Thorin O. @kingunderthestreetlights - Tumblr Blog

Long Overdue || Bofur & Thorin [backdated may 2nd]

It was as if the shock from Thorin’s reveal made Bofur focus. He looked at Thorin with more heat in his eyes than he had had for this entire conversation. “Did you really expect me to do nothing? She killed my son.” He wiped his face free of stray tears images of Katja’s body flashed before his eyes. “I don’t regret it. And I understand why Kili did what he did and I know this isn’t making the situation better. But I know how it feels to lose the most important thing in your life and the only thing that matters to me is that he didn’t have to feel what I’ve felt for ten years.” Bofur sat down in front of Thorin once again and leaned forward with a pained expression. “I don’t know how to make this right,” he said. “I’m so sorry, for betraying you, Thorin. But Kili is the best thing that’s happened since Bonin died. I know you don’t want to hear this but I can’t let him go.” He wondered where all these words came from. They hadn’t spoken this much to each other in the last 20 years combined. But Bofur found it hard to stop. “I don’t know what to do, Thorin.”

"Give me another assignment if you want. You can still use my shop to get the merchandise into the country. Or, hell, kick me out. You want me to quit? I’ll quit. I won’t kill for you anymore. But I can’t… Kili… I can’t.” Bofur wasn’t even sure he was making any sense, if it mattered at all but he had to make Thorin understand. “Fuck, I know that I am in no position to bargain here, I fucked up, I could have handled it better. But he is the only one that doesn’t look at me like you do. Like they all do once they find out what I am.” He gave out a loud sigh to compose himself but he couldn’t find it in him to stop. He needed to make Thorin see. “I… Fuck… I love him, Thorin. And he loves me.” Yet again the words came out of his mouth and he didn’t know when it got so easy to say. But they fell off the tip of his tongue like they were made for him years ago.

kingunderthestreetlights

He snorted, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at the question. “Of course not. I had people looking for her as soon as I heard.” His jaw clenched, the sheer naivete of the statement proving what a horrible situation they were in. Kili wasn’t going to be the responsible one, he knew his nephew well enough for that, and currently it didn’t look like Bofur was either. “Craving revenge is vastly different from getting it. Do you think he will ever recover from this? It cannot be undone, and it will only get worse from here on out. You should know. Revenge is a dangerous game, and there are no winners.” Huffing, he rose from his seat almost as soon as Bofur sat down, walking towards the window at the back of his office with hardened features. His fingers tapped against the glass, not caring if they left marks on the otherwise clean surface, and he allowed himself a moment to consider his next words, keeping Bofur in suspense. “You know what you SHOULD do. Don’t insult me by asking for advice you will ignore. You have already made up your mind.”

His hand left the glass and went to his hair, fingers tangling in the short cut. He didn’t turn around, there was no need, his voice was threatening enough when he said, “Family is everything. I care so very little about what you do, but if you think I will let you corrupt my nephew and drag him down with you when your actions finally catch up with you, I have been too lenient in the past.” Finally turning around, he leaned lightly against the glass with his arms crossed, and just looked at Bofur for a moment, just took it all in. He looked pitiful, and for a split second it was hard to imagine that the man in front of him was a trained killer who had done things that made even Thorin shudder- and he was no innocent himself. Looks could be deceiving, and in this instance they were. He couldn’t let it affect his decision. “I assume you will continue to take him with you on your assignments?” He huffed, tiredly shaking his head. There was no point pretending, him knowing the truth would change nothing, so he said, “I would kill you right now if I thought he would forgive me. And I would make it quick and painless because we are vastly different people, but you know as well as I do that this is not an option. So here is what I WILL do.” He walked back towards the table, stepping around it until he was standing right behind Bofur, a heavy hand falling on his shoulder as he leaned forward and whispered tonelessly in his ear, “I will wait. I will wait until he stops caring, until you do something unforgivable, and I promise you, the moment he ‘looks at you like I do’, I will be there. And the problem will disappear, as problems have a habit of doing.”

