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Mahalmerag.
It was the longest night of the winter and the bountiful casks of Erebor flowed freely for all who celebrated within the mountain's halls this eve. Merriment and joviality filled the great chamber but Dwalin was hard-pressed to enjoy it – his mind had a habit of recalling those no longer here to partake in the hearty ales and decadent morsels covering nearly every surface available, particularly when he was standing off as a sentinel instead of joining the gaiety himself as he was tonight.
Many eyes found their way to young Thorin Stonehelm at the head of the largest table, though his own were as drawn as ever to his companion beside him. Dwalin smiled despite himself, small and private, at the sight of the pair lost in their own world together. Stonehelm was not the lad he'd helped raise and train and shape – no, long had Fíli lain beneath the stone with his brother and uncle now – but he was kind and fair and as devoted as ever to the brilliant Hyrja, in all ways his match and equal. The love and adoration that had grown between them was plain for all to see, shining as brightly as any festive lantern strewn artfully around the glittering walls.
He wondered if he ever looked that utterly besotted. Most likely. Hopefully only when his thief couldn't see, or he'd never hear the end of it.
The thought of Nori had his eyes scanning the room once more and a wry snort slipped out before he could stop it – he knew the exercise would prove fruitless unless his thief wanted to be found. Very few had his natural gift for hiding, whether in cracks and crevices or in the plainest of sight.
And besides, he shouldn’t even be in Erebor; he’d left weeks ago on an important mission. It was the reason Dwalin had jumped at the chance for a legitimate excuse to not rub elbows with the crowd of nobles he knew would be surrounding Balin tonight and attempting to intimate themselves to his brother’s good graces.
All the same, he couldn’t resist looking anyway.
He was so distracted by his search, eyes skimming across the room lazily for any sight of brilliant copper, that he was caught unawares by the arrival of a figure beside him. He jumped when a small hand pressed to his lower back, unobtrusive and soft. He relaxed quickly, tilting his head down to receive the message that he knew awaited him.
Only one of Nori’s brood would be so swift and silent.
“There is a matter that needs your attention,” she said from the dark shadows behind Dwalin, voice carefully controlled and smooth. “You presence is required in the jail,” she added before she slunk away as stealthily as she arrived. By the time Dwalin turned, she was already gone.
He caught the eye of one of Erebor’s guards. He was not the head of security but rather the one that approached him with the request to assist tonight in the first place, and flicked him a quick message to tell him where he was headed. Dwalin had been a guard for enough of his life that it was engrained behaviour by now. Besides, it was common sense to make another aware in case this was some sort of set-up or if he ran into any trouble. The returned acknowledgement came quickly and Dwalin nodded at him in a curt farewell before he exited through the nearest door and began the trek toward the cells. The confirmation was all the reassurance he needed.
Dwalin liked him, that one. He was a good lad, just the right balance of clever and loyal – even Nori had praised him (off-handedly of course) to Dwalin before.
And that, more than anything, spoke to him of his character.
Though he would admit, it did open the question of what it said about said character – hard to please he may be, but Dwalin had no disillusions about Nori. Especially not now after so many years together.
He chuckled gruffly under his breath and shook his head to dispel the distracting mental tangent. The honed survival sense in the back of Dwalin’s head questioned the reason he would be called down amid the solstice celebrations. His best guess was some kind of big bruiser that he’d need to deal with; whether it was a common criminal or something more insidious remained to be seen. Otherwise…
He flexed his fists, listening to the leather of his knuckle dusters creak. He’d deal with any unfortunate surprises if they happened.
Once he stepped into the sturdy corridors of Erebor’s jail, he could tell that something was amiss, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly it was. It was quiet, far quieter than the busy streets and bustling revelries has been, but that in and of itself wasn’t the curious part. Something about the atmosphere…
There was a peculiar tension that hung in the air, thick and cloying – a feeling of anticipation. It had his senses on alert and the thick hair covering Dwalin’s arms standing on end as his body thrummed with awareness, eyes darting around the empty cells in search of a potential threat.
The tiny wisp from the shadows appeared again at the end of the corridor from within one of the most heavily secured cells, and he only had a moment to wonder how she beat him here so swiftly before he realized how ludicrous the notion was. Of course she’d arrived before him, he’d kept to the main thoroughfares and he didn’t even want to think about the kinds of route one of her ilk could manage, as small as she was. “In here,” she said, stepping to the side of the barred door as she opened it. She motioned for Dwalin to proceed her.
