Lotr and Hobbit One-Shots/Multi-Parters and Incorrect Quotes.
@soyeahitsmiddleearth
Ao3: Soyeahthishappened Ko-Fi: Kofi Main Account: Invisiblewaterlily Master List I accept requests through asks, DM's, and comments on my AO3! All of these oneshots (and more) are posted in my oneshot book 'A Collection of Middle-Earths Best'.. Hope you enjoy. :)
but I accidentally posted it privately and it disappeared, so I’ll do it here since I didn’t catch the username. Sorry!
C: What member do you identify with most? Honestly, I feel like it’s a draw up between The Hobbit Bilbo and maybe Eowyn. Bilbo because he is a sassy King and loves the comforts of home, reading, and food, and Eowyn because she’s loyal and hates being told what she can and can’t do. Idk, that’s just me. Maybe there’s characters that I come across as more similar to to you guys haha
I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)? Guilty pleasure? Um, probably the cliche hurt/comfort stuff and confessions and fluff that come from near death experiences. It’s kinda cringe ngl, but I love it so much. It makes me feel better sometimes, especially in times like now when I’m constantly stressed, flooded with work and unable to write, and just all around tired lol
K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with? The angstiest idea I’ve ever come up with has to be murdering the MC/Reader after a long series to completely crush your souls and mine as well. I’ve thought about it, considered it, though I don’t know if I have the guts to do it lmao. I’ve also thought about a painful dying monologue between reader and any of the Durins following the events of the book/movies, though if it’s Fili we’re talking about then I have to follow book lore.
M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share? This question is worded slightly funny, but I’m assuming it’s asking if I’ve got any ideas of my own coming up. I’ve been considering making an Arwen/Reader because I’m so gay for Liv Tyler. It’s funny, I actually have a 20-30 long list of little ideas and phrases that have sparked inspiration in me. A little excerpt consists of:
Fighter reader challenges sexist: ----
Saving --- from getting beat
Elmer’s Glue: I know for a fact I can kick your ass
Killer Good Looks: funny stealing
Need help getting on horse
Prone to wandering off
Laying head on --- lap, hair playing
Book- starving can’t move
--- is a character name I blanked out to not spoil incase I make them. This is only a few of them too
B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience? God, I’ve written so many stories that this one is kind of hard to answer. The best thing I can think of off the top of my head is maybe “Perception” or “Unpleasant.” I’m a pretty small person but during one of my particularly bad depression episodes, I gained 30 pounds and felt absolutely awful about myself. Those feelings kind of spilled out onto the page while I wrote them out (though those were things I said to myself). On a happier note, Stuck is also something I created from personal experience, because I’ve got really curly long hair, and one time while I was walking around in a tree-y area my hair caught onto a low-hanging branch and when I tried to get it off I got even more stuck and ended up having to get help from my sister to get it out lol. My hair gets stuck in stuff all of the time and I’m also an expert in being clumsy so, yeah.
F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it. I haven’t bee particularly funny recently, but some of my older stuff I’m really proud of because I think it’s actually pretty funny. Specifically:
“He quickly begins to walk back inside, leaving Pippin behind, clearly annoyed, "I'll go take you to Gandalf, he'll know what to do."
---
"I have no idea what to do," Gandalf states decisively after the two hobbits go to him in search of assistance.”
From The Fellowship/Skin Changer!Reader: Ancestry pt. 4 on Ao3
and
"I've hidden them somewhere you'll never find them!" You yell, "You can tear this house apart brick by brick and you'll still never find them! I've put them somewhere so-"
"It's under that blanket, isn't it?" A blond guy with a braided mustache asks.
You take a pause and look over to exactly where he's talking about.
It's completely silent for about 30 seconds until you realize you should probably deny it."...No."
From The Company/Reader: Multi-Dimensional pt.1
I just think they’re pretty funny, idk, you may disagree.
G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? Okay I guess it’s pretty uncommon but I actually do write my stories in order start-to-finish. Sometimes I write a scene that I think would be better suited somewhere else or in a different fic on accident (I’ve got pages of stuff that I wrote for specific fics and ended up saving for later cause I didn’t like it in that one), but yeah I usually write from beginning to end in the order I intend it to be read in.
Q: How do you feel about collaborations? I’ve never done a collaboration before, and while I’m not 100% sure how it works for writing, I’m definitely open to doing some! I think it would be really cool to work with someone in creating a story, but again I don’t really know how it works haha
S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist? I absolutely LOVE the hair-braiding trope with the dwarfs and the whole ‘proposing with food’ thing with the hobbits. Some of my favorite things when reading a LOTR or Hobbit fanfic is also the cliche “shocking everyone who underestimated you” and “play fighting that turns into fluff/smut.” I’m a simple woman.
W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones? Honestly I don’t have a huge preference, but more specific prompts (in terms of preferred plot) make it slightly easier to write stuff. Though it’s a double-edge sword at the same time because when it’s too specific then I feel a little ‘trapped,’ for lack of a better word. Like, if an idea hits me but if it goes against the parameters of the request then I either have to scrap it, or adjust the request which (depending on the severity of the change) can make me feel slightly guilty.
Thanks for answering the post, I was really excited to answer some of the questions on there which is why I posted it! 😊
A: How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]?
B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?
C: What member do you identify with most?
D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with [insert fic]?
E: If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it be about?
F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.
G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?
H: How would you describe your style?
I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)?
J: Write or describe an alternative ending to [insert fic].
K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with?
L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?
M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?
N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you?
O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters?
P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?)
Q: How do you feel about collaborations?
R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?
S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?
T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?
U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.
V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?
W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones?
X: A character you enjoy making suffer.
Y: A character you want to protect.
Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?
{Reader gets sent from our world to middle earth and falls in love with either Fili/Kili/Thoron or heck maybe all three, I'll leave that up to you, and upon coming to middle earth they get the healing powers. All they gotta do is put their hands on the person and concentrate. BUT these healing abilities have a cost if the injury is severe. Maybe they either transfer the injury to themselves until it evens out between the two? Or it takes a lot of energy from them and if they use it too much they will die. Then Reader tries to heal Thorin/Kili/Fili at the end." --- Britishfajita}
Fluff and Slight Angst
Authors Note: This is the beginning of a wonderful three (or maybe more) part connected series! Same reader for all three of the Durin's who I plan to make this for. There may be multiple parts for them, idk yet. We'll just see what happens :D!
The Durins/Reader
----
You could have been so extraordinary in your past life.
Special, wanted, powerful.
And, to some extent, you were wanted and desired, but you could never deliver on those expectations and hopes.
Your special ability to heal, ease pain, and help others was never anything special where you lived. Many people had healing abilities similar to and better than yours, and most, if none, had the drawbacks that yours did.
Where normal healers can use their powerful auras to mend and strengthen others to accelerate the healing process, yours is much more of a give and take, parasitic relationship between 'doctor' and patient. Instead of your aura enhancing the healing ability of others, it instead participates in a transfer that can leave you wounded yourself.
You retain your ability to heal and, essentially, switch auras in a wound transferral. You do not always inherit the wounds of those you heal, however.
Depending on the severity of an injury, you may be left winded, tired, or extremely hungry, but in more serious instances, the damages completely transfer to you instead.
The best way to exemplify this would be to explain how you found out about this horrible symbiotic relationship in the first place.
Your parents knew you were a healer from a young age, for there are individuals who test all children in schools to determine what classes they will need to hone their abilities, and they figured out your ameliorative nature rather easily.
The fatigue and pain you sometimes felt during training and classes was just chalked up to your control and aura being weaker, for your parasitic power was something very uncommon at the time.
It happened during your first ever shift at the local hospital.
Up to this point you've only ever dealt with smaller wounds because of your easy fatigue and exhaustion, but this day was different.
A disaster struck a nearby bank that left 40 people, and counting, injured, and it was all hands on deck. Every person on staff had somethings to do, and when a young woman with debris sticking out of her abdomen came rolling in, you were the only one free to help at the time.
You took up the assignment without hesitation, but as soon as you began to heal her, something felt different.
There was no weakness at first, something very alien to you, and you were able to heal her in record time for even one of the most skilled (and normal) healers, only, you eventually realized that something wasn't right.
The pain you felt that day was horrible and unimaginable, and you went down in a matter of moments.
It wasn't until 5 minutes later that someone found you unconscious on the ground, pale and barely breathing. If it weren't for your current location, you certainly would've died that day.
That young woman had been saved and, somehow, her power had been enhanced as well after your treatment, but it left your aura damaged and practically sucking the life out of you following her miraculous recovery.
The whole premise of your power is the nature of give and take. You give a piece of your aura to someone else to heal and enhance them (be it their power, strength, wakefulness, or anything else), and in return you take a part of theirs and become weakened depending on how much you give, needing to rest and regenerate what you gave away in that moment. You can also heal yourself of your own, personally received wounds without incident, which is rather strange.
For most, there is a finite amount of their aura that they can ever have throughout the duration of their lives, but your supply is nearly endless. However, the more you spend healing or helping, the more you lose. You can regenerate your aura forever, but if you keep going without ceasing, then your life will eventually begin to drain too, to compensate for your loss.
It isn't an instant process, though, for it takes time for your body to catch up to how much of your power you spend, so you had to train really hard from that moment on to ensure that you never spend more than you've earned.
If it weren't for this fateful vice of yours, you'd probably be one of the most powerful healers in your world; the only limit to the wounds you may heal is your own aura and life force, and the amount of time it takes all depends on your concentration and intent.
Because of this, you became unwanted.
Unwanted in a sense that, people did want you to help them become stronger, but no organization or job wanted to hire such a liability, and those with such horrible vices are always subject to horrible criticism and scrutiny, so you eventually just stopped using your ability altogether.
It isn't until you fall into Middle Earth that you start to habitually use your powers again, and it's because of the life-threatening journey you're forced to join.
