A/N: A short chapter for you, though I don't want to focus too much on the other characters in this fic. Most of them will have a oneshot of their own, though not with the same OC and not in this universe. Sorry :p

A personal thanks to: Empress of Cornwall, Loki'sdreamer, Mel-Mel 2011, UKReader and Abyss Prime for reviewing the most and giving me a great boost to continue writing. Though of course I love EVERY single person who leaves a comment :) You make it worth all the time it takes to write.

Anyway, without further ado...

This feeling was a new one, thought Ori as he moved blindly back towards the mountain. He felt the weight of the books in his arms, but the numbness that had begun in his heart after he walked away had spread throughout his body. It felt similar to when his father had died and left him in the care of his two older brothers, yet the pain was markedly different. He had never considered how far he had let his feelings for Haili get the better of him, blotting out the shapes and faces of others until only hers was visible, but it was too late now. Engaged, to one of his closest friends no less!

His feet dragged as he passed a few guards on the way back to the deserted library, the only place he knew would be safe from any prying eyes. The only problem was that it reminded him of her, how she spent hours arranging scrolls by order of date on the dusty shelves, and how he would have to face her again day after day without showing her how bitterly she'd hurt him. It wasn't her fault he reasoned, as he finally reached the great stone doors. She had known nothing of his feelings; he'd spent so long perfecting the method of concealing his inner thoughts for fear of other's intense scrutiny, so he could not consciously blame her. However, he could not help feeling angry and a little betrayed, which was probably the reason he'd lashed out when he saw that the library was not as empty as he'd envisioned.

'Oi! What are you doing?' he snapped, causing the smaller girl to lurch to her feet in shock. She had been reading the scrolls he had not had a chance to archive yet and, though he knew he was being unreasonable, his anger at his own misfortune had found vent and would not let it go. 'The library is closed!'

She backed up as he came closer; dropping the books he carried onto the nearest table with a loud bang. Ori felt the heat of his anger behind his eyes and actively tried to stop it, realising he was scaring the girl, and it took him all of his practised control to battle it back down. He was quiet and unassuming, that was him. Anger and violence were Dwalin's forte.

'I'm sorry, sir,' she said quickly, obviously taking his strained silence as his preparing to do her some injury. She raised her arms in a gesture of submission, dropping her head so that her black hair obscured her face. Everything about her screamed submissive, defensive and shy.

All at once Ori saw himself reflected in her behaviour, and his ire disappeared in the wake of his sudden guilt and shame. 'I'm sorry, please don't be afraid,' he said gently, taking a slower step towards her.

She looked up, surprised at his gentler tone, though her eyes were still wary. His chest ached, she was evidently used to facing anger just as he had been, though he ventured a guess that she was less likely to escape unscathed.

He tried again, 'I did not mean to shout at you. Today has been…difficult…but that was no reason to take it out on you.'

She bit her lip, 'I should have asked permission, but there was no one here.'

'You don't need permission to read in a library,' he chuckled, gesturing for her to take a seat.

She sank into the nearest one gratefully, though the tension had not left her. Ori had never been a very skilled fighter, nor was he particularly burly and strong, but he was unbeatable when it came to understanding the way people think. He had spent so long observing others, either wishing he were more like them or jealous of their more 'dwarvish' tendencies that he simply didn't possess, that he had learnt to recognise emotions in others more easily. This girl he had never seen before, her accent was thicker than his and her clothing was styled in the fashion of Dain's people, which told him that she was a stranger to Erebor.

She sat with her back straight, right at the edge of her seat, and her head bent just enough to hide her face behind her hair. She looked at the table top, or out of the window, or anywhere really, so long as it was not at him. He almost smiled. It was something Nori had his life for on a daily basis. He cleared his throat, knowing that it was now up to him to break the silence.

'We usually close the library after sundown,' he said conversationally, 'Though I sometimes come here when I need peace and quiet. I'm Ori, by the way.'

'Runa,' she replied, hesitantly. 'I-I usually spend quite a bit of time in my father's library at home, but I haven't read much since coming here. He spends most of his days with the king, especially since he's on the council. I hardly ever see him.'

Ori froze, but tried not to show it, nodding his head and smiling as she explained. She was a nobleman's daughter, a nobleman who – most likely – was trying to cause his own king a whole lot of trouble. Dori would tell him that he ought to stop speaking to her and tell her to bugger off, whereas Nori would ask her questions about her father – using her open and unguarded nature to work to his advantage – so that he could take the knowledge to Thorin. In light of recent events his brothers were probably right to think this, he had even seen some of the scornful looks from the Iron borns himself, but Ori could not ignore what he knew to be true. He was not his brothers. He did not have their skills or strengths, and they did not have his.

Runa may be a nobleman' daughter, but she was not filled with the malevolence of some of the others. He doubted she even knew what they were talking about in secret all around her, remaining blissfully unaware of the animosity that was growing between the two kingdoms each day, and he would not hold her accountable for it. She may be iron born, but she was not her father…no more than he was his.

'Well, I'm sorry to hear that,' he said gently, before getting to his feet. 'Come, I'll show you around.'

Runa seemed to forget her shyness then as he led her over to the back of the room, straight towards the oldest tomes about the days of old when Erebor was in the height of its splendour. They spend hours poring over them, both of them pleased to have found so enthusiastic a companion to read with that, suddenly, they found themselves squinting to read by the light of the moon. Ori was sat on the floor with his back against one of the shelves, balancing a book in his lap as Runa leant over him. He had just finished telling her about the extensive, west facing gardens that had bloomed in the time of Thror's reign when he suddenly noticed his surroundings.

