Look who's back and hasn't forgotten this story as some of you might think! If there's anyone new that followed or favourited it, welcome!

HooksGirl67: It was a Supernatural reference, indeed. So happy you like my stories, thank you very much for the reviews in both of them!

overlordred: Pretty sure you quoted The Big Lebowski :D I'm determined to make Fili one of the coolest characters in the story, he's like the physical manifestation of sass in my eyes. Also, I wholeheartedly love your long reviews. Enjoy!

Savage Kill, Guest, DiscountJoanJett: Thank you very much for your words, nice people, they put a huge smile on my face!

Little surprise for you (mostly for those who read my other story as well and will get the connection): a cat named Mr. Buttons and his owner make a cameo appearance in this one.

The new day arrived and, weather-wise, it was considerably better than the previous. A thin veil of grey clouds covered the sky and the sly north wind continued to blow from the Alps, but at least it wasn't pouring down rain like the day before.

Kili barely got three hours of sleep during the night. He was like a child hyped up on sugar, wavering between staying where he was or urged to do something that could possibly endanger his physical integrity.

"–so because she told you to go do something anatomically impossible, you're gonna just sit by and do nothing?"

"For your information, I called her again this morning," Kili said with mocking civility. "She rejected it."

"Is that news to anyone? She's been rejecting all your calls for weeks. Just go find her, you have her address."

"I can't do that! It's violation of personal space–"

"That's rubbish. It's ballsy, man."

"No, no," his brother corrected. "It's suicidal. You always get those two confused."

"Dude, you appeared out of nowhere after all this time, it's only natural to be flabbergasted to see you. She's had a whole day to calm down, though."

"I don't know... It's not–" the brunet trailed off and shifted nervously on the bed. "What if she kicks me out?"

"She won't kick you out–"

"Fil, I don't want to end up with a restraining order." Chortles boomed through the phone. "It's literally my last hope and you're laughing? That's nice," he muttered sarcastically.

"Ah," Fili said with a wistful sigh, "Hope was the name of the hottest girl in class, second year in college."

"Very interesting," his brother agreed with wry voice. "And how exactly does that help me?"

"I was chasing after her for weeks," Fili continued, not discouraged at all. "It worked with everyone else, but with her... nothing. After every class I was asking her out on a date, every class. And every time she said no."

"Clearly, the girl had taste."

"Until one day, Thursday it was, right when I was ready for another rejection, Hope turns around and says 'Done, I'll see you at 8 tonight'."

Kili could almost see the smug grin.

"That night, the fortress fell."

"You drove the girl out of her mind, she probably just shagged you to get rid of you."

"Do you know what the moral of the story is?"

"Hope is shagged last?" Kili commented dryly.

"No, the last one was Anne," said Fili with thoughtful voice, "top of the class, very pretty."

The brunet sighed. "You really tire me, Fil, what's the moral?"

"The fight is not over when you lose, it's over when you give up."

So, being the little spontaneous rascal he was during puberty, Kili decided to try his luck.

And there he was now, searching the right place from door to door in an eight-floor building, praying not to come upon another old lady like the one in the first floor, who didn't speak a word in English but nonetheless insisted that he came in to eat something. It was a miracle how he managed to weave himself out of that.

After that, it was the same scene on each door.

"Hello, does Arya live here?"

"No."

"Right, fine, thank you. Sorry to disturb."

He knocked on another door and another and another, until his frustration spiked and he started considering the possibility that he'd already been to the right flat and the one who opened the door was covering her up.

He had half a mind to do a rerun, until he knocked on the first door of the sixth floor. A young woman with hair in a light shade of lilac appeared, cracking a curious smile.

"Hello."

"Hello," she greeted with a polite nod, obviously a little bemused that he wasn't speaking her native language. "Can I help you?"

"I wish," Kili mumbled under his breath and turned to her with a smile. "Do you happen to have a flatmate, cousin, relative, or whatever, who lives here, named Arya?"

The woman regarded him with a strange look for a second or two, eyes studying his face carefully. His body language screamed restlessness, which she was able to attribute partly to his apparent impatience. "Uh... sorry, no," she said with a sympathetic tilt of her head and saw his shoulders fall in disappointment. "Arya lives upstairs."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Sì, straight ahead from the stairs, the door on the left."

