Happy New Chapter Day! Sorry for the delay in posting this one, holidays got in between :) Thanks so much to BrySt1, purple-pygmy-puff16, UnknownReaderHasJoined, amrawo and ValarenOfGondor for your lovely reviews on the last chapter. I hope you like this one, let me know your thoughts!


After Thorin and Balin had settled a deal with the Master of Lake Town, the company was invited to stay in his house for the night, before they would depart for the mountain the following morning in boats that the Master would provide, with fresh provisions and weapons.

Fili and Arinna had gone and retrieved what few belongings they had from the town inn and had brought them here, as several rooms had been prepared for them, and were now sat around a large table in the Master's hall with the others, while ale and food was being brought to them.

"We were looking for you," Thorin was explaining, sat with his older nephew while Arinna sat on the opposite side of the table between Kili and Balin. "We would have kept up our search had we not been attacked by spiders that night."

"We encountered them as well," Fili answered with a nod, shooting a small glance over toward the druid, who managed to hold back the shudder that wanted to run down her spine at the memory. "Horrible beasts, they are. We were lucky to escape them. I believe the Wood Elves were ridding the forest of them, we just managed to sneak past them, otherwise they would have overrun us."

Thorin let out a low breath, his face darkening slightly at the blond dwarf's words. "Aye," he said. "They took us by surprise, we would not have escaped them if it hadn't been for Bilbo. Though we weren't so lucky with the Elves."

"We heard that they had imprisoned a group of dwarves," Arinna muttered, earning herself a surprised look from the dwarf-lord opposite her. "The king sent two of his guards ahead to Lake Town. To cut you off, I suppose. We encountered them on our arrival here yesterday."

"Good thing we got ourselves smuggled in then," Balin offered up with a slight huff, while the others just nodded.

"We also heard that you managed to escape," Fili added and Balin gave him a quick nod.

"Ah yes," the old dwarf said with a small, proud smile. "And again, all thanks to Bilbo."

Arinna and Fili both glanced over at the hobbit curiously, who was sitting a little distance away. He did not hear the contents of their conversation, for he was himself engaged in a quiet chat with Ori. The druid couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought of Bilbo using his wits and his courage to save the day. She had always known that there was more to him than met the eye, and certainly more than the dwarves had originally given him credit for. And she was curious to hear how he had managed all of it, though neither Thorin nor Balin said anything else on the topic as they continued to talk about their journey here. They explained how Bard had smuggled them into town, and how they had stayed at his house during the afternoon, before they had decided to break into the town armoury to get some proper weapons.

It wasn't long after they had finished their tale that some of the dwarves, including Thorin and Balin, left for the rooms on the second floor of the house to go to bed. Fili and Arinna, as well as Kili, Bofur, Bilbo and Nori were among the last ones still up, listening as Bofur retold their escape from the Mirkwood dungeons with much more vigour and detail than Thorin had.

"And then Bilbo had us all climb into the barrels, and before we knew what was happening - SPLASH! - he had already dumped us into the river below," Bofur was saying, underlining his story with big hand movements. They were still sat around the large table in the Master's hall in their now smaller group.

"You mean to say that you travelled to Lake Town in barrels?" Fili inquired, his brows almost all the way up to his hairline as he listened to the story with interest. He had been curious to hear all about the things that had happened to the company since they had been separated, though the answers had so far been entirely unexpected. After what they had learned from his uncle already, he and Arinna had asked Bilbo about how exactly he had managed to outwit the giant spiders of Mirkwood, hearing his fantastic tale. And now the story of how they had escaped the dungeons was only adding to the amazement.

"Not just that," Bofur answered, gesturing wildly with a tankard in his hand, sloshing a good bit of ale onto the table. "We were attacked by bloody orcs on the way! They were waiting for us at the water gate. To be perfectly honest with you, Fili, we barely managed to get away with our lives and they're probably still tracking us now."

