What are you doing here Y/N?" Ori demanded. He paled at the site of Dwalin dragging you into camp by your braids.

"You know this lass, Ori?" Dwalin asked without loosening his grip on your hair.

"Yes! So let her go, you're hurting her!" Ori pleaded, as he watched you attempt to wiggle free of Dwalin's iron grip. With a grunt, Dwalin released your hair and you had to catch yourself. "That wasn't really necessary, I'm hardly even armed." You fumed, trying to salvage your ravaged braids, "Not that you seemed to care, attacking a girl while she eats her breakfast. You owe me a new biscuit by the way, master dwarf."

"Nobody cares about your damn biscuit. Now tell us why you were following us!" Thorin growled, his hand still on the hilt of Orchrist. You sighed and rubbed your forehead, "I was hoping I could get by for a couple more weeks without you noticing. I was trying to avoid having this conversation all together."

"What do you mean? You aren't making any sense. Tell us why you were following us, and what were you planning on doing in a couple of weeks." Thorin pressed on, he had planned on being on the road shortly after Dwalin came back. There wasn't time to deal with you, Durin's Day was fast approaching.

"If you really must know, I was following you because I thought it would be the safest. I'm traveling to Dale in search of work. Being close to a group of well-armed dwarves seemed like a good way to keep myself in one piece. I knew you all would be passing by Dale in a couple of weeks. I was hoping you wouldn't notice me." you admitted, digging the toe of your shoe into the dirt.

"Wait here with the others, and don't do anything funny. We will be back shortly." Thorin ordered before gesturing for Ori to follow him.  Dwalin, Thorin, and Ori disappeared into the surrounding trees. That's when the eldest of the Ri brothers descended on you.

"What do you think you're doing here Miss Y/N?" Dori roared, his face red with anger, "I forbade you from ever coming near Ori again! Or do you not recall our last meeting young lady?"

This was exactly what you were wanting to avoid, but you wouldn't back down. Not when the first thing Dori did was go on the offensive. He made your blood boil, "How could anyone forget getting screamed at by you? Mahal, the entire town can hear it when you decide to ride on someone's ass about something they've supposedly done!" You shouted back, "And another thing! —You made it quite clear that you didn't want me anywhere near your precious baby brother. That's why I didn't request safe passage from Thorin directly —I didn't want to start anything with you. I was going to stay away as far as possible from the two of you. Ori doesn't deserve to hear you tear into a person he used to consider a friend. —I don't deserve it either! You used to enjoy seeing Ori and I studying together, I used to consider the three of you family." Your eyes stung from tears threatening to spill, but you're not finished, " I still don't understand what changed. I don't understand what I've done to you."

Dori grunted in frustration, he looked at Nori for some kind of input, but he just shook his head. Not that you blamed Nori, you didn't want to be in this fight anymore than he did.

"You're just a child, you wouldn't understand." Dori stated. That's all he ever said on the matter, everytime you heard it you saw red.

"I am not a child, Dori! No more than Ori is! And you're letting him go off on a quest to reclaim Erebor from a DRAGON. Treat me with the respect you have for any other dwarf!" you demanded. The silence that followed made you crack, and the tears began to spill down your face as you pleaded, " Tell me what I did wrong, Dori, please."

You could hear the other dwarves muttering amongst themselves, unsure about what was happening. "Do you know what they're going on about, Bombur?" you hear the one with the funny hat whisper. Dori glared at them, and they all went silent.

"That's enough." Nori declared, shattering the silence, "This has gone on for far too long, Dori, I can't take it. Y/N doesn't deserve how you're treating her, especially since you won't justify your actions with at least an excuse. Tell her so we can all finally move on."

"I can't!" Dori shouted.

"Why not?!" Nori shouted back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Because! Because then she'll go after him regardless of what I try to say."  Dori blurted out before he buried his face in his hands.

"She'll what?" you asked, ignoring the fact that you just referred to yourself in third person.

"You'll try to be with Ori."

"You're not making any sense man." one of the dwarves, Balin you think, interrupted, "Why is she not allowed to be with Ori? The lass said they were friends before and that the two of you were even close. What changed to- Oh. I see..."

"See what? What am I missing? What's wrong with me being with Ori? He was my best friend." You didn't understand why they continued to skirt around whatever Dori seemed to be alluding at, "I miss him, I loved that ridiculous dwarf." you admitted, your voice barely a whisper.

"I know, Love. That's why I had to push you away from him." Dori sighed, taking a hesitant step forward before wrapping you in a sympathetic hug, "I tried to keep the two of you away from each other because I knew their would be an attempt made to reclaim Erebor soon. I didn't- I" His voice cracked, "I didn't want to have some stranger tell you that none of us made it if things turned sour on this journey. I didn't want the two of you to become too... attached to each other. I had hoped it was just a silly crush he had, but then he asked me where our grandmother's beads were and I just couldn't-" Dori froze as you ripped free from his embrace and grabbed him by his shoulders.

