With Kili now staying with us he needed clothes. He couldn't stay in what he had on. Fortunately, I tended to have overly large shirts to wear for bed. That meant that, for now, he at least had a clean shirt.

A good wash was needed, however, before we could even think about leaving the house. We still had a layer of grime over us from the other night. I had to cover my bandaged arm with a plastic carrier bag as wet bandages did not make for healthy healing. But I managed to wash with only one arm.

Then it was Kili's turn. When I went to find him he was playing with the light switches, off and on, with a fascinated look on his face. He stopped quickly when I found him, leaning nonchalantly against the wall as if he hadn't been messing with anything.

I told him to follow me and he did without protest. He didn't seem particularly impressed about the plastic bag over his cast though he was intrigued by the foreign material. Thankfully he did not try to take it off.

"Right," I said, "First things first, do they have running water in Middle Earth?"

"Of course we do, we're not savages," Kili mused.

My cheeks heated up. "Good, I won't have to explain it then."

"Do you have showers then?" I said, pointing to the shower head.

He paused briefly, in thought. "We do have something similar, but it is mainly richer dwarves that have them. Most dwarves just use communal bathing pools."

"Aren't you considered a richer dwarf, Mr Dwarven Prince?" I grinned at him.

Kili's eyebrows shot up "How?" Then a look of understanding took over. "Oh right, I forgot you know everything about me."

"Not everything. Just a few things," I said, turning back towards the bath. I pointed out various soaps. "Body wash, shampoo."

"Sham- what" said Kili, confusion clear in his voice.

"It's hair soap," I clarified.

His mouth formed an 'oh' shape as he understood. "Well what's that one then?" he said, pointing to a bottle of conditioner.

"Erm, also hair soap"

"Why do you need so many, surely soap is soap" Kili asked, bemused.

I shrugged my shoulders "Well I guess this one cleans" I said pointing to the shampoo, "and this one just makes it soft" pointing to the conditioner.

"Right," he paused briefly, looking around the room "I think I've got everything now."

I nodded at him. Right, good, all sorted. Kili's pointed cough then drew my attention towards him.

"You can leave now, unless you plan on watching me the whole time," He said with a suggestive smirk.

My cheeks flushed red again. "Oh shut up, I'm leaving."

The shirt just about fit Kili. He may have been short but he was quite broad. I could not believe the size of his biceps. It was rather strange seeing someone his height being so jacked. Kili had to keep his own trousers though as we definitely didn't have any of those lying around that would fit him.

I decided to wear a dress. To the shock of nobody. I had the tendency to only wear dresses and the occasional skirt ensemble. The only way you ever got me in jeans was by force. Dresses were versatile, it made you look as if you made an effort when in reality it was one tube of fabric I had picked up and thrown on. This one was a sky blue with little birds on it

We were just about to leave and I was braiding my hair in the living room mirror. When I looked into my reflection I could see Kili in the background. His hair hung in damp ringlets around his face. I had thought of offering him a hair dryer but then changed my mind once I realised how terrifying it would probably be to him.

Though I probably couldn't have asked him anyway because he seemed determined not to make a single glance in my direction. He was either looking at the opposite wall or staring determinedly down at the plaster of his cast.

"Do you want a brush?" I asked, extending the brush towards him.

"No. No thank you," he stuttered, his cheeks slightly red.

That was a strange reaction. I turned back to the mirror and resumed braiding my hair. It took me a few moments before a memory bubbled to the surface.

"Oh crap, I forgot dwarves have a thing about hair don't they."

If I recalled correctly, dwarves only did their hair in front of family and loved ones. They probably had a thing about sharing brushes too. I had somehow managed to stumble into a dwarven faux pas on my first day. That's awkward.

"Yes, we do," Kili conceded, a polite smile on his face.

"Well we can get you your own hair brush don't worry," I said "I can do this somewhere else if it's making you feel uncomfortable" I wiggled my half-done braid in his direction.

"No, no, this is your home, you should not have to move on my account," he then pointed to the left, "I'll... just look in this direction"

I couldn't help but giggle a little at his antics.

I finished my braids as quickly as I could so Kili would feel less awkward. My braids weren't as neat as they normally were. It was a little bit difficult with my arm injury. Moving my fingers tugged on the stitches.

It was probably best to take some painkillers before we left the house. Kili too. He seemed to handle pain well but occasionally I would see his face scrunched up with pain or he would release a sharp breath through his teeth. Thankfully, the hospital prescribed us some stronger painkillers than you get over the counter.

Tying my last braid up, I turned to Kili. "I'm going to take some hard core drugs if you want in."

His nose wrinkled and he tilted his head "What?"

"Medicine," I clarified, "would you like some painkillers?"

