It was strangely wonderful to wake up in someone else's bed. Well, at least, one that smelled like Fili.

You had read his thoughtful little note and smiled, though it was no replacement for your Lionheart himself, and began your day. You changed into a loose dress that felt very much like the green robes you used to have. Perhaps you would ask Radagast to send you the spare robe that was still in his house in Greenwood.

After you had made yourself presentable and checked on the Rhosgobels, you sat diligently through a lesson with Balin. When he sent you away for the day, you wandered into the kitchen in search of a meal. You were about to sit down to eat with Ori and his brothers when you asked if they had seen Fili. He had not said in his note where he would be. They knew where he was, but they had not seen him all day. A thought struck you, and you thanked the dwarves before seeking out a small basket and filling it with as much food as the cooks would let you take.

When you found Fili at the forge deep in Erebor, as the dwarves had said, you were not at all prepared for the sight of his bare back rippling with muscle as he brought a hammer down again and again on whatever he was working on. His skin glowed with the light of the fire in the forge, his sweat catching the glow and transforming it so that it was your dwarf shining and nothing else. The curve of his spine, the way he had tied back his luscious hair into a no-nonsense ponytail at the nape of his neck, the practiced ease of his grip on the hammer-- all of it made you weak in the knees.

You almost dropped the basket.

But your grip steadied again as you listened close for the sound that wove between the clangs of each hammer-blow. Was Fili humming? The snatches of melody you heard were beautiful, but unlike anything you had ever heard the elves sing in the forest. This was different, too, from the raucous songs the dwarves sang in celebration. You inched closer, trying to hear the song more clearly, when Fili paused and turned.

After a few awkward moments of struggling for words and clenching your eyes shut, Fili put his shirt back on and you could breathe again. Well, except for the moment he stood so close you could feel his breath on your skin as he traced your face almost reverently.

You offered him the basket brimming with food once you remembered how to speak. The cooks were very generous when they realized you were taking food to their prince. Fili asked you to wait there while he put his project away. Once he had moved his project on the anvil and cleared the work table, he called you over and eagerly unpacked the basket.

"To what do I owe this generous visit?" He asked you, between bites of bread smeared with soft cheese.

You shrugged, picking up an apple slice. "You do so many thoughtful things for me. I thought it might be nice for me to try my hand at the romantic gestures, for a change."

He smiled. It surprised you when he put the bread down to lean over the food and press his lips gently to yours. Tasting the salt of his sweat and the rich flavor of the bread on his lips made your heart quiver. Something in you whispered for more, more, but Fili pulled away and took another bite of his food. He seemed remarkably pleased with the flush crawling up your neck to your cheeks.

The forges were noisy, but you didn't mind. It was pleasant to just watch the dwarves at work with Fili. You enjoyed his company even when he didn't have something heart-melting to say. Kili joined you after a while, making lighthearted conversation beneath the shouts and clangs that rang through the fire-scorched air.

The food was almost gone when Dwalin approached, a remarkable expression on the bulky warrior's face.

"Is he... smiling?" You asked Fili under your breath. Fili snorted, but covered the undignified laughter with a light cough.

Dwalin inclined his head to Fili before speaking. "Your presence is required in the throne room. Your mother has arrived."

You felt your face drain of color. You knew such an interaction was coming, though you had never thought it would be so soon. But Fili's joyous laugh and firm grip on your hand as he led you briskly to the throne room had you trying to ignore the dread collecting in your belly.

Fili knocked the throne room's door open with a crash, revealing a figure standing next to Thorin in front of the throne. He tugged you forward until you stood right before them.

If Fili was a lion, Dis was a bear. With a thick head of dark brown hair, meticulously braided, and a stature about as wide as she was tall, she looked every inch Thorin's sister. The effect was tripled when her thick brows lowered over steel-blue eyes that felt as though they saw into your very soul.

"Brother, you did not tell me my son had a girl."

King Thorin very regally rolled his eyes. "You did not ask."

Fili embraced his mother. "It has not been official until recently."

"What, you're courting her? With a proper braid and gifts?"

"Of course." Fili's grin lit up the entire room. Dis answered with an approving pat on her son's shoulder. She studied you silently for a moment, appraising you from head to toe. "And who might you be?"

