Author's note: Alright, I'm not sure about this one, but decided to get it out there before I can change my mind and rewrite it. I've kept you waiting long enough! Sorry for the lack of Kiliel throughout the chapter, I tried to make up for it in its beginning ;)

Thank you all for not giving up on me and my story!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hobbit or any of its characters.

Chapter XIX

Kíli watched as Tauriel's lips trailed across and down his upper body, her open-mouthed kisses leaving behind small, damp patches on his skin that glistened in the white light of the moon. The breaths he drew became increasingly unsteady the lower her administrations to his body took her and even though his eyes continued to flutter closed, he tried his best to keep them open, drinking in the vision of his beautiful mate kneeling down in front of him.

When her hands flew up to work on the fastenings of his trousers, her fingernails gently scraped across the sensitive skin of his lower belly, causing a spark to shoot through his entire body. Finally succumbing to his urges, he let his head fall back against the stone behind him with his eyes closed, a deep moan escaping his lips.

"Shhh," Tauriel chided, the tickle of her breath against the skin underneath his half-undone pants making his knees go slightly weak.

He reached down and wrapped his hands around her elbows, pulling her up before he'd embarrass himself in front of her by losing the last bit of his barely maintained self-control. Spinning them around on their feet, he reversed their positions and pressed her against the wall, loving how she immediately molded her body to his.

"I don't think that anyone has been here for a while," he said while letting go of her arm to trail one of his hands down her flowing skirt, tugging up the fabric until his fingers brushed over the creamy skin of her upper thigh underneath. "So there really is no need to keep quiet."

To prove his point he wrapped his hand around the back of her thigh, pulling her leg up for her to wrap it around his hips, allowing him to press himself more firmly against her. As he had hoped, the action elicited a gasp from her and, with a coy grin, he reached up to brush the fingertips of his other hand against her lips that were swollen from the kisses they had already shared in this seemingly deserted corner of Rivendell.

She laughed breathlessly against his fingers, tipping her head forward to capture the tips of his index and middle finger between her full lips. "You're quite the tease, Master Dwarf," she said, her long eyelashes fluttering against her slightly pink cheeks as she closed her eyes to draw a somewhat shaky breath when he trailed his fingers down her neck.

"Says the one who excels in the art of teasing – in the bedroom at the very least," Kíli mumbled before leaning in to capture her lips in a deep, bruising kiss.

His right hand left her neck to join the left one underneath her skirts, briefly cupping her firm buttocks before gripping her other thigh to lift her off the ground completely. Both of her legs were now wrapped around his middle and the sensation that her entire albeit slight weight pressing against his groin caused to explode through his body was one that words would barely suffice to describe.

Tearing his lips away from hers he lowered his head to press his face against the side of her neck, inhaling the exhilarating scent that was uniquely hers…

"Kíli, stop this."

The young dwarf prince blinked, completely disoriented for a moment. He did however have the decency to blush a little when he found his brother sitting before him, a look of mild exasperation on his face.

"I don't know what you are thinking about – and I honestly don't want to know, but I can clearly see that you have not been listening to anything I just said," Fíli said, narrowing his eyes.

"Sorry. I got distracted for a moment there…" Kíli apologized, trying to shove the very pleasant and also very vivid memories of the night before away for the time being. After Tauriel had found him by the abandoned building at the edge of Rivendell and he had confessed some of the thoughts that had been troubling him to her, he had not gotten much sleep, their shared desire to make up for some of the time stolen from them eradicating such mundane needs as physical rest. This did, however, result in Kíli finding it difficult to pay attention to some of the things going on around him today.

He had hoped to spend a quiet day with Tauriel during which they might not just repeat some of their actions of the previous evening, but also speak of the matters most central to both their lives right now. However things did not stand still around them and so, come morning, Kíli had found himself whisked away from the side of his love first by Fendir, who had wanted to continue their conversation from the previous night, and then later by his brother, who had come to talk to him about his plans for the months ahead of them.

Now the blonde dwarf shook his head at Kíli's failure to pay attention, but, used to such spells of dreaminess from his younger brother, continued without further comment. "Either way – as I was just saying, we had originally intended to be back on the road travelling west several days ago. Which is why, now that our little detour is over and done with and the damsel in distress has been saved – and here I'm not talking about Tauriel – I would like to get going rather sooner than later."