"Oh, thank god," Kili whimpered, feeling the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. It came back after a short-lived moment of elation.

"Are you okay?"

The slightly concerned voice made him flash an awkward smile. "Er, yes," he said sheepishly, extending his hand in earnest gratitude. "Thank you so much and I'm sorry to disturb. Merry Christmas to you."

He swept up the stairs like the wind, feeling his heart drumming under his chest as though it was the End Times. When he finally reached the intended destination, he just stood there for a while, breathing deeply in and out. He was so caught up in his worries, weighing what were the chances of Arya going berserk and shutting the door on his face within the next five minutes, that he failed to realise he was being watched. His still figure had attracted the attention of someone strolling up and down the hall, authorised to keep a weather eye on those who dared to approach.

A meow knocked him out of his gloomy woolgathering and made his eyes stray towards the hall's big window ledge, where a grey furry fellow lounged, wiggling its tail leisurely.

"Hey, buddy," Kili smiled and reached out a hand to pet it.

Whatever had possessed him to do it, he didn't know.

Without rhyme or reason the feline jumped on his shoulders and planted itself on his neck, sinking its nails into the skin.

A loud screech out in the hall drew the attention of a wide-eyed Rae, who opened the apartment door to a hilarious spectacle. She rushed to the man's side and detached her neighbour's cat from his head, surprised to recognise the face.

"It's okay," she appeased, "I've got him. He's a bit wary of strangers–"

"Pretty certain the feeling's mutual," Kili panted out. "I was just going to pet him and the bloody thing jumped and scratched the hell out of me!"

"Oh no, usually he's very nice," she said thoughtfully and petted it between the ears. "Maybe he's having a bad day, is all."

"Or maybe he is a minion of the antichrist."

Rae shot him a half-apologetic look as she moved to knock on the door on the opposite wall. "Bjorn," she called loudly, "Buttons is scaring people again!"

That elicited a subtle eye roll from Kili, who stood at a distance from the woman and the furry mug that rested innocently on her shoulder. He thought of a much more appropriate name for it than Buttons; Lucifer, that was.

The door suddenly opened and out stepped a giant who looked like he'd sprung out of a Vikings documentary. Easily seven feet tall, he was the tallest and most strapping man Kili had ever seen in his life, dwarfing both himself and the woman. The man was stealing suspicious glances at him while the woman handed over the furry devil, and Kili suddenly felt a little self-conscious about his humble six feet. The cat hopped down on the floor and, with a curt nod, his human bade them good afternoon.

As Bjorn retreated into his house, Rae took notice of the staring contest between the man behind her and Mr. Buttons, which was abruptly terminated when the door closed.

"It doesn't bite," she pointed out.

His gaze shifted to her. "Does he?"

"Not since he was three or four. Or so I'm told," she added with a mischievous smile. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, yes," said Kili. "You must be Arya's relative, right?"

"She's my niece. I'm Rae."

He took the offering hand and shook it. "I am–"

"Oh, I know who you are," she said with amusement. "Please, come in."

At first instinct he felt excited at the prospect of Arya having mentioned him to her family, but quickly realised that whatever she might have said probably wouldn't be so nice. "No, no, there's no need to. I just want to talk to her, is she here?"

"I'm afraid no, she's gone for a run. But you are welcome to come in."

"Uh... I'm not sure she'd like that."

"You're not in danger as long as I'm around, don't worry."

The mirth behind the pair of grey eyes made him loosen up somewhat and soon he found himself being ushered inside. He was met with a little face staring at him quizzically.

"Who are you?" the little one asked.

"This is Kili, one of Arya's friends. This is my son, Estel," Rae introduced them and the tall brunet extended a hand, smiling broadly down at the child.

Estel shook it with all the enthusiasm in the world, little hand gripping Kili's long fingers. He continued to shake it twenty seconds longer than it was socially acceptable for adults. Also a little more violently. Kili couldn't help but laugh. In the next ten minutes he'd learned a lot. Arya's cousin was a little terror of the age of five and something, with a ton of messy dark hair and determined to become an astronaut when he grew older. He also supported the view —quite ardently, for that matter— that Luke Skywalker was, like, the coolest character in Star Wars. It was so precious, Kili just wanted to put this child in his pocket and smuggle him home with him.

