Hey guys :) I know it's been a while but this chapter is significantly longer so hopefully that makes up for it? One thing I need to mention really quick is that I borrow the concept of Dwarves having a One from determamfidd's excellent fic, Sansukh, over on ao3. Besides that, thanks to BootsBoots, Wizard xp, and Celebrisilweth for the reviews. I love them and keep them coming. Thanks to Kazra for the favorite, and Davidtou, Rusty136, galad6, and yvonnebobby for the follows. (Whatever you believe in) bless you all.

Kili had taken, in the past couple of days, to wandering the largely empty, deeper halls of Erebor under the pretense of giving thought to what Balin had told him. All he was really doing was searching. For what, he wasn't sure, but something that made him smile or something that made him stop thinking about his brother's laugh that he heard in every small groan of the mountain, or the flash in his warm eyes that he saw in every candle flicker. His only thought of what Balin discussed with him was how absolutely insane he must be to believe that Kili would have any interest whatsoever four days after his uncle and his brother had died.

He was wandering now as he'd been doing when he turned a corner and found Balin and Dwalin muttering to each other by the light of a torch. He could only catch a couple of words the two were sharing but he had a distinct impression that they were talking about him. And if not, it was still something important because they bothered coming all the way down to the recesses of the mountain to avoid the ears of others.

He considered staying behind the corner and attempting to catch every word he could as maybe he'd learn something but he couldn't seem to make sentences out of what he was given so he revealed himself and walked straight towards them. No sense in being discreet about it.

"Good afternoon," he said rather loudly as his face crept into their circle of light. Balin and Dwalin both spun when they heard his voice and both had the decency to look ashamed.

"What are you two talking about?"

Dwalin and Balin glanced at each other. Dwalin sighed and waved his large hand at Balin as though allowing him permission to do something. Balin's eyes crinkled and his head titled to the side as though he was suddenly very unsure that what he'd been seeking permission to do was in fact the right course of action. Dwalin was watching his older brother struggle and then sighed, bringing his shoulders back, and standing up taller.

"Balin, Dain, and I had a discussion with Bard today since you were unwilling to." Kili could sense the judgement underneath the statement and he glared at his kin for the underhanded blow. "And he mentioned, among other things, that there was a certain red-haired elf maiden helping them build temporary shelters. Now, I thought we shouldn't tell you because you're just going to go run off to see her as you're young, impulsive, and disgustingly romantic and what we really need is for you to be King, Your Majesty."

That was the first time anybody had ever used a title in his direction and Kili winced. It sounded even more wrong than he thought it would. He knew Dwalin had said that very purposefully because Balin was now giving him a deprecating look. Dwalin then continued with his speech because his brother still remained silent, "Balin on the other hand will be glad we told you because he thinks that this Elf can ease your pain and can convince you of your duty."

"Her name's Tauriel," Kili grumbled. "She's in Laketown? Has she asked for me? Why didn't she come here?"

"Laddie," Balin finally interjected, "I know you care for her…"

"Care," Dwalin scoffed.

"Yes, care, brother," he said before turning his attention back to Kili, "But she's trying to be reasonable I think. She understands more about this world than you do."

"What do you…"

"You two can't be together. You understand that right?" Dwalin said. "I dislike being so blunt with you, Kili, but she's elf-kind. Not only do our people not get along with theirs but they are immortal. She will have to watch you grow old and die. Can you do that to her? Is that even a relationship worth having?"

Balin settled a hand on Dwalin's shoulder and squeezed very hard. Kili's expression was shocked and blank and it appeared as though he was never going to talk ever again. Dwalin sighed and rested his forehead against Kili's. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "That was much harsher than I intended. I only worry you don't understand the importance of you taking your place as King Under the Mountain. That was not the way to go about it, however, forgive me."

Kili cast his eyes downward and nodded against Dwalin's forehead. "Of course I forgive you." He parted from his kin and said as he walked away, "Maybe you are right. But I am going to see her, nonetheless, because I don't really believe you're right."

Dwalin sighed and moved to go after Kili but Balin held him back, "Let him go, brother. He'll be alright. He needs to figure this out for himself."

"Will he be back?"

"He's of Durin's line. He'll be back," Balin said.

Kili left Erebor through the main entrance and hiked down the foot of the mountain towards the lake. It took him much of the afternoon and the beginnings of the evening before he reached the edge of the lake and started walking around the lake towards the left edge where the residents of Laketown had built camp until there were enough resources to begin rebuilding where their village had once stood. The lake was littered with debris from the destruction and Kili could see remnants of the foundations still in the center. His mind inflamed with sorrow and guilt for what had happened to these people. He knew there was nothing he could've done and that he wasn't to blame but they were displaced; they'd lost more than he had.

