Fili (Ered Luin- Middle Earth)

It was still raining but he no longer felt it. He just felt cold and empty. It was as if someone had plunged a knife deep into his gut and twisted. Wrenching his soul apart. Fili trudged heavily through the sinking mud. His brother's blood covered bow clenched in a white knuckle grip. He couldn't think, it was like he was untethered and lost. A sob tore its way out of his throat. He'd searched for hours but he found no sign of Kili.

It was dark now and the clouds formed a blanket, ready to suffocate him. As the entrance to the mountain came into sight Fili was surrounded by dwarves. They all spoke at once. A cacophony of voices. Fili couldn't hear them or distinguish them. He stood there pale as a ghost and covered in blood. The dwarves quickly bundled him inside. Fili didn't pay attention to where they were taking him. Simply moved his feet one in front of the other.

Before he knew it he had been guided to the royal chambers. When he realised where he was his heart started racing and his breathing quickened. Oh Mahal, he couldn't tell Amad. It would break her.

He was guided into a room by who he could now see was Dwalin. Dwalin's hand was tight on his shoulder and he tried to use that to anchor himself to the here and now. Fili was guided into his front room. A fire roared in the hearth. Throwing long shadows across the floor. Thorin was stood in front of it. It was clear he had been pacing.

"What happened?" Thorin asked, his usual stoic expression breaking.

Dis, who had been behind Thorin, then pushed her way passed and ran to embrace Fili.

"Oh Fili you had me worried sick" Dis then looked up at Fili, noticing the specks of blood on his face.

Her eyes went wide and she reached up a hand to Fili's face "What happened?" then she looked around and suddenly became more panicked "Where's your brother?"

Fili shattered at her words. Sobs wracked his body and tears streamed down his face "Amad" his voice cracked. He reached for her and held on as if she was the only thing stopping him from being washed away.

Thorin was there then, his strong voice grounding Fili. "Fili, tell us what happened"

And he did.

Dis collapsed to the ground. Her cries sounded as if she had a hand wrapped around her throat. A strangled noise; as if she could barely breathe.

Thorin sprung into action immediately. Ordering dwarves around, organising search parties. Fili could no longer hear what was going on around him. The roaring of blood in his ears was too loud. It was as if he was below water. Was he drowning?

oOo

With each passing day the hope of finding Kili dwindled. After that first night Fili became more resolved. He refused to feel the insurmountable pain he felt inside. Pushing it down until he could function normally again. He would find his brother. Kili hadn't been found dead or alive. So there was still hope, no matter how small it was, that he was there somewhere. And he couldn't find his brother if he let the pain swallow him up.

Thorin had sent patrols out to scout the area where Kili fell. No other wargs or orcs had been seen. So the one on the cliff had been a lone warg. Fili joined as many patrols as his uncle would allow him. He'd scream until his voice went hoarse. But still there was no sign of his brother.

The rain had eased off after the first couple of days. However, because of those downpours all traces of anything seemed to have washed away. No footprints or tracks. There didn't seem to be anything other than the body of the warg. It was taken away and burned after that first day. There should have been something though. That was what was driving Fili insane. After a fall like that Kili shouldn't have been able to get up for some time. And if he did manage to, why did he disappear? Why not seek Fili out? Something wasn't right.

Today had yielded the same results as all the others. When he arrived back home he pushed the door open and swung his sword off his back with a grunt. He placed it on a rack by the door before continuing into the rooms. His room was right next to Kili's. As he went to walk past he saw that the door to Kili's bedroom was ajar. Fili tried to peer through the gap but couldn't see enough. Gently he pushed the door. It revealed his Amad, curled up on Kili's bed. One of Kili's shirts was clutched in her hands, tight to her chest. She must have fallen asleep at some point.

Fili didn't have the heart to wake her up. He did however take one of Kili's blankets and drape it around her. Hopefully, it would keep the chill off of her while she slept. It could get quite cold inside a mountain.

Silently, Fili exited the room. Closing the door softly behind him. He was about to proceed to his own room when he heard a noise from the front room. Upon investigating he saw that it was his Uncle. He had his hands clasped behind his back.

"Any news?" Fili asked, hopefully.

Thorin shook his head a somber look in his eyes "No, not yet. But that's not why I'm here"

Fili raised his eyebrows, confused.

