An Even Fifteen (Fili x reader)

(13) Practical Gifts and Dragon Sickness

You woke roughly to shouting that traveled down the hall.

"Come along, lads," Dwalin bellowed. "You'll not get any prettier sleeping the day away!"

You chuckled and sat up on the lumpy mattress. These dwarves had such an odd sense of humor. The Rhosgobels stirred on the floor, and Bren and Cricket hopped over to you, sticking their wiggling noses in your face. Laughing, you bid them good morning and stood, pulling Fili's cloak closely around your shoulders. The room was dark and cold, the fire from last night long dead. You still wore your long green robes, but they were stiff with dirt and grime, and the hems were shorter than they had been the day before, having been abused for the sake of bandaging burn wounds. They certainly did not smell any better than they felt, either. Perhaps there would be clothes here you could change into, leftover from Erebor's former days of glory.

You opened the door of your room, welcoming the sight of the bright torches. It was only a smidge warmer in the hall than it was in your room, so you kept Fili's cloak about your shoulders. You closed the door of your room behind you, careful to avoid pinching the curious noses of the rabbits. They were safer where you could not lose them in the maze of these halls.

You followed the sound of dwarvish chatter to the kitchen, where most of the company sat at the tables eating a hearty breakfast.

"Good morning, Y/N!" Bilbo waved at you as he set down a pan of fresh muffins. "How did you sleep?"

You smiled at the friendly little hobbit. "Fine. I am hungry, though. Those smell delicious!"

Bilbo grinned and offered you one, about to ask something else when Kili said, loudly and quite distinctly, "So that's where your cloak went, Fee. No wonder you stole my blankets last night."

The dwarves turned to look at you with wide eyes, then burst into guffaws as your face turned bright red. Fili scowled at his brother and elbowed him in the gut. Kili smirked, apparently pleased with himself.

You swept the cloak off your shoulders and offered it to Fili. "You should take it back," you said, trying to keep your voice even, "if they're going to give you a hard time about it."

Fili looked a mixture of shocked and abashed. "No, no. It was a gift. You still don't have a cloak of your own, and the winters here are brutal. Keep it."

One of the dwarves laughed and said something in their language that you still did not understand. Anger made you foolish, and you shoved the cloak at Fili and walked out of the kitchen with a crumbling muffin still warm in your hand. You had no idea where you were going, but you had to get away from your companions. No matter that Fili's offer was surely nothing more than kindness, no matter that you missed its weight on your shoulders and his smell in your nose. No matter that shivers already crept across your skin as you strode briskly down the halls. You didn't know how to deal with the dwarves' insolence; you'd never been teased before. Not even in good fun. It was not something wizards often did, and the forest creatures certainly did no teasing.

"Y/N!" Fili shouted, his voice echoing in the halls. "Wait!"

You slowed just barely, letting Fili catch up to you. You stopped when he put a hand on your sleeve, keeping your gaze locked on the ground in front of you.

Fili huffed. "My brother is an idiot. And the others, too. They're tactless at best." His hand slipped from your arm when you did not respond. "And if they think a practical gift like a cloak so laughable, they've got another thing coming." He held the cloak out to you firmly.

"I don't want them to tease you," you said quietly. You didn't want the attention, either, but you couldn't bring yourself to say that.