Hot Tea
Summary: The reader becomes sick and gets taken care of by her favorite dwarf.
Pairing: Bofur x reader
Rating: T
Warnings: fluff, sick reader?
Word Count: 2650
A/N: Here it is, the first story of my own to be posted on Tumblr! This imagine is for @tea2go who hasn’t been feeling well and wanted a story of one of her favorite characters taking care of her. I hope you enjoy the story and that you feel better very soon!
Another sneeze forced its way out as you stopped for a moment to regain yourself. You had done a good job, or at least you thought, at keeping the fact that you were sick a secret. It had been about three days since you had awoke to a profound burning at the back of your throat. At first you’d shrugged it off, thinking your throat was just dry. After several hearty mouthfuls of water you knew that was not the case. Instant panic consumed your brain, would they leave you behind? This quest was too important to the dwarves didn’t have time to stop and tend to the ill. Yes you decided, Thorin would leave you. It was at that exact moment you’d decided to keep it to yourself.
Now on the third day of your illness you were starting to think that may have been a bad idea. While everyone still continued to trudge through the forest you could feel yourself becoming fatigued very quickly. It was taking all your energy to keep up with the company and no one knew when Thorin would call it quits for the day. The sun burned bright in the sky, causing a few stray wisps of light to cut through the branches. The warmth of the sun did nothing however to counteract the chill that had set into the forest. If it was this cold now, tonight was certain to be freezing. Pulling your coat tighter around your body you glanced up to see you’d started to fall towards the back of the group.
“Did ya have a rough night lass?”
Whipping your head to the left your eyes fell upon the bright smile of none other than Bofur. How the dwarf always seemed to be so happy and full of energy you’d never know. You would be lying though if you said his smile wasn’t the highlight of your day. When things were getting rough or tensions were high he always seemed to lighten the mood. Some days it was a quick parting joke or a song, other days it was an elaborate story that you were quite sure couldn’t be true. Well at least you hoped some of the raunchier stories weren’t. It was this sanguine nature that made your heart beat a little faster when he looked your way. Now with his russet brown eyes focused so intently on you, the light pitter patter of your heart started to race.
“Yes,” your voice came out hoarse causing you to wince. The word alone felt like nails being dragged down your already sore throat. The drastic change in your voice clearly took Bofur by surprise as his eyebrows pulled together tightly. Clearing your throat you tried to quickly fix this mess. If Bofur knew you were sick, everyone would know. He was such a kind and caring dwarf, you knew he’d cause a ruckus trying to take care of you. “For some reason last night, I kept waking up.” The response wasn’t a complete lie. You had struggled to fall asleep last night, however it wasn’t the cause for your change in behavior.
“That’s odd, when I was on watch your snoring coulda rivaled Bombur’s,” Bofur tossed his head back in a exuberant laugh clearly enjoying the situation. His pigtails seemed to dance as he looked at his fellow dwarves, a couple laughing along with him. It had to be because of your stuffy nose, no one had ever commented on you snoring before. Still it didn’t stop your cheeks from flushing a bright shade of red at the jab. Glancing away from the hat wearing dwarf next to you, you looked forward only to catch eyes with Dwalin. A strange look crossed his face before you were drawn back to your neighbor.
“Didn’t mean anything by it Y/N, ya just aren’t acting like yourself. Thought ya might need some cheering up!”
Still chuckling Bofur clapped his hand your back. The friendly gesture normally made your heart swell, today however it took you completely off guard.You stumbled forward from the force, arm reaching out frantically to brace yourself before you fell face first in the dirt. The shock caused several coughs, you’d been trying to suppress, to slip past your lips. A low grunt barely registered in your ears as you tried to regain your composure. As the last couple coughs finally died off you looked to the source of the grunt only to, once again, feel your face growing hot. It seemed you’d broken your fall by grasping tightly onto Bofur’s shoulder, what you hadn’t expected was to have his hair caught in your grip as well. With his head tilted to the side, Bofur was trying to turn his grimace into a smile but seemed to be struggling.