Thorin took a deep breath to steady himself and then levelled his gaze at Fili. "It's about the quest"

Fili's pulse jumped and his stomach clenched. He had a bad feeling about this.

"With everything that has happened" Thorin continued "I can't allow you to join the company"

Fili felt sick. He couldn't do that. He had to go. Did Thorin think he wasn't competent enough? Because he wasn't fast enough to Kill that warg?... Because he wasn't fast enough to save Kili?

Maybe he wasn't worthy enough to go.

Could he protect a whole company if he couldn't protect his baby brother?

"But Uncle" Fili started.

"No!" Thorin shouted, then he took a deep breath and his stoic demeanor returned "No Fili, this is for your Amad's sake. She couldn't handle losing anybody else right now. If you left for the quest it could really hurt her"

His tone left no room for argument. Fili was not going on the quest for Erebor.

Leah (England-Earth)

Several weeks flew by and Kili was getting more acclimated to life on Earth. After the sixth week Kili finally got to have his cast off. Which he was immensely grateful for. Apparently it had begun to itch like nobody's business and Kili had threatened to cut his own arm off. A bit dramatic if you ask me. Kili was terrified by the saw but managed to make it through until the cast was completely off. He was incredibly happy to be able to move both of his arms freely once again.

I had introduced him to many different foods. Pizza seemed to be the biggest hit so far. I think the combo of cheese, bread and meat really sold it for him. He tried other foods too. Some more of a success than others. As a household we tended to forgo meat a few days a week. It's supposed to be healthier that way. Much to Kili's chagrin. Kili hadn't been a fan of some of the vegetarian meals we had made for him. He kept insisting that they weren't real food. I did manage to get him to eat some of the meals though. Forgetting to inform him of the lack of meat seemed to do the trick quite nicely.

Kili did like helping out with the cooking. Which I was quite happy about. Also surprised. I didn't expect a prince to want to help out with preparing food. When I asked him about it he told me that his Amad never actually treated them like royalty and that he and his brother would get chores to do. His would more often than not be peeling vegetables. Apparently it was better than cleaning; which he made Fili do.

We decided to go for a little picnic at the park one day. The weather was nice and Anika really wanted to leave her uni accomodation for the day. All of us were supposed to bring some food with us. I decided I would make scotch eggs.

Kili was next to me in the kitchen. Offering his services. I had just finished boiling the eggs and they were ready to be peeled.

"How good are you at peeling egg?" I said, offering him a boiled egg.

He placed his hand over his heart "I am an expert egg peeler" he said very self-assuredly.

He took the egg from me and began to peel. Not at all well. The poor egg was very smushed.

"Dude I thought you said you were good at this," I said, a laugh creeping into my voice.

"I normally am. You must have different eggs here, that's all" Said Kili, raising his nose in the air.

"Suure" I said, sarcastically.

I peeled the rest of them to avoid an egg armageddon. Kili was better at wrapping the eggs in sausage at least. Following my instructions. I scotched those eggs with the mastery of someone who had done this dozens of times yet still managed to make a fucking mess. The amount of washing we had to do afterwards was tear-inducing.

We had the picnic in a little park near my house. Quite a few other people had similar ideas. Eventually we found a good space near a tree. Kili was very eager to try the scotch eggs. I wouldn't let him try one until we actually got here. Much to his disappointment.

We had barely sat down and Kili was giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Fiine" I sighed, reaching into my back and drawing out the box full of scotch eggs "Here you go"

Kili gave me an exulted grin and dove in. He shoved as much in his mouth as possible before finally chewing. His face became an image of bliss and he sighed.

"Is it good? Is that a good sigh?" I asked.

He didn't even give himself a chance to speak, simply giving me a thumbs up and diving in to the rest of it. I'll take that as a good sign.

"These are my new favourite thing" he said, mouth still full.

"I'm glad you like it" I said, biting into one of my own.

Anika had brought a lot of fruit with her. Apparently the fruit and veg market was having a big sale and she couldn't resist. I didn't mind though, I was happy enough munching on pineapple slices. Kili was enjoying them too. He was cheerfully eating his own pineapple slices when Anika decided to drop a bombshell.

"Hey Geri," Anika piped up. The tone of her voice suggesting she was up to no good. "Did you know that pineapples are one of the only fruits that eats you back?" Her face gleeful as she popped another slice in her mouth.

"Oh don't tell him that" I said, giving her a shove.

