do you remember, we were sitting there by the water? you put your arm around me for the first time…

-Mine, Taylor Swift

Soft, silvery moonlight floods your bedchambers, casting everything in an eerie glow. You groan and pull the blanket over your head, doing your best to block out the light that has kept you from sleep for the past two hours. Normally, you'd be in awe of how clear the night sky is in Middle Earth, how bright the moon. But tonight, all you want is sleep. It was a long, hard day of riding before the Company made it to Rivendell. You close your eyes and focus on the sounds of the valley.

Running water and cascading waterfalls.

Crickets and cicadas.

Footsteps outside your room.

Footsteps outside your room.

You sit bolt upright and fumble for your dagger by the bedside, cursing as it clatters to the floor.

"I hope you weren't planning on stabbing me." Fíli appears in the doorway, hands up in surrender. "May I come in?"

You sigh in relief. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Jesus, Fíli, you scared the shit out of me."

The golden-haired dwarf steps through the threshold, slowly lowering his hands. He looks calm, but you can see a nervous twitch in his right hand. "I was wondering if you would join me for a walk?"

"Now? Fíli, it's–" you check your watch, "–one a.m. Why are you even awake?"

"I could not find sleep." With just a few strides, he's beside your bed, hand outstretched. You take it and let him pull you to your feet, smoothing your nightgown with your other hand. He glances at your chest for a moment and quickly turns his head away, cheeks flushing. You're suddenly very conscious of your appearance. The elves gifted you several nightgowns made of sheer, white fabric, leaving little to the imagination. Your cheeks flush as well and you cross your arms over your chest tightly, mumbling something about a chill.

The stones are cool beneath your bare feet as you and Fíli make your way down a winding path to the river at the bottom of the valley. "I found a nice place to sit," he says, taking your hand and leading you to an outcropping of large, flat rocks that hang over the water. You lower yourself down and let your legs dangle over the edge, toes just barely brushing the water's surface. Fíli settles beside you. For the first time, you notice that he, too, is wearing clothes of elvish make. A plain, silver tunic over matching pants. He starts when you touch his sleeve, rubbing the silky fabric between your fingers.

"Better not let Thorin see you in this," you chuckle. "He'd throw a fit if he knew his heir was wearing elvish jammies."

Fíli shrugs. "He can say what he wants—it's comfortable." His eyes find yours, and he lifts a hand to brush against the flowing sleeve of your own elvish nightwear. He trails his fingers along the back neckline until they reach your other shoulder, where he changes trajectory, bringing his hand down to your waist. Fíli doesn't break eye contact, but his touch is shaky, hesitant, as if waiting for an answer.

With your heart in your throat, you settle into him, laying your head on his shoulder. Giving him permission. "Is this still part of Thorin wanting you and Kíli to keep an eye on me?" you murmur.

Fíli smiles slowly, tightening his arm around you and pulling you closer. "No," he whispers. There's a pleasant pressure as he rests his head against yours. "This is just me."

The two of you sit like that for a while in silence, holding each other up. You wonder if he can hear your pulse racing. You had always admired the pair of princes as the youngest and prettiest dwarves from the movies. The two were obviously intended to be heart-throbs, and it worked. But it was completely different actually being in Middle Earth, seeing them in flesh and blood and learning their personalities. Kíli is hotheaded and impulsive. Fíli shares his fire, but tempers it with more caution as he watches out for his little brother. It was that caring nature that first attracted you, making you long to be the object of his attention, his protection.

And here, beside the river, wrapped in his warmth, a wicked thought enters your mind.

"Fíli?"

"Hm?"

"You can swim, right?" You pull away from him, tilting your head with what you hope is an innocent face.

"Of course. Why–"

He doesn't get a chance to finish as you push him into the water, dodging the splash and giggling. Fíli pops back up and shakes his long hair from his face, looking back up at you in shock. "You little devil!" he cries, grabbing your foot and pulling you down into the cool water with him. You shriek as you go under. Your feet find the bottom quickly, and one push into the mud sends you back above the surface, the water reaching up to your shoulders. Opening your eyes, you find yourself face-to-face with the dwarf. Fíli's impossibly blue eyes are wide, as if seeing you for the first time. Then his gaze shifts down to your chest, where the wet fabric clings to every little curve. He bites his lip.

You blink innocently. "I guess we should go change out of our wet clothes before the elves find us."

Fíli frowns. After a few seconds, a slow, devilish smile spreads across his face. He moves his arms beneath the water to grip your waist, heaving you up onto the riverbank before pushing himself up. He lets you gather your dripping skirt before scooping you up with a grunt. You lean into his broad chest and wrap your arms around his neck. Through his wet tunic you can hear his racing heartbeat. It's oddly comforting, knowing he's just as nervous as you are. Or excited…

But you're disappointed when Fíli leaves you alone in your chambers with a polite bow. Crestfallen, you slip into a dry nightgown and retrieve your dagger from the floor, replacing it on the bedside table.

"I thought we agreed there'd be no stabbing?"

