If You Need a Friend

Fíli chose his mother's chambers to meet with Ori for a lunch. Dís was visiting the elves in Dale: she'd grown and sold herbs for many years, so she understood enough about fertile lands and plants to be able to decide if they were doing any good. Fíli hoped they wouldn't find her inspection an unnecessary harassment. As she was gone for a few days, Fíli immediately took up residence in her peaceful rooms in his spare time: no one would be foolish enough to enter her quarters in her absence and risk her wrath.

Ori too looked nervous, when he knocked and Fíli invited him in. He looked around carefully, as if afraid to leave a noticeable trace behind.

"Stop being so afraid of Amad!" he laughed at his friend. "You're going to take a wife, you cannot stay forever afraid of a dwarrowdam!"

"She's not just 'a dwarrowdam'! Lady Dís is a fearsome but just leader, with keen intelligence and very high standards, and she deserves our respect!"

Fíli smiled mischievously.

"I know you have a crush on her, but let me give you an advice: stop saying things like this."

"I don't…" Ori started to protest, but Fíli ignored him, and led him to the small sitting room, where only Dís' close friends were ever invited. Ori hadn't been here before. The realization that he was taken to such private places rendered him speechless for a moment. "I don't have a crush on her!"

Fíli shot him an unbelieving glance. "You sure? You're always the first to please her, whatever foolish idea she has!" he teased.

It was partly true: Ori always strived to please Dís, but it stemmed from the fact that he had no recollection of his own mother. Dori and Ori moved into their neighborhood in Ered Luin during the year Fíli spent with Dwalin, and Dís, missing her son, took Ori under her wings. She both terrified and fascinated him. He was grateful for her kindness, yet, never truly learned to accept it, but in return, he was almost blindly obedient.

Ori didn't respond. He was looking around in the room, studying and admiring the tasteful decorations. Dís preferred dark colors in her personal space, and as many old furniture as she could squeeze in the room. The small table, for example, on which their lunch and a few carefully chosen bottles were waiting for them, clearly remained here from another century – while she had everything renovated, the carvings on one leg were chipped and the scratches on the surface spoke of a different era too.

Fíli cleared his throat.

"Will you accept my congratulations now?" he asked.

Ori snapped back to reality. "Yes, thank you."

"How is Lee?" It was only polite to ask after her, wasn't it?

The question pleased Ori. "She's fine, I've just met her. She's very excited about marriage," he said, blushing.

"Dwarrowdams are supposed to be like that," Fíli murmured, remembering how Flor always gushed about her husband, but immediately realized that he should offer something constructive instead. "Tell me about her!"

Ori happily complied with the request. Fíli listened patiently, as Ori talked about Lee while they ate. He couldn't care less about the trivial information, like what colors she liked or where she preferred to buy food, but Ori was his friend, and he didn't want to ruin his happiness. He especially shouldn't be jealous because Ori succeeded where he couldn't, and probably wouldn't.

He sounded like a dwarf in love.

Fíli remembered the time, when he was dealing with the same emotions. He remembered the quiet excitement, because he had found something precious, and he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but such things weren't to be talked about in details. Finding love was about intimacy and creation, a pure, overwhelming beauty of life, and seeing Ori struggling how to put it in words reminded him of a time when he was in a similar position. At first, Fíli truly hated this whole Spring-and-love nonsense, and he avoided everything it involved at all cost. Even now, he wanted little to do with romance, because of the memories it spurned. He feared he would be unfriendly with Ori because of his jealousy, but to his surprise (and utter relief), he couldn't find it in himself to truly begrudge his friend's happiness now.

"Lee is very grateful for your help, too," Ori said finally, and Fíli was relieved to get back to business.

"What kind of place would you like to have?"

Fíli had no idea what they would like: Lee sounded like a sensible, practical person, while Ori liked to dream. He half-expected that he would have to make the final decision, but Ori surprised him.

"We want to find a small place on the lower levels," he stated sheepishly. "Lee says if we don't have much room, we can have it all for ourselves."

Fíli furrowed his brows.