Kili froze, eyes wide, he still had a mouth still full of pineapple. "Wha"

"Yeah that's why your tongue is sore after eating them," I tried to cover her mouth before she could finish her sentence but you could still hear the muffled "it's trying to dissolve your tongue"

The damage was done and Kili looked mortified. He spat out the pineapple currently in his mouth and reached for a bottle of water in front of him. "I'm not dying am I?"

"No you're not Kili" I reassured him, giving Anika another shove as she laughed behind her hand. "Anika's just being an arsehole"

"So it isn't true" Kili said, hopeful.

Ah. How do I explain this in a way that won't make him terrified of pineapple?

"Well technically it's true," I admitted, "But you're body is strong enough to fight it off, it's more of a you eat it before it eats you kind of situation"

Oh god that explanation didn't help at all. Kili surreptitiously moved the tub of pineapple further away from him. Distancing himself from the offending fruit.

"I think I'll just stick to apples" he mumbled.

oOo

Over time as Kili's wounds healed he started to train with his sword. Being unable to for so long he was scared that he would be out of practice. Mum had caught him in the garden once when his cast was still on and his stitches hadn't quite healed. She chastised him pretty hard and told him he wasn't allowed to train until he was fully healed. Kili hadn't been best pleased.

Now he was fully healed he was free to swing his sword around with reckless abandon if he so pleased. That's what he was doing in that moment. I was in my room talking to Anika on the phone and I could see him in the garden below. I may have been staring. It was mesmerising to watch.

"Did you hear what I just said?" Anika's voice came through my phone.

"Hmm, what?" I mumbled, still looking out of the window.

"I said, I'm gonna come round tonight with mum and dad while they do their wine night"

Anika's parents were coming around later on tonight to hang out with mum. Evidently Anika was too.

"Oh right yeah that sounds good" I said.

Kili seemed to be winding down now. His swings becoming slower and less powerful.

"I might bring something and we can do our own wine night, only sans wine because its nasty" she said.

I hummed agreement and I reached for the mug of tea resting on my window sill. I only managed a few sips before I nearly choked on the liquid. Kili had stopped his training now. HIs sword now rested on the ground. Sweat clung to his body. He then decided that it was the perfect moment to take his shirt off.

I felt my mouth go dry and my face heated at the sight. God damn, that should be illegal. I was suddenly hyper-aware of the dwarf in front of me. He was barrel chested with defined muscles. There was a good amount of hair dusting his chest and arms. My heartbeat quickened. Apparently I'm quite a fan of chest hair. He also had a trail of hair that led down to. No. No. Not gonna think about that.

I turned away from the window, hand rubbing down my face. Purer thoughts, I needed some purer thoughts.

"Holy shit" I whispered "That shouldn't be allowed"

"What, what happened?" said Anika, sounding intrigued.

"There is a shirtless dwarf in my garden" I said, insistently.

I peeked back outside and saw that he was still there. He had started to wipe the sweat off his body with the shirt. This was getting obscene.

"Holy shit, Is he fit?"

"Let's just say I'm struggling to look directly at him," I said.

"Arr, you should send me a picture" Anika said.

"No, you perv I'm not sending you a picture" I said, turning away from the window.

"How am I the perv when you're ogling him from your window" she laughed.

"I'm not ogling" I whispered forcefully.

I was merely looking out of my window. Enjoying the view. It's not my fault that a half naked dwarf happened to be outside. I turned back towards the window and peered down. Kili had now stopped and was looking upwards towards my window. I made a high pitched squealing noise and dropped to my knees. Oh shit did he see me. Why am I so embarrassing?

I reached up on my knees, slowly, so that only my eyes and nose were visible through the window. Cautiously, I glanced out of the window. Kili had indeed seen me. The boy had a wide grin on his face and was waving at me.

Surrendering to my embarrassment I waved back.

oOo

Steve, Katherine and Anika came around later that day. I had mostly gotten over my embarrassment. Even with Kili occasionally smirking at me. The smug dwarf.

Mum greeted everyone at the door with a hug before moving into the living room. There was soft music playing in the background. Steve was a middle aged man with tanned skin. He was bald but still had a full face of stubble. A pair of thick framed glasses rested on his nose. Katherine was only a little bit taller than me. Her hair was a deep brown and swept down her back. She was reasonably curvy and gave the best hugs. Mum-shaped, as Anika would say.

