Warnings: Rated E, 18+. Post-sex body worship of the crown prince. Nudity. Slight masturbation (M), touching ones-self. Brief oral (M receiving)
Summary: In the blissful moments following your love-making, you admire your One as he relaxes in the early morning sun.
A/N: A little The Belly and chest fur worship because how can you not? @deanobingo
---
Fili sauntered almost lazily over to the bed, allowing you a long look at the body that had just finished pleasuring you beyond the point of exhaustion, your head resting heavily on a pillow that shielded you from the cold, stone floor while your eyes followed him effortlessly from where you lay.
His chest still heaved as he worked to catch his breath, and you smiled to yourself in appreciation of his vigorousness in the sport of love-making.
The toned muscles in his back flexed wildly when he lifted a bulging arm up to run his fingers through his hair that stuck to his face from sweat saturating the edges, turning the wheat-coloured tresses a deeper hue than normal. He sighed as he collapsed against the mattress, the wooden headboard supporting his upper half while his legs were cradled by the furs beneath them. One bent to rest at an angle, the other remaining against the bed; the full spread of his legs displaying his manhood in too-enticing of a way.
His torso contracted when he twisted toward the side table to retrieve his pipe, the purse of his lips something to be admired as he placed the intricately carved piece between them and worked at igniting the pipeweed. His brows knitted together when he inhaled deeply, all of his features relaxing upon his exhale, and when the plume of smoke faded away, it revealed his icy gaze at you from across the room.
You propped yourself up on an elbow, desperate to get a better look at the glory of your One who sprawled upon your bed as though he was an ornament amongst the furs.
His skin was tinted pink, his chest and cheeks flushed with heat and reminders of where your hands had been, and a thin sheen of sweat made him glow in the growing morning light. The soft orange beams highlighted him like the treasure he was, making the amber curls that covered his skin look as though they were plated in gold; suiting him like gleaming armor.
Taking another drag from his pipe, he rested the hand that held it on top of his raised knee, tilting his head curiously to the side as he continued to peer at you through heavy lids adorned with long, flaxen lashes.
You couldn't help but let your eyes follow his movements, traveling down from his eyes to his hand that had held you against him firmly mere moments ago, and then further to where his flaccid cock leaned heavily against his vast inner thigh. The coarser hairs that decorated his member appeared darker; sodden and untidy from a combination of sweat, spend and slick, making your core clench in knowing he was sticky and smelling of you.
You swallowed thickly, returning your gaze up to meet his, and like he knew what was on your mind and seeing how your body was already responding to wanting him again, Fili hooked an eyebrow high on his head.
Licking your lips, you shifted where you lay, purposefully adjusting in order to better display yourself to him; the art of seduction quickly flourishing into a subtle competition between you.
His belly jumped slightly as he let out a noise that was somewhere between a hum and a chuckle, giving a faint shake of his head in amusement, his wild hair gleaming like gold as the sunlight shined on it. The day-old braids were now almost unrecognizable and completely unruly from how much your fingers had torn through them, the quickly approaching day revealing how many hours of the night were dedicated to ruining his previously-neat strands.
Dust danced in the light that beamed in through the window, spreading a warmth across his relaxed form that accentuated the dense spans of curls on his chest, and in wanting to card your hands through it, you mimicked the action on your own skin, rubbing your breasts in slow, languid strokes.
The heat of the intense morning sun set you aflame as much as Fili's stare did, feeling his hungry eyes cast upon you, watching you like a beast about to devour their prey.
Trying to hold his look but failing, your eyes flitted down to the apex of his spread legs, the flex of his hardening cock distracting you and making your hands grope yourself more desperately.
Your eyelids fell closed as you proceeded to roam your body in hopes of it being him, only to cease when he spoke with a quiet surety that seemed to echo through your chambers.
"Are you going to leave me sitting here all alone, Amrâlimê?" he asked, his voice as sultry as the look he gave you when your eyes flashed open again, a hint of mischief playing at the corners of his mouth while a blush rose up on his cheeks that matched the rise of his shaft.
"My apologies," you purred, sitting upright. "I was simply trying to spare you from my wandering hands and salacious ideas. It seems I cannot control myself when you look the way you do right now."
His chest and belly shook with a hearty laugh, his dimples appearing in his cheeks and the lines around his eyes spreading a warmth through you that mirrored the fiery heat showing in his blue irises.
Rising from the piles of blankets and pillows arranged in front of the hearth that had been your make-shift bed for the night, you walked slowly over to the bed, smiling when Fili nodded his head to the vacant space beside him and patted the furs to coax you more.
You knelt on the bed, one knee at a time, your arms slowly alternating with the movement of your legs as you crawled toward him; the hunger held in his eyes as he watched you approach making you shiver with anticipation.
Fili parted his legs further, his offering making your mouth water, and taking himself in a firm hold, he stroked up and down on his length a few times as he waited for you to settle up to him.
You stopped just at his legs, letting a hand trail up the back of his thigh of the one that was bent, your lips gingerly kissing the top of his knee. Fili let go of his shaft, sighing as your fingers wandered down to his center and tickled near his taught sack, his head leaning back against the headboard, belly quivering to your touch. You cupped his ballocks in your palm, gently massaging them until he growled with approval, tugging on them ever so slightly until his chest rose and fell sharply. Lowering your head, you captured his cock that wagged from his squirming motions in your mouth, swirling your tongue around the tip, earning a sharp hiss from between his gritted teeth as he bucked up slightly off the bed.
Releasing him and hovering over his impatient member, you grinned at him, flashing a devious look through your lashes.
Before you could make any further acts of provocation, Fili grabbed onto your arms and hauled you against his front, and in one fluid motion, flipped you onto your back where you were pinned under his weight.
"It's unfair to tease me like that," he muttered, his lips ghosting on yours while his hands carded through your hair, pulling on it so you tipped your head back and exposed your neck to him.
"Is it?" you spoke nervously, but sanguinely, anxious to see what power he would unleash on you.
"Mhmm," he purred, licking a path up your throat before burying his face to rub his beard on your delicate skin.
The fur on his chest brushed your sensitive nipples in the most alluring way, making you arch up off the bed to press yourself more against the silky curls, his belly laying heavily on your middle to push you back down into the furs.
This is my first creation for the 2023 Deano Bingo event. @deanobingo
Fili x Reader
Warnings: Rated E 18+. Unprotected intercourse, power play, role play, dwarven lingerie, exhibitionism / semi-public sex
Words: 2634
Fili and his partner play out a fantasy that they both fine irresistible.
...
Fili had never wanted power. He had never wanted to wave his title over people to make them bend their knees or show off his wealth to the snobby nobles at council meetings. No, Fili did not want any of that when he became the crowned prince. He refused to give into greed and pride in the all-consuming way that tore apart his ancestors. But he was a dwarf. He was mortal. And he had weaknesses just like everyone else did.
That carved green stone that they called their throne was one…
You were the other…
And the glint of gold and ruby always a thrilling sight…
Not to mention that longing desire for freedom and rule braking that his uncle had tried to train out of him in preparation for becoming the crowned prince…
The aspect of getting caught…
It didn’t come as a surprise to you when he finally admitted his secret fantasy, the scene he pictured that would make him come undone in his own hands every time he allowed him mind to wonder. Him, on the throne of Erebor with his queen in his lap, bare and moaning loud enough that the guards could hear them on the other side of the mountain’s thick walls.
He had whispered it to you as he peppered kisses along your throat, his fingers traveling in and out of you under your combined coats, the company only meters away and completely unaware of your scandalous activities. He had made it sound so powerful, so delicious that you found it becoming one of your own favorite fantasies and a scene that the two of you played out often enough in the bedroom once Erebor was claimed.
Fili was a calculated and organized dwarf, always putting his responsibilities before his own needs, but when the opportunity to finally fulfil his wonton desire arose, he was powerless to fight it. So, as Thorin set off to the Shire for his honeymoon and his brother left for Mirkwood with his mother and Balin to organize negotiations with the elves, Fili was left in charge of the mountain. And boy did he used that to his advantage.
You weren’t silly, you knew something was amiss. Fili, who was usually miserable whenever his brother was away, was far too happy to be heading to council meetings when he left you earlier and it made you nervous as you made you way to the throne room, the thin chains of lace and gold he had ordered you to wear this morning cold against your skin but safely hidden under you dress.
Heat had gathered on your cheeks and between your legs as you walked through the long halls of the mountain and it took every fiber of control to stop yourself from grinning like a fool. It wasn’t uncommon for your prince to steal you away from your duties for a bit of fun or stress relief, he had a thing for taking you in the hidden nooks and crannies of the mountain, places with just enough privacy but still with a risk of getting caught, but he had never asked you to meet in such an open spot before. Perhaps he had found a new hidden cave he wished to lead you too? Or maybe he simply wished to tease you some and claim you after you had stewed on it all day?
You took a deep breath and smoothed out the front of your dress when you arrived at the doors of the throne room, the guards giving you a sideways glance at your reddened face and jittery hands but letting you through with a nod. You smiled gratefully at them and snuck inside, your breath hitching in your throat at what you found.
Draped lazily across the throne sat your beloved, his eyes darkening as they landed on you. He was dressed in layers of expensive furs and luxurious robes. Rings and jeweled bracelets adorned his hands and wrists in a show of wealth and mithril was laced through the braids of his hair and mustache. What shocked you the most however, was Thorin’s crown resting on his brow. The crown of the king.
The rest of the ensemble while not his usual self could be brushed off, but wearing the kings crown could get him in serious trouble if he was caught. Especially while sitting so comfortably in the king’s throne.
“Fili?” you gasped in instant understanding, nights of dressing up and roleplaying in the safety of your chambers flashing through your mind and making you clench your legs closed, “Are you mad?”
The golden locked dwarf smiled sharply, the dimples in his cheeks flashing, “Is that any way to speak to your king dove?”
His voice sent shivers down your spine and the heat in your stomach doubled as took you in with lustful eyes. He flicked his ringed finger and despite your lingering apprehensions, you obeyed the silent instruction, bowing your head and kneeling before the throne he sat in.
“Good girl,” he purred in delight, the bulge in his trousers clear from were you kneeled, “my wonderful queen,”
You raised your head to meet his eyes and temporarily ignoring your fears in favor of your lust, you slipped into character, “What is it I can do to serve you my king?”
His face lit up at your willingness to play along, “It seems that your king is in the need of some company, so if my queen would be so grateful?”
“Of course you majesty, but surly such a mighty and powerful king would not allow his queen to be left on the cold floor for such a task?”
Usually when you played this role the cold stone floor of your rooms was covered in thick woolen rugs and soft animal hides, in this room however, your skin was growing cold and you knees already hurt.
“No, not at all,” he agreed with a shake of his head that made his beads clink together, “A queen should be sat upon her throne. Come up here, sit,”
Making a show of it, you lifted yourself from the floor and into his grasp as he guided you to his lap. Biting your lip as his hardened bulge pressed against your aching core, you rocked slightly as you made yourself comfortable against him.
Fili took your face in his hand and kissed you. It was rough and needy and he made no effort to cover his small growls and groans as your lips met. His free hand had made its way under your dress and was kneading the soft flesh of your ass as he pulled you closer, slipping his tongue into your mouth with a whine. For a moment you lost yourself in him, his taste, his touch, even his scent had you worked up as you rocked against his hips.
Tracing your hands down his covered chest, you moved to undo his laces only for him to grab you wrists with one hand and hold you still.
“Patience my queen,” he whispered with a nip to your ear, “I have waited far too long, I won’t rush this,”
You stilled and he loosened his grip, bringing his attention to the ties of your corset instead. His quick fingers made light work of the strings and he took his time kissing and sucking along your jaw and down the side of your neck, slowly reaching lower with every inch of skin he revealed from your dress. You whimpered at his feather-like touches, arching you back to press your hips to his, desperate for some sort of stimulation against the burning between your legs.
Fili nudged you up and slipped the garment over your head, his eyes sparkling at the sight of you in nothing but chains of gold and lace that hugged your flesh and outlined your breasts. You shivered as the cold air of the throne room hit your skin making your nipples harden and he groan beneath you at the sight. He left sloppy kisses down your left breast, drawing back with a wicked grin as an idea crossed his mind. You tilted your head slightly as you watched him part the chains of gold, kiss you sloppily again and blow gently.
You gasped at the sensation of his hot breath turning cold against the wetness of your skin and moaned as you shivered again. Your head tilted back and you squeezed your eyes closed, the feel of him chuckling a deep rumble in his chest.
Enjoying your reaction he sucked again on your other breast, this time using the metal to chill your body and make you squirm.
“Fili!” you shuttered begging for mercy.
He merely raised a bow and gave a quick pinch to your bottom, “How do you address me?”
“Y-your majesty! My k-king,”
“Better,” he purred before looking up at you, “Now what can I do for you, my queen?” he asked innocently, sending your head spinning as he thrust up against you.
“Please!”
“Please what my darling? Come now, a queen needs to use her words, doesn’t she?”
“Please,” you panted again, “Take me my King, I need to feel you,”
“As my queen desires,”
You watched him with fervor as he undid the rest of his laces and pulled his trousers down to his knees, his erection springing to attention, drops of pre-cum already leaking from its head. He removed nothing else, keeping his cloak and crown adorned, the feeling of fur soft in your fingers yet nowhere near as wonderful than the layer of blond fur that covered you beloved’s chest. He dug his fingers into your hips and ground his length against your soaked folds sending you both into a fit of moans and whimpers.
“Fuck your perfect,” Fili groaned as he hid his face into the crook of your neck, placing sloppy kisses, bites, and moans. “So beautiful, so powerful. My queen, my treasure, are you ready?”
You nodded franticly, another high-pitched whine escaping you as he held you up and slid a finger through your soaked folds.
“Oh you are aren’t you dove, almost drenched for me. But I need you to do something for me ok baby?”
“Anything,” you begged trying and failing to rock against him as he held you still.
“You and I have a tendency to get very loud,” he chuckled, his own control waning at the desperation on your face, “but for now we need to be quiet ok? I’ve told the guards outside the door not to disturb us but if they hear you squeal they might come running in and we can’t have that, not yet. Can you do that? Can you be quiet for your king?”
You bit your lip, the thought of just how serious it would be if you were caught in this position ringing in your head.
Seeing your apprehension Fili gave you a gentle kiss, “we can stop now if you’d like. Head back to our chambers instead?”
“No,” you shook your head, your need outweighing your rational thoughts. You wanted this, to indulge in the fantasy that the two of you had grown and created together, “I can be quiet… maybe. You might have to help,”
“Don’t worry dove, I’ll look after you,”
Fili gave you once last look to make sure you were ok. Once satisfied he lined himself up and let you sink down onto him as far as you could, smashing his lips against yours to swallow any sounds you may make. Digging your fingers into the fur of his robes, and pressing your forehead against the cold metal of the crown that sat upon his, you lifted yourself and sunk back down again, your muscles relaxing and relishing in the feeling of his cock finally fully sheathed inside you.
