You walk through the war torn streets of Dale, the stench of decaying bodies nearly making you retch. You swallow past the lump in your throat. It's been a day since the Battle of the Five Armies ended. Miraculously, king Thorin and his Company all lived. The people of Lake Town—you take one whiff of the stench and then gag—weren't so lucky.

     "Y/N, hey!" You hear someone calling. You turn around and see Bard, one of your best friends, running towards you. Your heart leaps within your chest at seeing him alive. You haven't seen him since before the battle.

     "Bard!" You exclaim, running towards him. You launch into his arms. "Oh my goodness, I'm so happy to see you." You whisper with relief.

     "I'm so happy to see you too." Bard sighs. He looks at you, his arms still around your waist. "Y/N, I just want to say thank you so much for watching Sigrid, Bain, and Tilda while I was gone fighting. I knew you would protect them. They told me they felt so safe with you. So thank you. Whatever you did, Y/N, I'm so grateful for you. My children love you so much." He says, his voice cracking, his eyes boring into yours.

     You smile, your heart racing. "And I love them like they were my own." You reply honestly. Bard gets a strange look in his eyes, one you've seen multiple times when you catch him staring at you. It never ceases to set your heart racing.

     Bard and you have been friends for as long as you can remember. You watched him get married, have three beautiful children, and then devastingly lose his beautiful wife. For the past years, you stepped into a role in their family—almost a mother role. And nothing pleases you more. But for the past year, your feelings for Bard have changed. They aren't so much just friendship feelings for him...they're some more. Much more. And you believe Bard feels the same way about you, though he's never outrightly said so.

       You realize your arms are still around Bard. You blush and step out of his arms, just as a Dwarf comes running towards you.

     "Y/N!" He exclaims.

     You look and see Bofur. Your eyebrows draw. "What are you doing here?" You ask.

     "King Thorin requests your presence." He breathes. You swallow nervously.

     You helped Bard deal with the Dwarves when they were staying at his house. Thorin immediately took a liking to you. You were embarrassed at first, not liking him like that. But Thorin and you spent some time together. You went with him to reclaim Erebor. He took your mind off of Bard and you actually started to believe you were having feelings for him too. But then Thorin went a little crazy with the dragon sickness. And that was that. But you still can't rid yourself of the niggling feeling in your heart that says give Thorin another chance.

      You sigh and rub your face, so confused over your feelings for Thorin and Bard.

     "Y/N?" Bofur asks.

     You snap out of your thoughts and look at him. "What?" You say.

     "I said Thorn wants to see you. Will you come?" He asks.

     "Yes, yes, of course I'll come." You sigh.

     Bard stiffens. "Y/N, are you sure?" He questions, jealousy seeping into his tone.

     "Yeah, yeah, I'm sure." You answer. You smile at him. "I'll see you later." You say softly, before walking off towards Erebor with Bofur, feeling Bard's eyes staring at your back until you're out of sight.

---

      "Y/N." Thorin smiles at you when you enter the throne room.

     "I'll leave you two alone." Bofur says, before walking off.

     You walk towards Thorin, year heart pounding hard. "Hey." You say softly.

     Thorin walks up to you, smiling. He grabs your hand and it's like electricity strikes your nerves. You clear your throat and take a deep breath. "I'm so glad you came, Y/N." He whispers. "It seemed so...so lonely without you." He admits.

     "Thorin, how could it be lonely? You're surrounded by tons of Dwarves." You laugh.

     He squeezes your hand and steps even closer to you. "Yeah, but you're the only one I want to be surrounded by." He whispers, his eyes dropping to your lips and then back up to your eyes.

     Thorin swallows. "Y/N, I love you." He says.

     Your heart drops, and it's not necessarily in a good way. You start to shake your head. "Thorin, no-" You start to protest.

      He holds his pointer finger over your lips, shushing you. "No, Y/N, I do love you. I know-I know it's soon, but I know my feelings. I know I'm in love you with you." He tells you. You wince. You thought Thorin thought of you only as a crush, not as an actual lover.

     "How do you feel about me?" Thorin asks. Before you can even begin to form a normal sentence, his eyes look past your ear. His majestic eyebrows draw. "I see you brought a friend." He mutters.

     Your eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What?" You ask. Thorin puts his hands on your shoulders and turns your around. You spot Bard trying to hide but failing.

    You sigh deeply and feel a flush climbing into your face. "Bard, if you're trying to be invisible, it's not working." You claim loud enough for him to hear. Bard sheepishly comes out of his hiding spot and walks towards Thorin and you. "What are you doing here?" You ask.

     He blushes. "I just wanted to make sure you were going to be okay." He murmurs. You smile at his protectiveness, a warm feeling coming into your heart.

     "So, what, you don't trust me? You'd think I'd hurt Y/N?" Thorin asks, his words clipped.