'Its past midnight!' he exclaimed suddenly, causing his companion to jump. Ori blushed furiously, 'Sorry.'

She laughed, 'Don't be, my father won't be back from his meeting yet. He said it was going to go on most of the night.'

Ori frowned, 'Ah, I see. Well I should probably see you back anyway, just in case he comes back early and doesn't know where you are.'

He noticed her blush in the low light, his stomach flipping pleasantly.

'Ok,' she agreed.

He pulled her to her feet, helping to file the books away in the correct order before they exited the library and made their way down to where her chambers were located. The empty feeling he had experienced only hours before had begun to fill during the course of the evening, and he had to catch himself before he got too far ahead again. She was not from here, and her father would not want his daughter to have him as a friend, let alone anything else. However, he allowed himself to hope despite the small odds in his favour. He had never gotten so close to a female before, not even during the past year he had worked alongside Haili, never forming any sort of bond deeper than that of friendship.

He had known Runa for a little over five hours, and they had not gotten off to the best start, yet something was different with her. She made him feel solid, in control, as though he had nothing to fear and it put him at ease. She was shy enough for them both, yet he had managed to talk to her for far longer than he had ever managed with anyone, his brothers and close friends the only exceptions. Ori knew that he had to see her again, as often as he could, before she had to go back to the Iron Hills. It could all turn out as badly as it had with Haili, ending in his total resignation to being alone forever, but he had to try.

When she stopped outside her door, Ori gathered his courage.

'I'm usually the last one in the library on a night,' he said nervously, kicking himself mentally for his shaky voice. 'If you want, you could come along at seven again and I could show you some even rarer books?'

He fought the urge to close his eyes and tense in preparation for a rebuff as he waited for her answer. He was looking down at the floor, displaying all the signs of anxiety she had shown previously, despite his newfound feeling of courage. He did not look up until he felt a small, warm hand close over his.

Runa smiled shyly, 'That would be wonderful.'

'Really?' he asked, before he realised how silly he sounded.

She chuckled, 'Yes. Most of my days are spent idly, unless I'm forced to accompany one of the other's to the town while our fathers are at council. I would like to have something to look forward to.'

Ori felt his heart soar and his insides roiled with excitement. He blushed again, more noticeably now that the torches lit the surrounding area and he nodded in agreement.

'Well, if you are ever bored or i-in need of, err, company, you can always come to the library.'

Runa hesitated, before she quickly darted forwards and kissed him on the cheek, causing his skin to heat as if it had been burned.

'Thank you, Ori,' she said, before darting into her room and closing the door.

He stood rooted to the spot, unable to comprehend what had happened. The place on his skin that her lips had touched was on fire but in a marvellous kind of way, making him never want to wash his face again. His feet had begun moving then, taking him further up and deeper into the mountain while his brain was frozen in shock, until he found himself in the middle of his shared chambers.

Dori jumped up from his chair when he saw him, concern written across his face. Though it was Nori, sitting with his feet up on their small kitchen table, that spoke first.

'No need to run off like that, little brother,' he began, though there was a trace of humour in his voice. 'Dori was almost wetting himself in fear. Thought you'd gone and off'd yourself, lad.'

Ori rolled his eyes at Dori's sour expression, 'Sorry, but I had to get away.'

Dori nodded, 'I don't blame you. Why didn't you tell anyone about her? I'm sure Bofur wouldn't have entertained the idea of courting her if you'd said.'

Ori threw his coat over the back of a chair and sat down, forcing Dori to do the same.

'I didn't want to tell anyone,' he said with a half-smile, thinking how good that decision was. Haili probably had not thought of him in that way at all.

Nori seemed to pick up his emotions quicker than their brother, 'Doesn't sound like you're too bothered by it now though. Where did you go, I wonder?'

Dori looked between them questioningly, until he noticed Ori's smile. He could not have hidden it if he tried, especially not after the kiss, and he decided to answer his brother's question honestly.

'I went to the library,' he answered steadily, beneath Nori's suspicious gaze. His second eldest brother was famed for being the nosiest git in the entire kingdom.

He dropped his legs from the table and leaned forward on his arms, 'Oh aye? And who did you meet in the library, eh?'

Damn. There was no way of getting out of this one. He thought for a moment, wondering how bad it could possibly be if he told them about Runa, before his own joy overruled his caution. He sat back on his chair, folding his arms behind his head and grinned.

'Her name's Runa,' he declared proudly, watching as his brothers exchanged very shocked expressions. He waited for them to take it in before adding, 'she kissed me.'

'What?!'

'No way!'

'Are you meeting her again?'

He held up his hand, shutting them up rather quickly, and revelled in his momentary power over his older siblings. He explained about their arrangement to meet the next day, and extracted promises from them both that they would leave him alone. They promised, though he knew Nori at least would break it, and decided that he would offer her a walk around the grounds before going back to reading to put his brothers off the scent.

He was happy, truly happy, probably for the first time since he had come back from the quest. Seeing other's around him pairing up, his own brother's included, had made him feel as though he were the only dwarf in middle-earth who was destined to die with nothing but a few scribbled notes to his name. Now though, he felt as though he had been given a lifeline. Runa. And even if it meant leaving home, leaving everything and everyone he had even known behind, he would not give up until he was sure of his defeat.

Dwarves were stubborn after all and Ori, quiet and gentle though he was, still possessed just a little of the deviousness his family were known for. He smirked internally as this thought occurred to him and allowed his brother's conversation to gradually fade out of his hearing, his thoughts straying back to that corridor and the kiss.