Disclaimer: I don't own anything - Tolkien gets all the credit.

Chapter Ten

Posey's nose would be forever altered if the smell of her surroundings didn't improve. Disgusting.

Upon greeting the small group of dwarves, Posey had learned that this group was only a small scouting party – the remainder of Dain's company would be arriving the following day. Posey had also learned that dwarves smell awful when traveling… and awful was truly too nice a word to describe it.

Being the only female in the camp, Posey had been quickly given the task of cooking stew while the dwarves prepared the rest of the camp for nightfall. Dwalin had introduced her to a number of the company, but Posey, in her emotional state, wasn't at all capable of retaining any of that information. All things considered, today had been nothing short of miserable.

While stirring the contents of the stew, Posey considered her current situation ruefully. If she had made any assumptions about the homecoming of her husband, Dwalin had clearly set out to smash each and every one of them. The passion was there – the physical presence of her husband made her toes tingle and the heat rise on her face. The conversation… well, that left something to be desired. The understanding and companionship? Posey had obviously spent too much time reading old maps during Dwalin's absence, and not nearly enough time studying Dwarvish social customs.

How in the world was she supposed to fit in with a culture of people that bash each other in the face when greeting one another? She'd witnessed her husband do that very thing several times once they made it to the small camp. Bizarre. Clearly she would need to keep an open mind and trust that Dwalin would help her along the way.

The subject of her musings came up behind her then and placed his large hands on her shoulders. "Korak will finish the stew, lass. Come away with me for a moment." The wooden spoon in her hand was quickly removed by another dwarf and Posey was pulled away from the fire. Korak, it seemed, was a rather large and frightening dwarf that reminded Posey of a fat version of her husband, only with a head of frighteningly greasy, braided black hair.

"Are you sure that he knows what he's doing? Or that the grease from his hair won't drip into the stew?" Dwalin barked out a rough laugh and pushed Posey along in front of him, heading to a small tent off to the side of the clearing. It was, as Posey noted by a quick glance around the camp, the only tent.

"Ye'll be sleeping in here, taerin. I donna want ye out in the cold. If we're lucky, the weather will hold until morning. I'll get a small fire started." Dwalin pulled the side of the tent back to reveal a small bedroll and Posey's traveling bag set inside.

The tent looked quite cramped. "Where will you sleep?"

"Where do ye think?" Posey glanced up into her husband's face and saw him smirking at her like a she'd imagine a predator would look at its prey.

"With the others?"

"No, lass."

"Do you have another tent, then?"

"No, lass."

Posey knew she was blushing again. "We cannot possibly both fit in that tiny tent."

"It'll be cozy."

"Cozy?"

"Aye."

"Oh dear."

Dwalin was keenly aware of every movement that his wife made in her sleep – her breathing was deep and she shifted every few moments in a vain effort to roll over. It hadn't been easy to convince her that they would both fit in the tent – Dwalin almost chuckled at the memory of Posey's blush. Had she really thought he'd planned to ravish her in the woods in front of a group of warriors? She could be silly, his wife.

Dwalin's presence behind her tiny frame as she slept limited her movement quite a bit and Dwalin was certain that she would be a rather active sleeper once they had a proper bedchamber… and that couldn't come quickly enough. The camp of rowdy dwarves was relaxing to him on one hand, and frustrating on the next. He'd caught several of the company watching his little wife as she moved, spoke, and ate. She was an odd creature to them, surely, but they clearly found her to be a fair creature all the same. Dwalin had no choice but to take her away from the group while they slept – he had to lay claim on her so that the others wouldn't question that she was his. Spending the night with her in this tent would make that clear enough… even if he couldn't sleep a wink.

In her slumber, Posey looked quite lovely – the frown she'd been wearing for most of the day was gone – in fact, she had a little smile on her face. Dwalin couldn't thank Mahal enough – he'd long since given up having a wife or children. Now that the future was so full of possibilities, he was determined to give her everything. Posey's introduction to life in Ered Luin wouldn't be easy, he knew, but once she became used to life there, they'd find happiness.

"Dwalin? Are you still awake?"

"Taerin, donna mind me. Get some sleep."

"You should rest too." She'd managed to turn over to face him despite the lack of room. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"It doesn't matter. Sleep."

Posey lifted herself up onto her elbow and squinted at his shadowed face in the dark. "Is everything okay?"

Dwalin chuckled and lightly pushed her back down to the bedroll, "I was just thinking about ye and having a proper bedchamber."

"Oh dear."

"Ye like to say that a lot, don't ye?"

The giggle that followed from his tiny wife sounded a bit like a snort and Dwalin couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

"I suppose I do say that quite a lot." She was silent for a moment before she continued, "I hope that we can stop fighting, Dwalin. I wanted so very much for today to be different."

"Different? What had ye expected?"

"I'm not sure."

Dwalin thought about it for a moment. His wife was confusing… and obviously disappointed. That wouldn't do. "How can I make it better?"

"Will you try to be more patient with me? And consider my opinions? I know that I'll probably need your help a lot in the beginning but I promise that I'm a quick learner."

"Ye don't need to learn anything, taerin. It's only us that need to learn to accept ye… and we will. I promise ye that." Posey heaved a sigh and snuggled in closer to him. "Good night, lass."

The past week had be both the best and worst time of Posey's life. It was horrid because of freezing snow, awful smelling travel companions, bland food, and an acute case of homesickness.