#amakeroftoys #v:ny mafia au #p:long overdue

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Long Overdue || Bofur & Thorin [backdated may 2nd]

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The question felt like a slap in the face. All the air left his lungs with a loud whoosh and if Bofur had been standing up his knees would have buckled. “Don’t,” he choked out and hated himself for the way his voice cracked. He felt salt line up in his eyes and he bent forward to hide his face in his hands. He had known Thorin would fight dirty, but to bring up Bonin was low. He rubbed his eyes until they hurt and felt the wetness on his fingertips. Bonin’s lifeless body burned on the back of his eyelids like a permanent tattoo and he rubbed harder. He took a deep breath and raised his head. Red eyes and slight quivering lip, but with defiance in his eyes to mask the pain as he prepared himself for what was to come. And the blows kept coming. Thorin had enough things on him to put him on death row five times over and he seemed to bring up every bit of it now.

"It was self defense," he whispered and all of a sudden he was 17 all over again. His shoulders slumped when Thorin expressed his disappointment and he wondered how he still had this much power over him. "You might have seen what I was, but you were the one who made me into what I am. I didn’t have to turn out like this." He rubbed his chest lightly as he felt the loss of something he hadn’t known was there He had never been close to Thorin, The older man knew all too well that Bofur was dangerous. "I looked up to you, you know. Thorin Oakenshield, rich, popular. You had everything I wanted." He rarely talked about his childhood, still not comfortable with sharing details about his past. But he knew Thorin knew the way he had grown up. "I always knew I wasn’t going to be something great. I knew that I had very limited options in life and the blue mountains were one of them." He paused and looked at Thorin thoughtfully. "Didn’t really happen the way I had planned though."

"I don’t, I don’t blame you,” Bofur said and got out of his chair. He paced back and forth and rubbed his mouth thoughtfully. “I know that you acted as you thought was best. Even if it meant making a killer out of a kid.” He huffed loudly and scratched his head. “Kili is not a prize, Thorin. He means… everything to me. Do you think I planned this? That I woke up one day and decided that Kili would be mine?” He turned around so that the anger on his face wouldn’t show. Thorin opened his mouth once again and what he said made Bofur stop dead in his tracks. He turned his head slowly, mind spinning. “What did you say?” he whispered in shock. There was no way Thorin could know. Bofur had been careful, there had been no trace of her anywhere. He had kept his mouth shut, cause things like that had a way of turning bad. He didn’t even hear anything else Thorin said, only heard the accusation and the certainty in his voice. Bofur felt sick.

kingunderthestreetlights

Thorin watched him with forced detachment, registering the reactions but neither appreciating nor regretting them. He didn’t have the luxury of being able to empathise if he wanted to get results, and right now his nephew was more important than anything he might have felt at the sight and knowledge of the pain he had caused. His mind wandered briefly into the past, and for a moment he was a 23 year old boy who’d been born with more responsibilities on his shoulders than most people ever achieved in their entire lives, witnessing someone else’s change forever in a manner of seconds. He’d thought he’d done the right thing protecting Bofur from the ugly reality of the law, giving him a shot at a ‘normal’ life as far as that was possible after what he’d done, but now he wasn’t sure. Perhaps he should have turned him in back then, make him turn himself in, let him bide his time and maybe rejoin society as a former convict, struggling but redeemed. Maybe he should have killed him after, when he realised what Bofur was capable of, that the accident had awakened something in him Thorin had seen many times before, was eerily familiar with, but he hadn’t. He’d done none of these things and now here they were, talking semantics while they subtly shifted the blame between each other. It was a game both of them would lose, Thorin knew, because neither of them was free of guilt, and any pretence of the opposite was pointless.

“The miscalculation of a foolish child who knew nothing of necessary sacrifices,” Thorin said darkly, reclining in his chair with hardened features, “I would be wiser than to repeat this mistake now, but back then I knew no better than to help someone if I could. Childish and naive, but I was young and lacked experience.” He snorted, shaking his head with a pitiful smile on his lips, and regarded Bofur with a disbelieving look. “Is that what you thought? That I had it all? When I was five, I saw my grandfather put a bullet through his best friend’s head. When I was six, I was taking shooting lessons from a man I had seen bend someone’s fingers until he was begging for a quick death. When I was twelve I knew about all the ways to make someone talk. I killed my first man when I was fourteen, and it never stopped. You looked up to me?” He chuckled, cold and humorlessly, tapping his fingers slowly against the table. “Money isn’t everything. I lost my family trying to protect them. I have all the money in the world and it is worthless. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression this was a life to be desired, but my responsibility only reaches so far.”