He reached their camp as the sun was setting and he slipped through the tents and makeshift huts searching for a face he recognized. A woman saw him as she was washing some clothing in the lake. She brushed the hair from her face and came towards him, straight-faced and solemn. "Your one of those dwarves in that company, arent' you?"

"Aye."

"Can't you leave us in peace?" she asked. Kili hadn't seen her anger coming. He knew she could see the surprise in his face but she kept right on, nonetheless, in the same quite, calm manner. Kili thought it was perhaps more terrifying than someone shouting at him. "We don't want your help. You brought dragon fire down upon us and then when we came begging to you because we had nothing you turned us away with less than nothing. You took away our hope. Any hope that maybe our children would live through the winter; any hope that we wouldn't be constantly questioning where are next meal would come from."

Kili didn't say a word just took it all in silence, grimacing. He was feeling more and more terrible the longer he was here. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Especially since he wasn't returning to Erebor tonight; he'd probably break his neck trying to climb back up the mountain in the pitch black darkness, even with his rather good night vision. At this rate, he'd be dead before the morning.

"Enough, Elda!" someone shouted from some distance. Elda looked furious now but she relented and returned to washing the clothes she'd left with a glare or two thrown back at Kili. He peered around the camp for any sign of the person who had spoken up in his behalf and that was when he saw Bard step out from behind a couple of shelters and nod at him. "I'm sorry about that. Perhaps you understand her point of view though?"

Kili nodded, not sure he could speak. The one man who didn't owe him anything had stood up for him.

"Please," Bard said, "Come sit by my family's fire and share our food. It's mostly lettuce since that's all we've got left from the Woodland elves kindness, but if you would like some there is plenty."

"No," Kili whispered, "No, I couldn't possibly eat your food. I'm actually here in search of a friend. The elf, Tauriel?"

"She is out hunting. We owe her much. She's a friend of yours?"

"Of a sort," Kili half-smiled.

"Come sit by our fire and wait for her to get back. It shouldn't be long now. She said she wouldn't be out much past dark."

"Erm…"

"Listen, Kili? That's right, aye?" Kili nodded. "There is a lot that I could hold you responsible for but I'm choosing not to because I believe that this rift can be mended and we can bring back the days of old together. I've been told you're to be King Under the Mountain. Do not expect any retribution from me. Please…come share our fire."

"Thank you," Kili whispered and he followed Bard on a winding path through the tents until he saw three children sitting around a crackling fire. They smiled when they saw their father and barely glanced at Kili. They didn't say anything as he sat down but the older boy graciously offered him some of the food he was eating. Kili declined and warmed his hands up against the fire and then said, "Bain, Sigrid, and Tilda, correct?" The three children assented. "I never did properly thank you assisting in the healing of my leg."

"You're welcome," Sigrid murmured.

Then it grew quiet. Kili had no idea what to say and so he let it linger. Bard watched him from across the fire, the flames throwing his face into sharp relief so that he appeared more stern than he most likely was.

"So you're reluctant to become King."

"That's one way of putting it," Kili answered grimly.

"I understand. Becoming a leader to these people is something I never wanted."

"You're doing a good job."

"That's what you're worried about?"

Kili shrugged and averted his gaze into the fire, avoiding Bard's eyes. He realized that it was a sign of acquiescence but it wasn't something he particularly wanted to talk about, especially to Bard.

"I'm beginning to feel as though you don't want to talk about this but let me say my piece first. I don't know you all that well but I know of the Line of Durin. There've been some great dwarves ahead of you, Kili, Thorin included, despite what he did. The fact that you're so reluctant to be King and have some doubts about whether you can be the King your people deserve just goes to show how great you could actually be. You'll listen to the people advising you and you'll work hard because you have something to prove."

"What do you even care for?" Kili whispered.

Bard paused at that question and pondered it quietly for a couple of minutes. Kili didn't press him because he wasn't sure he even wanted to hear the answer, he'd just wanted Bard to stop talking.

"Honestly, because my people need your help and I've got you down here listening to what I'm saying and if you become King, I can take advantage of the relationship that we are starting to develop. But also because I think that there's much you are worrying about that you shouldn't be."

"At least you are truthful," Kili sighed.

There was a shush from the other side of the fire and Kili saw Sigrid murmuring in her younger sister's ear. Tilda's expression turned fierce, bold, and resistant and she stood from her sister's side and sat down beside Kili. She peered up into his face and said, "How old are you, Master Dwarf?"