"Yes, but… don't you like it up here, with us?" As the first to arrive, the entire Company took up residence on the upper levels, around the royal chambers. They deserved to live in the best part of the mountain, and it was comfortable to stay together: to be friends with your neighbors and live so close to your friends.

"I like it!" Ori said, immediately trying to appease Fíli for the slight. "It's just… Dori is so overbearing sometimes!" he moaned, his eyes downcast.

Fíli snorted. "Only sometimes?"

Ori looked up at him, scared to say it aloud, but he was certainly relieved that Fíli understood him.

"He is so happy that we are finally together. He thought that when we moved the last time, we would be closer to Nori, but then Nori slipped away, again, and Dori sort of gave up… but now, he can keep his eyes on both of us, and he's calmer than ever. But he's still too much! He doesn't like Lee very much. He thought that we'll still live close to each other when we marry, but he's so nosy! If I call Lee over, we can't get a moment for ourselves! Dori is constantly knocking on our door, offering us tea or biscuits, or an activity, and it's really very inconvenient!"

By the end of his outburst, Fíli was grinning widely, which annoyed Ori.

"You have no idea what it's like!"

"No, I have no idea what it's like!" Fíli laughed. "But I understand why you want to move out."

"Lee says that if we stay too close or have too much space, nothing will change," he explained darkly. "I think she's right. I have no doubt that Dori will visit us very often if we live on the other side of the mountain. Mahal, he'd still visit us daily if we moved to Dale! But if he has to walk half an hour, he can't just pop in for a word in every moment."

Fíli snickered.

"I don't think such a small walk can deter him. Do you remember when we hid you in our house, and told him that you went with Amad to the Men?"

"Oh, don't you remind me!" Ori hid his face behind his hands. A good decade ago, he was starting to get along with Fíli, Kíli and their friends, but leaving Dori behind was always a difficult feat. He always had to report in and couldn't stay out late. Fíli and Kíli always came up with great excuses to send Dori on a false trail. "He walked an hour to safely get me home from town!"

"We told him that you're safe with Amad," Fíli defended himself.

"I heard, I was with you the whole time!"

"But we had a good time, didn't we?"

"Yes. And that's what I want now, too. Lee says that if we visit him often enough, he'll be alright. She must know, she has three older brothers, a father and an uncle, who are very nosy too," he sighed.

"Is this how you met? The both of you started to complain about overbearing relatives, and realized that you're soulmates?"

Ori rewarded his mirthful question with a glare, but as he didn't elaborate, Fíli supposed he was right.

"She says that they'll want to visit us often, and she loves them, but wants to lead her own life. So we'll have to subtly discourage them from staying with us for too long."

Fíli raised his eyebrows. "That's why the small apartment, so far below?"

Ori nodded, his face changing to an expression Fíli hadn't seen from him previously.

"We'll be very happy to welcome them in our home, and we'll dearly regret if they find the comfort lacking," he said smugly.

"Was it your idea?" he asked, befuddled. Ori used to be the one to remind everyone about the rules and the authority (even when Fíli liked to see himself as the authority in Thorin's absence).

Ori blushed. "Actually, Lee came up with it. She says it works very well."

"Fine by me," he shrugged. "And tell me how their first visit goes. I think I'll get on well with this bride of yours," he added with a mischievous smile.

"Sure!" Ori exclaimed with joy. "She would like to get to know you better! I always tell her stories about you and Kíli and the rest. My life before is quite boring, and I like to make her laugh."

Fíli hummed in understanding. They had great stories from the Blue Mountains. As memories came up, he and Ori started to exchange stories, trying to outbid each other who came up with the most details. Reminiscing about the old times was fun. A strange feeling arose in Fíli: his chest swelled, and he couldn't contain his words and his laughter. He hadn't laughed so hard for a while – his duties as king kept him away from his friends. He didn't even notice how isolated he'd become lately, but now he had to wonder if it was truly a price he had to pay.