He nodded curtly and entered.
She never followed.
The heavy door swung closed behind Dwalin with a resounding clang but he only spared a moment’s glance back at it, eyes rebounding quickly to take in the scene before him. He shook his head in mild disbelief and chuckled into his fist, the other hand coming to rest casually on his hip as the tension of his posture fled, replaced by the amusement swelling within him.
His thief really was something else.
He didn’t want to know how long he’d had this little surprise planned.
The thin pallet in the corner of the cell was draped with plush blankets and thicker furs, more than enough padding to give it the illusion of opulence, and Nori was reclining nude across it amidst a lustrous curtain of freshly brushed red-brown waves. He flashed his dangerous smile at Dwalin, all sharp teeth and harsh glints in his eyes, and crooked a finger in a beckoning gesture. Dwalin shook his head with a fond laugh and followed the wordless request, reaching for the first buckle of his harness as he neared.
“Let me,” Nori said with a saucy wink once his giant was close enough that he could bat his massive hands out of the way and take over. Nimble fingers worked with a teasing indolence, taking far longer to slide leather through metal time and again than was necessary, and Dwalin had to clench his hands around the straps of his dusters to keep himself from assisting his sluggish thief.
As casual as could be, Nori continued his efforts, pausing here and there to run his palms across broad planes of muscle with an appreciative hum before returning to his task. He seemed completely unfazed by his own nudity or the tumescence of his rising erection, focused wholly on removing Dwalin’s blades and furs and clothing piece by agonizingly slowly removed piece.
Dwalin humored him for a time before he finally had to ask, “What are you doing back?” His tone was gruff but his eyes warm as he watched Nori’s fingers trail across his body, indulging himself in the heat of Nori’s gaze. “I thought you were out East.”
“I was,” Nori said flippantly, offering up no explanation.
“…and?”
“And now I’m not,” he smirked. He slid the heavy shoulder mantle free and let it clatter to the ground, far more intent on scratching his nails over the coarse weave of Dwalin’s thick shirt than taking the effort to set it down gently.
Dwalin smirked. Nori may be playing at apathy with the speed at which he worked, but even his thief had some notable tells to his impatience. His fingers twitched with the desire to twist into the long waves flowing around them both now but he restrained himself, still willing to let Nori play his game as he bent to remove Dwalin’s boots. It had been long weeks since they had last seen one another, and he wanted to indulge the smaller dwarf’s desire to make a show of this.
Wanting to do so didn’t exactly make it any easier though. Even seemingly focused on his task, Dwalin could tell that Nori was watching him, drinking in his anticipation and impatience with the smugness he always carried when he knew Dwalin wanted to throw him against a wall and make him scream. He bit back a groan when a firm hand stroked up the front of his flies before flicking at the laces, a deliberate tease that had his cock swelling further and straining against the confines of his clothing. All the same, his breath escaped in a hiss and Nori darted his eyes up for just a moment to meet Dwalin’s own before he licked his lips, hungry and teasing, then resumed his slow unlacing.
Licking his own dry lips to wet them, Dwalin reached out with a hand to catch Nori’s slender shoulder for balance as his pants finally slid to his feet and he stepped free of them. “Will you be staying?” he asked quietly, “or do you have to leave again?”
Nori paused and considered him for a moment then let his vicious, toothy grin bloom between his lips. “I’m all finished,” he said with a glint in his eyes. “Hurried back so I could be here for the feast and take in everything it has to offer.”
The words were flirty and full of intent, but there was the thinnest softness to Nori’s tone that belied understated love beneath the façade.
Not that Nori didn’t actually want filthy, raucous sex too.
But it was more than that.
“I’m glad,” Dwalin admitted as his thief tugged his hands up and set about removing his knuckle dusters. Nori cocked a brow as he worked, lips curling into a pleased smirk. “We haven’t gotten to spend many celebrations together of late.”
Nimble hands slowed and stopped before unlatching the final buckles and Nori lowered his brows when he met Dwalin’s gaze. “Did you want to return to the feasts?”
With a twist of his wrists, Dwalin let gravity tug the fastenings free and stepped over the final articles as they were falling, guiding Nori back to the pallet behind him as he shook his head. “Don’t need the crowds,” he said, “just want you.”
“I have such a sappy old fool,” Nori teased as he hopped up onto the thin bed and backed further onto it, splaying himself seductively. “I’m glad,” he said as he crooked a finger invitingly once more.