Here in Middle Earth, however, you're one of a kind.
There is healing magic and those gifted with the knowledge of higher level healing, but your ability to heal simply using your hands and mind is something totally unheard of.
The Company of Thorin Oakenshield were the poor unfortunate souls that you scared half to death on the day you arrived in Middle Earth.
You came, quite literally, out of nowhere.
One second you were washing the dishes in your house and the next you were unconscious in another world.
From their perspective you came falling out of a tall tree, nothing to break your fall other than the cold, unforgiving dirt below, and it successfully gave everyone a huge scare.
Your right arm seemed to have broken and you were horribly battered and bruised, and the dwarfs, hobbit, and lone wizard couldn't just leave you there.
They made camp for the night and made you as comfortable as possible, hoping above all else that you'll wake up at some point, and you eventually do. Though, it isn't a nice or very calm occurrence.
When you finally woke up to a new hat and 4 thick wool blankets smothering you, you freaked out.
At first, you thought someone had kidnapped you or something, but the calm, old wizard named 'Gandalf' managed to calm you and explain that you're not healthy enough to be thrashing and panicking so frantically.
That's when you shocked them all.
You managed to kick off those pesky blankets and shake off that too-warm, but also soft hat, and get a look at yourself, and you were dismayed to see so much of your skin marred with bruises, cuts, scrapes, welts, etc, and your broken arm was unsightly enough to make you nearly sick.
"I-I'll fix it then, I guess." You grumbled nervously, laying back down in the heaping pile of blankets to focus on mending your broken and shattered bones, re-weaving your muscles together, and accelerating the healing of the more superficial wounds.
By the time you were nearly completely healed you were too tired to finish fixing the cuts, scrapes, and other lacerations, so they were left as week-old injuries that had been scabbed over and mostly fixed.
When your eyes fluttered open again you were, once again, shocked to see multiple people leaning over you with awestruck expressions, and you realized in that moment that things were even less right than you initially feared.
Rather quickly did you realize and accept that you were no longer in the same place or time as you were before, but the news was actually fairly easy to accept because of the nature of your past life.
You were probably accidentally sent here by someone with power over the space-time continuum, and it's impossible to come back from one of those accidents. You didn't trouble yourself with coming up with a way to go back home, because you knew for a fact that it was over. You'll be here until the day you die.
You made fast friends with the two younger Durin brothers, for they were always full of questions and curiosity for you and your abilities. Many times have you had to heal them as well, for they're quite prone to trouble.
Small things were always easy to heal, so your powers proved to make you not only a very desired part of the group, but the subject of heavy praise and kind words; it's wonderful and new, for you were neither wanted nor praised in your old home once your crippling vice made itself present.
Night after night you helped them to sleep, gave them the strength to carry on, rid them of discomforts and small, painful wounds, and, essentially, made the original healer of the group, Oin, obsolete (in a good way for him, of course). Oin taught you some things about natural medicine and was, ultimately, allowed to focus on rest and fighting (which you assume is good for a dwarf of his age).
Being needed and relied on feels like heaven, and for the first time in 5 years, you have a purpose.
The true nature of your healing powers didn't become apparent to them until the fight following the Goblin Tunnels, for Thorin Oakenshield is nearly fatally wounded in his fight against Azog the Defiler, and he's left weak and dying.
The group runs as fast as their feet can carry them as those wargs and nasty orcs draw near, chasing all of you to a cliffside with plentiful trees and nowhere to go.
It's a dead end, and those foul creatures know as much.
You aren't much of a fighter so Bofur and Fili keep you ahead of them, urging you to climb the far tree with Gandalf and some of the others, and you do so without hesitation.
Fear drives your frantic climbing and trembling muscles, and, with great effort, you manage to climb far enough that those horrible dog beasts cannot reach you.
Everyone manages to climb a tree and avoid a violent death that would leave them in pieces, and you're relieved to see that there isn't much the enemy can do in this moment; that is, until they begin to uproot the trees and push everyone further back into the barely hanging on tree you already reside in.
There is absolutely no way this flimsy tree will hold all of you for long if the wargs loosen the soil around the roots, and it seems that you're not the only one to notice this.
Gandalf prepares the perfect pinecone ammo that serves as an excellent enemy deterrent, for the flames burning within the heart of the pinecones spread easily and set the cliffside alight.
The wargs retreat to escape a fiery death, but the triumph doesn't last long, for the tree begins to creak and groan as it dips beneath the weight of all 15 of you.
"T-The tree's going to fall!" You cry hopelessly, unsure what to do.
A fall from this height would kill everyone before you even had a chance to try and heal them, and this knowledge leaves an empty, useless hole in your heart.
"Everything will work out the way it's supposed to, Master Healer." The grey wizard tells you, though you can hear the unease and slight panic in his voice as well.
You open your mouth to say more, but movement catches in your peripherals and you turn your head to see what it is.
There stands Thorin Oakenshield on the thick trunk of the tree, facing the white orc with murder and hate shining in his blue-gray eyes, and your heart drops all the way down to the violent deaths below you when you realize what it is he plans to do.
The to-be King Under the Mountain abandons the tree and meets the orc in a battle, albeit short, and he loses.
Just by looking at the way that albino dog uses him like a chew toy is enough to fill you with dread, and when another orc goes in for the dying blow, you're fully prepared to experience this horrible tragedy, only it never happens.
That brave little hobbit, Bilbo, challenges the rest of the goblins one on one, and his bravery encourages everyone able to get back up and fight.
Only, this secondary fight doesn't last for terribly long, for these huge, magnificent birds come soaring out of seemingly nowhere, and they scoop up each and every one of you.
Cue a short, but also liberating, journey to the nearest, safe area (which just so happened to be a secluded and inaccessible mountain top).
As soon as your feet touch the ground you're being scooped up into a strong pair of arms, and the perpetrator breathes your name with relief on their lips.
"Are you alright?" It's Kili, the taller of the two Durin brothers.
You nod your head once and hug him in response, winding your toned healer arms tightly around his shoulders for a few beats before you pull away.
A quick glance around shows you that some of the others still have yet to touchdown on the peak with all of you, so you instead move to Fili, who had rode to his brother, and hug him next.
The blond heir firmly locks his thick arms around your middle and holds you to him for a moment, but his arms disappear as soon as Thorin is gently dropped to the ground, bloodied and broken.
Gandalf rushes over to the heavily wounded dwarf and kneels down next to his unmoving form, and Bilbo runs up behind him with wide, stunned eyes.
You pull away from Fili and rush to Thorin's side without hesitation, falling to your knees beside him as you immediately hover your palms over his body to find the biggest issues ailing him.
The internal bleeding catches your attention right away, caused by the bone crushing bite from the white warg, and you start working on healing that without hesitation.
You know that a wound such as this will hurt you, but it doesn't halt your frantic healing for even a second.
The mountain peak is dead silent while you work your magic on the unconscious Thorin, the knowledge that they would be lost without him spurring you on, and in a matter of 5 minutes he's groaning and his eyes are opening.
You feel nothing at first which tells you that soon his damaged aura will begin affecting you, so you slowly rise to your feet and move away from the still grounded Thorin to avoid falling on him if you do go down.
Pats on the back and praises are thrown your way as you separate yourself from the king, but they cease the moment Fili worriedly asks, "Wait- What... what's wrong?" He seemed to have noticed your shaky movements right away as your health begins to deplete.
You step up to Gandalf and place your hand gently onto his shoulder, mumbling with slurred words, "Gandalf, I should've told you before..."
The old man looks up at you with worried eyes, and he rises to his feet so he can grasp your trembling arms with gentle hands, "You should have 'told me before'? Told me what?"
"I..." You begin to speak, but you're unable to form another coherent thought as your legs suddenly give out from beneath you, and you slump forward into the cloaked wizard.
Gandalf releases your arm at light speed and catches you around the waist, slowly lowering you down to the ground before your eyes slide shut and your consciousness fades in place of Thorin's.
---
Gandalf the Gray was not too happy with you when you woke up sometime later, having had to save you after you saved Thorin with no prior knowledge regarding the truth about your ability.
He scolded you first, calling your actions foolish and scaring you with information on how you could have died had it been any worse and had he been any worse at his job, and then he thanked you.
"But even so, still must I say with the utmost gratitude; thank you. The service you provided was well beyond what we asked for, and much more than we deserved. After all you've been through and done for us, you would have been right to keep to yourself and not heal him. You are a very good person, Y/N, and I should like to see you survive this journey."
Is he telling you not to heal people anymore, or is he telling you to be more careful, you wonder.
Apparently this situation scared everyone shitless, because as soon as Gandalf was done getting on your case, you received countless apologies for having you heal small, meaningless wounds and for the other things you've done for them.
Of course, you tried to explain that the smaller boosts and injuries are nothing for you, but you were still apologized to a whole bunch anyways.
Fili and Kili's apologies stuck out to you the most, however.
When everyone felt better knowing that they'd informed you that you no longer need to waste your power healing them and the excitement died down, the two brothers approached with sad expressions darkening their handsome faces.
"You should have told us that we were hurting you." The dark-haired dwarf informed you sadly, taking up one of your hands in his carefully.
"We wouldn't have bothered you so much if we knew." The blond-haired brother agrees, swiping up your other hand in one of his.
Their words make you grimace, and you try to console them. "No, the smaller things don't hurt at all! I don't 'get hurt' because I heal you, I only suffer when it's a major wound that needs to heal more than just the body."
Their expressions don't change and they don't seem to fully believe you, so you try to explain in simpler terms.
You squeeze both their hands weakly, still needing rest to regenerate your own aura, then reiterate, "Think of it this way. You've got a huge jug of water about this big," you make a big circle with your arms, " and it's completely full. Now, if you take a sip of the water when you get a little thirsty and look inside again, it will look the exact same, and you can refill it super quickly... now, if you and a few others are super thirsty, dehydrated, and you need to take big drinks then it drains even more, and very soon it's almost a quarter empty. It takes longer to fill it up then, because there's way less because of how thirsty you were."
