One That Got Away

Chapter 15

After that, everyone was eager to move. David picked the house closest to his mom and they decided to hire a reliable lawyer to clear her name with the FBI. They got a bunch of boxes and started packing. The Boys helped the Twins and Thorin helped Mara carefully pack up her belongings, since her hand was in a cast for a month. She sat on the bed watching and talking about how great the new house was as he sat cross legged on the floor, wrapping trinkets from her shelves. A crystal unicorn her father brought from England. A hand carved troll from Japan she called an Oni. A shot glass with the word 'LMFAO' written on it in purple pen. All wrapped and placed into a box on a layer of t-shirts and the odd stuffed animal.

It was a Friday when they finished. Everything was packed up and they all sat on the beanbags from the rec room, panting slightly and drinking soda from old style glass bottles. Kili adored Fanta and had tried, unsuccessfully, to recreate it using oranges, a tea kettle and sugar. The Twins sat side by side, watching the room in mild shock, the white walls usually hidden by bookcases and pictures. The Boys were chatting about the new house and Andy was in the kitchen getting out food for their last meal in the house. David was looking through a box of books as if it was his life's mission.

Thorin was leaning on a beanbag and Mara had her head in his lap. He was fiddling with her hair as usual and listening to her hum about giants in the sky. Andy walked in with a plate of oddly shaped things that smelled of meat and stew.

"What are those?" Kili asked in excitement, on his third bottle of soda already.

"They're called pizza rolls, Ki," Mara said sitting up. Thorin almost dragged her back into his lap before remembering David might kill him. "Be careful, they're hot," she warned grabbing one. Everyone took one and Andy sat on a step stool. Her hair was tied up in a bandana and she had on capris and a white polka dot button down. The Twins were in the usual black and white and Kili and Fili had convinced Mara to buy them some graphic t-shirts. Thorin was in a plain blue shirt and David was in his usual jeans and muscles shirt. Mara called it hipster chic. David called her an ass.

Suddenly, David let out a whoop of victory

"FOUND IT!"

"What your dignity?" asked Mara causally and the Twins snickered and Kili almost snorted his soda across the room.

"No, your favorite book," he smirked and sat down beside Andy who peered over his shoulder. The book was small and leather bound, the pages slightly yellowed and a gold ribbon hung from the base of the spine. David gave Mara a wicked grin and began to read. "'In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.'," he began and Mara flushed pink and glanced at Thorin guilty. He shrugged, unsure where this was leading.

"'Not a nasty, dirty wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a bare dry sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat,'" Andy said, reading over David's shoulder.

"It was a hobbit-hole," Tom said looking at the ceiling as Ben took up the words

"And that means-"

"Comfort," they all said and Mara kicked at David's leg angrily.

"Put that thing away," she begged but he just smirked and kept going as Kili and Fili listened intently. Mara hid her face in Thorin's shirt and groaned softly as David kept reading, describing Bag-End and Hobbits and the the morning Bilbo met Gandalf. Thorin found it quite quaint. He wasn't wrong but he couldn't understand why David seemed so unbearably smug about it. Mara had already told them as much the night they met her.

"'Yes come tomorow! Good morning!'" David said in a squeaky voice and the Boys roared with laughter.

"Okay. You've made you point, David," Mara said in agony and kicked at him again. David closed the book with a smile.