Fili looked down at you, the pupils of his sharp blue eyes blown wide and his chest heaving as he struggled to keep quiet himself. For a moment the two of you sat there like that, simple savoring in the feel of each other and trying to even out your breathing. It was a loving and tender moment and as he began to rock, it became so much harder to keep in your moans. You reached up to kiss him again, his tongue hot against yours as your bodies began to move in sink. His movements got harder and faster as he thrusted up into you and as you tried your best to match his movements. His desperate hands gripped tightly onto your hips, pulling your cheeks apart to hit that spot deep inside you that made you see stars.
It was your turn to burry your face into his neck, biting down to keep you from screaming at the intensity that he was fucking you with. He let out his own broken whimpers, grasping at the gold chains in an attempt to bring you even closer still.
“When I’m truly king, I’m going to make you scream,” he snarled into your ear as your body shook and trembled around him, “I’m going to take you so beautifully, so perfectly that you won’t be able to stop. I’ll have your voice echo off these walls over and over again, the guards be dammed. They’ll be begging to touch themselves just from the sounds their queen makes as I pound her with my cock,”
You choked and babbled as you ground your hips, frantic to reach the high you were so close to, “Fuck Fili… ngh… please… so close,”
“Would you like that my queen?” he snarled, his hands shaking against you skin as his fingers slipped down to circle against your clit, “To let your people know just how well their King takes care of you? To hear just how pretty I can make you sing?”
The chains around your body clinked and your pants and whines seemed deafening in your ears as he thrusted into you, hitting that sweet spot that made your body explode in ecstasy and your walls clamp down around him. Letting go completely you opened you mouth to scream only for Fili’s thick, slick cover fingers to force their way in your mouth and muffle your sounds. He didn’t stop, continuing to ride you through your waves of pleasure until he reached his own, your overstimulated whimpering still stifled by his fingers against your tongue.
He sent you a pleading look behind his long blond lashes and you sucked harshly as your muscles clenched around his cock for a second time. You felt him rupture inside you in hot squirts, filling you with his seed and painting your walls white as he tensed and relaxed in your arms with a low, drawn-out moan.
You fell against each other, spent and exhausted, your breaths hot against each other’s skin. Pulling you closer to nuzzle into you, Fili wrapped his cloak around your tired body and held you close, still safely incased inside you.
“Your majesty?” a voice called out as the sound of the door creaking open sounded around the room making you both freeze in place with wide eyes, “Is everything ok? I thought I heard-”
“We are fine,” your voice called back instinctively before the door could swing all the way open. You voice loud and dominant, speaking in a tone that echoed that of a leader and not at all shaking in the panic you were feeling, “you were asked not to disturb this meeting. Return to your post immediately,”
In a splutter of apologies, the door quickly slammed shut again and you let out a shaky breath.
Fili glanced down at you with a dazed look upon his face his cock twitching inside of you at your effortless authority, “My queen indeed,” he moaned slamming his lips against yours once more.
...
Tag List : @feeweeeee
Please feel free to ask to be added or take off this list.
Prompts: Anders Johnson - Nightmare, Jealousy, In Vino Veritas, "Come with me."
The Almighty Johnsons - Anders & female Reader
5551 words
Summary: You've avoided Anders since your unanswered confession, but when Axl invites you to a party at his place, you force yourself to attend. Anders pretends not to care what you're up to, but can't help but get involved.
CW: Alcohol consumption, drugging, vague mention of hookups.
Angsty? Slow burn I guess? (This is a multi-part story.)
Series Masterlist here
Weeks passed.
You hadn’t told anyone about your forced confession to Anders, and you assumed - based on the lack of harassment from the others - that he hadn’t either.
He also hadn’t contacted you at all; a far cry from his usual texts and invites out. You took this to mean he had no desire to be around you and encourage your pathetic infatuation; that he had no interest in you as a partner or a friend.
Mortified after your confession, there was no way you were going to reach out first, and you’d been happy to avoid everyone while you tried to kill the stupid feelings.
That hadn’t gone especially well.
The complete lack of response from Anders felt like it could only be a rejection, and yet it lacked any closure, so you found yourself obsessing over it.
You’d replayed the gobsmacked expression of his in your mind so much that you’d started to have dreams about it; dreams where he’d answered you.
Sometimes in the dreams, he’d pulled you into a passionate embrace, confessing that he felt the same.
Other times he’d told you not to feel that way; confirmed that there was no intention from him to change how things stood between you.
Naturally, your other godly friends had tried to get you out to the usual gatherings, but you’d been fortunate enough since then to have completely legitimate conflicting plans - between work and mortal-friend commitments - to get you out of them.
Nobody had to know you’d sought them out specifically to avoid Anders and his brothers.
No such luck this week, though, so when Axl’s personal invitation to a party at his flat came by text, you were hard-pressed to think of a good reason why you wouldn’t be there.
You knew you couldn’t avoid the Johnsons forever, and no matter how much ribbing you expected to get from Anders, you told yourself it was better to try to get back to normal as soon as possible.
Maybe if he’s really awful to me I’ll get over him faster.
Still, you didn’t really fancy getting told how ugly you looked, so you spent a little longer perfecting your hair and makeup than usual, donning a skintight dress similar to ones that Anders had praised in the past.
At least if you were unwanted by him, maybe you could hook up with one of Axl’s little friends to make yourself feel better.
--
Axl lit up when he saw you arrive.
It had only been a couple weeks since he’d seen you, but after Anders’s odd comments about you not wanting to go out with them, he had noticed your absence on the club nights and at the usual weekend get-togethers.
He’d personally invited you this time, hoping that a request from Odin might hold more weight. He hoped that if you came, he could get Anders to apologize to you, or at the very least sort out why you were upset with his (admittedly rude) older brother.
“Hey, you made it!”
You couldn’t help but return Axl’s wide grin, letting out a small laugh as he pulled you into a tight hug.
“I did.”
“We missed you.”
“Missed you too. Just been busy of late. But- here now.”
You had missed them. All of them, Anders included. As soon as you were in Axl’s presence, it was like your goddess spirit woke up, happy to be around her kind.
“Most of the others aren’t here yet, but my schoolmates are.”
He gestured down the hall to where you could see Axl-aged dudes chugging cans of beer.
“Fancy a drink?”
“Chur.”
“Keen.”
You followed Axl toward the kitchen, thinking it was awfully sweet of him to be so happy to see you, and feeling a stone of guilt for avoiding him and the others.
--
Anders arrived fashionably late, refusing to cut short his work dinner for what he knew was going to be a shitty party with young mortals in attendance.
After greeting Axl he made his way toward the kitchen to find some piss.
He spotted you straight away - standing in a corner, batting your lashes at some tall lanky mortal he’d never seen. You looked like sex on legs, and he wanted you to take off your dress for an entirely different reason than that one time at Michele’s.
Still he feigned not to notice, taking a breath as he approached the chilly bin.
Michele, who was standing nearby, however, didn’t fail to catch him looking in your direction.
She stepped forward and took a beer right after him.
“Now that all the Johnsons are present, something's sure to go awry,” she greeted him.
“Such a friendly goddess. Can’t imagine why Colin dumped you.”
Michele gaped, amusement joining the offense in her voice. “I dumped him, you prick. As you well know.”
“Mm, to bag my older brother who you wanted to make a sacrifice as I recall.”
She shrugged. “Well that was then.”
“Go easy on him.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Anders met Michele’s smirk with a smile of his own.
He didn’t really care about them dating so long as nothing bad happened to his brothers as a result.
Michele surveyed the scene, frowning.
“We’re really slumming it tonight, eh?”
He held his hands as if weighing two points.
“Free piss. Distinct lack of viable bedmates.”
“Depends on your standards.”
Michele gestured toward where you were twirling your hair, flirting with some guy who was eating it up.
“Speaking as the most attractive person in the room-”
“Second most,” Anders interjected.
You being the first.
Michele flipped him the bird without looking. “-he’s just acceptable for a mortal. She can do better.”
Anders put a hand to his chest in mock-defensiveness.
“I’ve tried going there, but she turns me down,” he joked.
It was true that he’d initially tried it on and been rebuffed, but that had been before you’d really become friends with the Johnsons. It hadn’t crossed his mind seriously again until your spontaneous confession the other day, but he’d imagined it several times since.
Now he really wasn’t sure where you stood.
Why confess only to tell him nothing would come of it?
“Don’t even think about it, Bragi.”
Anders bristled at the way Michele sneered his godly name.
“She deserves heaps better than you.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“That while you may brainwash mortals into a night of fun, you’re not capable of keeping a goddess satisfied.”
“You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“Just remember that we goddesses stick together.”
“Ooh.” He shrugged. “Scary. I think we’re past all that, don’t you?”
Michele shrugged, feigning a lack of concern.
“Not that she’d ever go for a pig like you anyway.”
He assumed that Michele’s comments meant you hadn’t told your little goddess friends about your supposed infatuation with him.
He almost corrected her, but decided to keep your privacy instead.
“You don’t know that.”
Michele sized Anders up, remembering your comments about not pursuing your feelings, and let out a derisive snicker before walking off.
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
Anders turned his attention back to you and the young mortal you were flattering.
“Right, just look at my insurmountable competition,” he quipped lightly.
Michele laughed, agreeing that Axl’s friend was hardly a great catch.
Anders watched you silently, telling himself that Michele didn’t know what she was talking about; about whether or not you were into him, and about whether or not he could satisfy you.
I could if I wanted to, he thought defensively.
Did he want to, though?
Your rejection had been a blow to his ego, and instinctively he wanted to prove Michele wrong; but did that mean he wanted to pursue you?
He pursed his lips as he watched you place your hand on the mortal’s arm, batting your lashes as you smiled up at him.
Nostrils flaring, he looked over the crowd, wondering where his brothers had ended up.
If he had to watch you fawn over the loser much longer he thought he might chunder.
Not that he was jealous.
“Oh thank god,” Michele murmured, watching you excuse yourself from the mortal they’d been assessing on your behalf.
She flashed you a grin when you spotted her, and you smiled back, then fought to keep your expression light as you spotted Anders standing near her.
You pretended like it didn’t burn a hole in your stomach as you walked over.
Anders noted your empty beer bottle, and by the time you’d placed it on the counter, he had a fresh one opened that he pressed into your hand.
“Ta,” you managed, throat feeling dry.
You couldn’t quite maintain eye contact with him, the double judgment of knowing that both Anders and Michele were aware of your feelings for him making you feel extra scrutinized.
“Have to take care of my favourite goddess.”
Michele snorted, but you felt the heat rising in your cheeks, so you took a swig and turned your attention from Anders to Michele.
“You can do better,” Michele quipped, and you caught that she also meant it about Anders and not just the guy you’d been chatting up.
“Seriously,” Anders piled on. “No offense to Ax’, but his friends are not Auckland’s finest.”
“Well I’m not shopping for a husband, am I?”
You tilted your head to rub at your neck as you looked over to the kid in question.
“Sometimes it’s just nice to feel wanted,” you commented lightly.
You didn’t see the way Anders’s expression flickered, all three of you immediately distracted by another of the Tech students walking up behind you and Michele.
“Ladies.”
You and Michele both turned to face him in confusion.
Michele gave him an instant lookover, her face quirking into an unimpressed expression.
“Hello,” you offered, trying to be polite.
Anders tilted his head at the guy and loosed his Bragi tones, wincing in second-hand embarrassment.
“They’re both way out of your league, mate.”
The stranger gave a dazed nod, then turned to walk off.
You hugged yourself, feeling awkward, while Michele raised her brows and cocked her head at Anders.
“Oh- I’m sorry- Did you want him, Michele?” he asked teasingly. “I didn’t think Mike was the sort to share.”
She flashed him a bemused smile.
“He’s not.”
The next thing you knew, she was wrapping her arm around your shoulders.
“Come on, you. I haven’t seen you in ages and we have catching up to do.”
“Right…”
You glanced at Anders, feeling like maybe that was a rude way to walk away after having a group conversation with him.
He gave you a quick nod of goodbye, then turned away, giving you the impression that he wasn’t all that bothered by it.
In truth, Anders didn’t want to appear to have been affected by Michele’s insults or whatever was going on with you.
Once Michele had steered you out the back door to the deck, Anders leaned against the kitchen counter and stared into space as he contemplated the situation.
He knew you too well to think that your comment about feeling wanted was in any way a jab at him. It had been too off-the-cuff and honest; almost like you’d forgotten he would hear it, or that he might view it through the context of your weird confession weeks earlier.
He had been avoiding you, secretly grateful for your absence the last few get-togethers, unsure how you would behave around him. Lovesick mortals were an annoyance, but one Bragi had easily handled many times. A goddess, though; that was more complicated.
Seeing you here had made him realize how much he’d missed being around you.
If anything, he was a bit hurt that you were acting almost like that conversation had never happened. You’d seemed so torn up about it, looking at him like you were hurt… and now you were barely looking at him at all.
For all he knew, you’d already moved on.
That thought probably should have comforted him, but it was worse, somehow, than someone not having loved him in the first place.
He chugged the rest of his beer, then walked off to find one of his brothers.
If you were going to pretend like nothing had happened, he could too.
--
You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, the smell of the backyard fire distracting your mind until Ingrid’s firm grip on your hands grounded you.
You were seated cross-legged before her, sitting on a blanket she’d stolen from the house and wrapped in a second one, Michele standing over you both, refusing to join you in your lowly seats.
Ingrid let out a long hum, then let go of your hands to start rubbing some crystals together.
“Alright, you can open your eyes,” she advised.
You did so to see her peering at you suspiciously.
She reached out, seemingly plucking at the air around you.
“You’ve got so much… buzzing. Your mind must be a nightmare right now.”
She let out a small laugh, but when you simply pursed your lips, she offered you a pitying expression, holding her hand on her heart.
“Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it.”
You shrugged.
“No, you’re right. I’m- having a bit of a hard go of it. But- it’s fine. She’ll be right.”
“Well not to worry.”
Ingrid put her hand on yours.
“We’ll get you sorted.”
Michele kept quiet as she observed, though she had little faith in most of Ingrid’s intuitive fluff despite her status as an oracle.
Instead she smiled and sipped at her beer, happy to see you distracted by something other than Anders. She had noticed the way you couldn’t make eye contact with him, quite abnormal given how chummy you usually were with him. She wanted to encourage that distance; give you a chance to move on.
“You just sit there and I’ll see what comes up.”
You watched as Ingrid shuffled a deck of oracle cards that you’d seen her use a handful of other times, wondering if she could actually help you with them.
Unless they can erase memories, I already made an ass of myself…
You wondered what Anders thought of seeing you flirt with the students at the party. It probably seemed pretty pitiful.
It occurred to you only then that he might have thought you were doing it to make him jealous, and you felt your stomach turn.
He must think I’m proper pathetic.
Ingrid let out a low hum, an overly serious look on her face as she stared down at the five cards that she’d laid out between you.
“That bad, eh?” you lamented.
“There’s something you don’t see clearly, or… There’s something… you think-” She shut her eyes to try to put words to the overall message being conveyed. “You think it’s one way, but it’s not. You follow the path before you, but later you’ll realize it wasn’t what you thought. It’s all spilled milk and confusion…” She opened her eyes to squint at you. “Or sabotage?”
