The next coming chapters will be a little different. Sometimes you are writing a drabble that you think won't need another chapter. It starts and it ends in the same one. 

You can never really end a story because as long as something exists, the story will continue. Whether the same leads are alive or dead. The world is still there and so are other characters. 

This drabble didn't felt right to end in one chapter. The idea for this imagine came from a story I read on 'Archive of our own'. I can't find the story anymore so I don't know who to credit here. That being said, this is not going to be a copy and paste of that story.

It was a great idea and so I thought of a way to incorporate it into something I was already writing. 

I won't tell you what it is about, just read for yourself :)

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The ice cold wind of the chilly night blew over your bared arms. It was too late now to go back and fetch a blanket or a jacket. He would be waiting for you.

You read the letter again as you continued walking down one of the many stairs in Rivendell. Why the elves prefered to built their houses closer to the sky than the ground was beyond you. The ground had so much more to offer than the sky, after all.

The letter was written with a surprisingly steady hand. This time he had tried to not let his emotions pour into the words. Normally you would receive a letter filled with ink stains and a rather rushed looking handwritten note from Balin explaining what it was you were supposed to understand.

Thorin could have some difficulty explaining himself to you when he was emotional. Whether he was angry, terrified or worried he just couldn't find the words. 

But this time there was no extra note attached to it. Neither were their stains or any other hints that the exiled king was emotional. How he had done it, you didn't know. 

Last you saw him you were yelling at each other in one of the flower fields. 

He had accused you of enjoying your time with the elves a little too much. Of course he refused to make his case clearer, not offering any explanation on what he meant with that comment.

When he eventually did after a lot of poking on your side, there was no stopping you. 

Thorin had gotten it into his thick skull that you might be romantically interested in one of the elves. He couldn't explain why that was. Nor could he name any prior situation in which you had overstepped friendship boundaries.

Right before you left, because you knew there was no reasoning with him in this state, he told you that you shouldn't befriend them in the first place. 

You had thrown him one more glare before you took off, not looking back to see if he followed you. He could bugger off on that stupid quest without you, for all you cared. How were you supposed to follow him when he was acting like such a child?

Surely you had given him no reason to be suspicious. If anyone had the right to be suspicious, it would be you. He was the one who was spending long nights at Mahal-knows-where.

You sighed deeply, putting your flowers basket down on the ground. You sat down in defeat. Why did he always have to push you over that line?

There was no reason to mistrust him. You knew that very well. It just hurt to know that he didn't trust you fully.

Not even when there was no reason for that mistrust. 

You swallowed thickly, tears already waiting for permission to fall. He could be so stubborn and thick headed at times. On the other hand you knew that you could be a handful as well. Just like any other relationship you had your ups and downs.

Now, with the quest of Erebor finally happening, the downs were a little more common than usual. He didn't mean to take it out on you. But like Balin said; "We often take our emotions out on the people we trust and love the most."

You kicked at a pebble near your feet, sending it tumbling down the hill. "A strange way to show your affection" you muttered.

If he would have given you some time to put your thoughts together, you may have apologized to him for spending a lot of time with Lindir. Because maybe it was a little odd that he would hang over you in the library when you were reading a book.

Come to think of it, maybe Thorin should have a talk with the elf. 

Thorin being Thorin wouldn't wait for that moment. So he had send you a letter, asking you to meet him at a fountain in the back of Rivendell. You were supposed to meet at midnight. 

Why he wouldn't just talk to you in your assigned bedroom was a mystery. Maybe he wanted to make it up to you. Maybe he had done something romantic and wanted to surprise you. The letter read;

My dear,

I will be waiting for you at the hidden fountain near the oak tree. Come see me at midnight.

Your King,

Thorin, son of Thrain

Now that you had read it again, you wouldn't really call it a letter. You had received an order from your king. That was the only prove on the paper that you could find that he was still angry with you.

What he wanted to talk about would remain a mystery until you saw him. Probably the same conversation as the one you had this afternoon.

You walked past the last fountains when you saw him. He stood with his back turned towards you, looking at the valley that lay beneath. You were sure he had already spotted you, or at least heard your feet on the pebbles.

Something in your body was telling you to go back. If he was still angry and you were too, then it wouldn't be a good idea to talk to each other right now.

But just like you always did, you wanted to shout at him some more. Just like he needed to shout at you. It worked because neither of you was good at confronting your own feelings. So shouting was easier.

Afterwards you would make up and talk it all through.

Balin would sigh and turn around in defeat once more. And Dwalin would keep his opinion to himself. Like he always did when it involved his king.

As you walked up behind him, you weren't sure if you were supposed to say anything. You didn't want to startle him in case he hadn't seen or heard you coming. After all, he could be deep in thought from time to time.

"You have received my note?" he asked.

So he had seen you coming. You nodded even though he was still not looking at you. "Aye, I have received your command." Off to a good start.

His shoulders tensed slightly, quickly followed by a sharp turn. His eyes were still blazing after the earlier argument. "Don't talk to me like I order you around. You came here out of your own free will, did you not?" he asked. 