"I can see why she's laughing at us," he offered, when he caught his breath after a hilarious story about Kíli trying to spy on bathing elves – he ended up naked in the lake instead, and some of their friends made Ori steal his clothes. "We were ridiculous!"

"Yes, we were… Oh, how hard I tried to fit in! There was nothing I wouldn't do to be included!"

"Yes," Fíli nodded. Often, Ori used to be pitiful with his desperate attempts to impress everyone. Now, seeing as he was able to laugh at his young self, Fíli decided to admit his part in the shenanigans. "To be fair, we often took advantage of your eagerness. I should have put a stop to it, but I too was curious how far you're willing to go. I was the one who told Kíli that you stole his clothes."

"It was you?" Ori squealed. Kíli's revenge still made him shudder.

"Sorry," Fíli said, and he meant it.

"Oh, it's been a long time ago," Ori waved him off, but he looked hurt. "You know, I used to look up to you."

"Oh, we were just crazy kids…"

"No, I mean you, alone."

"Oh."

"The others were fun, but you… You were fun, but still responsible. Even Dori liked you, and he encouraged me to befriend you when we moved there. We were quite disappointed that you were away then, but Dori was always talking about how grown up you must be, and the others were talking about how brave you were… I was looking forward to seeing you again. And then, you came back…"

Ori hesitated to continue. Fíli understood: the dwarfling he and Dori had met a few times completely disappeared on the road. Losing Flor turned him into a bitter, desperate, reckless mess, but being with Dwalin taught him how to be tough and 'keep his shit together'.

"Dori hated you then," he whispered. Fíli smiled, surprised.

"Why?"

"He believed you to be responsible, clever and well-mannered. And then you returned… being more like Nori."

"Oh. He didn't like the piercings, did he?" he asked, the corner of his lips curling upwards.

"No, sorry. Neither that tooth-earring."

"Yeah, maybe that was a bit too much…" Fíli mused. He got rid of these extremities after a while.

"And he hated the moustache."

"What?" That was when he started growing his moustache. He touched his braids now; he liked them.

"He still doesn't like those braids," Ori shrugged. "He thinks braiding you moustache is inappropriate. It reminds him of Nori."

"I see."

"I like it, though. I admired you even more, because you were like… Like you managed to find a balance between what my brothers represent. You were cool, but responsible, and I wanted to be like you."

Fíli appreciated the huge compliment, but the past tense felt like a slap.

"Don't you anymore?"

Ori shrugged, carefully studying a cupboard while answering. "I don't want to be like anyone anymore. Just… me."

That was actually quite impressive, and Fíli felt ashamed to question him so.

"Good thinking, I bet Lee likes you for it!"

Ori smiled, relieved. "She does. Dori, less so. He fears that I'm turning into Nori. He's so worried, he doesn't even notice that he changed for the better, too."

"Nori?"

"Yes. Am I the only one who sees it?" he asked, not bothering to hide his exasperation. "He still likes to find his own path, but he's still here with us. That's the longest time he spent with us, like, ever!"

Fíli shook his head. When the elves started working on the fields a few days after they left, he asked Nori to keep watch on them. He anticipated a little quarreling and bargaining, but Nori accepted the task without any argument. Fíli shrugged it off: he thought Nori would complain later, or at least slack off during the days, but he faithfully reported every evening. Fíli didn't know how to react to his newfound diligence, so he decided to enjoy it while it lasts (probably not for long).

"No, you're not the only one," he answered.

"Beads! Gems! Pendants! Talismans!"

Alin followed the voice.

The marketplace was full of people – men and dwarves alike. Dale had a holiday coming up the next week, and men came up to the mountain to buy gifts. At one dinner, Varni told her about the special discount he was planning for the week, and she decided to visit his stand on the market. She figured she would blend in the crowd, her family was supposed to be elsewhere, anyway.

Of course, this crowd would be a perfect opportunity to meet her lover and slip away unnoticed, but Nori had business out of the mountain. Oh, how much she would like to be here with him! He could show her around, they would pick out small trinkets as keepsakes, and they could pretend to be an ordinary couple. Perhaps they would disguise themselves somehow – she could wear a shawl over her distinctive strawberry blond hair; he should cover himself too, and they could walk around holding hands.