Ten minutes later, Estel was in his room and the other two chatted in the kitchen.

"–the weather is awful, how did you even get a flight?"

"Actually, everything was cancelled, so I had to take the train."

The woman made a full body turn to face him, shocked. "The train? You took the train? All the way from London?"

"Well..." Kili rubbed his neck, trying to sound casual and failing triumphantly, "I took a lot of trains. Then I bumped into Arya in the first place I walked into as soon as I arrived —pretty sure you were there— and haven't quite slept since. It's all still a bit of a frenzy, but it's cool."

Rae looked down at her hands and the cup she was ready to offer him. "I'm not sure I should be giving you coffee right now," she mumbled thoughtfully, then looked at him with concern, "How can you even stand?"

"Can't say I went sightseeing," he said with a smile and shrugged. "I stayed in my room. It was so good to just sit on a bed and not on a train seat for twenty three hours, even without getting sleep."

"Are you here on business?"

"No... not exactly."

"On holiday then?"

"No, no– I actually came to see Arya."

"Oh?"

"You might ask why I didn't just call, but I did, several times, and she never replied–" oh dear Lord, make him stop, "–and you have every right to wonder why I popped here so suddenly–"

"Not at all," she interrupted casually and he felt as though she could read his mind. "You probably just missed her, were keen to see her, switched five or six trains, and after twenty three hours on the road, here you are."

"I– Well, yes," he admitted with a resigned sigh. "Does it sound too weird? I'm not a stalker, I swear–"

He was cut off by an amused laugh. "I'm not sure what you believe Arya's told me about you, but it's not nearly half as bad as you think."

He made a non-committal noise. "I'll take that with a grain of salt."

"Look, Kili, we may have met half hour ago, but I know what you've done for me."

At that moment hazel-green eyes snapped away from the cup and locked with the grey ones on their opposite. Half the blood drained from Kili's face and he wasn't sure if he ought to start panicking or not. "I don't know what you mean. I've never done anything–"

"Really?" the woman said dryly. "So if I call one Dr. Wilson and ask him about you, he'll be completely unaware of your existence?"

Suddenly, Kili felt antsy. Excessively so. There was a wide range of possible reasons, half of which he really didn't want to explore.

"How– How did you know that?" he asked nervously.

Unlike his restless disposition, she just sat there chilling like a villain. "I can be persuasive," she said and he believed it.

Rae watched him carefully during the few minutes of awkward silence that ensued. He occasionally ran his fingers through the dark locks as he pondered his next word, yet each time the long curls sprang up in a slightly wilder array. It was a stark contrast to his earlier jovial manner when Estel was around and the conversation was about spaceships and lightsabers.

'I specifically asked him not to tell anyone about this' and 'why can't people keep a secret these days' were only two of a series of things angrily muttered under his breath, punctuated by a repetitive use of the word 'damn'. It was quite endearing, really.

In the end he let his head slump forward into his hands. "Oh well, obviously there's no point in denying it anymore."

Rae smiled amiably. "Why?" she said simply and he knew what she meant. "I was but a complete stranger to you."

Kili looked down to his coffee again, then let his eyes roam about the room until they landed on the window on his left. "My father died of cancer eight years ago. It still is a... sore point for my family. I won't attempt to convey how devastated we were, or how painful it was to see someone you love suffer and you can't do anything about it. I wish no one had to live through something like that." He turned to her almost timidly. "Even more so where Arya is concerned."

"Why?"

"Uh... because she's my friend?"

"And?"

Kili regarded the woman with apprehension. "Because... I'm a good person?"

"Are you asking me or answering?"

"Answering?"

Rae arched an eyebrow.

He swallowed tightly. "Answering."

"Is that all?"

He squirmed in his seat, face scrunched up in mild discomfort under the interrogative eyes. He chuckled awkwardly, "Are you a police officer?"

"Lawyer," she said with a pleasant smile. "Go on."

Eventually, Kili relented. "Fine, because I have feelings for her."

