Chapter 11: Wild at Heart
"I'd be lying if I told you I'd been to this part of town," Kili muttered as he drove, flicking a look in Tauriel's direction.
She bowed her head slightly and shrugged. "I'd leave it behind in a second if I could."
You can, he wanted to say, but bit his tongue. Their morning had been hectic enough; he didn't want to make the rest of it miserable. It seemed like it was going to be difficult enough for her to walk back into her father's house, and he didn't want to make the day even worse for her by offering advice on what he thought she should or shouldn't do. That didn't seem fair to do to her, not now.
The conversation had died down the moment he pulled onto the main road back towards town, the old truck's engine whirring and chugging along. She'd grown quiet and pensive in the few minutes he'd been driving as reality seemed to sink back in. He wondered what she was thinking or worrying about besides her father, but suddenly felt too nosy to ask.
Neither one of them was really going home to a picnic, that was for sure. While Tauriel was going home to face her father, Kili would have to face his family. He loved them and was loyal to each and every one of them and would be until his last breath, but there were certain days he'd trade his nosy brigade of relatives.
Today might be one of them.
He hadn't missed the way Dwalin and Fili had stood on his front porch as he'd driven away, both his uncle and his brother watching with rapt attention as he'd sped down the driveway. He'd have to give them answers later, but he hoped they would settle for the condensed version of the previous night. His family were close knit and would do anything for him, but sometimes the penance of that was having everyone know his every move. Sometimes it felt like if he shit funny half the club would know about it within the hour. He grimaced inwardly and tried to push the thought out of his mind. They had good intentions, after all.
It had been a good thing while he was growing up. There was never any question that while Kili and Fili were good boys at heart, their mother had struggled to raise them without a father. Even with his mother breathing down his neck at home and his uncles' watchful eyes everywhere else he seemed to go as a teen, trouble still seemed to follow Kili. It wasn't that he'd been cruel-hearted even the slightest bit mean, it was more….boredom mixed with being in the wrong place at the wrong time. And driving too fast. Sometimes without the state's specific approval.
It didn't help that his father had died when he was young and his mother worked a lot. But he'd turned out okay in the end and that was all that mattered, right? So what if his record wasn't spotless. He hadn't set out to hurt anyone or take anything that didn't belong to him. He'd just been a boy without a real father and a particular abhorrence of the rules. Any rules.
That was why club life appealed to him so much.
He'd grown up around a close knit group of men who were like family to each other, if they weren't blood related already. They worked hard, played harder, and supported each other through just about anything. It had given Kili and his brother so much in life – club life had gotten them jobs, security, friends, and most importantly done what their mother couldn't – it had shown them how to be men. Sure a few of them had a few hits on their records for this or that, but it wasn't anything serious. Dwalin had a tendency to let his temper get the better of him when he was drinking, Fili sometimes disregarded most speed limit signs, and his friend Nori and his brother Ori had done some time for selling some electronics that had 'fallen off the back of a truck', but for the most part his group of friends wasn't that bad. The collection of the club's mug shots decorated the space behind the club house bar quite nicely, he thought. It was a way to learn and laugh and own his mistakes.
Even if spending a few nights in jail did really suck.
Kili made a face at the memory as he drove towards the part of town he wasn't as familiar with. Would Tauriel hold that against him if she knew?
He glanced sideways as he took a turn, his eyes grazing over her perfect profile. She's probably never been in a lick of trouble in her life, he thought.
Glancing over, he noticed Tauriel was gnawing on her fingernails nervously. Reaching across the seat, he playfully snatched her hand from her mouth and wove his fingers with hers.
"It'll be alright."
She sighed and took a deep breath. "You don't know what I'm going home to."
He shot her a forlorn look before looking back at the road. His shoe eased up on the gas slightly as he reluctantly drove closer and closer to the address she'd given him. They were now on what he'd normally classify as the posh side of town where the houses grew taller and further apart and the driveways got longer. Hell, even the mailboxes got fancier.