“That I’m sappy?” Dwalin asked, crossing his arms with a smirk.
His thief shook his head, red-brown curtain rippling around him.
“That I’m old?” he asked next, climbing up and kneeling above Nori.
Another shake.
“That I’m-“
“That you’re mine,” Nori said, surprisingly gentle as he placed two fingers across his giant’s lips to still them. “And that I was able to make it back in time to be here with you tonight.”
Dwalin felt pleasant warmth suffuse him and knew his ears may well be turning red. “Seems I’m not the only sappy fool these days.”
Nori shrugged. “You’ve rubbed off on me.” His following grin was wicked and lusty, and Dwalin took his chance to cut the other off with a kiss before Nori could spoil the rare romantic moment with another innuendo.
It was supposed to be relatively chaste, but Nori apparently had different ideas. His hands curled up into the hair covering Dwalin’s neck and he yanked himself up by his grip, sealing their lips together ravenously as he rose to meet the other. He drew closer on his knees and Nori shifted to grind himself down against one broad thigh.
Even through the delight of having his thief here in his arms, home and hale, Dwalin could register the glide of salve rubbing into his leg hair. His brain stuttered over the realization and he broke off with a grunt, head dropping to rest his brow against Nori’s collarbone. Well aware of what the problem was, Nori bucked into him, relishing the tease of thick curls against his slicked flesh. “F-fuck,” Dwalin hissed, fingers twisting into the furs.
“Yes, that was the plan,” Nori provoked, flashing his shark grin as he continued to rub himself on Dwalin’s leg.
“Ho-how long have you had this planned?” Dwalin asked with a wry chuckle, breath ghosting across Nori’s chest as his hands shifted to rest on narrow hips and help guide the indulgent rolls Nori insisted on continuing.
He laughed and stretched, reaching high above his head with both arms, before he draped his hands around the curve of Dwalin’s massive shoulders. “Only since last night,” he admitted, “once I knew for sure the weather would hold and I could make it back with enough time to prepare. I thought it would be a fun surprise.”
Dwalin joined him in his mirth. “My clever thief,” he grinned, allowing himself to kiss and nip across the planes of skin beneath him, “always so quick on your feet.”
“Especially when you’re involved,” Nori conceded as he gave a little tug on the braid by Dwalin’s ear, thumb tracing across the knotted marriage bead fondly before smoothing the twisted hair down reverently. He reached beneath a fold in the plush linens and returned his hand with the salve tin clasped in his fingers. “So tell me,” he said, “are you going to continue telling me how much you missed me, or are you going to show me?”
Dwalin dropped his head again and groaned, erection twitching tellingly against Nori’s hip at the insinuation. “Please,” he begged weakly, shifting to bury his face against Nori’s neck and inhale the long-missed scents of his hair and the heat of his skin. Nori nodded and freed Dwalin’s thigh, spreading his own invitingly as he flicked the tin open and scooped out a healthy amount before snapping it shut and tossing it to the side.
His hand was tight and slick and perfect around Dwalin’s length, grip sliding up and down the shaft and twisting around the crown to coat all of him with the lubricant while Nori worked the fingers of his other hand back inside himself. He spread the fresh salve quickly, scissoring just enough to confirm that he was still prepared for his giant’s girth before pulling the hand back out and curling it around the base of Dwalin’s cock. He bucked into the dual grasp, fucking through Nori’s hands for a few shallow thrusts before he let himself be led down and lined up properly.
Nori arched his hips up to meet him as Dwalin sunk down into the clenching heat, lips falling open in a content sigh at the delicious stretch. “Hard and fast or slow and languid?” he asked with a tilt of one brow as he bore down around the feeling of being filled after so long without it.
Fuck, but he’d missed this.
Rather than speak, Dwalin slowed his thrusts to a crawl, grinding his pelvis into Nori’s deliberately and holding it for a moment before drawing out again and repeating the tortuously sedate rhythm. The smaller gasped, a voiceless cry of pleasure when his lover slid into him just so and the sensations rippled up his body in a wonderful prelude of what was to come.
He should have fucking known.
It was agonizing, the crest of satisfaction that would wash through him each time Dwalin was seated fully within his body only to slip beyond his grasp in the next moment, the long pause between each thrust stretching on in an aching tease. He dug his fingers into bulging biceps, neat, blunt nails scrabbling for purchase as he anchored himself to Dwalin by the hold just before the next hard pump of his hips jarred Nori’s entire body with the force of it – he’d snapped his hips the last bit at the end there and sweet merciless hells, didn’t that feel amazing.