"Oh, yes please," he said, his hand ghosting over his shoulder.

I made my way towards the kitchen and pushed open the door. They were in a white paper bag on the counter. Mum was washing a few dishes by the sink when I grabbed greedily for the sweet, sweet drugs. By the time I opened the bag, Mum had poured me a glass of water.

"Thanks Mum," I smiled.

I took two pills and washed them down. I shook my head and grimaced at the taste. I had taken too long with the water and they had started to dissolve on my tongue. Eugh.

I handed a couple pills over to Kili.

"Be careful not to chew them," I warned.

But twas in vain. He had already taken them from me and bitten down, too eager to wait. His whole face screwed up and he started to cough. Mum was behind him in an instant patting his back. I quickly offered him the glass of water and he took it from me, drinking greedily. Water droplets spilled down the side of his mouth in his haste.

"Are you trying to poison me?" He coughed.

"Obviously not, If I was trying to poison you why would I take them as well?" I said "And I did try to warn you."

Kili just frowned, moving his tongue around his mouth to try and dislodge the taste.

Clothes were our first port of call as Kili needed a whole new wardrobe. However it seemed to be a challenge from the off-set, as his measurements were not like average men. T-shirts were pretty straight forward, it was trousers where we ran into a problem. Apparently shops don't cater to you when you're 5 feet tall. How rude. At some point we just conceded and decided we would have to trim the legs down at home.

We did discover that Kili was not a fan of jeans. "I'm not putting another pair of them on," He said as he came out of the dressing room "They're scratchy and too tight and I thought I was going to be stuck in them."

Mum calmly reached over and took the offending garment out of his hands. She placed a hand on his shoulder to quiet his rambling. "Don't worry darling, we aren't going to force you to wear things you don't like."

He must have had quite an ordeal in the changing rooms if he was that angry at a pair of jeans. I tried to hide my smile behind my hand.

"Are you laughing at me? It's not funny you know" He said, though he did have a smile on his face.

He ended up getting some proper trousers and several pairs of soft jogging bottoms. Apparently they were more forgiving.

Kili was also amazed at the range of colours available.

"They're all so bright," he marvelled, running his hand down a brightly patterned shirt "We could never get colour like this back home."

What then ensued was an overly excited dwarf picking up some of the most garish clothes imaginable. Rainbow shirts, brightly coloured trousers. It was a psychedelic colour explosion. Mum tried to suggest some more muted tones, which Kili sometimes agreed to. Whereas I was actively encouraging him, pointing out garments that he had missed. If the boy wanted to look like a toddler that had gotten dressed unaccompanied, then who was I to judge. I thought it was amazing, I wish I had the confidence to pull off some of the looks Kili was throwing out there.

"What about this?" I said, pulling out an amazing Hawaiian shirt and holding it against Kili's chest. It was bright blue and had flamingos on it.

Kili had a big grin on his face. "It's perfect," he said, taking the shirt from me.

"What would you wear it with?" Mum interjected

"Those blue trousers with the white flowers on, obviously," Kili said matter of factly.

"Yes mum, obviously, " I laughed.

Next came shoes. The boots Kili currently had were huge and bulky. He would need a few pairs of more suitable shoes to move about in if he was staying with us for a while. Kili could not make things easy though. The boy had huge feet and most of the shoes wouldn't go anywhere near them. That meant we had to scour the shops for some size 13 shoes.

"Are you sure you're a dwarf and not a hobbit?" I joked, sitting down next to Kili.

Kili was midway through putting a pair of bright blue trainers on. "How dare you," he mock gasped, "I am of the noble race of dwarf!"

He then proceeded to shove me with more force than he probably intended. I fell off of the seat with a little squeak and landed in a pile on the floor. "You little shit," I said, laughing.

He had also started laughing. Even more when I attempted to drag myself back up in a mess of flailing limbs. After which I sat down haughtily as if nothing undignified had happened. With a huff, I turned to him with narrowed eyes. Though he held up a hand before I could do anything else.

"You can't push me, I'm an injured dwarf," he said, giving me puppy dog eyes.

"I'm injured too you loser," I said, lifting my arm up to him.

He looked a bit guilty then "Oh yeah, I may have forgotten. Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile "if it makes you feel any better I didn't mean to push you that hard."

"Oh well that makes it all fine then," I said sarcastically "Tell that to the bruise I just got from landing on a shoe."

"Oh really you two?" Mum had appeared in front of us "You're acting like a couple of five year olds"

She sighed and shook her head, a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth "What have I gotten myself into?"

He ended up with a few pairs of shoes. One pair was at least black. Kili's fun lasted, until we reached the till. Then he became a little put out. He seemed to forget that someone had to pay for it all.

"It's too much," he said. "You shouldn't have to spend your own money for me."

