The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings -oneshots II

Dress shopping - Fili

Warnings: none, I think?
Word count: 1304 
Other: there is no Fili action in this, not even an appearance, only mentions. It's more of a background piece, but man I had fun writing this!
Requested: nope

You venture into town in search of a new dress, and the seamstress tries to squeeze some gossip out of you.

You were almost skipping along the road towards Dale. Your hard-earned coins tingled in your pocket, and your eyes were set on the seamstress' shop that loomed in the distance. You had been saving for what felt like an eternity to buy yourself a new dress, and your hard work and patience were finally paying off. You worked as a servant in the kingdom of Erebor, and the money you earned was more than you would earn anywhere else. Unfortunately, it meant that the prices were higher as well, with the wealth of Erebor only a small journey away.

The bell above the door rang as you entered, and Mrs. Langrye, the lively elderly woman who owned the shop, was behind the counter to greet you in a heartbeat.
"Y/N, darling! You are not here to fetch something, I hope! I haven't made anything, have I forgotten?" You shook your head quickly and closed the door behind you.
"I am not here on behalf of anyone today. I am here for myself." You pulled the pouch out of your pocket, and she gasped in delight.
"You gathered the money already?"
"It wouldn't have been this easy if you hadn't agreed on a lower price." You had helped her with a dress once, agreeing to act as her mannequin for a moment before you had to rush back to your duties, and you had fallen in love with the shape of the gown. It had been simple yet somehow elegant at the same time, practical with its pockets and changeable apron. She had noticed your awestruck look and promised you that she would make you one, for half the price. After insistences on both sides and a firm word from her husband, you had agreed, and here you were.
"Oh, I cannot wait to get this started!" She singsonged and flitted off to her supply room.

To your suprise, she had already cut out the pieces for the dress, now she just had to piece them together for you. You settled onto the podium as she set to work, dragging a small wooden stool she could sit or stand on. She had only just started when the door opened into the darkening evening and a figure stepped inside.
"Evening, Mr. Langrye." You turned to greet the elderly man just as he entered the house, only to receive a swat to your shoulder.
"Stay still or I will poke you with these needles on accident." You apologized with a smile and watched as she pressed a kiss to her husband's cheek as a greeting without taking her eyes off her work.
"Evening, Y/N. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have an early morning tomorrow. Big shipments need to get out and they need my help sharpening." With a tilt of his hat, he left the room, leaving the two of you alone again in comfortable silence. He was a blacksmith, and even if he could not work the forges anymore because of his age and his worsened eyesight, he still pulled almost full hours at the smiths across from his wife's shop, sharpening the blades with a practiced hand, the lessened eyesight not bothering him in the slightest.

"Could you turn for me a bit, dear?" Mrs. Langrye asked, her voice muffled by the needles in her mouth. You shifted to your right and she set to work again.
"So, any particular reason you wanted a new dress?" Her tone was light, and you felt a flush of red overtake your cheeks.
"N-No, I just wanted to get something nice for myself." You muttered, but you could not fool her practiced eyes.
"Uh-huh." Her eyes squinted playfully as she smiled.
"And you are sure there is not another reason. Someone that has caught your eye that you'd wish to impress, by any chance?" Your blush deepened, even if you tried to will it away.
"Of course not!" You answered a bit too quickly and a bit too loud. Her smile only brightened and she snapped her fingers as she gathered the hem into her hand.
"I knew it. Tell me, tell me everything. I am dying to know."
"There isn't anything to tell!" You resisted, but that wasn't exactly true. You had seen the looks Fili had sent your way since the day you had started to work in Erebor, but you hadn't thought anything of it. Not until Frieda (your best friend) had come running to you, going on and on about how she had heard from her boyfriend's brother, that prince Kili had been teasing his brother on having a crush on someone called Y/N. You had dismissed it at first too until more and more rumors of his affections started to reach your ears. Gossip spread amongst the servants like wildfire, it was nearly impossible to keep anything to yourself.

So yes, maybe you hoped that with your new dress you'd be able to coax him to gather the courage to ask you for a stroll or a meal or to clean his chambers, all you cared. It was getting irritating that every time you and Fili were even in the same room every pair of eyes seemed to be on the two of you. Well, eyes from the servants, anyhow. Anyone else seemed blissfully unaware of the situation brewing. And you could not do anything, it would be totally improper for you to speak to a member of the royal family about such matters (and it would probably damage his "fragile male ego", as Frieda so eloquently put it). So you were stuck waiting for him to make the first move.

Mrs. Langrye stared at you for a moment before she gently gathered the fabrics from atop of you and shooed you off the podium you had been standing on.
"I am not sure that believe you. But I will squeeze the truth out of you when you come and try on the dress, in about a week's time." You sighed and turned to her, handing her your pouch of coins.
"Here." 
"Dear, I will take the payment from you when I finish."
"Please, take them now. It's dark out and I am honestly slightly nervous to walk home with this much money in my pocket." She hesitated for a moment before she poured them onto the desk and gathered the agreed sum onto her hand and pushed the rest of them towards you.
"Now, off you pop. You have work tomorrow, you don't want to be sleepy in front of your sweetheart, now would we?"
"There is..." You trailed off, deciding that arguing with her was a fool's errand. And a bit of a lie, too.

A piece I finished in one sitting after the idea just dropped into my mind out of nowhere when I was writing something else.

Oh lord, I am finally BACK! Life has been crazy to put it lightly but I was so bored in one of my biology classes that I started writing, and I had completely forgotten how much fun it is! 

This is an old piece, and I am working on finishing the ones I was working on before I went on my prolonged break. I have a few finished ones that I have forgotten to post, so there will be at least four new oneshots coming on my regular posting schedule (on odd dates of the month, starting today), and I hopefully am able to finish more while I post the ones I have ready now.