"He asked you about what?" you asked, trying to keep your voice calm.

"Oh Dori..." you heard Balin sigh.

"I couldn't- I couldn't let him do it." Dori sputtered.

"He asked you about what?" you repeated, tightening your grip on his shoulders.

"Our grandmother's beads. He had been planning to ask you on your birthday. He had it all planned out." Dori admitted, looking everywhere but at you, "I'm so sorry, Y/N. If I thought there could have been another way..."

"How could you." You seethed, "I would have said yes. I would have fought beside him on this journey. Beside you."

"Y/N..." Dori pleaded, on the brink of tears.

"No. Don't me speak again." You ordered, wiping away your own tears, "Not until after I speak with Ori. And I will speak with him."

"Lass.. I know we don't know each other very well and all, but might I suggest you ask him something?" said the dwarf with the funny hat that had spoken earlier.

"Yes, master dwarf?"

"Shouldn't you see if Ori agreed with what Dori's been saying? He might be thinking that he's doing what's right."

"If they have, then i'll have to remind that rediculous dwarf that he doesn't have to do this alone. I've been by his side through thick and thin, this journey would have been no different." You said.

"Do not make me regret allowing this." You heard Thorin warn someone as they walked out of the brush.

"We won't, you have my word." Ori promised, quickly shaking his head. Ori gave you as a small smile as Thorin called you over before going off to rejoin his brothers. Thorin wore a dark expression as he watched you walk his way.

"I have decided to allow you to travel with us as far as Dale. So long as you pull your own weight and remember that we cannot assure your safety." Thorin explained, he seemed unhappy about the decision.

"You won't regret it my King, also I never expected you all to actually need to protect me." You admitted.  Thorin frowned, "What do you mean? You said you were staying close by for protection."

"Well, yes. But not in the sense you're thinking of. I figured if anyone wanted to attack travelers, they would notice your company before they noticed me by myself." You explained, "Which sounds horrible, but I know your men are more than capable of taking care of themselves."

"But Dwalin still ended up noticing you." Thorin pointed out.

"Wait. What has Master Dwalin been telling you about our first encounter?" you asked.

"He said he had woken up and thought he heard a noise off in the distance so he went to check it out. He said he saw you up a tree watching him." Thorin said with a frown, "Was that not what happened?"

"Well the part about me being up a tree was right, but I hadn't made any loud noises. Dwalin had gone out to... relieve himself, and just happened to pick the tree I had been sleeping in last night to do so. The only reason he noticed me was because I accidently dropped my biscuit on him." You laughed dryly at the memory, "I'm not sure if he was angrier about not noticing me or embarrassed about it. Didn't help that my biscuit landed on his head."

"Why did you drop your biscuit on him?" Thorin asked, his interest getting the best of him.

"You imagine sitting in a tree eating your breakfast. Just minding your own business, when a literal war machine of a dwarf, that keep in mind you've been trying to hide from, walks straight up to your tree, and whips it out. It's not exactly something one expects to happen."

Thorin chuckled at your version of this morning's events, "So, the sight of...him was so shocking, it made you drop your biscuit. Is that what I'm to believe?" You could feel your cheeks burning at his comment, "Well, it's not like I've ever seen a guy's- No, I'm sorry, I'm not having this conversation with a king." "Very well, is there anything you wish to ask about traveling with us before we start moving for the day?" Thorin asked, a slight smirk still on his face.

You didn't want to, but you had to ask, "What do you know about my situation with the Ri family?"  The smirk that had just danced on his lips immediately disappeared as he chose his words carefully, "I was told only that you and Ori used to study under the same teacher. You had been close to the family, but for reasons he didn't disclose the two of you had grown distant from each other in recent months. He admitted that the distance was his doing, and warned that Dori wouldn't be happy at first with you joining us. And from the shouting we heard earlier, he was right. The young dwarf said that he would sort things out with his brother." He hesitated for a second, "Might I ask? What exactly did you do to ruffle Dori's beard so much? I've never heard him like that before."

"At risk of sounding cliché, I fell in love with his little brother." You deadpanned.

"Oh."

"Yea."

"Does he know?"

"With what Dori said he had been planning to do, I'd hope so." You snorted. Thorin arched an eyebrow at this.

"Dori just told me that Ori- that he had asked him for their grandmother's beads." You sighed.

"Why did Dori not give him the beads? Did he not approve of you?" Thorin asked frowning.

"Dori was just in mother hen mode and tried protecting either me or Ori, I'm not sure which, from getting hurt once Ori left on this journey. If he didn't come back." You muttered, getting frustrated at the situation yet again.