Thorin watched him get up and pace, smothering the rising annoyance at his words, not bothering to justify himself. If Bofur thought blaming his urges on his guidance was going to help, he wasn’t going to stop him, but the truth painted an uglier picture than the hitman wanted to admit, and nothing would change that. He watched his every reaction, saw him realise the implications of his words, and he almost experienced a certain amount of grim satisfaction at the horror his body betrayed. “So it is true then? I assumed, but then we never found the body. Telling enough, I suppose. Would you blame this on me too or can we stop pretending we are each of us saints dealing with the devil?”

#amakeroftoys #v:ny mafia au #p:long overdue

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Long Overdue || Bofur & Thorin [backdated may 2nd]

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Bofur sat down in the chair, feeling slightly like he had been sent to the principle’s office for bad behaviour. He chuckled slightly under his breath when he realised he kinda had been. He sat straight in the chair in favour of slouching and looked at Thorin head on. He knew the things at stake and knew that, even though he probably knew all likely outcomes to this meeting, Thorin was still hoping for Bofur to fuck up somehow.

Thorin started talking, threat obvious in his calm voice and Bofur could see that he was following every movement he made. Every breath, every twitch, just looking for a reason to end his life. He knew he shouldn’t react, but somehow Bofur couldn’t help the anger that seeped through his veins the more Thorin spoke. “I’m gonna tell you what I told Fili,” he said as calmly as possible. “If Kili wants to end things, that’s his decision. I’m not going to treat him like the child you seem to think he is. He’s capable of making his own decisions.” Thorin continued on his well rehearsed monologue and Bofur felt his fingers twitch and he snorted out loud in dismay. “My hobbies? Thorin you gave me the job. You taught me how to do it. Every person I’ve killed has been with the base of what you taught me.” He raised his eyebrows with a tight smile on his face. “What would you rather have him do? Kill someone unsupervised and get caught because he didn’t know how to clean up the evidence?”

His chest was heaving up and down with each breath he took and his hands were gripping the armrests of his chair. He had tried not to get worked up, but he was tired of defending himself to people that would never be alright with him and Kili. “Repay you, Thorin? I know you’ve given me a lot, and I owe you my life for that but…” He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to calm himself. “It’s not enough… Kili is. He’s… made things different. Makes me think differently, act different. I’m different. And if you think that I approved or gave him permission to do what he did to Erik and Kev you are mistaken. I never would have let him do something so reckless. But what did you expect? His brother had been kidnapped and tortured. He wasn’t just gonna let that go.”

He took a deep breath after his long monologue and closed his eyes so tight that it hurt. “Those are all reasons why. But most of all,” he said and looked at Throin with steely eyes, “because Kili will never forgive you if you do.”

kingunderthestreetlights

Thorin snorted, eyebrow rising skeptically at the thought. “Decisions such as following a trained killer on his assignments?” He shook his head, a hand shooting up to tiredly rub his forehead. His anger had left him at the mention of Kili, and what was left was a sense of dejection and disappointment. “I know he’s not a child. He stopped being one a very long time ago, longer than even he thinks. But there is a difference between underestimating someone and protecting them. Is this what you’d want for your son?” He waited, taking in every reaction, and made sure his words had the desired effect. He knew it was harsh, he’d been there when Bonin had died, and truthfully, Bofur hadn’t been the only one who had been shaken at the events, but this was important. Important enough to open old wounds, because he hadn’t just said it to hurt him, Kili WAS like a son to him, and he’d never wanted him to live this life. Fili had been bound to it by birthright, just as Thorin had, but Kili had been offered a way out, and he couldn’t deny he’d hoped his youngest nephew would follow in his brother’s footsteps and leave the family business behind. Not in his wildest dreams would he have considered Kili to jump at the chance to join them, especially not like this, but here he was, facing a worst case scenario like no other.

