Chapter Text
Nori didn't like Laketown, didn't like it in the least.
First of all, dwarves weren't made to be on the water. Their bodies were dense and sturdy, much like the mountain ranges that they called home. However, that sturdiness made deep water hazardous as they could sink and not return to the surface without help. And being on a lake meant that everything was damp. Even when things were dry, there was a sensation of lingering dampness that was impossible to ignore.
Another point against it was its small size. He'd always made it a rule never to work in a town or village this small. Everyone knew everyone and it was impossible for strangers to blend in. It made the hair on the back of his neck itch and his fingers twitch with the need to pull a knife out to show them that he was armed and not vulnerable. There was no way that he would be able to get information, discreetly or paid, without the entire town knowing exactly what he asked in less than ten minutes.
And the final crack in the tunnel was the Master of Laketown. Or supposed master anyway. He was nominally in charge but Nori could tell that none of the townspeople truly respected him. If he were to guess who the true master of Laketown was, he would bet money, his own even, on it being their host, Bard. But that so-called Master was truly the slimiest, most worthless piece of dross he had ever seen. And that was saying something, because he'd been in many less than savory locations before this point in time.
So no, if he'd been on his own, he'd be out of this town as quickly as he'd arrived. But that wasn't an option this time, not with everything going on. They were so close to their goal and don't think that he didn't know Thorin's little growing obsession, even to the point of isolation. He'd pointed it out to both Balin and Dwalin, but there was nothing that they could really do about it. And truthfully, the Company did need some rest before they bearded the dragon in it's lair.
Going after a dragon was pure insanity in his mind, but eh, he understood why they had to do it. He'd done things that were nearly as risky, all for the sake of survival. So he wouldn't throw stones about it at this point. But still, he was starting to regret having done this, because he had found a treasure that he'd never expected to when he first signed up for this whole thing.
And he hadn't cared for that treasure properly. When she had fainted on the shore next to the river after a series of explosive sneezes, his heart had dropped all the way down to his boots. Had she managed to get them out at the cost of her own life?
Thankfully, things weren't quite that dire, but the poor lass had caught a terrible cold and had been stuck in bed since they'd arrived. And growing increasingly grumpy by the day. Between her adorable tiny sneezes and the way that she'd started glaring at anyone who tried to cheer her up or cosset her, she resembled nothing more than an adorable, grumpy kitten.
He hadn't been able to do anything of note, Bombur was making her nourishing soups and Oin was doing his best to heal her with their limited herbs. Balin had kept her entertained with interesting tales and his brothers had made sure that she at least had warm clothes. He hadn't been able to do anything for her but keep an eye from afar.
However, his chance had finally come this morning. The lass had tossed everyone from the room, claiming that they were driving her crazy and that she would heal better with rest and quiet.
This finally gave him the opportunity to do something that he'd been wanting to handle for days now. He knew that it would probably be considered less than honorable, but he only had the purest of intentions. The others wouldn't believe him but it was the truth.
Once he was certain that the room was completely empty of others, he slipped into the room with the bucket of steaming water, making sure to latch the door tightly behind him. She was still huddled in the oversized bed, looking much too small and pale. She cracked her eyes open with a glare only for her expression to relax slightly when she saw that it was him. She gave a phlegmy grumble and mumbled, "Oh, it's you."
His heart fell slightly but he mustered up his best grin, "Miffed with me?"
She pushed herself up against the headboard, looking exhausted even from that slight movement, "No, it's the rest of the Company. I get that they're concerned but it's just a simple cold, for Yavanna's sake! They act like I'm dying or something."
He shrugged, moving over and perching lightly on the edge of the bed. "It's hard for us to tell. Dwarves typically don't get sick unless it's of the deadly variety. Other than that, our healers are to deal with the battle injuries that we get, not for sicknesses."
She blinked, surprise clear on her face that was still flushed with fever. "Well, that explains why Kili keeps looking at me like I'm about to die, all sad and forlorn. For your information, hobbits often catch colds and get over them in a couple of days. We normally have faster healing than this, but I was tired, so it's going to linger a bit. I'll be perfectly fine by the time we leave Laketown."
"Mmmm," he had his doubts about that but didn't want to accuse her of lying to ease their concerns, so simply gave a hum of agreement.
She blinked up at him, studying him for a long moment before deciding to drop the matter. Instead, she changed the subject. "What brings you here anyway? Is it because I yelled at Ori this morning? But he and the princes were driving me batty."
He laughed at the way she crinkled her nose in irritation, "No, I'm sure that those lads all deserved every word they got and then some. They've all endured worse from Lady Dis, I know. No, I came for another reason." He hesitated for a long moment but knew that the lass appreciated honesty and straightforwardness most. "I came to see if you wanted to take care of your hair. I'm sure you're tired of wearing cobwebs for decorations."
He resisted the urge to hold his breath, knowing that he was overstepping but unable to resist the offer. Now it was all up to her.
X
Bella couldn't put her finger on what exactly was different, but Nori seemed almost hesitant and nervous today. Which was strange, considering that he was the most confident and roguish dwarf that she knew. But her head was too muzzy from the cold to pick out what exactly was giving her that impression, so she dismissed it as unimportant for the moment.
Instead, she glanced wistfully at the bucket of warm water. Although the river trip had been rough, it had cleaned the grime from her skin. However, her hair remained a lost cause, the curls impossibly tangled and the cobwebs had hardened into an unremoveable mess. She knew that dwarves were very fastidious about their hair and beards and the wild mop on top of her hair probably physically pained some of them. But there was no way that she had the strength to deal with it.