It almost made up for how damn slowly he was doing things.
Almost.
Arching like a feline, Nori attempted to match Dwalin’s rhythm thrust for thrust in an effort to slowly speed him up, but for all that his giant liked to call himself dim, he was far too used to Nori’s ploys to fall for it. Instead, he bracketed his fingers around Nori’s hips to still him, anchoring him down to the pallet with hands that felt like steel bands biting into his skin, and slowed down even further.
“You’ve got to be joking,” Nori groused, glaring icily up at Dwalin’s smirk.
“I’m sorry,” Dwalin said unapologetically as he bucked forward again, causing Nori to swallow the retort that was on the tip of his tongue. “Not hard enough for you?” he couldn’t resist the urge to repeat the harsh thrust when he said the word, emphasizing it further with the motion.
Nori growled. “Plenty hard, but fuck-it’s going to take us-ngh!-take us all night at this rate.”
“I wouldn’t be so certain,” Dwalin said with a gruff laugh, lifting Nori’s hips the smallest amount and spearing into him from the new angle. It wrenched a ragged shout loose from Nori’s lungs, practically forced out of him from how shockingly perfect it was, and suddenly he was scraping raw crescents into Dwalin’s arms as stars exploded behind his closed eyes when a gratifying rush of pleasure raced across him like a torrent.
“Th-there!” Nori cried, eye flashing up at his lover for a moment to catch sight of his pleased expression. He was too blissed out to care though, for Dwalin chose that moment to alter his pounding, increasing both speed and force just enough that Nori thought his giant might finally manage to kill him with pleasure. “O-oh, fuck! Fu-don’t stop,” he wheezed, throwing his head back into the puddle of thick blankets beneath him.
Too long without, too long wanting and waiting, too, too, too long.
And like that, Nori was ruined far faster than he’d thought possible, body bowing when the first spasm of his release shook down his spine and painted across both their torsos in thick white streaks. Dwalin railing into him throughout his orgasm sent sparks across his eyes and heaven through his limbs, heady satisfaction that pooled in his gut and spread like the comforting heat of hearty ale and fire-cooked soup.
Corny as it may sound, it was most certainly a feeling of coming home.
Dwalin followed after with a needy shout, hoarse and loud in his ear as he curled around Nori’s tensed body and found his own ecstasy from the tightening vice around his cock that clamped down on him and burned with all the heat of a blasting furnace.
Their limbs were still shaking, bodies slicked with sweat and seed, when Dwalin braced himself on trembling arms and slowly lowered his body down beside Nori’s on the plush covering of furs and bedding. He idly twisted his fingers in the coppery tresses tangled all around them when Nori turned over and curled into him, breath washing hotly against his collarbone as his thief tried to catch his breath. He pushed himself up weakly on an elbow and beamed, all sin and devilry.
“Next time,” Nori started around a breath before he wet his lips with his tongue and smiled dangerously down at Dwalin, “I want to go out on the ramparts with a blanket and watch the snow fall.”
“You have got to be joking,” Dwalin crowed sleepily, wrapping a heavy arm around the smaller form to drag him close in his best protest he could manage at the moment. “It’s freezing out there.”
“Yes,” Nori conceded, “hence the ability to be snowing. It can be quite lovely, so I’ve heard.” He toyed with the piercing through Dwalin’s nipple just beneath his face, circling and flicking with his finger, and sighed. “All the city girls were calling snow romantic,” he wheedled with a dramatic pout.
A thick snort ruffled his hair, and he switched back to his shark smile. “Romantic. Sure,” Dwalin mumbled as he drew Nori even closer, guiding his head down to his shoulder and letting the waves of his hair blanket across them. “Missed you,” he said quietly, “so much.”
Letting his ear rest above the steady, thrumming beat of Dwalin’s heart within his chest, Nori relaxed fully into the embrace and turned to press a last, gentle kiss to the warm skin near his lips, mustache dragging and catching the smallest amount across the mat of dark curls that covered it. “Happy solstice,” he murmured into the patch of fur beneath his lips, breath stirring the hairs slightly as he spoke.
“It is now,” Dwalin said before sleep finally took him, prompting a private, happy grin to ghost across Nori’s lips for the barest moment before he joined his partner in slumber.