"There you go," Rae muttered triumphantly. "Well, that was a bit anticlimactic. I thought you'd last longer than that." She couldn't resist a chortle at his bemused expression.

Whereas someone else might lose their patience with the invasive questions, Kili was a good sport about it. He also noted that she looked younger when she laughed. "My brother would like you," he sighed, making her smile again. "Anyway, I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell Arya about any of this."

"I won't if that's what you want, but I have to pay you back–"

"No," he said immediately. "Don't even think about it."

"But–"

"Please, no," Kili shook his hand. "Think nothing of it."

"I can't do that! If my husband hears about this–"

"There's no need for anyone to hear about this. We'll keep it between us."

She huffed and puffed for a while, yet saw no other option but forfeiting for the foreseeable future. "Very well."

Kili flashed a satisfied smile, priding himself on his newly-honed bargaining skills. After a few minutes of silence that seemed to stretch to eternity, his reluctant thoughts decided to become bolder and turn into words. "How is she?"

"It's alright, the sea of raging hormones has ebbed somewhat since yesterday."

"Good to know. Other than that?"

"She's..." Thin, long fingers scratched her forehead as she tried to find the right words. "Well, she doesn't sleep a lot and it makes her crankier than usual; she doesn't have job —which is a bit too much for one of her temperament— so she's running. A lot. One might think she's training for a marathon or something."

"Is she... seeing anyone?"

At first Rae missed the implications of the question. "Some of her friends still live here and she's going out more often this past month... Adam, her brother's best friend, moved here last Christmas. She literally bumped into him on the street a few days after she arrived. They hadn't seen each other for two years almost. She was so happy–"

"Oh..." His shoulders fell. It stung far more than he would've liked to admit. "So she is seeing someone."

"Now she's helping with the wedding–"

"What?" Kili spat out wide-eyed, his mouthful of coffee now decorating the table. "What wedding? They're getting married? How? When?"

Just shy of being pelted by regurgitated coffee, Rae looked at him ready to burst into laughter. "By helping, I meant that he and his fiancée asked her to be the photographer in their wedding."

After his short trip to hell and back, Kili found the spilled coffee in front of him very interesting. Trying to hide his flushed face he searched around for a napkin to clean up the mess, but she was already on it.

"You should have seen your face," she said with genuine amusement while wiping the table clean. "For a moment I thought I might have to call for a doctor."

For a moment he'd thought he might actually need one. He let a wry laugh, instead. "So, is she or is she not seeing someone?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you're the only suitor at the moment."

Kili wasn't sure how he should feel about her choice of words. Judging by the grin on her face, she was clearly trolling him. "Did she ever mention anything about coming back? To London, I mean."

"I tried to talk to her about it, but... I don't think she's warmed up to the idea yet."

He let his head fall in one hand. "It's all my bloody fault," he said with a long-suffering sigh, then looked up at her. "Did she tell you what happened before she left?"

"No, not really. Look, it's not my place to meddle. You're adults, whatever the problem is, you need to figure it out on your own."

"Yes, that's exactly the point. There are so many things she needs to know–"

"Then tell her."

"I'm trying, but she's slippery!"

After his little outburst, Kili sighed and shifted again on the chair. Rae tried not to laugh and prepared herself to give a serious ear to the young one's slowly unfolding romantic soliloquy.

"I'm an idiot," he mumbled angrily. "I was asking other women out, while deep inside I was dying for her. You do understand that I've revitalized the concept of schizophrenia."

Rae camouflaged the laughter that was about to escape her mouth with an uncommonly loud cough, trying to keep a straight face. Not that she didn't sympathise with Kili or respect his emotional pain, but he had a way with words that was bound to make one laugh. Now she could see how he'd managed to bring Arya's defenses down, what with her being an emotional brick wall and all.

"Why, why do we hurt the people we love the most?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "Perhaps because we have a weird way to deal with pain. We think that if we pass it on to the person next to us, it will wear off more easily." Her gaze raked over his face then—he looked so miserable, she almost had the urge to give him a hug.