Thorin took a few steps towards you. He wanted to reach out for your hand, hold you close... but all he did was feel the anger that that tree-shagger had fueled within him. 

You huffed. "Telling me to come somewhere sounds more like a demand then a question, my king" you said mockingly. "If this is about the same thing we talked about this afternoon then you already know my answer."

Thorin nodded his head slowly. "Aye, it is. But we are having this talk" he said, grabbing your arm as you were ready to leave. "You are not going anywhere until we have talked about this" he said.

"There is no reasoning with you when you are like this Thorin" you said, pulling your arm out of his hold. "This is the point where you always start yelling about what you don't like. Why would I stay for that?" You folded your arms.

He took a visable, deep breath, trying to control himself. "Because I am trying to have a normal conversation about this. Like a normal suitor and consort would when it happened to any other."

It was taking every last piece of self control in his body to not start shouting at you. "After all it is not me who let's these conversations escalate every single time." 

Your mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

Thorin laughed sarcastically. "Don't play innocent with me. I know that I have shouted at you at times where I should have talked. But you do the same thing, my love." He shook his head, looking down at the ground. "We are both to blame for this."

"You are trying to say that I have done something wrong with Lindir?" you said. There was really no point in talking about all the other times you argued. First, you wanted to tackle this one.

Because arguing about the other arguments would only lead to another argument. 

And that would explode into many other unfinished arguments.

This time he didn't shout at you, telling you that you knew what you had done. This time he tried to keep himself in control. Why, you didn't know, but you didn't like it. He had to shout at you so you could shout at him.

That was just how things worked between you two. 

"Aye, I do see it that way" he finally said. 

Your eyes narrowed as soon as the words left his mouth. "And why is that, exactly?" you asked, challenging him to just spit it out already. 

"You don't think it is disrespectful towards your suitor to have another male leaning over you, watching your bosom, while you are reading a book?" Thorin said. His voice had dropped to a dangerous, low level. 

Finally.

"He wasn't doing that. Lindir was simply trying to explain something to me about the herbs in his garden" you said. This was really ridiculous. What would you want with an elf?

How could Thorin even think you wanted to be with Lindir? 

"I don't want another man that close to my One" he growled. 

You folded your arms over your chest. "Then maybe you should try to spend some time with your One instead of moping in the corner. Honestly, that is all you have been doing since we got here."

Thorin ice blue eyes were shooting fire. "How do you expect me to relax in a city where my enemy lives?" he hissed.

"They are not your enemy! Lord Elrond has opened his house to all of us so that we may rest and feed ourselves!" you cried out. 

Thorin hit himself on the chest. "I am a dwarf and I do not need anything from an elf. They could have helped us when we needed them. Now, we are fine without that scum" he said angrily. It looked like you had hurt him physically, suggesting that he should be thankful.

"Not this again. How many times do I have to tell you that he probably would have helped if he had known you were in peril. Erebor is not exactly around the corner" you pointed out. 

"All of Middle-Earth knew when that lizard took our home!"

"Maybe they didn't help because you would have done the exact same thing if it was them who needed help!"

"That is their own fault! They betrayed my forfathers!"

"How do you even know that is true? You weren't there!"

"Don't insult my blood line!"

"Don't be so stubborn and thick headed!"

"Why can't you ever just listen to your suitor!"

"How hard is it to set your pride aside for one second!"

"I tell you wh-"

"ENOUGH!"

You both kept quiet when Balin shouted, coming into view with his brother following closely behind. Instead of a shouting match, you were not glaring daggers at each other. 

"What in Mahal's name is going on this time?" Balin asked. He waited for an answer, look from Thorin to you and back. "My hair is already grey, does it look like I have all night?"

"He-"

"She-"

"NO!" Balin sighed, rubbing a hand over his tired eyes. "For my sanity, could you two try, just for once, to talk to each other in a civil way?"

"We do talk" Thorin said, his focus still on you. 

You nodded. "Aye, and that is going wonderfully, isn't it?"

"Oh bloody Mordor" Dwalin said, placing himself in between you two so that you couldn't look at one another. "My brother is right. Every time you disagree you start shouting at each other like a pack of orcs in heat" he growled.

"You have no idea what you are talking about" you said. With a huff, you tried to glare back at him. Which was rather hard when you were trying to wear an equally terrifying glare as Dwalin, son of Fundin, master of the death glare, was throwing you.

A little terrified, you took a step back.

Thorin walked up to Dwalin, hitting his shoulder against Dwalin's. No one would scare his One like that. 

"For the love of everything - Can you two just decide whether you are enemies or lovers?" Dwalin growled, wanting to push his king a few steps back. "Preferably without killing the other in the process."

"She is my One" Thorin said. His eyes narrowed. "If you want her hand then be a man and own up to it! Challenge me and I will make you feel the burn of defeat!" he growled.

Dwalin turned fully towards him, one eyebrow raised. "Have you been hanging upside down for too long? She is your One, I don't feel that way towards her." He shook his head. "If you're lovers then why are you yelling at her like she stole your gold from underneath your feet?"