“Oh- no! It’s good, though. A warning, that things aren’t as they seem, for better or worse. So be careful.”
She reached around you again, carding her fingers through the space around you in an attempt to clear your aura.
“There’s something pulling the wool over your eyes.”
You finished off the beer Anders had handed you earlier, then sighed.
“I reckon I know what it is.”
“Here.”
Ingrid pressed one of her smooth stones into your palm.
“Take this to strengthen your intuition and inner wisdom.”
“Ta.”
You looked down at the translucent purple stone, touched by Ingrid’s sincerity.
--
Anders walked down the hall after a conversation with Olaf and Ty in Zeb’s bedroom, stopping where it opened to the living space to scan the crowd.
It took him a moment to spot you, holding a nearly empty bottle and chatting up yet another loser friend of Axl’s now in the corner of the kitchen.
You looked munted, your eyelids heavier than usual as you smiled almost-vacantly at the bland mortal before you. Your new friend, on the other hand, was practically fucking you with his eyes, clearly chuffed to have your attention.
Before he could question why he felt the need to interrupt it, Anders walked over and greeted you by name, pointedly ignoring the guy you were trying to talk to.
Your dazed expression morphed into a dumb grin.
“Anders! Hi, Anders.” You reached out to grip his forearm, grateful for the extra support to keep you on your feet.
Shouldn’t have worn heels, you thought.
Anders snickered at your reaction to him. He spoke to you with amused patronization as he steadied you with both hands.
“Yeah, hi again. You having a good time?”
You shut your eyes to nod, the plastered smile not leaving your face as he gently held you in place.
“Mhm.”
“Don’t think maybe you’ve had a bit too much to drink?”
“I barely had three beer.”
Anders frowned. You weren’t that much of a light-weight. He’d seen you drink several times that amount and not act this out of sorts.
The other guy put his hand on Anders’s shoulder.
“Hey, we were talking here-”
“Piss off.”
Anders glared up at the younger man, watching as the power of Bragi’s words washed over him.
The other man blinked and walked off, leaving you alone in the corner.
Anders tilted his head as he turned his attention back to you.
“You partake in something else then?”
“No.”
“Are you sure? You’re not feeling unwell?”
You tried to consider the question seriously, but as you closed your eyes to concentrate, you felt a pleasant sleepiness fogging your brain.
“I’m a bit tired,” you answered at last.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve become an old lady.”
You whined and stepped forward to rest your face on his shoulder.
You wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed now, but you didn’t have the wits to get yourself there.
“No, I don’t think that’s the issue.”
Anders held you up, frowning as he mentally eliminated other explanations for your behaviour, eventually convincing himself that all signs pointed to you having been drugged. He looked around for the guy who had been talking to you, but didn’t see him anymore.
He tucked his lower lip under his teeth. You needed to rest.
“Maybe we should call it a night, eh?”
You hummed in mild agreement, smiling against his suit jacket as you enjoyed the scent of his cologne and the feeling of his arms supporting you.
Before the two of you could make a break for it, though, Mike approached and tapped Anders’s shoulder.
They shared a tense glance, Mike looking you over and clearly questioning what was going on before deciding not to comment on the fact that you were in an intimate position.
None of my business, he decided.
“Family meeting. Axl’s room. Now.”
Anders pursed his lips, nostrils flaring, but nodded.
No sense arguing, but he didn’t want to leave you unattended in this state, either.
As Mike walked off, Anders spotted Zeb coming into the kitchen to grab another beer.
“Hey, you.”
Zeb raised a brow, pausing with his fingers on the pull tab of his beer.
“Me?”
“Got a job for you.”
Anders stepped over, expression stern despite the compliant attention Zeb was giving him.
He pointed at you and slipped his voice into his low, echoing Bragi tones, making Zeb’s head fuzzy.
“You stay with her until I say so. There is nothing more important than making sure nothing bad happens to her tonight. Understood?”
Zeb blinked slowly, but nodded. As the dominating pressure lifted, he eased and turned his attention to you.
“Fancy a drink?”
“She’s had enough,” Anders called, already walking toward the hall to join his brothers.
--
It took nearly two hours for the Johnsons to wrap up their crisis, meaning that by the time Anders returned to the flat with Axl, the party had died out. They stepped into the quiet house, and Anders frowned to see most of the lights were out.
“She probably went home,” Axl muttered.
Anders had told him he planned to give you a lift home after seeing how munted you’d gotten, but Axl found it hard to believe you were that pissed given how often the three of you went out on the town together.
“Or- not.”
They found you asleep under a blanket on the couch, your head in Zeb’s lap as he watched an old kaiju movie.
Zeb flashed Axl an easy smile.
“Ah, you’re back.”
Axl rubbed the back of his neck.
“Yeah. Bit of a wild night.”
“I await your tale in the morning my lord. For now I’d like to be relieved so I can catch some zeds.”
Anders nodded and stepped over.
“Alright, rise and shine.”
It took a bit of coaxing from Zeb before you blinked awake, yawning as your eyes focused enough to take in Anders and Axl standing in the room with you.
“I fell asleep,” you murmured, disoriented.
“Yeah, you did-” Anders grabbed your hands to help pull you off the couch. “Come with me. I’ll get you home.”
You nodded, leaning into him a bit as he started guiding you toward the hallway.
“Mm, kay.”
Axl stifled his laugh, amused by how out of it you were, and happy to see you and Anders getting along just fine.
“See ya.”
“Night.”
“Bye Axl, bye Zeb,” you managed.
Zeb stood beside Axl and waved as you and Anders left out the front door.
He turned to look up at Axl.
“Your brother did that Bragi thing on me again.”
Axl winced.
“Sorry…” he croaked.
--
Meanwhile, Anders was struggling to get you to his car - not because you weren’t being compliant, but because you couldn’t seem to keep your eyes open to watch where you were going.
He had to hold you up as you ambled beside him, clinging to his jacket and leaning into him.
“I’m so tired.”
“And you can sleep when you’re home. Just- gotta get- to the car.”
You made a happy humming noise.
“You’re so nice, Anders.”
“That’s not what you usually say.”
You let out a sleepy laugh.
He propped you against the side of the vehicle to get the door open, and when he moved to help you inside, he froze when you put your hands on his cheeks.
“Everyone thinks you’re rude when you’re being funny, but you’re really a good man.”
He swallowed, unsure how seriously to take a comment like that, given your condition. Your voice and expression were full of genuine affection, and he caught the way your eyes trained down to his lips.
“You’re wonderful,” you continued.
He kept his face neutral, hands off you.
“Get in the car, goddess.”
You gave a hum of easy assent, and he stood immobile as you got yourself into the seat and fumbled with the seatbelt.
He shut the door and made his way around the back of the vehicle, wiping his hand over his mouth roughly.
What am I supposed to say to that?
--
A while later Anders laid back against his pillow and rubbed his eyes roughly.
He blinked up at the ceiling, shoving one arm behind his head, assessing the night’s events.
This wasn’t exactly what he’d imagined when he’d tossed around the idea of taking you to bed.
He glanced to his right, the sight of you completely passed out a mild solace to the anger he felt in his gut.
Someone had drugged you, and he didn’t know who.
Someone connected to Axl, it seemed, which was going to upset his brother, of course. Moreover, a mortal had wronged a goddess, which he knew would piss off Michele, and he had half a mind to tell her if it meant retribution on the fucker. Mike could probably find them right away, if he asked.
Anders wasn’t a fan of date rape in general, but he’d be lying to himself if he couldn’t admit that it happening to his friend was really what was pissing him off.
If someone had done the same thing to Dawn, he’d react just as strongly… Right?
Well, that was his working theory, anyway.
Despite entertaining the idea of bedding since your last chat, it wasn’t like he thought of you the way he thought of the chicks he usually had fun with.
He saw you as important somehow. Worthy of respect and protection. That meant you were some other category of woman.
Dawn was the closest he could match that feeling up with, so that must put you back into the realm of ‘friend’.
But you don’t fuck friends.
Chicks weren’t usually into that sort of thing, and based on what he knew of you, you were more of the boyfriend sort than the quick root sort most of the time. Maybe if that last guy hadn’t been such a jafa, you wouldn’t have even fallen for Anders, and then none of this would be on the table, and he wouldn’t have to question how he felt about all of it.
He watched you wince and groan in your sleep, wondering what sort of dream you were having.
“Shh, you’re safe as houses,” he murmured, not noticing his own Bragi tones as he reached out.
He pulled the covers higher up your body until you were tucked in securely.
Why did you have to tell me?
If you didn’t want him, why say that you loved him?
Was it better to know, or not know?
He huffed and rolled over to face away from you, a heavy feeling in his chest he couldn’t name.
---
You woke the next morning, blinking to clear your confusion as you looked around the strange bedroom you found yourself alone in. Sitting up, it seemed vaguely familiar, but you couldn’t place it.
Did I hook up with someone…?
Then you registered a familiar scent, and suddenly you remembered when you’d been in the room before.
Months earlier, you’d met up with Anders and Axl at Anders’s flat before a night out, only to have Anders send you into his bedroom to grab something he’d forgotten.
Why am I in Anders’s bed?
You looked yourself over, heart racing, but you were fully clothed in what you’d worn the night before - jewelry and all.
You slowly got up, adjusting your clothes to look as presentable as they could after being slept in. Something didn’t feel right, though, and you reached into your bra to find a small purple stone had been pressed inside, the memory of Ingrid handing it to you flashing vaguely through your mind.
You put it back in place, then walked cautiously out into the living area, relieved when you saw Anders sitting at his dining table having a coffee.
He looked up attentively.
“Ah, you’re up! How you feeling?”
You hugged yourself, stopping beside his kitchen island.
“Confused, mostly. Why am I at your flat?”
“You weren’t feeling well at the party. Tried to take you home, but you couldn’t tell me where that was.”
You frowned. You couldn’t remember much after getting to the party. You’d had a few drinks and tried to be friendly to Axl’s friends, but then…
“It’s a bit of a blur, to be honest,” you murmured, rubbing your temple.
“I think you might have been drugged.”
You looked up to see Anders with a strange expression on his face. There were hints of anger in his tense features, but his eyes met yours with concern.
Something pulling the wool over my eyes, eh?
“You should eat something, drink some water.”
“Uh- sure. Ta.” You turned and grabbed a glass from his dish rack to fill at the sink.
“If I was drugged then..-”
“Nothing happened to you, don’t worry. Zeb was with you, then me. Safe as houses.”
Zeb, right. You had a hazy memory of laying in his lap. You knew him too well to think he’d drug you, so it must have been one of Axl’s other mortal friends that you’d been availing yourself to all night.
“I’ll have to thank him.”
“Mm.”
“And- Thanks to you, too, Anders. Sorry I’ve been causing you so much trouble lately.”
“No trouble.”
“Mm, you say that, but…”
You rolled your eyes, thinking it was awfully pathetic to need his help after how awkward everything had gotten.
“You really didn’t have to go to all the fuss of putting me up.”
“What was I supposed to do? Leave you with those dickheads at the party? Despite what Mike thinks, I do actually believe in fun being consensual.”
You shrugged.
“It just- wasn’t really your problem, that’s all.”
“Codswallop.”
You raised a brow.
Anders glared back at you with offense.
“I may not be your boyfriend, but if you think I’d just sit back while something happened to you, you’re wrong. I’m not a monster.”
“Sorry.”
You looked down.
You’d never thought he was one, but it felt pathetic to be getting his help when you felt the way you did about him and knew he didn’t reciprocate.
He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that you were still acting a bit strange around him, but it hurt him a bit to think you didn’t want him looking out for you.
Weren’t you… friends?
It occurred to him that he didn’t have many of those. Maybe he’d misjudged it.
“I wasn’t trying to imply…”
You took a deep breath and glanced up at him as you put down your glass.
“I’m gonna head home.”
He got up and followed you toward the door.
“Are you sure you’ll be right? I can give you a lift.”
You gestured dismissively as you stepped into your shoes.
“No worries. I don’t live far.”
You caught the way his brows slightly raised.
“Oh. Good.”
You hesitated in the doorway, then met his gaze, voice earnest.
“Thank you for looking after me.”
“Of course.”
You turned to leave, but he put his hand on your forearm.
“Hey-”
When your eyes met his, you read a vulnerability in them that you weren’t used to, his furrowed brow making you worry.
“We’re friends, right?”
You felt the knot in your stomach ease, reassured that he still wanted a connection to you despite your pointless confession.
You offered him a genuine smile, shoulders relaxing.
“Always.”
Of course a friend would step in in a situation like this. If he still saw you that way, then maybe you could go back to seeing him that way, too.
He couldn’t help but return your smile as he let go of you, then stood watching you for a beat as you walked down the hall before he shut the door to his flat.
He was relieved at your confirmation - of something he’d never had to put into words before - and hoped it meant that things could eventually go back to normal between you; that you’d stop acting so uncomfortable around him.
He emptied your water glass into the sink and huffed.
The idea that one of Axl’s idiot friends had drugged a goddess still wasn’t sitting well with him, so he grabbed his keys and put on some shoes to go get to the bottom of it.
I’ll figure out which dickhead it was, and then Bragi can have a little chat with him.
--
Anders had spent the morning dealing to the mortal who’d wronged his friend, feeling quite noble about his use of his powers for once.
That afternoon he sat at his desk, staring into space as he ran his thumb over his lower lip.
He couldn’t stop thinking about you.
The tortuously sexy dress you’d worn to flirt with Axl’s idiot friends.
The way your face had lit up to see him while you were drugged.
The relief he had felt to see you safe and asleep in his bed.
Your saccharine smile when you’d affirmed that you’d always be friends.
And the heartbroken, apologetic way you’d told him that you’d fallen for him.
It wasn’t fair, he thought, that you’d put the idea in his head like that. To make him question what it might be like to be really loved by you, when you’d rejected him in the same breath.
How can you want me and not want me at the same time?
Am I not good enough?
He held his head in his hands and let out a long sigh.
“Anders, are you alright?”
“The most beautiful goddess in Auckland is in love with me, of course I’m not alright.”
“What?”
“What?”
Anders looked up in concern, but Dawn gave him a look he couldn’t interpret, tilting her head.
“Someone’s in love with you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Nevermind.”
“Are you sure…?”
He scowled.
“You know, it’s not a good look to be nosy.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Fine, don’t tell me. I’m sure I don’t want to know anyway.”
She tossed the folder she was holding onto his desk.
“Here are the reports you asked for.”
“Thank you, Dawn!”
He opened the folder and enthusiastically started looking through them, grateful for the distraction.
“Thank god,” he murmured.
--
Part 3 here
--
A/N: Thanks for reading this, if you did! I feel like I haven't been finishing as many WIPs as I'd like, but I'm determined to keep this story to the current outline so hopefully it won't grow like Lofn did (I'm close to the next chapter of that being ready, too, I promise it's in the works!) and you'll get the rest of it shortly. Special thanks to @laurfilijames for putting up with my ramblings about this fic idea since its inception.
