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Ori shifted in his sleep and Nori froze until he calmed again.
He had to see this sketch. It wasn't really a rational decision; but something in it had prompted Dori to try and talk to him about Bofur, and that wasn't something he wanted to think about. He didn't want to think about that discussion at all. The only thing that had saved him from more of Dori's well-meaning drivel was Bofur's timely arrival in the hallway. So he'd taken the opportunity to pass Bofur's purloined pipe back to him as he went past and fled. Well. Left quickly. He really wasn't running from Dori.
Ori settled back down and Nori continued his search. The boy never left the journal where it could be damaged, but here where it was safe he had a habit of leaving it where he could grab it quickly. Nori picked it up and slipped silently onto the balcony where he would have moonlight to see by and opened it. Several loose pages near the back got his attention and he brought them out, unfolding them carefully and becoming more and more concerned with every one he saw.
The one of him and Bofur was laid aside for the moment when he came to it. He was much, MUCH more interested in the ones Ori had hidden behind it.
So, his little brother had a crush on the warrior, did he? Page after page of Dwalin emerged, each one done just a bit differently, each one catching the burly Dwarf in a different fashion, all of them lovingly drawn and exquisitely accurate. Oh, he had it bad.
This was a troubling discovery. Ori was far too young to be thinking of such things. And Dwalin was far, far older, more experienced, and just in general a muscle bound lunkhead. Nori doubted he'd ever read a book. No, he wasn't right for Ori, not at all.
He took a deep breath. Ori was an adult. He was young, yes, but an adult, and as such, could make his own decisions. Nori shouldn't interfere. He shouldn't.
But why Dwalin? Why not one of the lads? Fíli and Kíli were near the same age, and much more suitable companions. Educated, of Durin's line itself. Certainly more attractive, and at least not covered with tattoos and battle scars. They would be more believable as crushes than Dwalin.
He had to make a decision. He had to choose, right now, whether or not to tell Dori about this and try to thwart what he saw as a massive mistake – or to let things be and let Ori make his own decisions and live with the consequences.
He sighed heavily as he carefully replaced all the sketches but one in the journal and put it back just as he had found it. Then he slipped out, as silently as he'd arrived, and went to his spot in the woods.
He needed to think about a lot of things and not just Ori. But Ori would come first. So, he settled back against a tree at the edge of the glade, watching the house, and considering everything.
Ori wanted Dwalin. He would NEVER understand it, but that was what was. And while he knew that it was undoubtedly a HUGE mistake, he would help his brother. Starting with NOT telling Dori what he'd found. But he and Ori would have a talk about this.
That decision made, he brought out the sketch he'd purloined of him and Bofur. It was a beautiful creation, and it made Bofur look – look – he didn't have the words. His fingers traced the miner's image lightly, almost reverently, and he sighed again. This was not at all going to plan.
He didn't want to be in love with Bofur. He didn't want to feel anything but lust and release. And damn him, that bloody miner, that toymaker, that DWARF had wormed his way in and made him FEEL. Damn him.
No. No, it wasn't love. At the most, it was affection. At the most. He was still free, he would stay free. No strings. And Bofur had agreed to that, so it wasn't an issue. But he had also agreed that if anyone found out, it would be over, as Nori had demanded. So was it over? Ori knew, and Dori.
What did it matter, really? Nori was making the rules. He could set that one aside. And he didn't have to act like a love struck dwarfling, either. Nothing had to change. Nothing WOULD change. He'd make sure of it. They would still be extremely discreet, and they would still be able to satisfy each other. Yes, it could still work.
The sound of a flute came to him on the breeze and he rose, listening carefully to the sadness of the tune. It was a total departure from Bofur's usual music, and it pulled at him. He had to find out what had upset his miner. Something had; the tune was positively melancholy.
He found Bofur in another clearing a few yards away, seated in the darkness under the trees with his flute, oblivious to everything else. The music seemed to consume him, holding him under its spell, and Nori settled to the ground behind Bofur to listen.
When silence finally fell, Nori didn't want to break it. He didn't have to.
"Enjoyed that, did ye?" Bofur asked quietly. "Somethin I learned in Ered Luin. Pretty lass taught it t'me, said it was a lament." He shrugged without turning; he knew exactly where Nori was. It was as if he were attuned to the thief's presence. "She taught me a lot. Can't say she broke m'heart, because she didn't. But she bruised it somewhat."
Nori had a sudden and completely irrational desire to find this woman and hurt her. She had hurt his miner and that wasn't acceptable. Firmly he reined his emotions back. Not love. Not jealous. Affection at the most. "You put feeling in the music. I can't do that." The words were out before he could censor them but he didn't regret it, not really. It was the truth.
"So I'll play somethin fun fer ye, then." And Bofur was off and piping, the notes ringing clear and happy in the clearing. And when the tune was done, Nori gave him a round of applause which prompted Bofur to stand and bow, a grin on his face.
Nori stood as well and pulled Bofur close, kissing him gently. Bofur responded, winding his arms around his thief, a little unnerved by the change. Nori had sworn not to kiss him. He was changing the rules.