"It's the one up here on the right. Wish me luck," she muttered, shaking her head. She felt positively sick as she continued to dwell on what was waiting for her at home, even with Kili's hand firmly wound with hers. His strength helped her momentarily, but she knew it would be fleeting. Just the thought of her father's icy blue eyes made her insides twist.
The truck slowed as Kili pulled off the main road and onto a brick-paved driveway. It sputtered slightly as he downshifted and glanced back at Tauriel. His eyes were suddenly drawn to a sprawling house in front of him that made his jaw drop. 'House' wasn't really the right word when he thought about it. 'Manor' was probably more fitting. Everything about the property screamed money. From the perfectly manicured lawn to the pristine, perfectly washed windows and neatly placed flowering bushes that lined the driveway, the house was like something out of a movie. He was halfway surprised, but realized that was silly. He'd known from the moment he'd laid eyes on her that she was a girl with some semblance of class from simply the way she spoke and carried herself. It shouldn't have been any surprise that she belonged in a place like this, he realized.
And not with a piece of gutter trash like you, a nasty voice in his head hissed.
Pulling up, he noticed Tauriel's eyes on all of the cars parked on one side of the driveway. There was no guessing what she was walking in to. Her father clearly had a house full of people that morning, just as she'd feared. Her only hope was that the emotional and verbal berating would only begin once everyone was gone.
"Great. I'm sure it's a packed house," she sighed. "Every other Sunday, he invites all of his 'friends' over to the house to fawn over him and have brunch," she made a noise in the back of her throat.
One side of the driveway was one luxury car after another – he counted at least nine of them lined up. Each one probably cost more than his entire house, he realized. The cars, the huge, looming house, the way she'd described her father…no wonder she was a mess, he thought. She probably couldn't help but feel like that was a lot to live up to and why her dreams of working in a book shop and having her own little apartment seemed so unattainable. It didn't take a genius to realize that Tauriel didn't feel like she could compete with her father's lifestyle he was trying to shove down her throat, so she'd simply given up pretending. That's why she showed up at the bar sounding like she had nothing to lose. She didn't, he thought to himself.
As he pulled up to the front of the house, he caught himself getting a little shaky which surprised him. He was rarely intimidated or left feeling unprepared to deal with a situation. Granted, he didn't spend much time around the types of people who lived in houses with three stories and manicured lawns, so it shouldn't have startled him as much as did that he was slightly apprehensive.
Kili didn't know what to think – he'd never been an insecure person. Life hadn't allowed it. Everyone around him grew up with the same – the same type of houses, the same jobs, the same hand-me-down clothes, and the same background….he'd never known any different. There wasn't a reason to be jealous of anyone else he'd grown up with because the playing field was pretty much even in their group of friends. His family lived simply but were proud of what they had and how hard they'd worked for it and he'd never surrounded himself with those who made him feel small. He didn't have time for it and he didn't care for people like that anyhow. In his opinion, life wasn't measured in how much your car cost or by how many bathrooms your house had.
Not knowing what else to say, Kili simply said, "Your dad must have a lot of important friends," and left it at that.
Tauriel didn't reply. Instead, she fiddled with her purse on her lap and took a deep, shaky breath.
Kili cranked the truck into park and let the engine idle as they sat there together, staring up at the house. He didn't know what to say – she didn't make a move to leave, yet he knew she was running out of time to sit in the truck with him.
"This is…quite a place."
"Yeah. I know," she said quietly, her chin dropping. He gave her hand a tug and tried to get her to smile. "Please keep in mind this is," she waved in the general direction of the house, "all my dad. I wouldn't live like this if it were up to me."
"I know," he assured her, puller her hand up to his lips. He kissed it softly, hoping to transfer some reassuring energy if that was even possible. Tauriel looked like she was going to be sick. Was she really that afraid to go home?
"It may as well be a glass house," she sighed, her eyes drifting towards the house. "It's for show, for appearances. Nothing in it seems real."
"At least you can realize it."
"I can," she sighed, looking over at him.