They both look at you and nod their heads slowly in understanding, but you simplify it a little more after that.
"So, what I'm trying to say is that if I do something small like help you sleep or heal a cut, maybe mend a headache, I'll only feel a little tired if that, but if it's something horrible like Thorin's wound, then it affects me more severely. It almost transfers to me, but not the physical injury, just the effect of it while my 'power' heals yours."
Everyone is listening at this point, and it seems that they all gain a better understanding of what you can do.
It seems Gandalf figured it out, though, judging by his unsurprised expression and slightly proud smile (pride because of your easy to understand explanation, most likely).
"So... what about now, then?" Kili asks, still holding your hand by your side, "What do you need?"
"To rest. Only for a little while until my water replenishes."
---
It's going to take around a day for your aura to heal and your strength to return, but, unfortunately, you don't have the luxury to just lay back and relax like you want.
You all had to stay on the move, so the dwarfs took turns carrying you on their backs.
At first you denied any and all requests for piggy back rides, embarrassed by the mere thought of being hauled around all day while you wait for your aura to heal, but it goes that way regardless.
First it's Fili and Kili, then Dori (the strongest *according to the book*), Dwalin, and, finally, Thorin.
Thorin carried you for around an hour or so, and each step he took was careful. He wanted to make your ride as comfortable as possible, and he was succeeding for the most part (you're as comfortable as someone on a piggyback ride can be).
"How are you feeling?" You ask at some point, adjusting your gentle grip around his shoulders as you do.
"I should be the one asking you that question." He replies without missing a beat, turning his head to the left slightly to catch a glimpse of you.
You don't say anything right away, looking at him with a small frown before countering, "Okay, but I asked your first."
"Truthfully, it shames me to say that I feel very good at the moment. My strength has returned tenfold, and I feel as if I've just recovered from a long rest."
"It shames you?" You ask softly, leaning your head against his carefully, "Don't let it. I chose to do that knowing fully well what I was getting myself into."
Thorin sighs heavily and shifts his grip on your legs, "I do not wish to treat you as a child. I respect your choice, but I must implore that you do not waste your life on me. It simply isn't worth it. You're too precious."
You feel your face heat up and you find that you become slightly embarrassed. "Thank you Thorin, but I think that a king is slightly more important then a commoner from another world."
"No... a king is only as strong as his people, friends, and allies. And I happen to value you as all three."
You don't argue or disagree this time and instead just nod your head once, "Then I'll say thank you again."
The rest of your conversations with Thorin are much more light hearted and wholesome, and you find that this piggyback riding isn't as bad as you initially though it would be.
Yooo, I just found your blog yesterday and I must say that the dimension jumping fics (for both Lotr and the hobbit) are immaculate! *chefs kiss*
I may or may not have stayed awake until 1.30 am to read them all and I most certainly am not looking through your ao3 account instead of studying for my test tomorrow. :)
I love your writing. keep up the good work, you’re doing amazing! <3
I'm so glad you like my stories! Some of the earlier ones are kind of meh in terms of writing but hearing you sticking out through the cringe makes me happy! Don't forget to take care of yourself though, I'm rooting for your health and studies!
Goblin tunnels, scapegoats, and life-threatening adventures... Oh, and you're still supposed to kill these guys, hm.
Angst, Humor, Action
----
The fall from your little cozy cave down into the deep dark depths of the Goblin Tunnels was not a pleasant one, and you're almost certain that a concussion is in the makings with how many times you and your companions have smashed your heads against walls, each other, and rocks alike.
You got lucky for the most part, and they've got pretty thick skulls so they'll be fine too.
Once the twisting tunnels and dead-drops are done, you all lay at the bottom of some sort of cage, groaning and recovering from the shock of it all (you're fairly certain there's a period there where you're all unconscious).
Damn it, you should've known better.
You've known for ages about the goblins that reside in the Misty Mountains, but you, for some reason, thought you'd be safe enough with the horrible weather to make it in and out of the mountain range before they even knew you were there.
The goblin king won't see you, will he? He won't recognize you, right?
Yeah, so, there was a time there where you worked freelance, having no assignments from The Brotherhood or anything to do, and you caught wind that the goblins of the Misty Mountains came across something desirable.
Something... shiny... and... possibly magical.
Your kleptomania went positively wild at the mere thought of finding something so pretty and sparkly in such a dreary and dismal place, so you set out for the Mountains, staked out around the entrances for a few days, and then snuck in and stole that 'thing'.
The 'thing' ended up being a radiant, beautiful ring stolen from some poor traveler more than likely. Whether they wiped out the kingdom or stole it in silence is unknown to you, but you didn't really care.
You snuck in at night while countless goblins went out to hunt and enjoy the evening, and then you swiped the ring from the goblin kings finger while he slept when day came about, hid in the tunnels until night once more while he flipped out in search of it, and made your escape the following night.
Only after you stole it did you find out that it was magical.
It morphed to fit your finger as soon as you fit it on, and granted you some enhanced senses.
The enhancements weren't vast or grand, but it was a very slight adjustment that helped to polish your already honed skills.
You could hear a little better, see a bit further, and increased your 6th sense for detecting others.
They probably went through numerous hardships to acquire such a useful item, and, now, it was all yours for free.
That day you spent hiding away in the tunnels, waiting for night so you could escape after stealing it in the day, was boring, but also a little frightening. The way the goblin king screamed and screeched about a thief and needing to find his prize made you briefly fear for your safety, but it didn't take long for you to realize they're too dumb to spot you.
You may not be the strongest in terms of physical strength and brute force, but your willpower and cunning got you through it almost effortlessly. And, if you did get into a physical altercation, your agility and reflexes would help you go down while taking them out with you.
Anyways, your point it that, he may not recognize your face since he never saw you, but if he sees the ring then it's over for you.
So, once you regain your rational thought after your daze, you slip it off your finger and shove it into one of the hidden pockets in your shirt. Who knows if he'll recognize the ring or not.
In no time you are being hauled up to your feet and dragged away with the rest of your companions, though you are a fair bit taller than all of them so it's harder for these nasty bastards to keep you under control.
No matter how vast or grand your skills are, you'd never be able to take on all of these guys; you're a stealth master for a reason after all.
The lot of you are taken down a series of paths to an audience with the horrendous Goblin King, and along the way you manage to kick quite a few of those grabby little monsters down into the dark depths below.
A minute or so passes that ends with all of you, ultimately, in front of the Goblin Kind and helpless.
"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" His voice booms in front of all of you, echoing throughout the caves, "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?”
Something like that.
You are, technically, all three, but none of you are there for him.
One of the small, ugly creatures steps forward and informs him of who you all are, "Dwarfs and a human, your Malevolence."
His face morphs into one of disgust and he practically spits out, "Dwarfs?"
"We found them on the front porch." The lacky confirms.
“Well, don’t just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice.” He cries, slamming his fist down which makes the wood tremble beneath all of you.
A bunch of words are traded and the Great Goblin exposes his knowledge about Thorin and the fact that his greatest enemy, Azog the Defiler, is still alive and kicking.
“Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prize.” A twisted smile takes over his huge face and causes that skin beard to shift, a disgustingly entrancing movement, and he looks down at the searching goblins expectantly.
You've had a 3 of your knives tossed aside and your short sword has been stolen, but you're happy to report that some of your hidden weapons and the stolen goods are still hidden.
Suddenly, one of the goblins loses it's head and throws something in front of the group, screeching and screaming with horror.
The Great Goblin recoils and he hisses out fearfully, "I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks."
Whips and nails, teeth and palms, the dwarfs are abused with every limb, weapon, and thing possible, and before you can even think on it, your voice demands the attention of them all.
"Wait!"
Silence, stillness, attention.
God, you hate it.
You slip the ring from your pocket and onto your finger and take a step forward unobstructed from the enraged goblins, slightly nervous but blank in expression.
"I cannot hide it anymore. Every second that passes weighs on my soul, for the desire to be recognized for my deeds is too strong."
"Speak your piece, human, what do you want?"
You raise your ringed hand and brandish the smooth metal off to him, "Do you recognize this? The ring I so cleverly stole from you all those months ago?"
"M-My ring!" He bellows, taking a step forward, "How- You thief! You were the one who stole from me? You?!"
You say nothing at first and betray no emotion in your face, lowering your hand back to your side. When you do speak, you push arrogance into your voice, "I took it while you indulged yourself in sleep, and then I hid right under your nose for an entire day, holding my prize and listening to your whining and petulant screams." The insults are all well aimed and meant to enrage him, for you're hoping to take his attention off of the dwarfs before he can have them all killed. "If I had known you were so pathetic and slow-witted, I would have taken it during the night and saved myself the time."
Someone calls your name, Thorin, and he hisses with confusion, "What are you doing?"
You ignore him.
If he weren't so pale and colorless he would've been red with anger at your taunting words. The Great Goblin is seething and spitting, his huge, clawed hands clenched into fists as he tries to form a coherent thought.
"You dare speak down to me? You will be punished!" He cries, pointing a long nailed finger at you, "Cut the ring from those thieving hands, and then take those hands as well!"
Your expression shifts when you're shoved forward and onto the ground on your hands and knees, taking on a more defiant look despite the hint of fear in your eyes.
It's not like you want them to cut off your hands, you kind of need those, but you're fairly confident that this groups luck will strike once again and save you from a life of picking things up with your feet and wrists (if they don't kill you, that is).
"No!" Someone yells from the group of dwarfs and goblins, followed by shouts and calls from others as well.
Unfortunately, the roaring in your ears is too loud for you to make out individual voices, but it's nice that they aren't apathetic towards your fate.
