Now that I've caught up with my pre-written sections this will probably drop down to updates every two days.

It's been brought to my attention that I haven't been clear if this is a modern AU or if it's set in Middle Earth and that's really because it's something of a fusion – it is Middle Earth with some modern twists but Smaug (a dragon) still took over Erebor and the elves are still elves even if they have computers and are moving around much more freely than they did in the books. I hope that clears things up a bit.

/Past\\\

Dwalin walked into the library with a heavy bag over his shoulder. He worked to force the smile he'd been wearing most of the journey from Ori's little hobbit-hole off of his face. He had spent the night with Ori and the weekend that led up to it, as he had spent more than a few of the weekends since he had first taken the younger dwarf out after his lecture. Dwalin had never expected to have met a dwarf – he had long ago given up on meeting anyone quite like Ori, or anyone at all who would look at him like the librarian looked at him. Dwalin wanted to smile at the mere thought of Ori but he had never felt overly comfortable being open with his emotions. Ori had had to leave first thing that morning for a meeting so he had left Dwalin still reeling from what the younger dwarf could do with his mouth. Dwalin had left the hobbit-hole to the twitching of every curtain that he had been able to see clearly. He had thought they would grow tired of it after a few months however the hobbits and dwarves that lived near Ori continued to spy upon them. Dwalin nodded at the elf who was standing at the large, intricately carved, wooden desk just inside of the library's door. However, it was the Man that reached into one of the drawers and rushed around the desk to see him through to their meeting rooms.

"I'll walk you down," he said.

"Thank you…" Dwalin faded out – he recognised the Man's face but could not recall his name.

"Éomund," the Man offered, with a welcoming smile. Dwalin blanked out his expression recognising the look on the Man's face. "How are your interviews going?"

"Well," Dwalin offered, "Ori and I have had a large amount of support from the community here in the Shire."

If Dwalin has hoped that mentioning Ori would make the man stop letting his eyes roam across Dwalin's body he was mistaken.

"I have seen a large number of dwarves coming though," Éomund said, smiling at Dwalin and stopping at the glass door to the room that Dwalin and Ori had been using. He didn't open the door however.

"We've been interviewing hobbits as well," Dwalin pointed out. "Did you have the key?"

"Of course," Éomund said, turning around and unlocking the door and then walking in.

"Thank you, Éomund, but I don't want to keep you."

The Man shook his head and cocked his hip out against the table as he watched Dwalin. "I've got the pager – they'll let me know if they need me. Is there anything that I can do to help you?"

"No, I'm capable of unpacking and setting up myself and I'm sure that Ori will be along in a few moments."

Éomund sat down at the table and smiled at Dwalin. "Ori let slip to Bilbo that you fought at the Battle of Azanulbizar."

Dwalin frowned. "You were eavesdropping?"

"They were talking in the lunchroom."

Dwalin stared at Éomund silently.

"I have always been interested in military campaigns," Éomund explained, with a gleeful little smile. "And perhaps I can pick your brain a little about such a battle."

Dwalin clenched his jaw and felt his nostrils flare as he took a deep breath. He hated that curiosity that he could see on the Man's face – his time in the military was not something he was ashamed of but it was neither something that he felt should be the topic of such sensationalistic interest. He appreciated that about Ori – the dwarf knew what Dwalin had done and had asked questions but he never looked to Dwalin to supply him with something that glorified war and that was what he could see in Éomund's face. He wanted the stories that glossed over the blood soaking his boots and the smell of copper and death that sometimes still woke him up at night. Dwalin would go back to war for his King, his dwarves, or to defend his beliefs tomorrow but he would not pander to the likes of Éomund.

"No," Dwalin said firmly, allowing a little of his stance and expression to return to the heavy-set he remembered from his time in battle with Thorin Oakenshield.

"Oh," Éomund said, stepping back.

Dwalin did not lessen his expression, staring at Éomund silently until the Man stood up and left. Dwalin turned to his bag as soon as he had left. He began unpacking his supplies and tried to push the conversation from his mind. The door swung open behind him and Dwalin turned.

Ori rushed through the door and smiled at Dwalin. "I'm sorry I'm late, the meeting went long."

"Not a problem," Dwalin told him, feeling his shoulders start to relax now that Ori was there.