"I wish you could have stayed longer," he sighed when her eyes finally met his. He let his gaze roam down to the t-shirt of his that she was now wearing. "And I totally wanted to see you wear my shirt while I cooked you breakfast."
That got her. A tiny grin broke through the clouds, decorating her radiant face and making his chest grow a little tight.
She looked at him, her eyes locking with his. He watched her closely with his kind eyes and serene face. It gave her a semblance of strength.
"That sounds….very nice."
Kili was just about to lean over and kiss her one last time when movement over her shoulder caught his eye. Glancing up, he saw the front door swing open and a man step out. The look on his face left no room for doubt that this was Tauriel's father. He was tall, his long legs striding onto the front step with a purposeful gait. His hands were balled into fists at his side, but that wasn't the most menacing part. Even from the driveway Kili could see the icy gaze directed his way. There was no mistaking his ire, even from a distance.
Kili held his stare, even through the window of the truck. He wasn't one to back down from a fight, even if it was a girl's father.
Noticing Kili's distracted expression, Tauriel turned and followed his line of vision. He heard her exhale shakily. Kili felt his muscles twitch and his chest grow tight and hot. It had been a long while since he'd last fought, or even had a minor scuffle – he considered himself too old for that now and hadn't thrown a punch in over two years. The older he got, the more he realized the bruised knuckles and aching ribs weren't worth it in the morning after a fight. However, just the look on her father's face was enough to make his body flood with adrenaline and his muscles bunch up with the urge to strike. Tauriel was afraid to go home.
"That's the guy that wants you to marry some guy you hate and quit your job?"
"Yes."
"Thought so. Looks like a dick," he stated simply, as it if it was common knowledge.
She cracked a sad smile. "I have to go."
"Are you sure?" he asked, taking her hand again. The look of worry etched on her features carried all the way up her eyes. The crystalline orbs of green were clouded with so much worry it made his heart clench miserably. He didn't know her extremely well after just one night together, but he did know that Tauriel was a decent person and no one deserved to fear their parent the way she clearly did.
"I'll go in with you and you can get a bag, Tauriel. You can grab some things and stay with me for a few days if you're really this worried. It's that simple."
"He won't do anything," she said hurriedly, squeezing his hand. "I know what you're thinking, but he isn't like that. He wouldn't hurt me. He would do whatever he could to make me miserable and punish me, but he wouldn't ever physically harm me, Kili. I know that. But…thank you. For saying that," she said softly, turning his hand over in hers. She traced his palm and lifted her free hand up to cup his jaw.
She leaned in with no hesitation and kissed him, letting her lips crash against his with so much sudden passion it made Kili's groin stir and his heart skip a few beats. The urge to fight was instantly gone. With one touch from her, he easily forgot where he was, which was in her father's driveway with him staring daggers at them from the doorway. A blaze of renewed hunger shot through him like an arrow, whirring every feeling from the night before right back into motion. Without thinking or pausing, he grabbed her face and pulled her against him, letting their mouths join together again and again. He breathed her hurried breaths of air as his mouth slanted against hers, still hungry for more.
Up on the step, her father shifted and caught his eye.
Kili glanced at her father again, then broke away from Tauriel. "Is this just to upset your father?'
"Yes and no. I want to see you again, for me. But it's always a plus if it irritates him."
He grinned rakishly and cupped her jaw, leaning his forehead against hers.
"You may come from a posh little neighborhood and have fancy manners, but you're a little wild thing at heart, aren't you?"
That got her to smile. "Maybe," she sighed, her eyes dipping closed. Her mouth brushed his with a feather light touch. "Or maybe you just brought it out of me. I hate to, but I have to go."
"I would come and rescue you anytime, Tauriel. Know that. I don't want last night to be our one night together."
"Me either."
Sorry for the delay with updates! Thank you for all of the nice comments and messages and likes and follows on this little fic, I appreciate it! I simply got distracted with pretty spring weather and have been living outside these past few weeks! Forgive me, I'll try to write some more.
Thank you for reading my dears!