Content Warnings: canon divergence, everybody lives/nobody dies, the Durins are bad at romance, fighting tournament, misogyny (we’ll fight against it).
Summary: When Thorin tells Fili that Dáin has offered to introduce him to his goddaughter Maen and that expects them to get on good terms and, maybe, end up married, Fili decides that he’s going to hate her. Little does he knows that she’s not only beautiful, but she’s also smart and strong. He expected to be the one with an opinion on the matter, yet she confessing that she won’t marry him hurt his pride deeply.
Word Count: 8012
Also available on AO3
This work was created to be part of the Deanobingo2023 event by @deanobingo It fills the Character Card with Fili and the General Prompt Card with Hurt/Comfort.
Lion and Fire | Oneshot
It's common knowledge among dwarfs that less than a third of their population are females and that pregnancies and deliveries are highly complicated and dangerous, therefore their children and dwarf ladies are cherished and cared for. However, a young dwarf lady in the Iron Hills turned the tables by giving birth eleven times, always quickly and powerfully. Among those eleven babies, seven of them were females. Those rarities gave the family high recognition among the population of the Iron Hills up to the point in which king Dáin pleaded for the couple to be the godfather of their youngest.
Their fame allowed them to marry their first daughter to a well-off smith. They loved each other, of course, but if the daughter hadn't been the first of eleven children the possibilities of marrying someone with a better position and income than them would've been remote at best. She gave the smith five children, four of them females, and two of them in one go. There was no such word in khuzdul for siblings that shared the womb although, in the common tongue, it was 'twins', apparently.
The success of that union helped the second daughter marry the son of the head of the guards. That was an impressive jump. Four wonderful daughters followed their marriage and the rumor of the magic of those dwarven ladies spread.
As the siblings of the youngster kept growing and marrying, she rolled her eyes with disgust and complained when her family insisted that because of the gift they obviously had she was meant to be kept indoors learning how to knit, sew, cook, and work in other small works like woodwork for tools or toys, and metalwork for jewels.
"Maen!" she heard her name being called and stopped in her tracks. Comically slowly, she turned her body to face the voice. King Dáin was looking at her with an arched brow. "What are you doing in the armory? Again."
"I rather not answer that, sire."
Shit. She shouldn't have said that because then the piercing look of Dáin noticed the axes she had tucked in a blanket. He sighed and approached the twenty-seven-year-old, "We've talked about this, Maen. You are a lady and–"
"I can fight as well as any other dwarf!"
"That's not the point. The point is that female dwarves are so scarce that the danger of the battle would reduce their number and it may cause our extinction."
Her frown and the fire in her eyes made Dáin smile. That young dwarf was like a daughter to him and he couldn't resist the pride swelling in his chest due to her determination.
"Very well. You'll be trained," her eyes lit up. "But do not expect any help just because you're the goddaughter of the king. You'll face the training like the others and if you fail you'll retreat."
"I won't fail!"
And she didn't. In fact, Maen became the best warrior of her generation. She was fast and strong with great coordination; her oldest brother-in-law forged her axes, sword, and knife with extra care. Maen's family had not taken greatly Dáin's decision to allow her to learn how to fight and smith among other things, but her bright smiles and good mood pushed them to accept it and help her the best they could.
Nevertheless, she grew up and the perspective of her marriage was smothering. Being the last of the sisters in line for marriage awakened a dark monster among the Iron Hills' population as every single male dwarf, despite their age, sent their intentions of courting the young dwarf once she was of age. Dáin cut that nonsense when the harassment became increasingly dangerous and he stated that whoever put his hands on his goddaughter without her proper consent would face a death sentence.
Kind of luckily for Maen, the year she became legally suitable for marriage was when the company of Thorin Oakenshield reclaimed Erebor successfully with the help of Dáin's army in their last moments. Not many people knew that Maen had an influence on Dáin's political decisions, but she did. When Thorin's letter begging for help arrived, she started thinking about the war machines they could carry to the Lonely Mountain to face the dragon, yet Dáin refused and put his foot down in that decision. She didn't let the topic drop, though, and thanks to her the Iron Hills' army was ready to part when Thorin's cry for help arrived. She had overpowered Dáin's stubbornness with her own.
The battle of the five armies was bloodshed. She fought back to back with Dáin and his second in command. Maen killed with both hands, not stopping until all their enemies were down, even if her arms were hurting badly or if her armor was soaked in blood. Once the battle had been won, Dáin looked at her across the battlefield and nodded highly pleased with her performance. Maen was a warrior and that day she proved to her fellow dwarfs that if they wanted to court her, they had a long battle ahead.
Prince Thorin and his nephews had been badly injured, but not deadly, which was great news for them. Winter was upon them and they had a decision to make: either they went back to the Iron Hills leaving the Oakenshield Company and the men of Laketown to their own volition, or they stayed trying to help and tending their own injured warriors.
Maen accompanied Dáin to the meeting with the elven king, Bard of Laketown, the wizard, Thorin, and a hobbit. While Dáin took a seat, she stood behind him with a hand carefully placed in the grip of her sword. She listened quietly while the discussions developed. The elven king was being a royal ass, Bard was a great leader, while Thorin and Dáin were being stubborn dwarves unable to see the privilege of a short alliance with the elves as they were able to provide them with food for the worst of the winter; no more than three months.
She cleared her throat when everything was starting to get ridiculous and Dáin closed his mouth immediately. Maen felt Thorin's eyes on her, but she didn't say anything, she didn't even move. Dáin sighed leaning back in his chair.
"Fine. Fine, you're right. Before the roads become intransitive, I'll send the healthiest injured dwarves back to the Iron Hills with word of sending back some of our resources for the winter. In doing that, we'll reduce the number of people in need in Erebor," Dáin conceded to everyone's surprise.
Gandalf studied Maen as if he was able to see through her soul.
"We need a place to stay as the dragon burned Laketown and Dale is inhabitable just yet. However, we understand that our number, although reduced after both the dragon attack and the battle, is still an inconvenience for Erebor and Mirkwood. I propose to divide our number and if you have room for us, king Thranduil, some of us would go with you, and the others would stay in Erebor, if possible." Bard was diplomatic and careful with his wording, but he wasn't giving any alternative. His people needed help and he was going to get it, he was willing to bend but not to break.
Maen fought her need to smile, but Dáin could sense her good mood and nodded to the man.
"Cousin, what are your thoughts? I haven't seen the mountain yet."
"I– I have not explored it in its whole. I do not know the extension of the dragon's damage," Thorin explained.
Bilbo, the hobbit, twisted his nose, looked around the table, and pressed his lips together before finally deciding to speak. "Um… I did. I came and went. Not much, really. I didn't want to get lost. The mountain is huge," that seemed to please Thorin. "There are a few large rooms whose structure is sturdy and it could keep all of us safe and such. Um… It might be like camping, but inside the mountain, though. We might need to build some tents inside to isolate and keep the warmth close to us because those rooms have very high ceilings."
"Huh… It can be done," said an old dwarf with red clothing and a white beard. Balin, if Maen remembered correctly, had been standing between Thorin and Bilbo's chairs, listening and not really talking, until now. "The forges were almost destroyed when we fought with the dragon inside, but the fire is still working and I'm thinking we might be able to use the old calefaction system. We can also get some fires in those rooms. And if some of the Iron Hills' dwarves are staying, they can guard the delicate parts of the mountain."
"My people would be under your orders, cousin, don't fret. I could go back if you don't need me here."
"We have a solution there. That's interesting," Gandalf noted with a controlled tone. "However, there's also the need for food. Even if Dáin gladly sends something from the Iron Hills, it wouldn't be sufficient."
"The lake is not incredibly far, but fishing can be dangerous depending on the weather," Bard explained.
"And Mirkwood is still dangerous to go hunting there. Plus, is farther than the lake," Bilbo pointed out.
"I guess there's no other option but to help you. However, if you expect this help to be–"
"It must be free or it wouldn't be 'help'," Bilbo spat with cold politeness.
Maen smiled then before biting her bottom lip. Thorin had seen her reaction and he looked at his cousin searching for answers as she had not been introduced at the beginning of the meeting.
"It's not like we can starve, and–"
"Then you must keep all the men in your realm," Maen cut him piercing his iced eyes with her own brown ones.
Dáin smiled smugly. "She's right, elven king. If you won't help the men that stay in Erebor, then you must take care of more of them. I'm sure I could take all my healthy dwarves and only leave here the badly injured ones, plus the company. It would be much easier for the Iron Hills to aid less than thirty people than three-hundred."
Thranduil was about to make a smart remark, but Gandalf's soft chuckle made him keep his mouth shut. His son, prince Legolas, accepted the previous conditions in his name. He was about to leave for the north, but he had stayed by Gandalf's plead to help with the negotiations.
"Beorn had offered to provide Erebor with flour and honey before the paths got cut due to the weather. If your majesty needs some aid with those ingredients, I'm sure he'll–" Gandalf was cut sharply by Thranduil dismissing the offering.
"We'll be ready to settle in half of the men. I'm sure some scouts would be able to hunt for the ones remaining in Erebor to survive the winter."
"Thank you, king Thranduil," Bard nodded to him.
With everything solved for the moment, the dwarves exited the tent with the hobbit. Bilbo seemed to have taken great interest in Maen, as he was glancing at her but trying to be subtle about it.
"May I help you, Master Hobbit?" She inquired with a playful smile.
"Oh! I'm… Uh… It's just, I…"
"The little guy must be intrigued about what's a dwarven lady doing here, are you not Mister Bilbo?"
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize. Most females don't do war, as it's supposed to be extremely dangerous."
Thorin arched an eyebrow at her, "It is extremely dangerous."
"Funnier than knitting."
"This is my goddaughter, Lady Maen, the Fire of the Iron Hills. I did not have time to introduce her before, cousin. She's responsible for our quick answer."
Confused, Thorin looked at her. "I kept pushing Dáin to come to Erebor and help you with the dragon. We were about to go out of the Iron Hills when the news arrived."
"She's a handful, cousin, a handful. Although, I have a proposal to make you," his tone and the fact that he was wrapping an arm around Thorin's shoulders made him tense.
"What proposal?"
"Are you interested in an alliance between Erebor and the Iron Hills? Stronger than the one we already have, of course."
"I won't be marrying her."
"Mahal, no! You're ancient for her!"
Bilbo snorted at that. Thorin shot him a look.
"Your nephews, on the other hand… Fili's the heir, is he not? Maen is Kili's age, so it wouldn't be such a difference between her and Fili. What do you think?"
"I won't impose a marriage upon my family."
Dáin laughed in good spirits, "If you believe I can make Maen do anything she's not comfortable with, you're highly mistaken. All I'm asking is if you think they could meet, and see what happens."
"Couldn't you have talked to me about it before?" Maen sighed.
"Now, where would the fun be in that?"
Things got settled then without any promises or concessions. Maen assisted Bilbo in tending the survivors and arranging the mountain for the winter. She wasn't as close-minded or prone to prejudice as her fellow dwarves, therefore she immediately took a liking to the hobbit which made Bilbo feel at ease in her presence. Before the worst of the winter fell upon them, and once the Iron Hills' supplies were well stoked in Erebor, Maen left with Dáin.
Five years later, Thorin reached out to Dáin accepting the proposition of having Maen and Fili meet, but he was clear enough that Fili had the final decision, not him.
That's how five years after the battle of the five armies, a caravan of dwarves from the Iron Hills closed the distance with Erebor once again. Rumors about Maen had been spread among the Ereborians; they knew about the good luck of the females in her family and that she was Dáin's goddaughter, yet even if they believed that they couldn't comprehend that she being a warrior was just as true as the other things. When she showed up in the throne room with a gorgeous magenta velvet dress with golden embroidery, intricate braids in her hairstyle, and beautiful jewelry designed for a princess more than for the youngest child of a poor family, the rumor spread that she was well educated, feminine, and, in no way, a warrior.
The throne room was occupied by king Thorin, his consort Bilbo, and his advisor Balin. Dáin stomped happily forgetting all about protocol much to Thorin's amusement.
"Cousin!! It's good to see you where you belong. Up and healthy, no less. Good. Good," he nodded vehemently.
"I hope the journey had not been too difficult for you, Dáin."
"Nothing can break us, Thorin. Ah! You better remember Lady Maen," with a gesture of his hand, she made a small bow.
"Impossible to forget. Welcome, Lady Maen. I hope your stay in Erebor would be pleasurable."
"If I may, sire, allow me to compliment the state of the mountain. In only five years, it has changed too much I can barely remember where all the debris was."
"Indeed. Time flies and we've been using it wisely. My consort has taken special care in the election of your rooms, and I've been warned that you would need free access to our library if you are to be happy under our roof," Thorin stated with a mischievous glint in his eyes that contrasted with the deepness of his voice.
Maen blushed violently as Dáin laughed, "There are two places that cannot be kept away from Maen, cousin, one of them is the library and the other is the arena. Don't let her fool you, she's as much of a handful as your nephews when she's determined. Not as mischievous, perhaps."
"I'm standing right here," she deadpanned.
She had been thinking about this meeting since Thorin's letter arrived at the Iron Hills, yet she never, in her wildest dreams, imagined Thorin Oakenshiel burst into laughter at something she'd said. Maen stopped breathing due to the surprise, and when she locked eyes with Bilbo, she relaxed as the consort had a familiar welcoming and caring air surrounding him.
"Well… Where's the lad?" Dáin asked then.
Thorin seemed nervous then, glancing at his consort. "We might have misplaced him," Bilbo pointed out.
"But don't fret, Dáin, Dwalin, and Dís are looking for him at this very moment," Balin added.
"He knew I was coming, didn't he?" She asked Bilbo directly.
The hobbit cleared his throat changing his weight anxiously. "Of course! We– Um… We told him this morning."
"This morning."
"Then we could prevent him from going out of the mountain," Thorin explained.
Before she could say anything else, the door burst open with amazing strength. A dwarf lady wearing a rich Durin's blue dress and an impressive braided upsweep, with mithril beads on her beard, appeared stomping in furiously; on one hand, she was carrying a heavy hammer while the other had a firm grip on the back of the clothes worn by a blond dwarf being dragged by her. A few steps behind them, a huge bald dwarf full of ink had another dwarf on his shoulders carrying it like a sack of coal. The dwarf lady didn't seem put off by the presence of the Iron Hills dwarves, it mostly fueled her anger if Maen had to go by the way her frown deepened.
She dropped the blond dwarf to the floor, right at Thorin's feet. The bald dwarf hadn't dropped the other dwarf that was fighting with all he had kicking and punching him without result. Thorin closed his eyes a moment before grunting an 'Up' full of ire.
The blond dwarf stumbled to get to his feet, when his blue eyes found his new audience, he ran a hand through his messy mane and stood excessively self-satisfied. Maen arched an eyebrow utterly unimpressed.
"Lady Maen, allow me to introduce you to my sister, Lady Dís. This is her son, and Crown Prince of Erebor, Fili," when Thorin noticed Maen's eyes glancing at the other two still struggling, he sighed. "And that's the chief of the guard, Dwalin, and Fili's brother, Kili."