Before you know it you're being shoved face-first into the ground and your arms are being wrenched out from beneath you, stretched out and poised for being cut off. Your finger with the ring on it is pulled from your fist, and when you glance up, you see a sword poised above the head of a goblin, ready to relieve you of your hand.
There's lots of screaming and yelling, and at some point you squeeze your eyes shut since you're no longer confident in your assessment that you'll be saved in the nick of time.
Finally, right when your fate is about to finally be sealed, a bright light blinds you all and renders the goblins immobilized momentarily.
Gandalf the Gray stands there with his powerful staff in hand and an aura of white surrounding him, meanwhile you all just stare in awe.
“Take up arms. Fight. Fight!” He demands, slamming his staff on the ground which shakes your very souls.
You, and everyone else, require no more prompting.
In one swift movement you roll back onto your feet and steal the discarded sword aimed to take your hands, and then you jump right into the action.
You and the entirety of the group make a swift and action packed escape where you spend the majority of your time protecting the Durin's, sticking close to them and keeping the goblins away.
Everything passes by in a blur of limbs, blood, and violence, and it isn't until you've killed the Great Goblin and escaped back out into the light of the soon setting sun that you have a moment to breathe and think about all the things that just took place.
It's at this time that everyone finishes running and takes a moment to catch their breath that you all realize Bilbo is missing, and you immediately curse yourself for not keeping a closer eye on him.
A couple of the dwarfs begin to blame each other and there's some mumbling amongst themselves, but Thorin has another idea entirely about what really happened.
"I’ll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He’s thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone."
You purse your lips but say nothing despite your disagreement with his words; arguing with the people 'paying you' isn't the brightest idea, so it's better to just keep your mouth shut.
And then, quite the peculiar thing, said hobbit steps out from behind a tree and states matter-of-factly, "No, he isn't."
There is varying amounts of surprise and shock that wash throughout all of your expressions. Hell, your eyes even widen slightly when he appears so suddenly. How did you not notice him even with your ring on?
"Bilbo Baggins! I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life!” The gray wizard exclaims with a grand smile on his wrinkling face.
Kili speaks next, informing the little hobbit that there was little hope surrounding him. "Bilbo, we'd given you up!"
"How on earth did you get past the goblins?!" Fili wonders.
"How indeed..." Dwalin sounds suspicious almost when he repeats Fili's question, but you're entirely worried about something else.
"Are you alright, Bilbo?" You chime in before he can explain himself, stepping closer to give him a quick once over.
You were hired to protect the Durin's, but you need all of them to get access to that mountain with ease.
Or, at least, that's what you tell yourself.
The hobbit looks up at you and offers a slightly nervous smile, "I am fine. Just a few bumps and bruises."
"I want to know...," Thorin's voice breaks through your conversation as he asks, "Why did you come back?"
A quick moment of silence passes as you look down at your feet and listen carefully, actually a bit curious yourself.
It isn't like you couldn't do his part of the job for him, though your assignment is something else entirely, and he expressed his desire to leave right before you were all kidnapped by the goblins... so why would he come back?
"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have," Bilbo begins with a slightly grim face, "And you’re right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden..." He trails off as a faraway look momentarily blurs his vision, probably imagining what he could be doing at home right now, and you all watch and listen carefully. "See, that’s where I belong. That’s home. And that’s why I came back, cause you don’t have one - a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.”
Your eyebrows furrow together when he finishes speaking his piece, because his words are... greatly troubling.
He was ready to leave it all behind before, mere seconds away from leaving back towards The Shire and Bag End, but here he is now. He came back because he genuinely wants to help; he wants them to reclaim their home and find their wandering origins.
Everyone is silent as they think over the words Bilbo speaks, and while it awes most of them, you only feel more bothered.
Such a kind hobbit who you may likely need to kill.
"That's foolish." You find yourself saying that before you can even think about it, something that's been happening too often for your liking.
You get several shocked looks, hell, you're shocked yourself, but you don't take back your statement.
Where did this disdain come from all of a sudden? This disdain not towards the kind hearted hobbit, but towards yourself?
"You are not the person to be calling the actions of our Master Burglar, foolish." Gandalf scolds, eyeing you with a pointed look. "I know your taunting and teasing towards the Goblin King was no accident or arrogance driven necessity. And I also know that you could have easily broken yourself free before harm befell upon you. I brought you along to do a job, and do this job you have - much too well. I thank you for the distraction, but your methods may have proved to be a mistake had I not arrived on time."
You look back at the gray wizard with an unwavering stare, eyes slightly narrowed as you attempt to glare him into submission; only, he doesn't relent and stares right back at you.
"You came in time." A weak defense.
"And if I hadn't?" He asks, voice raising slightly. Gandalf doesn't much like backtalk. "How far would you have taken it? Were you going to allow them to take your hands? To cut that trinket from your finger?"
This time you hesitate in replying, something akin to a pout tugging at your lips. "Of course not. I had faith that you would come, and you did...," you trail off, then add begrudgingly, "And if you hadn't, then I could have escaped quite easily."
Another silence filled by the two big egos facing off against each other.
Gandalf's ego wins, unfortunately.
You relent and look away, catching the troubled gazes of Fili and Kili.
Did your actions really bother them that much?
"Well what do you suppose I should do? Let them harm you all?" You wouldn't let that happen.
That thought that lingers behind your words makes your eyebrows knit together in confusion once again, and your gaze wanders away once more.
Now that you think about it, why did you do it? I mean, why did you really do it?
You knew they weren't actually going to die just like that, he's too scared of the pale orc to do that, but you did it anyways. The possibility of harm befalling upon these dwarfs actually... affected you.
Gandalf pauses and observes you carefully, then realization sparkles in those infuriatingly wise eyes of his.
"Well, no matter. I did not mean to scold you, for you are a very capable person, so I thank you for doing your job well and diligently." He lets those words hang in the air for a time, then he moves on, "Now, we must discuss where we are and where we must go."
"I say-" Thorin begins, only to be cut off by howls and the sound of a gravely voice speaking in another language. "Out of the frying pan..." He sighs with a weary face.
"And into the fire! Run! Run!!" The gray wizard snaps.
You all begin your hasty retreat down the mountain, and at some point the sun begins to set.
The sky turns all sorts of vibrant shades of orange, blue, and red, and the light delicately kisses the peaks of each tree, mountain top, and surface. The air smells fresh, as it usually does following a hard rain, and the grass and leaves glisten healthy because of the drink offered to them by the sky. It's a magnificent sight to behold, but none of you are able to appreciate it, for the beauty of nature is being darkened and tainted by the evil intent and fear.
Those nasty wargs chase you all down like prey, maybe that's exactly what you are, meanwhile your feet take you as far away and as quickly as they can.
You jog behind the two youngest Durin's, being as Thorin takes the lead as per usual, and keep a slow enough pace to avoid taking over them (they're not the fastest group of dwarfs, after all). You can't have them becoming warg food when you still need them to get you into that mountain...
"Pick up your feet more when you run!" You command, glancing behind you briefly to gauge just how close those bastards are.
They heed your advice and end up running just a bit faster, something that relieves you somewhat.
The land begins to thin out and the ground you run on narrows, thus forcing all of you onto a cliff filled with trees and a precipice topped with a leaning tree.
“Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!” Gandalf demands, jumping up to grab one of the low hanging branches and pulling himself up.
You stay planted firmly in place and wait for everyone to find a spot in a tree and climb to safety, and while everyone else, even Bombur, finds somewhere to avoid the bloodthirsty wargs, Bilbo is still running for the tree line.
A frustrated curse passes through your gritted teeth, but you waste no time in rushing forward and yanking Bilbo away from the jaws of an awaiting warg. You foot shoots up and crashes into the side of its face, successfully knocking it off course since you nailed it in the eye which gives you two enough time to sort things out.
"Quickly!" You hiss, leaning crouching down with your hands clasped in front of you, "I can boost you up, but you mustn't waste anymore time!"
The little hobbit nods his head and steps his big right foot into your awaiting hands, and, once he's secured, you launch him up and into the awaiting low hanging branches.
"Y/N!" Fili screams from above you, panic lining his voice.
Your gaze snaps forward just in time to see sharp teeth and brown fur, but right before those razor teeth can sink into the soft flesh of your neck, a rock comes sailing through the sky and nails the nasty beast right in the nose.
It whimpers and jerks its head off to the side, but you don't waste anymore time in watching it freak out and instead roll around to the other side of the tree and jump up to grab a branch and pull yourself further up so they can't get your feet.
You reach up to grasp another branch, but someone catches your hand instead and easily hauls you into another layer of the tree.
"I've got you." It's Dwalin, and he doesn't let go of your hand right away until you're secure.
"Thank you." You dip your head after voicing your thanks then do a quick once-over to make sure everyone is safe in the trees, only, you don't get the chance to finish that before those wild dogs begin to rip at the roots holding the strong pines into place.
One by one do each of the trees begin to lean and fall, creating a domino affect that forces all of you to hang vicariously over the edge of the cliffside.
A quick glance down shows you the imminent death that awaits you below, and, for the first time since this chase began, you fear for your and everyone else's lives.
"Catch!" Kili yells to you, tossing a flaming pinecone your way.
Where did they get flaming pinecones?
Gandalf of course, you should've known even before you looked up.
You turn your attention ahead once more and pull your arm back, poised to throw the pinecone with all your might, only to stop mid-swing when something, or rather, someone, gets in your way.
Thorin Oakenshield stands on the trunk of the sinking tree with his weight distributed to maintain balance, and just ahead is Azog the Defiler, staring him down with an arrogant, sick smile.
Oh Jesus... this dwarf sure doesn't make your job easy.
You throw the pinecone since the flames began to lick at your gloved fingers and move to stand up, but the branch you sit upon cracks and creaks, groaning under the sudden movement.
Shit.