It was wonderful because of the adventure in seeing new places, and meeting an entire company of dwarven warriors. A vast number of them had arrived after the first night in the woods and the group had quickly moved along, heading to the southern pass that would lead them to Ered Luin and Thorin's Halls.

She saw now that, beyond their bad hygiene, the Dwarven warriors were funny and cheerful in much the same way that she'd witnessed on that fateful night so long ago when she'd first met the company of Thorin Oakenshield. It was clear that they weren't trustful of her yet, but based on what Dwalin had told her before, that was to be expected she supposed.

The experience had also vastly improved because her rather territorial husband wouldn't leave her side. Their conversation in the dark on that first night seemed to change him – or at least his attitude toward her… certainly for the better. This meant long nights in a tiny tent with him, and equally long days walking or riding beside him.

He was more at ease now, and after some prodding, Posey had gotten him to open up a little. While she was still obviously the more talkative between them, she had learned a few stories of his childhood with his older brother Balin, great battles with Thorin, and even a few tales that involved her dearest brother Bilbo.

"You mean to say that he stuffed you in barrels?"

"Aye! Then he pushed us all into the river."

"No!"

"He did, lass! I thought for certain he meant to kill me for wedding ye."

Posey laughed and smiled – this was how she was supposed to feel around her husband... At least, this was what she'd hoped for. "I certainly hope he didn't give you too much grief for it."

"He wasna' happy about it. At all."

"Well then, I suppose it's good that you didn't ask for his permission."

While his wife seemed to be adjusting well to traveling, Dwalin couldn't help but begin to feel tense at the prospect of returning to Thorin's Halls. Without their king, many would step up to claim the right to lead. Dain had given Dwalin his blessing, which might carry some weight and gather support for him, but the months ahead wouldn't be easy.

The life that Dwalin led before the quest to reclaim Erebor had been a simple one – He trained young warriors and had been in charge of ensuring the safety of the halls from outsiders. Thorin had trusted him in all things. Now, life would be much more complicated.

Thorin had often come to him frustrated by the intricacies of courtly life. The more powerful merchants of Ered Luin carried with them a great deal of influence and Thorin depended on their support, despite his dislike for them in general. Balin had also been a great asset to the now dead king, as an advisor and confidant – another asset that Dwalin would not have.

Considering all of this and how his life was about to change… it gave Dwalin a headache. He needed ale and a soft bed.

"Dwalin, are those the Blue Mountains there?"

Looking up, Dwalin saw Posey pointing off toward the horizon, where a range of mountains was starting to peak out over the rolling hills. She was right, of course – the small mountain range that Thorin had claimed for the lost peoples of Erebor was a welcome sight after so long on the road.

"Aye, taerin, that is Ered Luin."

"How much longer do you think it will take to get there?"

"A fortnight, perhaps, because of the snow."

"Certainly you jest!" Posey said with a laugh as she sat with several of the dwarves in front of the fire. The sun had fallen and they were enjoying a small meal of bland stew – again – while talking of times past. "He truly wore his hair like that?"

Tohal, an older dwarf of the Iron Hills, nodded sagely. "Aye, Dwalin here was a stylish lad in his youth. A 'mohawk' he called it."

"It was intimidating to the enemy!" Dwalin insisted while Posey and their companions laughed.

Posey clearly disagreed with Dwalin's opinions of the odd hairstyle. "How could such hair be intimidating? I would think it would make them laugh."

This caused even more laughter. Dwalin stood with a scowl and took Posey's nearly empty bowl from her hands. "I think it's time that I take my wife away to show her just how intimidating I can be."

Cheers rang out as Dwalin lifted his shrieking wife's body up and carried her away to their tent. He could feel her still shaking with laughter as he dropped her to her feet just inside the tiny confines of their cloth shelter. "Ye think that funny, do ye?"

"No, not at all!" Her giggling gave away the falsehood.

Smiling despite himself, Dwalin moved into the tent and pulled Posey in after him. "I'll have ye know, even with that hair, I was one of the fiercest warriors at the Battle of Azanulbizar."

"I have no doubt of that, husband."

Husband. He wasn't sure if he'd get used to that. The title was felt better than any he'd held before.

Changing the flow of their conversation quite suddenly, Dwalin spoke in a much softer voice about a concern he'd been considering over the past few days. "When we arrive at Ered Luin, I'll need ye to give me time to prepare a proper home for us. What I have now is not suited for a family."

"I'm sure we'll make due with whatever you have."

"No, taerin, that is not the Dwarven way. I should have already built a grand home for ye. I would be failing ye as ye'r husband to give ye a small one."

"Where will we live until that home is ready?"

"Balin had a larger hall than I, though not by much. He will not be returning to Ered Luin anytime soon, so we'll stay there."

"I wish I could have known him better. I don't think I spoke more than a few words to him."

Dwalin smiled and laid back on the bedroll. Posey sat at his side, looking at him with a smirk. "What, lass?"

"I thought you were to show me how intimidating you could be."

He was silent for a few moments. Posey didn't move, but her smirk had turned into a large smile. When he did move, it was so suddenly that Posey could barely make a sound before she was laying back on the bedroll with Dwalin above her. "How, precisely, would you like me to intimidate you?"

"This is a fine start."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed Posey and Dwalin's first attempts at getting to know each other! I wanted to show growth in their relationship before things get quite a bit more interesting once they reach Ered Luin. Please review to let me know what you think! :)