"I brought a Rosé for Katherine and some real wine for us," said Steve, holding up two bottles of wine. His smooth American twang was very relaxing to listen to.

"Oh shut up you, not all of us are big wine drinkers. Some have to dilute it with lemonade" Said Katherine, taking a seat on the settee.

Steve gasped, hand over his chest "What you drink is sprite, I will not have you blaspheme about real lemonade this way"

Katherine simply laughed and made herself more comfy on the chair. Anika then came up next to me and rested an elbow against my shoulder. She angled a bottle towards me.

"I brought some pink gin and a few ciders because I have taste," said Anika.

"I heard that" emanated from the kitchen door where Steve had just gone through.

We decided to chill upstairs for a bit to give the parents some time for themselves. It was supposed to be their wine night after all not ours. Kili tried some gin but then admitted that he didn't really like it. The ciders went down well though. We mainly just sat in my room with a few drinks. Music played in the background. It was Anika's choice at the moment. For some reason she decided that now was the perfect time to teach Kili how to floss.

"When you stick your arms out like this" she demonstrated with her own "You also move your hips in the other direction".

Kili was concentrating very hard. Trying to figure out which way he was supposed to move. He was currently struggling with syncing up his arms with his hips. I was sat crossed legged on the floor, giggling at the whole affair. Sometimes I would give advice about where his arms should go. After a little while the guy was a pro. Flossing with the best of them.

Anika and I slowly got more tipsy while Kili remained annoyingly sober. All of us had ended up sitting crossed legged in a circle on my floor. We were cracking up at the smallest things. At some point we had decided to quote obscure videos at each other. Much to Kili's confusion.

"You want to bloody chug-a-lug a $30 bottle of wine" I said in a very slurred, very bad australian accent.

"It's about respect, you've got to respect the wine" Anika replied in an equally bad accent. Moving her glass around haphazardly, the liquid just about staying in the glass.

Kili looked between us, his eyebrows drew together. "I thought you were drinking gin, why are you talking about wine?"

Reaching up towards him, I slowly stroked my hand down his face. Nearly poking him in the eye. "Shhhhh, don't worry about it".

My hand lingered a bit too long on his lips. They were very soft. Just as I realised this, Kili had gently grabbed my wrist and removed my hand from his face.

"Thanks for that" he grinned.

My wrist was still in his hand. His thumb rubbed against my pulse point sending what felt like small electric shocks down my arm. I beamed back at him, his smile was infectious. I could feel a slight pink tinge to my cheeks.

That's when the song changed and Anika began to freak out.

"Holy Shit! I haven't heard this in years" she said, clambering to her feet and dragging me up with her. Kili dropped my hand as I stood up.

We started to sing along, interspersed with some terrible dance moves

Smooth talkin', so rockin'

He's got everything that a girl's wantin'

He's a cutie, he plays it groovy

And I can't keep myself from doin' somethin' stupid

Think I'm really fallin' for his smile

Yeah, butterflies when he says my name

Hey!

I looked to Kili, his smile was huge. It sent me butterflies of my own. He was still sat down with a bottle of cider in his hand. I reached my hand down towards him, wanting him to join in. He waited a second before grabbing my hand and standing up. We were nearly nose to nose. His eyes were a warm brown, looking straight at me. I felt my breath catch. Then he moved away and joined in the dancing.

He's got somethin' special

He's got somethin' special

And when he's lookin' at me

I wanna get all sentimental

He's got somethin' special

He's got somethin' special

I can hardly breathe somethin's tellin' me

Tellin' me maybe he could be the one

Once the song finished we were all out of breath. We all plonked back down onto the floor. Laughing to ourselves. Anika reached for her drink and realised it was empty.

"Time for a refill, me thinks," she said and made to get up.

Good idea. We all decided to head back down stairs with her. Anika and I being a bit too giggly on the stairs. When we reached the bottom we could hear the conversation in the living room.

"I thought this was a book club anyway, I thought we were cultured" That was Steve.

We reached the bottom then and turned the corner. Katherine snorted "Cultured, this has always been an excuse to drink wine and you know it"

Mum was on the settee parallel to the kitchen, a pleasant smile on her face. "No no Kath let's hear him out" said Mum, taking a sip of wine "So what books have you read recently Steve"

Steve seemed to go shy then and he took a big drink "debastyio o baaa" his voice muffled by the drink.