If he dies the dwarfs may give up on the entire journey altogether and decide to leave the mountain alone, and then where will that leave you?
You don't even want to think about it.
Another attempt is made to pull yourself up onto the thick trunk, but this time the entire branch cracks and breaks, falling out from beneath you as it hangs by the sparsely attached strings of ripped apart wood.
You just barely manage to throw yourself into the trunk and hang off the side, feet dangling in open air with nothing to leverage yourself with.
Panic blooms in your chest as you completely loose control over the situation, unable to even swing your legs up because of the way your arms can't completely wrap around the trunk.
"No!" Dwalin screams just above you, catching your attention briefly despite your panic.
You look over to the side and see that Thorin has lost his fight against the pale orc. He lays on the ground, unmoving and defeated as another one of Azog's companions raise its' weapon above its' head to kill the dwarf king.
"Damn it!" You hiss helplessly, pawing uselessly around the rough bark in search of any sort of leg up. "Thorin!"
This is it. They're going to kill him and all of you are going to fall to your deaths, soaring through the sky for a brief time before you become nothing more than bloody splatters on the ground below.
The sound of metal hitting metal and the clashing of weapons draws your ear as you begin to slip further down the circumference of the trunk, but you can't even turn to look because there's nothing left for you to do.
The rest of your body drags your arms from around the tree and, in a last ditch effort to avoid the drop, you grasp the broken, hanging branch.
It snaps of as soon as your weight yanks it down, and then... you're free falling.
Someone screams your name (is that Bofur?) but you don't do anything.
You don't writhe or scream; you don't flail your arms or cry; you just stare up at the horror stricken faces and your partners in falling (Dori and Ori) as numbness overtakes your whole body.
Yes, your stomach drops as the feeling of falling sickens you, but in your heart, in your soul, you feel nothing.
It's not like you've led a particularly good life or anything, but still, you don't want to die. Even if there is nothing for you, no one that cares, you still don't want to go; because once you're dead, the only thing anyone will remember you as is a ruthless monster, a puppet of The Brotherhood.
You don't want to die.
Maybe you should've rejected the job in the first place; maybe you should've made better designs in general; maybe you should've allowed yourself to let those foolish dwarfs and sweet hobbit close if to just feel a moment of belonging.
Little do you know, all of these thoughts will prove to complicate your mission further, because this is, in fact, not the end.
One moment you're falling to your death while having an existential crisis, and the next you're being snatched out of the sky by one of the Great Eagles.
Hi there! Tbh... your blog and stories have been the highlights my 2020 and 2021! But I was wondering if you are taking requests? And if you have any rules for them?
Yes, I am! I have some rules but they're really bare bones, just asking for a character, some plot, and whatever else you want.
In which you have a genius idea to take these suckers out, you accidentally do something you’re not supposed to, and you take the taller bit of your friends out.
----
And then, you realize, that it's getting deeper into October.
As it got deeper into October, the dwarves and hobbit remain in your house. It's been a total of 2 1/2 weeks, now, and you can tell they're getting antsy from staying in one place for so long.
Like, around halloween time.
An idea strikes you in the head like a bag of bricks, and right away you realize that you're a genius.
You're sitting on the couch with Bilbo, Oin, and Bofur when the lightbulb goes off in your head suddenly, and once it does you hop to your feet and run upstairs at top speed, successfully baffling everyone idly watching the nature documentary you put on.
You pass Dwalin and Balin while you zoom to your bedroom, and when they see you run past them like freaking Speedy Gonzales they're both super confused.
Right away you grab your laptop off your bed and pull up a window.
The keys of your compute clack softly while you type in your town as well as 'Halloween Festival' and the first few results as well as images on the Google engine prove your theory.
Every year here people dress up in advance and celebrate throughout the duration of the week leading up to it. Of course, the trick-or-treating only happens on the day of, but there are a plethora of other things for people to do during that week.
People dress up, children go on field trips, there's a festival, and even the grocery stores have little events they put on to promote their business.
You've never really gone before since crowded places aren't the most comfortable for you, but you actually feel a little giddy about taking them all to see the town with you.
Right away you know you're going to have to buy them all costumes, but for the last week you've been pet sitting this rich couples Rag-doll cat, Princess, and your going rate is $18/hr for a week... Do the math ;).
You're going to get paid later in the day today after you drop her back off at their house, and that's not even accounting for the other animals you've been watching for varying amounts as well.
So, essentially, you're gonna be perfectly fine financially.
Anyways, as soon as you're done doing your little bit of research there on your computer you close it and leave your room again, hopping down the stairs with a big bright smile on your face.
When you reenter the living room, everyone is gathered there and looking at you expectantly.
At first, you don't do or say anything since you're super confused, but when the silence begins to drag on for too long you ask hesitantly, "Uh... Is everything alright? What's going on?"
"Well, you left to your room very quickly." Bilbo comments, standing up from his spot on the couch, "But from the smile on your face, I'm assuming it wasn't because of anything bad?"
You nod your head and sigh, leaning down to pet Mittens who is rubbing herself against your legs, "Yeah, everything's fine. It's great, actually." You pause for dramatic effect, then add, "I just figured out a way to take all of you out! Like, to see the town and stuff!"
"You have?" Thorin asks, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
"Mmhm!" You stand up straight and nod your head quickly, bouncing on the balls of your feet, "See, I figured I'd probably be able to take you and maybe Kili, Bofur, and Dwalin out at some point... like, if some of you were to groom yourselves different or wear hats...," once more you stop your speech and realize that may be offensive, "N-Not that I think there's anything wrong with how you look-"
"Nobody is offended, I'm sure. Go on." Thorin urges, amusement present on their faces from your sudden frantic backtracking so you don't offend them.
"R-Right, uh... anyways, you guys are taller so I knew I could probably bring you along sometime, but I wasn't sure how to get everyone else to come along, and then I realized that this next week is the week leading up to halloween!" You say it like it will answer all their questions, forgetting that they probably don't know what halloween is.
Silence passes by for a few seconds as they wait for you to go on, and when you don't Kili asks, "What's 'halloween'?"
"Oh, yeah, it's like, a holiday where children dress up and go to peoples houses to get candy. And when I say dress up, I mean in costumes." You rub the back of your neck while you explain and add, "In my city, the place we are now, we celebrate throughout the whole week. There are games, festivals, and lots of events... and there are people running around in masks all of the time. So I can get some of you costumes and then I can bring you all along!" Your smile returns as you pick apart the details, and it seems your excitement is contagious.
"Wait, so we will get to walk around the town and see other things?" Nori questions, looking over at his brothers with a smile.
"Yeah, but I gotta get you costumes first. Like, ghosts and some masks of different things. But if we wanna make the most of our time then I should probably go now."
You turn after that and go to the counter to grab your purse, pausing when Balin asks, "So it's a holiday where people run around in disguises, getting candy, and playing games as a community?"
Once again you nod your head, turning around to look at him with the same bright smile on your face.
"So, anyone can be anyone?" The older dwarf asks, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yeah, pretty much." You look down and go through your purse, making sure everything you need is in there before walking over to put on your tennis shoes.
"Even the man who was here the week before?"
Now that certainly gives you a pause.
Before you were never worried about it, but now with what's happened with him, you aren't so sure that it's so safe anymore.
"Um... yeah, I guess." You'd rather not think about it, so you start to tie your laces up. "I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Well, you already said that you can bring some of us, so why not do that now? Just to make sure?" Balin asks, though it's more of a 'you should really do it cause we're gonna freak out if you don't'.
You don't respond and instead finish tying your shoes first, thinking over his request.
When you're done doing up your shoes you turn and see that they're all looking at you with similar expressions of worry, and it makes you sigh, "Okay, fine. But whoever goes can't wear their normal clothes cause people will be weirded out. The halloween thing doesn't start for another day."
There's a moment of silence while some of them exchange looks before Thorin speaks, "You mentioned Kili and myself first. Surely that should be fine."
"Um..." You look between the two and tilt your head to the side thoughtfully, arms crossed over your chest. "Sure. But your hair is definitely going to stick out, Thorin."
He nods his head in understanding.
"And what about me?" Kili asks eagerly. It seems he's really excited about finally being able to leave your property.
"You're fine, I think. Am I taking both of you?" You inquire with furrowed eyebrows, walking a few steps forward.
"You might as well." Kili says with a big silly smile.
Well, you can't argue with that logic.
You shrug your shoulders and head up the stairs again, "Alright, go get changed into some of the clothes I gave you."
---
Once they're dressed in t-shirts and sweatpants (you didn't know their sizes so you got whatever would fit at the time) you observe them both with narrowed eyes while rubbing your chin.
"Hm... On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Kili a 9 and Thorin a 6." You say after a moment, turning to look at everyone else and get their opinions.
"What is the scale referring to?" Fili pipes up suddenly, looking up at you.
"How convincing they are."
"Why do I get a 6?" Thorin grumbles, looking at you pointedly.
"Your hair." You reply simply, walking over with a hair tie stretched between your fingers, "Hold still."
You gather his hair over his shoulders and pull it back, putting his hair through it and wrapping it around until it's nice and tight.
As soon as you're finished, you step around him and look to see if it's made a difference, and when you've determined that it's good, you smile, "Okay, now it's at least an 8." You turn towards Kili and ask, "Your hair is fine, right? Or do you want me to put it up?"
He doesn't say anything and neither does anyone else, and when the silence persists you raise an eyebrow, "Hello? Earth to Kili, I just asked you a question."
"Uh, no, you don't have to, thank you." He shakes his head and seems to come to some sort of realization since he starts to smile at his uncle in that big teasing grin you've, unfortunately, become accustomed to.
You nod your head and skip back over to the counter, swiping your keys off of it before heading to the front door.
"Come out whenever, I'm gonna get my car started."