Thorin's breath was once again irregular, his eyes wide. "She is deaf to the word of her man."

"You are the one who is acting irrational!" you shouted from behind Dwalin's broad back.

The tattooed dwarf rolled his eyes. "Lassie, can you just try to keep your mouth shut for just a few seconds?" he asked tiredly. 

"Don't tell her what to do!" Thorin shouted.

"Why do I have to keep my mouth shut?" you asked confused. "He is the one who should shut it for a few days. Then we wouldn't get lost on the same road thrice!"

Thorin finally pushed Dwalin away so that he was standing in front of you again. "That wasn't my fault! You said that it would be wise to take another road! You should thank me for being so considerate towards you!"

You laughed. "Considerate? We were about to walk into a swamp! You have no clue what you are doing when it comes to direction! Without me you would have been lost more than once!" 

"STOP IT!" Balin shouted. But this time you two wouldn't stop. He threw his hands in the air in a sign of defeat. "I give up brother."

Dwalin was watching you with some mild interest. He had to know when he had to step in. Throwing you over his shoulder to carry you off was no option. Thorin would have his hide for touching you.

Dragging Thorin away was no easy task either. The other dwarf was strong, and you would be following them around. "Tell me, brother, why did we introduce them to each other in the first place?"

Balin shook his head, placing his hands on his sides. "I don't know brother. But I don't think all is lost." He continued when Dwalin huffed. "They aren't. They just need to see things in a different light."

"What do you mean?" asked Dwalin as he watched you pointing at Thorin and tapping his chest.

"They don't know how to communicate with the other. For example; we both know that there is no use in talking to Thorin when he is brooding. He keeps things to himself and tells you when he is ready."

Dwalin nodded uninterested. "Aye, we both know that."

Balin pointed at you. "She, does not. I get that the lass feels like she can make him open up to her. But Thorin needs time for that. Maybe once they grow closer he will open up sooner. There is no telling at this point."

They watched you both bicker on for a little longer. Dwalin was still trying to decide what the best way to go was. Maybe if he threw them both in the fountain they would cool off. He snickered at the thought. "What about the lass?"

"What about her?"

Dwalin looked at his brother for a few seconds. "What is it that Thorin doesn't understand about her?"

Balin looked at you before answering. "I, of course, don't know the lass as well as I know Thorin." His eyebrows furrowed. "But I would say that he doesn't quite understand how much she loves him."

"He knows that she is in love with him" Dwalin said. He had many talks about the subject with Thorin. Even before their courtship began. He was positive that wasn't the problem.

"I am just guessing, brother. The lass is no dwarf. It wouldn't be surprising if Thorin doubted her loyalty to him. Not based on her words or actions, but based on her race." Balin sighed. "She is no dwarf so maybe he thinks she can't feel the same for him as he feels for her."

"You mean that he doesn't feel her feelings can run as deep as his?" Dwalin's arms loosened a little. "That can't be true. We all see the love and devotion in her eyes when she looks at him."

"Aye, but the real question is if he sees it."

Apparently, you were finally done fighting because you finished it like you normally did. Thorin would turn away from you, indicating that the discussion was over. Which only pissed you off further.

Instead of showing him you just turned away as well. "You are the most childish man I have ever met" you shouted before walking off towards your quarters. 

Thorin went to the same place, taking another route. (That would most likely take him longer to get back because he would loose his way.) "I am rather a childish man than a suffocating woman!"

"I will talk to him tomorrow" Dwalin said, leaving to follow his king. And hoping that he would find him before he would accidentally walk off a cliff. 

Balin waved his brother goodbye. "And I will talk to the lass."

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On your way to your chambers you almost bumped into Gandalf. Whom was muttering something under his breath as well. 

"My apologies (y/n), I am in no mood to talk tonight." He was about to stump off when you responded with the same level of irritation. 

"Neither am I Gandalf. Just let me be. I have had my plate of stubborn, childish man today. Don't add yourself to the list." You didn't look back as you followed your way to the chambers you had been given for your stay.

If you had looked back, you would have seen a small smile appearing on the wizard's lips. And you probably would have tried to talk to sense into him if you knew what he was up to.

"Childish... Aye. That they are." He flicked his staff, twelve green lights came out and flew off in different directions. "That will teach them" Gandalf said. He was in a good mood again. Sometimes it was just wonderful to be a wizard.

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You had almost completely fallen asleep when you heard the door to your room open. Soon after the bed dipped and a comfortable warmth enveloped you. 

A strong, muscled arm snaked around your middle and pulled you close against a hairy chest. 

Thorin burrowed his head in the crook of your neck. He took a deep breath, like he always did, and let himself drift off. 

No matter how much you argued you couldn't sleep without each other. You felt most safe when he was with you, especially at night. You gently laid a hand on his hairy arm and pulled it a little closer to you.

His hand sought yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

"Goodnight, my love" he murmured into your ear.

"Goodnight dear" you said before drifting off into a wonderful dream.