"We do apologize for this terrible first encounter," Dís rapidly assured.
"Please, do not worry. I had been warned that he had been misplaced."
Fili rolled his eyes and Maen fought her urge to just push him. She had made a long journey to come and meet him!! The least he could do was behave like a proper dwarf.
"I was also told that I share a birth year with Kili," she looked pointedly at the dwarf on Dwalin's shoulder. The young dwarf stopped fighting to get free. "I must say I beg to differ."
Thorin snorted, "You and I, both."
"Why don't we show our guests their rooms?" Bilbo asked looking at Balin.
"Great idea! I'm sure you must want to rest before supper is ready," the advisor smiled at them.
"That'll be great, Master Balin," before following him and the others, Maen took Fili's look on with an enigmatic smile. The prince twitched under her scrutiny. "It would be impossible for us to get to know each other if you keep running away, prince Fili; and here I thought you were called Lion for a reason…"
As she left she could hear Dís loud laugh and a pleased, "I like her already!"
The quarters Maen was placed in were beautiful and cozy, they had a clear hobbit influence and she loved it. Bilbo had left a small stock of books in her room with a nice note. She felt moved by Bilbo's easy way of making people around him feel taken care of one way or another. Thorin's good humor was a total surprise, yet incredibly welcome. The brothers' stunt had hurt her, however. She couldn't understand how someone could just be so disrespectful to someone they didn't know. Maen understood that maybe Fili had already someone he wanted to court and he hadn't talked to his uncle about it, but they could've talked about it at least. There was no need to run away and reject her like that. Perhaps Fili had heard about her humble birth and that was a dealbreaker for him even though it didn't seem to be the case with Thorin or Dís.
As she considered the possibilities of the prince's behavior her mood soured. Something heavy sunk into her stomach.
When supper was ready, she walked to the dining room next to Dáin. Thorin's company was there, as they were now noblemen. Fili and Kili kept mostly for themselves although their mother confronted them with harsh whispers every now and then. Maen took this opportunity to get to know the others and she found herself charmed by Ori's shyness as he explained how he was now the head of the library and he'd been taking extra care of the books with Bilbo. Maen shared her love for books and complained about how scarce her library in the Iron Hills was compared to what she'd heard of the one in Erebor.
Ori's older brother, Dori, complimented her on her dress and she immediately explained that the intricate work had been made by one of her sisters.
"I'm not as good with fabrics and threats as I am with the sword, I'm afraid."
"The rumors are true, then?" Nori asked with a glint in his eyes. As far as she had been able to perceive, Nori loved all kinds of digressions of the norms. That included the fact that Maen was a warrior.
"Without having listened to the rumors myself I'm not able to confirm nor deny them, Master Nori. However, I am in fact a warrior. I came here five years ago a helped in the battle."
A snort made her turn her head sharply. Kili, bright red, was choking on his food.
"Seriously?" Bilbo muttered tiredly as he approached the young prince to clasp him in the back, "This is a divine punishment for trying to make fun of her. Just so you know," the hobbit whispered to him; it was so loud, however, that the whole room heard it.
Maen approached Dwalin after dessert had been eaten, and she started a conversation about axes and their different forms. It immediately engaged the warrior in an enjoyable chat about the advantages and disadvantages of long axes, short axes, extra curly axes, and so on. When Maen told him that his brother-in-law was the smith that made her weapons, Dwalin immediately showed interest in giving them a few blows and he even invited her to the arena.
Before the night was called off, she approached the princes. Without the ceremony and respect that she should show them due to their rank, she sat in front of them with an eyebrow arched and her arms crossed on her chest.
"Well? Anything you want to say to my face or you two rather whisper each other's ears off like a couple of grannies?"
"What are you doing here, exactly?" Kili wondered with a frown.
"I've been asked to come and meet with you guys. Dáin's idea is that, if Fili and I like each other we could get married."
"And if I don't want to marry you?" Fili spat straightening his back.
Maen snorted rolling her eyes, "Sweetheart, right now I'm the one who won't marry you. You haven't even been nice enough for me to be able to consider you a friend in the future. I'm going to stay here as long as Dáin wants, so you better grow up and face the fact that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
"What if we make you leave?" Kili whispered in a poor try at being menacing.
She giggled. "Ow, you're cute. I won't leave. It's refreshing being somewhere where I don't have to be looking over my shoulder for someone to shove courting gifts in my face."
"Are you that popular in the Iron Hills?" Fili seemed skeptical and Kili was blushing so hard that his brain was going to melt.
"Dáin had to make a decree for them to leave me alone. It worked… for the most part."
*
Two weeks after that terrible first day, the princes seemed less ridiculous around her, which was great, but they still treated her like a pest. When Dís or Thorin agreed that Fili would accompany Maen to the market, he made her wait for at least an hour before showing up sweaty and dirty from fighting in the arena, Kili close behind him; as might be expected, the fact that the brothers were together implied that they lead her to the market and then ignore her in favor to talk to each other, the shop owners, or cute lady dwarves that walked through the market.
Maen kept feeling unwanted, disrespected, and hurt. The murmurs around Erebor saying that there was no way she was a warrior because she was too delicate, too soft, too nice, too girly… didn't help to improve her mood at all.
On the second day of the third week, she was invited to witness the tournament between warriors from the Iron Hills and from Erebor in the arena. Apparently, Thorin and Dáin had decided to rescue that form of healthy entertainment in order to cheer her up. She, boldly, asked Thorin if Fili was going to participate, to which he assured her that he would.
The day of the tournament rolled by and Maen was nowhere to be found. The rules were simple: no biting, no hurting in extra sensitive areas, and no killing; the local fighters would walk to the center of the arena and a visitor fighter would decide to duel him. Usually, the best warrior or, in this case, the prince, was the last one in moving to the center of the arena as it was the big show to close the tournament. As the time to start came close and all the visitor fighters were in their place, Fili approached his uncle with a concerned frown.
"Where is she?"
"Clearly not here."
"Uncle, we're doing all of this for her entertainment," he complained.
"No. We're doing this because you begged for a chance to make it right with her."
"While showing off, of course," Bilbo chimed in.
"That too. However, we cannot force her to come and see you fight after how badly you've treated her."
"This is not fair!"
"Shut your mouth and go to your place. I didn't raise you to whine like this, Fili," Dís snarled.
Dáin had listened to the exchange with a pleased and smug smile on his face.
The tournament started strongly. Dwalin was one of the first participants and he demolished the Iron Hills' fighter in less than ten minutes without breaking a sweat. Fili paid half attention to the arena as his eyes kept searching in the audience for someone familiar hoping that Maen's curiosity pushed her to go down there even if it was camouflaging herself to blend with the Ereborians. Kili, who wasn't a participant in the tournament, approached his brother from behind the fighters' bench.
"Nervous? You're next."
"No. I don't care. She's not even here."
"Does that mean that you're going to perform badly because your girlfriend is not here to see you win? Pathetic."
"Oi! She's not my girlfriend."
"Of course not," he scoffed. "Maen said clearly that she wouldn't marry you if you keep being an ass, and you've been even worse than an ass. Now you like her, though, and you cannot stand the idea of her marrying one of his many, many, many, many–"
"Shut your mouth."
"–many, many, many suitors in the Iron Hills. Who knows? Maybe Dáin offers her to marry his son."
A spike of jealousy bloomed in Fili's eyes and Kili smirked.
"If you perform greatly I'm sure Ori would talk to her about it."
Kili was a mastermind… on occasion. He knew that Fili had grown wary of the little librarian due to the amount of time he spent with Maen talking about books, and it was the right amount of fuel needed for his brother to stomp to the middle of the arena when his turn came.
The visitor fighters looked directly at one of them, one who had stayed in full armor –helmet included– since the beginning; it seemed as if they knew that fighter wanted to destroy the heir of Erebor. What if he was one of Maen's suitors? Fili was screwed. Kili gave his brother a thumbs-up and ran to his mother.
"Fili's going to die."
"Perhaps," she smiled.
The fighter faced Fili with a long sword in hand, and a couple of axes stored on his back. He bowed to the prince as requited and then waited for the signal to begin.
Fili took the initiative of the first blow. They shared some tentative blows, not really revealing their strength, and suddenly Fili used all this strength on one blow that the fighter wisely dodged, he punched the prince in the face with the hand holding his sword and Fili stumbled to the side. Fili's helmet allowed me to see his face and hair, but the fighter's blow hurt nonetheless. Grunting, Fili charged against him and, this time, the fighter responded with similar strength pushing his body against Fili's not allowing him to take any advantaged position. When Fili punched the fighter in the guts he didn't emit a sound, the dwarf was tougher than expected.
The fighter gained an area against Fili. As their swords were pushing against each other, none of them ready to yield, the fighter crushed Fili's foot making him lose some strength in his attack which gave the fighter room to disarm him, go around him, and kick his back throwing the prince to the floor.
Instead of taking that point of advantage and winning the battle, the fighter receded, threw his sword to a corner of the arena far away from him, and pulled his axes from the back. He gave them a colorful twist in his hands before turning to the prince. Fili had taken off his helmet with fury, his hair was a mess, and his eyes were lit with determination and ferocity. He couldn't see the features of the fighter, but the small bow was mockingly enough to fuel the prince's anger.
Fili took his throwing knives from their hiding place and threw them in quick succession; the fighter hit every one of them with precise movements of his axe while approaching the prince. Without anything else to throw, Fili launched himself to the floor made a turn, and grabbed his sword just in time to block one of the axes. He rejected the attack and ran to where his discarded shield was; how had he been so cocky as to believe he wouldn't need it, he didn't know.
The audience held their breath, the arena was in complete silence apart from the fighters' weapons crashing. One of the axes got blocked by the sword for the seventh time, but this time the position prevented Fili from pushing it back; the other ax hit his shield repeatedly, over and over and over and over. The hits were fast and strong, never hesitating nor showing tiredness. Fili's shield arm felt every hit like a jolt until a particularly hard hit shocked him from the wrist to the shoulder provoking a spasm that made him drop the shield with a painful moan. The fighter then kneed him in the uncovered side throwing him onto the floor once again.
As the prince fought to stand up, the fighter kicked him again before throwing his sword far away from his reach. The fighter stood proudly next to the whining prince and slid his ax under the blond's chin waiting for him to admit his surrender.
"I yield. I yield!!"
Fili's words made the arena break to sound again. The fighter retreated his weapon, yet he didn't move and Fili was too tired to try to get up.
"That's my girl!!" Dáin's yell overpowered the other voices.
The fighter tilted his head to one side, still facing Fili. He put his axes on his back again before pulling the helmet off. Maen's face appeared then and Fili was unable to produce a word.
"Fili, the Lion of Erebor, had been defeated by Maen, the Fire of the Iron Hills. This tournament has been–" Thorin kept with his speech but Fili couldn't make sense of his words.
Maen nodded at him and turned leaving him on the floor of the arena.
*
Fili sat heavily in a chair by the fire. His body ached horribly after the fight, bruises had been blooming on his torso, and his shield arm was stiff. Kili handed him a mug of warm ale with a cheeky grin.
"She kicked your arse."
"Of course she did," Thorin claimed. "Lady Maen is one of the best warriors of the Iron Hills."
"But she's a lady!!" Fili complained.
"Excuse me?" Dís looked pointedly at her son, who immediately cowered in his chair.
"What I don't understand is why you don't just ask her to spend some time together. You clearly like her," Kili pressed.
"Durin's are bad at romance, lad," Dwalin laughed.
"What do you mean?" Kili was suddenly interested while Fili just sipped his cup.
"Do you remember how Thorin treated Bilbo during our journey?" Balin asked in his calmer voice. "He was insufferable just because he thought the hobbit was cute."
"I did not!"
Dwalin snorted at Thorin's outrage.
"It was sad to see."
"It happened the same with Dís. She made your poor father bleed and cry before accepting his proposal," Balin added.
"Why did you shove me into this mess?" She complained and punched her brother's arm when he laughed.
"I didn't treat Tauriel badly when I met her," Kili thought out loud.
"That's because you're more like your father," Balin explained, not allowing the others to jump at the mention of the elf.
"Well, what am I supposed to do now?" Fili claimed the attention was on him again.
"Stop being an ass to her would be a good start. Although if you really do not like her that much I could always ask her out–"
"Kili don't mess with your brother when he's clearly suffering."
"Yes, mother."
"I have to say you're quite lucky, lad. Maen's not like any other lass; not even like any other dwarf. She wouldn't hold a grudge for long. It's up to you."
Dwalin's words echoed in Fili's mind as his eyes looked over the flames.
Not far away from the royal quarters where they were having their little chat, were Maen's. She had taken a very long bath, and dried carefully her bushy mane of dark brown hair before tying it in a careful braid whose sole objective was to avoid it tangling in her sleep. She sat next to her own fire with a romance book in her hands. Her focus wasn't the best at that moment, hence her relieved sigh when her torture was cut short by a knock on her door.
Bilbo Baggings was on the other side of the door with understanding showering his features. Maen invited him to enter the living area, pleased by the tray with backed goods and tea that Bilbo placed carefully on a small table.
"I hope you like scones, Lady Maen."
"I cannot say I've had them before, Mister Bilbo, but please, call me Maen."
"Bilbo for me then." After taking a few bites with a meaningless conversation, Bilbo twisted his nose, cleared his throat, and brushed the crumbs away from his fingers. "I wanted to apologize."
Maen blinked in confusion, "Please no, do not do such a thing. You've been nothing but nice to me, Bilbo. There's nothing you should apologize about."
"I beg to differ. I– I presumed that because you're a dwarf you'll have it easier here, that you'll click with Fili faster than– Well… I'm a hobbit, not a dwarf, and you know how reserved dwarves could be; I had it hard with the company for a big part of our journey, and when Thorin confessed his feelings I could only think about the council opposing and the Ereborians just hating me.
"I'm not entirely sure how I managed to have the position that I have now, but I'm certain that I own the company a big deal of it. Especially to Thorin.
"I shouldn't have presumed that you wouldn't feel left out or unwanted by your fellow dwarves. I guess you and I are alike on that front as I had been pinned down as an oddity by my fellow hobbits back in The Shire. I didn't quite fit there."
"Female dwarves aren't meant to be warriors, there's too little of us and pregnancy is a deadly risk on its own. The armory called for me daily, nonetheless, and Dáin was kind enough to consent to my training instead of pushing me to the knitting room. Even if that can be seen as an oddity in the Iron Hills, my family is well-known there, and I received offerings for courting way before I was of age. It wasn't ideal, of course, but being here makes me miss it. At least there I'm not underestimated."
"Fili likes you. He really does, Maen. He's just as stubborn as his uncle when it comes to facing his feelings. Did I tell you that the first time Thorin saw me, after arriving late I may add, he looked at me, head to toe, and said 'so, this is the hobbit' as if making fun of me? The audacity!"
"I expect you've made him resent that, Bilbo."