Suddenly he felt too exposed and vulnerable, as though he had revealed too much to someone he barely knew. There it was, his trust issues working overtime once again. "Look, I'm not sure she's going to react well to finding me here, so I think I'd better head out," he said hurriedly. "I'll give her another call later. Fingers crossed, this time she'll pick up. Thanks for the coffee and the company, it was very nice meeting you, and if you could just do me one more favour... please don't tell her about this."

Meanwhile, someone else was on their way back from a running session, or rather their roaming about the park like an unleashed hound of hell, scaring passers-by and their pets alike. She had yet to stomach what happened the night before. Everything seemed like a big blur which wasn't about to get clearer anytime soon. She hadn't even admitted this to herself, but there were moments throughout the night and day where she was nearly convinced that all of it had been a dream, an insane product of her wild imagination and nothing more.

A completely oblivious Arya made a brash entry into the building approximately ten minutes after Kili had left, and until then it seemed highly unlikely to learn of his earlier whereabouts. Shame that she had to come upon her lilac-haired neighbour, who casually mentioned that a man was looking for her.

What was he doing here? How did he know where she lived? Well, that was an easy one, Fili had probably given him the address. That little prick.

She barely registered putting the key in the lock. A part of her was frightened that he'd be there and she wouldn't get away this time. But no one was there. Her eyes scoured the living room and the kitchen twice. She didn't know what she expected to find—perhaps Kili using her aunt as a shield? That would be a sight to behold. She hoped Rae hadn't even bothered to answer the door in the first place.

"Food's in the oven," a voice sounded and pulled her out of her misery, "are you hungry?"

Arya's gaze shifted to her aunt walking out of the bathroom. "Starving," she said and tiredly plopped down in one of the chairs round the kitchen table. "But I want to shower first."

She shooed her aunt's hand that tousled her hair and let her head slump forward on her folded arms. The sound of running water from the tap was the only thing that was heard for the next few minutes as Rae washed something out, until something made every fibre of Arya's body electrify. Both eyebrows shot up in surprise. She got a whiff of a fragrance...

Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. For the love of all that is holy, he was sitting here.

"Anything happened while I was out?"

"Not really," her aunt replied casually, "why?"

You little traitor. "Just asking," Arya shrugged.

The next minutes passed in silence. Up until her fingertips started to tap on the table deviously and she sat more comfortably on the chair, as though it was the natural extension of her body.

"He was here, wasn't he?"

"I don't understand, who–?"

"Oh, please!" Arya spat out. "I can smell his cologne all over the place! Why the hell did you let him in? You did see us last night, didn't you? You think that from the way I spoke to him I invited him for tea and sympathy? Or that–"

"Hey, calm down! I don't know what happened to make you treat him like that–" the younger was ready to protest here, but a raised finger succeeded in keeping her quiet. "Everyone says and does stupid things; that shouldn't cost them what they want in life. Perhaps he deserves that treatment, yes," Rae continued, "but he also deserves you to hear whatever he's got to say. If, after that, your opinion does not change, by all means don't bother with him again. But he came all the way from London by train because his flight was cancelled."

And bam, nerve hit.

Arya just sat there like a statue. Whatever control she had over her face muscles was rapidly slipping away and, much to her chagrin, her treacherous jaw twitched.

"By train?" she said eventually with a hint of disbelief, if only to conceal her actual astonishment.

"Yes," her aunt shot back. "He switched half a dozen trains and travelled for twenty three hours straight, he's barely slept... Cut the man some slack. The least you have to do is give him a chance to speak before telling him to shove his head where the sun doesn't shine."

Arya crossed her arms in defiance, scowling.

"Yeah, sit there and pout, that will solve everything."

"I'm not a child!"

Rae scoffed. "Then stop acting like one. Now go take a shower, think about what we said, and come to eat."

Arya gritted her teeth in annoyance as she headed to the bathroom. In times like this, she seriously questioned why she hadn't find a place on her own yet, away from telling offs that would befit a rebellious teen.

"How about because you're skint and have no job to pay the rent?" the wry voice in her head answered aptly.

Still, the thought of him having been there, in her house, had no plans to leave her in peace anytime soon. Even in the shower, his ghost haunted the hallways of her mind.

Off to see the penultimate episode of the Flash's season 1. Cheers!