Fíli laughed and dodged a playful blow that Kíli aimed at him for his allusion that his younger brother was the one who usually needed saving and then settled back down to look at Kíli expectantly.

Kíli frowned, not immediately understanding what Fíli was waiting for. The older dwarf rolled his eyes at the younger's denseness. "Well, will you be coming with us?"

Smiling wryly, Kíli inclined his head. Of course. Now that their original plan of meeting up with Fíli in summer had been changed by fate, what was there to stop the Durin brothers from continuing down the path ahead of them together – like old times? If he was honest, the idea did sound lot more appealing to him than a life at Rivendell – had it not been for the responsibilities he was resolved to do a better job at fulfilling.

"I can't, Fíli," he thus said, hating the slight hint of disappointment in Fíli's eyes at those words of his. When his brother remained silent, he continued. "I would love to come, and so would Tauriel, I'm sure. But that does not change the fact that, for the months to come, a life on the road is not the wisest choice for us. I'm not willing to put her safety at risk in the same way that I have in the recent past. When we set out from Erebor, we did not know yet that she is with child, but now that we do and after everything that has happened in the past few weeks, we cannot turn down the offer of a safe place to stay."

Fíli blinked, clearly surprised by this last part of Kíli's statement. "You mean to stay here? At Rivendell?" When Kíli merely nodded, he added, "You do know that the food's terrible, right?"

Kíli laughed loudly at that. "I do. I'm sure I'll get used to it though." He fell silent after that and ran a thoughtful hand across the stubble on his jaw, thinking of the many other things he would need to get used to in the immediate future.

Fíli just looked at him for a long moment. "You've really grown up," he finally said, his voice quiet and his smile faint.

Kíli sighed and leaned back on the bench they were sitting on, letting his gaze travel across this place that he and Tauriel had, strange as it still seemed, chosen as their home for now. "I suppose I have, right?" He turned his head to flash a grin at his brother. "But don't worry – I have no doubts that eventually I will find an opportunity to do something stupid and reckless once more."

His brother raised an eyebrow at that, but Kíli could see the corner of his mouth twitch with suppressed mirth. "And I suppose you expect me to swoop in and save your sorry arse?"

"Always," Kíli replied, attempting his most innocent smile.

Fíli laughed and seemed about to reply, but was cut off by the sound of shattering glass coming from somewhere above. He looked around in an attempt to locate the source of the sound. "What in the name of Mahal…"

But Kíli was on his feet already, deep lines of worry creasing his forehead. His hand immediately went to the hilt of sword, which he carried out of habit even though there was really no danger to be expected within the borders of Rivendell – at least he had not thought so until now. "That came from Tauriel's room," he muttered, causing Fíli to whip his head around and gaze up towards the balcony above their heads.

It was a peaceful morning. Of course, Tauriel would have preferred it if Kíli had been at her side to enjoy it together with her, but it seemed that aside from herself, there was always someone else who requested his presence, always matters that required his attention. Kíli would never have put it that way, but to Tauriel it was obvious that others saw in him the prince that he was, the heir of Durin he had been raised to become, and valued his opinion. So she had neither been surprised when Fendir had come to fetch him first thing in the morning, nor when he had not returned as time slowly began to grow closer to midday.

Under different circumstances she would have went with Kíli to discuss the many things that kept the Rangers, the Elves, or the small company of Dwarves currently residing at Rivendell busy, and before long she would begin doing so again – idleness was not in her nature. For now, however, she was content to remain in the dark about politics, about conflicts, about plans for the future. Just for a little while.

Straightening out the sheets on the bed in which she and Kíli had spent many hours that last night – only very few of them asleep, however – Tauriel went over to what had quickly become her favorite spot in the room that Elrond had given her. From the wide window seat she could see both the dwellings of the Rivendell Elves, the steep hills surrounding the valley, and the sky above, allowing her to feel free and comfortably safe at the same time.

She settled down to enjoy the view of Imladris in the late morning sun and busied herself by braiding her hair that had been scandalously tousled when she had risen from the bed earlier. As her fingers made swift work of her long tresses, she smiled to herself, remembering the feeling of Kíli running his fingers through them the night before, gazing up at her with such heartfelt admiration as she moved on top of him.

It was puzzling, really, how the knowledge of what they had created together had brought them even closer to each other than they had already been and she marveled with each passing day at the way in which her dwarf was handling this very complex situation into which they had maneuvered themselves. Their love had been fierce, passionate and all-consuming from the start and continued to be so, but as of late it had acquired a level of intimacy which she would never have deemed possible to experience with anyone - not until she had met this roguishly handsome, young archer.