Sighing, she shrugged and said resignedly, "That sounds lovely but I simply don't have the strength to fight that battle today. Hobbit hair is not exactly biddable in the first place and after weeks of not being able to properly tend it. Well, I might as well cut it all off and save myself the trouble."
His expression filled with horror, his face going pale even as he grabbed her hand in a tight grip. He hissed, "No, absolutely not! You will not cut a single pretty curl of yours, no matter what."
She gave a small laugh that quickly turned into a bout of coughing. When she finally managed to stop, he held up a mug and helped her take a few sips of cool water. When she had finally managed to regain her breath, she said, amusement filling her voice. "Ah, this must be another cultural difference. But don't worry, hobbit hair doesn't mean the same to us as your hair does to you. It's no big deal to just cut it and let it regrow. And you have to admit, it's hopelessly tangled right now, more trouble than it's worth."
He blurted out, "I'll do it!"
She blinked up at him, frowning slightly. "What?"
His spoke quickly, as if afraid that she'd grab a knife and shave herself bald right in front of him. "I'll do it. I'll help you sort your hair."
She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to decipher exactly what his intentions were. After all, she had looked in a mirror, she knew that she was no prize to look at right now. And although dwarves were picky about hair, they had no idea how stubborn and frustrating hobbit hair could be. Was he asking because he considered her a full member of the Company and the Company took care of one another? Or could he truly not stand the thought of looking at her bird's nest of hair a moment later and it would be shameful for her to cut it?
For a brief moment, she thought wistfully that maybe he was offering to help her because he was sweet on her and wanted to take care of her personally instead of allowing one of the others to deal with it. But she quickly shoved the thought away. Because even though Nori liked to pretend that he was independent and didn't care about anyone else other than his brothers, he was as big of a mother hen as Dwalin was.
Sighing, her head was too stuffy to think rationally about things right now, she gave up trying to puzzle out his intentions. And the temptation of having clean hair was too much to resist. Offering him a wry smile, she said softly, "Well, if you're bored and feel up to an impossible task, your deft fingers will probably be the most likely to untangle this nightmare. But I won't blame you if you give up, because you have no idea how unlikely it is to sort this mess without cutting it off."
He smiled at her crookedly, a tender warmth seeming to enter his eyes, although she had to be seeing that wrong. "Don't underestimate a dwarrow's stubbornness, lass. Now, let's get started to that you can rest comfortably."
She gave a quiet hum of assent, watching him produce a comb before slowly shuffling so that her back was facing him, glad of the chance to hide her face, although she could probably pass off her blush as a fever flush. Yeah, she was just feverish, that was all.
She would fervently deny anything else.
X
It took nearly three hours to sort out her hair and she learned some interesting new swear words in that time. Still, no matter how many curses he spat, Nori's hands remained infinitely gentle as he coaxed the tangles and grime from her hair. She couldn't believe that patience he had as he carefully unsnarled each lock of hair before moving onto the next one.
She found herself relaxing as he worked, feeling the tension that had been present for weeks now slowly melting away. They had been so busy trying to survive and achieve their goal that they hadn't been able to spare a minute just to catch their breath. As he worked, they chatted quietly about dozens of different subjects, jumping from one to another without any rhyme or reason.
It was one of her best afternoons ever in her life, which was an odd statement considering that she was thinner than any respectable hobbit should ever be, on a quest that no sane hobbit would ever undertake, and confined to bed because of sickness. It was true though. They had even lapsed into comfortable silence several times, the quiet seeming natural and warm instead of strained or distance.
Towards the end, she even found herself starting to nod off, so comfortable was she along with how tired she was from being sick and the soothing motions of his hands brushing and braiding her hair. She had almost fallen asleep entirely when he gently nudged her, his voice low and gentle, "There, all done, lass."
She slowly blinked open her eyes, and when had she even closed them, and slowly reached up and felt her hair. Her questing fingers ghosted over smooth hair twisted into neat braids. She couldn't tell exactly what it looked like, since she was feeling too lazy to get out of bed to actually look in the small, cracked mirror in the room. She was thankful that it didn't feel as elaborate as Dori or Nori's styles but from what she could tell, it was probably a very pretty braid.
She had always envied other lasses in the Shire who were able to do pretty braids, her hair had always been too curly to cooperate and she had never had the patience to tame them into something calm and controlled. That's why she had always worn her hair so short, but it had grown over the duration of the quest until it had reached the state it had been before Nori had so graciously stepped in.
Her voice was soft and sleepy when she finally spoke, "It feels lovely."
He gave a quiet chuckle, "You were almost asleep, weren't ya, lass. Alright, Oin said sleep was best for you anyway, so let's get you properly tucked in. After all, don't want your cold to get worse."
She wanted to protest that she wasn't a faunt but he had already adjusted her so that she was laying comfortably in the bed, pulling the covers up until they were right below her chin. He smiled down at her for a long moment before patting her head once and turning away. He called over his shoulder as he left the room, "Get some sleep!"
As she drifted off, she thought she heard the door creak open, but when she managed to pry her eyes open, the room was empty. Sleep pulled at her again and even the sound of dwarves being rowdy in the other room couldn't draw her from the inevitable. Cozy, warm, and fully clean for the first time in much too long, she slipped into a healing slumber.
X
When Nori delivered her meal that evening, he was sporting a rather nice black eye and had a scowling Dori hovering at his elbow. She raised an eyebrow in question and he just grinned at her.
Looked like she'd missed some shenanigans after all.