“Lass I’m gonna need ya to let go of my hair now,” his voice had lowered several octaves and was much raspier than you remembered. Something about this tone made your nerves ignite with fire. As the warmth spreads and your stomach begins to twist you become painfully aware of how close he was. Had he been this close the entire time? Quickly you released his hair from your grasp, pulling your hand to your chest.
“B-Bofur! I’m s-so sorry.” Stumbling over your words you quickly made your way as far from the dwarf as you could. Could you embarrass yourself anymore in one day? The company had made it perfectly clear early on how important hair was to dwarves, and here you were yanking on his pigtail. It just had to be Bofur too. If it was any of the others you doubt you would be nearly as flustered. The self-depreciating groan you let out caught the attention of Dwalin again. Thankfully he didn’t seem concerned enough to question it, and continued along the path. Glancing behind your eyes quickly met with Bofur’s who were intently watching you. Whipping your head back around you sighed softly, hoping Thorin would call it a night soon.
It wasn’t too much later Thorin decided it was time to set up camp. Everyone quickly scrambled about working on their assigned tasks. After you had collected fire wood like Thorin had said you sat down on an old stump. It felt so good to get off your feet. After a long day wading through the woods your body felt like lead and your head was throbbing. Being sick on top of it was not helping. That and you couldn’t clear the situation with Bofur from earlier from your mind. Every time you thought of how gruff his voice had become or how close his body was to yours, the fire in your belly started to burn again.
Bilbo quietly sat down next to you, he was fidgeting with something but you weren’t paying attention. Across the fire from you Bofur was still staring intently at you from where he sat next to his brother. When your eyes met you quickly looked for a way to distract yourself. Had you upset him that much earlier? He had to know it had been an accident. With all the thoughts in your mind, your head started to pound harder. It felt as though with every breath you took the pain grew worse. Bombur dropped the pot not far from you, the loud clang made you wince. A soft whine escaping in reaction before you could stop it.
“Are you quite alright?” Bilbo asked from beside you. His mouth was turned down in a deep frown, worry clouding his eyes.
“I’m fine, just tired is all.” The lie felt thick hanging in the air, and not just because your stuffy nose was deepening your voice. It was very clear to yourself as well as those around you that this was not a case of exhaustion. Sniffling quietly, you knew they weren’t going to buy it. Your voice was more hoarse than this morning, you couldn’t stop shivering and pain was painted all over your face.
“Tired? Ya haven’t seemed like yourself all day!” Bofur said moving around the fire to stand in front of you. It hadn’t occurred to you that he was listening to your conversation with the hobbit until now. His eyebrows were furrowed and he wore the same look of concern as Bilbo. As he moved closer you couldn’t help but rise to your feet.
“Are ya sure ya aren’t coming down with something lassie?” Bofur continued to move closer to you until you were sure there was no space between you. Between the close proximity of his body and the pounding in your head it was getting hard to think straight. He had asked you something, you needed to answer. Pushing through the fog in your mind you tried to answer.
“Truly! I’m sure it’s because-” before the sentence could finish leaving your lips Bofur had his hand against your forehead. It wasn’t until his large palm was resting against you that you realized how feverish your skin felt. His hand was so cool in comparison to your boiling skin you couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh of relief.
“Y/N you’re burning up! Come now lass lets get ya taken care of.” Bofur wrapped his arm around your back, placing his hand against your low back. Another round of shivers passed through your body, completely unrelated to the illness. As he led you to the spot he had once been sitting in next to Bombur, Bofur turned and spoke to Bilbo, “Laddie could ya go find Oin for me? Need ta see if he has something to get the lass feeling better.”
Nodding his head Biblo quickly scampered over to where Oin was having a lively conversation with some of the others. You had been so distracted watching as Bilbo became more and more frustrated trying to explain to Oin, that you hadn’t notice Bofur wrapping the blanket around you until he was tucking the edges. Taking the chance while he was distracted you let your gaze wander over his face. Chestnut brown eyes were squinted, the worry causing the lighter lines on his face to stand out in the light from the fire. The typically large smile was replaced by a slight frown making his mustache seem listless in comparison to usual. The jovial dwarf you’d become so fond of was worrying like a mother hen. When you thought he couldn’t steal your heart more, he did just that.