"What was that?" Katherine laughed.

Steve took a big sigh "It was The Devastation of Baal… It's Warhammer" he added when he got blank looks.

"I thought you said you were cultured" said Katherine.

Steve gasped, hand covering his chest "I am" he said with dignity "Let me tell you about Dante and the Blood angels and maybe you'll understand"

He took another big sip of wine "He saw the sanguinor Katherine it was very moving. You had to be there".

They saw us then making our way to the kitchen. Steve gave us a little nod, Mum and Katherine said hi.

Kili was in front of us and he leaned down towards my mum. "These two can't hold their liquor very well, I think they need some water"

I gasped "Traitor".

Mum looked to me then back up to Kili "Water is probably a good idea"

"Hey I think Anika said something about you, it's Jerry right?" said Steve.

For god sake Anika. I slapped her around the shoulder but she just laughed.

"No that's just the nickname Anika gave him, his actual name is Kili...Short for Killian" I said remembering the fake name we gave him.

"Killian, that's a strong name" he said, nodding his head.

"Kili is staying with us while he finds his feet" said Mum "He hasn't got any family here, so we're helping him"

Steve and Katherine considered this for a second. I hope they didn't start picking holes in our explanation. Our fake story wasn't exactly watertight.

Steve smiled "Don't be saying that around this one" he pointed to Katherine "She'll start trying to adopt you"

Katherine swatted his hand away "Ignore him, he thinks he's being funny".

Anika and her parents stayed for a little bit longer before deciding to call it a night. Thankfully they only lived around the corner so they were walking home. As we were hugging everyone goodbye- even Kili got hugs- Steve invited us all to dinner at their house next week. They were doing a Korean night for Kyo and the more the merrier apparently. We said we would go.

oOo

The week went by very fast. Before we knew it, it was the day of the dinner at Anika's house. Mum unfortunately had to work tonight. There was an event that she had to oversee. That left just me and Kili to go to the meal. I decided to dress up a little bit. Even though it was only Anika's house and I'd been there a million times. If you have an excuse, why not flaunt it?

The outfit ended up consisting of a baby pink top covered in butterflies, a corduroy skirt in a slightly different shade of pink and to top it all off a pink jacket. I called it the pink monstrosity.

When I came down the stairs I saw Kili sat down. He was wearing the blue hawaiaan shirt and the blue trousers with the flowers on. It seemed the pink monstrosity had a new adversary. The blue monstrosity has stepped into the ring.

I spread my arms wide to show off my outfit. Doing a little spin to get the full effect. "Hey Kili, guess what my favourite colour is"

Kili looked at me and raised an eyebrow "I know you want me to say pink but I know for a fact you've already told me that it's blue"

"Arrr you ruined my joke" I said, fake sulking.

Kili just laughed at me.

We were walking to Anika's house. When we left the house Kili stopped. He extended his elbow towards me. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"May I escort the Lady to her dinner?" said Kili, his voice sounding more posh.

I gave him a look before slipping my arm through his "You may" I said in an equally posh voice.

So we walked to Anika's house like that. Arms linked together. Anika was the one who answered the door and she raised her eyebrows at us.

"Jesus Christ, what are you guys wearing?" she asked.

She should speak for herself though. She was wearing a yellow jumper tucked into a yellow skirt.

"Evidently we all decided that monochrome was the best choice today" I said, pointing to each of our clothes "We could make a rainbow"

"Pink isn't in the rainbow" Anika laughed.

"Well it is in mine" I said, walking into her house.

I could hear the ruckus already. Having such a big family did not make for a quiet home. It did make for a fun one though. I grinned to myself as I saw everyone in the living room. At least four kids and two adults were playing on the floor.

There was Rosie, who was 7. She had very curly hair that was bright red. A smattering of freckles on her face. Originally she had been a foster child but had been adopted by Steve and Katherine afterwards. Then there was Layla, she was 5. Her hair was a mousy brown and currently in pigtails. She was a grandchild. Next was baby Leo, also a grandchild. He was nearly 2. Lastly there was Arjun, he was 4. He had dark brown hair that matched his skin tone. Arjun was the newest foster child.

Steve was currently lying on the floor with Leo in his hands. Lifting him up into the air to make him laugh. Rosie and Layla had also started to dive on him. Sarah, Steve's second oldest, was on the floor too. Trying to wrangle the kids up. Arjun was in his own corner. Happily playing with his blocks. He was deeply focused on putting all of his blocks into lines.