He listened to the silence for a moment, letting Bofur’s words fill the room until it felt ready to burst and he said quietly, “EVERY person?” He didn’t say more, there was no need. They both knew how Bofur had come to work for him in the first place, and Thorin would have laughed at the justification for dragging Kili down this path too if it hadn’t been so supremely unfunny. “I remember a scared kid in an alley who didn’t know what to do. I was barely more than a child myself at the time, so perhaps I made a mistake helping you. I knew what you were back then and I know it now, and I will pretend you didn’t compare my nephew to yourself for the sake of our shared past.” Thorin had tried to keep his distance for the most part in recent years, but there had been better times, and Bofur was right; he HAD taught him how to do it. In many ways they were brothers, and that only made it worse. This was not a soldier stepping out of line, it was a friend who had betrayed him. Neither and both, and he didn’t know what kind of punishment was suitable for the offence at hand. A part of him wanted to strangle him with his bare hands, another would have just as well blown a hole in his head, but neither of those were options. He needed to remove himself from the situation and look at it strategically.

“So you blame me still?” He huffed, unsurprised but no less hurt, and crossed his arms in front of his chest with a challenging look in his eyes. “And as recompense you want my nephew? Is this the price I have to pay for not killing you when I had the chance? Would you like Fili also, or is one enough?” He snorted, putting both hands on the table, and leaned forward when he growled, “You knew he wanted revenge and enabled him. You could have stopped him; you didn’t. That IS giving permission.” He hesitated, not eager to discuss it, but it had to be said and it might as well be now, “What did getting revenge do for you? What did it do TO you? To him? This is a dangerous game, and Kili isn’t aware of it. He doesn’t understand what’s at stake. It changed him, and I doubt he even realised it.”

He smiled slightly, stapling his fingers in front of him and said simply, “I know. Which would be why I wasn’t waiting with a loaded gun, but circumstances change.”

#amakeroftoys #v:ny mafia au #p:long overdue

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Long Overdue || Bofur & Thorin [backdated may 2nd]

Bofur stepped into the elevator with a heavy sigh. He pressed the button the would lead him to the top floor and hummed quietly as the doors closed. He fumbled with the buttons on his suit and picked at imaginary dust. Thorin had told him once or twice before to wear ‘something that doesn’t come out of a catalog’ to not draw suspicion and ever since Bofur had. The suits he was wearing though made him look more like a part of the mafia than he ever did. Bofur suspected it was the shoes he had to match. He only wore the suit to piss Thorin off.

The doors slid open and Bofur stepped out. He was immediately met with Janice’s, Thorin’s assistant, charming smile. “Mr Fodurson,” she said politely, “haven’t seen you around in a while.” Bofur walked up to her desk, took her hand and kissed it gracefully. “Well, you know Thorin,” he replied, “He wants me as far away as possible.”

"I know," Janice winked and jerked her head toward Thorin’s door. "He’s waiting." Bofur laughed quietly and pulled up a chair in front of her. "Yeah, I know. But it was such a long time since I last saw you, I wanna know what’s been going on in your life." In reality he wanted to make Thorin wait a little longer than he wanted to. He made small talk with Janice for a couple of minutes before he decided that he had dragged out time just long enough.

"Well, Janice," he said and got up from his chair, "Time to face the music I’m afraid, though it’s been very lovely to catch up with you again." He walked up to the door and opened without knocking. "I’m here, as requested!"

kingunderthestreetlights

Thorin didn’t look up when the door opened, and he all but ignored Bofur until he had finished reading the documents, stacking them neatly in front of him a moment later. He slowly turned towards his hitman, nodding at the seat in front of his table. “Sit.” His voice was calm and collected as always, perhaps a bit cooler than usual, and he didn’t bother getting up. His father had done it, tried to intimidate his opponent with size, but Thorin had learnt very quickly that fear was not the same as respect, and he knew he had no need for it. The matter at hand was of grave importance, but the truth was, Thorin was aware of most of the factors, had calculated several possible outcomes, and none of them were to his liking. He also assumed Bofur had come to the same conclusion, or if he had not, he would shortly, and there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