“Ya should have told me sooner.”
Locking eyes with the hat wearing dwarf you simply nodded your head. At this point you were in too much pain to argue. Maybe if you hadn’t kept it to yourself, you’d have been better by now. Which is exactly what Oin said to you once he made his way over. The entire time he checked you over he lectured you. It might have been endearing if his voice wasn’t so loud.After his assessment he left suddenly before returning with some kind of leaves. Chewing them like he instructed the bitterness made your face scrunch up. Why did everything meant to heal, taste so terrible? After you’d finished the leaves he said he’d brew you a tea in the morning that should help knock the illness the rest of the way out.
Thanking the old healer you watched as he made his way back to his original seat. A loud sigh next to you caught your attention. Bofur was still missing his usual smile as he sat down next to you. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a small piece of wood he had been working on earlier that night. His leg was pressed firmly against your own and you could feel the slight movements of his arm as he worked. It was unusual sitting so close to the dwarf but you felt yourself relaxing as time went on. Eventually curiosity won and you found yourself leaning over to get a better look at what he was working on. The sight took your breath away, in his hand was a perfectly carved fox. Currently he was working on the face, carefully carving the eyes in place. You continued on watching him work until you found yourself leaning against the kind dwarf. He smiled brightly at you as you relaxed your head onto his shoulder. Perhaps it was the medicine Oin had given you or maybe you were just tired but you felt your eyes slowing drooping closed. The last thing you remember before drifting off was something soft pressing against your forehead.
The first thing you noticed when you woke up was how easily you could breathe. After days of having a stuffy nose it was relief. The next was that somehow you were in your bedroll. Strange. The last thing you remembered was sitting with Bofur when you’d dozed off. Sitting up you ran a hand through your y/h/c hair before feeling something tumble off your stomach. Glancing down you saw the wooden fox Bofur had been carving last night. Picking it up you let your fingers glide over the smooth wood. It was beautiful, he’d taken the time to carve out every intricate detail. It looked as though it could come to life in your hands at any moment.
“Good morning Y/N.” Now wearing his characteristically lighthearted smile, Bofur stood before you a steaming cup in his hand. “This is the tea Oin wants ya ta drink. Are ya feelin’ any better lass?”
“Yes I feel much better, thank you!”
“I’m glad, ya gave me a scare.” Carefully you placed the fox in your lap before taking the cup from his hands. He sat down next to you a soft smile gracing his lips as he watched you drink the tea. You couldn’t help but sigh softly, the warmth of the tea managed to soothe the remaining scratch from your throat. Bofur was fidgeting next to you, a nervous expression hiding behind his smile.“Do ya like it? I made it for ya, the fox I mean.” Y/E/C eyes widened in response, looking back down at the fox in your lap.
“It’s for me?”
Setting the cup down you looked back at the sweet dwarf beside you who was slowly nodding his head. You’d never seen him this nervous and it was an endearing sight to behold for sure. Gently picking the fox back up you examined it closely before looking back at him.
“Bofur I love it!”
Without thinking you flung yourself at the dark haired dwarf, wrapping your arms around his neck. The sudden embrace knocked him onto his back but he quickly started chuckling before wrapping his arms tightly around your waist. Caught up in the moment you pulled back and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, causing butterflies to erupt in your belly. Pulling away you saw the look of shock on his face before another brilliant smile pulled at his cheeks, Sitting both of you up he pushed stray strands of y/h/c from your face before gently pressing his lips to yours. One of his arms was still tightly wound around your waist, while his free hand was gently cradling your face to his.
The kiss was over as quickly as it started; but you stayed sitting on Bofur’s lap, foreheads pressed together. You could feel his thumb drawing lazy circles into your hip and couldn’t help but smile. “Lass I’ve been meaning ta,” Bofur started to say before he quickly pulled away from you. Surprised you saw his face crinkle up before he was covering a sneeze with his hand. Shaking his head lightly he turned back to you, “Anyway I’ve been meaning ta-” the dwarf once again found himself sneezing. Clearing his throat a few times he turned back to you, an impish smile on his face.
“Bofur..are you getting sick?”
