The Fifteenth Member (Thorin Oakenshield/OFC)

Chapter 18

A/N: Since I'm going on a trip this weekend and I'm not sure if I'll have wi-fi on Saturday, here's a chapter now and I'll try my best to update sometime this weekend as well.

Just as Thorin promised, it was only a couple minutes walk to the pond. A person who wasn't looking for it probably wouldn't have found it, it was well hidden behind the dense trees. Thorin laid me down on the soft grass and I instantly sat up.


"Turn around."


"Why?"

"Because I'm going to get undressed."


"I thought you didn't need to."


"But I want to. It's no good putting dirty clothes on a clean body is it?"


"I suppose not. Do you want me to wash them for you?"


"You would do that for me?"


"Absolutely! What kind of One would I be if I didn't help you out when you were hurt?"


"Not a very good one." I smirked.


"Exactly." Thorin turned his back and I wasted no time stripping. I slid silently into the water and waited to see what he would do. Thorin waited for a few minutes before he turned around. Only to find an empty clearing and water so still it looked like glass.

"Mereniver?" He sounded worried, "Where are you? This is no time for playing jokes! You'll hurt yourself!" I did my best not to laugh. I was laying on the bottom of the pond, breathing slowly and steadily. I could see him looking around for me, although his image was distorted a bit I could still make out his worried face. I sighed, it would be unfair to prolong the prank.  I slapped my tail on the floor, causing dust to rise. I did this several times until the pond was one big dust cloud. I heard a big splash at one end of the pool so I swam to the other, being careful to stay along the bottom. Suddenly, something grabbed my shoulders and hoisted me above the surface. I came face to face with a very annoyed Thorin.


"What in Durin's name were you thinking?!"


"That was for scarring me. Don't ever do that again!"


"Same to you." He shot back , "I thought you were drowning!"


"And I thought you were gone!" I whispered, "I'm sure you heard about my tears. That's how much you hurt me." His eyes widened and his jaw dropped a bit. For a few seconds, he didn't say anything, he just looked at me.


"Oh Mereniver." He pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me, "I'm so sorry." I didn't trust my voice to reply so I just hugged him, crushed my upper body against his. I buried my face in his neck and tried to relax, my body trembled with every breath. Thorin didn't say anything, he just held me close to him, combing his fingers through my hair and massaging my scalp. I could feel his pulse against my face, strong and steady. I opened my eyes and saw that most of his clothes were next to mine. I deliberately brushed my tail against his legs and, to my relief, found that he still had pants on.

You need to know that I won't make you do anything you don't want to until you're ready.

I know.  I trust you.

Have you ever.....

No

Ok

What?

No, nothing

Thorin....

We don't have to unless you want to.  I will not force myself upon you. I didn't reply.  I just moved in to kiss him and wrapped my tail around his legs.  The kiss did not last long but it still left me breathless.  He tried to back up but I tightened my tail, making him fall backwards.  Thorin panicked at first but once he realized he could breath, he relaxed and pushed for the surface.  As soon as we did, I burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"The look on your face!" I snickered.  He gave me a rare smile and climbed out.

"I'll wash your clothes.  Take as long as you need."

"Ok, thank you Thorin."

"Anything for you."  I turned my mind to the task of washing out my long hair.  The water had certainly washed out the dirt but it was the tangles that were giving me trouble.  It did not take long for Thorin to finish with my clothes.  I took this as my cue to go to the edge and reach for Thorin, who grabbed my hands and pulled me half out onto the grass.  Once there, he sat down and pulled me into his lap and began to run a comb through my wet locks.  We sat there in comfortable silence, merely enjoying each other's company.

We were so enamored with each other that we didn't notice how much time had passed.

"Uncle!" Fili came running down the hill with Kili close behind.  They stopped short when they saw us and turned bright red.

"Sorry Uncle, it's just that you've been gone for a while, the sun has set, and we don't know when the orcs will catch up...."

"It's ok, you had every right to worry." Thorin replied, completely calm, "We will be right there."   The brothers nodded, turned around, and ran back the way they came, giggling.

"We'd better get back."

"Yeah." I moved to dry my tail but he stopped me.

"I'm carrying you, remember?" I blushed.

"Thorin, as soon as my tail goes away, I'll be butt naked!"  Thorin turned pink at that and turned around.  Laughing to myself, I dried my tail and got dressed in my freshly dried clothes.

"Ok, you can turn around now."  Since I had been forced to stand up while getting dressed, I moved to sit back down to make picking me up easier.  I was a bit taller than him, but not by much, he was a very tall dwarf.

Before I could sit, however, Thorin swept me off my feet, pulling a squeal from my lips.  Thorin grinned at me.

"I love it when you do that."  I blushed and smacked his bare chest gently.  He just chuckled, causing me to freeze up when I felt the vibrations originating from his chest hit my body.

"Mereniver!  Are you alright?"

"I'm more than alright.  Are we going back or are you just going to stand here?"  Without another word, Thorin turned around and carried me back to the camp.  We got some curious stares when Thorin put me down by the fire but he ignored them.

"So," Dwalin said with a smirk, "You two certainly took your time."

"Yes, I washed her clothes and combed her hair for her."

"Oh, and are you two sure you didn't do anything else?" He made a kissy face.

"DWALIN!" Thorin half-shouted as a blush crept up his face.  I could tell he wasn't that  offended, from what I had seen before, the two of them were like brothers and it was just a bit of teasing.

"Thorin."

"Yes love?"

"Stay with me tonight?  I'm cold."

"Of course."  With that, he laid down next to me and pulled his bedroll over us like a blanket.  Sighing with content, I put my arms around him and left sleep take over.

So there you go, not much happened this time, it was pretty much all fluff. I'll update on Saturday if I can.