Engrossed in her thoughts, Tauriel was caught by surprise when a young, slightly shy voice disrupted the midmorning silence.

"Tauriel? Can I come in?"

She whipped her head around and immediately smiled brightly when she saw Sigrid hesitate under the small arch that served as an entrance to hers and Kíli's quarters. "Of course you can," she replied, getting up to greet the young woman. "I was hoping to have an opportunity to speak with you soon."

Crossing the distance of the room, she took Sigrid's hands in hers and squeezed them affectionately. Bard's daughter smiled at her and it did not escape Tauriel's notice when her eyes briefly flickered down to the rounding of her stomach. Looking back up and finding Tauriel's eyes on her, Sigrid blushed, clearly feeling caught in the act.

"I'm sorry…" the girl muttered, her face growing even redder.

Not so long ago, Tauriel would have been unnerved by this little exchange, but as it was she merely laughed. "It is astounding what has happened since we last saw each other, isn't it?" she said. "It almost feels like another life altogether."

Sigrid smiled back at her, her eyes shining brightly. "An exciting life to be sure!" she laughed, some of her natural shyness leaving her. "I'm sure this child is a very, very precious gift," she added, her eyes and voice gentle.

"It is indeed." Tauriel drew Sigrid over towards the window seat, happy to have some company while Kíli was taking care of his other obligations.

Taking out a bundle she had kept tucked under her arm, Sigrid held it out to her. "I came to give you this. I made it myself, as a gift, for you and Kíli and your child."

Taken off her guard, Tauriel accepted what Sigrid was offering her. In her long life as Thranduil's solider, there had been very instances where she had been gifted something and it was strangely touching to receive a present from this young human girl, who had not even known her for that long and to whom she had barely ever spoken in private. Unwrapping the neatly folded fabric, Tauriel discovered that what Sigrid had given her was a blanket, large enough for a small child and sewed from a soft fabric of the deepest blue with many little silver stars stitched upon it.

"Sigrid, this is very beautiful," Tauriel whispered as she used her fingertips to trace the intricate embroidery that had to have taken the girl many hours. "Thank you so much."

Sigrid smiled the gentle smile that Tauriel remembered from the very first day she had met the girl back at Laketown. The day that she had helped Tauriel save the dwarf she had fallen for hard and fast from a terrible fate.

Scooting closer, Sigrid straightened the blanket out in Tauriel's lap. "Now I know that this is far from accurate and I did it in a bit of a hurry, but I tried to recreate the constellations of the stars as I came to know them growing up in Laketown. Because I figured that you would have seen the same ones when you lived in Mirkwood." When Tauriel did not reply, but merely stared at the blanket in her lap in silence, Sigrid looked at her with uncertainty. "It was probably a silly idea…"

Tauriel interrupted her with a hand covering hers. "No," she said, her voice almost getting stuck in her throat. "I recognize these patterns," she continued absentmindedly, reverently touching the fabric that, roughly, represented the sky full of stars under which she had grown up, the stars unto which she had gazed during the many nights that she had neglected her duties as Captain of the Guard and had climbed up hills and trees to be as close to the sky as possible. All that only to find, many years later, that the cure to the longing she had felt as she had gazed upon those stars was not floating in the sky above, but actually walked the earth below her in the form of a stubborn, dark-haired dwarf.

"Thank you," she said again, wanting to say more, but not finding the words to do so.

"I am glad you like it," Sigrid simply returned, squeezing her hand as if to signal that it was not necessary to say anything else in thanks.

For a few moments, the two of them just sat there, Tauriel looking at the baby's blanket in her lap and Sigrid gazing out at the bright blue sky. Eventually, Tauriel tore her eyes away from her gift and set it aside, but not without fondly brushing her palm across the fabric once more.

"Well then," she said, settling back comfortably in her spot at the window to smile knowingly at the young woman before her. "I hear your life has taken some interesting turns as well since I last saw you at Erebor."

Sigrid blushed a little at that and ducked her head. "It surely has. If someone had told me a year ago where I would be today, I would not have believed it."

Tauriel felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips. "That feeling I know quite well. Tell me," she said, "how did you go from providing shelter in your home for a group of trouble-seeking dwarves to being engaged to one of them? The heir to Thorin Oakenshield's throne no less."