Once you're out of the house some of the dwarves begin to laugh, and Kili pokes fun at his uncle, "Thorin, you have quite a red face, are you sure you can go?"
Thorin glares at his nephew and replies coldly, "She meant nothing by it."
"Right, but is that disappointment I hear?"
The glare he throws his nephew is so withering it could suck the life right out of a flower, but Kili is no flower, so he only laughs more.
"She offered to do yours too, you know." Fili adds when he begins to feel bad for his uncle.
Kili pauses his laughter and glares at his brother, "But she didn't do it."
"She would've."
"Oh hush, you're just upset that she didn't ask to do your hair." Kili shoots back, glaring at his brother.
"I am not, because unlike everyone else, I knew she meant naught by asking." He shoots back with a smirk.
Kili huffs indignantly and glares at his brother, saying no more as he heads out the door after you.
Thorin turns to everyone before following and states, "Try not to destroy anything while we are gone." His voice is firm and he waits until he gets nods from them all before leaving after you.
---
Once you're all in the car you put it into drive and go, turning up the radio so the car won't be completely filled with silence while you drive.
Occasionally, you'll glance at Thorin in the passenger seat or Kili in the back, and each time you do they're looking out the window at the passing scenery with awe.
"If you're impressed now, wait until we get into the big city." You comment suddenly, smiling to yourself while you watch the road ahead.
And when you do arrive in the city, they are impressed indeed.
The gasp that leaves Kili when you drive through the first big street draws a giggle from you, and when he presses his face against the window as you pull into the parking lot of the seasonal halloween store, your smile grows even bigger.
Even Thorin is impressed by all the wonderful things around, and when you turn off the car after parking you turn to look at them, "Thoughts so far?"
"It's wonderful." Kili breathes, looking at the bright, moving signs and huge stores all around.
"Yes, I don't believe I've ever seen anything so grand before." Thorin agrees, looking over at you with a smile of his own.
"Well if this impresses you, wait until we get inside the store. Try not to get scared."
---
The three of you eventually make it inside, and when you do they are in awe once more.
The seasonal store is dark with black painted walls and bright white florescent lights, and there are various halloween and horror things everywhere.
When you walk in there is one of those electronic jump-scare things, and while you were expecting it, the poor dears behind you weren't.
The witch thing pops out and cackles loudly, saying one of her many phrases, and as soon as she does both Kili and Thorin freak out. And when I say freak out, I mean 'pulled out some small weapons they decided to bring and screaming' freak out.
Luckily there is no one around at the moment, so you step between them and the witch and laugh nervously, "Put those away please. We're gonna get kicked out if anyone sees you with those."
They look between you and the electronic woman a few times before slowly putting their knives away and relaxing their stances.
"Thank you..."
"What is that?" Kili asks, glaring at the ugly jump-scare machine while you walk past it.
"It's a halloween decoration designed to scare people. And it seems like it worked too." You reply easily, looking back at them with a more mischievous smile.
Kili looks around slightly nervously and grumbles defensively, "I wasn't that scared... Uncles screams are what startled me."
"My screams? Kili, let's not lie now, clearly you were horrified." Thorin says disapprovingly, shaking his head.
"Aw, you guys are cute." You purr jokingly, waltzing up to the kids costumes isle.
They stop arguing after that.
You browse through the messy shelves quietly for a little while, trying to find the best ones, when you see a doggie in the cutest ghost costume.
A squeal leaves your lips when you see the cutie pie and you cup your cheeks as an adoring expression comes onto your face.
Without hesitation you hop over to the owner and ask excitedly, "Where did you get that?"
The man with the dog looked up quickly upon hearing your excited yelp and when he saw your exuberant form he smiled too, "I bought it a week ago here. They're near the back."
His answer fills you with joy, and you continue to stare at his pupper for a moment before he says, "You can pet her if you want, she doesn't bite."
He doesn't need to tell you twice.
You kneel down right away and scratch behind her ears, and her tail begins to wag wildly at the attention.
It seems that she likes you just as much, because she takes a seat and leans into you when you scratch her all over like you do with your dogs. It's at that moment when you begin to wonder if she'll fit in your purse.
Before you can finish your calculations and plans on stealing this mans dog you hear someone clear their throat and you realize then that you forgot all about Thorin and Kili.
You turn your head and see the two of them standing there with amused expressions on their faces.
Upon realization that they're watching you, and have been for a little while now, you jump to your feet and feel your face heat up. "I-If you make fun of me I'll leave both of you here." You threaten very unconvincingly, crossing your arms over your chest.
Kili starts to laugh but he doesn't say anything about it, looking at his uncle who also releases a few chuckles of his own.
You glance back at the man and see that he's looking at them, and you realize he probably thinks Kili's short stature is a little odd.
"U-Uh, thanks for letting me pet your dog!" You say quickly, heading back over to the two of them with a blush on your cheeks.
You turn back to the shelves of costumes and the man and his dog walk away, and once their gone you glare at the two of them half heartedly. "You guys are total meanies." There is faux bitterness in your voice when you speak as well, and it only brings more laughter from them.
"I only find it cute." Kili states, smiling good naturedly before continuing, "Every time you see an animal you get very excited."
"Cause I love animals."
"Yes, we can tell." Thorin muses, stepping up next to you to look at the spiderman mask in your hand.
You tap your foot against the ground a few times before putting the mask back.
A ghost costume for Bilbo; check.
That is all.
You literally don't have anything for anyone else, and honestly you're beginning to think that it's impo-
And then another idea hits you.
Class of middle/high-schoolers in a fantasy club. It's farfetched and barely believable, but most people won't say anything about it out of fear of being offensive, so it's perfect!
You don't have to buy them costumes at all (minus Bilbo), all you need is stuff to make them look less like dwarves and more like children pretending to be dwarves.
It sounds easier than it actually is, but you think you can pull it off. All you need is some netting, makeup, wigs, and nose and scar wav and you'll be set.
Once you get this idea you run away from the kids section with the ghost section and head toward the halloween makeup isle, seeking out the items mentioned previously without hesitation.
You find what you're looking for in minutes, and once you've got everything you zoom to the checkout since you're going to need to look up some tips on how to pull this off.
You're so excited you nearly forget to make sure Kili and Thorin are still with you, but once you see them you smile in relief and pay for everything.
Once you're all back in your car, Thorin asks, "I thought we were going to get masks?"
"Well, we were. But then I had an amazing idea consisting of pretending you're all students or something who invested in really expensive dwarf costumes. It's perfect, 'cause no one will ask and we'll get lots of compliments."
Thorin nods his head slowly and puts his belt on like you showed him, but before you go you turn and look at Kili expectantly.
The young dwarf doesn't say anything at first, but when your staring consists he asks slowly, "What...?"
"Put on your seatbelt."
There's more silence until he puts it on, raising an expectant eyebrow at you, "Is that better?"
Comforting a grieving hobbit and time get everyone ready to go out!
Via the genius idea from katzrfsoa / Kat88
There's been mention of the reader not wanting to take the groups out, for fear of the public's reaction... so what about a cosplay convention? it would give the Reader the perfect excuse to allow them out, and they would wear their original clothes
----
This morning has been uneventful for the most part.
Breakfast passed by without issue and now everyone is off doing their own things.
You looked outside and took a peek in the guest room, but you still can't find him.
Sam, Merry, and Pippin are playing a board game you showed them; Legolas is doing his meditation sleep thing; Boromir and Aragorn are discussing something; and Gimli is stacking bread on Legolas' leg to see how long it takes until he notices.
Frodo, however, is missing at the moment.
Right as you were considering telling the others of his disappearance, however, you heard some shuffling from your hall closet.
You open the door carefully and take peer inside, not wanting to startle the small hobbit, and at first you don't see him.
There's more shuffling and you hear a quiet sniff, followed by soft sobs, and you then realize he's hiding behind the shelf.
The door makes a soft clicking sound when you close it, and right away the quiet cries cease. You didn't want to alert him with the door, you wanted to do it yourself, but it's too late now, so you just go with it.
"Frodo?" You call in a gentle voice, staying by the door incase he wants you to go.
"Y-Yes?' He calls back, not moving from his spot.
His voice is thick with emotion, and the sadness in his tone makes your heart ache painfully. And when you walk closer and see him huddled up behind the shelf, your heart breaks a little for him.
He hastily rids his cheeks of any evidence of his sorrows, though the puffiness around his eyes and constant sniffles don't much help his cause, and looks at you with a false smile.
"Frodo, why are you crying?" You ask with furrowed eyebrows, kneeling down in front of him so you may look at him at eye level (mostly).
"It's nothing." He tells you quickly, looking away from your compassionate face with the same sad frown on his lips.
When you don't move to get up or leave, his gaze slides back over to you and he realizes that you're not going to leave unless he straight up tells you to go away. This makes him sigh, but truthfully, he doesn't want you to go away. Not really. For having company in a time of sorrow always mends suffering.
"I... did not have a proper time to mourn Gandalf. I've been so caught up in the oddity that is this place that I almost forgot my sorrows altogether, but then this morning is all... came rushing back." He explains with a surprisingly even voice.
While he speaks you cross your legs and listen along intently, your hands folded neatly in your lap. When he finishes, you reach forward and place your hand atop his with a gentle touch, "I didn't know him, but I can tell he was very dear to you. Honestly, I can't offer much advice, but I can tell you that keeping it all bottled up inside is not a good idea."
He looks at you with that sad face when you speak, and it prompts you to continue, "Also, I know everyone else can be pretty overwhelming or they just don't understand, and I want you to know that I'm always here to listen if you're feeling down, okay?"
Your words draw a small smile from the grieving hobbit and it elicits a similar grin from you.
"Thank you, Y/N. I... actually do feel a little better."
"I'm glad."
---
After your discussion with Frodo you rejoin everyone back out in the main room and let him recollect himself, going right onto your laptop to get some work done.