"Why, of course!! Soft, he said. Me! Ha! You've been way too nice to Fili, never losing your temper or chewing his head off. It's time for you to put your foot down, and let me tell you that your performance today was spotless. Everyone in the mountain is talking about it. There are rumors about 'the Lion and the Fire of Erebor'."
Maen laughed anxiously, her face warm with blush.
*
Three days after the tournament Fili offered Maen to spend a morning in Dale as she hadn't seen it since the battle and their market was interesting. That led to her waiting at the front doors, as usual, two days later, although this time she had taken the precaution of inviting Ori with her. Nori was obviously close, but he appeared to be ignoring them.
Ori was explaining with great enthusiasm the rich quality of Dale's paper and ink when Fili approached them. Maen glanced at him with an arched brow.
"Are we in a rush?" She questioned in lieu of a greeting.
Fili hesitated in his septs frowning, "Not that I'm aware of. Why?"
"You're on time."
"Yes."
"You're never on time. Usually, I would have to wait for at least an hour for you to be here."
Fili cleared his throat lowing his face with shame, "Yeah. I apologize for that. Um… Shall we go now?"
"Aren't we waiting for Kili?" She looked around in confusion.
"He's not coming."
Maen stared at Fili as if he had just shaved his beard. "On time and without Kili. I'm afraid to ask if Lady Dís had some sort of conversation with you."
"She did not."
"Huh… Well, I appreciate the changes, of course, yet I had already taken the precaution of getting my own companion as I was expecting you and your brother to be busy with each other. Ori here is going with us."
"I'm sorry Fili, I would leave you two alone, but Dori has given me a list of things to purchase in Dale. And you know how Dori can be if he doesn't get what he wants."
"No. It's– It's fine, Ori. The more the merrier. Shall we go then?"
Maen shared a conspicuous look with Ori before following Fili and some guards toward the ponies. Ori had been her ally in the mountain as well as Bilbo, and when she voiced her worries about the journey to Dale becoming just another day of being mistreated, Bilbo had suggested bringing Ori with her and the little scribble had beamed with the prospect of visiting Dale's market again.
Tables had turned and Fili wasn't happy about it.
Dale was impressive and richly decorated, their buildings were colorful and stunning; some of them had kept most of their past structure and there were marks of orc weapons on some walls. Ori explained to an astonished Maen, that Bard had rebuilt the city wanting to keep the memory of past times; like a homage. She understood the sentiment, there were claw marks in Erebor still and she already assumed it was a reminder of what could happen if they weren't careful with their greed.
The market was crowded, full of men, but also a good amount of dwarves and elves. Maen was bouncing on her feet excited to see, touch, and buy whatever came across her. She did not ignore Fili on purpose, although she must admit that having been used to being ignored by him she stopped thinking about reaching for him long ago, therefore her mindset was sure that he was just ignoring her as usual. Ori and Maen enjoyed every second in the market, they bought some books, paper, ink, quills, fabric, yarn… It was ridiculous.
After long hours waiting in the market, the dwarves started to feel hungry and then Maen turned to look for Fili and found him frowning, his mouth pressed in a sad thing line.
"Should we come back to the mountain to eat, or should we find a tavern here?" She asked him.
Fili scowled. "Let's go back."
Ori gave Maen a guilty look.
It wasn't until they were back in Erebor that Maen approached Fili, she crossed his path impeding him to run to his quarters. She waited until he gathered the patience and courage needed to look her in the eyes.
"How does it feel?" To her question, Fili frowned deeper in confusion. "Did you enjoy being ignored? Did you feel unwanted? Disrespected? Hurt?" Fili's expression opened up with a glint of awareness in his blue eyes. "Yeah. Is not very nice, is it? I did not intend to ignore you today, yet I expect that with you discovering how that behavior of yours hurt me, you'd be more careful in the future."
Not waiting for an answer, Maen nodded to the prince and left.
He didn't ignore her again.
*
Fili was running but he was not advancing and right before his eyes, Azog stood fighting against Maen. The frustration built up inside of Fili, he needed to reach her before the pale orc hurt her, he had to– he had– he–
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO" he screamed as Azog skewered his spear across Maen's torso.
He woke up with a jolt of pain in his own wound. A sheet of cold sweat covered his skin. He traced the long scar from his chest to his belly with his fingers still in a daze when a hard knock on his quarters' door awakened him completely. It was the middle of the night, there probably were five hours before dawn. Fili put on a gown and padded towards the door, opening it with caution. A young guard stood there uncomfortable.
"Sire, my apologies for the disturbance."
"What's wrong?"
"It's Lady Maen, sire, she's in the arena and we don't know how to proceed. Master Nori order me to ask you."
The prince frowned registering the information, "Leave her alone. I'll– I'd be on my way. Do not disturb her."
"Aye, sire."
Fili got dressed faster than ever, he grabbed his sword and headed to the arena. He nodded to the guards and to Nori, but they didn't share a word. There, in the arena, was Maen training with her axes, only a couple of torches illuminating the room. Fili recognized the tension in her shoulders and the determination in her frown, she'd had a nightmare.
He approached her with determination. Maen glanced at him and stopped her movements, but she didn't say anything, nor did he. With a nod of acknowledgment, Fili and Maen started sparing although not as violently as in the tournament as neither of them was wearing armor.
Tired to the bone due to the exercise, Fili got himself stuck in the same position that pushed his defeat in the tournament. Instead of kneeing him in the side as she did that time, Maen swapped her foot under his forcing him to lose his balance and fall to the floor on his back. She smiled at him, openly and sincerely. Fili laughed, offering his hand for her to take expecting her to help him get up. Maen threw her axes to the side and grabbed his arm, yet before she could pull him, the prince pulled first, making her fall against his chest.
Maen let out a surprised gasp before laughing at the childish move. Fili pushed his luck just a little farther, turning them in the arena until she was under him. She stopped laughing and arched an eyebrow at him, challenging his next move. Fili blushed violently; his eyes darted from her eyes to her lips. Sighing, the prince rolled to his side until he was on his back looking at the ceiling next to Maen, who was now looking at him. Fili noticed the movement in the shadows in the corner of his eye and he was sure that Nori was ready to intervene if he had done what he really wanted to do.
Instead of that, Fili pulled out a richly decorated mithril bead and handed it to Maen.
"I, Fili son of Dís, Crown Prince of Erebor, solicit permission to court you, Maen, goddaughter of Dáin Ironfoot, with this courting bead I had made myself."
Maen burst into a childish laugh, "Only you could ask with such a posh manner while both of us are sweaty and tired from a spar session in the middle of the night."
"That's not an answer," Fili singsonged twisting the bead in his fingers.
"Yes, you idiot! But beware, if you behave like an arse again I can call it off anytime."
"I won't."
Their laughs echoed in the arena ignoring that they had Nori win a huge amount of money.
It wasn't until that night, at supper, when with all the company and their families reunited around the table, Fili approached Maen with a wooden box.
"This is the first courting gift of many. Although I'm aware of what tradition requires for me to give you, I expect to know you better than to gift you some expensive fabric for embroidery."
Maen pressed her lips to avoid smiling too soon and she opened the box. The typical courting gifts a dwarf lass received were focused on her alleged skills in textile matters, some woodwork, maybe jewels… Fili had gifted her a dagger whose grip and sheath were engraved with loving care and decorated with precious gems.
"Fili made it himself. All of it," Kili explained filling in the silence. "He had been a pain in the ass for the last three weeks because–"
Dís hit her son in the ribs to keep him quiet.
Maen looked at Fili, his smirk had become a shy little smile and his eyes were bright with nerves and hopes. A small movement of his brows made her understand that she hadn't accepted the gift properly yet.
"I accept the gift. It's perfect, Fili. Thank you."
The tension abandoned Fili's body to the point of him needing a chair before fainting.
At one point, in the future, people would remember Fili and Maen not as the King and Queen Under the Mountain, but as the Lion and the Fire of Erebor.
The song tells a story about someone who falls in love with a person lived in another century. His lover dead before he was born. So they never met each other and no one knew if it’s true or only a dream.
It’s a Cantonese song and I added an English subtitle. (But I’m not the translator.)
I may make it more complete later, maybe not...It’s up to my homework...
Warnings: Rated E, 18+. Aggressive/dominant Fili. Oral sex (F receiving). Use of handcuffs. Unprotected intercourse. Anal sex. Edging. Pain (with comfort and praise)
Summary: Fili returns to your house after his shift in the middle of the night, finding your doors unlocked, and shows you just how dangerous that could be.
A/N: 🥴 I can't even justify this.
Prompts used for the @deanobingo were Fili, oral, edging, praise, anal and pain. 😅
---
You were far too excited to get any sleep, anticipating seeing a police cruiser belonging to the finest officer in town pull into your driveway where you hoped it would stay long into the morning, a nervous arousal making you feel completely restless.
You picked up your phone to check the time - 2:37 AM - before tossing it back onto the couch beside you impatiently, but smiled knowing it would be worth the wait.
Taking a final sip of coffee before going to brush your teeth, you paced around the house, aimlessly tidying things as you went, hoping Fili would be too preoccupied with you to notice anything that wasn't perfect but killing time and trying to ease your anxiousness all the same.
Minutes later, a furious knock sounded on your front door, making you jump, followed by your name being called loudly. Before you had a chance to answer it, you watched it open, revealing the not-so-law-abiding police officer standing on the other side.
"You shouldn't leave this unlocked, you know, anybody could walk in here," Fili purred, smiling crookedly at you as he walked through the door despite you not having welcomed him inside yet.
"I normally don't," you began, a false defensiveness in your tone, "but here I was thinking maybe an Officer of the law wouldn't help himself to breaking and entering."
He chuckled, closing the door behind him. "I think I'll be helping myself to many other things tonight."
The look he gave you held promise of so much; lust, exhaustion, pleasure, pain, and you swallowed thickly as your heart pounded in your chest and butterflies swarmed in your stomach.
"What would you have done if I had fallen asleep?" you asked, squinting at him curiously, your question genuinely wanting to be answered.
"I would've come in," he started, slowly walking toward you, "looked about…"
He closed the distance between you, staring you down intensely, his tongue swiping out over his lip to moisten it. "...and then woken you up."
His face dipped down, about to press a kiss onto your neck, when you replied in a breathy voice, "How?"
He chuckled again, darkly this time, the sound making your core ache and your nipples harden out of instinct.
"I'll show you."
He stood straight again, abandoning his idea of kissing your neck, eyeing the hallway behind you and already spotting your bedroom effortlessly.
"Can we go in there?" he asked, nodding in the direction.
You followed his gaze and nodded, eager to have him in your bed or literally any other place in your home, your arousal and excitement making you feel almost jittery.
His footsteps were loud from his boots and seemed to echo in your ears as he followed you through to your bedroom, close enough to your body you could almost feel the heat radiating off of him.
Fili spun you around and pulled you against him, kissing you roughly, his tongue demanding entrance deep inside your mouth, his beard scratching against your face as a reminder of your earlier encounter.
His hands found your waist, using his fingers to toy with the hem of your shirt before lifting it over your head, returning his mouth to yours again as soon as he was able.
Your bare chest rubbed against the stiff material of his uniform, even grazing one of the cold, metal badges to make you whine and arch into him, the sensation slightly painful. You were rid of your shorts and panties before you could even register it happening, standing naked before the fully-uniformed man vulnerably.
"Get on the bed, on your stomach," he demanded, his voice serious and how you imagined it would be when he was giving orders while out on duty.
You did as you were told, turning your head so you could watch him behind you, your eyes widening when you saw him take his cuffs out of their place on his belt and walk over to the bed.
Fili straddled your legs, making quick work to grip your wrists and bring them behind your back, securing the icy steel around them despite you not resisting.
You squirmed slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy as he took complete control over you, but your arousal and need for him to do whatever he wanted took over.
He shimmied down your legs, using forceful hands to spread them and push one up so it was bent at ninety degrees, glaring at you with his piercing blue eyes before laying himself down between them.
Parting your cheeks, his face dug between them, his tongue slipping between your folds to collect your slick, eating at you enthusiastically.
Somehow, he knew every spot that made you weak, sending you into a fit of moans and full-body jolts, his efforts encouraging your climax easily.
His tongue moved up to your puckered hole, rimming it until you were shaking and ready to let go, quickly thrusting his thick fingers in and out of your channel.
You started your descent, feeling the blinding heat barrel through your body, only to be abandoned by Fili as you were at the cusp, watching him stand from the bed and begin tearing at the various pieces of his uniform desperately.
His chest heaved and his face was red, staring you down seriously as he quickly revealed his wanting body to you, letting each article of protective gear drop to the floor purposefully.
The sight of his cock springing free from his boxers made you whine out loud, and you tried moving your body as much as you could to get any sort of friction to allay the pressure on your core.
"You need to be a good girl and wait."
"Yes, Officer," you drawled, hoping your brattiness in calling him by his title when you knew he preferred his name would result in some form of punishment.
Fili shook his head, making you bite your lower lip, returning to the bed to position himself behind you where he lifted up your hips to line up to you, spearing you with his rigid cock to fill you to the hilt in one go.
"Fuck! Fili!" you wailed, flexing your hands in the cuffs in an attempt to grip onto something.
He chuckled, happy to have made you call his name instead, loving how it sounded coming off your lips.
Setting his pace quickly, he pounded you furiously, bringing you back to your previous level of rapture while finally indulging in his own.
Reaching around to apply pressure on your clit in aggressive circles, Fili continued to berate you, coaxing you to the edge again.
"Don't you come yet," he barked, feeling you tense up and clench around him, but choosing not to relent on his tempo.
You growled with frustration, unable to do anything with how he had you restrained, doing your best to hold off but also meeting his blows with your hips by pushing back as much as you could against him.
Your screams grew louder, your walls contracting around his cock threateningly, and knowing it would be impossible for you to stop, Fili removed himself from you, reaching over to your bedside table to open the drawer where he began shifting some things around impatiently until he found your stash of toys and lube.
You panted heavily, watching him pick out a small butt plug and coat it with a generous amount of lube, feeling almost helpless in your position but still eager for what he would offer.
Taking his lubricated thumb, Fili rimmed your hole before pressing on it, helping to loosen the clamped muscles slightly before introducing the toy.
He watched you carefully as he slipped it inside you, his cock throbbing as your eyes squeezed closed and you buried your face in your bedding, your fingers splaying out in the open air behind your back.
"Good girl," he praised, lining up to slam between your dripping folds again, picking up his pace where he had left off.
The combination of the plug and his cock had your head spinning, feeling so full and almost deranged from him dragging along the thin wall with each thrust, knowing your orgasm was imminent now.
You pleaded through your cries, desperate for relief, needing him to grant you permission to fall apart into the inevitable ecstasy.
Cruelly, Fili brought you to the edge for a second time before pulling out of you, and feeling almost as worked up as you, he hurriedly unlocked the cuffs and threw them onto the floor, moving to lay down so you could swing your legs over his torso and sit down on his length.
He grinned at you, seeing you hot and bothered and beyond needy for him the best thing he could imagine after a long shift, watching as you slowly began to rock yourself on him.
