Kili watched his hat with a wide grin on his face, as it got passed from one hopeful dwarrow to the next. That is, until the strict fathers and mothers thwarted the lads’ attempts to steal kisses from their daughters and had him in a fit of laughter.

Not that the dwarrowdams would be forced. Every dwarrow learned at a young age to honor their females. Besides, dwarrowdams are tough and could hold their own. Still, like any hot blooded male, the dwarrows are not foolish to pass up such an opportunity for a free kiss under the mistletoe.

He slid a glance at Tauriel who was teary-eyed and laughing at the raucous his hat created. “I ought to have it back.”

She tried to contain her laughter, but giggles still spilled from her pursed lips. Kili chuckled at the sight of her. After some time, she spoke. “Why?” Mirth laced her voice.

He cleared his throat and rocked on his heels. “For obvious reasons, my lady,” he replied casually, before tilting his face. He shot her a wink.

A pretty red suffused her cheeks, just as he had hoped, but it was soon followed by another fit of giggles. Kili blinked in confusion. Not that the sound she made was unpleasant. It was lyrical, but why?

The question must have been written all over his face for she gave him an answer – one that completely eluded his mind.

She lifted the hand he wasn’t holding and cupped his cheek. “You no longer need a mistletoe.”

Kili could have sworn the ground beneath him shifted. “O-of course. I know that. The- the mistletoe just makes… makes it more exciting. Doesn’t it?” His heart hammered inside his chest as he spoke.

Tauriel chuckled softly, igniting a fire in his inner forges. Oh Tauriel. She was but a dream, ethereal and far from his reach. What could he possibly have done to be granted such favor from their Maker?

Feeling his gaze upon her, she quieted but a smile still touched her lips. “What is it?”

He raised her hands to his lips. “You are my dream come true.”

She lowered her head, avoiding his intense gaze but not before Kili saw the effect his words had on her.

“Tauriel,” he called, a small smile curving his lips at how adorable she is, being so shy all of a sudden. He lightly kissed her knuckles. “Amralime.”

Her gaze lifted, soft and hesitant. “You just caught me off guard… I was… I…“

“Yes?” He closed what little space remained between them.

“I remembered Laketown…”

His brows met.

“When we were in Bard’s cellar,” she added hastily. “You were suffering from the poison arrow and you said, you said…”

“No, you cannot be her. She is far away, she is far, far away from me. She walks in starlight in another world. It was just a dream. Do you think she could have loved me?” He was unashamed as he recited it, not with what he felt towards her.

Her eyes widened as he spoke. “You were having hallucinations… and then, you… you…”

“I kissed you. And you kissed me back. Our first kiss.”

“Oh… “

“The poison has nothing on me, my lady.”

A blazing fire ravaged his body from the inside. It was more than what he could bear, that he wished for unconsciousness to claim him. But to no avail. Then a voice spoke and slowly the fire lost its heat. Light blinded him and he saw her. Tauriel.

When he came to, he found her sitting on a chair next to him, her eyes trained on the window or what was beyond it. It wasn’t a dream. He knew in his heart it wasn’t, and he was relieved to see that he had not chased her away. He feared she would leave and he would never see her again. Never had he been so glad to have been proven wrong. Hope fluttered in his chest.

“Tau-riel,” he rasped. He could barely utter her name due to the thorns in his throat. He parted his lips to try once more, when her face filled his vision. Oh Mahal.

She made him sip from a bowl. It wasn’t water. He had half a mind to spit it but he didn’t want to appear weak in her presence. She saved him three times now and he was grateful for that, but he desperately wanted to prove his worth – that he was more than a dwarf who constantly needed saving.

Warm fingers caressed his brows, her lips moving. He couldn’t understand what it was they were saying but he was consumed with an overwhelming desire to touch them.

“Tauriel.”

Her gaze slid to his and before he could give her the chance to back away, he reached behind her neck with all the strength he had. Mahal, help him.

His eyes closed and their lips met. Soft and warm. His heart suspended somewhere between his chest and his stomach, waiting, wanting. And when she didn’t pull away, Kili pressed his lips firmly to hers. He caressed them, careful not to hurt her in any manner, then she moved her lips. It was nothing he had ever felt or imagined.

Fire hotter than the blazing inferno caused by the poison burned inside him. Blood rushed into his head and he couldn’t hear his thoughts above the pounding of his heart.

And then, out of nowhere, tendrils of sleep tickled at the back of his mind making his head feel heavy. Not now. Oh please, give me more time.

But alas, his prayer wasn’t answered. She pulled away, and swept strands of his hair that clung to his face. He lifted his lids, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“You need to rest.”

He didn’t want to rest! Oh he wanted to kiss her! He fought the darkness with everything he had. It was only through sheer determination or stubborn tenacity that he kept his mind awake, long enough to hear his brother speaking.

He was apologizing to Tauriel, telling her that his mind was addled due to the fever but it wasn’t. Fili added that his actions shouldn’t be taken seriously. Oh, he would have a bone to pick with Fili when he fully awakes. He knew what he was doing, what he was feeling! He was falling in love with Tauriel that’s why he kissed her. He could hear his brother’s words but whatever it was she made him drink, was already doing its work on his body. Fili! It was the last thought he remembered before fully succumbing to sleep.

“So forget whatever it is that Fili said. He knows nothing.”

She blushed a fierce red. And he vowed that he would always put that pretty shade on her cheeks and ears for the rest of his life.

“The second was at Ravenhill,” he said, a wide smile pulling at his lips as her eyes rounded. “I don’t remember much of it, but I felt it. I believe it was what have woken me up. My true love’s kiss.”

She thought the mace had killed him, but he was wearing mithril underneath his armor. He merely lost consciousness, again, loathe he was to admit. But he was grateful it happened the way it did, otherwise, Tauriel would have kept silent about her feelings for him. 

“And the third-“

“-and you made it so hard for me to get the third, my lady,” he teased. She avoided him at all costs and her stealth proved to be a challenge that he could only catch a glimpse of her she wanted him to. He could joke about it now, but it did frustrate him to no end.

Her lips parted but no sound came out. Kili stood close enough to see the emotions that passed over her delicate features. “I understand. That is why I never gave up on you, on us. Everything that happened in the past brought us to where we are now. I have no regrets.”

“I have none either. I am grateful for your patience, mellon nin.”

“Anything for you, amralime.”

Tauriel leaned down and Kili stood on his toes, their lips parting and meeting – his hat long forgotten.