccably symmetrical geometric designs and his brilliantly flowing watercolors, and Kili just wanted them all etched into his own skin. The only thing standing in his way was his mother's disapproval, and that bridge didn't seem like it would be open for crossing anytime soon.

"Just a tiny one," he protested without much energy left to fight it. They'd gone through this a thousand times over and the strong-willed woman never budged on the matter. "I'll have it where no one will even see it?" He felt his brothers glance from beside him and had to smirk a little; he knew Fili had done groin tattoos and it would be a cold day in hell before he'd give him one –or Kili would want one, for that matter. But the placement of a potential ink job wasn't the issue and he knew it. When his mother reminded him sternly that even a small one in a covered zone could easily get infected, he could almost mouth her words along with her (he wouldn't, out of respect.) And so for what felt like the hundredth time since Kili had turned eighteen, she brought the argument to a screeching halt with a set refusal.

Dis moved steadily down the banquet table, stopping occasionally to scoop some beef and potatoes and salad onto a plate, the younger of her sons dragging his feet as he trailed behind her. She handed the glass dish off to him and started building upon another. "Go sit with Tauriel," she said with a small smile, glancing pointedly toward the young woman in the corner who stood eyeing her Kili. "Get to know each other a little better. I have a good feeling about her."

Kili took both plates from her and moved across the dining room, chatting with friends and relatives he had to squeeze his way past; the room was overly crowded with eaters and even Kili had trouble pushing his thin body between them. When he did reach Tauriel and offered her a plate and a warm smile, he found there was nowhere for them to sit down. He hummed, thinking over their options and deciding he didn't want to eat standing and didn't want to make her do so, either. "How about you and I head outside?"

She seemed keen on the idea but only answered with a slight nod and a look that asked him to lead the way. Kili almost reached to pull her by the hand but kept to himself, directing her between his family and friends talking away, the two moving silently through and into the grand entrance.

Tauriel went for the front door, but Kili made a noise to catch her attention, and clarified what he'd meant. "Come on upstairs, there's nowhere to eat out front. We'll go to the back porch." And without another word he started up the regal staircase, expecting her to follow behind. She did, taking his lead, trusting he would not disappoint.

Kili led her up to the third floor and to the back of the home, holding the door open for her like a real gentleman (which she either quietly appreciated or was indifferent to, he couldn't tell.) The balcony porch was covered and bordered by intricate fence design, and overlooked a large expanse of fields and woodlands. She hadn't been very impressed with the grandeur of the home, though it was lovely and oddly cozy for such a large house –though that was maybe the people inside— but the land surrounding it was something different. She set her food down on the top of the fence and moved to the western end of the balcony to watch the sun setting on the horizon. All around her was more land, with the shadow of the mountainous hills looming on the other side of the house.

Kili came up beside her, but his eyes were set on a much brighter sight than the forest and the meadows and the sunset he knew so well –there was something here much more novel and more radiant to take in, but he told himself it was the glow of the sun that was reflecting off her fair skin.

"Is all this yours? I mean –your family's?" she asked eventually when he breath returned to her. He gave a small chuckle at just how blown away she seemed by it all. Surely someone raised in the same luxury as himself couldn't be quite so surprised by this.

"Most of it." He wanted to ask her to come and sit with him so they could eat –the food would get cold and more was so far away— but he couldn't drag her away from so intently watching a sunset. He told himself it would go down completely soon and the food wouldn't be too cold for them to eat in the dim glow of dusk. He gestured out to the southern property. "Prime for exploring and hunting, if you're into that," he added with a shrug.

"You hunt?"

"A little. Ma makes us eat anything we kill, and I personally won't shoot female animals and especially not baby ones. Adult males only."

She smirked a little and studied her hands. Her silver feather bracelet glinted in the lowering sun. At least he had some respectability when it came to a not so savory hobby.

"I'm surprised she lets me out there at all."

"But she does let you?"

"With a chaperone. But Ettie never wanted to go, always complained about how her feet were sore."

She hummed an acknowledgement and thought it over. Kili was starting to seem much more polite in her understanding than he'd been when they first met. She knew all too well that first impressions could often prove false, and came to warm up to the idea that they had simply gotten off to a rocky start. It wouldn't be fair to leave him in the care of someone else when she could promise herself to keep a watchful eye on him (and maybe she didn't want anyone so close to the young man standing next to her.) She snuck a glance in his direction and felt her cheeks warm. Yes, she would reconsider her decision she'd made earlier –she would give the potential job another chance.

Once the sun had dipped below the horizon, the two of them settled in velvet cushioned chairs at a small glass table, setting their plates of food down on either side of an ashtray. The food looked delicious and tasted even better, and she ate as quickly as she did delicately. Kili smiled and watched her a little, eating his own food much more slowly but with less refinement. "Thought only my own family ate so quickly," he mused, pushing the potatoes around on the dish. If they were to go back down for seconds, there'd be nothing but maybe a piece of bread for each of them.

Tauriel swallowed and stared at him a moment, deciding whether or not to take offense to his observation.

"You'll fit right in."

She blushed a second time, reddish pride peppered with guilt rising to her face. She thought a moment of Thranduil and wondered what he might think if he knew she was here –it didn't take much wondering; she knew. She did ponder, though, which would blow a bigger fuse and cause the most outrage among him and the rest of her circle: that she was a potential new employee of the Durin clan, that she would be living among them, or that she was oddly taken with the nephew of her godfather's most vehement business rival?

"Are you finished?" Tauriel was brought from her thoughts of shame down to her plate, now empty. She nodded slowly before she realized Kili had not finished his own meal yet, but he stood and took both with a small smile in her direction. "Come on, let's rejoin the party." He nudged the door open with his hip, both hands occupied, and held it open for her to go first. This time he could make out the gratitude and some happiness in her smile, and he smiled brighter himself, following behind her.