His hands roamed your body, smoothing over your curves as you rode him, your eyes closed as you lost yourself in the freedom he granted you. You leaned over him, finding his lips with yours, your hands holding either side of his face appreciatively in having to go without touching him for as long as you did.
"You're perfect," he breathed, still amazed that he stumbled upon you earlier in the night.
You parted from him, moving your hips in a harder and faster rhythm, opening your eyes to stare into his vibrantly blue ones.
"Can I come?" you asked, completely innocently, taking his earlier orders more seriously now.
"Yes," he permitted, feeling as if he would blow it right then with how sweet your face looked dressed in utter relief.
"That's my girl," he groaned, digging his head back into your pillow as he felt you use him how you needed to.
You rode him hard, causing your headboard to slap crudely against the wall, rubbing your clit vigorously on the coarse hairs above his cock while you clenched around him and the plug in your backside.
A violent orgasm tore through you, your nails clawing into his chest until red, half-mooned shapes were left in their wake, letting that euphoric bliss course through your veins.
Fili gave you no time to recover, being quick to sit up on the bed and toss you back down onto it, guiding you to kneel on the edge with your shaky legs as he stood behind you.
Pulling the plug from you carelessly and dropping it somewhere on the floor into the mix of clothing, he replaced it with his much larger cock, stretching you painfully to a size you had never experienced before.
Regardless of the amount of lube and your slick allowing him to slide easily in and out of you, it was still a strain on your body, making you feel dizzy from such painful pleasure.
"Can you handle this?" Fili asked, seeing your face contort in trying to get used to his girth.
You nodded quickly, blinking and looking over your shoulder at him, "Yes."
Sliding almost all the way out and then back in again slowly, he watched you wince, his concern growing to equal his desire.
"Are you sure?"
His voice was strangled, and giving you no reprieve while waiting for your answer, he continued to push deep inside you, followed by a long drag back out, his resolve dispersing with each thrust.
You whined, gripping the sheets with white knuckles. unsure if you actually could but willing to trust him.
"Yes, Fili."
A guttural roar resounded from him, and looking back to catch a glimpse of him through bleary eyes, you drank up the alluring sight of him taking everything he wanted from you. His face and chest were flushed pink with beads of sweat trailing down through his chest hair and over the valleys of his flexed muscles, his blue eyes tinged with a darkness that made your heart leap, his long, wavy hair that was tied up in a low bun coming undone and sticking to his neck and forehead in unruly curls.
Wanting to continue admiring but unable to, your eyes screwed shut, squeezing together tightly as if to brace yourself as Fili abruptly picked up his pace.
"You're doing so good, baby, hang on," he let out through clenched teeth, trying his best to not allow himself to lose control.
His praise temporarily calmed you, making you relax for mere seconds until he reached around your body and found your clit, causing you to shudder instantly and buck back into him, sending his cock even deeper inside you.
Fili roughly fingered you, his thumb flicking over your sensitive bud erratically while he fucked you harder, his grunts of effort quickly drowned out by your cries as you began to succumb to his forceful assault and tightened around him uncontrollably in another climax.
Despite knowing he was pushing your limits and that this second orgasm was wrecking you, he continued on, lost in the build-up to his own end, hoping the intense pleasure you were feeling was worth any of the pain.
You clawed at your sheets so desperately you untucked them from the mattress completely, torn between attempting to crawl away from the sensations that bombarded you or letting yourself experience them to the highest extent, ultimately choosing to accept your fate when you felt the raw power exude from Fili as he reached his violent high.
His conscience made him hesitate but his primal needs refused to falter, holding onto your hips to keep you sliding on his length, seeing tears spring from your eyes through his that were blurry with a rageful lust.
There was no way of stopping now even if you had begged him to, and with a few final slaps against your spread cheeks, Fili emptied himself in you with a slew of curses tumbling from his mouth.
He didn't linger, pulling out of you immediately and gathering you in his arms where he collapsed on the bed with you held tightly against his sweat-coated body.
"You did so good," he cooed, rubbing his hands over your hair, feeling your shaky breaths fan out on his hot neck.
Pressing kisses on your forehead, he shifted so he could partially lean over you, looking at you with concern as he continued to softly run his fingers across your head and into your hair while his praising words worked to console you.
"You're such a good girl, handling me so well," he whispered, meeting your lips tenderly, his hands pawing at your back as he pulled you even closer into him.
The heaviest sense of exhaustion flooded you, plaguing you deep in your bones, your eyelids seeming weighted and your limbs made of lead.
You nestled into Fili, inhaling his scent and warmth, letting sleep begin to take hold of you as you indulged in his effortless comfort.
"Hmm, I should go lock the door," you spoke weakly, usually unable to sleep not knowing your house was secure or not.
"It's alright," Fili assured, laying on his back to allow your arm to rest over his still-heaving belly and your leg to hook across his waist. "I'll keep you safe."
Feeling yourself relax into your trust in him once more, you sighed and nestled your face in his chest, letting thoughts of testing your boundaries with him again play in your mind as you quickly faded away, wondering what other vicious ways Fili would think of to wake you up.
Warnings: Rated E, 18+. Use of a remote controlled vibrator. Cursing. Foreplay in the back of a cab. Oral sex (F receiving). Unprotected intercourse.
Summary: Anders has a little more in-store for a night out at Dawn and Ty's engagement dinner.
A/N: Okay, I finally got something out 😅 Here is my first contribution for this year's @deanobingo Prompts used were Anders Johnson, dimples, and toys.
Gif credit to @blairsanne who is outstanding 💗
“Are you almost ready? I don't want to be late. Mike’s been breathing down my neck all day and I'd rather not give him anything else to use against me,” Anders called out from the bathroom, sliding the knot on his tie up to his collar and adjusting it, giving himself a once-over in the mirror until you walked in and his blue eyes locked on you.
“When is that not the case?” you asked with a smile as you clasped the back of your earring closed, completely satisfied with the way Anders was eye-fucking you already; your choice in outfit clearly appreciated by the gorgeous god you wanted your hands on so desperately.
Already having rushed home from work, you cleaned up and got ready as quickly as you could, leaving no spare moments for you and Anders to give each other the attention you both craved; the long day at work feeling even longer in knowing you had Ty and Dawn’s engagement dinner to attend immediately after, without the help of Anders sending text after text of all the things he wanted to do to you later that night when you would finally be able to be together.
“You look stunning,” he said, his tone low and serious, his eyes reflecting a dark lust that flooded the icy blue.
“I should hope considering this is the dress you picked out for me,” you purred, carding your hands up his back to rest on his shoulders, bringing the front of your body flush against his to press your breasts against him and drag your lips over the shell of his ear. “So if you're unable to control yourself tonight, that's on you Bragi, wanting me to wear the same dress I did the night you first fucked me.”
You watched his eyelids fall shut in the mirror, his chest heaving as he drew a long breath in through his nose, making the gratified feeling blooming within you grow even more in knowing how much he wanted you and how that would only increase more and more as the night went on; the quick session of morning sex to start the day only leaving him eager for more than just a brief taste of you.
“And don't think I ignored your other request,” you whispered before pressing a kiss onto his neck that radiated a fiery heat.
“No panties?”
You nodded your head in silent confirmation, watching as his smile grew to bring out the dimples on either cheek.
“Good girl,” he praised, the accolade making your arousal spike and a shiver break out over the exposed skin your dress neglected to cover.
“Now as much as I know you're enjoying teasing me, cruel as you are, I have one more request before we go,” he claimed, that familiar mischief present in his eyes when you met them again in the mirror.
“Anything for you, Anders,” you stated, confident to agree even without knowing what his wish was.
“Ooo, you might regret saying that,” he joked, sucking in his breath through pursed lips.
“You've never made me regret it before, why would I now?” you drawled, looking into his eyes with an innocence you knew he would work to erase as he turned to face you directly. “I trust you.”
The smile brought on by your words before he pressed his lips onto yours made your knees feel weak, and saying a silent prayer that for some reason the dinner would be canceled last minute, you eagerly returned his kiss, your hands gripping the lapels on his jacket to pull him closer while you leaned into him even more.
Anders broke your kiss, chuckling as he shook his head at you and shifted his legs, trying to get his hardened cock down one of his pant legs. "Fuck me, you are incredibly distracting."
With a swipe of your thumb, you cleaned up your lip gloss that got smudged, watching as Anders pulled open the vanity drawer and pulled out a small box.
"As I was saying," he glared at you, his smirk matching the playful look in his eyes. “I picked up a little something for us when I was out sorting their engagement gift.”
A self-satisfied expression dressed his face as he held the gift in his hands for you to open, and maintaining eye contact with him as you lifted the lid, you finally looked down to see what had him feeling so smug.
"You're wearing that all through dinner," he began, the humour in his voice not missed by you despite your shock and excitement. "And I'll be controlling it."
Your head snapped up to meet his gaze, a wickedness hinting in his laugh, and you swallowed thickly out of fear and worry, wondering how you were possibly going to survive the night.
Anders plucked out a small, hot pink vibrator, equipped with a clit stimulator, tipping his head to the side in a taunting way as he all but dangled in before you.
"You bought their engagement present at the sex shop?" you quipped, knowing he didn't, but attempting to distract from his devious plan.
"What? No, fuck," he huffed. "I got them a weekend away in Marlborough just like we decided."
You grinned. "I was only checking."
"Oh, I am so going to make you suffer," he vowed, his eyes narrowing at you as he shook his head.
"You really want to have that in me, at dinner with your family?" you pointed to the device, your mouth watering at the same time you felt a nervous sweat break out on the back of your neck to help cool your rising body temperature.
"The night has to be made interesting somehow, beautiful."
You sighed, accepting your demise, your wordless defeatism making Anders almost giddy with delight.
"I'll be controlling it from an app on my phone," he explained. "And all you have to do," he closed the space between you, his lips hovering over yours, “is not come."
You melted into his kiss, knowing this was going to be nearly impossible with how horny you already were, and whined into his mouth as he slowly trailed the hem of your dress up your thighs.
Feeling breathless and panting against each other, Anders slipped his hand between your legs, his index finger, and then his middle one, pushing in your entrance where he dragged them in and out while the pad of his thumb circled your clit.
"I don't think you're going to need any lube," he claimed, removing his hand from you to replace it with the toy, making you cry out as you clenched around it and pressed your forehead against his in a plea for mercy.
"Let's test it out, shall we?"
A flush spread out over your entire body as you waited, chest heaving, as Anders retrieved his phone from his pocket and opened the app, glancing up from it to check your reaction while it loaded.
Your eyes widened as you watched his thumb move in a wide, circular motion over his screen, the toy inside your walls mimicking the action, making your knees instantly buckle and forcing you to squeeze your thighs together as you squatted on the floor.
His laugh echoed in your ears, and grabbing hold of the countertop, you began to stand up straight again until he hit whatever button that activated the vibrations on the piece that sat firmly against your clit, keeping you in that position.
"Christ's sake, Anders," you whimpered, feeling pathetic at how poorly you were keeping it together already.
"That intense, eh?"
You glared at him before rising up on trembling legs, smoothing your hands over your hair and turning to face the mirror to ensure your appearance didn't display the chaos you were feeling inside.
"I promise I'll be good to you," he said genuinely, staring into the reflection of your eyes in the mirror. "I'll keep you on the edge most of the time, but I won't do anything I know you can't handle," he assured, pressing his lips on your shoulder, and then up your neck so your skin erupted in goosebumps and your nipples hardened even more. "And when we get home," he explained lowly beside your ear, "I'll make it all worth it."
Anders was mostly behaved in the cab on the way to the restaurant, only teasing you a couple of times so you weren't forced to work too hard at pretending you were just an ordinary couple on their way to a nice meal with family; him having to stifle his laugh like a sneaky kid while looking out the window at downtown Auckland as you passed through, all while he played a not-so-innocent game on his phone.
He spared you during the greetings, not daring to do anything while you were in the middle of hugging each member of his family and saying hello, but as soon as it came time for you to take a seat at the table, he didn't miss his opportunity. Pulling your chair out with one hand as any gentleman would, Anders had his other in his pocket, drawing an erratic pattern on his screen, leaving your body tense and pausing mid-sentence as you plopped yourself down.
"Are you alright?" Dawn asked, reaching out to touch your arm.
"Yes, sorry, I'm fine," you smiled, shaking your head and looking at her warmly. "Sore back, you know," you brushed off, waving your hand dismissively, watching as Anders smirked and took his seat beside you, his hand gripping your thigh with a tight squeeze.
Leaning over, he kissed your cheek, and searching your eyes as he stroked your face lovingly with his thumb, he spoke in the warm, soothing tones graced to him by Bragi.
"Just act normal."
"Anders, could you please get off your fucking phone?" Ty hissed, his anger emphasized on one word in particular as he carefully whispered and darted his icy blue eyes around them, making sure no other patrons or wait staff heard his impolite request.
Anders glanced up from his phone on his lap, smiling until he noticed the scowl directed at him by Mr. Freezy and his soon-to-be Mrs, making quick work to wipe it off as he cleared his throat and faked his most sincere voice.
"It's work, mate, sorry," he lied, having been in the middle of changing the intensity on the vibrations that were wracking through your entire body right now, your elbows on the table and your hands braced on your forehead as you took a deep breath, trying to hold off on detonating.
"Which client?" Dawn piped in, equally as annoyed as her fiance and not for a second believing Anders was dealing with work while at their dinner.
"It's, you know, ahh…" he trailed off, picking up his wine glass and putting it to his lips, avoiding the question altogether as he turned his body slightly toward Axl on the other side of him.
Luckily no one seemed to notice you being out of sorts, the devious sport being played by you and Anders kept discreetly between the two of you, though the amount of times you had reached your breaking point was becoming too frequent.
"How are you holding up?" he leaned over, speaking quietly enough only you would hear him.
"I'm barely keeping it together, Anders," you sighed, looking at him pleadingly, pushing your meal around on your plate, your appetite for food completely replaced by such an intense appetite for lust and release.
"Do you think it's easy for me? Knowing you're a soaked mess with no panties on and so close to coming? Christ, I'm hard as a fucking rock right now, I wouldn't even be able to stand up."
"Poor you," you purred, your hand that wasn't holding a utensil trailing slowly up his inner thigh to stop at his cock that strained against his pants, the sensation making him jolt in his seat, wishing you could give him just a fraction of the torture he was providing you.
Anders gave a warning look, pressing his thumb down on his phone to send a long, drawn out barrage on your clit, your shaky hand dropping your fork on your plate with a clang.
He chuckled to himself, and despite it feeling like a huge disruption, everyone else at the table seemed engrossed in their own conversations, or distracted by Olaf who was rambling on about something oracular, leaving you and Anders appearing nothing more than two smitten lovers who kept stealing glances and subtle touches.
Dessert was served and toasts were made - champagne flutes held up to the couple everyone was equally thrilled to see engaged to be wed - Anders' speech full of sweet sentiments toward his employee but also laced with an undertone of insults; something along the lines of 'you make her happy so she no longer nags me as much,' and 'thank every god in Asgard she loves your mug 'cause I couldn't take any more whining from you.'