There were many adults dotted around the settees as well. I could see Isaiah with his boyfriend sitting close together, hands joined. Oh I wonder how Sean's introduction to the family went I had forgotten to ask. Then again a lot of things happened during that time, you couldn't really blame me too much. I assume it went well if he's still here. Lewis and his wife were there too. Lewis was the eldest of Anika's siblings and father to Layla.

I waved as I walked in and everyone greeted me back. Steve was still getting attacked by children when someone called for him from the kitchen.

"Ah my services are required," he said, placing Leo back down. His little lip started quivering as his grandad had to leave.

"Don't be sad, Leo. Your Mom is behind you, you can play with her" Steve pointed to Sarah.

Leo looked to his Mum but didn't stop looking sad. "I'm telling you he never wants me" said Sarah. Then she crept forwards and tickled Leo "You never want mummy do you"

Leo started laughing then and Steve took that as his cue to leave. Rosie got up off of the floor and made her way over to me. I was then left a little winded as she charged at me to give me a hug.

"Look how tall I'm getting" said Rosie "I'm nearly as big as you"

"Yeah that's not hard Rosie" said Anika, patting my head.

Rosie then noticed Kili and became a little shy. She gave him a small wave and said hi.

"This is Kili" I explained. "He's a friend"

"Hi Kili!" exclaimed Rosie, suddenly excited again.

Kili waved back with equal enthusiasm. At the same time I saw Anika sneak up to baby Leo. She got up behind him without him realising and then she picked him up very fast. The sudden motion made him laugh. Anika then made her way over to us.

"Hey kidder" I said, poking his little cheeks. Babies man, they were the cutest things ever.

Leo looked from me to Kili. Then levelled a tiny hand at Kili. "Eh da?"

"Who's that?" Anika asked.

Leo replied with the same noises. "That's Kili. Can you say Kili?"

"Keewi" he said in the cutest voice imaginable.

Then Leo started to lean out of Anika's arms. Reaching towards Kili. Clear that he now wanted to be held by the dwarf instead. Kili opened his arms and picked up the baby. Leo stared into his soul in the way only a baby can. Then a big toothy grin spread across his face.

"Well aren't you a cute little pebble" said Kili, smiling back.

My heart sung. I don't know what it is but men being good with babies did something to me. Well a dwarf in this case.

"That's it now Kili, you're not gonna be able to get rid of him," said Sarah, from the floor.

That turned out to be true. Leo refused to leave Kili's lap and Kili had to sit on the floor with him. This caused the other children to migrate towards him. Something about Kili seemed to attract small children towards him. Rosie and Layla kept asking him random questions like "what's your favourite number?" Even Arjun came over and handed Kili one of his blocks.

Soon the food was done and everyone piled into the dining room. There was quite a large table so that everyone could fit around it. Leo was sad that he had to leave Kili but was soon placacted when he had food.

The kids who were a bit fussy were going to have sandwiches instead. Katherine was next to Arjun asking what filling he wanted.

"Do you want chicken?" she mimed a chicken's beak with her finger and thumb next to her face "Or cheese?" she lay one hand flat, palm up, and the other hand pointed down onto it. sort of like an upside down 'T'.

Arjun replied by spreading his hand wide and moving it under his chin from right to left.

"No you're not having any fruit yet, that can be after your dinner" she said. Her hands forming signs at the same time.

Arjun was non verbal meaning that he doesn't speak. He can still hear perfectly fine but he used Makaton and BSL to speak mostly. Anika had taught me a few signs so I could understand him a little better.

Steve then came into the dining room, arms ladled with bowls. Kyo was in tow, carrying things as well. She was 15 and was originally born in South Korea. That's why they were doing a Korean food night, so she didn't lose touch with her culture. She had sleek black hair that was currently tied in a high ponytail.

"Right so we have some bulgogi and rice," he said placing the plates down into the middle of the table "And some Tteokbokki"

"That pronunciation was terrible" Kyo laughed "It's more of a 'P' sound in the middle anyway"

Steve looked confused "Then why is there a 'B' in there"

Kyo just shrugged. Then she seemed to remember something "Oh there are two different Tteokbokki" she said, pronouncing it correctly "Steve put too much gochugaru in one so it may be too spicy"

"I'm a tough guy I can handle it" said Steve.