“I understand you are consorting with my nephew,” he said slowly, voice deliberately aloof, and met Bofur’s eyes with an icy look in his own, “I want you to stop.” He dropped the pen he had still been holding, reclining until he was comfortably leaning against the backrest, and folded his hands on the table, business persona gone. This wasn’t a matter of disobedience, this was personal. An attack on his family was an attack on himself, and whether Bofur realised it or not, that was exactly what he had done when he had dragged his youngest nephew down with him. “I was very patient in the past- this will stop. I allowed you your hobbies, I gave you free reign over the specifics of your job, and this is how you repay me? Should I believe you did not know it was him? You did. And yet you took him with you on your… errands. Let him see those things and PARTICIPATE.” He didn’t move an inch, but his voice revealed his burning anger, still quiet but no less forceful. “I have seen the things he did under your supervision. Should I dig deeper? How many did he have a hand in? Is what he did to Knight’s men the worst I will find?” He leaned forward, dropping every pretence of professionalism and growled almost inaudibly, “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you right now.”

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Text || Thorin & Bofur [May 2nd]

Thorin: My office. Now.

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text || Thorin and Dwalin

Dwalin: I think I'm going to over to Hawaii.

Dwalin: To where Dis, is.

Dwalin: I'm not sure she'll be coming back for a while...but I think that's a conversation that / you / should have with her.

Thorin: Hardly what I expected. One might assume she would want to see her son.

Thorin: I won't stop you. I couldn't if I wanted to. Do what you must.

Thorin: I will deal with my sister how I see fit. Don't get involved.

#iamthebattlehardened #v:ny mafia au

Text || Thorin & Dwalin

Dwalin: Indeed.

Dwalin: I'm on my way to the hospital. I'll bring food.

Dwalin: [Unsent] I'm sorry I couldn't be there for him. It's hard enough when I'm trying to get eyes on / you /.

Dwalin: [Unsent] Still blame me for caring for your sister, do you?

Thorin: Stubborn as always.

Thorin: There are more important things than my health at stake. I don't have the time to take a break.

Thorin: I'd rather you keep an eye on Dis when she gets back than force-feed me.

#iamthebattlehardened #v:ny mafia au

text || Dis & Thorin

Dis: You’re an asshole.

Thorin: I didn't want to worry you.

Thorin: He's in the hospital now. He'll be fine.

#herundyinglove #v:ny mafia au

Text || Thorin & Dwalin

Dwalin: Stressed and overworked, as usual.

Dwalin: Have you remembered to eat today?

Thorin: Of course. My nephew was kidnapped, I would argue that's a good enough excuse.

Thorin: I believe you know the answer to that. I haven't laid down the phone since I got the news. There will be time for things like that later.

#iamthebattlehardened #v:ny mafia au

Text || Thorin & Dwalin

Dwalin: I see.

Dwalin: Of course. On my way.

Dwalin: How are you, Thorin...?

Thorin: Good.

[delayed]

Thorin: How do you think?

#iamthebattlehardened #v:ny mafia au

Text || Thorin & Dwalin

Dwalin: Of course he is.

Dwalin: Is he alright?

Dwalin: [Unsent] Are / you / alright?

Thorin: No. But he will be.

[delayed]

Thorin: Ithilien Hospital. The others should be there by now.

#iamthebattlehardened #v:ny mafia au

Text || Thorin & Dwalin

Thorin: Fili is back.

#iamthebattlehardened #v:ny mafia au

Text || Thorin & Thria

Thria: I'm sorry I was difficult through this.

Thria: I'm more scared for him. And Kili in return. Not because of stupid goons, we have half an army here.

Thria: I don't know. I'm being stupid, ignore me. Just get over here.

Thorin: You were not. You were distressed - understandably so I would say - but not difficult.

Thorin: Fili is stronger than he thinks. He can take it. It won't be enjoyable, but he can take it. Kili... Time will tell.

Thorin: Never that. But I'm on my way.

#inadeadlyfashion #v:ny mafia au

Text || Thorin & Thria

Thria: Don't do that. Fuck, if nothing else I want you here because I'm still scared as hell.

Thria: Business can wait five minutes. You can have that long with your nephew.

[delayed]

Thorin: I can never deny you anything.

Thorin: I will be there shortly, but you have to know there is nothing to be scared of. I have a dozen of my men positioned around the perimeter. Nothing gets in or out of that hospital without us knowing.

#inadeadlyfashion #v:ny mafia au