You're idly scrolling through a scholarly article you need to research when you see it.
An advertisement for some sort of comic book, cosplay, convention... thing in the area (no wonder you've been seeing so many oddly dressed people recently).
At first you almost scroll past it, but then you get hit with the brick of knowledge and a lightbulb goes off in your head.
"Yes!" You scream, successfully scaring everyone in the room and Penny who is sitting with you for once. "Ohh, my god. This is freaking perfect!" You exclaim, clicking on the link to get some more information.
Your eyes practically soak up everything on the information page, and, once you've skimmed through all of it, you look up with a bright smile on your face.
Literally all of them are looking at you like you've grown two heads, but you only clap your hands together a few times. "Guys, I just had a huge brain moment!"
The joke goes over their heads as per usual, but you don't let that deter you.
"Huge brain moment?" Pippin asks in confusion, looking at his cousin like he thinks he heard it wrong or something.
"Yes! I've figured out a way to take everyone out!"
That certainly gets their attention.
"You have?" Sam asks exuberantly, dropping his game piece so he can turn towards you and pay perfect attention.
"I have, yes," you start, continuing once you're 100% sure they're all paying attention, "So here's the thing, I knew that I could take out you tall boi's without issue besides having to find a hat for Legolas here, and I could explain that Gimli here has dwarfism," you pause at that and realize it may be offensive to him, but you continue once more, "but I also knew that there's no way I can explain away the hobbits, and then I found this gem."
You turn the computer so it faces all of them, but they only look more confused.
"There's a convention thing in town for the next week, and it's the perfect opportunity for me to bring everyone out! We just have to dress up the hobbits a bit and pretend that they're children."
At your explanation you receive multiple pleased smiles, and it serves to make you feel even better about your idea. "And you can all wear your normal clothes, too. And if someone asks who you are... I'll figure out a game or something you guys can use as an alias."
"Are you sure that will work?" Aragorn asks with furrowed eyebrows, sitting up from his spot in your arm chair.
"Um, like, maybe 98%." You confirm with a shrug, "It's better than 88% though."
He doesn't seem like he disagrees with you, so you look back at your laptop again and start to look for ideas to make them more believable as humans.
---
3 hours of research later, and you've successfully compiled a completely fool proof plan to smuggle this merry band of bizarre boys out of your house.
What you've decided is that you'll put some makeup over Legolas' pointy ears to make them look more fake since the concept of elves is not lost in this world. Boromir and Aragorn can go as themselves, and you'll put some makeup on the hobbits much like you will Legolas (they'll be children elves since there are no hobbits in your world) and tell everyone who asks how they look so good that you're a professional makeup artist.
Gimli, fortunately for you, was the easiest to come up with something for next to the other two humans of this group. You can just tell people he has dwarfism and that's why he chose to go as a dwarf character.
Everything is in order except for what you're going to do, though you suppose you should match their theme and be some sort of renaissance, maiden, lady, thing. You'll figure it out, though you do need to make sure it's convincing like theirs.
You decided to, instead of putting it off, go ahead and start working on finding a costume to match theirs.
A couple of searches later and you come across a really pretty dress that looks to fit their style, and when you show it to them they give you the thumbs up, so you order it with express shipping so it should arrive tomorrow.
It's a lovely flowy medieval dress *just look up flowy medieval dress and go to images, there are some good examples there*, and you feel excited just looking at it. Of course, there's no guarantee that it'll be the best quality, but it's got great reviews and you certainly paid a hefty sum for it.
After that's done with you head to your bathroom to see what makeup you've got, and you find that you don't really have any theatrical/special effects makeup. You're going to need skin colored wax makeup, powders, and contour stuff.
You're no makeup artist, obviously, but luckily for you, your goal is to make them look less realistic, so it should be easy enough.
It's surprisingly easy to figure out what you need to make them as convincing as possible, and pretty soon you've got a nice little list going on that outlines each thing you need.
Since you don't want to delay anymore, you head out of your bathroom and grab your bag while putting on your shoes, "Legolas, I'm leaving now if you wanna come with." You suggest since he stated his desire to join you in the one of the last chapters (:o).
When you call his name he looks over at you quickly, smiling a bit at your offer, "Yes, but you said I need a hat."
"Oh yeah! I have one, just gimme a sec." You tell him, walking over to a drawer.
When you open said drawer, you find a grey beanie with ease and toss it over to him, "Here ya go. Make sure it covers your ears... and uh, tuck your hair up into it too if you don't mind."
He does as you say with ease and, surprisingly, he looks just as good with shorter hair as he does longer hair.
It sticks kinda awkwardly at first, so you waltz on over and gesture for him to crouch down so you don't have to reach up.
Once again he does as you request and leans down so you may fix it.
You adjust it a bit to make sure it won't fall first, and then you smooth it back a bit so it'll also look stylish. And once you're done you take a step back and smile at him brightly.
"All done! Let's go!"
---
He seemed rather fascinated in the way your car works first and foremost, but once you got him to look out his window instead of watching you, his excitement quickly turned into awe.
When you both get to the ULTA store he follows you without hesitation and asks some hushed questions about things he sees, like the light up signs, other passing cars, stoplights, and some other things.
You, of course, answer each question happily and lead him inside, holding the door open for him while he enters and looks around the brightly lit up makeup store.
Right away you head towards the general direction of the nose and scar wax (it's multi purpose, don't judge me), forgetting to make sure that Legolas follows you.
When it does occur to you, however, that the blond elf didn't come after you, you panic.
You turn in a circle and only stop when you see him standing with some ladies who practically have hearts in their eyes.
Unconsciously you breathe a sigh of relief and head over with the wax in your little basket, immediately reaching up to wrap your arm around his, "I got the first thing on my list, come on."
The girls stop their giggles and flirting as soon as you show up and look genuinely surprised.
You give them a smile and nod in acknowledgement, not wanting to make them feel bad over something so silly before turning with your arm still around his own and walking him over to look at some contour stuff and other things.
They make some snide comments when you turn your back about you being a 'clingy girlfriend' and 'not pretty enough to be with a model like that', but you only ignore it and relish in the fact that you didn't make them feel bad over something as silly as a cute guy in a makeup store.
"Why are those women talking about you like that?" He asks in a whisper, leaning down so only you will hear his question.
You look up at him with a bit or surprise since you didn't expect him to pick up on that, before you smile, "They're attracted to you, and they think that I was being selfish with taking you away from their advances."
"Selfish? Advances?" He looks confused, but you only smile and turn back to the display case.
"Don't worry your pretty little head over it, Leggy my boy."
"Leggy?" He asks slowly, looking at you in confusion.
"Leggy." You confirm with a nod with a distracted hum.
It isn't much later that you have everything you need, and so you go to the checkout and buy everything.
"Going to the convention?" The girl at the counter asks with a smile.
You smile back and nod your head, glancing up at Legolas before looking back at her, "That obvious?"
"No of course not, just the items in your basket always fly off the shelves around convention time." She replies with a giggle, ringing up all your items.
"Well, that's fair." You muse, putting your card into the reader to pay for it.
Once everything is in order she hands you your receipt and adds, "Maybe I'll see you there."
"Maybe!" You chirp back happily, liking the nice conversation going on here.
"You and your boyfriend have a good day now!"
You elect to ignore that.
---
On the way home you pretend to not notice the black car following yours and make small talk with the elf, answering some more of his questions and speaking idly on different things.
"There are so many odd, interesting things here..." He comments after a while, glancing out the back window. "Are you aware that, that car has been following us for the past 10 minutes?"
You nod and hum as an answer, "Mmhm, it's just Brian. He's probably trying to figure out who you are."
The blond knits his eyebrows together and glances back to look at the car again, "Should I do something about it?"
"The only thing you can do is ignore it. He went from lowercase 's' stalker to uppercase 's' since you guys arrived, and it'll only get worse if you intervene." You mumble, trying not to look in the rearview mirror at him. "It's fine."
"You don't seem to think it's fine." He challenges in the same even tone, turning in his seat towards you.
Instead of answering his question you look at him while you stop at a light and grumble, "I told you to put your seatbelt on."
"It's uncomfortable."
"I don't care."
"I will be fine."
"Not if we get into a crash, you won't."
The two of you stare each other down before he slowly reaches up and buckles his belt, never breaking eye-contact.
"Good boy." You coo in a way-too sweet voice.
"Anyways, I know we said as much before, but you needn't worry about that man while we're here." He continues despite your obvious subject change.
"I know." Your reply is softer and less defensive this time, for you really do appreciate it, "Thank you."
He looks surprised at your sudden gratitude, and his expression shows as much "For what?"
"For being you. For looking out for me. All of you."
This time he smiles and says no more.
---
When you both get back to your house you immediately put everything in your bathroom and get onto your laptop to view some techniques on theatrical and movie makeup, Pippin and Merry on either side of you while they view through the pictures and videos with you.
"That one looks interesting." Merry pipes up suddenly, pointing at a person to wolf makeup transformation.
"Yep, and way past anything I can do."
This pattern of going through pictures and viewing clips goes on for a little while until they two hobbits depart to have lunch, meanwhile you continue on so that tomorrow will be a success.
You're both excited and nervous at the same time, wanting to see how it'll all turn out but also dreading it incase something goes wrong.
You know the most important thing is to have a positive mindset about it, but it's kinda hard sometimes during your more anxious moments.
Also, there's the issue of Brian possibly following all of you...
Nah, that'll be a problem to think on for tomorrow.
"What time will we leave tomorrow?" Aragorn asks from his usual spot on the rocking chair, Penny still nestled in his lap as per usual.
"Around the morning. I bought the tickets already so we won't have to stand in line for too long... Hopefully."
"Thank you for working so hard so that we may see more of your world." He comments suddenly, stroking his hand down her fluffy back.
You tilt your head to the side and smile a bit, "You don't have to thank me."