Fili exchanged a quick look with Arinna, who was sat opposite him still, beside his little brother. "We saw them on our way here," the blond dwarf said, while the druid just nodded her agreement. "By the Forest River. We saw that they were travelling West. If we had known -"

"It's for the best you kept heading directly for Lake Town," interrupted Nori with a shake of his head. His tone was genuine. "The orcs would've overrun us if we hadn't been travelling down the river in those barrels. There was nothing you could have done. Now, we still didn't get away completely unscathed, as Kili over there will tell you, but it could've been much worse had we been on foot."

Arinna and Fili both looked at the brunet dwarf questioningly upon Nori's words. "You've been hurt?" The druid asked, glancing at the dwarf beside her with worry and noticing for the first time that he really did look rather pale, though the dwarf shook his head quickly, giving her a little shrug.

"It's nothing," he assured her with an easy smile. He could see that she wasn't entirely convinced, so he tried to make his smile more reassuring. "Just a scratch, really."

"He took an arrow to the leg," explained Bofur when it became clear that Kili would not say anything else about it. Fili shot his little brother a concerned look, to which Kili drew a small grimace in return. He shot the hatted dwarf an annoyed look, but Bofur just shrugged.

"You've had it tended to by Oin?" Fili asked seriously, worry filling him once again. He had only just found his brother again; he was not happy to hear that he had been injured.

"Sure, yes."

"Kili -"

"I have," Kili repeated, sending his brother a slightly annoyed look, which Fili returned with a stern one of his own. "I'm fine, Fili. Truly. And anyway, on to more important things. After everything you've told us about your own adventure, there is one thing that I struggle to believe."

Fili raised his eyebrows at his brother questioningly, but the younger dwarf directed his gaze at the druid that sat beside him instead. "You're telling me you spent all this time alone with my grouchy brother - and did not end up abandoning him in the forest?"

Arinna let out a small snort, pushing against Kili's shoulder as the dwarf laughed heartily, shooting a cheeky look toward Fili who only shook his head, though he was fighting a smile, realising how much he had missed his brother's antics.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't come close," the druid joked, earning herself an amused huff from the blond dwarf opposite and merry laughter from the others around them. Kili was still chuckling when he suddenly saw the look in his brother's blue eyes change and soften while he gazed at Arinna, and she sent him a sweet smile in return.

The company sat talking for long into the night, the last of them only going to bed when Bofur had already passed out under the table in the great hall. Fili was giving his brother a hand as they walked up the stairs that led to the available rooms, the blond dwarf frowning at the painful face Kili pulled with every step he took with his right leg. Arinna and Bilbo were walking up the stairs behind them, the druid having spent the last hour or so listening to the hobbit as he told her of a swarm of beautiful blue butterflies he had seen while he was up in the trees in Mirkwood and of what he had learned of the Elves during the time he had spent hiding in King Thranduil's halls. Bilbo was the first of the small group to excuse himself, and they bid him goodnight as he disappeared into his room.

They halted again a few doors further down by the room that had been assigned to Arinna. Kili gave the druid a small hug before he took a step backwards, standing a little wobbly on his legs, as he watched the exchange between his big brother and her closely.

"Good night," Fili muttered, acutely aware of his brother's eyes on him as he reached for the druid's hand and gave it a small squeeze. He didn't dare kiss her in front of Kili, though Mahal knew he wanted to. He held her gaze for a moment as his thumb trailed over her knuckles and she inclined her head with a soft smile, pulling away from his touch to open the door.

"Good night, Fili," she said quietly, before she shot another look toward his little brother, who gave her a small wink. "Kili."

The brothers stood in the hall until the door had closed behind Arinna. Then Fili turned back to his little brother, giving him a small nod as he reached one arm around him again, helping him hobble down the dark corridor. The blond dwarf led him inside another room, which Thorin had assigned to the both of them, helping Kili sit down on the edge of the bed. He then let out a deep breath, feeling rather exhausted from the night's events as he took off his coat and folded it neatly over a nearby chair.

"So, what's going on with the two of you?"

Fili turned around at his brother's smug voice, finding himself confronted with Kili's piercing gaze. He cleared his throat, trying to muster up a confused look.

"Beg your pardon?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You and Arinna," Kili stated, eyes narrowing slightly at his brother's seemingly unknowing expression. Kili emphasised his words with a little wiggle of his index finger. "There's something going on there."

