Disclaimer: The Hobbit, all characters, places, and related terms are the sole property of J. R. R. Tolkien's estate, and Warner Brothers, New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and WingNut Films.

Author's Note: Minifill for a prompt on AO3.

So Kiss Me

I.

Bofur was too young to remember. But, according to his ma and aunts who retold it over and over: each time Bofur was kissed – large forehead carefully pressed to his tiny one, or lips brushed his rough cheek – the babe had squirmed and protested with a high-pitched wail. Adorable, the women cooed.

II.

The dwarflings were playing hide-and-seek in the market square. Bofur was hidden behind a crate full of apples. He covered his mouth with his hand, stifling his giggles.

"FOUND YE!" Lenka yelled from behind him, hitting his shoulder, causing him to yelp.

In response to the lass's laughter he huffed while climbing to his feet. Suddenly he froze at the strange sensation of something touching his mouth; he gaped when Lena stepped back and tugged on one of his braids, laughing again. Then she ran off, leaving the lad spluttering and rubbing his sleeve over his lips.

"Girls are yucky! Kisses are yucky!" Bofur exclaimed, highly offended.

III.

It was the first time Bofur took the caravan to the Iron Hills by himself. He hugged Bifur and Bombur goodbye, only to be reeled back in by his brother, who grasped him by the shoulders and firmly knocked their heads together.

"Bombur!" the miner grumbled, flushing hotly.

"I'll miss ye, brother!" the ginger-haired dwarf simply said with a beam.

Their cousin shook with laughter. Even after all this time Bofur still could not stand being kissed!

IV.

Honestly Bofur had no clue what just happened. One moment he was heartily thanking the tall human maid for the food. The next she swooped down and was kissing him firmly on the lips. The dwarf instinctively jolted back, though he did not have far to retreat thanks to his chair, looking like he'd just tasted something extremely sour.

His companions roared with mirth except the brooding Thorin and scandalized Miss Baggins. Then the innkeeper started yelling, the maid backed away, the dwarves' laughter turned to growls, Gandalf reached for his staff, and complete mayhem broke out.

Later, after everything calmed down, the fur hatted dwarf was still at a loss to explain what happened.

V.

Bofur disliked kisses, always had. So why had he been almost driven to distraction during the quest wondering what it would be like to kiss little Bilbo Baggins?! The question stumped him.

In the end, there was only one thing to do. Thus during the morning trek he tapped the lass on the shoulder as they brought up the rear and her question if everything was alright trailed off when the dwarf tilted her chin up with one gloved hand; he was going to steal a quick kiss and be done with it.

It…was different from the other times, not bad…surprisingly light, sweet. Yet the kiss did not turn out to be quick, or just one for that matter. When tiny hands curled around his braids, Bofur's heart fluttered and he pulled his hobbit closer.

Perhaps there was something to be said about kissing after all!

THE END