"What's the matter?" Ori asked, dropping his items on the desk and walking over to Dwalin.

"The Man who let me in to the room," Dwalin said.

"Éomund."

"Yes, him, he wished to know about the Battle of Azanulbizar."

"Yes?"

"For sensational details – like so many before him."

"I know that you hate that," Ori said, stepping even closer to Dwalin. "What did he say?"

"Nothing of note but his interest was like so many that have come before who believe that my history and my proximity to death and battle exist solely for their enjoyment. I did perhaps react to harshly to his curiosity however he had not I did not appreciate his disrespect to you or our relationship either."

"What?"

"He made his interest clear when he knows of our relationship.'

"I'm going to go and talk to him right now," Ori said, frowning at Dwalin as his face grew red with annoyance. "He had no right to come in here and make you feel uncomfortable or to-"

"My Ori," Dwalin said, reaching out to encircle Ori's wrist.

Ori froze and looked up at Dwalin with colour high on his cheeks.

Dwalin looked down and smiled at Ori. "I appreciate your vexation, and your desire to protect me, but I made sure he left knowing I would not be open to speaking to him again.

Ori nodded. "Your Ori?"

Dwalin smiled, and stroked the inside of Ori's wrist. "If you would like."

"My Dwalin?"

"Yes, I think I should like that very much."

Ori's eyes darted around the room and then bounced up on his tip-toes and kissed Dwalin swiftly. "Come back to my dwarf-hole tonight?"

Dwalin felt his smile turn lascivious and Ori's eyes twinkled even while he blushed gently.

"Bella Baggins called them that," Bilbo explained, walking into the room with them. "When she helped dwarves move to the Shire we discovered that not all hobbit-holes were quite big enough for your kind so a number of hobbits and dwarves set themselves to making ones that suited the dwarves better. And thus we gained dwarf-holes. Though I do appreciate the flirtation I was able to witness."

"Bilbo," Ori said, stepping away from Dwalin minimally.

"Your first interview is here but I saw the expression on Éomund's face when he came back to the desk so I thought I best to come and check first."

"Éomund can be very…"

"Abrasive," Bilbo offered. "And he rather loves to make it known that he enjoys sex with as many races and genders as he can manage. Ori is much too nice to say it even with everything that happened with Nori."

Ori smiled at Bilbo. "I'm not feeling very kind towards him at the moment, if I ever do."

"Nori?" Dwalin asked.

"He and Éomund had a romance a few years ago when Éomund was still married to his wife. Nori did not know and…it was quite unpleasant."

"I did not know," Dwalin said, dropping his hand down to twin his fingers with Ori's.

"That is not why I…he should not try to get information out of you about the war. You should see him with Sméagol – they are quite as thick as thieves and twice as horrible."

"And yet Éomer and Éowyn are delightful," Bilbo threw in, feeling rather useless in the room.

"Due entirely to Theodwyn," Ori said, smiling at Bilbo.

Bilbo nodded. "I will send your interview down in a few minutes then."

"Thank you, Bilbo," Dwalin said – he liked the hobbit and if what his brother had told him that Dís suspected was occurring between Thorin and Bilbo was true he thought that his King had made a very nice choice.

"Just don't let Gandalf see you," Bilbo said as he walked out of the room. "He would be completely smug for days and would take great delight in mentioning how wonderful he thinks the two of you are together."

"He already does," Ori pointed out.

"He will be much worse if he catches you," Bilbo told them, half out of the room. "Trust me; you hadn't started here when Haldir met his wife. He was almost insufferable."

"He generally is," Ori told Dwalin when the door was shut and Bilbo was happily chatting to customers as he walked away.

"He did not seem altogether there when I met him," Dwalin said.

Ori laughed. "That's his camouflage. He's brilliant and a wizard – he is quite possibly controlling all of us and we don't know it yet."

Dwalin looked at Ori to gauge how serious he was and frowned when he realised that the other dwarf believed every word he had said. He wondered exactly what Gandalf was doing as Manager of a Library Service if he was what Bilbo and Ori believed him to be.

"You don't need to worry about him," Ori said. "Let's unpack and get ready. Then tonight you will come home with me and we'll talk more about me being My Ori."

Dwalin nodded. "Yes, we shall."

/