"I'll be honest with you Y/N, I do understand Dori's actions to no small degree. None of us are guaranteed to come back out of that mountain alive. He was just trying to keep you from getting hurt by the loss."

You were about to make a snide comment about how it wasn't Dori's choice to make, but Thorin continued, "But none of it matters now, you are here with us regardless. Now go pack your things, it's about time we start moving on."

     With that you darted back to your tree, and scrambled up it. You undid your harness from the branch you had left it on and stuffed into your leather pack. Halfway down the tree you hear a familiar laugh that makes you lose your footing. You hit the ground hard, and it left you gasping for air.

"Y/N! Are you okay?" Ori cried out, running to your side. You  gave him a tight smile as he helped you sit up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just lost my footing. What were you laughing at earlier before I fell?" You asked, as you absentmindedly brushed yourself off.

"Oh, you heard that? It was just that I never thought I would have the opportunity to watch you climb a tree again, Y/N." Ori admitted as he played with the edges of his coat sleeves. You felt your heart skip a beat hearing him say your name again. It hurt how much you missed this dwarf, you had to keep your composure though. Keep it cool, calm, and collected.

You got this.

"I've missed you." You both blurted out.

"What did you just say?" You heard yourself whisper, none of this seemed real. You've imagine him saying those words for so many weeks that they couldn't be real. Ori took a depth breath and gently took both your hands in his as he stayed knelt at your side, "Y/N, I-I can't begin to tell you how much I have missed your company." You felt his hands shaking and he seemed to lose his words. You gave his hands a gentle squeeze as you offered what you hoped was a patient smile, "It's alright Ori, say what you need to."

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't of said anything. Please forget I said I missed you, that's wasn't right of me to say. You're my One, I shouldn't be doing this to yo-" Ori froze, his eyes the size of wargs as he blushed deeply, "Y/N... Y-you mustn't tell Dori I told you that you're my One. I promised him that I wouldn't. Oh he'll be so upset with me." You wanted to be understanding and kind, but not with this, not something this important, "But why does it matter to him if I'm your One? If he thinks you're mature enough to fight a dragon, then you're definitely old enough to follow your heart." You knew Dori's reasoning a bit, but you wanted to hear Ori's version too.

"That is exactly why I couldn't tell you, Y/N!" Ori blurted out, you felt his grasp on your hands tighten before he continued, "If Smaug still lives deep within the mountain, the likelihood of me surviving isn't great. I couldn't bring myself to tell you- to ask to court you- without absolute certainty that I wouldn't be leaving you forever shortly after. I couldn't do that."

"Oh, you absolutely rediculous dwarf. As my One, I wouldn't have let you go alone. I have always fought by your side, and I always will.  Dragon or not." You promised, freeing one of your hands to wipe away a tear that had fallen to his redden cheek.

"I'm your One?" Ori whispered, his voice cracked with hope and uncertainty. You could feel your own tears slip down your face as you gave a small nod. Your small smile grew as he threw his arms around you. He shook with a relieved laugh.

"I had it all planned out, you know?" He whispered, his forehead pressed to yours as he drew small circles on the back of your hand, "I was going to ask you properly, on your birthday, after the party we threw for you. It was going to be perfect, I had it all planned out in my head, I was going to ask you to join me on a walk after everyone left. We would stroll through the apple grove, all the way until we came to that clearing by the lake. I was going to have lanterns set up in the trees so that the lake shone like golden light. I was going to have your favorite blanket set out to watch the fireflies dance as it grew later into the night. Then, once the moment was right, or you had questioned me long enough," he smirked at the thought, "then I was going to ask you."

"We can still do that you know, I mean, once we get back." You told him, looking into his eyes.  The tips of your noses brushed together, and you felt your heart stop. You let out a nervous laugh, you'd never been this close. You had no idea what you were doing, just an hour before you had been dead set on leaving him forever. But now..

"Y/N... M-may I kiss you?" Ori whispered like he was afraid you'd hear him. Yup, you've definitely died. This none of this is real.  You're still stuck up the tree asleep with drool running down your face into your beard.

"Y/N, did you hear me?" Ori asked, sounding a bit concerned, "I'm sorry, that wasn't proper of me to ask. Not with what I-" You snapped out of your haze when he started to pull away, his face crimson red. "Of course you can."  you whispered in a shaky breath. Slowly, you gently leaned forward into his embrace. The kiss was over just as quickly as it started, but it was filled with a promise. Ori gave a breathless laugh as he said, "I guess I'll have to find those beads after all.", and pulled you in for another kiss.

"Well lucky for you then, because I just so happen to have them with me. Never doubted the two of you for a second." A familiar voice chuckled. The both of you froze as you watched Nori lean against a pine tree, with Fili and Kili standing at his side.