Bofur liked the change. Nori's kisses were very like his thief; warm, tender, gentle, and more than a hint of danger lurking under the surface. And he wasn't going to question it, either. It felt too good.
Nori deepened the kiss, holding Bofur more tightly, one hand going to twine in his hair again and the other pulling him closer, holding him tighter against Nori's body.
Finally they broke apart and Nori rested his forehead against Bofur's. Neither spoke, and neither stepped away from the loose embrace. It was comfortable in a way neither had really expected to find and they were unwilling for it to end.
Nori drew back first, his face impassive. "I don't love you," he said firmly. "Kissing – I suppose we can drop that rule. But the others stand." He watched Bofur closely. "Discretion. Anyone finds out, we're done."
"I haven't forgotten." But Nori was willing to kiss him. Bofur carefully nurtured the tiny ember of hope that had bloomed in his chest. "But if you hadn't noticed, we're alone." He let his hands move slowly around to run down Nori's chest and stop just at the waist, resting on his hips. "That first night, Nori, I had all the fun. I'd like t'return the favor."
Nori stared at him for a moment before nodding. There was something in his miner's eyes that drew him, promised pleasures beyond his experience.
Bofur swooped in at his nod and kissed him, letting his tongue duel with the thief's while his hands mapped out the planes of his lover's body. He moved them slowly backward so they were in the shadow of the trees furthest from the dwelling, never stopping his movements, never breaking the kiss, until he was able to lay Nori down in the soft grass and began to work the laces of his tunic. He worked his mouth lower, nibbling along the lines of Nori's jaw, down his throat, then following where his clothing had been removed, tasting every inch of skin that he bared to the cool night air.
His hands weren't idle, skimming along Nori's flesh, stopping to tease one pebbled nipple and then the other before he began to suckle lightly at one and then the other as his hands continued lower, barely touching, ghosting across the lines of Nori's stomach and even lower till they grasped the prize.
Nori wasn't silent. He couldn't be. Bofur's touch, his calloused hands brought new sensations, strong ones, stronger than he'd felt before. He moaned, the sound bringing Bofur to greater efforts because he wanted it repeated.
Bofur listened, varying his touch and moving his head lower, hearing the sounds that meant his lover was pleased with what he was doing and repeating the action. He raised his eyes when Nori's hands swept his hat aside and tangled into his hair. "Let me hear ye, luv," he murmured as his hands stroked the hard flesh lightly, teasingly. "Tell me what ye like, how it feels."
Nori growled and bucked upward as Bofur licked at the tip, swirling his tongue in the slit before wrapping his lips around just the tip and humming softly. "Mahal, Bofur, that's -" A wordless moan left him then as Bofur took him even deeper in, swallowing him down nearly to the base, and rational thought left him completely.
Bofur grinned around him, one hand moving to stroke the flesh just behind Nori's balls, humming a bit more loudly as he moved a fingertip to just barely touch that tight ring of muscle just beyond. Nori thrust upward, and Bofur swallowed him in again, giving just the tiniest bit of suction on the upstroke and Nori nearly screamed from the pleasure he felt.
His hand tightened in Bofur's braid and he tugged, not so gently, forcing his miner to look up at him though Bofur never ceased his movements. Nori was nearly mindless by now and it took a great effort for him to speak. "If you stop, I'll kill you," he gasped brokenly.
Bofur had no intentions of stopping. Nori was close, he could feel how close in the twitch of his flesh, and Bofur increased his efforts, letting that fingertip not only graze Nori's entrance while he sucked but to dip just inside, not enough to really penetrate but enough to put the tiniest bit of pressure there.
Nori roared as he came, his hips bucking wildly as Bofur swallowed what he offered and that maddening pressure returned whenever he was on the downstroke. Teased and tormented from two directions, he thought he'd never stop.
It didn't last long; Bofur licked him clean and then crawled upward to lie next to his thief, saying nothing, merely watching Nori's face as he came down from the peak.
"Mahal, Bofur, where'd you learn THAT?" Nori demanded as he finally got his breathing under control. "You'd be worth real coin in the Iron Hills, m'friend."
"Aye, but then ye'd have t'share," Bofur grinned back as he caught the jest behind the words. Nori would never truly sell him.
In a lightning move, Nori rolled them to straddle Bofur's hips and hold his arms above his head, his face tight. The miner blinked in surprise as Nori lowered his lips to within mere inches of Bofur's ear. "I don't share," he hissed vehemently. "You're mine, Bofur. I might not love you but you're still mine."
Bofur shivered, but not with fear. He found he liked Nori being possessive. "Aye, luv, I'm yers," he whispered back, his voice full of promise. "Fer as long as ye want me t'be."
Nori watched his face for a moment in shock. He hadn't expected that declaration. He had expected shock, anger at such treatment especially after something so intimately special. He hadn't had any inkling that Bofur truly cared for him.
It shook him to his very soul.
He kissed his miner, deep, wild, and possessive, regarded him for a moment more, still speechless, and then pulled back to dress. And with one more searing glance, he was gone.
Bofur stayed in the glade for a long time, thinking.