You bobbed your head in an awkward attempt at a respectful gesture. "I am Y/N, ward of Radagast the Brown. I joined the company when they reached Dale."

"She has been invaluable," said King Thorin, much to your surprise. It must have shown on your face, for he smiled sadly at you, almost as if in apology.

Fili began rattling off your efforts since joining the company, but Dis cut him off with a raised hand. "I can hear all about how wonderful she is later, my son. First I will ask where your dear brother is?"

Fili grinned. "I am sure he will find us soon. He's been down in the forges, working on a gift for a maiden of his own."

Dis's exclamations of delight were short-lived, as Thorin informed her that Kili's Tauriel was an elf, and that Thorin had not yet allowed her under the mountain.

Dis's scowl as she listened to Thorin explain made you quiver where you stood. Would she look at you with that expression if she knew you had just been ogling her shirtless son not an hour ago? Your trepidation doubled as you watched the female dwarf's hand shoot out and grab her brother, the king, by the ear. 

"Do not tell me you have ignored her merely because she is an elf," Dis hissed. "If she is Kili's woman, if she is his One, she is family. And family must be welcome under this mountain, or your pig-headed efforts to reclaim it will have been for nothing."

Thorin sucked in a breath, obviously in pain from his sister's grip on his ear. "My treatment of her will soon be remedied, Dis. Now please release me and go spend time with your sons." She acquiesced, though she seemed less than pleased about it.

"I shall see you at supper, then," Dis said to Thorin before herding you and Fili out of the throne room. Fili grinned at you over his mother's head, and you returned the expression though you were so nervous you wondered how your heart was still beating.

"So," Dis said to you, looping her arm through her son's as she walked between you and him, "what are your intentions toward my son?"

You gulped.

Fili's laughter at his mother's question rang oddly in your ears.  What was making the sound so metallic? Your breathing was  certainly shorter than it had been a moment before. You tried to choke out an answer, but the words wouldn't come, smothered by your betrothed's mother's baleful gaze.

Fili said a short word under his breath and took your face in his  hands. "Y/N, you've gone quite pale. Are you all right?" You took a  steadying breath as he looked into your eyes. The blue in his gaze was a  familiar comfort. "Mother, you've frightened her. Do you think you  could try to be a bit more civil with my badguna?"

Dis snorted as her fair son turned to look her way. "I suppose that  can be managed. But I would like to get to know the young lady who has  so captured your heart," she said, pinching Fili's cheek. He shrugged  away from the contact as she said, "And I would like to ensure that she  is not just after you for your crown."

"Of course she isn't," Fili said in sincerity, or so you believed until he said a heartbeat later, "she's after my devastating good looks,  too."

"Fili," you choked, your cheeks burning with embarrassment. This was  not at all how you had wanted this first meeting with his mother to go.

To your surprise, Dis chuckled. "I hope to see the two of you at  dinner tonight?" Fili nodded. "Excellent. I'm going to find that brother  of yours." And with that, she marched away.

You cast a desperate look to Fili as soon as Dis was out of hearing  range. "I don't think that could have gone any worse," you moaned.

"Nonsense," Fili retorted. "She likes you. I can tell."

"I'm so embarrassed," you mumbled, leaning your forehead on Fili's shoulder. "And she thinks I'm after your title, too!"

Fili laughed. "You and I both know that is entirely untrue, and that is what matters. But I will speak with her, if you like?"

You  shook your head. "No. If I'm to impress her, to really prove it to her,  I'll have to do it myself." You sighed before your lips turned up in a  smile. "But I appreciate the offer."

Fili's eyes glittered. "And just how much do you appreciate it?"

You  rolled your eyes. You knew where this was going. But you had very  little to object to, and followed the mischievous directions in his  expression. "This much," you whispered, leaning forward and pressing  your lips ardently against his.

"Get a room," Dwalin huffed as he walked by, and your kiss dissolved into laughter.

A/N: How do we like Dis so far? I just couldn't resist throwing a little Mama Bear in there. Anyway, thank you for reading, as always! If you enjoyed this chapter, please give it a vote, and feel free to leave me your thoughts with a comment!
--RA