The entire Bard family sighed and tried to say sorry to Kili with their eyes but he waved their apologies away and said, "I'm seventy-seven."

"Seven's my favorite number," she grinned widely. He returned her smile. That apparently opened him up for more questions because she continued right on with her interrogation, "But you look so young. How are you so old?"

"Dwarves live longer than men therefore our aging process is quite a bit slower. I'm actually considered fairly young among my people."

"Really?" she giggled. "How strange. You're older than Dad." Then she giggled some more. Kili's smile grew larger the longer she laughed until he was laughing right along with her and then everyone else around the fire followed suit. The laughing lifted some of the weight from Kili's chest. He knew it wasn't a permanent lifting and that the weight would be gone as soon as he stopped, but it felt good. He'd always been prone to laughter but it had been days since he'd even cracked a smile. He bent down and ruffled the young girl's hair gently. "Thank you for that, Tilda."

She smiled then asked, "How long does it take to braid your hair like that?"

"My you are curious," Kili said, but his comment didn't dissuade her hopeful expression and so he answered the question. "If I do it myself it can take quite a long time. Usually, I have…" and then his voice faltered and his smile vanished. Tilda noticed and wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "It's okay to be sad," she said.

"My brother," he whispered, "Usually, my brother would do it. I haven't done it since he…died," he paused after that word but noticed the grave expression on the child's face and exhaled deeply, managing to get the strength to continue, "Does it look quite messy?"

"Very," she nodded with a laugh.

"I should do something about that then. Would you like to help me?" The words had slipped out of his mouth before he'd really considered them. It usually wasn't something he let anyone but the people closest to him do. There was something intensely personal about braiding another's hair. But now he had offered and from the glint in her eyes he knew there was no taking it back so he slid down the log he'd been sitting on and leaned back against it so that his head was even with her hands. She undid the braids that were there and brushed out the chunk of hair with her fingers before weaving it back together. Kili closed his eyes and laid there silently as she worked. The rest of the family had moved closer together and began chatting about something altogether unimportant and unrelated.

"There. Done," she declared some time later. He thanked her and sat up. Bard was standing now and he was staring at Kili waiting for his attention.

"Tauriel is back. She's over by those rocks over there. Take this torch with you; you'll need the light."

"Thank you, Bard."

"Thank you," Bard whispered back. "I haven't seen Tilda smile like that for days."

"I like her." They nodded at each other and Kili crept away towards the rocks that Bard had pointed to. It wasn't long before he saw her by the dim light of her own torch. She was kneeling next to two carcasses, skinning one of them. She did it with deft skill and Kili stood for a minute just appreciating the way her hands gracefully wielded the knife. He'd never seen someone make skinning an animal look so easy.

"Tauriel," he whispered into the darkness. He wasn't sure why he was whispering other than it felt like the right thing to do. Tauriel started in surprise when she heard his voice. The knife she'd been holding jerked and she accidentally split the pad of her thumb. She stared at the cut absentmindedly for a moment before ignoring it and returning her gaze to Kili.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"Kili…"

"I know what you're going to say. Okay, I probably don't actually, but I know that I'm not going to want to hear it so just don't say it, please. I just need to be with you right now, alright? Can that please be enough?"

Tauriel eyed him quizzically for a moment before nodding sharply and continuing her task. Kili approached and sat down closer to her than he'd been intending. Tauriel obviously hadn't expected him to come that near either because her hands stilled on the carcass and he could hear her breathing. Not something that happened often. So he scooted back a tiny bit and watched as she resumed skinning the animal. Her concentration was gone and she finally sighed, putting down the knife, and sat down beside him.

"I do not normally work with someone watching me."

"Sorry," he whispered. He sensed an awkwardness between them that hadn't ever been there before and he didn't know what to do about it. He tried capturing her eyes with his but she kept them determinedly fixed on her lap. He ran through all the possible actions in his mind and decided that forwardness was the best policy. His forwardness was what had gotten them this far in the first place. He took a deep breath and laid his hand on top of hers, which were folded on her lap.

"Tauriel," he said, "Look at me."

She inhaled sharply and did.

"Are you alright?" Kili asked.

"Yes," she said forcefully. Too forcefully. Kili sighed and gripped her hands tighter.

"Listen," he began, "I've spent days wandering about the deepest parts of Erebor because I can't bring myself to look at my own kin; they remind me too much of Thorin and Fili. You're the first thing I've seen, besides a couple of humans I barely know, that isn't a dwarf. It would be very nice if you could talk to me because I can't seem to talk to anyone else."