Sigrid laughed at that and blushed a little deeper. "Oh, I'm sure mine and Fíli's shared history does not make that great of a story. Not like yours and Kíli's…"

Tauriel gave a small sigh. "Kíli and I have been through a lot these past few months – some of that was owned to our own foolishness, some to forces beyond our influence. But I would not say that romance necessarily needs drama and heartache or that love can only blossom in adverse circumstances. Or would you?"

"No," Sigrid said, smiling thoughtfully. "No, I would not say that at all." When Tauriel continued to look at her expectantly, she sighed, grinning a little self-consciously, and hesitantly began her narration.

"After the battle Fíli returned to Laketown – most of us had already begun to move to Dale, but my family and I were still there, helping the people to salvage whatever we could from the ruins of their houses. Since our house was one of the few still standing, we housed some of the helpers there – Fíli's party was among those. Now, Fíli - he was in quite the state when he first arrived. Angry and hurt that his brother had gone away and still haunted by the events of the battle."

Tauriel winced. "I fear that I am responsible for at least part of the pain that Fíli suffered."

But Sigrid shook her head. "If he ever felt any anger towards you, he has forgotten about it a long time ago. No, I think what kept him up at night was the thought that he had not taken Kíli's feelings seriously, that he had somehow let him down."

Tauriel nodded. "That does sound like Fíli." She leaned back against the wall. "So what happened then, at Laketown?"

Absentmindedly, Sigrid began to play with a loose thread on the sleeve of her tunic. "Fíli would not really speak to anyone. At night, when everyone was asleep, he would get up and go outside to just stare at the sky. I had watched him closely and could see that he was sad and also lonely, and so I went outside with him to keep him company even though, at first, he did everything in his power to let me know that I was unwelcome."

Tauriel rolled her eyes. "Dwarves," she said, half joking, half serious. "They can be so rude sometimes."

Sigrid laughed. "And stubborn. But I can be very stubborn, too." She flashed a grin that showed that below her shy and gentle manner lay some serious strong will – the result of being an older sibling, probably.

"And so I refused to leave until, eventually, Fíli started talking to me. After a few days he appeared to be much better, but he would still get up every night and I would follow him – not so much anymore because I felt he needed me to, but because I wanted to. And it seemed that he wanted me to come to him, too." She smiled and fell silent, clearly playing over some of those nights in her memory. Tauriel allowed her some time to reminisce and after a few moments Sigrid sighed and went on. "Then one day, very suddenly, the dwarves were in a great hurry to leave – I learned afterwards of some sickness that had befallen their king and thus did not question Fíli's hurried departure. Even though I missed him and our conversations greatly. I hoped every day that he would return, but from one of the other Dwarves –Dori I think – I learned that he had left Erebor to look for his brother."

Thinking back in her own mind, Tauriel figured that this had to have been the time when Fíli had set out to find her and Kíli in Mirkwood in order to bring his brother back to Erebor. She bit her lip. "Once again, I am afraid that I am not entirely innocent of that."

"And again," returned Sigrid, "I will tell you that you are not to blame. No one is, in fact. Those were some difficult days for Fíli and his brethren, from what I have learned since…"

Tauriel inclined her head in agreement, shuddering slightly when she remembered the Arkenstone and the influence it had exercised not only over Thorin, but also over his nephews. She wondered how much Fíli had told his young bride-to-be about the stone and its history with his family… For the moment, though, she did not want their conversation to turn to such dark matters. Fíli, too, had eventually found love, as had this girl sitting before her, a gril who had already lost so much in her short life.

"When did you see Fíli next?" Tauriel asked Sigrid, drawing her out of her own, more serious thoughts.

Sigrid gave a low chuckle in reply. "Not before the celebration held on the occasion of Thorin's return to the throne."

Tauriel raised her eyebrows. "That was quite a while," she said.

Sigrid rolled her eyes at that. "I know. I wanted to come to Erebor sooner, but father would not let me. Thinking back, I think he suspected something was going on and always found reasons why I should stay behind when he went to the Dwarves' kingdom on business."

"Your father is a very insightful man," Tauriel agreed. "Who loves his children more than anything. So it would not surprise me if he had guessed at your true motives for wanting to visit Erebor."