Yet, he wasn't here, and she wanted to see how the market looked like. She hated how dwarrowdams were often secreted away (her parents didn't like when she went out alone either), and loved how the Spring Tour advocated just the opposite. She loved Malin, but she could be so close-minded sometimes, always sitting at home.

"Beads! Gems! Pendants! Talismans!"

She found the source of the voice: one of Varni's clerks. She found Varni nearby, passionately arguing with a customer. She smiled at him when he noticed her, and soon, he ended the debate, took the money and greeted her.

"Hello, hello, my dear!"

"Hello, Varni!" She let him hug her. They became friends in the past week, and she started to get used to his forthright personality. He liked hugging people – she saw nothing untoward in it. He did it to everyone.

"You chose quite a busy day to visit!"

"I really do not want to keep you up!" she apologized. "But you know my sister, she wouldn't like me here."

Varni chuckled with understanding.

"Come, see my beads," he led her to his stand.

"What about the talismans?" she asked, humor glistening in her eyes. "I didn't take you for someone to believe in such things!"

Varni let out a booming laugh. "What, are you a cynical?"

Alin smiled good-naturedly.

"I don't have to believe in them to sell them," Varni explained conspiratorially. "I just sell what my customers want to buy. If they want something more than a pretty gem, well, who am I to deny them the magical attributions?"

"You're nasty," Alin said with a laugh.

"I'm a merchant," Varni said. "A good one, if I may say. Quite prosperous. I have a good eye to see where the money is."

"And who am I to doubt that?"

Alin spent a good half an hour at his stand, admiring the beads, and then she went to explore other parts of the market. She agreed to meet Varni again before dinner – Nori wouldn't be back yet, and it would be nice to talk to the girls about someone, even if he was just a friend.

She spent the afternoon avoiding her sister. Malin knew about her secret admirer, but constantly pestered her with questions regarding his identity. She even brought up the topic in front of their mother once, who, despite respecting Alin's wish for privacy, reminded her firmly about what being a family meant.

Sisters share.

Alin and Malin grew up with this motto determining everything. They had enough money to get anything, but their parents didn't want to spoil them. They had to learn to share their toys, their books and their room for a long time, until their parents were sure that they understood that envy and greed was despicable and sharing meant caring.

The most important lesson was to share their secrets with each other. Their parents, while understanding a young lass' need for secrecy as a mean to become independent from her parents, encouraged their daughters to become confidants too.

It worked – mostly. Erebor and Nori changed everything, and Malin's honest attempts to regain their closeness fell on deaf ears. Alin, for the first time in her life had a taste of having something only for herself, and liked it. Oh, she wanted to go public with Nori, yes, to boast a little about their great love, but she was sure that his firm admiration wouldn't waver in front of others.

Her friendship with Varni was completely different: she didn't have to hide it from anyone, still, Alin didn't want him to join her circle of friends. She liked that he focused on her, and she wanted to keep it that way. A private friend. Varni had a lot of those: she'd never seen him join a group as she tried to cling to Kasia's entourage – he always focused on one person at a time. They mostly spoke during dinner, accidentally sitting down next to each other.

Hiding from Malin was easier than she thought, as her sister always stuck to the same routes and places. Hiding in itself was boring, though: hours before the allotted time, she decided to check up on the place Varni suggested. He said it was a popular new site, but Alin hadn't heard of it yet. Thundering Falls. She had no idea what kind of strange place would have a name like that. To be fair, she wasn't really aware what was considered popular, since Nori preferred solitude, and the girls usually gathered either in the Courting Hall or in their sitting room.

She followed the directions Varni gave her. Something didn't add up: the further she walked, the corridors grew darker and more debris hindered her steps. What was this place again?

To her surprise, she reached the statuesque stone Varni described as their meeting point. Alin looked around: the corridor widened, and the ceiling rose, Alin couldn't even see how high. She couldn't see the way ahead either: no more torches lined the walls. It seemed she ventured into the part of the Mountain still untouched by reconstructions. A shudder ran through her spine. Who knew what was hidden in the darkness?