"I don't know where you would get that idea."

Kili kept his eyes on his big brother, while he slowly took off his own coat, letting it drop carelessly onto the floor. "From you, brother. It's your own fault. You've got a suspicious look about you. Shifty. Like you've got something to hide."

Fili tilted his head, bringing his hand up to his chest for good measure. "I am an open book."

"I don't believe that for a second!" Kili retorted swiftly, causing his brother to roll his eyes, though again he was reminded of how much he had missed his little brother during the past weeks. Meanwhile, Kili pressed on. "Come on, Fili, don't be coy with me. I see the way you look at each other. You're different around each other now, softer somehow. And you've been smitten with her ever since she first stepped through Bilbo's front door in the Shire, I know as much."

"Have I now?" Fili inquired with a raised brow, though his brother's words rang true. He had found her intriguing even then, though he was surprised that Kili had noticed as much. Kili just shot him a pointed look and the blond dwarf hesitated for another moment, looking at his little brother undecidedly before he finally let out a defeated sigh and nodded. "She's… we're together."

"Together?" Kili's eyebrows shot upwards. He didn't know exactly what he had expected, but it hadn't been that. Though he couldn't say he was all too surprised. Kili had suspected that his brother had feelings for the druid ever since he had surprised them during their training in the forest a couple of months ago, or that he at least found her attractive. Later, he had been certain that Fili had feelings for her when he had seen him throw himself in front of her during the thunder battle. "Have you put your braid in her hair?"

Fili slightly shook his head and his little brother frowned at the look on his face. "No, but I intend to," Fili answered quietly. "I did not expect any of this, brother, it's not exactly like I carry any spare courting beads with me. But… well, I've asked her, and she said yes. But, Kili, you are the only one that knows. And I would ask you to keep it to yourself, at least for now."

"You're afraid of how Thorin will react?" Kili asked, though he already knew the answer. And he knew that Fili was probably right to be worried about their uncle, for he was certain that Thorin would have a thing or two to say about his heir courting a non-dwarven druid with nothing to her name, especially if he was only being told after the fact. Fili nodded his head, letting out a heavy breath. Kili gave his big brother a small smile. "Understandable. Your secret is safe with me. But, Fili, for what it's worth… I am very happy for you both."

Fili couldn't help but smile at his brother's words. "Thank you, nadadîth."

They settled beside each other on the bed then, though neither of them managed to fall asleep very quickly. Fili was still thinking about Arinna and how he would have to tell his uncle about his plan to officially court a non-dwarven woman. It wasn't as though the inevitable confrontation changed his intentions in the slightest, but Fili still dreaded his uncle's wrath. No doubt, it would be difficult to find an opportune moment between now and Erebor to talk to him about it.

"Is she your One then?"

Fili turned his head toward his brother's voice in the darkness of the room, letting out a small hum in return to the question.

"Well, I always knew you liked her, more than you cared to admit. But now that you've told me, I wonder, is it like with Ma and Da?" Kili elaborated quietly and his big brother smiled silently at the younger dwarf's obvious curiosity. "You know that story she tells, about how she saw him by the mines one day and she knew immediately that he was her One? Do you feel like that with Arinna?"

Fili thought for a moment, before he answered slowly and honestly. "I don't know, Kili," he muttered. "I don't know what it feels like to find your One, or if it feels the same for everyone. What I know is that I love her. I don't know when it started, but I know that she makes me feel whole. There is my heart, Kili, and then there is her. And I'm not sure there is a difference."

"My brother, the romantic," Kili chuckled beside him, groaning for a moment when Fili's elbow made contact with his ribs, before he continued laughing merrily. The blond dwarf couldn't help but chuckle as well as he stared up at the ceiling.

"I can't help it," Fili admitted with a sigh, shaking his head slightly as he rubbed one hand over his chest, while his brother looked over at him with a curious smile. "I have never felt this way before."

Kili hummed quietly, turning his gaze to the ceiling, as well, as he put one arm under his head for comfort. "I don't think I've ever seen you quite so happy," he said, still smiling. "And I do think Thorin will see it, too."