Tauriel didn't reply but didn't remove her hands from his grasp either. Kili huffed in irritation and then said, "Okay, fine. I'll make it simpler. Tell me something about you that I don't know yet."

"I'm scared," she whispered.

Kili half-smiled at that. He wanted to laugh and tell her how fearless she really was and how amazed he was by it but he knew that was far from helpful. No one was truly fearless and even she could be afraid. There was no sense in pretending otherwise, even though he couldn't really see how that could ever be a true statement. So, instead, he scooted closer to her and strung his fingers in and out of her hands. He focused on the motions and intricate patterns of that when he asked, "Why?"

She was observing their hands too. While she was doing that, Kili tried to find anything in her eyes that would indicate how she was feeling but they were blank and her face was composed. From his experience, however limited, he knew that didn't mean she wasn't feeling something. Besides the one time, when she'd been talking about the starlight, there'd been relatively little emotion from her. It was the way of the elves, apparently, at least that was what Balin had said when he'd asked him about it.

"I have lived for hundreds of years, Kili; more than double your lifetime. And I have never felt anything like this before. I know it is real and I know it is important but I am not sure it can continue."

Kili wanted to panic but he took a deep breath and waited patiently for her to continue. He knew she'd fill the silence.

"I…I do not see where it can go. I cannot be with you for I am elf-kind and you are a dwarf. Your kin would not approve and I would not be welcome. Bard told me you are to be King Under the Mountain and I cannot distract you from your duty, nor will I be able to ever be Queen beside you…that is definitely something that would not be permitted. It has been incredible and profound, Kili, but perhaps it was only a dream."

"I understand," he whispered. Tauriel grew downcast and only smiled when Kili said, "But…" She'd thought he was going to fight and was glad he did, to her surprise. "…I'm going to let you in on a secret. Dwarves have Ones. You are mine. That means there will never be anyone else that I will ever love. It will always be you and I can promise you that without blinking. Now, it does not mean I couldn't live without you, because I could. It would be painful but doable. Many dwarves do it. However, the reason I told you that is because I want you to understand what I mean when I say that it doesn't matter to me that I'm supposed to be King Under the Mountain or that we are two different races. It doesn't matter to me that my kind would severely disapprove or that I'm being absolutely ridiculous. I know I love you and for me that is it. That is all that will ever matter. Now, if you truly believe that what we have isn't worth exploring than I will walk away from here and never return. But if you don't, then I am not going anywhere because I believe we are worth fighting for. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks? If they can't see what's beautiful about the way we feel about each other than they're ignoramuses."

Tauriel was smiling despite herself. She began twirling her fingers among his, but she said, "Very well, but I must remain in Laketown. I have to be doing something."

"You can stay down here as long as you'd like. Does that mean you think this is worth working out?"

"Perhaps," she smiled shyly. Kili grinned and kissed her hands gently. For a brief moment there, he'd forgotten that his brother was dead. He suddenly grew very grim at the thought of leaving Tauriel down here. He wanted her with him always, to ease his pain, but he knew what was important to her was important so he didn't say anything. "Tell me something about yourself that I do not know," she said.

"I don't want to be King Under the Mountain," he sighed.

"I know."

"You do?"

"When I met you, you were full of laughter and smiles and flirtations and teasing. You were not someone who had many cares or concerns placed upon them. Your brother, in the brief moments I saw him, had something in the way his shoulders were raised that spoke to duty. You were not meant for this. But, Kili, you have the qualities it takes to rule. From what I have seen, you are very much like Thorin in that you value family, friendship and loyalty but you are also young and passionate, something that Thorin lost the longer he had been wandering far from home. You also do not share the resentments and anger that had been building up for years in Thorin."

"That's because of you," Kili sighed.

"It does not matter how it came about. You can make peace and you can make this part of the world prosperous once more. I know that."

"I don't see it. All I know is that I miss my brother and my uncle more than I can express and that I can't focus or find anything worthwhile at all."

"All you need is to give it time. But do not risk strife among your people because you are hurting. Sometimes the world does not go the way we want but it is important that we do what is asked of us; that we do our duty."

Kili raised himself to his knees so that his head was even with Tauriel's. He cupped her face with his hands and stroked her cheek softly with his thumb, back and forth, back and forth. She leaned into his touch and he could hear her breathing once more. Then he bent in and kissed her firmly on the mouth before pulling away, his forehead against her's, and he whispered, "What will I ever do when I'm up in that godforsaken mountain and you're down here?"

"Rule," she whispered back.