She heard a faint rumbling sound coming from ahead, and she decided to investigate a little. If this place was so popular, then why did it look so shabby and neglected? She picked up the last torch and slowly approached whatever laid ahead.

It seemed she arrived into a natural cave – she followed a narrow path between beautiful limestone formations. Suddenly, a drip of water dropping on her nose startled her, and she made a wrong step. Her foot slipped, and she fell forward. The impact knocked the torch out of her hand. She cried out, but immediately patted around for the torch – fortunately, it still gave enough light, but the fall deformed its top and the handle broke too.

Her palms and knees throbbing, she continued her expedition more carefully.

Suddenly, someone spoke.

"I don't think you should go further with that," said a female voice. She was too far from Alin to recognize her, but quickly approaching, judging by the sounds of her steps. She walked with much more confidence and agility here than Alin, who was too frightened to scream or move.

"What are you doing here alone?" the newcomer asked. Alin brought the torch closer to see her face. Dirt covered her skin, and made her features almost unrecognizable. She must be a miner, Alin thought, but she immediately contradicted herself. Half of her hair was left free – something that no miner would do –, while the other half was braided back.

"Your torch is lopsided, it's going to die out soon," she commented drily. She spoke with little intonation, but her eyes radiated hostility. "It's too early, anyway, I'm still working. You and your little boytoy should come back later. Where is he, by the way?"

Alin's confusion grew by every word. "What boytoy?"

The dwarrowdam frowned.

"Are you saying you came here alone?" Alin nodded. "Why would you do that?"

"Because my friend suggested this place to meet and I wanted to check it out."

The dwarrowdam sniggered, but the walls of the cave echoed her voice. It was creepy, since Alin had no idea why she was laughing, but she felt like she was the joke.

"Sweetheart," the dwarrowdam said, still with a wide, but condescending smile, "I think you got lost."

"No, I'm not!" she argued. "That's the place he described. I found the landmark. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be."

The dwarrowdam sighed. "No, I think you're not. Go home, Blondie."

Alin pursed her lips. How dare she ordering her around?

"Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Your guardian," she answered. Alin still didn't obey, and the dwarrowdam sighed with frustration. "My name Reika. You see, there is a waterfall in the next cave, and I'm doing measurements for the King's plans. It's a secluded place, turned into a romantic hideout, so couples like to come here after I finish my work. I leave them my special lantern for a small fee, since torches can die out easily down here."

Alin furrowed her brows. Why would Varni lure her here then? Of course, he didn't know about her lover, but still… it was a strange place to meet. Her desperation must have been visible, because the dwarrowdam shook her head and continued sympathetically.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Alin."

"Nice to meet you, Alin. Do you mind staying here a little? I'm going to finish up soon, and I can walk you back. We can have a little chat about this friend of yours."

Alin nodded.

The dwarrowdam promised to be back soon, and sashayed away, her steps quick and easy, like she wasn't walking on a slippery pile of debris, but on a dance floor. Alin turned and slowly found her way back to the statuesque rock Varni described.

Fear started to creep up on her: now that she knew why it was a popular place, she realized she'd made a huge mistake. Maybe she was sending mixed signals to Varni? Or can it be a simple misunderstanding? One thing was sure: Nori cannot find out about this.

A/N: So that's Nori's big secret? Spying on the elves for Fíli? Meh. Why can't he just tell that to her? Look where she ended up! Luckily, our dear Cartographer appeared, and finally she has a NAME! (Though Fíli still doesn't know it.)

In the next chapter: Fíli gets a massage and Kíli gets out of his cell. Will he finally see Tauriel? Or continue his quest to find her? Or will he just go back to the safety of Erebor?

To Guest: Well, Nori is at the awkward phase when he tries to do good things, but has no idea how. Thorin is watching Fíli's actions now, waiting if he makes mistakes or handles everything well, and spends a lot of time with his friend, being oblivious about her feelings :) He's coming back soon.