     "Your actions haven't really been that trust worthy as of late, Thorin." Bard states. You swallow, knowing he is right. You find yourself inching closer to him.

      Thorin scoffs. "It was the dragon sickness." He protests.

     "Still. Your actions are questionable. As are your feelings..." Bard trails off.

     Thorin stiffens. "Are you saying my feelings for Y/N aren't real?" He asks, getting a little angry.

     "Well, maybe..." Bard hedges, looking down.

     "What, and your feelings for Y/N are real?" Thorn retorts.

     Bard snaps his head up, defiance alight in his eyes. "Yes, actually." He admits. You look between both men, blushing furiously.

     Thorin scoffs. "This is ridiculous." He says. He looks at you. "Y/N, who do you believe?" He asks.

      Your eyes widen. "Oh, uh-uh, well, I can't say because I don't know each of your feelings." You stammer.

     "Y/N, I love you." Bard states.

     Your heart nearly stops. "You do?" You whisper.

     He nods. "And what Thorin has for you is just....well, it's just the dragon sickness talking. He's hasn't even known you that long! He can't possibly love you." Bard says.

     "Lies!" Thorin shouts. "I love Y/N with all my heart." He snaps.

     "Well, that might be what you think!" Bard exclaims.

     "No, it's what I know!" Thorin yells.

     "Guys, stop." You beg, your head swirling.

      "Only Y/N can settle this." Thorin claims, ignoring you. He looks at you. "Who do you like better, Y/N? Me? Or Bard?" He asks. You sigh, not wanting it to come to this.

     "Well?" Bard questions when you don't answer. There's so much hope in his eyes.

     You look between Thorin and Bard, feeling totally ovoverwhelmed and torn. "I-I don't know." You whisper.

     "Come on, Y/N, there has to be one of us you like better!" Thorin exclaims.

     You start backing away, gasping. "I'm-I'm sorry, I don't know!" You cry, before turning on your heel and fleeing.

      When you get back to the shelter you call a house in Dale, you collapse onto your makeshift bed, your heart pounding, and it's not because you ran all the way from Erebor. "What am I going to do?" You groan, burying your face in hands. You honestly don't know who to choose. Bard or Thorin?

      "Ugh." You growl, squeezing your eyes shut. You can't even think clearly. You've barely had one man vie for your attention and now you've got two.

    "When it rains, it pours." You sigh. You turn on your side, feeling the exhaustion take over you.

---

      You wake up to someone falling on top of you. You sit up with a gasp, a hand on your chest. "Bard." You breathe as he pulls himself off of you.

     Bard grins at you. "Sorry, I tripped." He mutters.

     You squint, trying to see his face clearly in the dark of night. "Is-is your lip bleeding?" You ask. Bard's grin drops. His fingers go to his lip and he winces, quickly pulling his hand backback. You stare at him. "Bard. What happened after I left Erebor?" You ask slowly.

     Bard clears his throat and then sits next to you. You raise an eyebrow, pegging him with a look. "Thorin and I fought." He sighs.

     "What?" You gasp.

     "At first we were just fighting verbally. But then he said something about you that ticked me off. So I punched him in the face. And that's when started the physical fighting started. The Dwarves had to pull us apart. And that's when Thorin banned me from stepping foot in the Lonely Mountain ever again." He explains.

     You wince. "How does Thorin look?" You ask.

     This makes Bard grin. "Honey, there's one thing a Dwarf really needs to take to heart: Don't get in a fight with a man 1 1/2 feet taller than you. Especially when you're both vying for the same woman." He says. Your hide your smile behind your hand, trying to remain serious.

      "Come on, let's wash your lip off." You say, grabbing a bucket of freezing water and a rag. You sit in front of Bard and gently dab at his lip. He watches you intensely.

     "There is something I must know, Y/N." He whispers.

     You look at him. "Yes?" You ask.

     "Who do you really choose? Thorin or me?" Bard asks. You sigh deeply. "Please, Y/N." He pleads.

     You shake your head. "Bard, I really don't know." You sigh.

     "Yes you do, Y/N. You do know. Close your eyes and feel it in your heart." He whispers, his face close to yours. Your eyes flutter closed and you listen to your heart.

     "Who's face do you see?" Bard whispers, his lips against your ear.

     You let a smile stretch across your face. "Yours." You whisper, before opening your eyes. Bard is smiling at you. "It's always been yours." You say softly.

    Bard learns forward and kisses you tentatively. You lean into him and kiss him back, deepening the kiss. He wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you against his chest. A minute later, you part lips, breathing hard.

    "Thorin isn't going to be happy." Bard whispers, smiling down at you. You cringe. "But we can worry about that later." He sighs, before his lips claim yours again.
[THE END] I hope you liked it!