A/N

Woah, folks are reading this? This is awesome, thank you! :D

I'm enjoying writing Bofur like this, because I see that he would be the dwarf to not give up on love once he found it. Aw yea.

Again, I don't own characters that appear in actual Tolkien works.

Chapter 2

clover

The next day, Clover woke to the sun rising. She rubbed her face, thinking back to the day before. That dwarf, Bofur, was it? Proposed courtship to her! She stumbled around a bit in a daze during the rest of her shift, in complete shock from it all.

She didn't know much of dwarves, except that they liked their gold and they liked their ale. They also lived in the mountains throughout Middle Earth, though she had heard stories of the legendary Erebor being overtaken by a dragon. That might be why there were often times dwarves - such as Bofur, in Bree. Sometimes they stayed and made a home in Bree, though more often they were just passing through, heading to the next place for work.

Groaning, she threw off her blanket and hopped out of bed, stretching her arms out. She went over to the window and opened the curtains, humming softly at the streets below before going over to her wash basin. After splashing her face in cold water, she suddenly rushed back to her window, leaning over the window sill to stare at the sight before her.

On the streets below was a cart of... clovers. Bofur was leaning against the side of it, dozing upright. She was stunned and backed away from the window, trying to think about what she saw. When she looked outside her window again, it was still there. A cart full of clovers.

Clover sighed and grabbed her cloak, rushing out of her room and down the stairs of the pub and outside to the street where the cart stood. Bofur was still dozing, though he was dangerously close to toppling over. She huffed in annoyance and shook him awake.

"Oh, you silly dwarf!" She scolded when he opened his eyes. She threw her cloak over his shoulders to warm him up. "Were you out here all night? You could have caught your death out here!"

Bofur smiled sleepily at her as he straightened up, gesturing to the cart. "I wasn't sure how you felt about my bouquet yesterday, so I thought of something else! A cart of the same plant sharing your name, my dear Clover!"

Her cheeks flushed and she clasped the cloak on him. "Let's get you inside where we can warm you up. Let's... well, perhaps we should know each other a bit more before this continues further!" She said. His smile was even brighter, if possible, as he followed her into the pub and up the stairs to her room. She made him sit on the bed as she went back downstairs to collect some breakfast and tea.

Bofur took his chance to look around the room. It was pretty empty, save for a trunk with some clothes sticking out of it and a few trinkets and pictures next to the bed. A drawing of a male hobbit sat next to her bed. Bofur swallowed, wondering if he was now overstepping himself with this courtship. Another drawing was of a young hobbit lad, who looked an awful lot like the hobbit in the previous photo.

Oh dear. Could this be her husband and child? Or perhaps a dead husband and suffering child? Bofur felt sad now as he looked at the drawings before turning his attention to the trinkets. A few hairclasps sat next to the photos, as well as a necklace. The necklace was bronze with a four leafed clover stamped into it, obviously for her namesake. He smiled a bit at that.

When he heard her coming back up the stairs, he sat himself back on the bed, trying to look innocent. However, Clover noticed his look when she walked in and arched an eyebrow.

"You haven't been snooping, have you, Mister Bofur?" She asked as she set the tray of food and tea down. Smiling, he shook his head as he started to get up. "Oh, no, stay there. You look exhausted on your feet and I fear you may drop the dishes!"

"Oh, really now, you aren't working. I can't have you serve me!" He protested as he sat back on the bed. He did feel tired, however. He stood guard over that cart until the sun started to rise. He was barely asleep before Clover came down to him, throwing her cloak on him like that.

While she busied herself fixing their tea, he decided to act on something that was starting to bug him.

"You're... you're not already married, are you?" He asked, glancing over at the pictures. Clover didn't look up from the tea.

"No, no. Never married, nor engaged." She replied.

"Ah, very well."

"Why do you ask?"

Bofur shrugged a bit as he glanced over to the drawings. She saw where he was looking and smiled a bit as she brought over a plate to him. "That's my brother, Hamfast, and his son, Samwise. I keep those close because I miss them terribly."

"Why are you so far away from home, Miss Clover?" He asked with a frown, poking at his food. Clover smiled sadly as she brought over her own plate, taking a seat next to him on the bed. "I thought hobbits didn't stray to far from the Shire."

"I could ask the same of you, Mister Bofur. Don't dwarfs keep to their mountains?" She shot back, more aggresive than she meant. Her eyes widened and she looked down. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to sound rude."

To her surprise, Bofur just smiled as he started to eat his breakfast. "I grew up in the Blue Mountains, and while my brother and cousin still live there, it just was not home for me anymore. I needed a change of scenery and decided to just walk until I found a place. And that place happened to be here, actually."

Clover sipped her tea, nodding slowly. "Mhmm. I suppose that was similar with the Shire. It's ... it's a beautiful place, but there was nothing there for me once my brother married. Our parents died when I was a child, and my brother raised me with the help from uncles and aunts... but..." She trailed off, frowning. "I'm sorry for going on like that."

Bofur only smiled, taking a bite of the biscuit she brought him. "Quite all right." He said in between chews. "Sounds like we are almost kindred spirits in that sense."

Clover cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. "You certainly wish to court me, don't you?"

"Aye, that I promise." Was his answer.

Sighing, Clover shook her head. "Save me from the stubborn dwarf."