Star-Crossed

Chapter 44

"I kissed her." Kili's jaw dropped.

"You what?"

"Have you a hearing problem?" Thorin asked jokingly.

"No, it just... just..."

"Just what?" The young dwarf couldn't hide his grin. He felt like a child again, the same way he felt when Fili had come home late that evening, telling Kili of his first kiss. It was a funny feeling, both uncomfortable and exciting at the same time.

"Does that mean that, you know, you two are, well, you again?" Thorin drew back his arrow, smirking a bit at the question.

He'd found Kili here, alone, taking advantage of the training fields. They'd started up the conversation casually, Kili simply wanting to get out of the dark. But what it led to was much less expected.

Kili, Fili, and Balin had spoken that morning after breakfast, Dwalin refusing to join in, not wanting to incite a war between the two of them. At this point, Balin didn't care, he had to know, and the least suspicious technique would be to have the brothers, their nephews, do it.

"With time..." Thorin explained. "I hope that we will be able to mend the damage." Kili strung his bow, taking aim. "I hurt her, Kili." Thorin said sadly. "There is one person in this entire world that has the heart to love me for everything that I am, and I hurt her to the point of losing her." Kili paused, releasing his pull on the string of his bow. "If there is any good to come of that, it is that, hopefully, you and Fili will not make that mistake. Because you don't know what you have until it's gone. And when it's gone, oh Mahal how it hurts." There was a moment of silence between them, Kili stared at the ground, Thorin glaring down the field towards the targets. "I'm just lucky enough to have gotten it back, her back, Beuren, my One." A smile twitched at Kili's face, he looked up at his Uncle. Then drawing back his arrow, he let it fly, bulls eye.

The ride back was not as fun as it had been that morning. The rain poured down in a violent torrent. They galloped over the slick muddy trail, hearts skipping several beats when the horse lost his footing on a steep slope. It took almost half the time to get back; they'd gone a different way, a trickier path, more dangerous than the first. When they reached the bottom they were drenched to the bone, and hustling to the stables. The two were met half way by an Elf who took the horse. Buren led Fili through the city back to her quarters.

They burst through the door, dripping wet and shivering. Beuren closed the door, struggling out of her boots and slipping on the wet floor. She landed with a thud on her rear. Instinctively Fili started laughing, and then she followed, leaning against the door, shoulders shaking.

"You both are drenched! Come now, get in here and get changed before you catch a cold!" Balin said, helping Beuren to her feet. They paced to the kitchen, everyone was gathered there, sitting around the dining room table talking. Kili and Fili's eyes met, both smiled a knowing smile and then turned back to what they were doing. Beuren raced up the stairs, hurrying to her room.

There was a knock on the door while she was peeling out of her wet clothes; she opened the door, clutching a towel to her chest. Balin slipped inside, closing the door behind him.

"Tell me it's true." He said, turning to her.

"What?"

"You and Thorin, tell me it's true." He said desperation in his voice she'd never heard.

"Aye, but I don't understand-"

"Oh thank Mahal!" Balin sighed, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "I was gettin' real tired of your shit." A grin spread on Beuren's features, a laugh escaping her lips. She picked out her clothes, a too big shirt and a pair of fitted leggings, and then stepped behind her changing screen.