"You're a prick, you know that, Anders?" Ty scowled, unimpressed by the 'blessing' bestowed on them. "Considering you're the fucking god of poetry, you'd think you could come up with something a little nicer."
"My speech at the ceremony will be gag worthy, don't worry," he said, earning another twisted look from Ty. "On that note," he gripped the back of your chair and slid you out from under the table, "we have other business to attend to, so we'll be off!"
"You're not coming back to ours for drinks?" Dawn asked, the disappointment clear on her features, watching as Anders tossed more than enough cash on the table to cover your meals as well as all the drinks consumed by the party.
"Afraid not, Dawnsie. Very crucial that I see to this immediately."
Anders winked at you, placing his hand on the small of your back, and with a quick farewell, you were hurrying out the door and into a cab.
After sliding across the back seat, Anders followed and was on you instantly, his hand reaching up to cup your cheek to hold you close to him so he could kiss you as fervently as he felt the need.
The address to his apartment was given to the driver between kisses, and with a glare from the unimpressed man through the rearview mirror, the car set off.
"I couldn't get us out of there sooner," Anders panted, leaning into you more and more, his knee parting your legs as much as your dress would allow.
"Do you feel bad for leaving?" you asked, your own feelings of guilt weighing on you.
Anders furrowed his brow and scoffed. "Feel bad? Fuck, no. Believe me, I have many things I should feel bad about and don't." He brushed his lips against yours playfully. "I'll add this to the list."
"You're horrible," you giggled, grinding against his thigh to put pressure on the device still seated inside you, making you shudder out a shaky breath.
"Yeah, and you love me."
"I do."
Your words seemed to encourage you both even more, sending you into a frenzy to get hands and lips on every available part of each other, until the driver slammed a little too hard on the breaks at a traffic light and forced you to stop.
"Oi! Can you two wait until you're bloody home and out of my car to do that shit?"
"Listen, mate," Anders began, his voice dropping as his powers took over, watching the man's eyes soften as he fixated on them in the rearview mirror. "Whatever happens in the back of this cab is none of your business, and your only focus is to be on the road and getting us home safely."
The cabbie nodded, and Anders clapped his hand on his shoulder, "Good man."
Turning back to you, he flashed a wicked grin as he outstretched one of his legs, trying to retrieve his phone out of his pocket, the fit of his pants making something so simple more difficult than it should be.
His dimples indented deeper in his cheeks as he settled back against the seat, waving his phone in the air for you to see.
"Don't think I forgot about this."
Squirming slightly, you took a deep breath to steady yourself as you waited for him to continue his teasing, and no longer ashamed to display your excitement, you moved to straddle his lap.
His blue eyes widened with a bit of surprise and wonderment, the slightly dominant act enticing him and making a boyish innocence wash over his previously confident face.
Moaning as you ground yourself on his bulge, he tipped his head back to fall against the seat, leaving you the freedom to roam his neck with your lips like you had wanted to all night, the smell of his cologne warmed from the heat of his skin.
But just as quickly as Anders lost himself in your distraction, he snapped out of his stupor and blindly found his phone on the seat beside him, his fingers swirling a deranged pattern that was copied by the toy, your gasp made audible as your mouth pulled away from his neck.
Regaining his control over you, he gripped your hips and flipped you so you were back to sitting on the worn leather, your shoulders pressing against the door. He crawled between your legs, his hand smoothing up your calf, and when he passed the bend in your knee and continued up the back of your thigh, your head thudded against the cold window as your eyelids fell closed.
Another pulsation rocked through your core, your whole body tensing as it tipped on the edge of a prohibited climax, the sound of Anders chuckling maliciously forcing your eyes open again.
Dimples greeted you once more as he smiled against the inside of your leg, his lips searing a trail closer to where you needed him.
Feeling maniacal, you proceeded to ignore your surroundings, Bragi's power working not only on the driver but seemingly on you too in order to make you partake in such a blatant act of exhibitionism; the intense need you felt to either rip the phone out of his hands to use to finish yourself off, or to simply have him fuck you in the back of the cab brazenly winning over all other thoughts.
He activated the toy again, both the internal vibe and the portion that rested snug against your clit at the same time, resulting in a shudder rippling through you from head to toe.
It ceased, right when he knew you would break, gracing you with a moment of reprieve before swiping his screen again.
"Anders!" you whined, the ability to withdraw from such gratifying pleasure fading with each taunting blow.
Stopping his onslaught, Anders captured your chin with his hand, holding it gently compared to the look he stared you down with, his eyes moving up from your heaving breasts to meet your inebriated, tortured gaze.
“I can smell you,” he whispered, placing a haste kiss on your lips before releasing your face and dipping his head to kiss your neck, and then the crest of your breast. “How aroused you are…" he muttered, his lips pressing onto you through the material of your dress, your stomach flinching as he contacted a ticklish spot. His breath was hot on your hip as it fanned out on the seam between your leg and torso, nearing your core, his mouth leaving a wet stain on the fabric as your scent made his mouth water. His fingers dug into you, his effort to avoid succumbing to such wanton desires disappearing with each tick of the fare meter.
"Fuck, it's so good!” he hissed, the slightly angry tone in his voice strained through clenched teeth spiking your frenzy tenfold as you raked your fingers in his hair and pushed his head further between your legs.
The car came to an abrupt stop, thankfully outside your destination, prompting Anders to sit up and run a hand over the stubble on his face before lifting his bum off the seat to take out his wallet.
Tossing enough bills onto the front seat to cover the trip plus more, Anders thanked the cabbie as he slid out ungracefully due to his erection and over-charged state. "Cheers, mate. You're a legend!"
He extended his hand and pulled you easily from the back, giving your ass a firm smack as he chased you up the stairs and through the glass door, the distance to his flat from the lobby seeming too far than was fair, especially considering he took advantage of it by triggering the toy as much as possible between each door.
Anders unlocked the door, opened and then closed it again before slamming you into it, his hands gathering your dress at your hips to ruck it up over your ass while your fingers tore at his buttons frantically and ripped open his shirt. Backing away from you to shrug out of it completely, he took hold of his phone again, watching as you squeezed your thighs together against the door, being able to see the vibrator in action as it assaulted your clit adding a whole new level to his cruel game.
"Anders, please!" you begged, slapping your palm against the wall beside you when he finally let up on the device.
"Come over here and stop me, then," he challenged, backing up into the kitchen where you followed willingly, his amused smile fuelling your determination to wipe it off his face.
The moment you closed the space between you, Anders lifted you onto the island, and unfastening his belt and trousers, stood between your spread, naked legs.
He kissed you fiercely, his fingers catching in the straps of your dress until he tugged them down your shoulders, your dress left bunched up around your waist, your breasts and sex exposed for him to do as he pleases.
Hooking your fingers in the band of his expertly fitting briefs, you whisked them down to meet his pants in a pool around his ankles, his cock springing free with an alluring bounce.
Crying out as his fingers found your core, you clenched around both him and the vibe, feeling full and beyond the point of holding back any longer, your hips lifting to rock against his hand momentarily before he gripped the obscenely coloured device and removed it from you.
"Mmm, you're so fucking wet," he hummed, his downcast gaze as he turned the vibrator over in his hand providing you a view of his long, golden lashes, the heaviness of his lids hinting at the weight of lust burdening him.
You swallowed thickly, your eyes widening in surprise as you watched him place the toy to his lips to give it a crude suck, his eyelids falling closed and brows cinching together as he tasted your slick, the wag of his cock not going unnoticed as it flexed with endearment; a nod to your impeccable flavour.
The toy bounced past you on the granite countertop, landing somewhere behind you after he tossed it carelessly once satisfied with its use, his eyes darkened with a ferocity you knew all too well as he hungrily glanced over your waiting body.
"I want more," he demanded, slipping his hands beneath your thighs to drag you to the edge of the counter in one swift motion, the momentum causing you to lay flat on your back as your lower half was being suspended in the air and only supported by him.
Your breath shook as he lifted each of your legs onto his shoulders, his eyes as blue as a flame as he hovered over your sex, and finally he gave you what you had been starved of all night.
His moan reverberated through your body, his hands tearing at your flesh eagerly as you clawed at the hard surface under you just as much, your arm shooting out to the side and accidentally sending a wine glass still holding the remains of a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from last night to the floor with a crash. Anders' appreciation and worship of you never turned stale, and as you dug your head into the granite in response to the enthusiasm of his ritual, you allowed yourself to plunge in the bliss he was spoiling you with; free now after such making such a sport out of your denial.
Never holding back from letting you know how much he was enjoying this too, Anders continued to hum and moan his appreciation, the neediness for his own release vocalized and sending you into a tailspin, the sound of your desperation mixing with his creating a manic symphony; each swipe of his silver tongue and suck from his convincing lips amping up what was already too much stimulation.
You ground against his face, his stubble adding to the plethora of unearthly sensations, and at the moment you peaked, Anders drove two fingers into your walls that began clenching around nothing, hooking them to massage your g-spot while flicking your swollen bead with his tongue. Dragging out your climax, he pulled your clit between his lips with a firm suck, continuing to berate you with his fingers until your whole body shuddered and eventually relaxed, your mewling dying down to quieter, shorter breaths on account of such immense relief.
The warm light from the overhead pendant made his face glisten as he rose from between your shaking legs and stared you down vehemently, his want for his own pleasure to be sated only increased exponentially by having participated in yours.
It always made your heart flip, never seeing him rush to wipe you from himself - his mouth or otherwise - and as he licked his lips now, his eyes slowly closing as he inhaled deeply, you felt a tingle scurry from the base of your skull to your toes that softly hit the floor; the greed in wanting more brimming dangerously as it followed closely on the heels of what you hadn't yet recovered from.
He was a sight to behold, standing before you proudly but with a sense of impatience as if he had been the one that was edged and perturbed all night; his mortal vessel radiating a godly glow that left you no doubts about his divinity. His skin had a sheen to it, his sweat catching in the thick expanse of curls that trailed down from his chest to his cock that was impossibly engorged and leaking from the tip, and a low growl resounded from him as his belly and chest rose and fell with heavy breaths.
It made you smile, seeing him so affected by you, your excitement bubbling up through your stomach in realizing that this session lacked any real physicality up to this point.
His dimples flinched as he clenched his teeth together, his eyes fixed on you as he watched you find the zipper hidden in the side of your dress that was covered by the upper half folding over it, and once it was undone, you let it slip off your curves to the floor.
You smoothed your hands over your naked form, trying to entice him even more although it was completely unnecessary, your skin responding to your touch so sensitively with how charged you still were. Finding your nipples between your fingers, you caught Anders taking hold of his cock to stroke it before you blinked your eyes shut, his irregular breathing encouraging you to explore yourself further.
As you brought your fingers to your folds, Anders' raspy voice cut through the air, his proximity to you now surprising as he stood before you, his hand wrapping around your wrist to guide you in putting more pressure on your tingling clit that made you gasp.
"You still want more?" he chided, almost in a challenging tone. "I don't know if you can handle that…"
His lips brushed yours gently before his teeth captured your bottom one and tugged it, his hand moving yours harder against yourself as he increased the rhythm of his own hand on his cock, pumping it furiously so that his fist nudged your stomach with each pass.
"Please fuck me, Anders," you whined, arching your back so your breasts rubbed on his chest.
"Is that what you want? To come again…around my cock?" he asked, biting back his moan as the sweetest sounding one passed your lips.
"Because you've been such a good girl," he purred, accentuating the two words he knew would turn you into even more of a pleading mess, "I reckon I can."
When you responded with a shudder and moved your fingers faster, he chuckled viciously, even with knowing he wanted it possibly more than you did.
"How do you want me?"
Your voice sounded strangled and almost foreign, being laced with so much lust it seemed unrecognizable to you, even though he'd coaxed this tone out of you on more than one occasion and would a thousand times more.
"Turn around," he barked, unable to play these games any longer.
Doing as you were told, you turned around and bent at your waist, your arms bracing on the countertop, looking back at him over your shoulder with a smolder in your eyes you knew he couldn't resist.
Anders shook his head, your ploy to tempt him further not impressing him as he lined up behind you and ran his hand up your backside too gently for how he was feeling.
His weeping head nudged against your folds, and leaning over you so his body flattened yours closer to the island to gain better access, he peppered kisses across your shoulder blades.
"You looked so beautiful tonight, gorgeous. You did so well for me…"
You whimpered and pressed your hips back, trying to get him to breach your entrance fully, feeling as though your legs would give out beneath you when he finally did.
The difference in size between him and the toy felt drastic in comparison, but with a few drags in and out of you, you adjusted to him, the intoxicating pull in your core making your eyes blur as the hot pink vibrator laying forgotten near the kitchen sink became out of focus.
Anders didn't refrain from taking from you what he needed, smacking against you wildly as he chased his end, having held off for so long already taking its toll on him.
Hearing his grunts of effort change into an amused laughter behind you, your own lips curled up in a delighted grin, your whole body tingling from affection as he praised you.
"You feel so fucking good, you have no idea!"
Keeping his pace, Anders slammed into you with more calculated thrusts, his head hitting that sweet spot inside you that made you barrel faster toward a second point of bliss, his sack swinging forward to hit your clit with just the right amount of contact to draw you even closer to climax.
"Anders!" you cried, desperate for another release.
"That's it, baby, come for me! I'm right there with you," he groaned, his smile decorating the sound of his words. Reaching around you, he found your clit, strumming his fingers against it as if you were an instrument, coaxing the most beautiful music from you that only encouraged him on.
Lewd, wet sounds mixed with his unhinged laugh and your wails that became increasingly louder as he successfully tossed you into the throes of another orgasm; the utter glee that Anders found in carnal pleasures unabashed.
You tightened around him, choking him until he stuttered and growled as he pulsed inside you, the noises he made equally as shameless as he surrendered to his pleasure.
Your eyes remained closed as you worked at steadying your breathing and returning your heart rate to normal, the sound of Anders doing the same resonating in your ears as you sighed out sedately, now able to register the cool temperature of the countertop compared to the heat radiating from you as your fingertips splayed over it.
Pulling out of you as he began to soften, he chuckled with satisfaction, watching your combined spend spill out and leak down your thigh, the mess making you shuffle your legs together as you stood upright.
His hands landed on your waist while his lips teased the dewy skin on your neck, the scruff on his cheeks and chin making you shiver and lean back against his chest. Turning you around to face him, his eyes seemed to glow as he looked at you; a brightness enhancing them that made you want to do whatever it took to pull that expression out of him all the time.
"Was that worth it?" he smiled against your lips, leaning in to kiss you multiple times, the playfulness he'd exuded all evening not lost.
Smoothing your hands up his back, you scratched through his hair at the base of his neck, combing your fingers over his scalp until he tipped his head back and groaned with delight.
"It definitely was."
Guiding his head forward using your hands, you kissed him hungrily, melting into him again as he met the swirl of your tongue with matched fervor, his voice a low rumble when he broke away from you.
"Good. Now, come on, I'm taking you to bed."
Anders took hold of your hand and led you to the bedroom, glancing over his shoulder to flash a terribly mischievous grin along with his dimples that told you your night was far from over.