"No, I do. You have seen to our every need and we no doubt pose to be a huge burden. Thank you, really."
His words make you flush slightly, and you look away shyly.
You've grown to care about all of them, so of course you would do anything to keep them comfortable at this point. More than anything you're just glad they see how much you're trying to make things easy on them. It feels nice being recognized for your efforts.
Plus, the added protection from Brian is pretty sweet.
pippin👏 with👏a👏tall👏reader👏 (could you make it veryyyy fluffy?) ((also the reader is human oop))
Big Heart
Fluff and Humor (also a touch of Angst)
----
You met the little hobbit, Pippin, on the journey to destroy the One Ring.
It was by chance that you managed to run into them during their time in Rohan, but completely by design that you ended up their escort to Gondor.
You were one of the best riders and horse tamers in Rohan, so it was only natural that you'd be sent as their guide since the mission was so vital.
And, as time went on, you began to develop feelings for said hobbit.
His mischievousness and humor drew you in easily, and you've never met anyone who could make you laugh as much as him. It was only natural that his winning personality, and ridiculous decisions, would capture your heart eventually.
It's funny, because he wasn't even trying. He's just a natural comedian I suppose (as is his cousin, Merry, who you're also quite fond of).
After all was said and done and the battle for Middle Earth ended, you opted to join the hobbits on their whttps://archiveofourown.org/works/17413022/chapters/70134579/edit#ay back to The Shire and keep them all safe and healthy during their travels even though you and Pippin haven't... discussed anything as of yet.
And, the day before you were scheduled to leave and head back for Rohan, Merry and Pippin approached you sheepishly and asked if you would like to stick around a bit longer.
Now you agreed of course, why wouldn't you? There's nothing left for you back in Rohan, there never really was in the first place other than your title and reputation as a good rider.
Staying in The Shire is nice and all, but there are some things about it that really, really bother you. The scale of everything being one of those things.
The ceiling are low, and the hobbits are even lower than that. You've bumped your head on Pippins high ceilings many times, always forgetting to duck down low since your height was never an issue (much less a factor ) in Rohan.
You'll probably get used to it eventually, but, are you even planning on staying long enough to get used to it? It's not like you've moved there or anything, they just asked you to stay longer.
You and Pippin really need to have a talk.
When this realization hits you, you decide to idly wait in his dinning room while he's out and about.
Now you may be wondering, what on earth does Pippin have to do during the day?
Getting into trouble with Merry, of course!
Sometimes they steal, sometimes they do odd jobs for the other hobbits in The Shire, but, most of the time, they just hang around and smoke outside in the lovely weather.
You, on the other hand, chose to stay inside and enjoy some time to yourself up until these thoughts began to cloud your thoughts.
It isn't until the sun begins to set and the firebugs begin to roam that Pippin comes home, and he returns to a pot of tea and some freshly, baked scones.
It's hard as shit to cook in this tiny little cramped kitchen, but you made it work and the end product was fluffy, flaky, and delicious (so maybe they're more like biscuits).
As soon as the blond-haired hobbit walks in you greet him from the other room, settling on one of the too small chairs with your knees that hit the edge of the table.
He walks into the room you're in and greets you cheerily, zeroing in on the food like someone who has been starving for the last week. It was expected, though, because he's always hungry (even for someone as small as himself).
"Be sure to spare some, Pippin." You warn with a joking edge to your voice, eyeing him with a falsely stern stare, "You need to leave some for me."
Pippin only smiles at you with those shiny white pearls of his and snatches two of the breads from the plate they rest on, "Does one sound fair? It sounds fair to me."
You stare at him blankly and don't offer any sort of quirk our lips or even an eye-crinkle, making it seem like you're wholly unamused by his jokes.
His smile slowly fades when you take on this sudden no nonsense attitude, and you find that you can't keep up the 'unhappy' facade for too long.
Almost in unison do the both of you burst out with laughter, because, clearly, neither of you were actually taking this situation seriously.
You could never joke around like this or enjoy yourself in the likes of Rohan, you had no one to share such moments with in the first place, but it's quite shocking to realize just how much you needed this.
How much longer could your mind have survived such a monotone and honor obsessed environment? This is the exact change of pace that you needed if you wanted to live through your 20's and not die of boredom. What's so fun or great about being a good horse rider anyways? Well, actually, to be fair it was fun at one point, but then it became your job and everyone had such high expectations that it kind of just sucked the fun out of the one thing that didn't leave you stultified to no end.
Anyways, the both of you cease your laughing eventually and you proceed to swipe and snack on one of those little treats you made, noticing the way that the both of you fall into a mostly comfortable silence.
Your gaze drifts back over to the hobbit sitting in the hair adjacent to yours and you find that he's already looking at you with an expectant edge to his gaze.
Everyone treats him like an idiot, but he's not so much stupid as he is unwise and foolish. He could sense there was some sort of unease rolling off of your shoulders and making the atmosphere slightly tense, definitely not something an idiot could notice so easily.
"You've got something to tell me. Or is it something you want to ask?" He's all business now.
"Yes, I do." You confirm with a shallow nod, gaze flickering over his face, "Something has been troubling me as of recent."
His blond curls bounce a bit when he nods his ascent to continue, and the movement draws your eyes as your brain begins to wander in search of a good way to approach the subject bothering you.
"Truthfully, Pippin, I haven't a clue what I am doing here anymore. You asked me to come to The Shire and I did, and then you asked me to stay, and I did that as well, but we are reaching a point where motivations and reasonings are becoming sparse. I know what my intentions are, and though I have not made them quite clear, which is what we need to talk about. What are we doing, Pippin?"
When you finish speaking your piece and look back at him again, you see that his head is hanging slightly and he refuses to look at you almost.
His eyes are sad and it makes your heart pang painfully in your chest.
"I... I am not so sure myself. I asked you to stay because I... um, Merry and I, don't wish to see you go." He puts down the hardly eaten 'scone' and scoots his chair closer to yours, looking up at you with a slight frown, "If I'm being honest, I can hardly imagine what it would be like if you were to leave, now."
"Yes, I know that much. But what am I doing here? I have little purpose at the time being, all I do is sit here or outside all day and do nothing . I wait around for you to get back because you and Merry never invite me to your schemes, and you do not invite me because I stick out. Literally."
You surprise even yourself with this 'outburst' because you thought your insecurities were only Pippin-deep. As much fun as you have with Pippin, you still feel like an outsider. Who do you talk to really besides Pippin, Merry, and sometimes Sam.
He looks even more sad than before, and you realize it probably sounds like you're thinking of leaving.
"I suppose feeling purposeless just bothers me-"
"I-I don't want you to go." He starts, surprising you slightly since he never really interrupts anyone. "You never treat me like a fool, and you always listen to what I have to say even when I don't make sense. Like, now I suppose. But it is more than that, too. T-The way I am and I feel when you are around is unlike anything I've known before, and, well, I don't wish to lose that or you."
You sit and listen quietly while he pours his little hobbity heart out and even wait some more after that, because this is exactly what you've been wanting in terms of communication.
"It's strange, you know I'm not usually like this, but even thinking about you leaving at this point is painful. Would I be too hasty in saying that I...," he trails off, seemingly contemplating what he needs to say next, "I may have fallen for you?"
There it is, that's exactly what you were waiting, and hoping, for.
"No, it wouldn't be. I've confessed as much myself already; in fact, I'd say you were quite late in saying it." You can't help but to tease him, and it appears to work out well for you because his face flushes and a sheepish expression softens his determined countenance. "Well, anyway. That is all well and good, but I must also say that it doesn't change my lack of excitement. And since you are the one keeping me here, it is your responsibility to mend this fact."
His forehead creases as he thinks it over and his mouth twists with thought, then his eyes light up and he smiles brightly. "Well, Merry and I could get you into all sorts of trouble, if you ask us to. We don't leave you out because you're too tall, we do it because you do not seem to be the scheming type.”
Well, that’s fair. And also unexpected. The whole ‘height thing’ was your primary suspect, but it seems like you’ll have to let it go.
“You don’t know that for sure. I can scheme like no other if I choose to. I just… do not normally choose to, is all. Take me with you, I demand it.”
The lightheartedness returns, and it successfully brings up the mood as well.
You reach your hand across the table and place it over his carefully, offering a fond and warm smile to him which he returns in kind. What a strange thing, being comforted by someone half your size with double the personality that you possess.
“Alright, Merry will be excited to hear that.”
“He’d better be.”
"But...," he trails off and you fall silent to show him he has your full attention, "I wouldn't be truthful if I were to say that I haven't had my own troubles."
You nod your head once and allow your hand to fall back to your lap.
"I think you are beautiful. One of the loveliest people I have ever seen, meanwhile I... am a short, foolish hobbit that few people take seriously. Surely you could have, and do, more than what I offer. A hobbit hole with... low ceilings that your forehead has met many times and clutter in almost every corner."
You're shocked that such a thing could bother someone as uncaring as Pippin - well, uncaring in a sense that he doesn't care for others opinions on himself - and it pulls at your heart strings.
"Pippin, if I had any care for something as trivial as height then I would be a hypocrite. If you're too short then I must be much too tall. And if your house is a mess than Rohan must be incomprehensibly disastrous." All of these things are true in your eyes, and you hope to help him see through the same lens as you. "Those things matter to me not, I wish I had made you understand that sooner."
He smiles at you and you smile back, and in this moment you feel at peace. A couple of shared words won't immediately extinguish the insecurities and issues that have come to surface over time, but they make it easier to bear.
"Besides, you may not be a big person, but that heart of yours is one of the biggest I've ever had the pleasure of benefitting from."
He blushes again, and it does things to your heart.
You never thought you'd fall in love with someone so short and mischievous, but here you are.
It's peculiar.
"Well, I suppose we should seek out Merry. I'm ready to get into some trouble."