Turns out he wasn't as tough as he thought he was. He ended up being quite red faced and had to make a dash to the fridge for milk. Apparently he "overestimated his power". Kili wasn't too bad with the spice. Though he didn't try the really hot one. He told me that merchants would sometimes journey from the East bringing spices. So it wasn't an entirely new flavour.

oOo

After we were done eating Anika invited us to chill in her room. She shared it with Kyo but Kyo didn't mind. They only have to share the room when Anika is back from uni usually. When we got to the room I saw him. The one. The Floof. The legend.

"Archimedes!" I gushed, rushing over to the fluffiest cat ever.

He was black and white, stretching across Anika's bed. He was probably hiding from the masses downstairs. I ran my hands through his soft fur. A loud purr emanating from his body.

"Look at you, Mr. Handsome. My beautiful shnookums" I jabbered into the cat's face.

"You never talk to me like that," said Kili, an amused grin on his face.

I told him to shush and carried on mauling the cat.

We all ended up either perched on a bed or sitting on the floor. I was sitting on the floor with Archimedes on my lap. Kyo was asking questions about Kili and we answered them to the best of our ability.

"So do you have any siblings?" Kyo asked.

Kili smiled though it didn't quite reach his eyes. He must miss his brother a lot. "Yes I have a brother"

"His name is Phillip" I said, coming up with something on the spot "Fili for short"

That made Kili laugh "Yes, Fili for short".

Anika was leaning over the side of her bed. When she got back upright she had a large shiny bag in her hands.

"I think we should do some make-overs" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Are you 12?"I asked, smirking.

She flipped me off and told me to shut up "Now get over here and put some glittery eyeshadow on your face."

So a make-over then proceeded. We were eventually joined by an excitable Rosie and Layla. Also wanting make-up done. Kili wasn't exempt either. I don't think the poor boy had much chance to escape. He was allowed to choose the colours at least. Kyo was currently brushing his face with some type of powder while Anika was painting his nails.

He was looking a bit flustered with all the attention. I was putting some eyeshadow on Rosie when he coughed pointedly.

"I've never actually had this many girls pay attention to me before," he confessed.

"Seriously" said Anika in an astonished tone.

"Err yeah, where I'm from I'm not considered very good looking so I don't get much female attention" said Kili, with a nervous laugh.

That shocked me. How could someone as good looking as Kili ever be considered unattractive? Those dwarrowdams don't know what they're missing out on.

Everyone else also seemed shocked. "I think the people you've been hanging out with are blind" said Anika.

"Yeah you're pretty" said Kyo as she swept make up across Kili's cheek bones.

"Do you think Kili is pretty, Rosie?" I asked

She nodded eagerly and smiled at Kili. The poor boy had gone bright red at all the attention.

"See" I said knocking his shoulder with mine "Everyone here thinks you are good looking"

"Oh everyone does do they?" he said looking pointedly at me.

My cheeks heated up a little. "Yes" I said quickly avoiding eye contact.

It wasn't long until all our make-up was completed. Kili kept blinking and trying to rub his eyes. Anika kept slapping his hand away so he didn't ruin it. Everyone had to get in on the honorary selfie. After we were finished it was time to head home. Kili escorted me once again and we made it home in no time.

I gave Kili some face wipes to get rid of the make-up. It definitely wasn't his thing. I'm happy that he tried it at least. He had started to take off the make-up with the wipes but he was struggling.

"Here" I said, reaching for the wipes "Let me help"

I took one of the wipes and began moving it around his face, over his eyes, his mouth. He was looking at me the whole time a smile on his face. My face heated under his intense gaze but I persevered. He was so close we were almost chest to chest. It made my heart rate pick up and my stomach felt like a butterfly sanctuary.

"So is it true then?" I asked "Are you not considered attractive by dwarf standards"

He sighed "Pretty much. Most dams seem to prefer dwarves that are shorter and bulkier. Beards are also a big part of it"

"You're beards coming in more these days" I said, poking his chin.

It was true. Apparently beard oil can do something. His beard was definitely thicker and longer than it had been.

Kili reached up and grabbed my hand and smiled at me "I guess you're right".

If you want to know what the video was they were quoting it's 'Haven't you done well 6 by Aunty Donna' He could be the one- Hannah Montana