"Well, he had no choice but to let me come to the celebration in the end," Sigrid returned. When Tauriel raised her eyebrows questioningly, she added, "I made myself a dress, put on what little jewelry I have inherited from my mother. Then I sat on a horse waiting for Da when he came out of the house to leave for the feast. He could not leave me behind after that."

Now it was Tauriel's turn to laugh. "I suppose he could not."

"I was so nervous that night to see Fíli again," Sigrid continued, talking without hesitation now. "It was then that I fully realized how I truly felt about him. But when I saw him, he did not even speak to me! He just sat there and stared at me, and I really felt like pouring the wine I had brought over to his table as an excuse over his head."

"But you didn't."

She shook her head. "No, of course not. Instead I went home, tore off my dress, and swore to myself that I was done with those stupid, annoying dwarves."

Tauriel smiled, enjoying Sigrid's lively way of telling her story. "The fact that you are sitting here before me today makes me think that you did not stay true to this promise."

"No, I did not indeed." Sigrid laughed brightly, her eyes glistening. "A few days after that – you and Kíli had already left Erebor by then – my father sent my sister to fetch me. On our way there, Tilda kept saying that Da had been behaving strangely and that she wondered whether he had eaten anything bad, but I did not really heed her babbling. When I came to my father, I did however find him in a very agitated state."

Tauriel sat up, intrigued. Bard, his children, the Dwarves… it had seemed as if she had left all of them behind together with the Lonely Mountain. Now she began to realize how much she had missed them in the last few months, how much she had missed being a member of a community in which each had their individual concerns, their individual stories.

"And what did your father want from you?" she asked the girl before her.

Sigrid cleared her throat to imitate the tone of her father. "'Sigrid,' he said, pacing up and down in front of me, 'I have called you because I need you to confirm for me that one of Oakenshield's dwarves has gone completely and utterly insane.' I asked why on earth he would need me for that. To that he returned – and I thought my heart would stop when he said those words – 'Because one of them has come to me and asked for your hand in marriage.'"

Tauriel laughed. "I take it that you father was in for a bit of a shock?"

Sigrid's eyes widened. "You could say that. He certainly did doubt my sanity when I – once I regained my ability to speak - said that I there was nothing in this world that would make me happier than becoming Fíli's wife and when he finally believed that I was serious, I was quite sure that he was going to kill Fíli."

"But he did accept it eventually," Tauriel interjected.

Sigrid pursed her lips. "To this day, I am not sure whether he really has." The small frown on her face smoothened itself out as she smiled. "But I am sure that one day he will come to understand that I could not have a better husband at my side. Fíli is as brave as he is noble and honest, which are qualities my father values greatly."

"And I am sure he will not be disappointed," Tauriel said, smiling as well.

The two of them sat in companionable silence for a while, glad to have found someone to confide in so far away from home. For the remainder of the morning they spoke no more of those complex matters of the heart, but passed their time talking about Rivendell, Tauriel sharing what she had been taught about the history of the place while Sigrid recounted what she had seen of its inhabitants since her arrival.

When eventually Sigrid took her leave, Tauriel reached for her hand. "Will we speak again?"

Her slightly hesitant smile was returned brightly. "Of course we will!" Bard's daughter assured her. "As often as we can."

Tauriel looked after her as she left her room, descended the steps and crossed the garden below. Not only had she found in this girl someone who shared her history of falling in love with a dwarf. No, she felt that, despite the many centuries that separated them in age, she had found a friend in her.

She smiled to herself. A daughter of the forest and a daughter of the lake – both of them raised in seclusion from the rest of the world, both of them still amazed by the many things that life suddenly offered beyond the boundaries of home. It was no wonder that they should get along well.

For a good long while she remained at her window, enjoying how the midday sun warmed her skin. In her lap she held Sigrid's gift, her hands having longed to touch the smooth fabric once more during her whole conversation with the young woman.

When the heat of the sun began to fade ever so slowly, Tauriel began to wonder where Kíli was. She had just resolved to go and look for him, when she became aware of someone approaching her room and she felt her heartbeat quicken. Clutching the baby's blanket against her chest, she turned around, grinning a little self-consciously at the fact that, even after such a short time of not seeing each other, the prospect of welcoming Kíli back into her arms seemed to have a physical effect on her.

"I have been waiting for you to show you this-" she began, but froze when she saw who stood in the doorway. It wasn't Kíli.

"Legolas," she whispered.

Cliffhanger, yeah, I know. Couldn't resist.