A shirtless Fíli leans in your doorway with a sly smile. He closes the distance between you, placing his hands on your hips. His expression turns tender as he leans close, resting his forehead against yours. Heat coils in your core, and you press into him. Droplets of water from his still-dripping braids sneak down the back of your nightgown, making you shiver. Fíli's grip moves up to your waist and he lifts you up, placing you on the bed. He pulls back, lightly running his knuckle down your jawbone. In his eyes is a question, a request for permission.

Instead of speaking, you reach out and finger the bead at the end of one of his braids. Fíli reaches up and catches your hand, sliding the bead off and into your palm in a single motion. "Turn," he orders softly.

You do, and he gathers your long, wet hair in his hands. His deft fingers work quickly, intertwining strands like weaving together cloth. In no time, you have two delicate braids joined at the back of your head.

He reaches for the bead in your hand, but stops. "Y/N," he murmurs in your ear. "Do you understand what this means? If I put this bead in your hair?"

Breath hitching, you nod. Fíli takes the bead and ties off the braids. He turns you to face him, and in his eyes is a new look of wonder, a new tenderness, but it's still tempered by hesitation. The unasked question remains unanswered.

You answer it now. Leaning in close, you tangle your hands in his hair and press your lips to his.

Fíli smiles against your mouth and deepens the kiss, pushing you down onto the bed. "I've waited so long for this," he murmurs, breaking the kiss and pulling back to look at you. "For you." He drags his fingers lightly down your jaw, your neck, brushing your collarbone so gently with his calloused hands. It draws a whimper from you, and you wrap your arms around his neck and pull him back down, the two of you rolling over to put you on top.

"I've waited longer," you breathe, kissing him again, running your hands down his sides, now slick with sweat. His warm hands sneak up your arms and pull the loose sleeves from your shoulders at the same moment that you hook your thumbs around the waistband of his pants. The rest is a blur, until the two of you collapse in a sweaty, euphoric daze, drifting into a warm and hazy sleep.

Kíli knows something is wrong as soon as he wakes and his brother is not beside him. You and Bilbo received private quarters, while the dwarves were doubled up in rooms lower down in the valley. He kicks off the blanket, and stumbles sleepily to the door.

"Fíli?" His shout is met with nothing more than the faint twittering of birds in the misty dawn light. Frowning, he climbs the pathway to where he saw you head last night after dinner and drinks—maybe Fíli passed by your room on his way to… wherever he is.

"Y/N? Have you seen–" Kíli can't even finish. His jaw hangs open as he takes in the sight before him: his brother, his big brother, tangled in the sheets with a woman. With Y/N. "Heh. Heh heh heh."

Kíli's building laughter rouses you from sleep. You blink blearily, sitting up with a deep sigh. You look around in confusion for the source of the noise and yelp when you find Kíli doubled over in your doorway. Color blooming on your cheeks, you snatch up the blanket to cover your chest and smack Fíli on the arm. "Go get your brother," you groan in lieu of a good morning.

Fíli leaps from the bed with a strangled cry and tackles his brother, nearly choking him to shut him up. "Have you never heard of knocking?" he hisses.

Rolling your eyes, you gather the blanket around your shoulders and get out of bed, yanking Fíli off of Kíli before he smothers him. "I was having such a lovely dream," you grumble.

"Was it before or after the se–" Kíli doesn't to get to finish his sentence before Fíli is on top of him again. He shoves his older brother away, then freezes, staring at your hair.

"What?" you ask with a glare.

"Fíli," Kíli says quietly. "Thorin is going to kill you." He picks himself up from the floor and reaches for your hair, lifting the bead at the end of the braids to the light.

Fíli scrambles up off of the floor as well and swats Kíli's hand, pulling you against his side protectively. "I– she–" he stammers. Kíli raises an eyebrow, and Fíli takes a deep breath. "We won't tell him. Or anyone. Right?" He fixes Kíli with a stern glare, an expression nearly identical to Thorin's own glower.

"Fee, it's not a matter of telling or not telling. A courting braid? That is telling enough. You know that."

It's strange to hear Kíli be the voice of reason, scolding his brother. Gently, you release yourself from Fíli's hold, laying a hand on his arm. With the other, you reach behind your head and remove the bead from your hair, pressing it into Fíli's palm. Then you lower yourself back onto the side of the bed, pulling him with you. "Fíli," you murmur. From the look on his face, his dejected eyes, you'd think you'd kicked a puppy in front of him. "Fíli," you say again. "I don't want to make any trouble for you with Thorin."

"But–"

"Shh," you interrupt, squeezing his arm and doing your best to smile. "Let's see this whole quest bullshit thing through first, hm?"

"Gandalf doesn't seem too eager to leave Rivendell for at least another week," Kíli adds. "You'll have plenty of opportunities to fu–" This time it's you who shuts up the younger prince with a well-timed pillow aimed at his face. Kili holds up his hands in surrender, finally relenting and ducking out of the room.

Satisfied, you lean in for a soft kiss, Fíli's mustache braids tickling your cheeks. He returns the kiss, placing his hand on your back to pull you in. "I love you," he whispers against your lips.

"I love you too," you whisper back. "Now get out of here before Thorin wakes up."