Mum wasn't having any of it though. She stopped in front of him.

"As long as you are going to be living under my roof you will be my responsibility okay, I can't just leave you with nothing," She held up a hand when it looked like Kili was going to interrupt. "And anyway, once you return home I'm sure your mother would be happier to know that you were well looked after.''

"I guess so," Kili conceded. He didn't have much room to argue when she brought his Mum into it.

Next on the agenda was food shopping. We packed all of Kili's new clothes into the back of the car as best as we could and went in search of the nearest supermarket.

I was excited. Was it weird to get excited about food shopping? I wanted to introduce Kili to so many new foods. The part of my brain that loved cooking was singing with all the possibilities. Pasta dishes. Rice. Ooh noodles he's probably never had those.

Kili wandered next to us as we cruised down the aisles. His eyes were wide and childlike as he tried to take everything in. Every so often he nearly walked into other people's trolleys because he wasn't looking where he was walking. When this would happen I grabbed his elbow and pulled him out of the way.

"You need to look where you're going," I said, pulling him gently to the side. I offered the woman he bumped into an apologetic smile.

The old woman huffed and complained about disrespectful youth.

"It's cold. A cold shelf," He said, too intrigued by the fridge.

"It's called a fridge," I clarified. "It keeps food cool so it doesn't go off."

The woman gave Kili a weird look. Her judgy face was set in a frown of disapproval. I narrowed my eyes at her before I dragged Kili away. Snobbish cow.

"It's like a portable ice cave," Kili marvelled.

"Yes and we have our own at home, you can look at that one when we get in," we reached where my mum and our trolley was "For now, you need to look where you're going."

Kili agreed and thankfully did not bump into any more people. We slowly made our way around the shop with Kili asking questions about everything. He was in the middle of a ramble about the logistics of milk made out of nuts, when I caught the sight of blonde hair in my peripherals. For a split second I thought I recognised the owner and panicked.

I grabbed Kili by the arm and hauled him around the corner out of sight. Kili made a small yelp and gave me a look of pure confusion. I ignored him in favour of peering back around the corner to see if it was who I thought it was.

Please don't be Ethan. Please don't be Ethan. Please don't be-

It wasn't Ethan. It was a stranger with the same lanky build and hair style as my ex.

I visibly sagged with relief and turned back to Kili. "Sorry," I said, rather embarrassed. "I thought I saw someone I knew, but it wasn't them."

"Are they dangerous?" Kili tensed.

I guess with me practically running away from, who I thought was Ethan, kind of made him seem dangerous.

"No it's nothing like that," I tried to brush it off. "I would just rather never see his face for as long as I live."

Crisis averted, I tried to direct Kili's attention back to shopping. which was laughably easy. Within a minute he seemed to have forgotten the whole exchange entirely. All it took was the sheer diversity of cheese to drag his attention away.

At one point we had reached the sweet aisle. My eyes lit up. What better way to introduce Kili to our world than an ungodly amount of sweets. I turned to Mum with ardent eyes.

"No, I'm not buying those," She replied to my look "If you want them then you can get them yourself."

I turned to Kili and placed my hand on his shoulder "Don't worry," I raised my hand to my chest "I got you."

"I'm confused," he said

"Sweets, Kili."

His face lit up and he looked around the aisle eagerly. "I do enjoy sweets"

I may have gone overboard. But he was a guest to this world and he might as well enjoy his time here. It's not like he's going to eat them all in one go. At least I hoped not. The last thing I needed was a lost dwarf on a sugar high.

Before we left we remembered that Kili needed his own toiletries. He scanned the available brushes with surprising scrutiny. Holding up the brushes to the light, running his hand down the bristles, tapping the back of them. Most of them didn't hold up and he discarded them with a frown. It was serious business. Eventually one was deemed sufficient enough. A solid wooden one.

"Would you like your own shampoo?" I asked, scanning the bottles in front of me.

"I guess so," he followed my gaze and looked at the shelf in front of him. So many choices

I reached for one and popped open the lid. Holding it up, I pushed it towards Kili's nose. He blinked as I brought it up to his face.

"Smell it," I said, wiggling the bottle in front of his nose.

He leaned forward tentatively and inhaled. A pleasant expression spread across his face. "It smells nice."

"Which one do you want?" I said, motioning to the shelves.

What followed was an inquisitive dwarf hastily picking up bottle after bottle and inhaling deeply. It was an odd sight. Eventually he chose a raspberry scented one. It was a good choice. I may steal some at one point or another.

As we were about to leave the aisle I realised Kili had stopped following me. He was looking at something on the shelves. Following his line of sight I saw it was for beard products. He stroked his chin and looked strangely vulnerable.

"What are these?" He said pointing towards the shelf

I picked up one of the products off the shelf. It was a glass bottle with a pipette. There was a black and white picture of a beard on the front.

"It's beard oil," I said, turning the bottle over in my hand. "It's supposed to make your beard grow faster I think."

Kili looked down, his hand back on his chin, rubbing his stubble. "Could I have some?" he asked, voice not as steady as it had been.

"Of course you can," I said, giving him an encouraging smile.

After food shopping was done we called it a day and went home. Kili happily munched on sweets on the journey back. He was like a child on Christmas.

"I like these," he said, a half eaten rainbow belt hanging out of his mouth.

"Me too," I said, reaching over and stealing one out of his hand.

I put it in my mouth before he could steal it back. It was sour and sweet. The grains of sugar rubbed against my tongue.

Kili's mouth was open, a look of shock and betrayal "How could you?"

"I bought them," I laughed.

"For me," he said, angling the bag away from me and conspicuously taking another bite.

"Aw please Kili, just one more," I pouted, sticking my bottom lip out.

Kili narrowed his eyes briefly but then conceded. "You can have one more."

He held the bag out towards me as an invitation. I looked him dead in the eyes. And then took three.

"You thief!"

I simply laughed and put another one in my mouth. He also grinned back at me, a full smile that lit up his whole face. It made me feel warm and happy. I liked it when he smiled.

When we got home we lugged everything out of the car and into the house. Kili and I went about putting his new clothes away. There was a set of drawers and a small wardrobe in the room. We folded some clothes and hung up others. I delegated Kili to hanger duty as his attempt at folding was abysmal. Soon enough we were done and I flopped down onto the bed and fell backwards. I was shattered. It had been a busy day. Kili sat down next to me. Perched on the edge.

"It's not everyday that I have a girl in my bed," he joked, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Shut up," I said, hitting his leg with my knee.

Kili snickered. He carried on smiling for a moment before his face went more serious.

"So is it just you and your mother here?" he asked, tentatively.

I dragged myself up to a sitting position, my feet dangled, not quite touching the floor. Then again so did Kili's.

"Yeah," I breathed. "It's just us two now."

I peered down and started messing with the edges of my bandages, pulling at the frayed strands and rolling them between my fingers.

"I did have a dad...and a brother" I took a deep breath to try and steady myself "They died when I was 6."

"Oh I'm so sorry," Kili said "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No," I said, with a small shake of my head. "No, I can talk about it."

The thought of my dad and brother gave me an idea. I told Kili to wait there and rushed to my room. It wasn't long before I was back with an object in my hand. I sat back down next to him with the object cradled to my chest. Slowly, I lowered it down to reveal a photo frame.

It was a family photo. Mum and Dad stood next to each other with Lachlan and I laughing in their arms. I was in dad's and Lachlan was in mum's. We looked so happy. Dad's eyes crinkled when he smiled. My chest tightened looking at the photo. I had come to terms with losing them over the years but it still hit me hard.

I pointed towards my dad "That's my dad, he was called Theodore," then I pointed to my brother "That's my brother, he was called Lachlan."

"Is this a painting?" he said, hand hovering over the glass "It's so lifelike,"

Not lifelike enough.

"It's a photograph, like a very realistic painting," I replied.

"Your brother is he?" said Kili

"He was my twin, the same age as me," I said before he could finish.

"By Mahal, that's awful," he said, his eyes scanning my face. "I can't imagine losing a brother, if I lost Fili I don't know how I'd cope."

I gave him a sad smile. It probably didn't reach my eyes.

"How did they die?...if that's okay to ask," Kili said

"It's fine," I said, with a wave of my hand. "They died in a car crash, someone drove into the side of our car."

Kili's eyebrows shot up "A car? I thought you told me they were safe."

"Well, normally they are but not always," I shrugged.

Kili looked down. He started playing with the zip on his jacket. "Forgive me if I'm a little nervous about getting back into a car now."

I laughed a little at that, bumping his shoulder with mine. "That makes two of us."

Kili smiled back at me. Then he sighed. "My Father died too. Though you probably knew that already."

"I know that he died but that's all. I don't know anything else really. Not even his name," I confessed.

"Oh, well, his name was Vali," he smiled, eyes still sad "And he was the best Adad a dwarf could hope for. He was noble, strong and caring."

He looked down at the photo in my hands. "At least you have such a good painting of your Adad. I struggle to remember what mine looked like sometimes. I just remember that he looked a lot like Fili," his breath shuddered and the start of a tear was forming in his eye.

My heart broke at the sight. Being careful of his stitches, I wrapped my arm around his and hugged it close. Then I laced my fingers in his hand, squeezing gently. He squeezed my hand back and we gave each other a sympathetic smile.